Can we have an encore?

Friday 30 October 2009




I had forgotten how incredible Faithless were. I heard a live track on the radio this afternoon and went mad on Youtube trying to find it. I wish I'd been at this gig, it looks immense. Enjoy!

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Paint.

Wednesday 28 October 2009



Sometimes I like painting pictures. Here are some of my favourites.

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Quote, Unquote, Fantastic Mr Fox.


I thought my life would take a turn for the better today, as my friend and I decided to break with culturally accepted norms and go to the cinema in the morning. We knew we wanted to take advantage of the delightful gift from Orange, only available on a Wednesday, and so popped on down to our local Odeon for a glance at some filmy goodness. Something struck me, as we kicked back in our moderately priced seats, all set for an eyeful of Universal Pictures' finest work, that living life like a child is extremely refreshing. The trailers were in full swing when we sloped into screen 10, and were just a delight for the senses. It was all aimed at people not much older than seven, with ads for Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, some space cartoon film, and the aforementioned Where the Wild Things Are, and I loved it! There was no bad language, no violence, and no 'scenes of a sexual nature', all things which have just become too commonplace in the usual sort of feature on offer.

Thrilled by this jovial slice of childhood innocence, my excitement was maintained at the prospect of watching a lovely little animation about foxes, but alas, my expectations were thwarted at the terrible eighty-seven minutes which were to proceed.

Fantastic Mr Fox has the potential to be incredible. The story came from the twisted and beautiful mind of children's author Roald Dahl (also responsible for Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and has captivated several generations of youngsters who enjoy his curious method of unraveling tales of wonder.

However, this film just does not work. The characters lack a great deal of sincerity and their likability factor is close to nil; the purposely bad animation could be seen as endearing, but instead is just difficult to watch; the actors' voices do not compliment the characters, apart from the young, unconventional hero Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), who only has about three good lines; and the quote, unquote Fantastic Mr Fox (George Clooney) has the most irritating habit of squeaking and twitching his mouth which is meant to be humorous, but instead is just outrageously grating. I'm shocked that this has received good reviews from certain critics, and hope that you all read this and decide to spend your money on something else! I suggest laser eye surgery. It will be more enjoyable.

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Once

Thursday 22 October 2009

Favourite song at the moment...

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Old vs New Media

Tuesday 20 October 2009


I was having a browse through The Guardian news website today, and came across an interesting article about new media and the power of online social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. In the article, media commentator Emily Bell, highlights the growing trend of news reaching people via web 2.0 sites before they hear about it through traditional platforms and the two versions of access becoming rivals rather than working together.

Bell notes in her piece, the two most recent stories where this has been the case; the Trafigura incident in which The Guardian received an injunction to prevent them from reporting anything about their plans to dump waste oil over the Ivory Coast, and all the Twitterers (or Twits?) under the sun getting hold of it and spreading it like a fine home made jam, all over the hot crumpety-like Internet. (You can tell I haven't had lunch yet.)

Then there was Moir-gate, in which Jan Moir of the Daily Mail made homophobic comments about Stephen Gately, and caused universal outrage on the net at her insensitive comments published shortly after his death. This caused many Internet users to barge their way onto the Mail's website and give them a piece of their mind, some people actually vomited onto their computer screens out of sheer indignation.

I think the statement that old media will be entirely replaced by its shiny, friendly, accessible contemporary is a rash one, but one that may have a fair few ounces of truth. The general public have grasped an extremely useful tool, and are using it as only human beings know how, to cause trouble. I for one, am more likely to learn of breaking news from my peers' Facebook statuses rather than by catching it on the wireless, and I don't know about you, but I sometimes prefer the brutal honesty that my friends tend to use to blurt out their tit bit of information. I heard about Micheal Jackson's death first on Facebook, and Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, and as soon as I knew, I told everyone I could, and assume that the ball just kept on rolling.

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Boing Boing

Monday 19 October 2009

I have been subscribed to this blog for a while now, and it's capacity to entertain, surprise and thrill its audience is always intriguing. Boing Boing is a definite hidden treasure of the internet, and has multiple interesting, multi-media posts on a daily basis. It's no intellectual giant, but it is good to peruse while coffee-breaking.

Find Boing Boing here <-----


PS. Here is an amazing animation they posted yesterday, I can't stop watching it!

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Where the Wild Things Are


New movie, Where the Wild Things Are, inspired by the delightful 1963 illustrated childrens' book by Maurice Sendak, is out in December, and I urge everyone to go and see it.

The trailer is just beautiful, accompanied by the song 'Wake Up' from alternative indie band Arcade Fire and the special effects which create the 'wild things' look really impressive.

Max Records, the young actor who plays the lead character, Max seems well suited to the task of playing the adventurous explorer and is set to win the hearts of housewives all over the country. Click here for a link to an interview with the little starlet. And here for a link to the trailer. Enjoy!

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Bat for Lashes Gig... Only in Liverpool



I was taken on a secret mystery day out for an early birthday present last week, and it turned out to be a very good surprise. As you may remember from an earlier post, I raved about new indie/hippie/crazy singer Natasha Kahn in her band Bat for Lashes, and last Saturday I got to see her! Happy.

She was on top form, sporting a cute blue T-Shirt dress, black 'wet-look' leggings and silvery- blue eye make up which only woodland fairies would dare to rival. She began her set with a mellow version of Horse & I, seated at her fairy light-adorned piano, tapping her feet and wincing occasionally as the mikes fed back with a slight ear-bending shriek; it all seemed to blend in with the weird and wonderful sounds that emerged from the other instruments on stage. It was girl power ahoy, with a female drummer and (ex-Ash) guitarist/ pianist who rocked out to even the most somber tunes. There was also a violinist who drew out haunting solos and added an orchestral atmosphere to the already mystical vibe on stage.

As with any gig, however, the audience make up a large part of the experience, and this time was no exception. The party goers insisted on chattering all the way through the quieter songs, and whenever Kahn stopped to take a breath, some loony would yell oafishly 'Marry me Natasha!' to which the elfish little female would blush and whisper 'thank you...' then continue with her haunting melodies. It all seemed a little incongruous, as if these Liverpudlian louts had smashed their way into a little girl's birthday party and thrown her dolls at the wall then stomped around a bit more. Tip of the month: do not go to melancholic gigs in Liverpool, unless you are indeed an oaf, then go ahead and stomp away.

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R.A.D.I.O

Wednesday 7 October 2009

This week my friend Sam, and I received the exciting news that we have a one hour slot on the Student Union radio station, Frequency, to begin broadcasting next week. The initial excitement was short-lived however, after we had bounded, gazelle-like back to Sam's house to begin recording some ground-breakingly phenomenal jingles for our show, only to find that both of us are fairly petrified of hearing the sound of our own voices and are often overwhelmed with bouts of crippling self-consciousness.

We also discovered that the seemingly relaxed and natural conversation that flows like a babbling brook from the mouths of seasoned professionals like Wogan and Moyles, is actually rather a tricky skill to grasp, and to couple this with an ability to co-ordinate the several thousand buttons and nobs which enable the actual show to be heard by anyone and enjoyed, is well, confusing to say the least.

Time will tell I suppose... tune in at www.frequencyradio.co.uk on Monday 12th October at 5pm.

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