Search results for ""the lottery winners""
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 49):
Wildcard (week 49):
The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter To Creatives
Now this is a lovely gesture! And a necessary one, for creatives are among the people who are hit hardest by the global COVID-19 measurements. Not only are they prevented from performing and exploiting their arts, but the public is prevented from enjoying those arts as well. Nobody wins…
That’s why The Lottery Winners wrote an open letter. Initially, it was meant to be a ‘note to self’, but eventually they decided to put it out as a motivational message to all musicians, artists, writers and creatives. Main statement: remain, don’t retrain.
Just like Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann, it contains some wonderful, powerful and encouraging thoughts. For instance: ‘Get enough sleep. Sometimes you need a nap. Don’t feel guilty if you’re feeling exhausted. Some of the best ideas in the world happened in dreams. So dream’. Or: ‘You don’t have to work for free. Your time is valuable. You are valuable. You can’t pay your bills with exposure. Don’t undervalue your art’.
In all the supportive lyrics, there’s room for some British humour too: ‘Stop comparing yourself to your heroes. There will only ever be one Bowie, one Tarantino, one Hirst, one Hendrix, one Hitchcock, one Mercury, one Wilde, one Winehouse, one Wonder, two Gallaghers, one Joplin, one Simone, and there will only ever be one you’.
But all in all, it’s a serious note, calling for creatives to be good to themselves, put value in their art, set realistic expectations, use their precious time and, above all, don’t give up when the going gets tough. And these are tough times, as we all know, with loss of income due to the pandemic, and lacking government support for skilled creatives.
On the other hand, The Lottery Winners notice: ‘Imagine a world without songs, without films, without books, without ever feeling the hairs on your neck stand up, without ever seeing goosebumps on your arm. That’s a world without people, like you. So no matter what you do: remain, don’t retrain’.
This week, An Open Letter To Creatives is the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. I hope this wonderful and heart-felt song will inspire and motivate creatives to continue their great, fulfilling, healing and even life-saving art. Without you, there would be no Carte Blanche Music. Thank you!
Recommended as well:
The Lottery Winners – Little Things
The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
single trackThe Lottery Winners – Little Things
The Lottery Winners – Little Things
2019 started with a bang, with The Lottery Winners’ That’s Not Entertainment as a (belated) Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. And now, the band have another go at the top prize. Little Things is the third single to be released ahead of their self-titled debut album, which is due on 13 March 2020.
The Lottery Winners is an album the band have spent the last two years recording tracks for, after being discovered by music industry legend Seymour Stein. You may know some of the other artists he signed, like a certain Madonna, and bands called The Ramones and Talking Heads (to name but a few). The album was produced by Tristem Ivemy (Frank Turner, The Holloways) and mastered at Abbey Road.
“This was a difficult song for me to write. It’s quite a sad one”, reflects frontman Thom Rylance. “It’s amazing how everything changes when you lose someone. Things become a lot more important. It does have a catchy chorus, and some nice ‘heys’ though, so don’t worry.”
This may very well be the track for The Lottery Winners to win them the jackpot. As they predicted themselves: ‘there’s nothing bigger than the little things’.
Recommended as well:
The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 1):
Wildcard (week 1):
The Lottery Winners – That’s Not Entertainment
Let me start the new year with a song from late 2018, that was criminally overlooked by… well, everybody really. Including me. And being overlooked isn’t going to win this band the lottery, so I’d better set things straight…
The Lottery Winners are a British four-piece, formed in 2008 by Thom Rylance (vocals/guitar), Robert Lally (guitar/vocals), Katie Lloyd (bass/vocals), and Joe Singleton (drums). They were signed to Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Records, by music mogul Seymour Stein in 2016.
After releasing a few singles throughout the years, and extensive touring late 2016 and early 2017, the band are now working on their debut album. That’s Not Entertainment is the first, rather brilliant single off it, and it deserves to be a hit. For starters, it’s the first Carte Blanche Music Wildcard of 2019!
