On another note, if you haven't seen Mil Millingtons site "Things my girlfriend and I have argued about" have a look. You can also find Mil in the Guardian magazine on a Saturday.

saturday, september 8

I stumbled across blogdex when checking my web stats. They crawl weblogs looking for trends. I'm sure it's very well known but I've always been a bit slow on the uptake :)

tuesday, september 4

Oops, haven't posted for a while. Better make amends.

Here's a brief list of the CDs I remember buying over the last couple of weeks.

Bjork - Vespertine :: I'm listening to it as I type this. This ranks with the best of her previous material.
The Strokes - Is this it :: Pretty good, nice and short too at 33 mins. And we got it before the US :)
Aimee Mann - Magnolia :: Grief, this was awful, although I only managed to listen to a couple of tracks before I threw the thing across the room in disgust. I was in a foul mood at the time but that doesn't mean that the CD has any redeeming features. I may give it another try, in a year or two.
The Beta Band - Three EP's :: Haven't listened to this yet, I'm saving it for later.

As for books I've continued to read more of Iain M Banks, this time it's Inversions, which I bought in hardback a couple of years ago but didn't really get into. This time I'm persevering. I'm also reading I'm OK You're OK, by Thomas A Harris, which deals with transactional analysis. Someone I know is doing a course in councelling and it made me curious.

No films recently (how sad) apart from the usual TV stuff, East is East and The Terminator. Other than that you should look out for Stanley Kubrick - A life in pictures, showing for the next two nights. I'm still coming to terms with the fact that Buffy has a sister, when did that happen? Also now I'm back at work I can't watch all the lovely daytime tv that kept me so amused during the holidays. Still, there's always christmas to look forward to.

wednesday, august 22

I'll assume that if you're a TV addict between the ages of 18-30 and in the UK you'll have developed a mild craving for The Secret Life of Us [channel 4 wed. 10:55pm]. It's a bit like This Life, but with a hell of a lot more sunshine. They all seem to be laughing in the picture on the official site, but there have been precious few chuckles in the last few episodes [9 and 10]

I've been off work vegging for a while so I've gotten to see a lot of daytime TV. I'm getting addicted to a show called Cupid [channel 5 2:20pm weekdays]. This a really good show, well acted and sensitive without resorting to melodrama. It ain't War and Peace but it's a pleasant way to waste your afternoon.

Currently reading Look To Windward by Iain M Banks. More science fiction set in the world of the Culture. If you don't like this genre he's still worth a try.

monday, august 20

Verspertine, the latest from Björk is out on the 27th, the Times and Dazed and Confused both gave away tracks and it look like it's gonna be pretty bloody good.

Couple of films to look out for, first Ghost World an adaptation of Daniel Clowes' bitterweet comic. Not sure how closely the plot resembles the original, but Clowes has written the script so I doubt it matters. [IMDB] [Official Site]

the other is Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, I just overdosed on Kevin Smith movies on the weekend (mallrats, chasing amy, clerks...skipped Dogma), and then found out about this, hmm coincidence, well yeah I guess so.

friday, august 17

Not much to report. Bought a couple of CDs, Zero7 - simple things, lovely and very chilled out, and Tricky - Maxinquaye, to replace the copy I have on tape.

Found some links from the browser, have a look at this lot when you have a mo'.

wednesday, august 15

31/03/2001 - *** Intermission ***

 >>>empty space<<<

15/08/2001 - *** Resume ***

Hey, I'm back.  After some interesting issues with resuming my hosting and renewing the URL plus six months of twelve hour days I can finally get back to more important matters, like telling you what I got down the shops on a Saturday.  There's quite a lot to catch up on, large amounts of books and CDs bought, films seen and adventures in London hotels to recount [warning: includes nudity... no, really!].  So where to begin? Well I'm the sort of bloke who likes lists, so lets have a list of the CDs I've gotten hold of since the last time we spoke and go from there.... Oh yeah, and how are you?

CDs

[this list is not chronological, I just buy the stuff, I don't remember when I bought it, it's usually all a blur until the mist clears and I find myself at home with a bag of little silver discs...].

Star Wars Generation - Alex Empire ::  1994, it's all coming back to me. The noise, the panic.

Greatest Hits - Blur ::  I've come round to liking Blur, they're not bad. The track "She's so high" reminds me of someone I know.

