LONDON'S BURDEN

Svengalimagic.com

2012-07-10T18:58:00.002+01:00

Just a quick note for any of you out there who are sleight-of-hand inclined, or perhaps like to waste hours of the day learning to produce Doves from their sleeves..

I have been blogging away at Svengalimagic.com for sometime, so if you know your Dynamo's from your David Blaines, you might like to pay it a visit...

Visit http://www.svengalimagic.com

#025 - 10 O'Clock Live returns to Channel 4

2012-02-08T22:56:00.002+00:00

Tonight every Guardian readers televisual-wet-dream returned to Channel Four. I speak, of course, of the lefty love-in that is known as 10 O'Clock Live.

It's almost surprising to see it on our screens again. The reviews and viewing figures that hit the headlines after the first episode of season one would leave you believing the show was long since dead in the water.

Not the case though, and a quick look at the Twitter trends during the show reveals #10oclocklive to be sitting at the top of the list.

Mitchell is the star of the show tonight. Though his short rant pieces are proving to be a bit tiresome, his interview skills are growing at a healthy rate. So, it seems, is his facial hair - with less impressive results.

The sketches are mostly miss this week. A scene featuring Carr wrestling a bear left even the studio audience in a confused state of silence.

Despite this scene, Carr attempting to take on Mitchell in a humour-free discussion of political systems is the most surreal moment in the show. Carr struggles to be taken seriously (and why would he be - he is a comedian after all), though David Mitchell's ridiculous beard at least makes him look like he might know something about something. Laverne chips in occasionally, presumably as a token effort to look involved.
Her presence is again difficult to explain in terms of merit this series. I can only assume it is an attempt by the programme makers to avoid falling into the same trap as the BBC. When she states "Right. I'm going to make David a cup of tea, see you after the break.", you really believe you are watching a media intern who is completely out of their depth.

The show will always be patchy, but its still worth watching for the odd unscripted moments and some golden one liners from three of the four of the presenters.

#024 - Mock the Weak...

2012-01-31T21:09:00.008+00:00

"Three women walk into a pub and say, `Hooray, we've colonised a male-dominated joke format'" - Bill Bailey

Panel shows ‘Mock the Week’ and ‘QI’ were among those criticised this week for not putting enough women in their programme.

It seems bizarre that such a objection could be raised – after all, comedy is a male dominated world. It always has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Why then, should shows that feature (primarily) comedians be forced to staff its teams in a way that is disproportionate to the business?

Should a fear of being labelled as sexist really stop creatives making the output that they want to? Perhaps we should ask the likes of The Wanted or The Saturdays to feature an equal amount of men and women?

If Mock the Week and QI are to be criticised, I feel it should be on the merits of the shows themselves, rather than the gender count. Indeed, there’s plenty to get worked up about. The infuriatingly faux-academic pretense of QI has us believing Stephen Fry is some sort of Einstein of our times for simply being able to read off a card. Meanwhile his Oxbridge educated friends on the panel take it in turns to congratulate each other for presenting knowledge that may or may not be hearsay.

Mock the Week on the other hand, serves only as a slim framework for comedians to read out the same stand-up material they have been espousing across every other TV panel show that month, propped up by the occasional excitement of a Frankie Boyle joke that crosses into very bad taste territory.

Maybe the BBC would be better advised to put quality content first on their agenda and difficult diversity issues second. Then the answer would be surely be simple – employ the comedians that are the funniest – irrespective of their gender, age or race.

#023 - Information wants to be free.

2012-01-18T21:06:00.000+00:00

A few words on SOPA, which there is of course worldwide protests against today.

It is of course, the wrong thing to do, and could potentially see a lot of important people who do good things (such as key whistle blowers) go to jail. Internet censorship is never going to be a viable option for the western world, nor should it be. Remember: Information wants to be free.

By that I mean that with every development of modern technology, it becomes easier for information to be accessed by the public. From the print press through to the ipad, more and more people have been able to find out what they way to know. And why not? Knowledge is there to be shared.