In the Wildcards 2019 playlist you can find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
playlist
Additions to the Carte Blanche Music playlist (week 16)
Not all, but only the *best* new music. Added to the playlist this week (alphabetically):
- Aistè – What’s Going On
indie | pop | soul - AJR – The Dumb Song
pop - Kita Alexander – Queen
pop - Liam Barrack – Bulletproof
indie | pop | rock - Foo Fighters – Rescued rock
- Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies pop | rock
- Alex Harry – Sometimes indie | pop
- Jealous Of The Birds – Beginner’s Luck
pop | rock - Jodie – I’m Not Your Fool indie | pop | rock | soul
- Kehli – Dead Body indie | pop
- Kingfisher – Stand Back In
– indie | pop | rock - The Lottery Winners feat. Frank Turner – Letter To Myself indie | pop | rock
- Parliamo – You’re An Animal indie | pop
- Pony – Sucker Punch indie | rock
- Niko Rubio – See Me Now pop
- Sofi Tukker – Jacaré dance | indie | latin | tropical
- Venice Heath – Different indie | pop | rock
- Wies – Blijf Weg
indie | pop | rock
Check them all in the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist.
Follow (click ‘♥’) to hear the best new music first.
playlist
Additions to the Carte Blanche Music playlist (week 2)
Only the best new music from a truly massive release week (alphabetically):
- Archie X – Can’t Walk Away/If I Were You
pop - Holly Arrowsmith – Desert Dove
folk | indie | melancholic | pop - Belle & Sebastian – I Don’t Know What You See In Me indie | pop
- Blanko – Stop The Clock indie | pop | rock
- Circa Waves – Never Going Under indie | pop | rock
- Nena Daconte con Celia Becks – Tu Canción
indie | pop - Gaz Coombes – Turn The Car Around indie | pop
- Kate Davis – Monster Mash indie | pop | rock
- Dulcie – Test Drive indie | pop
- Lizzie Esau – Jellyfish indie | pop | rock
- Everything But The Girl – Nothing Left To Lose trip hop
- The Go! Team – Gemini hip hop | indie | pop
- Honeyboys – Mr. Daniels indie | pop | rock
- Kingfisher – Until I Lose My Mind indie | pop | rock
- The Lottery Winners – Worry indie | pop | rock
- Luude & Issey Cross (feat. Moby) – Oh My dance | drum & bass
- Måneskin (feat. Tom Morello) – Gossip rock
- May-a – Sweat You Out My System pop | rock
- Tom McGuire & The Brassholes – Unshakable funk | indie | pop | soul
- Liela Moss – Come And Find Me indie | pop
- Riku Rajamaa – Hold Me Close
indie | pop - The Reytons – One More Reason indie | rock
- Freya Ridings – Weekends pop
- Rori – Ma Place pop
- Rosemary’s Sons – The Ride indie | pop | rock
- Stacey Ryan – Over Tonight pop
- Spacey Jane (feat. Benee) – Lots Of Nothing indie | pop | rock
- Stace Cadet – Light Me Up dance
- Raine Stern – So Precarious funk | indie | pop | soul
- Tensnake & Drama – Rooftops
indie | pop - Young Gun Silver Fox – Still Got It Goin’ On indie | pop | soul
Check them all in the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music Spotify playlist.
Follow (click ‘♥’) to hear the best new music first.
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 42)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your guide to the best new music, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- noelle – Cold Killer (Wildcard this week)
- Madison Davenport – Oh Shit! (Wildcard last week)
- almost monday – Cough Drops
- Jonas Brøg – 10 Cents
- Pixey – Melody (From You To Me)
- The Go! Team – Divebomb
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Wolf
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Lottery Winners, White Lies, and more.
single track
Good Health Good Wealth – Guinness
Only a week ago, I introduced you to Good Health Good Wealth via their debut single Love Hangover. Only a week later, British singer Bruce Breakey and Lithuanian guitarist/producer Simon Kuzmicas release a follow-up. And it’s equally strong and intriguing.
I can imagine it may be annoying for bands to be compared to other artists. But especially in the case of new acts, it can help to explain the public what to expect. You can trust me to only make comparisons that are really there (in my ears, at least 😉 ). Love Hangover for instance, reminded me of Hard-Fi. A sure shot, I thought, for that band’s front man Richard Archer co-wrote and produced the single. However, this new single was co-written and produced by Archer as well, but it has a totally different sound. It’s an ethereal track with moody guitars, and lyrics sung in a The Lottery Winners kind of style.
Sounds like Good Health Good Wealth are a band that’s not easy to pigeon-hole. Cheers to that!
