Michael Jackson fan art - beautiful

Thank you to everyone who came to Creep Club last Thursday. It was a lovely first night; a mass of sweaty kids thrashing into each other and singing along to everything from The Contours to Girls Aloud, Gala and The Pixies. I think my favourite bit was tables and chairs going flying as Nirvana’s Breed kicked in.

Please join the Facebook or keep an eye on the blog for future dates of parties!

Of course it was also the night we found out by a bizarre barrage of texts and phonecalls about Michael Jackson’s death, and it has been difficult to think of the right way to talk about it here. I guess I just want to say that it hit me for six. He was a musical hero for me from the age of eight onwards and truly godlike when he was great. I spent hours attempting the Smooth Criminal lean, had my own iffy take on the moonwalk and spent months wandering around with plasters on my fingers much to the annoyance of my mum.

It’s still difficult to fathom that he’s gone and it has been weird seeing my own personal sadness reflected in the media circus and adopted by headline-grabbing wannabes. I am certainly not one for ‘public outpourings of grief’ or for dissecting the ins and outs of his highly dubious personal life. So I have steered clear of most of the follow-up stories and events, choosing instead to reflect on his creative highs. I think that is the best way to deal.

Now for some new music. Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub is one of my bestest records, and I recently added another ‘esque’ to the list: Creaturesque by Throw Me The Statue. This is the Seattle act’s second release on Secretly Canadian (still one of my favourite labels) and it’s all really rather dreamy.

♫ Throw Me The Statue – I Love Waving At The Shore (MP3)

I am also really in love with these weird guys Nurses from Portland, Oregon…

♫ Nurses – Technicolour (MP3)

And I saw Strange Folks at Dublin Castle last night and was properly wowed. They are this seven-piece from Tel Aviv who met while doing military service together. I’m a bit obsessed because they are so dweeby and odd-looking – imagine Devendra crossed with Jesus and Jared Leto and you’re somewhere close to singer Idan. Lovely.