posh and tender ooligan

2009-06-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

2009-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Pretty Green Preview

Pretty Green is an up-front, straight talking, classic clothing range owned, founded and designed by Liam Gallagher. The Pretty Green team is made up of key industry professionals.

The clothing range, which is entirely 'limited edition', will include classic designs across footwear, denim, knitwear, jackets, trench coats, parkas, t-shirts, hats, scarves and accessories; all subject to Liam's final approval.

http://www.prettygreen.com

2009-05-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

Paul Weller - Just A Dream CD & DVD Pre-Order

Paul Weller will release a CD/DVD Deluxe combo on 8th June titled, "Just A Dream/22 Dreams Live."

The CD consists of 13 tracks recorded at the Brixton Academy, London in November 2008, including tour exclusive versions of "Shout To The Top" and "Eton Rifles".

The DVD has a 90min/21 track live session recorded for the BBC, first televised in December 2008, a 5-track session recorded for Channel 4, the videos for 'Have You Made Up Your Mind' and 'Echoes Round The Sun', end-of-2008 interview with Paul and his band. Both will be housed in a hardback bookcase packaging with a 32 page booklet of previously unseen photographs.

Towsend Records is offering an exclusive art print with the pre-order.

Available June 8, 2009 (UK)
Available June 9, 2009 (US)

Tracks

1. Peacock Suit - BBC4 Session
2. 22 Dreams - BBC4 Session
3. All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You) - BBC4 Session
4. From The Floorboards Up - BBC4 Session
5. All On A Misty Morning - BBC4 Session
6. Brand New Start - BBC4 Session
7. Have You Made Up Your Mind - BBC4 Session
8. Wild Blue Yonder - BBC4 Session
9. Black River - BBC4 Session
10. Invisible - BBC4 Session
11. One Bright Star - BBC4 Session
12. Where'er Ye Go - BBC4 Session
13. Wild Wood - BBC4 Session
14. Why Walk When You Can Run - BBC4 Session
15. The Butterfly Collector - BBC4 Session
16. Sea Spray - BBC4 Session
17. Echoes Round The Sun - BBC4 Session
18. The Changingman - BBC4 Session
19. The Eton Rifles - BBC4 Session
20. Push It Along - BBC4 Session
21. Whirlpools' End - BBC4 Session
22. Have You Made Up Your Mind - Rehearsal Sessions
23. Echoes Round The Sun - Rehearsal Sessions
24. Push It Along - Rehearsal Sessions
25. Sea Spray - Rehearsal Sessions
26. Wild Blue Yonder - Rehearsal Session
27. Have You Made Up Your Mind - Video (Bonus Feature)
28. Echoes Round The Sun - Video (Bonus Feature)
29. Just A Dream - Interview - Video (Bonus Feature)

1. From The Floorboards Up - Live at Brixton Academy
2. Have You Made Up Your Mind - Live at Brixton Academy
3. Broken Stones - Live at Brixton Academy
4. Porcelain Gods - Live at Brixton Academy
5. Shout To The Top - Live at Brixton Academy
6. Come On, Let's Go - Live at Brixton Academy
7. Echoes Round The Sun - Live at Brixton Academy
8. Wishing On A Star - Live at Brixton Academy
9. You Do Something To Me - Live at Brixton Academy
10. Invisible - Live at Brixton Academy
11. Sea Spray - Live at Brixton Academy
12. Push It Along - Live at Brixton Academy
13. The Eton Rifles - Live at Brixton Academy

Townsend Records Pre order

source:
http://paulwellernews.blogspot.com/

2009-04-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Bad Religion 1981 Limited Edition 7"

Bad Religion have re-issued the original 1981 Bad Religion 7″ on regular weight translucent red, regular white and regular black vinyl.

It's true to the original pressing with “We’re not Bad Religion…” etched Side A and the words “… You are” on the AA-side.

Packaging is original double fold out sleeve and includes insert lyric sheet printed on both sides.

Buy now from kingsroadmerch.com

Click here to purchase the 7" bundle package, $14.99 - limited to 100.

Click here to purchase white vinyl, $5.99 - limited to 400.

Click here to purchase black vinyl, $5.99 - limited to 400.

Click here to purchase red vinyl, $5.99 - limited to 400.

More info:

http://www.epitaphblog.com/?p=1725

2009-04-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Paul Weller's Weekend In California

Not posted for ages, but deemed it fit to post a compelling Coachella-bashing article as it related to the shit treatment of Mr Paul Weller this year, well played Ben Wener...

Coachella ‘09: Paul Weller Gets Robbed, Johnny Marr Saves
April 20th, 2009 by: Ben Wener

I could go on endlessly about the excellent yet heartbreaking Paul Weller set no one watched. I just might blather more about it once I get home and have time to properly assess and convey why it was such a meaningful (albeit needlessly stopped) performance, both for artist and audience. (It also might make my annual Kill List, a rundown, in ranked order, of the weekend’s greatest performance. Look for that sometime Tuesday.)

