Alcopop!

God knows how many times this feature will see the light of day, and here’s hoping it will never die – but as I sit in Kev BSM’s wasp-ridden pit of an office (alright so there’s one wasp, but its been dead for days) trying desperately to finish all the Alcopop work I’ve got on my plate, and there’s no way its happening. Mainly because of Kev’s DJ set – which has so far been delicious!

‘Glorious’ by Andreas Johnson, ‘Gangsters Paradise’ by Coolio and LV and even ‘Zelda’ by System of a Down – but most importantly, the song that inspired this feature .. EAT MY GOAL by Collapsed Lung!

Yup – “no no ask me about summer so let everybody in the house say disco” – say Collapsed Lung in their infinite wisdom – and in the spirit of Euro 2008, this (other than the now erroneous 3 Lions) seems the finest track to play whenever there’s a decent game on the telly anytime the summer – and can I suggest that playing it damn loudly out of the window will help you seriously make friends and influence people.

Of course, there are lines that I’ll never understand “the new part team of mum won’t move into ma home, to play sport and to forget to call their mums on the telephone” but that only adds to the mystery of the track for me J. Basically, and I speak with authority after spending a good few hours with this on repeat after England drew with Sweden 2-2 in 2006, this is a hit that never gets old!

So Alcopoppers – take a look in your old CD collections, or rip this track from somewhere, and make your summer complete!

Say HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

OK – a bit of a dull post here, but it has to be for those of you who frequent the Alcopop shop (if you haven’t, do – it’s lovely) we have a new way to pay. For you see, since the beginning of our cheeky young life, anyone who has wanted to purchase a compact disc, vinyl or tape from us has had to fill in all their details to make sure the package is safely delivered…

Not any more…

For you see, those friendly chaps at Paypal have been in touch (after two years of pouring money into their pockets I might add) to give us a new solution. Now if you just press the ‘check out with paypal’ button, one click will fill in all the details for you instantly! Genius eh – and it’s still as secure and covered as it ever was.

Plus, you’ll still (for a limited time) get a free 50 track BSM MP3 album with every purchase made – nice eh.

Right - I promise never to be so boring again… next post - sex, booze and Brighton pebbles…

“Och aye” sighed the stereotypically Scottish girl from Inverness (probably named Elspeth or Nessie) “I have a wee pair of tickets to see popular scouse popstars The Wombats the night, but if only I could see Alcopop’s favourite Liverpool pop troubadours goFASTER>> at the same time”.

Well fear not bonnie lass, for fresh from the sad news that the original support ‘The Teenagers’ appear to have misplaced their drummer, comes a whole heap of happiness for you, namely that goFASTER>> have been added to further Wombats dates! Hurrah for those of you with tickets in Inverness and Sheffield (and Edinburgh - last night) – just make sure you get there close ‘to doors’ to catch them… Not only because they’re brilliant, but it will make your gig experience all the more succulent for it!

Oh – and in other news those hard working lads at data.select.party have just confirmed another tour… Yes it seems that wending their way inexorably around the country with IWACS just isn’t enough, and now they’ve only gone and booked a load of dates with Furthest Drive Home too. You’ll be spoiled for choice in June I tells ya – just have a look at this enticing set of dates too – Sam Isaac, My First Tooth and Luke Leighfield… By gum!

Everyone loves a pre-summer party gig – not least when Cut the Blue Wire are playing it, and yours truly will be splashing some seriously summery tunes until I break the decks (a very distinct possibility) - but they don’t come around every day… Oh no, and that’s why I’m quite so excited about just such an occasion occurring next Monday at The Enterprise in Londaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan town and that guv!

Kicking off at 7, and just £5 to enter (that’s less than a round of 2 drinks I’ve just bought in a crap Oxfordshire café that likes to think it’s a pub) – you will be treated not only to Alcopop favourites CTBW, but also Capitals, Blakfish and Secondsmile. Oh, and good news for those who enjoy free things, and giveaways is that BSM Leprechaun/Santa/Pirate Ben will be dressed as a rasta and handing out presents and such.

The line-up is ace, the atmosphere will be spectacular and the company convivial… So buy tickets here, and then come – capiche? I’ve even heard it may be Cool Runnings themed… Which would be bloody ace!

‘Cut the Blue Wire’ - Everest digital single out today!

Follow the button and download Cut the Blue Wire’s new single ‘Everest’ – exclusively available on pretty much every download site there is, and ready to reinvigorate your belief that summer’s on its way.

Punchy as f**k, and pretty much the best thing to come out of Portsmouth since the HMS Victory, these boys will rock you hard. Soaring vocals, and a chorus so immediate you’ve already heard it – I’m no reviewer, but I insist you check out the MySpace.

And if you don’t believe me, pay heed to dailydischord.com -

“If you haven’t checked CTBW out yet, then make a point of doing so now.”

I’ve lost my girlfriend to Zelda : Phantom Hourglass, and we’re sat in after a massive night which left her pretty ill at Ramshackle in Bristol – but it’s alright, because not only do I have TNA wrestling screening in the background (ah I gotta admit it, I’m a sucker for wrestling now and then) – but Coventry City avoided relegation, and Kev (he of BSM and joint Grand Vizier of Alcopop Records) is in for a shaky time tomorrow, as his boys, Reading, are no doubt relegated from the Premiership.

