Athens66

Farewell to Albert Hofmann, who at the age of 102 decided to take his last “trip”. The Swiss chemist was the father of LSD and biggest defender of lysergic acid diethylamide-25. He accidentally discovered LSD while working for a pharmaceutical firm back in 1938. Since 1966, when the drug was banned, he had been arguing for the legal use of LSD for medical research (which finally was allowed last year in Switzerland for psychotherapy). At an age of 102, I guess he was the best proof of the necessity of drugs for making life bearable.

I must admit that I haven't had much time for posting these days due to both Easter and my work (currently in Glasgow). So here's my Tune of the Day, coming from Yeasayer's debut album (from back in October 2007) with a very nice fan made video of 2080. The tune has been haunting me for the past few days actually, which is pretty cool (or spooky).

There has been quite some buzz around 15-year old singer/actress Miley Cyrus for some time now. The daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and star of Disney’s Hannah Montana has taken America by storm (and especially the parents). With an upcoming movie and a successful tour behind her, it seems that the young star is cashing in on family values. At least until a few days ago, when Vanity Fair’s photographer Annie Leibovitz did a “provocative” shoot of her for June’s issue. Miley was wrapped in what appeared to be a bedsheet in an otherwise quite normal photoshoot. This has led to controversy especially amongst her “motherly” audience who found this too sexual for their children’s 15 year old idol. Although this led to Miley apologizing to her fans, she has definitely caught our attention (those of us that have never seen her teen series but wouldn’t mind seeing more of her in the near future). Are we (once again belated) discovering our new Lolita?

Soccer ex-superstar Ronaldo was involved in a "strange" incident yesterday (Monday 29th) in Rio de Janeiro. Ronaldo was planning on having a good time with three girls in a hotel downtown Rio. To his surprise (and our amusement) once back at the hotel he found out that his company were actually three transvestites (damn...how wasted was he??)

A few hours later (and after some rounds of extorsion) everything ended up in the police station (where the photographs from). A photo of one of the "girls" is also posted (damn he must have been on some good stuff to not have a clue). Reports say that the "girls" tried to excurse him for 50,000 reais (14,900 pounds) while he was counter-offering 1,000 reais (he may have been high but he wanted to get away with 500 pounds?? fit him right). No mention is made whether all this actually happened after he "paid" for his mistake or prior...

And for today’s Tune and (once again) Clip of the Day I will go back in time (from decades back to months back). The reference I made in my previous post on M.I.A. made me scan through YouTube for some of her tracks and stabled upon her 2007 cover song Jimmy. The original song is from a 1982 Bollywood movie called Disco Dancer, which included Parvati Khan’s Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja. And if this wasn’t enough, of Montreal did a cover on M.I.A.’s cover at the end of January 2008.

I have to admit that I prefer the original Bollywood version over M.I.A.’s cover, but of Montreal’s take is something else. Enough said though, enjoy them (don’t miss the dramatic end of Khan’s video…”I hate you Jimmy, I hate you”)

After recent comments by fellow blogger BLR regarding my (once again) belated attention to “old news” (to my defense I’ve always said I’ll post whatever comes in mind and not restrict myself to current news and events), here is a pre-release review.

Santogold is the self titled debut album scheduled for release on April 29. Santogold is basically Santi White with the addition of Jonh Hill. The album is a blend of indie rock, dance, ska, punk, reggae and electro (you get the point). So does all this work? The simple answer is YES. Santi produced an amazing debut album (at least for this project since she had previous albums under Stiffed) that is fresh, alternative and shows that indie rock is not only white territory.

You’ll find A Way, Lights Out and (her first single and track on the album) L.E.S Artistes are my favorite tracks. Once you hear the album names such as Noisettes, M.I.A. and especially Gossip will pop in your mind but definitely with a twist and the unique style of Santi.

For today’s Tune and also (introducing the new) Clip of the Day, I have included Arcade Fire. Arcade are just amazing live (one of the best groups I’ve seen on stage) and they are proving exactly this in their session at the Take-Away Shows, where they start up behind the scenes of their Paris concert, perform inside an elevator (Neon Bible) and then head off into the crowd (literally) for yet another amazing performance (Wake up). Just brilliant!!

