Delrico Bandito

Listening To The Records On My Wall

2011-02-21T23:47:00.010Z

After a frankly inexcusable delay, behold!

It's the Delrico Bandito Review Of The Year 2010!

Yeah, so after being so keen last year, it's taken me a little longer to decide my faves from the previous 12 months. But here we go, for posterity if nothing else. These are the things that made 2010 just that little bit more special...

Albums Of The Year.

1. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
2. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II
3. School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
4. Sleigh Bells - Treats
5. Best Coast - Crazy For You
6. Beach House - Teen Dream
7. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
8. The National - High Violet
9. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
10. Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

Ok...yeah, so I was listening to a LOT of Northern American music. But so much of it was so good. Crystal Castles seduced me with a second album that was somehow both darker and more pop than their debut. Sleigh Bells were wonderfully noisy, School Of Seven Bells beautiful, and Beach House & Best Coast were simply dreamy. Arcade Fire produced their masterpiece. And Tame Impala and the Manics broke the US/Canadian hegemony with a stunning debut and continued late career renaissance respectively. In the end, despite all that, it was an album of Californian indie pop that won it for me this year. Twee and dirty and fragile and perfect. It left its stains on me.

Singles Of The Year.

1. Crystal Castles - 'Celestica'
2. The National - 'England'
3. Jenny & Johnny - 'New Yorker Cartoon'
4. Magnetic Man - 'I Need Air'
5. Best Coast - 'Boyfriend'
6. Swedish House Mafia - 'One (Original Mix)'
7. Mark Ronson And The Business International - 'Bang Bang Bang'
8. Kylie Minogue - 'Get Outta My Way'
9. Pull In Emergency - 'Everything Is The Same'
10. The Crocodiles - 'Sleep Forever'

This one was tough... in December, friends asked me to share a Top 20. I came up with over 50 tracks I had to filter down. And moreso for this. It was a great year for singles, and stand out album tracks (all of which count thanks to downloads). There were some gorgeous pop moments this year. These tracks all lodged themselves in my brain, and refused to leave until I'd listened to them time and again.

But it was Celestica that blew my mind the first time I heard it, and every time since, whether on my iPod, on Radio 1, or in my DJ sets. Otherworldly and haunting and driving and genuinely beautiful. Alice turning off the crazy to deliver a lifechanging vocal, before it launches itself into the stratosphere. I can't hear it too often or too loudly.

EPs Of The Year

1. Team Ghost - You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me
2. Girls - Broken Dreams Club
3. James Blake - CMYK
4. Los Campesinos! - All's Well That Ends
5. Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People

A new category, cos it's my blog and I'll do what I like. Thanks to downloads, EPs have come back in considerable style. Team Ghost and James Blake used them to test the water with fresh ideas; Girls and Sufjan as a breather between albums; and Los Campesinos! to remind us how great the album before had been all along. Team Ghost's first EP was just perfect, possibly my favourite release of all this year. Hell, I added a whole new category just so I could give a prize.

Live Performances Of The Year.

1. Pet Shop Boys at Glastonbury Festival
2. Avi Buffalo at Glastonbury Festival
3. Team Ghost at The Social, W1
4. LCD Soundsystem at Brixton Academy
5. Metric at Shepherd's Bush Empire
6. Beach House at Glastonbury Festival
7. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at 229, W1
8. Godspeed You Black Emperor at The Troxy, Stepney
9. Rolo Tomassi at the Underworld, Camden
10. Thee Oh Sees at the Luminaire, Kilburn*

I'm getting chills just thinking about these. Avi Buffalo and Beach House shining in the Glastonbury sun. LCD Soundsystem's victory lap. Team Ghost surpassing all my expectations. Metric giving stadium love in a medium sized venue. Pains being Pains but better. Thee Oh Sees and Rolo Tomassi making a fantastic sweaty racket. And Godspeed changing everything I ever thought I knew about live performance. But it was the kings of pop the Pet Shop Boys who win this year. I'd seen them live before, at the tiny Barfly in Camden for charity, but their Glasto gig was a great show that left me grinning for days afterwards. National treasures.

(*RIP The Luminaire. Great venue. A sad loss.)

Other Musical Bits...

Best Compilation: Swedish House Mafia - Until One
Best Soundtrack: Various Artists - Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Best Original Score: Daft Punk - Tron: Legacy
Best Video: Duck Sauce - 'Barbra Streisand'

Movies Of The Year:

1. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
2. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
3. Kick Ass
4. No Distance Left To Run
5. Tron Legacy

Really?, I thought when I first made up my Top 5. But yes. Two musical biographies of a sort, two blockbuster action movies with different strains of daftness, and a number one that practically combines the two. Scott Pilgrim was so much fun to watch, I actually saw it twice in the space of a week, and then my brother got it for me on the very day it was released on DVD. The original comic books are wonderful, the soundtrack is sublime, everything about it makes me happy.

And The Rest.

On TV, The Lovely Amy Pond Show featuring Doctor Who was a constant delight. Sherlock Holmes was a brilliant, but all too brief, revelation. Peep Show just kept getting better. I discovered 30 Rock, House and True Blood. And Charlie Brooker made the acerbic into an artform.

In Art, my Tate membership granted me access to the filth and glamour of Pop Life and the voyeurism of Exposed at Tate Modern. The Rachel Whiteread and Chris Ofili retrospectives at the Tate Britain were both excellent.

Also, this was the year that I went to Ayia Napa. Ok, so it was with work, and I couldn't party too hard, but it was great, great fun. And I returned to Cyprus later in the year to see a whole other side of the island. And I escaped my bunker in Finsbury Park to a wonderful flat in Manor House (which is actually closer to Finsbury Park itself). I did some amazing new things at work. It's been a good year. A really good year.

Appropriately , the true sign of a good year is that I'm fretting about all the other stuff that I left out. I'm happier than I was this time last year. And in the grand scheme of things, I can't ask for much more than that. I hope 2011 is treating you well.

Cut Your Hair

2010-11-11T00:10:00.006Z

The dark and the cold are biting. It's the same every year, but I think we all suffer a bout of collective amnesia during the Summer months. And as the gloom draws in, and the warmth slips from our fingers, it feels like we need something positive to focus on and look forward to. And I can't help but feel mightily lucky that there's so much pop cultural fare to get excited about coming up.

Tron Legacy is one such treat. It looks like big stupid fun Sci-Fi nonsense. I can't wait. I'm already nurturing a crush on Olivia Wilde from House, and this is beginning to blossom into full blown obsession, mainly thanks to that adorable asymetric crop. Couple this with the fact that she co-stars with The Dude and Blair/Williams/Frost/Clough/Aro/Wesley Snipes godhead Michael Sheen, and frankly the movie could have the plot of a videogame, and I'd be happy. Which, let's be honest, is fairly likely.

Oh, and apparently there's a soundtrack album done by some band called Daft Punk. That. Sounds. EPIC. The fact that it comes out in December is bound to screw up my album of the year charts. Let's just hope no other amazing musicians decide to release something around the same time...

Hmmm, what's this? '"Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)', you say? Oh, it's only world conquering goth opera punk rock heroes My Chemical Romance with a new record. Well, that's buggered everything up in the most wonderful way possible. I can't wait to hear where they've gone next. One of the most underated, foolishly neglected bands on the planet.

Then there's seeing Paramore at the O2. And then Godspeed You Black Emperor live at the Troxy. A mild contrast, I suppose. Plus, I'm excited about Harry Potter. And so in love with Emma Watson's pixie cut. The best band from Britpop that have yet to reform and aren't Elastica are reforming. Scott Pilgrim is out on DVD, and I've got new albums from Twin Shadow and The Walkmen to indulge in. And I still have sublime lingering memories of School Of Seven Bells at Heaven on Monday to keep me warm for the next few weeks.

I want to dye my hair bright red like Gerard Way.

Current Top 10:

1. Spiritualized - Run
2. Crystal Castles feat Robert Smith - Not In Love
3. Daft Punk - Derezzed
4. School Of Seven Bells - I L U
5. Fleetwood Mac - Storm
6. Pulp - Pink Glove
7. Jenny & Jonny - New Yorker Cartoon
8. The XX - VCR (Four Tet Remix)
9. Lloyd Cole - Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
10. Pavement - Cut Your Hair

I should be getting too old for hair crushes on rock stars.

But I'm not.

The Magic Piper (Of Love)

2010-09-17T00:20:00.001+01:00

Oh Stephen, you are quite the dandy.

100,000 Fireflies

2010-08-23T00:12:00.004+01:00

"You won't be happy with me, but give me one more chance, you won't be happy anyway..."

A gorgeous song, thrust back into my consciousness by joisacliche's delightful, but swiftly deleted cover version. And a song all the more wonderful for its acceptance that love doesn't guarantee happiness, and that the people you love are the ones who can hurt you the most. But that love is still something utterly fantastical. Like 100,000 fireflies ricocheting around your room. (Or in my case, one moth pinballing around my lampshade. Time to turn out the lights...)

Jump In The Pool

2010-08-21T21:26:00.000+01:00

8am on a Sunday morning in Ayia Napa. No, I never thought I'd be out all night there, either, but sometimes life can beautifully unpredictable. Back to the villa and the sun's coming up. We can already feel the temperature starting to rise again. The pool looked so inviting. It only seemed right...

Back To The Fuck Yeah

2010-08-20T23:31:00.005+01:00

Or "Hiatus gonna hate."

Do you see what I did there...?

Anyway. So. Nearly a five month break. Now, where were we?

Sometimes I think you need a holiday. I've been writing this blog on and off for nearly seven years, which is a long time in anyone's language. And I was naturally seduced by blogging's younger, sexier sister Twitter, which takes less effort and gets more attention. But although I thought about deleting this old thing, it is different, and it's lovely to come back to it.

The last few months have heralded a lot of changes. I've moved house. I've changed jobs. I've gone from a relationship to it's complicated to quite happily single, thanks ever so. All three of which have improved my state of mind immeasurably. But a lot remains the same. My brain is full of music and stuff. And I try and blog and tweet about happy good things. For a while, blogging was a chore, and I struggled for topics and positives to write about. But a break has inspired me.

I shall make no promises of a productive writing spree to rival Shakespeare on ritalin, as I've made foolish pronouncements of this sort before, and failed to live up to them. So let's just see how we go, eh? And if you really miss me, head to http://www.twitter.com/delrico, cos I'm bound to be spouting some gibberish there.

Woohoo!

In time honoured tradition, let's have us a Top 10 of the now.

1. Pulled Apart By Horses - Back To The Fuck Yeah
2. Swedish House Mafia - One
3. Chemical Brothers - Swoon
4. Underworld - Scribble
5. Crystal Castles - Celestica
6. The Divine Comedy - At The Indie Disco
7. Team Ghost - You Never Did Another Wrong To Me EP
8. School Of Seven Bells -Disconnect From Desire LP
9. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
10. Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Leave Them All Behind

2010-03-22T00:43:00.002Z

"Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink. 'Ladies and Gentlemen,' they yell, 'we are floating in space!' But none of the people down there care." Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder.

It's been a tumultuous time, 2010. It would be convenient to align this with my turning 30 just before the start of the year, but it's probably just coincidence. There's a lot of flux going on in the House of Bandito at present. And this isn't necessarily such a bad thing. One of the happy changes that I can reveal is that I'm moving out of the bunker that's been my home for five years, and into a flat with a friend. Hugely exciting stuff. We've already had deep and important conversations in the pub over the importance of Dr Who & Mastadon, the infallibility of David Mitchell and whether Lucozade is more than just a "poorly drink", so it promises to be a flat full of debate and controversy. There have been other things changing too, but you can most likely guess at those from the earlier post below. Let's leave it there, eh?

But in such times of turbulence, it's characteristic to cling to something warm and familiar. This weekend my security blanket has been the expanded reissue of Spiritualized's wonderful album Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. A collection of songs essentially about getting over your broken heart by taking a shitload of drugs. The fact that this resulted not only in a listenable album, but a stone cold classic, is down to the genius that is Jason Pierce. That there's two extra discs of outtakes and sessions to geek over is testament to his obsessive attention to detail.

I'll admit, I listened to the album to death when it first came out in 1997. And as such, I've not listened to it much since, mainly concentrating on Spiritualized's other albums (principally Pure Phase and Let It Come Down, the LPs that sat either side of their masterpiece). Going back to it now, it's clear that my earnest teenage self missed much of the deep, dark black humour underpinning the heartfelt yearning. Much like a lot of Pulp and The Smiths' back catalogues, Spiritualized's records reveal more to me as life does the same. Which, I must confess, is the polar opposite to what I actually expected to feel about music as I got older, and is therefore a wonderful surprise! Long may it continue.

1. Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (I Can't Help Falling In Love With You)
2. Ride - Leave Them All Behind
3. Blood Red Shoes - Light It Up
4. Pulp - Lipgloss
5. The Smiths - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
6. Jacuzzi Boys - Island Avenue
7. Gorillaz - Stylo
8. Light Pollution - Good Feelings
9. Le Tigre - Deceptacon
10. Spiritualized - I Think I'm In Love (Acapella)

Sun so bright that I'm nearly blind,
Cool cos I'm wired and I'm out of my mind,
Warm as the dope running down my spine,
But I don't care bout you, and I've got nothing to do.

And that's just from a cup of tea and some Green & Blacks. I'll let Jason take the drugs so I don't have to...

Asking For It

2010-02-23T22:37:00.001Z

I booked the tickets to see "Hole" at Shepherd's Bush last week with a considerable degree of trepidation. Not the most reliable of performers at the best of times, this was Hole with only one original member. You know the one. Blonde. Shouty. Bonkers. You know.

And it really was the Courtney show. In response to chants of "Courtney! Courtney!" from the inevitably fanatical crowd, she replied "No! Not Courtney. Hole! We are a band." Hmmm. That remains to be seen. And I must confess, the cynical part of me was expecting disaster: either a no-show or a shambles, but Love was there, and they did a full set (aided by a teleprompter it must be said. Cringe.) And at times, between the rants and flirtation with the crowd and rest of the band, Courtney looked... almost... doddery. I mean, how ridiculous that a woman in her 40's should struggle to strap on her own guitar. But...

And that's just it. BUT. She still has it. She might be reading the words off a screen, fronting the grunge equivalent of a bunch of Sleeperblokes, but when she unleashes that voice it suddenly makes sense again. The old songs still have the same venom to them. The set feels all too brief and misses out some of my favourites (no 'Asking For It', 'Teenage Whore', 'Awful' or 'Boys On The Radio'), but 'Pretty On The Inside', 'Doll Parts' and 'Celebrity Skin' are blistering. And a sublime 'Reasons To Be Beautiful' is the highlight of the evening.

The new material feels like new material, yet a bit more of the same, really. None of the songs stood out, but then they rarely do in such circumstances. A fresh jazz-funk direction was always somewhat unlikely. They sound like Hole songs. But therein lies the root of my unease. Can you still scream out these angst filled anthems into middle age? At what point does Glorious Disaster become a bit... sad?

I mean, lest we forget, Hole's last original output was 12 years ago. Twelve years ago! And very little seems to have changed since then, other than mounting plastic surgery bills. Surely there has to be some kind of progress, some sort of maturity, some degree of closure? I mean, 12 years ago, I was a mess with no idea where my life was going and seemingly completely incapable of maintaining any kind of long term stable relationship. And now, I'm... I'm...

Oh.

As you were, Courtney, as you were...

And Ten Songs to disaster gloriously to:

1. Be Your Own Pet - Becky
2. The Walkmen - The Rat
3. Beach House - Lover Of Mine
4. Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To?
5. Ringo Deathstarr - In Love
6. Spiritualized - Baby I'm Just A Fool
7. Cymbals Eat Guitars - ...And The Hazy Sea
8. Crystal Stilts - Love Is A Wave
9. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
10. Los Campesinos! - A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; Or, Letters from Me to Charlotte

Never a dull moment.

Lisztomania

2010-01-01T22:49:00.011Z

OMactualG. It's the Delrico Bandito 2009 Review Of The Year!

Yes, the New Year is but hours old, but I've been making my lists and checking them twice, so no time like the present to splat them from my brain to your screen. Last year I finally hit on a format I liked, so we'll stick with that and start with...

Albums Of The Year...

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
2. Paramore - Brand New Eyes
3. Metric - Fantasies
4. The xx - xx
5. Girls - Album
6. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
7. The Horrors - Primary Colours
8. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
9. La Roux - La Roux
10. The Antlers - Hospice

Reissue: The Vaselines - Enter The Vaselines
Live Album: Nirvana - Live At Reading
Special Gym Award: The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

A cracking year for albums. At one point I had 20 albums in my Top 10, which doesn't quite work. Paramore, Metric and Phoenix all made engagingly different guitar led pop. The Horrors confounded my expectations. The xx were a terrific antidote to the scourge of overproduced everything-including-the-kitchen-sink records. But the number one spot was never open to debate. POBPAH's debut is all wonderful sweet indie pop songs about sex in libraries and teenagers in love with Christ and heroin. It's like someone grew them in a lab specifically to push my buttons. A band and record to treasure.

Singles Of The Year...

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - 'Stay Alive'
2. Deadmau5 Feat. Kaskade - 'I Remember'
3. Metric - 'Gimme Sympathy'
4. Animal Collective – 'My Girls'
5. Paramore - 'Turn It Off'
6. Art Brut - 'DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake'
7. Jon Hopkins - 'Light Through The Veins'
8. Mumford & Sons - 'Little Lion Man'
9. Florence & The Machine - 'You Got The Love (xx Remix)'
10. Ercola Feat. Daniella – 'Every Word'

I know these weren't all promoted as singles, but thanks to the download charts, they all count. So there. And these are just all gorgeous, whether making you dance like a lunatic, drift away into a dreamworld, or scream "I REALLY FUCKED IT UP THIS TIME!" very loudly. The sample of 'Light Through The Veins' was the best thing on the last Coldplay album, and The xx made the best Florence record of the year by almost completely removing Florence from it. In any other year, Deadmau5 would've kept up the tradition of a house track being my No.1, but a song like 'Stay Alive', with its breakdown to die for, doesn't come along very often. Simply wonderful.

Live Performances of the Year...

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at Scala, Kings Cross (also Brixton Windmill & Highbury Garage)
2. The Pixies at Brixton Academy
3. Blur at Glastonbury Festival (also Hyde Park)
4. The Flaming Lips at The Troxy, Tower Hamlets
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Shepherd's Bush Empire (also Glastonbury)
6. Paramore at Wembley Arena
7. Coldplay at Wembley Stadium
8. Mogwai at Field Day Festival, Victoria Park, Hackney
9. Japandroids at Madame JoJo's, Soho
10. Deadmau5 at Radio 1's Big Weekend, Swindon

Yes, it's the hat-trick. It was the year of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Each gig was better than the last. Every song sounded like a single. I love this band. Elsewhere, comebacks from Blur and The Pixies were better than I could've hoped. The Flaming Lips are still one of the best live bands on the planet. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Paramore were two perfectly contrasting strains of exciting female fronted punk pop joy. And, to paraphrase David Tennant on Buzzcocks, Coldplay were great. Deal with it.

Band Of The Year...

Take a guess.

Movies of the Year...

