Music: Spotify

Friends, nothing in life is free. Well, not for long anyway.

About 4 months ago I downloaded a nifty little music player called, Spotify. It is a virtual Aladdin's cave of music. Type in any artist or track name and Spotify will send the fairies into the stockroom and fish it out for you. Pretty splendid.

So, I have all the music I could want at my fingertips and all they ask is that I endure short adverts every few tracks and a little green icon on my task bar. A fair deal, I think. Sadly, perhaps due to unprecedented success, the Spotify guys have suddenly decided to withdraw their free service. Spotify is now downloadable only for those who are willing to pay to become a Premium user. This will set you back £9.99 a month. I'll let you decide if it's worth it!

It was a good thing while it lasted. And I still have it for nothing. Cheeky!

website:http://www.spotify.com

Books: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moers

I don't even know where to begin with this book. It is like a humungous sardine tin rammed full of literary genres, crazy characters, emotions and wonderfully surreal illustrations.

Translated from the orginal German, this is a fantastical tale of Captain Bluebear, a furry blue bear (keep up!) with 27 lives in total. We are witness to just 13 1/2 of these lives in this book. The story takes place in the curious imagined world of Zamonia, where a blue bear can stow-away with a band of MiniPirates, strange creatures dwell in the Demerara Desert and wizened old men live in the eye of a tornado. It is sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, comedy, children's book, fairytale. It is simply brilliant!

Each of Bluebear's 'lives' could stand alone as an individual story but it is not until the final few chapters of the 704 page tome, that you realise the threads have all been leading towards the ending. Characters that you had forgotten 400 pages ago suddenly reappear to the aid, and occasionally chagrin, of the protagonist. The entire text is broken up at intervals by the Professor Nightingale's Encyclopedia of Zamonia which, at first, makes for slow reading. You get used to this, however, and soon find yourself waiting for the next information download from Bluebear's teacher. Moer's sensational writing is complemented and added to by his completely surreal illustrations throughout the text. If you are left with any doubt after his introductionof a new character or setting, the accompanying illustration will make it almost jump off the page.

Do not be put off by the size of this book. It is a world waiting to be delved into, and does not disappoint. There are some truly inspired characters and situations portrayed in the book, and some very definate laugh-out-loud moments.

My rating: ***** 5 stars
Recommendation: Try not to put this book down between reads. Get stuck in and refuse to come out!
Other books by the author: Rumo, The City of Dreaming Books, The Alchemaster's Apprentice, A Wild Ride Through the Night

Music: Owl City

Ever heard of Owl City? No, me neither. Until a friend pointed me in his direction. I am hooked.

Owl City consists of Adam Young, a 23 year old whose music comes to us straight from his parent's basement in Minnesota. A Myspace success, Young claims to make his music purely to combat his insomnia.

His newest album is called Ocean Eyes and it is a glorious blend of synthpop, electronica and new wave. It's like listening to a slightly less polished version of The Postal Service, or an American Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly. Young has also collaborated with pop-punk band Relient K's frontman, Matthew Thiessen on several tracks. So, Owl City belongs to a noble heritage of electronic mixing salt shaker percussion effects. However, the album is pleasantly uplifting and doesn't once get boring. The Saltwater Room is a sweet duet featuring Breanne Duren, whose voice seems perfectly made for this style of music and who may actually be a robot. A beautiful robot.
Dental Care is a crazy, tongue-in-cheek tune which sings the praises of a thoroughly cheerful trip to the dentist. Why not? After all, dentists deserve their air-time, too. Fireflies is Owl City's most successful track to date (peaking at 7 on the US charts) and dips its finger in the stylings of electro, punk and pop at its absolute best.

The lyrics are childlike in their simplicity, mimicking the music, yet the themes of the album evoke awe and wonder in the simplest and most common things of life. It's hopeful, cute and not at all hokey. Who knew words like 'warm', 'fuzzy' and 'hugs' could be taken seriously in a pop song?

Look out for Owl City in the future (he has just been signed by Universal Republic) and also keep your eyes and ears open for Goodbye Dubai, a hinted side-project with Matt Thiessen. Exciting days.

My Rating: *** 3 stars
Recommendation: If you like electro, you'll enjoy this. It's cute. Happy, and cute.
Website: www.myspace.com/owlcity

Feeling up?

Man, I am a horrible film/music/book reviewer.

I will start again.

It will be better.

Music: Paramore - Brand New Eyes

Ok, here’s my Kingsmill confession. Well…sort of. Anyway, I had previously dismissed Paramore as another teen punk rock band. What’s worse, they were a teen punk rock band fronted by a girl. Oh heavens, a girl trying to scream a point in a male dominated genre. Yes, I wrote them off.

Please forgive me, Paramore. I may actually be addicted to this album.

This is the third full length album from them, and it’s fantastic. 'Brand New Eyes' chronicles the band’s difficult year as they struggled to stick together, lost band members and ultimately decided to give it another shot. I’m glad they did.

Let’s start with 'Ignorance', the first single from the new album. It’s a cocky, angry dig at members of the band’s team who doubted their longevity. It’s a smart choice for a first single because it sounds a lot like their previous material. Catchy, aggressive and powerful, it’s going to do well in the charts.

As for the rest of the album, Hayley Williams’ powerhouse vocals have blown me away from the first to the last audio second. This girl has a set of pipes to be proud of! And she showcases the more tender and controlled aspects of her voice on a handful of surprising and refreshing down-tempo acoustic tracks, 'The Only Exception' and 'Misguided Ghosts.'

The album is full of catchy hooks that make you want to jump, punch the air and join in. I still find myself singing the odd line with gusto hours after listening. The point is, it would be easy to pigeonhole Paramore (i’m blushing sheepishly as I say this) as punky emo kids with rage. This album is hopeful. The band has overcome a potential break-up and yet William’s triumphant cry is, “I can’t believe we almost hung it up. We’re just getting started!”

Another stand-out track is 'All I Wanted', a sublime ballad which begins soft and then launches into a great, anthemic epic. Again, Williams unbelievable vocals manage to melt my bones as she pours out her heart into the line ‘All I wanted was you…’

Tucked away at the end of the record is 'Decode' which featured on the soundtrack for Twilight (2008). Admittedly it was this song (and this film) that flicked the Paramore lightbulb on for me and this track is addictive as Edward Cullen himself. It was written with the story specifically in mind and fits the film perfectly. If you get a chance, check out the acoustic version of the song on the Twilight soundtrack.

All in all, I want to give hundreds of bonus points for a surprising variety in styles on this album and for providing the listener with a gold mine of brilliant chorus lines to belt out when you think no one is listening.

My rating: ***** 5 star record!!
Recommendation: Play it loud and dance like a crazed rockstar.