Having a go at her Madge

Not the Queen of course, just Madonna. Yep, that's right, good OLD Maddonna, queen of Pop. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing natural about a 40-something-year old with a body as good as Kate Moss. You could say 'if you've got it... flaunt it!', but bear in mind, this woman has kids.

Fair enough her music is good. A duet with JT is hardly a bad thing, but does the belief that 'if you get your body out, you can sell your music' that seems to have infected the Hip hop/Pop industry have to extend to 40-year-olds?

I just don't think it's natural she's got her body everywhere and she's so old. Twiggy gave it a rest, and is now basking in the sophisticated M&S advert's limelight, can't Madonna PLEASE do the same?

Sorry for not blogging in so long and also sorry for this being a very short one, the ANTI is currently seeking out new bands fresh out the studio.

I'd like to take this opportunity to satirise the gem of a band which is Emmy the Great, they've been around for a while but they haven't had a lot of coverage lately. I hadn't realised they had a track up on their Myspace page, which they do. It's a really lovely Pixies cover, give it a listen and it might lift your mood, also you can download it for free.

If you're on Emmy the Great's page, it's just a click away from younghusband, a one man band with a sad, mopey but still good feel. French Grammar sounds very Beatles-inspired, and a few tracks are available to download.

A final apology for neglecting this blog, it will be back and packed as ever over the next few weeks.

Oh, and a final note- feedback is appreciated, this is why THE ANTI have a Myspace page, which you can leave comments on, rather than in my personal truth box. It's quite cowardly, and I'd appreciate people leaving feedback where it's wanted.

DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I've found 2008's Big Summer Anthem. It's the cutest thing since last year's summer anthem, which was of course the Holloway's brilliant 'Generator' (unless you're going to credit Rhianna's EH EH EH as an Anthem).
Yes, it’s here, even if summer isn’t. It is of course Black Kids' ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You’ (single cover pictured right). I know it’s been kicking around for quite a while but this uber-cute band are just becoming known. Recently appearing on Later With Jools Holland, Black Kids are truly headed for the top. They’re signed and they’ve got a few decent songs under their belts. They have a cute music video and sound a little bit like a mix between Late of the Pier and Joy Division (you’ll see what I mean about them sounding like LOTP when you hear their brilliant track Hurricane Jane). How can they NOT become massive? If you haven’t heard this track then get on their Myspace right now, seriously. There's also a brilliant dance-mix up on their page of 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You', mixed by The Twelves. Definitely check that out if you're into Justice's mixes or this band.

When speaking of summer music, there is one immediate thought which springs to mind. Festivals, festivals, festivals. However, which ever festival you're headed to this year there seems to be quite an odd lineup. Glasto's got Jay-z headlining the main stage for one night. He is also playing at 02 Wireless in July. Seeing as last year's Wireless lineup was so good, it was surprising to see such a bleak lineup. It's the sort of lineup which makes you shrug and look out of a window, rather than pounce on the £40-45 day tickets without a moment's notice. Reading's lineup is, as always, the cream of the crop. It's too painful to re account the lineup, as I'm sure other non-Reading-goers will agree. Have fun if you're going. Have fun with the lovely little NME stage. Peh.

A festival which is much more of a Pounce-fest rather than a Shrug-fest is this year's Camden Crawl. It just seems to have EVERYONE decent on the music scene right now, whatever you're into. With a lineup including the likes of Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Florence and the Machine, Operator Please, The Ghost Frequency, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Robots In Disguise and so many more. It's across 2 days, and at £49.20 for a 2 day ticket, it's not that much for unlimited access to all Crawl venues, after show parties and daytime activities.

If you're into something a little quieter, try looking at the Redhill Redfest festival in Surrey. It's a small festival, with only 5,000 tickets. Prices are at a mere £64, including parking and camping. The lineup sees the likes of The Maccabees, Late Of The Pier and Lightspeed Champion, and for such a low price in such a small festival, this truly is too good to miss.

If you're not going to any festivals this year, you're probably wiser than the rest of us. You're saving the money and probably the tent too. I'm praying the Strokes will miraculously get back for a final album and decide to headline Reading next year. Never going to happen? Ah well.

I'd like to finish this 3rd edition of THE ANTI with it's first ever gig review. The gig took place on the 9th April and was of course the Teenage Cancer Trust comedy night presented by Noel Fielding. But no, I will not be reviewing the comedy, nor Noel's hair (which was nice, just a little too short), but I will be reviewing the music!

