They are celebrated as great vocalists, but can the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits really sing? Neil McCormick writes in the Daily Telegraph:

Bob Dylan: “A voice like sand and glue” in Bowie’s memorable phrase. Contrary to what many of his critics would assert, Dylan actually sings in tune but his harsh, barbed-wire timbre & attacking delivery has been inspiration for every tone deaf poet with a guitar. But with songs like these, who cares whether he can really sing or not?

Lou Reed: His half talking, half singing drawl with the Velvet Underground created a new rock template.

Tom Waits: Started out gruff and soulful but deliberately ravaged his vocal chords with whiskey and cigarettes to sound older and more lived in. In the history of vocals, I am not sure anyone has ever done more with less.

Johnny Cash: Even as a youngster, his voice was shaky and low, but he sang in time and in tune and like he had lived every word.

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten): His ranting style, high and tuneless, led the attack of the Sex Pistols then took us on dub metal journeys with Public Image Limited.

Ian Dury: Unrepentantly cockney speak-singing, frequently completely flat but utterly alive in the playful lyrics.

Leonard Cohen: A low, shaky monotone that has, somehow, grown in authority even as it reduces in range.

Nick Cave: A stiff baritone beset by tuning problems, Cave invests his apocalyptic blues with spine chilling conviction.

Siouxsie Sioux: A lone female entrant on our chart of errant singing stars, Siouxsie’s limited range and gravelly tone only added to her lustre as la grande dame of punk and goth.

Jarvis Cocker: OK when he keeps it to a whisper but as soon as he sings out he turns into some tuneless geek in a karaoke bar, which perfectly suits his vignettes of ordinary life.

Der erste große Erfolg für den exzentrischen Jarvis Cocker und seine Jungs. Danach ging es steil bergauf mit der Karriere und zahlreiche Hits folgten. Für viele (auch für mich) sind sie die Wegbereiter des BritPop, lange vor Blur und ganz lange vor den völlig überschätzten Oasis.

Späte Jubiläumsfeier? Frühe Weihnachtsgeistbeseelung? Wirtschaftskrisenreaktionskräfte? Gutmenschentum? Oder gar einfach nur schnödes Marketing? Vielleicht alles zusammen – in jedem Fall eine feine Sache und vielen Dank dafür!

Indie-Online-Dealer Insound bietet nämlich 50 mp3s seiner Top-Seller von 2009 als Download an. Kostenlos, für umme, lau und als Geschenk noch dazu! Und da sind durchaus Heroen wie Sonic Youth, Dinosaur, Jr. oder Jarvis Cocker dabei. Wer nicht die Katze im Sack kau…äh… sich schenken lassen will, kann sich die Tracks vorher als Streaming-Radio anhören. Man kann sie nämlich nicht als Paket runterziehen, sondern muss sich jeden Song einzeln ins digitale Gedächtnis laden. »Och nööö….wie nervig…puuh…ach…« höre ich da schon wieder einige übersättigte und extreme-convenience-ierte Datenautobahnlinksblinker maulen. Aber sowas unterstützt die Wertigkeit von Musik, die in den letzten 10, 15 Jahren ja schon gelitten hat. Dass man eben nicht nur mal wieder schnell sich noch ein paar hundert MBs auf die Festplatte schaufelt, weil’s gerade so schnell geht, im Vorbeigehen, auf die Hand. Und dann in ein paar Monaten zufällig wieder in den Untiefen des digitalen Vermächtnisses findet. Sondern dass man sich schon kurz Zeit nehmen muss und vielleicht mal wieder was bewusst wahrnimmt.

Wenn also bloß schnödes Marketing – dann mit einer feinen Prise Gutmenschentum.

Hier geht’s zu den kostenlosen mp3s der 50 Insound-Topseller 2009

Und hier zu noch mehr kostenlosen mp3-Appetithappen, die Insound sowieso anbietet

After celebrating a couple of vintage Tony Christie live performances a few weeks ago, here’s something a bit more up to date from the great man.

From 1999, it’s the video for Walk Like A Panther, his wonderful, bonkers collaboration with electronic music outfit All Seeing I:

The song was co-written by the one and only Jarvis Cocker, a regular collaborator with the members of All Seeing I.

When it came time to perform the single on Top Of The Pops, Christie was apparently unavailable, allowing Jarvis to give us his own, awesome interpretation:

…tons of cool music about this weekend.  Why don’t all the muso places of Freo keep their sites updated? I’ve noticed a lot of great looking gig flyers and posters around town this week but can’t find much online. Ho hum.

So Tijuana Cartel on Sunday at Mojo’s will no doubt be brilliant (they are also on tonight at Fly By Night), but also worth checking out tonight are Shooting from the Hip, and tomorrow night Boom Bam Pow, to raise awareness of domestic violence.

