Jim Carroll

• Festivals Live music
• April 30, 2008, 14:17

Part of the Future Days festival. Support from the lovely Baby Dee and Paul Curreri. Video niceness from the Prince below to mark the occasion.

• TV
• April 30, 2008, 08:17

Timing is everything. After last night’s screening of Where’s My Job Gone?, both RTE and TV3 news led with the story that Dell are going to chop 250 jobs in Ireland. Those who had just watched the show would have …

• Irish music Media
• April 29, 2008, 08:54

A Friday or two ago, I went to see the Republic of Loose during their residency at Dublin’s Academy. I’d heard great things about the new album (the first tune from it, “I Love Music” is a winner) and I’d …

• Competition
• April 28, 2008, 11:51

It has been noted on this blog a few times that May is the mother of all months when it comes to gigs in Dublin. Well, thanks to Forever Presents, here’s a chance to go to see some top-drawer shows …

• The Far Side
• April 28, 2008, 08:09

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 26, 10pm-midnight. Chikita Violenta “War” (Noiselab) White Denim “Don’t Look That Way At It” (Full-Time Hobby) Foals “Heavy Water” (Transgressive) Wolf Parade “Call It A Ritual” (Sub Pop) Giveamanakick “Spring Break!” (Monkey Heart) …

• Media Music business
• April 25, 2008, 09:37

Judging by recent business deals, music and media companies see plenty of potential in music blogs.

• Festivals
• April 25, 2008, 09:32

Not all outdoor shows this summer will feature old men and over-priced indie acts. There are also a few homegrown festivals to keep an eye on. On May 3, the Sibin Festival takes over the Man O’ War pub in …

• Film New releases
• April 25, 2008, 09:26

While he spends a lot of time in Ireland, Canadian producer and musician Daniel Lanois seldom plays here. This will be redressed next month when Lanois, currently working with U2 on their forthcoming album, plays two shows to tie in …

• Live music Media Music business
• April 25, 2008, 09:21

New additions to the Soundtrack ’08 (just a pity the sponsors 86′d the idea of calling it Story, Bud) festival in Dublin’s POD complex include De La Soul (Tripod, May 31 – see video below), Noah & The Whale (Crawdaddy, …

• Live music Media Music business
• April 24, 2008, 14:16

First update, Hercules & Love Affair. Thanks to Catherine for pointing me towards the official explanation as to why the price of tickets for this show were slashed by 30 per cent: We are delighted to confirm that Hercules & …

• Live music
• April 24, 2008, 09:32

Because I saw them a couple of times last month, I didn’t go to the Crystal Castles gig the other night in Dublin. I was interested, nonetheless, to read reviews of the gig and especially the venue. From the reviews, …

• Live music
• April 23, 2008, 10:55

Remember the bit of a kerfuffle here the other week about MCD charging €44 to see Hecules & Love Affair at The Academy in June? Remember how we pointed out that you could see Andrew Butler and his boyz for …

• Retail
• April 23, 2008, 08:57

In the middle of this debate about the ins and outs of record retailing (including Mr Dracula from Tower in Dublin defending that shop’s pricing policy), people started talking about and eulogising indie shops like Road Records in Dublin, Soundscapes …

• Interview Music business
• April 22, 2008, 14:33

When it comes to interviews, most musicians don’t have a lot to say for themselves. There are exceptions, but they are exceptions for a reason. These are the musicians who have been through the mill, musicians who have genuinely fascinating …

• Randomiser
• April 22, 2008, 07:20

We wrote last week about the Analog Festival. Well, the niceness continues with news that Ninepoint Records are doing a night at the Analog Studio venue during the fest featuring Thread Pulls, Danish act Mit Nye Band and UK outfit …

• Randomiser
• April 21, 2008, 09:57

It’s not just On The Record who goes around giving Radiohead and their fans a good-humoured dig in the collective belly. Oh no. Here’s Chris Salmon having a pop at the ‘Head over their new social networking site which he …

• Retail
• April 18, 2008, 07:50

This week’s announcement by supermarket giant Tesco of a further move into music retailing provides yet another reason to hope for the continued existence of local independent record stores.

