Production budget: $10,000,000 plus.

Hi-def 1080p screen to watch this in it’s full glory: $300.

Seeing future World Cup winner Wayne Rooney living in a caravan: priceless.

Nike have created possibly the most epic non-interactive advertisement ever made.  Though we do like the Adidas house party ads…

(Check this out for the interactive champion – it’s worth the load time).

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Apologies from a Nation #3 -

Bangs/Australia & Sudan.

Another internet sensation is born.  Great.

Bangs is a Sudanese-born, Melbourne-based rapper who not only owns pictures of nice cars and a selection of dollar store jewelry, but also has the funds to make a trip to the movies (complete with popcorn and drink) happen for one lucky lady.  Which to be fair makes him wealthier than me.

Bangs is available for bookings and interviews – contact bangs_bookings@hotmail.com.  Or don’t.

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I came across these guys when a friend showed me their Phil Spector-inspired project (wall of sound, not murder) for their track Excuses.  The concept isn’t new, but it has it’s magic.  And the song is one of the best I’ve heard this year.

Add that to the fact that the lead singer looks a tad like Libertines front man/serial skag fiend Pete Doherty, and you have a recipe for either success or disaster.

The studio version of Excuses is available at the link below, for the princely sum of er, nothing.

http://rcrdlbl.com/2010/02/24/download_the_morning_benders_excuses

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Apologies from a Nation #2 -

Dizzee Rascal & James Corden/UK.

There are two things that the English embrace.  Football, and undeniably crap-but-patriotic music. So when something comes a long that links both so well, it’s bound to be a hit on the Queen’s home soil.

The FIFA World Cup is literally hours away, and if Manchester United’s twinkle-toed pit bull can pull something out of the bag then we’re in with a shot.  We usually have an embarrassing “official song”, but this year the powers that be canned the idea. Did that stop the production of steaming aural turds?  Of course not.

Now Dizzee Rascal has teamed up with former Hollyoaks benchwarmer James Corden to cover Tears for Fears forgettable 80’s hit Shout. Dizzee did add the line “come and ‘ave a go if you think you’re hard enough” into the chorus, so thus gets one mark for creativity, and 3,000 marks deducted for making me shiver with shame.

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When an awkward band cover a song by Black Box, and somehow make it very, very cool, it’s something to be applauded.  Worshipped even.  The original is below, just in case 1989 passed you by.

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Apologies from a Nation #1 – Die Antwoord/South Africa.

The main thing Die Antwoord have to apologize for is the lost man hours. Everybody who’s seen the video for The Ninja goes looking for more.

I don’t know what the deal is.  I don’t really get why I’m still reading the interviews and looking for new videos.  Someone described it as less Bruno, more Lady Gaga.  But a lot more interesting than both.  Even Die Antwoord call what they do “car crash music”.

Either way, over four million hits on Youtube in as many months tells it’s own story.  Reports of a record deal with Interscope and a video to be directed by Neill Blomkamp are premature, but either way, chances are you’ll soon be trying to figure out Die Antwoord.

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More to come, and it looks like this has turned into the start of another project that’s bigger (and way more complicated) than we’d ever imagined.  More on that later.

To keep your appetite wet, here’s the delightful Aliqua. Seven/eight/depends on the date young ladies, backed up by some blurry guy in the back who really likes the song.

Enjoy…

The people who made it happen:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

Our gracious hosts Blenz: @BlenzCoffee:

And of course, us: @adamandkev

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Nations unite in their appreciation of Téa

Let’s get one thing straight from the start.  It’s Téa.  Pronounced Tay-ah.  That said, I might be wrong on the pronounciation.  It just sounds way better coming from the lady herself.

The Serbian-born Kits resident is another star from the Peak Performance Project who put in months of stress, sweat, and song-stuff (I ran out of “s” words – put the Pulitzer on ice) during her journey into the top 20.  She normally performs with a band, but when she strolled into the Blenz on Hastings on a sunny Sunday morning, holding nothing but a small pink battery-power amp, it was up to her and her alone to convince those inside to put down their coffee and enjoy the Téa.  Ouch.

To describe hearing her sing and seeing her play piano is tricky.  It’s hypnotic.  Imagine if Amy Winehouse didn’t lose her mind, looks, and empathy and your halfway there.  Again, I’m clearly not doing it justice.  Check her out here and save yourself any more of my ramblings:

http://www.teasmusic.com/

More acts to follow in the next couple of days, including a young girl who should go far, and seven girls who recently played to 15,000 people at one of the torch ceromines.  As always, keep an eye on Twtter:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

And of course, us: @adamandkev

By Adam and Kev Photography – www.adamandkev.com

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Danny Echo

I wasn’t entirley sure how this one would go.  When you take a band with a reputation for audacious (read: probably dangerous) show pieces involving pyrotechnics, smoking guitars, and even the odd fire extinguisher, and then strip them of every piece of electrical equipment and put them on a cafe patio at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, you have to make sure you insurance is in order.  If they sneak something in, it could all go Backdraft very quickly.

As it turned out, the boys from Danny Echo put on a great accoustic show.  They’ve had some very recent experience with a very simular idea – as part of their top 20 finish in the Peak Performance Project (if you haven’t heard of it, check it out here) they undertook a tour of the GRVD skytrain system.  They made it quite a fair way before security decided it was all a little bit too exciting and sent them on their way.  We did no such thing, as Blenz again played gracious host in Yaletown.

The boys went down very well with the passing crowds – some of whom may have been running from the death metal band playing at one end of the street, or the jazz band playing at the other.  Either way, lots of music and/or coffee lovers found refuge in the heavan created by the boys, though one little kid did seem more interested in his Tonka firetruck.  They left after three songs, and within minutes were putting on another impromtu gig about a block away on the walk back to the car.

Canadians. Good at Hockey. Bad at Dancing.

Check them out at www.dannyecho.com. We’re pretty much doing another show every day next week (two in some cases), so keep an eye on Twitter:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

And of course, us: @adamandkev

By Adam and Kev Photography – www.adamandkev.com

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Garrett Kato just after his three-song secret session.

He’s had a busy year – top ten in 99.3 The Fox’s “Seeds”, top 20 in 100.5 The Peak’s (incredible yet somehow not that well known yet) Peak Performance Project, and he played the Van’s Warped Tour.  Despite all this, Garrett generously gave us some time tonight to be the second of the surprise gigs that will be erupting across the city over the next couple of weeks.

Garrett has a voice that stops people in their tracks.  Especially female people.  Glad I bought my girlfriend with me then.  I could tell you all about his music but I’d never do it justice.  Better you just go here and check it out instead:

http://garrettkato.com/music

The venue (Blenz on Davie and Granville) had a couple of points of interest.  On the outside Canadian fans and a man dressed as a banana (over?) celebrated an 8-0 win over rank outsiders Norway.  No offence guys, but they were 1000-1 to win the gold before the tournament even started.  I think my odds of wining it weren’t too far behind.  Inside the cafe, a lady in full make-up was sleeping on a stool.  That takes awesome balance.  Or a lot of booze.

Next secret gig coming soon (and video of the last two I promise!).  Here are the Twitter feeds you need to be following now so you don’t miss the next one, and we might not announce it from all of us.  Maybe we’re lazy, maybe we’re forgetful, or maybe we’re just plain sneaky.  Either way, you’ve been warned.   And remember, you’ll only get a few hours notice:

Metro-Blenz News Squad: @metroblenznews

The minds behind the music, Young Executive Music Inc: @YoungExecMusic

And of course, us: @adamandkev

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