After roughly a half-hour of top-notch rock ‘n’ soul, culminating in some extra-fine space-jamming on “Porcelain Gods,” Weller was informed that he had a measly 15 minutes left. “Just not long enough in the desert,” he sniffed in between expletives.

He had every right to be pissed. There was no reason to quit early: Public Enemy didn’t need an hour to set up, it wouldn’t have harmed My Bloody Valentine any to have Weller carry on, and yet another rumor that No Doubt would turn up for a five-song surprise never came to pass. Let the man play! Imagine how much more fulfilling this set could have been with more morsels served up within another 20 minutes, instead of a flat 50.

Not exactly the right way to treat a Coachella forefather.

But suffice to say -– and I’m talking to you, Mozheads, after you watched your ’80s idol act the diva Friday night –- this is how an English icon soldiers on when faced with a demeaning concert situation. Like Atmosphere says, when life hands you lemonades, you paint that s*** gold, (bleeper-bleeper)!

Had Weller been squeezed onto the main stage, people might have at least taken notice of the old leader of the Jam and the Style Council. Perhaps then he’d have gotten his due around here, maybe via the chanting of “Eton Rifles,” one of the most biting Jam songs, about a different, even refined sort of class struggle than the Third World uprising M.I.A. calls for.

Surely casual ears would have recognized “A Town Called Malice,” although probably only as “that song by that guy who did that other song.” They still would have bounced and wiggled along to its deceptive Motown glee.

Instead, to cap his Sunday show, the now silver-haired Weller, looking Armani casual cool in a black outfit, was left to kick against the pricks in a chugging rendition of his minor MTV hit with help from … well, how nice, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who strummed a bit and shared in on the bop-bop-bop-bop harmonies.

Wait, what? You didn’t catch that killer moment? Oh well — your loss, our gain.

--

Speaking of PW, saw him play a 2 hour set in San Francisco the night before (Fri 4.17.09) - no support, no talking in between songs, no bullshit, just intense music, style and pure genius, amazing show.

Here's the set list and the fine, pretty surreal view I had (note the set list includes an aoustic performance of Brand New Start, bonus):

2009-03-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

The Auteurs - Black Sessions

Black Sessions are performances of live music broadcast on the French radio station France Inter. They are recorded in front of a live audience, and feature on the C'est Lenoir show.

The Auteurs - 3.5.1996

Tracks:

01 Starstruck
02 After murder park
03 Kenneth anger
04 Unsolved child murder
05 Bailed out
06 Light aircraft on fire
07 Buddah
08 How i could be wrong
09 Married to a lazy lover
10 American guitars
11 Junk shop clothes
12 Kid's issue
13 Early years
14 Lenny Valentino

Download

The Auteurs - The Rubettes Video:

2009-02-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Auteurs (1991 - 1999)

Remembering and introducing top notch English band from the 90s, The Auteurs:

Didn't 'get' this band at the time they were around, but recently re-discovering them, had their 96 album After Murder Park and their last album How I Learned To Love The Bootboys (99) in heavy rotation; can't get enough of the dark, mysterious vibe and off the wall, yet vivid, thoughtful lyrical content from frontman Luke Haines, an interesting fella. Very creative, original and talented band ...addictive stuff. They're definitely a listening band, most songs get better and better after several listens, there's a handful of more obvious stuff, most of which is on the last album. I'm now curious to check out Luke Haines' solo stuff and his electronic project Black Box Recorder.

'Lenny Valentino' Live on Later With Jools Holland 1994:

'Everything You Say Will Destroy You' Live on Later With Jools Holland 1994:

Albums:
New Wave (1993)
Now I'm a Cowboy (1994)
After Murder Park (1996)
How I Learned to Love the Bootboys (1999)

Mp3s:
Land Lovers
Lenny Valentino
1967

The Auteurs on Wikipedia

Press:

2009-02-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

New Music: The Twang

One of the best bands around at the moment, The Twang from Birmingham, England.

Here's 3 live videos of 3 new songs that will be on their new CD, rel date TBA. Working title is Not Tonight, It's Monday. Should be one of the best albums of 09.

Get their debut Love It When It Feels Like This ere

2009-01-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Clash vs Lily Allen

The only band that matters dominate proceedings once again here. Check out this unexpected nicely done version of 'Straight To Hell' by Lily Allen feat. Mick Jones, and the live version of the original for your viewing pleasure:

The original (live):

2009-01-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

Carbon / Silicon Interview

Reuters.com has published a new interview with Mick Jones and Tony James aka Carbon / Silicon today, check it out:

Punk Rock legends Mick Jones and Tony James are not looking back at their glorious past with nostalgia but enthusiastically embarking on a new rock and roll adventure with their latest band Carbon/Silicon.

