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Surveillance
avoid!!! alert!!! avoid!!!
...the hbo site at the moment. MAJOR wire spoilers lurking. not even going to link to it in case you're momentarily tempted to see what they're giving away. she-it. that's not in the game, yo
25th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
hold steady sarah silverman
the hold steady might be hunkering down w a new album growing their beards, but has anyone noticed they've been moonlighting on the sarah silverman show as her gaybors brian and steve?
25th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Los Campesinos!
Hold On Now Youngster
Wichita Recorings
WIth a rousing battle cry of "1,2,3,4!", sprawling Cardiff 7-piece Los Campesinos! arrive on your speakers like a mini-bus full of students on trip up to a Hoxton art gallery.
The Ramones-esque names, wacky song titles and personality that the band seem to have in bounds will certainly go a long way to propel them into mass popularity, but their success comes from the punchy delivery of their call and response style - male counterpointing female, then teaming up for a rousing chorus. Obvious maybe, effective certainly.
While enthusiasm goes a long way to pasting over the cracks of the band's fairly limited range, their pocket book poetry and student theorising of This Is How You Spell "Haha Ha, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux - Romantics" is a little hard too bear, and at times you might feel like your on a mini-bus trip up to and art gallery in Hoxton.
Comparisons to early Wedding Present or Arcade Fire seem a litlle misplaced, as Los Campesinos! lack the depth and musical breadth of either of those bands - at any stage of their careers. By far the longest song here, You! Me ! Dancing! shows some promise, trying to mix it up a bit, adding a slow-building intro which builds up nicely before reverting to the exisiting formula.
While it's hard not to get spent along in the boundless enthusiasm, there are very few specific tracks or highlights that can be pulled out here. It's all the same. All inoffensive. All fun.
25th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 2.5 star reviewsSearch
Black Mainstream
Black Mountain's rise continues. Check out their appearance on Conan O'Brian.
23rd Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
No-How
a little friday afternoon/night shout for this new version of Young MC's clasic Know-How from Baltimore Aaron Lacrate & Debonair
22nd Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Volume V
You wait ages for a bus, then two come at once. If only the same was true for a Portishead album, the Third of which will be getting a review next week as the band returns from an 11 year hiatus.
As a heads up though, The Rip is doing the business at Chimp HQ this week, building from a slow, moody start to a mesmerising Vangelis-inspired finale.
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22nd Feb 2008 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Live Akira
one from the "on that bombshell" files... reports of a live action version of anime classic Akira are coming in - Leonardo DiCaprio's producing apparently (and maybe playing Kanedaaaaaaaa!) with Joseph Gordon Levitt (from Brick) as Tetsuo?! yes, they're updating it to be set in New Manhattan. Katsuhiro Otomo is involved, but I can't help thinking: can't they just leave some things alone? love that film. still, that was an adaptation from the original manga, so maybe it can stand another version
22nd Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Johhny Drama is looking particularly young in his role as The Doors' drummer John Densmore.....
21st Feb 2008
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Monkey Business
After last night's drunken Brits performance you may be surprised to hear that chief Arctic Monkey Alex Turner has been a busy man. With last year's Favourite Worst Nightmare still fresh in the memory, he's already got another record ready for release - this time with side-project The Last Shadow Puppets. The band is Alex Turner and The Rascals' Miles Kane. The album is The Age Of The Understatement. It's out on Domino on April 14th.
21st Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Who Blogs The Watchmen?
zack snyder's working up a nice blog at the watchmen site, bodes well that dave gibbons (the original artist) seems to think it looks good
21st Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Free Dolce Vita
the observer's bribing you w La Dolce Vita dvds this sunday
20th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Visual Radio
The BBC labs seems to be coming up with all sorts of cool stuff thee days. Currently in testing mode, check out the Visual Radio website. It's a Web 2.0 aggregator that pulls together info on the song currently playing over the airwaves and compiles it as supplementary material - along with a studio webcam.
20th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Accidental Update
message in from our friends over at accidental records
-Hi Accidentallers!
Greetings from our new home in New Cross. We hope this email finds you well.
So, a few new bits of news for your aural tantalisation:
Our new favourite band and recent signing, The Invisible, have released their inaugural 7" and download 'Constant' b/w 'Passion' (Kwes rework) (AC 28).
