Skinny Love by Bon Iver

A folk/blues track, Skinny Love, by a man called Bon Iver, from an album entitled Jon Emma, Forever Ago. Nice track, a grower. Reminds me of Thomas from Denmark & Sons of Jim. "And I told you to be patient/and I told you to be fine/and I told you to be better/and I told you to be kind".



Bon Iver performs Skinny Love on 16th May 2008, Later with Jools Holland.



Another live performance, this time at the Independent, San Francisco courtesy of la Blogotheque.

Interpretations of Valerie

I loooove this video. Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse, the video for Valerie. (Winehouse isn't actually in the video, but features have-a-go lookalikes plucked from the crowd). Just a wonderful upbeat video, looks like everyone's having a lot of fun. Released October 15th 2007.



A remix of a cover. Brilliant remix. Baby J remixed Mark Ronson's version of Valerie as covered by Amy Winehouse. Phew! It works really well with a ska, reggae, dancehall tinge to it. I love the way a proper video has been produced for this relatively low key remix. I think it was b side on the actual release.



Great little video of Amy sitting off on a couch and performing Valerie live, with an accompanying acoustic guitar, for an AOL session. Makes it look effortless, truly.



Another live performance of the track by Amy Winehouse. Nice relaxed but jazzed up performance.



A really good cover of Valerie by Panic at the Disco, performed on Jo Wiley's Live Lounge.



James Morrison lends some huskiness to Valerie. I think this too must have debutéd on Jo Wiley's show.



Woot! Finally, the instrumental of Mark Ronson's Valerie. However I'm pretty sure it's fake and this is just someone knocking it up on GarageBand, good effort though. (Not sure about the A Christmas Carol bells in the middle though!).

Dust by Royworld

I sort of feel embarrassed to like this song, but I can't help it. Dust by Royworld. (What a fucking awful name). I hate the band just for the name 'Royworld'.



The above is Dust sung live in Westminster Library, lovely backdrop, bathed in blue light and book spines. 10th April 2008.

Radiohead play covers

Radiohead cover Joy Division and New Order's Ceremony. Personally I think the New Order is better than Joy Division's and it is one of my favourite songs of all time, so I'm always gonna be a harsh judge, Radiohead manage not to massacre it though, which is good. It's actually really enjoyable. But that's the genius of the original song. November 9th 2007.



Radiohead cover The Headmaster Ritual. November 9th 2007. Again, they do a sterling job. Maybe they should do a covers album?

Love Will Tear us Apart covers

The Cure cover Love Will Tear Us Apart.



Nouvelle Vague perform their version live at Glastonbury, 2006.

Joy Division live

Joy Divison perform Shadowplay, one of their best songs, live. Some brilliant dancing from Curtis' corner here. Performed in 1978 for Granada Reports.



Joy Division perform, She's Lost Control live 15th September, 1979.

Summertime Blues covers

Hanson perform Summertime Blues live on Japanese TV, circa 2000!



The Who play Summertime Blues at the Montery Festival, 1967.



Van Halen perform Summertime Blues in 1983 in an Argentinian gig. They synth it up proper too. The song is totally transformed from rockabilly pop.



Stray Cats used to just rob every rocakbilly song going. (including C'mon Everybody). This is their Summertime version, 1983, live at The Palace in Hollywood.

Editors don't keep off the grass

Editors perform brilliantly and truly acoustically on the grass at the Pinkpop festival, 2006. Tom Smith can sing, and is fit. Just a really good stripped down performance which sounds great, not a hitch. Performing All Sparks followed by Bullets.

Vampire Weekend live and acoustic

Vampire Weekend perform Oxford Comma live as part of MTV Sessions. Love the drummer using the rim to get the tin sound. The singer yelping makes me cringe live a bit to be honest. But I love the afrobeat jam. They do have a dumbass name too for Columbia grads. Guitar playing is good.



Mansard Roof, live for MTV Sessions. I don't get it, I still find this band quite irritating despite liking their music.

NY bands do Jools Holland

Vampire Weekend perform their lead single A-Punk from their debut single. I'm actually not a major fan of this song, I prefer Mansard Roofs and Oxford Comma, but it's all right for a three minute blast if not about average and annoying. It seems like something any indie band could do. But the other stuff is good. This was aired on the 29th February 2008.



MGMT perform their single Time to Pretend on Jools Holland from the album Oracular Spectacular (2007). This performance is from March 2008.

Duffy covers Hot Chip!!!!

Above is a live video of Duffy's performance of the Hot Chip song, Ready for the Floor for Radio 1 Jo Wiley's Live Lounge, February 2008. Acoustic and stripped back. She also performed her single Mercy, which is shown below.



And one more, Duffy performing Mercy live on the Culture Show:

Hot Chip cover Wiley!!!!

