Who says Pokemon is for kids? When it comes up with lines like this:
"My face is reflected in the water. It's a shining grin of hope...
Or could it be a look of somber silence struggling with fear...
What do you see reflected in your face?"
How profound is that? In completely unrelated news, has anyone else seen this? Maybe it's time to switch brands...
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Fuck me, if you thought Metallica had gone seriously heavy you want to try this new Killing Joke CD...
And if that wasn't enough sonic mayhem the new Kid606 single turned up yesterday on the doormat of Phil Towers and it's great. If you haven't heard the Kid and need a reference point think slightly more fucked up Experience era Prodigy, and you're close. Although personally I like to describe it like this:
About 5 minutes in to the first track there is a sample of Roadrunner going 'meep-meep' - now just think of that cloud of dust that is now Roadrunner going off into the distance, inevitably leaving Wile E Coyote (whose probably holding a stick of dynamite). In both a literal and metaphorical sense that is exactly what this new single sound's like... except for the 3 bonus tracks which are kind of nice and ambient.
And if that wasn't enough sonic mayhem the new Kid606 single turned up yesterday on the doormat of Phil Towers and it's great. If you haven't heard the Kid and need a reference point think slightly more fucked up Experience era Prodigy, and you're close. Although personally I like to describe it like this:
About 5 minutes in to the first track there is a sample of Roadrunner going 'meep-meep' - now just think of that cloud of dust that is now Roadrunner going off into the distance, inevitably leaving Wile E Coyote (whose probably holding a stick of dynamite). In both a literal and metaphorical sense that is exactly what this new single sound's like... except for the 3 bonus tracks which are kind of nice and ambient.
Saturday, July 26, 2003
Only two pictures from last night? I'm obviously getting lazy.
OK, I guess I should try to keep this website vaguely topical, so here is my reaction to the televisual u-bend that was Big Brother 4 - "I couldn't give two tugs of a dead dog's cock" (that was a Spider Jerusalem quote, in case your interested - one of my favourites). I guess the one saving grace is that it was won by somebody who isn't obvious RI:SE presenter material like the other hip groovy twenty somethings that Channel 4 in there infinite wisdom chose to force on the viewing public.
Anyway enough ranting, went into London village today for some light CD purchasing, bought two CD's purely because El-P had some vague involvement with them, an Unklesounds Soundscape DJ Mix (there description, not mine - and I'm sure it's got nothing to do with UNKLE, no sirree), a mini album by the annoyingly titled !!! and the latest album by The Angels of Light - which is a bit of a blinder, if you appreciate that sort of thing. Detailed musing will follow once I've listened to them properly...
And I saw Soul Calibur 2 in action today, more a work of art than a game.
OK, I guess I should try to keep this website vaguely topical, so here is my reaction to the televisual u-bend that was Big Brother 4 - "I couldn't give two tugs of a dead dog's cock" (that was a Spider Jerusalem quote, in case your interested - one of my favourites). I guess the one saving grace is that it was won by somebody who isn't obvious RI:SE presenter material like the other hip groovy twenty somethings that Channel 4 in there infinite wisdom chose to force on the viewing public.
Anyway enough ranting, went into London village today for some light CD purchasing, bought two CD's purely because El-P had some vague involvement with them, an Unklesounds Soundscape DJ Mix (there description, not mine - and I'm sure it's got nothing to do with UNKLE, no sirree), a mini album by the annoyingly titled !!! and the latest album by The Angels of Light - which is a bit of a blinder, if you appreciate that sort of thing. Detailed musing will follow once I've listened to them properly...
And I saw Soul Calibur 2 in action today, more a work of art than a game.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Comments on this week's CD purchases are available for your pleasure and satisfaction. And I've just realised Squarepusher's boat trip is sold out - bugger, I wanted to go to that.
first impressions
Das Capital - The Songwriting Genius Of Luke Haines And The Auteurs
You have to bow down in awe at that title, and he's written reviews of all of the songs in the liner notes the first line of the first review being "My first masterpiece". Fantastic! Anyway, this is a best of with a difference - each song has been re-recorded with a full on orchestral backing, all pretty good songs - songs that I didn't admit to liking when I was a youngster but I'll admit to liking now that I'm all grown up and mature (ha!). The version of Lenny Valentino is 2 minutes and 16 seconds of genius.
As an aside there is a great picture in the CD booklet of Mr Haines in a smooth white suit and trilby sitting on a bench sitting next to four young female "pikeys" - Sleazy Phil would like to reproduce this scene at some point ;-)
Martina Topley-Bird - Quixotic
I can see why this was nominated for the Mercury prize, it reeks of quality - a bit schitzophrenic at times but still quality through and through. There's a song called Soul Food which is one of the most wonderful and uplifting examples of soul music I've ever listened to - just stunning, shames anything released recently calling itself soul music. Then she follows it with Lullaby where she goes all bluesy - but without the pain and regret, it's all very comforting - difficult to explain, imagine a style of music like the blues... but pinker, and fluffier. She even has a pretty good go at punk on "I wanna be there". Great CD
Dangermouse & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
There is more to hip hop than 50 bleeding cents and Emin-hey-guess-what-I'm-still-angry-at-my-mummy-em you know; good quality hip-hop, funny and intelligent beats and rhymes, has a go at George Bush - nice!
