Hmmmm bop

People don't appreciate how tough it can be being a musical snob.

Most of the time it's easy - tell tale signs such as major label bandwagon jumping or Radio One daytime playlist support mean we can turn our noses up without fearing any damaging repercussions.

But sometimes a band comes along and, although you get the feeling that you'll hate them in six months' time, the strength of a single track leaves you confused.

It temporarily knocks out the inbuilt gauge of what innovating trendsetters such as ourselves should dig.

'Can't stop, can't stop, can't stop my feet', these Junior Senior guys are amazing! 'Doopity, doop, doop, do-wo-doop', this shit is amazing!

And so on....to Young Fathers, a Scottish hip hop act who already have a couple of nauseating tracks on their MySpace alongside their forthcoming single, Straight Back On It.

I just can't decide....

Farewell MJ

Everybody loves the sunshine

It's the longest day of the year on Sunday. There's not much better than long, warm nights in England - it's just a pity it will start to go downhill from next week.

Anyway, this isn't a weather blog. It's (mostly) about music. And genuinely good house music goes hand in hand with the sunshine.



More on Jamie Jones

*Postcard image stolen from Lettie, whose words and hoarded remnants paint a romanticised picture of times gone by: Lettie

Essay Like Nephew

Lovely artwork, charming videos and songs perfect for a summer's day.

Essay Like Nephew provide proof, if neeeded, that it's often best if bands have the time to find their feet without the burden of hype and expectation.

But saying that, even if China Pop had of arrived on a wave of hysteria it would still satisfy the harshest of critics.





Download the full album via their website

T-Shirt News 2 -answers on a t-shirt

Silly John, he should have seen this.

UPROCK @ Swanfest 2009

UPROCK is proud to be hosting the Saturday night at this year's Swanfest. There are some really good bands playing over the three days - Thursday 3 to Sunday 5 July.

Here's who we've got:

HOT CLUB DE PARIS



KING CHARLES



ANGRY VS THE BEAR



JAMES SEVERY and band



Tickets are going fast

A night with friends

Saturday (6th June) was the first Uprock and Friends. Here's what we got up to and some of the songs that we played:

When I first heard that Pixelh8 was going to be DJing I was expecting to assalted with beeps and buzzes that I had not heard since playing my Sega Master System.

So I was surprised to hear a set made up of soul and funk. I was also pleased to find out where the sample in Mama Said Knock you out comes from.

Here is James at the start of the night putting his tunes together.

As you can see he’s working hard. The work paid off with tracks from - Daniel Johnston, TV On The Radio and Crystal Fighters.

The Cheek boys had signed a record deal with Universal on Thursday so as you can imagine they were in high spirits.

Highlights included Eric B and Rakim, Phoenix and Paris Hilton - which was cut short because they had to leave to catch a plane to Ibiza to write some new songs.

Thanks to all the guys for turning up and sharing some of their favourite songs. It was an eventful evening to say the least.

p.s. If anyone is interested I enjoyed playing MSTRKRFT feat John Legend

Andy

Polling Day

Friends Together, Friends Forever....

When Andy discovered he was the only one of the three Uprockers available for June's UPROCK we thought (not that) long and (not that) hard about how we could make it an excellent night and ease the pressure on Coke's number one fan.

So we got out our Rolodex, which sits on top of the previously mentioned alphabetically-sorted filing cabinet, and called up some friends for their help.

Being the nice guys they are they were all happy to help so this Saturday UPROCK will host special guest DJ slots from Pixelh8, James Severy and The Cheek.

We'll be going from 8pm until 1am @ The Swan, and admission is free.

Here's a taste of The Cheek in action:

And our thoughts on friendship put into words and pictures: