My Take On The World

Hahvahd

2008-09-29T02:26:00.003Z

So I haven't written a blog for a while now, but since in the last month I have: partially emigrated & started university; I figure that right now is a good time to start.

Basically, coming to America from the UK has been relatively simple. Being bombarded by American culture for as long as I can remember, a lot of things seem more normal to me than in the UK. Take Oreo's for example. They've only been available in the UK for the last few months, but suddenly, I get to a place (America to be precise) that treats Oreo's as a standard snack. In fact, not only here do they treat regular Oreo's as standard snacks, but they also lots of different kinds: Double Stuf, Peanut Butter, Golden... I can't imagine a time when these beautiful things were not part of my life. And root beer, and pumpkin pie and co(wa)ffee. It's crazy how these things, like I've said, have just become so normal.

And currency, well apart from the coins (which are really confusing; I still don't fully understand what a dime or a nickel is, all I know is that the smaller one is worth more) the notes are simple enough. There's a $1, a $5, a $10 and a few others that really aren't as common. What's really crazy is the Golden Dollar, i.e. the coin form of a note. Why have two formats for the same value? Why not? It happens because it can.

One of the biggest shocks has been the naming of things. Before I got here, I'd never walked on a "sidewalk", I'd never put my "trash" in the "can" & I most certainly did not think that I had a "fanny". So often, I have to navigate around some of these crazy words to try and get to the root of what people are saying. I'm constantly translating from American to English in an effort to understand the world around me better. Turns out that waffles aren't made of potatoes, and at Harvard, you can get truth in them. Literally, there's truth in them waffles.

So I haven't really written anything like this for a long time, and so it's not very good. But I hope to keep my blog going from now on, so that hopefully I can give some more snippets of American life to people back in England, and let the Americans know what their culture is like from an outsiders perspective.

To hammer home the stereotypes:

Cheerio!

The Theme Continues

2008-05-07T20:02:00.002Z

Summer really has started.

I saw my first bee today.

I also got my railcard for this summer's holiday.

I'm so excited!

By the way, if you haven't already, listen to No Age - they rule.

Summer

2008-05-06T21:31:00.003Z

When does summer actually start? Especially in Britain, this is quite debatable since astronomically it's some ridiculously late date (June 21st officially) that is often far past when summer is thought to have begun. But I think the problem with most people is they cling to a succession of warm weather dates in May/June and instantly think Summer's begun. So what is the best system? Stars or Sun? I think it's the third S.

Shorts.

Everyone associates Summer with shorts, or at least I do. And no matter how hot it is, and no matter what the alignment of the stars is (and also no matter what my local boutique is telling em the season is), I don't feel like Summer has begun until I wear shorts legitimately. Today was that day. My summer has now begun, and because of this, I'm naturally very happy! Summer rules. But this method is pretty flexible, it means Summer starts at different points for different people, and for those that don't own shorts, despite being attirically (?) retarded, they'll never get Summer in all its bare-leg glory. I pity them really. But one thing I don't advocate is clinging on to shorts, i.e. don't wear them when despite your protests, Summer is definitely over - it just looks lame. When the season's passed, put the shorts away, please! No-one wants to see your bare calves out of sync.

Screw flowers, beaches and BBQs, public shins are where it's at! And I am now thankful that my Summer has had the opportunity to begin so early, and I can only hope that others get to share this same feeling, before it's too late.

[NB - The picture above was the fourth one that came up on Google Images when I typed in shorts; mine aren't actually, surprisingly, anything like those.]

[NB II - Mine are light camo River Island cargo shorts. That's right, I'm giving you a taster of my wardrobe online.]

I Know I'm Sad.

2008-05-05T20:38:00.002Z

Look, I know it's probably not cool to admit, but yesterday I discovered in my highly cluttered box of games, one that I'd neglected for quite a while: Final Fantasy X.

Anyone that has ever played any of the Final Fantasy games will no exactly what I'm talking about - they're just epic. I started out with the uncomparable VII, skipped VIII because the sword-gun thing looked really lame, had a dabble with IX, but felt that a protagonist with a tail was a bit crap (and also the card games!?!), and have now finally (pun) settled with the awesome X.

This game is horribly addictive and has occupied quite a large portion of my time since I doscovered it. I don't mind though, it's all been worth it! Travelling through Spira as a Guardian to a Summoner so that she may call upon the Final Aeon to defeat Sin and return to Zanarkand has never been this much fun (I remember the last time...)!

Now if you'll excuse me, my overdrive is full, and I have a flying guardian to kill.

So, so sad...

Politics.

2008-05-01T20:47:00.000Z

Today I was able to exercise my right to vote for the first (of what I'm sure will be many) time(s). It felt good to actually be making at least a small change in society, in fact my 'influence' extended only to Borough level. There were three parties represented in the parish election: Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and the BNP, with those three plus Labour in the borough vote. I swear that I will never vote for the disgracefully racist BNP - it's groups like that that make me sick to the core to be British. They claim to restore British values, yet none of their 'policies' overlap with my intentions. I absolutely fucking love the multiculturalism of Britain - it makes it so much more interesting and a great place to live. But when narrow-minded white supremacists spout their doctrine, inciting racial hate (helped along by the media), that's when I start to get angry, but not like the Hulk gets angry, more inward. And the worst part is how they claim not to be racists, yet racism is defined as the favouring of one race above another, and they sure seem to favour Brits. Bastards, the lot them. Not much gets me angry, but the BNP, the Ku Klux Klan et al. seem to always get me substantially, how shall I say, annoyed. There we go, I've calmed down now since the start of the paragraph.

Breath.

What Makes A Man Start Fires?

2008-04-08T22:54:00.002Z

Is it the desire to destroy?
Is it to feel heat, warmth and security?
Is it to create the destruction that entails?
Is it for fun?
Is it because there's nothing better to do?
Is it to feel powerful?
Is it to assert control?
Is it to prove a point?
Is it to prove something to yourself?
Is it for revenge?
Is it for love?
Is it the same for everyone?
Is it inevitable?
Is it to teach?
Is it to learn?
Is it for a reason?
Is it spontaneous?
Is it a by-gone past time?
Is it instinct?

Perhaps its all, none or a combination of the above.

Perhaps we'll never know.

Cocktail Party

2008-04-04T22:44:00.002Z

I love Holy Fuck, and I love Radiohead. I also love Holy Fuck's Remix of "Nude" by Radiohead.

Boy am I happy with this discovery!

Check it out here (Top of the list).

Enjoy!

Espresso

2008-04-04T19:28:00.004Z

[Written in Rome, Italy: 21/03/2008]So far I've paid anything between nothing and €1.50 for a humble espresso, and from my taste observations, the free one came out on top, with the expensive one right down at the bottom. In fact, it would appear that there is a degree of inverse proportionality between price & quality. Why this is so, I can only speculate. However I will hypothesise using the two extreme, paid examples: an 80c shot fro the renowned Tazza D'Oro and a €1.50 abomination from a tourist trap.

Now Tazza D'Oro is a big place, able to serve many people at any one time, and no doubt its barista are pumping several hundred shots a day. Perhaps they charge so little as an added incentive to come; not just quality, but cheap also. And by pumping hundreds a day, they will no doubt accumulate a sizeable profit. As for the expensive one, I said it was in a tourist trap so it will no doubt be expensive. But unlike the specialist Tazza D'Oro, this place was a souvenir shop, a newsagent & a café - all presided over by the same person. With experience I've found these sort of small establishments to be very keen to clinch profit wherever possible, and overcharging for an espresso is no doubt an extension of this. (N.B> Assuming that £1.20 is an average U.K. espresso price, €1.50 is about on a par with that). But they won't be reliant on coffee to boost their income and so they will be less likely to centre their business plan around it.

As for preparation, the only difference was in the machines: Tazza D'Oro had electric machines and the tourist trap had a hand pump, which I'm told are inconsistent and when in the wrong hands (as I'm sure they were that day) they can produce terrible espresso. But apart from this, preparation was identical. What most shocked me was the obvious disregard for certain practices that were drilled into me as a trainee barista. Offence one, they banged the coffee from the portafilter and that was it - no brushing away of the previous coffee's traces or washing... just bang and reload: like a gun. Offence two: they didn't wash through the pumps between coffees, meaning they would probably accumulate dirt over the course of the day. Saving the worst for last however; offence three: grinding the bag of coffee all at once, implying that thew portion going into your shot had probably been ground hours ago and had since gone stale. As for tamping, that involved a brief touch of the portafilter against a flimsy, plastic dish attached to the grinder.

Yet even the worst is far superior to any found in the U.K. Which leads me to conclude that two factors affect quality: blend of beans and number of shots pumped a day.

Tazza D'Oro is owned by a third generation barista (or some intense lineage anyway), who blends, roasts and grinds all his own coffee less than 10 metres away from where it will be sold. The recipe of the blend is over a century old a a closely guarded secret (so I'm told). No wonder that with sub-standard preparation, this was a superior shot. The tourist trap probably bought in its beans either from a local distributor or a major company (e.g. Illy) and the mass production no doubt involved will have hindered the taste from being fully realised.

As for the latter variable, it is said that Guinness should only be drunk when you can see at least one other person drinking it. This is because, by allowing a relatively continuous flow through the pipes, it is prevented from going stale and flat and is poured in its optimum condition. From experience (there goes that experience again...), espresso seems to follow a similar trend. A machine used hundreds of times a day will pump far superior coffee to one used infrequently.

These observations are based on two days in Rome and one day in Sorrento. I therefore finally conclude first off, that Italian coffee is far superior to coffee bought elsewhere. Secondly, a cheap espresso will probably be better than its more expensive counterpart.

[My excuse for coming to an abrupt and unnatural end is that while I was writing, the bus was pulling into my stop, and obviously I had to get off. My apologies.]

Rashied Ali

2008-03-30T21:34:00.003Z

For a guy who was John Coltrane's drummer of choice, it seems to be quite difficult to find any information on Rashied Ali.

Scour Google and all you'll usually find is credits off Coltrane albums, most notably his duet with Ali: "Interstellar Space". Yet this guy pretty much single-handedly laid the foundations for free-jazz 'rhythm' that has held strong over the next four decades.

Yet for some reason, his Internet outputs are limited to a couple of YouTube videos, a MySpace page and a couple of online articles.

Shame really.

Plea For Tibet

2008-03-28T15:48:00.003Z

As I'm sure you are all able to observe some kind of media outlet, it is by no means an assumption to say that the situation in Tibet is very apparent. Tibetan protesters, peacefully opposing decades of vicious Chinese rule are being brutally struck down and having their basic human rights stripped.

The situation is by no means new, but at this moment, given the current media attention and the onset of the Olympics, the time is most suitable for taking action. Avaaz have currently got a petition going online asking the Chinese president Hu Jintao to decrease the military force used in Tibet and to hold talks about the situation.

What are they going to do with the signatures? By Monday they are aiming at having 2 million signatures (they currently have 1.2 million), the list of which will be delivered to Chinese embassies around the globe along with the requests of those who signed the petition.

This is a rare opportunity to evoke change in Tibet, and I ask you to please, take 30 seconds out of your time to follow the link below and sign the petition, and also please tell your friends, this is really important and there are millions out there who would be grateful for your support.

Thank You

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/

Evergreen

2008-03-28T01:25:00.004Z

Although three months after the day itself is perhaps a little too late to be discussing Christmas presents, yesterday I discovered that a certain present had suddenly become much better than originally perceived.

Whilst browsing the forums of AbsolutePunk I decided to go have a look at The Graduate's section, where previously the nice guys in the band had put up their Horror Show EP for free download (I know that's how I got into the band). Well at Christmas, they had put together a 5 song EP called Evergreen that was available through iTunes as a present to all the fans. I'd listened to the tracks on their Myspace when they first announced the EP, but hadn't given it much thought after that. That was until I got to their section on AbsolutePunk and noticed their new EP was up for free download as well!

The EP itself is very low-key and contains, as previously mentioned, 5 songs - three of which are acoustic versions of tracks from their album Anhedonia. When I thought that the impact of these songs could not be increased, I was gravely mistaken for the EP itself is worth all the effort if only just to hear the new version of "The City That Reads".

It's lovely when bands just keep on giving and that's why it's much nicer and fulfilling when championing smaller bands, bands that feel the need to do such things in order to make their fans happy, as opposed to laying off for a couple of years then trying to stage a comeback using weak new material, as opposed to larger ones.

As for giving it away for free, this shows that the band are more committed to having their music heard, than to having their pockets lined, and this to me signals the mark of a true artist - one that aims to have their work seen/heard/felt whatever the consequences; sometimes they may get lucky and receive a profit, other times ridicule may be flung their way but it takes a true artist to neglect this, when the value of their creation is being compromised because of it. This alludes back to my previous post on Selling Out.

Well since it's nearly 2am, I think I better stop and get some sleep. But as my final thought:

DOWNLOAD THE EP - YOU'LL LOVE IT!
[click here]

Thank you and good night.

Jack Nicholson

2008-03-26T21:26:00.004Z

So right now I have just finished watching, back-to-back, "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Shining" and having only seen him previously in "Anger Management", it appears to me that although skilled at what he does, Jack Nicholson plays very similar characters.

In "One Flew Over..." he plays a man balancing on the boundary between sanity and its opposite. Where Nicholson thrives is his ability to play a neurotic character, but still to maintain an edge of doubt, i.e. that he could be perfectly sane. His characters are cynical, and from what I've seen, he likes to do little fidgety extras (according to the making of "The Shining"). I have no problem accepting the fact that certain actors have certain 'trademarks' and quirks. But surely acting is the art of convincingly being someone else?

I know (from watching "Fame") that actors are meant to project a little bit of themselves onto the part itself, but when it gets to the point where you know exactly what the character will be like, purely based on the choice of actor, it gets a little annoying. For example: Samuel L. Jackson seems to always play some kind of irate black guy and Adam Sandler - the mumbling idiot with a heart of gold.

I agree that these actors are hired because of their suitabilities to fit into certain roles, but surely the great skill comes when an actor can apply him or herself convincingly to a part, however strange and unnatural it may be to them. For in the end, this is the art of acting. Some actors will no doubt choose this road, always on the look out for challenging new roles that will marginally widen their acting vocabulary, whereas others will develop skills in their niche roles and become increasingly proficient in them.

