Owner: Blog Scary Monsters URL:http://blogscarymonsters.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:41:44 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The day to day ramblings of an independent record label. Blog Scary Monsters is what goes on behind the scenes at Oxford based record label, Big Scary Monsters. Check it out for exclusive videos, downloads, photos, stories and rants about post offices, th Site statistics:Click here
Myspack 2008-03-07 04:58:10 I've always avoided using the generic Myspack "oh I'll say it flippantly as if to suggest I don't give a crap but really I spend most of my life on there" term for everyone's favourite Social Network website, but titling a blog post "Myspace" just seemed a little bit shit.I've been having this problem with my "Myspack" page over the past few weeks in that every now and again I go on there and my top friends - usually 16 BSM related bands and labels - have somehow changed to a selection of random people, artists and absolute prats. I'll sit there and painstakingly change them all back, which will be fine for a while, only to return a few hours later and see it's happened again! I changed my password, fearing I'd been 'phished' but that didn't help. I emailed Myspace and explained the proble
6 Machine shortlisted bands - Part 5 2008-03-06 07:47:42 After the wild partying of the 100th blog post and our weekly Alcopop "meeting" last night I am pooped! My head is filled with non-sensical words and a disappointing lack of inspiration, so will be taking this opportunity to crack on with the 6 Machine
band profiles. Next up...Twin Atlantic1. Introduce yourselves:Hi, We're Twin Atlantic from Glasgow. Our debut EP 'A Guidance From Colour' is out now. It is available through our BigCartel via our MySpace page and all reputable digital outlets.2. How would you describe your music to someone who has never previously heard you?It's like pop music, but it's not just simple pop music. There's a lot of meaning and a lot of fuel in the songs.3. Who are your biggest influences?We are all influenced by very different bands and musicians and things we
This Charm Is Christmas 2008-03-05 16:52:41 Turns out I'm an idiot. I approved the digital release of Data.Select.Party's 'This Charm Is Charmless' single, released on Alcopop Records last year, without properly reading what I was doing and as such, we have ended up with this:Data.Select.Party - This Charm Is Christmas
An accidentally festive cock-up. Purchase it now from itunes for just 79p before I make the call and correct my mistake first thing tomorrow morning!Lets just keep this little error between me and you, yeah?
100th post 2008-03-05 12:26:10 Seems as good a time as ever to have a partyI searched Google Images for the word 'party' and this was the 5th result. Honest! I don't know if you can see it but the filename is demon-schoolgirl-spanked-at-party.jpg. Says it all really, doesn't it?Well, the blog has been somewhat overtaken by 6 Machine band profiles but as this is the 100th post I figured it was only right to reclaim a little space and get back to basics. ie me. Talking crap. Posting inappropriate pictures. Blabbering on. I did think about having the Blog Scary Monsters 100th Post Awards. I was going to give myself prizes for Best Spelling Mistake, Stupidest Idea, Most Drunken Post and many others, but then I stopped and considered the point where self-indulgence becomes schizophrenia. 5 of my 7 personalities agreed it was
6 Machine shortlisted bands - Part 4 2008-03-05 03:23:03 Whitesnake once sang Here We Go Again...Caesura1. Introduce yourselvesHello. We are Caesura, i.e. Mossy, Rob, Louis and Ben from Winchester in south England.2. How would you describe your music to someone who has never previously heard you?Our music is a bit like a firework. Pretty but explosive.3. Who are your biggest influences?We like Jeniferever, Explosions in the Sky, The Appleseed Cast, American Football, Minus the Bear, At the Drive-In and lots more.4. What’s your career highlight thus far and what have you planned for the rest of 2008?Supporting Youthmovies and Tired Irie at the Joiners in Southampton was nice, because we got to share a stage with two really vital British bands. This year we’re going to tour the new songs that we’ve just finished writing and hopefully save en Read more:Machine