The problem comes with copyright. How do artists and creators protect their work against theft? Internet file sharing has seen worldwide copyright acts left behind, with no solution in sight.

My feeling is that the answer lies in individual industries evolving to create business models that work with the internet, rather than fighting its users. Censoring free speech will not work, and will do nothing to deter information's unstoppable bid to become free.

#022 - There is no white horse.

2011-10-10T18:58:00.001+01:00

Hello, I've been busy with many things. This is one of them:

COLD IN BERLIN - WHITE HORSE

It's the new video to 'White Horse' from my band Cold in Berlin. It's the last thing we are putting out from the debut album now, and then it's off to the studio in November to start working on the new one. I'm excited for the new material - it's darker, heavier and denser than anything we've done before. I think people will like it.

In other news, I live in Mile End, East London now. If you haven't been, why not let Jarvis tell you all about it?

Apart from mild illness and the everyday struggles of surviving in London, I'm very well. Thanks for asking.

I think I will migrate this blog soon - as much as it will pain me to have a more professional blog, it is sadly a requirement of my university course. I can't bear to have two as I can't even manage to update this one.

Will let you know where I move to.

#021 - Don't call it a comeback.

2011-07-20T21:32:00.004+01:00

Hi,

Yeah I know it's been ages.

I won't dwell on that though, because I've read about six hundred and thirty four thousand blog posts that start with the sentence 'Sorry, I know it's been ages since my last post'. Or something to that effect.
I'm not going to apologise, because I know you don't care, but you should know that I won't be posting quite so much as I don't really get much internet access anymore. I work a job where they've banned blogger, and live in a house where the internet only seems to work for about 38 seconds of each day (this is one of those windows, and thus you'll have to forgive me any mistakes born out of the speed this has been written). You can rely on a full return of my disjointed and tedious writing as of September though, when all this work and living in someone else's house nonsense comes to an end.

So what's new? Well it seems like things happen in slow motion when you work a 9-5, but some things have managed to take place. Here's one of them; I went on a tour of Italy with Cold in Berlin, which was totally mental. Weird moments included opening for Badly Drawn Boy (yes he wore the hat in 34 degree heat), and finding myself in that part of Spinal Tap where he has the small bread and the big ham backstage.
Another thing that I'm pretty sure happened was that I turned 23. It was a bit of a non-event to be honest, but served as the annual reminder that I need to get on with my life. On that note I'm working on a new theatre show called 'Laplace's Demon'. I can share no more than that but I'm working with good people and as such am optimistic.
I'd also like to talk about a great gig I went to at Hoxton Bar and Grill, but I sort of can't be bothered because I don't want to be a music journalist anymore. I'll summarise by saying that Japanese Voyeurs are everything you could ever want from a grunge band. Go listen to Yolk.

(Yolk is their album, not some weird egg band).

Anyway, thats enough about them, let's talk more about me. Cold in Berlin are on page 81 of Q, and page something or other of Clash magazine this month. Have a mosey if you see a newsagent.

I also have a new website.

Right, thats it. Post #023 will be about something that matters instead of my life, I promise*.

*I don't promise.

#020 - Son of a witch - a witch house playlist.

2011-06-10T01:03:00.003+01:00

As promised, every tenth post will be a mixtape I've lovingly put together. I might try and create some sort of free download EP for the next one, but until then you'll have to make do with a Spotify playlist.

I've gone for a loose Witch House theme for this one, as an outlet for my excitement about Ritualzz coming over to play CAMP, London on the 20th. Here's the link.

And the track listing:

Vietnam - Crystal Castles
Frost - Salem
Ritualzz of the Crack Witches - Mater Suspiria Vision
Cold Light - Fostercare
Roses - White Ring
Misery Walk - Ritualzz
Nectarines - Raw Moans
Confetti - Cold Cave
Repetition - Tearist
Night - Zola Jesus
Silent Shout - The Knife

#019 - Casual racism is not a black and white issue.