Throw Me the Statue are basically an one-man act, although some friends are contributing from time to time (or track to track). Scott Reitherman (the man behind the act) originates from San Francisco (or close to) and after some time in New York relocated to Seattle, which is quite evident in his sound.

His debut album Moonbeams is a mix of indie rock, twee and lo-fi. Catchy tunes, upbeat tracks with synths, drums, guitars and occasional brass all mixed together in a way that guarantees to bring a smile on your face. The influences from bands like the Shins and the Microphones to Pavement and (my personal favorite) Casiotone for the Painfully alone are quite evident. I didn’t expect much from this album but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Another unknown indie band with a strange name you may say; well, perhaps yes but they have certainly won me over and will recommend them to anyone seeking a fresh alternative.

About to Walk and Lolita are my favorite tracks from this. Check out the Lolita video from the Take-Away Shows session where Throw Me the Statue performed for this fabulous series (hint for an upcoming post on this).

As a quick follow-up to one of my previous posts, here's something that will bring back memories!!! (Barney just had to have a blog...a must!)

Once again PhD comics bringing it home...You can put me down as the Casual Snapshot type (perhaps more than 3 hours though..including all the photoshop work)

Yesterday marked the release of the first album by The Last Shadow Puppets, a side project by Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals). The album (produced in just 2 weeks) is entitled The Age of the Understatement, as is their first single released a number of weeks ago and earning our Tune of the Day.

We will be reviewing the full album soon (as soon as I get home to download it). If the rest of the album resembles their first single, we are looking at the return of epic rock (as epic as their Mother Russia video)

In my quest to find something to fill the gap left behind by Six Feet Under and Sopranos, I’ve zapped between a number of different TV series. This led up to last week when I decided to watch How I Met Your Mother and give comedy another chance.

The series has been referenced by some as yet another Friends substitute. Thank god this is not the case (who would want to suffer yet another season of the yuppie branch). The show is about Ted (Josh Radnor), who in the year 2030 narrates to his children the story of how he met their mother (or more precisely how he met all other girls except their mother…well at least during the first season). So, in the form of narrative flashbacks, we get into Ted’s world, where he lives with his best friend Marshall (Jason Segel), his fiancé Lily (Alyson Hannigan – American Pie but most importantly Willow from Buffy) and hangs out (usually down at McLarens’ bar) with legen-you know if you’ve seen the show-dary Barney (Neil Patrick Harris – yeap Doogie Howser/Harold & Kumar) and girl-of-his-dreams Robin (Cobie Smulders).

So, in brief, Ted is a hopeless romantic who is searching for his dream girl/wife to settle down. Marshall is still studying law and fully in love with his 9-year (and only) girlfriend/fiancé Lily. Robin is a news reporter for local media channel and Barney is the typical single successful womanizer (ironically Neil is gay in real life) friend.

While the show is not introducing anything really new in concept (another bunch of friends in NY) and the script is not always at its funniest (with some very cheesy jokes at some points) it has a number of good things going for it. Foremost, it is based on some solid character building and this does actually hook you into watching the next episode. The script also has a number of twists and at some points it actually does hit the right spot for laughs. It is also very easy to watch (I actually saw all 22 episodes of season 1 in just two days without even realizing it), and at the end, that’s what it’s all about; 20 minutes of entertainment without any other fuzz. I’ve already started Season 2 and I must say it does get even better (shame it won’t last me more than another week max). And the Barney character is just legen-you know if you've seen the show-dary and worth checking out the show only for that.

Suit up bro!!!

For today’s Tune of the Day (no it’s not going to be from Portishead) I’m including one of the latest and one of the first singles from electroclash wonders Ladytron. Black Cat is the first song from their latest album Velocifero and just to see how much (or not) they have progressed through the years, I’ve also included a single from their first EP back in 2000, Commodore Rock. Enjoy…

Portishead have made available today (April 21) their full album at Last.fm through free streaming (one week prior to its official release). I guess Radiohead have influenced a lot of bands and changed the landscape of music promotion and distribution.

