Since I don't listen to the radio much anymore, it's very infrequent that I hear a song without immediately knowing what it is. The magic of hearing something in passing and then trying to hunt it down is mostly lost now. Last summer, I always heard the same catchy-as-hell tune every morning when my clock radio went off, and it took me ages to figure out that it was 'Hot N Cold'. Man, I spent ages trying to figure out what it was.
Similarly, last night while listening to the Comedy Death Ray radio show, I heard a song that was pretty silly but actually quite funny, and worth looking into. It took some work, but it was a song by R.O. Manse, who's got an album out on AST Records. Comedy music is really hit or miss, but this song - a moderate hit in Denmark - definitely made me chuckle. The project is the brainchild of Chip Pope, and features a little help from various L.A. comedy types, including Natasha Leggero and her incredible English accent. Don't know about the rest of the album, but in the meantime, check out Ladyboy. And try not to think of Alan.
[download R.O. Manse - Ladyboy]
[R.O. Manse facebook / myspace]
[Buy 'R. O. Magic: The Best of R.O. Manse']
Give it to me, Andrew Ridgeley
The greatest shakedown
Posts on here are once again few and far between, as you may have noticed. This is not - entirely - as a result of the pure and unbridled contempt in which I hold all my readers, but because I'm studying for the Bar Exam, which I'm taking at the end of July. If I pass it, I'll get to chuck an "esquire" after my name and charge everyone hundreds of dollars for the privilege of talking to me. So, as you can imagine, I want to get it right on the first crack.
That said, there is plenty of new music out there worthy of your attention. Today, I wanted to write a little about two albums that recently were released in the UK, which I am lazily lumping together because the bands are from the same country, have both been written about favourably on this site before, and frankly, have a similar sound to one another. Though both albums are accomplished and deserve their own attention, and though music is not a competition, I'm going to pit them against one another for no reason other than my own personal convenience.
In the red corner, My Latest Novel, with their follow up to 2006's 'Wolves', a previous fave here. For the new one, 'Deaths and Entrances', the band has stuck with the formula which worked so well the last time out - massive arrangements, huge strings, a million things going on, layered, harmonised vocals and, for want of a better term, sweeping grandeur. There's less musical variety on offer than was on 'Wolves', and as a result, it can sound a bit samey at first, but I've played the album a few times now, and it definitely seeps in. There's much to admire but some changes in pace would definitely have been welcome, especially in the second half. I'm thinking specifically of the playfulness on songs like 'The Job Mr Kurtz Did' or 'The Reputation of Ross Francis' from the first album - where they kept it small.
The tremendous opening track, 'All in All in All is All' can be downloaded for free here. Do that. Also, see if you can't hear some Arcade Fire in 'I Declare a Ceasefire'. In a good way.
Edinburgh's Broken Records, meanwhile, also have a new album, with the equally dramatic title 'Until the Earth Begins to Part'. I wrote about their EP more than a year ago, and now they've followed through with the album, delivered under the hype and burden of being called "the Scottish Arcade Fire" by people who really should know better. Broken Records have the temerity to name a song 'If Eilert Loveborg Wrote a Song, It Would Sound Like This', and yet the song itself is not absolute pretentious dogshit. The album is conspicuously uneven, though - while 'A Good Reason' still bounds along like a demented gypsy wedding, songs like the title track seem to be BR on autopilot. Start quietly, and then gradually build to majesty. They do the trick well, but they do it repeatedly. They do the same on 'A Promise' and 'Wolves', the latter a song apparently and confusingly named after My Latest Novel's debut album. Crazy. The potential is clear here, but a little more ambition would have gone a long way.
[My Latest Novel official / myspace / buy 'Deaths and Entrances']
[Broken Records official / myspace / buy 'Until the Earth Begins to Part']
Pizza ready for some football... for free
I had a lovely Memorial Day weekend, seeing lots of relatives after a long time, spending some time in NYC, and going to a funny comedy show at the UCB Theater. On the plane back to Florida, I caught the second half of the Champions League final - it sure was nice seeing Thierry Henry with a winner's medal, and Christiano Ronaldo crying. All in all, a great little getaway.
Had to come back down to earth somehow, though, and that happened when I got back to my house here in Gainesville, to find that we'd been burgled over the long weekend, and my laptop and external hard drive were both stolen. The computer was literally the only thing of value that I owned. Cue calls to the cops, my immigration lawyer - it had scans of important legal documents on there - the bank, etc. At the moment, I'm using my roommate's laptop, while I wait for my newly ordered Lenovo IdeaPad to arrive.
