Me and My Korg

Let's go flash mobbing!

2009-04-18T12:59:00.001+01:00

8pm. Tonight. Stag's Head. Draw a circle on your hand.

More information over here.

And another one...

2009-01-15T21:26:00.004Z

More bad news came today when we heard that Road Records will close it's doors for the last time in just a few weeks. It's been around since 1997 when we were only young and has played a very important part in our musical education.

This really is devastating news for the city and the music scene, and of course for Dave and Julie. You can read their little note over here on Thumped. I really hope that things turn out alright for these two. I know that especially our Lil, a dedicated and very generous customer will miss them dearly.

To anyone who still has a job and a bit of money, spend it wisely, or this wont be the last time we wish we'd gone to Road instead.

2009, although has only just begun, is for MMK, a complete write-off.

And another one bites the dust...

2009-01-15T01:44:00.017Z

I know some people felt that State magazine was a bit of a let down when it was first released back in April 08. Most thought of State as the magazine that was going to take over where Foggy Notions left off. Then for their debut front cover they threw on a massive photo of Michael Stipe with his beautiful shiny head and our hopes were immediately slashed.

In saying that my heart did sink today when I read that State will cease to exist as a print publication. From here on in they will continue on as an online magazine exclusively. I’m guessing as a pitchfork style deal.
This is what state.ie had to say:

The announcement of a new issue of State is usually a cause for celebration. In this case, our tenth issue is tinged with a certain sadness. This month is a little different to what’s gone before as there will be no printed version of this issue. It has been a real year of ups and downs for the magazine. We’ve had a ball in the last twelve months but circumstances beyond our control have interfered. We always felt the magazine was something which was sorely missing from the dialogue around music in Ireland, which judged Irish artists on the same criteria as international artists and treated music as the important cultural art it has become to us all.

Though State, as a magazine is in a better shape creatively in 2009 than it ever was, there are certain palpable economic circumstances which mean that the costs involved in printing a magazine of such high-quality (in our opinion, as that is our currency) have become even more difficult to meet. We have always been an entity in transition, learning as we went, incorporating that knowledge into making a deserved better product for music fans. Sadly though, State felt the cold, icy hands of the recession in the last two months. Advertising has become an increasingly difficult prospect for any industry which relies on it and the standards which we had set for ourselves were no longer achievable.

Fret not. As you’re reading this on State.ie, you will be all too aware of the resource it can be. So our plans for the future involve us shifting our focus wholly to State.ie, which will now become the hub of all our activity with reviews, interviews, mp3s, news and everything else in the navigation above. As a parting gift from State Magazine and as a way to pass the baton to state.ie, we offer up to you our tenth issue as a digital issue so you can see for yourself what would have looked amazing on paper. State remains free to all… (who have broadband internet access) and we will STILL BE producing a monthly digital issue every month to complement the website.

What struck me straight away was that it appears as if any sort of "independent" music publication that takes a stab at the Irish market, fails. It’s a real shame that they just can't seem to exist successfully in this country. This is true recession or not.

So who will be next on the chopping block on it’s way to magazine heaven? Analogue? We certainly hope not!
Unfortunately I fear that the likes of Hotpress are like Ozzy Osbourne; immortal and destined to live on forever just to piss us all off.

When he says James, i think he means Lillian.

2008-12-04T10:12:00.002Z

"Make me a record that sounds worse than My Bloody Valentine, and I'll make you a star" is the title of a very interesting article that i read this morning. It describes exactly how i feel about a lot of the music im supposed to like but really, i couldn't be bothered with.
I am the stain on MMK's music credibility. Ill dance to pretty much anything and i have recently gone public about my love for Death Cab for Cutie. Lillian, on the other hand, is completely different and she even has an expression that describes her djing style that goes something along the lines of, "i don't play what they want to hear, i play what they need to hear."

You'll find it here.

This is an offshoot

2008-10-31T18:59:00.002Z

Blogee Blogee is going back to its roots. From now on it's all about the music over here while Lil and myself (Catherine) will continue our fashion musings over at Offshoot; www.thisisanoffshoot.blogspot.com

And thank god, this way i don't have to keep pretending i know anything about music.

I Wish I Lived in Brooklyn...

