Indie Dayze Radio Show May 11

Indie Dayze May 11 [click to play]

Playlist:

1. Ladytron
2. On The Other Side - The Strokes
3. Our Swords - Band Of Horse
4. Cable TV - Fol Chen
   
5. I Believe - Simian Mobile Disco
6. Wildcat - Ratatat
7. Zero- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Tricky Tricky - Royksopp
9. On Board - Friendly Fires
10. Stay On The Outside - Whitey
11. Just The Past - PBJ
12. Bonjour Jeune Fille - The Blow
13. Couleurs - M83
14. Ladies Of The World- Flight Of The Conchords
    

A Dying Breed - The Day He Lost His Boogie

Celebrities, pop-stars (pop-tarts), superstars, they have always seemed like such an invincible breed. Capable of anything while freed from the associated ramifications. The ramifications of life, of jumping off a cliff, of having way to much collagen pumped, of a non-existent food-intake.. and the list goes on. Of course our warped perception and voyeuristic attitude toward these super-humans have as much to do with the movies they produce as it does with the 'news' the glossies (print, TV and broadcast) decide to feed us.

We mere mortals can not help but become slaves to the news-feeds that evade our aural space; infiltrating our thoughts and ideas. These so-called 'celebrities' wave to us through the television, laugh and blow us raspberries from the red carpet and are 'ever' so grateful for our love and support.

Oh no wait, how does it go? 'I'd like to thank god and all of my fans, because without you, none of this would be possible'. Oh yea, so there is god too, but mostly it's us.

We (secretly) look up to them: We adore the way they dress and in-turn create copy-cat versions (see the 1001 fashion copy adoration sites - oh Kate you're such an inspiration; unwashed hair, mini-shorts and gumboots, now why didn't I think of that!)

We print off their photos or rip them out of magazines, only to whip them out at the hairdresser. Make me look like Jennifer Aniston! We frequently save them to our computer desktop, oh Giselle why can't my girlfriend be as sexy as you?

[Buy her some tan-in-a-can and pay for a 'small' breast augmentation and you're half way there!]

And then.. as we wait, with baited breathe, for their next unpredictable move; new hair-cut, new beau, new career (see Joaquin Phoenix), they go and die on us...

They die and with their withering bodies, their incredibly built-up persona comes crashing down. What about the new haircut? I thought after that it was a shoe-in! She seemed so happy with her fourth husband; things were definitely looking up for her! At least that's what E! News told me. Was it all a lie? Oh Ryan Seacrest are you capable of such follies?

Recently,it seems they're dropping like flies. These inspirational muses who we try to replicate, personify, perhaps even clone(?) Calling Top Shop. On Thursday morning, Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett passed away and so too did Michael Jackson. After suffering from a a drug over-dose the 'king of pop'- had no more left to give, leaving behind three children, a musical legacy and a few thousand ticket holders.

The gates that did their best to hide the life of a tierd superstar.

M.J had 50 summer concerts planned in London through August at the O2 Arena, a hugely anticipated series that was expected to resurrect the star’s career and earn him an estimated 50 million U.S dollars. The shows were to begin July 13 2009 but the majority of them were pushed back to March 2010. The Jackson camp cited 'the challenges presented by such a large and technically complex concert' as the reason and insisted that the star was in good health. Fans were skeptical and if there were ever a time to say 'I told you so,' now would be it. Instead Facebook and Twitter walls are crowded with messages of praise and admiration.

All the ridicule that once clouded the news articles, has now been replaced with those presenting Jackson as a juggernaut amongst his contemporaries and congratulating 'the king of pop' on his successful career. Ironically death seems to bring out the best in people.. and although I do not want to humanise the media, I will say that there are times, such as this when even the media respond in a respectful manner. Nevertheless, this too shall pass and in a day or so articles will surface questioning the fate of the children M.J left behind and that lingering debt.. The debt that could have quite possibly been erased with the 450 million U.S dollars the singer was to make from his 'This is it' global tour.

Unfortunately for the little brother of the Jackson 5, this really was it.

R.I.P

The Blind See Better

In 1886, Coca-Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. The post-WW11 period welcomed a boom of consumerism, a time in which advertising was unregulated and consumers were exploited. Unverified and often absurd pseudoscience became the norm and Coca-Cola which contained "the valuable tonic and nerve stimulant properties of the coca plant and cola nuts," was marketed as a medicinal elixir. However, after substituting wine with sugar Permerton claimed the syrup could double as a 'fun food' and the syrup that was once sold to drugstores by Pemberton Chemical Co. is today, the world's most popular soft-drink.