How can we continue with better things behind you?
According to my download stats, you guys don't like the song 'Witness' by the delgados as much as all their others. What's up with that? Still, it's interesting to see how many downloads each individual song from the live vault has been getting.
Something bigger than the heartache
I know, I know. It's been at least nine days since I last wrote about a Scottish band, so I'm addressing that imbalance right now. Got the new De Rosa album 'Prevention' in the post the other day (thanks, Stewart!) and not shockingly, it's really good. Martin Henry's voice, and the folksy arrangements here remind me of King Creosote, but there's a more sinister undercurrent to 'Prevention'. One song, 'It Helps to See You Hurt', sets the tone - really bitter lyrics but over incredibly lush backing. 'A Love Economy', which opens the album, is particularly ace, so listen to it below. 'Flight Recorder', an album highlight, builds and builds to a beautifully tense finale.
We are being gathered in, at gloaming
Studios use search engines too
Live vault: the delgados
Files are no longer up - sorry if you missed out.
[02 - Everything Goes Around the Water]
[03 - Accused of Stealing]
[04 - The Actress]
[05 - Reasons for Silence]
[06 - Aye Today]
[07 - Don't Stop]
[08 - 13 Gliding Principles]
[09 - Witness]
[10 - Pull the Wires From the Wall]
[11 - Blackpool]
[12 - American Trilogy]
[13 - The Past that Suits You Best]
Shut it, Love Actually
It's hot and muggy here, so a good time for some shorts:
Fistful of Fives: Videos
OK, so the Fab Five Friday for today involves music videos. Always hard to narrow it down to just five great ones, but I've tried to avoid the most obvious and oft-mentioned and celebrated and notoriously batshit insane candidates in order to bring to light some that you may not have seen before. Keep an eye on Half Deserted Streets and Your Beard is Good for more on this topic.
Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)
Like Roots, I wasn't too good at sports as a youngster. Unlike Roots, I have never - yet - showed up to my old school in an expensive car and won all the events at sports day. Great video, really funny, low budget, and the song is STILL unimpeachable.
Royksopp - Remind Me
OK, some people might think that this is just a glorified Microsoft Access demo, but it's more fun than that. A series of presentation graphics undercut by the old Geico commercials music. Haven't given the new Royksopp the attention it deserves. Soon!
Bjork - Bachelorette
I figured, I could get away with one Michel Godrey video in here. There's a trillion to choose from. (Close runners up: Come into my World and Star Guitar. Obviously the well-choreographed, meticulously arranged ones do it for me). Bachelorette is just so ingenious that Stephen Hawking watched it and got jealous. (This may not have happened). One day, Bjork found a book in the woods, and then shit got real.
Pulp - This is Hardcore
Some days, you wake up and think, "I've gotta shoot a seven minute film noir with fantasy dance sequences, lots of shadows, screaming, plaintive glances towards something off-camera, and at least one murder routine, all to accompany a song about men that are addicted to pornography." This was one of those days.
P.J. Harvey - Good Fortune
Maybe this video isn't too remarkable to anyone else, but I really love it. Something about Polly walking around east London singing directly to camera and being really carefree.. It's sexy as hell. And the song, from her career-best 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' album, isn't bad either. Even though it's about New York, and not London. Pfft.
She used up all her lives
People that are better informed than I am assure me that summer is almost here. I wouldn’t know, since I’ll be studying for the Bar Exam without relent from May to July, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. And since the summer is – allegedly – imminent, it’s time for songs that are seasonally appropriate. I don’t know why summer jams always bring to mind cars without tops, but for some reason they do. Also, Los Angeles has always seemed a very fitting place for this kind of hot weather tune, that’s probably just because Entourage is set there. Sure enough, today’s video is from Army Navy, an L.A. band. I didn’t know of them before, but apparently they had a couple of songs on the Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack. Was that movie any good? The tune is fun, light, bubbly, and has bits where it gets quiet, so the fast bits seem faster. I’m great at description. Here’s the video, featuring Paul Scheer from the Human Giant and Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, the world’s greatest paintball movie. Put on your suntan lotion and enjoy.
[download Army Navy - My Thin Sides] from insound.com[Army Navy myspace / buy their s/t album]
Declining society and over-saturated culture
This incredible year for Scottish music* rolls on, and this time, it's the return of the Incredible Sulk. Stereogum are giving away a new track, 'Carry Me', from Malcolm Middleton, so I strongly suggest you go over there and listen to it. Great to be writing about Malky again on AYGH. 'Waxing Gibbous' is out on June 1st, and according to one early review, it's more 'Into the Woods' than 'A Brighter Beat', sadly for me.