2008-10-22T22:06:00.002+01:00

Animal Collective are hosting themselves a "listening party" in anticipation of the release of their latest (9th I think) album, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

If only Ryanair flew to New York....

Word on the blogosphere is that the album will be released on the 20th of January 2009 and that the tracklisting will be as follows:

1. In The Flowers 2. My Girls 3. Also Frightened 4. Summertime Clothes 5. Daily Routine 6. Bluish 7. Guys Eyes 8. Taste 9. Lion In A Coma 10. No More Runnin 11. Brothersport

Check out the little website they've set up in honour of the release. It's where all the information and rumours surrounding the album are stemming from.

Gorilla vs Bear are speculating that this (which is featured on the aforementioned website) will be the albums cover art.

I hate it. So I hope it's not.

Sexy Americans

2008-10-10T17:19:00.000+01:00

Me & My Korg love AA. So much so that Anna is even doing her thesis on them. So when a friend told me that American Apparel will be opening their first shop here just before Christmas my initial reaction was pure excitement. When i was living in Paris i used to go into their stores to just walk around. I loved the impeccable organisation, colour co-ordination, typeface, and of course the ridiculously attractive staff. Then i started to think about it. Was it going to be like when the mainstream catches onto your new favourite band and just ruines them for you? No more, "oh i got it when i was in Stockholm/Paris/Berlin, im just sooo alt". I also wonder why they choose Grafton St, did nobody tell them that South William St is so hot right now?

But then i went on a little adventure down to the new store location at 114 Grafton St. It's all lovely red brick and black marble pillars. Just imagine the wonderfull Helvetica sign, all modern and gleaming against this traditional facade.

Then there is the advertising campaigns, and future calls to Joe Duffy about the "filth" that will be on billboards all over the city.

We made it. We live in a city that's finally cool enough to have an AA. Wow!

Beau comme un garçon

2008-09-15T23:12:00.000+01:00

I cannot wait for November. The dark, the rain, the college assignments and the sweet thrill of avant garde Japanese fashion.
That's right, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons will step up and become the sixth designer to collaborate with Swedish giant H&M. This is their most exciting venture so far. On one side you've got H&M playing it safe, as they do, and on the other you've got one of the most utterly outrageous designers working today. Comme des Garcons is unlike any of the collaborators who have gone before; what the hell were they thinking with the whole Madonna thing? Lets just hope Rei doesn't dilute down her imagination like Victor & Rolf, eh hands up who was disappointed with that?
The big challenge here is whether commercialism and creativity can co-exist in fashion harmony? Well, if they can, that's exactly what it'll be, harmonious.
November 8th: put it in your Moleskine.

Lily Allen

2008-09-04T18:14:00.001+01:00

Is a complete fuck up but my admiration of Elton John has just increased ten fold.

We have another chance

2008-09-03T12:48:00.000+01:00

To catch Times New Viking, last time they played it was on the same night as The Mae Shi and there were plans for a sponsored Silver Jews t-shirt wearing sprint from Crawdaddy to Andrews Lane but the Mae shi were late and we heard that TNV were being very punctual so everyone stayed put and no money was raised. But they're back on the 17th October, fuck I just checked the Whelans website and they're playing with No Age, noice.

On the other hand Skinny Wolves has Mahjongg playing upstairs, fuck it, what to do?

I said a hip, hop...

2008-08-29T00:32:00.000+01:00

DEAF are not the only ones coming up trumps this year with a stellar festival line up.
Dublin's Fringe Festival is looking pretty good too. Most notable for me are hip-hop's pioneers Sugarhill Gang playing The Spiegeltent on September 14th.
I'm excited even though I only really know that one song, it is a pretty great song though. Fingers crossed they play it...

You know the one I’m talking about…..

Another one for the moleskine is September 20th, Brighton's Fujiya and Miyagi also play The Spiegeltent. Its advertised as "An Evening with Fujiya and Miyagi" and the Fringe website tells me "this infectious Brighton electronic dance trio curate their own unique party night " I’m yet to understand whether the evening will involve a live set from the band themselves or not….

Cheater Cheater!

