This Is (Also) Sparta!

Sleepercar is the side project of Jim Ward, the vocalist and mastermind of Sparta. And of course, member of the legendary At The Drive-In. (But come on, you should know that stuff already...)
So, Sleepercar is according to Wikipedia an alternative country project. Fortunately (even if the world alternative makes it believable), the album has little to do with country and could easily be another Sparta album. Maybe one with b-sides. But the characteristic voice of Ward is there, as well as the sentimental chords and melodies that he always gave us with Sparta.
This album made my day today and I listened to it in the back- and in the foreground many times. Well done, Jim.
Don't paddle away...

CLICK!

"9, you shall protect the future..."

9 is a short animated film by Shane Acker. It has won several awards and an Academy Award Nomination.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic environment, where we meet the main character 9 and his somewhat mentor and protector 5.
On 09.09.2009, 9 comes as full-length feature, directed by its original creator, Shane Acker, and produced by the one and only Tim Burton.

Below we have for you the original 10-minute short film and if you scroll down further, the very well done trailer for the movie.
And since we always have a connection to music, the song of the trailer is "Welcome Home" by "Coheed and Cambria" and really adds to the atmosphere. You can hear and watch it from the link on the bottom.

9 original short film
(Click on the menu, to select High Quality!)

9 Nine Shane Acker Short Animation
by FrFKmeron

9-Movie Trailer

(If you have Quicktime you can watch on High Definition from Apple. GO THERE)

LINKS:
Coheed And Cambria - Welcome Home
9 Short Film Info
9 Movie Info

Chris Rock about Rap Music...

Hilarious...

LOST

First of all a big thank you to all of you who tuned in yesterday and made our first broadcast experiment a very special one. We will be on the air again very soon. Better and louder! (And with smarter things to say...)
The only thing you have to do is check regularly on the blog.
I promised yesterday that the show would be available as a podcast for you to download, if there weren't any technical irregularities. And guess what. There were! All our curses are targeted to that little software company, which made the lame program I used to record. And it seemed to be working. Check back soon for the official All About The Sun-Voodoo-Doll so we can take them down properly!
So, our first show is forever LOST from the hard drives, until we find Benjamin Linus and THE ISLAND to make things right again...
We apologize to the listeners who didn't understand a word we were saying, but I guess that's the way it's gonna be, at least on my end. Hopefully you won't abandon us and tune in for the music. Posts remain (mostly) in English...
Until next time!

You're thinking of all the jobs you could retire from

You keep telling me everything's gotta be real

Yes,  the extremely devoted readers (more than a thousand now, I am told) of our blog already have grasped what this is about. Because, indeed, your memory does not fail you, those were lyrics from the song Atomic Heels by the Secret Machines, the video to which Doc was kind enough to post a while ago. 

But that was just the single. 

As I've been busy reliving the highs and the lows of the past year (only musically, of course, optherwise everything is  as usual. Devastatingly so) it occured to me that the secret machines are a band that deserve special mention. I first stumbled upon them when I got a promo of their first album in a cardboard sleeve sent to my house by warner back in the day when buying their music actually meant something to the music industry and they tried to send you stuff to review that might be interesting later for clients with similar tastes. I even had to fill out forms to get those promos. Scary stuff, I tell ya. Anyways, "Now here is nowhere" was born, and I actually liked it a lot, but something was still missing from their music, some sort of... rock edge.

It was artsy, we like artsy, but it wasn't dirty enough to quite fit into that 70's psychedelia corner it tried to belong to. Then the Secret Machines went on to release a pile of very mediocre stuff and I had all but forgotten about them.

This year they took their bags and left warner (or were left...I am not entirely sure) and released a new album, without a major label backing them. It sounds cliché, but that did it.

Apparently it was all that was needed to do the trick.

Let me get a bit clearer on this. They did not do houses of the holy here, but this album actually blends rock, psych and some glam and space seamlessly and produces very enjoyable music.

Especially the second half of the album (starting with "The walls are starting to crack") is killing it sonically and will appeal to most avid readers of this blog. So be patient through the first few catchy tracks, the heavy druggy stuff is coming for you and it presents some glaring moments of pink floyd helicopter-oganza in all their glory. 

So, here is the self titled recent album by The Secret Machines, cherish it if only for the second half and the brilliant mellowing "I never thought to ask" right between the heavy freakout tracks. It has style, and we all like style. 

Also the new age ballad "Now you're gone" will go brilliantly with some heartache and an illuminated city at night to drive around in. Try it.

Rise Up and Fight !

I wanted to share something great I saw recently with you all.

Just when you thought it was all over...... OK Once again we find ourselves in the studio, this time recording some tunes for the vinyl edition of the new album, it's getting complicated but it keeps you on ye toe's. These songs will not appear anywhere on the various CD versions, there's three (3) ditties....."Ballad Of Richard Greyson", "A Mouthfull Of Secrets" and a super dirty version of "Physical (You're So)".  So, we will have a release date very soon for the albums and we'll post the details of the various different versions, plus news of the U.S. / Canada tour which is being booked at the moment.  Also, we have new blood in our ranks, these ghosts took physical form in the men they call Karl Demata, Joe Allen & John Langley, they make us sound good. We started rehearsing again after a break of 6/7 months without playing live, seems like an age! So things are on course and looking quite good.  See.....i am being good and positive, like i'm told to be more. No cynicism this time.....but that won't last!!! (see what i did there?). And.  After watching the news about the happenings in Athens and the rest of Greece, i am compelled.to dedicate "Rise Up And Fight" to all of you there.  Ta-RAA y'shitters!  JG/CBP

I took this straight from the myspace page of Crippled Black Phoenix.

Obviously it wouldn't be complete without the song itself, the song so graciously devoted to the struggling lost masses. So, after strongly advising you to visit their site and listen to everything there and buy everything they put out even if it is just flavoured coffee with their faces on the packaging, here's "Rise Up and fight".

Yes, it sounds Pink Floyd-ish all the right kinds of ways. Yes, we will have more of this when the times is ripe. No, the new albums (there will be two) are not out yet, but yes, they will be terrific and keep us busy on this blog for quite a while,  is what my gut tells me. 

If you don't believe me, have a sneak peak of what is to come while sitting in the dark somewhere and -obviously- paying attention and sipping a drink or two (you'll have time for three and need them you will). 

Oh, and lest I forget in my silly ways....

turn up the volume

Open the Champagne...

I just noticed I was the 1000th visitor in our blog.
I'd like to take a moment and thank the people that made that, with their 20 hits, possible.
Time to celebrate!

Sleeplessness

Αγρύπνια... In one of those nights, for one of those nights.
Sleep is a great thing, especially when you're awake...

Faust - IV

"Daddy, take a Banana. Tomorrow is Sunday!"

Bonkers. That's what this music is. In a beautiful way.

I consider it a perfect way to get to know Faust, so fill that glass with absinth, crawl into your favourite corner and put some headphones on.

Unleash the armageddon

Get Reverie by Daturah.

This is the image that the brilliant opener Ghost Track of this neat little post-rock band conjured in my mind.

Waltzing along

Μόνο ο τρελός ήρθε, μου μίλησε και είπε ότι το σπίτι που βλέπω στα όνειρα μου υπάρχει.

Ότι υπάρχει ο δρόμος που οδηγεί εκεί δίπλα από τη θάλασσα

Και ότι το κορίτσι στη φωτογραφία υπάρχει

Ότι είναι ωραίο το πρόσωπο της έτσι όπως φαίνεται κάθε φορά που αστράφτει .