This Week's Track 9: Bon Voyage - Together

Bon Voyage is holiday/side project/quickie band started by Starflyer 59 beard god frontman Jason Martin with his wife.

And yes I know you may be wondering, but the pic here is only of his wife, where is Jason. Well that's cause we here at Pirates, above priding ourselves humbly with being the three smartest humans in the universe, also are impeccable gentlemen. How so? We always believe in 'ladies first'.

In fact, we're such incredible gentlemen that we've since moved on to the concept 'ladies only'. As such I am currently rather confused about my sexuality. Pass me that hot pink belt.

Bon Voyage - Together (from Lies)

Let's get lyrical, lyrical: Suede - 2 of Us

Lying in my bed, I think of you
That song goes through my head, the one we both knew
In each line lies another line full of sacred sound
But you're outside where the companies dream and the money goes round

Lying in my bed.
Watching my mistakes,
I listen to the band they said that it could be the 2 of us

The snow might fall and write the lines on the silent page
But you're outside making permanent love to the nuclear age
Two silhouettes by the cash machine make a lovers dance
It's a tango for the lonely wives of the business class

Lying in my bed
Watching my mistakes
I listen to the band
Lying in my bed
With nothing much to say so I listen to the man
He said that it could be the 2 of us

I heard you call from across the city through the stereo sound
And so I crawled there sickeningly pretty as the money went round

Lying in my head watching my mistakes
I listen to the band
And the drums beat in my head
Pianos chime the sound in this prison of the house
And as the illness comes again can you hear me through the rain
As I listen to the band?
As I sing the silent song
Mime each lonely word
Please listen to the man he said that it could be the 2 of us

Alone but not lonely, you and me
Alone but loaded ...

You hear some songs and they naturally perplex you. Like this song. There are many perplexing things about it. Like how do you actually make permanent love to the nuclear age? And most business class wives I know don't exactly tango.

But the most perplexing thing about the song is why Brett Anderson decided that just the '2 of them' would be enough. I mean, isn't that too little? As such I have written the chorus to reflect my personal beliefs and this is how it goes.

Lying in my bed
Watching my mistakes
I listen to the band
Lying in my bed
With nothing much to say so I listen to the man
He said that it could be the one gazillion four billion two hundred and fourty six thousand eight hundred and three of us

Suede - 2 of Us (from Dog Man Star)

Aimee Mann Live in Singapore: Aug 29, Esplanade

Only because we pride ourselves with being ultra/beta/gamma quick in getting stories out, we just got tipped by a helpful poster that vagina rock queen/songbird Aimee Mann will be in Singapore for a concert on 29 Aug.

Just how quick are we? Well lets see, we already know who the next president of the US is going to be after Obama. Yep, we do, and yes we know it's four years away but we do know. Who is it? Let me check ...

(37 seconds later) ... It's still Megan at the moment, until another bombshell worship-able hot chick appears. Hey, I'll have you know it's a big improvement from our last candidate, which was Genusfrog's chest drawer. He apparently has big plans for that thing.

This incidentally coincides with Baybeats (which is happening from 28 - 30 Aug), so if you need more of a reason to head on down to the land of bad food, this would be it.

Aimee Mann - This Is How It Goes (from Lost in Space)

The Unhappy Sufjan Stevens Fans Campaign: #4 Alana

Alana

Ludlow, Vermont

Hi, I'm Alanna from Vermont. Now I know what you're thinking - you're looking at me, going "what the hell happened to her?". So I'll just come right out and say it: yeah, I've got six ears. Big deal. Apparently when my parents were trying for me, mum really wanted a girl and dad really wanted a guitar. So now that they've got me, and I look like this, I really just wanna make them both happy. So I've strung together some of these strings and I think I'm starting to understand what it really takes to be a great guitar, ya know. Like a Fender or something. So anyways, my dream has always been for Sufjan Stevens to record an album for my home state, Vermont, and as an added bonus, for him to do all his guitar parts on me. Like, yeah, you know. Seriously, you just have to turn me round. I got great tone. Just make sure, er, Sufjan, that you let me know about 15 minutes in advance, cos I don't always go around strung and I'll need some time, you know, to tune up and stuff. Yeah. Anytime, buddy. Seriously. 

Sufjan Stevens - The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts

Look what I found in the bargain bin but did not buy

R.E.M.
Automatic for the People
(Warner)

Price: S$6.75

Owning an R.E.M. album is like buying that 39th Ferrari after you already have 38 of them. It's impeccable of course, but little different from the previous ones and the ones after it.

Reminds me that time when I invented human cloning (yes I know it's not perfect yet but I'm getting there) and I decided the first thing I should try is to clone myself 9 Taylor Coles, then I thought, why not make it 10? So I did. And we all lived happily ever after.

