Psapp - I Want That

The Open Door

Death Cab For Cutie is set to release 'The Open Door' EP,
The songs:
01 "Little Bribes"
02 "A Diamond And A Tether"
03 "My Mirror Speaks"
04 "I Was Once a Loyal Lover"
05 "Talking Bird" (demo)
These are the tracks from their 'Narrow Stairs' album recording session that were not quite fit to the album's sound. The EP is available for digital download 3/31.

Sigur Rós - Við spilum endalaust

Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Bloc Party - One Month Off

Bloc Party performed "One Month Off" on the Late Show with David Letterman

News & Vidoes grabs

◎ Vampire Weekend performed a new song "White Sky" on Jimmy Fallon
◎ Bishop Allen - Dimmer
◎ Bat For Lashes - Daniel
◎ Lily Allen - Not Fair
◎ Neko Case - People Got A Lotta Nerve
◎ Kanye West plays a surprise show @ SXSW

News & Vidoes grabs

◎ Jack White of The White Stripes formed a super group called The Dead Weather, the members are : The Kills' Alison Mosshart, Raconteur's Jack Lawrence, and Queens Of The Stone Age's Dean Fertita's. Check out their website for the song "Hang You Up From The Heavens"
◎ Oasis fans are dumber?
◎ Oasis, U2 and Franz Ferdinand performed for this year's Comic Relief
◎ Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls

Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls

Oasis announce first tour in Taipei!

"Oasis are set to make their debut appearance in Taiwan after announcing today that they will play Taiwan World Trade Centre Nangang in Taipei City on Friday 3rd April.

The gig is part of their forthcoming Asian tour that which kicks off in Nagoya, Japan on 18th March and includes sold out dates in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.

There is a Pre-Sale party at Hua Sheng Culture Park Middle One Hall A between 11am and 7pm this Saturday (March 14th). Tickets then go on General Sale on Sunday 15th March through ERA ticket outlets and www.ticket.com.tw"

[Oasis official site]
[Venue Information]

See you guys at the concert :D
Cheers!

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Why do Neko Case's new album Middle Cyclone attract me? Not just for the interesting album cover(holding a sword on a muscle car?!) but also her extraordinary narrative style. How do you expect a song called 'This Tornado Loves You' would sounds like if you've never listen to Neko Case's music before? Not typical folk songs-- her songs may be simple but what and how they evoke you, is a feeling that makes her songs so unforgettable; like the way the cryptic lyrics ("I'm a men-eater") and delicate backdrop comes together as a beautiful melody that is the track 'People Got A Lotta Nerve'. Middle Cyclone not only once again proven Neko Case as a master songwriter but also a gorgeous singer. Though each songs were carefully crafted, it still feels softly spontaneous. I'd be a shame if you missed Middle Cyclone.

Neko Case-People Got A Lotta Nerve

News & Vidoes grabs

◎ Michael Jackson,aka The King of Pop, annouced his comeback concert in London titled "This Is It." This seriously looks not good:(
◎ Yeah Yeah Yeahs put their entire new album It's Blitz! up on MySpace page.
◎ Rock Band announced the September release date for The Beatles :Rock Band
◎ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
◎ Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher slammed the Chinese government for their good memory.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs-It's Blitz!

Even though every time my favorite bands' new album comes out, I'd instantly regard it as the best. Some people said that Yeah Yeah Yeahs has gone soft on this album, I still think otherwise.With much more disco-beat than ever, Karen O's voice was slightly warmer but still with an inimitable edge. Starting from the opening song 'Zero' to the 5th song 'Dull Life,' I've already been on a rollercaoster ride; It's Blitz! is an immensely exciting album, the release date was forced to push forward to March 9 due to the early leak on the internet, please please please, listen to It's Blitz! ,it's really a blitz!

Albums

I've been listening to many albums in the first two months of 2009, some of them strikes me as excellent and some of them didn't leave me much impression. After reading this entry from NPR's All Songs Considered blog about how 2009 is already better then 2008, I thought it's better for me to write down some of the albums I've been expecting for a while, then forgetting about ever listening to them again.

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

Allen's debut album has been my favorite contemporary pop album for her clever lyrics and cute-as-hell pop tunes. Her second album It's Not Me, It's You, even with the casually sharp remarks on man and love, didn't surprised me too much. Yes, there are still many adorable pop songs(like the track 'Not Fair') with lots of swearing(like 'F**k You'), but just not as impressive. Nevertheless, It's Not Me, It's You is surely still a hype-worthy, a more grown-up and personal album for Lily Allen.