6 Machine shortlisted bands - Part 3 2008-03-04 17:35:02 Another day another dollar, as Yap from nu-metal giants One Minute Silence once sang. Whatever happened to him? Last I heard he was touring front rooms telling anyone who would listen about his political views. Maybe we should invite him down to speak between bands at the St Patrick's Day gig? That could be fun.I'm off to London later on. Going for a couple of meetings, the Truck launch party and then to check out a venue for what could potentially be the party of the year. Well, April, at least. Keep em peeled.Here are the next 2 profiles for the 6 Machine
. Keep those votes coming, we had 400 in the first day. Right now there are only 10 votes separating 1st and 4th place!Copy Haho1. Introduce yourselvesHello, we're a band called Copy Haho from Stonehaven in Scotland -we formed through a
6 Machine shortlisted bands - Part 2 2008-03-04 02:29:12 Continuing our in-depth look into the murky world of the 6 Machine
's shortlisted bands, here are the next 2 for you to read about. Whether or not it sways your decision as to who you should vote for, well who knows?The Defeat1. Introduce yourselvesHello there, nice to meet you. We are The Defeat. We are a four-piece rock band from the lovely town of Reading in Berkshire (which is, coincidentally, twinned with Dusseldorf). We have been together since March/April of 2007.2. How would you describe your music to someone who has never previously heard you?Well you see, this question often leaves us stumped. I suppose we could refer you to our influences, but that would be avoiding the question. We seem to draw frequent comparisons with the bands Biffy Clyro, The Appleseed Cast and Explosions in
6 Machine shortlisted bands - Part 1 2008-03-03 09:32:14 I asked each of the 12 shortlisted 6 Machine
bands to answer a few mundane questions and over the next few days I'm going to be posting their answers up here. They're not going up in any particular order so keep checking back each day, and to hear music and cast your vote, click the links below.Minotaur Explode1. Introduce yourselvesHey, we are Minotaur Explode. We formed in January 2007 and have released one EP called ‘Our Band Could Ruin Your Life’. 2. How would you describe your music to someone who has never previously heard you?Short, fast, high energy songs. Vocals similar to At The Drive-In, guitars similar to Bloc Party. Unpretentious catchy punk.3. Who are your biggest influences?Converge, Weezer, Glassjaw, Modest Mouse etc4. What's your career highlight thus far and what have
6 Machine shortlist 2008-03-03 06:31:21 The shortlist for our 6 Machine
compilation has just been announced. Now it's down to you to choose which of the 12 bands make it onto the record.Listen through them all at Last.fmAnd then go to www.bsmrocks.com/the6machine to vote for your favouriteThe deadline is 12pm Monday 10th MarchProfiles on all 12 shortlisted bands will begin appearing right here as of this afternoon. Come back.
Alcopop guest blog 2008-03-01 03:44:45 Big Scary Monsters' sibling label, Alcopop, has been running as a singles label since September 2006 but now, with the first album nigh on the horizon and plenty of exciting happenings happening, Jack, my indie-pop compadre, steps in for a little guest blog entry action:So – Kev’s asked me to write a guest blog post for the big brother (not in a shit reality TV way mind) label BSM – and so, to illustrate the kind of exceptionally productive work ethic we pride ourselves in at the good ship Alcopop, I thought I’d loosely base this entry around this weeks trip into London to go and see our newest chums, Hush the Many (Heed the Few) down at a lovely intimate show at the Wilmington Arms in Farringdon.After recently having such a lovely drunken time on the couple of dates we could manag
Want to win an iPod shuffle? 2008-02-29 04:10:29 'cos you can, if you want? Some friends of ours have just launched a new label and to celebrate we've decided to team up together like merry little pals round the dinner table on a Sunday and run a little competition to win an iPod
shuffle (perfect for listening to your favourite BSM tunes on), a £15 iTunes voucher (perfect for buying your friends copies of your favourite BSM tunes. You, of course, already own them all) and a pile of CDs (backup copies of your favourite BSM tunes, just incase something tragic should happen to your already-owned prized copies). Easy Tiger (that's the name of the label as well as a request for you to put your excitement back in your pants) have a Myspace page here, and you can enter the competition by clicking here.This bracked-fuelled blog post was brough