True love story.

R.E.M. - Nightswimming (from Automatic for the People)

Let's get lyrical, lyrical: Zee Avi - Kantoi

Semalam I call you, you tak answer
You kata you keluar pergi dinner
You kata you keluar dengan kawan you
But when I called Tommy he said it wasn't true

So I drove my car pergi Damansara
Tommy kata maybe you tengok bola
Tapi bila I sampai you, you tak ada
Lagilah I jadi gila

So I called and called sampai you answer
You kata "Sorry sayang tadi tak dengar
My phone was on silent, I was at the gym"
Tapi lata belakang suara perempuan lain

Sudahlah sayang, I don't believe you
I've always known your words were never true
Why am I with you, I pun tak tahu
No wonderlah my friends pun tak suka you

So I guess that's the end of our story
Akhir kata she accepted his apology
Tapi last last kita dapat tahu she was cheating too
With her ex boyfriend's best friend
Tommy

Kantoi

There are fewer things more charming in the world of songwriting than a person who is able to sing one song in multiple languages. And Zee Avi does that here, combining Malay and English into an invented yet commonly understood language called Manglish. Charming, right.

What? Oh of course, I've got my own too! I've got the "charming" market cornered, didn't you know? So yeah anyways, I wrote a song as well in my favourite invented language too. It's called Krrranglish. It's a mixture of Guitarkrrrang and English. Allow me to present the first verse:

Chugga waaaaaaaaaeeeee shreng shreng pee
The weasel is a waaaeeeeee monkey
Tiaw tiaw tiaw my ciao ciao ciao
So don't be a chugga chugga

Yeah I know, some Italian chucked in too. Crap, I'm even more awesome than I thought. Way more awesome. EPs available for pre-order now. Holla.

Zee Avi - Kantoi (from Zee Avi)

Baybeats 2009 lineup announced

So as we scooped earlier, Anberlin and 1/4 of Fountains of Wayne aka Chris Collingwood are showing up for this year's Baybeats. Which makes us about as excited as the thought of letting a monkey shave our pubes with a cleaver.

And so anyways, the official lineup is out, and it turns out our scoop was right. But then just as our pants were making its way down to our shins, we thought oh why not, lets have a second look. And hey, believe it or not, there are some semi-bright spots. There's The Philippines' Taken By Cars, Malaysia's Love Me Butch, Thailand's Tabasco and Hong Kong's Velvette Vendetta, plus a few "OMG they're not emo" Singapore reps courtesy of Great Spy Experiment and The Marilyns. So upon careful analysis, we've decided to call off the chimps, put away the cleaver, and...

Oh, damn it. There's Estranged. And West Grand Boulevard. Hey Bubbles, can you fetch some towels on the way here? Thanks, ape face.

To see the full lineup, visit www.baybeats.com.sg.

Velvette Vendetta - Night Before The Snow Storm (from The Underground #1 Something Alternative)
Taken By Cars - A Weeknight Memoir (In High Definition) (from Endings Of a New Kind)

This Week's Track 9: Eisley - Just Like We Do

What's up with these bands made up of family members? They talk like Eisley's something new. I can assure you they are not. There were Hanson and The Jackson 5.

And of course before even all this, I started a band with my grandpa Foo Keng. Bless his soul. He liked to look up girls' skirts and whistle at them as they walked by. Actually, I don't remember him ever playing any instrument, except his own. What the hell kind of band did we have I wonder? Hey wait a minute, was it a band or was it just us hanging out at a strip club? Yes, yes it was a band. We were called the Coo Coo Ciaos.

It's French.

Eisley - Just Like We Do (from Room Noises)

My Vitriol in these parts?

So apparently some ambitious gig organizer is planning to bring since-forgotten nouveaux shoegaze rock band My Vitriol to these parts for a tour. This news should send no shivers down anyone's spine and if it does, it probably means you're over 35, married to a Helga and loves watching TV while rubbing your tummy and talking to that bag of chips.

Oh and by 'these parts' I don't mean my magnificent manhood, although rumor has it that U2 has toured there once in 1984.

My Vitriol - Pieces (from Finelines)

Placebo Live in Malaysia?

So apparently British he/she band Placebo are set to wash into our shores sometime later this year. Judging from their tour schedule, August looks likely.

And in preparation for that I have bought myself a skirt. What for? Look at the 'dude' up there and tell me, what's so 'dude' about him? I could shag him accidentally if the lights were not on. And besides, I like wearing skirts. Especially those pleaded floral ones. So pretty. Okay shhh ... need to get some ironing action going.

Placebo - Peeping Tom (from Black Market Music)