Stupid online game… Stupid Cheltenham Town

You know when you get those stupid mental block things… The ‘I must finish this before I can do anything else’ type moments that leave you trailing in frustration over a particular task when, in reality, there are several hundred more important, worthwhile or generally more sensible things to be doing.

Well I just had one of them, playing the bloody stupid (yet painfully brilliant and addictive Play for your Club game). Basically the thing involves you pressing space bar to thump a ball into the back of the net… But here’s the clever thing. Every time you score over 10,000 points it counts towards your teams overall total – and they move up and down the league depending on how many points your lot get compared to your rivals.

Ha – what a harmless waste of 2 minutes I thought as I smacked the ball around a bit for Coventry (my side), but before you knew it my love of the underdog had prevailed; I’d found the team with the lowest number of points and bang! No sleep till Cheltenham ‘fu**ing’ town had hit 10,000 points or more past bloody Rotherham in 10 balls or less.

On I played, invariably getting faced with the screenshot below as I haplessly smashed the ball over, pinged it against the defender, all sorts of wide and well… Was generally inept. Stupid game wouldn’t let me quit… And even when I did smash a satisfying 17k points, I went and blew it all by gambling the lot on a last minute penalty which I struck agonizingly against the post in a double or quits scenario.

As yet – I remain without my 10,000 point haul… But like a particularly obedient horse with blinkers, I’m back to the grindstone… Poppers, wish me luck…  Cheltenham, your worthless points are on their way!

Alcopop expecting… Free MP3

Like a pregnant mother heavy with child about to go into labour, there’s excitement afoot at Alcopop HQ as on Monday we announce our third summer signing to join the family. Wolf Am I and The Candle Thieves are settling in just nicely with everyone else and we just know our new boys will too.

Look out for the official announcement on Monday, but until then we’d like to give all of you chaps a little taster of what’s to come. So if you’d like a free MP3 of ‘the new boys’ – just drop us a line on info@ilovealcopop.co.uk or @ilovealcopop on Twitter and we’ll send you a link to download the track straight away. Just keep it under your hat till Monday yeah

My First Tooth live set on beatcast.tv

It’s great when awesome stuff gets together and results in something that everyone can enjoy – so praise be that beatcast.tv, purveyors of live films of the best underground talent in the UK, hooked up with My First Tooth (aforementioned part of the best underground talent scene) – and shot a video of them at The Peel in Kingston…

This is ace for a number of reasons – most particularly because you can see the results below. I ought to point out though that you may want to clear your calendar for the foreseeable few hours though, because with free to watch gigs from the likes of Horse the Band, 4 or 5 Magicians, DSP, Blakfish and Sam Isaac to name a few – you’re unlikely to be leaving beatcast any time soon.

Rock n roll…

Alcopop at The Great Escape

We’re on our way – heading out on another Alcopop outing, and no doubt Kev has already cracked the first bottle of Pitcher (damn the fact I agreed to drive)… I’ll be checking emails vaguely over the next few days though so if anyone fancies hooking up, or thinks there’s a show we should definately be at – drop us an email at info@ilovealcopop.co.uk. Would be lovely to hear from you…

Otherwise, buy a CD, 7″ or two and feel safe in the knowledge that you’re bankrolling the future of Alcopop with another A&R mission into the unknown. We’ll invest wisely!

Maybe see you there x

Win 2 tickets to go see This City @ London Barfly on Tuesday 23rd!

Recorded music is all very well (I mean, let’s be fair – indie record labels like ourselves bloody love it) but there’s nothing quite like witnessing people rock out live. And we’re dealing with a whole heap of incredible live acts at the moment – and we really want you to see them…

Therefore, in association with our pals in the band (who are both handsome and witty) we have managed to procure two pairs of VIP guestlist passes for the This City gig at London Barfly on Tuesday (take a hot girl/boy – imagine how impressed they’ll be on the door)– pour vous with the gracious love of Alcopop Records….

All you need to do to win them is correctly email us (at ilovealcopop@googlemail.com) the title of the B-Side from the band’s latest single (coming out on Alcopop on Monday) – for clues you can either check the shop, or the bands MySpace… We’ll be announcing the two winners on Monday evening (maybe Tuesday morning depending on how lazy we are) – and 2 runners up will get a pint bought for them by Jack Alcopop if they happen to be at the gig anyway.

So enter immediately if you fancy a bit of a rock out in London on Tuesday, and we’ll see you at the front… We Move is out on Monday too on very limited edition 7” vinyl…  Fuckin’ buy it!

Andrew WK live in London THIS SATURDAY!!!

Remember that day when Andrew WK said “Also, will you tell me more about Alcopop? I really like that name a lot.” – No? What… It was less than a year ago… Well while you’re refreshing your memory of one of the best days of my life by following this link b’yere… May I also point your attention to the fact that the aforementioned Party King of rock is back in the UK, and playing his first gig in 4 F**KING YEARS, this Saturday at Push Club in London Town!