There’s also live music every night this w/e at Creatures Loft and the CD launch of the DomNicks at Clancy’s. Unfortunately I’ll be somewhere between City Beach and the city taking my sister’s clan to the aeroport. Oh, in another scoop for Metropolis Fremantle, Jarivs Cocker is coming here in December: he is the chap who famously (perhaps) ran up on stage and bared his arse to Michael Jackson. But he’s also a great singer/songwriter and once front man of 90s indie(ish) band Pulp. Get tickets now, you won’t be disappointed.

MJ wasn't impressed by his butt.

Fame can make anyone seem a bazillion times hotter than they really are.  Me, I like music.  If you can spill your heart out in a really awesome and moving song… you, my friend, are very very attractive indeed.

Here are a few guys who I find hot simply because of the music they make.

1. Jarvis Cocker

We all know “Common People” is a really awesome song.  And the way he sings it is just gorgeous.  Plus look at him, sure he kinda looks like a pedophile, but I’m a sucker for a skinny guy in a blazer.

2. David Bowie

Just look at those sleeves.

If it were at all possible, I would have sex with this mans voice.  Yes, the catsuits were bizzarre and, to borrow from Spinal Tap, his trousers were ‘quite intimidating,’ but this man is some kind of god.

3. Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Them Crooked Vultures)

Josh Homme: Making smoking look sexy probably since he was 12.

He kind of looks like that weird kid in class who only speaks to make a snarky comment, but you’re pretty sure could fix your car or protect you from a mugger.  I’m all about a guys voice and, to me, Josh sounds like he’s threatening you and trying to seduce you at the same time.  And that is hot.  Oh, and did I mention his guitar skills melt my brain?

4. Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand)

In an interview in the Rolling Stone when Alex was asked about being considered ‘way sexy’ he told the interviewer that he was about the least sexiest person he knew.  Oh Alex.  How wrong you are.  If I saw him on the street, I doubt I’d really give him another glance, but I’ve seen him on stage and his presence is awesome.  His energy is boundless, his music is way way danceable, and his voice is super super sexy.

6. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)

Say it with me now, folks: "AWWWWW"

I don’t really think I need to talk about Billie Joe more than I already have.  Correct?

7. Matt Bellamy (Muse)

I was going to insert an awesome picture of Matt rocking out but... he's got a puppy on his head.

Now, Matt Bellamy is already quite an attractive guy, but Muse is like sex for my ears.

8. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

Now, I’m really not the type of girl who’s attracted to scruffy, unkempt stoner-looking guys.  But when I read interviews with Kurt or watch them or whatever, there’s a depth there that you can sense.  And Nirvana Unplugged… just proves that depth can be very appealing.

That’s where I’m gonna end.  Because I’m at my parents’ house and I should be packing up my stuff and heading home.

Maybe, though, if making great music makes you attractive… maybe that explains why I want to be a musician so badly.

The latest single from Cocker’s recent album Further Complications takes the record’s artwork even further…

(questo è il nuovo video di Jarvis Cocker per il nuovo singolo “Further Complications”)

Non so se Jarvis abbia a casa il dvd di Yuppie Du, sicuramente da settimana scorsa c’è una laurea “ad honorem” infilata in qualche cassetto.

L’università di Sheffield, che JC ha frequentato senza arrivare a laurearsi, gli ha consegnato il riconoscimento giovedì scorso. Queste le parole alla consegna dell’onorificenza:

“Ora potete chiamarmi dottore. Non preoccupatevi! Non aprirò ambulatori. Ma se siete cantautori credo potreste avere bisogno di un po’ di chirurgia musicale.
Se avete un brano con un rigonfiamento del coro o dei versi varicosi o avete semplicemente bisogno di un po’ di bit d’aiuto, posso provare a guarire la vostra canzone.”

Das ist doch mal was. Gestern hatten wir das Thema “Musikindustrie und Angst vor dem Netz” und gratis Musik – heute legen wir nach. Insound feier Geburtstag. Es gibt 50 x lecker Musik für null Taler. Wer mag folgt diesem Link.

