Two for the weekend

Woop woop....Friday is here.

UPROCK favourites Tame Impala continue to impress. Their music is vintage but this video is groundbreaking.



And we'll have more details of our 6th birthday celebrations coming soon, but we're very happy to confirm that DELS will be playing.

I really love the original of Eyesdown but DELS' vocals are a welcome addition for this Ninja Tune box set exclusive:


Richard

100th Post!!!!

Sadly with our 100th post I am going to tell you about something that I found disappointing. It also proves a theory of mine that something cool + something cool, sometimes equals something lame.

Tonight I read a tweet from Pharrell Williams saying that if I followed this link I could see N.E.R.D. perform their new song produced by Daft Punk on Letterman. being a fan of both acts I thought surely this is going to be the best thing thats happened to me all day. Wrong! I still hold out hope for the actual track - Maybe the studio version will have a little more Daft Punk magic on it?!

Here are other times that I have been let down by people that I thought I could trust:-

Adidas + Star Wars. Were any of them any good?



Cartoon Allstars to the Rescue - Who ever came up with this needs to calm down. Incase you don't have 27 minutes to see how many of your favorite cartoon characters have been crow bared into this, expect to see Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Garfield, Michelango (TMNT), Winnie-the-Pooh, Muppet Babies, Smurfs, ALF, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, Huey, Duey and Louie and Slimer from Ghostbusters.

Andy

UPROCK on Saturday

Chilly Gonzales

Heard this on the radio the other day. The lyrics confused me - Are these guys serious? But like the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell track that Ric posted a while back I liked it. Interesting video too.

Andy

Flavor In Ya Ear

I was supposed to put these tracks up after last week's Uprock (it was well busy). I've had a tough week so here they are for the weekend

The Jamie Lidell Tiga Remix is like listening to a 1980's Prince if he owned a laptop. You may have heard the Cee-lo track on the radio - the one I've added is the original version, they can't put this one on before the watershed.

Jamaica used to be Uprock favorites Poney Poney (They made the loudest record i've ever owned).

We played two new Kanye West songs last Saturday. James Severy hated the one featuring Beyonce so much he told me on the night, and again when I bumped into him on the way to work. I have attached the other one to keep him happy.

Andy

One for the weekend - Jai Paul

It looks like being a pretty nice weekend in Suffolk, so here's a handpicked tune to soundtrack whatever it is you'll be getting up to over the next couple of days.

BTSTU is one of my songs of the year so far and suggests big things for Jai Paul in the months ahead.

And if you want to hear it played in perfect conditions* then come down to Uprock at the Swan this Saturday night.

Steve

* Unless DJ Onion blows the new speakers on Friday

Jai Paul - BTSTU by padarnalat

Michel Gondry x Uprock

I’ve been a fan of Michel Gondry for a while now, from his incredible videos for Daft Punk, Bjork and the White Stripes through to the dream-like beauty of his movies. When I got married my wife even walked down the aisle to our favourite song from Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

So on my birthday last year, when my brother told me that he had commissioned Michel Gondry to draw a portrait of me I was pretty excited. The only downside, Ric explained, was that he was busy directing films and stuff so it hadn’t arrived in time for my actual birthday.

Turns out Gondry stayed busy (although he sent nice apologetic update emails) and by the time my birthday this year rolled around the picture still hadn’t arrived.

To make up for it, Ric made me this video of his imaginary trip to California tracking the picture down…

A couple of months later an airmail envelope finally arrives in Suffolk from Beverly Hills, with an amazing portrait immortalising a midriff-baring moment from Uprock's New Years Eve party:



But in a surreal twist, also slipped inside the envelope was a note from Gondry himself, who had somehow found Ric's video message online and taken issue with at least one bit of the content:


So the lesson from this story – always respect the Gondry. And if you can’t be kind, rewind.

As a nod to the great man, here are three of my favourite Michel Gondry videos – enjoy.

Daft Punk - Around the World



Massive Attack - Protection



The White Stripes - The Hardest Button to Button



Steve

Give it up for the Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers return with a track that sounds like a sequel to Star Guitar, until the drop comes in and makes everyone in earshot stand up and say 'what's that?'

Few artists successfully continue to produce stunning return singles - think It Began In Africa, Salmon Dance and the whole Battle Weapon series, normally released as 12" teasers.

And then there are the videos. The Chemical Brothers have produced some classics, including the aforementioned Star Guitar which came courtesy of Michel Gondry - who we have a very good story about to share with you shortly.


But best of all....still has to be Spike Jonze's Eletrobank, which remains a masterpiece.

Richard