2 choice bits of TV from the weekend

Jonathan Ross


GMTV

Hollywood karaoke

Having a scoot around Youtube this week we've spotted a couple of interesting little covers of Marina's single Hollywood (*cough out now cough*).
For ease of consumption, here's a handy Top of the Pops-style chart (ie, the first one is just sublime).

1 - David' Lyre

(i need one of those masks)

2 - Da Viglio

(she looks like that OCD one out of Glee. Topical)

3 - Charlotte Calamity

(we like the fact that she was being quiet becuase her dad was asleep and her mum was reading to her brother)

Amazing. Have you heard this re-working too?

Marina and the Diamonds - Hollywood(Monarchy's Gisle remix) - MP3

XX begin the take over

This reminds me off The Wave. I like it.

Gonzpiration

There's not much we need to say about this video, apart from we can't quite work out when or where in the past 20 years it was shot, but we're assured they are Estonian subtitles.

For the record, we bloody love Gonzales. Those gloves! That hair! The sweeping beauty of his remix, which you can download right here!

Marina and the Diamonds - Hollywood (Gonzales Orchestral Remake) - MP3

Sometime Wannabe

Ah Primary 1.
Nothing better then a dreamy piece of video poppin' up on Youtube of a Wednesday, and the above cut is taken from P1's current mini-album, Mess Detective. It's an arresting collection of wistful electronic jams and lo-fi pop gems, and one of the first essential records of the year.
You can buy it on a fancy CD here or if you're impatient, download the whole thing for free (FREE!) over on his blog.

But hey, have one of the finest cuts right here.

Primary 1 - Foaming (White Room edit) - MP3

Oh Alex James, what will we do with you?

And just what is Alan Titchmarsh doing on that show?

Remixes infected your brain - PART 2.

Have you seen the acoustic video for Marina's Hollywood above?
Not too shabby eh.

Also, just a heads up there there are two hyper-limited 7"s of Hollywood up for grabs.
The 1st - Hollywood and Bad Kidz - from Record Store
The 2nd - Hollywood and Hollywood (Gonzales Orchestral Remake) - from Pure Groove

But it's always nice to get something for free, so as it's nearly the weekend...

Marina and the Diamonds - Hollywood (The Juan MacLean remix) - MP3

TOUCH ME - Jacko generator

I would have liked the Jacko-Generator to be an offshoot of the Channel 5 show, Michael Jackson; The Live Séance, where you can magically make him pop out of your screen.
Alas, it's the slightly less mental and more office friendly site which you can tap along and make Jacko "OWWW" and "EEEHEE" to your heart's content.
Click the image above, or here, and turn your speakers up.

While we're here, I rediscovered this gem of a remix over the holidays.

Jacko - I Can't Help It (Tangoterje remix) - MP3

Yes, that is Marina in a bath. In her dress.

NME have graced us with their annual 'new bands for the year issue' and it's actually a really good read. A fair few mentions of bands we're keeping an eye out for this year and then there's this little spread on Marina. Peter Robinson (King of Popjustice) nails it.



(click for a bigger view)

Also, you can grab a bunch of new tracks, including Obsessions, on the NME mixtape thing here. You don't even have to give em your email address. Nice.

Things we loved (but didn't post) in 2009

1) Tempa T - Next Hype


2) Darwin Deez - Constellations


3) Everything Everything - MY KZ YR BF


4) Sneezing Panda

Remixes infected your brain...

How's your Christmas been? Filled with gammon and gifts we hope.
And as a final treat at the end of the year (decade too), have a spanking new Marina remix on us by the SPECTACULAR Fenech-Soler.
HAPPY NEW YEAR x

Hollywood (Fenech-Soler remix) (MP3)

happy bloomin Christmas, one and all

what's going on here then?

Now that's definitely Marina, but is that?
No.
It can't really be Gonzales at the piano?!
EYES PEELED PEOPLE.

Long enough for something to go wrong...

See that there, that's the new video for Stay Too Long by Plan B, that is.
It's also the naughty cut, so if you want to show it to your little nephew, best go with the Radio 1 (a-list) friendly version over here.

Its out on Jan 11th, what a new year treat.

Happy David Bowie Day!

Happy David Bowie day one and all!
Not really sure why it's offically Bowie Day but any excuse to put on Let's Dance and shuffle around the office whilst belting out "TREMBLE LIKE A FLOWWWWWER" is good with me.
A he's a good guy that Bowie, check out this fan letter he sent in 1967 (click for a bigger view)

Retro Ears - New Jack Swing

It might be down to the fact that I was at school in the early 90s, but I am very fond of that oft-overlooked gem of a musical subgenre; New Jack Swing.
Populated by characters like Teddy Riley, Brandy and Mary J, the calling card of a classic New Jack Swing track is quite simply; PARTYTIMES.

So as an early Christmas pressie, here's a Spotify playlist.
Thanks to The Last Skeptik, Scott Pinglewood and Ralph Razor for their contributions.
(Check out those cap n' tie combos on Boyz 2 Men!)



Retro Ears - New Jack Swing (SPOTIFY)
1. Brandy & Monica - The Boy Is Mine
2. Adina Howard - Freak Like Me
3. Boyz 2 Men - Motownphilly
4. Color Me Bed - I Wanna Sex Up
5. En Vogue - Don't Let Go
6. Bobby Brown - Every Little Step
7. Jade - Don't Walk Away
8. Al B.Sure - Nite and Day
9. Michael Jackson - Remember The Time
10. R Kelly - She's Got That Vibe
11. Bell Biv Devoe - Poison
12. Brandy - I Wanna Be Down
13. Brownstone - If You Love Me

Retro Ears - New Jack Swing (SPOTIFY)

Lady Boots vs. Sir Gary of Numan

First Phil Oakey and now Gary Numan; Boots is well on the way to having a contact book that read like cast list from thee execellent Synth-Pop Britannia documentry.
Have a read of the lead article in today's Guardian where Gazza and Victoria interview each other.

my name's European Bob

I'm a bit of a sucker for end of year musical lists, and this year we get the added indulgence of End of Decade lists. It's been an interesting (and sometimes predictable) read rattling through these various charts and being reminded of some gems that we've loved and also some that we'd clean forgotten about.

You'll have to believe that despite my affiliation with 679, The Streets' Original Pirate Material up there for me too so we were collectively thrilled to have The Guardian / The OMM / The Guide and even Get Cape Wear Cape Fly claim it as their choice from the past ten years too.
Cheers lads and lasses.

Zane Lowe went one better and picked it as one of his 4 Masterpiece albums, meaning that this evening it'll be played in it's entirety. You can listen again here too.
This means we get to hear "LEE SATCHEL YOU BASTARD" uncensored on R1.

Remember these?






Mr Skinner, we salute you.

Actually my name's Marina...

We are very thrilled to present the brand spanking new video for Marina and the Diamonds' Hollywood.



Directed by Kinga Burza in the most hilariously OTT mansion we've ever been to, see how many US icons you can spot (we've noted Elvis, Obama, Marilyn so far).
It's out on 15th Feb on limited vinyl, CD and through those digital information transfer thingys (don't reckon they'll catch on to be honest).

More big Marina news tomorrow.
Ooh it's all go innit.

it really really really could happen

Blur The Movie? YES PLEASE