I have to say being at Fratton Park to watch Leicester City's victory was a deeply satisfying experiance - I learnt some new songs (I think the "Sit down, Shut up" to the tune of the Pompey chimes was my favourite, although the "Fuck 'em up! Eat 'em up!" one was pretty good if a bit scary), got very wet, watched Leicester win and went out on the town in Southsea (which isn't Portsmouth apprently, but which does seem to be between Fratton Park and the Sea... go figure). A good day out!



What else was I going to write? I'm very tired today, my mind keeps wandering in a very literal sense...



Oh yes, I was having a look at the Sophia website which has a link to a Dutch music site with loads of live recordings in Real format of some interesting bands. I try to occasionally educate people and point them in the direction of what I think is decent music, so if you're feeling a bit open-minded and have a decent internet connection it's well worth a browse. Plus you can listen to Desert Song #2 which is just stunning...

Last albums of the year?...



Korn - Take A Look In The Mirror

I've got a fondness for nu-metal, I'm not sure why since I really should have grown out of it by now. Korn's 'Issues' is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest examples of the genre, they followed that up with 'Untouchables', a vastly over-hyped, over-produced mess of an album. 'Take A Look In The Mirror' should be there return to form, sneaked out without me knowing about it, rawer and less indulgant. The trouble is they forgot to put any decent tunes on it! Disappointing, but maybe it will grow on me.



Missy Elliot - This Is Not A Test!

Again, a little disappointing - but an average Missy Elliot album is a lot be better than most peoples better albums. There are some good tunes on it, Pass the Dutch you'll be aware of, Wake Up with Jay-Z (who manages to mention David Beckham in one of his ryhmes!) is also worth the entrance fee. But there is also a fair amout of fairly generic R'n'B, and when will Hip-Hop Artists learn that those stoopid Skits between songs suck!



DJ Yoda - How to Cut & Paste 80's Edition

Yoda uses the force to save us from mediocrity with one of the silliest mixes I've heard. Rick Astley, A-Ha, Europe! They're all there and mixed up with some really daft scratching and samples which often don't even try to fit in with the flow. A fun album, it will make you grin from ear to ear if you are of a certain age.

Armed Police Invade High School, No Drugs Found



No drugs? Good grief, what sort of school is that? Get some drugs in there now!

One of the websites I try to visit daily is disinformation, a good site for all of your left of centre news requirements, but this article just made me laugh.

Not sure if you noticed but England seem to have got good at Rugby ;-) - I watched the match in a pub in Woking rather than from the comfort of my Sofa (which would have been the sensible option) but you can't beat standing in a Pub at 9am, drinking orange juice because you're driving, and having your hangover shouted at by very loud Rugby fans can you? Hold on a minute...!



If I hadn't been driving I would have probably done some proper celebrating, but that didn't happen. The rest of the weekend was spent trying to lower my DVD to watch pile by ploughing throw a whole series of (the sadly cancelled) Futurama and all three Indiana Jones films.



Speaking of films, here's my take on The Matrix Revolutions: I went in to the Warner Village in Staines (very nice cinema by the way) with very low expectations, and I think it was because of this that I actually enjoyed the film. It's kind of the reverse of the last one in that the events in the 'real' world are really good, but the few scenes set in the Matrix were a bit of a let down. The final battle in Zion was much better than I expected, and Neo's excursion to the real machine City was kind of cool, but the battle with Agent Smith was just dumb and I was a bit dissappointed that they didn't use or explain the Merovingian much - oh, and the end scene was pants. Overall I enjoyed this film more than the last, but that enjoyment is overshadowed by my dissapointment that the final two films in the trilogy, which hinted at some really interesting meta-physical ideas, decended to your usual action film fluff. They should have just stopped with the first one really...

Nice packaging...



Raster-Noton.Archiv 1

The packaging hear deserves a special mention: The CD comes in a plastic re-sealable silver bag, with a perpex information sheet, but hold it up to the light and it becomes clear that the whole thing is slightly transparent, including the CD itself - which is something I've never seen. I got this with my subscription to The Wire magazine, its basically a compilation from a German record label called Raster-Noton of very minimalistic electronic compositions. All the pieces are constructed from tiny micro clicks, pops and whizzes creating an almost minimal house feel to some of the tracks. It's interesting more than anything, I liked some of the tracks, but a whole CD of them is a little bit wearing. Mainly I had the feeling that this sort of music needs some sort of visual element, or maybe it just needs to be listened to in a more suitable environment, it doesn't work as well as it should in my tiny flat.

