Song for October 30th, 2010: "Punching In a Dream" by The Naked and Famous

The song is...Punching In a Dream by 5-piece Kiwi-indie-rock band The Naked and Famous. The Naked and Famous has been around on the music scene since 2008, originates out of New Zealand, and it consists of members David Beadle, Thom Powers, Aaron Short, Jesse Wood, and Alisa Xayalith. They released their first album titled Passive Me, Agressive You on September 6th, 2010 and this song can be found their as track 2. Their second single release from the album proved to be a #1 hit on the RIANZ New Zealand Singles Chart, and this song peaked at #11 on that same chart. I personally don't understand how this song didn't get press in the USA and UK, but it didn't, I suppose that in the end its all about record contracts and copyrights etc, which is why you still can't find the entire new album on itunes, but you can at least find the single Young Blood there (which was the #1 in NZ) and you can buy the album as an import on Amazon.com. If I were to describe their sound or compare it, I would compare it to MGMT's Oracular Spectacular album (and not their rather anti-climactic new one). Anyways, check it out and hear for yourself.

Song for October 29th, 2010: "She And I" by Bird and Prey

The song for today is...She and I, by Australian punk-rock band Bird and Prey. Bird and Prey originate out of Brisbane, Australia (in sunny Queensland) and consists of members Josh Aubry (Vocals),  Jahman Davine (Guitar), Angus Durham (Guitar/keys), Beau Jenkins (Drums), and Chris de Wet (Bass Guitar). Now, this song is not yet available on youtube, as far as I can tell, so you can listen to it on their myspace page here, or you can listen/download a free mp3 of it on their triple j unearthed site here. Boo!

#45 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!: "If You Leave" by OMD (1986)

Ahoy! We are at #45 of the Countdown! And the song is...If You Leave, by 80's English synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Also commonly abbreviated and known as OMD, this group originated out of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England back in 1978, which presently consists of members Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes, and Martin Cooper. McCluskey and Humphreys were the founding members of the band and are considered the 'core members' to this very day. If You Leave was a single recorded specifically for the John Hughes classic 80's film soundtrack to his film Pretty in Pink, and it was used mainly for the final scene of the movie. It would be OMD's biggest hit in the USA, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, at the same time it would only reach #46 on the UK Singles Chart. I don't really have a whole heap more of information on OMD, although I do remember that they did some more soundtrack work for some other 80's John Hughes movies including the iconic Weird Science, and I haven't yet quite decided if I will feature more of their hits on this countdown, maybe, but maybe not, we shall see....

Song for October 28th, 2010: "Mr Keeperman" by Buchanan

Today's song is....Mr Keeperman by Australian indie-rock-pop band Buchanan (pronounced bew-cannon). Buchanan originates out of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia and consists of members Josh Simons (vocals), Jon Bara (guitar), and Sanjay Schuback (drums). Buchanan has just recently released a new EP titled The Safety Beach in May 2010. This song can be found on that EP, which is available on Itunes, or you can still go to Triple J Unearthed and download a lower quality free mp3 version of the song here. Also be sure to check out their myspace page for more band info here.

Brief Movie Review for "On the Beach" (1959)

4/5 Stars ****

The message here is "There is still Time." One of those movies that makes you think a little bit and put things in perspective. Also, was filmed and set mostly in Melbourne, lots of shots from a truly great city. The threat of nuclear war seems less, but now we have climate change and drowning in our own other various poisonous substances in our food, water, air, and soil...fun stuff to think about aye! Definitely not an upper movie, and don't watch if you don't like marinating in that forboding sense of inevitable doom for 2 hours, but that said its probably one of those movies everyone should have to watch in school.

Song for October 27th, 2010: "The Eagle" by Grafton Primary

The song for today is....The Eagle, by Australian electro-noir band Grafton Primary. Grafton Primary are an electro-duo  consisting of brothers Benjamin Garden (keyboards/synth) and Joshua Garden (vocals) along with an occasional drummer or bass-guitarist for live shows only. They come out of Sydney, Australia and they have been active on the music scene since 2006. They have released one full length studio albums in the past and The Eagle is a single to come off of their upcoming new 2011 studio release album titled Sophmore. Now the youtube video below is a remix version of the original, but it is the only version available on youtube, and their videos are the most-postable (if thats a word) so that is what I have posted below. You can still find a free mp3 download of the original song here.