2011-06-08T13:14:00.001+01:00

There comes a time in almost all of our lives when we realise that our parents might just be a tiny bit racist.
For me, the day came in the unlikeliest of places - the bread isle of a supermarket. It was my mothers choice of language when describing a particular type of bread that caught me off guard. I refer not to 'Mighty White' as you might imagine (though I believe their slogan 'I know what I like and it's white, white, white' has since been adopted by the BNP). No, instead she wanted the kind of bread Kingsmill call '50/50'. You've probably seen it on the commercials, if you haven't tasted it yourself. It claims to be white bread with 'all the goodness of brown'. Fair enough - I'm not having a go, I'm a fan. Anyway, my Mum (always favouring Hovis over Kingsmill as the mediocre brand of choice) asked me to pick her up a loaf of 'Hovis Halfcast'.
While this was certainly a genuine mistake (if my mum was capable of that kind of wit she'd be on tour supporting Jim Davidson right now for sure), I couldn't but think it’s the kind of mistake the liberals of my own generation could never have made.

I should have spotted the clues earlier. When growing up the Daily Mail was a regular in our house. When I got old and astute enough to start questioning why we bought this hate spreading source of evil, I was told by my father that "I only get it because it has a quality TV guide."
Bearing in mind there was perfectly good publications available, such as the (notably cheaper) TV times, I can only conclude that the regular section of the paper denouncing immigrants as the 'new black plague' (I may be paraphrasing) was at least part of the attraction.
Then there was the 'gollywog' doll (it makes me cringe just reading it), that my sister was definitely allowed, but had to hide once when a policeman came round on a social visit.

The thing is though; this kind of unacceptable behaviour is sort of understandable, if not partly forgivable. When my mum asks me things like "but WHY do we have to call them black people, most of them are brown!", I do die a bit inside. But I also know that at 62, she is a of a very different generation to me. When she was at the age where she picked up her values and learnt about what was acceptable, it was a very different world to the one we live in now (admittedly the last 30 years of living in the country and reading the Daily Mail probably didn't help).
Do we sort of let old people off a bit because they don't always understand what words are and aren't acceptable, and because they don't load them with any malicious intent? Or do we write them off as bigots who should take responsibility for educating themselves about what is clearly a very different Britain?
As something of a cretin in these matters I can't offer you an answer, but I would guess that a lot of language we use today might be unacceptable in 40 years. Only when that is the case will I be able to decide how easy change is, and whether it is fair to judge people for their apparent inability to do it.

#018 - Aaaaaand Tinitus.

2011-06-01T14:52:00.000+01:00

Last week was a short run of shows with my band, Cold in Berlin.
First we played at the Queen of Hoxton, with Italian pals 'Eels on Heels' (or, after a couple of drinks, 'Meals on Wheels').
Fun was had, I did really like the venue. It was a bit disarming when a large drunk man mistook us for a Karaoke Machine and stole singer Maya's Mic though.
The next day it was off to the tiny Mothers Ruin in Bristol. It was a long drive and a long wait but was a joy to play none-the less. Bristol is a bit more rough than the residents would ever admit, but I like going there. It puts me on edge. We enjoyed dodging real-life zombies on the streets (don't ask), and made it to All Bar One for a mediocre meal surrounded my mediocre decor and even more mediocre humans.
The following day involved a long wait for our show in Swindon, so like any punk band would do, we spent it in posh tea rooms sipping indian tea. The show was fun, if a bit quiet, and then it was back home to London to nurse our ringing ears.

#017 - God rejected my soul a day early.

2011-05-21T15:46:00.002+01:00

So today is the day of rapture apparently. The time has come to meet our maker (or, if we're anyone except the very stupidest of Americans, just think up crap puns to do with the rapture and the world ending and post them on Facebook and Twitter).
If the world does end tonight (and by the time you've read this you'll know it won't have), then I may have been given a slight clue as to which vertical direction I might be traveling in.

Let me explain.

