In pictures & videos: New Order live at The Troxy, London 10/12/11

An momentous occasion last night as New Order played their first gig in London for years. Yes, it did feel like something was lacking due to the absence of Peter Hook but hey, this was 3/4 of one of my favourite bands ever, so it seems churlish to complain.

As usual in The Troxy it was 1) very hot and 2) very loud, so the sound hasn't come put particularly well in the videos, but I thought I'd put them up anyway for the sake of posterity. The best song that they played last night was actually 'The Perfect Kiss', but I didn't film that as I was too busy singing along. I did film these three though, first up it's 'Regret':



then 'Krafty':



and finally a really good version of 'True Faith':



If you missed the gig last night you'll be pleased to know that Bernard's final words were "We'll be back" - although he did add  "even without Freddie Mercury" - I'm sure Hooky's never been compared to him before!

Live video: Caribou Vibration Ensemble at The Scala, London 7/12/11

A brilliant show from the expanded 11-piece Caribou line-up. This video will give you a taste of what you missed if you weren't there!

Friday Top Ten - 2/12/11

DJ Cull's Friday Top Ten - 2/12/2011 by Dj Cull on Mixcloud

Here's this week's selection of new tunes - 13 tracks spanning a hugely diverse range of music. Tracklisting below, including links for 5 free downloads, press the play button above to listen.

1. Hannah Yadi - Sahara Heart (Dam Mantle remix 320) Free download
2. Zomby - Digital Fractal
3. Actress - Faceless
4. Washed Out - Amor Fati (Clams Casino Remix) Free download
5. Roots Manuva - Here We Go Again (FaltyDL Remix) Free download
6. Gonjasufi - Nikels and Dimes
7. Wolf Gang - Back To Back (Alunageorge Remix) Free download 
8. Depeche Mode - So Cruel
9. Small Scale Collisions - Walking Through A Cloud Free download
10. Peter Broderick - The Last Christmas
11. Benjamin Shaw - Home
12. Rob St. John - Vanishing Points
13. Jack White - Love Is Blindness

Wear your old band T-shirt day

Today is the 4th annual 'wear your old band T-short day', as dreamt up by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6music. It raises the interestting question of why we buy band t-shirts at all - a souvenir of a great gig? As a way of identifying yourself as part of a tribe? Just because a particular image caught your eye? And do you always buy them from the official merch stall or, like a certain friend of mine, from the hawkers outside - half the price & guaranteed to shrink/fade/fall apart the first time you wash it?

My own all-time favourite band t-shirt has to be the British Sea Power 'Heron Addict' one - it was a souvenir from a great gig, but also I love the pun, and you don't get many t-shirts with birds on the front. Sadly this, like many of my classic band t-shirts (the Radiohead 'South Park' one is another good example) are extremely 'snug' (to put it mildly) and hence don't fit over my maturing frame.

Nevermind though,as there are plenty that do still fit, so today I'm sporting an 11-year old Manic Street Preachers special from V2002. Photographic evidence can be found above and below, I particularly like the quote on the back from Thomas Grunfeld - 'The point is always the same'.

I'm not sure if this has gone global yet, but it should do, so grab yourselves an old t-shirt from the back of the drawer and join in the fun!

Friday Top Ten - 25/11/11

DJ Cull's Friday Top Ten - 25/11/2011 by Dj Cull on Mixcloud

Here's this week's mix - 12 of the best new tracks around. There's download links for 5 of them below.

1. Radiohead - Bloom (Jamie xx Rework Part 3)
2. Slackk - Act Nine
3. Riva Starr & Fatboy Slim (feat. Beardyman) - Get Naked (Dub Mix) Free download
4. Ghosting Season - Exercise Us Free download
5. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Dream On Free download
6. Robert Lippok - whitesuperstructure
7. Little Dragon - Little Man (Tycho Remix) Free download
8. Drake - Over My Dead Body (Star Slinger Remix) Free download
9. Pinch & Shackleton - Jellybones
10. Floating Points - ARP3
11. Pariah - Orpheus (Oneohtrix Point Never subliminal cops edit)
12. Benjamin Shaw - How To Test The Depth Of A Well

In pictures & videos: Lanterns on the Lake & The Pattern Theory live at The Lexington, London 22/11/11

Running order (Note: The Lexington got the day of the week wrong, not me!)

The Pattern Theory (3rd member off somewhere to the right!)

Lanterns on the Lake

Recommended music: 'redsuperstructure' by Robert Lippok

A stunning solo album from Lippok, the front man of To Rococo Rot. The album is based on a live set he played in September 2010. He subsequently re-shaped and re-recorded the material, producing an album that is sonically challenging and at times brutal, but also atmospheric and moving. From the pounding, morse-code rhythms of 'sugarcubes' to the almost deep house-like 'nycycle' the album manages to move your head and your feet at the same time. In contrast there are shorter, more ambient pieces here as well, and the album closes with the epic 14 minute 'daylightastronomy', which mixes hisses, scratches and blips with some gentle harp.

It's a futuristic-sounding set that should appeal top lovers of all types of electronic music, and it's going straight on my 'albums of the year' pile. It's out now on Raster-Noton records.