Inoffensive rock tune

There is a band, let's call them Captain because that is in fact their name, who are making above average, New Radicals-style guitary pop music. Unfortunately, they have been cursed with the wrong type of haircut, so Radio One and the NME have roundly ignored them.

The poor band are so unloved that there isn't even someone updating their wikipedia page - which puts them one rung below DJ Luck and MC Neat on the celebrity pop ladder. That rung is broken and being kept in the back of a van with the intention of one day repairing the ladder, but we all know that's not going to happen.

Anyway, they've done a video called (irony alert!) "Keep An Open Mind". It is very good in a completely-ripped-off-from-Destiny's-Child's-Say-My-Name kind of way. On youtube (youtube) it has the following information about how popular Captain are:



Oh dear :(

Captain - Keep An Open Mind

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Click this, it's Friday evening

I'm really going to stop posting things today, but only after this collection of links...

:: George Clooney on plastic surgery
"I did get my balls done, though. I got them unwrinkled. It's the new thing in Hollywood -- ball ironing."
[Esquire]

:: Tina Fey on Paris Hilton
She has "the hair of a fraggle", and left "nasty wads of Barbie hair on the floor" from her "cheap weave". Ouch!
[Cityrag]

:: Wombat rape
"A New Zealand man who claimed he was raped by a wombat and that the experience left him speaking with an Australian accent has been found guilty of wasting police time."
[Daily Telegraph]

:: Go Fug Yourself on Girls Aloud
"Cheryl Cole: By law, one of us has to look hootchie and also wear a misguided hat."
[Go Fug Yourself]

:: Peter Robinson on Nickelback's Rock Star
"Its most terrifying feature is in its first millisecond, in that Chad's vocals appear completely without warning."
[The Guardian]

:: Estelle's bitter hatred of Ribena in cartons
"Why does the pre-mixed stuff always taste watery? It's irritating! They should let you do it yourself - sell it with the water and let you do it yourself." (conflict of interests disclaimer: I wrote this in my "real job")
[BBC News Website]

:: A man tries to lose weight for his wedding using Wii Fit
"As I get to a certain point with things like push-ups or “plank” exercises, my arms will begin to involuntarily twitch."
[4 Colour Rebellion]

:: Newsreader corpses on air
Charlotte Green goes bonkers on Radio 4's high-falutin Today programme, recreating the incident eight years ago when she fell about laughing after reading out the name "Jack Twat".
[BBC News Website]

:: Actress forced to dye her hair by idiots
Judy Greer, who was in Charlie Kaufmann weirdfest Adaptation, was ordered to go ginger by film producers in case people confused her hairdo with co-star Jennifer Aniston's hairdo.

Please note that, depending on your level of testosterone, you will either find Greer endearinlgly cute or irritatingly ditzy in the following clip.

Judy Greer on David Letterman


Have a great weekend!
Mrdiscopop

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Rejoice!

Here is some good news: Flight Of The Conchords, the New Zealand comedic musical duo, who are not as bad as that description makes them sound, are releasing an album!

Featuring fifteen completely re-recorded songs from their HBO telvision series (literally the best thing on television all last year), it comes out on 22nd April.

You can pre-order on Amazon, and the tracklisting is as follows:
Foux du Fafa
Inner City Pressure
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros
Think About It
Ladies of the World
Mutha'uckas
The Prince of Parties
Leggy Blonde
Robots
Boom
A Kiss Is Not a Contract
The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room)
Business Time
Bowie
Au Revoir

Bad news: It's missing the sublime Jenny.
Good news: Jenny is all up on that youtube (youtube) thusly:

Flight Of The Conchords - Jenny (live)


PS Subpop records is giving away a free download of Ladies Of The World on their media pages. When will the governments realize it's got to be funky sexy ladies?

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B-52s visit the Funplex

Things we can learn from the new B-52s video:

:: Fred Schneider has traded his "car that seats about twenty" for, erm... a Segway.
:: Or is that a zimmer frame?
:: Kate Pierson is surprisingly good-looking for a 60-year-old
:: But she dances her age
:: The line "candelabra in a wonder bra" is inexplicably brilliant
:: More videos should have dancing policemen in them


B-52s - Funplex

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Catching Up With The Comments

It's been a relatively busy week in those comment boxes you find under the stories here on Discopop Directory. Lots of people had valid points and interesting links to share, so I thought I'd give them a more prominent position.

First up is Emma, who says: "I find it quite unusual that you never feature any music other than american or brit singers". She must have missed the recent articles on Lykke Li, CSS, Camille and Namie Amuro - but, hey, I'm always up for having my musical horizons expanded. If you've got a passion for pop from Panama, or anywhere in the world, feel free to send a tip to tips@discopop.co.uk.

Emma herself suggests checking out Angolan hipsters Buraka Som Sistema (Buraka Sound System). They're not really my cup of tea, but their new single features MIA and comes across like a Bargain Basement Jaxx. It is up on that youtube (youtube) should you want to check it out.

Elsewhere, Duane points out the uncanny similarity between The Last Shadow Puppets' single The Age Of The Understatement and Muse's Knights Of Cydonia. He's not wrong, either.

And at the bottom of my "tribute" to Voice Of The Beehive, Chris C writes in to boast about his interview with Melissa and Tracy Beehive. You can find it on his rather superb blog/podcast Revenge Of The 80s Radio

Ta for all the feedback. Keep it coming!

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Monkey makes music

I thought I'd posted something about this several weeks ago but it turns out I was wrong: There is a new song by Arctic Monkeys' frontman Alex Turner and some bloke from the Rascals called Miles Kane - and it is an absolute belter.

Together, Turner and Kane are The Last Shadow Puppets, and they sound a bit like the Walker Brothers crossed with Arthur Lee's Love. Only, you know, good.

NME readers will be aware that they have a whole album coming out and, if it's all as good as The Age Of The Understatement, The Kooks et al will be going home looking very foolish indeed.

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement


PS: Are the lyrics to this song brilliant or the sort of terrible nonsense that novelists imagine pop songs to be like? I can't decide...

And she was walking on the tables in the glass house
Endearingly bedraggled in the wind
Subtle in her method of seduction
The twenty little tragedies begin

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