Jones, 53, founding member and guitarist of seminal punk act The Clash, and James, 50, co-founder of the Billy Idol-fronted Generation X, have been friends for over 30 years.

In 2002, the pair got together and started making music in a home studio, giving it away on the Internet as free downloads.

This built a following and as their popularity grew, their new band Carbon/Silicon -- a reference to human intelligence enhanced by computers -- became a full fledged band.

Drummer Dominic Greensmith and bassist Leo "Easykill" Williams feature alongside Jones and James, who play guitar. Last year's "The Last Post" was their first commercially available album and they are recording a follow-up: "The Carbon Bubble."

Jones and James spoke to Reuters about their plans and what it's like to be rocking at 50 plus.

Q: Did you think a lot about whether you should start a band at your age?

A (James): If we thought of the realities of forming a band of 50 year-old guys, people would have said: 'hey guys don't do this' because it's going to be horrible, this could hurt you and do we want to face pain and hurt and rejection at our age ? Luckily, Dylan and the Stones and all those people keep moving the goal posts and we are 10 years behind.

Q: But you must have thought about it a little bit?

A (James): Mick and I used to be climbing a mountain with The Clash and Generation X and you reach the top and it's a very scary place and it's a horrible journey down. And we did it again with Big Audio Dynamite and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The second time, it's even scarier because you know how scary it is. Now on this third journey, we just look to the next safe place, we never look up, and we move slowly up the mountain.

Q: So is there no long-term plan?

A (James): You don't go, let's form a group and let's tour the world. You go, let's make some music and give it away and see how it works. Maybe we can play live? Maybe we can do a record? Who knows what we are going to do next.

A (Jones): We grew like an Internet community, a worldwide community, sharing stuff, not charging people, working in an immediate media, getting immediate feedback from people.

Q: Unlike some of your peers who are reforming, you do not trade on your old fame. You even refuse to play your old songs.

A (Jones): It's more interesting. You still feel you've got your soul. We are trying to do something with a meaning. We could be undignified about it really, and maybe we should!

Q: So you have no nostalgia fort the good old days ?

A (Jones): People who liked what we did before may like what we do now as well. We are as good, even better in lots of ways.

You must not rest on your laurels. We are still working on trying to make some sort of connection to people.

Q: What is more difficult now ?

A (James): As you get older, it's harder to write lyrics. I still wake up every day and think we could write something great today. As grown up adults we got more to say than when we were teenagers because we have more experience. It's a balance between that experience of worldliness and still trying to find that spark of enthusiasm you had as a young man. Can you find that enthusiasm and vitality and get that on the record?

Q: Your songs still address social and political themes but in an upbeat manner. Is that a consequence of growing older ?

A (James): Maybe we are not as angry as we were. Our music is just joyous to play. You know when I was in Sisters Of Mercy, it was really depressing music. I want to write positive things. I love my wife, I am healthy. I am lucky.

Q: Do you think it is now an exciting time for music ?

A (James): We are in the middle of such a revolution. People are not buying CDs. People are giving music away. How are we going to get paid? Nobody knows but creativity will flourish. It's a very exciting time but it's also chaos. It's like a war.

http://www.carbonsiliconinc.com

2009-01-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Factory - Manchester From Joy Division To Happy Mondays

"BBC 4 documentary (from 2007) about the legendary record label Factory Records. Footage and interviews with members of Joy Division, New Order, Section 25, Happy Mondays and more." (1 hour 30 min). Enjoy!

2009-01-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

The Clash by The Clash

Picked up the big new Clash book over xmas, definitely worth grabbing; has some top notch photography and in depth reading on the 'only band that matters'.

From The Clash Online:

The unique story of the Clash by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. This is the first official book to be created about the band, by the band. With unprecedented access to the Clash archives, this landmark publication brings together previously unseen material including tour posters, artwork and photos of the band at home, on stage, in the studio and on the road – with each member telling their story in their own words.

Joe: “I called myself Joe Strummer because I can only play all six strings at once, or none at all.”

Mick: “I decided that I’d go to art school in order to meet other musicians and get a grant so I could buy some equipment.”

Paul: “I wanted to be Peter Townshend, the bloke who throws his arms around and jumps up and down.”

Topper: “Drumming became my first addiction. I’d play for eight hours a day.”

The surviving members of the Clash have worked together with the full cooperation of Joe Strummer’s estate to create this unique collection.

Available at Amazon

2008-12-23T23:14:00.000-08:00

London Calling

Currently roaming London alone, it's almost 7am, I'm by Parliament and Westminster Abbey, still dark and freezing. Doesn't get more soulful than this, and 6 years this week since Joe Strummer died; ironic that I'm by the Thames right now.

