Oh, Eddie!

Watching ‘Twenty’ – the Pearl Jam film last night on BBC4 reminded me of not only how amazingly carnal alternative music used to be but of a time far less serious – my teens!

Hearing bands like Nirvana, Sugar, Dinosaur Jr, Pearl Jam et al makes me long to be 16 again. Confident, unabashed & and in love, the world was my oyster / for the taking …all manor of soppy clichés. Sure I was cynical (I think I was born cynical and shall remain so till the day I die!!); but there was an underlying hopefulness underneath that lumberjack shirt & battered converse.
Of course my boyfriend at the time fitted the bill too! Clad always in a band T, hair like Keanu, a swagger like Mark Lanegan - he made THE greatest mix tapes – some of which I still have several years later!

Unlike now – all the music at the time made me v happy – which I guess in hindsight is slightly strange given the dark & bleak nature of it all. Hearing Kurt Cobain scream his way through ‘Negative Creep’ or Billy Corgan go crazy at the end of ‘Rhinoceros’; perving over Eddie Vedder or bowing down to the epitome of cool that was (and still is) Kim Gordon….life seemed good and no matter how it manifested itself, the future was there for the taking! Inspiring and wonderful times that had long been forgotten!

So thank you empty bank account – for making me stay in last night and taking me back to a time of greatness in my life…now where’s my copy of ‘Bleach’


You can still catch both Cameron Crowe’s ‘Pearl Jam Twenty’; along with The Late Show’s ‘No Nirvana’ featuring a selection of grunge’s finest on the BBC iplayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Lana Del Rey - The Ruby Lounge - Fri 4th Nov 2011

"I don't trust you" was the response from Lana Del Rey following the excited applause after her performance of Video Games. Whether this was a genuine or staged response,  it is yet another factor that adds to the whole Starlet venerability of the package that is Lana Del Rey, which kind of makes you think - would Lizzie Grant have felt the need to say the same sentence? It's sad that on the whole music consumers aren't happy hearing the voice and enjoying the songs, we need to be fed the whole package in order to appreciate it... But that's another debate.

Those that were there at The Ruby Lounge on Friday will know that Lana Del Rey does live up to the hype, a voice that is effortlessly haunting, with songs that ease you into a past that you've never known and then plummet you back to the present, its easy to see why she is where she is today - obviously doing what she does best! This coupled with the beautiful elegance of Lana Del Rey you could just sense that all the guys in the room wanted her (and probably already had in their minds!) and all the girls wanted to be just like her - all in all the perfect ingredients for musical success ;)

If you missed her, have no fear its inevitable that you will get plenty of opportunities to see her in the not so distant the future...

Another singer songwriter blah blah blah

This girl knows what she is and isn’t afraid to say it.

In a music world full of budding singer songwriters, trying to live the dream and make a living from music (some disillusioned, some full of ego) it’s refreshing to hear from someone who is humble and wise enough (at 19!) to realise that they are not the only performer in the world and that they are by no means unique.

This kind of ‘eyes open’ attitude oozes potential...

We like this!



For more visit Marie’s website www.marienaffah.co.uk

Noel Gallagher - New Single...

It's been a long wait since the infamous split of one of Britain’s biggest and most influential bands (Oasis) but for many fans it has been worth it, as Noel Gallagher releases his new single (‘The Death Of You and Me') Noel has long had a knack of effortlessly putting together catchy sing a long tunes, a gift many songwriters struggle with. And this song is another example of his exploits. After the first listen of the chorus you can tell it's a hit.

Noels lyric writing has also seemed to have matured with age and there are a couple of great lines in the song, mixed together with the cliché rhyming of obvious lyrics that Oasis became so familiar by. Noel was to most Oasis fans, the talent and brains behind the band, where as Liam was the Rock n Roll focal point of the band. They will be missed as a combination but Noel could help us forget if he carries on producing songs of this ilk.

Scams - Helicopter Parents

Released on 22nd August; ‘Helicoper Parents’ is the new single from indie band Scams. Based in Leeds, not only are they popular in the Leeds live gig circuit, the band have already played SXSW in Texas and recently returned from a stint in Europe with New Politics.

Veering towards the rock end of the ‘indie’ spectrum, ‘Helicopter Parents’ has all the ingredients to be an indie anthem - a powerful, angsty track with lots of percussion, catchy guitar riffs and the ever important addictive chorus. Lead singer, Andy Morgan, has a punch and a passion in his voice that gives the track a slight emo vibe. With an air of The Automatic and early Lost Prophets, this single has that bite to it that has been missing from guitar bands of late.

Their next big event is the Reeper Bahn Festival in Hamburg in September. Here they will be playing with the likes of Friendly Fires, EMA, Alessis Ark and a whole host of new exciting bands.  Scams are running a competition on their Facebook page, the prize being entry to Reeper Bahn Festival with flights and accommodation. Find out more by clicking here.

