He Not Busy Being Born is Busy Dying

Come to this !

2008-06-20T13:57:00.000+01:00

Hi! I'm still alive.... Come to this!

Come to this!

2008-04-22T14:44:00.003+01:00

I'll just bid farewell till we meet again

2008-04-01T11:46:00.003+01:00

Hello.

You may have realised that I'm not writing here much anymore. This is because I can't find the time to, and after two or so years, I'm finding it harder to find any inspiration. Perhaps I have outgrown the blogging world? Who knows. Anyway, this will be my last post. I'll be retiring my blog from today.

I'll be cleaning up some of the links and stuff so the page will still be active. This means that if the world is obliterated by nuclear armageddon and this is all that remains of humanity then the aliens who eventually will visit this planet may well think that the human race was obsessed with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, that they enjoyed watching teams like Southampton FC and that they were obviously very simple people who got themselves locked into the toilet on a regular basis.

I'll still be writing for Rockbeatstone and I may well return to the world of blogging in the future with other projects, if I find the time. You can also come and see my gig nights at the Windmill in Brixton, London which will be continuing for the foreseeable future. In other long-term news I'll be visiting the USA in the Summer for a couple of weeks which will be fun.

So good luck to all and thanks for reading, I hope I entertained you with my frivolity. I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from the greats of the rock and roll world. Never forget these quotes, they're great to put into conversation at any point possible. These are two which will never leave me:

"They say the darkest hour, is right before the dawn" (Bob Dylan)

"It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win" (Bruce Springsteen)

Restless Farewell

Does anyone hear the music they play?

2008-02-15T16:59:00.003Z

For no reason whatsoever, here is a list of all the Bob Dylan concerts I have attended:

19 Sept 2000 - Metro Arena, Newcastle.
02 May 2002 - Ahoy, Rotterdam.
11 May 2002 - London Arena.
12 May 2002 - London Arena.
10 Nov 2003 - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam.
11 Nov 2003 - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam.
15 Nov 2003 - Wembley Arena, London.
23 Nov 2003 - Brixton Academy, London.
18 June 2004 - Cardiff International Arena.
20 June 2004 - Finsbury Park, Fleadh Festival, London.
19 April 2005 - New Jersey Peforming Arts Centre, Newark, NJ.
20 Nov 2005 - Brixton Academy, London.
21 Nov 2005 - Brixton Academy, London.
22 Nov 2005 - Brixton Academy, London.
23 Nov 2005 - Brixton Academy, London.
24 Nov 2005 - Brixton Academy, London.
27 June 2006 - Cardiff International Arena.
8th April 2007 - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam.
9th April 2007 - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam.
15th April 2007 - Wembley Arena, London.
16th April 2007 - Wembley Arena, London.
17th April 2007 - Birmingham International Arena.
27th April 2007 - Datchforum, Assago, Milano.

And now a list of all the Rolling Stones concerts I have attended:

8 June 1999 - Wembley Stadium, London.
19 Aug 2003 - Amsterdam ArenA.
22 Aug 2006 - Twickenham Stadium, London.
21 August 2007 - O2 Arena, London.

And a list of all the Charlatans concerts I have been to:

15 Dec 2001 - Wembley Arena, London.
11 Feb 2002 - Astoria, London.
6 July 2002 - Finsbury Park, London (supporting Oasis).
3 May 2004 - Islington Academy, London.
5 June 2004 - Brighton Dome, Brighton.
20 June 2004 - Finsbury Park (with Bob Dylan @ the Fleadh), London.
8 Dec 2004 - Shepherds Bush Empire (with Ronnie Wood joining the band).
16 Dec 2004 - Brixton Academy, London.
5 May 2006 - Brixton Academy, London.
22 Aug 2006 - Twickenham Stadium (supporting the Stones).
8 Dec 2006 - Brixton Academy, London.

Three Angels

Valentines can't buy her

2008-02-14T17:49:00.001Z

What not to get a loved one today.

Love Minus Zero / No Limit

What some people are gonna do for money

2008-02-07T17:35:00.000Z

R.I.P. Premiership Football. You have finally disgusted me to such a point that I no longer care that my beloved Saints are not in the top league.

You can take your football and stick it up your arse.

See what I'm on about.

Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Blues

Sometimes even the President [...] has to stand Naked

2008-02-05T13:03:00.000Z

Congrats to Sarkozy and Carla Bruni for their marriage announcement, and teh subsequent slip that she was preggers makes me believe he was almost forced into this situation. She is quite a good singer though. This one is probably for French Speakers only...

