New CSS and Coldplay

...in which two hotly anticipated albums of 2008 make tracks available for free via their website. Glad to see record companies are finally waking up to this.

Firstly, CSS' new LP Donkey is due out soon, and this track is entitled 'Rat is Dead (Rage).' mp3

CSS -'Rat Is Dead (Rage).' mp3

Meanwhile, Coldplay's Viva La Vida is due out in June. I stand by liking Coldplay. Sure there are loads of godawful bands who have missed the subtleties of Coldplay (I'm perfectly serious; if you can't hear them, then that kind of proves the point, doesn't it?) and attempted to cash-in. I first got into them in 1999 when they released the Blue Room EP and have enjoyed them ever since. Remember: Nirvana shouldn't be blamed for Nickleback, nor should Green Day be blamed for Sum 41and Blink 182.

Coldplay - 'Violet Hill.' mp3

Some Covers For Saturday Part VII

The following covers came on a free CD given away by the NME a few months ago. Time to share with the 17 Seconds readers:

Manic Street Preachers - 'Umbrella.' mp3 (Rihanna cover)

The Futureheads -'A Picture Of Dorian Gray.' mp3 (Television personalities cover)

Lightspeed Champion -'Back To Black.' mp3 (Amy Winehouse cover)

CSS -'Knife.' mp3 (Grizzly Bear cover)

The Cribs -'Modern Way.' mp3 (Kaiser Chiefs cover)

Kaiser Chiefs -'Golden Skans.' mp3 (Klaxons cover)

The Kooks -'Young Folks.' mp3 (Peter Bjorn and John cover)

Does It Offend You, Yeah? -'Whip It (live).' mp3 (Devo cover)

Kate Nash -'Men's Needs.' mp3 (Cribs cover)

My Chemical Romance -'Song 2.' mp3 (Blur cover)

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly -'D.A.N.C.E.' mp3 (Justice cover)

The Wombats -'Bleeding Love.' mp3 (Leona Lewis cover)

Bloc Party -'Say It Right.' mp3 (Nelly Furtado cover)

And as a couple of bonuses:

The Streets -'Your Song.' mp3 (Elton John cover) (from a Radio 1 compilation)

Biffy Clyro -'Umbrella.' mp3 (from the same Radio 1 compilation)


More posts to come this weekend, including (hopefully) the long-searched for NME C81 tape...

Some Covers For Sunday I

Well, yesterday's covers post seemed to have been a hit and I thought I'd repost some tracks I'd been asked to, as well as a few I haven't posted here before.

Belle and Sebastian -'Final Day (Young Marble Giants).' mp3

Jeff Buckley -'Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover).' mp3

Breeders -'Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Beatles cover).' mp3

CSS - 'One Way Or Another (Blondie cover).' mp3

Pop Will Eat Itself -'Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel cover).' mp3

Sia -'I Go To Sleep (The Kinks cover).' mp3

Raincoats -'Lola (The Kinks cover).' mp3

Slits -'I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye cover).'

Schneider TM -'The Light 3000 (cover of The Smiths There Is A Light That Never Goes Out).' mp3

This Mortal Coil -'Song To the Siren (Tim Buckley cover).' mp3

For what it's worth, I genuinely hold The Slits, Schneider TM, The Raincoats, This Mortal Coil and Jeff Buckley to be amongst the finest cover versions ever done. In the unlikely event of any list of best ever cover versions NOT including these, I think I would have to have a word. They reinvent the songs concerned, and that's what a cover version should do.

Love Is In The Air

Awww...

Seriously, do not worry, 17 Seconds is not going all Hello/OK/Heat magazine or whatever on you, but the news that Simon Taylor from The Klaxons is to marry his girlfriend, Lovefoxxx from CSS meant an opportunity to post a few tracks here:

Klaxons -'Atlantis To Interzone.' mp3

CSS -'Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above.' mp3

CSS -'Alala.' mp3

And perhaps a cover version apiece, eh?

Klaxons -'Not Over Yet (Grace cover).' mp3

CSS -'One Way Or Another (Blondie cover).' mp3

The Klaxons and CSS debuts are out now (have been for ages). If you like what you hear here, please support them through your local independent record shop, tours, t-shirts etc..

Some Covers For Friday Part II

No reason for the picture above this post, other than that I stuck 'Friday' in Google Image and this was the picture I liked best off the first page.

Anyway, it's the end of another long week, but I'm still alive, and still trying to organise wedding stuff with the soon-to-be Mrs. 17 Seconds.

Here are some covers for Friday. the first one I heard live a few months ago, but was brought to my attention by Liz over at the The Roaring Machine yesterday.

Camera Obscura-'Super Trouper.' mp3

Astrid Swan -'When You Were Young.' mp3

Le Tigre-'I'm So Excited.' mp3

Arcade Fire-'Maps.' mp3

CSS-'One Way Or Another.' mp3

Snow Patrol-'Crazy In Love.' mp3

Death Cab For Cutie-'World Shut Your Mouth.' mp3

Editors-'French Disko.' mp3

As always, if you like what you hear, support the artists. These links will be removed after a week.

Have a good one,

Ed