Shockwave flash. So frequently overused in my opinion. But when it’s used properly, gawd can it be good! tokyoplastic is best known for its drummers but they’ve recently done another brilliant animation; The Little Fella. The whole site is an awesome orgy of sound and visuals and its eastern edge is simultaneously freaky and cute. It is one site that demands some time to be spent checking it out. In fact, I demand you take some time to check it out!
The Brit awards occurred recently. They’re boring. There were no surprises at all. Napalm Death didn’t perform. Coldplay and fellow pop-misery-fest, James Cucking Funt won 37 awards or something. Chris Martin announced; “You won’t see us at one of these for many years… We won’t see you for a long time, goodbye.” Bare in mind however, that before they released their last album, they also said that they were doing something completely new and that the new album would sound “completely different” to their previous one. Like it or not, this is without a doubt the biggest porkie pie ever. I’m sure these bastards will be hanging round for ever. At least someone had the decency to display a fitting tribute. Somewhat childish use of the word ‘poo’ perhaps, but pretty much completely on point. Taking lectures on Fair Trade off these Clear Channel money-spinners, is like taking advice on race-relations from Hitler.
> View the fitting tribute in question at the Wooster Collective
Saw a band last night; Nine Black Alps. It was a worthwhile trip. One of the mates I went with said he was reminded of Nirvana. A lazy comparison, but not a completely unreasonable one. Either way, they rocked. They played unpretentious, downright enjoyable grunge-rock. I’d only heard their 5-track EP before and a couple of the songs from that turned out to be probably the best of the evening; I’m pretty sure they played ‘Cosmopolitan’ twice. I’m told they said some pretty funny things about the beautiful scenic river that flows through Hull as well, although I missed that due to me being somewhat deaf.
Obviously I have a complaint. Not with the bands, they obviously put full effort into the whole evening, but with the venue. The gig was held at Hull University Union. This has never been the best place for a band to perform but hey, it’s what we’ve got. However the management seem determined to make a bad situation worse. They split the venue across two rooms and you weren’t allowed to buy or consume alcohol in the same room as the bands played. Now, I can get through a gig without drinking, but this just encourages people to miss the support acts and only pay attention once the main band starts to play. I can’t see this being welcoming for any bands which visit (which isn’t many, unfortunately). Maybe they just hate live music?
Also worth a quick mention; this weekend I saw d+b star High Contrast dj at the ever excellent Funky. I danced. Like a loon. As per usual. Brilliance.
Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing. I’m not an expert on the details; while I know it means you can’t be stopped from using your voice to express your point of view; though I’m not so sure about using someone else’s.
RX seems to be of the opinion that it’s fair play, and given the results, I’ll go along with it. Though there’s plenty of mashups of George W Bush speeches this is the first time I’ve heard him cover Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines” or “Imagine”. Give it a listen, they’re all free.
Make sure you give “Dick is a Killer” and “Let’s Get Fucked Up” a listen.
[edit: Dick is a killer seems better since Cheney got a bit handy with a shotgun -Ian]
Google maps is brilliant. Especially when people can leave each other charming messages like this. Search for “Billingley” on maps.google.co.uk then view the satellite photograph, zoom in a bit (3rd from the highest level of zoom will do) and go west (that’s left, people) a few hundred meters to the tan coloured field. Take that crop circles! A brief, yet confusing, suggestion for such frustration may be found in the villages wikipedia entry.
> View the exact location on google maps
via The Register
First things first. I like Greenpeace. They’re a group of well organised people who actually give a damn about our children and who can kick up a fuss to bring matters that need to be discussed into the limelight. I may not always agree with them (although more often than not, I do) but I love the way they open up intelligent debate. Hell… they even make me laugh sometimes! However, I feel they’ve really let me down with this latest advert. The question of nuclear power is one that this country definitely needs to answer. We can’t carry on as we are. We need something new, something different but I’m not convinced what… yet. However I do know that this type of scaremongering isn’t helpful.
Emissions, cost, disposal of waste, sustainability; all factors that need to be thought about, but risk of terrorism? I don’t think this is a healthy way to invoke intelligent debate. The video is blatantly designed to prey on the current scaremongering, reactionism and sensationalism that is prevalent in the less constructive mindset of today’s current climate. If we’re going down the path of “we can’t do that because of the risk of terrorism” then I’m never going to get on a bus again, or a train. Or go to a concert in a big city! If we think like this then the terrorists win. Come on Greenpeace. You’re better than this.
> Watch Greenpeace’s advert: ‘Your Worst Nightmare’
(note: It’s still not as sloppy a job as this anti-gun lobby effort.)
I went to the cinema twice last week. The first film was Spielbergs new effort; Munich. it’s a “fictional story, based on real events” that follows the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics crisis in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed. It was a good film, the pace was keen as the main character was plunged into the world of international terrorism. All the household favourites were there; The PLA, CIA, Red Army Faction, Mossad, HMV Megastores (okay, I lied about the last one) and it was an intriguing story as to how everyone was always trying to work out who they were dealing with. The main character was allocated a team of ‘experts’ and sent into Europe to kill the men behind the Munich plan. In struggling to do this, the main character ended up doing things towards the end of the film that you would not of thought possible at the start. There was a great deal of death and destruction, as one might imagine dealing with terrorists. However one part just left me thinking; “What the hell have I just watched?” It was a scene that quickly flicked back between one lot of footage to another. The first was of a couple making babies. Fair enough right? But that was combined with the pretty horrific gunning down of a load of Israelis at point blank range and as the guy climaxed, the final bullets tore through the remaining Israelis. I mean, i don’t mind graphic depictions of sex, i don’t mind graphic depictions of violence, but both at the same time? Not entirely sure what Spielburg was trying to do there. Unsuprisingly the film didn’t even attempt to address the suffering of the Palestinians. I’m not sure if it was the right time or the place, but lets be honest; it’s a Spielburg film. He was never even going to bother was he?
War is hell ‘eh? Talking of hell; Jarhead. The tagline for this film was ‘Welcome to the suck’ and it couldn’t of been more accurate. The best parts of it were lifted directly from Apocalypse Now. The film can be split into emotionally unstable crying men. The first bit was ‘This job sucks’, then ‘Does my girlfriend love me?’, followed by ‘The desert is so boring!’, ‘My girlfriend is a slag!’ and then finally ‘This sucks! I came all this way and didn’t get the chance to shoot any Ay-rabs!’ and a bit of ‘We’ve come home, my life is boring’. I found it hard to be sympathetic. It’s like the MTV generation hits Vietnam!
I’m sure there are young marines out there suffering in the desert, but I’m not sure they were represented properly by this film. There wasn’t even any exciting gun battles or any exciting erm, anything. I was only kept awake by the light relief provided by the questionably inbred antics of Pvt. Fowler “Hey, look! It’s a cock, but smaller!” It was long as well. The film, not the cock. Boring but at the end of the film I chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!”. Maybe thats the demographic they’re aiming for?
Next film i watch is going to be about fluffy bunnys or something. I’ve had my fill of human misery for a while.