We look forward to hearing more from this band and wish them luck with the single release!

Posted by @jomofo

Coping doesn't mean we don't care

Not a usual posting for the Buff blog we know but has to be said..

Further to the news about the death of Amy Winehouse yesterday, and reading reactions on the likes of Twitter & Facebook we find it quite distressing that some people assume that because you care about the death of a ‘celebrity’ you do not have the capacity to care about all of the other deaths / disasters that occur every day in the world.

For many Amy is the face representing the many thousands of people that die as a result of addiction every day, a sad reminder that such tortured souls exist.

Surely if we were to put a face to and be informed of the lives of every single person that died as a result of Addiction, War, Terrorism or other such evils we’d all become as tortured, unable to cope with life and possibly end up dead before our time...

Lets hope all the tortured souls find peace x

Dance Buffers!

Particularly good on a Friday ;)

Holy Ghost! - I Will Come Back

The Whip - Trash

Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

Daft Punk - Around the World

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire

Simian mobile disco -  Cruel Intentions

Foster the People - Call it what you want

Crystal Castles -  Crimewave

Does it offend you, Yeah? - We are Rockstars

Delphic - Doubt

Foals - Miami

Bloc Party - Banquet

Two Door Cinema Club - What you know

Bombay Bicycle Club - Always like this

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Ida Maria - Oh My God

Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa

Basement Jaxx - Red Alert

Friendly Fires - Live those days tonight

The Sounds - Tony The Beat

M.I.A - XXX0

Kelis - Milkshake

The Naked & Famous - Punching in a dream

Klaxons - Its not over yet

Got Spotify? Listen here 

New from Berlin based Jim Kroft - Ulysses

We recently got sent the video for “Ulysses” by singer songwriter Jim Kroft.  Considering himself an ‘exile from the UK’ Kroft now resides in Berlin and has embarked on a project to film a video for each track on his new album. Debut album ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’ was subject to critical acclaim and since gaining creative partnerships in Berlin & London, this sophomore offering is very much an artistic labour of love for Kroft.

Featuring on his upcoming album ‘The Hermit & The Hedonist’, “Ulysses” is a mellow, simplistic yet heartfelt melody with haunting lyrics. Admittedly, the track needed a few listens before it was appreciated, the technical term being to label it as a ‘grower’. Simple percussion and guitars teamed with soothing strings make n idyllic backdrop for the track, which compliment Kroft’s vocals.

Directed by Zeno Von Trapp from Colorstorm, who have previously worked with Noah and the Whale, the video is set round a night out in Berlin. Beautifully shot and encapsulating, it will be interesting to see which direction Kroft will take with the rest of the album-to-video project.

Posted by @jomofo

Hello Goodluck Jonathan ..

On first glance you could definitely pigeon hole this band, however on 2nd and 3rd glance you may realise that any judgement you had made about this band may just be completely wrong.

We first watched the Video for Broken Heart and although intrigued we automatically thought 'here we go, we've heard it all before' ...however after giving it our full attention and receiving their Debut album, we realised how buffin wrong we were! 

This album is not anything completely new in terms of sound but that doesn't mean to say it is not a good debut. Starting off with 'Bruises Disappear', you're pulled into the huge sound with a full on heavy bass and drum beat with guitars soaring, yet this is not the premise for the whole album, each song is its own entity and you can definitely hear that it is the creation of individuals with different influences, which when brought together binds effortlessly. There are hints of some of our favourite bands, such as Foals (earlier stuff), and At the Drive In too so if you're fans of these its a double buffin bonus!


The album 'This Is Our Way Out' is out now, so go buy it buffers, we reckon you'll like it. In the meantime, watch the video for Broken Heart below - and as always let us know what you think!

Suns dance & Moons shine

So we've been pretty lucky this year with the sunshine - maybe its because we've been playing this?


This song 'Set Sail' by Tin Roots is released on the bands EP on 20 July 2011. More information here buffers - let us know what you think :)

#2 Buff it!

Got Spotify? Click here to open Buff It! playlist  


In no particular order... ;)

Track list:

Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
Ginderman - Worm Tamer
Death in Vegas - Aisha
Metronomy - The Bay
arcade Fire - Ready to Start
Warpaint - Undertow
Dels, Joe Goddard & Roots Manuva - Capsize
Tom Vek - a Chore
Joan as a Policewoman - The Magic
The National - Conversation 16
Laura Marling - Darkness Descends
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
The Kills - Future starts Slow
Sleigh Bells - Infinity Guitars
Tom Williams & The Boat - Get Older
My Morning Jacket - Holding on to Black Metal
TV on the Radio - Golden Age
Devendra Banhart - Lover
Cornershop - Natch
At the Drive-In - One Armed Scissor
Babeshow - Sea Serpents
CSS - Alala

Buffin loving a bit of Pop

What does the Law of Attraction say? 'We attract our dominant thoughts' - therefore upon receiving Dirty Heart by Hologram Heart Parade our dominant thoughts must have been about way back when we were buffin about as little kids, too young for the local Youth Club, making up dance routines in the kitchen to the likes of Prince, Janet Jackson & Five Star (yes we are that old!) 


