iVibrator?

Since the iPod was first released there have been a plethora of accessories to complement the ubiquitous portable music player, some more useful than others.
I was, however, quite surprised when I stumbled upon this link today and found some of the truly bizarre accessories that budding entrepreneurs have concocted to accompany their little white buddies.

Whilst some of the items on this list are actually somewhat snazzy (i.e. Tunebuckle), and some a little excessive (Wurlitzer iPod jukebox, the iPod bed), many are just plain insane; the iPod leather thong, the iPod boxer shorts, the iPod toilet paper dispenser, and (most disturbingly) an iPod vibrator, for example...

The complete list can be found here...

Help get MacGyver on the Walk of Fame...

Okay, this has absolutely nothing to do with music, but I feel it is a cause worthy of posting about.

Apparently a group of dedicated MacGyver fans are trying to convince the appropriate persons in charge to get Richard Dean Anderson (the one and only MacGyver) a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to one site:

"Those judged to have made significant professional achievement, a contribution to the community, and have longevity in the entertainment industry get a star imbedded in the sidewalk forever with their name and area of specialty, such as acting for Anderson."

...and who could argue with that!?
Help get Mac the star he deserves at his official site...

Source: Anderson fans applying for Walk of Fame...

Top 10 lists galore...

Metacritic has compiled a rather spiffy list of lists, summarising various publications' "top 10" lists for the year here.
Most mentioned artists are (unsurprisingly) Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, Kanye West and M.I.A.

Highlights include:

Mojo

1. I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
2. Funeral by Arcade Fire
3. Aerial by Kate Bush
4. Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen
5. Z by My Morning Jacket
6. Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder
7. The Magic Numbers by The Magic Numbers
8. Into The Woods by Malcolm Middleton
9. Dimanche a Bamako by Amadou & Mariam
10. Cole's Corner by Richard Hawley

NME

1. Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
2. Funeral by Arcade Fire
3. You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
4. I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
5. Employment by Kaiser Chiefs
6. Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
7. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
8. Late Registration by Kanye West
9. Down In Albion by Babyshambles
10. Demon Days by Gorillaz

Pitchfork

1. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
2. Late Registration by Kanye West
3. Bang Bang Rock & Roll by Art Brut
4. Arular by M.I.A.
5. I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons
6. The Runners Four by Deerhoof
7. Feels by Animal Collective
8. LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
9. Purple Haze by Cam'ron
10. Apologies To The Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

Q

1. X&Y by Coldplay
2. Demon Days by Gorillaz
3. Employment by Kaiser Chiefs
4. Don't Believe The Truth by Oasis
5. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes
6. Back To Bedlam by James Blunt
7. You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
8. Funeral by Arcade Fire
9. Eye To The Telescope by KT Tunstall
10. Stars Of CCTV by Hard-Fi

Uncut

1. Funeral by Arcade Fire
2. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
3. No Direction Home: The Soundtrack by Bob Dylan
4. Black Mountain by Black Mountain
5. Alligator by The National
6. A Bigger Bang by The Rolling Stones
7. LCD Soundsystem by LCD Soundsystem
8. Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes
9. You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
10. Want Two by Rufus Wainwright

Music vids of the year...

Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal has selected his top five music videos of the year:

1. Superwolf: I Gave You
2. Brendan Benson: Cold Hands, Warm Heart
3. M83: Don't Save Us From the Flames
4. Jason Forrest: War Photographer
5. Supergrass: Low C

Top 10 Albums of 2005...

I've always loved 'Top 10' lists, for some reason they fascinate me. So I've decided to compile various music critics '... of the year' lists, which will be posted on The Broken Drum over the next month or so.

To kick things off I'm going to start with the top 10 albums of the year according to a chap who is probably my favorite music critic of the moment: Nick Bollinger, music critic for The Listener, and host of the excellent radio show The Sampler.
His top 10 albums released in 2005 are as follows:

1. Ry Cooder - Chavez Ravine
2. The Phoenix Foundation - Pegasus
3. The Books - Lost and Safe
4. Wilco - Kicking Television
5. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
6. Ali Farka - In the Heart of the Moon
7. Theolonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall
8. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
9. Bettye LaVette - I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
10. The Ponsonby DCs - The Ponsonby DCs

Let me know of any 'album of the year' lists you feel are worthy of note...