I know my own worth
My two favourite songs of last year, 'Kriss Kross' and 'Constructive Summer', were both opening tracks on their respective albums. There's clearly something about front-loading a much-anticapted new-release with a stone-cold stunner that really appeals to bands. (Four hyphen-linked words in one sentence? I'm a genius.) Clearly hip to this technique, Future of the Left are back, and their song 'Arming Eritrea', which kicks off new record 'Travels With Myself and Another' (out in June) has made it to "Samir's favourite song of 2009 so far".
Character work
I don't watch a lot of television, but in order to keep up with the sites Half Deserted Streets and Your Beard is Good, I've been asked to come up with a list of my five favourite characters currently in shows currently airing. Turns out:
I laughed like a dog with glee
A person of interest
As the former Marshall Mathers ably demonstrates in his new video, making fun of ubiquitous celebrities doesn't really take a whole lot of skill, and has surely reached fish in a barrel status by now. This is why I didn't like the show Best Week Ever for a long time. A bunch of comedians I've never heard of making Lohan/Spears jokes? No thanks. This is why I was so impressed when I heard Paul F. Tompkins on The Best Show, and then on his album 'Impersonal', and became a big fan. And now, very similar lightning has struck twice, with the very funny new CD from BWE contributor John Mulaney, entitled 'The Top Part', which just came out last week.
On Wrestlicious
You know when you see a video and it leaves you with far more questions than answers? If you make it past the fake quiz thing at the beginning, you're in for a treat. After seeing this, I had to do some research, and found out that:
As reported over the weekend, the new Wrestlicious promotion is being funded by a 19-year-old by the name of Jonathan Vargas that won the $35 Million Powerball Jackpot this past May. Following his momentous triumph, Vargas opted to take the lump sum payment of $17.3 million. Vargas has plans to appear on the all-women's wrestling show as a character by the name "JV Rich", the laid back and affable Rapper/Owner of Wrestlicious. Regular features on the program will include "JV's CRIB", a look at the goings-on inside JV's mansion frequented by the girls of Wrestlicious.- Based purely on this demo reel/music video, my early favourites are the army girl and the fifties diner girl for no reason other than they are the most insane.
Reasons to be Cheerful
There's a great post on the AV Club at the moment where its writers discuss the things that always make them laugh. And, never wanting to miss a bandwagon, here's my list of nine things that are never not funny to me, each more predictable (or as predictable? No - more predictable) than the last.
There was no sound
Like 90% of the bands who are big on the internet and not necessarily in real life (IRL, sorry), I was aware of Deerhunter without necessarily knowing anything about/by them. But last night they played, for free, walking distance from my house, so I went to check them out. It was in the same ballroom as the Cursive show a few years back, on the third floor of the Union building. First observation: Bradford Cox, the singer and guitarist looked like, as one concertgoer observed, he had been ravaged by consumption. The guy did not look healthy at all. Later he would explain that, indeed, he was quite unwell. No mind, the guys still made a sufficient racket. I must say: in the hour-or-so they played, there was maybe twenty-five minutes' worth of really good music, where they sounded ace. The majority of their set, though, was a mess of feedback, droned-out noise with a krautrock drumbeat keeping it going. You could see people in the crowd looking at each other, going "huh?". I guess there's something to be said for making music that defies expectations, that is different or avant-garde, but we only sporadically saw stuff that fit that category, such as on 'Calvary Scars', which they finished with. Otherwise, for the most part, ho and indeed hum.
Riderless horses, Noam Chomsky's Camelot
The first taster from the new Manic Street Preachers album hit the radio and subsequently, faster than you can say "Does anyone still care?", the internet, yesterday. The album, 'Journal for Plague Lovers', is out in May, and is noteworthy since all the lyrics on the album are missing guitarist Richey Edwards'. Adding to the "old MSP" feel, the album's cover art is a Jenny Saville painting, just as was the case on 'The Holy Bible'. And a quick scan of the tracklisting reveals such gems as 'Jackie Collins Existential Question Time' and 'She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach". Legendary. So maybe this one will be the oft-promised return to their roots.
We were better off as animals, right?