St Patrick's Day party 2008-02-28 10:04:17 Are you Irish? Do you hate it when everyone else pretends to be on St Patrick
's Day? Sickened by the idiots in Guinness hats? If so, you probably won't want to come to this......But then again, it is a freaking awesome lineup, isn't it?Click the flyer to buy tickets, to be sure.In other news: I went into Oxford city centre earlier for a BLT and a hangover battling powerful stroll when I encountered two bizarre, completely unrelated old men. The first looked about 50 and walked towards me with a real look of desire somewhere near to HMV. Fearing he was going to try and sell me something/mug me/talk my ear off about the power of our lord Jesus Christ, I smiled and said no thanks, slightly increasing my walking speed. Between my pounding hearbeats I heard him mutter "dude, you look like you n
Arsenal 2008-02-28 04:38:30 Another excellent night last night. Jack Alcopop and I made our way into London mid-afternoon, armed with a few drinks for the ride and no clue of where it was we were going to. Having spotted Arsenal
on the underground map we decided to head there and see what it's like. Mostly residential we found a road with a couple of pubs and a handful of brilliant greasy cafe's. In the first pub we felt like every person there was a potential stabber, and in the second pub the angry Irish barman was so annoyed by us putting 'Country House' by Blur on the jukebox he shouted "Jesus Christ" stormed across the room and switched it off. Very friendly. The thing which struck me most about Arsenal was the stunning array of sleepy old people. There was the woman who nodded off with a fork in her mouth in th
New songs and earthquakes 2008-02-27 06:56:23 What a day yesterday was. It started with me trying, but failing, to do some work whilst Dave from Tubelord borrowed my beautiful CD duplicator to run off a couple of hundred Colour CDs, before we make the trip into London to meet Ivano and start working through the mass of 6 Machine entries. Some were great, some were ok, some were horrible. We pick a few bands for the shortlist then dash right across London to meet Secondsmile in the studio. Oli (Meet Me In St Louis) has already recorded his violin parts and Dan (This Town Needs Guns) is just getting started on his trumpet. Darren (Rock Sound) is sitting in the corner cracking rubbish jokes. Everyone has brackets after their name in this industry. A Thai meal, a few drinks and a can of Strongbow on the streets of Shoreditch later we're b Read more:songs
, earthquakes
99% people of Sun readers want you dead 2008-02-26 04:00:07 It feels like years since I last wrote to you, dear blog, but it's only been a few days. I hope you've missed me like I've missed you.The Sun are currently running a promotion giving away European holidays for £19.50 per person, including ferry crossing and accomodation. With my last holiday now a whopping one month and two days gone-by it's time to plan another break-I-can't-afford-but-dearly-want-all-the-same. I have to collect 7 or 8 tokens printed in the paper over the next 10 days so have been making the short walk to the shop to pick it up each morning. Yesterdays front page was dominated with the words "99% of you want the death penalty back." Now I don't get involved in newspaper politics, or even opinions for that matter, but that's quite a stat. I'm yet to open the paper.Today w Read more:people
, readers
New music 2008-02-22 06:01:12 This Town Needs Guns have added a new track to their Myspace page. It's called 'Japanese Ultra-Violence in D-Minor (The Saddest Chord)' and is taken from their forthcoming album which will be released in Japan and Australia shortly. The record is a collection of everything they've previously released here in the UK and won't be able to buy in shops here. We might, however, have a few copies to give away. If we're feeling nice.House of Brothers is also in on the new music game, posting a clip of forthcoming 7" single a-side 'Oh Please Let Me Sleep'. The new track features female vocals and there will be two b-sides and lovely artwork. A release date is yet to be confirmed but I'll be crowing about it on here when it's ready.And to finish off this sterling round-up of new music, here's somet
