Word on the street is that the SEO Rapper is laying down some great tips on Page Rank from his stateside car park. Not one is sure in which state or car park he resides, I just like the way he rolls.
Category music
Octonauts Dance Remix Alert!
Fans of the brilliant new new kid’s tv show The Octonauts will be pleased to know it’s finally caught the attention of the dance community. Over the last month, remixes of The Octonauts theme tune have begun to appear online and I’m sure we’re going to see many more in the months ahead. Here’s a quick scout through two of the best – there’s an Ibiza classic in the making somewhere here…
The Octonauts – Cbeebies dupstep remix
My favourite at the moment from the mighty ’hardcoreremixer’. Not sure if it’s true dubstep but it’s true to the Octonauts ‘crew’ with various choice vocal samples thrown in for good measure. My two year-old son was transfixed by this one. Hold tight.
The Octonauts – Cbeebies 2011 Dance Remix
Another classic from, hold on, hardcoreremixer! Wait a minute, is this the only person doing these remixes at the moment? Well, I’m sure this won’t be the case very soon. This tune reminds me of the kind of music I was into when I first started to go out clubbing – truly terrible. I can see it perfectly translating to a 3am Creamfields slot. Turn the speakers up.
Other Octonauts remixes I’d like to hear
Minimal electronica – Vee are Zee Octonauts style-eee
Early Logical Progression – I’m sure the boys over at Good Looking records could do this justice
Tinie Tempah – No contest, if he remixed this and dropped in a couple of lines it would go straight in at No.1
Using Kinect to make a music video
It looks like the launch of Kinect last year is sparking a new way of making music videos. It’ll be an interesting trend to follow as we’ve already seen how film makers are using the iPhone to create great lo-fi vids. I’m now Echo Lake’s official number one fan so good luck to them.
*And another one has already sprung up here – this time from Moullinex. Thanks to Steve Clayton for pointing this one out.
Moullinex – Catalina from Moullinex on Vimeo.
Adele interview on MSN Xclusives
Check out our latest interview with Adele as part of our MSN Xclusives coverage. We’re really pleased with this one. She’s a great singer and we already think her new album Rolling In The Deep is going to be one of the best releases of the year. In the interview there’s a great story about how she got the inspiration for the music on the album from her tour bus driver.
Well, as they say, it’s not what you know.
A funny, warm and honest account of making an album. This girl is just going to get better and better.
Take That: Look Back Don’t Stare Review
Christmas TV for 2010 was a mixed festive bag. When I look at what I actually recorded on my PVR over the Xmas break, it looks like the only programmes on offer were random ‘comedy classics’ and a collection of films that no one else would bother watching (Groundhog Day anyone?) at any other time of year. Why do we still put up with this kind of shambolic scheduling on terrestrial TV in the UK?
Anyway, one programme that did hook me in was the Take That documentary Look Back Don’t Stare. You couldn’t have missed it, they repeated it across the various ITV channels about four times which must have made it the most heavily marketed album (Progress) across TV over Xmas. The record label scored a real coup getting the album this amount of exposure and its not hard to see why. The reunion of the band is a great story and the band, along with the label and media, are milking it for everything it’s got.
So, as a promotional tool, you’d expect the documentary to be nothing more than a marketing platform for the said album and, to some extent, it mostly is. There’s a lot of familiar archive clips thrown in as the band answer familiar questions. We get taken through each of the new tracks and the reasons why they were written, cue the classic depictions of rehab and eventual resurrection. To make matters worse, a lot of the band banter is staged creating more than a few cringing moments as the band pretend scenes haven’t been discussed or rehearsed beforehand.
Take the scene below when Robbie meets the guys in the New York Studio for the ‘first time’ to discuss their thoughts on getting together. As Robbie starts to sing lines from ‘The Flood’ I’m left wondering if the programme producers think we’re all idiots. Maybe I am, I’ve been watching it for over ten minutes now.