Recommended as well:
Good Health Good Wealth – Love Hangover
Follow Good Health Good Wealth on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
chart, year-end chart
Carte Blanche Music Top 2020
Ahead of your favourites among this year’s Carte Blanche Music recommendations, which I’ll publish tomorrow, these are my personal choices from the songs that came out in 2020. This list holds only 100 tracks, but you can find all of my 994 recommendations in my container playlist Carte Blanche Music 2020.
As always, I love to share some statistics about the Carte Blanche Music Top 2020. These findings are further evidence of the fact that the music radio stations play for you is far from representative of the wealth of great new music out there. Thankfully, there are blogs like Carte Blanche Music that are independent and unbiased, and don’t want to please everybody at the same time. We’re here to surprise you with great new music, no matter what genre or gender, origin or orientation. Just a few statistics:
- Judging from this Top 100 alone (let alone the full container playlist), 2020 was a great year for pure pop music, young artists, ‘80s influences, independent releases, the Australian music scene, queer pop-rock and female vocalists
- A whopping 70% of the tracks in this year’s list feature female lead vocals (and I thought the 60% in the Carte Blanche Music Top 2019 was impressive already)
- Overall, rock ruled. 54% of the tracks in my year-end chart is guitar-based (just over last year’s tally)
- The list clearly shows there are more countries that produce great artists than Great-Britain and the United States alone. This year, more nationalities than ever are represented in my Top 100. You’ll also find artists from Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland
- As a result, although most lyrics are in English, you’ll also hear songs (partly) sung in French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish
The Carte Blanche Music Top 2020 features 100 tracks, which are presented below in alphabetical order. You can listen to them all via the Spotify player. If you prefer another order, just use the shuffle button 😉.
Meanwhile, you can read my original recommendations through the links below.
- A Is For Arrows – Every Now And Then
- Abbie Ozard – True Romance (WC)
- Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu
- Aitana – 11 Razones
- Alex The Astronaut – I Think You’re Great (WC)
- Alice & Moi – T’aimerais Que Ce Soit Vrai
- Altered By Mom – Better On The Page
- Amy Allen – Difficult
- Archie X – Loud Boy (WC)
- Ava Max – Kings And Queens
- Awolnation feat. Alice Merton – The Best
- Badflower – 30
- Baxtr – Bloom (WC)
- Bée – Nothing Alike (WC)
- The Beths – Mars, The God Of War
- Betty Who – The One
- Blossoms – It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter
- Bloxx – Off My Mind
- Bloxx – 5000 Miles (WC)
- Calogero – La Rumeur
- Charles – Far Gone
- Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið – Think About Things
- Dagny – Coulda Woulda Shoulda (*)
- Don Diablo – Invincible
- Don’t Bring Stacey – Waiting For It
- Dopha – Anti Breakup Song
- Doves – Prisoners (WC)
- Dua Lipa – Physical (WC)
- Dua Lipa – Break My Heart
- Dua Lipa (feat. DaBaby) – Levitating [Single Version]
- Efecto Pasillo feat. Huecco – Funketón [2020 Version]
- Egoism – You You (WC)
- Ella Grace – Unfree
- Ellur – Alive
- The Flowers – You Don’t Say!
