I feel I have had a productive day today. Got lots of stuff done at work, watched Desperate Housewives on the train on the way to and from work, caught up with email correspondence, heard from my friend in America who has received his Will Young tour programme I got for him and is a very happy chappy and went for a starbucks after work with Mr Daz of the Panteloons, who also got a kicky new haircut. RAR! Plus there is a great new clothes shop called Bank that has opened in the usually quite grim shopping experience that is Coventry which I mentally spent a fortune in at lunchtime! Still, enough of my random yackings (which I know you all absolutely adore), on with today's post…
THE SUPER-HEROES RETURN:
Heroes are in at the moment. Whether it's the desperate wannabes on the third season of The X-Factor or the far-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be tv show Heroes (which indeed has me in its spell), they are popping up all over the place. But here at The Zapping, we've always had a soft spot for those original super-heroes of pop, the rather marvellous and lovely Switch-22. Not only did they write a little greeting for us (previously The Zapping's most visited day before yesterday!) but they have the sort of faces (and bodies) that a boy could spend a good forty minutes snogging at the (late lamented) Smash Hits Poll Winners Party if a) S22 were into boys and b) if that boy were single. Which I'm not. I'm quite happy snogging one man for the rest of my days…
Anyhoo, as many of you know, I'm on a mission to get some quality pop back into the charts (see yesterday's post on Simon and Gavin) and Switch-22 are just the boys to bring some much needed fun and sex appeal back to the airwaves. They have recently released their debut EP entitled "We Put The S in Action", a surprisingly diverse collection of five songs that showcase their ability to adapt to different genres and have a great time while doing it. The EP kicks off with the lovely Beautiful Eyes – a perfect ballad for release at Christmas that swirls with gentle piano, crescendo-ing strings and deep heartfelt vocals that recall the best of Erasure in the late 80s. Next is an 8 minute ambient bliss-out affair entitled Fall With Me and you do as tripping beats wash over you, lulling you into an almost hypnotic state. But then the fun begins and the super-heroes only have limited time to save planet earth as the pulsating Soul Shake kicks in. This would be a great first single and I can only imagine the video that would go with it. All leather and grease no doubt and the most fun assault on the charts since Fuzzbox mounted it with International Rescue. Surrender and Yesterday are also strong single contenders and bring this far-too-short EP to a close, leaving you with a smile on your face and definitely wanting more, more, more…
LINK: Buy Put The S Back In Action
THE FORERUNNERS TO SUCCESS:
I've written about Freerunner before (not being very original today am I?!), but feel I have done them a disservice by lumping them in the punky-pop category. That tends to conjour up images of Son of Dork and McFly (the latter of whom I obviously adore) and Freerunner seem to go deeper than that. Not only are they working hard to build themselves a solid reputation as a great live act, but they have a songwriting ability that – much like Simon Curtis yesterday – belies a lifetime of experience and heartbreak way beyond their tender years.
Four tracks have been available to stream on myspace for a while now, but now you can purchase them in glorious high quality download. The songs have an organic feel to them and lead singer Robert has a great voice that embodies the lyrics and complementary music perfectly. Cold and Decibles are two coldplay-esque ballads that you can totally imagine a crowded concert hall standing in awe listening to. They certainly have a hypnotic power to them. Leave Me Alone would make a great single and the three minutes of pure adrenaline are over far too soon. There is something about the music that is slightly rough and unpolished, but i like it that way - you can hear the lads love for what they do shining through in every note, leading to great raw, nuanced performances that more experienced bands would kill for.