Franz Ferdinand - TonightIt's been 4 years since the last Franz Ferdinand album, which was the time period that I was a freshman and now becoming a senior students in college. For 4 years I've been waiting for this album to come out, maybe the expectation was too much or I've simply grown tired of dance-rock, Tonight was actually a disappointment. Though some of the tracks I do enjoyed very much('Ulysses' ,'No You Girls'), but most of the songs just felt flat. Like the quote from Uncut magazine's review, "Tonight is fine, but will you still love them tomorrow?"

U2 - No Line On The HorizonI still remembered a few weeks ago, my initial reaction upon hearing 'Get On Your Boots' was 'frightened.' But , thank God, the album No Line On The Horizon is damn good. The sound is epic and grand, the amazement brought by every tracks were so immense that I really couldn't describe my astonishment toward the kind of sound U2 can make and be. There's no way U2 can ever be trapped in the dead zone, No Line On The Horizon is so inspiring and uplifting for this depressing year.


.......Next on, M. Ward and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

News & Vidoes grabs

◎ You can stream the entire Neko Case new album Middle Cyclone. I love this album,thank you so much NPR!
◎ Leonard Cohen's rare live performance in The Beacon Theatre can be stream or download to you iPod! Thank you again, NPR!
◎ Beck release a UK iTunes Deluxe version of Modern Guilt, with a new song "Necessary Evil."
◎ The Boy Least Likely To - A Balloon On a Broken String
◎ Depeche Mode - Wrong
◎ Blur took the stage on NME Awards this past Wednesday.
◎ Matt Bellamy from Muse believes he's 'too short to be the Sexiest Male,' the rest of the world believes otherwise.

News & Vidoes grabs

photo by Monica Almeida/The New York Times

◎ The 81st Oscar results. Seriously,how great is Hugh Jackman! And the stage settings were brilliant, intimate but still elegant.
◎ Ben Stiller spoofs Joaquin Phoenix, probably the best segment of the night!
◎ The White Stripes performed for Conan's finale, which is their first performance in over a year.

Destiny

命運的力量可以將人帶往哪裡？在Slumdog Millionaire裡，至少命運可以帶你與你所愛的人在一起.。從去年就被廣泛討論的Slumdog Millionaire熱潮終於要在後天舉行的奧斯卡來到最高潮，從BAFTA到金球獎,已經得獎無數的Slumdog Millionaire是否能在柯達戲院的走道上留名，成為了全球最熱門的話題。 當初看到Danny Boyle的名字，難免會把Slumdog Millionaire和猜火車(Trainspotting)進行聯想，的確，Slumdog Millionaire是有許多和火車相關的劇情，但與猜火車大相逕庭的是，Slumdog Millionaire所開展的方向是充滿著希望與夢想。
一個在孟買貧民窟長大，生活顛沛流離的少年Jamal（Dev Patel），抱著單純＂想要讓失散的愛人Latika看到他＂的心情登上了百萬富翁問答節目的舞台，＂街頭生活＂作為他的知識來源，Jamal順利的回答了許多連知識份子都不見得回答的了的問題。就在Jamal因為涉嫌作弊被警察逮捕而拷問時，他才慢慢道出，從貧民窟到茶水小弟的這二十幾年人生中所經歷的印度。Slumdog Millionaire充滿了不可思議的奇蹟似劇情，在擁擠的孟買街頭還有滿是觀光客的泰姬瑪哈陵，一個孩子的生存之道不外乎就是偷竊和欺騙，這樣的成長過程使Jamal對於金錢的慾望遠比不上對於童年玩伴Latika的思念。命運與一鼓堅定單純的思念之心不斷讓Jamal與Latika相遇，又因為殘酷的事道而被迫分別。愛情給了Jamal無限的希望，這股希望甚至影響了全印度人，每個人都守在電視機前關心著這個出身低賤的男孩是否能在黯淡的生活中製造奇蹟。Slumdog Millionaire就憑著這股希望的力量打動了全世界的人，尤其是在全球景氣低迷的時代，人們更需要可以逃離現實的故事。Slumdog Millionaire沒有震撼人心的前衛影像，有的則是於現實印度取景的真實畫面。貧窮與宗教問題堆砌出動盪不安的社會，貧民窟的人依然生活著，看來非常困苦，快樂卻也是那麼的簡單。
不論Slumdog Millionaire得獎與否，它的確是一部很適時的跟上了社會氛圍的佳作，如此貼近主角的敘述方式，讓觀者很容易的融入了Jamal的世界，跟著他一同懊悔哭泣，並且不斷殷切尋覓著女主角的蹤跡。用著好萊塢方式在寶來塢地盤所拍出的Slumdog Millionaire，有著歡笑ˋ殘酷與感動，還有印度音樂與流行音樂的成功融入，絕對會是近年來最廣受歡迎的電影。

p.s. Dev Patel完全擺脫了Skins裡的小鬼形象，竟也增添了幾分帥氣呢！