However, as I kept watching, I found myself becoming gripped. I should have been reaching for the remote but it slowly began to dawn on me that the tracks on this album were actually very good. Although I was trying to resist it, this documentary was giving me every reason to buy the album. I love stories around music, all that drama and intrigue and as I began to listen to the songs I began to realise this was a very honest account of an album being created.
So I have to forgive the documentary makers for pandering to the mainstream by creating these false scenes mentioned above – how else could you simply explain how a group of people start working on an album? The truth is probably a lot less interesting and complicated than a hour long programme can handle. And, let’s admit it, there’s nothing more boring than musicians talking about music.
Oh, and I also thought I saw Stuart Price in the studio with them, although I don’t think anyone would recognise him anyway.
Utterly brilliant.
Chuck Berry 1972 BBC Recording
No doubt about it. Every time I watch this 1972 BBC recording of Chuck Berry it cracks me up. The guy is such an effortless player and frontman, he’s got the audience eating out the palm of his hand. The funny thing is when it comes to Johnny B.Goode, Chuck Berry starts to a go a bit wild and you can clearly see the rest of the band struggling to keep up with him. Not sure if this was his regular backing band or just a load of musos they wheeled on at the last moment to support him.
Great to watch Chuck pushing the band as much as he can and having loads of fun in the meantime. Great tune as well.
Needless to say, this post has nothing to do with Content Strategy at all, although, thinking about it, Chuck’s performance strategy is quite interesting. Namely, ‘take no survivors’.
Entertainment: Best of 2010
So this is Christmas, and what have we done?
Well, quite a lot actually and as the year draws to a close it’s time to reflect on what the hell happened. Like a great big pixelated sucker punch to the nose, 2010 came in with a BANG! but will soon disappear in a haze of Christmas cheer and budget-priced vino.
So, lest we forget, here’s some of my best of 2010 entertainment highlights.
Best 2010 Kids’ TV Programme
Ok, so my first choice is not exactly rock n’ roll for an Entertainment Editor but I do have a young family so you soon become a connoisseur of Cbeebies content. The Octonauts is a fantastic underwater world inspired by the Meomi books. The whole cartoon looks amazing and the theme tune is a recent addition to my Zune player. Octonauts, to your stations!
Best band of 2010
So back to the rock n’ roll. Or maybe not. 2010 was the year of Mumford & Sons, gaining some great exposure earlier in the year on radio followed by a raft of major festival slots. Problem is, I can’t stand them. I just don’t dig Marcus Mumford even though he might be a very nice man. The pesky press are calling this band part of a modern revival of folk music, but I just call it lame.
Instead I’ve chosen Hurts. Ever since I discovered them through a cleverly targeted PPC ad campaign I’ve never looked back, such is my love of all things digital. If they hook up with the right remixers I can see 2011 really working for them. A slot at Sonaar music festival perhaps? Tina Hart, our MSN Music blogger also loves ‘em.
Best missed song opportunity of 2010
Again, I don’t think I’m going to be popular with this one but when Florence and the Machine appeared with ‘You Got The Love’ my heart sort of cracked. I’m not saying the original was much better, but I couldn’t think of an act less suited to this track especially when Dizzee Rascal joined her for that shambolic Brit Awards performance. The cover was a novel idea that just didn’t work, although I know there will be thousands out there that disagree. She was, after all, one of the best live acts to see in 2010.
Best gig of 2010
She came, she saw, she conquered. No, not Florence Welch but Fever Ray who blew us all away when she visited the UK earlier this year. Ok, so Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson doesn’t exactly crack jokes on stage but the Fever Ray gig at Brixton Academy was amazing. All she needs to do now is some new material but I have a feeling she’ll be working to her own agenda on this one.
Don’t worry if you can’t see her in the video clip below. I was about 20 metres away from the stage at the Academy and couldn’t see her either.
Worst gig of 2010
Without doubt, Kings of Leon. WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!! I hear you cry.
