New Muzak: The ultimate Christmas tune

As far as I'm concerned, All I Want For Christmas Is You by Miss Mariah Carey has always been the ultimate Christmas choon. It's the only Christmas song I can never get sick of, no matter how many times I hear it flogged on the radio/in the shopping centre/on repeat in the lounge room. BUT! I think I may have found a new hero holiday song.

The absolutely adorable Andrew Allen is an indie singer/songwriter from Canada, and he sits somewhere on the Jason Mraz/John Mayer/Maroon 5 end of the pop spectrum. He's cute, he plays a guitar and he spouts bubblegum lyrics to make your heart melt while flashing a perfect smile. The kind of guy you could take home to Mum.

He has released a single for Christmas and I am in love.



Check these lyrics!
I wanna be the 12 days wrapped in 1
I wanna be your drummer boy, burrum bum bum bum
I wanna be the eggnog in your rum
I wanna be (I wanna be)
I wanna be the north star that you see
I wanna be the partridge in your tree
I wanna know your Christmas just ain't Christmas
Without me

Swoon! Make sure you download it and put it on high rotation. Beats the heck out of Jingle Bells.

Price: $1.69
from: iTunes
Why you need it: To get in the Christmas spirit.

I wanna be a Beatle!

I think we’re a fairly typical household when I say we have an Xbox, a Wii, a PC, 3 laptops and a Nintendo DS (please don’t rob us!). For shame, we don’t have a PS3, but Boyfriend promises me it is on the way (and can be a tax write-off because of his job). That said, just because our house looks like a games arcade, doesn’t mean the consoles get much loving. I occasionally play some sport on the Wii and Boyfriend plays soccer on the Xbox, but we now have an excuse for pulling out the guitar and switching the Xbox on more regularly. The Beatles.

Rock Band: The Beatles is the same principle as all the other rock band/guitar hero games (guitar, buttons, follow the colours on the screen), but the difference is in the music and the incredible animation (see the intro clip below). If you’re not a Beatles fan then best tune out right now, because there is much gushing and fawning over the Fab Four.

They have used a great cross section of their popular tracks and their lesser known tracks from across their whole career, so there is plenty of variety. My favourite Beatles song isn’t on there just yet (Eleanor Rigby, just fyi) but I’m hoping it will appear down the track as I progress through the levels and unlock more songs (if it isn’t in there, please don’t tell me and ruin the surprise). You can either play in quick-mode by scrolling through the menu and picking your song, or by working through the story; starting at the beginning of their career at Liverpool’s Cavern Club in 1963 and going by venue by venue (and unlocking songs/levels as you go).



The beauty of Rock Band is the fact that 3 people can play at once, with a combination of guitars, drums and microphones. We only have a guitar, so bring your instrument around and play with us! (and that totally isn't meant to sound as dirty as it does)

Price: $99.95 for Xbox and PS3, $79.99 for Wii
From: EB Games, JB Hifi etc
Why you need it: To play through a brilliant musical documentary of one of the worlds greatest boy bands.

Late edit: just after I finished writing this, Boyfriend actually finished the whole game. He unlocked a whole bunch of pictures and video clips, but no Eleanor Rigby. Fingers crossed it's in the downloadable content!

New Muzak Monday Madness

I was doing a bit of trendhunting on the weekend and stumbled across a veritable goldmine of new and not-so-new bands that I want to share. It's a bit of a hodge-podge mix so hopefully there's something in here for everyone.

Choir of Young Believers - amazing band from Denmark. They say "orchestral-pop project marked by magisterial melodies, dark lyrical concerns, and a healthy dose of cathedral-grade reverb". I say, "yeah that sounds pretty good". Check their profile on their record label website.

Jay Reatard - angry, crazy punk muso from Memphis, Tennessee who does catchy tunes with f#$'d up video clips. He says "garage punk musician", I say, "dude needs a haircut". Check his website.

Nurses - sweet rock band from Oregon. They say, "the vulnerability of pop with its heart on its sleeve engages in a double-dutch jumprope match with the euphoric surrender-to-the-weird that is essential to psychedelia. Nurses is a band that scavenges beauty and wonder, uncovering Technicolor where others see somber hues. Their off-kilter psych-pop is driven by ever-swelling vocal harmonies, adventurous electronics, some serious wheelin’ and dealin’ on the Rhodes piano, and the kind of new-primitivist percussion that may or may not involve a standard drum kit." I probably don't need to say anything then, do I? Check their myspace and get your whistle on.

Fruit Bats - folk rock band originally from Chi-town (Chicago) but now based in Starbucks-land (Seattle). Their album and title track is The Ruminant Band. What an epic name for a song and/or album. Check their myspace. I have to post the video because it's 100 kids of indie-cool.

Not buying much, but discovering new bands is always inspiring and they are all on iTunes if you feel so inclined.

Oh my goodness...