2008-08-27T19:46:00.000+01:00

I love designer rip-offs and the great sense of satisfaction they leave me with. Im very fickle so i know that if i actually went and spent €300 or so on a pair of shoes, id probably be sick of them in about a month, or id of gone and absoluetly wrecked them. So today when i was on an emergency tights-buying trip to Marks and Sparks i spotted these lovely Miu Miu wannabes. Not only are they a great mix of pastel shades but they were also only €10.50, down from €30. Super savings! Pity they're too small, but then again, most of my shoes are too small. Not that i have big feet, but when i see a pair of shoes i like im not going to let the fact thay they don't fit me properly get in my way. I can't wait to wear them with my H&M Prada rip-off socks.

See the Country

2008-08-25T18:07:00.000+01:00

If like myself, you're from Dublin, you may not have really seen that much of the rest of the country. So what's a better excuse to go travelling with your mates than a free gig? Heineken Green Spheres is back with Crystal Castles playing down in Galway on September 30th. Free beer, free gig, alright band=deadly buzz! MMK have been to see Super Furry Animals in Kilkenny and CSS in Cork. Great memories of travelling on smelly buses off on an adventure down the country.

Most great things are called the Wire

2008-08-25T15:06:00.000+01:00

There's the telly show, the magazine and the band.
David Simon writer of the Wire (on the telly) is giving a talk in the IFI on the 19th of September after a special screening of the end of either the 4th or 5th series I can't remember which one, watch both of them anyway.

DEAF

2008-08-25T14:55:00.000+01:00

The line ups been announced and it looks very exciting particularly Trans Am, BBC Radiophonic
Workshop and Laurent Garnier. More info here

Go Away Gregg

2008-08-25T14:36:00.000+01:00

Its been a while now since Girl Talk gave us his album for whatever price we were willing to pay (I payed nothing and damn am I glad), but since I got lazy with this one and just listened to it the other day. I was bored and I don't think thats what Gregg Gillis was after when he was spending his afternoons on the auld laptop. Bout 15 minutes into the album I realised I was bored cos he was using the same samples I use when I dj, sure he splices them up and plays ten of em at the same time but they're most certainly the same songs. Now I feel rather shit and predictable so I've set myself a challenge to make a bnew best mix ever of songs never before used by myself or Girl TalK. I'll post it here when I'm done although that may take some time as I'm extremely lazy and all the energy I can muster up is currently being taken up by painting.

The greatest invention since the internet

2008-08-19T22:58:00.000+01:00

Yesterday when i was on a lipstick buying adventure with Lillian i discovered the greatest invention since the internet. There we were in the very cramped make-up aisle of Boots on Grafton St trying on various shades when i decide to slap on a bit of red lip gloss. Nice fire engine red colour, nothing remarkable really. That is, of course until i try to get the bloody stuff off. Which, it turned out was pretty much impossible. Im not exagerating here, this stuff does not come off. I couldn't believe my luck. I marched right up to the till and paid the €11.99. Felt a bit silly on the bus on the way home with my bright red lips but also delighted about my discovery.
It's Maybelline Superstay and it's my new best friend.

Talking about being productive

2008-08-19T22:27:00.001+01:00

So, again it's been a while since we've put anything up. I was just talking this evening about how great it is that we're all so productive when in fact, i havn't done anything productive in quite a while.

Ill start with the car boot sale. Bleedin deadly time was had by all. Sun was shining all day, couldn't have been luckier with the weather. We even managed to make a bit of money, which was a very pleasant surprise for Saoirse and myself. There were loads of bargains to be had-i picked up an amazing vintage vanity case for a mere €3 and a lovely set of tea cups for just €2. Brillers. Of course Dublin Streets were there taking photies so you can head over there for a bit of a look; http://dublinstreets.blogspot.com/2008/08/bernard-shaw-prom-08.html
They even hosted a prom later on in the evening. God bless the bodytonic lads.
No idea when the next one is but we'll keep you posted.

Faitfully Sewing

2008-07-28T21:34:00.001+01:00

I have no idea what this picture is supposed to mean . Maybe shes been sewing miniature doll costumes for her friend and is posting them to her for her birthday? That'd be nice. But why then would someone put this image on a metal sign? It's so ridiculous, but that's what makes it so bloody great!

