Cheaper Knock-Off

I'm already fuming about the brilliant press that "Wearing My Rolex" by Wiley is getting. First of all, he's been making white-label mixtapes and remixes for years now and has had two albums out already - both of which got overlooked, probably because they were just a bit rubbish.

So then he comes along with this song and suddenly everyone is raving about him, going on about what great and innovative dance music he's making etc... But no! It's not innovative at all! How many times have we actually heard that sample used as the main melody? About a thousand times (so many times in fact that it's hard to discern where the original came from!). So there's innovation out of the window. Then there's the whole point about him pushing back the usual rapper lifestyle of champagne, girls, gold, guns... Er, no... Sorry, that's not true. Some reviewers must have wrecked themselves for hours trying to think of a way to put a positive spin on the fact that he clearly does cite all of these things. Enough said.

Sorry Wiley, your song is more of a cheap Casio than a diamond encrusted Rolex.

Near That Time

I was starting to think about the Mercury Music Prize for this year and thought about one album that it would be a crime to leave off the list of finalists.

Come on, to leave "KALA" by M.I.A off the list really would be punishable. Knowing my luck, they will omit it just to be awkward (none of my favourite albums have won in recent years - don't get my started on Klaxons or Arctic Monkeys-gate). Unlike most R'n'B artists, she is observant, innovative, hates all forms of violence and is an active, er, activist.

So you might think that if she is all of these things then why is she including the harrowing sounds of gunshots on "Paper Planes" or "20 Dollar"? Maybe it is genuinely to disturb, to point out how the sound can ring through a person's mind long after the weapon has been fired. And yet, she has been mostly overlooked by the mainstream. Perhaps her almost aggressive form of MCing and singing - she covers the chorus of Pixies' "Where is My Mind" hauntingly in "20 Dollar" - is too much for an almost simple-minded Radio 1 audience, so much so that even the apparently ground-breaking (I use "apparently" very appropriately since there is nothing ground-breaking about his DJ skills) Zane Lowe doesn't play any of her music. She has been banished to 6 Music, where her singles are fitted amongst indie boys both young and old, ever-so-slightly out of place.

Strange, considering how her previous singles "Jimmy" and "Boyz" had very little to do with violence, poverty and no controversial sounds to speak of. But then, perhaps her sound infringes too much on the world music scene to be taken seriously by pretenders like Lowe and Moyles. But it's still hip-hop, supposedly the most popular genre in the world today.

It was disappointing to see her first album, "Arular" slump at the bash in 2004 when her strange and almost uncompromising songs must have bamboozled the panel of over-30s. Maybe a younger panel would have voted in her favour. On the other hand, they voted Ms. Dynamite's debut as the best album of 2002 (the second woman to win the prize after PJ Harvey - but a strange choice at that) and that album didn't exactly conform to what the panel represents.

I wouldn't put money on it. I wouldn't even say that this was a shoe-in to be on the shortlist. All I'm saying is that to leave her hanging after such a superb album would be atrocious.

More on the prize nearer the time of the nominations...

I Won't Be Breaking Up With Them

I feel very sorry for the Long Blondes. Their second album "Couples" hasn't had a particularly great reception even though I really love it. Everyone thinks that since they have had a slight change in direction from their debut "Someone to Drive You Home" then they've somehow gone all... annoying.

Well, they're not! Definitely not! The first single "Century" has been described as a poor person's "Atomic" (by Blondie) but I don't think they really set out to achieve this. The feel is very different, and the elements used to put the song together is quite departed from Blondie. There is no doubt that they have obviously been an inspiration on all of the record, but I think The Long Blondes have really tried to create their own side.

There are still, anyway, flashes of their old sound such as on "The Couples" and "I Liked the Boys". The formula from "Someone to Drive You Home" still remains, only with some more depth. This is great, and "Guilt" is a really fun song that mixed some of the disco themes with their old indie image. "Round the Hairpin" is not an easy listen by any means, but once you've heard it a few times you can really reap the rewards.

Okay, maybe you shouldn't pay too much the lyrics but this is just a small blot on the landscape. I think people should stop being so snobby about them and give them the credit that they deserve. While they're not an entirely original band, they do make you smile and put some sunshine into a rainy day.