It's a blistering ride through the band's sonic scale, available from Boomkat, Phonica, Rough Trade, Sounds of the Universe, Piccadilly and all other good record shops in the UK as well as iTunes and most of the digital platforms. Or buy one from the band at a gig! They're set to tour across the UK in April, and will be playing in London in March-more details on their myspace: The Invisible
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Micachu
Micachu, and her band, the Shapes are on everyone's lips here in the UK, and rightly so as their sound gathers fans and plaudits alike. There will be a single out shortly and Mica releases a free-downloadable mixtape at the end of the month, available from her myspace page.
She's just been announced as the main support band on the upcoming sold-out Foals tour, so if you're unfortunately without a ticket you should get over to her page sharpish and find out where else you'll be able to catch her before she's conquering the charts.
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Setsubun Bean Unit.
Our intrepid jazz-electro-bon dancing unit will be gracing the next issue of The Wire magazine, featuring on its celebrated Wire Tapper cover mount. Order your copy from your newsagent today!
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Party time!
And finally... we're having a party! To celebrate all of our new exciting releases in the upcoming year and to say hi to our new neighbours in New Cross, we'll be having an Accidental party in a South London location on April 25th-book it in your diaries now and we'll keep you posted!
www.accidentalrecords.com
20th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Polaroid Thaw
It looks like the enigmatic Polaroid brand is coming to an end, certainly in terms of cameras and film. The company quietly stopped producing the instant camera last year, and has plans to phase out film production in the next year, with supplies set to last until 2009. They're hoping to license the technology, but otherwise it's all over, as the concentrate on newer technologies.
20th Feb 2008 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
BBC on iTunes
bbc shows are coming to itunes uk - £1.89 an ep - after they've been on the bbc's own iplayer
19th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
What To Get The Man Who Hasn't Quite Got Everything Yet?
"world's greatest record collection" - on ebay now
19th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Mac Antikythera
a proto "computer" has been unearthed from 65BC - surely this is the sort of thing Indy (or maybe Nic Cage) should be tracking down?
19th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
HD DoVDer
Area Dad will be pleased to know that blu-ray's won the betamax-stand-off w HD DVD...
19th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
All I need is a rifle and a tall building
Been a while since we had any good JFK news - here's a piece on a transcript that's just been found supposedly detailing a pre-Dealey Plaza chat between Oswald and Ruby...
19th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Baltic Twist
Chimp favourite Barry McGee (AKA Twist) brings his brand of surrealist graffiti to Gateshead's Baltic Centre this month. Creative Review has the low-down.
18th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Volume V
think it's about time we kicked off the next instalment of our long(slow)-running compilation series: MGMT's Time To Pretend is getting mornings off to a pretty upbeat start in Chimp Towers at the moment, so I'm voting for that
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18th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Where The Spike Things Are
Ain't It Cool have got a little clip from Where The Wild Things Are - Spike Jonze's upcoming kids film based on the classic Maurice Sendak book. Now bumped back to 2009.
18th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tapes 'N Flacs
new Tapes 'N Tapes mpfree up, in geek friendly 320kbps or FLAC versions
18th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
After ski sunday's recent jaunt, I think the 2009 chimp ski trip is going to have to take in the Himalayas...
17th Feb 2008
Read on TwitterHit me on my Beepa
Fellow WSCAD alumni Greame Sinden is re-re-re-rewinding it back to the 90's with The Count & Sinden's outrageous tune Beeper, currently storming dancefloors across the country and now getting picked up for a re-issue on Domino. Listen over at Myspace.
17th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Batman Gotham Knight
Never really had Batman down as a "lemonade out of lemons" kind of a guy, but this new straight-to-dvd Batmanime project looks quite cool. pics here
17th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Lonely Man
Aint-it-cool have had an interview series with writer-producer-director Kenneth Johnson over the last few days (see parts 1, 2 and 3). Amongst other things he was involved with V, The Incredible Hulk TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.
The highlight from the interview is news that the classic "Lonely Man" theme from the Hulk TV show has been licensed for use in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie with Edward Norton, and the film will be "much more like the original series" than Ang Lee's disappointing 2003 effort.
16th Feb 2008 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Fancy another bank holiday?
Britain has fewer bank holidays than any other Europe country. Here's a petition for another one to mark Remembrance Day: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/remembermonday/
16th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Eddie Vedder Tour
Eddie's taking a short solo tour down America's west coast ....but unfortunately the Berkeley date is a mere few days away from a tie-in with chimpomatic's own upcoming world tour of California and Nevada.