Difficult one, this. A lot of the correspondence that I've seen about the new Cursive album, Mama I'm Swollen, seems to say "it's way better than Happy Hollow", but I rather liked their last album, and this one just doesn't do it for me. I've given it some time - it's been a few weeks since I bought it from the record label for $2 - but with a couple of exceptions, it's just not kicking in. I think the primary thing that's missing is a unified theme - their last three albums have been about divorce; the ugly, ugly recording business; and a small, conservative town during wartime respectively. Having a theme really held these albums together, and there isn't an equivalent on Mama, I'm Swollen, and that weakens it for me. There's less inward-looking analysis and personal catharsis, which is fair enough - the guy has opened himself up plenty in the past. But it feels like something is missing in the end product, most of the tracks seemed to pass me by. That said, I really like how 'What Have I Done?' builds over a pretty autobiographical exposé to a clattering, thundering finale. "I spent the best years of my life, waiting on the best years of my life" is as revelatory as we get here. Smart choice, too, in putting 'From the Hips' out as the lead single. Did you see them do it on Letterman last week? Very, very good indeed. If the tour brings them this way again, I'll definitely go and see them, but I hope this one just needs to grow on me more.
"3 Colours Red will be massive"
Last night I read the novel ‘Kill Your Friends’ by John Niven. It’s a book that Lauren won from The Roaring 20s and I kind of brow-beat her into letting me read first. It’s set in London in 1997, at a major record label, and provides an inside-baseball look at how the A&R Department functions. That year was when I started really getting into music, and discovering newer bands, etc, and so the references meant a lot more to me than they would to most U.S. readers. One of the backdrops is the intense bidding war that centred around the mighty Ultrasound, for heaven’s sake. Each chapter begins with a quote from an A&R person talking up their latest signing, with rhetoric like “Gina G will be the next Madonna”. You don’t have to know who Gina G is, to know that she wasn’t the next Madonna.
The view of the industry is unrelentingly grim. The main character, Steven, hates the industry, hates everybody within the industry and hates everyone not within the industry. I’ll tell you what he doesn’t hate: booze, coke and prostitutes. The sentence “Nobody knows what they’re doing” appears on more than one occasion, and the impression formed is that everyone in the music biz, and especially A&R, was looking out for themselves and keeping one paranoid eye on everyone else. And this is in 1997! It’s hard to imagine all the cracks that exist these days.
So far, so misanthropic. There’s some neat dialogue, and the insight provided about the music industry, but I found it a little too unpleasant to really get stuck into. Reminded me of ‘The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs’ in that regard. Towards the end, Steven takes a turn and goes a little Patrick Bateman, which was certainly jarring. There’s a nice guest appearance from James Dean Bradfield, though, so that’s nice.
One thing, though. This is a fictionalized account of the music industry. (I hate how many times I’ve said the word “industry” in this post, but that’s what it’s about.) I’ve always had the impression that in music, the truth is always so mental that fiction becomes redundant. I’ll never forget when I read ‘The Dirt’, the Motley Crue autobiography, and one chapter finished with a bombshell along the lines of: “And then I woke up. My pancreas had exploded”. Admittedly, ‘Kill Your Friends’ may be set in a different world from 80’s hair metal, but I’m sure that true stories from London mid-90s are just as mental. I hope so – I bought Alex James’ autobiography while on holiday.
Like I said before, if you’re not into Britpop and mid-90s indie bands from the UK, then I can’t see too much appeal in this one. As someone that “got” it, I thought it was okay. Got through it in a couple of hours, that’s about it.
First impressions of 'Dark Days/Light Years'
As you may remember, I thought the last Super Furry Animals album 'Hey Venus!' was pretty good, but all-too-often lapsed into what I called "pretty-but-slow" territory. So, when they announced that for this album they'd be leaving the slower songs behind, I was over the moon. So one 204MB download later, let's do this thing...
Crazy Naked Girls: Reminds me of that Beck album where he went all Prince. Midnite Vultures? But far more weird. Not a bad start at all. Mad, psychedelic, falsetto, with some crowd noise, chunky guitars. Welcome home, SFA.
Mt: They already have a show-stopping song about mountains, but this one is worthy addition to the canon. Sounds like Bunf on lead vocals - strings, simple melody. And welcome, profanity!
Moped Eyes: A little more gentle. Didn't do too much on first listen, but that's okay.
Inaugural Trams: Heard this one before, features a rap in German from one of Franz Ferdinand. Upbeat, light and very fun. "They say the future of cement is set in stone". [listen]
Inconvenience: Yes! Finally, a heads-down, no-bullshit rocker. "Tory scum / Stole my fun". Something about "holy wars". Starts and stops. Singalong chorus. SFA of old peeking through for the first time.
