While Dublin's indie and metal teenagers mooch and sulk around Temple Bar and its Music Centre (aka The Button Factory), their Parisian dance-music counterparts are outside the Centre Pompidou and being far more active. The plaza outside the famous art gallery is a hot-spot for Tecktonik, the breakdance-meets-techno dance style that's the talk of the Paris club scene.

The Tecktonik style started as long ago as 2000, in a Paris nightclub called Metropolis. But it's only this year that it began to have an impact on the public consciousness - the annual Paris Techno Parade this September marks the start of serious media attention on the movement. TV news programmes have begun to report on the craze - which probably means that it's about to become seriously uncool.

Tecktonik dancers have their own distinctive look - heavily-gelled futuristic haircuts matched with skinny-fit jeans and T-shirts. The robotic dance moves add to the cutting-edge visual impression of the style; advertising agencies in France and beyond are finding Tecktonik irresistible.

Now more and more clubs are putting on Tecktonik nights, a business which is not as straightforward as it sounds. Many such nights are being stopped with injunctions - not by the police or local authorities, as with raves, but by the Metropolis nightclub, who are the owners of Tecktonik.

Yes, Tecktonik is a registered trademark, the first dance to be copyrighted. No other club can advertise a Tecktonik night, as this would legally infringe on the Metropolis' trademark. Some clubs are bypassing this by holding 'Danse Electro' nights instead.

A range of Tecktonik merchandise is available, bearing the symbol of an eagle (left). This symbol, though, has only served to add even more controversy - many people feel that the Tecktonik eagle resembles that used in Nazi imagery.

You can check out some Tecktonik moves in the video for 'A Cause Des Garçons" by Yelle, a current hit in French nightclubs:

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Not happy with pegging concert ticket prices at ever increasing prices, some of the biggest names in the music industry now want to now get a slice of profits made on tickets resold on the web. They are proposing that a 'Resale Rights Society' (RRS) is established that will slap a levy on the sale price of every ticket resold on sites like eBay.

Apparently Radiohead, Robbie Williams and Arctic Monkeys are among the 400 artists who think this is a good idea. With a straight face the chairman-elect of the RRS Marc Marot (a former chief exec of Island Records) tried to claim that the move was not to pad out the already fleshy wallets of millionaire rock stars but instead to help new artists who have a greater dependency on gigs for their income. Yeah, right. If that's the case then why not come out and say that no money pulled in by the RRS will be given to a wealthy established artist? In any case any new artist who finds tickets to their gigs being resold online for more than face value will be well chuffed and can start considering themselves as having made it, secure too in the knowledge that financial worries are to be a thing of the past.

But the most outrageous justification given by Marot was that "it is unacceptable that not a penny of the £200m in transactions generated by the resale of concert tickets in the UK is returned to investors in the live music industry." Following the same logic a property developer (i.e. an investor in the property industry) could claim it is entitled to a cut of any profit made when a house they build and sell is subsequently sold on. Brass as monkeys property developers may be, but they know that they'd never get away with such a scam. However, this loose affiliation of millionaire rock stars who 'invest in the live music industry' think they can do just that. Who do these guys think they are?

As far as I know absolutely nobody out there in the free market is offering something with a price tag that says 'it costs this amount, but if (because I don'r offer a possilbity of a reimbursement ) you then go and sell it to someone else, you must give me a slice of your sale price' (Update: Aidan puts me straight on this point below in the comment section where he points out that a % of a painting sale or a soccer player transfer is passed back to the artist / original soccer club). That sort of mentality is more at home with pyramid schemes than the free market.

Yes, it is true that there are some problems with the reselling of tickets on the interweb but trying to just grab a slice of an illicit cake is simply not a credible way of addressing the issue. If they were really serious about this, these artists & their management teams would get together to put in place preventative measures to stop, or at least reduce the numbers of, tickets being resold online (such as a mechanism for reimbursing a fan who has bought a ticket and unexpectedly finds s/he cannot go to the gig, this being something that could be provided for a modest charge offered on an opt-in basis at the time of the booking, just like it is with many airlines).