Last night was Cold in Berlin's show at Liverpool Sound City, a sort of Camden Crawl type of festival, except in Liverpool. Obviously.
The traffic was shit and it ended up taking us almost 8 hours to get there (made worse by the knowledge we were going to have to travel home the same night). Anyway after arriving, we had just enough time to get our passes and some dinner (triple sandwich from Tesco), and then it was off to the venue. Said venue was the crypt of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, and it was really, really nice inside.
Our excitement to play however, was mildly dampened by a phone call from the festival manager half an hour before our stage time, telling us that we would be unable to go on stage. This was due to the Dean of the church finding our music on the internet and deciding it was inappropriate for us to grace the crypt.
Some hardcore negotiation on the part of our manager ensured that we would be allowed on stage after all. Only with some concessions; we wouldn't be allowed to play opener 'God I Love You', or blaspheme in any of our songs. Censorship at a gig is not cool, but as we we had travelled the 8 hours to get there we weren't about to go back home. So with ten minutes to go set about re-writing and structuring our set so we could get through 30 minutes without offending anyone. A tall order.
Our efforts were in vain however, as four songs in we were cut off anyway, despite keeping to the agreement.

Back in the van we went.

You might wonder why the church would agree to such a gig in the first place. Well for the simple reason that churches really love money, and were glad to take the venue booking fees off Clash Magazine without any conditions in place. Maybe they should give the money back? If you have any thoughts then you can contact them.

I'll leave you to decide whether this song really is "about fucking God", as the church apparently described it.

#016 - TEARISM

2011-05-09T12:13:00.000+01:00

If I was a terminally ill child, I would have asked Make a Wish foundation to invent me a band exactly like TEARIST. In fact, I tried bribing one of those little guys to give me their wish. I know what you're thinking, and yes, I did consider torture when he turned down the money. Apparently the methods are less effective on people who are already dying though.
Not ready to give up just yet, I spearheaded a Facebook group demanding the return of Jim'll Fix It, just so I could ask him to create me a band exactly like TEARIST and put them into existence.
When this lobbying failed, I turned to God, and asked him to create me a band, the greatest band that ever lived. "PLEASE LORD", I cried, "LET THERE BE AN EIGHTH DAY, AND ON THAT EIGHTH DAY YOU WILL MAKE A BAND EXACTLY LIKE TEARIST, AND I WILL SEE THAT THEY ARE GOOD."
But God did not answer my plea. Instead my cries were met with my neighbor, banging on the wall and complaining about the noise.
Anyway, good news! This week, I have discovered that TEARIST do exist! And man alive, it sure would have been worth torturing that terminally ill kid for. Relish in the joy that is them:

P.S After writing this I felt like a terrible human and went off to make-a-wish.org.uk to make a donation. I gave them a tenner, and was feeling better until I saw what a tenner gets you:

"£10 will buy lunch for a child who wishes for a special visit to London"

I have two things to say to Make a Wish Foundation.

1. TESCO MEAL DEALS
2. You owe me £7 change.

#015 - Occupation, Occupation, Occupation

2011-04-26T21:40:00.000+01:00

I'm writing this from the inside of a University of Greenwich building. About 12 of us are occupying it in the name of stopping them cutting Philosophy degrees here. Last week a similar demonstration lasted 48hrs, but we could end us being here all week this time. Classes start tomorrow so we expect a lot more people to join us.

The petition already holds over 2000 names, including that of American Philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky, no less.

Do sign it if you get a moment:

SIGN ME SIGN ME SIGN ME

And spare a thought for all of us when you go to sleep in your nice warm bed tonight.

#014 - Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine.

2011-04-24T14:15:00.000+01:00

For an atheist, I spend a very large proportion of my Sundays in a church. Every week I spend hours in a Surrey Quays chapel, writing for the next Cold in Berlin album. Today will be no different, but I wouldn't bet against the addition of a few chocolate eggs and a few moans about missing out on the weather.

If you aren't attending a church today, I would ask you to spend an hour remembering the real meaning of Easter. That is, of course, the 1978 album by Patti Smith. If you aren't already a hardened Patti Smith nut, then 'Easter' is the perfect way to initiate yourself. Its her most commercially accessible, but doesn't lack any of the bite of her other work.

