Ladies play the blues

If you still think blues is played and loved only by middle-aged men it's time to dust up your beliefs. This year we've already witnessed breakthroughs from two very talented young ladies who may have very different takes on their music but also a very bluesy sound. And it's only March, so who knows what's gonna pop up in the months to come?

Let's begin from the minimalistic end. Mirel Wagner is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter who sites Mississippi John Hurt as one of her influences, believe it or not - I mean, how many girls of her age even know who Mississippi John Hurt is, let alone like him? Mirel has an amazing way of creating a dark atmosphere and she's clearly an old soul.



Compared to Wagner Anna Calvi's style is very decorative and she sites classical music and opera as her major influences. The end result is very blues-oriented though (at least to me) and most often she's compared to Nick Cave and PJ Harvey - which must be quite nice, I assume.



Both Wagner and Calvi do a great job in using old blues and taking it to a new level. And I love the fact they're both so young and female. Lightnin' Hopkins was right when he said that blues comes in many ways:

Best of 2010 - kind of, or not

Once again it's that time of the year when every music mag and blog out there seems to be listing their favourite albums, singles, videos and what-nots of the year. I fell for it recently myself too, a couple of posts ago when I called Alain Johannes' "Spark" one of the best albums in 2010. But it is kinda silly to compare records to one another only because they were released in the same year, isn't it? Besides those lists always ignore the fact people discover old music all the time, too, and it's just as important as finding new artists.

So, instead of making a traditional top 10, I decided to make a different list. It consists of artists who've been around but which I discovered or fell in love with in 2010. To spice it up I decided to add another criteria: they all had to have strange video material available online. So here's my top 5 of the wackiest videos by artists/bands I've discovered in 2010.

Alex Harvey
I kept bumping into his name constantly this year (his songs have been covered by Nick Cave, Gemma Ray and Recoil, for instance), finally decided to check out his albums and haven't stopped smirking since. Here the crazy Scotsman doing his thing on stage back in the 70's. In this footage Alex uses beer as hair gel, stuffs stockings into his cheeks and enjoyes the goofed-up faces of the Norwegian audience.



Captain Beefheart
Another case of finally checking out someone I'd constantly heard being referenced to. After listening to Beefheart fairly intensely for about 9 months now I'm convinced he was a mad genius and it truly was heart-breaking and slightly eerie as well to hear about Don Van Vliet's passing - only a few weeks after I'd written a blog text about him and his legacy. Here's one of Captain Beefheart's last musical efforts, a video that was apparently banned from MTV for "being too weird".



Charlotte Gainsbourg
It's hardly surprising that the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg is kinda eccentric, yet very chic. I can't remember why I started listening to her albums but once I did, I got stuck. Charlotte rocks, here with Beck and a group of people engaged in the weirdest activities.



Creature With The Atom Brain
Top quality psychedelia band, hailing from Belgium. This video always makes me slightly nauseous but I love the track. It's trippy and hypnotic.



Archie Bronson Outfit
I have no idea how to decribe this band because their sound is such an eclectic mix of various styles and influences. Not sure what this video is about either. To be a disco dancer or a deep sea diver, that is the question, apparently.

Wanna wipe the floor with Nick Cave's face?

Well, now it's possible, in a way. The new Grinderman merchandise, available on grinderman.com, includes tea towels with the faces of Mr. Cave and his partners in crime printed on them. So whether you loved or hated the new Grinderman record now there's a brilliant opportunity out there to express your feelings by buying one and using it the way you find most appropriate.

Personally, I think tea towels are the most useful piece of merchandise I've seen in a long time and perfect for such a whimsical band. Actually, I wouldn't mind getting one for Christmas. Could use one in my kitchenette.