My conclusion, as to which one I prefer, is still unsure, since I think that both are equally valid paths to go down, however if it were me - I think variety would be of more interest to me.

For the record, though, for anyone who has seen "The Shining"; what's with the bear?

Zapatista

2008-03-24T19:29:00.003Z

Five Years Ago...

2008-03-16T19:23:00.002Z

Well it was just over 6 years ago when a certain pair of buildings was brutally attacked, providing the trigger for what later became known as "The War On Terror".

Well it was just under 5 years ago that continuing with this war, and having already fruitlessly occupied Afghanistan, the US decided to go full steam ahead into an Iraqi invasion - without UN backing.

Now everyone knows the arguments for and against the invasion, by now they have become tiresome but the point of this post is not to repeat the millions of previous anti-war blogs and sites out there, but to suggest a reflection upon the thousands of lives affected by the conflict. How many people are now worse off than before the war either emotionally, financially or physically?

And could the estimated $2 Trillion have been put to better use? For example, to maybe provide aid where it is needed and not conflict where there is potential profit. Burma is a good example, as is Africa, but that's so 1980s.

Basically there's a hell of a lot happened in that area of the middle-East and estimates show that there will be more activity for years to come, as the country is in no state to be left unoccupied.

I feel a bit helpless. All that could have been said has been, all that has been done has been and unfortunately now we are left with a country in turmoil and feasible solution.

The Iraq War? What a waste.

Juggling

2008-03-11T20:34:00.003Z

Inspired, having recently attended a talk on the topic, I have now taken up juggling as a very minor hobby and found that it is in fact quite enjoyable.

It would appear that the art of ball-tossing is not as simple as it at first seems, since timing and quality of throw are very important factors. For example, when I was learning, the balls thrown from my left hand were always the ones that I dropped implying a bad throw on this side. However once this was remedied, I found myself able to keep three balls in motion for a little longer, then a little longer, until now I am reasonably comfortable at keeping the standard 'juggle' going over limited periods of time. Only once this has become more comfortable, will I then venture into the new and unseen ground of tricks.

To get to this stage has taken me in total, one hour's worth of actual juggling time, which is not that long in terms of acquiring a new skill. Is it worth it? I hope so, since I have been told on a number of occasions that for some unknown reason, I appear to be the sort of person that can juggle so as not to disappoint, I have now learned.

Any updates on my juggling will hopefully come soon.

Avant-Garde

2008-02-29T19:03:00.002Z

Just a quick one.

Recently I have been getting more and more interested in the avant-garde: music, art, dance, sound etc. but I found very few resources for it online.

That is until I discovered www.ubu.com which is an online encyclopedia of the underground and experimental. It even hosts lots of rare videos, such as documentaries on John Cage, Derek Bailey and it hosts MP3s as well as essays written by composers to accompany their music.

I've already 'wasted' hours of my life their, time to pass on the baton.

Racist Rhetoric - Part II

2008-02-29T18:31:00.002Z

So my last post pointed out the features of the leaflet that I got through my door, in this post I aim to highlight the network of organisations that are associated with producing leaflets of this kind.

My leaflet in particular was commissioned by a group known as the Preston Pals, who claim to "campaign on behalf of the indigenous community". After learning the origins of the leaflet, I began to do some research on the Internet, starting by typing in simply Preston Pals on Google. The following website was the top result:

http://lionheartuk.blogspot.com/2007/03/preston-pals-battle-has-begun.html

Not the name of the post: "The Battle Has Begun"; and this is about a group who claims on their leaflet to be "committed to the principals of non-violent democratic resistance". For a supposedly peaceful group, they slip in a lot of military-esque words into their materials: "Islamic Invasion" then on the site, there are claims that Europe is being conquered. They also spread lots of lies, for example, they quote a section of the Koran, that seems to imply that it is Islamic duty to fight against the non-believers. What they fail to include however is the part that talks about how violence is a last resort, and that Holy War is only viable when the opposition are oppressing the Islamic religion, i.e. outlawing its practice. One of the worst things that I found was a comment on this very page of the blog. It read:

"and I feel it's my duty to kill all Muslims, bring the Holy War on I say!"

A harsh statement written in response, no doubt, to the title of the blog entry: "Muslims' duty to kill the Infidel"

Next up is The Green Arrow, just check out the URL:

http://isupporttheresistance.blogspot.com/

"I support the resistance?" What resistance? Are you trying to conjure up some kind of ethnic struggle in order to justify your violent language and harsh words against Islam? The tag line of the website reads: " We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children". Now these guys know how to highlight a word, and that is by capitalising it - which is used generally in the Bible ("Him","His","Lord" etc.) as a sign of respect and to make the subject seem very important. I'm white, with a lower-case w. I'm ashamed that these people are on their hate-campaign, supposedly for my benefit. I love the fact that Britain is as Cosmopolitan as it currently is, what better way to learn than from the many people that grace our isles, who are from overseas and from different cultures. If these people don't like this and what to keep their own ethnic culture (if this is my ethnic culture - let me deny my skin-colour and heritage right now!) then they ought to just live in a white-supremacist commune and let other people carry on enjoying the many benefits of having a multicultural society.

Another thing about this site is that it actively endorses the BNP - one of the worst organisations to have ever assembled within the British Isles. Unfortunately, they hold quite a lot of influence in my local area, and I am constantly met with people of a similar mindset that occupy the town I live in. Maybe racism (which is what all this inevitably is), is confined to only certain areas, and maybe it is part of local micro-culture. I know for a fact that I feel it is very strong in East-Lancashire.

These are just two examples of the growing number of British websites that act in similar ways to the infamous KKK (Ku Klux Klan), and the fact that there are so many scares me. I am just thankful that these people are in the minority, and that not everyone shares their fundamentalist views.

If you would like to research more, then I suggest you use the greatest asset to have ever been created, with regards to research, and that is Google. Try it, and you'll be hooked. I know I am, even if it does lead me to such hate-fueled sites.

Racist Rhetoric - Part I

2008-02-26T21:39:00.005Z

So I've had a very bad week. Two things have happened to me, which I'm not going to lie, have not been pleasant and I refuse to share them over the Internet. But even after all that, I just got home tonight to find one of the most racist things that I've ever had the displeasure of laying eyes on posted through my letter box.

With no paraphrasing whatsoever, here is the headline of the leaflet:

The Heroin Trade
A Crime Against Humanity
Time For Muslims To Apologise
Time For Muslims To Pay Compensation

Yeah, I was scared too. Then I read the acknowledgements posted just below, which name two endorsers of the campaign: one, a BNP politician for Nelson, and the other, an affiliate of the BNP from Burnley. As these are my two nearest towns, I started to get very worried about the influence these people may have in my local area. Reading down the leaflet, I then discovered the group responsible for the leaflet: a group known as the Preston Pals, who claim to campaign "on behalf of the indigenous community". By this point I was shit scared.

Just one the first page, it uses racist rhetoric ("Islamic invasion") and jingoistic terms ("our land"). Its main accusation is then spelled out in one simple statement: "Muslims are almost exclusively responsible for the manufacture of heroin, the transport of heroin and the sale of heroin in Britain".

The next page goes on to describe the impact of heroin addiction in the first section, concluding with the overtly hyperbolic sentence: "The Heroin Trade is a crime against humanity because it has caused, and is causing a 'holocaust' of suffering and death." That's right folks, they used the italics in that way and you are seeing correctly, and they did compare it to the holocaust.

The second section is pure hatred; its title reads "Muslims are responsible for the heroin trade" (that's right, Mr. Muslim-hater upped the ante and went to bold and italics - even I'm starting it now!). After describing the problems associated with heroin, it then names its culprits: Muslims. And it does not account for any others either, claiming that when all is said and done, Muslims are pretty much the ones responsible for heroin in Britain. It then questions Muslim beliefs, saying that Muslims love money more than human beings! This is being said, by a fellow Abrahamic-religion-follower about a religion that preaches peace and love, just as every religion in the world does.

After addressing the problem and pointing the finger, the third section then goes on to finally suggest a solution. I never thought that six words would stir up such frightful feelings in me but here they are: "We must hold Muslims to account". Notice the omission of any article before Muslims. The reasons? It means all Muslims! This intense generalisation is unsupported and silly, especially since Islam has one of the largest followings of all major religions. By their logic, this means that 20% of the World's population are directly responsible for the atrocities caused by heroin. Its solution, supposedly, is to "heap condemnation on Muslims" until "every Muslim on the planet feels a shiver of humiliation and shame at the very words Heroin Trade". That's a whole lot of shivering that they're expecting.

To think that even on the 21st Century, there are still people who are as narrow minded as this is quite an eye-opener, quite a disturbing eye-opener at that. And to think that there are enough of these like-minded individuals to amount to at least a minor distribution ring is quite scary. To then think that this distribution ring involves my local area is quite literally one of the most terrifying things I can think of.

By the way, I'm an advocate of free speech, and the very fact that this was published in a fundamental sense is in no way disturbing to me. Although I agree with the right of the Author to publish this does not mean that any conceivable shred of agreement lies between my views and theirs.

This has opened my eyes somewhat, and I intend to research into the Preston Pals now, hopefully finding the extent of their influence. That is why this is Part I. Part II will follow shortly.

Blood?

2008-02-19T21:58:00.003Z

I noticed this the first time I donated, and got in an arguement about it, but then last week I received an invitation to a group on Facebook dedicated to righting this apparent wrong. Again tonight, as I went to donate, I brought the issue up with one of the nurses and had a discussion (much less an argument) about it this time.

The issue is basically that practicing (i.e. sexually active) homosexuals are banned from ever giving blood.

Now on the surface this is completely and utterly wrong. Blood is supposedly in short supply, so to outcast a group of society that for the most part will be suitable donors seems illogical. And the stereotyping mindset that accompanies a statement as bold as the one that "people who are homosexual probably have AIDS" is backwards and akin to saying all Africans live in mud-huts, and probably have AIDS as well. Also, all blood is routinely checked for HIV, Hepatitis and a batch of other conditions, which could jeapordise the health of the receiver substantially, so if any blood did have AIDS, they wouldn't use it anyway, and that person would be struck off the register - gay or otherwise. So why is it that their sexuality is important?

This is where the nurse actually produced a reasonable response. She said that after drug users (who are banned anyway), AIDS is most prominant within the gay community, and that there is whats called a window period of the condition, where it does not show up at all. So by combining these two, they say that it is the safest and most efficient option to just exclude donations made by homosexuals.

I've lost half a litre of blood tonight, so I'm not in any mood at the moment to say which side I agree with more, although I do fell there are some very interesting arguments from both camps.

Hope this gets some debate started.

Under The Tracks

2008-02-18T23:50:00.000Z

Tonight I found myself underneath the railway tracks in Leeds for the 2nd time out of 5 this week, and the lineup involved four of Britain's best up-and-coming indie troubadours. So to describe them and their sets, I'm limiting myself to one sentence each. Here goes!

The Attika State were a reassuringly good rock band from none other than The Office hometown, Slough.

Furthest Drive Home, who are usually reasonably epic on record were a little bit of a let down live.

Tellison were absolutely amazing, and one of the best live acts I've seen in a long time - major respect goes to them for writing their set list on paper plates!

The Maple State were a tad monotonous and dull, lacking mid-song banter for the most part.

Blogging Everyday - Some Thoughts

2008-02-17T21:56:00.003Z

Since I decided to start blogging everday through February (or thereabouts, no thanks to BT), I've had time to think over some of the aspects of this, as I am now halfway through the trial.

Firstly, I enjoy the writing side of it and I enjoy just putting my thoughts into words for someone (or no-one) to read. The fact is that I'm proactively putting stuff down, sometimes on random things, for people to read and I enjoy sharing any obscure, irrelevant or useful scraps of information that I may have.

Secondly, I like the challenge of having to come up with new topics constantly, it gives me an outlet for some of the random research that I do on the internet and sometimes even just for myself, it lets me organise my thoughts. Sometimes I've begun to understand a subject better, only during the process of writing up a blog about it.

It's only a short set of observations, but predominantly I want to to keep this up and even after February, despite my doubts that I'll be doing it everyday, I aim to carry on blogging quite regularly, unlike my sporadic contributions towards the start of its existence.

All out for now.

Sound?

2008-02-16T08:28:00.004Z

It is often said that there are only two types of music: good and bad. However recently after listening to quite a lot of minimalism, I've been getting the comment that "This isn't music at all" - especially during the more noise orientated sections of some of the pieces.

Well in the following video, experimental composer John Cage and avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk talk about sound and the validity of it outside of a musical context. They discuss if all sound is music, or if in fact music is music, and also if silence exists.

A famous story is when John Cage, on his quest for silence, went into the anechoic chamber at Harvard, a room which absorbs 98% of all sounds - theoretically silent. However while inside, Cage could hear two sounds, a low on and a high one. It turn out that the high one was the sound of his nervous system, and the low one was his blood in circulation. This lead him to conclude that the only silence msut be in death. Quite morbid, but true.

But anyway, here's the video. Please take the time to watch it and open your mind up to the possibilities of sound.

Tonight Is Goodbye

2008-02-15T19:26:00.007Z

Valentine's Day is traditionally for lovers, but this one was owned by Buckinghamshire's finest, Tonight Is Goodbye. They may be pop-punk, but they're damn good, and especially refreshing after standing there watching 2+ hours of absolutely shite bands. Here's a rundown of the gig:

Now this was a crap band: The Element. The guitarist looked exactly like your run-of-the-mill-token-2005-scene-kid-gone-wrong: tight low waist jeans with rips in the knees, black Van's slip-ons, tight black t-shirt, eyeliner, black nail-polish, non-matching fingerless gloves and dyed black hair in that style. Yes, it had all gone wrong for this kid. But let that not detract from the point that this was a sloppy, boring waste of my twenty-minutes.

Band Vs. DJ were marginally better, and they started out sounding really promising until about to applaud what I thought was their first song, I realised they were in fact on their fifth. It was dreary lad-rock with a bit more energy, and guitars that were tuned in between every song while the drummer spoke some crap. They probably deserve more credit than I gave them, but I was exhausted after the first band.

Lower Case And Capitals only played three songs, therefore they're not even worth a review.

