Back in 2003 I stumbled across an internet-based radio station called Accuradio. As can often be the case with internet radio 'stations', to call it radio was a bit of a stretch - there were no DJs and with a click of your mouse you could move onto the next track they had lined up. Anyways, back then over a period of about a week I tuned in regularly to their American indie channel and discovered a whole bunch of acts that up to then I had been oblivious too such as The Shins, Modest Mouse, Blonde Redhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill and Daniel Johnston. One other act that caught my ear that week on Accuradio was Japancakes.

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Japancakes - on paper - sound like they’d be your worst sonic nightmare: at their outset they were performing full 45 minute gigs using only a D chord. As you do, like. Once they got over such flights of pretence they settled into a country laced, post-rock, instrumental ambient groove and between 1999 and 2004 released 5 albums. Central to their sound was their use of cello and pedal steel guitar. Once you’d heard them once you’d recognise their stuff a mile off. Not for everyone but I immediately fell for their charms.

Over the years I managed to get all their albums but there was always precious little up to date info about them to be found on the interweb. Certainly they had no website or MySpace page that I could find. I just assumed they had split up and the only electronic trail they left behind was a few reviews on the likes of Pitchfork, the (very occasional) album that would crop up for sale on eBay. The last thing I expected was a brand new album from them.

So it came as a bit of a surprise to me earlier this week when I heard that Japancakes were still in existence and they had released, back in October, not one but two albums. But the real jaw dropper was to read that one of these albums was a complete cover, from head to glorious toe, of what CLUAS readers voted to be the second greatest Irish album of all time: My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’. We're talking a cover of the entire album. I was floored (and also gutted at my latent inability to keep up with the cool'n'happening, it taking two whole months for it to appear on my radar?)  I quickly made up for lost time and, like a good disciple, within 10 minutes of the news getting to me I was listening to the tracks on their MySpace page and had duly ordered the CD.

As their take on Loveless has yet to arrive in the post I’ve so far been exposed only to a handful of tracks from it that are knocking around the internet. It was never going to eclipse the original but, rest assured, this record is no gimmick, certainly not a case of The-Mike-Flowers-Pops-Orchestra-does-MBV. It's an intriguing, painstakingly arranged record with moments of occasional brilliance. Faithful to the original it also manages to tease new sides out of Kevin Shields' labour of love. One of the most interesting things was to see how well Japancakes version of 'Loomer' (check it out on the Japancakes MySpace page) would fit alongside Kevin Shields' tracks on the Lost in Translation soundtrack.

If you're holding your breath waiting for the recently reunited MBV to announce a few Irish dates in 2008 you could do worse than kill a bit of time checking out a few tracks from this record. You will either love it or loathe it. And my bet is on the former.

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Key Notes is a wee bit delicate after its Christmas party last night but still dragged itself (literally!) to the nearest PC to bring you the third instalment of the 'critically aclaimed' Key Note Speaker.  Ruairi Ferrie (multi instrumentalist and vocals) of Dark Room Notes has taken time out of a busy schedule that includes recording for the new series of Other Voices to become this week's speaker. 

Favourite Songs from the Past Year
Roscoe - Midlake
Atlas  - Battles
Phantom Limb - The Shins
Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
Let The Freak Come Out At Night - Spilly Walker
Beautiful Burnout -  Underworld

Favourite Song Ever
Cars and Girls - Prefab Sprout

Favourite Dark Room Notes Song
Let's Light Fires

Favourite New Band/Artist
Bat for Lashes

Favourite Band/Artist Ever
Talking Heads

Favourite Gig This Year
!!! at Electric Picnic

Favourite Gig Ever
Predictably - Arcade Fire at Electric Picnic 2005

Favourite Dark Room Notes Gig Ever
Month of Sundays in Nimmos in Galway in November

Favourite Venue
Glenstal Abbey

Favourite Piece of Musical Equipment
88mm plectrum

Download or CD/Cassette/Record
Bring back cassettes, and the mixtape

Favourite TV Show at the Moment
The Mighty Boosh

Best Movie Ever Seen
Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads/Jonathan Demme

Greatest Book Ever Read
The Moor's Last Sigh - Salman Rushdie

Most Listened to Radio Show
Small Hours - Donal Dineen

What’s in Store for Dark Room Notes Next
We've a big Christmas gig in Whelan's on Dec 21st.  After a small Christmas break we'll launch straight into recording our debut album.