I have mobile phone envy, my poxy Sony T610 has been upsurped by the beast that is the Nokia 6600 as the geekiest coolest phone in the office. I was thinking of one of the new Panasonic X70 as my next phone, but I'm now thinking that may not be enough... What I need is the equivalent of the Deathstar of mobile phones, something completely over the top, with enough power to inspire awe and terror - no not an N-Gage, I'm thinking maybe the Sony P900 could be the phone for me.

New Kid606 album (woo yay!): I like it, so do these people, and someone on Amazon.com seems to like it - but that's all I can find at the moment.

The Progidy's New Album...



Kid606 - Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You

If I gave marks out of 10 for records this would instantly get a bonus point for having a song called "If I had a happy place this would be it". Anyway, new Kid606 album, what does it sound like? Good question, the problem (although problem isn't really the right word) is that pretty much every Kid606 album/EP sounds completely different: For example Down With The Scene sounded like one great big almighty fuck you to the world in general, but then there is PS I Love You, full of minimal techno ambience, and then The Action Packed Mentalist Brings You The Fucking Jams - which is very silly, but great fun. It's very difficult to pin him down. This CD has 5 years worth of recorded material and it's possible to hear influences from all of his releases, making this probably the most "Kid606" Kid606 album you'll hear - if you see what I mean. If I was pinned down and forced to describe this I probably say "it's the album that Liam Howlett wishes he could make", but that doesn't do it justice. OK it's a bit old skool ravey in places (not a bad thing!) and the inner sleeve has a piss take of one of the Prodigy's album, but I think that's where the Prodigy comparison ends. But that doesn't really help me to describe this album properly, all I can recommend is to try and have a listen to it. If you can appreciate music that crams silly amounts of ideas into very short spaces, you'll like it; if you appreciate a good old fashioned junglist-stylee dance tune, you'll like it; if you can admire the someone who seems to have a sample on his powerbook called "try to suck the listener's brain out through his ears-bass scraping noise" you'll like it. Fuck it, you'll like it... trust me!

OK, the pictures are shite - but they may give you some impression of the odd grandeur that is the Bush Hall. Especially odd since it's situated in the shittier end of Shepards Bush.



Anyway, I did have prepared a long essay about some of the songwriters I like, and how Robin Proper-Sheppard (who basically is Sophia) fits in with them... then it descended into some waffle about sad songs and 3am moments and "Boo Hoo I'm so alone"-crap. You don't want to know about that...



Instead I'll give you a fairly dry description of the band and the music. Full band tonight, which in Sophia terms means your standard drums/bass/guitar with a smattering of piano and a string quartet. They started off with a couple of early songs: The Sea, and If Only - both sort of country-ish tear-jerkers, then they moved on to some of the new songs. These are quite a bit different, not quite as melancholic and more willing to experiment - the powerbook came out on a few occasions. One of the new songs stood out especially, Desert Song #2, this starts off with a really beautiful string arrangement which then gently gives way to the main guitar riff and some really touching lyrics (which I'm damned if I can remember now!) - then half way through POW! they go all Mogwai with some serious white noise. OK, I'll concide that it was a fairly Partisan crowd but there were audible gasps and cries of "Fuck Me! That's good" after that tune, and damn it is good. If they can capture that song in a recording studio then the new Sophia CD is going to be worth buying for that alone... Remember kids, Desert Song #2.



Anyway, not much more to say - they started late, and consequently I had to leave before the end to get a train home - but all in all a good night out, good to hear some of my favourite tunes played live, and good to hear some of Sophia's new music.

On the train to london to see one of my favourite bands, sophia. Pictures and report later.

OK, with the new Kid606 CD in the post (finally!), and now that I've had chance to listen to the new Tori Amos collection and what is allegedly Jay-Z's final album I thought I'd be almost ready to start my "Ten CD's you really needed to get your hands on this year, but did you listen to me? Did you bollocks!"-list.



Well I was wrong, a quick peruse of Play.com's coming soon list and I can still find CD's that I absolutely need to own, so that little feature of joy will have to wait.