A couple of pics from the cell phone:

2008-12-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

Cultural Vandalism

The death of English working class culture is around the corner thanks to draconian nonsense like the smoking ban.
Here's a fine example, this recent mind-blowing story re: Paul Weller sparking up at a gig:

Bosses at The Cliffs Pavilion venue in Southend have been issued with a warning after Paul Weller flouted the smoking ban during a gig there on Saturday (November 8). Southend Borough Council issued the official warning to the Southend Theatres Limited company, warning that if any other artists try to spark up there it could mean more serious trouble for the venue.
"We think the law was breached so we have issued a warning," said Steve Ramm of Southend Borough Council. "We considered the matter but under the terms of our enforcement policy, we have issued the warning to Southend Theatres Limited at this stage. "If a similar occurrence were to take place in future, we would be likely to take further action."
...

Can someone please go put Steve Ramm of Southend Borough Council out of his misery? What a useless cunt.

Pubs in England are now closing down at a rate of 57 month. Though there is a glimmer of hope for working class culture...Save Our Pubs! is organized by the authors of new book 'The Rough Pub Guide; A Celebration Of The Great British Boozer', NME writer Paul Moody and Heavenly Records' Rob Turner.

"Classic interiors are being torn down and local communities denied a focal point, to make way for flats and gastro-refits overseen by the disciples of General Gastro (Gordon Ramsay). It's nothing short of cultural vandalism. I mean, how many bands formed in Starbucks?"

The likes of Paul Weller, Suggs, Zoe Ball and Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys have joined the new campaign, hoping to to save the traditional British pub.

To support 'Save Our Pubs!', check out: Roughpubguide.co.uk.

2008-12-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Streets Philosophy

Few records this year addressed themes such as human consciousness and evolution (as well as reflecting the linguist's pleasure in a good piece of slang) as smartly as The Streets' fourth album, Everything is Borrowed. OMM detected in it the influence of the work of the philosopher and occasional Observer contributor John Gray - and a quick call revealed that Mike Skinner is a huge fan of the Straw Dogs author.

That bestseller, first published in 2003, argued that humans have still not come to terms with Darwin or accepted that they are like other animals - thereby knocking the humanists' belief in progress.

It seemed a good idea to put the pop star and the professor together, and so they met for a wide-ranging conversation - covering the art of storytelling and the imminent collapse of Western capitalism - in a north London pub hours before Skinner's performance at the BBC Electric Proms...

Mike Skinner: Reading Straw Dogs... I was aware of the idea that consciousness is an illusion, but it really made me think about a lot of things differently.

John Gray: The book is not intended to convert anyone to anything or to impose my world view. It's intended to stir people's thinking so that they see their lives in different ways. People have said to me - young people, old people, a couple who were trapped in a religious cult for 40 years - that they liked the book because it helped to weaken the story that they've woven of their lives, the story that was ruling them.

MS: What you seem to be saying is that it's all an illusion, life goes on and shit just happens...

JG: Well, good things happen too.

MS" But what's a good thing? It's just something that we perceive to be good...

JG: I'm not saying we should rid ourselves of the need for stories, but when that need becomes tyrannical then we can give up too much of our freedom. One story of the past few years was that wealth was going to grow indefinitely - we were all going to get richer and the ups and downs of history weren't going to apply to us. Well, stories are not true or false in the way that science is, but some are closer to human reality. And this Prozac-like story of the last 20 years - people believed it!

MS: The financial situation: the impression I have is that we're not in as much trouble as we were in 1929.

JG: Not yet.

MS: OK... and the reason for that is memes - it's the knowledge that if you don't bail the banks out, we're in really deep shit. So does that represent progress?

JG: It's an interesting question. And I'm serious when I reply by saying the proof will be in the pudding. You can say we studied the 1930s and so we won't commit the same mistakes. We'll do what should have been done then and maybe it will work. But there is a different way of looking at it. Even if avoiding those mistakes now is the right thing to do, there will be different consequences which will get us into different types of trouble. Bailing out the banks might lead to the sort of stagflation we saw in the 1970s.

The point is: there's an element of luck, and while I'm not a religious believer, if you want stories in your life, it might be better to follow religious stories rather than those you know to be shallow - like the story of unending growth.

MS: Your work can be very dark. But as a person you seem very amiable...

JG: Well, I'm not writing in order to provide consolation. One idea that's really unpopular nowadays is that there are any aspects of a human being which are inherently bad. But one thing that's distinctive in human beings - it might not be unique - is cruelty.

Now what should we do about cruelty? There's a belief that if people have a proper education, if they live in a peaceful, safe society, there won't be any evil. But is evil - for example, cruelty - normal or abnormal? I think it's normal. It doesn't mean you have to accept it.

MS: Isn't it dangerous to say evil is natural?