Wer ist dabei? Newcomer und Einsteiger, welche es nötig hätten zu verschleudern? Weit gefehlt, schaut selbst, denn geschenkt gibts:

Cymbals Eat Guitars, Grizzly Bear, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Japandroids,Sonic Youth, Sunset Rubdown,Cold Cave, Passion Pit, The Antlers, Girls,Wavves, Phoenix, Dan Deacon, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Beirut, Camera Obscura, HEALTH, Woods, Dinosaur Jr., Neon Indian, Deer Hunter, The Dodos, The Vaselines, Fever Ray, Washed Out, Neko Case, M Ward, The Thermals, Yo La Tengo, Isis, The Boy Least Likely To, Thee Oh Sees, Iron and Wine, Handsome Furs, White Rabbits, Jason Lytle, The Tallest Man on Earth, Marissa Nadler, Vivian Girls, Blank Dogs, Black Dice, YACHT, Langhorne Slim, Clues, A.C. Newman, DOOM, Asobi Seksu, Jarvis Cocker…

… ne Menge. Denkste das ist genug? Wenn nicht, hier gibts mehr für umme. Gefunden bei stylespion

Der hier ist für zwischendruch:
Einfach schön: Bic Runga – The Be All And End All

A tradicional revista britânica NME elegeu os 100 álbuns que marcaram a primeira década do século 21 com a ajuda de músicos e figurões da indústria como Arctic Monkeys, Carl Barat, The Killers, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Doherty, Elbow, Johnny Marr, MGMT, Ian Brown, The Big Pink, Snoop Dogg, Alan McGee, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Michael Eavis e muitos, muitos outros.

Os 10 primeiros lugares seguem abaixo:

1. The Strokes – Is This It (2001)
2. The Libertines – Up The Bracket (2002)
3. Primal Scream – XTRMNTR (2000)
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell (2003)
6. PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000)
7. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
8. Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
9. The Streets – Original Pirate Material (2002)
10. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)

O que achou? Foi um top 10 justo? Confira toda a lista aqui.

Álbum solo do integrante do Blur, acho esse som melhor que o próprio Blur, confiram.

Faixas do álbum:

1. Spectacular

2. No Good Time

3. Girl Done Gone

4. Bittersweet Bundle of Misery

5. All Over Me

6. Freakin’ Out

7. People of the Earth

8. Hopeless Friend

9. Are You Ready?

10. Bottom Bunk

11. Don’t Be a Stranger

12. Ribbons and Leaves

LINK – Happiness In Magazines

Parece com? Jarvis Cocker, Blur.

Clipe da música Bittersweet Bundle of Misery.

Enjoy o/

Many shoppers shudder at the thought of entering a charity shop. The dingy light, mouldy smell, and stacks of rejected clothes in no order can be off-putting – not to mention the annoyingly over friendly volunteers who run these treasure troves.

The disorder can be alarming but look a little harder and those Chanel sunglasses hiding under a pile of Primark’s finest can be yours. Charity shopping is hard work and you have to be prepared to rummage but the thrill of finding that Dior dress amongst the tat is priceless.

Many a celebrity has stepped out in a charity shop number. From Jarvis Cocker’s brown tweed Glastonbury suit to Kate Nash’s chiffon dress in the video for Foundations - celebs love the combination of being both charitable and fashionable.

Recently Mary Porter’s BBC programme, Mary Queen of Charity Shops, saw the retail guru transform an Orpington Save the Children shop into a high-end fashion boutique. With endorsements from the likes of Peaches Geldof (ugh), profits soared and scenesters migrated to the small shop in Kent to find their very own second-hand beauties.

Charity shops do not need to be reworked. The reason they are great for finding one-off treasures is because they are not high street shops. Mary’s mission to sex up these shops has alienated the staff and charity shop lovers alike who have treasured and cultivated these Aladdin’s Caves over the years.

When I lived in San Francisco I would regularly visit the thrift stores. Unlike charity shops in the UK, thrift stores will either let you swap your unwanted clothes for something in the store or they will pay you for them. This ensures that the quality of the clothes is high but the prices are still dirt cheap.

My advice for charity shopping is go alone. If your best friend spots every gem before you – clothing envy will ensue.  Secondly try it on, don’t buy it just because it’s cheap as it will only sit unloved in your wardrobe for the next 10 years. Always check the jewellery cabinets, amongst the fake gold you can usually find glinting trinkets and always, always, always check the fabric – wade through the polyester and you will find silk (if you look hard enough).

In my early Cardiff days I have discovered many lovely charity shops, laden with delights waiting to be found and loved. Whitchurch high street and Albany Road have proved most successful but the city centre shops are also worth a quick browse.

Jajaja, sigue bailando igual que en Pulp

Jarvis Cocker just seems to get cooler and cooler and cooler. In the delightful new video for ‘Further Complications’, director Stephanie di Giusto manages to bottle all the charm of Mr. Cocker and then some. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

Jarvis Cocker took over Shoreditch’s Village Underground for three days of workshops, jamming, cake eating and informal performances.  Taking lead from his ‘happening’  at Galerie Chappe in Paris earlier this year, Jarvis invited everyone to bring their own instruments and take part in yoga, burlesque and Jivamukti yoga sessions, all taught by instructors, with Jarvis and his recruits providing the soundtrack.  Or you could just come to watch and munch on home-made chocolate cake and curly wurlys from Jarvis’ personally overseen Tuck Shop and chillax on big inflatables.