...Speaking of Kid606 (whose new album better be good enough to go on my "Ten CD's you really needed to get your hands on this year, but did you listen to me? Did you bollocks!"-list, or there will be a frightening amount of metaphorical trouble), brainwashed.com have a really good interview/feature on his recent Paws Across America tour in wonderful streaming Quicktime form. I couldn't get the pop up window to work, so here is the direct link if you have a sudden urge to broaden your horizons.

Getting Near Christmas...



Tori Amos - Tales of a LIbrarian

It must be getting near Christmas, it seems that there is nothing but compilation albums in the shops. I'll forgive this one though, since a) it consists of songs that have been remastered and subtley remixed and b) it's by Tori Amos and as such beyond any sort of criticism. OK, maybe a bit of criticism - there's a couple of songs on here that don't deserve to be on a best of album, and a few that are missing, and maybe rather than a free DVD it would have been better to have a CD with some of her more full on dance remixes. Anyway, I'm treating this as a utility CD, it's here to do the job of providing me with a compilation of Tori Amos tunes, as such it does it's job well.



Jay-Z - The Black Album

Some very silly Spinal Tap-esque packaging going on here, but that didn't hurt Metallica when they did it. Anyway, let's get back on track, suprisingly (considering all the obscure crap I buy to try to make myself seem more interesting) I have a lot of respect for Jay-Z. His album 'The Blueprint' has to go down as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever, he's got Beyonce by his side, and now he's saying farewell to the hip-hop game with this practically flawless album. Great beats provided by big names like The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Rick Rubin (let's not forget he produced Licensed to Ill and Raising Hell, and would 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' sound the same without his influence?), lyrically it's quite brutal and honest: if this is truly his final album then the gauntlet is well and truly laid down for all the young upstarts. And 14 tracks! No skits! In the world of commercial rap and hip-hop that sort of retraint is a fucking miracle!

Waking up on your sofa at 8:00am with a stiff neck and a crappy hangover is officially not fun. Just though that need pointing out and metaphorically underlined with a big red pen. Pics!

OK, my take on the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre: oh dear... OK, I've never seen the original, so I went in with no preconceptions and an open mind, but that didn't help. This film has pretty much zero suspense, pretty much every 'shock' (I use the term loosely) could be seen about a mile off... in the dark... and looking in the wrong direction, really unlikeable 'good guys', and really obvious 'bad guys'. Still in its defense Leatherface looked quite cool and the lead female character looked very good in a damp vest - and that's about all I can say, sorry for being shallow, but it's a pretty shallow film.

OK, my take on Kill Bill Vol.1: a wonderful, wonderful film. It's unlike his previous work for the obvious reasons: less dialogue, more action, slightly more coherent time line, and the obvious nod towards Asian Cinema. This could have gone horribly wrong, there is a fine line between parody and homage, but he stays on the right side of the line even in the more humourous, tongue in cheek moments; the fight scenes are great, plenty of blood and amputations and just enough wire work to keep it exciting but not too silly; and Uma Thurman is just stunning, playing the vengeful Samurai role perfectly. I can't wait for Volume 2...

Ambient Turntablism...



Philip Jeck - Host

I'm inclined to agree with The Wire that the music Philip Jeck produces is a bit special, and this CD doesn't do anything to shift my opinion. I've mentioned him before so I won't wax lyrical too much, I'll just give you the basics. Three tracks here, four if you count the video segment, each constructed using his old records/bit's of sticky tape/delay pedal formula - each track slightly more abrasive than the last, the final track being positively apocalyptical towards the end, reminded me a bit of early Techno Animal. The video track is very interesting as it details a live performance he did for a Belgian radio show, he really does use bits of sticky tape to create loops!

I'll be impressed if you can find any of these on Kazza.

Rare and obscure shite...



RJD2 - Your face or your kneecaps

OK, first up in today's "you ain't goning to get any of these in your local HMV"-fest is RJD2's sort of legendary mix CD. Well, maybe legendary is too strong a word, but I've certainly been aware of it's existance ever since I stumbled across his first proper CD - Deadringer. Anyway, back to the kneecaps - what you get here is an old skool soul/funk music mega mix, and a couple of extra tracks which don't quite fit into the megamix heading since they're alot more laid back. It's a good CD, if you want a joyous blast of obscure 60s/70s soul music then you can't go wrong.



