To the surprise of practically no-one, Sébastien Tellier did not win the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade last night.

The Parisian electro-popper's song 'Divine' finished 19th out of the 25 finalists, receiving only 47 points. The contest was won by Russia's Dima Bilan, whose song 'Believe' combined the big-blouse appeal of soft-rock and ice-skating.

Tellier, in fairness, made a game effort at standing out and shaking things up ever so slightly. Arriving on stage driving a golf-cart and carrying an inflatable globe, he was accompanied in his performance by backing singers wearing wigs and false beards. For the second verse, he inhaled from his inflatable globe to affect a helium voice.

Prior to the show, 'Divine' had generated controversy among some attention-seeking centre-right French politicans - because its lyrics were entirely in English. Tellier compromised by promising to include French lyrics, and last night he was as good as his word. A capella, he sang one solitary line in French (2 mins 06 secs) which could be construed as an oblique reference to the controversy - "Pour moi, l'amour chante en Français" (for me, love sings in French).

Here's Tellier Eurovision 2008 performance. One of the French TV co-commentators you can hear at the beginning is none other than fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier:

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In the world's collective imagination, French women are cool like Catherine Deneuve,  intense like Jeanne Moreau, dreamy like Juliette Binoche, and chic like all three. After years of dedicated research, your Paris correspondent can confirm these findings.

But did you know that mademoiselle la Française can also rock? It's true - and combined with all her other attributes (see above) that makes her a bona fide pop star.

Dublin punters will soon have the opportunity to continue our research. All-girl punk-pop outfit Plastiscines (right) are playing the A.L.T. on Friday 27 June. What's more, support comes from Dublin's resident French rockeuse, Lauren Guillery.

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with both acts. Plastiscines first came to our attention when they featured (and stole the show) on 'Paris Calling', a 2006 compilation of young new French bands. Those groups, many of whom formed after meeting at a 2003 Paris show by The Libertines, were dismissively lumped together as a scene, under the name of 'babyrockers'.

Unlike their dull garage-rock peers, Plastiscines play snappy, catchy alt-pop along the lines of The B-52s and Sleater-Kinney - all mixed with that classic '60s French pop sound. Their 2007 debut album, 'LP1', is a half-hour of deadly tunes and killer attitude.

On the other hand, Lauren Guillery (left) makes fiery indie-rock. Unless you watch Balcony TV, who once gave her an award for Best World Music Act. All that traffic roaring up and down Dame Street makes it hard to tell guitars from pan-pipes.

CLUAS Discussion Board users, however, would rightly present her with the Palme d'Or for Greatest 'Musicians Wanted' Ad Ever.

By now a well-known performer on the Irish rock circuit, Lauren is playing many of this summer's local festivals. She'll be at Shakefest in Tullamore on 31 May, Life in Gort and Knockanstockan in Wicklow (both in July) and Solas in Carlow in August. She also has three of her own shows in Dublin during June. Check her MySpace page for full details.

Finally, there'll be one other hard-rocking French girl at ALT on 27 June - Dublin-based blogger and lumièreuse Edith Pollet will be at the lighting desk. Chapeau to her for giving us the info on this show. Pity the poor Irish bloke who tries messing with all these derriere-kicking French she-rockers.

You can find out more about Plastiscines at their MySpace page. Here they are performing 'Shake' at a showcase in Paris last year:

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Key Notes celebrates its first birthday tomorrow and to mark the occasion its author, Steven O'Rourke (seen here in typical 'morning after the gig before' pose), will forgo his usual habit of speaking in the third person and will answer his own questions in a special birthday edition of Key Note Speaker.

Favourite Songs from the Past Year 
I have to agree with Kilian from EchoGram when he says that last year belonged to pop and electronic music.  It was a year when most of the indie releases contained elements of one or the other.  'Jigsaw Falling into Place' by Radiohead, 'Teenage Lust' by Times New Viking and more recently 'Kids' by MGMT would probably be the three stand out tracks for me. Of course, I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't admit to singing along to 'Umbrella' on more than one occasion, but I know very few people who didn't!

