MTV Gonzo has been back for its new series for a couple of weeks now, but tomorrow’s episode is the one that I’m most excited about so far – Plan B. Not usually my cup of tea at all, but I will admit freely that I’ve fallen in love with the six tracks I’ve heard of his new album “The Defamation Of Strickland Banks”.

Plan B (or Ben Drew to his Mum) has gone all soulboy on us, having the sort of influences that you’d get from listening to daytime radio on Magic in the mid 90’s. Apparently in the interview he claims his new album is “like Glee with bollocks”, which sounds like just my sort of music, and an interview that should be funny. He’ll also be chatting to Zane Lowe on the brown couch and doing an acoustic performance of new single ‘She Said’ – watch the official video here (featuring Effy from Skins).

Joining Zane for the second dose of brown-love (get your mind out of the gutter!) will be Kids in Glass Houses from the Valleys of South Wales. The pop-punkers reveal which member of the band can be found on YouTube crowd surfing at a Glassjaw gig, and explain which song guitarist Iain wrote in his bedroom in his underpants.

Meanwhile, the Gonzo Report comes from youtube phenomenon Midnight Beast. Admittedly, when I saw that name I was like “errrr, who?!”, but it turns out they do the sort of well-honed parodies that you’d be stupid to not find funny. Watch this version of Ke$ha’s Tik Tok to get a feel for how great they’ll be.

You can catch this episode of Gonzo tomorrow, Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 10pm on MTV Rocks (formerly MTV 2), or find out more on Gonzo’s website and get involved on Gonzo’s Twitter.

Editor’s note: For the sake of disclosure, I want to state for the record that I have very strong feelings on this topic, and I will do my utmost to present the facts and keep my emotions to a minimum.

Every year the BBC Trust conducts an audit of all BBC Radio stations to analyse their listenership and whether they’re getting the best value for their money, as all BBC radio stations are funded by the state and paid for by UK residents. On 02 March the Trust confirmed a proposal to close of two of its digital stations: 6music, the Beeb’s alternative music station, and the Asian Network, broadcasting Asian music, news, entertainment, culture, debate and drama. According to an article published in the Guardian the same day, Director General Mark Thompson stated, “even to propose the closure of BBC services is a very big and in some ways painful step. There’s lots of great content on BBC 6 Music and some real talent …[but the station was] expensive … given its relatively small audience.”

BBC Radio 6 describes itself as a station that “brings together the cutting edge of today and the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years.” Indie music stalwart Steve Lamacq (pictured above), who currently hosts a 3-hour evening drivetime programme Monday through Friday on the station, posted a quite eloquent entry on his personal Web site’s blog with his thoughts on 6music’s closure, including these that I believe are two very important bits to contemplate:

On a personal level, I believe that shutting 6music would be disastrous for the British music scene – and alternative music from further a field too. There is so much music being played every week on Six that simply doesn’t get played anywhere else, that losing it would be unthinkable … The cultural hole it would leave if scrapped, would have terrible repercussions for everyone from small promoters to indie labels to bands and to music fans of all ages. We’d be denying people the chance to hear music which could – even in just a few cases – alter their life, as listening to John Peel changed mine.

Ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, who recently joined the 6music team as a Sunday afternoon presenter at the start of 2010, had this to say about the closure:

As far as I can see, a station like Radio 6 is perfectly in the spirit of what the BBC was supposedly set up to do – public service broadcasting. It’s airing music that wouldn’t get heard otherwise.

Many other artists, including Emmy the Great, David Bowie, Frankie and the Heartstrings, La Roux and Mark Ronson, just to name a few, have voiced their opposition to the closing of 6music, which just celebrated its 8th birthday on Thursday the 11th of March. Loyal listeners have also become involved in the fight to save the station, starting Facebook and Twibbon campaigns and organising petitions and demonstrations, all in an effort to make their voices heard.

No matter which side you’re on, you can see this is a very charged, passionate battle being fought. If you wish to weigh in on this issue, you have until 25 May to complete an online survey, part of the Strategy Review Consultation, here.

As you can imagine, there is much in the media on this proposal. And below are just some links that we think you may find interesting on this topic.

BBC – In Quotes: Reactions to BBC Cuts

The Independent – BBC radio stars hit out over 6 Music closure plans

Music Week - Viewpoint: Beggars Group chairman Martin Mills

The Times Online – BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons admits licence fee cut possible

Many, many years ago I had a young girl’s dream of becoming a singer. Long story short: for a multitude of reasons, it never happened, but as a result, I’m very critical of female singing voices upon hearing them for the first time. Most of the time, I am displeased (that’s putting it mildly) by what frivolous and unimpassioned warblings some girl is passing off as quote music unquote. I’m happy to report that last week I was pleasantly surprised and even a bit stunned upon hearing the band I am about to describe to you.