Finally, a good band came on in the form of Attack Attack. These guys came from South Wales and opened with a very strong song. I don't know the name but the main hook was "Let's get this whole thing started" and I feel sorry for them; the crowd consisted of a hell of a lot of 15 year old fan-girls not wanting to get anything started other than their sex-lives. Thier final song started with quite a ferocious drum beat, prompting the guitar player to demand a circle pit. Two people then came to the front, collided and that was it... circle pit and Attack Attack over. Now onto the main act:

I can only describe TIG's 30 minute set in one word: energetic. They bounded onto that stage with so much vigour it actually got the whole thing started. Opening with recently recorded "Beauty & The Beast" they played on every stereotype, but they're so good. Musicwise, their melodies cannot be criticised, and neither can their lyrics which at times are reasonably poetic (and not in the typical teenage-angst stylee). It's quite clear to see thats these young men have got quite a career ahead of them, so long as they keep up what they're doing now.

My advice? Buy their EP... now!

Sweeney Todd

2008-02-14T10:41:00.005Z

Well, what can I say except that I was disappointed.

I expected, from one of the most raved about films of the year something exceptional, something a little different. What I got was some weak songs played over an overly gothic Victorian London with some comic throat-slitting thrown in for good measure.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but when I left the cinema, I didn't feel satisfied. It was akin to going to a really good restaurant (supposedly), having a pretty average meal then still feeling hungry afterwards.

This blog is still fairly short, because I haven't managed to get hold of BT yet and my modem is looking likely to cut-out any second. And no, I haven't learned how to draft blogs so I can upload them later.

Bad Times

2008-02-12T18:42:00.000Z

Unfortunately, the blogging everyday in february idea hsa been put on hold, because as an internet service provider, BT can't do their job properly and my modem is more off than on. I should really contact them about it...

But anyway, I'm not going to write anything substantial when I have no idea when the internet will disconnect, so I will hopefully be back on writing form soon.

However, please have a read of some of my previous posts and let me know what you think.

Until then, "skirts and tights baby, tights and skirts".

Getting Deeper...

2008-02-10T22:36:00.000Z

My Grandad often used to recite the following bit of verse to me, so now it's is my turn to recite it to whoever reads this. It's from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam, a collection of poems written by the Persian astronomer Omar Khayam, dating from around the start of the twelfth century. Be warned, this is deep...

The moving finger writes; and, having
writ,
Moves on; nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line.
Nor all thy tears wash out a Word of it.

Selling Out

2008-02-09T21:28:00.000Z

Can people ever really sell out?

First, a definition. Selling out to most people is an accusation that claims an artist has sacrificed his/her/their integrity for profits, i.e. creating for profit, not for meaning.

I know personally, I accused Green Day of doing so when they made American Idiot, mainly because they commercialised their sound so much, or so I thought. Maybe I just thought it was de facto more commercial because it was more popular.But are the two the same thing?

No-one can ever be sure what will sell, so it therefore becomes very hard to not only predict what things will make profit, but also to create something reasonably good within those commercial guidelines. So to set-out to sell-out in the first place would be very hard. This poses a problem as to how can people create for profit, when knowing the trends is a gamble in itself.

Bands, for instance are often accused of selling out if they move to a major label; I remember someone in a band that had recently 'sold out' to Warner Bros saying that they'd rather sign a deal with a company that would get their music to more people, get them playing more shows and give them more facility to realise their creative vision in a professional way than 'keep it real' by recording rough demos funded by two broke guys in a flat who can get them shows at all the 'hip' venues playing to twenty people tops. Enough said.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world, if not the most valuable. So therefore, Da Vinci could have been said to have sold out (man) by painting it. Is it really his fault that he made something that lots of people like? If an artist sells their piece for untold millions, are they selling out? Or are their creative visions merely coinciding with public interest?

Let EMI think about what's going to sell, and let the artist worry about their creation.

My conclusion? I don't think you can sell out, I just think that this is a label affixed to successful artists by fans who are scared that their little underground secret is going overground. It's possessive. It's also stupid.

Just some rhetorical questions to ponder on the subject, let me know your thoughts.

Straight Talk Express!

2008-02-08T21:21:00.001Z

So this is John McCain, likely Republican candidate for the 2008 US Presidential Election. At 71. he's quite a bit older than most people, in fact he's only on average got another 4 years of life left in him (if he gets into office, he's statistically likely to die in 2011 - 3 years into his first term).

But is his age getting the better of him? During one televised debate, when asked about gay marriage he said the following:

"I think gay marriage should be allowed if there's a ceremony... I don't have a problem with that"

Then over the next 11 minutes, some great conservative realisation must have hit the poor guy, because his next answer was:

"I do not believe that gay marriages shoulod be legal"

If this guy can change policies as fast as he can his own opinion, then we may be in for an efficient presidency (it will need to be)! Or is this just a sign of the man's age? Dementia hits people at different times in their life and it would seem like old Jonny-boy is starting to show some symptoms, i.e. short-term memory loss.

But let's give him a break, he is after all a Viet Nam Veteran, not only that, he's like a super vet: a POW. That's right, he was held in a torturous hell-hole for five long years, a situation I would never wish upon anybody and I'm sure it was most horrific. But he seems to basing his presidential campaign on this. "I was a POW, therefore I can run America" - what a tool.

But when all is said and done, I'd much rather have McCain in power than the raging right mormon juggernaut that is Mitt Romney - that guy has some serious policy issues!

Obesity (?)

2008-02-07T07:22:00.000Z

According to the above link, scientists at UCL have discovered a link between childhood obesity and genes, which I'm sure is very legitimate however I seem to remember a few years ago when another paper was published linking fat to genes in adults. What this report failed to point out, though was that this gene only accounts for fluctuations of ±10kg - hardly enough to justify the 'obesity epidemic' in which we supposedly find ourselves in.

If one in three adults is clinically overweight, then where the hell are they? I mean, they're not where I come from, nor are they in any of the big cities near to where I live. Are they all hiding or what? Or is it just a slight exaggeration on behalf of the Health Commision playing on that old psychological condition where a skinny person declares themselves fat then proceeds to take measures to combat this, when in acutal fact they are not fat just scared of becoming so.

One thing I've noticed is the passing of blame; first it was junk-food advertisers, then schools and now it's come down to genes. Where will it end? Has the thought not yet come up that eating is just as valid of an addiction to some people as say heroine? And is it not harder to give up an addiciton when you must do that activity everyday in order to survive. Most people stop addiction, not by cutting down, as would have to be the case for eating, but by completely giving up.

This means that instead of passing blame, there ought to be more done to tackle the problem and its causes and treat it as a valid problem, instead of saying it's their own fault, they shouldn't have been so gluttonous.

Blog 81

2008-02-06T22:32:00.000Z

Coffee really is quite addictive.

I've never really been a big fan, however the last few weeks I've noticed my longing for the substance go up. My first real delving was at work, where I tried an Espresso, purely to see what it was like and I eally enjoyed it! I didn't seem to find it too strong and the sweetness at the bottom was really nice.

However, since then I've been drinking more and more coffee (never more than one a day- but still, that's more than I ever drank before). I'm still faithful to good old green tea, but it would appear that coffee is becmoing a bit addictive. Although espressos are really nice.

For some reason, I seem to want only an espresso because I see no reason in fannying around with different types of milk, or even diluting it - this is pure coffee so if I don't like this then there's no hope!

This all got me thinking about caffeine in general, and since Lent starts soon (it may have already started; I missed pancake day!) I think I'll be giving up said stimulant for the 40 days, going decaff where possible (or bettter yet no-caff!). I've done it before and found it was really hard at first, especially staying awake at night, but since I have no commitments for a while to keep me up, then this shouldn't be a problem.

In other news, I'm quite enjoying blogging every day, and I think after this month I'll keep on doing it more regularly than I had been.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-02-05T22:23:00.000Z

Well it was the first night.

Nothing (major) went wrong.

Sure, some stuff went wrong, but it always does, and who cares?

The audience seemed to enjoy it, and many came away with a smile on their face.

So does it matter that the projected speech didn't quite work?

Or that the music didn't always come on after the cue?

Because I think it was a good show.

So here's to tomorrow night!

Viva Herr. Shakespeare!

Good For You?

2008-02-04T19:36:00.000Z

After just finishing off some of Asda's Good For You Custard, it got me thinking. Is this really good for me?

If I'm to believe the packaging then yes - by eating this I am actually doing something beneficial to my health and all is well. But all I could see was a bunch of GDAs telling me that it is in fact low fat, low calorie and low(-ish) sugar. That's all well and good but after all, food is nourishment and am I actually getting nourished by eating this?

Fruit, now that's good for you. Take a Kiwi - eat one of those bad boys and you'll get a great source of Potassium and Vitamin C, both good for you, plus anti-oxidants. Whereas all I was getting from my custard was a nice taste and an innocent conscience.

Diet Coke, marketed as being 'good for you' yet it contains Aspartame, a well-know carcinogen.

All this supposedly false advertising is very confusing and promotes a good-by-comparison attitude rather than a good-by-virtue attitude. It is this comparitve nature that leads me to think that the only accurate way to describe these products is:

Better For You

But that's not going to sell in a world where Boots can just call something a Superfood and therefore charge you an extra 70p for an apple, albeit pre-sliced.

Which means people are eating 'neutral-food' thinking it is 'advantage-food' and this is deception on behalf of the corperation. But this is to be expected slightly, Asda is owned by Wal-Mart. However when people's health is on the line, this is not cool and something needs to be done.

Plus how can GDAs be the perfect system when they still can't settle on a value for Protein and Carbohydrate? Two of the most fundamental parts of any diet are being neglected by the GDA-people because they can't work out which one they'll stand for: high-protein, e.g. Atkins diet or high-carb or maybe a happy medium. Their arguement is that the protein/carb needs of an individual depend entirely on their circumstance. Yes, well so do every other aspect of nutrition. An eskimo eating a low-fat diet is just as dangerous as a guy in the Sahara dessert eating a full-fat diet. On that same not, a sedentary office worker eating his reccomended maximum of 2500 calories a day is probably just as bad as an athlete in full training eating only 1200. The point I'm trying to make is that it is all relative, and to lable a food as good based on extremely averaged out GDAs is stupid, especially considering what I have previsouly said, i.e. that the food is not good, just better.

However after all that, the custard was really nice.

Untitled Musical Project - The Faversham, Leeds (02/02/2008)

2008-02-03T20:39:00.000Z

They don't even have a proper name, and the first song they played was called "I May Not Be Jimi Hendrix, But At Least I'm Not Dead" - Untitled Musical Project are the shit.

But I don't get the obsession with dead rock icons. There's the aforementioned song, the rousing chorus of "Endless Deodarant And Bad Shoes" (All you'll find here is dead rock stars) and finally one of the three A-Sides on their first single: "Why Isn't Paul McCartney Dead Already?". Maybe they couldn't handle the fact that all their heroes were dying, or maybe they just have issues. Either way, it hasn't hindered their ability to write raw tunes with the ability to make you dance.

Setwise, they played for a good solid 30 minutes, cramming in at least 15 songs. Despite a very stationery crowd, they still put on a very energetic show, with the guitarist occasionally vibrating as if being electrocuted all while donning a pair of very fetching thick rimmed specs. But, as with all guitarists, he decided every now and again to walk around with his legs dead straight. These guitairists are weird folk.

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to see the main act, Pete & The Pirates, but there were so many scurvy looking people in the audience, I rest assured that they must be good.

So to conclude in U.M.P.'s own words:

Well this is a love song,
And darling you look like death.

Whiteout!

2008-02-02T09:17:00.000Z

This morning I woke up to find this outside my window!

It's amazing how at 18 snow still doesn't lose its appeal, and I've been waiting for some decent snow for far too long now.

But now it's here, I have to go to work :(

Not cool.

February

2008-02-01T22:31:00.000Z

This months is going to be so hectic, even though it started with some quite peaceful snow.

I'm glad in a way, because otherwise I'd end up being bored - exams are over, all university stuff is done and I won't get my drums back for at least another week so at least this gives me something to do.

Over the next 4 weeks, these people will be occupying my time, so please check them out, and I hope that they'll occupy more of your time:

Untitled Musical Project
Furthest Drive Home
Gallows
Set Your Goals
I Was A Cub Scout
Tellison
Sum 41
Tonight Is Goodbye
You Me At Six
Valencia
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Hijak Oscar

And although I'm going to end up crying myself to sleep the night they're playing (I bought tickets only to find out that I can't go), you should definetely check out New Found Glory. That's of course assuming that you're not already a big fan, as I'm sure you will become.

But most of these bands are just atarting out and are really in need of any support you can give them, so if you like them, why not come along and see them play over the course of the next month (in which all of them are touring)?

You never know, you may actually enjoy yourself.

Lima, Ohio

2008-01-31T22:30:00.000Z

This was posted in response to the shooting of Tarika Wilson outside her home, and there is nothing more that needs to be said except it is sad that the message could only receive attention in such horrific circumstances.

Don't Worry

2008-01-31T22:06:00.000Z

I may not have blogged over the past month, however with exams, work, interviews etc. it's been hard to find the time.

However, this month there's quite a lot happening not just in my life, but in general and I hope that I can share my thoughts on many of these things (and maybe some pictures [gasp] courtesy of my oh so sexy new phone - not the sexiest, but certainly sexier than one without a keypad).

That's my intention anyway.

The Importance Of Jamming Econo

2007-12-26T18:12:00.001Z

As I sat eating Christmas Dinner (Part II) today, the above video was being played on the TV. As you can see, it's so bad that it nearly made me spit out a reheated roastie in disgust. But what is so hard to believe is that a mew two months later, Minutemen's eponymous third album, Double Nickels On The Dime was released. A record that was so good, it changed the way people define punk rock. I first Double Nickels... in London at Rough Trade after hearing "Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing" and since then, I've become a dedicated Minutemen fan. They throw every aesthetic punk convention out of the window whilst maintaining its core value: to be different. The punk/funk/jazz/rock assault that is this 46 song, 80 minute masterpiece is a reminder as to why punk rock was so necessary, especially when compared to this dire 'music'.

Pete Burns or Mike Watt?

My money's on Watt.