Buy: Freerunner tracks here
THE FAVOURITE RELATIVE:
Aah good old Uncle Seth. Always turning up drunk for weddings and Christmas, doing that dodgy dancing he loves so much and then inevitably inappropriately feeling your boyfriend's arse :O Mercifully, not all Uncle Seths are like that and we were contacted by Canadian band who wanted to set the record straight…
Uncle Seth are a toronto based band who do a rather nifty line in catchy pop rock that insinuates it's way into your head and refuses to let go. Lead singer Tara has a powerful vocal style that doesn't let herself be overwhelmed by the thrusting band. Jay Moonah (the bass player) sent me their latest single and ok'd it to be downloaded from this site and a great little track it is too. To Be An Angel twists and turns through its rollicking and melodic verses into a sing a long chorus that will sound great with the windows down in the car on a crisp autumnal morning. And great news! The band also won Best Classic Rock Award for their stunning cover of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now at the Toronto Independent Music Awards. Check out the single below and let me know what you think...
MP3: Uncle Seth - To Be An Angel
Link: Buy Uncle Seth music at CDBaby
THE PREVIEW:
Coming either tomorrow or Sunday (as I'm away in London on Saturday) will be my promising young male acts feature to accompany my recent promising young boy bands feature. As little precursor to this, I'll give you a quick glimpse of the lovely Conor, who is one of I Should Be So Lucky studio's first signings (run by Mike Stock and Matt Aitken). Expect more from this cool new find tomorrow…
THE LIVE LOUNGE REFRESH(2):
5 more tracks that have previously been posted...
MP3: Lorraine - Heaven
MP3: James Blunt - If There's Any Justice
MP3: Jose Gonzales - Hand On My Heart
MP3: Kaiser Chiefs - What Time Is Love
MP3: Keane - With Or Without You
QUICK BITZ:
~ Has anyone ever watched You Are What You Eat with Gillian McKeith? I can't watch it cos the crazy little health food junkie drives me insane. Judging by her performance on last night's show I'd rather be fat than live my life as a scrawny seed-eating budgie with the joy capacity of a phlegm salad. I honestly think she is utterly deranged. I mean who else would rush up to commuters brandishing a tub of offal? And what is it with her and poos?? McKeith worships them like little brown gods. 'Hmmm - sticky... lacking in fiber' she murmered ominously prodding this weeks victim's small offering in its Tupperware container (remind me never to go on a picnic with her) before wildly shrieking to camera: 'this is pathetic...pathetic poo!' Not as pathetic as you weirdie pants… (source - metro)
~ I just adore the Ordinary Boys new album cover "How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps " They have a great unique style and am so enjoying their latest single Lonely At The Top… 
~ Tired of doing Jamie Oliver every bleeding night? Now you know how "Jules" feels… fnar! If you are after a new way of cooking, you could do worse than to check out the genius recipies of Sam Stern whose ability to knock one out quickly in the kitchen certainly bodes well for any bedroom relationships he may well have in the future…
~ There's a new Q(r) Magazine in town and it's not all about music.
~ Is anyone else rather annoyed that Heat has totally lost it's "it magazine" factor and has also featured nikki/pete from Big Bro 7 on the cover for the past 6 issues?? I don't think they are even in my top ten fave mags anymore. A long fall from grace for a former fave...
Coming soon: Tomorrow will definitely be something about The History Boys movie and music plus something about Lemony Snicket's final book. Then i'm off to Dirty Dancing The Musical on Saturday and to hang out with my good buddies Mark and Simon so expect lots about that on Sunday....
The Lonely Boys cover is rather great.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle this promising young male singers feature, given my excitement during the boybands post!
Oh, and one other thing. You are going to hate me when you check out my latest post ;-)
PG - the switch22 ep is kinda great actually; a lot more diverse than i figured. I just wish it had Sweet Dreaming on (though i suspect they are saving that for a single...) My boy singer post may have to wait until Monday! Crikey!
D'Luv - i am excited and reticent to go to your post because i just know you sold me out and whored yourself out to Daniel Gillespie Sells without a second thought for me. Bitch :*( Oh i'm only jealous - you know i can't stay mad at you for long... i am in touch with Conor so will find about about the SAW connection for Monday when i do the post on him...