1. The Cure – The Lovecats
2. Pixies – Monkey Gone To Heaven
3. Steve Reid Ensemble – Lions of Juda
4. Marsha Gee – Peanut Duck
5. British Sea Power – Apologies To Insect Life
6. Born Ruffians – Hummingbird
7. Man Man – Rabbit Habbits
8. Devendra Banhart – Little Yellow Spider
9. Hawk & a Hacksaw – The Sparrow
10. Four Tet – Turtle Turtle Up

Julia

1. REM – Swan Swan H
2. Dinosaur Jr – Forget the Swan
3. MGMT – Of Moons, Birds and Monsters
4. Patti Smith – Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (De)
5. The Doors – Peace Frog
6. Sonic Youth – Bull in the Heather
7. Rage Against The Machine – Bulls On Parade
8. Weezer – Butterfly
9. Queens Of The Stone Age – Leg of Lamb
10. Nirvana – Very Ape

Mark

1. Led Zeppelin – Black Dog
2. Dr Dog – The Rabbit, The Bat & The Reindeer
3. The Pixies – Monkey Gone to Heaven
4. The Flying Burrito Brothers – Wild Horses
5. Grinderman – Honey Bee
6. Jimi Hendrix – Night Bird Flying
7. T.Rex – Ride a White Swan
8. Seasick Steve – Dog House Music
9. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
10. The Rolling Stones – Monkey Man

1. Nirvana – Polly
2. The Lemonheads – Hannah & Gabi
3. Jimi Hendrix – The Wind Cries Mary
4. Patti Smith – Frederick
5. Sonic Youth – Tom Violence
6. Bob Dylan – Hurricane
7. Bat For Lashes – Precilla
8. Les Savy Fav – Patty Lee
9. The Replacements – Alex Chilton
10. Animal Collective – For Reverend Green

Nick

1. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers – Pablo Picasso
2. Animal Collective – For Reverend Green
3. The Fall – Fiery Jack
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Girl Named Sandoz
5. Bob Dylan – The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
6. Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
7. Pixies – Mr. Grieves
8. Them – Gloria
9. Susanna and The Magical Orchestra – Jolene
10. Curtis Mayfield – Freddie’s Dead

Mark

1. Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Stagger Lee
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary
4. Leonard Cohen – So Long, Marianne
5. The Clash – Janis Jones
6. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Johnny Was
7. Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe
8. Bright Eyes – Lua
9. Roxy Music – Virginia Plain
10. Janis Joplin – Me & Bobby McGee

Last night Urbis opened it’s latest exhibition, State of the Art: New York with an identity designed by Glorious. A hand-made aesthetic forms a common thread between much of the work on display. Taking this as an influence we gave a type style associated with the city through Milton Glaser’s I Love NY logo a similar DIY attitude.

The show continues throughout the summer and is worth a visit.

Just seen this story on the Guardian website and it makes for an interesting read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/18/keep-calm-carry-on-poster

Watch where you walk when you’re strolling the streets of Manchester. You may notice something rather bright and shiny staring up at you. No, they’re not paved with gold, but there are some rather intriguing vinyls positioned around the city. Each relates to a Manchester cultural story, some you may know, others, well, just look and learn. The vinyls are part of our new campaign for the Manchester Museums Consortium – the joint organisation for nine of the major venues in Greater Manchester* – funded by the NWDA. The brief is to engage, stimulate interest and cross-promote the venues. We’ve been working with them for a few months now, and this is only the earliest stages of a two year strategic campaign to increase tourist numbers. The rest is obviously top secret and can’t be discussed any further. So that’s it. No more. Keep an eye out for more unusual sightings.

*Manchester Art Gallery, The Manchester Museum, The Whitworth Art Gallery; Strategic partners: Cornerhouse, Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry, (MOSI) Museum of Science & Industry, People’s History Museum, Urbis, as well Visit Manchester.

Liverpool takes steps to move on, and then Channel 4 recruit a Scouse micro celeb that fulfils a lot of the old stereotypes. It was never going to be Simon Rattle or Terence Davies, but Tina Malone? Come on!

Can one ‘bowling ball’ make a difference? Surely it’s like worrying about Rab C Nesbitt, string vests, Glasgow kisses and deep fried Mars Bars (mmm, deep fried Mars Bars…).
TV creates or fulfils perceptions. In other words, in Britain it often fulfils southerners perceptions of northerners.

It’s the Coronation Street effect. If Tina Malone managed to make a dent in Liverpool’s 12 months of hard graft in a three-week stint on the box, then consider the damage that Britain’s longest-running programme does to Manchester.

Manchester is innovative, the ‘original modern’ city, it has pulled together all the surrounding boroughs to sell ‘Manchester’. Its chief exec Sir H is hailed as a master of his art. And yet, three times a week, at 7.30pm you switch on the box to see the land of flat caps, red brick terraces and cobblestone streets. It’s nostalgic in an historical drama, unfortunate in an everyday soap.

TV and movies can make or break a place. It’s the reason why the Australian government was happy to spend £17m on an international advertising campaign supporting a three hour ad in the guise of a film.

Film is also the reason that New Zealand found its way – after Lord of the Rings. Everybody wants a piece of that New York kinda magic, where even the grit and gang killing is strangely alluring.

Does it matter if the film is a crock of kangaroo dung? Ask Tina Malone.

www.liverpool08.com

www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool

1. Dr Dog – Fate
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
3. The Black Keys – Attack & Release
4. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
5. Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst
6. The Felice Brothers – The Felice Brothers
7. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
8. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
9. Micah P. Hinson – Micah P. Hinson & The Red Empire Orchestra
10. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?

Nick

1. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
2. Born Ruffians – Red, Yellow and Blue
3. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
4. Truckers of Husk – Physical Education
5. Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Heartcore
6. Man Man – Rabbit Habits
7. Lykke Li – Youth Novels
8. Portishead – Third
9. The Dodos – Visiter
10 Adem – Takes

Julia

1. TV On The Radio – Dear Science
2. Fleet Foxes Fleet – Fleet Foxes
3. Foals – Antidotes
4. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
5. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
6. The Cave Singers – Invitation Songs
7. The Breeders – Mountain Battles
8. The Cool Kids – The Bake Sale
9. Beach House – Devotion
10. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Nick

1. The Clash – The Guns Of Brixton
2. The Isley Brothers – Ohio
3. Beirut – Postcards From Italy
4. The Doors – Alabama Song
5. Billy Bragg – A New England
6. Mali Music – Niger
7. The Fall – Hit the North
8. Björk – Oceania
9. The Coral – Spanish Main
10. Ivor Cutler – Life in a Scotch Sitting Room

Julia

1. Sonic Youth – Chapel Hill
2. The Clash – London Calling
3. The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
4. Fleet Foxes – Mykonos
5. Pixies – River Euphates
6. Bob Dylan – Girl From The North Country
7. M. Ward – Four Hours In Washington
8. Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
9. Smashing Pumpkins – Geek USA
10. NWA – Straight Outta Compton

Mark

1. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tupelo
3. The Ramones – California Sun
4. Dead Kennedys – California Uber Alles
5. Stiff Little Fingers – Alternative Ulster
6. The Clash – White Man in Hammersmith Palais
7. The Beatles – Norwegian Wood
8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Time-Tree
9. Kings of Leon – California Waiting
10. The Small Faces – Itchycoo Park