In the meantime anybody thinking of buying a ticket online via the likes of eBay just needs to do as they would for any other purchase: research what is being sold, who is selling it and for what price. If they are comfortable on all levels then go ahead and make the purchase. The same Caveat Emptor approach is valid be it for the purchase of a tube of toothpaste, a semi-d in Leopardstown or a ticket to see Led Zep in London.

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A review of the album 'Situation' by Buck 65

Review Snapshot: The tenth album by the Canadian rapper, Feist's occasional dancing partner, is an unremarkable collection of same-old-same-old beats coupled with dense social-commentary influenced by 1950s seediness. By no means a bad album, but it will only excite that small Venn diagram segment where 'Public Enemy fan' overlaps with 'James Ellroy fan'.

The Cluas Verdict? 5 out of 10

Full Review:
Not to be confused with Buckcherry, Buck Owens or Eiffel 65, Buck 65 is one of the many aliases of Canadian rapper Ricardo Terfry. If you're not well up on your Canadian rap, you may have seen him dancing romantically with Feist in the video for her breakthrough single 'One Evening'.

'Situation', Terfry's tenth album in twelve years as Buck 65, is a concept album about 1957 - according to a post by Terfry on his MySpace page, "the year that created a legacy that affects the way we live and think fifty years later". So, we have a track called '1957', with others whose words evoke the spirit of James Ellroy's sleazy paparazzi ('Shutterbuggin') and crooked policemen ('Cop Shades'), as well as Betty Page's underground starlet ('Lipstick').

Buck 65 has previously laced his rap with folk and blues sounds, but from start to finish 'Situation' is just old-school socially-conscious hip-hop. 'Old school' means that there's nothing really new or innovative about the sounds on offer here; the beats and instrumentation are fairly run-of-the-mill stuff. You're left listening to 'Situation' purely on the strength of Terfry's rapping - but his deep voice has little personality or variation. He's obviously put a lot into the lyrics in order to create his '50s demi-monde, but that's not enough to sustain interest for a whole album.

Fans of literate, thoughtful rap may like it - but they'll still find that the likes of Jurassic 5 and The Roots do this sort of thing far better.

Aidan Curran

 To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) 2nd hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.

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Ah Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.  That is, of course, if wonderful is defined as stress filled, panic buy inducing madness!  Luckily for this Blog, whose agoraphobia appears to increase in direct correlation to the number of people selling sheets of wrapping paper '3 for €2', Mrs. Notes takes care of most of the Christmas shopping in these parts.  There are, however, two notable exceptions; Mrs. Notes' gift and any music related gifts that need to be purchased. 

This year has been by far Key Notes' easiest year yet.  The fact that the CLUAS 'Shortlist' for the Album of the Year stretches to 40 titles is a testament to the quality of music released this year.  Personally, as your resident Irish indie music commentator, Key Notes is especially proud that Irish releases make up almost 25% of the shortlist. 

So, if you're still unsure as to what to buy your loved one this Christmas, let Key Notes guide you through its selection of this years 'can't fail'* alternative music gifts.

For Your Dad
You've seen him at weddings with his tie wrapped around his head, head-banging to AC/DC and you know that he has an inner rock god buried deep beneath his Mondeo driving exterior.  Yet, every year, without fail, you buy him socks or cufflinks because you can't think of anything else.  Not this year though.    Raising Sand, the haunting, slightly disturbing, and yet still brilliant collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss allows him to relive his youth and keep his dinner party guests happy.

For Your Mum
It would be very easy to buy Il Divo or Take That for your mum but really, she gave birth to you, therefore she deserves better.  If she was a Prefab Sprout fan in her youth why not give her Neon Bible, Arcade Fire's homage to all things Paddy McAloon.  She'll enjoy it much more than Il Divo and it's not nearly half as embarrassing as having to explain to the sales person that it's for your mum, not you.

For Your Siblings
Without a doubt Key Notes favourite album of this year; Nervousystem is the second album from the Future Kings of Spain.  Your brother will thank you in years to come for ridding him of his fascination with all things My Chemical Romance while your sister will appreciate Joey Wilsons trademark disinterested drawl; Mrs. Notes certainly does.  Alternatively, there's Cathy Davey's Tales of Silversleeve, an album as remarkable as it was unexpected.  A work of genius to pleasure the ears of siblings of all ages.

