Advent Calendar: Day Three - The Last Battle

Three days in and already we have our first repeat song. Sorry. I have a reason though!
That reason is that by posting The Last Battle today I can elegantly work in a plug for the gig they are playing at tonight.
With PET having to pull out of the Beard of Truth Heavy Pop Xmas Party The Last Battle have stepped in to the breach. They'll be playing tonight (Saturday) at The Wee Red Bar, with The Spook School and Calypso Brown.

Also, The Last Battle came and did a gig for me earlier in the year when they launched The Springwell EP (buy it here!) and are therefor entitled to plugs at every possible opportunity. They are right good too, which helps.

Support at that launch gig was The Second Hand Marching Band, and you can catch them and The Last Battle in action together again in The 13th Note on December 22nd. They'll be joined by the excellent Withered Hand, who is likely to turn up in one of these advent posts at a time conveniently arranged to remind you about that gig. If you can plan ahead, tickets are available here.

The Last Battle - Once Upon a Boxing Day

The Last Battle: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide

I don't respond well to spooky behaviour

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide is a new wee book by Campbell "Shambles" Miller and Neil Slorance. Written by the pair of them, and illustrated by Neil, it's a lovely little thing, and at an A6 size, wee and little are fitting descriptions.

The book tells the story of a man, well, a ghost I suppose, adjusting to his new found ghostliness, along with his advice on how to be a ghost from what he has learned. A playful tone to the writing, alongside Neil's clean, understated art keep things from getting either too sugrary sweet, or too morbid at the less cheery parts, adding up to something roughly describable as "adorable".
Neil and Campbell say the book is for big kids, but there's nothing in it to stop small ones reading either. Pick up a copy for all your Ghost, comic, or general good thing loving friends.

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide is published by Pipe Down Productions, and available online here.
There's also a launch event for the book on Sunday December 4th, at the Life Craft premises upstairs in De Courcy's Arcade, from 6.30-9pm. You can pick up the book, enjoy some cakes and drinks, and smile/shout at the creators.

Advent Calendar: Day Two - Ambulances

Advent Calendar blah blah blah. Christmas themed song blah. You know the deal, now enjoy the intros getting worse with every passing day.

Today we've got something new from Ambulances. They've been quiet for a while, but promise a new album early in 2012, which is something to look forward to.

Here's their Christmas tune, a free download of The True Meaning of Christmas, featuring - in their words - the lovely young ladies of Denbeath Parish Church Choir.



Ambulances: Website - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar: Day One - A Band Called Quinn

It's December! That makes it Advent Calendar time.
For those that weren't here in previous years the deal is this, every day from now till December 24th you get a Christmas themed song here, like opening an advent calendar and getting a bit of chocolate. Like advent calendar chocolate you may or may not like the songs, but I'll try my best to pick out good stuff.
Starting us off for this year is not just a song, but a whole EP from A Band Called Quinn. They are awfully good to us, aren't they?

Fill yer boots - winter or otherwise - below.
ABCQ Christmas by abandcalledquinn

A Band Called Quinn play Glasgow's George Square as part of Hear Glasgow on December 15th, with Selective Service, Shambles Miller, Tragic O’Hara and Sonny Marvello.

A Band Called Quinn: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy - A Reminder and a Contest

Off camera - alien spacecraft.

I did a full preview of this gig a few weeks ago, you can read it here, but now that the night is almost upon is, I figured I'd throw out a wee reminder. Not only that, but read to the bottom and you can win something!

Anyway, short version, Last Year's Girl is putting on a gig on Friday night, with Franz Nicolay, Chris T-T and Dave Hughes.

Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy takes place at The Old Hairdressers, right across from Stereo on Renfield Lane in Glasgow, on Friday (funny that) December 2nd, you can buy tickets here.

Now, cause Lisa-Marie is pretty nice, she's offered me a free ticket (just the one, this isn't a bloody charity you know, and putting on gigs is expensive) to give away to an Aye Tunes reader. To have a chance of winning answer me this question: Chris T-T recently put a writer's poems to music, what was the name of the writer? Email answers to competition@ayetunes.org.uk, along with your name.
Competition closes at 11am on Friday morning, then I'll pick out a winner at random and inform them by email, so it'll help if you have access to email on Friday afternoon or I might think you dingy me when I tell you you've won.
You should also be able to come to the gig on Friday. You'd think that would be obvious, but I've had competition winners before realise they couldn't go to the gig they won tickets for,.
If the question seems a bit hard for you and you are too lazy to Google, then you can listen to and buy the Chris T-T songs in question here.

Rumour Cubes Announce Debut Album

The Narrow State art by Lauren Mortimer 

Good news, everyone! The news falls outside the increasingly shaky grounds of the "Scottish bands" remit of Aye Tunes, but since I like the band you can just go sit in the corner quietly if you have a problem with that.

Rumour Cubes have released some details about their forthcoming debut album. Titled The Narrow State, the album will be released on 27th February 2012. I'm already looking forward to it.




Below you can get a little preview of what is in store, with the track The Gove Curve.

The Gove Curve by Rumour Cubes

The Rumour Cubes EP We Have Sound Houses - which I wrote a wee bit about previously here - is still available as a free download from Bandcamp, so if you don't have it already, go get it.

Rumour Cubes: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

We've come to that time of the year where a bunch of people obsess over lists of our favourite things of the year, while other people mock us for our obsessing over said lists.

Last year in addition to putting together my own "Best of" lists I decided to ask the people that read my blethering what they think too. That would be you, dear reader. It went pretty well, so I'm doing it again, and so we have the 2nd annual Aye Tunes Readers' Poll.

Everything is pretty much as it was last year, though I've ditched the Best Gig question, as so few people voted for the same gigs it became a wee bit pointless.

Quickie rules & regulations type things:

• Answer or skip whatever questions you want, but if a bunch of people answer one question with the same answer it'll be pretty obvious ballot stuffing.
• No ballot stuffing! If it isn't obvious I probably won't notice it though.
• You can choose up to three answers for each question, try and put them in order, 1 being best, 2 second best, blah blah blah.
• You can vote for bands, albums etc from anywhere, they don't have to be Scottish.
• Polls close on December 26th, after that I'll count up the results and post them around new year.
• This is meant to be a wee bit of fun, so don't moan about the results when posted!
• I won't keep your name/email address or any other info once the poll is done, unless you tell me to.

My attempt at putting together a fancy voting form failed miserably, so I'm afraid you'll have to do a wee bit of work. Copy/paste the stuff below and stick it in an email to poll@ayetunes.org.uk and I'll do the rest.

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

Best Album:

1.

2.

3.

Best Single/EP: (Basically anything that isn't an album)

1.

2.

3.

Best Band:

1.

2.

3.

Best Solo Artist:

1.

2.

3.

Best New Band/Solo Artist: (New is very subjective, if you first heard of them this year, that'll do)

1.

2.

3.

Best Live Band:

1.

2.

3.

Best Music Blog/Website: (Aye Tunes isn't eligible for this. Partly to avoid accusations, partly to stop me seeing how few would have said it anyway)

1.

2.

3.

Best Music Radio Show/Podcast:

1.

2.

3.

Best Venue:

1.

2.

3.

I keep wanting to put a Smash Hits style sexiest male & sexiest female question in, but I suspect doing so would get me battered. If you want to write in a vote for that though I won't stop you...

Your Name:

Where You Are From:

That'll do I think. Feel free to tell your pals about the poll!