1. Moon
2. A Serious Man
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Sherlock Holmes
5. Watchmen

Oh, where to begin with Moon? I knew nothing about it before I walked into the cinema, and it just swept me away. Just everything you could want from modern Sci-Fi. Classic story telling, beautifully acted and wonderfully produced. A Serious Man was as black as comedy can get. Inglourious Basterds was beautifully absurd, yet also capable of startling intensity and suspense. And Watchmen and Sherlock Holmes were quite simply tremendously entertaining. Bonus celeb spot fact: I watched the No.1 film in my list in the same cinema as the director of my No.4 film.

And the rest...

Quick mentions of other cultural wonders. The second series of the Phonogram comic book 'The Singles Club' was simply stunning. Anish Kapoor's exhibition at the Royal Academy was my artistic highlight of the year, along with Francis Bacon at the Tate Modern. I devoured the Twilight series like junk food and then cleansed my palate with more Haruki Murakami and Douglas Coupland. I sold my soul to Twitter and my iPhone, and finally signed up to emusic's download subscription service that has opened my ears to lots of great new music. And with memberships to both the Tate and the ICA generously given to me for my birthday, there'll be even more to write about at the end of 2010.

So there it is. Another year over, but another exciting one just begun. And what with it also being the end of the Noughties, I may well blog about some of my favourite things from the past decade at some point. But enough lists for the time being. Here's to 2010. Happy New Year.

Help I'm Alive

2009-12-30T00:31:00.001Z

Well, um, yes. So... Yeah, look, I know, ok? I'm not here to play the blame game. There are reasons, many reasons. Things are always going to get in the way. And, y'know, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Life would be dull if it wasn't busy. But ultimately, yes, I have once again neglected this blog. To the very point where I let the lease on my webspace lapse, so half the images have disappeared. Whoops. I will now have to go through the blog, post by post, and try and repair all the broken links. And this may take me... a while... But such is life. The front page and new posts will all look lovely. I promise.

And there will be new posts, have no doubt about that.

It's the end of the year. It's the end of the decade. I've just turned 30. Lots of things are changing, and it's exciting. But some things have not changed. And for that I'm thankful.

The main headline is that Delrico Bandito is not dead.

"Perhaps my best years are gone, but I wouldn't want them back, not with the fire in me now."
- Samuel Beckett.

Stay tuned!

Be My Baby

2009-11-12T00:18:00.001Z

Boom...boomboom...kick...

Boom...boomboom...kick...

Boom...boomboom...kick...

Boom...boomboom...kick...

Talent borrows, genius steals.

Jump

2009-10-20T22:28:00.001+01:00

It's funny. When I was growing up, I sort of assumed that when you reached a certain stage of adulthood, that you'd reach a level of equilibrium. That essentially, things would even out and there wouldn't be any more problems or disasters. It is fair to say that, as yet, this has not been the case. Not that, even in my state of arrested development, I'm still experiencing the same teenage angst. Just that your problems and anxieties mature with you.

But part of me still wonders if there's an age where you do achieve that sort of stability. And then I wonder, doesn't that get boring after a while? Is that where life ceases to be exciting? I think it's fair to say that I'm never going to be entirely happy. Oh well. The solution to such woes hasn't changed much since my teenage years, though. Music, turned up LOUD.

1. Foo Fighters - The Pretender
2. Paramore - Turn It Off
3. Huggy Bear - Hopscotch
4. Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire
5. Annie - I Don't Like Your Band
6. Charlotte Hatherley - Colours
7. Burial - Night Bus
8. Weezer - Undone (The Sweater Song)
9. Blondie - Picture This
10. Van Halen - Jump

You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real.

Where Is My Mind?

2009-10-11T21:45:00.003+01:00

What a few weeks. Weddings in Winchester, Weston-Super-Mare and Teeside, and meeting a wonderful brand new person in Cambridge. All terribly grown up, but very much counterbalanced by my single, media life back in London. In fact, life in London is a different kind of reality. The rest of the country seems somehow completely disconnected from the world that I am used to, and therefore feels a little unreal. Although the obvious fact is that it is London life that is unreal. I'm just tuned in to it.

But there has been fun in London's strange parallel universe too. A trip to Wembley Stadium to see Coldplay and very special guests was a treat. I won't bother to try and convert unbelievers, but they're probably the only act I would pay to see in such a huge venue. White Lies, Girls Aloud and Jay-Z all play their respective cameos perfectly, but the space only truly works for Coldplay. It is uncomplicated, uncluttered communal euphoria. We all know it's terminally uncool, clunky and almost embarrassingly earnest, but fuck it, I love it.

And in a very different space, I see Charlotte Hatherley (who, on Ash's 2004 cover of the Buzzcock's 'Everybody's Happy Nowadays', played alongside Chris Martin). I catch her at London's Borderline; a frustratingly small venue for her, frankly. She has some great songs, but in the preceding week I speak to no less than three girls who all seem to hold a grudge against her for having the audacity to join (and significantly improve) Ash's fledgling line up all those years ago. Let it go, girls. I personally can't wait for the new album.

Then there was Florence + The Machine at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Now, the Flo backlash already appears to be gathering momentum post-Mercurys, so I won't add to it. Being that this is the fifth time I've seen her in just over a year (supporting MGMT, on the NME Tour, at Radio 1's Big Weekend and supporting Blur), the set is now perhaps a little over familiar. And as impressive as her voice is, over a full headline set it does get a little... wearing. But hey. A more enlightening discovery is the xx in support, who are almost drowned out by the disinterested Florence fans. They're superb. Sparse, dark, minimalist, gloomy, and absolutely perfect. Their cover of Womack and Womack (and Lovestation's) 'Teardrops' is exquisite. The album is ace, too.

Then finally, finally, finally... Pixies at Brixton Academy. A band that I, like a vast number of the fans attending, got into late. I make no apologies for that, being that they released their masterpiece Doolittle, played tonight in it's entirety, when I was nine. Their legend stands tall in alternative music, and tonight I really see why. The records speak for themselves, but live they are taught, uncompromising, ferocious and quite simply fucking brilliant. Despite their combined physical age of 183, there is not an inch of flab in their performance. It is relentless and dreamlike. I jump around like a lunatic for the majority of the set. Not for a moment does it seem like some nostalgia trip. It feels utterly in the now, perhaps because they were never huge initially, they've never become stale or anachronistic. It's a masterclass in rock. No frills, just extraordinary songs. Ok I'll stop gushing now...

1. Pixies - Doolittle LP.
2. Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man
3. Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach
4. The Horrors - Who Can Say
5. Charlotte Hatherley - Grey Will Fade
6. James - Laid
7. Biffy Clyro - The Captain
8. Boards Of Canada - 1969
9. Sleeper - Inbetweener
10. Guns n' Roses - November Rain

Greatest wedding themed video ever. Best cake jumping trousers on...

Famous Last Words

2009-09-29T22:25:00.001+01:00

I remember when I started to read the NME in the mid-90s I would devour its entire contents. But then I would turn to the crossword. And much to my frustration, I'd manage to get about five of the answers, almost always to contemporary clues. They'd sit marrooned in a ocean of empty white squares, mocking me, like an abandoned game of Minesweeper. So instead I turned back to the latest spat between Blur and Oasis and thought nothing more of it.

Then, around a year or so ago, with time having healed the wounds of failure, I attempted the crossword once more. And to my astonishment, I completed it. Not straight away, but at a reasonable speed. And then the next week's. And the next. Every so often a clue would stump me. But I can and do complete the majority of crosswords by the time the next week's issue comes around. Fifteen wasted years of relentlessly pouring sounds and words into my brain have served some sort of purpose.

But it's one of those accomplishments that I'm not entirely sure I'm pleased about. It pretty much confirms me as a lost cause music geek. But I think I knew that anyway. Only other lost cause music geeks will be remotely impressed. I certainly won't be using it as a fresh chat up line for girls... however musically geekified they themselves are...

"Hey baby, how about we go back to mine for some fine wine, beautiful music and a hard, long think about what 7 Down is? I thought it was The Auteurs, but that doesn't quite fit..."

1. Elastica - Never Here
2. LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
3. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
4. The Vaselines - Son Of A Gun
5. Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
6. Dananananaykroyd – Fall For You
7. The Beatles – Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (Remastered)
8. New Order – Regret
9. The Chicks - Daria
10. Florence + The Machine - You've Got The Love (xx Remix)

"The Animals! Yes, it's The Animals! You gorgeous creature, kiss me..."

Could happen.

No.

Vampire Love

2009-09-21T22:49:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend, I finished reading Haruki Murakami's Sputnik Sweetheart at my parent's house. Another haunting novel from the author, with Murakami once again riffing on the themes of loneliness, loss and unrequited love. So, pretty much business as usual, but still quite wonderful. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with that sort of thing. Feeling spiritually satiated, I set down the completed book and picked up the other novel I'd brought with me. Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse aka Twilight III: The Revenge (probably. I've not got far into it as yet...)

Now, I have to confess, I've been completely sucked in by the Twilight series. Having dismissed Harry Potter out of hand as a kid's book, I can only plead that Twilight is at least a teenager's book. Melodramatic, moody and often ridiculous: I just love it! And in a vain effort to balance out some of the female furore surrounding Robert Patinson, I must say I'm rather taken by Kristen Stewart, who takes the lead of Bella in the films.

Um. Yes please. When's the new movie out?

Anyway, yes, so no apologies for loving Twilight. A friend described it to me as like junk food. You know it's not good for you, but you can quite resist it. Which is so true. And as I seem to be stuck in a state of permanent arrested development circa about 16, it seems perfectly appropriate. Although I do wonder at what point that stops being charmingly endearing and starts to stray into the worrying territory of Bryan Adams' risible '18 til I die'...

...probably about ten years ago...

1. Stars - 14 Forever
2. Johnny Boy - You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve
3. School of Seven Bells - Face To Face On High Places
4. The Go! Team - Bottle Rocket
5. Camera Obscura - French Navy
6. Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
7. Maps - Let Go Of The Fear
8. Golden Silvers - True No 9 Blues (True Romance)
9. Bloc Party - Signs
10. Coldplay - Life In Technicolor II

Gravity release me and don't ever hold me down, now my feet won't touch the ground.

Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

2009-08-27T22:56:00.005+01:00

They say if you love something, let it go.

If it comes back to you, it's yours forever.

If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be.

Well, dear precious readers, I let you go, set you free, turned my back on you, with tears in my eyes.

And yet, and yet... if you're reading this now, then... yes, you came back to me, just like the saying said you would. Just as I planned. No... as I desperately hoped.

And now you're MINE.

FOREVER!

YOU FOOLS.

Anyway, yes, top 10!

1. Stars - Ageless Beauty.
2. Paramore - Ignorance
3. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
4. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than The Stars
5. Charlotte Hatherley - White (Squarepusher Remix)
6. Metric - Gimme Sympathy [and I choose The Beatles]
7. The Big Pink - Dominos
8. Pierre Henry - Psyche Rock
9. The Guild - (Do You Want To Date My) Avatar
10. The Cure - The Perfect Girl

The first time I heard The Big Pink single, all I could think of was pizza.

Sueisfine

2009-07-02T08:51:00.002+01:00

Heheh. Toothpaste for dinner rocks.

Good Weekend

2009-06-30T23:04:00.002+01:00

Huh? Wait.. What? Oh. Er. Yeah. Yeah, so I went to Glastonbury. And. Er. I didn't actually go to bed on Sunday night. At all. Yeah, er, we watched the sun come up over the stone circle. Which was cool. And then we got wet. And muddy. Again. And took the tent down and came home. And after the world's longest shower, I tried to stay awake as late as I could on Monday until I collapsed faced down on my bed fully clothed, with my trainers still on. And then I woke up and went to work today. Which was... uh... y'know, interesting. But I don't think I'll be doing that again in a hurry.

So, yes, it was "the best Glastonbury ever", the same as every year. Except for the first time I went with my gorgeous girl, who was determined to pack in all the exciting things I'd done at my last three Glastonbury's into her first, thus nearly killing me. But it made it even more fun to see her little face light up as band after band wowed us with their wonderful music, the weather dazzled us with SUN and RAIN and THUNDER and LIGHTNING, and we sampled far too much Brother's 7% Pear Cider.

I fully intend to write a full, exhaustive review... but I intended to do that last year and totally failed. So in the meantime, here's my 17 feel good hits of the summer (it was supposed to be 15, but I have no discipline these days):

Friday
1. The Maccabees - Can You Give It
2. Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains
3. The Specials - A Message To You Rudy
4. The Streets - Turn The Page
5. British Sea Power - Waving Flags
6. Animal Collective - My Girls

Saturday
7. Eagles Of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)
8. Spinal Tap - Big Bottom
9. La Roux - In For The Kill
10. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
11. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Born To Run

Sunday
12. Art Brut - Good Weekend
13. Charlotte Hatherley - Behave
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
15. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
16. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
17. Blur - For Tomorrow

What do you mean "Michael Jackson's dead"?

Bring The Noise

2009-06-18T21:40:00.002+01:00

"Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don't have any surface noise. I said, 'Listen, mate, life has surface noise.'" John Peel.

I love that each new generation of musical media has it's own sound...

The pop and crackle of vinyl.
The whirr and clunk of 8-track.
The warble and hiss of cassette.
The skip and glitch of CD.
The fizz and flange of Mp3.

I wonder what the next noise will be.

1. Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
2. Nirvana - Come As You Are
3. Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
4. Dweeb - Chart Raider/Space Invader
5. Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl
6. The Auteurs - Lenny Valentino
7. Le Vicarious Bliss Pop Experience - Together In Electric Dreams
8. Prince - Alphabet Street
9. Transvision Vamp - Baby I Don't Care
10. The Go! Team - Everyone's A VIP To Someone

Anyone coming to see me DJ tomorrow can expect to hear some, if not all, of the above. With plenty of surface noise... Joy!

Bulletproof

2009-06-15T21:46:00.003+01:00

Electro androgyny?

Soft emotional inner core shielded beneath tough girl exterior?

Ridiculous ginger hair?

Uh-oh. Developing a severe crush on Elly Jackson of La Roux. And I rather suspect she's trouble. Especially following Patrick Wolf's claim that her act was signed by his old record company the very day after they'd dropped him. A cat fight I wouldn't like to get in the middle of. The fur wouldn't half fly... (There's enough of it between them.)

Lucky there's room enough in my world for both, whatever they think of each other. La Roux have tunes and she can't half sing. Plus she possesses that indefinable pop star quality of seeming completely untouchable and otherworldly, yet simultaneously totally vulnerable and delicate. And with a pretend French name to boot. Can we get a Jacques Lu Cont remix from the new Thin White Duke Stuart Price please?

Kudos to Patrick though. After being dropped for evidently not being commercial enough, he makes an album with Alec Empire, once of German anarcho noise-terrorists Atari Teenage Riot. This is a very good thing indeed.

1. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Lets Get Ravey Remix)
2. Hole - Boys On The Radio
3. Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody
4. Ash - Return Of White Rabbit
5. Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
6. Gorillaz - M1A1
7. Little Boots - New In Town
8. Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke Remix)
9. The Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
10. Patrick Wolf - Vulture

If I was gay, I'd have a massive crush on Patrick Wolf too.

Obviously.

Nothing Stays The Same

2009-06-10T21:41:00.003+01:00

Continuing the recent Britpop revival, I've been flicking back over John Harris's The Last Party. A sort of behind the scenes story of Britpop, with added Politics. But whereas most "behind the scenes" stories are dull and indulgent, there are in fact a great many skeletons in the Britpop mafia's closets for our John to discover. Perhaps I was a little naive as a teen, but I had no idea there was so much debauchery going on behind the sleeves of my favourite records. I know it's supposed to be Sex n Drugs n Rock n Roll, but there seemed to be far, far more of the first two than the latter going on at the time. Especially concerning of my favourite bands of the era, Elastica.

Their debut album was one of the last I bought on cassette. I've since rebought it on CD and then again on second hand vinyl, such is my admiration for it. It was a trasitionary record for me, one that felt punkier, wittier and sexier than everything else surrounding it. Justine's orgasmic scream in the middle of 'All Nighter' got my 15 year old heart pumping, 'Car Song' was about loving it in a motor and 'Stutter' was all about male failure to perform. It was powerful, confident and genuinely intimidating to my teenage self. And thoroughly educational, in a very good way. Just a shame that they had to go and blow it all by doing shit loads of heroin, shagging each other and falling out big time. But, hey, we forgive them.

Because I adore this record. Absolutely. It hasn't dated one bit. Yeah, sure, the riffs are all ripped off from Wire and The Stranglers, but none of their songs had any of the wry seductiveness of Elastica's. It is one of my all time regrets that I missed out on seeing them play live in my home town in 1995 (the gig sold out before I pulled my finger out). And for ages, I've been after a decent Elastica T Shirt. Justine wore a great Adam and the Ants T Shirt on their debut's sleeve. I wanted to pay a similar tribute to her band. But unlike the craze for retro rock T Shirts, we haven't got to the 90's yet. Searching ebay and google, there was the odd one or two to be found, but none of any quality or featuring the iconic sleeve above. So I thought, fuck it, I'll make my own...

And I did! Proper Punk Rock DIY aesthetic. And I'm pretty pleased with it. Just a photocopier, some card, a stanley knife and some black & red fabric paints. I love it, and can't wait to wear it to Blur's reunion shows this summer. Well, always got to be the contrary one, haven't i?

No Monsters In Me

2009-05-26T22:40:00.002+01:00

It's just over a month until Blur's Sunday night headlining slot at Glastonbury, and I'm starting to feel genuine, but also nervous, excitement. I've seen the band three times before, and each of those times was unique. But the fact that they've sprung from the dead after several years, and at Glastonbury no less, makes this feel extra special. I keep thinking of favourite songs, personal lyrics, and just the moments in a record that make me feel weightless: the wail of feedback over Alex's chiming bass in Sing, the swooping backwards drums at the start of This Is A Low and the radio chatter over the coda of Beetlebum.

I often cursed the band at the time for failing to make what I considered one truly classic record. One that compared with the greats from the past. But classics don't appear ready made. It's a status granted by the passage of time, viewing retrospectively with hindsight and context. And of course, with the personal memories attached to those recordings, thanks to the unique magical ability music has to conjure up emotions from otherwise lost days. So even records which at the time might have appeared a bit daft, now have an air of pathos about them. (You know the one I'm talking about...)

The headline spot at Glastonbury is always an experience. Last year I watched Kings of Leon step up to the plate and confound my expectations. Then Jay-Z absolutely stormed the Saturday night. Previously I've been utterly entranced by the extraordinary Radiohead and REM, seduced by the sublimely enigmatic White Stripes, and charmed by the epic yet humble Coldplay. But this is the one I've really been waiting for, and didn't really think I'd ever see. I'M SO EXCITED!

1. Blur - No Monsters In Me
2. Blur - Luminous
3. Blur - Young & Lovely
4. Blur - Magpie
5. Blur - Tame
6. Blur - Threadneedle Street
7. Blur - St Louis
8. Blur - Theme From An Imaginary Film
9. Blur - When The Cows Come Home
10. Blur - Bustin' & Dronin'

You know when you're a lost cause when you have to narrow down your 10 favourite B-Sides...

Live With Me

2009-05-24T22:29:00.008+01:00

I love it when things work out just right. So far this year, I've fallen in love with two songs by two very different artists. And the last two weekends, I saw both play those wonderful songs live. And really quite extraordinarily loudly.

The first?