Apr 02 Vancouver, BC The Centre Feb-18
Apr 05 Santa Cruz, CA SC Civic Auditorium Feb-18
Apr 07 Berkeley, CA Zellerbach Theatre Feb-18
Apr 10 Santa Barb, CA Arlington Theatre Feb-18
Apr 12 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre Feb-18
Apr 13 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre Feb-18
Apr 15 San Diego, CA Spreckels Theater Feb-18
15th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
I know it was you Fredo
Team Chimpomatic has booked up for our 2008 snow season extravaganza - this time we're hitting Fredo Corleone's final resting place, Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border.
15th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
No Country For Old Men
(dir. Ethan & Joel Coen)
Paramount Vantage
From their debut with Blood Simple in 1984 through to bowling classic The Big Lebowski in 1998, the Coen brothers went on a pretty much unrivalled 7 film run of non-duds. Sadly they followed this with a sequence of four films that fell far below The Dude inspired peak - from Lebowski follow up O’Brother Where Art Thou? in 2000 to the universally panned Ladykillers in 2004. After that they went on a bit of a hiatus, resurfacing briefly to contribute to Paris J’Taime - a collection of short films about a French city.
Now they are back and in some style with No Country for Old Men. Taken from the novel by Cormac McCarthy, ...Old Men opens with generally decent man of few words Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) hunting deer on the plains. Through the telescopic sight of his rifle he spies a bunch of pickup trucks and corpses, which, on closer inspection proves to be the endgame of a drug deal gone badly wrong. With a big briefcase full of money laying there without any obvious (living) owner, Moss the opportunist grabs the loot, believing he and his sweetheart back at the trailer park (Kelly Macdonald) have just stumbled upon a life changing slice of fortune.
Which is true, but not as he thinks. You see that money belongs to somebody and soon Llewelyn realises he’s got a serious problem, in the form of weird assasin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), on his tail. As the tagline says “There are no clean getaways”. Throw reluctant Sherrif Tommy Lee Jones and a bunch of angry Mexicans into the mix and a bloody game of cat and mouse across the southern states and into Mexico ensues.
Whilst there are a few obvious ‘Coen Brother’ touches where they find humour in some of the darkest places (Chigurh’s haircut for example), they generally play it straight - allowing the story, scenery and performances to drive the film leisurely but efficiently over its two hour duration. In this respect it resembles the excellent The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, the Tommy Lee Jones directed revenge film from a couple of years back. Like that film, the Texan born Lee Jones once again proves himself to be a master of the actions-speak-louder-than-words old school character of the South. But it’s Spanish actor Bardem (along with his hair and possibly the biggest gun-silencer in movie history) that really steals the film, as he menacingly takes no prisoners on his pursuit of Moss and the cash.
Rightly cleaning up plaudits all over the place, No Country for Old Men is a mighty return to form for the Coen brothers. Amen to that.
15th Feb 2008 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviewsWill I am
Will Ferrell pulls of the slightly irritating trick of earning $20m a picture, whilst remaining likable.
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15th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Live! Yahoo!
Yahoo's imminent destruction at the hands of the Death Star hasn't stopped them rolling out goodies. Their new Live Yahoo! facility turns any computer with a camera into an instant web-cam with online chat. If you check out the chimpomatic page you can see the hamburger phone that you so lamely attempted to win.
15th Feb 2008 - 6 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
What the \#\?&k is going on with filmon.com? Ads everywhere but the site looks like it's run by the 80s pirate video mafia...
14th Feb 2008
Read on TwitterJonzing
Forget that shoddy bootleg, watch the whole thing in HD here.
14th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Bootleg Skull!
if you can't wait for the proper Speilberg HD version, here's a shaky cam version of the Indy IV trailer - and from the markings here, it looks like there's going to be some ET action somewhere
14th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Gene Genie v Vampires
philip glenister's signed up to take on some modern day vampires (including mackenzie crook) for itv1
14th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Massive Meltdown
Massive Attack have signed up to host this year's Southbank Meltdown
14th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Full Phoo
BBC3's Phoo Action is getting a full six-part series next year
14th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Plastic Little
Plastic Little are on tour w Dizzee Rascal in feb; not sure that "3 parts Shake your Ass and 4 parts Fuck You" was what Robert Smith originally had in mind when he wrote Close To You - need to get HHG on their trail
13th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Plen Of Action
Think we should get Plen The Sporty Robot on board the chimp snowteam...