Death Cab For Cutie

2007-12-21T17:52:00.000Z

Please go to www.deathcabforcutie.com and check out their cheeky video, which shows them at work in the studio. More importantly though, is a new song that soundtracks the video, which from this short excerpt sounds amazing! But just have a watch and sit tight for May next year, when the album is scheduled to come out.

Beijing 2008

2007-11-28T22:40:00.000Z

Plain WhiteT's

2007-11-20T19:18:00.000Z

First things first: I despise Plain White T's. I somehow managed to cope when they made me miss out on All Time Low, but just to kick me when I'm down, Cartel as well!

This is simply not on.

The thing that annoys me the most is 99% payed the £15 ticket price to go listen to "Hey There Delilah", maybe sing along and have cuddle with their loved one at the same time. During the support act, many people will probably just be at the bar or talking.

But why?!

I absolutely love All Time Low, as I do Cartel. These are two of my very favourite bands at the moment in the sense that I follow their actions regularly and listen to their music (the whole scope of it, not just one song) often. But to be denied the chance to see them by a bunch of people, to whom Plain White T's will just be 'that band that did that song' in a few years' time is an incredible injustice.

I really don't want to sound like I deserve those tickets more than the other paying customers but I'd be willing to bet that I'd get much more enjoyment crushed on the barrier screaming every word during the support band's set, than the majority of the crowd would standing there humming a tune.

And I'm not just basing my opinions of Plain White T's on that song. I decided to watch them at Leeds Fest this year in order to see for myself what they were like; I left 5 songs into their set because their is only so much mid-tempo-soft-pop-rock drivvle that I can take in a weekend, and they used up my RDA.

Overall poor effort I'd say.

Max Roach

2007-11-16T21:04:00.000Z

Above is the rider for the legendary Max Roach, who although having lots of demands, was also pretty good at drums as well. This week I bought one of his albums as a leader, i.e. Drums Unlimited, which features 50% full band songs and 50% drums-only compositions. That's right: drums-only!

I was shocked as well.

But this added to my curiosity and when I listened to the pieces, it turns out that they aren't just drum solos, but actual pieces of music composed and performed on the humble drum set. It may sound like an oxymoron but a drum composition is just as feasible as composition on any other instrument, albeit with fewer choices of notes. This means that it is merely harder, not impossible.

This week then, inspired by the album I decided to try and incorporate more melodic playing into my practice routine. I had to change though. My heads at the time were tuned to the standard drum tuning, i.e. dull thud-notes, but with a little tightening of the heads I managed to get them so they produced clear and consistent notes. I still have no idea what exact notes but they are notes nonetheless. It's difficult, and it takes some re-evaluation of how to play the drums as before they have always been purely rhythmical.

But to be fair, The Format have a new Live DVD out soon, check out the trailer:

Megabus

2007-11-12T21:45:00.000Z

This is what you think it is - the Megabus. I'm well excited because I will be travelling on one of these beasts tomorrow to London for the meager fare of only £3.50 (cheaper than a return on the bus to school) and if the name is anything to go by then it looks like the journey will be sufficiently epic (or at least one can hope).

I have no idea how they manage to lower their fares so but to be honest I have no room to complain, this is so good in fact that I'll be taking the trip three times in the next week alone but this is not just because I can, I actually have stuff to do.

The website is www.megabus.com and a full review of the service will be available on Wednesday.

Ha ha! It's the Megabus!

Remember

2007-11-09T21:32:00.001Z

War is not glorious.

If someone dies in war, they are not a hero by default.

I don't believe in poppies; they've become a marketing tool for the British Legion.

Poppies only grew in Northern France, yet this was a world war.

Wearing a poppy does not mean that you are somehow more grateful to the soldiers.

People don't where poppies out of desire, but out of fear of social condemnation.

The remembrance in itself is largely non-existent and has descended into ritual.

If people really cared about remembering these people, they'd donate to the British Legion at other parts of the year.

It just seems a little false.

Rant over.

Bad Brains

2007-11-07T22:12:00.000Z

It seems that whenever I look into the topic of American Hardcore, the name Bad Brains seems to crop up almost everywhere. So today, armed with a HMV gift voucher, I decided I'd actually invest in the hype and buy their debut album.

It is amazing.

Basically, these guys started out wanting to play fusion in the vein of Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return To Forever, but after hearing "Nevermind the bollocks..." they decided to change their style to hardcore punk, and the rest, as they say, was amazing.

The technical virtuosity required to play fusion clearly shines through on the record as they play at such breakneck speeds with such clear precision that it's easy to see that they're talented. There's also some reggae on there and the album's dedicated to Jah Rasta Far I to add to the diversity.

Overall, this is a sick record, one that I would recommend to anyone. I just need to invest in some more of their records now...

Practice

2007-10-22T22:09:00.000Z

Al DiMeola, Steve Vai, Vinnie Colaiuta, Travis Barker, Tony Williams, Tom Morello, Elvin Jones, Paco DeLucia and Pat Metheny all have one thing in common: 8 hours.

From doing research online I found out that for an extended period in their lives, each one of these musicians has practiced for at least 8 hours a day. It appears that 8 hours is the magic number.

So yesterday I had a go at trying to do the marathon that is a third of a day doing drums. I began at 10am, did three hours, had an hour lunch break then did three more hours at 2pm. 7-8pm I did another hour and then 10-11pm I managed to get in the final hour. My routine was as follows:

1hr - Grade 8 Pieces
1hr - Learning "Picture 3" by Jack DeJohnette
1hr - Working through Joe Morello's "Master Studies" on the practice pad
1h15 - Playing along to a couple of albums
45min - Finishing off "Picture 3"
1hr - "Master Studies"
1hr - "Master Studies"
1hr - Transcribing "Monk's Dream" by Thelonious Monk

It was hard work, and near the end I thought of sacking it off until I realised that all the above musicians did this daily for at least several months, and if they could do it then why couldn't I?

However, it did make me contemplate practicing. I was reading an article where Steve Vai implied that in order to succeed on an instrument, one needs to be practicing upwards of ten hours daily. Which is fine until we take a step back and realise that music is an art form, not a science. If we remove inspiration and focus only on technique, we become machines instead of people with a capacity to create. Music is an expression of the soul, of the soul's experiences, and without experiences and with too much wood shedding, we loose our capacity to create. Many argue that they practice hard so they have the ability to express any ideas they may have, but how do you come up with ideas if you have no inspiration?

An artist spending years learning brush technique in a white room, who never visits galleries and turns down say a chance to go travelling with friends because he must learn a new brush stroke, is creatively inferior to a 5 year old finger painter who has bare technique but unlimited imagination. That is my opinion.

I have eggs in both baskets and therefore my only conclusion to the debate is that a balance must be struck. If you know the day ahead will be completely free, then why not work on technique for a few hours, but don't turn down the chance of gaining worldly experience for practicing. Too much of one and too little of the other makes an unbalanced musician, and no-one likes them; they smell.

Finally....

2007-10-10T19:56:00.000Z

Phew! SATs are over! That's right, done, finished (well, hopefully I won't have to retake them). Over and out.

But anyway, over the last few days here's what has happened to me musically:

Clean Feed Records - In the last week, I discovered this label, browsed its offerings and duly ordered myself three lovely CDs: "Rebus" by Joe Morris, Ken Vandermark & Luther Gray, "Considering the Lilies" by Charles Gayle Trio, and finally "Coalesce" by the Whit Dickey Quartet. Clean Feed are essentially a modern jazz label, which means that a lot of the music is free-jazz, which is fine by me! My favourite so far is "Coalesce" but then again it's lead by the drummer so I might be able to relate to it more. Charles Gayle's effort is also noteworthy and he lives up to his name as one of the most intense saxophonists around at the moment. I can also hear a lot of similarities to when I saw him live a few weeks ago. I'm yet to really listen to the Joe Morris album properly but it seems pretty good from what I have heard. I expect a lot though - this record label appears to be top quality!

Oceansize [Album & Live] - Oceansize are probably one of my favourite bands due to their effortlessly smooth complexity. The fact that Mark Heron kicks ass also helps. But last Monday they released their epic third album Frames, which I bought as a consolation after my aforementioned exam. It is absolutely amazing! They've definitely gone more minimalistic and post-rock on this album (listen to Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt - a constant 11/8 riff pretty much all the way through) which is a good change, as if they needed one! 9/11 is my favourite song so far just for its all out epicness! But secondly, I finally saw them live after years of wanting to on Monday at The Cockpit. They were incredible and were so tight I could not find a single fault with their performance. To see such technically gifted musicians playing together at one time was such a treat compared with a lot of the 'easy-listening' stuff I usually go see live (not that it's any worse). Highlight of the gig? Catalyst - the song that introduced me to odd-time signatures.

Motion City Soundtrack [Album &Live] - Third time I've seen these lyrically brilliant pop-punksters and they did not disappoint. In fact,they were amazing! But that's for another time.... The album also rules as well. There really is not too much to say about this band - they just absolutely rule!

All Time Low - Damn the postal strike (not in principal - go for it guys!) but for preventing me from listening to All Time Low's new album. I've been waiting for "So Wrong, It's Right" for ages now and after finally getting it today, it hasn't left my CD player. The track don't jump out at me as much as those off the EP ("Put Up Or Shut Up") but then again it may be a 'grower'. They're still awesome though, and the lyrics are as over-poetic as ever so all's well!

Well, that's about it.

For now...

Intermission

2007-09-23T17:41:00.000Z

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I should hopefully be bringing some good articles up to the blog over the next few weeks. But to tie the gap, here's Gallows:

Joe Zawinul RIP

2007-09-13T21:21:00.000Z

In the last twelve months I have had to wave goodbye to three absolute, undeniable legends: namely Kurt Vonnegut, Max Roach and now Joe Zawinul. The latter was one of the pioneers of fusion, forming Weather Report with Wayne Shorter in the early 70s and continuing to play an eclectic range of keyboard styles up until his death. Sadly, like Roach, I personally am not well acquainted with the works of Zawinul but his legacy is apparent and you only need to talk to any fusion fan, or synthesiser player (Zawinul was one of the most famous players of the instrument) to get a feel for this.

What really gets me is the rate at which all the 'greats' are dying off: James Brown, Kurt Vonnegut, Max Roach, Pavarotti and now Joe Zawinul; all in the past twelve months. No wonder (bar Pavarotti) Jazz is a dying art form - all its high profile players are slowly dying off. I recall a quote about Ronnie Scott's where the manager said it's harder to run a jazz club nowadays: all the greats are dead and this is true. Forty/Fifty years ago, it would have been common for big jazz artists to tour regularly in a similar fashion to today's pop and rock 'musicians'. In 2007, only a handful of truly great Jazz artists are gracing our shores - all within a few weeks of each other and all in London.

Joe Zawinul was one of them but due to circumstances he will no longer be appearing.

Cartel - New Album

2007-09-07T23:27:00.000Z

The new Cartel album (craftily untitled) can currently be listened to in its entirety bar one song on the band's Purevolume site.

Enjoy.

Back At School [Criminalised]

2007-09-06T21:09:00.001Z

I usually get very freaked out by little things. Tiny, little things. School is no exception, in fact it probably holds the title of 'place-where-things-freak-me-out-the-most'.

Going back on Tuesday I was met by lots of big surprises, one of which I do not agree with at all. First of all is an entire new block (blocks being things that seem to crop up every year; the headteacher must have enjoyed Tonka trucks as a youngster). Where our old decrepit common room once stood, there now stands an appalling combination of wood and stone that holds two IT rooms (currently without computers - very useful indeed) and two new RE rooms. This is not the freaky change. Nor is the addition of the hideous looking science lab that seems to have just been plonked in the middle of nowhere (it's actually about a metre away from the windows of the other science labs thereby blocking any views out of them), a science lab that has a very inconspicuous corridor leading to it.

No, dear friends, the change that I am most dissatisfied with is the addition of CCTV cameras. I don't like CCTV cameras, and that's pretty much it: not even in public areas such as on my local high street or in shopping centres - places where they may be conceived as useful. They are just a small stepping stone into an Orwellian nightmare that infringe on our privacy and make it seem like we are criminals.

My first bit of beef with the cameras is what a waste of money they are! Our school is generally well-behaved and when we talk of bad behaviour, we generally mean things like minor disruptions in lessons; that's about it. Once in a blue moon you may get the occasional guy trying to deal cannabis or someone getting in a quite a serious fight with another guy but both offences have only happened about once each in my six years at the school. There are also (as far as I can tell) only a small amount of 'disturbances' that take place outside of school hours, i.e. youths drinking on school site.

How about a gate on the entrance?

It may sound simple but if there's no gate or a sign saying "no trespassing" how's your average pissed-up 15 year-old going to know that this place is out of bounds? [By the way, this is not a condonation of underage public drinking (18 is not the minimum age of consumption), it is merely an acceptance of what an average 15 year-old does on weekends - what's the point in denying what we should face.] It's simple psychology, no matter how open a house may seem, burglars are less likely to have a bash at breaking in if the front gate is closed; it's a mental barrier. Therefore my argument is why not put a gate on the driveway entrances, an installation that will be a one-off payment and will no doubt lower the occurrence of 'disturbances'.

Roof climbing seems to be another past time of 'the disturbers'. Some call it a hazard, some call it parkour, but it depends on your viewpoint. As a society we appear to have a social taboo, namely that unless it's the ground then you shouldn't walk on it. I have no idea of the logic behind this because if I was to climb on a roof tomorrow causing absolutely no damage whatsoever I would be shunned as a member of 'decent' society. I seem to have a thing with signs but how, if driving, are you meant to know that the road ahead is closed unless there is a sign saying so? You can't know, so to expect that someone will adhere to a grey area of societal conduct unless being told specific guidelines is ludicrous! As a reader, you may thing I'm digressing but roof climbing is another reason I can think of for having the cameras. But like I said, what damage does it cause. And if they were really that concerned about our well-being then they would have banned PE a long time ago.

My proposed solution to the whole thing would be a removal of the security system in full, but I'm not naïve enough to believe that would ever happen so instead I've thought of a compromise between pupils and authority. The compromise reads thus: as there is no reason to have a security system in place to monitor areas already patrolled by teachers and there is no obvious advantage of having them on during school hours bar adolescent voyeurism, my proposal is that they at least be switched off between the hours of 0800 and 1800, when most people are on the school site (accommodating for after-school activities). That way, despite how uncomfortable I am with it, they will only fulfil their intended purpose: security devices. Of course it would be very hard to check if the school was fulfilling their side of the agreement but there would have to be some trust involved.

