The Sweet Hurt
There’s an aspect to The Sweet Hurt’s bio that’s, well, sweetly endearing. After going through the ususal personnel problems that bands have, there emerged an opportunity to play a show that pushed Sweet Hurt founder Wendy Wang “to get the band back together.” So, when I was a kid, I loved The Blues Brothers, especially the car chase scenes, and while The Sweet Hurt sound nothing like Jake and Elwood, I appreciate Wendy’s effort.
Loveninjas
Swedish. Pop. Labrador Records. Silly. Dark. A concept. Songs about a Japanese female assasin. Thrilling costumes. Songs about murder and sex. Not really a band. Genius.
The Colour
Groovalicious, danceable rock straight outta the OC. Following in the footsteps of The Killers, The Colour released an EP in the UK through the Lizard King label, and are heading to Nashville early in the new year to start work on their album. I expect you’ll be hearing and seeing plenty from these lads in ’06. You’d have to be colourblind (ouch!) not to notice.
Clay’s 2005 Year-End List
Ayatollah
This seemed like an appropriate track for the day after Christmas. While Hanukkah is still keeping some of the world honest, the rest of us will be drawn in by the lure of Boxing Day Sales and New Year’s debauchery. That other Man in Red sure moves in quick, don’t he? Enough preachin’, let’s get on with the music… You may not know hip-hop producer Ayatollah by name, but if I told you he’s the mastermind behind Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty” (mmm, fat booty…see what I’m talkin’ about??) you’d probably start to nod your head instinctively. He’s got his own thing coming out toward the end of January. This ought to get your mouth watering.
zooey
It’s funny how everything comes together around the holidays. I was assembling my Christmas-cast last night and wanted something…wasn’t sure what. Then, I check my email to find that Zooey (one Matthieu Beck from Bordeaux, France) has just wrapped up his melancholy Grey Christmas single and, like everything Matthieu creates, is giving it away for free. It fit nicely into the mix, a delicate, flickering little Christmas miracle. That track and his latest full-length, Pique-Nique et Jeux Dans L’eau, are .zip files. So you’ll have to go to Zooey’s downloads page to get your hands on those. However, if you’re looking to escape the weather of the season, we’ve got “Endless Summer on the Beaver Island” with it’s lazy, hazy ode to warmer days.