Thought your taxes were high?

Swedes pay up to 60% of their wages in taxes. That’s a lot of cash! Check out this article about Sweden’s attitude to taxes- it’s not as boring as it sounds! I love what they do to job seekers!

I Heart Jack Johnson

The great thing about Jack Johnson is that you know you’ll get exactly what you were expecting, every time. I like Jack Johnson a lot more than I let people believe, because I get a bit tired of hearing the ‘he’s boring… all his songs sound the same…’ dribble. But there’s no denying that his music can cheer up the grumpiest monkey around.

Looking at ‘To The Sea’s album cover, it took me a while to figure out that what he was building was a big surf (or is it a ship?). And when you open up the sleeve, the first thing you see is a dedication to his dad. So you’re led to think that this will be a sad collection of songs- but they’re the complete opposite. I prefer this album to ‘Sleep Through The Static’ and the one he did for the Curious George movie.

Live: Lady Gaga at O2 Arena

I went to see Lady Gaga yesterday in London. I was tired of listening to her songs being overplayed on the radio, so while I was excited, I was still a bit unsure whether I would enjoy the Monster Ball Tour. Alas, she blew my mind away with the craziest, most fucked up show I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Amazing!

New Music: The Like

The Like have actually been around for ages, but this is the first I’ve heard of them – probably because their new record has been produced by Mark Ronson and it’s my kind of groove. Their new stuff is a bit of a cross between that plastic Motown sound Ronson goes for, but with a bit of a dark indie vibe thrown into the mix. It’s reminds me a bit of poprock from the mid 90’s too… Check out here.