'Til Victory'

'Rock and Roll Nigger'

Happy Easter everybody.

#013 - CAMPUS – Publication! Publication! Publication!

2011-04-06T13:49:00.000+01:00

I'd been looking forward to CAMPUS for a while now. Sure, the trailers raised no more than a mild smile, but anything made my the makers of Green Wing was definitely going to wet my appetite.

I suppose what I was expecting was Green Wing set on a university campus, and stylistically, that is a fair description what CAMPUS is. However, it lacks the soul of Green Wing, and thus fails to please on the same level.
None of the character come across as being particularly likeable, and President of the University 'Jonty de Wolfe', (played by Andy Nyman), particularly outstays his welcome in screen time in this episode. He should be funny as an incompetent and rather racist man in charge, but instead the scripting tries too hard and we are left with a poor caricature of David Brent.
Equally ill considered are the plot lines, which are so scrambled and scatter-gun that you find it hard to care about any of them. That is, except for the saving grace of the episode, an intriguing relationship between English Professor Matt Beer (Joseph Millson), one of the only characters to hold any believable qualities, and newly successful author and Maths lecturer Imogen Moffat (Lisa Jackson). This engaging love interest story is much more reminiscent of what I loved about Green Wing, and at times it is even laugh-out loud funny (at last).
From the evidence of the first hour, CAMPUS certainly isn't able to stand up to its hospital based predecessor. But maybe in the weeks to come, as the characters are developed and the plot finds its way, it will become a decent comedy in its own right.

#012 - Major labels are dead. Long live major labels.

2011-04-06T01:21:00.002+01:00

For years now, I've been hearing about how the internet is finally going to kill major record labels. Articles like this one are all over the internet if you care to look, presenting apparently damning reports on the future of the likes of EMI and Universal.
They lead us to believe the death of the majors will somehow pave the way for a new golden era of music, a world where the indie labels will take over the charts, quality music will rein supreme, and talentless pap like Justin Bieber will no longer exist.

A nice idea, except of course it hasn't happened.

Why? Well, partly because you're all still buying records from them (you probably think you aren't, but start reading the linear notes of records you buy a bit more carefully and you'll probably be surprised). The main reason though, is that they still play a vital part in the industry.

For artists releasing records today, there's three options.
The first is to be resolutely DIY, and release everything yourself. It's a path that has been heralded across the internet as the future of music. Not only can you keep complete artistic control, with a few clicks you can now promote your band on social networking websites, get your music on to iTunes, and connect with promoters and book yourself a tour. That all sounds good of course, but the real elephant in the room is money. Unless they have the thousands of pounds required to pay for a good PR campaign and advertising, almost all bands taking this route can look forward to years of shifting less than 100 copies of their slaved-over releases (breaking even if they're lucky), playing empty gigs around the country (breaking even if they're lucky), and ultimately having to keep their office jobs so they can afford to eat. I wish bands doing the DIY thing the best of luck, God knows they're going to need it.

Another option is to sign to an indie label. To most bands, being on an indie label is an accolade that has for a long time held some romanticism about it. The chance for relative success without the need to sell your soul to the devil seems like the golden ticket for any musician with an ounce of integrity.
The problem is, the whole point of indie labels is that they are run by music enthusiasts, who somehow can understand you and help you better than those industry fat cats your hear about. Now ask yourself this; would you want the business side of your band looked after by a) a couple of ageing hippies who spend most of their money on a vast collection of vinyl, or b) a business man with access to lots of capital, music lawyers, and a roster of well considered financial successes?
That might seem an unfair question, but lets consider some examples. Take Factory Records. They released the likes of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, and to this day they are idolised and generally accepted as one of the greatest indie labels of all time (if not the greatest). I suspect though, that the bands that they signed weren't quite so keen on them. Before they went bankrupt in 1992, the label constantly screwed them at every turn, at their height spending hundreds of thousands of New Order's 'Blue Monday' royalties on buying the Hacienda club. Add to this first hand reports I've heard from former staff of some the most respected indie labels, claiming to have seen some very strange things happening with money, and suddenly the golden ticket doesn't look quite so shiny after all.
So enter then, the major label. Sure, you're no less likely to get screwed out of your hard earned royalties, but at least now you have a real promotional powerhouse behind you. Most major label bands these days hire A&R staff who really know their music and don't (as you'd be led to believe) want to completely change the way you sound or the way you look (unless you have a major image problem, in which case what's the problem anyway?). This is still the only route that will see your mug regularly plastered across your favourite music magazines, and probably the only way you'll be packing out venues night after night. Sure, you might get dropped after one album and have to go back to the wonderful world of DIY. But equally, you might make a fortune and have a long prosperous career. Whatever happens, I certainly don't see why its a worse way to do things than any other.