It also doubles as a cleaning agent when 'bloody (road) accidents' need to be erased.

Facebook leaves Myspace lagging behind.

In May 2008, Facebook’s total number of unique visitors surpassed that of MySpace and social media organisations the world over were silenced. Facebook had surfaced with a total of 123.9 million unique visitors. What had become of the social network that had a three year head-start? What had it done wrong?

Launched in August 2003, Myspace was the pioneer of social-networking sites, offering a free platform with no obligations. It encouraged users to customise their profile pages by entering HTML and musicians went a-wall when given the opportunity to share 6 MP3 songs. Currently over 8 million artists have been discovered on Myspace and there are those select few such as Lily (granted she does have a famous dad) and M.I.A who managed to propel themselves from Myspace haven to the global music domain.

Facebook had its inception in 2007 and offered many of the same features as Myspace including: banner ads, creating customized profiles and the ability to increase or decrease the level of visitor restrictions. However, it also features the Wall, Pokes, Photos, News Feed, Facebook Notes, Chat and Gifts and an ever-expanding number of applications. Eventually Myspace caught on to the photo tagging frenzy and were quick to add the option.

The most significant difference between the two websites is the level of customisation. Facebook presents a rather simple and easy to use interface which only allows plain text as opposed to HTML and CSS. Its ‘dummy-proof’ approach was a big winner with those less technologically inclined, who assumed Brazilian band CSS had collaborated with Myspace. It is especially popular with the adults.

In April 2009, it was found that a greater percentage of visitors aged between 25 and 34 and 35 and 49 were logging onto Facebook. In contrast, the highest indexing demographics on Myspace.com were people aged 18 to 24 and 12-17.

According to web information company Alexa, Facebook's ranking among all websites went from 60th to 7th from September 2006 to September 2007. In Indonesia it holds 1^st place, in the United Kingdom it is at 2^nd place and both the United States and Australia rank it at number 3.

The social influx from Myspace to Facebook is evidence that every social networking site is disposable and unless you stay relevant you will only get left behind.

Watch your back Twitter.

Models.com - Picture Me - A Movie

Picture Me Trailer


Androgyny + Stepford Wives + Valley of the Dolls = Picture Me

Picture Me the new documentary by filmmaker Ole Schell. Schell joins his ex-girlfriend on her wild, narcissistic, boarding school-esque journey as she paves her career as a runway model.

Mr Squiggle Vs A. Wang

Hoping that Topshop will have 'properly' ripped this Alexander Wang dress off, in time for my impending arrival.

Ashton Kutcher- An Over-Used Car Salesman

He brought us Punk'd, Beauty and the Geek and showed us that it was ok to marry someone twice your age. And now he brings us Coolpix Nikon.



Ashton, didn't anyone every tell you that over-saturation drowns the masses?

Field Day 2009 - London

On the morning of Sat 1 August, London’s weather forecast was disappointing, yet nothing short of predictable. At this point, the prospect of a meteorological blunder was the only ‘ray’ of hope on offer for London’s Field Day punters. Unfortunately, BBC weather was spot on: cloudy patches then light rain at 4pm, promptly proceeded by heavy showers, three hours later. The only solace was the stellar line-up that was awaiting our heavy hearts; situated in E8’s Victoria Park. As the distance between us and the gated-musical haven decreased the demographic changed accordingly; mothers with prams were swapped for festival clans; adorned in ponchos, sunnies and boots. These like-minded revelers and their uninhibited enthusiasm helped keep the rain at bay.

By 4 o’clock Aussies, The Temper Trap were playing on an open-air stage, their sound was well and truly polished since their earlier gigs in 2008; however, the poplicious, soft rock numbers from their 2009 debut ‘Sweet Disposition’, seemed to leave less of a sweet and more of a sour taste for the indie listeners. However, credit should be given to the boys for holding their own, as the heavens let loose on the Field Day fun.

As the rain persisted, festival dwellers hid by packing into one of the many striped circus-like tents. In the Bugged Out! tent individuals waiting for Little Boots as they blurred into a sea of moving bodies, enticed by the deep minimal sounds of the Bugged Out! DJ.