The final countdown 2008-02-21 05:28:24 No, this isn't a post dedicated to that classic end of the night, shake your long hair around whilst you rock the air guitar, dirty drunken rock club anthem, it's a little reminder that the deadline for submissions for inclusion on our 6 Machine 10" vinyl compilation passes in just three days time.If you're in a band and you fancy getting a track onto what is likely to be one of the best new bands compilations of the year, send an MP3 to bsm6machine@googlemail.com before midnight on the 24th Feb (please remember to include your band name, at least! It's concerning how many haven't thought to do this) and we'll add your name into the hat.On Tuesday myself, Ivano and a crack team made up of members of Secondsmile, Tubelord, This Town Needs Guns, ex-Meet Me In St Louis, Rock Sound magazine an
Day off in Brighton - with visual aids 2008-02-20 07:21:52 Monday I woke up feeling good. After a couple of hours of work I looked out the window and the sun smiled back at me. I thought to myself "Why wait?" so off I toddled, starting my long journey to Brighton
a couple of hours earlier than planned. In theory, it was brilliant. After a weekend of working hard a day off was just what I needed.One bus, one train, four hours, 3 pages of scribbled notes, about 20 emails, a long musical conversation with Ivano and 4 phonecalls later I arrived. It was 4pm, I'd worked all the way there.We headed straight to the pier, forgetting it was half-term and being confronted with a million and one small children, it was frightful. I lost my money in a machine whilst an ugly chav watched on, did some coated sun bathing with a drug-addled looking youth, we drank
Muscles 2008-02-15 10:19:22 It's not the size that matters... Mini-muscleman: Meet The World's Smallest Body Builder.Have a good weekend, y'all Read more:Muscles
No title 2008-03-14 12:24:46 Who would've thought that drinking loads of pear cider would give you a banging head the next morning? Weird.This week I've been keeping a close eye on the midweek charts as they're announced each morning to see where ex-BSM favourite Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and his new album are. It's been a running battle between him and Oxford's The Young Knives, with the Knives taking the lead for the first time this morning, edging ahead into 17th spot by just 5 sales. Five sales?! So I guess this is an appeal to all of you who read this - including you two from Peru, I've still got my eye on you! - who haven't yet purchased the album but have been thinking about it to make the right choice. I shouldn't think it costs all that much via itunes and is a good listen.In other 2nd album news, Secondsmile'
The weather outside is frightful 2008-03-13 08:56:30 I just couldn't be bothered with the outside world yesterday. I worked pretty much straight through from 8am til 11pm, only stopping on a couple of occasions to get some food and watch an episode of Prison Break, my wouldbe Lost replacement as I try and hang on until the next episode on Sunday. It hurts to be back in the realm of once-a-week TV. I'm completely pro-downloading TV, just stay away from the music, kids! Anyway yeah, I just couldn't be bothered. My office is a converted loft space at the top of our house. The neighbours say the landlady had it done so she could sell it as an extra bedroom but only when it was finished she realised you wouldn't even fit a cat's basket up here, and that's before you factor in the hazardous stairs. Unfortunately for one overseas Doctor and his fam Read more:weather
, frightful
Weird timing / Good times 2008-03-16 13:08:07 I'm writing this whilst multi-taking my little head off. On this computer I'm busy emailing loads of bands about a very special release (details coming soon), listening through a Tubelord CD I just burnt to make sure it plays ok, watching the BBC Football page refresh as the Spurs v Man City game reaches its final minutes, designing a little animation for the aforementioned special release, and most importantly, downloading the brand new Secondsmile masters. All the while on the second computer, a couple of feet to my left, I am looking through some photos from our trip to New York back in January, downloading the latest episode of Lost (naughty) and burning a couple of episodes of Prison Break (more naughty). I'm also starting to get hungry, so might have to add some form of cooking into Read more:Weird
C'est la vie 2008-03-18 15:28:08 Party last night? Awesome.Party after the party last night? Excellent.Drunk til 1pm today? Nicely satisfying.Hangover setting in 24 hours later? Not so cool.Video? Hell yeah!
