IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Well, my blogging days are almost over! I have traipsed about London searching for independent music shops and to be honest, I am quite disappointed in my lack of gold. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, or in the right places, or maybe HMV and other corporate monsters are taking over. Either way, out of my findings the winner is Jem CDs in Camden Town. With bands such as Hanoi Rocks and The Damned stocked and The Clash playing as I browsed, Jem CDs was definitely my favourite find. Go to the top of the class!

MUSIC AND MUD

Well boys and girls, it's getting to that time again! Summer is here and that means one thing and one thing only... FESTIVALS!

Yes, it's time to dig out those wellies, buy a tent you'll never be able to assemble, load up on sun tan lotion and get the beers in!
Check out my 'FESTIVAL FUN OVER SUMMER 2010' page for info on the UK's favourite festivals.

VILLAGE FOLK RECORDS, CAMDEN

Strolling about Camden I found Village Folk Records, a small stall tightly packed with vinyl treasure! Albums by artists such as AC/DC, Adam & The Ants, The Beatles, Peter Gabriel , The King and Johnny Cash. A definite must, although their collection could do with adding a little more alternative rather than being mostly mainstream. 

CLASSIC ROCK - REVAMPED

On April 27th, the 9th album in the "Punk Goes" series will be released. "Punk Goes Classic Rock" will feature bands such as We The Kings and Blessthefall covering rock legends like The Rolling Stones, Queen, Blue Oyster Cult and Aerosmith. You can preview some of the tracks here.
    I listened to a few tracks from their previous albums; Diesel Boy's cover of "Looks That Kill" originally performed by Motley Crue and The Ataris covering "I remember You", a SkidRow cover. Kris Roe attempting Sebastian Bach's mad vocal skills is hilarious, if not completely cringe worthy. See for yourself...

    I did check out some tracks from the upcoming classic rock album and have to admit that The Almost's cover of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Free Fallin'" is awesome.

What do you think? Vote here!

SKETCH, THE STABLES MARKET, CAMDEN

Sketch in Camden had a great selection of music t-shirts including: Rolling Stones, Motorhead, AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Sex Pistols, Madonna, Blondie and more. I picked up this New York Dolls tee for only £15! Bitchin'.

LOST 'N' FOUND

   Whilst looking for music stalls I couldn't help but notice this treasure chest! Camden's Lost 'N' Found has an awesome collection of vintage band t-shirts. 
   I only dared to stay a few seconds as my purse was bound to start burning but while I was scanning the rails I saw Motley Crue, The Poles, The Fall, Sonic Youth, The Cramps, Motorhead and Sex Pistols tees, most of which were £15 or slightly under. Ker-ching!

TO CAMDEN I GO! - JEM CDs

   After a disappointing start in Covent Garden, Camden seemed to be the obvious choice on my "where next?" list. There I found Jem CDs. The stall was plastered with posters and The Clash's "I Fought The Law" was booming from the stereo. All good so far!
   Flicking through the masses of albums I saw plenty of gold! Hanoi Rocks, Pantera, The Ramones, The Damned and The Clash just to name a few. There was also a vinyl section which was mostly Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and Sex Pistols. Again, awesome! 
   All in all Jem CDs was a brilliant find, not badly priced and a pretty decent collection. Well done Jem CDs, have a gold star.

A LACK OF MUSIC IN COVENT GARDEN

Taking full advantage of today's sunshine I went for a walk around Covent Garden. Failing to find any music shops or stalls I decided to pay HMV a visit.
   Recently I have been blasting from the past, the lovely angry teenager years, and have been listening to a lot of Garbage, Hole and The Distillers, turning up the angry-girl rock. HMV were having none of it! Their stock was shocking. One old Distillers album was all I found of my search list. No Backyard Babies, no Wildhearts and no New York Dolls! What a pile of sh*t. 
   In an effort to prevent my journey being completely pointless I checked out the book section and was fairly pleased with what I found. There were several Charlie Brooker books on the shelves and a few autobiographies, the usual stuff. Then I saw a book which looked like it might be something similar to "The Dirt" (which if you haven't yet read it, READ IT). The book is called "Life on Planet Rock" and is written by Lonn Friend with a foreword by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. I've only read the first dozen pages so far, but for the £3 I paid for it I so far feel it was money well spent! Get it, read it!

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE TO STAGE FREE GIG

   In December 2009 Rage Against The Machine vowed to stage a free gig if they invaded the charts and hit Christmas Number One, knocking that X-Factor wet Joe McElderry out of the running. The succeeded, thank God. 

   So, on June 6th Rage will be gracing the stage in Finsbury Park, London. Fans all over the country have been applying for the FREE tickets and find out TODAY who gets the goods. 

   I myself have been watching the screen reading the same sentence over again, "Your request will be re-attempted automatically every 20 seconds".. awesome! Apparently the internet page cannot cope. My heart bleeds. 

   For those who are not given tickets DO NOT FEAR! It was announced yesterday that the band will be headlining DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL on June 12th. Hurrah!

POISON STAR BRET MICHAELS AND MILEY CYRUS RECORD "X-RATED" BALLAD

   Bret Michaels, the 46-year-old Poison front man, has created a stir this past week after his collaboration with 17-year-old teen star Miley Cyrus. 

   The pair have recorded a country-rock ballad, “Nothin’ To Lose”, for Michaels’s upcoming album entitled “Custom Built” which is due to be released in June this year. The collaboration received attention due to its “explicit” lyrics: 

          

          "Yeah we both know better than this/still we can't resist/slowly get undressed."      

   

   Michaels who wrote the song, several years before Cyrus suggested they duet, said “It’s been blown out of proportion”, claiming that the lyrics hold no reference to either of the singers. Michaels added, “I just thought it was a beautiful song”. 

   Now I have listened to the “explicit” song and found that apart from it being a bit soft and fluffy, confirming that my gag-reflex is in full working order, the single is just a love song.     

   You can listen to the “controversial” single here, we want to know what YOU think!

CIRCUS VINTAGE, CARNABY STREET

 

   Whilst on my travels around London I decided to take a detour down Carnaby Street and to indulge in a guilty pleasure, vintage shopping. 

   As I walked into Circus Vintage I did my usual and headed straight for the leather section searching for a perfectly beaten up jacket. As I made my way to the rack of skins I caught a glimpse of vinyl stacked in crates. The collection was small but varied with some rare albums in pretty good condition. 

   Grabbing a snap of this store was a sneaky feat! For some reason they are against photography, and the beady eyed store clerk would not take his eyes off my oddly angled Blackberry! Haha...

                             

   By no means the best store if you're looking for an extensive collection to browse through but an interesting find all the same and not too expensive! I was however more impressed with their clothing and bric-a-brac. Roll on find number 2!

FINDING THE GOLD... THE BEST MUSIC SHOP IN LONDON

"Lovely" London? The streets are littered with people, most of whom move around quicker than Road Runner on speed knocking poor unsuspecting sods like myself over like they're playing a game of ten-pin bowling! 
   On top of that, the air is thick with fumes, a money eating travel card becomes your must-have item and a watered down piss-pint costs as much as a week's rent. 
   However, London does have one thing keeping it at the top.. music. I am making it my mission to track down the best music shops and post my finds on here.