I'll admit, every band wants different things, and ultimately they have to find the deal that's best for them. However, lets drop this childish notion that major labels are the route of all evil and their demise would have a positive affect on the industry. It wouldn't. Keep buying music you like, buy it from whoever you like and share it with people you like. That's the music industry my parents enjoyed, I enjoyed, and people will enjoy for years to come.
And if you're still hellbent on destroying the majors, why not start in your own home? Grab a hammer and start smashing your copies of Ziggy Stardust, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, Pet Sounds, Dark Side Of The Moon and OK Computer. See if that makes you feel any better.

#011 - Why I Hate Music Festivals.

2011-04-04T14:14:00.011+01:00

As music festival season approaches in 2011, I, like many of you, find myself being constantly asked the question "Which festivals are you going to this year?". This question has changed from a few years ago, when it would be "Are you going to any festivals this year?". A subtle difference, but what has changed (since festival culture has really taken over) is the implication that I, as a fan of music, am somehow obliged to take part in one or more music festivals this year, whether I like it or not.

This presents me with a problem, because in truth, I like it not. I love music, I love good live music, but I just can't enjoy music festivals.

I can overlook the often ridiculous ticket prices (you can always work as a volunteer and get yourself a free ticket). I can overlook every festivals need to put on all your favourite bands at once (hey man, at least your seeing one of them). I can even overlook the hordes or teenagers in Green Day hoodies who have got hideously drunk and think its fine to just piss and vomit anywhere they like (for future reference, my wellies are not a urinal).

No, the real problem for me, is the choice to pay for the privilege of lowering your standard of living dramatically for the sake of seeing a few bands in the same weekend. I refer of course, to camping.

I hate camping. I mean I really have no idea why anyone would ever choose to spend any time in a tent in England. Best case scenario, you get nice and drunk, wrap up warm, and (having remembered your earplugs) manage to get to sleep around 4am. Two and a half hours later, you wake up sweating, the sun having turned your tent into a greenhouse. The obligatory hangover, combined with wearing three jumpers and two pairs of socks inside a hot canvas bubble with no air supply, forces you to call it a day on the sleep front. Bedsides, you desperately need water, so out you crawl on to the dew covered grass (or more likely at a festival, piss covered grass), and go join a half hour queue with other unfortunate festival go-ers for one of the site water taps.

The worst case scenario? Getting back from the band arena in the dark (having decided the Foo Fighters are not worth fighting the exhaustion you are feeling after three nights of the above scenario for), to find the space that your tent used to be in is now occupied by a stick in the ground. Attached to it is a note saying "Your tent has been moved. To find it, you must follow a series of cryptic clues...". After an hour of following these craptic clues around the campsite, you find the final clue has either been removed by some other campsite residents, or never even existed. You wander around in the freezing cold and fog for a couple of hours before finally bumping into someone you know and manage to persuade them to let you have half of the room in their one man tent.

It turns out they are extremely drunk and a lot more gay than you remembered, so after an hour of fighting back their advances, you wipe their vomit off your arm and wander back to your own campsite. Its daylight now and you see your tent has been moved a mere 10 feet from where it had been previously been. Despite the obvious annoyance, you feel a sense of relief to find it and see all of your stuff (including your train ticket home) is still in there.