To the entire audience at the Royal Albert Hall (about 5,000)'s surprise, Razorlight's Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows came on to play a two-song set including 'America' and 'Before I Fall to Pieces'. Surprising, it was actually very mellow and nice. It was an acoustic set, and although it was short, I've started listening to Razorlight again. Oh dear.

Anyway, Razorlight wasn't the music which blew 5,000 people away. It was the Mighty Boosh's first musical onstage performance which shocked everyone so much. Preforming 'Electro', 'Nannageddon' and 'Charlie' live for the first time, the Mighty Boosh were truly amazing. Noel Fielding was of course the Front man, with Barrat on guitar and later joining them was Dave Brown as a screaming backing singer. For the final song, Rich Fulcher also made an appearance in his famous Blue Suit. The gig was immense, and too good to sit down for, and a few of the audience in the Pit got up and danced.

Footage can be seen;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlRUnF72lW4 - 'Electro'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm6q-MlaoIM - 'Nanageddon' only 1/2 :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V7yuZQGc3A - 'Charlie'

Everyone who was already anticipating The Mighty Boosh's promised debut album this year will now be even more excited. I know the 5,000 people already are! The Boosh are set to play Big Chill this year, will it be comedy or music they'll be showcasing though? I guess we'll have to wait 'till summer. As if we weren't waiting for it already.

THE ANTI - MYSPACE!

THE ANTI's Myspace has now been launched, over weeks hopefully the mere 28 friends it has at the moment will grow.
Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/theantimusicblog
Any new bands can feel free to add that account.
THE ANTI x

A dash of Electro.

So Myspace have put a lovely little 'Get to Know Partyshank' sign on their homepage. Great. As much as I love Partyshank, I'd really love them not to go all mainstream and do a Crystal Castles and sell out a bit and appear on Skins.

(photo credit to Mackenzie Hodge)

I suppose I shouldn't be so cynical, as I heard of the Shankers through the medium of lovely old Myspace, as I hear a lot of music. I first heard them about a year, maybe a little less ago. First of all I was like 'what is this bullshit?!' but then I realised I quite liked the bombardment of noise. You can't dance to it, sing to it or talk over it, but you can enjoy it and shout 'OLD SCHOOL'. If you've not heard of Partyshank (where the HELL have you been?) then I suggest you get on their Myspace NOW! They are one of the most original and interesting bands around and I've heard their gigs are pretty crazy.

They've done well too, creating the genre 'Toystep' and featuring in oh so many of those much-loved pretentious art magazines. As much as they really deserve to do well, and are doing brilliantly already (the band have been played by Justice and now have their own merch available), I remember a day when they would respond to your comments or thank you for profile-songing them as soon as it happened. Now they're so big, the least recent comment on their page is from two days ago, and I'm writing this in the morning!

Anyway, enough of my complaining about loosing Partyshank and lets look at some rising Electro sensations, shall we? Let's start with one of my favorite unsigned bands, Daggers. Not sure if you can actually call them electro, but hey, they have TWO synth/keyboard players!

I had the privilege of seeing this incredible band live as they were supporting Robots in Disguise. They have such a brilliant energy they bought the venue alive. The front man, Theo, was wearing only extremely tight trousers and a ripped waistcoat. Niiccee. Trust me, if you EVER get a chance to see this band live, grab it!

If you're more into poppy-electro, let's take a look at Absent Kid. The first track I ever heard was Shoot On Sight. It reminded me of Daggers, so I had a gander on their Myspace. Every song has a different feel, but it still has a little way of reminding you it's them, which I love about a band. Most of their tracks are available on Myspace for free, so what's to loose?

Also, I feel a bit bad for slagging off Ipso Facto last week, so have a little listen to them. They ain't too bad really.

Lastly, for those of you who are hating all this Electo nonsense, have a listen to Alexis Blue. I heard them on the lovely Filthy Few podcast, and then discovered that all of their music is available to download on Myspace. There are some really great songs up there. Quite Cajun Dance Party-esque but a little less uptempo. Still, great and worth a listen.

I will be making a THE ANTI blog Myspace page later this week and I will post the link on here.

Have a good week. I would love to heard from you via comments on this blog, any feedback is great, or recommendations of bands.

Stay safe, Thou Shalt Not Read NME!

The ANTI.