As of today I've travelled roughly 18,122,618,600 miles around the sun. Apparently.

It's my birthday tomorrow, as part of the celebrations a few of us went to London Village for drinks. I think it was a reasonably successful evening: we got to watch Wales win the rugby in a bar full of traveller types, drank lots of different types of beer - I think everyone who could make it had fun, some people had more fun than others (heh heh...). Anyway, here's some pictures - mainly of Matt doing some break dancing in the middle of Waterloo. Rather amusing really.

I've also updated the CD page with a quality eighties compilation, and an mp3 of one of the most miserable songs ever to get into the charts.

eighties nostalgia

12"/80s
Before remixes became popular bands used to release 12" singles with alternate extended versions of there songs, not remixes as such but similar ideas. It's interesting to see how different bands coped with it, mainly the songs are simply extended, but some bands take a cheeky approach - the extended version of Tainted Love is a classic example, they just slap another song on to the end! Anyway, if you like your eighties music without cheese this is a great compilation. BTW, I make no apologies about the MP3...

MP3: Wonderful Life (12")

I've mentioned several times in the last couple of months that I intend to redesign this site, to be honest it's not going well. Whatever I come up with doesn't seem as good as any of the previous designs or the current design, so I'm leaning towards leaving things as they are.

However one thing I have decided on is to make the CD section a bit more interesting. It has been suggested to me that I go on about music a bit too much, and alot of the time it is about artists that could be considered a bit off the radar, so from now one I'm going to offer a new service.

Here's the deal: for each CD I buy I'm going to post an mp3, these are for evaluation purposes only! I am not here to increase your mp3 libraries, if you don't like the song delete them, if you do like them go and buy the albums. If by some slim chance a band who I've posted an mp3 by finds my site, Wow! Welcome! Of course if you want your mp3s removed it will be done immediately.

So there you go, enjoy the music.

/phil sits back nervously and hopes his bandwidth doesn't get hammered...

Long overdue...

Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives
New EP from one of my favourite MCs and proof that Def Jux still know what they are doing. Short and sweet, I really wish more hip hop artists would learn that less is more and maybe releasing bloated albums full of skits is annoying. This one comes with a book containing lyrics from all of previous albums, I'd like to say this offers some insight into his lyrics, but frankly it makes things even more confusing. Consider the following line chosen at random:

I work with the builders, widdle my gorilla military and fizzle 'em through the vigilante filters

Eh? Still if you just settle down and listen to his flow without worrying about the any meaning it's all rather good, and the production work is excellent too.

MP3: Zodiaccupuncture

Amon Tobin - Chaos Theory: Splinter Cell 3 Soundtrack
Amon Tobin has always made very cinematic music that cries out for visuals so it was only a matter of time before he made a soundtrack to something more tangible than his own imagination. Quite nice to see though that rather than soundtrack a film he was approached to soundtrack a videogame, hopefully this will mean videogames being taken a bit more seriously as a form of entertainment (So hopes Mr five games consoles in active duty). In the game Splinter Cell you play a shady character called Sam Fisher, the games emphasis is on stealth so demands a very atmospheric soundtrack. Amon Tobin provides this atmosphere in spades and also some more frantic moments which I assume are for the more action orientated moments. It will be interesting to see how this soundtrack works with the game...

MP3: Theme From Battery

Boom Bip - Blue Eyed in the Red Room
Boom Bip is a producer who seems to get associated with the left-field hip-hop collective Anticon probably for his collaboration with Dose One. This album isn't hip-hop at all really: no MCs, tons of live instrumentation to be honest a lot of it reminds me of the sort of thing people like Godspeed! You Black Emporer would do, dare I say it? Post-Rock?

MP3: The Matter (Of Our Discussion)

The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls
Punk Rock Cabaret Duo anyone? Well they wear alot of make up and are supporting Nine Inch Nails when they play in London at the end of March. They have a refreshingly bare lineup: piano, vocal, drums and no they do not sound like bloody Keane! Everthing is raw, stripped down to the bare essentials. It helps that they have a fantastic singer. Special mention must go to the song Coin Operated Boy which goes down in my book as one of the sweetest songs I've ever heard, but I can be a soppy old fart when I want to.

MP3: Coin Operated Boy

LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
If you have been anywhere near an mp3 blog over the past few months you will know all about this band. LCD Soundsystem make punky dance music with emphasis on dance, dance music that you don't have to be off your head on Es to enjoy.

MP3: Tribulations

M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
M83 are a french band who on there first album made big epic indie songs using banks of what must be officially big epic synthesisers. On the follow up album they've introduced started to offically rock! What I mean is there songs now have guitars and very very loud drums in places. It does get a prog rock in places, but when they are on form they make some of the most awe inspiring and occasionally bloody terrifying music (case in point: Car Crash Terror) I own.

MP3: Car Chase Terror

Mogwai - Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2004
I've seen Mogwai play live a couple of times, the most memorable was at Glastonbury - watching them blaze through My Father My King (there fun-filled 20 minute version of a Jewish Prayer) in front of a slightly stunned looking crowd as the sun came up and dried the rain from us all rates pretty close to a spiritual moment for a heathen like me. This disc is probably as close as you can get to Mogwai live

MP3: Hunted by a Freak

Sage Francis - A Healthy Distrust
It's late, and I'm too tired to write anymore, so I'm going to go the lazy route. Sage Francis is the Henry Rollins of Hip Hop.

MP3: Escape Artist

Hunter S Thompson commits suicide :'(

I'm starting to run out of people who I vaguely consider heroes...

I have a cold, it sucks... I had plans, and they have been scuppered by a simple illness! Now I know how the Martians felt like in War of the Worlds.



Anyway, in the abscence of anything decent to write here is a picture of a baby with parasitic head, and here are some pictures of my Friday night.

Angels of Light Akron/Family European Tour | NEWS | YOUNG GOD RECORDS



Note to self: find somewhere that sells tickets to the UK dates.

A little something for all the smug happy couples:

and yes, I am bitter.

A couple of pictures from Joe and Matt's joint birthday celebrations. The rest of the weekend was spent sitting on my sofa playing on my PSP, as much as I try to consider videogaming as more software than hardware based I can't help but look at PSP with something approaching lust.

Right... Nine Inch Nails. If you're a fan of them you may want to head over to nin.com where you can listen to a 30 second (wow! that's generosity for you) clip of music from the soon to be released album. I'm going to see them at the end of March - I'm dragging a few friends along with me this time (although it's tempting to flog the tickets considering the silly amounts of money being bid on eBay for them) I'm sure they'll be able to decide whether they like NIN based on a 30 second sample of music...

At some point this website will rise from its self inflicted ashes, there is a plan - honestly.

In the meantime here are some pictures of the Kasabian, Goldie Lookin Chains, Babyshambles gig I went to last night. Babyshambles didn't show up (not that I care really), the GLC were a little disappointing - there is only so much entertainment that can be divulged from a dozen or so welsh blokes jumping around the stage randomly, Kasabian were actually quite impressive - I did rather like the song that ended every line with a word that rhymed with 'round'.

In other news my Nintendo DS has a new friend in the form of a shiny new Japanese PSP, they both seem to be getting along - no fights yet.

I really should not be let near an internet connection whilst horribly depressed (fuck you work!) and in possession of a credit card. I may have just ordered a Japanese Playstation Portable...