JG: It's the opposite. I'm a big fan of JG Ballard...

MS: I'm halfway through High-rise

JG: The very book I was going to mention! Ballard says that people from Catholic countries are less shocked by his books than people from Protestant countries, because they still believe in original sin - there are murderers and psychopaths inside us. It doesn't mean you accept that state of affairs, it means you have rules and conventions which stand in the way. That's what used to be called civilisation - though, of course, there's nowhere that's more than half-civilised. In general, I'm interested in looking at what's happening now and trying to deal with it. For instance, climate change is not fully solvable...

MS: Because it's natural or... because we're fucked?

JG: [Laughs] Well, my best understanding is that the planet is not like a clock that we can wind back. Once the carbon is in the system, there are inexorable results. Also, there's global dimming - the darkening of the skies by pollution, which also makes the world cooler than it would otherwise be. Getting rid of pollution too quickly could accelerate global warming.

Most greens are horrified by the thought that we can't stop climate change, but that's childish. Am I telling people to give up? No. In Holland, for instance, they're giving back land to the sea and building more on stilts because they expect sea levels to rise... and I find that uplifting, even though it's a very sober approach.

MS: Just to get a bit Dr Who, if we've also lost control of technology, could robots take over the world?

JG: There's nothing inherently unique and inexplicable about humans, so we could create devices that could indeed become conscious. But if we create robots that are only conscious - that don't have the 99 per cent of unconscious mental life that we have - could that hollow replica of how we imagine ourselves to be start painting in the same way as van Gogh?

Most creativity in the arts, and even in science, comes from levels of the mind that are not conscious. Conscious thought is a tiny, tiny part of the life of the mind. Have you heard of transhumanists? These are people who are interested in technologies that will allow them not to die - some of them end up having their brains frozen. They think they can remodel themselves. Now I'm not as unhappy as they are with the idea of human life...

MS: But you don't want to die - you're never going to want to die!

JG: Is that true? Do we really, really want to be different from all the human beings in the past and all the other animals?

MS: I think we all do. I think you do!

JG: If I could become the sort of creature that doesn't need to die, I'd be different from the way I am. And I don't want to become like a robot.

MS: I was famous, I guess, for a while, and one of the fascinating things about it for me - and one of the unnerving, scary things - was how my boundaries completely controlled me. I wasn't as autonomous as I thought I was.

JG: The person you were before was a by-product of your limitations and circumstances.

MS: Exactly. Dying is a boundary. Everything we do is to try not to die, and once you don't have that... I'm 30 soon and all I've got behind me are the years when I thought I was never going to die.

JG: If the boundaries that you associate with growing up are removed, you can live in a different way. The picture you have of yourself alters or dissolves. But if the wall of mortality disappeared... well, you can almost not imagine the change; I think it would turn us into something different.

MS: If we believe in Darwin we have to be believe that every evolutionary stage brings an advantage.

JG Darwin has been turned into a humanist icon. Darwin's followers think they've renounced religion, but they cling to the idea that while other animals can't control their destiny, humans can - a belief that comes from Christianity. Darwinism has actually been turned into another religion.

• 'Everything is Borrowed' (679) is out now; John Gray's latest book is 'Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia' (Penguin)

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/07/mike-skinnner-streets-john-gray

2008-12-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

The Climate Change Circus

Check out this top notch article on the latest political 'climate change' debacle by Nigel Lawson, posted a couple days ago at The Telegraph. Some great points and pure, honest common sense.
Highlight: "Unlike Mr Al Gore, Lord Stern, and Lord Turner, I do not know what is going to happen to the planet in the next 100-200 years. But I do know nonsense when I see it."

...

By Nigel Lawson:

And so the great climate change circus moves on. Over the past few days we have had the European Union climate summit in Brussels and the United Nations climate summit in Poznan.

The EU summit was intended to confirm Europe's much-proclaimed "world leadership" on the issue by reaffirming its earlier "20-20-20" commitment: that by 2020 it would have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent and raised to 20 per cent the proportion of its energy generated by non-nuclear renewable sources.

This commitment, which had been made in 2007, had latterly been called into question as the seven accession states and Italy declined to accept their share in it.

The outcome was a compromise, hailed as "quite historic" by President Sarkozy, under which the targets would be nominally retained but the means of achieving them – sharp rises in the cost of carbon-based energy – abandoned.

This was a great relief in particular to Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who had made clear her unwillingness to allow her country's important energy-intensive industries to be harmed in this way in the current harsh economic climate. In addition, it was agreed that the EU commitment would be provisional at this point, and reviewed in 2010.

So onto Poznan, where, despite this example of "quite historic" EU leadership, all that emerged on the global warming front was a great deal of hot air, and an agreement that a serious global accord on drastic, mandatory, enforceable and enforced cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions, to succeed the Kyoto Agreement which expires in 2012, would be concluded in Copenhagen next year.