Das Capital - The Songwriting Genius Of Luke Haines And The Auteurs
You have to bow down in awe at that title, and he's written reviews of all of the songs in the liner notes the first line of the first review being "My first masterpiece". Fantastic! Anyway, this is a best of with a difference - each song has been re-recorded with a full on orchestral backing, all pretty good songs - songs that I didn't admit to liking when I was a youngster but I'll admit to liking now that I'm all grown up and mature (ha!). The version of Lenny Valentino is 2 minutes and 16 seconds of genius.
As an aside there is a great picture in the CD booklet of Mr Haines in a smooth white suit and trilby sitting on a bench sitting next to four young female "pikeys" - Sleazy Phil would like to reproduce this scene at some point ;-)
Martina Topley-Bird - Quixotic
I can see why this was nominated for the Mercury prize, it reeks of quality - a bit schitzophrenic at times but still quality through and through. There's a song called Soul Food which is one of the most wonderful and uplifting examples of soul music I've ever listened to - just stunning, shames anything released recently calling itself soul music. Then she follows it with Lullaby where she goes all bluesy - but without the pain and regret, it's all very comforting - difficult to explain, imagine a style of music like the blues... but pinker, and fluffier. She even has a pretty good go at punk on "I wanna be there". Great CD
Dangermouse & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life
There is more to hip hop than 50 bleeding cents and Emin-hey-guess-what-I'm-still-angry-at-my-mummy-em you know; good quality hip-hop, funny and intelligent beats and rhymes, has a go at George Bush - nice!
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
...actually now that I think about it, why in the name of fuckery isn't Mogwai's latest on the list? Oh and this Martina Topley-Bird album isn't half bad, I wouldn't say it deserves to win just yet - but I think it will be a bit of a grower so my opinion will probably change, it certainly pisses over most of what her ex (Tricky fact fans) has being doing since Maxinquaye.
Strange things are afoot in the world of music, Jane's Addiction have a new CD out (good god!), The Pixies have been rehearsing together, apparently, and Throbbing Gristle are doing there first live performance for what looks like 23 years, at a holiday camp of all places.
OK, I expect you've heard of the first two bands up there (if not, shame on you!), but who the hell are Throbbing Gristle? Well I have to confess I don't own any of there stuff, but a good proportion of my CD collection wouldn't exist without them, someone described them as being the "ground zero of industrial music".
Enough looking backwards - onwards to the present and the Mercury Music Prize. Shockingly I don't own any of the albums on the shortlist, so it's going to be difficult to give an opinion - unlike last year when The Streets were robbed by Miss Dy-na-mi-tee-hee. I'm probably going to have to be dull and go for Radiohead, although I'm going to get the Martina Topley-Bird CD when I pop into town for lunch so opinions may change.
I just think it's a bit of a shame about how 'safe' the list is this year, OK I don't think they deserve to win it but surely Autechre deserved a nomination at least at least for just trying to challenge the whole concept of music. Spring Heel Jack could have been the token jazz entry, but I get the impression they alienate most jazz fans - a total mystery to me. And, yes I know it's a bit obscure - but find me one bad review of The Bug's Pressure CD and I'll buy you a pint... maybe,
OK, I expect you've heard of the first two bands up there (if not, shame on you!), but who the hell are Throbbing Gristle? Well I have to confess I don't own any of there stuff, but a good proportion of my CD collection wouldn't exist without them, someone described them as being the "ground zero of industrial music".
Enough looking backwards - onwards to the present and the Mercury Music Prize. Shockingly I don't own any of the albums on the shortlist, so it's going to be difficult to give an opinion - unlike last year when The Streets were robbed by Miss Dy-na-mi-tee-hee. I'm probably going to have to be dull and go for Radiohead, although I'm going to get the Martina Topley-Bird CD when I pop into town for lunch so opinions may change.
I just think it's a bit of a shame about how 'safe' the list is this year, OK I don't think they deserve to win it but surely Autechre deserved a nomination at least at least for just trying to challenge the whole concept of music. Spring Heel Jack could have been the token jazz entry, but I get the impression they alienate most jazz fans - a total mystery to me. And, yes I know it's a bit obscure - but find me one bad review of The Bug's Pressure CD and I'll buy you a pint... maybe,
Friday, July 18, 2003
Here you go, some more thought's on my latest CD purchases. So, by my reckoning I've got about three CD's on the way to me in the next couple of weeks: the new Kid 606 EP (which has been getting good reviews), the new Tigerbeat6 compilation (which I'm not going to name, since the name manages to break any html on the page - try clicking here, then go and have a look at some other item in Amazon to see what I mean) and The Curse of The Golden Vampire - Mass Destruction CD (think Techno Animal but even more pissed off... nevermind...)