The anti-folk foursome Erin K and Tash is fronted by, yep, you guessed it, two angelic, incredible-sounding singers named Erin Kleh and Tash ter Braak. The two met in August 2009 after ter Braak, a talented pianist, answered Kleh’s ad for a backing vocalist for her burgeoning amateur band. The two hit it off right away and have been writing and performing together ever since with Paul Durbin (percussion) and Nicolas Cornu (guitar).

Check out the funny and evocative ‘Sorry I’m Not Black’ (mentioning American basketball star Dennis Rodman and English party girl singer Amy Winehouse) for an example of their lyrics: witty, humourous, and a breath of fresh air. The songs are delivered with such sweetness than the first thing that came into mind upon listening to a gorgeously spare version of ‘Oh Well (without noise version)’ on their MySpace, I thought of Emmy the Great.

The sultry ‘Jiggy Miggy’ reminds me of the great Mama Cass of the Mamas and the Papas. It’s a great example that even though female voices can be angelic, these women are real women; they feel emotions like love and lust like the rest of us and aren’t afraid to sing about them in a thoughtful way that we normal people can relate to, not at all in the distasteful way that seems pretty much par for the course for female, mass-marketed pop singers these days. So I say to Erin K and Tash, hip hip hooray!

This unsigned band is based in London and plays in venues around town. Here are some upcoming dates taken from their MySpace.

Sunday 21st March 2010 – London Islington Old Queens Head
Thursday 15th April 2010 – London Gladstone (free gig)
Thursday 22nd April 2010 – London Earl’s Court Troubadour
Monday 10th May 2010 – London 12 Bar (Blang! night)
Saturday 22nd May 2010 – London Leytonstone Library Hall

I’ve slowly fallen in love with Oxford’s Stornoway over the past year. Jess first introduced them, and then I caught them live and interviewed them at Swindon’s Big Weekend last May. Now they’re gearing up to release their debut album ‘Beachcomber’s Windowsill’ on 24th May, and this is the (rather ace) video to accompny the first single.

Watch, enjoy, and have an amazing weekend. We’ll be back on Monday.

(PS: Looking for something to spend some money on this weekend?! Buy yourself a Blog Off! Ticket – they’re rapidly selling out, and it’d be ace to see you there – they’re only £5 in advance, and you get to see the aceness of Starlings, Jazica and Victoria and Jacob. What are you waiting for? Go book yourself a ticket or get more info here)

Touring in support of their new album ‘Beast Rest Forth Mouth,’ Brooklyn band Bear In Heaven will hit SXSW before spending a week playing for audiences across the UK.

Tuesday 20th April 2010 – London, The Lexington
Wednesday 21st April 2010 – Brighton, Freebutt
Thursday 22nd April 2010 – Manchester, The Deaf Institute
Friday 23rd April 2010 – Glasgow, Captain’s Rest
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
Sunday 25th April 2010 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Monday 26th April 2010 – London, Windmill Brixton

Tickets are available now through Seetickets.

And while you’re at it, check out their video for ‘Fraternal Noon’:

Soulful singer-songwriter Pete Lawrie feels that his music is very hard to classify. He says, “If I had to give my current sound a name, I would call it Southern blues country rock skiffle hop tronica, whilst cringing at my own pretension.” But that explanation over-complicates things. When I listen to his EP, ‘How Could I Complain?,’  what I’m struck by is the simplicity and authenticity of his music. There are no gimmicks and there’s nothing over-thought, it’s just a man expressing himself beautifully through his music.

While there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about his music, there doesn’t have to be. His bruised, growling voice drips with the emotion behind the songs, and it’s this that really captivates the listener. In his biog, he explains that “the last few years have been without doubt the most amazing, eye-opening, terrifying, hilarious, devastating, glorious times in [his] life,” and it’s this emotion that resonates through the songs.