Seventh Heaven

It's good to see that Alison Goldfrapp has partly gone back to her "Felt Mountain" days for her fourth album "Seventh Tree". I have been slightly underwhelmed with the singles because after hearing the rest of the album, you get the feeling that there is so much more depth to her music than you'd first think.

"Happiness" is probably the better of the two singles already released, perhaps because the point of the song is slightly ambiguous (one minute she's asking you to hand over all your money and the next she's asking how on earth you can be so happy. Maybe this is to do with the fact that money can't buy you happiness?). "A&E", of course, is a nice little ditty that juxtaposes being in love to being trapped in a hospital ward (a little strange, but pretty great really).

But "Seventh Tree" is at its best when it returns to the grittier arrangements best shown in songs like "Paper Bag" and the haunting "Deer Stop" that featured on "Felt Mountain". This time around, she has combined this grittiness with a some of the glam-electro elements that featured on "Black Cherry" and "Supernature".

This is apparent on "Road to Somewhere" where small, quieter elements such as the acoustic guitar are layered with soaring synths. "Caravan Girl" is the most upbeat moment of the album, and the loudest song as well. It's more like something you would've found on "Black Cherry", which is great since this was the more impressive of the two electro albums, although it still keeps the alternative-folk feel from the rest of the LP. Basically, it isn't incongruous.

The best song on the album, however, is "Cologne Cerrone Houdini" (which should be future single material). It blends soul elements with the usual feel that she incorporates into her music to create an entirely different direction for her. She should make more soul-infused music. Alison has both the voice and imagination for it. "Cologne..." is like a mash-up between the songs "Felt Mountain", "Crystalline Green" and "Tiptoe". Amazing, basically. Haven't stopped listening to it when I've had the chance.

No doubt though that Goldfrapp will take yet another completely different direction for their fifth album, since there is a distinct pattern emerging between each LP.

There's Something About Maria

Ida Maria, that is. I've heard quite a few of her songs, listened to her on occasions from her MySpace site (note: I don't believe in MySpace really, but it's good for checking up the songs of unknowns/people who don't have proper sites) and to be honest I quite like her.

Okay, she delves into the realms of stupidity now and then, her voice has been known to grate on people (the closing lines of "Stella" are a casing point) and I don't think she'll ever break through into the mainstream but her songs have a sort of odd depth to them that I can't quite put a finger on. The first song I ever heard by her was "Drive Away My Heart" and although it took a few listens to really get into, I began to understand that it was a really melancholic song and that her heart was in the right place. Even "Queen of the World" has a sort of heartless emotion about it, as does current single "Stella". Hmm, maybe it's just me but this young woman could become quite an underground star if she plays her cards right.

When The Faithless Believe

I was skeptical, after reading a review of her album in the Observer the other month, as to whether or not I would enjoy listening to French sub-popstrel Camille.



However, having heard the first single from her new album "Music Hole" yesterday I can safely say that she is something a bit special. In "Gospel With No Lord" she bends her voice in ways that no ordinary singer could possibly achieve and while there is a piano involved a little more than halfway through, the use of instruments is kept to an absolute minimum, with Camille preferring to use voices and human beatboxes rather than synthetic sounds. Think "Medulla" by Bjork and you're halfway there. Only this is something different, an almost primal sounding record that has captivated me for a whole day now. Even while I was listening to Depeche Mode on the bus, I still thought about it in-between the tunes. Perhaps this is an indication that it is an amazing song as not too many tunes have really stood out in my mind like this for a while. I hope I get the opportunity to listen to it again in full some time soon to judge whether this was a strange phenomena or whether it really was a brilliantly captivating tune.

A Perfectly Different Day

Right now I'm listening to the single version of "A Perfect Day Elise" by PJ Harvey for the first time ever and thinking: why wasn't this version put on the album? The version that goes on "Is This Desire" is completely different, not because of the sounds but because of the order, place and power that they have in them! The album version is quite stripped back compared to this one and the drum rolls and synth sections aren't as prominent. The little section in the beginning with the scratchy guitar is missing as well. I'm disappointed. I think this song is one of PJ's best (although not as brilliant as "Yuri-G", my favourite) and I've been sold short with the album version! Someone should've stepped in and said "no! Put this version on, most people won't tell the difference!"
Oh well, it's still an amazing song.

