Competition: Meteor Choice Music Prize

Want to win tickets to the Meteor Choice Music Prize live event this Thursday evening in the Olympia? AND a Sony Ericsson Live mobile phone? We have a competition for just that very prize on the current episode of The Format, and since it’s the last day to enter we pulled out the relevant bit of video to help the last few stragglers enter cos we’re just that nice. Watch the wee video below to get the question and email your answer and contact details to [email protected]. It’s closing this evening. Get on it. Thanks a million to the gang at Meteor for the deadly prize. Good luck!

Sweary’s Jaw: All Your Gotye Are Belong To Us

Gotye must be a mixed-up pup at the moment. The thirtysomething Belgian-Aussie has been making music since his teens, enjoying the slow, steady build befitting his workhorse tendencies. He’s released seven albums as a solo artist and as part of his band, The Basics, and has accumulated a healthy smattering of awards and accolades. Then his latest album, Making Mirrors, exploded like a microwaved bullfrog and now, all over the globe, people are yodelling along to second single Somebody That I Used To Know with wildly varying degrees of success. For Gotye is no longer a mere popstar. Gotye has become a living meme. It’s a sign of the times. This is the Age Of Information, and once something becomes a cultural phenomenon, it becomes… communal. Have you ever seen an artist go from indie unknown to pop superstar to global tummy-tickle as quickly as Gotye has? Once Somebody captured … There’s more

Shout out to bands: Goldenplec’s Tea & Toast Tour is Coming Your Way

  Our mates over at Goldenplec are much nicer folk than us and they’re doing a deadly thing for charity. As part of their 10th birthday celebrations (we didn’t even know the internet was that old) they’re doing an event called Coast to Coast - Tea and Toast to raise money for the very worthy Down Syndrome Ireland. The concept is this: on April 6th, Good Friday, they’re driving from Portmarnock to Achill and back and at various stops along the way they’re gonna stop for tea and toast and a one-song gig from a local band. They’ll be recording each performance and sharing it on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook on the day - which makes it a great opportunity to plug yourself and get the word out about your latest gig/EP/album. Interested? Musicy type? Wondering if you’re on their route? Aidan Goldenplec [that's his name as far as we're concerned] says: “we will be … There’s more