The above is the audio of Hot Chip covering Wiley's Wearing My Rolex, in Jo Wiley's Live Lounge, in May 2008. Gotta love the Chip mixed with Wiley. They get it down brilliantly, almost too well in fact.

They also performed their new track, One Pure Thought. Listen to single and live versions below.

The Temptations perform My Girl

Absolutely fucking amazing. Just love the bright purple suits against the velvet scarlet backdrop and the Jacksonesque white socks, plus the shimmying dance moves. Performance taken from the film, My Girl. Also see the other performance I have, black and white TV spot.

Dolly Parton live

Beautiful live performance of Coat of Many Colours. This is such a beautiful and poignant song and a really great heartfelt performance by the Doll. The whole thing is about "dirt poor" Dolly's mum sewing her a coat with bits of scrap material and all the kids laughing at her in the playground. It amazes me she can pick guitar strings with nails like cigils! "Mama sewed the rags together/sewing every piece with love/she made my coat of many colours/that I was so proud of". Dolly Parton as Joseph in the school yard!



Dolly Parton performs Jolene live on American TV. This is simply one of the best songs ever. The intro is sublime, one of the best guitar intros ever, and the lyrics are perfect desperate woman fair. "Please don't take him/just because you can".

Mikhail Baryshnikov

A wonderful video of Mischa Baryshnikov dancing the principal part of Albecht's variation, Act II of Giselle, 1977. Poise, control, technical brilliance in abundance. It's no wonder male ballet dancers are hot and that he gets an uprurious reception.



Amazing amateur filmed video of Baryshnikov taking a ballet class during the Festival Internacional, Habana, Cuba, 2007. Great insight into how the great dancer trains and works in private and how he instructs those following in his footsteps (excuse the pun). Like Picasso giving an Art Foundation class in a town hall.



From the great 1985 film, White Nights, Mischa Baryshnikov dances to Vladimir Vysotsky's famous folk song Fastidious Horses. Amazing combination of classical ballet and modernism dance. Just perfectly mixed to create one of the most amazing dances ever! The film is perfect too, with a cast including Helen Mirren, Gregory Hines and Isabella Rossellini. Also, fact fans, Helen Mirren met her husband, the director Taylor Hackford on this film.



And finally, Mischa dances a male variation of the Coppelia.

Adele

The ice sculpture adorned video for Cold Shoulder, taken from the debut album 19. "You/grace me with your cold shoulder/whenever you look at me I wish I was her/you/shower me with words made of knives/whenever you look at me I wish I was her". Released April 21 2008.



The spot for the single Chasing Pavements. Not sure about the video, but I like her coat and Audrey Hepburn pants. Kanye West liked it though - he described the video as "dope".



Adele performs the track Daydreamer live on Jools Holland. Very Ella Fitzgerald inspired performance. "But I will find him/sitting on my doorstep".



A live roof top, stripped down piano-accompanied version of Hometown Glory, featured on the BBC2 show, Sound. 27th October 2007.



Adele guests on BBC Radio 1 Jo Wiley's Live Lounge, and covers the Strokes' Last Nite.

Kissin' in the Back of the Movies by The Drifters

The Drifters perform Kissin' at the Back of the Movies on the Shirley Bassey show in 1979, the song reached #2 on the UK charts. Check out the Bassey in this video! She looks beautiful! The Drifters ain't so bad themselves. Love The Drifters and how their music is always so teen-boppy romantic. "And every night I pick her up from school/cos you're my steady date", "we can't have too much fun/till all your homework's done".

Kings of Leon, Such Charmers

I love the above video for Charmer. Everything about it. I think it is because Caleb Followill decided to cut his hair and now looks very hot in a Leonardo DiCaprioesque way, and also acts wonderfully in the promo. Also, love the plaid shirt, very Kanye West. I know the screaming is ripped off the Pixies, but whatever, it works. "She's always looking at me/she's always looking at me!/she's such a charmer/oh no!" I love the paranoia and crashing energy to this tune.



Kings of Leon perform the song On Call on the David Letterman show. Immense bass in this song.

The Ting Tings

Live and acoustic MTV session from the Ting Tings. Bad sound but good live performances. The second single (and catchy as an STI), single Not My Name, followed by Fruit Machine and Traffic Light. Below is are the music video spots and also a live performance of Not My Name on Jools Holland. The vocalist, Katie White, has the same Mancunian accent as model Agyness Deyn I think.



The lo-fi 80s pink and turquoise pop of the Ting Ting's first video for Great DJ. "You gotta love the BPM".



Music promo for That's Not My Name. Released on the 12th May 2008.



That's Not My Name performed on Jools Holland.

Christina Aguilera Performs A Man's World

This is a great performance of James Brown's This is a Man's World, at the 2007 Grammy awards, a tribue to the late singer. James Brown was the first live act I ever saw on stage! Something I'll probably be for ever grateful for. Ahem, he was supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers however.