Boards of Canada - A Beautiful place out in the country. ::  Ahh, these boys know how to calm me down.

Braindance sampler - Various ::  Celebrating ten years of Rephlex records [the label is owned by the Aphex Twin]. Fave track - rewind, by Cylob, funky!

Avalances - Since you left me ::  Aussie dance on the same label as the Prodigy. Nice.

Autechre [lots of stuff] ::  Peel sessions and other missing tracks, for a fiver a time. Makes sense inside your headphones.

The abc years - Lamont Dozier ::  No idea why I bought this one, just did. Not bad actually kinda Motown, Dozier penned a lot of big Motown hits before he started performing.

Confusion is sex - Sonic Youth ::  Love em'

Stop the panic - Luke Vibert and BJ Cole ::  Dope fueled hawaiian slide guitar and a heap of serious beats.

Doolittle - Pixies ::  Why this nostalgia trip for bands who have broken up? No idea, but this is a wonderful album.

Solaris - Photek ::  The first two tracks are awesome sweeping soundscapes, the rest is an attempt to do dance mainstream and the lad's not really up for it. This cost me fifteen quid, reduced to seven when I went in the following week, quite right too.

The moldy peaches ::  "All I wanna do is ride bikes with you, and stay up late, and watch cartoons". Buy this.

Sheet One - Plastikman ::  Trippy, very unobtrusive stuff, works it's way inside your head. Have a drink before you listen to it.

To Venus and back - Tori Amos ::  Look, I know she's well weird [pigs suckling her on one album cover for example [on 'boys for pele']] but I have a soft spot for the lass,so I'll buy her stuff even if it's no longer relevant, ok?

Mellow gold - Beck ::  "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me". Has he gone off the boil recently, or is it just me?

Amnesiac - Radiohead ::  If they put out a recording of Thom burping I'd buy it.

Sgt. Pepper, Rubber Soul - The Beatles ::  Sgt. Pepper was for me, as one of those albums that most people will own, and I wanted to compare it's structure to OK Computer [anyone still awake out there? :) ]. The second is my mums favorite so I got it on CD for her and listened to it as a way of getting to know what she was like when she was younger [aaah].

Free all angels - ash ::  a nice return to form for ash, but I still got fed up with it after a while, perhaps I can come back to it later?

Hot Shots II - The Beta Band ::  Ace, supporting you know who at the moment.

Sound 01 - A big dada sampler ::  Good array of talent, rap and some french orientated stuff, plus a lot more that I wouldn't want to categorize.

Snivilisation, The alltogether - Orbital ::  Picked up Snivilisation today actually. I already have it on tape, it was the first orbital album I owned and it's still their best work. The alltogether is very upbeat [play track six extremely loud for own amusement].

B Sides - Pixies ::  Great version of "wave of mutilation", that one appears on my homemade compilations a lot.

Sueadhead - The best of Morrisey ::  "Everyday is like Sunday".

Teenager of the Year - Frank Black ::  One of the best albums ever made, number three in my all-time list. "Speedy Marie" and "Phazer Eyes" are my faves, just in case you have this.

Almost Famous - Soundtrack ::  I rarely buy soundtracks but I enjoyed this film so much that I wanted to have the music with me for a while.

The Best of Aretha Franklin ::  Loads of motown recently, there is classic material waiting to be discovered by techno heads like me.

Go Plastic, Maximum Priest - Squarepusher ::  Plenty of stuff to destroy your cochlea. Bless im'

808 State - 88:98 ::  Ten years of 808 State, they were cutting edge and still cut the mustard, just skip the ones where there's a guy rapping.

BlowBack - Tricky ::  What a comeback from the lad. This is a really accessible album, go and get it.

Two remixes by AFX ::  At last, something new by the Aphex Twin, hurray. Track one is ace, track two is good, track three is the usual piss-take.

Rooty - Basement Jaxx ::  Tracks one and two (Romeo and Breakout) convinced me to buy this.

Reveal - REM ::  So I resisted for a while, just to show them who's boss, but 'All the way to Reno' reeled me in. This ones been on the minidisc constantly.

The Stanton Session - Stanton Warriors ::  Excellent mix CD

Stax Records Hits 1968 - 1974 ::  Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs, The Staple Singers. All good.

Supa Dupa Fly - Missy Elliott ::  The album that revitalised hip hop.

