SoundCity, the toppermost industry schmoozefest in this here land, takes place this May in Liverpool. Earlybird tickets are now available for the criminally reasonable price of £35.
HOWEVS, if you are an unsigned band you might be able to attend for nowt by getting on the bill of the event. And as a wee bonus, you can submit your demo for consideration for free if you do so before 30th January (after that date it will cost £7.50).
Click over for all the info…

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday January 20th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, 2009 has been claimed by young ladies with synths and laptops and the like. And hurrah for that, frankly, if it gets certain types of band - say, those with the word “Scouting” in their name, to pick a section at random - off our radios. Likewise, plaid-clothed forest-dwelling types with birds in their beards (except Bon Iver; he can stay).
HOWEVER. Let’s not call time on a whole gender, eh? One reason to allow men with stubble and checked shirts to continue to create music might be a band called Delta Spirit (above; click image to enlarge).

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday January 15th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

Man Like Me face an uphill battle to not be tagged as “Madness covering Goldie Looking Chain on a council estate in Camden while Hot Chip clatter bins in the background”, or some such nonsense. But I am hoping they will prove victorious in that battle.
For one thing, although they seem like thoroughly larksome fellows they are not novelty to the core like GLC. “Single Dad” illustrates this, as the central message is “oh shit I knocked up my girlfriend oh well my own fault best get on with it I suppose”.
But if you’re thinking this all sounds a bit frowny, fear not - this ode to one parent families is a bona fide party tune. Pass the rusks, sonnnnnn!

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday January 15th, 2009 at 9:20 am

Daniel Merriweather is the chap who announced himself by DARING to cover The Smiths’ “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before” with Mark Ronson. Somehow he managed to survive the frothy-mouthed outrage that predictably followed, and now he’s keen to show that he don’t need no moody Manc lyrics to get him in those there charts.
Er, he does appear to need Ronno though. Magic Mark produces “Changes”, but if you’re as trumpeted out as me you’ll be glad to hear he goes easy on the horns. Instead the main hook is a snippet of twinkly piano which goes rather well with guest rapper Wale’s rhymes. By the way, you pronounce Wale “wah-lay”. You have to mention that any time you write about Wale. It’s rap law.
(Incidentallement, Seinfeld fans who are not averse to hip-hop should check out Wale’s “Mixtape About Nothing” from last year - get it for zero outlay here.)
I think this “Change” number could be a sizable hit, don’t you? Ah, you still haven’t forgiven him for covering The Smiths? GET OVER IT PLEASE.
Daniel Merriweather’s debut album, Love and War, will be released later this year.
See the vid after the jump.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday January 6th, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Do you ever get that thing where you watch a video for a song you haven’t heard before, think “meh”, then listen to the song again sans video, and suddenly it all makes sense? Or is it just that I’m a man, and thus unable to concentrate on more than one thing at a time?

I only ask ‘cos of Marina & The Diamonds, whom I have been researching a wee bit lately. My Marina & The Diamonds journey went thusly:

1. Went to MySpace, listened to “Mowgli’s Road”, loved the living shit out of it.

2. Scrolled down page, watched video for “Obsessions”.

3. Got distracted by the amazing cat hoodie you see above.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday December 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

I always assumed the other Babyshambles fellas were, like their singer, dirty-fingernailed slurrers. Traditionally, dirty-fingernailed slurrers roam in packs, see.
However, this new track from the band’s drummer Adam Ficek suggests all kinds of otherwise. Hurrah for clean fingernails!(?!)
He’s going under the moniker Roses Kings Castles, and “Horses” was released into the digital ether on 8th December. If you can find somewhere that sells CD singles, you can buy a physical version this week. It’s a pretty little autumnal number which makes me want to eat hot chunky soup and recline on my sofa, and not just because it was the office party last night.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday December 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

That Little Boots person is really “on point” when it comes to using thinternet to promote her music. Why, now she (or her lackey, if she has acquired one yet) has gone and posted a load of her tracks - originals, remixes, acoustic versions - on Fairtilizer, enabling free streaming joyfulness.
However, why go to a whole other site when you can listen to it right here? No why! Continue reading and you shall have your ears filled with fizzy pop upandcomingness before you know it.
Quick, do it now before everyone else likes her and you lose the right to sneer at them!

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday December 10th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

This year Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Nite”, alongside his mixtape A Kid Named Cudi, has gone some way towards pushing the Cleveland rap chap into the mainstream. If you feature on a Kanye West album (Cudi appears on “Welcome To Heartbreak” from West’s 808s & Heartbreak), you’re pretty much set for success.
This rejigging of “Day ‘N’ Nite” by industrious remixers Crookers is being released in the new year and since it’s a bit doof-doof it could see even more exposure for Mr Cudi. Apparently he has an album comi- Holy poop, did that policelady just disrobe in the middle of the supermarket?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday December 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

La Roux is this hour’s hottest pop prospect (prompting The Lipster to draw up a pie chart, for goodness’ sake), and it’s not especially difficult to see why when you listen to the likes of “Quicksand”. It’s upbeat synth-pop, but not as indebted to 80s stuff as that description might imply.
I really like the video, too - which does owe a certain debt to 80s things. Things like Duran Duran’s “Rio” video and, um, Athena posters, for instance.
Also - kudos to Polydor for making the video embeddable. Take note, other record companies - this means I can write about your artist and let people watch the vid after the jump! Cool, huh?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday December 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 am

If you read Popjustice you’ll no doubt have been following the rise of Frankmusik over the last year or so. If this is the case you might as well move along now, as I am about to tell you literally nothing you don’t already know. Although there is some gratuitous swearing later on, so maybe stick around for that.
If you haven’t heard of Frankmusik, I hereby present you with a menu I have decided to name “The Frankmusik Three-Course Num Nums Liplicker”. After swallowing this lot you will be quite, quite full.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday November 27th, 2008 at 9:15 am