August 1st, 2011

As MTV celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, here the Live4ever Ezine picks ten of our essential British music videos of all time to mark this significant occasion. While some pre-date the MTV revolution, they all represent the best of a medium which was transformed when the station launched back in 1981.

From the innovation of Queen‘s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘, to the playful nature of ‘Whatever‘ and ‘Bad Cover Version‘, via the emphasis on human emotion featured on ‘Just‘ and ‘Bittersweet Symphony‘, these videos chart the rise of the music promo from its basic state to the leading role it now plays in any band’s life. Yep, this particular anniversary is a good opportunity for those bands who have spent long hours in a TV studio perfecting their lip-syncing technique to raise a glass to the ripest fruits of their labour.

Download the track at fifthnationmusic.com

The Treetop Flyers will issue their new single ‘It’s About Time’ through Communion Records on 18th September, and will celebrate the release with a launch party at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London on September 19th.

The launch event is a part of a wider UK tour for the band, which will begin tomorrow (August 2nd), with a spot supporting Adele at London’s Union Chapel. They will then embark on the wider headline jaunt, touring right through to the end of September.

Los Campesinos! have offered fans an update on the evolution of their third album, revealing the follow up to 2010′s ‘Romance Is Boring‘ is close to completion.

Writing on the band’s official website, frontman Gareth explained how he wanted to allay any frustrations by providing the impromptu progress report.

Mercury-nominated PJ Harvey has branded today’s music scene ‘dull’, and admits that she finds current music ‘unoriginal’.

“Not for a lack of knowing it exists, but because I find nothing that interests me,” she explained to NME when asked why she doesn’t follow modern music. “I listen to older artists, The Doors and things that excite me, and I find very little that excites me that’s happening today.”

“It’s largely unoriginal. I think mostly that’s the reason, because I’ve already heard it a hundred times better before, and it doesn’t speak to my soul,” she continued. “For my own personal taste there’s nothing that grabs me and makes me want to go out and do more investigation into this music.”

PJ Harvey was recently nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for her eighth studio effort ‘Let England Shake‘, which has received much praise for its expert songwriting craft and emotional subject matter. One of the favourites for this year’s award, the album is up against other high profile releases from the likes of Adele and Elbow.