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Christmas, a time for religious celebration, gluttonous overeating and overdrinking, frenzied spending, domestic rows. And, best of all, best-of lists. Remember to vote in the CLUAS polls for Best Album (domestic league) and Best Album (Champions League).

What's more, like in 2005 and 2006, your Paris correspondent will propose the Best French Music of the year: our regular readers may like to browse through our archives and let us know what should be in our final ten, which we'll post in the last week of the year.

A late charge for BFM-of-07 comes from Cocoon (left), a boy-girl duo whose charming acoustic pop has clearly been profoundly influenced by that of Nick Drake, Sufjan Stevens and especially Elliott Smith.

And if that wasn't recommendation enough, they've only gone and called their debut album 'All My Friends Died In A Plane Crash' and released it on Sober & Gentle Records. This we must listen to!

And oh! it's acoustic pop to make you swoon. Pick of the bunch is a song called 'On My Way' - a melodic, lovelorn, happy-go-lucky ballad that's been touched by the spirit of 'XO'-era Elliott Smith. In other words, wonderful stuff.

The Cocoon pair - Marc Daumail and Morgane Imbeaud - are currently touring around France and Belgium and plan to spend April recording in Nashville. No news of any Irish dates or release yet, but with such excellent English-language songs it's surely just a matter of time.

Check out those charming tunes on Cocoon's MySpace page. Here's the video for 'On My Way' - as if the song wasn't adorable enough, the video features a cartoon panda:

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Interpol (live in The RDS, Dublin)

Review Snapshot: There are certain ingredients that, when combined in appropriate quantities, make the gig going experience more enjoyable. Personally, I find the best gigs combine a good helping of cold beer, a sprinkling of atmosphere and a bucketful of songs, all mixed together in a decent venue. It's a pity then that Interpol only got two of the four right tonight, and they weren't even serving the beer.

The Cluas Verdict? 3 out of 10

Full Review:
For weeks there has been a little voice inside my head telling me not to go to Interpol tonight. As is often the recommended course of action, I ignored it. I also ignored the fact that the gig was taking place in the RDS a venue that, despite attending more gigs than my otologist would deem safe, I had yet to attend. You see, the Royal Dublin Society and I have history.

 Those of you who’ve left school or college recently will be more than familiar with the RDS as the designated venue for a succession of dull employment and further education seminars. I used to hate these days with a passion matched only by my love of Athletic Bilbao and music.  However, it appeared that I was destined to be dragged along by one Career Guidance Councillor after another. ‘What would you like to do after college?’ they’d ask. No matter my reply, from ‘I’d like to herd lama’s in the Peru’ to ‘I want to spend my working day writing for CLUAS', said Councillor would say ‘Oh, great, well there’s the perfect seminar on in the RDS this weekend, I’ll bring you.’

 And that’s what the RDS is; a seminar venue. It has all the charm of a mugger and all the subtIety of Las Vegas.  It’s not appropriate as a music venue and it’s not an appropriate setting for seeing your favourite band. Up until tonight that’s exactly what Interpol were, but after a lack lustre performance I’m no longer sure. The songs were tight and the sound was excellent, but if I wanted to hear Interpol play the songs exactly as I'd heard them on my MP3 on the way in, I’d have stayed on the bus.

 A set that started so promisingly with Pioneer to The Falls and Obstacle 1 just failed to ignite. Anytime momentum built, such as when crowd favourites Evil and The Heinrich Maneuver were played back to back, Paul Banks and Co. would conspire to pull back and play a slower track. It was almost as if they were afraid of bringing the roof down, as Kings of Leon managed earlier this week.  Banks looked as if he'd been dragged along to one of the aforementioned seminars and seemed more intent on racing through the set-list – 15 songs in one hour – than building up a rapport with the audience. Cool, disinterested stares are all well and good for the front of Rolling Stone, but when hundreds of punters have paid close to €50 to see you the least they can expect back is an acknowledgement of their presence.

Despite all of this, the performance of each individual song cannot be faulted; Slow Hands and No I in Threesome being particular highlights. But, as those of you who attend more than one gig a year know, it takes more than just good songs to make a good gig. Great gigs, the ones that leave you grinning like an idiot when you think about them weeks, months, even years later, leave you covered in sweat, down on your knees and begging for more.  Tonight, Interpol showed up and delivered a performance that was as forgettable as that other thing, you know the one, with the hair, no?