Cardiff in the Sun: Lots of filters over the vocals, Krautrock drums, echo chambers. Can't make out a single lyric, but the crescendos are kickin'.
The Very Best of Neil Diamond: First ten seconds - Sounds like a sitar? This is terrific! A mention of a "crystal skull". Song goes in a few different directions, but I like them chaotic.
Helium Hearts: If this was a band that cared about singles, this song would be one. Does the guy from High Llamas still do their string arrangements, because these are outstanding. I'm sure Gruff just sang "Get drunk and taste the Vegemite". Another great song: short and catchy.
White Socks/Flip Flops: Most assuredly not channeling the Velvet Underground. Bunf singing again: "I look like a loser coming from the gutter". Actually, this does sound very 70s. Chuggin'. Some nice hey-hey-heys.
Where Do You Wanna Go?: This one is okay. A little lightweight. But pleasant enough.
Lliwiau Llachar: Even though this song is in Welsh, I'm sure I picked out the phrase "Howard Devoto" in there. Maybe I'm wrong. Good song, though.
Pric: Mostly instrumental, very layered. Definitely a head-shaker. Loads of sounds on top of each other. Recalls 'Shoot Speed/Kill Light' as a great album closer. Cian brings out all his electronic toys towards the end.
--
All in all, it's solid, more upbeat and will almost certainly be played to death by me. Hooray!
On Mat Horne
See that guy there? His name is Mat Horne. My American readers would be forgiven for not knowing who he is. Those of you in the UK, however, and particularly London, where I was for the last week, may be very familiar with him, because, you see, like commas in this sentence, Mat Horne is fucking everywhere.
He's become famous through the sitcom Gavin and Stacey, which I confess I've never seen, though I've heard good things. All I knew about Mat Horne prior to last week was that he recently shared a "look of despondency" with Martin Freeman on Nevermind the Buzzcocks. But apparently, he's now all over the place. Not that long ago, he co-hosted the Brit Awards with Kylie Minogue (!!!) and his TV co-star James Corden. With Corden, he has a new sketch show that just began and is advertised on many double-decker buses currently doing the rounds in London, so we saw a series of his faces whizzing around at all times. If you believe Mark Kermode, the sheer fact that it's being plugged on buses suggests that it must be rubbish. What's more, Horne and Corden appear in a film that's coming out soon, which you might have heard of, called Lesbian Vampire Killers, the poster for which appears on every single phonebox in central London. Finally, he's currently appearing in Entertaining Mr. Sloane, opposite Dolores Umbridge Imelda Staunton, so there are posters with his face up all over the Underground. So on escalators, buses, phone boxes and train platforms, Mat Horne's face is there to behold.
As if that all wasn't enough, we got to see him in person. Kele Okerele and the Mystery Jets all pulled out last-minute from DJing at Propaganda in Camden - cheeky bastards - and guess who the organizers brought in, on very short notice, to replace them. Not an arbitrary decision: in addition to all aforementioned pies, Mat also runs a club night in London's trendy Shoreditch every Thursday night. So there he was, onstage in front of us, giving it some Strokes, Killers, Cribs, etc.
Like a good episode of 30 Rock, everything seemed to really come together in the end. I would say "Keep an eye out for him", but if you live in London, you don't need to even do that.
Lust and sin are all that I want
There are some who might argue that, since The Phantom Band are from Glasgow, are signed to Chemikal Underground Records, and had the delgados' Paul Savage produce their debut album, all they really needed to do was record a dog taking a shit into a trombone, and I'd give it a fawning review. This would be entirely justified, so I'll try to be objective here.
'Checkmate Savage' is a little uneven - there are a couple of songs that don't quite do it, like 'Crocodile' which is noisy but in mitigation, involves bagpipes. Not shockingly for a band that describes itself as "Proto Robofolk," it’s an eclectic affair, with consecutive songs, and often parts of the same songs, veering off into different directions, sometimes more jarringly than others. This makes 'Checkmate Savage' a difficult album to fall for, but it's worth the effort.
'Folk Song Oblivion' is ace and sounds like Kraftwerk and at the end it sounds like Michael York is singing. New single 'The Howling' is equally epic and driven by a killer beat, which is sustained throughout the record. 'Island' calms things down a little and is very pretty. 'Checkmate Savage' is not for everyone, but if you're up for it, you'll get something out of it.
