Sweet Tooth Haven

Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords is a TV series about a New Zealand band of the same name trying to make it in New York.  The band members, Jermain and Brett, break out in song throughout the shows.  This is one of my favorites, a serenade Brett sings to his new girlfriend.  I love the girl's expression and how Jermain just pops in from nowhere.  All of the shows were entertaining, although we found the first disc made us laugh quite a bit more than the second.

Raveonettes

I really like the Raveonettes new album Lust Lust Lust.  We went to their show at the Glass House recently and enjoyed a flawless performance.  You don't often see a band with just 3 people on stage, especially with 2 of them being female! The Raveonettes are actually just Sune and Sharin who both play guitar and sing.  Their voices blend together so well it's hard to tell if it's one person or two singing.  They hire a drummer when they tour and use only 2 drums that are played standing which was fascinating for me to watch.

Watch them perform in the studios at KCRW.

Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player

Trevor Baylis is the guy who invented the wind-up radio and now he brings us an eco media player.  Here's why I am completely fascinated by it:

• Power it up by winding!  (one minute winding = 40  minutes play time). It can also be charged via USB port.
• It has a flashlight!
• You can charge your cell phone with it!

I haven't used it so I can't vouch for sound or functionality and I know it won't be converting ipod lovers based on it's looks, but the idea is awesome.

Ethical Superstore

 

Shane MacGowan and the Pogues

Last night my boyfriend found out that the re-formed Pogues have scheduled more shows here on the west coast. Irish songwriter and singer Shane MacGowan formed the band in the early 80s.  They split in 1991 and have been re-forming for shows since 2001.  During the 1990's Shane recorded "The Snake" and "Crock O' Gold" with the Popes.  We went to several Shane MacGowan and the Popes shows in the late 1990's, but I never saw the Pogues until they reformed with Shane and in 2001.  Shane is a brilliant songwriter.  Many of his songs are more like stories.  At times his singing can be a bit hard to follow, especially if he's very drunk, but it has a lot of character.  The band members are awesome and their performances are always entertaining.  If you like Irish music, you can't do much better than the Pogues.
Learn more about Shane and the Pogues:

Official Pogues Website with tour dates
Paddy Rolling Stone, the official Shane McGowan website
Wikipedia article about Shane MacGowan

My Shane MacGowan collection at Sweet Tooth Essentials