The Greatest

NME.com are holding a poll to find out who the greatest rock'n'roll band of all time are. Fair do's, you might think. And yeah, there are the good inclusions of The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Joy Division etc. (so just about all of the 60s and 70s original great rock bands).

But then I've noticed something really odd. Okay, two really odd things if I think about it. I've decided to take part in the poll (you can do it anonymously by just clicking the link on the homepage of the website). First of all, (oh, this means 3 weird things) Oasis are number one at the point of writing. All of the truly great bands have been overlooked in favour of a bunch of grating Manc "heroes". Don't get me wrong, but I really don't think they're anything special, especially not now that they're writing really odd songs that people probably just praise, you know, 'cos it's them and all... Hopefully that'll change.

I'm pretty sure I've gone through all the artists and rated them fairly. First of all, why bother including the likes of The Liberintes, The Stokes and Arctic Monkeys? According to them, The Libertines are the "band that changed everything". Yeah, like half the post-Libertines bands wouldn't have broken through if it wasn't for them. Most of them would've been good enough without Pete Docherty, Carl Barat et al. making an unbearable racket. As for the other two, they really haven't been around long enough to be even considered for a poll like this. Has the world gone mad? Secondly, I'm pretty sure they've missed out great bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure. It's like they haven't inspired anyone over the years. Or someone's very biased. There are other bands missing, but I'm most surprised about these. Seriously, who made this list? Well, here's the top 20 at the time of writing for your annoyance (I've even included their average score!):

1. Oasis - 8.69
2. The Beatles - 7.82
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience - 7.45
4. Rolling Stones - 6.79
5. Led Zeppelin - 6.71
6. The Clash - 6.70
7. The Who - 6.60
8. Nirvana - 6.41
9. The Smiths - 6.15
10. Radiohead - 6.09
11. Pink Floyd - 6.06
12. Manic Street Preachers - 6.05
13. The Sex Pistols - 5.97
14. Stone Roses - 5.80
15. Joy Division - 5.77
16. The Doors - 5.75
17. The Ramones - 5.74
18. Blur - 5.70
19. The Libertines - 5.69
20. The Kinks - 5.66

Festival Season Is Near... Part 3

It's time for everyone's favourite Scottish festival, T in the Park! Yay.... no wait, there seems to be an overpowering interference of mediocre acts on the Main Stage this year again. Great. And I thought that this festival was going to be pretty good considering they normally have an interesting lineup on it (last year was pretty good, even if the first day was pretty abysmal).

So as usual we have the Main Stage, this year inhabited by Rage Against the Machine, REM, KT Tunstall, Amy Winehouse, The Enemy and Newton Faulkner (yes, that strange man with the ginger dreds). Hmm, we'll give that one a miss then...

NME/Radio 1 Stage - I'm going to do this on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst, 10 being the best. Feeder (8), Scouting For Girls (1), The Wombats (6/7), Kate Nash (0 - seriously!), The Raconteurs (er, 7ish?), The Zutons (6/7) and One Night Only (god, if only I could give minus numbers!) So a bit of a mixed bag here I think.

Perhaps not amazingly at all (given I've praised the line-up of little tents before, this is no surprise) the Pet Sounds Arena and King Tut's Wah Wah Tent are the best stages! So on King Tut's there are Delays, The Ting Tings, Sons and Daughters, British Sea Power and on the Pet Sounds Arena we have Interpol, Hot Chip and Lightspeed Champion. If I was going, I'd definitely head over to these stages. Oh, and there's this new Futures Stage that showcases new talent (duh) with Black Kids and Cajun Dance Party appearing along with many others.

I can't really tell if T in the Park has one of the better lineups this year. It certainly has a load of bands that I can tolerate quite nicely - I'm not going to run out of the room, screaming at the telly, I know that much. But still, everything is all a little average in comparison to last year's bashes.

In Dreams

Well, I wanted to talk about this album for a while now. It took me a while to really get into, but now it's my favourite album by this artist.

I'm talking about "The Dreaming" by Kate Bush!

I suppose I'll get loads of funny looks from people for saying this is my favourite album by her, but it really is something special. I always feel really good when I put this album on, because it has so much depth. One minute she's putting on a fake cockney accent in There Goes a Tenner, next she's growling about the Vietnam war in Pull Out the Pin, then she's at her vocal best in Night of the Swallow.