Privacy is a right regardless of age and to try and pull the old 'it's in your best interests' line won't simply wash in a school full of the most cerebral minds in the local area. As a state school we are assigned a strict budget so instead of wasting it, we should use it for the benefit of the majority, as opposed to the twisted satisfaction of the few; that's utilitarianism and that's what should have always been taken into account before putting in such a system without the consent of the people it affects: students.

I've only been back three days as we speak. I'm thankful that my agitation only has a year to bear, it is the 'new recruits' that I pity.

Back To School

2007-09-03T18:16:00.000Z

Well it's that time of the summer again, i.e. the end, when tomorrow I will be going back for my final year at the beast that is Ermysted' s Grammar School. Looking back over the summer, I've had quite a busy one: the first week was spent in Germany touring round playing music, the second week was spent in Cambridge doing Maths, the rest of the time was spent in intense drum study (4+ hours every day) and the greatness that is Leeds Festival. But this final school year will no doubt prove to be exciting, so I've heard, because of the amount of 18th birthday parties taking place. I've already had my first one and if the rest are going to end up like that one, then I can't wait! There's also university applications, A-levels and pub quizzes.

Conclusion: BRING ON YEAR 13!

Leeds Festival 2007

2007-08-22T12:43:00.000Z

I've just finished packing my things for Leeds Fest and I'm very excited (although this text doesn't portray it). Last year when I went it was the greatest weekend of my life and it included (among other things) heckling at burger vans, which can be seen here. I also remember throwing beer cans at someones tent, but I can't remember why! But anyway, I thought last year was good, pfft, these are the bands I'm up for seeing this year:

Cold War Kids
New Found Glory (my heroes since I was about 13)
Gallows
Ignite
Sonic Boom Six
Jimmy Eat World (on the Lockup Stage, naturally)
The Academy Is... (4th time I'll have seen them)
Battles (calculator at the ready...)
I Was A Cub Scout
The Little Ones
Tokyo Police Club
Paramore
Red Hot Chili Peppers
+ Whoever's set I stumble in on

Well I'm very excited. Should be good.

MWAHAHA!!!!

Max Roach R.I.P.

2007-08-18T17:10:00.000Z

Max Roach (1924-2007) passed away in the early hours of 16th August. He was one of the purveyors of the bebop style along with Kenny 'Klook' Clarke, changing the dynamic role of a drummer within a musical context. Drumwise, it would be futile for me to list all the things he did as to an average person, they would be meaningless; needless to say his playing was a milestone in jazz drumming. Although I currently do not own many recordings of Max, I now intend to scour the web in search of his recordings, especially the solo drum albums he did (years before Terry Bozzio). Unfortunately, like with any artform, the greats all die out some day and with this news, we're one step closer to a society containing no living legends - shame.

"American Hardcore"

2007-08-16T00:15:00.000Z

Just now, I've finished watching a documentary called American Hardcore about (as you can probably guess) the hardcore punk scene of the early to mid '80s in America.

This movement was spawned out of a frustrated desire by young America to go against their context. Someone once said that during times of social unrest, the best art flourishes. Ronald Regan had just been inaugurated as President of The USA and 'good old American family values' had become commonplace again; the Right was getting in.

Hardcore punk was seen as an anti-movement, whereby everything was lean. It was about getting as much energy and emotion across to your audience as possible in as little time as possible. In fact, hardcore is distinguished by minimal song lengths. Notoriously, it was fast - there was a lot to cram in so lyrics were spit out and guitarists barely had time move their fingers. To the ignorant people, this was just noise. To those in the know, this was bliss, this was energy & this was a release.

Like the songs, the scene did not have time to fully develop, and by the mid-'80s, it had all but died out; at least the first wave. Many people involved in the scene, most famously Ian Mackaye [The Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Fugazi], decided to get out and completely burn their ties with the scene. By this point in its history, hardcore had become synonymous with violent riots, an association many were not comfortable with. going back to Ian Mackaye once again, he later used to personally eject people from Fugazi shows who were doing things that could be conceived as violent.

Please watch the film, and I hope that like me, you can bgin your journey into the ever expansive and ever energetic world of hardcore.

One Step Closer

2007-08-09T19:31:00.000Z

All Time Low [Update]

2007-08-04T14:13:00.000Z

All Time Low are quickly becoming my All Time Fav' with their incredibly catchy and energetic pop-punk ways. With a cracking EP already out ("Put Up Or Shut Up"; get it) they're currently in the studio recording their second full length album for Hopeless Records, due to be released in September, I for one cannot wait.
Recently on the band's MySpace (hell how I hate to endorse it), they uploaded the first cut of a song off the new album ("So Wrong, It's Right") called "Dear Maria". From the most memorable opening line I got your picture, I'm coming with you; Dear Maria, count me in, to the closing line, this is one song that shows these kids have got a lot of potential.
They're also the only band I've known of so far who've made me squeel and jump out of my seat when they announced UK tour dates supporting Plain White T's. The dates are as follows, and I don't care about money, I'm going to see All Time Low on Spetember 4th at The Cockpit!

27/08/07 - Carling Academy 2, Liverpool
28/08/07 - King Tut's, Glasgow
29/08/07 - Carling Academy 2, Newcastle
31/08/07 - Academy 3, Manchester
01/09/07 - Carling Academy 2, Birmingham
04/09/07 - The Cockpit, Leeds
05/08/07 - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
06/08/07 - Fez Club, Reading
07/08/07 - KCLSU, London

Blog #51

2007-08-03T00:33:00.000Z

Well now I'm back home after what has been an exhausting (mentally as well as physically) two weeks. The first week of summer I spent playing drums in Germany with the school Big Band and just today, I've returned from a four day Maths course at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.
Both were amazing experiences (the former even more so) and they've thrown up quite a dilemma for my poor ginger head. The question is whether to pursue Maths or Music at university. It's a tough decision because of the other factors involved such as skill & careers.
I think I would definitely prefer music, but looking at the specifications, it would mean that I would have to have grade 8 theory as well as grade 8 on drums plus be reasonably sufficient in piano, a hell of a lot of work. But I think it would be worth it. Wouldn't it?
Excuse me for being rhetorical, I'm just in a very confused state where I'm trying to weigh up my dreams, talents & passions in the vain hope that what I end up with is the right degree course suited to me and my ability. I hope it comes along soon, the hours of introvertial thought are starting to take their toll...

Latest Achievement

2007-07-15T08:38:00.001Z

?uestlove

2007-07-12T17:58:00.000Z

This is Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, drummer for hip hip legends The Roots who has served as a very strong influence for me over the last few days.

It takes some balls to admit it... but recently... [flinches] I lost my groove.

I know, it's bad (for a drummer). I was in a bad state and my drumming just wasn't fulfilling my needs, so today I stripped down and began trying to groove, instead of using the drums like one would a saxophone (i.e. trying to play riffs and licks instead of beats and grooves). My kit is now set up like ?uestlove's to try and restrict the melodic options of the instrument so that I can at last focus on my groove.

Where does ?uestlove come into this? Well, on Tuesday, as I left my last drum lesson of the school year, my teacher played me a song, telling me to check out the groove. Guess who it was and who was drumming. This was it. I went home, and looked them up and immediately became hooked on just laying down a beat.

?uestlove is a relentless beat mason, he lays them down like there's no tomorrow. He has feel, he keeps perfect time and is so damn funky you need a wash.

But that's just his drumming. The guy is a also a passionate DJ who has quite a lot of records in his arsenal (look at the background of the picture). About 10,000 I think I read somewhere. So I only really need about 9,970 to catch up. Not so hard.

In this YouTube video, ?eustlove and his sister show us, the viewer, round his library. It is quite a sight and to even comprehend the amount of records there is really quite hard. My favourite part of the video is where he says that if he were to listen to each record twice, it would take so long that his life would be over.

Dayem.

Communism/Marxism/The Far Left

2007-07-06T19:54:00.000Z

Recently, in Leeds city centre, I was handed what was to be my first insight into Communism. It was in the form of Socialist Worker, the paper, given to me alongside a leaflet for Marxism 2007. The reason, I don't know, but it proved to be interesting reading on the train home.

I've heard words like Communism, Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism etc. thrown around for a few years now, mainly by the people taking History at my school. However, I just thought it was some kind of group of people, like a community of people, not a political ideal. However since getting the paper, I've been looking into it on the internet.

This research has been purely out of interest, and from what I've found, this is something Communism generates a lot of. It is essentially an anti-society, in that most Western societies are founded on ideals opposite to those of Communism. And according to Communists, the only way to turn this around is via revolution.

It was founded by the two men above, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, after a meeting in Paris in 1844, and it essentially works on the principal on the re-distribution of wealth, where the collective wealth of a nation is then spread out among all the citizens. This makes the rich poorer and the poor richer, as opposed to the current evidence (check) which conversely shows the opposite.

I'm currently at no stage whatsoever to form an opinion on this ideology, to do that would require a lot more reading. The purpose of this post then? To maybe spark some research initiative into some people, I think society lacks that desire - shame.

Tidiness

2007-06-29T22:37:00.000Z

Being tidy, organised and well managed is not a given skill, it takes time to develop it. I've only just started trying to be more organised in what I do and I am already beginning to see the benefits. I have more free time, I spend less time looking for things, or deciding what to do, or other time wasting past times of those who take a much more free and easy approach.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a raging liberal who is more often than not, positive and laid back. But, when I have a task to do, I do it. This change has only occurred recently as I currently lead a very busy lifestyle and any way to use my time more efficiently is always greatly received.

One of the things confronted by many people of my age is the age old "untidy bedroom" stereotype. Embedded into us since birth is the notion that teenagers by definition have untidy bedrooms, I don't know where it came from (probably some sort of propaganda sent out during the 'teenager's revolution' of the 60s) but I for one know of several exceptions including myself.

Since moving house a few summers back I decided it was time to start keeping my room tidy, and making sure it stays that way. Here's some wick ways how I manage to keep all my stuff organised:

Motivation If your not really that bothered about having a tidy room, then don't bother. If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.
Time This will require a couple of hours, I'm not going to lie to you. but don't worry, after these few hours, it require practically no time, which I think is better than the periodic all-dayer room tidies that often occur. Basically for this stage, just allocate some time one day with the sole intention of working through the next couple of points. It will usually take a while, but it all depends on just how messy your room is, how large it is etc.
Placement This is the most important thing ever in terms of space organisation. One of the crucial things you need to do when setting out to tidy the room permanently is to make sure everything has an allocated place where it goes when not in use and where it stays. If you do not have allocated places for things, then they get left lying around and clutter accumulates.
Anomalies So you've given everything a place? You're quite happy? But what happens when you have to temporarily accommodate something that doesn't fit into the system? I know, scary, but fear not! There are ways to house this as well, I call it open space, set aside space for random things to go, so even unexpected guests can be accommodated. It helps and is often something most people overlook.

Now, many of you probably think this is a pretty lame subject matter, but let's face it, it affects us all near enough, and if waht I have said has provided even the smallest amount of help, then I can go away happy.

24

2007-06-24T19:51:00.000Z

You catch me off the back of an 16-hour 24 marathon. I'm tired, I trust nobody and there is only one person I would ever want covering my back. That's right, you're looking at him: Jack Bauer.

I don't care if he's fictional (just for those of you who are unsure, he is). Jack Bauer is an inspiration, he gets things done; the journey's not important for Bauer, it's the destination. A fierce utilitarian, Jack Bauer will will break every rule and every protocol to get what he wants. He works in his own way, no-one else's. People think they can order him around, they can't - because he's Jack Bauer.

But on a serious level, the character of Jack Bauer is a great example of someone who gets things done. Some people always talk about what they're going to do, and never go through with it. I hope that I am not one of these people, Jack Bauer certainly isn't. Even if he's scared, even if there'll be some obstacles - even if it hurts, he does it. That's determination, that's balls.

Listen, there's a limit to how much I can tell you about the greatness of Jack Bauer without you actually watching 24. My recommendation? Get started with season 1, it may just change your life.

Muse - Wembley Stadium - 16/06/2007

2007-06-18T20:50:00.000Z

That's right. I was there. I experienced it, all of it. Yes, it was good.

Muse, a band notorious for their extravagant live shows had this venue sold out, two nights running; they were in fact the first act to sell out the new stadium (and would have been the first act to play, if it weren't for that sneaky ex-Wham! guy). This gig had 'mega' printed all over it it months before it even began and it certainly live up to these expectations.

Like so many large gigs now, artists feel the need to provide adequate support acts, so for this, Muse employed the help of Rodrigo Y Gabriela, one of the most interesting acts I've seen for a very long time. Two people, hailing from Mexico,who are ex-members of a thrash metal band, who are the most skilled acoustic guitar players that I have ever seen full stop. They are phenomenal, and if two talented Mexicans playing psychotic flamenco doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then you were like me 2 days ago. They have to be seen to be believed.

Next up were ex-Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things made one of the most boring performances I've seen in a long while. Firing out absolutely diabolical indie-drivel that has been done for so long, they really left me no option. I'm going to say it. Forgive Me. They played what was probably the worst show I've ever seen. The sound wasn't working properly? So what, good sound can only make up, and it would take an incredible sound guy to make these guys sound good.

The penultimate act, The Streets, however, made up for the previous act (let us never speak of them again). Now I'm not a big Streets fan. In fact, I used to think they were awful. But in between Freddy Mercury impressions (yes, that other famous concert at Wembley Stadium about 20 years ago), and getting the crowd to "Jump when Johnny sits down", they somehow managed to find a place in my heart. And let's face it, Mike Skinner is an amazing front man.

Now, the main act, Muse. They never do anything by halves, this crazy trio from Devon, and while most bands enter with a wave and a guitar tune, Muse entered by rising up out of the middle of crowd in a stream of light and confetti, before walking down a runway to the stage.
"Knights Of Cydonia" swiftly followed, accompanied by thew words to the chorus being projected onto the screen behind the band.