Deadmau5 - 'I Remember' at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon, 9th May.

In fact, his whole set was superb. Any DJ who arrives on stage on the back of a BMX whilst wearing a giant mousehead gets my vote. But more than that... the music is great and heavy house. The graphics are superb. The last dance artists I can think of who combined such great imagery and costume with superb tunes were Daft Punk, and it can't be a coincidence that Deadmau5 drops a remix of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger mashed with Muse's Knights of Cydonia in the middle of his set. Just wonderful.

But it's 'I Remember' that I've waited for, and when it drops, it's just magical. Deceptively simple, bittersweet, vocal led house music. It's been a stressful few weeks at work, but at it's worse, a blast of this track at high volume just seems to soothe my soul. It's just gorgeous. It will take something truly magical to topple it from the position of record of the year. Although...

The second:

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - 'Stay Alive' at Brixton Windmill, 16th May.

Twee-gaze. A phrase that will either fill you with utter contempt or childlike joy. Couple that description with the very name of the band, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, and you're going to jump to a few pretty sizable conclusions. And you'd probably be right. I absolutely adore them. The influences are clear and obvious, the jangley twee pop of The Pastels and The Field Mice with the noise of Jesus and Mary Chain and early My Bloody Valentine. It's just gorgeous.

Live, they're louder, which is good, and appear to be just as sweet as they sound on record. ("Man it's hot in here, but the cardigans have to stay on, those are the rules.") But the lyrics are what makes them special, far darker and paranoid than their sound and image would suggest. This song is so beautiful and wonderful. It jangles and fuzzes and coos and swoons, with a breakdown that makes my heart sing. And yet underneath such sugar coated shimmering...

Can't you see his arms are a hell and you won't ever leave?

Just wonderful. Roll on the rest of the summer.

Here are ten more lovely bits of live joy from Radio 1's Big Weekend and my weekend of fun at Brixton's Windmill...

1. Florence & The Machine - 'Rabbit Heart Raise It Up'
2. Calvin Harris - 'I'm Not Alone'
3. Temper Trap - 'Science Of Fear'
4. Friendly Fires - 'Jump In The Pool'
5. Basement Jaxx - 'Where's Your Head At'

6. Help Stamp Out Loneliness - 'Rush Hour'
7. Betty & The Werewolves - 'Euston Station'
8. Sad Day For Puppets - 'Marble Gods'
9. Freshkills - 'I Know I Know'
10. Vivian Girls - 'Where Do You Run To'

Slight contrast between the two there. Equally ace for very different reasons.

It Isn't Forever

2009-05-06T22:30:00.007+01:00

So I slink back to by faithful old blog, with Twitstick on my collar. It's been waiting up all night for me, worried sick. My dinner's waiting in the oven, and this is going to take some explaining...

Yeah, as Amy rumbled me in the Comments Box of my last post, a solid month ago, I've foresaken this place a wee bit. Twitter is partially to blame, but also a home web phone broadband TV failure that thrust me back to 1999 for over a week (trying to do anything via Dial Up is like trying to get a Camel Light through the eye of a needle). Plus, other stuff. You know. Life. Getting in the way, as it is wont to do. But in a very good way.

There's been lots of fun had. Wonderful live noise with Eagles Of Death Metal, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Doves. Jaunts around the cultural delights of the South Bank. An eyeball to eyeball encounter with an actual shark at the London Aquarium. I dressed up as Dave Tennant's Doctor Who. Again. Oh! And I succeeded in giving up sugar for Lent! And then fell off that wagon in quite considerable style. Let's just say the shop assistants in Hotel Chocolat are easily the politest, sweetest and most persuasive pushers in the game...

And this, of course, is what I've been listening to.

1. The Maccabees - Love You Better
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
3. Sugar - Helpless
4. Morjac & Fred Falke feat Sarah Tyler - When We Were Together
5. Jon Hopkins - Light Through The Veins
6. Art Brut - Alcoholics Unanimous
7. Deadmau5 feat Kaskade - I Remember
8. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
9. La Roux - In For The Kill (Lifelike Remix)
10. The Field Mice - It Isn't Forever

And it wasn't forever. Been doing this for five years now, and sometimes I need a break. But I've not given up on it, not yet...

I Love Rock n Roll

2009-04-07T22:31:00.001+01:00

Ok, something I've been meaning to gift you for a while. A podcast, of sorts, from a mixtape my DJ partner and I did for our regular night, Rock n Roll Jumblesale. That said, it's a bit different from our usual act of turning up and playing one record after the other. We've had a bit more fun with it. The first half from me is a mish mash of familiar tracks, whereas Tom's second half is more conventional formwise, but with a fantastic original selection of tracks.

Anyway, it's iTunes ready, and without blowing my own trumpet, I'm really pleased with it, and the quality of the tracks included speak for themselves. Approximate tracklisting in the comments box. Feel free to add your opinions, too...

You can download it here (right click, and Save As)

Enjoy!

My Lover's Box

2009-04-06T23:51:00.004+01:00

In the 19th Century, they invented the wonderful musical box. The wind up ones that played tunes on the teeth of a steel comb. I distinctly remember my Grandmother having a beautiful jewelry box with a ballerina on top, that would dance as the music played. As a child, it appeared to be truly magical, creating music from nothing but raw metal and minimal elbow grease.

Now it's the 21st Century, and I've got a magical music box all of my own. Except it can play thousands of songs, any that I care to choose from. And videos too. And photos. And as I lay on my bed last night, listening to it as I was reading, it dawned on me how wondrous a thing it is. I mean, we're a bit cynical about technology now, but really... wow. All that artistic intent, that endeavour, the musical creativity and talent distilled into 1's and 0's squeezed inside its modest dimensions. I mean, how cool! And there I was, using it to listen to Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer' and grinning a grin.

1. Elton John - Tiny Dancer
2. Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It
3. Tim Buckley - Song To The Siren
4. The Fall - Theme From Sparta FC #2
5. The Prodigy - Warriors Dance
6. The Velvet Underground - Run Run Run
7. The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
8. Propellerheads - Take California
9. Elastica - How He Wrote Elastica Man
10. REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight The Feeling

Ah bugger it, the bloody battery's run out!

Stupid piece of junk...

Mis-Shapes

2009-04-05T17:02:00.005+01:00

Coming back from the supermarket, late Sunday afternoon. Pleasantly hungover after a night out at premier subterranean bohemian hang out Shunt at London Bridge for the girl's birthday. Ipod on shuffle, and Pulp's 'Mis-Shapes' pops up, sounding wonderfully fresh. I've got a feeling, looking back, that it was the first CD single I ever bought (before that it was all cassette tapes around here, lad.) And I recall scrutinising the lyrics on the sleeve in the way that only 15 year olds have the time and will to do. And I thought, maybe one day, it'll be true...

Mis-shapes, mistakes, misfits, we'd like to go to town but we can't risk it
Oh cause they just want to keep us out.
You could end up with a smash in the mouth just for standing out.
Oh really. Brothers, sisters, can't you see?
The future's owned by you and me.
There won't be fighting in the street.
They think they've got us beat, but revenge is going to be so sweet.
We're making a move, we're making it now, we're coming out of the side-lines.
Just put your hands up - it's a raid yeah:
We want your homes, we want your lives,
we want the things you won't allow us.
We won't use guns, we won't use bombs
We'll use the one thing we've got more of - that's our minds.

And 14 years on, I think it is true. I've left those who I felt suffocated by as a teenager far behind, and I'm doing things my way, with friends who've done the same thing: the geeks who inherited the earth. And it's really cool. And that Jarvis can't half write a cracking song.

Everybody Come Down

2009-04-02T23:35:00.003+01:00

What?

Ok, so I admit it! I've been cheating on my blog with a new playmate. I tried to resist as best I could, but yeah yeah, I've been sucked into Twitter. What of it?

Anyway, if you too have been assimilated, do feel free to follow me. And if not, well, I promise to pay my traditional blog more often (funny how something only becomes traditional when it's usurped by something new). Maybe it's the sugar depravation. Yup, over 30 days in, and I've not sinned once. Only 10 days left of Lent. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to Easter chocolate goodness...

Anyhow, lots has been going on, I've just been a tad rubbish. Needless to say, the appearance of the sun has brightened up the world significantly. The Boat Race on Sunday was great fun, if only due to the complete lack of interest most people had in the event itself. The BBQ and free flowing beverages were a worthy distraction. Anyway, one of the blue teams won, but noone sank. Boo. Still, the festival season starts in just over a month's time! A far finer excuse for braving the elements, drink in hand. I can almost taste the pear cider...

1. The Delgados - Everybody Come Down
2. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Kurt Cobain's Cardigan
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
4. Eagles Of Death Metal - Cherry Cola
5. Chromeo - Bonafied Lovin'
6. Minor Threat - Out Of Step
7. The Pastels - Breaking Lines
8. Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have To Leave It
9. Weezer - The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
10. Gay Dad - To Earth With Love

Played the very last track at my DJ night on Friday and got whoops of joy. Which was more than I could've hoped for having picked it up on 10inch in Camden for a couple of quid a few days beforehand. Time for a Gay Dad revival?

I'm gonna go with "No".

Mother

2009-03-23T23:41:00.002Z

Sunday, late morning. Running late. Rushing through King's Cross tube station on the way back home to see the folks. Spot a huge biker dude on the escalator coming the other way. And he's ticking all the boxes: clad head to toe in leathers, dark glasses even though we're underground, balding hair swept back in a ponytail and a fierce expression that could kill at 30 paces. And clutched tightly in his cletched fist? A delightful bunch of pink carnations for his Mum.

Magic.

Happy (belated) Mothers' Day to Mums everywhere!

Do You Remember The Time?

2009-03-13T08:10:00.000Z

If I'm honest, I did think about getting tickets to see Michael Jackson. After all, his musical legacy speaks for itself. Even the late stuff like 'You Rock My World' retains a trace of his genius, and you know about the rest. But... I don't really want to give that man my money. And I don't think I could sit through a two hour tribute to his messiah complex. If Michael Jackson's the King Of Pop, then I'm a republican.

I would, however, pay a fortune to see Pulp.

Velocity Girl

2009-03-11T22:54:00.002Z

Hey hey hey! I bring you treats. I have, somewhat foolishly, given up processed sugar for Lent (I'm not religious, but it seemed like a good time). But, y'know, within reason. So no sweets (aka candy, my American cousins), chocolate, cakes, biscuits, soft drinks, puddings. Not now no way no how. And I've kept it up for two weeks already. Now, considering that I have the sweetest tooth I know, this is testing. I need something else. I need something sweet and lovely. I need some sugarcoated indie pop nuggets!

So! Those who've been paying extra attention to the rubbish I spout on about music on here won't be in the least bit surprised to hear that I'm a bit of a fan of the whole C86 movement: jangly indie goodness from 1986 that appeared as a cover mounted cassette on the NME. So it's with considerable joy that i point you to the immaculately named Chocolate Bobka In The Marmelade Forest who have the whole darned thing available for us all to download and enjoy for nada.

Thanks to Tom for pointing me that way. And credit must also go to My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 who don't appear but led me there. Rough Trade's Indiepop compilation is also very much worth investigation. Oh, and have I raved enough about The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart? Well, I've got tickets to see them in May. Oh deep wonderful unfathomable joy!

Stand by for more downloadable goodness very soon. Delrico Bandito lives!

Advert

2009-03-06T00:16:00.000Z

Hi! You look well, have you been away?

Anyway, to business: Apologies to anyone who's clicked on my blog links to the right of late and found an ugly banner ad plastered across your screen. It was the fault of Blogrolling.com, who used to organise my links. It's fair to say that they no longer do.

I don't like ads. I don't want them on, or springing forth from, my blog. And I certainly don't want them to appear without any kind of warning or notification to me. So I've rebuilt my links myself and ditched off Blogrolling. And I'd imagine a fair chunk of my blog buddies will do the same pretty soon.

This may herald the beginning of a bold new look to Delrico Bandito, but I wouldn't hold your breath quite yet...

This Is A Low

2009-02-27T00:30:00.005Z

And into the sea goes pretty England and me...

It's a lovely sight to see Damon and Graham back on stage together at the NME Awards, on the same day that Blur are more or less confirmed as headliners for Glastonbury. Pleased to hear that Doves are due to play too. And I know that Ben at Silent Words Speak Loudest will join me in crossing fingers that Michael Eavis picks up the phone and takes up Sonic Youth on their offer to play. (To be honest, I could sit here all night and write a Glasto wishlist, but we'll save that for another day...)

Staying in the NME theme, the Awards Show at Brixton on Saturday was the best I've seen over the years. Florence and the Machine, White Lies, Friendly Fires and Glasvegas put on a stunning show. I remarked halfway through that it was like a noughties version of Kate Bush, Joy Division, Haircut 100 and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Except different and, in many ways, better.

Much like my current love for The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart, who sound like every indie band in Britain circa 1988. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on where you stand, dear reader, but for me it's the most wonderful little record that is available for the 1988 price of only £7 on vinyl from Amazon. Can they play Glasto too please Michael?

And another firm live recommendation is the breathtaking Fleet Foxes. The last time I was at the Roundhouse, I'd had my face blown off my skull by My Bloody Valentine. This time round, lead singer Robin begun their encore by unplugging his guitar, stepping away from the microphone and singing completely unamplified. It was a beautiful moment, as the crowd hushed itself silent. It's hard to think of a greater contrast than that between the blitzkreig barrage of MBV and such fragile and warm soulfullness from Fleet Foxes. But both were simply superb, and genuinely emotionally moving.

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Stay Alive (and, to be honest, the rest of the album too)
2. The Joy Formidable - The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade.
3. Rolo Tomassi - Everything Went Grey
4. The Sonics - Have Love Will Travel
5. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
6. Royksopp - Happy Up Here
7. Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone (A genuinely pleasant surprise, this)
8. My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row
9. Wolfman & Pete Doherty - This Is For Lovers (we'll give him this one)
10. Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains

And with me at Fleet Foxes was my new girlfriend, who is just unbelievably lovely and wonderful. Appropriately enough, she got me a copy of Parklife on vinyl for my birthday. Definitely a keeper...

5 Years

2009-02-25T20:15:00.002Z

And so, Delrico Bandito turns five years old.

The predictable thing to say would be that it doesn't feel like its been five years. But it really really doesn't!

On a similar theme, I've been working in the same building for seven years now. Which I automatically compare to my seven years at the same secondary school. And that time felt so much longer. Although, it must be said, I enjoy working for a living infinitely more than I endured going to school every day. I still have dreams that I'm back there, and have some imminent homework or exam deadline looming over me. Then I wake up, and grin, because I never have to go to school again...

I apologise that I've been a bit lax updating this lovely blog. The winter months are often somewhat lean around here! But life is really good at the moment, so I'm busy living it rather than recording it. I hope you're doing good too.

Thanks for reading, as ever. Delrico Bandito loves you!

I Only Want To Be With You

2009-02-06T00:05:00.002Z

I like this a lot. Obviously a little out of date as I've only just discovered it, but still fantastic. (If you're wondering where the boys are, they're here). Original from Mimi-Na, along with loads of other amazing fan art that makes me wish I could draw...

How long til the next Doctor Who special??

Life In A Glasshouse

2009-02-05T22:40:00.001Z

I don't get the whole Twitter thing. I mean, I know how it works, and what people use it for. I just don't really understand why. Why would you want to tell people what you're doing the whole time? I mean, why would anyone read it? Who actually cares?

And then I remember I've been writing this stupid blog for nearly five years and keep my mouth shut...

1. Lily Allen - Straight To Hell
2. The Damned - New Rose
3. Air France - No Excuses
4. Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot
5. Sugababes - Run For Cover
6. Death Cab For Cutie - Tiny Vessels
7. M83 - Dead Beauties Can Die
8. Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
9. Spearmint - Sweeping The Nation
10. Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor

...I stand and wonder how long it'll be before I too get hooked, as I close my eyes to the sound of pebbles shattering window panes all about me.

Velvet Snow

2009-02-02T21:44:00.001Z

Chinese New Year in the snow.

Some things are just oh-so right. Waking up the next day to a landscape shrouded in the purity of fresh snow. A capital city united and oddly rejuvinated. Watching a baby girl playing with her mum in Fitzroy Square in her first ever snow put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

My Year In Lists

2009-01-31T21:08:00.007Z

Sweet merciful crap! It's the Delrico Bandito 2008 Review of the Year!

Yes, as it's almost February 2009, I figured it was about time I made some sense of the various lists I've made about my best bits of 2008. I'm keeping it all in one jumbo post, because otherwise it'll never get done. So put on your dancing shoes, let's get going...

Albums of the Year...

1. M83 - Saturdays=Youth
2. Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
3. Portishead - Third
4. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
5. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
6. Blood Red Shoes - Box of Secrets
7. Spiritualized - Songs In A&E
8. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
9. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
10. Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke

Only when I sat down and really thought about it did I realise that M83 had created my favourite album. Scarlett's was a genuine surprise, being actually really rather wonderful. Portishead's return was a glorious rise from the dead. And Crystal Castles beat the media hype and absurd live performances with the sound of an amusement arcade in a horror movie. But M83's latest is brilliant, building on the sound of their previous albums, but built into more recognisable songs. Standout track 'Graveyard Girl' is the sweetest sounding ode to emogirls everywhere. Saturdays=Youth Felt both futuristic and nostalgic at the same time. Disconnected and warm. Seeing them live helped it all fall into place. Album of the year in an astoundingly good year for music.

Singles* Of The Year...

1. The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
2. The Subways - Alright
3. We Are Scientists - After Hours
4. Elbow - One Day Like This
5. Glasvegas - Flowers And Football Tops
6. MGMT - Time To Pretend
7. Black Kids - I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (12's Remix)
8. Los Campesinos - My Year In Lists
9. Paramore - Crushcrushcrush
10. White Lies - Death

*Thanks to the download rules, everything's a single these days!

...and the great thing is, I can think of several alternative Top 10's. I genuinely believe it's been an absolutely superb year for music. And a great year for the Single release. A new breed of UK bands releasing catchy singles. I didn't spend time on albums from the likes of The Ting Tings and The Wombats, but I couldn't get their records out of my head. Even Take That stunned me with 'Greatest Day'. Guilty pleasure of the year... And yet perversely my number one is a French House remix of a bittersweet lovelorn lament I'd never even heard before, and it blew me away. And still does every time I listen to it. So it wins.

Live Performances of the Year...