I've sort of bypassed the idea that she was the first person to use some revolutionary synths as well though. It turns the whole album in to something spectacular, like a whole new musical experience that hits you like a speeding train. There are few hints of her old singing voice - something that she'd perfect before creating "Hounds of Love" - and some of the effects used on her voice are perfect, like the trapped echo in Leave It Open.

So my favourite songs are Pull Out the Pin (because it's so dark and menacing), Night of the Swallow (because when you listen to it you can imagine it going down lots of musical routes, only to find that folk elements come into the frame), Leave it Open (sort of tame, until it explodes into a medley of guitars and pounding drums at the end) and Get Out of My House (inspired by "The Shining". Enough said.)

Ah... I might put it on later today, just so I can try and embarass myself trying to hit the high notes.

Stainless

About two weeks ago I bought "Stainless Style" by Neon Neon. I talked about the single I Lust You before so you probably already have an idea about how much I like this band. I think that if the Super Furry Animals were more electro and less rock, then this would definately be the product.

So Neon Neon is made up of SFA's frontman Gruff Rhys (ever-so-slightly fragile Welsh singing voice: check) and Boom Pip (beatmaster: check) - there are others in the band obviously, but they're the masterminds. Bringing the pair together has made this collaboration magical in all it's electro weirdness.

Yes, it's weird. Yes, it'll probably take you a couple of listens to really get into it. But hey, once the little oddities have illuminated that lightbulb in your brain you might wonder why this group didn't form years ago. Actually, it's a great dance record in a strange way. I'm not really sure if that's intentional (I see it as more as a pick-me-up-quick record) but it works. To be honest, it sounds very 80s, which might put a lot of people off, but then it sounds really modern as well...

So, on to the tracks. Obviously, I Lust You is a great little ditty for reasons I've already touched on. But there are loads of other great tracks too. My personal favourites are I Told Her On Alderaan (blasts at you really hard then turns a little bit alt-rock, then back to retro electro), Raquel (why on Earth was this first single so criminally overlooked?!) and Steel Your Girl (possibly the most rock moment on the record, in the sense that it has the most guitar sounds). However, these songs, in my own opinion, are all well below the magnificence of Belfast. It's melanchoclic - Gruff sounds like he's going to cry nearly all the way through - but then it's oddly uplifting. A song about leaving the city almost under the cover of darkness shouldn't be almost happy should it? I didn't think so until I heard this. Amazing.

This Just In...

Okay, not quite, I knew about this yesterday but Interpol drummer Sam Foggarino will be leaving the band temporarily to start his own side project. The band will be called Magnetic Morning but I doubt they'll be doing anything radically different to what Interpol do (well, without Paul Banks' monolithic voice).

So I guess one of the best bands to come out of New York in recent times will be on hiatus for a while, unless they can find a new drummer. It's a shame as well. Their last album was critically acclaimed, even more so than "Antics" (I really need to get my hands on it). If anyone in the UK has never heard of them (but seriously, they're pretty famous really) then just think of an even darker American version of Editors. Brilliant. Although, it did take me a while to get into them...

Oh Dear...

... I've just missed the opportunity to go and see Feeder at the Student's Union. They're one of the first alt-indie bands I really got into and I suppose kind of kick-started my love of indie (er, good indie, some of it's rubbish - I might post something about "kindie" in the future).

How the heck did I miss this opportnity? They weren't even confirmed from the venue last week, none of the usual sites I visit had anythnig posted... it's a catastrophe!

I take solace in the fact that if they're doing a tour of little intimate venues then they'll probably do a much larger tour later in the year. I hope.

Supergrass Review

Sunday 13th April
Northumbria Student’s Union

When Oxford band Supergrass first formed and released Alright in the mid-nineties, they were branded as the cheeky chappies of Britpop and were offered a Monkees-style TV show. Since turning this opportunity down they have become a literate, grown-up rock band with six albums to their name.
Tonight saw the band stopping at Northumbria Student’s Union to tour their latest album “Diamond Hoo Ha”, which has seen the band, return to their usual blend of 70s-inspired rock after a temporary change of direction on their fifth album “Road to Rouen”.
The night is started by their latest singles, Diamond Hoo Ha Man and Bad Blood which set the tone for a fun-filled evening. Gaz Coombes and his bandmates all looked in particularly high spirits and played flawlessly with not even a hint of technical trouble could be heard. The unity of the band was obvious, with each member being able to anticipate what the others were going to do.
While they were playing in support of their latest outing, the band didn’t dismiss old classics such as Sun Hits the Sky, Pumping on Your Stereo and Moving, all of which got the crowd going.
Something that I wasn’t expecting on the night was a brilliant light show, which consisted of a stage-long video screen, and a vast number of spotlights that changed with the tone and speed of the songs they played.
Overall, Supergrass proved tonight that they have well and truly shaken off their “cheeky chappies” title and that they are really a force to be reckoned with in the world of rock.

