Van Tango

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have unveiled the title of their new album, as well as the lead single from said release. The LP, entitled Show Your Bones is released through their Dress Up Records imprint on March 27th. A single preceeds it a week earlier, which goes by the moniker of 'Gold Lion'. Karen O said about the album title : "Show Your Bones is what happens when you put your finger in a light socket, we'd like to thank 9 year old antigenius wonder-kid Drake Barrett for the insight and the life saver, titles are hard to come by the older you get. Maybe there is some of that electric current flowing through the tracks of our album illuminating us from the inside out for you to laugh at and cry to or fry to, or not." Ace!

"THE STROKES AFTER SHOW PARTY! ....BIFF! BANG! POW!"- Tues 31st Jan at Joshua Brooks, 106 Princess St, MANCHESTER. Email dazmod (biffbangpowdaz@aol.com) for queries.

Some Milburn tracks.

Babyshambles gigs
- Live @ Reading Festival (27.08.05)
- Live @ Koko (9th Jan 06)

Pete Doherty pleaded guilty overnight to possessing heroin and cocaine. He was greeted by dozens of photographers and reporters and a small number of fans when he arrived more than an hour late at a London courtroom. Wearing a cream-coloured sweater and dark waistcoat, the self-confessed drug abuser signed several autographs after the hearing ended. His spokesman, Tony Linkin, confirmed that Doherty had pleaded guilty to the charges after being arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs in November last year. Doherty was released on bail and is due to reappear at Ealing Magistrates Court on Feb 8th. Mr Linkin said the Babyshambles' tour would not be affected by the hearing, and that Doherty was travelling to the central English town of Stoke for a gig later in the day. Le sigh.

Ashlee Simpson with her new squeeze and friends at the beach.

Avril Lavigne did an impromptu interview on the street. Such a dear. Avril also has a fashion spread in the February Harper's Bazaar magazine. Will she be the future Kate Moss? (1 2 3)

This week, the contestants went to swimming pool...Miss Jay told them to walk like a model by the pool side. Then did some jiggy dance wearing bikinis & using a hat for good measure. Sarah still walked horribly. Lisa overdid it. Kim was lost and unsure of how to move the right way. Cassandra still has probs with her billyidol hairstyle and complained to her mum over the phone. Next day, a korean or jap(Sue Wong) elderly lady fashion expert introduced them to a circular spinning platform where they will be dressed in ethnic costumes. The first walk was on a normal rectangular platform and the spinning one is located at the front where it is a step lower so they have to really reach it in a graceful manner. Everyone was either comical or uncomfortable with the new platform except Bre who nailed it very well. She won the rights to wear an expensive gown and brought Coryn, Lisa, Kim & Jayla along to eat cavier. All of them were actually expecting something heavy to fill up their hungry stomachs... Next day, they were told to run on a threadmill & pretend to look scared/worried about something from behind. Bre did well again. Cassandra refused to shorten her hair after much consideratrion. Jayla's hair was cut short...and of course i prefer her with short hair where she looked 'wooo!'*23245.. Cassandra was asked to go home directly after the hair-cut refusal in the studio. Next day during judging, they were all made to come up with a signature walk. The shocked expressions from Miss Jay was effin hilarious when seeing the weird walking styles from most of them. Sarah looked like she was in a hurry to reach a shopping mall, Bre did her horsing walk, Kyle is alright with a lil bit horsing, Kim came up with a 'i know i am not the best at catwalks but i promise i will try my best' then did her walk..where the judges looked 'huh?'. Photoshot - best ones were Bre, Jayla, Nicole & Kim ... ("Sarah looked like she got hit by a taxi" - Ms Jay) ... Jayla was called first!!! woo hoo!!! Next is Kyle(runway walk saved her)... last two were Kim/Sarah...& the lack of confidence from Kim is not as bad as Sarah so that caused her departure from the competition. Sarah's photoshots made her look a little bit like some crap actress.

Placebo new single is called "Because I Want You". Released on Feb 27. 'Because I Want You' will be the first single from the band's fifth as-yet-untitled album. It's an urgent, impassioned plea to unrequited love; three-and-a-half minutes of joyous pop, reminiscent of the band's early work and a strong indication of what to expect from the new album. Very nice.

BBC News website's Sound of 2006 survey.

Morningwood looks a promising upcoming band for this year. Their music videos are very colourful ala Josie&ThePussycats. Check out their video for Nth-degree. A lil cheesy but the quality is there.

Plan B (real name Ben Drew) the british answer to Eminem?

The Automatic, seem pretty promising on the basis of this one song i've heard (Recover). Think 'The Cribs/Rakes' vocals with guitar licks of Franz. Very indie disco-ish. Unwise to ignore.

Maximo Park will release the 12-track "Missing Songs"on Feb 20 in the UK and Feb 21 in the U.S., courtesy of Warp Records. The album is a collection of b-sides with demos from their debut LP, 2005's A Certain Trigger.

The Streets - New album is out in April, called "The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living"

Babyshambles' next single is likely to be '32nd December' to be released on Feb 27.

The Rakes will release 'All Too Human', backed by two more new tracks, 'Vitamin V' and Watford, on Feb 27th.