He couldn’t have picked a better venue than Village Underground, with its disused railway carriages and excellent acoustics. It is housed under a viaduct, like a mini version of The Arches in Glasgow, and it felt a lot more welcoming and comfy than the overly-lit, white box setting of an art gallery.

I dropped by during the ‘Bring your own Instrument’ session and Jarvis was perched on a stool playing guitar with members of his band and audience members. They seemed to be mostly improvising, creating dreamy sound scapes, although it sounded very together, like they’d been playing together for years.

Throughout the residency, Charley from the nearby Pure Evil gallery worked on a large graffiti piece dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which provided the backdrop on the stage.  He was still adding the finishing touches during the final concert!

I hadn’t made plans to go to the concert, as I thought it must have been sold out, but there were still tickets left to buy at the venue (£30 seemed like a lot, but then again, the rest of the festivities had been for free).

Support came from American anti-folk nutter Thomas Truax, who had a whole menagerie of pimped up, hand-made instruments, which look like futurist noise machines.  Truax started out as a solo performer in 90s New York alongside the likes of Beck and Lach and worked as an animator on MTV’s Celebrity Death Match before decamping to London.

Thomas plays everything himself and records each instrument live, layering up the different sounds, then singing and playing blues guitar over the top. He played experimental songs from his latest album Songs from the films of David Lynch, including a cover of I Put A Spell On You from Lost Highway.  The folk at the front were pretty into it, but there were some sceptical mutterings from the oldies at the back, who were probably hoping Jarvis would enlist one of his famous mates to open for him.

Finally, Jarvis appeared and played songs from his two solo albums Jarvis and Further Complications.  He appeared as skinny and bookish as ever, but when Jarvis starts singing, he is utterly seductive with that inimitably sexy voice and and quiet Northern charm.

There was plenty of bum wiggling and thrusting going on and at one point, he led the audience into a quick aerobics session, as keeping fit seemed to have got pushed off the daytime schedule.

His new songs are more rock based and have a cool cosmic sound that goes into prog-rock indulgence in the slightly comical Pilchard, complete with interactive dance routine.  Further Complications has some hilarious lyrics but there’s an underlying melancholy and feeling of disappointment that could be attributed to the break-down of his marriage to Camille Bidault-Waddington earlier this year.

Jarvis’ main preoccupation of the night was making sure that everyone had enjoyed the workshops and most important the Tuck Shop.  He was concerned that the Roast Beef Monster might not be to everyone’s taste and proceeded to hurl packets of Love Hearts into the crowd.

Watch Jarvis singing Leftovers and having smoochy moment with a lucky girl at the front…

For upcoming tour dates and a free download, visit Jarvis’ website.

All photos by Steven Marshall.

these music videos use paper (w00t trees!) to create playful music videos

check out the awesome folds if you can keep your attention span focused

<via hot potato hot + black eiffel respectively>

My all time favourite musician and singer Jarvis Cocker organised a few very special days in London this week. The event invited members of the audience to take part in musical improvisation, excercise and dance.

Today the event involved music by Jarvis while members of the audience took part in a burlesque workshop. That’s what I call surreal… would love to have been there.

Erstwhile Pulp frontman and Jacko-baiter Jarvis Cocker has set up a short-lease residency in East London this week. He’s hosting a series of improv sessions, inviting members of the public to jam with him at Village Underground in Shoreditch.

If you missed it, he did a similar thing in Paris in May, and this week has been playing host to burlesque dancing, hula-hooping, yoga and ‘exercise classes with musical accompaniment’.

The daytime exhibitions have been free so far, and it all culminates in a concert tonight. So if you’ve got a spare 30 quid it might be worth heading over; it’s not often you’ll get to play with the J-man, and as it says on the flyer ‘It’s not about me, it’s not about you – it’s about us.’ What a lovely sentiment.

Really suit him.

Jarvis Cocker is a British musician probably best known as the former frontman for the band, Pulp. He is currently (as in now through tomorrow) set up in the London Underground for a series of ongoing performances that are being streamed live on the Web. Interesting idea from a publicity standpoint, but from a design and web perspective, I’m more interested in the integration of the accompanying Twitter feed. I’m starting to see more examples of these across the Web and believe they’ll become even more ubiquitous as marketers strive to get more real-time conversations happening around their brands.

With the companion Twitter feed, it's not only the artist that gets to share the spotlight.