So I’m trying to use up the internet I have left on our Broadband to go thing from Virgin Mobile…and right now I’m listening to the Fratellis…I just bought their CD Costello Music, and I’m really digging it.  Its weird because the first time I listened to them I really didn’t like them at all…really really didn’t, lol.

I dunno I think my musical tastes are changing, I’m less interested in dark creepy scremo and weird shiz, and more into ska/indie/alternative (hard to discribe stuff).  Not sure if this is good or bad, just different for now.

Also I may have left my cell phone in Boston, I’m really really upset….I have to wait till we get home to properly check, but I’m having a minor freak out.

Also I bought some sick ass nasty shit in Boston I’m really happy about (like MPD Psycho, which I never knew they made into a live action miniseries   ).

P.S. I fell in love with Boston all over again, I’m hoping to go to Tufts right outside of Boston, that would rock, ah we can dream! 

A few weeks ago I stumbled on the Fratellis 2008 release, Here We Stand, at our local library and I fell in love with on one listen.  I think it’s as good as anything I’ve heard in the last 2 or 3 years (which is saying a lot since one of my favorite bands, Oasis, just put out  Dig Out Your Soul.)   I highly recommend that.

I started digging for info on the Fratellis and it seems that critics raved about Costello Music, their 2006 debut LP.  Here We Stand’s reviews seem to be a tad less warm.  If Costello Music is better than Here We Stand, it must be fantastic, or so it would seem.

In trawling the web about these guys, it seems like no one is really talking much about them outside of Britain.  Even in Britain, in my opinion, they’re not getting the press they deserve.

Decide for yourself.  Their big “hit” from their first album is Chelsea Dagger.  Check this song out and try to convince me they don’t have a great sound, a great, fun rock vibe.

‘We really haven’t achieved anything yet, we’re just getting started, so it’s flattering to be compared to bands that have really meant something, but we haven’t earned it yet.’ So muses John Lawler (Jon Fratelli) of Glaswegian tunesmiths The Fratellis when asked if he feels part of a new wave of Scottish bands that have come to the fore over the last 2 years including Biffy Clyro, Glasvegas, The View and more. He is reflecting as the band pause before launching into a December headlining tour that will see the band sign off 2008 to a packed SECC crowd in Glasgow a few days before Christmas, and though his initial statement may seem dismissive of a Brit award winning band who this year released their second album and who’s doo doo de doo refrain from breakthrough single ‘Chelsea Dagger’ still reverberates along terraces the length and breadth of the nation, it is not that surprising of a man who takes most of his notes on how to be a band from that small beat combo from Liverpool, The Beatles.

Jon Fratelli is a man of outstanding impatience, not in a way that might cause you to seek other company, but in a heartfelt and earnest way. ‘I came into this late you know so I haven’t got time to be wasting, we haven’t achieved anything yet,’ he states, before citing the heyday of the 60s and 70s when the Stones and Beatles couldn’t get albums out fast enough as what he aspires to for The Fratellis. ‘It’s difficult because there wasn’t this machine around music which there is at the moment, but I would love to be able to get straight back into the studio. We played one of the Union Chapel gigs recently, and we played some new songs there, but there are some songs that are around that haven’t been played yet because that’s just not how they were written. I don’t think they’d work acoustically.’ The Union Chapel gig in question was one of the now famous Mencap Little Noise sessions that in the past included the likes of Biffy Clyro and secret appearances from Bono and The Edge amongst its line up. Whilst down in London the boys found the time to DJ at the opening of The Library, a new London venue run by their manager Tony McGill, ‘The Union Chapel gig was amazing, it’s really cool to see how some of the songs worked stripped down. Then something like the Library is completely different, it’s a cool little place, It was a fun way to finish off the night. It’s more of Tonys deal and obviously it’s down in London, so it takes a flight down, but if there’s a good night on I’ll make the trip.
Charity has been close to the bands hearts this autumn and they kicked off their winter tour with a Cancer Versus gig in Glasgow. It’s something that Jon enthuses about readily. ‘Well we got to see the first two Cancer Versus shows and this is the first time that they’ve gotten up to Scotland so it’s something that we’re very proud to be involved in as a band.’ It was a gig that saw the band join amongst others fellow Scottish rockers Sergeant who are supporting the band throughout the whole tour. When asked about support bands, and how and if he consumes new music Jon becomes a little coy. ‘We absolutely get to pick who comes on tour with us, it’s one of the best aspect. But in terms of seeking out new music, I struggle to get past the Beatles. They just nailed it so much, there’s so much going on, and I can still listen to it again and again and find new things that are going on. There’s so much bad new music. I just go back to the Beatles, they wrote the book. So that’s what I listen too.’
When it comes to forging their own new music though fans can rest assured that they have a only heard the beginnings of what Jon has planned for the band. ‘There’s new songs knocking around all the time,’ states Jon. The Fratellis second album, ‘Here We Stand’, is only 6 months old and follows on from their 2006 debut album ‘Costello Music’. However Jon sees no such repeat of this wait before fans get a taste of a third and even fourth album, both of which he hopes to get out in 2009. ‘It’s been a real relief having the second album out and being able to pick sets from both albums, you get a little sick of playing the same songs night in night out so it’s been a revelation to have that injection of songs. What I’ve noticed live between the first album and this tour is that we’ve become a lot heavier, which I think is just a knock on from playing together so much.’ This new heaviness is something that Jon hints at as a direction for the batch of songs that the band are currently knocking around rehearsals. Not that fans should expect to hear the new songs on the upcoming winter tour. ‘I don’t think we’ll be playing any of the new stuff on these dates, they’re not quite ready yet. This tour will be about the first two albums.’
Given the sort of sets the band have already been putting in this year that is no hardship for fans to endure, and with a full December tour, third single, ‘A Heady Tale’, out on December 22nd and the promise of not one but possibly two new albums in the new year Fratellis fans will be feeling that they are top of Santas Nice list this year.

