Ever wondered what the weirdest and stupidest things to be done in the name of music have been? Well in this article I will attempt to seek out the oddest and most crazy musical facts so that you can crush your friends with useless musical trivia.

• 8 names John Lennon used to check into a hotel:

1. Dr. Winston O’Boogie
2. Long John
3. Dwarf McDougall
4. Musketeer Gripweed
5. Rev Fred Ghurkin
6. Dr. Dream
7. Kaptain Kundalini
8. Johnny Rhythm Honorary John St John Johnson.

• The smallest guitar in the world is smaller than a red blood cell and has strings that can be strummed. It was made using nanotechnology.
• Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music. Well any music with a big pounding beat and fast tempo.
• Elvis once said, I dont know anything about music. In my line you dont have to.
• A Mexican musician, Ramon Barrero, famous for playing the world’s smallest harmonica, inhaled the harmonica and choked to death.
• Beethoven dipped his head in cold water before he composed.
• Pop was once banned in India. The song “Tirchi Topiwale” became so popular that the police were instructed to fine 50 rupees to anyone caught singing it.
• The Greek national anthem has 158 verses.
• Monaco’s national orchestra is bigger than its army.
• Elvis Presley once entered an Elvis look-a-like contest in a US burger bar and only came 3rd!!
• The lead female singer in an opera is called the prima donna.

Well there you go, fascinating facts that will probably never actually come up in a conversation.

I think you may have worked out by my live review the other week of M83 at London’s Scala, that I love the elfin Frenchman and his unique brand of shoegaze. Things just seem to be getting better and better for Anthony Gonzalez this year, having released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year (the amazing Saturdays=Youth, which you should buy if you haven’t already got a copy) and slowly making his way into the public consciousness.

To celebrate the amazing year, M83 are releasing new single “We Own The Sky” on Monday 1st December, along with Maps’ remix of the title track, previously available on a swap-mix 7” on Sonic Cathedral and described by the NME as “a space-disco rager” plus brand new song Je Vous Hais Petites Filles and ParkerLab’s Dusted remix of Graveyard Girl. Whilst Je Vous Hais Petites Filles is distinctly B-side material, Maps’ remix is worth the single alone - amaaaaaazing to say the least.

There isn’t an official video to go with the release, however there is a competition on youtube for people to enter videos - full details are here.

Anthony and his band of merry-makers are off on tour in December supporting the amazing Kings of Leon on their UK jaunt - Jared Followill recently said of M83, “You have to dive into “Saturdays = Youth”… They switch off between a guy and a girl on vocals, and they have such amazing sounds. They’re very experimental. This band sounds like they invented the sounds… When I first heard some of their lyrics, I got chill bumps.” (New York Times)

M83’s We Own The Sky is out on Monday 1st December on Mute records.

Cool hair, cool clothes, cool tunes. Is it no surprise, then, that Essex-lad Ben Esser and his electro-pop-ska beats have been tipped for big things?

This coming Monday sees uber-hip Esser back with yet another super-catchy single release following debut track, ‘Headlock’. It’s a shame about the weather, as ‘Satisfied’ is a track fit for a bright, summers day. I can’t help but imagine myself lying on a warm beach with a Solero while listening to this sunny tune. The tinkling repetitiveness of the charlston-like piano is truely addictive, while the steel drums bring out the tune’s groovy reggae undertones. A warning - the chorus is lethal - one listen and it’s stuck in your mind for days. “You know a man can never win, even if you buy her all the shoes”. Ok, the lyrics aren’t exactly Shakespeare, but does it really matter? This quirky little track will still be taking over the airwaves, so watch out.

“She’s never satisfied, no matter how hard I try”, Esser complains. Terribly predictable pun, I know, but Esser - I certainly am.

‘Satisfied’ is released on Monday via digital download, 7″ vinyl or CD, which you can pre-order here.

Do you like your roots/dub/reggae/jazz/soul with a “down under” tinge? Something a bit different from your Kooks / Automatic / View Radio 1 sanctioned pap? Well, rejoice, as New Zealanders Fat Freddy’s Drop are going to release their second single “Pull The Catch” from their forthcoming album, “Big BW”

Sunny, jazzy, laid back and all out gorgeous, “Pull The Catch” has you dreaming of summer all over again - those sunsets over the beach, those festival moments as the sun goes down or those late night dalliances in a tent somewhere far from home.