However, the full album has been leaked across the internet for quite a few weeks now, so we are able to present a full review (well at least my short opinion).The Bristol based trip hop trio has finally decided to release new material after 11 years. In this Third album they provide 11 new tracks (as in all their previous albums) and definitely serve us something different. After a few takes on this album, I’m still not sure what to make of it. I guess this is really one of the best things about it; it requires more than a couple of takes before you can even make up your mind if you love it or hate it.

Portishead, to their benefit, have not gone the easy way (producing a nostalgic follow up of the same recipe from the old days). They have defiantly tried to progress their sound and experiment with this album. They mix styles and tempos and offer a different perspective in each track. In some cases this works brilliantly and in others it just leaves you indifferent.

Perhaps I’ve given them more time than I would to other records (but I guess we owe Portishead that after their first amazing albums).It has not been a waste of time, as I actually believe the album is good enough (for all those out there that want to hold on to their trip hop memories) but just nowhere close to their debut work (probably never will). Perhaps we have become too accustomed to Gibbons’ dark melancholic voice all these years to be truly moved and lured into her world after more than a decade.

The Rip (with its smooth build up tempo) and Machine Gun (Joy Division meet Einstuerzende Neubauten) are my favorite tracks from this album. So enjoy the drum machine…

After last night's party, which included drinks, music and fire, I don't think I'm able to write too many posts. So I'll restrict myself to our favorite tune from yesterday, the incredible single Blind by Hercules and Love Affair (with Antony's voice). It is the new wonder from DFA records and will hopefully see them soon in Athens at Ejekt festival (although Antony is not joining them along their tour).

On another personal note, after the suggestion from yet another friend, I decided to post about France's Eurovision entry. The contest sucks big time and while our "great" star Kalomoira is only reconfirming my statement, here comes France with their first ever entry to be based on English lyrics to stir things up. Sébastien Tellier's Divine is a great pop song with a really matching video, well worthy of winning the competition (although I'm sure it's just too good to win over Europe's bad taste).

It was yesterday, driving back from work, that I was desperately trying to find which CD to put on to get me through the traffic jam. And once again, I found myself listening to Daft Punk's Homework, only to wander if I would ever find a true follower worthy of their funky French beats.

Digitalism I guess are one of the few answers out there. Punk, techno, disco and funky tunes all blend into one cool, heart-pumping beat that just makes you want to dance, jump and headbang at the same time. Definitely my tune of the day (again belated by a year or so...but who cares...I'm just looking forward to seeing them live...)

I was browsing through some of the old Saturday Night Live clips this morning at hulu (including some beloved Belushi clips) and stumbled upon the classic Natalie Portman gangsta rap. Although old, it still makes me laugh.

Back with the Tune of the Day theme. Today, a classic from Polly after the news of her upcoming concert in Athens in a couple of months. The track and artist require no further comments, so I’ll just dedicate this to friend blogger (who hasn’t posted here for weeks) Alfred Kinsey, after today’s chat.

Inspired by yesterday’s disappointing announcement of Roskilde’s lineup and this morning’s personal news in Facebook (BLR is attending PJ Harvey) I decided to check out the upcoming concerts in Athens for the next months (before they have a chance to cancel half of them!). There are a couple of interesting ones I must say; although the theme is once again “Memories”

Now that the list is over, I see that there is actually not a single new (by any sense) artist worth seeing live for the next 5 months in Athens. We are once again the official pension heaven of Rock.

More than 100 new acts have been announced today for Roskilde only to dissapoint us (well at least me and BRL who have alredy booked tickets) with the amount of who-the-fuck-are-they bands they have listed. The only new names standing out are Cat Power, The Raveonettes, Gossip and Goldfrapp. Only Sigur Ros would save this for me, but still no word..

And continuing from the C64 Play on Tape theme, they also announced a band called The River Phoenix!!! And of course they suck big time, with songs like I'm USA You're Canada, Kittens in a Bag and 5 Wheel Drive. A real disgrace to the name...

I've decided to introduce a new theme in Athens66, the "Tune of the Day". It doesn't necessarily refer to new songs and it won't always be accompanied by lengthy introductions or supplementary reviews. It's just an insight to what I've been listening to most of the day (to help me pass these endless hours).