That is, until the following night, when you come back to find it on fire.

Still, I hope you all have a great time at whichever festival(s) you are going to this year. Personally, I think I'll stay in the comfort of my own home and watch the highlights on telly. Not only can I watch my favourite bands without any clashes, I can get hideously drunk safe in the knowledge there's a toilet to piss and vomit in just metres away. Hell, I might even use the money I save to buy that Green Day hoody I've had my eye on...

#010 - Senses Working Overtime

2011-03-28T14:00:00.000+01:00

I'm going to try and make every 10th post a playlist. This is purely for my benefit as a frustrated DJ.

So to start, here's an 80's playlist I made on Spotify a while back.

I tried to make it from solely guitar driven bands, but in the end I caved and put a couple of synth-pop tracks on. I'll do a playlist for the synthesizer side of the 80's another time.
It's all pretty much standard fodder if you know your 80's guitar bands, though there's a few things you might not have heard, most notably a band called 'Furniture', who sadly seem to have faded into obscurity.
I've resisted the temptation to fill it with goth bands - again, another playlist, another time.

The Light Pours Out Of Me - Magazine
True Faith - New Order
Brilliant Mind - Furniture
Cutter - Echo and the Bunnymen
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
Dear Prudence - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Swamp Thing - The Chameleons
Senses Working Overtime - XTC
Under The Milky Way - The Church
Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus
Some Candy Talking - Jesus and Mary Chain
Back of Love - Echo and the Bunnymen
Change - Tears for Fears
Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
Winter Kills - Yazoo

#009 - Happy Birthday Houdini

2011-03-24T10:53:00.000+00:00

Today would have been Houdini's 137th birthday. No one really knows to this day how he used to perform most of his stunts, so thats pretty cool.

Sorry it's been a while. I've been busy with essays about crises and film and Descartes, but not all at once. I've also been playing shows. Saturday was a long drive to Exeter, and next week its the Lexington in London and The Registry in Portsmouth.

I've also been learning to cook and running out of student loan.

#008 - I was a lion once

2011-03-05T18:39:00.000+00:00

I love Aesop's fables, and read one I particularly like the other day.

There was a lion, in the jungle, laying on the ground close to death. All the animals of the land we’re crowded around, taunting and poking fun at him. A mouse scurried atop the lion, and while dancing on his nose said ‘He can’t do anything to us now!’. The animal crowd laughed and continued to make fun of the lion.

With all the energy left in his body, the lion lifted his head and said ‘Mock me now, but, I was a lion once.

A nice tale, so let's keep it in mind when considering this ~~disaster~~ hero of a bloke who I've been writing about in a PR essay today. He's called Gerald Ratner, and at the end of the 80's he was chief executive of a huge jewelry company called Ratners.
One day he gave a speech to an internal board of directors, and told a a couple of jokes referring to the low quality of his products, such as saying some of the earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long".

And then boom. Overnight media storm.

It that one speech Ratner wiped 500 million from the value of the company and eventually lost his job. The company was forced to change its name to Signet.

That might be a miserable ending, but don't worry. He's worth a few million again now (with a new jewelry company), and remember, he was a lion once.

#007 - If you thought that The XX wore white on their days off, you were wrong

2011-03-01T13:43:00.000+00:00

Last night I went to a new venue in Stoke Newington called The Drop. It was very cool actually, nice and small downstairs, with a big pub upstairs so you could escape if the music was shit. There was no need for it this time however, I enjoyed all three bands.
First up was the First Loves, sporting a vastly improved line-up to the one I'd seen previous. It was all a bit too Joy Division for its own good, but as I love Joy Division, it was still a joy.
If you were doubting me when I said the place was cool, then CHECK THIS OUT. The XX rolled up in time for the next band, 2:54, sporting their usual black attire. I assume they are friends of the band. Anyway, it was an interesting set, I'll keep an eye out.
Last up was ~~The Jesus and Mary Chain~~ The Tambourines, who were the second band of the night to wear their 80's influences clearly on their sleeves. Again, enjoyable regardless.