- Francesco Gabbani – Il Sudore Ci Appiccica
- Genes – Super Single
- Gin Wigmore – HBIC
- Grace Farriss – All The People (WC)
- Gracie Abrams – Friend
- Grand Corps Malade – Pas Essentiel (WC)
- Håkan Hellström – Alla Drömmar Är Uppfyllda (WC)
- Harper Bloom – Walk My Way
- Hedda Mae – Madness
- The Hold Steady – Family Farm
- Hollie Col – She Knows (WC)
- Holy Holy (feat. Queen P) – Port Rd (WC)
- Hope D – Second
- Hoshi feat. Corine – Larmes De Croco (WC)
- Icona Pop & Sofi Tukker – Spa
- Indochine x Christine & The Queens – 3Sex
- Izo FitzRoy – Red Line (WC)
- Jaclyn – Energy
- Jake Bugg – Rabbit Hole
- Joan – Want U Back
- Joel Culpepper – WAR (WC)
- Julie Bergan – Commando (WC)
- Kailee Morgue – This Is Why I’m Hot (*)
- Keleketla! – International Love Affair (WC)
- Killboy – That’s OK I’ll Just Fuck Myself
- King Princess – Pain
- Kristiane – Wish I Could Be Your Girl
- La Oreja De Van Gogh – Te Pareces Tanto A Mí
- Lauran Hibberd – Boy Bye
- Lime – Fever
- Lola Lennox – Back At Wrong
- London Grammar – Baby It’s You
- The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter To Creatives (WC)
- Lova – Black Converse
- Lova – One Day Left
- Lucas Hamming – Falling
- The Magic Gang – Make Time For Change (WC)
- May-a – Apricots
- Miss Li – Therapy
- Miss Machine – Tout Autour
- MisterWives – Rock Bottom (WC)
- Monowhales – BL/FF (Fake Friends) (WC)
- Ocean Grove – Dream
- ONR (feat. Nile Rodgers) – Kill TV (WC)
- Palace Winter (feat. Penny Police) – Richard (Says Yes) (WC)
- Pixey – Just Move (WC)
- Pyro – Your Love
- Raave Tapes – Habitual
- The Radar Station – Zanzara [2020 Version] (*)
- Raye – Love Of Your Life
- Red Rum Club – The Elevation
- Ren – I Drive Me Mad (WC)
- Rinse feat. Hatchie – Back Into Your Arms
- Rooue – What You Want (WC)
- Sebu with Eraserfase – The Worst That Could Happen To Us (WC)
- Semisonic – Basement Tapes
- Sidonie with Delaporte – Mi Vida Es La Música
- Slum Sociable (feat. Kye) – You’re In My Head
- Super-Hi x Neeka – Following The Sun
- T99 vs. Youngr – Anasthasia [Youngr Bootleg]
- Temples – Paraphernalia
- Texas & Wu-Tang Clan – Hi
- Town Of Cats – Lemons (WC)
- Veronica Fusaro – Beach
- Videoclub – Enfance 80
(WC) ex Carte Blanche Music Wildcard
(*) album track
single track, wildcardWildcard (week 51):
Wildcard (week 51):
Grand Corps Malade – Pas Essentiel
Grand Corps Malade’s lyrics aren’t socially critical per se, but Fabien Marsaud (his real name) wears his heart on his sleeve. His April single Effets Secondaires (‘side effects’) for instance, was a COVID charity track. Applauding the real heroes of the Corona crisis, the healthcare workers, all proceeds were donated to two French hospitals.
The same crisis was the inspiration for GCM’s new single, but this time, he points the camera at the cultural sector. In his home country France, like in most of the rest of the world, theatres and venues are closed. Not only out of fear of being potential virus ‘super spreaders’, but also because the governments label them ‘not essential’. GCM opposes that view. In a French newspaper, he calls it cruel and unfair. “It made me want to speak up about all of those things that may seem non essential, but in the end make life worth living.” Elsewhere, he calls the song ‘an ode to freedom’.
GCM wrote the track only at the end of November, with Swiss DJ/producer Quentin Mosimann. It contains a repetitive chorus that sticks in your brain. But even more clever is the incorporation of the whistle from Break Machine’s 1984 hit Street Dance.
Two weeks ago, An Open Letter To Creatives by The Lottery Winners was the Carte Blanche Music Wildcard. Grand Corps Malade’s new single is an equally heart-felt track, but about the cultural sector. I couldn’t agree more with the message of this song. That’s why Pas Essentiel is this week’s Wildcard!
Recommended as well:
Grand Corps Malade – Effets Secondaires
In the Wildcards 2020 playlist you’ll find all of this year’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcards so far.
werner's weekly
Werner’s Weekly (week 51)
This is Werner’s Weekly, your compass to the music that matters, containing the two most recent Carte Blanche Music Wildcards, and the best of the other new releases in alphabetical order:
- Holy Holy (feat. Queen P) – Port Rd (Wildcard this week)
- The Lottery Winners – An Open Letter To Creatives (Wildcard last week)
- NewDad – I Don’t Recognise You
- Ocean Grove – Dream
- Slowride – I Feel Like You
- Texas & Wu-Tang Clan – Hi
- The Hold Steady – Family Farm
Click the links for more info and listen to each of the tracks via the Werner’s Weekly player below.
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist. Also added last week: Gwen Stefani, Calogero, Taylor Swift, The The, and more.
