-
The Beautiful South
There comes a point in any long-running band's career when they make an album of cover songs. There can be a number of reasons; perhaps they're contractually obliged to release something before they can get out of their contract, or perhaps they've reached some sort of creative plateau and just want to get something out to remind their fans that they still exist. In the case of The Beautiful South I think that the reason is 'for a bit of a laugh'.
→ -
The Brits, 2005
Ah, The Brit Awards. Once a year, we can all gather around the campfire and exchange bewildered and incredulous looks at one another as the results come in. Join me, if you will, for a staggered and stunned look at what terrible, terrible wrongs have been wrought.
→ -
Minnie Driver
When you tell people you're going to a gig, they tend to ask you who you're seeing. The usual reaction I get when I tell them is a blank stare, or perhaps a confused "who?" as the bands I like --- The Raveonettes, Aqualung, The Polyphonic Spree --- don't often register in the collective mind of the general public. →
-
Hiccups
It is perhaps a reflection of my personality that I can go out for a night in London with Decline & Fall and Vikki, and yet return to write an article on hiccuping. The opportunity for new anecdotes should have been great, and it no doubt was, but nevertheless, this is where we are.
→ -
Of Cameras and Phones
My current mobile phone is a Nokia 6310i. I've owned it for a couple of years now, and it's in perfect working order. I like this phone. It fits nicely in my hand, has a good weight to it, is easy to use, the buttons are of a sane size and it has a nice business-like appearance. It is a man's phone. A gentleman's phone. I wanted a camera. To do this, I would have to get a new phone.
→ -
First Few Days at Work
To begin; to minimise the possibilities of friction between Joeblade and my new employer, I will not be referring to any individuals I work with, nor will I refer to the company by name. Henceforth, the company shall be referred to only as 'The Company'.
→ -
Five Nights in Oxford
Actually, no nights in Bangkok, but isn't it a good song? I'm now writing from Oxford, having moved here a few days ago. Internet access is back to being available via my mobile phone until I and my housemates can sort out some sort of wireless shenanigans, but I've slummed it before so I can slum it again.
→ -
Ebay
Ahh, Ebay. We've spent such happy times together. Remember, years ago, when I bought a ZX Spectrum? Frantically pressing 'refresh' as somebody else bid against me during the closing seconds. Spent more than I'd planned, but wasn't that always the way?
→ -
2005 Predictions
Before they were famous, I had heard of both Franz Ferdinand and The Zutons. I admit, not long before --- we're only talking about a year at most --- but it bothered me that I had no documentary evidence of this, so that when people could talk to me about this cool new band they'd seen on CD-UK, I could just sigh, and refer them to my year-old enthusing, perhaps with a casual wave of the hand and a sip of mint julep. I could have been so annoying. I probably was anyway.
→ -
Accommodated
Well, I finally found a place to live in Oxford, so it looks like I'm all set. I say 'finally', as if I've spent months on this search, but it was actually only a few days. It felt longer, though.
→ -
Employed Again
As of January 10th, 2005, I'll be taking up a position as a Web Producer in Oxford. Which is nice. →
-
Devendra Banhart
Not all music can be listened to at any time, or in any place. For example, you can't listen to Dodgy unless it's the summer, you can't listen to Radiohead when you're in love, and you can't listen to Snow Patrol unless the Valium has kicked in.
→ -
Amazon Recommends
Amazon recommendations used to be more useful --- there were times I would even buy CDs that they recommended. It's a simple concept; track what the customer has purchased in the past, and with a bit of cross-referencing to what other people who bought the same items also bought, serve up a list of recommendations. Cunning. But what does it take to ruin the entire system?
→ -
Sex and the Seaside
I visited my home town recently, for the first time in about four or five years, and was pleasantly surprised at the various attempts to introduce a touch of class to the place. What was once, long ago, a thriving seaside resort had declined steadily over the years to become a grubby tourist trap for visitors from Birmingham and a second home for recovering heroin addicts. It's happened to a lot of the smaller coastal resorts as the typical British holiday now takes place abroad, depriving British towns of the much-needed tourist revenue (and presumably also forcing Ken Dodd to seek other work, so it's not all bad).
→ -
Dial I for Irritated
As I prepare for my imminent move from one side of the country to the other, I'm forced to contact a variety of organisations that have my existing address, so they know where to find me when they want their money back.
→ -
The Art of Rejection
We've all, at some point in our lives, faced some sort of rejection, be it from a company, a potential partner, a transplanted organ or a surrogate mother. Rejections for job applications are perhaps the most common, and we learn to deal with them; the first one hurts, the second one is easier, and when you hit double figures you just take it in your stride and plough on. The formality of the job application rejection helps, the sterility of the response, the lack of sincerity and the vague promise to keep you on record. “Dear <INSERT APPLICANT NAME HERE>”…you've seen one, you've seen them all. →
-
Reading Festival 2004
If you're going to experience a music festival to the full, you have to do things properly. The camping, the mud, the rain, the complete absence of a good night's sleep, warmth, showers, usable toilets — in fact, any sort of basic hygiene — and good, hot food, are all essential parts of the festival experience. If you don't spend three days covered in mud and with suspected hepititis at the end of it all, well, you've just not done things properly.
This is why I spent the Reading festival staying in a beautiful countryside farmhouse, sleeping every night in the world's most comfortable bed, with a fresh, full-English breakfast every morning, a hot shower and a clean set of clothes and teeth. A short car drive to get into Reading and then a relaxing boat trip along the river Thames to get to the festival. How stupid do you think I am? → -
The Gym
There was a time, several years ago, when I was a skinny little bast. Upon arriving at university, 6 years ago, my shirts were a medium size and my meals were tiny. The student lifestyle — particularly, the geek student lifestyle — took its toll, as did the subsequent professional geek lifestyle, and I managed to almost double my weight. For this reason, approximately three months ago, I bit the bullet (a chocolate one, natch) and joined a gym. →
-
The Polyphonic Spree
There is no reason I can think of as to why I should like this music. We have approximately 20 men and women from Texas, who wear robes, and sing really disgustingly happy songs. Now, I'm very cynical as you know, and if somone had told me that I would be happily enjoying the music of some optimistic, cheery, robed Texan collective, well, I'd not only have laughed in their face, I'd have stolen their wallet and slept with their wife as well, just to really drive the point home. →
-
The Ordinary Boys
There is a track on this album that I can't quite tell if it's meant to be ironic or not. In The List Goes On, The Ordinary Boys lament that "Originality is so passé”, and that they've heard it all done before, a hundred years ago. The whole song is a criticism of rehashing forgotten genres just for the money. →