A karaoke video for the new R.E.M. song ‘It Happened Today’, featuring Eddie Vedder. This song is an odd one to do karaoke to, for reasons that will become apparent as it goes on.

I like this though, it’s strangely euphoric towards the end, and has grown on me all over the place.

The above is a song by Feeder which they played on their recent tour, and included on one of their strange ‘Renegades’ EPs that they released during said tour. I include it here because I quite like it, and it doesn’t seem to have made the cut for their new ‘Renegades’ album. Which is sad as it’s better than a fair few of the tracks that actually are on there.

If you want to listen to said album, you can do so here on Spotify. Not sure if I’d recommend it or not. They’ve produced a rather generic bouncy-indie album, really. Loud guitars, bit of shouting; it’s well-made enough but everything is the same basic tempo and it makes the whole record sound a bit samey.

There is a change of pace in the form of Down To The River, but unfortunately it’s a bit plodding and rubbish. The title track and Sentimental are quite decent, as are some others, but they get submerged beneath the raft of similar-sounding tracks.

Shame, as I have a lot of nostalgic love for Feeder and do genuinely want them to succeed, but this really isn’t a great record. Never mind.

The video for the new Shane Macgowan-fuelled charity Haiti song thing. Once again, the musical merits aren’t really the point, but at least the song isn’t as much of a whinge-fest as the Everybody Hurts cover. Plus as a Pogues fan, it’s great to hear some new Macgowan vocals. (And a pleasant surprise that it’s possible to understand what he’s saying…)

Above is a video by “Jedward”, the Irish twins of dubious talent. It’s not their finest hour though, that would be this little gem, featuring the first (and probably last) occurrence of heavily implied gay twincest on primetime ITV.

The above single entered the charts at number 2 yesterday, failing to beat some song which has been at number 1 for two weeks. This probably doesn’t bode well for their future red-hot pop career, and suggests that the public was far more endeared to them as a novelty act on a talent show than as “artists”.

It’s a shame, as even if they themselves are ridiculous, the public reaction to them has been brilliant. People have been leaping onto their high horses as if pop music is some sacred temple with a definite minimum talent threshold. Before now, no-one with very little musical worth has ever stumbled into a pop career through luck. No.

So yeah, if this is the last we hear of the boys, it’ll be a shame, because at least they’re fun. Even if, yes, the actual music isn’t very good. Even “irony” couldn’t persuade me to buy it.