I know, my posts recently have been really impersonal and mostly about movies. My life at Taylor’s in recent months have been about my girlfriend Yen, music, movies and assignments. Well, now I turn to songs.

I went through a few albums recently, in hopes of replacing some of my staple albums which have been on my iPod on repeat recently such as the absolutely awesome Mates of State record to name but one.

And following disappointment after disappointment, I was about to throw in the towel. I really did not get the highly-rated Department of Eagle and the TV on The Radio, so I was ready to stick to the albums which have treated me in the past year, but lo and behold, I came across The Fratellis.

The Fratellis are an alternative rock band from Scotland, and I was really taken in by their fun and infectious rock tunes which was apparent in their debut album “Costello Music”. I give their first single off that 2006 record “Chelsea Daggers” two thumbs up, and I was expecting a whole compliment of songs which could not possibly live up to the imperious rock standards set by “Chelsea Daggers”. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

I have been living in 2006 this year as I have engulfed myself religiously with Belle and Sebastian’s “Life Pursuit”, but I really did not expect to fall in love with “Costello Music” and its songs’ unbelievably fantastic choruses so soon.

“Baby Fratelli” and “Country Boys & City Girls” are not far behind in the rock stakes as the whole album is filled with interesting and fast-paced Glasgow beats that make the band stand out in an overpopulated genre.

After that, I was so hyped up to give their 2008 effort “Here We Stand” a listen, but alas, even though these are still early days as I have only given it a skim, it does not manage to live up to “Costello Music”, but I am ready to be proved wrong with more listens. The singles off the albums sound like you have heard them before as I am somewhat disappointed by the band’s seemingly abandonment of their originality, but it is still early days.

And that won’t stop me from gushing about this three-piece band.

PS: Was it just me or did Halloween just come and go without any bang? And Star World, the Simpsons Halloween Specials marathon is getting really old.

The Fratellis have only been recently added to my library of music… and since then they’ve rarely been turned off. They may not be the best looking boys ever, but they sure as hell know how to play good music. Really good, really catchy music. So I suggest, if you havn’t already, give them a listen.

Suggested Songs:

Cuntry Boys and City Girls (Costello Music): Probably my favorite song by the Fratellis. I’m not much of a party person, but this song has that party sound to it. Fast paced, dunken-written lyrics, shouting, the works. It’s a splended song.

Flathead (Costello Music): It’s just good. And probably the catchiest…or second catchiest. But beware, this song gets stuck in your head soooo easily.

Chelsea Dagger (Costello Music): Much like Flathead… just different song. It’s very very catchy and gets stuck in your head quite easily.

Milk and Money (Here We Stand): Features the Piano, which is actually what makes this song very good. Simple, but good. And I love the message how the music industry is becoming shit.

If you had half a brain you would check them out:

http://www.thefratellis.com/

Where in sam hill have I been?  I was posting yesterday’s blog on MySpace and clicked, “I’m Listening to …” to select “Costello Music” by The Fratellis, but only typed “The Fratellis”.  The list that came up was topped by their most recent release, “Here We Stand”.   I couldn’t believe I didn’t know this was out … and has been for over a month.

(Well, I guess I could believe it.  I don’t really keep up with them.  Still, I love “Costello Music”.  I remember walking into Kief’s Downtown Music in Lawrence, Kansas with a couple of English people in tow and there was a song I’d never heard before playing in the store.  I bee-bopped my way through the aisles and Annie found a Razorlight CD and pushed it into my hands.  The songs just kept playing overhead and I just kept “dancing”.  Low-key dancing.  Head bops and swaying shoulders.  I kept it cool.  )  When I finally made my way to the register, I had to ask.