One of my favourite parts of the whole stage was not the 10 metre satellite dishes, the giant balls that were known, during one song, to float round the arena with aerial gymnastics performing a routine whilst suspended beneath them. No, my favourite part was Matt Bellamy's guitar mobile. It was like Thunderbirds. It was a little buggy (complete with siren), that had on it a guitar stand that between songs came on and off stage transporting our Matt with the machine he needs to make his crazy sounds. It made me laugh every time.

Needless to say, they were never going to use this opportunity to indulge ins songs known only to die-hard Muse fanatics. No, this was littered with all their 'hits', although from a reliable member of the audience stood right behind me, I found out they didn't play "Bliss" - shame. Besides, they played for 2 hours, they were bound to come across a hit anyway by default. The highlight for me was definitely "Feeling Good", a cover which is one of the concluding tracks on their second album, "Origin Of Symmetry". Not only is it a great song, but the animation behind the band fitted the song perfectly and was exceptionally well done.

This gig had some personal advantages as well. This is probably going to be the best stadium rock show there's likely to be yet it left me longing for a small band in a small venue. It's not them, in fact I don't know what it is but after this gig, I realised that I much prefer to be in smaller venues whilst watching bands. To me, there didn't seem to be a great exchange of energy between band and crowd. This exchange is one of the things I enjoy most when it is present at a concert. But, Wembley is absolutely huge. They would need a lot of energy for it to transfer effectively. On the other hand though, Mike Skinner, I felt, managed to put across quite a lot of energy. I think we'll leave the crowd rousing to Skinner, and the grand shows to Bellamy.

This is a landmark gig. There will be very few gigs over the next ten years that would be comparable to it in any way, and for this reason, it gets an overall thumbs up from the gig-reviewing office of Mark R. Parker. Well done boys!

Apology

2007-06-15T18:32:00.000Z

My apologies for not posting in a while - exams. Sorry.

Owned

2007-06-12T16:47:00.000Z

Bald guy, in the middle, next to Frank Zappa. He gets ownedbig style.

Non-Alcoholic Beer

2007-06-11T20:24:00.000Z

As many of you may or may not know, I have given up the demon drink since 1st January of this year as a bet made by my friend. All good and well you might say, but last night, when confronted with a non-alcoholic beer, I just couldn't bring myself to drink it. Strange? Yes. Weird? Yes. Stupid? Yes. I still can't work out why, but this has lead me to ponder over what my reaction will be compared to the real thing. I wonder...

Harvard

2007-06-09T13:44:00.000Z

A few of you will know that I am currently in the process of entertaining high hopes of reaching Harvard (that's right, the one in the States) and it has come to the point where I now have to make the commitment. I'm going to go for it.
One of the scariest moments of the last few months was when I realised that this dream was slowly unfolding into a semi-reality, in that the steps that would be needed for it had started to materialise. I am talking about registering for the SAT, which for some reason I still not have completed but I intend to do so before the end of this week at least. Just the option of filling in the form scared me and my current state is that it is all filled in except for the actual payment - yikes.
Besides this, I'm going to have to get some serious reading in, taking in SAT study guides by the dozen (I'll have to - what do I know about SATs) and looking at several books on how to write the entrance essay, which from what I've gathered is very important. A good essay can make up for a bad student, a good student can't make up for a bad essay. The essay is akin to the British personal statement, however it is not about you. It is about whatever you desire it to be. They see this as a chance for the candidate to express themselves, and I agree that this is a very good system as opposed to numerous statements which will inevitably say "I am suitable for...because...".
Now onto the choice. Harvard is the oldest institution of its kind in America, in fact I think it's one of the oldest in the world. What it is though, is consistently the best. The Times and USnews have both ranked Harvard at the top of their worldwide university rankings, with Oxford and Cambridge usually coming up behind. Not only this, but it has stupid amounts of funding, namely more than every university in Britain combined. In fact, it is the second largest non-profit endowment after the Melissa & Bill Gates Fund, i.e. a lot. Because of this, they're more than willing to literally give you money to help with the cost of your education, no student loans, no interest rates, just here's the money, so you don't owe us as much. That's jolly nice of them. This financial aid programme goes form a complete wavering of fees to maybe 5% off, but needless to say, most students at Harvard receive financial aid.
This is one of the main reasons for choosing only Harvard. An unaided American college education will set you back tens of thousands of dollars a year, which is an amount that I simply cannot afford (obviously). Harvard is the only good university that offers such liberal aid with regards to finance that it may be my only option.
However, my main reason, but not just for Harvard, is I want to get away. Don't get me wrong, I love being British and I love Britain, but it pains me so much to see the state it is in now, run by liars and tyrants and although many (including myself) will argue that America is indeed worse, I don't know until I get there, plus, I'll have a better chance of solving the political problems in America if I'm there as opposed to residing in good old Blighty. Another reason is that I'm bored, I've met the same people and gone to the same shops in my hometown for over 17 years and I want a change. Fair enough, going to University in Britain will offer me that change, but I'm an adventurous little bugger.
So, with 205 days to go until the application deadline, I'm off to go do some web scouring!

The Format

2007-06-04T14:02:00.001Z

I'm sorry. I really am. Honestly, it pains me to do this. O.K. Here goes.

The Format are absolutely spectacularly amazing!

Their songs are one of the few that have ever sent me shivering. Really, I've very rarely felt that feeling and the outro of "She Doesn't Get It" sends me into a shiver that Elvis would be proud of.

So please, please, please drop whatever you're doing and listen to The Format - they will change your life.

Amazing

2007-06-02T20:21:00.000Z

I want to give up drums.

Yoga & BKS Iyengar

2007-05-31T13:02:00.000Z

After my recent post about Ashtanga Yoga I thought that it would be wise to share some of the resources I've found on the topic over the last few days.
The most inspiring (and definitely the most awesome) has got to be this video of BKS Iyengar practicing Ashtanga Yoga. This was filmed in 1938, when Iyengar was just 20 years old. In fact, the film is so old, that the copyright has expired.

It's not hard to see what I aspired to when viewing the film, and although I realise with just a few practices, I'm still a beginner - it is quite pleasing to note that one can get to a similar standard in all but a few years. Iyengar had only been practicing Ashtanga for at the most 4 years by this point and although it may seem like quite a long time, it really is not when you take into consideration the change that will have occurred between starting out and getting to that point.
From one practice session earlier this week, I have so far had aching hamstrings for the last few days, and I'm sure that when filming, Iyengar didn't even feel a twinge minutes after doing way more advanced moves than I was doing.
My schedule therefore will be to practice, then wait for recovery, then practice again, and eventually I will gradually reduce the recovery time up until the point where I am comfortably doing it everyday; or at least that is my aim. It may take me months, or even a year, but I'm sure that the benefits will be many.
Many people know of Yoga, yet few know about it. I'm not going to bore you with worthless details but needless to say, it is not just a load of iddle aged ladies wanting to get toned for the summer chanting "hom" and trying to jabber on about how 'spiritully rewarding' it is.
First of all, without wanting to sound sexist, the original creators of Yoga devised the system purely for men - in fact they even backed this up by saying it should not be practiced by women. Don't ask me why, might have just been harsh times 3,000 years ago.
Secondly, it is a system that can manifest itself in many ways. Lots of people do passive Yoga, e.g. someone who is a devout Muslim is performing Bakhti Yoga, or a devout scholar is practicing Jnana Yoga. The yoga we've come to laugh at and know is Hatha Yoga, i.e. physical yoga. And although physical is in the name, it was not an ancient equivalent to a 'Tums and Bums' class. Their logic was that only when you can control the body can you even begin to control the mind. Only when you've controlled the mind can you begin to control the spirit. Only when you begin to control the spirit, can you begin to control everything. And so, we have a path.
Ashtanga is a form of Hatha Yoga, and it has been recognised for the last 90 years or so (although it has actually been practiced for much longer than this). It tries to promote concentration and the movement of energy via flow, or Vinyasa as it is called. There are 4 series of Asanas (poses) to work through, each buidlign upon the last and each with its own benefits.
Sorry, I just realised that I have actually gone probably too far in depth for most people to handle. But in conclusion, I thoroughly reccomend looking at and (even) practicing AShtanga Yoga, and failing that, at least some other kind of Yoga (Iyengar, Sivananda etc.). For more information, don't go to yoga.com or something like that, just do some research. Send on some Wikipedia or Answers.com, and all will be revealed.

Ashtanga Yoga

2007-05-29T19:06:00.000Z

The other morning I managed to scrape myself out of bed at 5 in the morning.

Why, you ask.

Well, to do the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga.

That's why.

It was a fun 2 hours.

And I am very stretched.

And I aim to keep it up.

7 Inches (And Counting)

2007-05-29T18:51:00.000Z

Ah, the 45. For those of you that don't know, this is a 45 RPM single. These 7 inch slabs of vinyl hold one song a side and rotate on the turntable at 45 rotations a minute. They also have the arcane ability of making someone who owns one want more, and more, and more...
Recently, on eBay I have pursued several 45s, mainly rare ones in some weird obsessive way. I was outbid on an original Dead Kennedys single of "Holiday In Cambodia", but managed to worm my way into winning Minutemen's "Tour Spiel E.P." - one disc, 4 songs, eight quid. But it's worth it.
I also bidded on the only UK single of The Format's: "Time Bomb", but that has two days remaining and I really hope that I win. For those of you who do not yet know of The Format, I pity you. They are amazing. I received the album Dog Problems today (had to order it from the US) and the artwork is sublime - you'll have to get it to see.
So, back to singles. The only rare single currently in my collection is "All Day, All Night" by The Kinks that's from 1962 or something. This was given to me by my Uncle last Christmas. But at the moment, I am currently trying to source out Motion City Soundtrack's first release on vinyl. This is going to be tricky as only 500 were ever made, but I shall endure!

Live At Leeds - 26/05/07

2007-05-26T22:32:00.000Z

I've just come home from one of the most exciting live music events of the year so far: Live At Leeds.

Basing it's idea on events such as Camden Crawl, Live At Leeds was a celebration of the city's live music and venues. Five of Leeds' premier venues opened their doors to the lucky people who possessed the pink wristband, with bands playing from noon until about now.

I started off my day at The Mixing Tin, a small, yet very cosy venue next to Virgin Megastores. This was at 12, when I expected The Reliance to be playing, alas sluggishness!

So, shortly after waiting around (and picking up a copy of Bikini Black Special's demo that was lying on the table), I headed off for The Cockpit just in time to catch the start of Air Traffic's set.

All I can say is wow. Their blend of piano lead indie rock was inspiring and there were also several nods to Radiohead, namely one of their songs which featured mass drumming not too dissimilar to that on "There There". However, Air Traffic played a confident and very tight set that contained lots of sweet melodies that had me humming even after the amps had been switched off.

Now, I had been warned about the next band: Last Gang, i.e. their leanings to what I describe as 'token indie'. Now, gracing the stage after Air Traffic was always going to be a tough job, but as soon as I heard the first four chords, I knew this was going to be a band I would have hated - I quickly got the hell out as fast as possible.

I went back to The Mixing Tin to see if things had livened up, namely to see if any bands had actually played yet and lo and behold, on the small stage were a band called The Assembly. Firing out a dreary blend of pub-background-rock it was fair to say I wasn't inspired so I carried on my trek towards Joseph's Well.

I got in and managed to catch the last song of Voltage Union, a band, who from that song, seemed to play a rather generic for of electronica/indie. Although good, it was not original. Shortly after them came one of my highlights of the day, a band called Duels. Having heard about them through a friend (who actually told me that they weren't very good) I'd decided to go see them anyway. I'm glad I did. Each song was its own unique creation and there were lots of elements present, that were reminiscent of such 'epic indie' bands as Arcade Fire. They also drew in a very large crowd into the very warm and very small back room of Joseph's Well, that contained no ventilation - sweaty!

After Duels, I took a mid-afternoon break (in fact, I think I popped back into The Mixing Tin to catch yet another boring rock band who I think would have been The Turn, who don't seem to have any Internet representation).

After my break consisting of a (crunchy) peanut butter bagel and a green tea, I went back to The Cockpit to see GoodBooks, who were a late announcement to the day, as one band had already pulled out. I'd previously heard maybe one or two tracks of theirs on various compilations, and I knew that they were a good band, which is why I decided to go and see them. They did not disappoint and instead, provided me with some much need intelligence in a world where dumb 'token indie' reigns supreme. Their use of clever structures and piano/guitar interplay helped elevate them above what could have made them a very dreary band indeed.

Speaking of dreary bands, following GoodBooks were Grammatics - and the less said the better.

The penultimate band of the day were Sky Larkin and their trinity of girl-boy-boy pop rock. Needless to say, they had already won me over by singing "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" during sound check, but what followed was a lesson in good, honest indie rock 'n' roll how it should be; without the fake accents and many stereotypes, back to DIY ethics (indeed they premiered several songs at this gig written only on the previous day). This is a band to be proud of.

But one of my favourite parts about them, aside from their great songs, is their drummer: Nestor. This guy is the most intense human being I've ever had the pleasure of coming within 4 feet of. He drummed like he was dying and I'm sure there were many times when I felt that he would explode in some kind of immense glory, brought about by screaming, straining and just generally not breathing right. You ca always tell the intense ones by the fact they instantly collapse on the snare drum the moment the final note has been played.

But who could end what had already been such a brilliant celebration of all that is good about new music except the infamous, the crazy and the very scouser Hot Club De Paris. Now I have a secret to reveal. I've been harbouring a passion for odd-time signatures for quite a while now. I know, it's a dirty passion, but there are some things about yourself you just can't change. It would appear Hot Club De Paris too have this passion, and I just hope that they don't change a fraction of the amount of times their time-signature does.

They have been popular for a while now and have been noted, mainly, by their prominent use of odd-time signatures and strange arrangements. Their guitarist, who employs flawless technique, is also strange in that he never uses an effects pedal; it's all clean baby! But when you can come up with riffs such as the one on "What's Your Name" then let's face it, who the bloody hell cares?

Now, onto the show itself. Slightly late starting, they began with a perfectly harmonious A'Capella song about themselves and their ability to "fuck everything that moves". In the next 45 minutes, the crowd were treated to a string of songs off their recent debut album: Drop It 'til It Pops. Two of the songs that caught my attention were a new one, called "This thing seems forever to last forever" or something thereabouts; and also what was described as a "hip-hop song about middle England" which featured the bassist employing some quite skillful beat boxing with the drummer and guitarist doing there barbershop duet thing over the top.