• Live music
• April 18, 2008, 07:47

The way the live music calendar is shaping up, you could probably spend every single night during May and June at a live show and still miss out on some great acts. Fleet Foxes and The DoDos are two acts …

• Festivals
• April 18, 2008, 07:43

The nonsense over why there are still tickets on sale for this summer’s Glastonbury festival continues. Oasis’s Noel Gallagher entered the fray this week, telling BBC’s Newsbeat show that it’s all Jay-Z’s fault. “Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music, …

• Live music New releases
• April 18, 2008, 07:41

Say hello to new Irish label Any Other City, which has opened its stall with a fine mini-album from New Amusement (video for “Lights Go Down” follows) Good to see Dublin’s Boom Boom Room venue back in action. The excellent …

• Live music Speculation
• April 17, 2008, 09:22

Please note the question mark and the tag used for this post. Rumours about a Tom Waits show in Ireland this year have been reaching fever pitch in the last week or two, as all three main players in the …

• Tune of the Week
• April 17, 2008, 08:14

Lykke Li and pop music fit together like Sweden and Ikea.

• Festivals
• April 16, 2008, 12:50

Future Days is the festival from Foggy Notions and Forever Presents which will be happening in various venues in Dublin in June. The first confirmed acts for this are Low (Andrew’s Lane Theatre, June 13) and Metronomy (a late show …

• Marketing
• April 16, 2008, 08:42

That quote is taken from a piece which appeared in a recent issue of Marketing magazine. It was written by Colm Ó Riagáin from Slattery Communications who has worked on music sponsorship gigs involving Nokia (yes, including those infamous Nokia …

• Live music
• April 15, 2008, 14:41

Our Tune of the Week choice from last week play Whelan’s, Dublin on June 14, the only Irish date on their European tour.

• Competition
• April 15, 2008, 11:44

Thanks to our pals at Shock and PIAS Ireland, there’s a pair of tickets to the forthcoming Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip gig at the Button Factory, Dublin on May 7 PLUS a copy of the duo’s forthcoming smashing …

• Books TV
• April 15, 2008, 07:42

I’ve spent the last few weeks working my way through David Simon’s excellent “Homicide: Life On The Streets” tome about 1988, the year he spent shadowing homicide detectives from the Baltimore Police Department. It formed the basis for the much …

• Clubs
• April 14, 2008, 14:34

Bumper to Bumper is a headphone disco taking place at Grand Canal Square, Dublin next Saturday (April 19) as part of the Dublin Dance Festival. Phantom Anthems host Sinead Ni Mhorda and myself will be spinning the tunes from 7pm …

• The Far Side
• April 14, 2008, 10:33

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 12, 10pm-midnight. Daedelus “Fair Weather Friends” (Ninja Tune) The Ting Tings “Keep Your Head” (Columbia) Magic Wands “Black Magic” (Ark) Jamie Lidell “Wait For Me” (Warp) Mr Scruff & Quantic “Giant Pickle” (Ninja …

• Festivals
• April 11, 2008, 08:13

The Analog festival returns to Dublin’s docklands in July with performances from Hal Willner’s Rogue’s Gallery, Tortoise, Efterklang, Taraf de Haidouks and many more.

• Live music
• April 11, 2008, 08:06

It’s set to be a busy couple of months for magazine- turned-promoters Foggy Notions. With their well regarded print magazine on hold and an online publication in the works, the focus is on putting bands who would have featured in …

• Live music
• April 11, 2008, 08:01

The best domestic showcase for local bands? That would probably be the IMRO Showcase Tour, which has consistently proven its worth on past tours starring The Flaws, Oppenheimer, Fight Like Apes, Rosey and others. This year’s instalment has featured 46 …

• Clubs New releases Reissues
• April 11, 2008, 07:54

Putting some of that Arctic Monkeys loot to good use, the Domino label release “Slip In And Out Of Phenomenon”, a retrospective of New York punk-funk kingpins Liquid Liquid, on May 23. The Skinny Wolves are back and they’ve got …

• Live music
• April 10, 2008, 16:16

Hurrah! Times New Viking were one of my SXSW highlights and Foggy Notions are bringing them in to play Andrew’s Lane Theatre in May. Here’s a video of a geezer dancing to one of their tunes. Hey, it’s Thursday evening, …

• Media
• April 10, 2008, 13:06

The most savage put-down of a magazine article I’ve read in an age, here is Rocks pulling no punches as she rips into Hot Press. She takes issue with the cheap sensationalism used by the magazine to cover Limerick rapper …

• Tune of the Week
• April 10, 2008, 08:12

There’s nothing old-fashioned about a fantastic song and Fleet Foxes know all about fantastic songs.