There's even a bit of Jody Watley & Jermaine Stewart in there, which all combined together results in pure unadulterated disco pop funk, and yes we BUFFIN LOVE IT!


DIRTY HEART -FREE DOWNLOAD by Hologram Heart Parade


The track is available for free download via Soundcloud, so get on it buffers! 

The BUFF present - received last night ... Buff yeah!

You can buy this vest at Topman buffers! 

Word up Buff!

We often find ourselves defending Buff! Some people totally get it and some people think that its some kind of shameless big up to ourselves as the word has so many different meanings..

I mean there's Buff as in the colour, which is like a boring natural beige, often found on envelopes. Another is when describing someone who is a geek about something, you know like 'film buff' or 'music buff' and another is when referencing strong types with muscles or those of a gorgeous nature...

We'd like to point out that Buff exists in our vocabulary simply because it sounds buffin ace when you say it and it can be used in place of many a word, and is often useful as a censor when you need to refrain from swearing! 

Buff off you buffhead! Buffin Ell! Shut the Buff Up! Not that we use this language often... ;)

It is also used when describing that something is messed up - we all have Buff heads in the morning right? Well those of us with hair do for sure! Its is also a term of endearment - most of our friends are akin to be being referred to as Buff Head, Buffer or Buffy. 

So all in all Buff is just Buff because its our favourite word, not because we resemble envelopes, or think we look hot or claim to be experts in anything, its simply because its very versatile and sounds buffin ace when you say it OK? ;)

#1 Buff it!

Got Spotify? Open Buff it! here


Track List:

Django Django - Storm
Ra Ra Riot -  Boy
The Kills - Satellite
The xx - Islands
Micachu - Golden Phone
Holy Ghost! -  I Will Come Back
Metronomy - The Look
Toro y Moi - New Beat
Local Natives - Wide eyes
Passion Pit - Little Secrets
Justice - Civilisation
Friendly Fires (vs Holy Ghost!) - Hold On
Yeasayer - Sunrise
Foals - Blue Blood
when Saints Go Machine - You or the Gang

Right under your nose..

Have you ever done that, been looking for something and its been right under your nose..staring at you, willing you to notice it?! Parading around doing cart wheels in front of you whilst juggling a plate of jelly, singing at the top of its voice?!

That is exactly what happened to me today..

The Great Escape - Buff Yeah!

What? No Buff DJ set!? 

Yes you would be right - unfortunately we were not allowed to buff up any decks this year, HOWEVER someone mentioned something about a little toad called Buzz that Bursty is working on (insert shameless self promotion here ;)) at the Start Up Panel in the Old Courtroom. Nerves were wracking but all in all it went very well with lots of great feedback and comments from some lovely inspiring people. 

In other news, lovely @jomofo accompanied us and caused some right mischief with her constant innuendos and tourettes like outbursts, she also kept Munty out on the beach until 7am on the Saturday morning whilst chatting up various musical waifs and strays - she buffin loves it and we love her! She did well though and was up bright and early the next day after a mere 3 hours kips for some educational panels where we had the grand opportunity of being introduced to Seymour Stein & witnessed the wonderful comedic mannerisms of the very pink Mark Jones - Seymour even offered to buy us some fish and chips, but we'd already scoffed ours and done a runner from the chippy! Just buffin you about, we paid really ...well after they chased us down the road, but that's another story ;)  

All in all a buffin ball was had - the best bit was when Friendly Fires turned us all into beautiful butterflies...they're good at doing that aren't they!?!? 

NME Awards 2011...

So we're just back from the NME Awards 2011 - we missed last year so it was good to be back buffin about and causing some mischief! 

The highlight of the evening was of course the free booze (Jaeger & Redbull!)... waiting in anticipation for Munty to fall up the Red Carpet...us thinking Paul Weller was actually playing...followed by Dave Grohl doing a solo in the crowd, dancing on a broken chair...trying to pap Michael Eavis & Jarvis Cocker and failing miserably (see pics below).. finding a full bottle of Moet Chandon (wooop!) and Theo from Hurts...Did I just say Theo from Hurts!? IF YOU'VE GOT NO KIND WORDS TO SAY, SAY NO BUFFIN MORE! 


Could these be the worst photos in the world...ever?! See if you can spot em!?