In other President related news, it's Super Duper Tuesday today. I'm already bored of it, we'll know a lot more after today that's for sure, but I think I just don't care anymore. Let's hope that American's don't feel this way either.

It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

Politician got on his jogging shoes

2008-01-22T11:45:00.000Z

Put-down of the week.. Barak Obama to Hilary Clinton.

"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."

That's why he should win... but what do I know ?

Summerdays

Down these streets the fools rule

2008-01-15T17:49:00.001Z

I've been busy organising this!

Backstreets IV. At the Windmill in Brixton, London on Friday February 8th 2008. Tickets are £4 on the door or available in advance from We Got Tickets.

We've got, Official Secrets Act whom the guardian like, Philedelphia Main Line who feature the brother of the dude from Jet, The Kits who rock like there is no tomorrow and a return for Alphabet Backwards as I liked them so much last time. Plus me choosing songs in between and guest DJs at the end. It's a great day out for all the family. More info here.

In related news, I've finally had the second part of my article on Bootlegging completed, written a review of the soundtrack to Dylan's film, I'm Not There, and also we've got the return of Rockbeatstone TV (expect one for January up soon!).

Band of the Hand (It's Hell Time Man!)

Bring the whole family

2008-01-10T17:48:00.000Z

The government today announced that it is to plough ahead with new nuclear power stations. I do not agree with this policy at all and can see numerous issues surrounding security and the proposed 'enviornomental' benefits of Nuclear power vs traditional power generation. And the nuclear body seems hell bent on telling us all that wind/wave/solar are too unstable and expensive options.

But their might be a little bit more behind this decision. Gordon Brown, PM has a younger brother called Andrew Brown who happens to work for EDF Energy, the UK subsidary of the French state owned energy company that is proposing to build new nuclear plants in the UK. You can read more about how the Nuclear Power lobby has muscled its way into government's machinery at this website here.

What pisses me off is that this is surely such a large issue worthy of proper debate and decision making that we could be making a decision which impacts on humanity in millions of years to come and it all might be coming down to who knows who. People tell me I am naive and idealistic, but surely there are some areas in politics which are out of bounds.

Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Blues

A year has passed and gone (again)

2007-12-28T16:58:00.000Z

It's that time of the year again.. End of year lists. An easy way for me to increase my blog-post quota by one... Click here to read what I thought of last year.

Album of the year

To be honest not much has really grabbed my attention this year apart from a Bruce Springsteen's Magic which is probably my favourite record and his best since The River. Great tunes which mixes political commentary with great pop-rock tunes. And it's a grower, even after an intensive few months of listening to it.

Also released this year which I adored was Wilco's Sky Blue Sky. A subtle recording which reveals more and more as time passes by. Like a fine wine really. I also bought the Hold Steady's recent album, Boys & Girls in America, which absolutely rocks, but I've already given them an award (see below) and don't want them to hog all the limelight.

Other albums of note include the Felice Brothers latest release, the Tailors album, Wakey Wakey - which I still listen to and love - and Babyshambles latest album, Shotters Nation which, I'm quite surprised to say, is brilliant.

Winner is.... Bruce Springsteen for Magic, for reminding me that old men can still release a vital, riveting and lively album (please take note Mr Dylan).

Concert of the year
Tough one this. I think the Hold Steady's second gig of the year that I saw at Camden's Electric Ballroom would have to be up there. As would their first gig. Wilco at Shepherds Bush was equally brilliant. Arcade Fire at Brixton was great too, although I ended up seeing them five times this year and was pretty bored by the end.

Travelling to Italy and Amsterdam to see Bob Dylan were other highlights, although not necessarily musically... it was more about the people I was meeting and the drinking. One thing is for sure the Milano crowd for Dylan were the nuttiest I've ever seen. They really are starved of good music out there.

Other concerts of note, the Magic Numbers doing a secret acoustic gig at the Windmill, my gig nights at the Windmill, and Metallica at Wembley. Because it was Metallica.

My final decision would have to be the Hold Steady at Camden Electric Ballroom. Because they made me fall in love with rock and roll all over again.

Next year I have a few concerts lined up already including multiple Springsteen nights in London and Helsinki, Two Cow Garage at the Windmill in Brixton and possibly the Broken Family Band.