1. My Bloody Valentine at The Roundhouse, Camden
2. Spiritualized at Koko, Camden (also Glasto)
3. M83 at Scala, King's Cross
4. Blood Red Shoes at King's College, London (also Glasto, Reading & LA2)
5. Elbow at Glastonbury
6. Rage Against The Machine at Reading Festival
7. Paramore at Radio 1's Big Weekend, Maidstone
8. Art Brut at ULU, London
9. The Notwist at Field Day, Victoria Park, Hackney
10. CSS at Reading Festival

I've never seen as much live music as I did in 2008. Five festivals, and a plethora of gigs from Glasvegas at Camden Barfly to Foo Fighters at Wembley stadium. Glastonbury and Reading were impossibly fantastic. Don't make me choose between them... MBV and Spiritualized lived up to all my overblown expectations and quite simply gave life changing performances. Anyway, for sheer completism, here in very small writing and no particular order are all the other bands I managed to see this year:

Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Supergrass, Futureheads x 2, Black Kids x 2, Ladyhawke x 2, MGMT, Rolo Tomassi, Madonna, Foals x 3, We Are Scientists x 4, Vampire Weekend x 2, The Ting Tings, Duke Spirit x 2, Congregation, The Hold Steady, Bombay Bicycle Club, Neon Neon x 2, Yo Majesty, Sonic Boom, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, White Lies, Folk Face, Los Campesinos, No Age, Times New Viking, Death Cab For Cutie, Clearlake, Junior Boys, Metronomy, Kelley Polar, Prinzhorn, Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip, Killah Kellah, The RZA, Mystical Fortress, Glasvegas x 3, Late Of The Pier, Radiohead, Bat For Lashes, Sigur Ros, Tokyo Police Club, Maximo Park, Lostprophets, Siouxsie Sioux, Muse, Alanis Morrisette, Howling Bells, Of Montreal, Les Savy Fav, Emma Pollock, Queens Of The Stoneage, Biffy Clyro, Be Your Own Pet, Bloc Party, The Subways, British Sea Power, Manic Street Preachers, Seasick Steve x 2, Kids In Glass Houses, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Friendly Fires x 2, Adam Green, Digitalism, Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo, Crystal Castles x 2, Holy Fuck, The Whip x 2, The Death Set, Fucked Up, The Teenagers, Emmy The Great, Red Light Company, That Fucking Tank, Santogold, The Chapman Family, Sons and Daughters, Magic Arm, Operator Please, Reverend And The Makers, Kings Of Leon, Martha Wainwright, Crowded House, Black Lips, Amy Winehouse, Jay Z, Bishi, Hooligan Night, Yeasayer, The Mystery Jets, Does It Offend You Yeah?, The National. And after all that, this font size is what my hearing looks like.

Movies of the Year

1. Juno
2. The Dark Knight
3. The Orphanage
4. Burn After Reading
5. Twilight

Due to the ridiculous amount of gigs I went to, my filmgoing inevitably suffered. So I've kept my fave films to a Top 5, otherwise stuff like Wanted would get it, which was ok, but, y'know, meh. Which leaves this precious five, that made me want to impregnate my teenage girlfriend, dress up as a clown in a nurse's uniform, haunt the local orphanage, blackmail the CIA and become a vegetarian emo vampire. But it was Juno that stole the show. Also the best soundtrack of the year, hands down. Honest to blog.

TV Shows: 'The Daily Show' & 'The Colbert Report' ruled the world for their US Election coverage. 'Madmen' was my favourite drama, closely followed by 'Doctor Who', for wildly different reasons. I rediscovered 'South Park' thanks to Paramount Comedy. And 'Screenwipe' and 'QI' were as wonderful as they've ever been, TV that educates, informs and entertains.

Art! Trips to the Pompidou and Louvre in Paris reignited my passion for all things artistic. So I went treasure hunting round London with Annie Slaminsky for Little People in the City and the Tate Modern's Street Art exhibition. I explored the tortured souls of Derek Jarman and Francis Bacon at the Serpentine and Tate Britain respectively. And Annie Leibovitz's photographic retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery felt like the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Theatre/Musicals/Comedy/Whatever... Yes a catch all category of cultural enrichment. Avenue Q totally counts as a musical. And was excellent. And couldn't be further from Kafka's Metamorphosis at the Lyric, Hammersmith, which was a logistical triumph, but all the more dark and disturbing as a result of the technical ambition. I finally saw Josie Long do her stand up thing at the Leicester Square theatre, and fell for her all over again. Eddie Izzard's Stripped at the Lyric, West End felt like an evening with an old friend. The Lost and Found Orchestra exceeded my expectations by being more than more whimsical novelty, and actually proved oddly moving in places. And my highlight of the year was Albarn and Hewitt's Monkey at the O2. Beautiful, funny, acrobatic... with a girl who could put her bum on her head. It had it all.

So, 2008. Quiet year.

Death Of A Party

2009-01-21T22:22:00.003Z

And so my favourite venue in London, the Astoria, closed last week. It may even already have been demolished by now, making way for the new Crossrail station at Tottenham Court Road. The day after the final party on the 15th, I wandered down to take some snaps for posterity. There were maybe five or six others standing with me on Charing Cross Road doing exactly the same thing.

Which tells you what a special place it's been for the past 30 odd years. I remember my gran telling me that she and my grandad used to go there long before it was converted to a music venue. And i really liked that connection across the generations. I'd think about them being in the same space years before, as I negotiated the sweaty throng.

My first London gig was there, back when I was 16. Placebo, supported by AC Acoustics and Deus. A great gig, combined with the excitement of being out in the centre of London with my mates, has made it one of the most memorable nights of my life. Since then I've seen a whole plethora of artists there, including Blur during their 6 night residency, Elbow, Coldplay, Ms Dynamite, Idlewild, Noel Gallagher, Ash, Roni Size & Reprazent and loads more I can't remember. Only last year I managed to catch MGMT, Florence and the Machine, Black Kids and Ladyhawke there.

Also going is the Astoria 2, known for a while as the Mean Fiddler, the Astoria's baby sister next door. Fond memories of seeing the likes of Black Keys, Blood Red Shoes, Rolo Tomassi and even the mighty Foo Fighters there. And plenty of blurry nights at Push and Frog too. Great little venue. And also on the same block, basement club Metro shares their fate, where I've had my eardrums trashed by ludicrously loud ska and northern soul on more than one occasion.

Although it's the bands and the fans that make a night truly special, the venue has a big part to play. And the Astoria and LA2 were amongst the best in London. It's a cruel irony that whilst there's a huge resurgence in live music in this country, we seem to be losing lots of London venues lately: The Hammersmith Palais closed a few years back, The End is about to shut, Turnmills closed last year and the Highbury Garage has been awol for some time. I sincerely hope it returns.

But the Astoria was always my favourite. Where I hoped my favourite bands would play, and I prayed I could get tickets before they sold out. A proper loud, dirty, independent(ish) gig venue in the heart of the West End. I'll really miss it, and I know I'm not the only one.

Take Your Time

2009-01-21T21:35:00.001Z

Yeah, I know. Three weeks into 2009 and still no in-depth lists of my best bits of 2008. I have lots of text documents with huge reams of artists and songs and albums and films and more. They shall appear soon in some kind of order. But in the mean time, here's a list of what's floating the Bandito boat at the moment...

1. Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
2. Eagles Of Death Metal - Cherry Cola
3. Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life
4. Lily Allen - The Fear
5. The Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom
6. Celestial Choir - Stand On The Word
7. Spiritualized - Feel So Sad
8. White Lies - Death
9. The Divine Comedy - Come Home Billy Bird
10. Ray Charles - What I'd Say

The final track having been enjoyed at a deafening volume in the early hours of Sunday morning at Dalston Jazz Bar. Having been drenched on the way there from the pub. And queued outside in the freezing cold for ages. But so worth it...

Some Kinda Shuffle

2009-01-11T18:52:00.005Z

At last at last at last. Here is my Shuffleathon CD Review for Greetings from Shuffleathon. Many thanks to the mystery person who sent it to me several weeks ago, who is no doubt wishing he or she had sent it to someone slightly lest prone to procrastination. But here it is, my full track by track review.

First, the cover is as above: the plaque sent with the Voyager probes out into the depths of space. With a handy map for any marauding alien fleets planning on invading the Earth, and photos of our puny human bodies, ripe for some probing. Very nice it is too. But enough of this, to the review proper!

1. Os Mutantes - Panis et Circenses (3:37)

An auspicious beginning... A blast of horns and then... Something foreign! Now, my Latin is distinctly ropey, but I think the title almost certainly refers to penises and circumcision. The lyrics are Portugese (I think), and equally incomprehensible. Halfway through it grinds to a satisfying halt before reprising with organ and whistles, building to a latino climax. Then it fades to black with clinking, disparate chatter and the Blue Danube. It's all over the place and I haven't got a clue what anyone's saying. In short, it's great. This is a very promising start....

2. Scott Walker - 30th Century Man (1:29)

A name I know well, but whose music I'm rather ignorant of. This is a wonderful acoustic guitar driven song. A philosophical musing on... I'm not sure really. But feels no less deep for it. The whimsical tone is offset perfectly by the musicbox that ends the song. Short and sweet.

3. The Everly Brothers - Turn Around (2:47)

Another familiar name, but I've not heard this one before. A bittersweet lament for the end of summer and a relationship. The harmonies and strings compliment each other perfectly. It's slight, but lovely.

4. April March - La Fille a la Moto (2:28)

Fantastic! Any song that starts with a revving motorcycle gets my vote. A sexy sixties strut with gallic charm in spades. All I can think of is Marianne Faithful astride her throbbing Harley in Girl On A Motorcycle. No bad thing. Absolutely fabulous. Darling.

5. Phil Spector - Spanish Harlem (2:10)

Eschewing the wall of sound for a change, this feels almost delicate. Voice and guitar alone, and is it actually Phil singing? I didn't know he had such amazing pipes! Curse his talented arse. Still, he's bound to get his comeuppance someday....

6. The Thamesmen - Gimme Some Money (2:26)

Now, I'm not one to namedrop, but I've actually met these guys. Well, sort of. After this hit, they changed their name to Spinal Tap and turned everything up to 11. I always preferred this early R&B direction to their later psychedelic and heavy metal material....

Go Nigel go!

(True fact: Liam Gallagher thought they were real.)

7. MC Honky - What A Bringdown (3:49)

Slightly annoyed by this artist before i'd even heard the song, as that's such a brilliant monicker, I wish I'd thought of it myself. Far more soulful than I was expecting. Sweet vocals and female spoken word bits too, which is always a winner. Sounds like something Eels might knock out in their lunchbreak. A bass led breakdown is the icing on the cake. Probably my favourite thing on the whole album. Delightful.

8. Bob Dylan - Obviously Five Believers (3:35)

As a fairly recent convert to all things Dylan, I'm always grateful for new stuff of his I haven't heard before. Pardon my ignorance. I initially hear the first line as "Early in the mornin', I'm calling youtube." But I think that might be wrong. Anyway, it's a bluesy rock out with a raspy vocal performance, Dylan at his best. And all the more evidence that I need to listen to more of Robert Zimmerman's work.

9. Beck - Gold Chains (4:59)

Haha! Yes. Scratching and vocoders. I love Beck. I love that he somehow squeezes country and hip hop into the same box, and makes it not sound cheap, crap or novelty. Would fit perfectly on Odely or Midnite Vultures. To be honest, I'm surprised I've not heard this before, but pleasantly so.

10. Black Francis - Rock My Soul (1:50)

At different times in this track, Black Francis seems to be channelling Kurt Cobain or Lou Reed. Not bad at all, but as cliched as it is to say it, this would've sounded so much better as a Pixies song. Sorry... But there it is.

11. CSS - Off The Hook (2:40)

Reading Festival 2008. Sunday night. After a whole weekend of anticipation, Metallica rocked the mainstage, with a huge light display and massive screen. They were absolutely amazing. One of the best shows ever. Or at least, that's what I heard from other people. Cos I was in the dance tent grooving to this impossibly wonderful band. And they were, to coin a phrase, off the freaking hook.

12. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Feelin' Free (1:40)

An impossibly sweet little number. Strings pluck and sweep. And just before you think nothing else will happen, a soulful vocal professing a love of the boogie and the dancefloor leaps in. Shouldn't work, but it does. Another short but perfectly formed treat.

13. The Cardigans - Erase/Rewind (3:38)

A great singles band. I've never fully succumbed to their albums, but I know this song well. Nina has a great voice, and this has got a bit of darkness to it that was missing from their earlier work. It's not their best, but it's good enough to get me shuffling, and what more can you ask for?

14. Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie & Clyde (4:18)

More Frenchie wondrousness. Somehow still sounds fresh and fun. A classic.

15. The Flamin' Groovies - Slow Death (4:40)

Time to rock. Perfect. Great name, too. Really nice dirty little groove practically drowning out the vocal. They don't make em like this any more, and more's the pity. They should put this on guitar hero. Just great.

16. The White Stripes - Little Room (0:50)

More short n sweetness from Jack and Meg. I love White Blood Cells, so this is a welcome appearance.

17. Gene Clark - Ship Of The Lord (2:34)

Gene Clark tones things down a little. Takes a while to get going, but worth it once it does. Another acoustic led number gives time for some contemplation. And finishes it up without overstaying it's welcome. The kind of number that doesn't really stand out on the first listen, but reveals it's beauty more slowly.

18. The Rising Storm - Frozen Laughter (3:08)

With haunting reverbed vocals, this is a downbeat closer complimented perfectly by some gentle vinyl crackle. As with Gene Clark, not nearly as immediate as everything else here, but in no way a bad thing. Just the right side of 60's psychedelic mumbo jumbo. The organ line and gentle acoustic guitars bring us to a close before a noisy coda gives them the last laugh...

So... yeah! Overall, a great success. Some really wonderful tunes in there, and lots of short little interludes that made the 18 track compilation really zip along. Plenty of new sounds amongst some old favourites. Thank you very much mystery benefactor, please do make yourself known. And apologies again for taking so long to review it, but I am a bit of a perfectionist (ahem) about such things, and wanted to do it justice. I hope I have!

My own Shuffleathon CD is now also complete and winging it's way to an unfortunate victim. I'll link to their review once they've done it. Unless they majorly slag it off in which case let's just brush the whole sorry affair under the carpet...

Coming soon... Lots of lists of stuff from 2008! Please try and contain your excitement!

Year Of The Ox

2009-01-09T23:48:00.001Z

Happy New Year for 2009! Is that the date already? Cripes...

I can only apologise for my lack of activity. I throw myself on the mercy of the court! I have lots of lists and to dos to do. The long overdue review for my wonderful Shuffleathon CD I received ages ago is gestating, and I have a CD of my own to post out to some poor soul. There will be my Best Of's for 2008. And various musings on turning 29, and therefore officially "pushing 30". Should be an interesting year this one. I threw a proper strop when I turned 25, so who knows what lunacy I shall lend myself to over the coming 12 months. Stay tuned.

Anyway, in the meantime, stolen from the ever wonderful Annie Slaminsky (just for a change) here are 10 things I learnt in 2008:

1. Someday I want to live in Paris. I promise, I'm on it.

2. Life is much more fun when you just let go of your cynicism and self imposed rules. I spent quite a significant part of this year doing stuff I would never have done before. I think you spend your 20's constructing the idea of who you are and in the end you can be trapped by that. Tearing through that and escaping the cage of your own creation is very liberating.

3. If you dye your hair red, noone in London will care. But it will shock everyone you meet in Liverpool to the point of incomprehension.

4. Forgiving is difficult. Forgetting is even harder. But not impossible.

5. If you play Kraftwerk's 'The Model', noone will be able to dance to it. Even if you play it in Berlin.

6. I am a runner. Not a very good one, but a runner nonetheless. I spent the previous however many years saying "...but I'll never be a runner." Like all things, you just have to do it.

7. Meeting people from off of the internet can actually be really great. Fuck the stigma.

8. I have the capacity to be a complete bastard. And I don't like that fact. I always thought I was better than that. But it seems that sometimes I'm not. And I'm sorry.

9. I am terrible flirt with female celebrities.

10. My family are alright, actually. Having heard everyone else's nightmare tales of Christmas back home, I'm grateful for their comforting mundanity.

So that's that. Hope you have a lovely, exciting, passionate, properous and peaceful 2009. Delrico Bandito wishes it so.

Driving Home For Christmas

2008-12-24T10:20:00.003Z

Hohoho! Merry Christmas!

I know things have been a little quiet here of late here at the Bandito log cabin, but I thought I'd swing by to wish you all greetings in the festive milieu. Been a busy bunny, hence lack of blogging. And all that mulled wine has dulled my interpretive skills somewhat. So look at the pretty earthrise picture!

Plenty to come after I've recovered from Chrimbo excess. A Shuffleathon CD review, records of the year and a proper round up of 2008.

As ever, thanks for reading this cobblers. If you get to have a break at this time of year, do enjoy it, and if not, then do a really half-arsed job.

Scrooge McDel

To The End

2008-12-09T13:55:00.002Z

WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Monkey Gone To Heaven

2008-11-28T00:43:00.007Z

It's been a good week. I finally got to see Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's interpretation of Monkey at the O2. Which was absolutely spectacular. From mindblowing visuals, gorgeous live musical arrangement and frankly eye watering gymnastic displays from the cast, it didn't disappoint. Even allowing for my love of all things Albarn, it was one of the highlights of my year. The prospect of a possible Blur reunion next year only made it seem more of a triumph.

And I've just got back from a night with Eddie Izzard in London's West End. And...it was... good. Which still feels a touch disappointing, because Eddie's shows in the past have been nothing short of superb. It was still a delight to see him, and plenty of laughs were to be had. But Stripped just isn't as wonderfully entrancing as say Definite Article, Unrepeatable or Glorious were. Eddie once said that he always wanted to be able to tell jokes about going to the shops to buy crisps, rather than stories about sending his butler to get crisps for him. And the fact that he has to stop himself embarking on a tale about being in a limo in LA speaks volumes. He always wanted to break the glass ceiling to become more than just a stand up, and he has. But it's inevitable that he won't be able to reach the enviable heights onstage from when he was at his hungriest. All that said, I can forgive him and had a great night. And I can always watch the old shows on retro VHS.

Anyway, we need some songs, really, don't we? Following my excessive praise of Take That, there's more guilty pleasures to be had. (Except I don't feel remotely guilty.) And some lovely treats from my Shuffleathon pressie, which I promise will get a proper review soon...

1. Coldplay - Life In Technicolour II
2. Katy Perry - Hot n Cold
3. AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
4. Joy Zipper - Baby You Should Know
5. Spinnerette -Valium Knights
6. Scott Walker - 30th Century Man
7. MC Honky - What A Bringdown
8. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By
9. Howling Bells - Into The Chaos

10. Manic Street Preachers - Faster

A final note for Richey Edwards, who was officially declared "presumed dead" this week, nearly 14 years after disappearing. A profoundly sad moment, I can only think of his family and friends. Certainly not the first rock n roll casualty, but as Peter Hook of Joy Division once told the rest of the Manics "At least we had a body." He was a flawed character from a flawed band, but in many ways that's what made him so appealing. Anyway, I don't do hero worship or messiah complexes. So let's leave it at that.

Take That - Greatest Day

2008-11-22T12:00:00.000Z

Part 10 in a long lapsed series of songs I should hate but don't.

The world starts to come alive when you stay close to me...

Ok, I was as sceptical as anyone else when Take That reformed. Let's be honest, aside from Mark Owen's solid gold lost classic 'Clementine', none of the-other-four-that-weren't-Robbie had done anything since they last walked off stage. Although 'Patience' was admittedly better than I expected, the whiff of cynical nostalgia cash-in was overpowering.

But this is phenomenal.

AOR power balladry in excelsis. The perfect flipside to the agonising heartbreak of the band's only other masterpiece, the sublime 'Back For Good'. It is pure widescreen pop genius. It's deceptively simple for such a huge sounding song, staying just the right side of schmaltz to retain a genuine sincerity. Pulling off the trick of being both utterly universal and touchingly intimate.