If you believe that, you will believe anything. It is abundantly clear that the whole Kyoto approach is a nonsense.

The first harsh reality is the very different perspectives of the developed and the developing world. China, already the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, and India, coming up fast, have both made clear, for very good reasons, their unwillingness to accept mandatory emissions restrictions for the foreseeable future. Even before the current world recession they were not prepared to accept the economic cost and brake on their economic development that this would require. Now, with the recession, they are even less willing to assume this additional burden – not least, in China's case, because of worries about internal political stability.

The developing countries' case is that it is the responsibility of the developed world to cut back. But anything short of a global cutback is self-evidently futile.

In any case, even if there were an agreement, it would not be enforceable. Professor Gwyn Prins of the London School of Economics, a distinguished political scientist who, as it happens, accepts the majority view of the climate science, has pointed out why, for this and other reasons, the Kyoto approach is doomed.

But the vested interest of the great climate change circus, and the gratifying opportunities it presents for global grandstanding, have ensured that his analysis is ignored.

At the heart of this is the very heavy cost of decarbonisation, an unfortunate truth which most of its advocates feel obliged to deny. Thus the International Monetary Fund, which once was a serious economic organisation, has called for a 96 per cent cut in global carbon dioxide emissions (compared with business-as-usual projections) by 2100.

To achieve this, it concluded, "Increases in world carbon prices need not be large – say a $0.01 initial increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline that rises by $0.02 every three years". At that rate, it would take the US more than 350 years to reach the level of petrol tax we already have in the UK.

The first report of the UK's Committee on Climate Change, headed by Lord (Adair) Turner, and published a few days ago, is little better. The 480 pages certainly make up in quantity for what they conspicuously lack in intellectual quality.

Following the passage of the absurd Climate Change Act, under which this country has unilaterally bound itself, by law, to near-total decarbonisation of the economy by 2050, in an effort to demonstrate (once again) "global leadership", the report claims that this "can be achieved at a cost of 1-2 per cent of GDP in 2050. This order of magnitude is consistent with cost estimates from the Stern Review".

Since the committee uses the same methodology and indeed the same model as the Stern Review (which was not peer-reviewed), it is hardly surprising that it comes to the same conclusion. It reminds me of the man who, concerned about the authenticity of a report in his newspaper, bought a second copy of the paper to confirm it.

But as Britain's most eminent energy economist, Professor Dieter Helm, writes in the current issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, "the Stern Report's 1 per cent on which politicians are relying is an assumed number… the cost numbers… [are] all but useless for the purposes of public policy design and implementation".

Professor Helm, incidentally, accepts a view of the climate science at the alarmist end of the spectrum. But that does not attract him to shoddy economics.

It is quite clear that, short of a breakthrough in the technology of non-carbon energy – which may happen, but may not – the only cost-effective response to any feared global warming is to adapt to the consequences.

The dirty little secret is that, so far this century, there has been no recorded global warming; as the Met Office the other day pointed out, sotto voce, 2008 has been, globally, the coldest year of all. That has not stopped the flood of claims of increasing evidence of "climate change" all around us.

Of course, there may well be, as most climate scientists predict, global warming in the future. Meanwhile, welcome to the new science paradigm, in which effects precede cause. I have to confess my own limitations. Unlike Mr Al Gore, Lord Stern, and Lord Turner, I do not know what is going to happen to the planet in the next 100-200 years. But I do know nonsense when I see it.

• Lord Lawson of Blaby was chancellor of the exchequer, 1983-89. He is the author of 'An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming' (Amazon).

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3743591/Climate-change-summits-like-Poznan-and-Brussels-will-cost-us-the-earth.html

...

A few simple questions for the 'global warming' brigade..

Why is Greenland called Greenland?
A) Because a thousand years ago it was a lush green island - it's now a lump of ice.

What did the Romans see in the UK?
A) The south east had the perfect soil and climate for growing vines - hence the name "Vine Street" in central London - it was a huge vineyard.

Why are there nautical maps depicting Chinese sailing routes through what has for the last 500 years been solid ice near the North Pole?
A) Because the planet has gone through a mini-ice age over the last 1000 years - much of what are now ice packs didn't exist 600+ years ago.

We don't know exactly how climate works, it does change all the time, and by it's very nature is unpredictable. There's absolutely no direct evidence that humans are having an effect, that's an assumption. A single volcanic eruption can spew more CO2 than the human race has over the last 200 years. What we should do, is not be wasteful and attempt to limit populations - two imminently sensible things - but trying to tax the third world to a standstill is not - it's just another means of using 'religion' to extort money. "Climate Change" is ate 21st century's trendy religion.