For Your Partner
Finally, the age old dilemma of what to put in his/her Christmas stocking.  It should, of course, depend on that persons musical taste.  However, you should note that it doesn't matter if they'd appreciate Wilco's Sky Blue Sky more than the Kings of Leon or if they'd prefer Interpol over The Flaming Lips.  The real key to choosing an album for your partner is to pick something you like, especially if you're living with this person.  Trust Key Notes when it tells you; they're going to make you listen to it!

*Key Notes takes no responsibility should any of these recommendations result in divorce or disownment.

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Review Snapshot:   At many points throughout 'The Sentinel' Swedish post rock merchants Aerial threaten to join the heirarchy of post rock, yet a lack of clarity and the vision to take a song to the next level leave them floundering in the 'what might have been' category. There are plenty of great moments for sure, but it becomes clearer as each track goes by that no song will take the necessary step that will mark them out as extraordinary. Instead the majority of the songs fizzle out with endings that are interchangeable with any other song on the album.  

The CLUAS Verdict?  6.5 out of 10 

Full Review:
In the last decade or so 'post rock' has become the most critically lauded musical genre of them all. Certainly, it has been the most uber-hip outpost on the musical landscape, with many of the major players enjoying as much success as is possible for groups who play, for the most part, awkward, mostly instrumental, lengthy pieces.

However, as with any other area of music there are those who excel and others who are content to plod along. Any band looking for direction in terms of post rock can go down either of two roads; set out your stall and continually build upon it ( see Isis from 'Celestial' to 'In The Absence Of Truth' ), or become creatively stagnant , as Explosions In The Sky have proven by turning out basically the same record for the last few releases. Can Swedish post rock merchants Aerial avoid the pitfalls on their new record?

Well...not entirely. Sure, there are plenty of moments which make 'The Sentinel' a worthwhile listening experience. 'My God It's Full Of Stars' sets the ball rolling, with sweet vocals, a lovely melody and Explosions style guitar work that dissolves into a crashing crescendo. 'You Will All Die, All Things Will', meanwhile, is perhaps the standout track on the album. It opens with liquid guitar lines and a fantastic, shoegazing type vocal. There's a lull in the middle of proceedings before a furious flurry of feedback that wouldn't be out of place on a Sonic Youth record. Aerial don't just deal in sweetness and light though. '46th Street' contains the kind of gargantuan riff that Isis or Cult Of Luna wouldn't turn their noses up at.

However, despite these positives 'The Sentinel' lacks a certain cohesion which would pull the whole record together. Though the bands use of vocals ensures that things never get too predictable, there is a definite feeling of deja vu at plenty of junctures. Sure, each song by itself is very pretty and lovely, but on 'Walk With Me' they get a bit too close to post rock-by-numbers, while 'The Youth Star Deleters' and 'Secret Godess' are interchangeable with each other. The link tracks only serve to make the record feel even more disjointed.

There is definitely enough going on to suggest that Aerial will make their 'Oceanic' or 'Spiderland' at some stage, but they will need to add something to the mix to avoid joining the list of instrumental also rans.

Alan Morrissey

 To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) 2nd hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.

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A review of the album Yesterday Is No Tomorrow by Stalkers

Review Snapshot:It is almost a prerequisite in listening to this album that you not have a problem with uncomplicated music. Stalkers are a straightforward hard rocking band who write fantastically singable rock songs: this album may not change the face of music as we know it, but it’s a lot of fun.

The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10

Full Review:

The most remarkable thing about this album is its sheer relentlessness. Stalkers don’t concern themselves too much with the finer points of harmony, melody or subtlety, but they do hammer out rough rhythms and roars of vocals, tripping over their own squealing guitar solos, chunky riffs and remarkably hooky choruses in an effort to push it through the speakers with as much power as possible. Wasting no time, the band launch into opening track Yesterday Is No Tomorrow as if there’s a giant hand pushing forward from behind, and they simply can’t help being forced forward.