13th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Real Emotional Trash
Domino
Real Emotional Trash is the fourth solo album from Stephen Malkmus since the amicable break-up of lo-fi pioneers and all time Hall of Famers, Pavement, nearly ten years ago. On heading out on the solo seas, Malkmus opted for an ‘ifitaintbrokedontfixit’ approach; taking that hyperactive yet laidback and slightly surreal sound he so effortlessly brough to Pavement, smoothing out the edges a touch and then just riding with it. For Real Emotional Trash, he obviously thought his well-oiled musical machine still wasn’t broke, so the odd tinker here and there would suffice rather than anything resembling a fix.
Inevitably it’s a maturer sound, but not at the expense of any of that trademark playfulness. “Of all my stoned digressions, some have mutated into truth” sings that familiar conversational voice on ‘DragonflyPie’ and ‘Stoned digressions’ is a neat way to sum up the music of Malkmus; never quite sure what he’s on about lyrically and musically liable to wander off in random directions, but heck it sure sounds nice.
I often forget how good a guitarist he really is, but he’s never one to turn down an extended jam with a range of effects pedals to showcase his chops. Joined by ex Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss (on drums obviously and the occasional backing vocal) R.E.T. rocks frequently, not least on the title track, which, with the aid of some jaunty piano, clocks in at a hefty ten and a half minutes.
While ‘Real Emotional Trash’ presents no real change of direction, it still follows that path forged by the founding of Pavement back in 1989, and what a scenic and above all fun path it is too - with Stephen Mallkmus up there at the front, holding the flag - your ever so slightly eccentric guide on this enjoyable journey.
13th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsTNT
With second album Walk It Off landing on April 7th, Tapes n Tapes are popping over for a well-publicised secret gig on 3rd March. The Chimp-vicinity Lip Moves at Old Blue Last is the venue. 7-2am.
13th Feb 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Good Morning Indiana
The Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull trailer makes it's debut on ABC's Good Morning America this Thursday, at around 9am US time. It'll hit the excellent Yahoo Movies site shortly afterwards in monster-sized HD, so hold tight.
13th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Strike Out
The writer's strike is officially over, but that doesn't mean it hasn't left the remains of the TV season in a sorry state. Heroes doesn't have time to get back out the blocks, so it's on hold until next season (probably not a bad thing, and could give them some time to think about what they've done). Lost has had it's 16 show run cut down to 13 'at most', but at least that means double the answers for the last 3 episodes...
13th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
Chillaxing in snow + rock to get my snojo working, but beacoup dollar. Boards 250+, bindings 160+, boots 160+....
12th Feb 2008
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Throw Me The Statue
Moonbeams
Secretly Canadian
Stacked at my bedside is a pile of books patiently waiting to be read. The tower shoots up at Christmas and crumbles as the year proceeds. Some I haven’t got round to yet, some I don’t much fancy and a select few will be saved for the summer holidays; page turners of the light and breezy variety who will hopefully be perfect for whiling away spare hours in the sun. Moonbeams by Secret Canadian debutants Throw Me The Statue is the musical equivalent of the holiday read. The first time these particular moonbeams shone down on me was whilst waiting for bus in February’s pre-dawn drizzle prompting an immediate judgement that I can’t stand this. Not now at least. Haiwian guitars and blasts of sunshine blown throw jaunty horns are not meant for winter morns but could be the perfect soundtrack to endless summer evenings. Throw Me The Statue could be worth waiting for though.
If the best way to judge a man is by the company he keeps then Throw me the Statue’s frontman, Scott Reitherman, must be assessed as one who is a savvy delegator with an ear for a talent. Reitherman provides a strong foundation of melodic tunes and wryly observational lyrics but it is his collaborators who lift this group from being forgetful to forget-me-nots. Happiest Man On The Plane suggests that left to his own devices Reitherman might prove to be little more than a poor man’s Willy Mason. If he rejected the ‘man with guitar’ route then This is How We Kiss hints that maybe he would be best pleased peddling Nu-Metal lite. Luckily this is the only song retrieved from Blink 182’s reject bin.
If Reitherman has drawn the outline then it is the rest of Throw Me The Statue who have added the splashes of colour. This is an album packed with beats, synths and horns which could have graced the Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robot, Grandaddy’s Sophtware Slump or the Super Furry’s Guerrilla. When they lighten up and let the good times roll Moonbeams illuminate the spot. Stupid Stone is the muffled sound of festival stages and tents over yonder, Old Believer should best be heard through the sun roof on a bank holiday drive to the coast and if Lolita doesn’t elevate your summer shin-dig from a civilised afternoon barbie to a swinging all nighter then no song will. Let the sun shine in.
12th Feb 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet
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