#46 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Robert Palmer: Addicted to Love (1986)

At #46 we have....Addicted to Love by English Grammy Award winning singer/song-writer Robert Palmer. Robert Palmer was born on January 19th, 1949 in Batley, Yorkshire, England. Palmer was well-known for his solo-work and music videos (such as for this song) and another for the song Simply Irresistable, both of which feature identically dressed models with pale faces, dark eye, makeup and bright red lipstick, which was meant as a sort of tribute to the women in the art of artist Patrick Nagel, who was quite big in the 1980's as well. He was also well-known, at that time, for being the lead singer of 80's super-group 'Power Station,' which generated 2 Top 10 US Singles in 1985. Addicted to Love was released in 1986 on Palmer's Riptide album and it peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. According to wikipedia, this song was originally intended to be a duet between Palmer and Chaka Khan, but Chaka Khan's record label wouldn't give her permission to work on Palmer's record label, and thus it became a solo-song, but still good all the same. The images this song brings back is that scene from the classic 1988 movie Cocktail where Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown are blasting this song in the crowded bar whilst flare bar-tending, was totally rad!

Song for October 26th, 2010: "Bad Guys" by Bleeding Knees Club

And the song for today is....Bad Guys, by Australian indie-punk duo Bleeding Knees Club. Bleeding Knees Club originate out of the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia, and consists of members Alex Wall (Drums/vocals) and Jordan Malane (Guitar). Bad Guys comes off of their debut Virginity album, which is due out for release on November 2nd, 2010. There is not a heap of more bio-information por internet so go check out their myspace page here or check out their unearthed page here. Booyakasha!Virginity

VJ Brewski - Lady GaGa vs. The Eurythmics (Divide & Kreate Remix)

Brief Movie Review for "The 7th Victim" (1943)

3/5 Stars ***
Another interesting Robson/Lewton flick from the 1940's. I must say that I wasn't as impressed with this one as his others, although it is really the settings, and scenes (the mise en scene) that makes his movies unique, but it really wasn't all that much of a horror flick or really any bit spooky, even by 1940's standards, but still interesting if you are into old movies. 

Song for October 24th, 2010: "Skin of Your Teeth" by The Words

The song is...Skin of Your Teeth, by Australian indie-rock band The Words. The Words come out of Bunbury, in Western Australia, and consists of members Ben Macri (Lead Vocals, Guitars),  Clint Macri (Guitars, Backing Vocals), Dylan Macri (Guitars), and Ryan Mcdonnell (Drums, Percussion). Now, naturally this song isn't on youtube, as youtube appears to be going 'down the tubes' as of late in terms of the richness and diversity of content they once upon a time offered, and I can see the lawyers flying lazy circles, but who knows perhaps radio stations such as Triple J and sites like their triplejunearthed website, which features free mp3 downloads, info and previews of upcoming Australian artists, and if anyone knows of the British and American equivalents of this site I would be stoked! That said, go to their myspace page here or to the triplejunearthed page here for the free mp3 listen/download of this song amongst a few others by the same band. And don't forget to enjoy yo'self! 

VJ Brewksi Mash - Nelly Furtado vs. Michael Jackson (Party Ben mashup)

Song of the day for October 23rd, 2010: "Rappers in Wonderland" by Mind Over Matter

The song for today is...Rappers in Wonderland, by Australian hip-hop outfit Mind Over Matter. Mind Over Matter come out of Sydney, Australia, has been active in the music biz since 2004, and consists of MCs Willow (Rowan Lockyer) and Smiles Again (Martin Brown). Rappers in Wonderland is a more recent single release from 2010, and is available on Itunes in full. If you are interested in the artist or want the free download of this single check out their website here. Enjoy!