Bjork Review

Manchester Apollo Theatre
Friday 11th April

Icelandic songstress Bjork has been delivering her blend of electronic pop for well over fifteen years now and has been in the industry with various bands, including The Sugarcubes, for thirty. However, it seems like there is no end to her energy and creativity.
Starting her UK tour promoting last year’s album Volta, she plays a set that embraces a vast range of material from all six of her studio albums. Backed by an Icelandic brass troupe, pounding drums and a multitude of synths, her voice was as powerful as ever as she danced around the stage in typically joyful fashion, wearing a flowing rainbow-coloured dress.
As Bjork powered through songs such as Hunter, Army of Me and Hyper-ballad, a spectacular light show also took place with jets of fire, video screens, flashing multicoloured spotlights and twirling green lasers that intensified the action on stage. The crowd showed their appreciation throughout the entire nineteen song set, clapping and cheering her passionate performance.
During the encore, the venue exploded into a frenzy when she played Declare Independence and replied to Bjork’s calls in great voice. Even though this song has been shrouded with controversy over the last few months, it didn’t dampen the spirit of the rendition.
Though she may now be forty, Bjork shows no signs of ceasing to make music and play live with an incredible amount of dynamism. As long as it sounds as good as it did tonight, she could carry on forever.

New Playlist

Hey, have finally updated the radio station after a few months, er, hiatus. Here's the playlist:

1.) Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
2.) Stereolab - Sudden Stars
3.) Hercules and Love Affair - Athene
4.) Supergrass - Bad Blood
5.) M.I.A. - Bamboo Banga
6.) Howling Bells - Blessed Night
7.) Beck - Cellphone's Dead
8.) The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful
9.) Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust (Extended Version)
10.) The Coral - Cobwebs
11.) Sons and Daughters - Darling
12.) Editors - Fingers in the Factories
13.) New Young Pony Club - Get Lucky
14.) Metric - Glass Celing
15.) Klaxons - Golden Skans
16.) Elbow - Grounds for Divorce
17.) King Creosote - Home in a Sentence
18.) Iron and Wine - House By The Sea
19.) Bjork - In The Musicals
20.) Daft Punk - Indo Silver Club
21.) Basement Jaxx - Jus 1 Kiss (The Isley Bootleg)
22.) The Wombats - Moving to New York
23.) Delays - Nearer Than Heaven
24.) Kate Bush - Night of the Swallow
25.) Interpol - PDA
26.) Roisin Murphy - Primitive
27.) Frou Frou - Psychobabble
28.) The Sugarcubes - Regina
29.) The Clash - Rock the Casbah
30.) Super Furry Animals - Run-Away
31.) Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
32.) Depeche Mode - The Policy of Truth
33.) Ladytron - The Way I Found You
34.) Muse - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
35.) Bat For Lashes - Trophy
36.) Manic Street Preachers - Underdogs
37.) British Sea Power - Waving Flags
38.) Arcade Fire - Power Cut
39.) Asobi Seksu - New Years
40.) Goldfrapp - Satin Chic
41.) Hot Chip - One Pure Thought
42.) Imogen Heap - Shine
43.) PJ Harvey - Meet Ze Monsta
44.) Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl
45.) Faithless - God is a DJ

Manics Update

So that godlike Nicky Wire has been talking about the next Manic Street Preachers album. Apparently both him and James Dean Bradfield want to take a new road and the album will be, ahem, "riff-tastic". You got that from him, not me. So literally speaking the album will be like a more heavy-rock version of "The Holy Bible" which should be pretty interesting. After all, "Send Away the Tigers" was a great album but lets face it, was it really them? They've kind of mellowed out in a strange way (okay, there's still the rather bleak lyrics but musically it's not as intense as any of their early work or even their previous album "Lifeblood").