What follows typifies each track on the album: you have your early rock/12-bar-blues-based riffs piled high with simple, innocent overdrive, your half-shouted vocals, and your standard driving backbeat, low in the mix but pinning everything down. Through songs like I’m Feeling Alright and Sun’s Coming Up, Stalkers create an irresistible atmosphere of joyous abandon and carefree fun with an edge of nostalgia, both lyrically with their honest and unassuming stories, and musically with some pleasantly surprising references to the guitar solos of early rockers and even the melodies of the Beach Boys. There’s even a little Frank Black in there somewhere.

Every song, whether it’s about stalking someone, having a great time, circus girls, or wanting to ‘do as we may!’ in what must be one of the most strangely grammatically correct choruses ever written, is utterly singable – albeit a little manic – and totally infectious. However, the album fails to stand up to repeated listening: there’s only so much happy, carefree rock you can listen to, without feeling a little manic yourself. This is an album for specific occasions, rather than regular rotations. With such frothy –light-hearted tunes and subjects, it’s more suited to sunny afternoons than the rain and wind of a November release. 

Anna Murray

 To buy a new or (very reasonably priced) 2nd hand copy of this album on Amazon just click here.

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John Carney's 'Once' was released in France on 14 November - and it has enjoyed reasonable success.

With only 54 copies distributed (compared to 364 for 'American Gangster', released on the same day), the low-budget Irish film has attracted an impressive 47,343 cinema-goers in its first two weeks, putting it at no. 20 in the French box office chart (American Gangster, third in the table behind Saw IV, has almost 730,000 punters).

French reviewers have been quite positive too. The general consensus is along the lines of 'the songs and the charm make up for its faults'. Widely-read cultural weekly Telerama's opinion was typical: its review emphasised the key role of the 'glum rock' songs in the storytelling, and praised Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for their performances.

Your blogger saw 'Once' in a Paris arthouse cinema this weekend. The film certainly has its charms, most of all Hansard as the likeable hero (we were about to write 'likeable busker', but that'd be going too far with the suspension of disbelief). But Irglova's part was seriously underwritten; her lines were not so much dialogue as stage directions ("I have to go now" umpteen times) and plot markers, with no sense of her character having any emotional depth or development. Perhaps Carney, maker of the brilliant 'Bachelors Walk', just can't write a convincing female role; there was Marcella Plunkett being the dreamy two-dimensional love interest, just like in the TV series.

And the songs aren't really good enough to win over Frames-doubters the way they do in the film; bland, generic love-and-angst lyrics delivered in Hansard's trademark quiet-to-loud style. But his melodies - especially 'Falling Slowly' - are strong and memorable, like the best of his songs. The more adventurous James Blunt fan may be swayed by them, though we know that's damning Hansard and Irglova with faint praise.

We were curious as to how French people would react to 'Once'. Street buskers aren't so common here - most musical begging is done on the metro (though there's a regular pitch at one corner of Place Saint Michel). And would not knowing The Frames be a help or a hindrance?

Well, we gained one telling insight thanks to a certain French audience reaction. Early in the film, just before the girl appears, the guy is singing 'Say It To Me Now'. At the moment that Hansard launches into the song's histrionic section, some people in the cinema started laughing - they clearly found him ridiculous and thought it was meant as a joke. But the laughter died away when the French viewers realised that the busker's OTT performance was to be taken seriously.

Apart from the cultural shock of experiencing a real Grafton Street busker (though not singing 'Hallelujah'), here are some other Things That French People Learned About Dublin Thanks To 'Once':

• No one in Dublin (except rich studio engineers) owns a mobile phone. All calls must be made from public phones just off Grafton Street.
• It's normal to go to the shop at night in your pyjamas. You won't be mugged or arrested.
• Dublin thieves are perfectly nice once you've caught them and shown them your compassionate side. But watch out for that second door out of HMV!
• Young Dubliners don't go to the pub; they organise sing-songs at home where everyone eats plain spaghetti and listens to someone's ma* singing come-all-ye rebel ballads.
• Immigrants to Dublin have no worries except for neighbours barging in to watch 'Fair City'.
• It doesn't rain in Dublin.