We've spent the last while failtfully sewing ourselves to bring lots of deadly home made stuff to this Saturday's Toejam carboot sale down in the Bernard Shaw. Our speciality is canvas shoppers but we'll also be selling some very special items that we went all the way to Paris to get our hands on. What could they possibly be? Well you'll have to come down to find out!

Put it in your Moleskine; Bernard Shaw car park, Saturday August 2nd, 1pm-6pm.

And it's a bloody great excuse to get pissed in the middle of the day. Not that we really need an excuse.

For interest only

2008-07-28T18:12:00.000+01:00

While looking for something new I found something quite old.

Delia Derbyshire was mostly responsible for the Doctor Who theme tune and when she died in 2001 they found hundreds of tapes stashed in her attic. She pretty much anticipates techno by about twenty years, listen to it here.

What I miss?

2008-07-25T18:47:00.000+01:00

I've been buzzin it round Russia for the last month learning to appreciate vodka. I haven't been paying attention to the internet because the ruskies are far too entertaining. The only music I've heard is the awful Russian pop that they pipe into the trains. They're very fond of their covers, like the beautiful rendition of Hallelujah that lulled me to sleep on the journey from Yarislavl to Yekaterinburg or this little beauty

So now I have to go about catching up on the all the stuff I've missed out on, bloomin eck Margaret Thatcher died, state funeral? you're havin a laugh.

These are selfish times

2008-07-13T22:20:00.000+01:00

Something happened to me when I heard Why? for the first time. Lil played them to me in Paris back in March and I can safely say that 80% of my music listening time since then has been dedicated to them. I am addicted. I have never heard enough. How do they do it?

Despite the fact that I was in the country when they played ALT back in April and that I had a ticket for their gig in Paris the following week, I still havn't managed to see them yet. So when I heard they'll be playing Andrew's Lane again in November I was so excited I almost wet myself. Well not really but I did do my, “my new favorite band are playing” dance. I checked the ticketmaster website everyday until they went on sale, and I am now the proud owner of a ticket.

For those of you who aren't familiar with them yet ive decided to start describing them as the world's greatest band. Maybe im exaggerating a little, but you wont know for sure until you give them a listen. And they're friends with cool bands like Deerhoof and Islands on myspace so if that isn't reason enough to give them a chance then I just don't know what is.

And for your viewing pleasure;

SHE WAS A LIAARRR!!!!!

2008-05-20T13:36:00.000+01:00

Ignore that last post, they did play. At about 12 0'clock yesterday it was announced that the gig was cancelled, apparently they had missed the ferry and it was all off. Understandably everyone was fairly pissed off and remained that way for the rest of the day, especially me who had to feck off into work at five. I checked my phone at around eight to find I had 9 missed calls and a fair few messages, word on the street was that it was back on in Whelan's at half ten. That last hour of work was utterly shambolic, I was too confused/ excited/ anxious to work. Legged it down to Whelan's to see what the story was and bought as many tickets as I could. We were left standing around outside to Whelan's till half eleven. In we go and almost straight away Bradford Cox aka Atlas Sound started up, he was good but I think I'd prefer to listen to the record. Animal Collective were fantastic, they played a mix of new stuff as well as stuff from Sung Tongs, feels and Strawberry Jam although it was the new stuff that really stood out for me.

We felt a little like this after the gig.

From what I can gather their bus broke down on the way to the ferry so they missed it, they got the later ferry so they were coming to Dublin anyway but Tripod has an early curfew which meant that they definitely couldn't play the gig there. Being the entrepreneurial lot they are Foggy Notions saw the opportunity in the evening and put on the adhoc gig themselves. Fair play and many thanks.

On the other hand

2008-05-19T13:54:00.000+01:00

One band thats definitely not going to be getting that title is Animal Collective who just cancelled their show tonight,
why do they hate us?
why don't they just get a plane instead of the stupid boat they missed?
wheres the angry mob meeting?

It might be a little early to tell

2008-05-19T13:52:00.000+01:00

but I'm gonna go ahead and say best gig of the year.

I got cooties

2008-05-19T12:06:00.000+01:00

We love Scottish artists and Germlin is one of our favourites.