Overall, as my Guidance Councillor said far too often, ‘Must try harder.’

There are certain ingredients that, when combined in appropriate quantities, make the gig going experience more enjoyable. Personally, I find the best gigs combine a good helping of cold beer, a sprinkling of atmosphere and a bucketful of songs, all mixed together in a decent venue. It’s a pity then that Interpol only got two of the four right tonight, and they weren’t even serving the beer.

Steven O'Rourke

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 Music fans from the pre-Britpop/grunge days (late '80s to early '90s) may remember 'Rapido', the quirky and innovative Anglo-French TV show hosted by comedy Frenchman Antoine de Caunes (and scripted by legendary rock journalist Nick Kent, resident in Paris).

Anyway, from the archives of 'Rapido' here's a topical interview with Kevin Shields, now back in the spotlight following the recent announcement of a reformed My Bloody Valentine tour.

The MBV leader is here talking up ‘Loveless’ in 1991 and explaining how it took all of THREE YEARS to make! Little did we suspect that this was Shields at flat-out working pace.

Things to note: (1) Kev’s Dublin accent, thus settling for ever the old MBV-Irish-or-not argument, and (2) his hyperactive mile-a-minute personality, which he clearly brings to MBV productivity.

My Bloody Valentine will play concerts in London, Manchester and Glasgow in June 2008, with reports of a US tour to follow. No Irish date has been announced as yet. Shields has spoken of a new MBV album to be released imminently, but at the time of writing no details have been confirmed.

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This edition features A Lazarus Soul; the Dublin band whose recent single, Day I Disappeared, had those righteous boys and girls in Sinn Fein up in arms (if you'll forgive the pun).  Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars, the bands sophomore album has also been nominated for the CLUAS Album of the Year 2007.  Here, lead singer Brian Brannigan becomes the second Key Note Speaker. 

Favourite Songs from the Past Year
Racing Like a Pro - The National; Pass This On - The Knife; Little King December - Pat Barrett; Lost & Found - Future Kings of Spain

Favourite Song Ever
I could never pick just one out but Horseleg Swastikas - Silver Jews and Sunday Morning - The Velvets would be both up there

Favourite A Lazarus Soul Song
Trip Switch

Favourite New Band/Artist
The Ruby Tailights.  They released one of the best Irish albums of all time last year, Dressing Up

Favourite Band/Artist Ever
The Smiths or The Fall

Favourite Gig This Year
The National in The Olympia or The Rolling Stones in Slane

Favourite Gig Ever
So many to choose from.  The first time The Flaming Lips played Vicar Street; Julian Cope in Kilmainham Hospital in 1993 and Whipping Boy in the Project Arts Centre many moons ago

Favourite A Lazarus Soul Gig Ever
I prefer playing clubs.  We played Radiator with The Laundry Shop and also Death Via Satellite in Doran's.  Two of my favourites of those that I can recall

Favourite Venue
I think seeing the likes of Smog or Sparklehorse in Whelan's is incredible.  It's such a small venue for such legendary bands.  My favourite venue to play would be Kennedy's on Westland Row or The Hub

Favourite Piece of Musical Equipment
My Yamaha CSX1 Keyboard

Download or CD/Cassette/Record
Vinyl, always vinyl.  I only buy records and then steal MP3 versions for my iPod

Favourite TV Show at the Moment
I'm a big fan of cinema and DVD's over TV but I was a huge fan of The Sopranos.  It feels like a part of me has died now that it's finished

Best Movie Ever Seen
Naked - Mike Leigh; Nil by Mouth; The Last Great Wilderness; Willy Wonka

Greatest Book Ever Read
The Bible

Most Listened to Radio Show
I don't listen to much radio anymore but when I do it's Phantom

What’s in Store for A Lazarus Soul Next
Me & Maradona Dunne will be the final single from Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars and will be released in late January with some gigs to promote it.  We'll start rehearsing new material in the New Year and we'll hopefully try out some new songs at those gigs

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While Dublin's indie and metal teenagers mooch and sulk around Temple Bar and its Music Centre (aka The Button Factory), their Parisian dance-music counterparts are outside the Centre Pompidou and being far more active. The plaza outside the famous art gallery is a hot-spot for Tecktonik, the breakdance-meets-techno dance style that's the talk of the Paris club scene.