Finally the British singer, Little Boots, tottered on stage like an 80's drag queen, whose glitter-doused Christian Louboutins; instantly recognizable by their fiery red soles, boosted the electro-pop princess’ minute stature. She got the crowd swaying with party favourites ‘Meddle’ and ‘Remedy’ and managed to croon her way through her debut album 'Hands', before saving the best for last, in the form of 'Stuck On Repeat' . Once off stage she quickly swapped her ‘sky-high persona’ for a one tad more festival appropriate; a pair of ‘little boots’.

By seven o’clock it was time for Santigold on the outdoor Eat Your Own Ears stage; situated at the farthest point of the festival. The smell of weed and rain intersected our nostrils as Santigold, dressed in green, belted out ‘Brooklyn We Go Hard’; substituting Brooklyn with London, exciting the crowd with ‘Say Aha’ and ‘Unstoppable’, while her air lassos seemed to ward off the rain. The hip-hop songstress surprised the crowd with a decidedly good cover of the Cure’s ‘Killing An Arab’ before bringing four fans on stage to join her in full body shakes et al. before closing the energetic and invigorating show with ‘Creator’. Although the skies had opened, there is no doubt that ‘rain-drenched’ music lovers were more than willing to forgo any attempt at ‘wringing out’ in order to witness this zeal-fueled spectacle, by the artist formerly known as Santogold.



After such a banging hour and a half, Scottish post-rock headliners Mogwai seemed the perfect antidote. The quiet-loud instrumental band were mournful and plaintive as they performed tunes off their 2008 ‘The Hawk Is Howling’ to their earlier ‘Rock Action’, while creating more than adequate grandeur with the consistent melodic subtlety of their songs. While some veterans complained of a slight regression by the band, their progressively genuine sound was enough to win over many new recruits. Although the band said very little, they did dedicate a tune to Errors’ drummer, Bobby Robson, for his assistance.



Mogwai are one band that can tame a British crowd without a single utterance. There was of course that one over-zealous fan, whose crass statement ‘I wanna f**k you’, only further highlighted the effect these quiet legends have on their listeners. However, it was not only the crowd that was under the band’s spell; mesmerised by the music, security were slow to stop a shadowy figure who made his way on stage. As the bass trembled and the ground vibrated beneath us, Mogwai were the perfect headliners; allowing attendees to gain festival closure in the form of an almost tranquil state. ‘Helicon 1’ and ‘Satan’ are something to behold live. For Field Day 2009, as the day turned into night; the rain may have fell and the night may have - eventually- beckoned, but the music, the music kept on playing.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Here ye, here ye this be the congregation for grape pickers anonymous.

Hi my name is Jasmine and I was a grape-picker.. While supermarket shopping I was never one to skip the fruit section; however, as innocent as this claim may sound, there be malice hidden beneath these under-layers. Upon my arrival, I'd make a beeline straight for the bounty of grapes awaiting my greasy mitts and indulge in a little taste test. Each -shameful- time I'd quietly reassure myself, that said exercise was vital to ensure the ripeness of that particular fruit.

Now years later, I am strong enough to admit to myself that I had a penchant for grapes (particularly green ones) and was not afraid to help myself. Because I now understand that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

( However, in my naive days I did often wonder how people could go hungry when there was food readily available for the picking... )

I was also one of those people who could waste hours at a time scanning the the card isle in my local news agency. I'd pluck a card from the shelf, read the front, read the inside, have a little giggle and so-forth. When I found a real 'pearl' I make a concerted effort to remember the witty words, in order to relay it to anyone 'willing' to listen.

Unlike my grape-picking days (oh those halcyon days) I still love to indulge in a good greeting card, especially those that can share in my (sometimes) twisted yet harmless sense of humour.

Drum roll please.

E CARDS

First up is online card site Some eCards - for when you care enough to hit 'send'.

These relevant cards parody almost any situation and have the balls to say what Hallmark didn't.











ORDER OF ST. NICK

Sick of Santa and those damn reindeers?

Try Order of St. Nick. These guys understand that Christmas is a repetitive process which can be as monotonous as carving that turkey, year after year. So they've decided to go back to basics, when man was well.. a monkey.


Simple yet effective. Take that Santa!

BALD GUY GREETINGS

And sometimes you wonder if you've crossed the line...




'Congratulations on the baby.

I'm so glad you decided to keep it'

What? It's the truth.

Click to take a gander.