Can't wait to hear this one.

Elbow Review

If any of this is a bit repeated, sorry. I realise that I've already mentioned the 4 consecutive 9/10s. Anyway this was for Newcastle Academy on Saturday:

With the recent release of their fourth album, ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’, Mancunian rockers Elbow have become the only British band to ever achieve consecutive 9/10 ratings in the NME. With this accolade, the pressure was on to impress a large and devoted crowd that they really are the best indie band in Britain.
Their setlist was made up mostly of songs from their recent release, but they found plenty of time to include old classics as well. They played tracks such as Newborn, Mirrorball, The Bones of You and current single Grounds for Divorce.
Frontman Guy Garvey took the time in-between songs to ask the audience if they were alright and tell anecdotes. He even stoked the crowd’s fires by telling them that Glasgow had sung better the previous night, inciting the audience to erupt into a chorus in order to outdo them.
When Garvey introduced The Fix, everyone was astonished to find that Richard Hawley was joining them onstage to sing and play along. On the day of the Grand National, The Fix was an ironic inclusion since Garvey and Hawley sing about trying to fix a horserace. It seemed like everyone laughed when Garvey pointed this out.
At the end of the night, Hawley once again joined the band to play along with Grace Under Pressure where the audience sang louder than they had the whole night, giving the band a standing ovation at the end.
If Elbow were trying to prove that they are the best at what they do, then surely they verified it tonight.

Festival Season Is Near... Part 2

Hmm, maybe it's just me but Reading/Leeds seems to be going back to its old heavy rock roots after turning into more of a Glastonbury spin-off in the last couple of years.

Personally, I would be happy to see none of the main headliners here this year. The Killers are now barely tolerable (despite me having their albums on my rack), Metallica really isn't my scene and despite Muse being very into Rage Against the Machine, that's not enough to persuade me that they're any good (in my opinion only, please feel free to contradict me).

So, I know a few people who are going to Leeds this year and one of them said "I've got serious problems - The Cribs and Metallica are on at the same time and I don't know what to do!" Er, try not going to either. Backing up on the main stage are the likes of The Fratellis, The Enemy, Queens of the Stone Age, Biffy Clyro and Taking Back Sunday. Yes, it has truly back-pedalled. Add to this two more days of bands such as The Subways, Dirty Pretty Things, Slipknot, Tenacious D (seriously!) and Dropkick Murphys and we have a really weird and almost unbearable time on the main stage.

If I was going, I'd be heading over to the NME/Radio 1 stage where there are actually some decent bands on. There we have MGMT, Vampire Weekend, The Wombats, Justice, Foals and the wonderful Manic Street Preachers. But honestly, how did the Manics not get a place on the top of the main stage bill? That's really bugging me.

Ahh, looks like this is one festival that's really regaining its reputation for being hard-rock central...

Festival Season Is Near... Part 1

So glad I'm not going to Glastonbury this year. Point one: it's probably going to be another total washout (okay, you're saying what the point of going to a festival is without getting a bit mucky? I say that I can't live with tons of mud). Point two: the bands are, admittedly a bit average.

Well, you want great bands at Glasto because it's the most well known British festival there is (maybe Reading/Leeds is catching it up though). Blaming the low registration numbers on the weather is ridiculous - it never stopped people before. So now we have two problems. One is that the legendary Lost Vagueness has been scrapped this year, despite immense protest and the other is because the bands are no good. Who wants to see Jay-Z in the pouring rain? No offense, but who would want to see Jay-Z at all? It's only going to mean that there's a lot more trouble, the atmosphere of the whole place will change and there's only going to be loads of young people who know nothing of truly good music. If I was going, I'd hide in my tent on that night.

Well, I can't slag everyone off really. I guess they do have Massive Attack (come on! Blast that hiphop pretender away with some immense Trip-Hop!), Neon Neon (my fave new band), British Sea Power (but hope they're in a tent - that distortion will ruin them outdoors), Editors (again, they did it last year) and Hot Chip (in a tent, the best place for them!) so far...

But then there's all these little mediocre bands like The Enemy, Dirty Pretty Things, Kate Nash, The Subways and... wait for it.... Will Young. Oh my God, this year could end up being the worst Glasto I've ever seen. If they only show limited highlights of some of the "best" action, I'm doomed! Red button action is definitely needed this year!