Other music stuff, could I recommend "Dsico that No-Talent Hack", Australia's answer to Kid 606? Maybe, maybe not, but in any case there are ton's of cool mp3's to download from his site.
Other music stuff, could I recommend "Dsico that No-Talent Hack", Australia's answer to Kid 606? Maybe, maybe not, but in any case there are ton's of cool mp3's to download from his site.
Drum'n' Bass, a bit of metal and some of the Tobin
Various - MDZ.03
I've always had a soft spot for Metalheadz, the drum and bass label run by Goldie, after spending the odd sunday night at the Blue Note club in '97 (I think, around about that time and location anyway...). So a new Metalheadz collection is always welcome, this one doesn't dissapoint too much, it's enfused with the sort of quality expected, but - and here comes the kicker - I'm left with the nagging feeling that drum and bass is getting itself stuck in a rut. On this compilation there are remixes of Pulp Fiction, Terminator and Angel; don't get me wrong, they are all classics and dropping one in the mix I probably wouldn't have felt the urge to comment, but three? Surely it's time to move on a bit... I'm making this sound like a bad CD aren't I? OK, time to rectify that - if you like Drum and Bass, you should probably own this CD.
Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001
More metal, but this ones a little different. This three piece Norwegian metal band, don't have vocals and don't use an electric guitar - instead they use an electric viola. I have to say the overall effect is pretty impressive, after a while the use of the viola seems very natural and complements the traditional stalwarts of loud fast drumming and down tuned fuzz bass perfectly. Bit's of the album remind me of Carcass at there more tuneful, and like the best metal album of all time - Slayer's Reign in Blood - they keep it short and sweet, the whole album clocks in at less than half an hour. And finally, how can you possibly go wrong with song titles such as Pantyland and Cockburn?
Amon Tobin - Verbal Remixes and Collaborations
Hurrah Mr Tobin is back, and he has some friends with him this time. What we have here is a nine track EP, the first five are new tracks each produced by Amon Tobin and a different collaborator; the remaining four tracks are remixes of Verbal from his last album. First up, the collaborations - it's difficult to comment on these as collaborative efforts since they all end up sounding like original Amon Tobin tracks to me - so I'll comment on them as Amon Tobin tracks. Very good, everything in the right place, plenty of well placed and inspired sampling - silly track names, yep all good stuff. As for the verbal remixes, you've got Prefuse 73, Top Gigio, Kid 606 and Boom Bip. I don't know Top Gigio, although they do a very nice swooping remix; the other three do exactly what it says on the tin, although I got the feeling Kid 606 was holding back a little. The Boom Bip remix deserves a mention for being a bit special.
Various - MDZ.03
I've always had a soft spot for Metalheadz, the drum and bass label run by Goldie, after spending the odd sunday night at the Blue Note club in '97 (I think, around about that time and location anyway...). So a new Metalheadz collection is always welcome, this one doesn't dissapoint too much, it's enfused with the sort of quality expected, but - and here comes the kicker - I'm left with the nagging feeling that drum and bass is getting itself stuck in a rut. On this compilation there are remixes of Pulp Fiction, Terminator and Angel; don't get me wrong, they are all classics and dropping one in the mix I probably wouldn't have felt the urge to comment, but three? Surely it's time to move on a bit... I'm making this sound like a bad CD aren't I? OK, time to rectify that - if you like Drum and Bass, you should probably own this CD.
Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001
More metal, but this ones a little different. This three piece Norwegian metal band, don't have vocals and don't use an electric guitar - instead they use an electric viola. I have to say the overall effect is pretty impressive, after a while the use of the viola seems very natural and complements the traditional stalwarts of loud fast drumming and down tuned fuzz bass perfectly. Bit's of the album remind me of Carcass at there more tuneful, and like the best metal album of all time - Slayer's Reign in Blood - they keep it short and sweet, the whole album clocks in at less than half an hour. And finally, how can you possibly go wrong with song titles such as Pantyland and Cockburn?
Amon Tobin - Verbal Remixes and Collaborations
Hurrah Mr Tobin is back, and he has some friends with him this time. What we have here is a nine track EP, the first five are new tracks each produced by Amon Tobin and a different collaborator; the remaining four tracks are remixes of Verbal from his last album. First up, the collaborations - it's difficult to comment on these as collaborative efforts since they all end up sounding like original Amon Tobin tracks to me - so I'll comment on them as Amon Tobin tracks. Very good, everything in the right place, plenty of well placed and inspired sampling - silly track names, yep all good stuff. As for the verbal remixes, you've got Prefuse 73, Top Gigio, Kid 606 and Boom Bip. I don't know Top Gigio, although they do a very nice swooping remix; the other three do exactly what it says on the tin, although I got the feeling Kid 606 was holding back a little. The Boom Bip remix deserves a mention for being a bit special.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
OK now I'm scared... Something potentially useful/downloadable has magically appeared on darthphil.com.