Born out of a fishing trip at home on New Zealand’s South Island, vocalist Dallas and his Uncle returned to the group to record the song in their beachside studio, one of the easiest tracks of the album to record.

If you want to find out more about Fat Freddy’s Drop, read this Guardian article, catch the video below, or just buy the single (out 1st December) from all good download stores and those few music stores that still stock singles (we reccomend Record store).

(Top photo is taken from dionc’s flickr stream of FFD at London’s Brixton Academy under the creative commons license.)

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a really hard time this Christmas finding books within budget for my friends and family… Following on from our previous post about musical gifts, those lovely people at Virgin Books have been in touch to offer you 35% off their range of music books and free postage and packing this Christmas - what more could you ask for?

To get the 35% off AND free P&P simply enter the code VIRGINXMAS into the coupon box at the end of the checkout.

Have a browse around on the links below, and maybe and buy something - they’re actually cheaper than Amazon at the moment on a fair few books, and there really is something for everyone, from your Dad (Meatloaf perhaps?) to your Gran (BB King?) via your older cousin who you always knew was a tad strange (David Bowie!)

(Please note: I don’t get any comission from these book sales, nor am I affiliated in any way with Virgin Books - I just thought you might be interested in some Christmas ideas!)

Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called “Pixies” RRP: £7.99 Offer price: : £5.99 Inc. P&P	How to Make it in the Music Business RRP: £8.99 Offer price: : £6.74 Inc. P&P	How to Make Music in Your Bedroom RRP: £7.99 Offer price: : £5.99 Inc. P&P
Music: The Business RRP: £25 Offer price: : £18.75 Inc. P&P	Hallelujah!: The Extraordinary Story of Shaun Ryder and “Happy Mondays” RRP: £8.99 Offer price: : £6.74 Inc. P&P	Strange Fascination: David Bowie RRP: £12.99 Offer price: : £9.74 Inc. P&P
The B. B. King Treasures RRP: £30 Offer price: : £22.50 Inc. P&P	“Cream”: How Eric Clapton Took the World by Storm RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P	The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles RRP: £20 Offer price: : £15 Inc. P&P
Billy Bragg: Still Suitable for Miners RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P	The Lost Beach Boy: The True Story of David Marks, One of the Founding Members of the “Beach Boys” RRP: £17.99 Offer price: : £13.49 Inc. P&P	Willie Nelson: The Outlaw RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P
To Hell and Back: An Autobiography RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P	Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the “Who” 1958-1978 RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P	Cash: A Tribute to Johnny Cash RRP: £8.99 Offer price: : £6.74 Inc. P&P
Liverpool - Wondrous Place: From the Cavern to the Capital of Culture RRP: £9.99 Offer price: : £7.49 Inc. P&P	Changeling: The Autobiography of Mike Oldfield RRP: £8.99 Offer price: : £6.74 Inc. P&P

With every album release Nickelback manage to produce a host of chart filling singles but the new track from the Canadian rockers seems extra special. “Gotta Be Somebody” has already been filling the top ten from the album “Dark Horse” (set to be released on the 18^th November) and it did well to not disappoint fans after the anthem Rockstar set the bar for future hits very high.

I’ve always been frustrated with Nickelback though. With each album they firstly release the most poppy and commercial sounding track which is fair enough but they never seem brave enough to allow the second single to be the fast paced rock track that always features on the albums track listing.

This time though, they’ve nailed it with “Something in Your Mouth” which I think is one of the most complete Nickelback songs ever. It sounds like a blend of Animals and Side of a bullet from the previous CD “All the Right Reasons”.

The tune starts with ear perplexing guitar riffs and catchy vocals that are almost impossible to not sing along with while the drummer, Daniel Adair, makes brilliant use of the bass drum to produce a thumping beat that drives the track along.

I have to say that Nickelback amaze me. With every fresh song I am certain that they have peaked and now I am getting used to being proven wrong. Personally, I can’t wait for Dark Horse to come out. I’ve seen the band get better with each album so I am forced to wonder what will the next one be like?

Rock your socks off by visiting their MySpace and be sure to listen to Something In Your Mouth.

And so the honeymoon continues for Alex Turner and Miles Kane’s orchestral side-project, The Last Shadow Puppets. Now blossoming into a fully-fledged super-group, the boys have recently released their third single ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ which keeps the bombastic bandwagon rolling along marvellously.

These boys clearly know their pop history, but if there wasn’t more to their sound than mere homage the gimmick would have worn thin by now. Turner’s lyrics are as sharp as any he’s penned for the Arctics, only here they are complemented by epic arrangements and lush orchestration.