As for your blogger, three years out of Dublin, it seems that Mountjoy Square is going to become the new Stoneybatter. But are there more buskers there now because of 'Once'? We think we'll be staying in Paris a while longer...

(*Mrs Hansard, we believe)

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November was a bumper month for Irish acts playing in Paris, and the trend looks set to continue into December.

Tonight (1 December) The Thrills (right) are playing in the Maroquinerie, one of our favourite indie venues here. The Brian Wilson worshippers are currently on a European tour in support of their latest album, 'Teenager'.

Next stop for the lads is Amsterdam, followed by Germany, Spain and Scandinavia, all in the next two weeks. Let's hope Conor Deasy's voice can hold up under that busy schedule.

Those madcap Cork boys The Frank And Walters (below left) are playing two Paris shows this week. First, they're at La Flèche d'Or (this blogger's home from home) tomorrow night (2 December), and they'll also be at the Club Le Baron on the swanky Avenue Marceau just off the Champs-Elysées on Tuesday 4 December.

That leaves them all of Monday free for a bit of sightseeing. Oh, and some promoting business; their last album 'A Renewed Interest In Happiness' was released in Europe earlier this year.

After their Paris shows, The Frank And Walters will be touring around Ireland during December to play for you their new single 'City Lights' and their fine back-catalogue of colourful guitar-pop.

The Frank And Walters gig tomorrow night is part of a fantastic line-up at La Flèche d'Or this week. Last night we saw The Posies there: guitarist Ken Stringfellow now lives in Paris, and last night he and singer Jon Auer put on a stripped-down, guitars-only show of the band's power-pop classics. They played 'Flavor Of The Month'; it made our weekend.

Then on Monday there'll be a mad dash from the day-job to see more cult indie-pop, this time from Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips of Galaxie 500 and Luna fame. Support comes from much-fancied French singer Bo.

In his role as CLUAS Foreign Correspondent (Paris), your blogger will have a gig review of the Frank And Walters show as soon as possible. As a nod to the non-striking transport workers of France, perhaps they might play 'Happy Busman':

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So how's that tent in the Phoenix Park going? Still there, not blown away yet? We shouldn't joke - that seems to be what's happening to the crumbledown RDS these days, from what we've heard of the recent Kings Of Leon show there.

Anyway, if you're going to see Justice on Saturday night, you might want to break the habit of a lifetime and show up early to catch the support act.

The Teenagers (right)are a three-piece from Paris, now based in London, who make electro-flavoured punk-pop. They aren't in their teens any more, and they might be getting a call sometime from legal representatives for the estate of '50s boy-crooner Frankie Lymon.

They write English-language lyrics that are sometimes spoken-word and usually heavy on immature randiness (sample lyric: "On day two I f*cked her and it was wild / She's such a slut" - 'Homecoming'). And 'Sunset Beach' is a touching tale of the singer's broken heart: "This f*cking b*tch deserves to die". But hey, they're called The Teenagers for a reason.

Their juvenile lyrics and monotone delivery can get a bit tedious after a while (e.g. a few seconds). So how come we're recommending that you sacrifice your pre-gig pint and head up early to the Park to catch them?

Well, their single 'Starlett Johansson' is fantastic. It leaves out all the sex-obsessed blather of their other tracks and just concentrates on being a ferociously lean and catchy little song. The three lads even sound sincere and charming: "I'm scared by spiders too / I never manage to blame you."

In fact, it's so good that it makes us look kindly on their faults. After all, their lyrics are nothing that you won't already have overheard on the bus or in your local. Also, we suspect that the three lads are being tongue-in-cheek (their cheek and the cheeks of others) - from your blogger's experience, swearing in English with a French accent is the stereotype of a Paris nightclub poser.

And the equivalent of c*nt in French, 'con', isn't as taboo as the English word, so perhaps they know not what they do.

Anyway, you only have to listen to them, not hang out with them or invite them to the family dinner. You can make up your own mind about The Teenagers on Saturday night - don't say we didn't warn you about the filthy lyrics. Here's the video for 'Starlett Johansson', where the lads reveal their sensitive, romantic side... oh look, there's, like, a NAKED LADY (tee hee!) in the video!!!

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