François Virot - "My Head is Blank". With a squeal, strum and thump that reminds me most-and-only of the Animal Collective, Virot shows that Lyon, France has as many cornfields as Brooklyn, and as many girls with cornflower eyes. Here's the sound of a basement temper tantrum, pop shaken crazed from a cheap acoustic guitar. In three minutes and eleven seconds he goes from madness to serenity, giving up on lunacy in favour of sweet contentment. "And-oh-uh-ooh-oo-ooooooh...", like all you need to stop from going mad is to notice the bluejays, bluebells, clouds.

(Mille mercis á Chryde.)

[MySpace]

The Giggles - "Alarm Clock, I Hate You". I was told yesterday that "Illinois is Indiana's Wales". Which makes Indiana the England of Illinois. And it makes The Giggles - who hail from Bloomington, IN - the Franz Ferdinand of Illinois. Or the britpop of the Shetland Islands or... I'm really not sure. I'm woozy. I was woken this morning by a part-kraken alarm clock and so it's with delight that this tune comes tumbling into my hands - a track that wants so much to be played fast that it hired a better drummer just for this reason. Someone to hit the high-hat so often that the floor pot-holes, someone to organise a hundred metronomes all around the studio. The Giggles do not reinvent the wheel but there's something really nice here: some fellows who love their favourite albums with all their hearts, who found a melody along the side of the road and try to give it all the credit it's due.

[website / MySpace]

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So ballot-boxes are now open for the 2007 Weblog Awards long-list. Last year we were pretty astonished to make the final shortlist for Best Writing Of A Weblog. We have you to thank. This year the Best Music Blog category is back, but to be honest we don't stand a chance: there are bigger fish out there, many of whom have Sufjan Stevens glamour-shots. We encourage you very much to nominate our friends listed on the right, especially blogs like Marathonpacks, Shake Your Fist, Zoilus and Moistworks, which have had remarkable years, have never been nominated, and didn't make the PLUG nominations either. If you would like to vote for Said the Gramophone (and oh, we'd be flattered), please consider again voting for us in the Best Writing category. That is, if you like us.

I forgot to mention it at the time but at the end of November, Said the Gramophone celebrated it's third birthday since we started the mp3blog format. Leaps and bounds. Thanks to everyone who's helped us get this far.