Hopefully the first of a regular series of posts, Monday Movies aims to bring you a handful of recent music videos along with a blast from the past… enjoy!

Below: Hot Chip: One Pure Thought

Below: Vampire Weekend: Oxford Comma

Below: Stars: Bitches in Tokyo

Below: The Libertines: Don’t look back into the sun

Isn’t it nice when a band not only manages to blow you away when you see them live, but also manage to blow themselves away? That was just the case tonight at London’s Koko, when Stars commented “y’know, I think this might be one of the reasons we love London so much” grinned frontman Torquil Campbell. You can tell he wasn’t lying either, each of the members looked generally pleased, shocked, and amazed at the response they got at the sold out venue.

Let’s rewind first a couple of hours to when the second support came on, Stars’ labelmates Apostle of Hustle. At first glance they looked like a bunch of mechanics on a night off having a good time down the pub, however quickly showed us otherwise, having some incredibly strong tunes and missing a brain cell or two to make them quite so brilliant. They seemed to genuinely get along with Stars, so much so that they came back and joined Stars for their encore.

Soon enough Stars came on, opening with my favourite, Ageless Beauty, before launching through a collection of songs that crossed their full back catalogue, however the focus was (understandably) on their latest release, In The Bedroom, After the War. Sounding amazing live, their homely stage setup complimented perfectly their stories of domestic violence, broken relationships and general debauchery.

Relatively untalkative for the start of their set, Torquil went on to comment towards the end that “We’ve been playing London for a long time - probably before some of you started masturbating!! (to Amy Millan) Remember when we played the Purple Turtle? Ahhhh”

Ending off their main set with the title track of their latest album, Amy Millan and the rest of Stars seemed genuinely shocked at the response they were getting.

The only song missing from the set was my favourite from “After the War”, the bittersweet “Barricade”, however it was understandable - it would have just been too depressing to have squeezed it in as well. All together though, Stars proved that whilst they’ve taken the best part of a decade to get to headlining an impressive UK tour, they have deserved it, and look set to achieve greater things in the coming years.

After the jump: Large photos. Email me if you want more, or larger versions of pictures. Thanks.

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This is the time of year it seems just about every credible publication is doing a “best of 2007″ albums, so I thought I’d join them and do a quick top 10 of my favourite albums this past year. I’ve chosen the top 10 from the 74 albums I’ve “acquired” (either downloaded / bought the CD of / been given the CD of). Disagree? Just say in the comments below.

• Memorable-ness - Does it have you humming it for days after? Can you remember snippets of lyrics?
• “Car factor” - Can you put it on play and leave it going without skipping any tracks / few tracks?
• Irritability - Can you have tracks on repeat without wanting to throw the CD out of the window?
• Musical quality - Is it likely to be a classic / seen as a highlight of the artist’s career?
• Enjoy-ability - Is it fun? Get you going?
• Innovation - How innovative is it?

10. Jack Peñate - Matinee
He may just be one man with a funny swirl over his name, but his album turned out to be one of the most consistent of the year. Many of the tracks are single-worthy, fun, danceable and just the sort of thing that goes down a storm at many end-of term parties.

Tales of bitterness, nights out, missed opportunities, and images of guys in smart suits akin to West Side Story make this album the first in my 2007 top ten.

Buy the CD on Amazon

9. Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion
Who couldn’t have heard Mika’s first single, Grace Kelly, which bothered the top 10 for a few months at the start of the year. Fun, simple pop tunes that live are just quality party tunes.

Many people claimed Mika was trying to capture Freddie Mercury, and yes, he does sound a tiny bit like him, but is completely different: the tunes are quite possibly more girly than anything Freddie did, and his shows are far more like an acid trip than Queen could ever pull off.

His come down tunes, “Relax, Take it Easy,” “Any Other World” and “Happy Ending” are quality tunes in their own right, comedowns for the end of the party. All in all a quality mixture of pop, rock, and pure fun.

My Live Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

8.The Wombats - A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation
I only really got into this a couple of weeks ago after the release of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division”, but it was on repeat all the way home from the US, with their amusing tales of urban English life. Songs like “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” celebrate English irony brilliantly, tunes that just have everyone dancing for the hills.

They’re knowledgeable, and the whole album is very tongue-in-cheek, which is just what modern indie-pop should be.

Buy the CD on Amazon

7. I’m From Barcelona - Let me Introduce My Friends
I’ll admit it, I didn’t think I’d like this album. 29 people on a record sounds like a recipe for destruction if you ask me, but somehow they pull it off without sounding as chaotic as the Polyphonic Spree do at times.

Songs like “We’re From Barcelona” are fun, simple tunes which has all the vibe of a secondary-school band gone pro. EP song “Britney” unfortunately doesn’t make an appearance on this album, but if it did, the album would be even higher up my list.

Buy the CD on Amazon

6. Band of Horses - Cease To Begin
Opening song, “Is there a Ghost” is enough for Band of Horses to deserve their 6th place position on this list. A quality, haunting tune that just captures the whole vibe of the album - musically capable, listener - accessible.