Now that I've come to terms that my GX-10 isn't coming back I've removed the old gx10 page (which let's be honest, wasn't that interesting) and posted a brand new shiny T610 page.
From this page you can download themes hand crafted by yours truly, the first being a fetching theme for fellow Dark Lords of the Sith, the other one is based on my laptop's desktop (which looks like this incidently). You can also download whatever MIDI files I've got on my phone.
Have fun kids!
Now that I've come to terms that my GX-10 isn't coming back I've removed the old gx10 page (which let's be honest, wasn't that interesting) and posted a brand new shiny T610 page.
From this page you can download themes hand crafted by yours truly, the first being a fetching theme for fellow Dark Lords of the Sith, the other one is based on my laptop's desktop (which looks like this incidently). You can also download whatever MIDI files I've got on my phone.
Have fun kids!
The worlds most anal page has been updated, look's like the XBox is winning the console war at phil towers.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
It's official, I am being treated no better the a pig on it's way to the slaughter house! Here's your proof, while those little fuckers get to swan around in there air conditioned lorries, I have to cope with temperatures of 33 degrees and I'm sitting next to the air conditioning unit! I think some compensation is on order...
OK enough ranting, some thoughts on my latest CD purchases can be found here. Lot's of interesting new releases soon, the Amon Tobin collaboration EP is just round the corner, Kid 606 (who seems to be sporting a very distressing beard) has a new fun filled single out in a couple of weeks, and nin.com has burst (well, gone a bit odd) into action fueling rumours on the ninternet (like Mr MeatHead I too love that word!) about a new Nine Inch Nails LP.
OK enough ranting, some thoughts on my latest CD purchases can be found here. Lot's of interesting new releases soon, the Amon Tobin collaboration EP is just round the corner, Kid 606 (who seems to be sporting a very distressing beard) has a new fun filled single out in a couple of weeks, and nin.com has burst (well, gone a bit odd) into action fueling rumours on the ninternet (like Mr MeatHead I too love that word!) about a new Nine Inch Nails LP.
summer CD's?
Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam
This was a total impulse buy after (well actually during, thanks to Amazon and a speedy internet connection) a bit of a late one round a mates house. Specifically after listening to a fantastically spaced out song called Frittering - a big slice of psychedelic fuzzed up indie rock - a great song, however it's quality does not run through the whole album, which can be a bit patchy mainly due to some silly vocals. Anyway a good introduction to this sort of music - a bit of a pity I've picked it up 15 years too late, I was far too busy listening to Grindcore and beginning my journey down the Industrial pop music trail towards the dark gloomy lands inhabited by Mr Manson and Mr Reznor... Anyway not a bad CD.
Sage Francis - Personal Journals
...and by jove they are very very personal. Sage is another member of Anticon, an underground hip hop crew who as far as I understand are spread across most of North America. I'm not entirely sure they are underground anymore, I have a feeling Boom Bip has something to do with them, and his music is used in adverts. Anyway, if you've heard of El-P & the Def Jux peeps, Warps new hip-hop off shoot - Lex Records, Cex, Mike Ladd you'll be comfortable with this CD. I'm not sure that I've decided how much I like it, I know it's good but I haven't decided if it's as good as the excellent album by Themselves. It can be a very daunting album to listen to in one go, he's got a very bombastic vocal style and due to the personal nature of the lyrics sometimes it can be a bit much - the beats are faultless though. OK, a good CD which could potentially excellent once I get used to it.
Gemma Hayes - Night on My Side
I like this, and I did say I would buy her CD after Glastonbury. It feels like a summer CD to me, but it's not one of those sickeningly cheerful "the sun is shining and everyone is having fun" CD's, nope - there are some harsh bleak moments here just to remind us that Winter isn't that far away. In fact I think there is one song here called 'Tear in my Side' which isn't that far from a Godflesh song, OK there isn't as much screaming and the guitars aren't as loud, but the two chord riff thoughout the whole song and the mantra like lyrics are classic 'flesh', not Ireland's answer to Kylie Minogue as the fool on the BBC website describes her.
Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam
This was a total impulse buy after (well actually during, thanks to Amazon and a speedy internet connection) a bit of a late one round a mates house. Specifically after listening to a fantastically spaced out song called Frittering - a big slice of psychedelic fuzzed up indie rock - a great song, however it's quality does not run through the whole album, which can be a bit patchy mainly due to some silly vocals. Anyway a good introduction to this sort of music - a bit of a pity I've picked it up 15 years too late, I was far too busy listening to Grindcore and beginning my journey down the Industrial pop music trail towards the dark gloomy lands inhabited by Mr Manson and Mr Reznor... Anyway not a bad CD.
Sage Francis - Personal Journals
...and by jove they are very very personal. Sage is another member of Anticon, an underground hip hop crew who as far as I understand are spread across most of North America. I'm not entirely sure they are underground anymore, I have a feeling Boom Bip has something to do with them, and his music is used in adverts. Anyway, if you've heard of El-P & the Def Jux peeps, Warps new hip-hop off shoot - Lex Records, Cex, Mike Ladd you'll be comfortable with this CD. I'm not sure that I've decided how much I like it, I know it's good but I haven't decided if it's as good as the excellent album by Themselves. It can be a very daunting album to listen to in one go, he's got a very bombastic vocal style and due to the personal nature of the lyrics sometimes it can be a bit much - the beats are faultless though. OK, a good CD which could potentially excellent once I get used to it.
