Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Arcade Fire have always been favourites with the critics and when they released this, their third album the praise was heaped onto the band. The album, was inspired by the upbringing of two of the band members, Will & Win Butler in a suburb in Houston, Texas. It was recorded in Canada and New York and when the band finished a track, they pressed it onto a 12'' acetate and used it for the master for the CD, therefore the album and CD sound both the same! The sleeve for the album featured 8 variations of the cover too!

Released in the UK in August 2010 it went straight to number 1 in the UK and the US charts and won a Grammy the following year and a Brit for Best International Album. In June 2011 they released an expanded version of the album with a couple of extra tracks and a dvd about the album.

It is an album I never tire of listening to, it has got some great songs on, my faves being Suburban War, Sprawl II and Month Of May but don't take my word for it, go give it a listen!

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes

Bowie's first big hit single of the 1980's and with more than a nod towards Major Tom (from Space Oddity) with the line about "a guy who's been in such an early song" and "my Mother said, to get things done, you'd better not mess with Major Tom" this was a huge number 1 in August 1980. It entered the top 40 at number 4 and went all the way to number 1 for 4 weeks and some say the song is quite introspective, but Bowie has given many an answer to what the song is really about.

The video to me is a very iconic video of the 1980's, from the drenched solarised colour, to the bulldozer with the New Romantic Blitz kids in front of it walking with Bowie, made it a classic piece of film, still one I can watch over and over! I never realised until now, the single didn't even get into the US charts, it peaked at 101.

Here's the sleeve and the label to the single, there were 3 different sleeves and this one has a set of stamps issued inside featuring photo's of him in the suit he wore for the video. Listen to the single and send yourself back to 1980

The Latest Album

The latest album was bought today, on CD. Words And Music by Saint Etienne, is a really good album of pop tunes and a great sleeve of street names made from and refering to pop songs, how many can you find! The opening track on the album when I heard it really rang home for me, Sarah describes how she listens to the songs in her bedroom, learning the pop charts, record labels, well I could go on but I just thought I did that and it was just an odd little thing I did, but it sure made me feel better when I realised all of us who are into music did it! The albums second track I've Got Your Music is my fave off the album but give it a listen if you can, it is the life of a music lover set in music