Internet Forever

I don't know much about Internet Forever, but I do know that I've fallen in love with their debut single, 'Cover the Walls'.

For some reason, they've been supporting Johnny Foreigner on tour later this month. It doesn't take a genius to know that there is a wonky bill.

This will embed itself in your brain and send you loopy in the best possible way imaginable.

Mascot Fight - Losers Can't be Choosers (Cassette County)

I'm going to twatter on about Mascot Fight until they are kings of the world, although that moment might be slightly closer after this ace new ep.

There's no great change of style here, unless you count the odd choirboy theatrics of
'Shonan Bellmore' (I'd like to know the last time Mascot fight went to church), but there's just more of the same sort of crackling, twisted songs you found on this year's marvellous 'Pantomime Hearse' album.

Highlights for me are the biting 'Haha, That's not Anarchy', a diatribe against class tourists, with the ace line: "You're a revolution in yourself/While I'm not worth/So slice open and bridge that class gap/Since it's easy to dip down/And tour those Camden towns/then choose who's deserving of your bootstraps." Great stuff.

But the best track here, for me, is 'Reunion is a Laugh', a sort of early Pink Floyd fantasy-rhyme with nonsense lyrics about paper aeroplanes and magic carpets. That makes it sound shit. It's not. It's ace.

Mascot Fight are that most wonderful of bands: they tell stories in their songs. Everyday life might be boring and drudgeful from Monday to Friday, but it sounds sort of thrilling when Mascot Fight sing about it.

You'll always find me into the Kitchens

For years now, when I've been feeling down or nostalgic, or any of those other shit emotions that come around (usually on a Sunday afternoon), I've often turned to a Kitchens of Distinction record to bring me round.

And so it's sort of wonderful that Patrick Fitzgerald is still making music as stephenhero. His new album, 'Apparition in the Woods' is out today, and you can buy it from here.

Why it was only this morning that I was walking through the dark streets of Nottingham on my way to work that I had Kitchen of Distinction's 'Drive That Fast' running around and around my head. That often happens, because they seemed to make the sort of music that I could only listen to on my own. I don't think I've ever sat down and enjoyed a Kitchens album with anyone else, I really don't. Maybe that says as much about how wilfully unpopular they were more than it does about me, mind.

Download Patrick's acoustic version of Kitchens' 'Goodbye Voyager' here.

New Sourpatch video

Lots of exciting news from Happy Happy Birthday below, but if buy one more record before Grimsby Town lose their Football League status, make sure it's Sourpatch's 'Crushin'', details of which below.

Here's the beautiful 'I Want You Either Way' from the album.



How good is that? You can download a demo version of Sourpatch's 'Water Without Land' here. Thanks, Andy, for finding it.

Also, there's the free single from WIAIWYA, which is ace.

Here's the rest of the HHBTM news:

Hey folks,
First off the Tunabunny / Hulaboy split 12" is in and available and ready to ship right now. I have roughly 30 copies. Tunabunny is a true Athens band... danceable, minimal, care freee, Hulaboy is the combination of Hula Hoop and Boyracer. The version of this 12" on HHBTM comes in a silkscreen sleeve while the 555 Recordings version comes in a letter press sleeve. Both versions of the 12" comes with a CD-R of the record.

You can now download the Marshmallow Coast albums "Times Square" & "Coasting" with bonus tracks and the regular version of "Seniors & Juniors" via emusic, itunes, or your favorite download service. Andy is currently reworking Seniors & Juniors into "Super Seniors & Juniors" which will feature more guests than you could imagine. Look for a CD / LP release in summer 2010. There might also be vinyl reissues of Times Square and Coasting as well to follow shortly before or after.

Cars Can Be Blue are currently writing a new album which will come out next year. Their debut album "All the Stuff We Do" will be back in print on vinyl in early 2010 with a much bigger pressing this time around. All the Afternoon Naps pillowcases and Bunnygrunt dolls for the special pre-orders are gone.

Currently at the pressing plant is the debut album "Crushin'" by Sourpatch which will come out in January 2010 on both CD and LP. To celebrate this fun little pop record we are doing a pre-order like always and a contest. The pre-order will start on Monday November 9th. The pre-order will consist of either the CD or LP and the bonus goodies will include a silkscreen Sourpatch tote bag, a button, and a CD-R EP. We will choose a random name from the pre-order and this person will receive a mix tape from the band, a 3 color poster, postcards, stickers, a letter, and a phone call on their birthday. I'd get in on the pre-order early as the Bunnygrunt and Afternoon Naps ones didn't last long. The Sourpatch CD will ship in mid-December while the LP will ship in early January.

CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS
If you haven't joined the HHBTM newsgroup yet then you really should. You can join the newsgroup or news list by going to the site and clicking the newsletter button at the bottom of the site. Each Friday I pick a subscriber at random and send them free stuff. The last two winners have received the new Tunabunny / Hulaboy split 12" or the 08-09 HHBTM CD catalog. The next giveaway will be next Friday with the winner get a mix CD box set.

NEW VIDEOS
There are three new videos up at the website in the media section, or you can use the links below....

Cars Can Be Blue "Eyeballs" from the album Doubly Unbeatable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ckA4s8T_A

Casper & the Cookies "Little King" from the album Modern Silence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irh8p7vJkQ0

Sourpatch Fun" from the album Crushin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d07AnZ3q4b8

NEW ITEMS IN DISTRO
Charlie Mcalister - Turn of the Century Photograph (unread)- South Carolina banjo spaz pop...imagine a very southern fried Dan Deacon minus the schtick and keyboards. cassette $4.00
Charlie Mcalister - Creosote (unread) LP $12.00

SHOWS
Afternoon Naps
11.13 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
12.10 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom

Bunnygrunt
11.21 - St Louis, MO @ Casa De Black
11.27 - St Louis, MO @ Schlafly
12.4 - Columbus, OH @ Used Kids Records
12.4 - Columbus, OH @ Treehouse
12.6 - Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls
12.12 - St Louis, MO @ KSHE Klassics
12.26 - St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway

Casper & the Cookies
11.7 - Athens, GA @ the Secret Squirrel

Lovely Eggs
11.13 - Birmingham, UK @ Autumn Store
11.20 - Manchester, UK @ Star & Garter
11.27 - Lancaster, UK
12.7 - Preston, UK @ the Continental
12.8 - Manchester, UK @ Sake Bar
2.6 - Newcastle, Uk @ Popklubb C86 Festival

Red Pony Clock
11.17 - Los Angeles, CA
11.20 - San Francisco, CA @ Amnesia
11.21 - Merced, CA @ Partisan
11.22 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records
P.O.Box 742
Athens, GA 30603
www.hhbtm.com
mike@hhbtm.com
www.happyhappybirthdaytome.blogspot.com

There's more to life, but not much more

There are some bands that just get better and better with each release. In recent times there's been Math and Physics Club, Electrip Pop Group, Northern Portrait, Pocketbooks... and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

Add to that list Allo Darlin' and The Middle Ones, who both have new singles which take them way beyond anything they've released before.

I'm sort of scared at how brilliant Allo Darlin' are, and could be. Disarming and self-effacing they might be, but when they smack you square on the nose with a pop song so instantly loveable as 'The Polaroid Song' it makes my jaw drop in awe. I have a new favourite single almost weekly, but this has been my most cherished song of the year so far this week. It has everythng; delicately plucked guitars; girl group backing vocals; a really, really, ramshackle guitar solo; and even a flute. At least I think it's a flute.

You can hear 'The Polaroid Song' and its b-side 'Will You Please Spend New Years Eve With Me' (which I might add is the finest anti-New Years Eve song every recorded) on All Darlin' myspace page, and you can - you must - buy it in December from Fortuna Pop!

The Middle Ones' new single is the kind of brittle folk pop that they've been gently building over the last couple of years. Their eponymous, debut ep is a 10" single in hand made scrapbook sleeve. The tracks are 'River Song, 'Slow Bridge, 'Courage' and 'Young Explorer'. I've heard the last track there and it's gorgeous.

This is another must-buy before Christmas, I think. You can get the record from Rough Trade or by emailing John and WIAIWYA, who are releasing the ep.

Interview with Souvenir

I've rambled on about Souvenir on here before, and so after Ed at Sheflife sent me the couple of records he put out by the band, and after I'd listened to them to death, I thought I'd get in touch with Jaime and ask him a few questions.

I sort of lost contact with the band after the records you put out on Shelflife in the early 00s. Were you happy with those records, and what happened after them?