Themselves - Live

This one is only available through there website apparently, so once again local record shops aren't going to be much use. I've been kicking myself about missing this group playing live since apparently they put on quite a show: whiteboards, projections, live programming and, according to the Wire, Dose One's devil manifestation routine is quite something to see... devil manifestation WTF! Anyway, this CD has a recording of there Peel Session plus songs and improvisations recorded in various European locations - not sure about the devil manifestation though, I don't think it translates to CD very well :-S.



Dose One - The Pelt

We're into some serious abstract shit here - essentially this is a book of (gulp!) poetry. There is also an accompanying CD with chopped up recordings of various passages from the book backed by tape hiss and general ambience. I find it nicely disturbing.

Last night's enforced brown nosing session wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, this was mainly down to vast quantities of Stella, which I highly recommend in any awkward social situations

I like this site, the humour appeals to me...



I've had a bit of a once over with the site, so finally there are some new pictures, new lists and new cds to oggle/despair over/consider to buy.



Got my car back yesterday, I've been driving a 1.6L Astra for the past week - which has hurt me both physically and mentally. Got my 1.6L Puma back, and they appear to have put a new engine in it, cos fuck me! it goes like the proverbial bat out of hell compared to the other car (I use the word 'car' loosely when talking about a *spit* Astra). I swear it didn't do that before - maybe it's just being away from it for a week and the absence making the heart go fonder, who knows?



I'd love a new car soon, since I've pretty much given up on being sensible (unless the right girl comes along...offers here please) the choices are: a Ford Focus RS, a Mazda RX-8 (wankle wankle wankle!) or if I'm feeling particularly silly a Lotus Elise Type 72.

Delayed due to leaves on the line...



Hymie's Basement - Hymie's Basement

Why? and Fog get together in Hymie's basement and bang out some wonderful wonderful tunes, and throw in some truely off kilter lyrics. For example, the last tune "You Die": a wonderful melody set off with organs, strings, droning bass and a lazy Sunday Morning beat, but with lyrics which don't make a blind bit of sense: "Hem my pants, On a brand new Earth, Do the Fug, On a speck of dust." eh? I get the impression that these two could bang out a tune you'd be humming all day while making a cup of tea.



Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Strange album, both members of Outcast take a disc each and basically produce a pair of solo albums. Completely overwealming, I haven't been able to make it through in one go yet - Big Boi ends up with the more traditional (for want of a better word) Outcast album, Andre 3000 picks up where Prince left off around about his Lovesexy era.



Marke B 03

Freebie German electronica compilation that turned up with this month's wire, some nice ambient stuff from DubTractor and Monolake, and the fantastically named Jahcoozi do a great little song about Fish.



The Distillers - Coral Fang

Kind of punky I guess, or grungey (hey kids! do you remember that) female fronted band. Good album, although they blow there best stuff in the first four songs - not in the least bit like Hole, honest...



Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

I'm all for the concept of bands giving themselves limitations in what instruments they use, look at the White Stripes (drums, guitar, voice), Morphine (two string slide bass, drums, baritone sax), Philip Jeck (Danitone Record Players, Vinyl, and well...dust). But the whole argument that Radiohead were somehow better when they stuck with the traditional rock group lineup is a pile of shite. The last three albums, including this one, are by far there best in my opinion...



After Dark Part 01

OK, a free CD with last Saturday's Daily Star, so expectations were low. Mostly shite, that crappy 'funky house' that gets played in so-called trendy bars full of people who probably think cocaine is a good idea, it's not - it's a drug for arrogant cunts who want to feel more arrogant, stick to the interesting trippy drugs kids! As the late great Bill Hicks once said, squeegee that third eye clean!... anyway. Soul-less crap.

About fucking time! Now, were is my flying car?

Oh crap, I do have some wine left...

For those paying attention this site has been quiet as I'm currently redesigning it. So goodbye black backgrounds, grey text and wannabe arty banners, and hello.... slightly less black, sort of yellowing ancient paper coloured text, and moody grey banners. I don't think I could be more Goth if I tried.



Anyway, enough wallowing: I like hip-hop, I like Star Wars - Put them together and what do you get? Well, this...