(If you're a laptop artist it helps to have four arms)

It all started when we couldn't get into A Gay Against You in gig a few years ago, the bouncer feared for our safety cos the band were going a little crazy. Naturally I became curious and investigated a little further. Germlin is one of the many projects this dude is involved in (Gay Against You being another). He's fairly prolific and at the minute were waiting for not one, not two but three albums of new material to be released. If a kid was having an epileptic fit while playing the Nintendo and the Sega Mega Drive and you could take that experience and make it into music it'd sound like Germlin.
This is one of his new tracks Thrash'r

We lost another one

2008-05-18T21:28:00.000+01:00

Another of the Me and My Korg crew has fled these here green isles this time for Australia. Anna must have a sixth sense about emerging electro music hubs, cos without even realising it she decided to up and move to Melbourne, who has taken Paris' crown as centre of the world when it comes to all things trendy (yeah, this is extremely exagerated, but the Austarlia v. France music war still rages on). To celebrate her finally leaving I made this mix for her, mainly its Australian artists with a few tracks from bands that are playing in Dublin over the coming weeks.

Ere it is.

These people are on it

Van She are great and do some very good remixes.

Ladyhawke- is she their Uffie? (she really from New Zealand but lets not get too hung up on that)

Damn Arms- these guys look like fun, they party with Cut Copy.

This is the actual track list

White Williams New Violence
Bumblebeez (DJ Mehdi remix) Pump up the Bass
Animal Collective Water Curses
Muscle Ice Cream
Van She Something Good
Why? The Hollows
Menowah (1928 remix) Safemode
Ladyhawke Back of the Van
The Count and Sinden (ATrack remix) Beeper
Christopher Robin The Forest
Olivia Newton John Lets Get Physical#
Yeasayer 2080
Damn Arms The Progressive Punks

Under the fabulous bridge

2008-03-25T20:14:00.000Z

Was where i went to see Simian Mobile Disco on February 16th. The club was Showcase, a ridiculously pretentious place with valet parking and full of boys and girls desperate to be snapped by Facehunter.

Following an amazing support set by Manchester band The Whip, I must say that SMD were very impressive live. Having heard some not so good things about their live performance, what we heard was more than adequate for our dancing needs. The sound was great and sure they just have a bunch of great songs to play around with anyway. As for the Whip, these guys are definitely worth catching live. I liked them anyway, but i appreciated them a hell of a lot more after that treat.

Both bands can be found on the Kitsune Maison compilations or on myspace, of course.

The Whip play Paris' La Maroquinerie on April 30th and Dublin's Trinity Ball on May 9th.

My apologies for the delay in posting this. I will give no excuse because i do not have one.
MMK Correspondant in Paris

Mega

2008-02-21T16:47:00.000Z

The Deerhunter gig a while back was excellent for many reasons one of which was YACHT. The place was a tad sparse, in fact it's one the few times I could get myself out of my house early enough to see the support but I know Jona Bechtolt was gonna be aces and I was right. This man can dance like no other. When you're up there with just a laptop and a mic you really have to put a bit more effort into your performance to keep people interested wha?About mid way through there was a question and answer section thats when we got to know the real Jona, turned out his cat had died earlier in the day and YACHT stands for Youth Against Computer H(can't remember what the H stands for) Technology. I have to admit I forgot about YACHT after the gig (really it was all about deerhunter) but a few weeks ago I got a lovely internet connection and downloaded one of his albums MEGA (its alright he's cool about you downloading his music in fact over on the website www.teamyacht.com you can download an instrumental version of his latest album). I was really surprised by MEGA its a really good electro pop album, which was not what I expected after seeing him live, thought he was a bit more gimmicky.The track Night Terrors even reminds my a bit of Venetian Snares.
This first mp3 is an Architecture in Helsinki remix of his song 'see a penny pick it up', from I Believe In You Your Magic Is Real.
This next mp3 is one of my favourites off MEGA, Dans Danmark.

Jonas is in another band called The Blow with Khaele Maricich she provides vocals and he brings the beats (to be honest they're the best bit).
This is Paranthesis from their album Paper Television, think it was released in 2006

I heart drunken e-mails to bands

2008-02-19T18:53:00.000Z

(And apparently like recieving them cos sometimes they reply.)