Gemma Hayes - Night on My Side
I like this, and I did say I would buy her CD after Glastonbury. It feels like a summer CD to me, but it's not one of those sickeningly cheerful "the sun is shining and everyone is having fun" CD's, nope - there are some harsh bleak moments here just to remind us that Winter isn't that far away. In fact I think there is one song here called 'Tear in my Side' which isn't that far from a Godflesh song, OK there isn't as much screaming and the guitars aren't as loud, but the two chord riff thoughout the whole song and the mantra like lyrics are classic 'flesh', not Ireland's answer to Kylie Minogue as the fool on the BBC website describes her.
Sunday, July 13, 2003
...and another thing, hand's up who spotted that David Lynch directed the advert for the new Nissan Micra? I certainly didn't notice, but look at the bottom of this page for some proof - I'm a liitle bit disappointed now. I mean, come on Davey Boy, a Micra?!?? A little self-repect next time please.
Every so often the B3ta newsletter links to an absolute gem, Weebl and Bob's J-Lo take off springs to mind, but this is pure genius, and the music they've chosen as a backing track is pretty damn good - Goldfrapp eh? Now where did I put that version of Kazaa?
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Its getting hot in here... so doo doo doo doo dooo
I'm back from Coventry, which still sucks... Had a few packages waiting for me when I got back. The new Transmetropolitan comic book, and a couple of CD's which I'll go into detail about once I've recovered from last night.
Speaking of which, there are now three of us with the new Bluetoothed Sony phone, this basically means the view from phil's phone has widened somewhat since we can now spend half the night stealing pictures from each others phones.
I'm back from Coventry, which still sucks... Had a few packages waiting for me when I got back. The new Transmetropolitan comic book, and a couple of CD's which I'll go into detail about once I've recovered from last night.
Speaking of which, there are now three of us with the new Bluetoothed Sony phone, this basically means the view from phil's phone has widened somewhat since we can now spend half the night stealing pictures from each others phones.
Sunday, July 6, 2003
I was planning on writing a long winded post on the reasons why I'm so bad at keeping in touch with old friends, but it just ends up sounding shite. So, instead I'll direct you to some pictures from a mini Warwick University reunion. A top night out, thanks to a couple of friends I haven't seen for far too long...
Thursday, July 3, 2003
In case anyone is keeping tabs on my music habits I've updated the CD . I went on a bit of a shopping trip to London Village yesterday and half-heartedly bought a few new singles and a new Grant Morrison penned X-Men book - I can't get enough of his stuff at the moment, he's got to grips with pretty much all of modern comic book characters and bought them kicking and screaming into the new millenium, and he's written The Invisibles - which I've mentioned several times before, it is one of my life long goals to get someone else to read the damn thing!
Anyway back to music, the following CD's are ordered/pre-ordered:
Gemma Hayes - Night on My Side - I thought she was really good at glastonbury
Sage Francis - Personal Journals - some Anticon stuff I should have bought a while ago.
Amon Tobin - Collaborations and Verbal Remixes - Amon Tobin meets Kid 606, finally!
Kid 606 - The Illness - and here's the Kid on his own.
Various - Open Up & Say ...@<%_^[!]- and here's the latest from his record label.
Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001 - electric viola driven heavy metal trio, should be fun.
Opinions anyone? Should there be anything else on the list?
Anyway back to music, the following CD's are ordered/pre-ordered:
Gemma Hayes - Night on My Side - I thought she was really good at glastonbury
Sage Francis - Personal Journals - some Anticon stuff I should have bought a while ago.
Amon Tobin - Collaborations and Verbal Remixes - Amon Tobin meets Kid 606, finally!
Kid 606 - The Illness - and here's the Kid on his own.
Various - Open Up & Say ...@<%_^[!]- and here's the latest from his record label.
Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001 - electric viola driven heavy metal trio, should be fun.
Opinions anyone? Should there be anything else on the list?
single shopping
DJ Shadow - Mashin' On the Motorway
Bunch of remixes (well 3 and a couple of radio edits) from the Shadow-meisters last album. I'm sorry to say it doesn't do anything for me really - I guess because there all non-Shadow mixes. There is also a DVD with a couple of videos, but I haven't watched these yet.
Massive Attack - Butterfly Caught
Hmm, why did I buy this? Well the RJD2 mix basically, OK I could have just downloaded it probably, but when I'm in a big record shop I tend to be a bit impulsive and buy things I like the look of. Anyway it's not a bad version, but an instrumental one would have been better - as for the other mixes, the Jagz Kooner one sounds OK...