This is totally a quick one because I like to take weekends off, but this was WAY TOO AWESOME not to share. You know how I have blogged before about my love for the Jay-Z and Rihanna song Run This Town? Check this dude doing a classical version of it. It is 102% cool.



Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

PS - this was my 100th stuffthatibought post. Worthy? I think so.

Viva Le Resistance

I'm totally a month late to the "review Muses's new album" party, but better late than never. You guys, this is a brilliant album! I have always been a big Muse fan, although the last album (Black Holes and Revelations) was kinda good and kinda not good. You know, I only just realised that album was released in 2006. I could have sworn it was like late 2007 or something. Where does the time get to? Anyway, the new album - The Resistance - is kickass.

You know when you listen to a new CD and after about 7 or 8 listens you end up with 1 or 2 favourite songs? I can't pick one. There are the upbeat, fast tracks, and then the melodic ballads and *swoon* I adore Matthew Bellamy's voice. I also love that fact that he has been toiling away on his three-part symphony for a few years now and we finally get to experience it on this album.

If you got tickets to the Big Day Out 2010, please promise you will go and see Muse! If you didn't, then hope they are doing sideshows. However, and I add this on the advice of my good friend Kat, don't listen to this album at 3am whilst driving through fog on deserted highways between Sydney and Melbourne. Apparently it's a little creepy.



Price: $16.99
From: iTunes
Why you need it: The Resistance is 54 minutes of pure musicality.

Picture credit: muse.mu

New Muzak - Miss Li and Amanda Jenssen

Watched TV lately? Seen the new iPod Nano ad? Yes? Currently obsessed with the song.

It's called Bourgeois Shangri-La and it's by a pair of luscious Swedish ladies named Miss Li (Linda Carlsson) and Amanda Jenssen. Miss Li has been rocking the Swedish airwaves for a solid few years now (4 studio albums plus a compilation) while Amanda was runner up in Idol 2007 and has put out one studio album. Lucky for them Apple picked up their insanely catchy tune because their worldwide now. Talk about instant fame.



You can get it on iTunes - nice!

Price: $1.69
From: iTunes
Why you need it: It's a party weekend (here in Sydney)! Party tune!

New Muzak - Chester French (via Shakira)

It's one of my secret shames, but I really love Shakira's (not so) new song She Wolf. To save face and rather than just posting her video clip (where she looks amazing! Hello unitard!) this is a bit of a different take on it. Have you heard of Chester French? You might recognise the name if you read gossip magazines - Peaches Geldof was married to the instrumentalist/songwriter Max Drummey. Anyway, they are a sweet pop/rock/alternative hip hop band (incidentally, I love that bands cross genres and can't be pigeonholed. Makes things more interesting) and the whos who of music are fawning over them and calling them the Next Big Thing. They kind of remind me of MGMT with the whole 'started the band at uni, smart guys, making cool music and we don't care vibe'.

Anyway, this is Chester French covering Shakira. I recommend you hunt down their other stuff because it's really cool.



Chester French debut album Love The Future
Price: US$7.99
From: Their website
Why you need it: Their tunes are fun, and you like fun, right?

PS - If you join their mailing list they send you a free 24 track album of remixes and collaborations.

New Muzak - Example - Watch The Sun Come Up

I can't believe I haven't written about Example before considering how obsessed I am with him. Example is a rapper from the UK who does really catchy pop-type tunes with wicked beats and loads of attitude. You can't really pigeonhole him with a genre because it goes from storytelling a la The Streets (he used to be on The Streets label) to hip hop to jungle to pop. Jungle hop, maybe? Either way it's catchy and danceable.

His new single is out as of yesterday but here's the catch...it's only on UK iTunes which means we can't buy it here in Aus. Lame? Very lame. But that's ok because the video is on youtube and if you listen to Radio 1 streaming it's played on there every 2 hours. I'm all for supporting artists by buying their music though, so you can always buy his last album in the meantime (What We Made released in 2007) or download his free mixtapes from his blog. Fingers crossed his January 2010 album will be available here!

Right...so the new single is Watch The Sun Come Up. I like it - I think it's going to be a brilliant summer anthem. Frankly if it's good enough for Tiesto, it's good enough for me. And then when Example finally hits Australian airwaves, you can say you were already on the bandwagon.



If you have an international iTunes account....
Price: £2.49 for the EP or 79p for the single track
From: UK iTunes
Why you need it: it's a f%#@ing brilliant tune!

Edit: I found somewhere you can buy it in Australia! Trackitdown.net - only AU$2.80. Get on it.

Calvin Harris - Not Ready For The Weekend, needs to work on his outfit a bit more

I'm a big Calvin Harris fan. I have been to see him play a few times (live and DJ), have his last album, know all the words to all of his songs and was genuinely excited for his new album. He isn't good doing DJ sets, but he is great with his band and a dynamo producer/remixer. Sadly, his latest album is not so...well...good.