We were really happy with them, and the fact that they were licensed in the US by Shelflife and in Japan by Tone Vendor made us really proud! We had formed the band in 1999 and it felt great to have our songs heard abroad, and to be asked to take part in compilations like the Marina Records tribute to Brian Wilson (Caroline Now!) alongside bands such Saint Etienne, Alex Chilton, members of Teenage Fanclub and Belle And Sebastian… The original idea was to do French Pop songs in a contemporary context but with the spirit of the 60s. Then we started integrating other influences, the sound of bands such as The Go-Betweens or The Pale Fountains, and things like surf music…. Anything that we liked at that moment, really.

You sound seems to have changed a lot over the years - why is this?

It’s part of that impulse for integrating new elements all the time… we get bored easily, so after a couple of records we started dropping the yé-yé elements and looking more at other types of music we loved. So our third and fourth records (Recto/Verso, 2003, and Des équilibres, 2005) had elements of indie pop, electronica, 80s, country music… In 2007 came the biggest change, though. We had grown a bit tired of being tagged as ‘melancholic pop’ and we needed to do something totally different. So in 64 (2007) we embraced electronica and techno pop. In this year’s record (Drums, Sex and Dance) we’ve kept on that path because we feel really comfortable with what we’re doing now.

Are you big popstars in Spain?

Ha, ha, well… not really. I wish we were! We’re an indie band, and one that sings in French too… down here most of the indie bands sing in Spanish or English, so we’re a bit like freaks in a way. That said, I have to say that we’re really happy about our situation in the current alternative scene… we’ve got great reviews in the media for all our records, our songs are played very often in Radio 3 (the only Spanish radio station which plays independent records) and we feel really appreciated. Our label takes care of us, we’re playing love more than ever, we get to do nice videos… we’re happy. But we’d love to be more popular abroad, because we think that what we do could be appreciated in other countries.

I love the video to 'Monkey See Monkey Do'. What's the story behind that?

Well, this guy who directs videos and films contacted us to try and work with us. We met in Barcelona and he came with this huge notebook full of crazy ideas for a video. We discussed all the options and we went for that idea, a weird late night story about a boy and a girl monkeying around… The filming was done one hot night in August in Barcelona and we had a great time with all the crew and some friends who came to take part as extras… the video is a bit unusual, but we really wanted to do something different after a couple of videos (Allô, allô and Ta Machine) which were ‘nicer’. We wanted something a bit rougher.

Tell me about your new album - are you happy with it?

We’re really happy. It’s the first record we’ve made entirely in our studio, so our vision hasn’t been biased by having to use a producer and someone else’s studio. For better or worse, it sounds exactly as we wanted - and it’s taken us 10 years to get there! The sound is less polished than in 64, the beats are heavier but there’s still room for melody. These are the songs that work better with the audience when we play live.

As far as I'm aware, you've never played in the UK. Would you like to?

No, you’re right, we haven’t. We’d love to!

Who are you current musical heroes?

Vince Clark, Lux Interior, Ellie Greenwich, Bat For Lashes, Radio Futura, Duane Eddy, Suicide, Brigitte Bardot…

Is the band your full-time job, or do you have a dull proper job like the rest of us?

We have dull proper jobs, yes… nursing and teaching pay the bills! But we love our jobs, though. Plus they guarantee a certain artistic freedom – we make records because we want to, not just because we have a band we depend on to make a living.

And what's next for you?

We’ve sort of finished the 2009 leg of our tour. We’re hoping to have more gigs in 2010. We’d definitely love to be able to play live abroad. In any case, in 2010 we’ll start working in new songs for a forthcoming album and keep playing with our other bands too. So no room for boredom really!

Indiepop killed the video star

To my mind there should be more indiepop videos. I remember watching a great video called 'Carry on Disarming' that NME put together in aid of CND, that had amongst other ace clips, the video to The Bachelor Pad's 'Country Pancake'. It was something of an epiphany after being subjected to a diet Curiousity Killed the Cat videos coming out of the telly, and it made me think more indiepop bands should make videos.

Here's the Bachelor Pad video.



Of course these days, just about anyone can get their video seen what with that there YouTube and the rest, but not many bands either have the time or the money or the inclination to make something fun.

Tender Trap have, though, for their download-only single 'Fireworks', and whilst it might be slightly more high-tech than the Bachelor Pad effort up there, it's no less disarming. So, more indiepop videos, please!