Quite how excited I am, I can’t quite express, only to say that anyone who has even half a soul, ever lifted a glass in party celebration or would like to wrestle a rabid wolf in moonlight just for kicks – should DEFINITELY be there… Tickets can be purchased for the quite frankly unbelievable price of just 8 quid, and there will DJs (including Pull Tiger Tail and the Semifinalists) before and after, presumably playing party Hard, The Wolf and Close Calls with Brick Walls back-to-back (although I may have made this up).

For more info, pop over to those charming folk at Push Club over on MySpace, and I’ll see you at the front!

Hush the Many (Heed the Few) pen a new chapter…

Some bands die, others evolve – and that’s exactly what is currently happening to Alcopop favourites Hush the Many (Heed the Few), who released single ‘Revolve’ with us a few months back.  “Blend[ing] aggression and beauty in unique fashion, hitting like a bolt of lightning across a barren landscape” said the Daily Mirror – and by gum they were right…
 
But now, a sensational tour, unbelievable amounts of cracking press and much general adulation later – it seems that the next chapter is upon Nima – and like a book you can’t put down, I’m pretty much salivating at what it may contain… For Hush the Many (Heed the Few), now sans Alex sadly, has nonetheless happily morphed, evolved, and become Arrows of Love.
 
Apparently, “some songs you will recognise, some half-recognise, and some will be new – and in a bold move that will no doubt intensify this bands cult status, they aim to “remain outside the realms of myspace, facebook, keeping a creative focus, and our music only live for the moment.”
 
The lineup is pretty exceptional too, featuring…
 
Nima (Hush the Many’s lynchpin, creative force and all round hero) – vocals & guitar
Luis (from Eraserheads & Jamie T) – electric guitar
Clayton (from Kid Harpoon) – bass
Wim (from Loverman & Eraserheads) – drums
Sarah – synths, piano & vocals
Kate – cello
 
We’ll keep you updated with what’s happening – and can only heartily recommend going to see them at The Scala on the 14th October. We’ll be there… Meanwhile, if you want to snap up a piece of where it all started, get yourself to the shop and you can pick up revolve for just £3. It’s limited to only 500 copies, and there aren’t many left – and it’s one of the most gorgeous songs of the year… Check it out here. Oh, and look at this nice ‘arrow of love’ photo too – courtesy of drp on Flickr…

More Cowbell DJ – More Cut the Blue Wire!

Oh my goodness! Some sites are good, some are magnificent (like this one for example) and some are so superb that there is no doubt they will revolutionise the internet for the good of all mankind…  MoreCowbell.dj is one of them.

A regular criticism of Alcopop’s releases in the press (and lets be fair, it is a regular criticism of an awful lot of music) is that they don’t have enough cowbell in. After all, what’s better than a rollicking good thrashing of such a humble instrument all the way through a track. Cut the blue Wire? Sam Isaac? This City? Come on lads take note… Hehe

Therefore, in the interests of science, the web and everything that’s good about the world – I’ve taken the liberty of ramping up the FREE downloadable CTBW track ‘Forced Enjoyment’ by about ooh… 65% cowbell and 77%  Christopher Walken (yes, another option!) and here it is, in all its digital delight below. If you like the song, head to the shop and buy the EP – then you can add as much bloody cowbell as you like!

Listen and love…

Incidentally…..

I couldn’t help noticing that Rod Thomas, the handsome hero who remixed Sam Isaac’s Sticker Star and Tape last week (see blog post for full details) looks uncommonly like the Alcopop and BSM dynasty’s very own founder Kevin Douch…. And I’ve never seen them at play together… Hmmmm

Friday before you know it… Free Rod Thomas remix of Sticker Star and Tape

Hello again, and welcome to the everyday comings and goings of Alcopop – It’s been invoice this city this week, and while Kev BSM has been suffering something of a Nu-Metal related breakdown, I’ve been busily throwing out money, like rude people discard litter onto the streets (i.e. with total gay abandon) – 4 releases in the same month is a dangerous fiscal game alright! So you know, if you fancy buying anything – do go ahead. The stern man who guards our Natwest account and mutters with barely-disguised disgust every time we ask for money for stamps would appreciate it

Meanwhile though, if your pockets are bare, and the cupboard in the kitchen contains nothing more than the scant remains of a 4 week old chicken carcass, and bags of uneatable Tesco Value filth, then why not pop along to our good friend Sam Isaac’s page and whet your appetite for his forthcoming EP, by downloading a shiny new remix for the song ‘Sticker star and tape’.

Created by the frankly marvellous Rod Thomas (pictured) who reliably informs us that ‘folk + disco = fun’ (who could disagree with that), it really is an ace new take on the title track, and is well Well WELL worth a listen. Or free download if you’re in it for keeps of course. Ace!

Incidentally – after a very late night trip to Nottingham and long car drive back to Oxford, this post is brought to you almost entirely by Relentless. Inferno. You know, the orangey one with the Lord Byron quote on the back (I love that drink)… Rock on!