Opening with a guitar chord twangy enough to grace a David Lynch film, My Mistakes Were Made for You is very much more restrained than ‘Age of the Understatement’ or ‘Standing Next To Me’ yet still it sounds good enough to be on a James Bond soundtrack.The mix is woozy and cavernous with Turner’s broad Northern tones sounding like they’re being sucked into a void. And the lyrics are similarly disquieting; all this talk of tumbling rocks and being “smashed into smithereens” is a world away from ‘Mardy Bum’.

I’ve enjoyed everything The Last Shadow Puppets have thrown our way and it’s hard to believe that this is a side project but what about the other bands that these chaps front? I’ve heard lots of people anxious about the attention Alex Turner and Miles Kane give to their own bands but from what I can see the future is bright for both. Arctic Monkeys are set to work with Queens of the stone ages’ Josh Homme and The Rascals seem to have really grown their sound since Miles started his “side project”.

Don’t take my word for it, visit their MySpace and see what you think.

We’re always hearing stuff on the news about how we’re meant to be being greener, looking after the planet, recycling and generally reducing our CO2. However, when you’re on a night out most of that goes by the wayside - until now.

Surya is a new club in Kings Cross that features a self-generating energy dancefloor which by combining materials such as quartz crystals, ceramics, cutting edge technology and the dancing motion of clubbers generates enough energy to power up to 50% of the clubs energy requirements.

A wind turbine and a solar energy system makes the club 100% fully sustainable and an advanced alternative energy system is so effective that it will produce a surplus of electricity which is freely donated to the private residents closest to the building. The club has also installed the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets and automatic taps to ensure maximum water saving and the latest innovations in ecological air conditioning units.

And the best bit? All customers attending the club who can demonstrate that they travelled there by foot, cycle or public transport receive free entry…. sounds good to me.

Full details are available about this weekends events here, or if you want to find out more about the man behind it all, just go to the Club4Climate website here.

Top image comes from Ravingheart’s flickr stream.

Living in self-imposed exile in Paris, Dan Black meshes sounds and genres with the same fluidity, ease and cultural nous as his heroes David Bowie and The Neptunes to create his own blue-eyed culture clash of soul, hip hop, rock and electronica and the result is utterly beguiling.

We were first introduced to Dan, in major terms, when he released an astonishing cover of HYPNTZ by Notorious B.I.G. which fused the beat from Rihanna’s “Umbrella” with heavily chopped-up samples from the film soundtrack of John Carpenter’s “Starman”.

Now signed to A&M records, Dan Black is finally set to release his debut single. ‘Yours’ is a propulsive, electro anti-love song (“I don’t want to be yours no more”). Its amazing accompanying video showcases Black’s hyper-coloured modernity even more brightly. The single is likely to set the charts on fire with its catchy riff in the background and the massive drum beat.

The track has been highly rated by Zane Lowe on national Radio 1 and the tune is certainly radio friendly. It’s easy to predict that this tune is going to be overplayed but at the moment it grows with every listen. The single will be released on December 1^st and should be the first milestone of many for this young Frenchman. Black is currently at work on his debut album, which is set for release in early 2009.

For a quick sample of Dan Black, take, devour and enjoy the two MP3s below:

MP3: Dan Black - HYPNTZ

MP3: Dan Black - These Things Take Time

Attack and Release sees The Black Keys produce their fourth studio album and it is full of classic bluesy riffs and inventive rhythms. “Same Old Thing” is the fourth single released from the album and the track gives your ears a nice work out but, for me, there were other tracks that have been released such as “I got mine” which were more typical Black Keys songs. The bands tone and sound has changed a little which will make it interesting to see how the new tunes are accepted. Anyway what do we think of the single?

The new track starts off with a couple of random noises but it soon kicks into a satisfyingly fuzzy, lo-fi guitar riff. This is retro bliss, just smoking, bluesy rock goodness. It’s not often you think of rock music and involve it with flutes but this track gets a nice quirky injection from a few sublime flute melodies.It’s important to remember that this band is made of just two people! I’ve been lucky enough to catch The Black Keys doing a few live shows and the raw power created by the couple is mind boggling.

The track lacks an explosive climax which you’re sure will come when you listen to it and don’t get me wrong, the tune is not disappointing, it is still a top quality tune but it is not The Black Keys at their best.

If you do want to hear The Black Keys at their best, check out their MySpace!