Assorted on Tuesday
List.
- Put on a conference about Music Law and gig this past weekend. Both were very well attended and went down very well. Don't believe me? Read this, cynic!
- Had to leave that early to go to a wedding, where I got into a fight with a dude much bigger than me. (I didn't really)
- After THAT, back for the Annual Oscars party: My predictions were terrible, I'm the 'Revolutionary Road' of the gathering. Great initial performance, ended up empty handed and terribly depressing. Happy with most of the wins - especially Danny Boy(le) and Rahman. And whatever you think of Slumdog, there's no way this isn't adorable.
- I'm going to miss Conan on Late Night. Really hope he can still get away with stuff like this on the Tonight Show.
- Been enjoying the two eps each so far of Delocated and Eastbound and Down. Only one featured a Ska-Mitvah, though.
- So you know how I'm always talking about the Best Show on WFMU? Now it's easier than ever to get into, and I hope that at least four of you will do so. There's a new podcast, Best Show Gems, which'll send you one bit every other Monday. Perfect! Also, Matt from Fluxblog has posted a few of their greatest hits. Listen to it, then I'll leave you alone.
- If THAT wasn't incentive enough... tonight is going to be a big show: General Patton, the Wizard of Oswalt in-studio! And Robert Popper and Pete Serafinowicz from Look Around You on the phone? Unmissable. What more do you want? Blood?
- I guess I should include some music? New Rakes!
RIP Kirk Lawrence
In the last few days, I've been thinking a lot of the Grandaddy song 'Jed the Humanoid', mostly because of its no-bullshit opening lyric: "Last night something pretty bad happened, we lost a friend..." Admittedly, last week we lost a close friend and not a robot that found the booze and fizzled out, but those that knew Kirk Lawrence will appreciate the parallels.
Don't!
I posted in here a while back about Scotland's How to Swim, a ten-piece whose rollocking 'Genesis P and Me' continues to make me smile, dance and scratch my head in plain ol' confusion. Well, it turns out that members of HTS, as well as personnel from many, many other Scottish bands like Dananananaykroyd and Q without U, also form The Second Hand Marching Band. Fittingly for an outfit whose numbers are on the north side of twenty, their sound is massive and rich. Their press notes say that they practice in car parks or in fields, so if you’re ever in Glasgow, keep an eye and two ears out for them. Chaffinch Records just put out their EP 'A Dance to Half Death', and here's a couple of songs for you to enjoy from same. One day I'll post something in here that doesn't - directly or indirectly - concern Glasgow, but don't hold your breath.
[download The Second Hand Marching Band - A Dance to Half Death]
Look to the sun
It's a new year, new administration, new challenges, and here's some new music from old pals Animate Objects. For the price of your email address, you can get their new EP 'Dubs, Grunts and Things' for zero money. This most credit-crunch-friendly of mini-albums features five new tracks, all of which continue AO's brand of laid-back hip hop with lyrics that matter. Check out '4Love' to see why they do all this ish. And below, get yo' hands on the most upbeat track from the EP.
Grammys and miscellany
I'm writing this while watching the Grammys, so it'll be even more disjointed than the list format already provides. Sorry, people! Also, I've been using twitter a lot more than this blog lately, because most of my thoughts very conveniently occupy less-than-or-equal-to 140 characters. Follow me on there if you so choose.
- I began and then finished 'More Information than you Require' by John Hodgman - or should that be @hodgman? - and rather enjoyed it.
- Saw 'Vicky Christina Barcelona' and thought it was pretty and sweet, but couldn't get over the first act being set in Oviedo, since it also happens to be the city in which my girlfriend lives. Not the same one, sadly.
- Mentioned my love for Blizzy B previously on here, and so it's no surprise that the next collab between T-Pain and Andy Samberg is also ace. 'Incredibad' drops this week, and I've got high hopes.
- Bloc Party covered Girls Aloud. Listen here. They didn't do 'Sexy No No No' for some reason.
- Robert Plant just won a Grammy. What year is this again?
- Charlie Brooker doesn't like Twitter, but I still like Charlie Brooker.
- Like the last two posts here, gotta mention Aidan Moffat - the board game is now live. Play it, with his dulcet tones guiding you the whole way, and get a free download at the end.
- Went to the local indie club for my birthday a few days ago, and gotta admit: when 'Kids' came on, it slaaaaayed.
- Have you heard the band brokeNCYDE? Happy birthday, everyone.
- Valentine's day next week - here's where I'll be.