Favourite Irish Song from the Past Year
'Love Like Nicotine' from Dark Room Notes, 'Never Talk' by Ham Sandwich and 'Syndicate' from the Future Kings of Spain.  They weren't easy choices for me as I think the past year has been particularly good for Irish music as the, relatively high, level of disquiet at the result of the Choice music prize shows.  An honourable mention must also go to A Lazarus Soul for annoying the Shinners with 'The Day I Disappeared'

Favourite Song Ever
It's only when you have to answer these questions that you realise how tough it is to make a decision like this.  Depending on my mood it would be either 'Waltz #2 (xo)' by Elliott Smith or 'Don't Stop me Now' by Queen, both for very different reasons.  Today it's Queen because I'm in a good mood

Favourite Irish Song Ever
'Teenage Kicks' was probably the most influential song in determining my taste in music.  In the callowness of youth the first band I ever fronted (that makes it sound more professional than it was!) used to do a smashing cover version of this song.  Thankfully this was in the days before YouTube so nobody can prove me wrong!  I also have to mention 'South' by Pilotlight, seeing as it was our first dance at my wedding last year

Favourite New Band/Artist 
On the international front Vampire Weekend and The Ting Tings both have the potential to be interesting, even if the latter sometimes feels a little forced.  At home Robotnik's album has been on repeat since I got it and though they've been around for a while now both Codes and Le Galaxie have lots of things going for them

Favourite Band/Artist Ever
Elliott Smith.  The guy was a genius.  Simple really

Favourite Gig of the Last Year 
You know, the last year was kind of a blur when it comes to gigs.  They all sort of merge in to one but I enjoyed performances by Electric Eel Shock, ....And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and some of the Ham Sandwich and Future Kings gigs were great nights for reasons that shall not be discussed in polite company

Favourite Gig Ever
The Future Kings of Spain album launch that took place a year before they launched Nervousystem.  There was no support act  and instead we were treated to a mix-tape of TV theme tunes from our childhood (and beyond) and then possibly the most electric live performance I've ever seen.  An 'epic' night if ever there was one

Favourite Venue
I'm actually starting to warm to The Academy but I enjoy the trip down to Dolan's in Limerick too.  I'm not sure if I like 'new' Whelan's or not.  White paint?  Not very rock and roll

Favourite Piece of Musical Equipment
To play (badly); the guitar but to listen to I don't think you can beat a well played cello.  In an age where everyone is trying to create music from newer and stranger equipment, I like it just as much when musicians keep it simple

Download or CD/Cassette/Record
CD's at the moment but I'm aiming to build up my record collection.  I can't stand downloads; I'm not sure technically but it doesn't feel like you get the same quality of sound

Favourite TV Show at the Moment
MacGyver but only because my good wife got the box set for Christmas.  It's better than 99% of everything else on TV

Favourite Movie Ever Seen
Anchorman.  I probably know every line in that movie.  I'm also quite fond of the Southpark movie and The Life of Brian (can you see a theme?)

Favourite Book Ever Read
I have to admit to being something of a literary snob.  I can't stand to see fluff like 'P.S. I love you' sell so many copies when there are books out there that can challenge you mentally and make you look at the world in a whole new way once you're finished reading them.  I love 'The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette break' by Steven Sherrill and 'Benim Adım Kırmızı' by Orhan Pamuk, but, my favourite book of all time, the one that's influenced me most and encouraged me to start looking at the world in a different light is 'The Selfish Gene' by Richard Dawkins 

Most Listened to Radio Show
As I pointed out the other day, I tend to only listen to the radio when I'm in the car so, by default, it's 'Heavy Traffic' on Phantom.  I try to catch 'Icon' on the same station as often as I can too

What’s in Store for Key Notes Next
Hopefully I'll get back to writing in the third person soon enough and return to bringing you my take on the Irish indie music scene.  This year should also see the return of my 'Beyond the Pale' series (the research is almost complete) and more editions of 'Key Note Speaker' as well as one or two new features that will be revealed soon enough.  Another nomination for the Irish Music Blog of the Year would be nice too!  But then thats up to you so I'd better be interesting

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A review of the album 'Moment of Forever' by Willie Nelson

 

Review Snapshot:
The last wise man of country music delivers the goods yet again.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review:
Johnny is gone; Waylon is gone, only Willie is left. It’s hard to conceive now, given his superstardom, but Willie Nelson spent 15 years in Nashville trying in vain to get a hit record before throwing in his hat and returning to Texas where he finally started to create music that was not only true to his own creative vision but also connected with the album buying public.

According to Robert Oermann and Douglas Green, part of Willie’s early difficulty was that his offbeat, eccentric, jazz influenced phrasing was at cross purposes with then dominant Nashville sound pioneered by Chet Atkins. The flipside of this however is that, as a result, Willie Nelson has never been solely a country music artist but rather an American music artist and his renegade tendencies have kept him vital long after many of his living peers are either retired or are touring the nostalgia circuit.