“Who’s playing?”

The clerk tapped a CD standing up literally under my nose and said, “The Fratellis.  Just in from England.”

I smiled and pointed at my friends, “Them, too.”

He wasn’t interested, so I shrugged and asked, “Do you have another copy?”

“Do you want the regular one, or the Special Edition?”

“What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know.”

“We’ll go Special, eh?”

He nodded and produced a well-packaged CD and rang it up along with the Razorlight CD.  He then grabbed a Razorlight single and told me that it was a giveaway for buying the album.

“Woot.” I said, grabbing my bag and dancing my way down Masachussets street and back to my car.  The English were mortified. Anyhow … back to yesterday.)

Quickly getting ready for work, I grabbed one of my Best Buy coupons and zipped to the nearest branch.  They had one lonely copy which I greedily snatched up and ran to the cashier.  I got back home and had just enough time to put it on my MP3 player so I could listen to it on the way to work.

It’s awesome.  “Here We Stand” doesn’t have the same sound as “Costello”; it’s reminiscent more of the 60’s and 70’s.  I can hear the Hollies in “Straggler’s Moon”, and “A Heady Tale” reminds me of something Paul McCartney would put together.  “Baby Doll” and most of “Lupe Brown” are very Beatlesesque, along with half of “Milk and Money”.  The last stretch of that number, though, reminds me of … something else, but I can’t place it.  Like a cross between a similar musical outro as given to us by The Fab Four in “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, and … something 80’s.  It’s like The Killers and All-American Rejects.  They sound 80’s to me, and if they were 80’s, I could totally respect the 80’s music scene.   The rest of the album is fantastic.  I don’t think there’s a song I don’t like, which I can’t say for “Costello” (I could do without Doginabag …)

Already had to loan it out.   Jeez!

Great stuff. Go get it.

“Mistress Mabel,” the lead single from Here We Stand, the new album from the Glasgow-based trio, The Fratellis, sounds quite different from the singles off of their debut album, Costello Music. Is this a great new direction for the band? Or is it the dreaded ’sophomore slump’? That’s up to each individual listener to decide. Reaction has been seemingly mixed thus far. But I like the track. It rocks.

To watch the video for The Fratellis’ “Mistress Mabel,” go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE9mHZnDf4M. (Embedding of the video has been disabled at the request of the band.)

For additional information on The Fratellis, see:
http://www.thefratellis.com
http://www.myspace.com/littlebabyfratelli

Siempre recordare la envidia que me dio entrar en una garito en Cork, Irlanda, y ver a todo el personal coreando y botando con Chelsea Dagger. Ahora The Fratellis son noticia por dos motivos: Han confirmado su participacion en el BBK Live de Bilbao y con nuevo single calentito en las tiendas han anunciado que el dia 9 vera la luz su segundo album: “Here we stand”.

Despues del exitoso “Costello Music” y del puñado de grandes singles que de el se extrajeron, el primero que han editado de su segundo album es “Mistress Mabel”, una cancion que se aleja de la formula de sus primeros exitos, algo que todavia no he determinado si me gusta o disgusta. Aunque despues de haber escuchado tantas veces su primer disco, seguro que tienen un huequito en mi discoteca.

Aqui va, “Mistress Mabel”:

Voici une chanson idéale pour :

• écouter avec votre iPod en flânant dans les rues de Montréal par une belle journée de printemps;
• vous mettre de bonne humeur;
• apprendre à siffloter.

The Fratellis, Whistle for the Choir :

Eve

Alguns dias pedem The Fratellis como acompanhamento ou trilha sonora. Apesar do quê, eu prefiro a versão do álbum, é mais bonitinha.

Just listening to my Zen Vision: M on my work break, and thought I’d let you know what I’m hearing. Enjoy!

Freedom by George Michael…. This song is great. I was a huge George Michael fan from Faith, obviously, as anyone who was listening to pop music at that time was. He was cool, the music was cool. Gone away were the florescent hot pants and message shirts of the Wham! Days and now it was George being the essence of cool, with a haircut I tried years to emulate. Later, when he came out with Freedom, it was refreshing for him to talk (or sing) about how he had become just a face and that the music was the most important thing. Not something you’re bound to hear from most musicians, especially nowadays. And he underlined the message by not appearing in the video, just having hot, half-naked models lip synch the song. I’ve always liked George, and this song made me respect him, both as a man and as an artist.