The Bug featuring Cutty Ranks - Gun Disease
Now this is just plain evil! I would not like to meet this CD in a dark alley, two songs - the main one is all truly crushing bass, dodgy violent lyrics and a drum beat that's not quite ragga, not quite jungle - but somewhere in between. Then there is a brooding dub version on the other track... I love it! And, they are selling this in my local Virgin! Let's just hope it doesn't fall into any young impressionable hands... heh heh heh!
Minor Threat - First Demo Tape
I'm ashamed... this is the first Minor Threat 'album' I've ever bought. At least I now own a little bit of history - the pre Fugazi band's first demo, which I have to say has scrubbed up very nicely considering how old it is and how it must have been recorded. Anyway 8 songs, 10 minutes long and it has a photo of Henry Rollins dressed up as Minnie Mouse in the gatefold... quality!
DJ Shadow - Mashin' On the Motorway
Bunch of remixes (well 3 and a couple of radio edits) from the Shadow-meisters last album. I'm sorry to say it doesn't do anything for me really - I guess because there all non-Shadow mixes. There is also a DVD with a couple of videos, but I haven't watched these yet.
Massive Attack - Butterfly Caught
Hmm, why did I buy this? Well the RJD2 mix basically, OK I could have just downloaded it probably, but when I'm in a big record shop I tend to be a bit impulsive and buy things I like the look of. Anyway it's not a bad version, but an instrumental one would have been better - as for the other mixes, the Jagz Kooner one sounds OK...
The Bug featuring Cutty Ranks - Gun Disease
Now this is just plain evil! I would not like to meet this CD in a dark alley, two songs - the main one is all truly crushing bass, dodgy violent lyrics and a drum beat that's not quite ragga, not quite jungle - but somewhere in between. Then there is a brooding dub version on the other track... I love it! And, they are selling this in my local Virgin! Let's just hope it doesn't fall into any young impressionable hands... heh heh heh!
Minor Threat - First Demo Tape
I'm ashamed... this is the first Minor Threat 'album' I've ever bought. At least I now own a little bit of history - the pre Fugazi band's first demo, which I have to say has scrubbed up very nicely considering how old it is and how it must have been recorded. Anyway 8 songs, 10 minutes long and it has a photo of Henry Rollins dressed up as Minnie Mouse in the gatefold... quality!
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Glastonbury 2003 Part 2/4 - Friday
I'm going to stick to bands for this post, you can assume that the blanks were filled in wandering around, drinking beer, smoking... stuff, eating, lying in the sun and looking at weirdness.
So, first 'band' was Har Mar Superstar. The word band donesn't really apply here since he's a fat bloke with a tendency to strip down to his underwear whilst doing a fair impression of Prince. Very nice dancers, sort of OK songs although Power Lunch is by far his best.
Next up, The Inspiral Carpets. I was fully expecting to hate these but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. They got well into the spirit of things and did there best to take everyone's mind off the rain, they even played the theme to the 8:15 from Manchester.
After the Inspirals we went on a hunt for somewhere dry, it took a while until we saw the next band...
OK, my top band of the festival were on next: Mogwai. The sun came out and they pulled out all there top tunes finishing with an awe inspiring version of My Father My King (a 20 minute instrumental version of a Jewish Prayer fact fans). I got the impression they couldn't quite believe they were on the main stage at Glasto and there were a few people around me with "what the fuck?!?" expressions, but I could see a few other true believers out there just lapping it all in, which was nice (They've got a new video out which you can watch over at the PIAS site, it has lot's of cartoon animals but is still incredibly depressing).
We saw Electric 6 next, I have to be honest and admit that I had a bit of a delayed whitey for some reason during there set so had problems enjoying it. Apparently they ended on a version of Radio Ga Ga... I'm a bit annoyed with myself for missing that.
Friday evening was spent hanging around the New Bands tent. I saw Junior Senior, who were OK, the whole crowd was basically just waiting for that song - when they did play it the whole place went a bit mental. I'm pretty sure they managed about 10 minutes. Unfortunatly they turned into a bit of a shitty cover band after that, doing bloody Beatles covers...
Lemon Jelly were next - I didn't thing I'd heard any of there stuff, but quite a few of the songs were recognisable (probably from watching too much Home Front - you know the bit at the end where they have lot's of sweeping shots of trees and pillows set to ambient music). Anyway, they are fun - I enjoyed them.
Last band of the day were Death In Vegas, they didn't seem that happy at having there set cut because of Junior Senior's wanking around, and I could have done with some proper drugs to appreciate them fully...
So that was Friday over, finished off by watching Donnie Darko in the cinema field which was a bit odd... The situation, not the film which makes perfect sense to me (time travel and parallel universes, dead easy really)
...oh, and I almost forgot. Me and Johnboy went off to the radio one stage which was in the middle of the market area to see Grooverider DJ - that was weird 3:00am in the morning and the place was packed, pity that the sound system was a bit on the quiet side.
I'm going to stick to bands for this post, you can assume that the blanks were filled in wandering around, drinking beer, smoking... stuff, eating, lying in the sun and looking at weirdness.
