Manchester's Channel M cuts the City Social and all music coverage

Earlier this week, a friend in Manchester dropped some bad news on me, that local station Channel M was dropping its excellent "City Social" program and all of its music coverage. This was a particularly good spot for Britain's (and the rest of the world's) upcoming indie elite to get their foot in the door in England. At least 20 of the bands we've covered here were featured on "City Social" in the past year.

To mourn the loss of this great program, here are some of our favorite performances on this Manchester staple.


(The Joy Formidable starts 1:48 into the program)


(The Kabeedies)


(The Answering Machine)


(Bombay Bicycle Club)


(Wintermute)

The Answering Machine "Obviously Cold"

Myspace // "Another City, Another Sorry" [Audio]

If you're the observant type, you'll note that there are palm trees in this video, something you will not find in Manchester. This video, the second off of Another City, Another Sorry, was shot while the band were in Los Angeles earlier this month. Apparently curling and sun do mix. "Obviously Cold" is out on 18 May (my birthday) through Heist or Hit Records.

The Answering Machine

Myspace

The Answering Machine's video for their new single, "Cliffer," is easily the best video I've seen so far this year (even if it will probably give me nightmares tonight). It's touching and funny, the colors are great, and it features some great performance footage... basically, it's everything a band would want out of a video. Although I'm doubting that the song is really about the falling out of a ventriloquist and his dummy, I think the video is a perfect fit for the upbeat indie-rock song as the lyrics seemingly explore the difficulties inherent in any relationship ("Oh, just because I'm on your side, doesn't mean you're right"). I'd go into more detail, but I can sum it all up by saying that the whole song is killer.

The Answering Machine release “Cliffer" on the 9th March through the brand new indie label, Heist or Hit Records. It's featured on their forthcoming debut album, Another City, Another Sorry, which should be released in May. Be forewarned, this album is going to be huge.