It's as generous a gift a songwriter can give to his fans: A song for everyone, about succumbing to love, about the world changing feeling of falling for someone. A record written without ego, the sound of a band at the peak of their powers, effortlessly creating an anthem that will soundtrack private moments and first dances across the land.

It's impossible to hear it without imagining standing hand in hand with the most beautiful girl in the world, staring up into dark clear skies as fireworks burst over the stars. I can't stop singing it. It's just fucking brilliant.

Song For The Asking

2008-11-19T23:40:00.003Z

Time to blatantly rip of the wonderful xkcd.com

Ok, sure, iTunes has it's flaws. But it's fast at searching through your music for you. Here are some things I deduced from chucking random words into the song search...

Love - 429 Songs
Hate - 20 Songs
Sex - 28 Songs
Fuck - 24 Songs
Girl - 124 Songs
Boy - 78 Songs
Heart - 94 Songs
Soul - 51 Songs
Black - 56 Songs
White - 44 Songs
Life - 110 Songs
Death - 26 Songs
Search - 4 Songs
Answer - 2 Songs

I see the patterns. But what do they all mean?

(PS Thanks to whoever sent me their Shuffleathon CD. Superfast! I will post a proper review very soon...)

Expectations

2008-11-18T00:21:00.007Z

Life is lived in a straight line, but I find that the present rarely feels like it does. It's more like stumbling through a room full of junk, where every new thing you uncover is accompanied by bits of life you've lived before. Memories and moments lost to time coming back to colour what's new. No doubt due to the way that our brains our wired, always aiming to classify the novel in terms of the old.

Nowhere do I find this truer than with music, of course. Where I find old records, even ones I've loved for years, suddenly gaining new meaning. Or new records can spark old memories. Either way, it's all just part of the soundtrack I guess. It'll make sense once the credits roll.

I was put on the spot and asked what my favourite Beach Boys track was. I blurted out "All Summer Long". I always assumed it'd be something deeper from Pet Sounds or Smile, but there it is. Long, carefree summer days. Sounds good to me right now...

1. Sufjan Stevens - Vito's Ordination Song (Demo) [I didn't realise it was the demo version til I heard the proper one from the CD release]
2. The Velvet Underground - I'm Sticking With You [Oh Juno Juno Juno...]
3. Menswe@r - Bones & Red Meat [The secret track that was the best thing they ever released]
4. White Lies - Death [Worth dying for]
5. The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart [A pleasure to rediscover]
6. Manda Rin - DNA (Blood Red Shoes Remix) [Dream line up]
7. Daniel Land & The Modern Painters - Within The Boundaries [Sounds like the Cocteau Twins Pearly Dewdrops Drops but even more dreamlike and ethereal, which I thought was impossible]
8. The Crimea - The 48A Waiting Steps [With scrawled handwritten lyrics on the sleeve from Davey]
9. Paramore - For A Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic [Or maybe I'm just a pessimistic optimist. The glass is half full, but of warm flat lager]
10. Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son [Guitar Hero & Anchoman have a lot to answer for...]

I'm sure I'll start making sense sometime soon...

Passive Manipulation

2008-11-10T22:21:00.002Z

So, this weekend I went to the Annie Leibovitz exhibtion at the National Portrait Gallery. The celebrity pics were the big draw, like that of our lovely Stripes up above. But the really moving shots were those of her family: her parents, getting older; her lover, succumbing to cancer; and her kids and their wide eyed innocence staring out into the future. A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Also dominating the gallery were her huge landscapes from Monument Valley in America's Wild West...

A landscape explored as part of Stephen Fry's wonderful BBC 1 series on America this week. Check it out on iPlayer if you get a chance. Just the kind of perfect Sunday night TV that makes the whole world seem so much better. Fry, the quintessential Englishman, finding the humanity at the heart of America. Makes you wish we could elect him as our President. How cool would that be? Substitute one Queen for another...

A Change Is Gonna Come

2008-11-05T23:33:00.005Z

Wow, what a day...

"I do not think Barack Obama will win or lose because of his race, but if he does win, the real moment you will know that America has changed is not when he takes the oath, but when we see pictures of tiny people padding along the White House corridors - a black First Family - representing America and American-ness. "
The BBC's Justin Webb, on From Our Own Correspondent.

Getting the tube home this evening, after a truly extraordinary day. I saw a beautiful little mixed race girl in her pram with her Mum. She was maybe 18 months old. I realised she's going to grow up in a world where the idea of someone of African parentage being the most powerful person on the planet will seem perfectly normal. And that just feels like the coolest thing in the world.

I don't really preach about politics on here, but I'm still stunned, elated and overawed by the election of Barack Obama. One of the most amazing days of my life, so I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for those who've fought for civil rights over the years, and those who continue to battle against racial prejudice today. Sure, there will be more battles to come, and once the honeymoon is over, there are plenty of problems to be confronted. But this has been a day to suspend cynicism. The world really can change.

1. Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
2. Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind
3. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
4. James Brown - Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud)
5. Stevie Wonder - Big Brother
6. The Specials - (Dawning of A) New Era
7. Ce Ce Rogers - Someday
8. Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet
9. Manic Street Preachers - Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart
10. Krust & Saul Williams - Coded Language

Let's hope it keeps on a-changin'.

Zombie Graveyard Party

2008-11-02T22:36:00.001Z

White T Shirt. Fake blood. Red food colouring. Fake blood. Fabric spray paint. More fake blood.

Gets you funny looks on the District Line. Even on October 31st.

I love smearing myself with fake blood. I'm sure there's some Freudian reason for that. Same reason I like gory movies, and why I especially loved Charlie Brooker's Dead Set on E4 this week. Non-compromise TV that was one of the best things I've seen all year. The kind of risky, cutting edge programming that should be cherished in the current climate (and that's all I'm saying on the subject.) Oh. And I am ever so slightly in love with Jaime Winstone...

...as I also am with Ladyhawke, who I saw supporting Black Kids at the Astoria.

And Cate Le Bon, who starred as part of Neon Neon at Koko.

This was supposed to be a quiet week...

1. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
2. Ladyhawke - Back Of The Van
3. Black Kids - Hurricane Jane
4. Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan
5. Biffy Clyro - Now I'm Everyone
6. Cajun Dance Party - Colourful Life
7. Bikini Kill - DemiRep
8. Idlewild – Everyone Says You're So Fragile
9. The Auteurs - Lenny Valentino
10. Oasis - Falling Down (Chemical Brothers Remix) [I know. I'm as shocked as you are...]
11. Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

Giddy Stratospheres

2008-11-02T21:11:00.003Z

There's a train at
The station
It's leaving
This morning
It'll take you
Away from
This girl that's
So boring...

A British Indie band with style, ambition and tunes.

And sublime spoken word sections that made you want to swoon...

Long Blondes RIP.

October Swimmer

2008-10-26T22:49:00.004Z

Hello! Calm yourselves! I am still here. Poor blog, feeling all neglected. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, summed up best by the gorgeously wonderful and sublimely funny Josie Long, who I saw doing stand up week before last...

I don't get cynical people. I mean, it's not like at the end of your life they give you an award and say "Well done! You didn't enjoy anything! Congratulations, you hated it all..."

Or words to that effect. Can't remember exactly. It was a while ago. But the point, I hope, remains valid. Good to get stuck in. Before it's too laaaaaaaaate...

And so my own unique Oktoberfest has been rather lovely. I caught Ms Long's comedy stylings alongside the equally ace Natalie Haynes, who I know mostly off of Newsnight Review. After that there were a plethora of important birthdays, including my DJ partner Tombo, my Dad, and a party for my friend Kate in Brum that I played at last weekend. My first time DJing in Birmingham, the biggest tune was probably Fleetwood Mac's unlikely dancefloor attack 'Everywhere' and the best moment was a cute girl dashing to the DJ booth to declare her undying love for me just for playing 'Dub Be Good To Me'. I must play that more often...

Last week was a throwback to my summer of tinnitus inducing festival goodness. Monday was Times New Viking, No Age and Los Campesinos at Camden's Electric Ballroom with Ben Silent Words. All of whom were superb, most notably No Age, who's latest album was impossible to resist on lovely vinyl. Tuesday saw Miracle Fortress wow me at 93 Feet East. The kind of deep gorgeous dreamy pop with such eager sincerity that's impossible to resist. They were simply wonderful. Wednesday saw my head blown off by M83 at the Scala. Just stunning, one of the best live performances I've seen all year. I get chills just thinking about it. Aaaand Thursday I went to the gym and listened to my iPod.

Then Friday it was a trip to the Astoria 2. We started by being absolutely knocked sideways by support band Rolo Tomassi, who according to wikipedia play "synth driven spazzcore mathcore screamo". Which doesn't even get close to describing their sound. Like someone throwing screaming punks, chugging synths and a jazz quartet down a lift shaft, played by five ickle pixie children who then took their clothes off at the end. In any normal situation they'd have stolen the show, but then headliners Blood Red Shoes came on and confirmed their status as live band of the year for me. Another superb set, including new songs that sound like the old songs. But better. The kids invaded the stage at the end and the world became a better place.

Then to round things off, a wedding in Liverpool this weekend. Congratulations to Suze and Rupert. And the most wonderous reception in an amazing glasshouse with palm trees and cacti, like a baby Kew Gardens. Mercifully I wasn't DJing, but a good friend was. "What should I play now to get people dancing?" he asked me during a momentary lapse in the mayhem. "Groove is in the heart!" I replied, immediately. He obliged. And everyone swarmed back to the dancefloor. Which is just as well otherwise I'd have looked a bit daft. But then again, 'Groove Is In The Heart' never fails. Ever.

1. Blood Red Shoes - It's Happening Again
2. M83 - Coleurs
3. Miracle Fortress - Have You Seen In Your Dreams
4. Los Campesinos - My Year In Lists
5. No Age - Things I Did When I Was Dead
6. Rolo Tomassi - Film Noir
7. Bomb The Bass - Megablast
8. The Crimea - Everywhere
9. Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me
10. Deeelite - Groove Is In The Heart

I will be having a quiet week this week I think...

Natwest Barclays Midlands Lloyds

2008-10-13T00:13:00.002+01:00

All together now...

A British bank is run with precision
A British home requires nothing less!
Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools
Without them - disorder! Chaos!
Moral disintegration!
In short, we have a ghastly mess!

I quite agree!

Whoever scheduled Mary Poppins on ITV3 this Sunday afternoon has both a wiley sense of humour and the kind of foresight much needed in the financial sector at the moment...

Give me back my money!

Modes Of Transport

2008-10-12T21:36:00.005+01:00

Glorious Sunday afternoons in mid-October. Lying on the grass in the park, finding an amazing sweet spot, with jets flying overhead and the unmistakeable rumbling of Piccadilly line tubes beneath. Like a transport sandwich. It's a wonderful park. Ducks, coots and geese on the pond. An amazing kiddie play area that I'm jealous I'm too old to play on. Squirrels everywhere. Loud drums coming over from the community centre that emerge during the quiet parts of the songs I'm listening to. Reality gently imposing.

Sunshine, the Sunday papers, blue sky, grapes, mango smoothie, and music of course. My new iPod has this Genius button thing. You select a song, and it builds a playlist around it. Which is a bit spooky, because it's really good, and works with the mood you're in. Like it can read your mind. I'd been humming Starman. So that seemed the logical place to start...

1. David Bowie - Starman
2. The Cure - Lovecats
3. Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes
4. Lou Reed - Satellite Of Love
5. The Kinks - You Really Got Me
6. The La's - There She Goes
7. The Stranglers - Golden Brown
8. Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
9. Pulp - Common People
10. T-Rex - Get In On

Bang a gong, get it on!

French Kissing In The USA

2008-10-08T14:23:00.003+01:00

I have some Katy Perry promotional cherry chapstick. Does this mean I'm going to hell, too?

Autumn Song

2008-10-05T22:43:00.002+01:00

Hello!

No no, I've not disappeared. Just been in that busy frame of mind where I've had lots of work to do and lots of fun things to do and lots of stuff buzzing round my brain, but little opportunity to spill it onto a keyboard for lovely blog soup goodness.

Now, big news: I've sold my soul and, with the meagre return, bought an iPod. Woo.

My dear old iRiver, that I've had since it was a child, has finally gotten so decrepid, it was time to retire it. Recently, I realised that the headphone jack was broken, meaning that even though I had headphones plugged in, the internal speaker was still playing out loud. Which meant that while I was listening to songs on the tube, people could also hear what was playing. And because I was wearing headphones, I was unaware of it, and therefore have no idea how long this had been going on for. And whether it had revealed to the good people of the Victoria Line that I was listening to Girls Aloud's 'The Show' on full volume of a Tuesday morning...

Anyway, big fat new slim shiny iPod bought from the Apple store on Regents Street. Going in there, it did feel like I was being initiated into some sort of strange cult (mentioning no names...) But, y'know, it works and is shiny and the pictures of the album covers come up. Which is extra nice when it's the Lost In Translation one with Scarlett Johannson's bum in the see-through knick knacks. On repeat, I think.

So, yeah, great stuff. And it's been soundtracking fun times of late too. Which is essentially what I want it for: to turn my life into a movie with an immaculate score. Lots of lovely things out there to discover, including a whole raft of superb eponymous debut albums. Here are some of them, and a few more lovely long players I've been loving lots.

1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
3. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
4. Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
5. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
6. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
7. Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
8. The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed
9. Bloc Party - Intimacy
10. Nirvana - With The Lights Out (Boxed Set)

With the latter being a dig through Kurt and co's dirty laundry that I'd never really delved into before. Sure, like The Beatles anthologies that it clearly aims to imitate, the vast majority is somewhat dispensible, but there are some sublime, moving moments. The closing acoustic reading of 'All Apologies' is heartbreakingly wonderful and confirms it's place as my favourite Nirvana song.

My new most likely cause of death is being run down on the bus whilst gazing in awe upon the coverflow...

Faster

2008-09-21T10:17:00.000+01:00

Fail.

Raining In My Heart

2008-09-17T13:15:00.000+01:00

That last post was a bit miserable. So here's a wonderful picture from Kate's flickr adventures...

Beautiful.

Drive

2008-09-16T22:17:00.003+01:00

I was out for lunch with my work mates today. My friend C was telling us all about the 12 resolutions she'd set herself at the beginning of the year, and those she's yet to complete. Dinner at the Ivy, swimming outside, going to a new country. That sort of thing. Genuinely inspiring stuff, and the kind of thing I'm way too cynical to do at New Year. But perhaps my cynicism is starting to wane. I have my own goals I want to achieve. Primarily, learning to drive.

Yes, that's right. I can't drive.

Cue faux-stunned silence from my colleagues. "How can you not have learnt to drive?!" was the incredulous response from T, and it was precisely the kind of response I'd expected from him, so I brushed it off dismissively, and went on to say simply that it's one of my ambitions before I'm 30. Not that I'm the kind of person who thinks life ends at 30...

But how come I didn't learn at 17 like most others round the table? Well, several reasons. The main being that my family didn't have a car for me to learn on when I was 17. We didn't have a lot of money back then. My dad flat refused to let me touch his car. And they couldn't really afford lessons anyway, especially with my university expenses just around the corner. What little money I earnt from my Saturday job went on records and going out. And to be quite honest, having been involved in a very nasty motorway smash in my teens had rather put me off getting behind the wheel of a huge metallic death machine capable of killing anyone who decided to get in the way.

That's usually what I tell people. Along with a wry "...and some of us were born to be driven." But there is more. Those were fine excuses, but there was something deeper than that, something I rarely, if ever, talk about. And oddly enough, it was borne out of a lecture my school headmaster gave one assembly. As I have mentioned here, I never really got on with school, but I liked a lot of the teachers, and our head certainly commanded my considerable respect. The lecture was on global warning and the greenhouse effect. This must've been around 1996, when the scientific evidence was beginning show how human activity was affecting the environment, and the dire consequences that we're only now coming to terms with. And he said something that's stuck with me for over a decade.

If we want to stop global warning, then everyone single one of you in this room has to live without driving a car. It's as simple as that.

And perhaps it was an overly simplistic argument. But the central gist, that to stop global warming we have to make sacrifices, is bang on. So that is what I've tried to do. And up to now, I've managed ok. I try not to be smug about it, especially as I've been very fortunate. I've lived in Watford, Nottingham and London, all blessed with good public transport networks. I've had jobs that haven't required me to drive. I've had eternally patient friends, family and girlfriends who've helped me out. And I like walking. And as for the barbs, well, I don't really care too much what other people think. Especially not on something like that.

But as with so much in life, I've reached the crunch point between ideology and reality. I feel this is something I need to achieve and get out of the way. It is, as I've been told many times, a life skill. Something you need to be able to do. But part of me, the ideological teenager, is pissed off at myself for giving in. So I call it a compromise. I will learn, but I don't need a car in London. I can hire one for holidays, yeah, that's cool. And yet I know that if I leave the capital for the real world beyond the M25, I will almost certainly succumb. Because that's the way it is. Like everyone else, I'll have to drive to my job to earn money to put food on the table. And this to me seems symptomatic of the complete inability we have as a species to grasp this enormous impending disaster that'll put this week's money worries into perspective once the crops start to fail and we have nothing to eat.

Sorry for being depressing. It's a pretty depressing subject. I guess you could watch Top Gear. That's a bit more entertaining.

Business as usual.

1. REM - Drive
2. Radiohead - Airbag
3. Neon Neon - Dream Cars
4. Motorhead - Motorhead
5. DJ Shadow - Blood On The Motorway
6. Boards Of Canada - 84 Pontiac Dream
7. Kenickie - In Your Car
8. Blur - He Thought Of Cars
9. Death Cab For Cutie - Passenger Seat
10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Stop

Happy happy happy... I'll let you know how I get on.

The Modern Age

2008-09-15T08:56:00.000+01:00

Yup.

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

2008-09-14T20:01:00.001+01:00

I get cornered by a work mate. His tone is pretend serious. But I can tell there's a element of genuine annoyance under the irony.

"Hey, I finally got around to watching Requiem For A Dream the other night, after you recommended it to me."

"Oh, cool! It's such a great movie, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but you've could've warned me that it was so bloody depressing."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I guess it is a bit. Did I not mention that?"

"No! You didn't! I went into it expecting just a normal movie. But it was so harrowing! Especially that bit where... and... and then where... (No spoilers. You'll have to watch it!)"

"But that's the best bit!"

"I can't believe you didn't at least give me a heads up! It's like the darkest movie I've ever seen."

"Ah. Sorry. Didn't really occur to me..."

Whoops. Anyway, dude, if you want to lighten the mood you should watch Audition. Luckily I only said that in my head.

But seriously. Requiem For A Dream is a modern day masterpiece. And if you haven't seen it, I thoroughly recommend you do. But yeah, it's not really a chuckleathon. Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connolly and Jared Leto are all superb. But it's even more distressing than having to listen to 30 Seconds To Mars.

Ooh cheap shot. You're just jealous cos Jared's pretty, and is having it better than you and your so called life.

Whatever, Subconcious. Just go back to messing with my thought processes, ok?

Nice reference though.

Thanks.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

2008-09-09T23:51:00.004+01:00

I haven't been for over a decade. So how come going back to work in September still feels like going back to school?

1. Glasvegas - Flowers & Football Tops
2. Bow Wow Wow - Go Wild In The Country
3. The Specials - Blank Expression
4. The Subways - Girls & Boys
5. Radiohead - Meeting In The Aisle
6. Jesus and Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking
7. Sufjan Stevens - Supersexy Woman
8. Massive Attack - Protection
9. Steven Wright - Friends Of Mine Song
10. "The Award Winning" Elbow - One Day Like This (Yay!)

