David Emery Online

Catch Up

Catch up time!

Over the past month or so at work we’ve launched a couple of nifty little sites that I’d like to share with you. As I now have some help for the first time I’m not actually responsible for the html/css/php, but the designs are mine so I’m taking full credit (only joking Simon if you’re reading!).

First up is a site promoting the new Black Strobe album, “A Remix Selection”:

remixblackstrobe.com

The main premise of the site is that we’re giving away the master components (vocals, bass etc) of the lead single “Shining Bright Star” for people to remix, which they can then upload onto the site for people to listen to and rate. Black Strobe have a long history of remixing – this album is an album of remixes of people like Bloc Party and The Rapture, so this all ties in quite nicely.

Any budding DJs or remixes out there would be well advised to check it out – it’s looking like the highest rated remix may well end up as a b-side on a single from the forthcoming Black Strobe album (which is their first album of their own material, not remixes, and is sounding very impressive).

As Seen On TV

Over the Christmas holiday one of the things I found time to squeeze in was a quick go on my brother’s Nintendo Wii. It’s a truly amazing bit of kit – when Mario Galaxy comes out I think I’ll cave in and get one; it really is amazing how much more intuitive the controller is compared to traditional input devices are – never mind game controllers but mice and keyboards as well.

But that’s not the important thing.

The Wii – like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 – is designed to be always connected to the internet. For a start this instantly enables another rival platform to iTunes for video delivery – Nintendo already have a online integrated store and it would be be easy for them to sell video content (although it would have to be streaming, as the Wii has no HD). A synergy with someone like Cartoon Network or Disney could work really well here; playing to Nintendo’s younger market – which they have sewn up.

That’s still not the important thing.

What’s most important is the free demo of Opera that they’ve released for download over Christmas.

Actually, scratch that.

The most important thing is that Opera and Nintendo have...

And it rained all night

Rain is fascinating.

We’re all so used to it, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting.

Think about it; by some amazing natural coincidence little invisible bits of water float around in the air until they bump into other little invisible bits of water and get big enough then fall from the sky.

Just think for a minute what it would be like for something different to rain; earth or flowers or small bits of metal instead of water.

Stop.

Think.

Hope you all had a good christmas break, and a very merry new year. Your regularly scheduled programming will return tomorrow.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

So, we’ve finally got to the end of my list of the best albums of 2006 – so far we’ve had:

20) Peaches – Impeach my bush
19) Ratatat – Classics
18) The Black Keys – Magic Potion
17) Mstrkrft – The looks
16) The Flaming Lips – At war with the mystics
15) Beck – The Information
14) Placebo – Meds
13) Arctic Monkeys – Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not
12) The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
11) be your own PET – be your own PET
10) Metric – Live It Out
9) The Gossip – Standing in the way of control
8) The Knife – Silent Shout
7) Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon
6) Giant Drag – Hearts and Unicorns
5) Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
4) C.S.S. – Cansei De Ser Sexy
3) TV On the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
2) The Rapture – Pieces of the people we love

At number 1 is Thom Yorke’s debut solo album, The Eraser.

As soon as I first heard about this album I was intrigued – what was it going to sound like? Were we’re...

The Rapture - Pieces of the people we love

Number 2 in my list of the best albums of 2006 is The Rapture’s latest record, Pieces of the people we love.

This record is perfect.

TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

And now to start the top 3 of my list of the best albums of 2006 – just missing out from the top 2 spots is TV On The Radio’s second album, Return To Cookie Mountain.

There’s just something about this album – it’s breath taking; awesome in the original meaning of the word. It’s the best album of this year – the two ahead of it are there simply because they fit my music taste closer.

The thundering drum beats. The layered vocals. The feedbacked guitars.

All are simply stunning.

Wolf Like Me is probably the most accessible songs of the album, and it’s a great song. Not as in “yeah, that’s great”; as in “The Great”; as in the best anyone could ever hope for from a piece of music:

I almost don’t know what more to say about TV On The Radio; they’re too good, almost. Live, they are – of course – amazing; they have a huge amount of power behind them, which you get on the record, but is just staggering in person.

Just go get the record.

Cansei De Ser Sexy

Not far to go now! At number 4 in my list of the best albums of 2006 is Cansei De Ser Sexy’s eponymous debut album.

Pop. Fun. That’s what this album is all about quite frankly – it’s a good old fashioned party album. Pretty much every song on the album is an indie-pop classic; coupling electro enthused indie with bouncy, upbeat lyrics. Lovefoxxx – the lead singer – is just a pure bundle of energy; you couldn’t ask for a better vocalist.

The song you will have heard by them – Let’s make love and listen to death from above – apart from name-checking one of last years best bands is definitely one of the tracks of this year:

Live, C.S.S. are simply stunning. Even though they seem to have almost continual gear trouble they have so much stage presence that they could probably still be excellent through a power cut. They were certainly one of the highlights of 2006.

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar

And now for something completely different

In at number 5 in my list of the best albums of 2006 is Beirut’s debut album, Gulag Orkestar.

This is really somewhat of a departure for me, musically; every once in a while, though, an album comes along that is in a completely different style to what you normally listen to but thanks to it’s sheer brilliance wins you over all the same. The Beirut album is one such album.

The album manages to conjure up such vivid imagery while you listen to it – perfectly capturing both the poverty and isolation but also the romance of Eastern Europe. Zach Condon – who for all intents and purposes is Beriut – adds vocals that are hugely powerful, haunting and moving that are a stark contrast to the big brass and slightly shambolic instrumental accompaniment; it all works perfectly.

Then, when you think it couldn’t get any better, a slight electronic edge gets thrown in – completely different to everything else you’re hearing, but it pushes the music along to somewhere even better.

Ill (again)

I seem to have caught another cold.

Which is nice.

Maybe I need to chill out a bit; de-stress; stop doing quite so much.

That’s not really going to happen, though.

Oh well.

Hopefully I’ll be more coherent tomorrow.

Behind Closed Doors

We interrupt your scheduled 5th best album of the year to bring you news from the blogosphere…

Something’s going down.

Sam Sethi has been fired from TechCrunch UK

Apparently for plugging TechCrunch UK events whilst slagging off Les Web 3 – which by all accounts sucked – removing the conversation from a conference ostensibly about blogging simply to promote a political agenda is just wrong. No matter how hard you say otherwise.

I’ve had a deep set feeling for quite a while now that while a lot of people at the top of the tech hierarchy try and claim that they are “different” from the old-school big business attitude that requires you to screw people over they really aren’t; it’s all just spin and marketing. This all reeks to me of friends pulling favours.

To top it off, it appears that Sam’s TypePad account has been deleted – Loic Le Muir (the guy behind Les Web, and who kick started this by calling Sam an asshole in the TechCrunch UK comments) works for Six Apart, the people behind TypePad.

I really hope that it’s just a badly timed bug, and that his account hasn’t been barred – if not, this kind of...