This Town Needs Album 2008-03-21 05:47:47 As the grammatically-disappointing title hints at, This Town Needs
Guns begin recording their debut album today. Heading back to The Lodge studio in Northampton where their two previous releases were laid down, the guys will be working on 9 tracks over the next 7 days, before going back in next month to add some overdubs, tidy them up and record a couple more songs. It's going to be a fairly drawn-out process with the full record set for completition in early June, but with the increased studio time comes increased listening back and writing time, so you can rest assured that this record is going to sound every bit as incredible as you're sitting there hoping it will.Last night the guys had a final run-through of the tracks in their shed, with an audience of just two, not including the fle Read more:Album
Hush The Hollyoaks 2008-03-20 06:19:05 Less of a BSM post, more of an Alcopop treat here...If you're a Hollyoaks fan (and seriously, who isn't?), keep your ears peeled as the druggie kids walk into their 6th form common room tonight, around about 6:40pm, just before the ad break, and you'll notice the wonderful sounds of goFASTER pumping out of the stereo! If you like what you hear you're probably gonna want to get straight over to www.ilovealcopop.co.uk and pick up their new 7" single. Maybe even go and see them in May with The Wombats? Who knows.And if that wasn't enough adolescent booze inspired fun, watch this! It's the video for the new Hush The Many (Heed The Few) sinle, out in a couple of weeks on, you guessed it, AlcopopIt's all coming up Pop today
Of The Seven Seas 2008-03-19 12:00:20 So as I mentioned briefly earlier, I'm off to Scotland this weekend. The trip has now extended to take in stops in Gretna, Dumfries, Livingston and Edinburgh, plus many piss-breaks along the way, I'm sure. Upon making a quick search of Trip Advisor for a decent (read: cheap) hotel in Edinburgh I came across the name Edinburgh Of The Seven
Seas. Now if that's not the best darn tooting name I ever did hear I don't have a clue what is! I couldn't leave it at that, I had to ask everyones friend, Wikipedia, what they knew about it."Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is regarded as the most remote permanent settlement in the world, being over 1,500 miles (2400 kilometres) from the nearest human settlement, on Saint Helena"WowAnd that's it for this post, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. All the b
Stars Away 2008-03-19 07:29:28 I've just about recovered from Monday night, and what a night it was. People singing along to Tubelord, Data.Select.Party being as brilliant as ever, Capitals really impressing in their first show and Flash! Flash! Flash! Photography bringing the pop back to punk. The place was over capacity by 8.30, the floor covered in green balloons, Ben the leprechaun and his pot of chocolate gold, Jack's DJ set of hits and the drinks that flowed from start to finish. I'm going to book up our Pre-Summer Party for May this week and will be thinking of how to make it even bigger and better next time around, to be followed in July by the best party of your life. Believe that.3 days later and I still can't stop listening to the new Secondsmile record. We've decided which tracks will be singles, which will
This weekend 2008-03-21 18:21:52 Just finished series one of Prison Break, my Lost substitute and latest addiction. Bring on series two.I'm off to Scotland for two days. I've only been once before and it just so happened to coincide with the worst snowfall Glasgow has seen in 10 years. Surely thunder can't strike twice?Forget "the big four" playing one another on Sunday, it's all about Gretna v Celtic. I'll be there. So will this lad:See you on the other side. Happy Easter
Myspace Fruit Of The Week 2008-03-25 13:12:01 As you probably very well know, there are a whole load of weirdo's out there in Myspace-land. Well I've decided to introduce a new feature to Blog Scary Monsters entitled 'Myspace Fruit
Of The Week' where I will bring to your attention a new stranger (in every sense of the word) who has amused me. It's the music equivelant of standing next to your ugly mate in a club, keep an eye on the feature over the next few weeks and you'll truly learn to appreciate the splendour of the BSM roster. First up...Psycho TanbadThis rude boi rapper from London, New York, Miami and Jamaica (quite impressive for one man) sounds like Sean Paul - my most hatest "musician" of all time, FYI - crossed with Shaggy. Having requested the friendship of BSM a number of weeks ago I've left him pending whilst considering
Love is in the air 2008-03-25 08:42:23 As Jack and the rooster's eyes met for the first time across the gravelly surface, you knew it was love. The cartoon hearts fluttered around their heads and from that moment on, they were one.With an excellent bank holiday weekend behind me I'm sitting here looking, smelling and struggling like a shell of a human being. A heavy pub crawl through all three bars in the village of Gretna, winding up being hustled at pool, talked about as "those lads who ain't from round 'ere" by some old men in the toilets and crashing a 40th birthday party in the local Social club was the tale of Saturday. Sunday saw us enjoying a much-tighter-than-the-scoreline-suggests 3-0 victory for Celtic over Gretna, a home game for the latter, albeit 150 miles West due to many stadium and adminstration complications.
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