How are the leaves supposed to get all crunchy when it won't stop raining?

1977

2008-09-04T21:40:00.002+01:00

It's my last year at University. And I'm hanging out in my friend E's room. E was a year below me on my course, and one of those girls that all men adore and all women secretly hate. Absolutely cute as a button, yet still seemingly obtainable, and also sweet and kind and loyal. Sure, I fancied her a bit, too, but I already had one girlfriend confusing the hell out of me. I didn't need to complicate things further. She was always just a mate, and a good one too.

"Hey, check out my new T shirt," she says "Isn't it cool?"

She leaps out of the wardrobe in an olive girl skinny fit Tee. Emblazoned across her chest is Boba Fett, notorious bounty hunter from the Star Wars saga (at that point it was 2000, so we had but four Star Wars movies. How did we cope?). Yeah, it was cool. And, let's be frank, it looked even cooler on her frame. There are few things more divine than cute girls who dig sci-fi...

I was born in 1979, so I missed the movies in the cinemas, but I grew up in the world of Star Wars. I can't even really remember watching the movies for the first time. Like Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and colour TV, it had just always been there. A cultural constant. My mum and gran would come home from flea markets and car boot sales laden down with second hand Star Wars figures. My favourite toy was a rebel snow speeder from Empire Strikes Back I got for Christmas one year.

I went to see the Special Edition remasters at the cinema while I was at school, as I'd never had the chance to see the movies on the big screen. And I was excited by the Prequels, although they couldn't hope to live up to the hype... well, until Revenge Of The Sith kicked some 12 Rated arse. I've always loved Star Wars unconditionally, warts and all. I didn't have the fierce possesiveness of the generation before me (Hello Tim Bisley from Spaced.) I was grateful for my own Star Wars moment.

Back to the present then. I got to see the Clone Wars animation at a press screening recently. And whilst it wasn't up to the quality of the original movies, it had enough of the magic to get me hankering to see them all again. Having held out for ages, waiting for some grand six movie boxed set, I cracked a few days back and bought all the movies on double DVD. So I've been working through them in episodic order. Tonight, after the emotional rollercoaster of Revenge Of The Sith, I got to the original. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. And still, it never disappoints.

The ambition. The scale. The classic lines. The clunkiness. The bit where the Storm Trooper smacks his head on the door frame. It's just wonderful timeless entertainment. I still love Alec Guinness skipping around the Deathstar in devil may care fashion. I still love the interplay between R2D2 and C3PO. I still think Han is legendary and I'm still smitten with Princess Leia (I once started chatting up a girl, who I ended up going out with, partly because she reminded me a little of Carrie Fisher at her prime).

Anyway, I have my personal favourite, The Empire Strikes Back, and Leia dans gold bikini in Return Of The Jedi, left to enjoy. But in the meantime, time for Star Wars disco!

1. Ash - Cantina Band
2. Weird Al Yankovic - The Saga Begins
3. Together - Hardcore Uproar
4. UNKLE - Guns Blazing
5. Neon Neon - I Told Her On Alderaan
6. Mogwai - Star Wars
7. The Prodigy - Full Throttle
8. The Jedi Knights - Air Drums From Outer Bongolia
9. Blur - Strange News From Another Star
10. Fader Gladiator - Battle Of The Planets

Geek.

Levitate Me

2008-08-31T21:02:00.001+01:00

In a shock move, I didn't spend this weekend standing in a field, watching bands whilst drinking lager from a cardboard cup. I know! Shocking, eh? Instead I spent Saturday night talking to Smurfette, Marilyn Manson, and two Slashes, amongst others, whilst dressed as David Tennant's Doctor Who. My replica sonic screwdriver is quite simply the coolest thing in the world ever. I'm going to carry it with me at all times, ready to be used to open automatic doors, change TV channels and reverse the polarity of your ipod (until the batteries run out).

Sunday was spent hungover, wandering the streets of the West End, South Bank and East End searching for tiny little people with Annie Slaminsky. Tiny model people, that is, not midgets. And we found them all and won the respect of art lovers everywhere. See Annie's full explanation and photos here.

Then we went to Rough Trade East. The brand newish branch of the world famous record shop, just off Brick Lane. And it is simply beautiful. A cathedral to the glories of recorded sound. There's just something fantastic about all those thoughts, ideas and emotions, captured on little plastic and vinyl discs, all stacked up, just waiting to be unleashed. I know that online music is slowly taking over, but there's something so wonderful about record shops. Rough Trade East and the equally great Puregroove in Farringdon are bravely trying to buck the trend of record shop closures by quite simply offering what online stores simply can't. I hope they succeed.

I get home and I'm tired, hungover and feeling the Sunday blues. So I put a record on. And then another. And another...

And I feel much better.

(Thought a video would make a welcome change to just another list. Soundtracked by The Velvet Underground - Rock & Roll.)

Line Up

2008-08-25T22:39:00.009+01:00

And there it is! A great weekend all told. That there line up only tells half the story, of course. Special mentions to Friendly Fires, The Teenagers, Emmy The Great, Red Light Company and That Fucking Tank on the Festival Republic and Introducing Stages. And all the lovely people I wasn't expecting to bump into, but did, and all the lovely new people we met who shared their campfire with us or started randomly talking to me and Stevious. You rock.

Chant of the weekend, to the tune of 'If You're Happy And You Know It'...

"If you went to see Babyshambles you're a cunt".

Quite right... And best onstage speech: Just beating out the always witty We Are Scientists and Be Your Own Pet's orgy of self destruction, goes to former Moldy Peach Adam Green. A little worse for wear, even though it was first thing in the afternoon, and convulsing like he had scorpions in his boxers, halfway through the set, Adam delivered this advice...

"It's hot in here. You know, to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, you multiply by 1.8 and add 32, and that's your proper temperature in Fahrenheit. Science is the poetry of Maths. No...wait. Maths is the poetry of Science. I just worked that out right now. Here's a song that's about neither of those things. In fact it's not really about anything of any use to anyone. Unless you want to fuck a girl with no legs."

Anyway, here's some of the songs that just summed the whole thing up, including some frankly inspired covers.

1. Rage Against The Machine - Wake Up
2. Biffy Clyro - Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies
3. Friendly Fires - Your Love (Frankie Knuckles Cover)
4. Blood Red Shoes - It's Getting Boring By The Sea
5. Be Your Own Pet - Becky
6. We Are Scientists - All That She Wants
7. The Subways - Rock 'n' Roll Queen
8. Bloc Party - I Would Die 4U / Flux
9. Manic Street Preachers - Pennyroyal Tea
10. Fucked Up - Smells Like Teen Spirit / Miss World
11. Adam Green - No Legs
12. Holy Fuck - Milkshake
13. Conor Oberst - Milkthistle
14. Chromeo - Needy Girl
15. CSS - Music Is My Hot Hot Sex

Oy. My head hurts. And I have lots of bruises. But at least I have now washed off the residue of my new fragrance: Eau de Reading, consisting of blood, sweat, tears, piss, beer, suncream, gin, rain, Jack Daniels, burnt plastic and glowstick juice. I shall now try and recreate it a la George's Marvellous Medicine. Stand back. This could get explosiony...

Amphibian

2008-08-18T22:30:00.004+01:00

I'm back home from a few cheeky drinks in a posh/poncey London bar. I have red hair again. I am preparing my plans for Reading this coming weekend. I am halfway through a Mandarin Muller Light. My mp3 collection is on random. After contributions from Violent Femmes, Scooch, Hole and The Specials, we hit on a track that just tears my mind away from the present, and drags me somewhere else completely.

Björk - Amphibian (Remix)

A song I first heard over the close of the extraordinary 1999 movie Being John Malkovich. If you haven't seen it, I won't even attempt to summarise the plot here. It's as surreal and absurd a Hollywood movie as you're ever likely to see, so I'd humbly suggest you do. Needless to say, Björk's dreamlike song fits the mood of the film so perfectly, they're now almost impossible to distinguish from each other in my mind.

I remember finding a copy of the soundtrack at my student radio station, URN, some time after seeing the movie. It was during one of our short term FM licences, that lasted for a month. We broadcast on 97.5 FM across Nottingham, sandwiched neatly between Radio 1 on 98.8 and the local giant Trent FM on 96.6 FM. So anyone flicking between the two would hit us. On this day I was doing The Afternoon Alternative, a show on from 2-4pm, with the irresistible remit of playing anything that no-one else would touch. So I took great pleasure in spinning this slice of sublime Icelandic weirdness in crystal clear FM stereo over a sunny city.

Hmmm. Hang on a minute...

*Pause*

The great thing about being someone who never throws anything away is that you're constantly discovering things you'd forgotten you even had in the first place. Case in point: I just rediscovered my note books from this period. I'd always write down the tracklistings of the shows I'd done, so as not to play the same stuff each time. And, I suppose, for posterity. Now I think it's time for posterity to shine. The show I played Björk's Amphibian was on 11th October 2000. Here's the full tracklisting, including a number of songs that have now become permanent favourites...

2pm NEWS

Junkie XL - Zerotonine
My Vitriol - Cement Shoes
Asian Dub Foundation - New Way New Life
Eels - Flyswatter
Mercury Rev - Tonite It Shows
The Delgados - No Danger
Smashing Pumpkins - Try Try Try
Sing Sing - Feels Like Summer
13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me Baby
Radiohead - Idioteque
Elliot Smith - Because
DJ Shadow - Theme From Dark Days
Astrid - Modes Of Transport
Black Box Recorder - The Facts Of Life (Chocolate Layers Remix)*
Mellow - Another Mellow Winter

3pm NEWS

Foo Fighters - Break Out
Death In Vegas - One More Time
Coldplay - Trouble
The Charlatans - Impossible
Placebo - Slave To The Wage
David Holmes - 69 Police
Beta Band - To You Alone
Björk - Amphibian (Remix)
Soulwax - Too Many DJs
Grandaddy - Hewlett's Daughter
Badly Drawn Boy - Disillusion
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place
Air - Playground Love
JJ72 - Oxygen
Lauren Laverne - I Fell Out Of A Tree
Roni Size & Reprazent - Who Told You?

*Can't quite believe I played this filth at 3 in the afternoon...

I was 20 years of age playing music I loved to people who wanted to hear it. At the time it felt like the coolest thing in the whole world.

Looking back, it still does.

If I ever find the tapes, I'll be sure to let you know...

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais

2008-08-17T20:57:00.004+01:00

The new groups are not concerned
With what there is to be learned
They got Burton suits, ha you think it's funny
Turning rebellion into money.

Last week I picked up journalist Garry Mulholland's wonderful book Fear Of Music, The 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco. It's the sequel to the equally essential This Is Uncool, The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco. You can pick both up for about 3 quid each in HMV at the moment. I simply cannot recommend them enough. Not only because they're brilliant examinations of wonderful records, put in perfect cultural and socio-political context, but their short essays on each record are ideal for reading on the loo.

It's this precise ability to place each record into context that makes it so appealing. The records are arranged chronologically, so you can see how punk and disco and hip hop begat new wave and synth pop and electro which begat britpop and house and gangsta rap and beyond. I wasn't around in 1976, so I find the whole assessment of Punk fascinating. Mulholland's proposes that so many punks were disillusioned hippies because...

...your basic ideas are the same. Society is based upon the lie that you are what you buy. You see through this and attempt to act naturally and bond with others and create your own alternative vision of society, or you live your life like the zombies staggering around the shopping mall in George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead.

That was part of the essay on X-Ray Spex's 1978 LP Germfree Adolescence. I love books about music, especially books that somehow manage to convey just how wonderful great music can make you feel, and tries to explain why. Both Mulholland's books manage this and provide an alternative history of the last 30 odd years through the music that, essentially, tried to change the world, but ultimately failed.

This Saturday I went to the corporate festival extravaganza that was V, in Essex. It was, quite frankly, precisely what you'd expect. Ben Silent Words describes it as "The Festival For People Who Don't Like Music". And he's pretty much bang on. But I did find some joy amongst the soulless flipchart landfill indie, most notably energetically riotous Tokyo Police Club, a surprisingly entertaining Lostprophets and the joyously bombastic Muse, headlining with satellite dishes, lasers and smoke machines. Oh, and some songs.

But best of all was Siouxsie Sioux. As one of the original members of the Bromley Contingent of UK Punks surrounding the Sex Pistols, she falls into the position of living legend. And one with more songs and cultural cachet than the Pistols themselves. It was a little surreal seeing her, in her 50's, shouting at the soundcrew to turn it up. All whilst wearing a catsuit and carrying it off with aplomb, all as part of a bill alongside Scouting For Girls and Sugababes.

The previous weekend I went to Field Day in London's Victoria Park. A hipster's paradise, seemingly the polar opposite of V's corporate stands, cowboy hats and "He's Gay >>>" T Shirts. But it was sponsored by Converse which, as I love pointing out regularly, is now owned by Nike. Ironic, don'tcha think? Who ya gonna call? Adbusters! Enough already...

Anyway, I got sunburnt at V and drenched at Field Day. Next weekend I'm going to Reading. So... what? Snow? Locusts? Flaming gas canisters?

1. Sioxsie & The Banshees - Happy House
2. The Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy
3. Muse - Plug In Baby
4. The Notwist - At One With The Freaks
5. Tokyo Police Club - Tesselate
6. Howling Bells - Setting Sun
7. Lostprophets - Last Train Home
8. Emma Pollock - Adrenaline
9. Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming
10. Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

Honestly, I don't blog properly for ages, and you get an anti-corporate, music snob rant from someone who openly admits to liking Coldplay. Sigh.

I don't wanna grow up, there's too much contradiction.

Television - 'Friction'.

Broken Bones

2008-08-11T22:30:00.004+01:00

I twist myself into myriad inadvisable positions. I try shifting my left shoulder forward, then my right. I arch my back and pull my head forward.

Nothing.

I grab my left elbow and pull it around in front of me. Then lift it up. I wrench the muscles in my back forwards and backwards again.

Still nothing.

I swap sides, right arm up and out, contorting my whole frame, pulling my shoulder blades apart, bending my spine the way it isn't really supposed to go. And then...

CRRRRRRACCCCKKKK!

"Aaaaaah!"

That probably isn't very good news is it? My back is fucked.

Update! After considerable concern in the Comments box, don't fret! My back isn't actually hurting. It just gets a bit stiff which is why it goes *crack*. The "Aaaah" was a sigh of relief, not agony!

Take It Off

2008-08-10T22:33:00.002+01:00

On a Sunday lunchtime post-Star Wars high, I wander through sunny Covent Garden. There's a guy handing out flyers. He catches my eye and thrusts one towards me...

"Second hand designer clothes. They're what everyone else is wearing!"

"Then why would I want to?"

He doesn't have a response.

Human Behaviour

2008-08-07T23:32:00.001+01:00

If you ever get close to a human and human behaviour
Be ready be ready to get confused

There's definitely definitely definitely no logic
To human behaviour
But yet so yet so irresistible

And there's no map to human behaviour

They're terribly terribly terribly terribly moody
Then all of a sudden turn happy
But, oh, to get involved in the exchange
Of human emotions
Is ever so ever so satisfying

And there's no map
And a compass wouldn't help at all

And that's why I keep sticking my hand back into the fire.

Ég elska Björk Guðmundsdóttir.

Can't Get You Out Of My Head

2008-08-06T23:51:00.004+01:00

The Subways - Alright.

Been earworming this all day. Sitting in the office, walking round Oxford Street on my lunch hour, sitting outside the pub in the sun after work... At last I get home and I can listen to the actual record over and over.

#44 with a bullet. Pure sublime punk pop perfection and hardly anyone heard it or bought it. In a world of flipchart landfill indie shite clogging up the charts, that sucks. But it's simply wonderful. An energetic explosion of fateful longing and tragic romance. The beauty is in it's simplicity, the guitars that both crunch and jangle, the pure ecstacy of the middle 8, the contrast of Billy's yearning lead and Charlotte's sugarsweet backing vocals.

I can't wait to see them surrounded by likeminded fans at Reading. Only 2 weeks away now. Whup!

Freak Like Me

2008-08-03T23:48:00.002+01:00

Thank goodness for Mark Kermode. Because without him, I would have walked into the IMAX this afternoon with my expectations through the roof. As it was, they were still pretty high, but his fair handed assessment of The Dark Knight helped temper the whirlwind of hype from the last fortnight. It is a great movie. A really great movie. But not the greatest movie ever. But... perhaps the greatest comic book superhero movie ever. And that is more than enough. Go see it on the big screen, or if you're near an IMAX, the really big screen.

The late Heath Ledger's Joker is wonderful. You almost have to feel sorry for Christian Bale, who is also superb as Batman, but is overshadowed by one of the best villains in comic book history. There is something irresistable about the character, as you may have noticed from my hijacking of the photo above. Unrestrained arrogance or the sincerest form of flattery? I'll let you decide. Maybe someday I'll Joker up for real: I won't do any spoilers, but let's just say I have my next fancy dress party costume sorted. When you see it, you'll know.

All of which concluded a great weekend of movies after seeing Pan's Labyrinth and The Exorcist at Somerset House on Friday night. Two stunning movies only improved by the open skies above and haunting echoing ambience. Well worth freezing my bum off on hard cobble stones for the best part of five hours. The box of red wine and chocolate cookies helped...

And so to a soundtrack. Aided by the utterly phenomenal selection of records gifted to me by Annie Slaminsky. Having been out of London most of the week, I have barely scratched the surface, but there are some absolute gems that had me almost hyperventiliating with excitement. Couple this with Country crooner Glen Campbell's extraordinary album of cover versions from the likes of Green Day, Foo Fighters and John Lennon. It shouldn't work, but it does. It could just be seen as a sub-Johnny Cash cash in, but it isn't. It's been a very good week.

1. Glen Campbell - Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
2. Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Of
3. The Breeders - Cannonball
4. PJ Harvey - Oh My Lover
5. My Bloody Valentine - Slow
6. Spacemen 3 - Walking With Jesus
7. Sly & The Family Stone - Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again
8. The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
9. Bomb The Bass - Bug Powder Dust
10. The Pixies - Nimrod's Son

...and that's just a sprinkling of the joys to be found. For a Sunday night, after the best part of a week off work, I am in an obscenely good mood. Let's see if it lasts...

One Word

2008-07-25T14:20:00.003+01:00

Another meme, taken from the lovely, super generous Slaminsky. One word answers only!

1. Your cell phone? Silent
2. Your significant other? Interested..?
3. Your hair? Moptop
4. Your mother? Patient
5. Your father? Well-meaning
6. Your favourite thing? Freedom
7. Your dream last night? Enigmatic
8. The room you're in? Studio
9. Your fear? Boredom
10. What you're not? Finished
11. The last thing you did before logging on? Lunch
12. Where did you grow up? Watford
13. Favourite drink? Ginger
14. What are you wearing? Aftershave
15. Your TV? Off
16. Your pet? Sounds
17. Your computer? Slow
18. Favourite place? Bed
19. Your mood right now? Cheeky
20. Missing someone? No
21. Something you're not wearing? Leggings
22. Love someone? Everyone
23. Your favorite color? Red
24. Kids? Eventually
25. Your life? Eventful

If you want it, here it is, come and get it. Make your mind up fast...