The set, and indeed the day finished with a great song (and one of my favourite songs that contains the beloved 7/4 time signature), Shipwrecked. Today had been a great day and to top it off was a great song sung by the perfectly tight and ever energetic Hot Club De Paris.

Right, when's the next one?

Uninformed Journalism

2007-05-24T20:14:00.000Z

Not only is this uninformed and wrong, but it's absolutely hilarious as to how naive some of the points raised are. Death Cab promoting suicide and death? Erm, no. Fair enough it may actualy be about suicide but it's not saying "Hey impressionable kid! Go out there and kill yourself! Yay!" Then the common misconception of using the all too famous (and cleverly satirical) emo song as evidence.

Personally I can't stand the self obsessed "alternative culturists" that spend their lives on MySpace or at their local city centre's train station - grow up and realise what you are doing is a joke!

But seriously, ust watch:

Lost: Season 3 Finalé

2007-05-24T16:00:00.000Z

Just finished watching the season finalé of Lost and all in all I am very impressed.

Despite not answering many questions, what it does do is add several new twists to the already tightly coiled plotline in a way that will literally keep you hanging on the edge of your seat.

The flashbacks in this episode are based around Jack, and personally, they were one of my favourite elements of the shows. They retain a mystery and then literally in the last flashback, which in turn is the last scene of the series, we get one of the most interesting ideas that the producers ever head ever since deciding to come up with the character of John Locke.

However, many questions from seasons passed are still unanswered. What's the Black Rock and how did it get there? What was the statue all about? From the pilot: what were the noises in the jungle? What, for crying out loud, is the significance of the numbers? What heppened to Walt and Michael? The list just goes on.

Now, faced with the prospect of 9 months without Lost, I'm starting to get scared, however I'm sure that come January, I'll be so desparate for some more Lost action, that they could kill off Hurley and I wouldn't care. (By the way, as far as I'm aware, they do not kill Hurley off)

Frank Zappa

2007-05-21T18:43:00.001Z

This is one of the cleverest people that ever lived, Frank Zappa. He was a composer and a musician and a film maker and if you haven't heard of him, then now is the time to start. Especially, if you consider yourself even in the slightest, a musician.

Now, we all know about 4/4, right? Well what about 4/4 wher the last two beats and the first beat of the next bar are then subdivided equally into 27 parts which themselves contain subdivisions of 5 and 3. This is what Zappa did. He wrote the most complex, and some of the most beautiful music ever produced.

To be in Zappa's band was tough. He only had the best, and then made them better through 8 hour practice sessions 6 times a week. Vinnie Colaiuta recalls having to sight read 'The Black Page' (a piece so rhythmically complex, it was originally written as a challenge), then having to jam in 13/8 and 21/16. Fun.

But he was much more than complex rhythms, oh yes, Zappa excelled in exceptionally intelligent and satirical lyrics that covered themes from millionaire TV preachers ('Heavenly Bank Account') to having sex with robots ('Sy Borg'). In fact, according to Zappa, the stupider the subject matter, the stupider the arrangement.

He was also highly praised with his guitar solos, or what he liked to call "air sculptures", which frequently involved odd tuplets, strange harmonies and seemingly endless progressions. However he very often soloed over a vamp, saying that he preffered there to be a tonal foundation when there was something as complex as the solo going on over the top. This is composition at its finest.

He developed much in the 35 years he spent in the music industry, going from the psychadelic moments of his debut, "Freak Out!", through more commercial rock, "Chunga's Revenge", through probably my favourite Zappa era, the through composed era, "One Size Fits All", the more refined Zappa of the late 70s, "Joe's Garage", the Synclavier Zappa of the mid-80s "Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention" and finally his orchestral works "The Yellow Shark". Each has their own merits.

After many hours of scouring YouTube and various video sites for Zappa rarities, my two favourite videos have got to be:

Black Napkins/Montana - Recorded live at the Palladium in New York on Halloween (Zappa always played New york on Halloween) with his long standing band of the 80s, which are possibly one of the tightest bands that has ever been around. I like this video, because it shows Zappa's true colours in the interview, then in the guitar solo on Black Napkins. Then the transition into Montana shows how well rehearsed the band msut have been to change at the drop of an arm into what many see as a Zappa 'classic'
Inca Roads - Recorded live for a TV audience, that was released under the title of 'The Dub room Special'. This was recorded with 'The Roxy Band', widely regarded as his best. In fact it was rumoured that they could play anything, personally, I think that Ruth Underwood is the bst percussionist Zappa ever had, and George Duke just rules on this song! This shows just how tight they were; if you think the breakdown after the first verse is random, think again, that is made with clever use of triplets and sextuplets overlaid onto the bar of 4 because as Zappa said, it needed disrupting. Then, the animation over the solo is an example of Zappa's film making ideas.

In short: genius.

Canada!

2007-05-16T20:54:00.000Z

This is the country that everyon'e talking aboot. Famed for mounties, meese (or mooses) and the mighty Rush, this is a country that until now, has never really kicked you in the balls when it comes to music (cue cinematic drum roll) until now.

Ever since SXSW, there's been a buzz around Canada, and recently, in the British music press, namely NME. With bands such as Arcade Fire really flying the flag for new Canadian music, a large scene has started to develop. If you can, I implore you to beg, steal or borrow a copy of the "Canadian Blast" CD that comes with this week's issue of NME - if not only for the sublime noise created by The Midway State (seen above), who create some amazing melodies.

There's also the female fronted Metric who claim that they fought the war by the love of God. That's a pretty big claim, but they have bountious energy and will no doubt have you singing along to their great song Monster Hospital before it's even finished.

And let's face it, Holy Fuck just have a great name. But don't let that fool you, this is some good stuff.

Now to another country who has a coast lying on the Pacific: Japan. Melt Banana are due to release their 6th album soon, and having only recently been introduced to the band, I'm excited - they're just that good. You can't tell a word she's saying, but who the hell cares when it's sung with so much balls!

Phew, just had to get all this good music out of my system - I apologise for keeping you so long.

Benjy Ferree

2007-05-14T20:43:00.000Z

This is Benjy Ferree.

He is a failed actor that writes songs.

You can listen to these songs here.

They're like fresh cut grass, but embedded in chocolate and stretched over your face.

He's good.

Just check out that beard.

Finally

2007-05-10T18:20:00.000Z

That's right. At last, we are now getting rid (well, he's quitting) of one of the worst Prime Ministers for a while. In his speech he says that on the 27th June, the United Kingdom will be ruled no more by the man who brought us such greats as: the Iraq War, the Anti-Terrorism Act and many others.

I'm sure he's a nice man, but in terms of politics - good riddance!

Food.

2007-05-08T20:07:00.000Z

All my life I have taken part in the eating of food. In fact, I would say that on a daily basis, I eat something, however small, more times than most other things. I care, about food.

That is why I am shocked and appalled with what I saw and heard when watching The Future Of Food. This is a documentary which outlines all the problems with the agricultural system in America today. Although I don't live in America, the unfairness and inequality of the situation left me feeling disgusted.

I'm not going to offer a synopsis, watch the film, but what I am going to do is question the morality of patenting lifeforms. Although it is 'just' plants at the moments, I cannot understand why courts of law and order allow people to stake claim on the creation of (if we're being religious) God, or (if we're not) the results of millions of years of natural trial-and-improvement. Patents aren't designed to be finders keepers, as they now are with genes and seeds; they are meant to be creators keepers. Makes sense.

So please, watch the film, think about the issues and don't support bullying big business.

Badass Cymbal Stand

2007-05-06T02:17:00.000Z

It's like Crocodile Dundee, but swap knife for cymbal stand. Makes you feel kind of inadequate.

By the way, this is John Stanier of Battles.

Spiderman 3

2007-05-05T19:56:00.000Z

Went to see it today in Leeds and I have to say that it was not worth the £6.25 cost of the ticket, something I am very sad to say after thoroughly enjoying the previous two efforts.

Starting off with an opening sequence worthy of the best prime-time T.V. shows, the film then begins, where the last film left off and instead of letting the characters develop, immediately throws you into some action that seems like is only there in order to stop boredom.

In fact, the bit of action to which I'm referring has a very dramatic consequence, which if thought about, could have been manipulated, however it was inexplicably fixed therefore rendering that section of plot unnecessary.

And as for Spidey-gone-emo, you have as much idea as I do. I always thought that when he went black, he'd just become a bit more aggressive, but no. His fringe is down and yes, he does look a bit like an emo. The film then tries to use his sudden heightened confidence as a kind of comedic interlude to the plot, making him jump across tables in a Jazz club and doing a cringeworthy walking down the street sequence to some very bad disco music. Not good.

Then, thinking that the franchise might be wearing thin, they decided to try and cram as many subplots and villains into this as they could find. We have the sandman, the Green Goblin Jr. and Venom. Way to go director. Safety in numbers: erm, no. It just ends up seeming a bit like a very bad film with far too many bad guys to keep track of. It would have been much better to simply instill one character and let that plot develop fully, maybe leading onto a new plot at the end, which would justify a sequel. Instead, we are given three rather poorly developed plots that don't always seem to join seamlessly.

And the last action sequence - that was just bad. Crammed so full of clichés, I can't even begin to describe how unoriginal it was. Heroes in danger, so in comes his ex-enemy turned new best friend to save the day as they make corny jokes and fight together:all the while, there being a damsel in distress.

But it does have a happy ending. Aw, how nice. I really am warm and fuzzy inside. No, really. I am... very.

Rage Against The Machine - Coachella

2007-05-02T17:58:00.000Z

The mighty Rage Against The Machine are (semi) back!

Although it is reasonably old news, I thought I would add my thoughts on the return, albeit potentially short-lived, return of one of the gretest bands in the last 15 years. After 7 years apart, Brad Wilk, Tom Morello, Zack De La Rocha and Tim Commerford, graced the stage at the Coachella festival in America.

Rage Against The Machine, were and still are one of the most interesting bands of modern times, and it is not my place to tell you why. All I do know is, is that although they are accused of selling out (which they may have done - their right), I personally don't thin they have. Akin with the 2007 trend of reformations, where every band under the soon is giving it 'one more go', I think Rage are different.

For example, instead of revelling in the devotion they've ammased over the past 15 years and indulging themselves in an extravagant stage show, they merely had a red star banner na djust got down and did what they do best - playing the some of the msot energetic music to grace human ears.

One thing: please come to the UK.

|P.S.| Check out the immense side project of Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman

Moleskine

2007-05-01T17:46:00.000Z

My Moleskine week view diary came today and I am very excited! For a while now I have been very unorganised with my time and only recently have I developed a longing for self-management, with regards to time.

I would reccomend that anyone, regardless of how busy they are, buy a diary and begin to use it. It will prove invaluable to anyone that has a busy schedule and will keep everything organised in one pocket sized book, especially the Moleskine, as used by Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway and many others.

This is my little black book.

Revision

2007-04-30T18:40:00.000Z

Smells.

Nah; but seriously, it's worth it. I'm blogging now in between cramming in as much 'Pro Milone' as my wee brain can take. I've only got about 17 lines left and I'll have learnt it all! Then comes the arduous task of understanding it and the context that surrounds it.

My advice to anyone with up and coming exams is just to get on with it. I'm reasonably happy with the self-disciplie that I've managed to show so far when it comes to revision and I can already see it paying off.

itaque mihi proficendus.

Warwick University

2007-04-28T21:49:00.000Z

"The Intellectual Centre Parcs of the Midlands"

Think about it, it's like Centre Parcs, but instead of the swimming pool, there's the astrophysics department.

I.E. Crap.

Like living in a bubble.

For 4 years.

Frequenting the same place over and over and over and over and over again.

Panchen Lama

2007-04-25T21:04:00.000Z

Happy 18th Birthday. If they don't let you speak for yourself, let us speak on your behalf. If you are dead, let us fight for justice, and may God rest your soul. If you are the last, let it not be in vain. Be brave.

http://boycott2008games.blogspot.com/

Spontaneous Smiling

2007-04-24T20:22:00.000Z

I was afflicted by this today and I'm pretty sure it occured because of either the following two reasons in conjunction, acting separately for a mutual cause or just because, well, some third reason that you apply to your personal state.
The reasons were:
A) I'd just got into an hilarious argument with some local youngsters
B) I was listening to possibly the best band this side of the 70s, Modeliste

Damn, they're some funky mothertruckers. Now if you'll excuse me, listening to them has made me feel dirty: the shower awaits.

Ceremonial Feeding

2007-04-22T16:29:00.000Z

An Englishaman's home may be his castle, but does this justify the sense of grandeur the Englishman puts around mealtime?

The facts are: meals are eaten around the table - no exceptions, meal times cannot be interrupted by anything - no exceptions, finish your plate, or perish!

I've seen the sad symptoms of this many times, in fact I've even seen people turn away visiting friends because they are feeding. This is normal at an English table, but in many cultures, if the same thing happened, the guest would immediately be invited in to eat and if there was not enough food, well, the host goes hungry. This is how it should be, in fact if you think about it, it is stupid to think that stuffing your face full of food is more important than answering the phone/door/friend sitting next to you.

And then there's the absolutely absurd notion that somehow being able to finish a plate is meritable. From an early age, young children are rewarded for forcing food down there mouths for the sake of an easier dishwash. In fact, I reckon this is where this absurdity stems from, the fact that certain servants couldn't be arsed washng up and scraping plates so they invented the myth that "you're a wussy if you don't finidh your plate". This myth then led to illogical manners and as they say; the rest is history.

Think about it, why, just because you are in the process fo mastacation and digestion does that give you the right to think that nothing else matters. I'm trying to refrain fomr sounding preachy, but unfortunately, that's what some people need - a good preaching! But I've had personal experience of the terrors of meal-time-etiquette. I was nearly unable to purchase Leeds Festival Tickets because my tea was out and after lots of shouting I managed to persuade my fellow eaters that I should be allowed to go against centuries of tradition, but just this once - I've never had a successful request since. That's it. My "Get Out Of Meal-Time Free" Card has been played.

Gutted.

'Illegal' Music Downloads

2007-04-18T20:43:00.000Z

Just recently I lent a copy of the seminal debut from Bloc Party to one of my friends. They really enjoyed the album and loaded it onto their computer and gave it me back swiftly. If I was the law, I would smile upon such sharing.