So, first 'band' was Har Mar Superstar. The word band donesn't really apply here since he's a fat bloke with a tendency to strip down to his underwear whilst doing a fair impression of Prince. Very nice dancers, sort of OK songs although Power Lunch is by far his best.
Next up, The Inspiral Carpets. I was fully expecting to hate these but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. They got well into the spirit of things and did there best to take everyone's mind off the rain, they even played the theme to the 8:15 from Manchester.
After the Inspirals we went on a hunt for somewhere dry, it took a while until we saw the next band...
OK, my top band of the festival were on next: Mogwai. The sun came out and they pulled out all there top tunes finishing with an awe inspiring version of My Father My King (a 20 minute instrumental version of a Jewish Prayer fact fans). I got the impression they couldn't quite believe they were on the main stage at Glasto and there were a few people around me with "what the fuck?!?" expressions, but I could see a few other true believers out there just lapping it all in, which was nice (They've got a new video out which you can watch over at the PIAS site, it has lot's of cartoon animals but is still incredibly depressing).
We saw Electric 6 next, I have to be honest and admit that I had a bit of a delayed whitey for some reason during there set so had problems enjoying it. Apparently they ended on a version of Radio Ga Ga... I'm a bit annoyed with myself for missing that.
Friday evening was spent hanging around the New Bands tent. I saw Junior Senior, who were OK, the whole crowd was basically just waiting for that song - when they did play it the whole place went a bit mental. I'm pretty sure they managed about 10 minutes. Unfortunatly they turned into a bit of a shitty cover band after that, doing bloody Beatles covers...
Lemon Jelly were next - I didn't thing I'd heard any of there stuff, but quite a few of the songs were recognisable (probably from watching too much Home Front - you know the bit at the end where they have lot's of sweeping shots of trees and pillows set to ambient music). Anyway, they are fun - I enjoyed them.
Last band of the day were Death In Vegas, they didn't seem that happy at having there set cut because of Junior Senior's wanking around, and I could have done with some proper drugs to appreciate them fully...
So that was Friday over, finished off by watching Donnie Darko in the cinema field which was a bit odd... The situation, not the film which makes perfect sense to me (time travel and parallel universes, dead easy really)
...oh, and I almost forgot. Me and Johnboy went off to the radio one stage which was in the middle of the market area to see Grooverider DJ - that was weird 3:00am in the morning and the place was packed, pity that the sound system was a bit on the quiet side.
Glastonbury 2003 Part 1/4 - Thursday
Not a good start, after a good 4 hours sleep my brain wasn't working quite as well as it should have been and somehow managed to lose my phone somewhere between leaving my house and posting a letter about 5 minutes up the road. Boo Hoo! Anyway I was too tired and off to Glasto so it didn't bother me too much at the time - the last picture can be found over here - worry not though, I have a new phone and this one has a camera on it too!
Anyway back to Glastonbury, got there Thursday lunch and it was already filling up, set up base camp outside the new bands tent in pretty much the same place as last year next to the pylon and the Scottish pill poppers (who seem to have calmed down a bit this year). I had a new tent this year which was much better than the coffin I had last time, a new inflatable chair since I couldn't be arsed to try packing my old one, and I may have popped it anyway. No bands this night, but plenty of beer which was nice...
Not a good start, after a good 4 hours sleep my brain wasn't working quite as well as it should have been and somehow managed to lose my phone somewhere between leaving my house and posting a letter about 5 minutes up the road. Boo Hoo! Anyway I was too tired and off to Glasto so it didn't bother me too much at the time - the last picture can be found over here - worry not though, I have a new phone and this one has a camera on it too!
Anyway back to Glastonbury, got there Thursday lunch and it was already filling up, set up base camp outside the new bands tent in pretty much the same place as last year next to the pylon and the Scottish pill poppers (who seem to have calmed down a bit this year). I had a new tent this year which was much better than the coffin I had last time, a new inflatable chair since I couldn't be arsed to try packing my old one, and I may have popped it anyway. No bands this night, but plenty of beer which was nice...
In case anyone who reads this has been wondering where I've been, well, Darth Phil has been on a little adventure to that magical corner of the English countryside which only appears once a year for only a few days at a time. Yep, the Glastonbury Festival. Fantastic year, I've read in some places that the festival was missing something this year, I'll agree that there are less pikeys and hippies nowadays but I'm not sure how this is a bad thing - besides that I didn't notice too much of a difference than when I first went ('97 - year of the mud). Anyway here's my little report - "What I did at Glastonbury 2003" (spread over a fair few posts since blogger just couldn't handle the size)
Glastonbury 2003 Part 4/4 - Sunday
Last day, boo! A fairly quiet day, watched the Asian Dub Foundation whip up the crowd a bit. The full on terrorist-stylee face scarfs were a great touch.
We spent the best part of the afternoon avoiding the rain and listening to drum'n'bass in the dance tent. Popped over to the new bands tent to watch Keith Flint from The Prodigy new band, imaginatively titled Flint. I'm glad to report that the spirit of Pitchshifter is alive and well.
