Hype for no reason?

The American-Saffa twins with the freakishly deep voices are back. Locnville’s second album drops on July the 30th and if their Facebook page is anything to go by, fans are excited. But are they gonna be able to pull off another great album or just bomb?

They first excited the masses with Sun in my Pocket and 6-second Poison. Sticking with numbers, one of the songs on their new album, Running to Midnight, is 5 seconds til the end. We wonder if there’s going to be a 4 second doomsday on their third album. The twins are also acting like rockstars, getting drunk and causing fights then complaining about it.

The first track off the new album is Stars above You and the music video is a mix between Lord of the Rings and Red Riding Hood (scary dog, hoods and all).  We like the song though; it’s very catchy and in Locnville’s dance-track style. 5fm isn’t a fan of it though, the station says it isn’t good enough to play on air. But they will gladly play Lady Gaga repeatedly. We rest our case.

If you were into Locnville before, you will enjoy their second album. You might even enjoy it if you didn’t like them. But either way we think their second album is worth a listen.

Gone But Not Forgotten

As the dust settles and news of the tragic passing of Amy Winehouse actually begins to sink in. The world and in particular the music industry has continued to express their condolences.

On Twitter, Lady Gaga expressed that Amy inspired her and that "she (had) changed pop music forever".

British comedian Russell Brand also wrote a touching piece on his website entitled ”For Amy” exclaiming “she was a $#%@ing genius”.

In-vogue artist M.I.A has since even gone as far as to produce and post a song on Soundcloud that she "Dedicated to all (her) friends that died at "27". However, the majority of the online community has kept it simple. Merely tweeting, "RIP".

Adele, who attended the same school as Amy, contributed that "we believed every word she wrote, and it would sink in deep when she sang them." as well as "I don’t think she ever realised just how brilliant she was and how important she is, but that just makes her even more charming." 

While Amy’s music has quickly climbed it’s way to the top of the charts, for what will probably be the last time, it's clear that while she's gone, she will not be forgotten.

Unlucky 27

Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and now Amy Winehouse are unfortunate members of the 27 Club, also known as Club 27 and Forever 27, a collection of talented musicians who died far too early.

This is a club you don’t want to join and one Cobain’s mother referred to as “that stupid club”. Drugs have frequently been a factor in their deaths. There are 25 members that are listed on website Forever 27's Hall of Fame, each with the cause of death. 


Richey James Edwards (of Manic Street Preachers fame) has not been listed there but has been considered. He disappeared in 1995 at the age of 27 but when his family was given the chance to legally declare him dead they preferred the term “missing person”.

The latest member is Amy Winehouse, who passed away on Saturday July 23. Her cause of death is still undetermined but she had well documented history of drug-use. It wasn't necessarily a shocking death but tragic nonetheless. Russell Brand, a friend of hers and recovering addict, wrote an emotional and passionate blog about her.

Their memory lives on in the music they inspired and the movements they influenced. We will miss your talent and your voice, Amy Winehouse. RIP.

Hiatus Much?

Most bands take some time off every now and then but collectively these three bands have taken off 18 years (basically the product of Justin Bieber). Welcome back Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Incubus and, back from an eight year hiatus, Blink 182.

But why did they all take off so much time, years to be exact? Blink 182 had broken up to do other projects, Incubus went to school and RHCP replaced their guitarist. John Frusciante is gone (again) and has been replaced with Josh Klinghoffer who toured with them before. Check out these shots of the Peppers to help you remember what they look like.

Bands are releasing new music left, right and centre in America right now but it usually takes a few months to reach us, unless you're a audio pirate. What we would love to reach us is the Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance tour.

In the meantime, take a listen to Incubus’ first song off their new album 'If Not Now, When?' Maybe they came back for the fans or maybe they came back because they ran out of money; either way keep a look out for the release of their albums in SA.

Rock and Rowling

We got a little lost today on the internet. That happens. You set out looking for cool and interesting things, and sometimes the most interesting things out there lead you down twisting, turning paths through links to even stranger stuff. And because the final film in the Harry Potter series has just come out it seems to have tainted all pop culture online, or is at least a mere click away.

Which is how we went from Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 best albums of the last decade to a re-imagining of iconic album artwork featuring characters from the Harry Potter franchise (our favourite is Voldemort as MJ, closely followed by the halfblood Prince as the King).

