For the next few months the Beatnik Filmstars are offering a free EP (a real, physical EP, none of your daft digital download nonsense) to anyone who answers a few BF-related questions. See here. All you pay for is the postage. Free noisy indie-pop music! FREE!

Def Jux release some good records. If you visit their homepage right now, you’ll see a mysterious code. Work out what it means and you might win $150 to squander on Def Jux goodness. Bosh.

In one of those strange collisions between music and, er, cordwainery, Johnny Marr (ie the bloke from The Smiths and latterly Modest Mouse) has designed a rather nice-looking shoe. Take a look here. You collector types will love it, as only 216 pairs will be made. They’re to be sold via eBay from 10 July, with the proceeds going to a good cause.

Isn’t that nice. Perhaps the shoes will make one a better guitar player. Perhaps not.

Yesterday was 05/05 and Flickr organised a 24 Hours of Flickr event. Everyone was invited to take photos of their day and post the best one in the group pool with the best ones being used in a charity photo book in aid of Médecins Sans Frontières. There’s currently almost 3000 photos in the pool and it’s an interesting view of what goes on around the world in any one day. My submission is here. 05/05 was a fairly uneventful day for me with most of it taken up with categorising diskant blog posts and eating homemade bread. The pool is open until May 21st so if you took any interesting photos yesterday, why not join in.

UPDATE: Yay, my photo made it into Interestingness, the 500 most interesting photos of the day.

Finally confirmed and pretty darn exciting! In full:

2007 is Gringo’s 10th anniversary year. Although the exact date of birth is of some debate. Some argue that as the future leaders of Gringo met on 21st October 1996 at a Urusei Yatsura / Eska gig, this was Gringo’s conceptual birth. However, I prefer to take the birth date as 9 June 1997 when we picked our first release from the pressing plant and then drove all the way to Norwich to see Mogwai and Navigator. Heady days.

So, 9 June 2007 it is. A big party is being organised in Nottingham, with Gringo stars past and present, poppers and streamers, that sort of thing.

Gringo Records and Damn You! present…
THE GRINGO RECORDS 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR
Saturday 9th June, early start
The Art Organisation, 21 Station Street, Nottingham [map]
£7adv [buy ticket]

with
PART CHIMP
BILGE PUMP
LORDS
THE UNIT AMA
SOUVARIS
SAILORS
REYNOLDS
HIRAMEKA HI-FI
HEY COLOSSUS
OWEN TROMANS & THE ELDERS
DESIGNER BABIES
ANDY CLAMBAKE & THE RESURRECTION MEN
+ possibly more tbc

More info at Gringo

Here is some fun footage of QOTSA working on their new album Era Vulgaris. And here’s the track list:

01. Turning on the Screw
02. Sick, Sick, Sick
03. I’m Designer
04. Into the Hollow
05. Misfit Love
06. Battery Acid
07. Make It Wit Chu
08. 3’s & 7’s
09. Suture Up Your Future
10. River in the Road
11. Run Pig Run

Isn’t that nice. I hope all of the songs use the synth sound featured in that footage, as it’s a good sound.

Wow. Everyone has wished this and now it has been announced that there will be a full band game from the Guitar Hero folks with a range of plastic instruments. Are we excited?

There seems to be lots of interesting gameplay going on including the ability to form bands ONLINE but thanks to my work’s monitoring software, I can’t access any of the articles. Reading about computer gaming is deemed as bad as viewing porn or doing some online gambling. Bah.

This is what I can read. Both have links out to stuff I can’t read.
Guardian Gamesblog post
Wonderland’s post

It’s almost enough to make you want a PS3, ahahahahahahaha. etc.

Lovely sell-’em-cheap-and-drain-your-wallet superstore network Fopp have a new wave of free instore shows in the near future, by a selection of bands that you may or may not be interested in:

19 March
Ghosts, Glasgow, 5 pm
The Ripps, Leamington, 4 pm

21 March
Ghosts, Nottingham, 6 pm

22 March
Ghosts, Bath Westgate, 6 pm
The Rumble Strips, Bristol Park Street, 5 pm
New Young Pony Club, London Camden, 6 pm

23 March
Ghosts, London Tottenham Court Road, 6 pm

I’ve only heard The Rumble Strips out of that lot, and to me they sounded like B-list Dexy’s knockoffs, but free gigs whilst buying cheap CDs can’t be sniffed at.

It is literally ALL HAPPENING. For instance:

SUPERSONIC, July 13-14th
Birmingham’s “eclectic and experimental playground” have announced their line-up for 2007 and it’s a stunner with Mogwai, Zeni Geva and OM headlining along with Jazkamer, Wolf Eyes, Tunng, Modified Toy Orchestra, Kling Klang, Miasma & the Carousel of Headless Horses and much more tba. Plus there’s films, exhibitions and cake! It’s a mere £35 for the weekend and I am so there.
More info

BEARDSTOCK, Saturday May 19th
Yes, our favourite Glaswegian music and facial hair zine, Beard, is having an all day festival. I hope this is is to launch the new issue which has been a long time coming. Acts confirmed so far include One Ensemble, PuMaJaW, Lucky Luke and Napoleon IIIrd, and they also promise psychedelic projections, artwork and photography, a fanzine workshop and more! It’s at the Regal Social Club in Glasgow and tickets cost £10.
More info

KILL YOUR TIMID NOTION, 12th – 15th April
Dundee’s annual international festival of experimental music, film and visual art is coming up very soon at the DCA. The musicians include CUBE, Querel, Gaelle Rouard, Lionel Marchetti, Jerome Noetinger, William Raban, Keith Evans + Coelecanth, Joe Colley and AVVA: (Toshimaru Nakamura + Billy Roisz) plus there’s installations and films.
More info

MUSIC LOVERS’ FIELD COMPANION, 11th – 13th May
More experimental music from the Instal/KYTM people, this time at the Sage in Gateshead and with a line-up including Junko + Jerome Noetinger, Gary Smith, Diamanda Galas, Angharad Davies, Tisha Mukarji, Andrea Neumann, Los Glissandinos, Jean Phillipe Gross, Rhodri Davies + Terry Day and Aufgehoben.
More info

INDIAN SUMMER, 14th-15th July
Glasgow’s previously sodden Indian Summer festival is to take place over a much more sensible weekend this year. Line-up details will be announced shortly but tickets are available now if you like surprises.
More info

Home of expensive booking fees Aloud.com are currently offering a pair of Glastonbury tickets to a “lucky” “winner” who enters their draw before the end of 5 March: see here.

Never been to Glastonbury myself but I imagine the experience can be recreated by sitting in an expensive real ale pub which is over-filled with braying middle-class white kids having mad drug experiences, whilst the jukebox volume is jammed on extra-loud and broadcasting nothing but the most pedestrian chart-friendly indie music available.