Honestly, the beats are wicked. You can't fault his kicking basslines and grinding rhythms. But the lyrics, as my lovely friend in her posh English accent says, are a bit pants. (when you say something is pants you have to say it with an English accent - it's like a rule or something). Disappointment City, population: me. Don't get me wrong, there are a few tracks that are stand outs. The single that has been getting radio airplay all year - I'm Not Alone - is great. Dance Wiv Me is also on there, which I love, and The Rain is great if you don't concentrate too hard on the lyrics. But beyond that the bad lyrics are just too distracting.



Price: $16.99
From: iTunes
Why you need it: Go for it if you're a fan, looking to remix his tunes or love cheesy pop.

I run this town B**ch

I'm only posting this because I LOVE Rihanna (and want the necklace she wears in this clip)

Jay-Z - Run This Town feat. Rihanna and Kanye West



Price: $2.19
From: iTunes
Why you need it: it's a HOT track (do I sound 15? I feel 15 describing something as hot. Whatever. Just go and download it)

You need the beats, baby

Speaking of music (and running), this is one of my favourite purchases this winter. I have been training for this city2surf (which is this weekend...eek) and that means lots of hours pounding the paths in Centennial Park. Since you already know about my weird obsession with pretending I'm in a music video clip when I run, let's skip over that and just reiterate the importance of having a good soundtrack when you go running. Of course, the greatest soundtrack in the world is no good to you when your ear buds keep falling out because they are sweaty or don't fit properly. Eww.

I had the genius idea of sitting my earphones inside a headband when I run to keep my ears warm and keep my earbuds in place. Turns out someone had already gone one better. Halo headphones are round disc speakers that sit inside a headband and you adjust them to the right place for your ears. They are incredibly comfortable, perfect for running, comfortable to wear in bed and I'm looking forward to wearing them on a long haul red-eye flight I will be taking in a couple of weeks (more on that later). The jack is the right size for an ipod plus it comes with an adaptor so you can use it on planes. Practical. The sound quality is incredible too. You would think for speakers inside fabric it might be a little muffled, but I was pleasantly impressed. Kudos, Halo. You certainly made getting up in the morning to go running that little bit easier.

Price: $49.95
From: Myer, Paddington Markets, Halo website (all stockists listed, or buy online)
Why you need it: For warm ears and rockin beats

Picture credit: haloheadphones.com - and that is totally what I look like when I go running

New Muzak - Ruth Sinclair

I love a bit of new music. There's a buzz with discovering some cool artist or band and downloading the album, and that first listen on the bus the next morning. Then there is that one song off the album that stands out to you and you flog it on your ipod, hitting repeat repeat repeat repeat. Yeah. When I like an album I really like it.

My sister turned me on to Ruth Sinclair and her EP Control. She is an indie artist from Sydney. Ruth has a really soulful Jessica Simpson style voice - kind of R&B yet pop. Very groovy, very fun and the power ballads are pow-er-ful. My favourite track off the EP is My Reality which is sugary and soulful love ballad, but I also have a soft spot for Ridiculous Love because it has an ass-shaking beat and, well, I like to shake my ass. Ruth has been on high rotation for a couple of months now and will probably be in my playlist for a couple more. Her power ballads always suit my mood when I go running in the early morning, and one of the most important things about running is the music you are listening to. I always imagine I'm in a video clip, running through the morning mist with the sun creeping through the trees. As she hits the high notes you run that little bit faster, throw your arms out and look to the sun. So romantic. Hmm...maybe I have said too much.

Price: $10.14
From: iTunes
Why you need it: Good tunes are the soundtrack to a good life. Or something. I like it and I think you will too.

Picture credit: tunescore.net/music/ruth_sinclair

Get ye to Gotye!

aka. The 'Straya Day post that's a day late.
ok...lamest subject line EVER! but it's a long weekend.

I know I'm a little late to the Gotye party, so please don't hold it against me. But, WOW, is this album amazing. Like Drawing Blood is part dance, part rock, part blues, part chill, all class.

Gotye is Belgium born Melbourne lad Wally DeBacker, and this album is a home-grown bedroom job, put together over the course of two years. Doing most of the vocals himself and taking samples from all over the place, the eclectic sound has something for everyone. The highlights for me are Hearts A Mess (the amazing emotional tune), Learnalilgivinanlovin (the booty-shaking fun track) and A Distinctive Sound (the track with the amazing samples). I can totally understand why he won the ARIA for best male artist last year.

I could try and wax lyrical about the highs and lows and break each track down to analyse it, but that's not my bag, baby. Instead I am going to post some clips from my favourite songs so that you will listen to them and then go and buy the album. It's a worthy addition to any music collection and appropriate for dinner parties, birthday parties and party pies.



Price: $16.99
From: iTunes
Why you need it: because you need some new music in your life! Plus, it's always cool to support 'Strayan artists. It's 'Straya Day weekend after all.

PS - in case you are wondering how to pronounce Gotye, think Jean-Paul Gaultier without the Jean-Paul (gore-ti-yeah)