Teen-C Power

2008-07-24T00:06:00.002+01:00

Well, well, well. Look what I found on 7 inch in Camden's Music and Video Exchange...

Teen-C. The last gasp of old skool fanzine led indie schmindie before the internet came and gobbled everything up. Before vomiting it up in the techicolour splurge we have today. I can't pretend I was obsessed with it at the time. I mean, it was there, and I liked it, but it feels like I was into a billion different things at 16. I was always too stubborn and wilfully eclectic to be totally into one scene. But listening back to this stuff, it just sounds so amazingly fun and vital. And about 14 billion times better than most of the dull post-Britpop, post-Diana dull rock arse that is most readily identified with the 96/97 era.

A list, then. Only the first two really fall into the Teen-C category, but labels are for losers (anyone remember Bratpop? Sigh...), and these are all just great!

1. Bis - Kandy Pop
2. Dweeb - Scooby Doo
3. Kenickie - Come Out 2 Nite
4. Syposium - Drink The Sunshine
5. The Chicks - Daria
6. Tiger - Race
7. Helen Love - Punk Boy
8. 3 Colours Red - This Is My Hollywood.
9. Ash - Oh Yeah
10. Midget - Parting Shot

Fierce Panda! Fanzines! Glitter! Leopard Print! Eyeliner! Sugar Sugar Kandy Pop! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

Next up: Romo!

(Not really.)

I Think I Smell A Rat

2008-07-23T00:53:00.002+01:00

Things that have been playing on my mind today...

Mind-Body duality. Is the mind separate from the body, either in a physiological or philosophical way? Are we simply ghosts in the machine? If bits of my body were gradually replaced by bionic limbs, organs and flesh, at what point would I cease to be me? Where is the seat of the soul? Is conciousness simply chemicals and coincidence?

Do I prefer the Strawberry Shortcake Muller Crunch corner, or the Banana with Choco Flakes?

My Year In Lists

2008-07-22T08:05:00.000+01:00

So today marks the announcement of the Mercury Prize nominees from the past 12 months. A list that is always equally enthralling and mystifying, and ultimately a bit pointless. Rather than waiting for the actual list to come out, and then wailing at the inevitable omissions, I'll put my money where my mouth is and give the Top 12 UK albums of the last year I think should be nominated. Cos let's be honest, I just can't resist a good list...

Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets
Burial - Untrue
Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip - Angles
The Duke Spirit - Neptune
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
Emma Pollock - Watch The Fireworks
Foals - Antidotes
Lightspeed Champion – Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
MIA – Kala
Portishead - Third
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Spiritualized - Songs in A&E

(That was far more difficult than I first thought. It's only doing things like this make me realise a) how much music of North American origin I now listen to, b) how quickly a year goes past and c) how indecisive I am. Sorry Neon Neon. Oh, and d) even though i like the album, Coldplay don't need the exposure. Although the fact that the far inferior X&Y got nominated means they'll most probably get on anyway...)

I have to state that there is no way in the world that this will resemble the actual list. But hopefully a few of those should make it on, sat between the leftfield world/jazz/classical stuff noone's ever heard of and the mainstream stuff we're all sick of already.

And if there had to be a winner from my list? The Burial album. It sounds quite unlike anything else out there at the moment. Original, soulful and not a little scary.

Roadrunner

2008-07-20T21:13:00.003+01:00

I never thought I was a runner. But I guess that, like everything else, it's just practice. So now I run round the park. And time myself. And see if I can beat it. And each time I do, I feel like I'm winning back some time.

It felt especially good today, in the sunshine, doing two full laps (it's a pretty big park!), past folks slugging from cans of Kronenberg. But like everything in my world, the soundtrack is the key. In the gym, I lose myself to dance or punk. But I run to drum n bass. Exactly the right speed! My hardcore raving days are behind me now, so these tunes are all a bit old, but they still have the magic. And help to drown out the wheezing...

1. High Contrast - Make It Tonight
2. Pendulum - Girl In The Fire
3. Logistics - The Trip
4. London Elektricity - Remember The Future (High Contrast Remix)
5. LTJ Bukem - Atlantis
6. Omni Trio - Renegade Snares (High Contrast Remix)
7. The Ganja Kru - Magic
8. Craggz & Parallel Forces - Fizzy Piglets
9. Jenna G - Quick Love
10. DJ Nite - DnB Mix

The final track is a mix of ten classic drum n bass tracks. Consider it a minipodcast! Name them all and win a prize! Or, you know, hazard a guess at any of them if you feel like it.

You're So Great

2008-07-18T08:52:00.003+01:00

There's an undeniable irony about getting a bit misty eyed to Blur's Coffee & TV when you're a bottle and a half of red wine down. But that's where I found myself last night as this came on the jukebox in a friendly and familiar Islington bar. As I've mentioned here before, Blur are my favourite band. Sometimes I feel a bit weird about that, shackled to a band who opened up a whole world for me back in 1994. But it's moments like this that blow all the Britpop bullshit away and prove just what truly brilliant band they were(...?)

Coffee & TV reminds me of the most turbulent and exciting year of my life: my first year at University. Blur's 13 album simultaneously acted as a security blanket from my adolescent heroes, and a soundtrack to a whole new life. Only now, looking back, do I realise how Graham's song about drinking to escape his fear of other people tied in with my own habit of drinking away my shyness.

A habit I've now thankfully largely left behind. Like all sensible people, I now drink to forget.

Pinball Number Count

2008-07-17T00:18:00.001+01:00

Is it just me, or is this just utterly adorable? I think I've now developed a pretty sizeable crush on Feist...

And on the same day that I saw Avenue Q in London's West End. I now realise that, yes, I am a bad idea bear.

More drinks, more fun, yaaaay!

Bang Bang

2008-07-14T21:56:00.001+01:00

My baby shot me down.

Baby Boom

2008-07-13T20:56:00.004+01:00

I've been told, in sunglasses, I look like Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan in I'm Not There. I'm still not sure if that's a compliment or not. I personally think it is...

Anway. Hello. The grand Glastonbury post is being written. Honest! And it's looking rather long I'm afraid. So it'll arrive at some point.

But, in the meantime, I managed to become Godfather to my very good friends' baby son this weekend. A huge honour, and a risky gamble on their part as I'm quite sure you would agree. My dad amusingly overheard my close friend the father refer to me as "the one with the wild hair... but that's his job really." As Godfather I'm supposed to give spiritual guidance, so as part of my Christening gift, I gave a book of Cocktail recipes. I'm sure he'll find some use for it when he's 18... and I'm 46. Ouch. (I'm not going to post up a photo of my baby godson here, which is why you have to put up with a rare shot of me in a suit, shirt and tie on my way to the proceedings above...)

Anyway, it was a lovely end to an occasionally strange, occasionally wonderful week. Here are some of the songs that acted as the perfect soundtrack...

1. Portishead - Roads
2. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
3. CSS - Left Behind
4. Glasvegas - Daddy's Gone (Re-release version)
5. Scarlett Johansson - A Town With No Cheer
6. Blur - Coffee & TV
7. Suicide - Cheree (Remix)
8. Spiritualized - Feel So Sad (Rhapsodies)
9. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

I started subconciously singing Maps over Rebellion... Then found that Arcade Fire had covered Maps. Which is good, very ghood, but still can't touch the sheer wonder of the original.

PS Last Saturday I finally made it to the Street Art exhibition at the Tate Modern with the lovely Annie Slaminsky. Check out her ace snaps of the best bits on her blog here.

Have a lovely week.

Home Of The Brave

2008-07-12T09:18:00.002+01:00

I'm feeling a bit anti-corporate today. And everyday.

I remember trying to count all the adverts I saw on my way to work one day.

I gave up once I got past 200.

Strawberry Letter 23

2008-07-09T22:08:00.000+01:00

Conversations from the studio #2.

I sit in my studio, doing my work all day. I'm seated beneath an ever present, ever watching webcam. To be honest, I forget it's there most of the time. That is until someone in one of the other studios in the basement looks up at me on the huge plasma screens and sees me doing something. And decides to chip in over talkback. Like today. Just as I tuck into a yoghurt...

"Lick the lid!"

"No! I discard the lid."

"Is that a fruit corner?"

"No, not so healthy. It's got crunchy bits"

"I like to dip into one side and then the other. Or do you just spill it across?"

"Yeah, I like to mix it all in together."

"Oh no..."

"Just watch me spill!"

I spill the white chocolate covered biscuits bits into the pink "strawberry" yoghurt. I mix it all up feverishly and devour a heaped spoonful of delicious gooey mixture.

"Is it good?"

"Very. My treat for today."

"Is it weird us watching you?"

"I'm kind of used to it by now..."

"You're like a one man Big Brother!"

"Yeah, except I don't win a prize at the end."

"Or end up in Heat Magazine."

"Thank fuck for that..."

My weird life.

1. The Subways - Alright
2. Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning
3. Ladytron - Ghosts
4. Weezer - Pork & Beans
5. We Smoke Fags - Eastenders
6. Hercules & Love Affair - You Belong
7. White Denim - All You Have To Do
8. Elbow - Li'l Pissed Charmin' Tune
9. Glasvegas - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime
10. JJ72 - Snow

Nine slices of 7 inch heaven and one blast from the past. The Glasto review is in the pipeline. Which is to say I haven't started it yet. But I've been busy! And look, I've added label tag things for this post. Let's see if that sticks.

Keep singing in the rain, gorgeous people.

Why Don't You Smile Now

2008-07-02T22:41:00.001+01:00

It's Monday afternoon, and I'm gliding back through London on a high after Glastonbury. The combination of a perfect weekend, a gentle hangover and four nights of sleep depravation have left me in a dreamlike state. I can hardly feel the rucksack on my back. My shoes are caked in mud and my hair is a mess. Few can have any doubts as to where I've been. I escape Finsbury Park tube into the bright sunshine, and see two fellow campers, still wearing their festivals guides around their necks. We exchange the very broadest of grins and I feel all warm inside.

And luckily that feeling has stayed with me. Everyone at work today remarked that I'd obviously had a great time, just from my expression. I showed off my frankly pathetic tan and reeled off my highlights. But they were happy to listen patiently cos I bought them several bags of Haribo from Swindon station on my train journey home. Know your audience...

At lunch, I'm still on full beam. I have a wander to Paperchase with my very best work friend to buy more fun supplies for my latest artistic endeavours. A girl in the queue parallel to me meets my gaze, and I automatically smile at her. My London instincts haven't quite returned yet. And yet in return she gives me the most wonderful heart-stopping smile that lights up her whole face. Her queue is faster than mine and she soon pays for her bundle of arty treats and heads out into the sunshine.

I rather hope my London instincts never return...

Weather With You

2008-07-01T23:18:00.004+01:00

Hello! Yes, I am back from Glastonbury. And still feeling wonderfully odd due to the combination of too much pear cider and not enough sleep. If you went, sorry if I missed you, and if you didn't, it was even better than it looked on the telly. I always seem to say this, but I genuinely think it was the best Glastonbury I've been to. I will probably write a proper review of the weekend soon (and I might actually follow through on that, unlike what I didn't for Radio 1's Big Weekend!) But in the meantime, in a stroke of genius shamelessly ripped off from Ben of Silent Words Speak Loudest, here's my feelgood hits of Glastonbury 2008.

1. Spiritualized - 'Take Your Time'
2. We Are Scientists Feat Lightspeed Champion - 'After Hours'
3. Crowded House - 'Distant Sun'
4. Bishi - 'On My Own Again'
5. Vampire Weekend - 'One (Blake’s Got A New Face)'
6. Blood Red Shoes - 'I Wish I Was Someone Better'
7. Kings Of Leon - 'The Bucket'
8. Neon Neon Feat Cate Le Bon - 'I Lust U'
9. Jay Z - 'Heart Of The City vs Sunday Bloody Sunday'
10. Elbow - 'One Day Like This'

Drinking in the morning sun
Blinking in the morning sun
Shaking off the heavy one
Heavy like a loaded gun

What made me behave that way?
Using words I never say
I can only think it must be love
Oh, anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day...

I Can't Stand The Rain

2008-06-25T00:46:00.000+01:00

Conversations with an idiot #73.

Me: ...I'm just hoping that the weather stays good for Glastonbury.

Alex: I've got myself a new mac.

Me: Wow, really?! Cool!

Pregnant pause. The gears realign.

Me: Oh... Right. A rain mac. I thought you meant an Apple Mac.

Alex: You did seem to be getting a bit over-excited about a coat...

Like A Virgin

2008-06-23T23:13:00.000+01:00

I went to see My Bloody Valentine at The Roundhouse on Saturday night. What people always talk about is how loud they are. And believe me they are. Very. Really. I mean, really really fucking loud. (And according to old timers, the soundsystem wasn't up to it. But it sounded bloody loud to me.) But anyway, yes, forget the loudness for a moment. I was really excited because noone else in the world has created anything quite like the sound that they did, before or since. The records are sublime. I use that word too much, but there is no better word. Woozy, guitar drenched, often sexual without being sleazy, sweet melodies mixed with distortion and reverb.

Live, the vocals are buried even deeper in the mix. The guitars wobble and shimmer. But what's different is the sheer physicality. And now we get to the volume. Debbie Goodge's bass thumps into me in a manner that is so physical it is almost indecent. Colm's drumming somehow manages to punch through the noise right into my gut. Kevin and Bilinda look utterly serene amongst the racket. Cooing their vocals into a tornado of sound.

They look stunning. I wish I could say they look the same, but I don't remember as their last live show was when I was 12. They sound simply fantastic. It is all about the wash of the sound. It feels like sensory overload at times. And this is before they get to the big finale, the self termed "holocaust" section of You Made Me Realise. The legendary bit. The bit I got the ear plugs for. The bit I'm actually nervous about. The bit Betty warned me about six months ago when I first bought the tickets!

And so a couple of minutes after launching into You Made Me Realise, they go nuclear. They hit all the bass strings at once, and send the madly strummed guitars through distortion pedals galore. The sound is looped back on it's self, constantly feeding back, until a wall of white noise develops, over and over and over. It hits you again and again. Those without ear plugs jam fingers in their ears. Then those *with* ear plugs already in their ears cover them with their palms. The vibrations are so strong, my teeth chatter involuntarily. It is utterly transcendent. My heart rate leaps, endorphines are released, my eyes are wide, my jaw drops open. My breath is actually taken away. The only sound I can compare it to is that of a jumbo jet at the point of take off. Except we're strapped to the engine. This goes on for 20 minutes. It is simply extraordinary to surrender to something so primal. It is quite wonderful.

Eventually, they return to the thump of You Made Me Realise, and leave the stage in a wail of feedback. No chatter. No thanks. No encore. The lights come up and everyone looks shellshocked. I can't stop grinning. I remember reading in the 33 1/3 book about Loveless that this band generate the noise that our parents actually thought we were listening to as teenagers. And what an utterly glorious noise it is.

It is no understatement to say that I fell in love with My Bloody Valentine that night. I have actually dreamed about them since. It felt like going back to the excitement and apprehension of your first ever gig. The lights, the noise, a completely fresh experience. I can't wait to see them again at Bestival later this summer. And the prospect of them releasing new material, a la Portishead's simply remarkable rebirth, is just too exciting for words.

Tomorrow Radiohead. I've heard they're quite good too.

Chinese Sleep Chant

2008-06-19T22:45:00.002+01:00

I saw Coldplay at Brixton Academy on Monday, and I've listened to the album across the week. And I'm not going to add to the absurd avalanche of press about them by doing exhaustive pointless reviews. They're still great live. And the album is a vast improvement on the bloated X&Y. If you didn't like them before, you won't like them now. But if, like me, you find them earnestly endearing and capable of moments of genuine emotional transcendance, despite (or perhaps even because) of their limitations, then there's much to enjoy. Someone has to be the biggest band in the world and I'm glad it's them.

Plus, they fired confetti butterflies into the air at the end of their encore. Ok, it's hardly The Flaming Lips, but hey, I'm easily bought.

Oh and there was a free bar at the aftershow. Tuesday was a struggle...

Anyway, from one extreme to the other: My Bloody Valentine on Saturday, with support from Sonic Boom, once of Spacemen 3. EXCITED! And, by Sunday, probably DEAF!

Me, Myself and I

2008-06-17T23:03:00.003+01:00

When I first saw the word Meme on the internet, I didn't realise it was like a real word. I thought it was made up, just from me me. As it was usually stuff someone wrote about themselves. Heheh. Dork. (Anyone who has also been pretending all this time can find out more about it here. Note to self: read The Selfish Gene. Assume it is about some guy called Gene who is, like, really selfish.)

Anyway, I haven't done a meme for ages, so I nicked this one from Annie Slaminsky, and I know Steve's done it too. Amazing.

Five snacks I’d enjoy in a perfect, non-weight gaining world:

My patented amazing super chocolate milkshake that I made one wintertime from full fat milk, luxury chocolate ice cream, Nesquick chocolate mix, chocolate sauce, chocolate sprinkles, Cointreau infused clotted cream and freshly fallen snow.
Cherry Coke drunk through a Cadbury's Spira (whatever happened to those?)
Chocolate Midnight Cookies Haagen Dazs
Chocolate Covered Oreos (that I can't seem to find anymore anyway)
Frosties sweets dissolved in cheap own brand lemonade (we used to drink this as kids!)

Five snacks I enjoy in the real world:

Blueberries.
Green and Blacks Butterscotch.
Iranian Pistacios.
Toasted wholemeal pitta bread and carrot sticks dipped in Houmous.
Slices of mango that are really overipe and squishy.

(Ironically, I now actually prefer the healthier snacks.)

Five things I’d do if I were a billionaire:

1. The boring and obvious thing is to make sure all my family and friends were financially secure. But only if they'd want me to. If there was a way I could find to do it anonymously, that would be so much better. Either that or I'd wear a crown and make them all call me "my liege".

2. I'd love to set up my own record label. Especially in the current climate. Then expand it to club nights, movies, all that stuff. That'd be pretty cool. And I could release my own records! And noone could stop me! Noone!

3. There's so much hate and anger and suffering and sadness in the world. I couldn't fix it with money. But I could try. So, lots to charity. That kind of goes without saying.

4. I'd like to take the time to travel. But, you know, Phileas Fogg/Michael Palin style. Just walk out of my front door with my passport, a wallet full of notes and an mp3 player and just see where I end up. Wanna come? Drinks on me.

5. I'll arrange that when I die, my body be wired up with animatronix. Then, at the end of my funeral, my corpse opens the coffin just as Michael Jackson's Thriller starts up over the church PA system. I climb out, zombie style, and do the perfectly choreographed Thriller dance with a load of brilliant backing dancers who spring from the choir stalls, before walking to a catapult, which then fires me through the window into my grave, way across the church yard.

Best. Funeral. Ever.

Five jobs I’ve had:

Working in the newsie - As mentioned in the previous post. Surrounded by sweets and crisps and magazines. The NME, Slush Puppies, The Face, Spiras, penny sweets, Vox, Select, Melody Maker, sigh, amazing. Shame people had to come in and interupt.

Temping for the council - I had to wear a suit. Not so good. But the people in the offices I worked at were surprisingly cool, actually. Some of them would even talk to me about music.