I know, along with the Foo Fighters, the Kings of Leon are one of the biggest international rock acts around at the moment. But that doesn’t mean they can release second rate albums and put on substandard shows. They need to get back to their roots and stop all this ballad rubbish.
There, spoken like a true Dad. And a smile on stage now and again wouldn’t go amiss.
Sort it out Kings.
Best dance album of 2010
Two dance albums stand out for me in 2010. The heavily subscribed Deadmaus5 4×4=12 and the underrated Underworld album Barking. With the former you just have to *High Five* anyone who’s got the guts to wear a giant mouse mask on his head for hours on end. And who else out of today’s dance fraternity could sell out the O2 Arena so quickly? He’s brought back a bit of fun and puts on a great show. After all, it’s not all about checking your email when you’re DJing with a laptop is it?
Underworld slipped under the radar this year but they still soldier on, producing great sounding tracks that still have an edge. I’m a relatively recent convert but I’ve had the good fortune to interview them once or twice and they are great guys. Their spoken word stream-of-conscious thang still gets me. Good to see them back again.
Best Radio DJ of 2010
Hands down, Zane Lowe. Great music selection and look at that smile – how could you ever refuse a car from this used salesman? A true champion of rock who’s been able to arrange some great interviews over the year.
I love the way that most of his shows are on-location. He’s equally comfortable interviewing at rehearsal studios as he is responding to a thousand tweets on his live show. I think bands really respond well to his warmth and well-researched approach. Fantastic podcasts too. Nice work.
P.S: I’m going to miss Annie Nightingale!
Best film of 2010
I’m not a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio but Shutter Island blew me away. As soon as it was released on DVD I spent the weekend re-watching every scene. Ok so, it’s not a 100% masterpiece but I think Scorsese did the right thing aiming for the mainstream. Imagine what David Lynch would have done with it. MSN Movies Editor Ed Holden said it was brilliant for the first hour and then tailed off. I have to agree but with this proviso – it’s still bloody brilliant.
Worst film of 2010
Clash of the Titans. Titanic lameness more like.
‘Wish I had seen’ films of 2010
The Social Network and Monsters. No excuses I know.
Best movie trailer of 2010
Like big bag of greasy McNuggets, film trailers are there to excite you and leave you wanting more. Quite often though they are better than the actual film so I hope I’m not disappointed when I get to see Tron next week. Meanwhile, I thought the Daft Punk soundtrack was absolutely amazing and the video to Derezzed off the wall. A big slapping of this please with extra fries.
Best TV Comedy
The Trip shouldn’t have worked. It’s just two comedians (Steve Cogan and Rob Brydon) who’ve thought ‘How can we get paid by the Beeb and get to eat at some fantastic restaurants?’ Throw in plenty of ad-libing, garnish with a few stale impressions and, et voila, bloody hilarious. Best comedy I’ve seen all year. Even better than The Inbetweeners.
Best TV Moment of 2010
A performance of such epic proportion that it would give even Kenneth Branagh a run for his money. Gillian Mckeith’s fainting on live television. Before seeing this I thought Get Me Out Of Here I’m A Celebrity was a fantastic concept that could only get better. Bring on The Running Man with loads of Z-list celebrities fighting for their lives. But as the show unfolded it began to leave left me with a nasty taste in my mouth – and it wasn’t Kangaroo penis.
No doubt it was a terrible ordeal – but it did make amazing live television.
Best Game of 2010
Limbo wasn’t supposed to be as addictive as it was. I wasn’t supposed to waste hours of my life trying to work out what it was I was actually looking at and avoiding all types of nasties. But I did and I enjoyed every minute of it.
So, that’s a look of some of my best entertainment picks of 2010. What a year. Bring on 2011!
Pet Shop Boys at MSN 15th Birthday Party December 2010
Last week we threw a fantastic party at Heaven to celebrate 15 years of MSN. What a night. Check the Pet Shop Boys MSN photos here.