The Tecktonik style started as long ago as 2000, in a Paris nightclub called Metropolis. But it's only this year that it began to have an impact on the public consciousness - the annual Paris Techno Parade this September marks the start of serious media attention on the movement. TV news programmes have begun to report on the craze - which probably means that it's about to become seriously uncool.

Tecktonik dancers have their own distinctive look - heavily-gelled futuristic haircuts matched with skinny-fit jeans and T-shirts. The robotic dance moves add to the cutting-edge visual impression of the style; advertising agencies in France and beyond are finding Tecktonik irresistible.

Now more and more clubs are putting on Tecktonik nights, a business which is not as straightforward as it sounds. Many such nights are being stopped with injunctions - not by the police or local authorities, as with raves, but by the Metropolis nightclub, who are the owners of Tecktonik.

Yes, Tecktonik is a registered trademark, the first dance to be copyrighted. No other club can advertise a Tecktonik night, as this would legally infringe on the Metropolis' trademark. Some clubs are bypassing this by holding 'Danse Electro' nights instead.

A range of Tecktonik merchandise is available, bearing the symbol of an eagle (left). This symbol, though, has only served to add even more controversy - many people feel that the Tecktonik eagle resembles that used in Nazi imagery.

You can check out some Tecktonik moves in the video for 'A Cause Des Garçons" by Yelle, a current hit in French nightclubs:

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Not happy with pegging concert ticket prices at ever increasing prices, some of the biggest names in the music industry now want to now get a slice of profits made on tickets resold on the web. They are proposing that a 'Resale Rights Society' (RRS) is established that will slap a levy on the sale price of every ticket resold on sites like eBay.

Apparently Radiohead, Robbie Williams and Arctic Monkeys are among the 400 artists who think this is a good idea. With a straight face the chairman-elect of the RRS Marc Marot (a former chief exec of Island Records) tried to claim that the move was not to pad out the already fleshy wallets of millionaire rock stars but instead to help new artists who have a greater dependency on gigs for their income. Yeah, right. If that's the case then why not come out and say that no money pulled in by the RRS will be given to a wealthy established artist? In any case any new artist who finds tickets to their gigs being resold online for more than face value will be well chuffed and can start considering themselves as having made it, secure too in the knowledge that financial worries are to be a thing of the past.

But the most outrageous justification given by Marot was that "it is unacceptable that not a penny of the £200m in transactions generated by the resale of concert tickets in the UK is returned to investors in the live music industry." Following the same logic a property developer (i.e. an investor in the property industry) could claim it is entitled to a cut of any profit made when a house they build and sell is subsequently sold on. Brass as monkeys property developers may be, but they know that they'd never get away with such a scam. However, this loose affiliation of millionaire rock stars who 'invest in the live music industry' think they can do just that. Who do these guys think they are?

As far as I know absolutely nobody out there in the free market is offering something with a price tag that says 'it costs this amount, but if (because I don'r offer a possilbity of a reimbursement ) you then go and sell it to someone else, you must give me a slice of your sale price' (Update: Aidan puts me straight on this point below in the comment section where he points out that a % of a painting sale or a soccer player transfer is passed back to the artist / original soccer club). That sort of mentality is more at home with pyramid schemes than the free market.

Yes, it is true that there are some problems with the reselling of tickets on the interweb but trying to just grab a slice of an illicit cake is simply not a credible way of addressing the issue. If they were really serious about this, these artists & their management teams would get together to put in place preventative measures to stop, or at least reduce the numbers of, tickets being resold online (such as a mechanism for reimbursing a fan who has bought a ticket and unexpectedly finds s/he cannot go to the gig, this being something that could be provided for a modest charge offered on an opt-in basis at the time of the booking, just like it is with many airlines).

In the meantime anybody thinking of buying a ticket online via the likes of eBay just needs to do as they would for any other purchase: research what is being sold, who is selling it and for what price. If they are comfortable on all levels then go ahead and make the purchase. The same Caveat Emptor approach is valid be it for the purchase of a tube of toothpaste, a semi-d in Leopardstown or a ticket to see Led Zep in London.

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