The MMK Parisian correspondant recently went to see Simian Mobile Disco and The Whip play. She seems to have been quite impressed. (The review will be up shortly, I'm sure.) But it reminded me that I still have not seen SMD play live since they opened Glastobury 2007 with one of the worst sets I have ever heard. They played on Thursday at midnight. And it was so terrible that I was compelled to post a negative comment on their myspace (hit them where it hurts, obviously). This was done a whole five days later when I finally returned to Dublin, hungover and still smelly. As I'm sure most of you know, you can chose to pre-read all comments you recieve and decide wheter you want them on your profile page. SMD rejected my comment. The ultimate burn.

They did however reply a few days later by e-mail with some kind of explanation. I have forgiven them. Not so much because it seems like a valid excuse. But more so cos I was excited to get an e-mail from a famous person. (Sad, I know.)

Je Veux Te Voir

2008-02-12T19:36:00.000Z

Yelle is a French singer, who like so many people nowadays became famous by way of myspace. In the process causing a dancing sensation (I'm sure you'll agree thats the best sort). Our French friend Charlene tells people are dancing like that there video all over the shop, on busses walking down the street and even in clubs mad yokes. Actually I challenge Catherine, our French correspondent to get some entertaining video of her or others dancing in odd places. I'm also challenging myself to come up with an Irish equivalent.
Apparently this is the finalised version of a song called "Short Dick Cuizi", she's dissing Cuizinier a member of TTC, so maybe the dance is really the beginning of an elaborate dance off, we can only hope. I can't say I'm that mad about the song its very typical of whats been coming out of France for the last year or so, entertaining none the less.

Even the hangman has friends

2008-02-11T20:54:00.000Z

I found this lot on some blog or other a while back and had this song on repeat for days. However when I played it to a friend he just said it sounded like a Boots add, and I really can't disagree with him (well just the first few bars), he ruined my love of Fire on Fire. Then The Wire said they were cool so it was alright to like them again, (they have far superior taste than me, I have indeed been vindicated).
They used to be Cerberus Shoal but decided to ditch the electric instruments got a stand up bass, mandolin, banjo, harmonium, accordion, acoustic guitar, dobro and became Fire on Fire. They shack up together in a house in Maine and make lovely bluegrass songs. Their EP is only available on tour or over at www.younggodrecords.com. The packaging is handmade printed on vellum and torn card stock and assembled by the band members themselves, I'll probably just have to go order a copy now. I think it also been streamed on the wire, office ambience #288.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/74416110cffadc/

The Wiggle Wiggle Song

2008-02-11T20:05:00.000Z

A few years ago we went on an adventure up north to Iceland, we did the regular touristy things and had a deadly buzz. We also went to Damon Albarn's pub Kaffibarin where we met the first Indian person in Iceland, the Icelandic ballroom champion and Thor who it seems is in the running to represent Iceland at the next Eurovision, with the Wiggle Wiggle song. If Dustin doesn't make it for Ireland I think I'll be rooting for Iceland.

We love Kitsuné

2008-02-06T20:14:00.000Z

Kitsune Maison Tour, February 1st, Le Bataclan, Paris.
Oh my, what a treat! I found it easy to like Digitalism in the first place but seeing them live was bleedin deadly. Guns 'N Bombs, whose track Crossover Appeal appeared on the last compilation were also very deserving of their place on the line up.
Unfortunately, my camera doesn't fit in my new bag so i don't have any photos, i did however steal this poster. Lovely.
I havn't had a chance to listen to it yet but the 5th compilation can be found at Colette for €16 or online for a considerably lesser sum. I would be wary however as the tracklist is very last year. The tour continues this week in Toulouse, Lyon and Bordeaux. You can also be very excited about the new Kitsune Boutique in Paris that is due to open in March, I know i am!

MMK Correspondant in Paris.

Zach Condon Used to Be Fat......

2008-01-08T20:34:00.001Z

Well not really but he has been recording music since he was very little
(hence the creepy, poorly photoshoped picture)

Before Beirut there was The Real People. Zach recorded the album 'The Joys of Losing Weight' when he was only 15 years old. Its shockingly good and can be downloaded for free at Kitsune Noir

Enjoy losers

(I stole this story from Nialler 9 )

This blog is gay.

2008-01-03T18:33:00.000Z

But I like Georgia. It's a good online font.