The White Stripes have been forced to delay their imminent Japanese tour after doctors ordered frontman Jack White not to speak for two weeks in a bid to save his ravaged vocal cords. The duo were scheduled to play gigs in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka from Jan 12, but have postponed performances after frontman White was diagnosed him with an "acute vocal cord problem". Hopefully a prolonged spell of silence will speed his recovery and has reassured fans he still intends to play the Big Day Out Festival, which travels through New Zealand and Australia from January 20. Get well Jack.

Two new indie bands that actually stopped me from the unhealthy hourly dosage of FirstImpressions :
>> Ripchord - Two quality songs Terrible Thing & Charmless Spies are a must hear. Vocals similar to the guy from The Subways.

>> Larrikin Love - This band covers a lot of different sounds from the likes of SonsAndDaughters, UB40, The Rakes and PULP(On Sussex Downs reminds me of a lost track from Pulp's His n Hers album).

Babyshambles/Libertines/DPT/Yeti/Pete Doherty/Carl Barat Biggest 920 songs collection item.

New York Metro Magazine long article about The Strokes (Jan 16 2006 issue)

Jules interview with XFM regarding FIOE. He also discussed track by track meaning of the songs.

[ You Only Live Once / Juicebox / Heart in a Cage / Razorblade / On the Other Side ]
[ Vision of Division / Ask Me Anything / Electricityscape / Killing Lies ]
[ Fear of Sleep / 15 Minutes / Ize of the World / Evening Sun / Red Light ]

The Brit Awards has invited a simple girl to the event. Organisers were keen to get Paris Hilton on board so they can appeal to an American audience and maybe cause some controversy. Brit bosses want to cause a stir with their ceremony, but with mellow and polite acts such as Coldplay and James Blunt *yaaaawwns* attending, it looks as though any cock-up's and mishaps will be very low key. The hotel heiress is apparently being lined up to present an award and it is hoped she will cause a stir with the serious rock 'n' roll stars. Paris is hoping to take the music world by storm when she releases her debut album in April and thus keen to be involved, with record company bosses confident she will be next Bitchney. A spokesman said: "She could well get booed by the serious rock 'n' roll contingent - and whatever happens, she won't be boring." Charlotte Church is up for an award at the ceremony, so no doubt organisers will try and seat the girls together and ply them with champagne so they can cause some true Brit-style fireworks. The ceremony takes place at Earls Court on Feb 15 - let's hope she can keep the lawsuits down to a minimum while she is over in UK. Paris & Charlotte sitting at the same table. Now "that's hot".

Jamie Cullum has a mixed sound on his new album, a mix of his jazz sound with a mix of dance beats. That would be something new. Jamie's brother is a DJ and joined forces with him to try and play the new tracks live saying: "I've been trying for ages to play live to club beats and now I'm working on dance and electronic music with my brother, who DJs and produces house music. It's something I've always been into but I haven't talked about it until now because people get confused by it. They think I'm a jazz guy who appeared on Michael Parkinson and that's it." Nah, he isn't just a jazz dude. This boy is special.

Austin Powers is now reportedly dating a beautiful, younger lady - just weeks after announcing his split from wife of 12 years Robin Ruzan. Mike Myers was seen enjoying an intimate date with the unknown beauty at New York's Lil' Frankie's eatery. The pair set tongues wagging after waiting 15 minutes for a table in the private dining room, away from prying eyes, despite the fact there was a number of free spaces in the main restaurant. Myers stunned Hollywood last month by admitting he and Ruzan - who were thought to be one of the strongest couples in showbiz - were divorcing. That was a big shock. He admitted his wife had kept him sane over the years and the actor's spokesperson said, despite their split, they "remain committed and caring friends". The couple have no kids and got married in 1993. At least he has integrity and did not attempt a cowardly act like some Troy dude.

Jessy Simpson has been seen with Dick Tracy? She has found an unusual confidante to help her cope with her recent divorce. Warren Beatty has been spotted meeting the pop star at coffee houses around Los Angeles in recent weeks for secret sessions. But friends insist there's no romance between the pair - Beatty is simply offering Simpson advice. In Touch mag claims the odd couple met at a Starbucks in early December (05), and have since liaised over coffee several times. A source says, "Warren's an objective voice of authority and reason." Seems like she prefers listening to Warren rather than Mr Joe?

Liz Hurley has dismissed media speculation that her ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant is about to marry Jemima Khan. Hurley, who dated Grant for 13 years before they split up in 2000, said the actor and Khan had no plans to marry. "I don't see him as much these days, but I do know that he's not getting married either, even though that has been written about in the newspapers. I think I would know if he was and I do know that he isn't," she told Grazia magazine. She added: "We don't see a great deal of each other so much now because obviously we've got completely separate lives, and we've moved on with new relationships and families, but I still worship him - he's my best friend." Hurley said Arun Nayar accepted that Grant was her closest friend. "He's a big part of my life and it hasn't been a problem with Arun. Hugh is my best friend and I can't imagine life without him." The actress said rumours that she and Mr Nayar were getting married were a "myth". However she refused to rule it out completely, saying she was "not against the idea". She said: "As a matter of fact, we haven't got any plans to get married, but even my mother doesn't believe me." Alright. It's her choice anyways. But the odds of conceiving twins(her intention) at the age of 40 and above are going to get worse..