The entire collection sounds far more polished and consistent than their debut, “Everything, All the Time”, which whilst had moments of brilliance, failed to capture the consistency of this collection.

Buy the CD on Amazon

5. Radiohead - In Rainbows
A suprise release, Radiohead seemed to garner more headlines for their “Music Industry ruining” way of release and letting people choose the price they wanted to pay for the download of the tracks as an MP3 file.

However, the album wa, in my opinion, one of their strongest yet. A distinctly electronic feel, they combined their solo efforts into a collection that was strong, consistent, and interesting. I wouldn’t be suprised if it turns out to be one of their strongest of their career.

My Review of In Rainbows | Buy the CD on Amazon

4. Stars - In our Bedroom After the War
I bought this one on a whim - I didn’t know much about Stars, but quickly grew to love them. Songs like the haunting “Barricade”, the danceable “The Night Starts Here” and the yearning “Bitches in Tokyo” make for a collection that builds on their previous albums (which I’ve since acquired), and makes a strong and consistent collection that I’ll be listening to for months to come no doubt.

Buy the CD on Amazon

3. Tegan and Sara - The Con

They may be two lesbian identical twin sisters, but don’t let you think they’re a novelty act - far from it. They’re a quality duo, who make amazing short stories for the 00’s generation.

Produced by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, The Con is their most accomplished yet, full of drama like their previous records, but a bit more believable, and a bit more stable now that they’re settled down with partners. They seem happier, if that’s possible, which is always good.

Buy the CD on Amazon

2. The National - Boxer
The National’s fourth album, Boxer is a very consistent record, though unfortunately not quite as good as their break-through “Alligator”.

They seem to be more at home with themselves, not quite as angry as standout songs on Alligator “Mr. November” or “Lit Up”. Instead, all of the songs are accomplished, but not as much emotion, which is a shame

The National @ The Astoria Live Review | The National - Boxer - My Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

1. Bloc Party - A Weekend in The City
I’ll admit it here. I wasn’t a big fan of their debut, Silent Alarm. I thought it was crap. However, once I listened to A Weekend in the City I “got” Bloc Party, and fell in love with both albums at once.

Songs such as “I Still Remember” and “Sunday” are the standouts for me, both quality songs that deserve the huge audience Bloc Party have garnered. I’ve possibly listened to this album more times than any other album, and will continue to do so for 2008 no doubt.
My Album Review | Buy the CD on Amazon

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Stars have announced a new tour of the UK in early next year. They’ll be playing 10 dates in support of new album ‘In Our Bedroom After The War‘, including a date at London’s koko

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday morning (Halloween) at 9am.

Thursday 24th January - Dublin Tripod
Saturday 26th January - Aberdeen Moshulu
Sunday 27th January - Glasgow Oran Mor
Monday 28th January - Birmingham Barfly
Tuesday 29th January - London Koko
Wednesday 30th January - Bristol Thekla
Thursday 31st January - Manchester Academy 3
Saturday 2nd February - Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sunday 3rd February - Sheffield Leadmill
Monday 4th February - Brighton Concorde 2

Now all of the big tours for the autumn have been announced its now the turn of all the smaller bands to announce short jaunts. Stars have announced that they’ll be playing a quick 8 day tour of the UK, following in the footsteps of label mates Broken Social Scene.

The band releases new album “In Our Bedroom after the War” on October 8th, and plays the following dates around that time:

Monday 1st October - Birmingham Barfly
Tuesday 2nd October - Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Wednesday 3rd October - Manchester Night & Day
Thursday 4th October - Glasgow King Tuts
Friday 5th October - Belfast Speakeasy
Saturday 6th October - Dublin Temple Bar Music Centre
Monday 8th October - London Scala

Tickets are available now from the usual sources. Photo is taken from their myspace.

Epic and beautifully orchestrated, dark at times and playful at others, Rufus Wainwright’s fifth studio album “Release the Stars” is further proof of how he deserves his burgeoning popularity. However, if his voice irritated you in the first place (like me), or you prefer his covers to his original songs, this is most certainly not your sort of album. For lack of better albums (that I’m aware of on a very quick scoot through Amazon), this is my album of the week.

I can recognise that Rufus is a one-in-a-million talent, and that this album is his best one to date, however personally I’m not a big fan. His voice grates against me, and I find him whiney at times, but that shouldn’t detract from his skill. My boredom is another’s excitement, and vice versa.

Opening with “Do I Disappoint You?” it conjures up imagery of a fantastically vivid stage show journeying through a jungle, such is the vibrancy of it, with full orchestral sounds evolving slowly.

“Between My Legs” is my personal highlight of the album, joking, camp, livelier than many of the other numbers and quite possibly one of the most chart friendly songs on the album.

“Not Ready to Love” is one of the most melancholic songs since Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’, slowly moving into “Slideshow” which brings the tempo up again.

Overall, a mixed bag for me – genius and innovative, yet grating and a bit too classical for my liking, Rufus is undoubtedly back with a big (camp) bang, but don’t expect me to be going to see him live. Great, but not for me.