And finally, just when you think it can't get any weirder, you land up watching a music video for a band into Wizard Rock, downloading an album and trying to find out where you can see the feature length rockumentary. Follow the links if you don't believe us, or just go get some free music from our playlist.

We promise none of it will mention Harry Potter.

Festival Flavour

There are plenty of great festivals in South Africa, but if you're looking for some international flavour the next time you're planning a music binge, here are a few to consider: 

Pukkelpop, Steenweg, Belgium : Pukkelpop has gained major respect from Electro music lovers and brings in a lot of big names. The festival has a large following which it's accumulated over a 20 year history. The veteran fans keep coming back for more, it’s just that good. 

Projekt Revolution, Tour Dates Around The World : Projekt Revolution is a hard-hitting event that happens once every other year, it has become famous for the quality of artists that attend. Previous years have seen the likes of Cypress Hill, Xzibit and even Placebo join the ranks. Keep posted on the Linkin Park website for details on the festival.

Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona, Spain : This is set right by the sea and although it doesn’t have many amenities or a very large camping site the shows they put on are insane. It 's a lot smaller than the other festivals and keeps you right amidst the action.

Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan : Japan brings you Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, if these names haven’t gotten you all excited not much else will. Will you be having a super Sonic Summer this year?

iTunes Festival, London : iTunes Festival goers get the chance to listen to 62 bands over the course of 31 nights in just one venue. iTunes always keeps very secretive about the artists that perform. Visit the site and click on the bands that you want to see to have your name entered into a draw for tickets. That’s the way it rocks.

It's in the Clouds

Cloud is a service that'll allow users to upload their music and other files to secure internet hosts, which will allow those users to access their stuff from any mobile device. Amazon, Apple and Google have announced their involvement in the movement.

As for Spotify, Pandora and Rhapsody, these applications have been the first choice for US and UK users only, which puts them at a big disadvantage to the global take-over by bigger contenders.

Amazon’s service will be a win for users who already make purchases in the Amazon MP3 store. Google’s Music Beta will most likely get a large number of Android users and people who simply want mobile and flexible access to their entire music library. As iTunes as the preferred digital music store for most Apple users the success of the iPhone and iPad will see users of those devices automatically gravitate towards using the service across their devices. If Apple can successfully tap into that without a hitch, it will likely take a big chunk of the pie.

As if we weren't already spoilt for choice, Facebook is also entering the fray. As Spotify moves over to their launch in the US the rumour is they will integrate with Facebook and create Vibes. South Africa will have to wait for the launch of Apple’s iCloud to see any action without a Proxy server but until then we have weekly playlists right here on Vaseline MFM.

A Glimpse of the Future

The Music industry as a whole has had a tough decade. File sharing has decimated record sales and the industry's hesitation to adapt to match the progress of its consumers had many critics forecasting doom and gloom.

Some  people denied, some fought and others innovated. Bands gave away music in attempts to raise their profile in order to make money from performance fees. Look out for Slipknot to stream their next gig live on Sunday, and Justin Bieber to revolutionise the way in product endorsements.

What this means is labels, musicians and event organisers are all working that much harder to grab attention and revenue which means fans are the clear winners. Someone looking to further push the boundaries of innovation is Bjork an artist who has made a point of pushing boundaries in her 25 year career.

Her next project, Biophilia, looks to seriously stretch the definition of an album by releasing mobile apps that are linked to each single but form a coherent whole. There will also be music videos for each track, and her live show takes this same approach to innovation. She'll be taking up residency in 8 cities over the next 3 years, teaching kids about music using tesla coils, laptops and custom made instruments. Read the full interview on Spin.

Not bad, considering the entire project is self funded. Bjork is currently without label support.

Ghetto in the Hood

With a new song generated out of the African music scene every day, how do we keep up with the different genres that keep emerging? We don’t. Here are two of the genres you do need to know:

Kwaitofabulous:

Kwaito uses elements from international genres and makes extensive use of local African signifiers, such as the marimba and xylophone instruments, izibongo praise poetry and most importantly, lyrics that use indigenous South African languages. Eg. Siphuo Makhabane - Hamba Nami no. 6 on this week's playlist.

Afrotainment:

This is a term used to describe African dance music, where local artists and DJs collaborate to give you international sounds with an African twist. See it featured on the playlist with DJ Fisherman featuring Big Nuz And Professor - Owenthu Wena.