Shuttling old people around - I helped old people on and off a minibus to the hospice every day. It was easily the sweetest temp job I've ever done. Melody FM and fun conversations with OAPs who had all the reasons in the world to be pissed off, but were all fun and delightful. Plus I had to work about three hours a day and got paid for eight. The Velvet Underground and Stevie Wonder on my walkman. Long summer days. One of my best summers ever.

Production Assistant - I got my dream job working in radio. It almost killed me. When I lost the job after six months, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. Slept for a week. My girlfriend split up with me and I barely even felt it. I signed on at the job centre. A definite low. They looked at me with contempt when I told them I wanted to work in radio. But I got the opportunity to go back and sign off again six weeks later. But I know I could be back there any day, so I don't feel smug about it. I just feel lucky.

Button Pressing Monkey - I love playing with music. I love messing around with audio kit. I love making stuff happen live on air. I get to do it all. I love my job.

Five places I have lived:

Bushey
Nottingham
Finchley
Finsbury Park
Swindon (well, almost did)

What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was just coming to the end of my A Levels. In an unusual fit of nostalgia, I've still got my homework diary from my final school year. I had English exams today and tomorrow. My Leaving Ball was on the 24th. I don't really remember anything specific about any of it, I just remember an overwhelming feeling of release when it all ended. I wanted out of school and out of Watford. I felt totally suffocated, and yearned for my own independence. It's such a cliche, but I hated school and I hated my hometown. My only outlets were music, either through CDs, gigs or the hilarious musical act I was part of. I toyed with computers and guitars and samplers and sequencers, with rather limited success. But it set me on the path to where I am now.

Straight after our clearing up day, me and six of my friends went Interailing around Europe. We did nine countries in the space of a month, devouring culture, food and amazing scenery. Then I came back and bummed around before escaping to university. It was one of the most turbulent and exciting times of my life.

I should do this again in ten years time and I can just copy and paste this whole thing.

Doll Parts

2008-06-15T22:34:00.001+01:00

And so Saturday night was singalong time at Karaoke Box in Farringdon for my lovely friend's birthday. I sang my personal favourite, The Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Loving Feeling. Perfect for my range, naturally, but also the kind of song ideally suited for mangling karaoke style (as ably demonstrated by Paul Shane on Pebble Mill at One. BABY BABEH!). Hopefully this year's performance will stand to be considerably less ironic than the one from last year... You better watch out what you wish for.

Later in the evening, we returned to DIY karaoke action on Singstar back at my friends' flat. Well into the early hours, Hole's Celebrity Skin was treated to another round of vocal vandalism. And I was taken back to when it came out. Ten years ago. (Yeah, it really is! I know...) It was the end of my last summer in Watford before I escaped to University in Nottingham. I spent it just sleeping, thinking and hanging around. And I had a part time job at my local newsagent to fund my music addiction.

The hours were lousy. The pay sucked. And working with the general public instilled a deep loathing in the heart of my soul that remains today. But looking back, I had a great time. Reading music magazines, perpetually hungover, drinking lime slush puppies. My boss was a brilliant bloke, only a few years older than I was. He and I spent the hours outwitting the customers, eating crisps and chatting about music. We'd lend each other CDs and make each other tapes, generally trying to outweird the other. He asked me to get him a copy of Hole's Celebrity Skin when it came out. He was a fan, but was more passionate about Love's original group, Babes In Toyland, who I investigated more deeply later on. But at the time I just loved Celebrity Skin.

It's a great record. With a fantastic video. I was over the moon to find it on 7 inch recently and spun it to whups of joy at my DJ night (one of my only regrets is that I bought CD singles as a teen when I should've got the records!) Hole and Love had been floating around at the back of my conciousness all week after seeing Foo Fighters do Stacked Actors last weekend, seeing the story about Kurt's stolen ashes in the NME, and then hearing Doll Parts on Juno.

When she was 12, Courtney Love tried out for the Micky Mouse club, but she failed after reading a Sylvia Plath poem at the audition. She was always gonna be a bit special. And she was always more than just a celebrity widow. But that's probably how she'll be remembered. Which just ain't fair...

1. Hole - Celebrity Skin
2. The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling
3. Pizzicato Five - Baby Love Child
4. We Are Scientists - The Method
5. Jenny Lewis - Big Guns
6. Be Your Own Pet - Heart Throb
7. Coldplay - Life In Technicolour
8. Josie & The Pussycats - Three Small Words
9. Hole - Doll Parts
10. Scarlett Johansson - I Don't Wanna Grow Up

One last week before holiday. Can. Not. Wait.

A Movie Script Ending

2008-06-13T00:24:00.002+01:00

Some photos of things and places and me. Inspired by Annie's blog and flickrstream and Kate's flickrstream. They make me want to take more photos. Better photos. One day I'll sort my own flickr out. In the meantime, these will have to do...

I took these after watching Juno on DVD. The menu was still playing happily away to itself in the background. When I switched on my Iriver, I just got it to play the last song I'd been listening to. It happened to be the Foo Fighters' 'Big Me', the song that's stayed with me the strongest since last Saturday. And when it started, I realised it was perfectly in key with the music from the Juno DVD, Mateo Messina's 'Up The Spout'.

I love it when stuff like that happens.

The Dark Is Rising

2008-06-11T01:48:00.002+01:00

And a brand new moon is born.

No Way Back

2008-06-08T11:59:00.001+01:00

It's sometime after 7 o'clock on Saturday evening. I'm in Wembley stadium, watching Supergrass storm through 'Caught By The Fuzz.' It still sounds as frankly wonderful as it did when I first heard it as a teenager. And something occurs to me. I lean over to my friend's ear...

"I remember buying Supergrass's debut I Should Coco on cassette in 1995. If someone had said to me then that in 13 years time I'd be watching them supporting the drummer from Nirvana's band at Wembley Stadium, I'd have told them to fuck off."

And so here we are. Dave Grohl stops halfway through Foo Fighters' two and a half hour set and asks "How the fuck did this band become so fucking big?" And I have to smile along with him. I am unquestionably a Foos fan, and have been since 'This Is A Call' all those years ago. And tonight they are undeniably superb. But it is really weird! I mean, how the hell did this happen?

I'm not the type to say I Saw Them First. It's just that Foo Fighters journey to the position of stadium act and arguably biggest rock band in the world feels surreal. Ok, ok, maybe I am being a bit of a snob here. Ok, a lot of a snob. I turn up to the gig in regulation California punk uniform of black shirt and skinny black and red tie. I stand out far more than I thought I would. There are a few emo kids, but the vast majority here are regular folks going to one of their only gigs of the year. Nothing wrong with that. They're just not really my people. Plus I don't like stadium gigs. It sounds like we're listening to the band echoing around a gigantic toilet.

But you can't fault the songs. The first flurry of tracks is simply awe-inspiring. They fling hit after hit at us, only pausing for breath during an extended This Is A Call. Yes, there are indulgent moments. But they seem to be having so much fun ripping through the rock cliches, you can't begrudge them it. Extended widdly guitar work outs? Check. Rotating stage? Check. Meeting the band, with a 30 second triangle solo? Check! But... it's at moments like this that it starts to hit home. I wonder, privately, if they're powering the gig via a dynamo attached to Kurt's coffin. Nirvana just couldn't have played a night like this.

This is of course no detriment to Dave Grohl. Nirvana were a better band, but Kurt couldn't reconcile his success with his own sense of self worth. That was his problem. And because of that, we have Foo Fighters. And Dave Grohl has written some wonderful pop songs. But the early material, especially The Colour and The Shape, had more depth than the shiny stadium rock of late, which is high on hooks, low on nutritional value. That second album was written whilst Grohl was still in the shadow of Nirvana's demise, and during his divorce to his first wife. It's telling that my three favourite Foo Fighters tracks, Monkey Wrench, Everlong and Walking After You, all feature on that record. Each subsequent release has been glossier, poppier and more successful, as Dave's life has gotten better and better.

Dave Grohl is a happy man with a wife and kids and one of the biggest bands in the world. He deserves it all. I've still got my copy of The Colour And The Shape. It's soundtracked my deepest love and most painful heartbreak, and I know it will again. And they're still one of the best live bands I've ever seen (they're joined for the encore by John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, and tellingly the two songs they do are my least favourite of the night. Never liked Led Zep. Faux mystical cock rock bollocks. Courtney Love would've been so much more fun.) But those old songs still touch me in a fantastic way, and I look up into the darkening sky over Wembley and scream into the night...

One last thing before I quit, I never wanted any more than I could fit into my head. I still remember every single word you said and all the shit that somehow came along with it, still there's one thing that comforts me since I was always caged and now I'm free!

They finish with Best Of You, and the crowd go appropriately mad. Dave breaks down with emotion. (The second time I've seen a rock frontman blub in a month! What's wrong with these people?) Quite brilliant. Everyone, from middle aged grunge survivors to kids going to their first gig, leaves beaming from ear to ear.

And you all know the drill by now...

1. Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
2. Spiritualized - You Lie You Cheat
3. Blur - Trouble In The Message Centre
4. Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down
5. Metronomy - Radio Ladio
6. Omni Trio - Renegade Snares (High Contrast Remix)
7. Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do
8. The Ronettes - Be My Baby
9. Annie - Heartbeat
10. Death From Above 1979 - Dead Womb
11. Post War Years - Black Morning
12. Foo Fighters - Home

I'm still bummed out that I never got to see Nirvana live. Oh well... whatever...

Skip To The End

2008-06-04T09:12:00.000+01:00

Wander through the winding streets of Noho. The Telecom tower looming overhead like an ever present watchtower. Past the Thai food stalls, that smell yummy, but have huge queues. Past the sushi shop that'll have to wait for another day. Past Oxfam and the Fitzrovia and the bargain barbers. Spot the scene above in a window and snap it quickly before I lose my friend. Go to Paperchase for supplies. Feeling creative. Go to Tesco for supplies. I have a Green and Blacks Butterscotch craving, and need a treat for one of my five a day. Today it's pineapple. Back to the office for a packed lunch, music and guessing games. Lunchtime in Banditoland.

Ripchord

2008-06-03T22:08:00.001+01:00

Conversations from the studio #1.

"What you listening to?"

"It's the new single from Portishead. The Rip."

"Sounds good."

"It is. It really really is. It's just incredible. I can't believe they've come back after 10 years with an album that's this amazing. Do you know their early stuff? I mean, that was great, but to come back and still sound this good is just... staggering!"

I'm rendered speechless as the vocals descend into a wail over an almost impossibly beautiful bed of acoustic guitar and emerging electronic pulses. It's as if the whole world is melting away and I'm floating in a cool blue ocean of shapeless colour.

"Bit depressing isn't it?"

"Well... yes. But that's kind of the point. That's why it's so amazingly great!"

And it is. It really is. It's just so unbelievably wonderful. Phenomenal. Extraordinary. I honestly didn't think we'd get another album out of them. It was almost as if after the whole explosion of dire copycats after the Dummy and Portishead albums, they were so disgusted at the Trip Hop beast they'd created, they retreated forever into the void.

I can't express how happy I am that they've come back. And they've produced an album that is completely Portishead, and yet also a complete revelation. It's all tied together by Beth Gibbons vocals, that still seem to emerge from such supreme depths of misery and despair they make Amy Winehouse sound like a puddle. I love this album, I love this band.

When I started this blog, I always said it was the frustrated music journalist inside me trying to escape. But I realise now that I'd make a shit music journalist. Because I can only really write about the things that I love. Like...

Track 7. Deep Water. Just Beth and a ukele, with music hall backing vocals. It should be awful. But instead it's sublime. Then it goes straight into Machine Gun. Boom. Oh, just get the album...

Lola

2008-06-01T21:20:00.002+01:00

So on Friday I dressed up like a girl.

Except I didn't do it half heartedly. Nah, that would've been way too easy. I had been volunteered as Miranda for a Sex And The City party (blame the hair), and I decided I was damn well going to do this properly. Now, I'd never cross dressed, the closest I'd come was some Izzard inspired blue nail varnish at uni. So I emailed round the office at work for some female assistance. I managed to get hold of dress that I could squeeze into (much to the horror of my colleague Sophie, who kindly leant it to me...) I was given fascinators and make up and hand bags and jewelry. Sadly noone had size 13 heels, so I got hold of some flip flops which were suitably blinged up. With some help from my female assistants, I looked quite simply fabulous.

The reaction I got was interesting. The girls absolutely loved it. Many got a bit overexcited actually. I felt like I was eight years old, surrounded by a gaggle of older sisters and their friends, eager to use me as a doll. As the eldest of two brothers, this was a new, and rather bizarre position to find myself in. But it was the reaction of the blokes, who were either amused, or horrified, or even a bit awkward, that was most telling. Had I broken the final taboo? It's ok to be of a different colour, race or sexuality, sure, but a straight tranny? Can't deal with that one! Or maybe I made them feel a bit funny, like Brian Molko from Placebo did when I was 15. Cos I looked so damn hot.

Either way it made me think of this...

Anyway, won't be doing it again. Simply because I don't really have the desire to wear women's clothing. And I rather like being a boy. But it would be cool if people could dress however they wanted. I sometimes rather envy the clothing choices girls have, but of course those choices come coupled with a whole heap of expectations and value judgements that a boy could never truly appreciate. So I'm not moaning. I just often find that when looking at unisex things like T Shirts, the designs on the ones for girls so often appeal to me more than the ones for boys. That's all.

Anyway, tunes for a cross-dressing weekend, then...

1. Madonna - What It Feels Like For A Girl
2. Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Songs That We Sing
3. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
4. Lake Of The Pier - Space And The Woods
5. Prince - Creep (Live at Coachella)
6. Regina Spektor - Your Honour
7. Suicide - Keep Your Dreams
8. Blur - Ambulance
9. Los Campesinos - My Year In Lists
10. Radiohead - Creep

How the fuck do you get the nail varnish off your cuticles? I don't even like Sex And The City that much...

Take Me To The Other Side

2008-05-26T22:48:00.001+01:00

So, last week, I saw Spiritualized.

And -oh- what a life affirming, soul nourishing, wonderful, magical, spine tinglingly fantastic night it was. Spiritualized are one of those bands that mean something deep to me. There's just something special about them. The themes Jason Pierce writes about... Love. Drugs. God. Death... They could so easily sound clunky and trite. It's the indication of true genius that they don't. In fact, they sound sublime. I use the word genius too often, but it feels like you're in the presence of a genuine musical visionary.

Spiritualized, and Pierce's earlier band Spacemen 3, have never been shy in referencing their own personal heroes: The Velvet Underground, Suicide, The MC5, The Rolling Stones (when they were good), and so on... But tonight, it feels like watching a band that wouldn't be out of place in that hallowed list. There's something out of time about them. In a world of flipchart indie (not my phrase sadly, but you know, immediately, what I mean) Spiritualized feel timeless and legendary. Not in a dadrock way. There's supreme musicianship, and earnest soulful lyrics, sure, but a degree of emotional depth and aural anarchy that makes them so unique.

Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the heartbreak (dumped for Richard Ashcroft?! Ouch!), maybe it's the near death experience. Or maybe it's just the fact he's been around for so long. But J Spaceman seems completely real and yet utterly untouchable onstage. For one of the few times in my life, I am completely mesmerised. The band don't put a foot wrong. There's a mixture of tunes, old and new. Tellingly, new single, 'Soul Of Fire' is almost impossibly moving. The Spacemen 3 songs sound as fresh as the more recent Spiritualized stuff. The only complaint I could have is that they could've played for another 3 or 4 hours and I would've wanted more.

Throughout, Jason barely acknowledges the audience, remaining enigmatic til the end... but with the closer 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' ringing in our ears, the crowd goes absolutely crazy. Jason applauds the backing singers, applauds the audience, and the emotion on his face is plain to see. I almost blub like a baby. I mean, come on, the guy nearly died! Anyway, enough eulogising. Put simply, this was quite comfortably one of the best gigs I've ever been to.

I've heard Spiritualized can be hit and miss live. Appropriately enough, you can chalk this up as a HIT. Can't wait to see them at Glastonbury.

Flower Girl

2008-05-26T20:45:00.002+01:00

It's been a mad week and bank holiday weekend. As I always say the irony of this blog is that the more going on to write about, the less time I actually have to write about it. My Spiritualized gig write up is almost done. But mentions must also go to Florence and the Machine who were superb supporting a rather haphazard, but occasionally brilliant MGMT at the Astoria. Will it be the last gig I see there? Sniff. I hope not. It was the scene of my first ever London concert in 1996 when I travelled the length of the Met line to see Placebo in their prime. And I used to love hearing my grandmother's memories of her and my grandad dancing there before the war. Let's pray for more reprieves.

The weekend was spent making movies, voting for the French, running through the storm, meeting new friends, reuniting with old ones and listening to music. Here's a Top 10 for a rainy bank holiday weekend. Hope you had fun, whatever the weather.

1. Spiritualized - Shine A Light
2. MGMT - Kids
3. The Velvet Underground - Rock & Roll
4. Low - Lord Can You Hear Me?
5. Florence And The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
6. Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
7. Mogwai - Honey
8. Sebastien Tellier - Divine
9. Sigur Rós - Hljómalind
10. Spacemen 3 - Take Me To The Other Side

Monday nights that feel like Sunday nights are sometimes the best.

Keep Your Dreams

2008-05-18T18:03:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Steve and Claire who both mentioned this wonderful webcomic to me on the same day, in a strange act of synchronicity. Not that I'm sure I actually believe in synchronicity. Anyway. Keep your dreams, don't sell your soul.

So yesterday I went to the hairdressers and got them to stick red bits in my hair. I've wanted to do something like it since I was a kid (I experimented with spray on dye in my teens, and again more recently when I sprayed it black to go emo for a night), but I never did it permanently. At uni I regularly shaved all my hair off to try and make myself look a bit older. Now it's grown out cos I want to look younger! I toyed with the idea when I was going out with the ex, cos she often did crazycool things with her hair, but I never got round to it. And when we split, I decided I couldn't do it then because people would think I was only doing it cos I'd been dumped or whatever. So, with the sun finally appearing and a plethora of music festivals coming up, I thought now was the right time. And back we go to the hairdressers...

"So, what were you thinking of?"

"Um. I don't know really. I've never dyed my hair before. I just want red bits in it. You know. Sort of mixed in with my normal hair colour, here and there. I think."

"Riiight, ok. Here are some of the natural red shades we've got..." She shows me various auburn tones.

"No, I mean red red. Pillbox red. Like this!" I point to the bracelet I bought at Radio 1's Big Weekend the Saturday before for a pound. The bracelet that leaves red rings around my wrist every time I wear it, like I've suffered a particularly savage chinese burn.

"Ah, ok. Are you sure? I mean, we have fashion colours like this..." She flicks to the page with various garishly bright colours that just scream late-20's crisis to me. Now we're talking. Amongst them is red red.

"Yes! Perfect! That one! Definitely!"

"Er, are you sure?"

"Yes, definitely!"

"Really?"

"Yes!!"

And so, after she checked several more times that I was absolutely sure I really wanted to go through with it, she did all the painting and foiling jazz. And I was just sat their grinning, like an idiot. AND IT LOOKS SO COOL!

So glad I went for it. This is going to be an interesting week!

Seeing Spiritualized on Tuesday, and I get a little ripple of excitement going down my spine every time I think about it. One of my all time favourite bands. And the new single sounds just perfect. Yay!