The four-track EP takes it’s name from the first track, ‘How Could I Complain?’. In it, Lawrie asks “So tell me how could I complain?” when he hasn’t experienced some horrible things like deaths in the family, and philosophizes, “you wouldn’t know joy if you didn’t have pain.” This mid-tempo track has a very rustic feel to it, which you really get a sense of in the video below. Second track, ‘Panic,’ has a raw, visceral feel to it. With Lawrie’s raspy voice over pounding piano, hand claps, cowbell and distorted guitars, you get the feeling your listening to an exposed nerve. The second half of the EP is a lot slower and more laid-back, but doesn’t lose any of it’s emotional intensity. ‘Paperthin’ uses strings and tinkling piano to great effect, and is very relaxing to listen to, and ‘Jimmy and the Birds on Fire’ is simple and beautiful, really showcasing Lawrie’s voice.

So if you’re tired of voices that have all the emotion auto-tuned out of them, then give Pete Lawrie a shot – his voice will make you feel emotions you never even knew you had.

‘How Could I Complain’ will be released on 5th April 2010. Pete Lawrie is on tour now with Turin Brakes. See our ticket alert for more information.

London electronic rock band Three Trapped Tigers are hitting the road this April in support of their newest effort ‘EP3′. Check out the video for ‘6′ below and go see them in a town near you!

Friday 23rd April 2010 – Cardiff, Arts Institute
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Bristol, Start The Bus (Tickets)
Sunday 25th April 2010 – Manchester, DEAF Institute (Tickets)
Monday 26th April 2010 – Edinburgh, Electric Circus (Tickets)
Tuesday 27th April 2010 – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds (Tickets)
Wednesday 28th Apr 2010 – Brighton, Freebutt (Tickets)
Thursday 29th Apr 2010 – London, Institute of Contemporary Arts (Tickets)

Talons is the support act for this tour.

In order to test the “new live band” before next month’s headlining gig at Coachella, Gorillaz will be embarking on a short 6-date tour of the UK in a little over a week. The lineup will likely include former Clash members Paul Simonon and Mick Jones, who collaborated with Damon Albarn on Gorillaz’s new album, ‘Plastic Beach,’ which was released this past Monday, March 8th.

Sunday 21st March 2010 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Bristol, Trinity
Tuesday 23rd March 2010 – Cambridge, Junction
Thursday 25th March 2010 – Brighton, Old Market
Friday 26th March 2010 – Birmingham, Irish Centre
Saturday 27th March 2010 – Lincoln, Shed

Tickets are limited and are only available to members of the G-Club on a first-come-first-served basis. If you’re unable to get tickets for these shows, console yourselves by watching their new video and don’t worry – rumour has it they’ll be doing a more extensive tour later in the year.

Other than Lady Gaga’s new video for ‘Telephone,’ it seems the biggest buzz in the music world this week is around the new MGMT teaser track, ‘Flash Delirium,’ off of their forthcoming album, ‘Congratulations,’ due out 13th April 2010. Some seem to think that it’s a fantastic new direction for the band, while others don’t like it because they think it sounds nothing like MGMT. I fall somewhere in between: I was not, shall we say, particularly whelmed by it at first, but it’s growing on me. It has none of the catchy hooks of the singles off of ‘Oracular Spectacular,’ but that reflects an intentional move by the band away from singles and towards albums. As the band told NME, the album is “a collection of nine individual musical tours de force sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence,” and they want it to be appreciated as a complete album. Ben Goldwasser of MGMT said to the magazine, “There definitely isn’t a ‘Time to Pretend’ or a ‘Kids’ on the album. We’ve been talking about ways to make sure people hear the album as an album in order and not just figure out what are the best three tracks, download those and not listen to the rest of it.”

They have, however, made ‘Flash Delirium’ available for free through their website, so head on over and download it now!

If you’re anything like me, the breathtaking song ‘Blood’ from Australian folk-pop band The Middle East will stop you in your tracks. After hearing it on NME Radio as Chris Martin’s Track of the Week, I haven’t been able to take it off repeat. Tailor-made for fans of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, it is both delicate and powerful, subdued and joyous. With its gorgeous harmonies, tinkling bells and whistling, it’s impossible to come out of listening to it without a smile on your face. As their official bio says, ”after 5 minutes and 27 seconds of Blood you’ll be jumping with joy and brimming with excited energy, dreaming that life is all about smiles and sunshine (and great entertainment).”

The song serves as the centerpiece of their debut EP, ‘The Recordings of the Middle East,’ which is well worth a listen. Originally self-released by the band in 2008, they re-released it last year after a short hiatus, and are generating quite a buzz about themselves. They will be performing at SXSW before touring North America with Mumford & Sons. Check out the amazing hand-crafted video for ‘Blood’ below – it is the perfect accompaniment to an already fantastic song.

The Middle East will be performing at T in the Park 2010. If you were lucky enough to get tickets, make sure you check them out!