2008-12-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Band Reunions

With the news coming out that The Specials, 2Tone founder and musical genius Jerry Dammers is claiming he has been 'excluded' from any involvement in the upcoming '3oth Anniversary' Specials reunion shows, I have to vent on band reunions in general...

The Specials are up there in my fav bands, legendary stuff. What makes them legendary is the fact it's era music, exclusive to England and the state of England in the late 70's and early 80s; the style, message, honesty, angst, vibe, the whole package that came with the amazing music & time period alongside; The Clash, The Jam, Costello, The Damned, Squeeze, Joe Jackson, Joy Division and the list goes on.

It's interesting that the whole original Specials line-up is on board for this 'reunion' besides Jerry Dammers, who wrote and started it all, but in addition to the missing Dammers, I have other problems with these 20 - 30 year type of reunions for other reasons. The main one being it's 2009, and The Specials = 1980. I don't see a Specials show (with or wihtout Dammers) working too well in 2009, I'm sure it will be a decent show, but to me it's just an unecessary attempt to re-capture 'back in the day' + a decent paycheck, under the umbrella of a '30th Anniversary'. Why not re-issue a big bunch Specials stuff on vinyl / deluxe CDs / DVDs of classic footage etc. so fans can have something fresh that yet still captures the time and essence of the band. It's a tad painful to see an amazing cornerstone of English music (The Specials) reducing themselves and in my view fuckin up their legacy a bit by doin this.

20/30+ year reunions should be reserved for the shit. They're cliche, and it's usually crap bands that are responsible eg. The Police, Led Zepplin, Queen! fuckin piss-take. Even Blur are pushing it by doing a show again, 9 years later.

The only recent reunion I've fully backed, and was even reluctant about at first is California's face to face's decision to start playing live again. It's only 4 years since they initially finished, the performances are still fresh and energetic and the whole thing is still relevant. That's probably the most important point here... is it relevant?

Ref: the main man himself, Mr Paul Weller on re-uniting the Jam:

“Nah that would never happen. Why would I want to go back? For nostalgic reasons? That’s never good enough. My philosophy is to embrace the new day and get on with it. If The Jam reformed now it’d just be a sad cabaret and that’s not what I’m about at all.”

Perfect.

2008-12-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

Greg Graffin's New Book

Bad Religion vocalist Greg Graffin discusses his upcoming book from HarperStudio, Anarchy Evolution. The book will be about naturalism & science, and faith & art. He discusses the process of feedback in this new clip;

HarperStudio will publish Anarchy Evolution in 2010.

Source: http//theharperstudio.com/2008/12/greg-graffin-from-bad-religion-talks-anarchy-evolution/

2008-12-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

Paul Weller - XFM DJ Series

Paul Weller’s XFM residency started this past weekend (Sunday December 7th) at 9 p.m. GMT (4 p.m. EST) on XFM London.

Each show will be 60 minutes in length, and Weller will be doing shows on every Sunday night at that time through the month of December. XFM London can be heard at 104.9 FM in the London area. It is also available worldwide on the Web at http://www.xfm.co.uk.

Weller’s archived shows will be available to stream for seven days after their original broadcast.
Listen to part 1 from this past weekend here:

Part 1 Tracklisting (December 8)

The Coral 'Jackqueline'
Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Maps'
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'Berlin'
The Rakes '22 Grand Job'
Midlake 'Young Bride'
The Libertines 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'
Oasis 'Fallen Down'
D'Angelo 'Brown Sugar'
A Tribe Called Quest 'Bonita Applebum'
Paul Wellwer 'Sea Spray'
The Jam 'Carnation'
Paul Weller 'From The Floorboards Up'

2008-12-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

New Morrissey Album Cover & Tour Dates

Years Of Refusal will be released on Feb 16 on Polydor in UK and Feb 17 on Decca in US, preceded by the single "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" one week prior.

Morrissey will play at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday, 11th May 2009, and at Manchester Apollo on his 50th birthday, Friday, 22nd May, and on Saturday, 23rd May.

http://true-to-you.net

2008-11-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

face to face Live pt. II

The Clash's 'Tommy Gun' was not played in LA this time or Vegas, despite several attempts to influence the encore set list from a small English contingent backstage.

However here's a camera phone shot from the side of the stage in Vegas this past weekend. I could watch this band every night, no problem, they're as fresh and inspired as ever.

Las Vegas House Of Blues Sat 11.15:

2008-11-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

Mp3: The Twang - ' Either Way' Streets Remix

Here's the video for the top notch remix of The Twang's song 'Either Way' by The Streets (aka Mike Skinner), download the mp3 too:

The Twang (from Birmingham, England) are currently in the studio working on album #2. Their 07 debut album 'Love It When It Feels Like This' is probably one of the best albums in the last few years, good attitude-driven, melodic tunes, check em out:

http://www.myspace.com/thetwang

Mp3 'Either Way; Streets Remix'

2008-11-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

face to face In Anaheim

A shot of face to face from the balcony at the House of Blues Anaheim on Sat night, what a show. 2 legendary performances in both Hollywood & Anaheim this past Fri & Sat night respectively, with a cover of 'Tommy Gun' kicking off the encore in Hollywood!