 

Here he is again with a new album and for me the key interest in listening is to focus on the new songs that Willie, who penned classics like ‘Crazy’ and ‘Night Life’, has written for this album. There are three; ‘Over You Again’ (co-written with Micah & Lucas Nelson), ‘Always Now’, and the sardonic ‘You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore’. All of them are models of the songwriter’s craft with Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney’s sensitive production switching between the epic, panoramic sound used on ‘Over You Again’ to the intimate, spontaneous live room feel of ‘You Don’t Think…’

 

Willie has also included covers of Randy Newman’s ‘Louisiana’, a song that is fast becoming a modern American standard following the tragedy of New Orleans, and ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’. There is little to say about them other than they are great songs sung by one of the great voices in American popular music.

 

If you love the art of Willie Nelson, as I do, then this is one for the collection. At a time when young musicians want to make music that sounds like it came from the past; see Amy Winehouse, its nice to hear a veteran musician who is, shall we say, back to the future. Willie Nelson is still on the road, and the world is a better place for it.

Rev Jules

 To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) 2nd hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.

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Broken Social Scene (live in Vicar Street)

Review Snapshot: Broken Social Scene played a long set at over two hours - the result was euphoric and full, but there was a bit of a lull for a couple of tracks. There was also the issue of the small man in front of me, whose Guinness farts threatened to ruin the overall sensory experience. 

The Cluas Verdict? 7.5 out of 10

Full Review:
I'm 5'4". At some venues I end up standing tiptoed to get a glimpse of a head-banging blurred face onstage. The result? Painful soles and a poor visual experience. At Vicar Street though, no matter where a 5'4" girl stands, she still manages to be able to see everyone on stage. The Broken Social Scene gig was my second at Vicar St. and the venue is proving to be kind on the ears and eyes - I had a perfect view of the full band.

The night began with Charles Spearin’s Happiness Project - a quirky, fun introduction to Broken Social Scene. Charles played interviews that he had recorded with his neighbours, focussing first on the tones of the voices played back unaccompanied. After he played a section of an interview, the saxophone would mimic the notes of the voices - the idea then escalated into a guitar, voice and sax loop that became melodic and turned into something that really made me aware of the tones we use while speaking. Charles' experiment with sound was especially moving when he created a piece using the voice of a deaf woman who'd had a microchip inserted into her brain so that she could finally speak and hear through vibrations in her body: 'All of a sudden I felt my body moving the sound.'

When Broken Social Scene came on (Charles included), Kevin Drew opened to a packed crowd, telling us we were 'such a lovely fuckin' audience!'  He kept up the positive audience affirmations all night, and said that Dublin was his favourite place to play. The gig kicked off on a chilled out, downtempo vibe. What I love about Broken Social Scene's live performance is the concentration involved in playing - there's not much jumping around onstage - they have the airs and graces of an orchestra, particularly the brass. The musicality of the group as a team comes across; instrument switching happens frequently, effortlessly and adds to the performance.

One of the highlights of the gig was the second track, '7/4 (Shoreline).' You really got the full, all-encomapassing sound of the band, who played it with verve and high energy. Amy Millan's vocals were a bit quiet, but she shook her hair around and gave as much as the rest of them. For any fans of Broken Social Scene Presents...Kevin Drew, the group played several tracks from the 'Spirit If...' album, including the explosive, tingly 'Farewell to the Pressure Kids.'

Kevin Drew also played a couple of new songs, like 'Churches under the Stairs' - you could tell he was in jovial form, and well up for getting the audience involved. We were encouraged to scream, clap and sing. The whole performance felt natural, yet you could tell that it was the result of lots of practise. Broken Social Scene prove that image doesn't mean much when it comes to real music and making an impact on an audience.

One of the highlights was Kevin's solo version of 'Lover's Spit.' We were asked to hush while Kevin sang with just his keyboard as accompaniment. Towards the end, he laughed as his voice started to fade - and got nothing but praise from the audience. 'Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl' with Amy's soft singing blew us away - it was at that stage unfortunately that the man in front of me began letting the unique smell of methane waft from his butt towards my face. Not pleasant of course, but I can hardly take points away from the band for that.

The length of the set meant that at times there was a slight lull or lack; it's not something I can describe accurately, but the momentum seemed to fade at times. The finale picked up the pace again though with the striking brass on 'It's All Gonna Break' - a triumphant ending to a great night out with Kevin and the Scene.

Niamh Madden

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Bruce Springsteen (live in Los Angeles)

Review Snapshot: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street are on a roll and have gotten more intense and passionate as their tour has progressed. They continue to examine our bleak recent past, but are heralding some light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel hope for the future. Dublin is in for a rock and roll revival beyond compare.