In other news, check out this cool video someone filmed at that single launch I did the other day...

Cold in Berlin _ White Horse from Tearing at the Walls on Vimeo.

#006 - Booze, news, then more booze

2011-02-25T01:52:00.001+00:00

Wednesday nights single launch went really well. A good number of people came out so that felt pretty good. I ended up drinking until 6am when my body finally gave up the ghost. 4 hours later I woke up to a gloriously sunny Greenwich, and recovered courtesy of half a Snickers bar, a cup of tea, and eventually a Subway.
Then it was straight off to the newsroom, where we put to bed the latest issue of the student newspaper. I'm looking forward to seeing it in print.
Finally, I got back on the beers for a few hours. It's now almost 2am and I'm looking forward to catching up on some serious sleep.

Listening: Bauhaus
Watching: 10 O'Clock Live (on 4OD)

#005 - Radio, live transmission

2011-02-23T16:10:00.000+00:00

Last night I went to see the live recording of the new series of Charlie Brooker's radio show.
The standout guest was Mark Watson, a comedian I've been reluctant to warm to, probably due to his nervous demeanor. Charlie Brooker was his usual amusing self, though mostly when he was reading from his script. Some of the jokes really didn't work (causing tumbleweed moments) and will have to be cut, which makes me wonder if his 10 O'Clock Live scripts are tested first to save any such embarrassment. If you are interested in the great hair debate, he addressed his controversial new quiff as 'simply a man letting himself go'. It was the back of his head I was most worried about, it looked like his hairdresser had truly given up by the time they had got that far. Overall it was pretty enjoyable, listen out for it on Radio 4 in about 3 weeks.

Don't forget I have a single out this week. I'm off to Hoxton Underbelly now to soundcheck for the launch party. Really looking forward to trying out new material.

#004 - Self-Promotion, Self-Improvement, Self-Doubt

2011-02-22T13:23:00.001+00:00

Today my band are Ones To Watch on the Clash Magazine website (and in the magazine too). It's nice and everything, but I'm hoping that soon we'll be touted as ones to listen to as well.
Our albums on its way to 65 HMV's around the country, so if you want it but only shop in shit commercial chains, then you are in luck.
Also, on Sunday we did a shoot for New British Magazine. It's about to launch its first issue and I think its going to be great. Look out for it.

You should know that I have been doing some University things as well (incase you think I am frittering away my student loan on a life of rock and roll dreams). I've managed to persuade the people in charge to let me produce a pilot for the first ever university magazine. Assuming it comes out as amazingly as I know it will, we should be on for a regular edition next academic year.
On a whim I've decided to run for Vice President on Student Activities at the upcoming student election. I'm not too sure what this means, but if I win (I won't), then I get a year off university to do a 22k job.

#003 - Nick Hornby changed my life.

2011-02-19T18:43:00.000+00:00

The day I read this was the day I realised I had to go back to education. I had to have to have a Plan B.

"You’re fucked. You thought you were going to be someone, but now it’s obvious you’re nobody. You haven’t got as much talent as you thought you had, and there was no Plan B, and you got no skills and no education, and now you’re looking at forty or fifty years of nothing. Less than nothing, probably. That’s pretty heavy."

- Nick Hornby (A Long Way Down)

If you're asking, despite this inspired paragraph, A Long Way Down isn't Hornby's best. Start with High Fidelity, it's the funniest thing I've ever read.

#002 - London is Dead

2011-02-18T13:28:00.002+00:00

It's an exciting week for me because on Monday I have a single coming out with Cold in Berlin. It's called 'Your Noise' and you can see the creepy video we shot for it below.
It was created by Dave from London is Dead, and filmed partly in a place called the 'Settlement Chapel', where we practice, and also at a show we did at the Lock Tavern in Camden. I suspect none of the equipment used to make this was made this side of the 80's, but that can only be a very good thing.

Don't have nightmares....