Different Class - Pulp ::  The good one, Common People, Sorted for E's and Wizz any many, many more folks!

There are more CDs than this I promise, I just can't find the buggers right now.  At least Radiohead put out a more accessible release, I was beginning to get worried [and no I don't want them to go back to producing stuff like The Bends, that's stagnation].Ok, enough preaching, on to the books, not so many of these and I'll keep it short as my fingers are getting tired.  All this typing is hard on me [pathetic attempt to get sympathy eh?]

[While I type this there's a track playing on the stereo advising lads about appropriate foreplay techniques and genital hygiene, I'm getting distracted]

On Liberty - John Stuart Mill - Treatise on appropriate behavior, written in 1859 and still relevant today.  I got this because a friend was discussing the tenets he tries to live his life by, namely "Be excellent to one another" and "Party on".  Bill and Ted fans take note, this is actually quite a wise mantra for modern life.  John Stuart Mill agrees although it takes him about 150 pages to say so.  [My mantra is a combination of "Treat others as you would wish to be treated" and "All's fair in love and war" which often causes conflicts, but that's just me.]

Utopia - Thomas Moore - Another old text [1516 in fact] this time relating to the idea of a perfect society.  Saw a documentary on the town that Disney built along similar principles, scary, so needed more information on the motives behind the construction. [interesting fact no. 1543, Thomas Moore was made a saint.]

The Art of War - Sun Tzu - I keep buying this sort of stuff, but I don't know why.  I find it more fun to act on impulse in these situations, you so rarely get the opportunity to do so in other aspects of life.  And no, I wasn't trying to improve my business acumen with some ancient chinese wisdom.

253 - Geoff Ryman -  The Child Garden is one of my favorite books, one of those that change your life, so anything else by Geoff Ryman is fine by me.  253 is a wonderful book detailing the thoughts of an entire tube train, one page per person.  The original version ofthe book is actually a web site, so stop reading this and go there and start reading, if you haven't already.

Complete Poems - Charlotte Mew - I only discovered Charlotte Mew recently, I was thumbing through the Oxford book of English verse [as you do] and spotted a wonderful poem by her. Turns out that she committed suicide in 1928 after the death of her sister.  Virginia Woolf stated that she was "the greatest living poetess", and she was definitely a very passionate woman with that magical economy of words that all good poets posses.  This one stays in the bag I take to work and I often turn to it, magic.

Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - Another in a seemingly unending string of books from TP.  And the standard he maintains is amazingly high.  If you've never read any of his novels [and most people have] try one, his humor works anywhere, not just in england.

Medea on Media - Design book from MIT guru John Medea. [Richard,this one's for you].

Merry - Koji Mizutani - Pictures of Tokyo girls smiling. This never fails to cheer me up.  Also a great illustration of the innovation and inventiveness of Japanese fashion, mixing up western influences in ways no westerner would ever dream of doing.  Inventive but not original. Best pages 52 and 53, the girls each write a message at the bottom of thepage - 52 says "I think Satomi Yajima is great.  I'd love to be like her." - 53 says "Love".  I picked this up a Selfridges as part oftheir Tokyo Life month, along with some ridiculously overpriced japanese sweets.

Phew, this is going well, lets push on to the cinema.  Now this one is a little more tricky as I have been working long hours for a long time and so haven't seen that many movies.  This is doubly annoying as I have been working in central London for the last six months and within five minutes walk of the NFT at that.  Excuse me if I grit my teeth whilst typing this. 

I have bought a couple of movies on video, Todd Solondz's Happiness being the best example.  Good grief that film is amazing but I had a hard time watching it.  Not because of the subject matter, although it is challenging, but because it isn't the sort of thing you want to watch on a Sunday evening when you don't feel too good about going to work the following morning.

Other films have included Dancer In the Dark with the ever lovely Björk [again definitely not one for Sunday night] and Holy Smoke starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel, I have a soft spot for Jane Campion, she makes bloody good films.  Best of the lot was the Maltese Falcon, also The Odd Couple was on the TV recently, Jack Lemmon was a great actor, and so was Walter Matthau.Ok that's all for now, go and read the new installment of HotelFetish for a laugh at my beer fueled antics [although there were mitigating circumstances]. 

I'm gonna make weekly updates to the site from now on, I've missed writing this and some people have been kind enough to say they've missed reading it.
Ok time for a cup of tea. Later.