But hell hath no mercy for people that commit the same act, except the person borrowing the music is from Malaysia, or South Africa, or Antarctica - the place is irrelevant; legally, lending someone your music via a peer-to-peer software is illegal, for some strange reason.

This has been sparked by the recent shutdown of kinixtion, a huge database of links to where albums could be found to download online. Now to me, I can't understand how this is illegal, they're only letting people know where the music can be found, not hosting the files - how strange.

I admit, it takes a hell of a lot of money out of the recording industry as a whole but as artists, i.e. the musicians (and drummers), should it realy matter whether people pay for your art or not? I mean, I've seen quite a few bands who actively encourage people at the shows to go and download this track, or that track. This is because, they would rather get nothing and have their stuff out there and available, than have fewer people hear the songs, but get some extra money.

I 100% understand that people need to make money out of music, just to live and support families and that's great. And I'm trying not to say anything false, because I know very little about how much of the sale of an album goes to the artist. However, as far as I am aware, the bulk of an artist's money comes from touring, not just sales of records.

Plus, for the environmentally and ethically minded out there, downloading tracks of artists from a major label has not only a significantly reduced environmental impact, but it's not lining the pockets of "the big corporations man - donw with capitalism....". Peace out.

A general code of conduct I try and follow is that I see no harm in downloading tracks written by dead artists, now I know that those sales would just go straight to the owner of the rights, and let's face it, they' didn't write it - they don't deserve the money. The same feelings apply to bands that have disbanded. Also with bands that have 'made it', they already have lots of money and they don't particularly need the extra money to make their lifestyle even more lavish.

However, with small and up-and-coming bands, I think if you downlaod the songs, then you should either a) buy the record (if you liked the songs) or b)delete the files (if you didn't). It's only fair. I can think of nothing more disheartening for a band after releasing their debut album to find it has only 'sold' 10 copies, whereas those ten copies via peer-to-peer may have multiplied into 10,000. So please, support the underdogs.

All the same above feelings apply to TV programmes and films via peer-to-peer or online video services, e.g. YouTube, Veoh, Daily Motion etc. Especially if the rights to that show/film are owned by Rupert Murdoch, the evil one who owns Newscorp.

But you know me, just get it on vinyl - problem(s) solved.

HSBC - The World's Backward Bank

2007-04-17T20:18:00.000Z

Ever since we sort of went out of the dark ages I'm sure that it has been pretty safe to say that no matter how much you earn, it should not be held against you.

HSBC don't seem to think so. Recently I found out that a certain HSBC branche (did someone say citation? Oh wait: 1 2 3 ) is refusing to let people even into the branch unless they earn over £75,000, have a mortgage over £100,000 and other frankly ludicrous credentials.

This is absolutely disgusting. "Oh, I'm sorry sir, you can't even come in here... you're too poor. Your HSBC branch is that way, but we do have a nice friendly cash machine for you." Sound old-fashioned? Pompous? Wrong? Yeah.

You wouldn't expect to go into, say an Armani shop (although heavens know why you'd line the pockets of the over-rich, stick-thin-supporters anyway), and be told you can't even come in because you don't dress in clothes with a total value of at least £600. So why stand for it when a bank does it?

I thought we were past that. I thought you were judged as a person, not a wallet.

Obviously I was wrong.

Slightly Warm!

2007-04-14T21:01:00.000Z

Well not only would it be fair, but also factually accurate, to say that today was really warm - and I mean you started sweating just thinking about it. But today I purchased a song that I've liked for a long time, but have yet to come across.

That song is "Honey And The Moon" by Joseph Arthur and it is sort of apt for the weather - a very summery song that reminds me of all the good things in life, like well, nature and happiness!

However, I wasn't as impressed by the new Kings Of Leon album, "Because Of The Times". I really couldn't understand why these people were wasting my time with their proto-country drivel about being on call, or some other pathetic excuse for a good song. I'm sorry: it was awful.

But on a happier note, Battles' new song "ATLAS" has really had a positive impression on me. It is an 8+min. tribal assault of the ears, thundered along by drummer John Stanier and his ever so lofty cymbal stand (seriously, just check out the height on that thing). The electronic 'vocals' also provide an extra distressing layer to a song that already makes you scared of cannibals.

That is all for now, I shall be back shortly.

Kurt Vonnegut R.I.P.

2007-04-13T21:05:00.000Z

Although dying two days ago, it was with great sadness today that I opened my newspaper to find news that one of my favourite authors is no longer around.

The thing I liked about Vonnegut was his exceptionally sarcastic, non-serious and incredibly observant works, I liked him for the same reasons I liked Zappa.

I was first turned onto him by my best friend's Dad, who had given her the book "A Man Without A Country" with the instructions to pass it onto me. I got the book off her one morning, and throughout the afternoon - I just couldn't stop reading. I even read through my living room window being smashed, in fact, I don't recall even looking up from the page - maybe a brief pause.

It scared me that someone could be so right, and yet so humorous at the same time. It was like his word was gospel.

I then got onto his most famous work: "Slaughterhouse Five", which as per usual was utterly original, enjoyable and posessing all the Vonnegut-isms I'd come to love over the previous book.

After these two books, I began harbouring a desire to one day meet this man, I bet it would have been the best conversation I'd ever have. He reminded me of Juvenal in his satires, a classic works that possessed the same cynicism for society but done in an incredibly intelligent way.

He had brain surgery and then died. So it goes.

Love.

2007-04-11T23:18:00.000Z

Immortalised in far too many songs, Love is quite a popular abstract noun. However for one that is supposedly all around, & one that is all we need - there seems to be frighteningly little of it in the world today.

I was talking to a Vedic monk today (as one does) and he was full of love. Love for life and everything in it. He was what you might call a 'happy-chappy'. He talked to people & he listened, two qualities that are slowly growing extinct.

In this modern day where no-one talks face-to-face because of iPods and MySpace I feel that love is dying out.

By love I don't necessarily mean deep, emotional love that one has for a spouse or close relative; I'm just talking about general positivity, optimism & as one famous book put it: "Good Will to All Men". You will be a better person, and other people will notice. When you are buying something from your local shop, smile at the shopkeeper, say hello, thank you & goodbye. It's little things like this that help spread the love.

Unfortunately, there are are a fair few anti-love organisations around at the moment, the BNP for one. For those of you unfamiliar with the British National Party, just imagine a bunch of racists trying to secure political power - I know, THAT bad. These are the types of people that are putting up barriers for love, they are basically saying that just because someone doesn't meet certain criteria, that not only are they not deserving of love, they should have the opposite shown to them, which if the emotional spectrum off Donnie Darko is anything to go by, means fear. This fear is evident in the numerous crimes that take place in the name of hate day in, day out.

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[P.S. This is just another post in what recently has been a stream of topics covering themes about liberty, equality & lack of passion & emotion in youth culture. I hope these posts have got you thinking.]

Media Manipulation

2007-04-10T19:47:00.000Z

Basically, I see it as unfair that the media try and make certain people's lives seem more valuable. One only needs to flick through a newspaper to find headlines such as "Father of Three Murdered". Now I know it's bad he's dead but does it really matter that he has three children? I know they'll be gutted but why does that make him special?

It's like with regards to Iraq: you may here a title like "6 Die in Car Bomb Including Mother of Four". I know it's bad that these people died but they should not be singled out just because they have a family as if their lost life is more saddening than the other 5 people's. Every person's life is of equal worth to absolutely EVERYBODY else's - no exception.

I know they may have had a family, and the family is probably really upset. But they use the words "supported" as if without that person, the family can no longer exist and has to split itself up to survive. With regards to men dying, people say who's going to provide for the family? But as far as I was aware, women have been independent and able to go out and get jobs for quite a while. Maybe 100 years ago where a large chunk of a household's income came from the man it may have been a feasible argument. But in today's world, it just means the loss of one income, which in one of three marriages happens anyway via divorce.

Also (and this next opinion may offend people - I'm really not that bothered) you could hear of stories about 6 month old babies being sexually abused. You rarely hear about 5 year olds getting raped, always the babies. It's like golf: the lower the number the better it is. This too is also wrong. Rape is wrong. It is of equal wrong to whoever is unfortunate to be a victim, however old they are. I know raping a baby is really, really bad, but why is it worse than raping a small child?

If anything (and I'm no psychologist, this is just a hypothesis), couldn't it be argued that it may be better for a baby than a small child because the baby will not remember it as they grow older? They may have physical damage (which is bad) but this would always have been part of their life, they'd have learnt to deal with it, they would not be able to remember the atrocities that took place. And you all know this, the earliest memories people have are when they're about three. People who say they can remember beyond this are probably just liars. Whereas we can all remember being 5, 6 or 7 - so by raping a 5, 6 or 7 year old - that will psychologically screw them up for a hell of a long time.

O.K. I've presented the problem, now here's the solutions:

Equal coverage to atrocities that happen to people regardless of who they are, what age they are & to whom they are connected.
Negligable factors that do nothing except provoke the reader should be left out.
Good news should be reported, it doens't sell as many papers, but really, it's nice.
NO MURDERS.
NO RAPES.
NO ASSAULT.
NO HATE-CRIMES AGAINST MINORITY GROUPS.
NO ACTS OF ANY KIND THAT HAVE A VICTIM OR THAT NEGATIVELY AFFECT AT LEAST ONE PERSON.

The last five are probably the most important solutions there. They're also the easiest to follow - but you'd be surprised, just look in a newspaper.

The Connection

2007-04-09T15:58:00.000Z

After some South Park inspired research, and because it's the season, I think I've found out the connection between eggs, Easter and chocolate. It's really not as good as South Park's story.

Anyway, some say that the egg represents the tomb whence Jesus resurrected, or that the inside represents the symbolic darkness of the death of someone so pure & holy. Personally I'm not a fan of this theory. It also represents something with new life inside that is ready to come out.

There's also practical theories: i.e. during lent, depending on how religious you were, eggs were one of the things that were banned and so people might have started craving them around this time and...you know...painted them in some sort of primitive instinct of ceremony.

Eggs and rabbits (the Easter Bunny) are also Pagan symbols of fertility. So maybe Easter is the time to start getting it on if you catch my drift!

And as for chocolate eggs: basically some guy thought it'd be fun to make them out of chocolate.

Why Vinyl?

2007-04-06T11:03:00.000Z

Someone once said that trees provide us with the two things that are key to our survival: oxygen & books. Well, I believe there's a third: vinyl records.

Without trees dying millions of years ago decomposing under layers of more dead trees then being compressed and heated until they sort of became crude oil which we polymerise to form polyvinylchloride and then press, shape and scratch to form LPs, singles and EPs, (pause for breath) I don't think I'd be able to make it through life. You see, I believe wholeheartedly that vinyl records far outweighs CDs.

The problem is the attention span of people today, with iPods becoming the 'new thing' people don't even have to finish a song, let alone an album. A common sight on public transport everywhere is young, motionless iPodders who every two minutes are seen scrolling through their library in order to satisfy their recurrent boredom with things longer than three minutes. They should really try some punk.

But anyway, with a vinyl record, you sort of have to listen to it from start to end (well, the sides anyway, but these can be listened to in any order desired unless crucial to the story of a rock-opera let's say Joe's Garage). It requires you actively having to listen to the music, then get up halfway through and change sides. You can't skip tracks, you just play. There's no remote, in fact, you may need to get up once in a while instead of swirling your thumb.

In fact, when listening to records through a good stereo instead of mightily crap MP3s on tiny computer speakers, it's a whole different experience, even if it's the same song. The physics of this is that records are analogue and therefore record the continuous and whole soundwave in it's original form. With MP3 at, for example, 128 kb/s, its taking 128 tiny little pictures of what the sound is, compressing them and playing them back to you, after having got rid of all the so called 'empty frequencies' in the top and bottom ranges. Personally I believe it is these 'empty frequencies' what promote the increased emotional attachment to the music and make records a completely different listening experience.

Notice how DJs use vinyl. They want you dancing. They want you tapping your feet. They want emotion.

Plus, having a vinyl record is so much better than having a poxy CD. It feels special, which if the album/single is a good one, it should be special. Sure it might cost you and extra £5 to get it on record, but trust me - like the multitudes of women on L'Oreal adverts are - it's worth it! The artwork is always better and the care you take over them makes you cherish them like you should. The artist made that music to try and change your life or at least make one small section of it really, really good. If they didn't, they're not worth listening to. They want you to listen to their music and do nothing else and give it your full attention, not have it as background music while you're chatting up some girl on MSN just because she looks fit in her display picture.

But briefly, here are the advantages of CDs: cheap, easy (sounds like McDonald's so far), portable, digital (therefore somehow better?) & convenient.

I haven't mentioned downloading so far, but although it may be the future, it has by no means got anything on vinyl. In fact, the sudden boom in download sales is probably tied to the proven decaying of emotional response to music.

So dig out your Dad's old record player, go down to your local independent record shop, and purchase the latest release, not on CD or download, but on vinyl, and see the difference.

In short, vinyl rules m'kay.

Tibetan Tragedy

2007-04-03T21:33:00.000Z

Well it may not be current, and most of you probably don't care, but I really do. This is meant to be me view on the world, and now it's time to tackle the big issues (by the way, my sudden anti-government feelings have not been inspired by the fact I'm currently listening to Anti-Flag, one of the most politically active punk bands of modern times).

Just check out this article. It's a pretty good summary. For those who are too self-centered to read, the Chinese government is basically surpressing the culture, making nuns and monks deny their faith...or die. Temples have been pillaged (not in the good ol' pirate sense) and one-of-a-kind sacred documents burnt.

This has been going on for about 50 years and I'm not going to say "If you want to change this, then...", basically, just do a little research and form your own views. And hopefully one of the greatest and oldest cultures in the world can be preserved from destruction by the military forces destroying it.

This is the modern day Holocaust. Yet this time, there are no troops to come to the rescue.

Super Mario Land - Completed!

2007-04-02T19:44:00.000Z

O.K. - so it may seem sad that a) I've been playing Mario and b) it's taken me this long to complete it. But they were 12 levels of great gaming! Which leads me to my question. Do we really need realistic graphics? Near-life physics? And 1,000,000GB of RAM?

Well, no.