Final bands of the weekend were The Scratch Perverts followed by The Streets. The perverts played a blinder! They did a proper festival megamix starting off hip-hop, then going a bit indie and finishing with drum and bass - then, they went and played Smell's like Teen Spirit - quality! The Streets were a little disappointing but only because of the shitty sound system in the dance tent, Mr Skinner seemed to be having a good time, and big up respect to Mike for his comment Glastonbury being all about the people who turned up on the Thursday!
Anyway, those were all the bands I saw. A quality year, here's to next year!
Last day, boo! A fairly quiet day, watched the Asian Dub Foundation whip up the crowd a bit. The full on terrorist-stylee face scarfs were a great touch.
We spent the best part of the afternoon avoiding the rain and listening to drum'n'bass in the dance tent. Popped over to the new bands tent to watch Keith Flint from The Prodigy new band, imaginatively titled Flint. I'm glad to report that the spirit of Pitchshifter is alive and well.
Final bands of the weekend were The Scratch Perverts followed by The Streets. The perverts played a blinder! They did a proper festival megamix starting off hip-hop, then going a bit indie and finishing with drum and bass - then, they went and played Smell's like Teen Spirit - quality! The Streets were a little disappointing but only because of the shitty sound system in the dance tent, Mr Skinner seemed to be having a good time, and big up respect to Mike for his comment Glastonbury being all about the people who turned up on the Thursday!
Anyway, those were all the bands I saw. A quality year, here's to next year!
Glastonbury 2003 Part 3/4 - Saturday
First up was Gemma Hayes. Charming lady, must buy her CD. Next up was something a bit special, the Sun was shining, the air was thick with the smell of something a bit 'erbal and Jimmy Cliff was on the main stage. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy, he was bouncing around the stage like he was 40 years younger - definitely one of those performances which will go down as a classic.
Following Jimmy would be difficult, the polyphonic spree had a go, and failed... a truly horrifying band - far too cheerful.
The next band we saw were my second must see band of the festival, Interpol. The heat must have been getting to them since the guitarists had both taken there ties off - shocking stuff! I though there bass player was a total star, he seemed more worried about his haircut than anything and spent most of the time playing his bass below knee level - good that someone brought a bit of class to the event. There was a weird moment halfway through when a whirlwind went across the audience which brought a slight distraction to an otherwise fine show.
After Interpol we hung around to watch Arthur Lee's Love, didn't do anything for me I'm afraid - a bit too hippie-ish for me.
Final band was a toss up between The Chemical Brothers and Radiohead - the thing is I missed Radiohead in '97 so I had to make an effort really. So armed with one of Croaker's special ciggys (with the intention of sparking up during pyramid song - which seemed appropriate) I went off on a mission to get to find the main stage . Anyway, I'm so glad I chose Radiohead - storming set, plenty of weird new stuff complete with gratuitus knob twiddling to keep me happy (I especially liked some of the live sampling, and the new one with what sounded like a full on ragga bass line to me), and several old songs to keep everyone else happy (but no creep...). I think I've decided that Thom Yorke wins the award for most off his head on stage award, lot's of yelping, strange grins and forgetting what song he was mean't to be playing. The walk pack to the tent was interesting cos I felt as stoned as a monkey.
First up was Gemma Hayes. Charming lady, must buy her CD. Next up was something a bit special, the Sun was shining, the air was thick with the smell of something a bit 'erbal and Jimmy Cliff was on the main stage. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy, he was bouncing around the stage like he was 40 years younger - definitely one of those performances which will go down as a classic.
Following Jimmy would be difficult, the polyphonic spree had a go, and failed... a truly horrifying band - far too cheerful.
The next band we saw were my second must see band of the festival, Interpol. The heat must have been getting to them since the guitarists had both taken there ties off - shocking stuff! I though there bass player was a total star, he seemed more worried about his haircut than anything and spent most of the time playing his bass below knee level - good that someone brought a bit of class to the event. There was a weird moment halfway through when a whirlwind went across the audience which brought a slight distraction to an otherwise fine show.
After Interpol we hung around to watch Arthur Lee's Love, didn't do anything for me I'm afraid - a bit too hippie-ish for me.
Final band was a toss up between The Chemical Brothers and Radiohead - the thing is I missed Radiohead in '97 so I had to make an effort really. So armed with one of Croaker's special ciggys (with the intention of sparking up during pyramid song - which seemed appropriate) I went off on a mission to get to find the main stage . Anyway, I'm so glad I chose Radiohead - storming set, plenty of weird new stuff complete with gratuitus knob twiddling to keep me happy (I especially liked some of the live sampling, and the new one with what sounded like a full on ragga bass line to me), and several old songs to keep everyone else happy (but no creep...). I think I've decided that Thom Yorke wins the award for most off his head on stage award, lot's of yelping, strange grins and forgetting what song he was mean't to be playing. The walk pack to the tent was interesting cos I felt as stoned as a monkey.
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