So for a start, an oldie from Mirah's second album Advisory Committee. I've been listening to the whole album most of this morning, but this live version of Mt. St. Helens is even better than the original track.

Although most homemade version of series finale uploaded on Youtube are usually crap (to say the least), I just came across one that combines two of my favorite TV series and was quite enjoyable.

After quite some searching and tweaking, I was able to test drive the new service from NBC Universal, hulu. The service is supposed to bring TV to the internet (how many times have we heard that before) through free and legal streaming of TV shows and movies. To be honest, after the crappy content offered by the likes of Joost I didn’t have high hopes. However, hulu is offering really quality content due to its agreement with providers such as FOX, MGM, Sony, Warner Bros and of course NBC Universal itself. In other words, you can actually see full episodes from series such as The Simpsons, The Office, Prison Brake, Saturday Night Live and hundreds more (really amazing collection). You can also watch full-length movies such as The Usual Suspects, Big Lebowski or classics such as The Amateur. I must say, the movie collection is still quite small but the episodes list is really impressive.

I have to admit, I’d love to have hulu working for outside US as well (the tweaking worked but with unavoidable delays due to the proxy usage). I know most just download their favorite series through torrents (who doesn’t), but some of these series offered by hulu are really hard to find. If you add the fact that you can just click and watch your favorite episode without waiting for 10GB to download only to realize that Buffy is dubbed in Polish (with Swedish subtitles), then you can understand why I found this service a real joy. And it’s all legal! (like anyone cares..)

A witty webcomic (of romance, sarcasm, math, and language) for passing time in the office on yet another boring Monday. For some strange reason, I accompanied the comic with Radiohead’s In Rainbows and was quite a matching combination. Be kind and pay a visit to XKCD for more strips.

Roskilde Festival has announced twelve new bands for the Pavilion Junior stage for new, promising Nordic acts. Amongst them, is Press Play on Tape, a band comprised of six Commodore 64 fans from the Department of Computer Science in Copenhagen.

Press Play on Tape create music which is based on the soundtracks that accompanied the games from the legendary computer platform C64. They have self produced (obviously) two CDs including music from games like Rambo: First Blood part II, Ghosts'n Goblins, Warhawk, Monty on the Run, Beyond the Ice Palace, Wizardry, Commando, Thing on a Spring, Aztec Challenge, Paperboy, Game Over, Krakout, Thrust, Master of Magic, Arkanoid, Comic Bakery, The Way of the Exploding Fist, Defender of the Crown and Wizball.

The CDs are entitled LOADING READY RUN and RUN/STOP RESTORE (how many endless hours have I spent with these words!). They have also played two concerts in England together with some of the original composers of the computer game tunes (how on earth did they find them?).

As much as I am nostalgic about the C64 games and the agonizing moments I’ve spent waiting for the damn cassettes to load the next level, I’m really glad that the band is only playing during the warm-up period of Roskilde, before the main festival begins and before we arrive there. Let’s just hope some real performances are announced soon or we’ll be touring Denmark at the start of July in search of something noteworthy.

Shen, Lawan, Zom and Nhi are destined for the big screen. Roy Lee and Steve Barnett have decided to produce a feature film of Ben Hibon's Codehunter short animation. The animation was produced for MTV Asia (originally for their weekly film show and then as the main theme of MTV’s Awards show) back in 2005. The seven-minute short animation film along with splendid artwork and cool wallpapers, which have already settled on my desktop, can be downloaded from the Codehunters website.

For those of you that haven't noticed it yet, Greek film production is generally marred with bad romantic comedies and would-be-art films, which completely disregard and more than frequently offend the taste and aesthetics of people that love cinema. So, after seeing the recently launched Istoria 52 / Tale 52, a very decent Greek film, I think that it is in order to make a short reference to a handful of other films from the local production of the current decade that are really worthwhile watching.