Intelligent, honest punk rock is alive & well, and the songs were as fresh as a new album, an absolute lesson to all the shite that's out there polluting the internet & airwaves right now.

Hollywood and Anaheim again and then Vegas still to come this week, bring it on...

2008-11-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Weller At The BBC:

from PaulWeller.com...

'Weller at the BBC' is a stunning 74-track, digitally-remastered, 4-CD hard-back book set of exclusive BBC sessions and live concert tracks from 1990 – 2008, fully sanctioned by Paul and including his introduction to the liner notes.

This limited edition set includes alternative versions of 19 classic hit singles, including - Hung Up, Out Of The Sinking, Wild Wood, The Changingman, You Do Something To Me, Peacock Suit, Thinking Of You, Sunflower, Broken Stones, Speak Like A Child, My Ever Changing Moods, All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You) and That’s Entertainment.

Discs one and two feature key session tracks - 40 unreleased versions, many with Paul’s introductions, show-casing material from new or forthcoming albums and are presented in band versions as well as solo, acoustic settings.

There are some rare gems within these sessions including an exhilarating rendition of Ronnie Lane’s 1974 single The Poacher from 1997. From 2006 are highlights of Radio 2’s, Sold On Song, where Paul armed with acoustic guitar provided a fascinating song-writing tutorial. From July this year are stunning interpretations of All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You), Cold Moments and Push It Along from the recent critically-acclaimed, no. 1 album 22 Dreams.

Discs three and four feature 34 of the best live concert tracks from six BBC-recorded shows from 1990 – 1998, including an early solo gig from 1990, the Royal Albert Hall 1992 and the triumphant July 1995 headlining performance at the Phoenix Festival where he performs dazzling versions of favourites - Porcelain Gods, Stanley Road, Can You Heal Us (Holy Man) & Shadow Of The Sun.

Includes a lavish, 64-page booklet with extensive new sleevenotes, brand new interviews with Paul, Noel Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie, Tim Burgess, Steve White and others as well as scores of rare and unseen photos from the archives.

Released the same day is a DVD featuring the best of Paul’s BBC TV performances recorded throughout his solo career. Essentially, an alternative ‘greatest hits’ set, the DVD includes versions of 16 hits singles, some classic Jam tracks and some intriguing cover versions. All of this material is completely unreleased and includes performances with Amy Winehouse, Carl Barat of the Dirty Pretty Things and Richard Archer from Hard Fi.

Also available - highlights versions on double CD and 3-piece vinyl as well as a digital box set

“The BBC Recordings is a great tradition. I’ve bought quite a few in the past, from the Hendrix one to The Who to the Small Faces to the Fabs, so for my stuff to be put out alongside them and to be a part of that tradition, it’s definitely something special.

Every time you play a song it’s always a little bit different, and radio sessions, they give you a chance to do something you’d perhaps not release on record, like we covered Ronnie Lane’s The Poacher, that was great, there’s an acoustic version of Clues too, these things are purely one offs, you know you’re not going to do them again and to get the opportunity is great. Doing a session is pretty much like doing a gig, for the most part it’s off the cuff. You’re going to be playing that song just one time and that’s it, so it’s always going to have an air of spontaneity about it.

As for a live show I try and vary it as much as I can from the last time, which isn’t always easy. It’s much easier if you’ve got a new record out, because then you can base everything around the new songs. Then you’ll add a few old songs that people want to hear and some songs that you’ve not played for a while, and coming back to them, they sound fresh again or you can add something else to them to make them a little bit different.

You can’t really prepare though, you don’t know until you get on that stage what it’s going to be like, what the sound’s going to be like, how the crowd will react to the songs, whether you’ll be any good or not, it’s all up in the air but that’s what makes it brilliant and makes you come back for more. That’s what I do, I mean I write, and make records, but essentially what I do is play music live to people. It’s my life. It’s what I’m here on earth to do.”

Paul Weller, 2008

Weller At The BBC @ Amazon:

2008-10-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

New Music Tuesday Mp3s

10.7.08: There's 2 new releases that I bought today, probably the first time that's ever happened, and it was almost 3, but decided against the new Oasis album for now.

Here's what I picked up, check out the mp3s and go buy the CDs:

#1: The Streets new album Everything Is Borrowed

Mp3 Everything Is Borrowed (single)

Purchase @ Amazon

#2: The Clash Live At Shea Stadium

Mp3 Police On My Back

Purchase @ Amazon