• Festivals
• April 9, 2008, 15:13

Readers may recall me raving last year about Italia Wave, one of Europe’s friendliest and best value music festivals. It’s on again this year (July 16 to 19), this time in the seaside town of Livorno on the Tuscan coast. …

• TV
• April 9, 2008, 08:19

(1) Liverpool 4, Arsenal 2. Bring on Chelsea. Again. (2) Eamon Dunphy, Graeme Souness and Bill O’Herlihy ganging up on Liam Brady afterwards. Brady did not look happy, did he? Maybe that explains why he let the cat out of …

• Randomiser
• April 8, 2008, 08:15

Some of you will remember the Vodafone’s Bright New Sounds yoke from a few months ago. Well, the competition is now over and it would be churlish of me not to congratulate winning band The Minutes. I’m sure the 407 …

• Festivals
• April 7, 2008, 13:18

This one comes from the Foggy Notions stable and will star Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Dan Deacon, Baby Dee and many more. More info to come.

• Festivals
• April 7, 2008, 08:21

Ticket sales for this year’s Glastonbury festival are said to be steady rather than spectacular, with about 100,000 of the 137,500 tickets sold since they went on sale yesterday. Maybe Rod Liddle is right: festivals have become middle-aged. Or perhaps …

• The Far Side
• April 7, 2008, 06:49

As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday April 5, 10pm-midnight. Yes, we’re back in the radio business. More new music than any other show on your radio (well, any other show on your radio on a Saturday night) meant plays for …

• Bell X1 Guest post On The Road
• April 4, 2008, 12:12

Bell X1′s current tour of the United States has come to an end. Here’s Paul Noonan’s recollections of the last week in Portland, Vancouver and Seattle.

• Festivals Live music
• April 4, 2008, 09:05

This may be the summer when Ireland’s love affair with the outdoor show begins to wane.

• Reissues
• April 4, 2008, 09:00

More acts from bygone days have decided to go back to work. The Specials will hit the reunion trail later in the year, this time with Terry Hall onboard for the trip. The band will spend the summer rehearsing for …

• Live music
• April 4, 2008, 08:57

This may well be the most intimate live vibe of the year as Canadian electronic artist Milosh plays two shows in a suite in the Radisson Hotel in Sligo this coming Sunday. The show is part of the Model Arts …

• Live music Radiohead
• April 4, 2008, 08:55

Ghostface Killah brings the ruckus to Dublin in May. The Wu-Tang Clan luminary, who has released some very fine solo albums (especially “Fishscale”) plays the Tivoli on May 15. Think you can do a better Radiohead tune than Radiohead themselves? …

• Digital music Music business
• April 3, 2008, 16:19

Three of the four major music labels, Universal Music, Sony-BMG and Warner Music, have jumped into bed with MySpace to turn MySpace Music into “an one-stop source for all music, in all its various digital incarnations”. The odd ones out, …

• Live music
• April 3, 2008, 12:54

Massive Attack play the Live at the Marquee season in Cork on July 1. Tickets are €46.20 and go on sale next Thursday.

• Tune of the Week
• April 3, 2008, 09:48

The She & Him album followed me around the United States for the last three weeks. Every record shop I went into, the album was sitting there in the racks. I finally gave in last weekend and bought it.

• Politics
• April 2, 2008, 12:59

It is a question which is vexing several old dears in Drumcondra, according to a RTE news vox-pop. Just what does an ex-Taoiseach do when when he steps down from office and rides off into the sunset? Former big men …

• Music business U2
• April 2, 2008, 11:22

You don’t get to be the biggest beasts in the jungle by doing stupid deals. U2′s deal with Live Nation is further proof of just why the band continue to be the smartest operators in the business. Lets be straight …

• Live music
• April 1, 2008, 13:41

She may have blanked Irish audiences when she was supposed to play the Phoenix Park last December, but M.I.A. still loves us. She plays Dublin’s Tripod on June 27 and tickets will be €32.50 and €27.50

• Live music
• April 1, 2008, 12:59

Yes, you too can walk like an Egyptian when The Bangles play Dublin’s Vicar Street on July 2.

• Randomiser
• April 1, 2008, 08:09

It’s April 1 so every other blog and news source worth its bacon will be trying to punk you with fake stories today, but not On The Record. Oh no, we won’t go there and not because we just realised …