But should I be the good friend and confidante I generally am (ahem…) or rip it out of him for weeks if the inevitable happens? The latter appeals…. Mwa ha ha.

Meanwhile, all is go at Alcopop – and while I can’t reveal it all, I thought I’d drop a few teaser-style bits of news to let you know what we’re upto. Firstly, we’ve got a really exciting new signing to be revealed over the next couple of weeks who I guarantee will be the perfect accompaniment to a long hot summer. Can’t say anything more just yet – but there are few better bands to guzzle down sun-warmed bottles of Hooch too.

Also – nice news for data.select.party who are going out on an exciting tour with IWACS that traverses the country. Plenty more dates to see those charming lads on, and (against all odds really) there are still some copies of the single ‘This Charm is Charmless’ (limited to 500 copies) available from our web shop for 3 quid. Or you can download said single from iTunes if you like that digital thang.

Finally, if you’re down in Brighton at the end of this week, look out for a massive Alcopop presence at The Great Escape festival this weekend. Myself and Kev will be enjoying the Brighton beach, Harry Ramsdens and possibly even a few gigs – while the likes of Sam Isaac and 4 or 5 Magicians will both be representing on stages across the city.

Whatsmore – in not too many weeks there’s going to be *shock, horror* an Alcopop T-shirt available… We’re still designing, but it’s starting to shape to look proper good.

Oh - and here’s a rather mean game for Kev - it’s called ’spot the lion who is unlikely to be grinning so inanely at 5.45pm today’…

Fresh from an epic release show at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms last night, Alcopop’s newest additions to a very handsome looking rosta are purveyors of Portsmouth punk-pop Cut the Blue Wire are releasing their debut single on the label this coming Monday!

Only available on digital download from iTunes, and most other download sites, ‘Everest’ is a homage to what these boys do best – and is the perfect ‘summer’s coming’ anthem! This is a band that I boldly predict will cause more sweat than the Sun across the country this summer.

Think “Sentiments of At the Drive-In, the soul of Enter Shikari and the twister ambience of Bloc Party” said The Fly magazine in their infinite wisdom… Stick the frenzied passion of Glassjaw in their and they’re not far wrong. A quick reminder that they were featured on the latest Punktastic podcast if anyone fancies a listen to that – and make sure you get involved on Monday.

And for those that don’t like downloading… Fear not because an EP and summer tour are coming seriously soon!

Check em out here…

Steve Lamacq knows his stuff, as a quick type of his name in this very search bar will tell you – and it seems that he has excelled himself once again; by picking Alcopop’s very own Hush the Many (Heed the Few) as the featured artist on his BBC2 show.

Not just an interview that will furnish all those questions you ever had about Hush the Many (such as where did you meet, what’s Revolve about etc, why was Alex a little disappointed with the video etc.) – but then you can hear Revolve and realise it’s pretty much one of the best tracks of the year – capiche?

So pop over to the BBC iPlayer to listen again to the interview (originally broadcast on Wednesday) – it’s about 36 minutes through the show if you’re in a hurry, but the whole tracklisting is pretty nifty so you may be well advised to listen to the whole lot!

What a lovely week it’s been, and although my absence from the country has left www.ilovealcopop.co.uk sadly bereft of any blogposts since Saturday (that’s really bad isn’t it?) it has meat that I have been able to do my own little bit for the Welsh tourist board by proving exactly why Barry Island is the best place in the world, just check out that fine tropical beach and azure-blue waves (palm trees just out of shot), but also for the Welsh penny arcades industry by continually betting a seemingly unlimited supply of coppers on the Green horse – that one that’s barely made it out of the blocks in the picture below.

Oh I also swung by Paris, which was gorgeous, sunny and had a more than ample side of free drinks – but can you eat dank sausage roll and chips on a desolate beach before dumping a handful of sand into a pals Apple Tango? Can you f**k, so it is of little interest.

In other, far more important – and Alcopop related news, the awesome Cut the Blue Wire are not only releasing their debut digital single ‘Everest’ via Alcopop on Monday, but have also been featured on the latest Punktastic podcast – which you should listen to anyway, even if CTBW weren’t on it.. The fact that they are means, it would just be frankly mental not too.

Also, the recent goFASTER>> tour with The Wombats has gone super swimmingly, and I was lucky enough to catch up the boys on Monday night@ the Bristol Academy. The kids went mental (not surprising with a line up that also included IWACS), and everyone’s favourite souse indie-pop champs put on a blazing performance!

Finally, there are still some copies of the 50 track free BSM samplers free with every shop order… Get on it now… Oh and if you have a few minutes to spare - read the following piece from Song, by Toad - who posted a cracking article on lovely Lucy and the Caterpillar xx

Just a quick reminder as we bask in the bank holiday sunshine, that Alcopop are currently running a mental promotion, whereby you get a free (that’s FREE) 50 track CD with every single purchase of anything from the POP SHOP whilst very limited stocks last. The MP3 compilation, which features all your favourite bands from Alcopop and BSM records (full tracklisting here - Get Cape rarities anyone?), and a number of other epic luminaries to boot, has been produced to celebrate BSM reaching its 50^th release, and retails at 4 quid. Which means that getting it free when you buy a three pound single aint not bad!

Oh – and for anyone in our Alcopop hardcore, who we love and cherish most of all, who has bought pretty much every release they wanted, but still wants a free CD (and absolutely right too!) – just drop us an email and I’ll post one out to you… We wouldn’t want you to miss out x