Last.fm

This does seem a little bit 'Big Brother', but interesting regardless. Download a wee gadget which goes with your audio player of choice and your bad taste in music is published in detail on a website for all to see. Nice.

My 'most played' list can be found here, and you can sign up for yourself at Last.fm...

PLUG Awards...

Voting has opened for the 2006 (even though it includes albums from 2005) PLUG Independent Music Awards. Ironically, a number of the artists nominated are associated with a major label in some way.
Judging by the responses of those on the Metacritic forums it would seem that Sufjan Stevens should do rather nicely...

Vote here...

The top 21 New Zealand songs of all time...

To coincide with being on air for 21 years, Dunedin's Radio One polled its' listeners on the top 21 New Zealand tracks of all time. It comes off a bit like a Nature's Best of NZ indie music:

1. The Clean – Point That Thing Somewhere Else
2. Skeptics – Affco
3. Chills – Pink Frost
4. Darcy Clay – Jesus I was Evil
5. Phoenix Foundation – Hitchcock
6. 3Ds – Spooky
7. Salmonella Dub – Love Your Ways
8. Gordons – Coalminers Song
9. Die! Die! Die! – Ashtray Ahstray
10. Toy Love - Squeeze
11. Fat Freddys Drop - Hope
12. Chris Knox – Not Given Lightly
13. Snapper – Hang On
14. Blam Blam Blam – There Is No Depression in New Zealand
15. Concord Dawn – Morning Light
16. DLT and Che Fu – Chains
17. Scavengers – Mr X
18. Great Unwashed – Hold Onto the Rails
19. Trinity Roots – Home Land and Sea
20. Gestalt Switch – Nothing Has Changed
21. Coconut Rough – Sierra Leone

Not surprising is the high number of tracks by Dunedin / Flying Nun bands. However, as some have noted, there is the mysterious absence of Straightjacket Fits from the list.
Some interesting choices nonetheless...

This week in album releases...

Sigur Ros return; releasing their first ever album with a pronouncable title, Takk. NME describes its' sound as "the noise God makes just before he eats a slice of cheese on toast", which is apparently a good thing...

Prolific former hobo Devendra Banhart releases his fourth official album Cripple Crow. He seems to have maintained his good record, despite Billboard's calls for him to get an editor...

Tucson locals Calexico and Iron & Wine have teamed up to create many an alt-country fan's wet-dream with In the Reins. Having listened to it on high rotation for the last few days I couldn't recommend it more. Hopefully this is more than just a one-off project as this is an amazing musical combo...

Wilco reveal live album tracklist...

Popular over-critical indie music website Pitchfork are reporting that Wilco will soon release their much anticipated Kicking Television: Live in Chicago double live-album, and perhaps a wee DVD too. The recording, done over four nights at Chicago's Vic Theatre earlier this year is due to be released on the 1st of November in North America (and hopefully everywhere else not long after).
Tracklisting is as follows:

Disc one

1. Misunderstood
2. Company In My Back
3. The Late Greats
4. Hell Is Chrome
5. Handshake Drugs
6. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
7. Shot in the Arm
8. At Least That's What You Said
9. Wishful Thinking
10. Jesus, Etc.
11. I'm the Man Who Loves You
12. Kicking Television

Disc two

1. Via Chicago
2. Hummingbird
3. Muzzle of Bees
4. One by One
5. Airline to Heaven
6. Radio Cure
7. Ashes of American Flags
8. Heavy Metal Drummer
9. Poor Places
10. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
11. Comment (Charles Wright cover)

And all you lucky folks in the US, Brazil or London can be also treat yourselves to a bit of Wilco / Jeff Tweedy action somewhere near you in the next few months...

Source: Pitchfork...

Foo Fighters show sells out...

Following up on this previous posting, all tickets to the Foo Fighters Wellington show at the Queens Wharf Events Centre were snapped up in only 4 hours, probably setting some kind of local ticket sales record for any event that doesn't include an oval shaped ball.

The only tickets available now are those selling for extortionate prices on popular local auction site TradeMe.

Still no word on who will play support...

Happy bidding!