Pets by Porno 4 Pyros… This was one of the first cd singles, therefore first cd at all, that I ever bought. It was this and belly’s feed the tree, both of which I think I still have. I know I still have Belly’s at least. Got this song in 94, after I moved out of the parent’s pad and moved in w/ my cousin to start my year of slackerdom w/ him and his wife. Kurt had just offed himself (or so Courtney wants us to believe) and grunge was holding strong, with Alternative Radio really making a big splash. Perry Ferrell was doing the Lollapalooza thing, which was awesome. I remember seeing The Breeders (awesome band), Beastie Boys, Arrested Development….and I can’t remember who else. It was an awesome gig. So anyhow, great song. About how we’re fucked up and probably will do ourselves in the way of the dinosaurs and become some intergalactic bad boy’s little bitch. We’ll make great pets, we’ll make great pets….

Norwegian Wood by P.M. Dawn…. How do I love PM Dawn, let me count the ways….okay, I’m not gonna count the ways, but I have always loved these guys. Their first album was quite popular and had some really great tunes on it, but then interest in the guys kinda waned w/ their subsequent albums, which is a shame. They’re kinda like a spiritual hip hop-ish kinda groovy group. This song is from the Bliss Album, which was their 3rd record I believe, and is actually a remake of a Beatles tune, if you can believe it. That really rocks, because it translates really well into the light hip hop track it became. I have all of PM Dawn’s albums and I suggest everyone should also.

Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson….I love old school Michael Jackson. Heck, I really dug what MJ was doing when he put out Dangerous, but by that time he had gotten just so odd that it was overshadowing his music, which is a shame. MJ, by and large, really knows how to make great music, and this song reflects that. I honestly have no idea what album this song is from, but it’s one of those pre-Thriller tunes from the 70’s/80’s that really built up to his firestorm of Thriller. Okay, wikipedia says that it’s from the Off The Wall album, which I thought it was. Not sure what it’s about, but it has a great groove and some classic MJ sounds, w/out going overboard w/ the hee hee’s and woo’s and the over pronunciations of the last syllable he does on his later stuff. You know what I’m talking about. Anyhow, I will never be ashamed to admit that I had not one but TWO MJ posters in my room when I was 10 years old and wore out 3 copies of Thriller on record. Still the king of Pop, just stay away from my kid.

That’s all on this jaunt! Hope you enjoyed the break, now back to work!

John Fratelli, Barry Fratelli oraz Mince Fratelli to słynni The Fratellis. Bracia? (Fratelli z języka włoskiego oznacza bracia) tak, ale tylko na scenie. Trójka muzyków tak naprawdę się nazywa: John Lawler, Barry Wallace oraz Gordon McRory.

Zespół ten to odkrycie roku w Anglii, które zostało nagrodzone podczas rozdań Brit Awards 2007, gdzie zespól wygrał między innymi z The Kooks. Ich debiutancka płyta: “Costello Music” jest jedną z najlepiej sprzedawanych płyt w Anglii. Zespół docenili także krytycy oraz słuchacze angielskiego radia. W czym tkwi sukces grupy? Przede wszystkim w ich muzyce, która aż tryska energią. Ich teksty są dwuznaczne oraz prowokujące. To się właśnie podoba w Anglii.

Costello Music to płyta energiczna oraz przebojowa. Piosenki z płyty wpadają w ucho. Po pierwszym przesłuchaniu płyty chętnie się do niej wraca. Szczególnie pozytywna piosenka to “Baby Fratelli” oraz “Chelsea Dagger”. Na płycie także są spokojne piosenki, “Whiste for the choir” jest tego najlepszym przykładem.

Muzykę The Fratellis można porównać do tej granej przez Arctic Monkeys. Jest to połączenie indie rocka z punkiem. Kto jeszcze nie słyszał The Fratellis powinien jak najszybciej zdobyć “Castello Music”.

Okay, i’m not the biggest music fannatic, and I happened upon this awesome group by happenstance a few months ago while listening to a BBC Radio 1 podcast of Jo Whiley’s Christmas Show she did with the equally awesome David Tennant of BBC’s newly revamped Doctor Who. I was initially listening for the interview portions w/ David Tennant and inadvertently heard some really interesting music.

Then I heard Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis and it blew me away. Wildly energetic and fun, the song just kicks total ass with a hook that’ll stay with you for days. I immediately went out and downloaded the whole album illegally from Torrentspy.com.

Yes, I did. BUT, mainly because it was not released yet in the US and the A and I wanted to hear it! So, kiss my hairy white butt, RIAA!

The album, Costello Music, did not disappoint, and is on regular rotation on my Zen Vision: M.  It has since been released and you might have heard the song Flathead on the most recent iPod commercial (Thanks Apple!), which I think is the US single, though just about every song on the album makes an awesome single. And apparently MTV is getting into it by having them on TRL.

So before they get TOO big, check them out. Go buy the album (which I will too!) and support this awesome group. Check out their myspace page and listen to some of their tunes and you’ll find I’m right.

Of course.

The Fratellis fuckin ROCK!