The Cluas Verdict? 9.5 out of 10

Full Review:
This is a follow up to a review of Springsteen’s show in October 2007. I was lucky enough to see the E Street band again, on their second go-round through the LA area. The show has changed a bit and is worthy of an update, as it is headed your way.

Springsteen has (mostly) kept the key sequences in the show, i.e. the "5 pack" that ends the main set (Devil's Arcade/The Rising/Last To Die/Long Walk Home/Badlands), but has hugely mixed up the rest of the set, adding songs of joy and songs of anger with a renewed vigor. It has been suggested that he is "on fire" these days because Ms. Scialfa is at home keeping their teenagers from burning down the house.

Springsteen is definitely more loose and provocative on this leg of the tour, but also even more passionate (if that’s possible). At my show, after a scathing performance of Murder Incorporated he screamed into the mic, "We’re out for blood!" He is adding "tour premier" songs just about every night.

Part of the change is that we in the U.S. are closer to the November election, and our long national nightmare will be ending soon (though with much devastation to repair). Springsteen speaks of the trauma of the last seven years but also talks more now about hope for the future. He has thrown in his lot with Senator Obama. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit."

Springsteen and the E Street Band are on fire, out for blood, and are inspired by the "Great American reclamation project" ahead that will heal wounds at home and abroad. Bruce is our truest ambassador.

John Ford

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Your blogger is heading along to the Irish Cultural Centre here in Paris this Thursday to catch a visit by Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon.

As well as being a highly-acclaimed and fairly deadly poet (his 2003 Pulitzer winner, 'Moy Sand and Gravel', is great), Muldoon plays guitar in a band called Rackett that make a sound he describes as "3-car garage rock".

Rackett (right, with Muldoon in the centre) toured Ireland last summer and are are currently working on their third album.  

Muldoon writes the band's lyrics, of course, and he's got a neat line in extravagant Magnetic Fields-esque couplets. "As Good As It Gets" begins: "Like Holden Caulfield spotting phonies/Or Stephen Sondheim winning Tonies". As for the music, well... it's a bit of fun. Did we mention the lyrics?  

A bit more impressive than Muldoon's garage band is the fact of his collaboration with the late Warren Zevon. Muldoon wrote the lyrics to 'My Ride's Here', the title track of Zevon's final album.

Shortly after Zevon's death, the song was performed as a live tribute by none other than Bruce Springsteen. The recording featured on 'Enjoy Every Sandwich', a Zevon tribute compilation.

Here's Bruce's version of the track:

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Key Notes is being a little self indulgent today.  Yes, this blog's main function is to discuss the Irish indie music scene but today, Key Notes is going to wear his heart on his sleeve.  Tonight you see brings the final of the Champions League and the battle between the (red) devil(s) and the deep blue scum sea.  Key Notes, as you may know from his semi-final dilemma, is a massive Man United fan and has been waiting for this day since May 26th 1999.  Tonight will see this blog don his 1999 Champions League edition jersey, complete with curry stains that have remained unwashed for 9 years, and watch as pure, artistic and free-flowing United take on those shady, cheating folk from London.

Now, football is nothing without an analogy and one comes to mind immediately when comparing United and Chelsea.  Rocky IV.  It's our hero Rocky - American, old school, pure to his art-form - versus Ivan Drago - Russian, new money, and known for his lack of respect towards referees.  (It also works for Liverpool - they're Apollo Creed, lots of pomp and ceremony, but really should have given up long ago).  We all know what happens at the end of Rocky IV, our hero wins and teaches the evil villain a few lessons in the right way of doing things along the way.  Just like United will hopefully teach Chelsea that it's not just about winning, but playing attractive, free-flowing, football this evening.

Best of all (for the sake of this blog!), Rocky IV contains the greatest ever Rocky song and a pretty good montage, and Key Notes is a firm believer in the theory that if you're going to do it right, do it in a montage!

COME ON UNITED!!!

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Last Saturday Matthew Niederhauser released his "Soundcapital," a collection of images focusing on Beijing's indie/punk scene with an afternoon party at Lost & Found a shop for retro fittings in Beijing’s ever happening Guozijian street near the Lama Temple. Niederhausen, a gregarious American snapper relocated to Beijing, was also selling large-format prints from my urban development project dubbed Visions of Modernity, the genesis of which he was explaining to Cluas over a recent lunch. We didn’t make the launch party but have seen the photos before, since they’re framed and hanging over the stage at D-22, the cramped and colourful nervecentre of Beijing punk and rock, where most of the Soundcapital shots were taken.

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Some protest movements are just too dumb to be real...but they are. Take, for example, the Legalise Cannabis Movement. A case of 'Dude, where's my banner?' methinks.

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