An atmospheric film, with great soundtrack and no conventional plot whatsoever, much along the lines of David Lynch's (non-)storytelling. The actors wander around Athens at night like pawns in a dream, without particularly meaningful intentions. It looks like the narrow and dirty downtown city streets themselves are making up the entire setting, mocking the people that step on them in daytime. Technically reminiscent of Touch of Evil, the 10min-long opening sequence sets the mood for the entire film and is something to watch out for. Although I suspect that many people won't like the movie because it does drag at times, I found it enjoyable, filled with playful twists and funny spots.

Trainspotting meets Tarantino in this great psychedelia about 2 underaged chicks that fall into drugs and prostitution so that they can pursue their life dream: money, love and glory. The plot is almost excellent and you rarely lose interest on what's happening on screen, even though there are more than a few non-action scenes. The girls are HOT (the guys too, for those interested) and as you can imagine there are some unrated scenes involving sex and violence, though not many. Directing, Photography, Soundtrack, Editing, Effects are all top notch. It is simply a must!

It was indeed 11th of April, and the promise had to be fulfilled. Having seen the trailer, I was just too compelled to rush out and see Tale 52 as soon as possible. And in contrary to all my previous recent experiences with Greek films on the big screen (which have been kept to a minimum for obvious reasons), Alexis Alexiou debut film was a real delight.

It is the story of Iasonas and Penelope or at least a story of someone noting a story very similar to that of Iasonas. Love, lust, envy and psychosis all blend in a spiral storyline of reoccurring days and set of events that gradually unfold what happened to the two lovers (or at least what could have happened). A phsychological thriller filmed with a mixture of tight close-ups, handheld sequences and dark atmospheric photography, mainly using natural light, shadows and claustrophobic settings.

Both actors (Giorgos Kakanakis and Serafita Grigoriadou) give noticeable performances and are able to get the viewer in the mentality of the characters. This is vastly assisted by Alexiou’s directing; mixing scenes, time and emotions through a modern way of filming, not usually seen in Greek films.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film, although it did fall into some clichés and had some references to cult directors such as Lynch (especially the ceiling mold). That however, is by no means a bad thing. Finally, we have a Greek film that we actually enjoyed, and for that, it is definitely the must-see movie of at least this month.

The new indie-rock band from former Band of Horses member Mat Brooke provides in their debut self-titled album a collection of mainly melodic rock/pop tracks. After a few listening, the record does live a cheerful, peaceful feeling, albeit not that distinctive. A generally good effort that may lead to something better in the future. “Miniature Birds” definitely my favorite song from the album.

Yet another favorite Scottish band (along with belle and arab strap) is back with their third album. The band has moved from their more melodic sound in their previous albums into more rock territory with fast guitar riffs and catchy rhythms. Catchy is the key phrase for this album, which could really push the band’s popularity. Scott Paterson has left the ground to Adele Bethel, leading vocals in almost all songs in this album (wise choice). Gift Complex and Split Lips are the opening tracks and also my favorites.

The Danish garage-rock duo is back with their new album (and hopefully will see them in Roskilde this summer). This time around they sound even noisier and darker than ever before and for that we are more than glad. They provide a solid album from start to end with seductive vocals, burst of raw guitar sessions and an end results that brings back memories of Sonic Youth (I said memories…not making comparinsons) and in some tracks blended with Mazzy Star (just listen to With my Eyes Closed) and even Julian Cruise (The Best Dies). Opening track Aly Walk with me and Dead Sound are my favorite from this album, which is a keeper.

Continuing on the things-to-do-this-weekend theme, today sees the opening of the 4th “Athens Video Art Festival”. The festival is held at Technopolis (Gazi) and hosts a mixture of digital art forms, obviously focusing on video art. In addition to the exhibitions, it will also host a number of concerts from the usual Greek suspects (Micro, Raining Pleasure, Rodes). Will try to pay a visit (but not too eager about it).

Our beloved Bayern (my beloved to be more precise) is back on track for the UEFA cup after a typical German win in Spain. You can never write-off the Germans and they proved that yesterday (twice). It was up to a French-man (Ribéry) on almost the last minute of regular time (89’) and an Italian (Toni) on the last minute (120’) of extra time to tie the game twice and get Bayern on the semi final round after a sizzling match against Spanish side Getafe.