TV Show of the year

Haven't really watched TV this year. I hate Dr Who, I hate Heroes and Lost and all that bollox. I enjoyed Skins (but can't remember if that came out this year or last). But there was one stand-out. The Sopranos ended in style. Absolute style.

Winner: the Sopranos. For remaining true to the spirit of the show and providing an unconventional and brilliant ending.

Film of the year

This should be easy. Shockingly, I only went to see one film this year... The Simpsons Movie. This wins by default, the two greatest words in the English language (obscure Simpsons joke for the fans there). It was hilarious though. I am going to double that count with a trip to the cinema tonight to see the film on Dylan's life, I'm Not There.

Winner: the Simpsons Movie.

Bob Dylan's Dream

With music in my ears

2007-12-10T17:01:00.000Z

You may have realised that I've added a new application to this blog. It's a music player which streams tunes from all over the net through to my blog. So you will now have a random song whenever you choose to visit this blog. I've called it He Not Busy Being Born is Busy Dying FM.

Due to technical issues, I've had to place the player at the bottom, so scroll down to see the player and choose tracks.

Here are my first picks and I'll quickly go through the reasons why I chose these tunes. I'll be adding more songs over the coming weeks and will also write about why I chose them.

'Man in Me' by Bob Dylan
Bob in love and for once he's not pissed off at her. Used in the Big Lebowski. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

'Backstreets' by Bruce Springsteen
See my last blog post!

'Shut the Fuck Up' by Cake
Cake are awesome. I saw them at Latitude for the first time ever. From their album Fashion Nugget. They funked and rocked their way through their set with no setlist or idea of how long they had to play. They just didn't give a fuck and delivered one of the best sets all weekend.

'Running To Stand Still' by U2
Hmmmm. I listened to this repeatedly for a while back in October 2007. Not going to go into that but for a few days it was a very special song indeed and one which helped. And I hate Bono. I then ignored it until last week where it came on random on my iPod. And now I'm listening to it all over again.

'Massive Nights' by The Hold Steady
I've had a few massive nights with the Hold Steady. The song encapsulates the wild spirit of rock and roll. I absolutely love it. From Boys and Girls in America.

'Up To Me' by Bob Dylan
Outake from Blood on the Tracks. It's as good as anything on the album. Think of it as a hidden bonus song or something.

'Jungleland' by Bruce Springsteen
New Jersey ? The protagonist's mind ? My mind ? Who knows. All I know is that it is beautiful. Especially the last lines. And the amazing saxophone solo makes me cry. Every time. From Born to Run.

'Killer Parties' by The Hold Steady
The soundtrack to waking up on the sofa at someone's house the morning after a massive party with empty beer cans, cigarette stubs and rubbish all over the room. Amazing.

'I Think I Smell A Rat' by The White Stripes
The White Stripes at their most bluesy. Brilliant in the live context. Come on Meg, fuck that anxiety attack - go back on the road!

'One True Vine' by Wilco
Outtake from their recent album, Sky Blue Sky. This is awesomely lovely. The reason it's on here is that, for some reason, I don't have the song at home.

'ELT' by Wilco
From Summerteeth. So true and a great song to sing when you're drunk.

'Ballad Of Lou The Welterweight' by The Felice Brothers
Saw these guys at the Windmill in Brixton. They came, they saw, they conquered my heart. I love them.

'Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)' by Kenny Rogers
Again from the Big Lebowski (does it have the best soundtrack? Possibly!). A song about LSD, although in an anti-LSD way.

'Gun' by Jeff Tweedy
"Falling out of love, dear/It hurt much worse when you gave up". Fuck yeah Tweedy, write the lyrics of my life why don't you.

'Itchycoo Park' by Small Faces
Now for the pro-drug songs! It's just very happy and makes me smile even though M&S have nicked it for their ad campaign.

'Eight Miles High' by The Byrds
Another pro-drugs song. Great guitars on here. Simply astounding flower-power noise.

'Simple Twist Of Fate' by Jeff Tweedy
Been listening to this a lot. I never thought the original could be bettered. But I was wrong. I love the fact that he sings the Live 1975 lyrics too.

'Totem Pole' by Dan Sartain
Saw this guy last week. He is the new White Stripes. I went a little bit deaf in my left ear.

'I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight' by Lucero
Also saw this band last week. Great country-punk. Songs to get drunk to. This is a live version of the song which features on their most recent album.

'Kitty’s Back' by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Possibly the most amazing Bruce song live (at least recorded live). The live version I have is about 20 minutes long... This is a slightly different one, from 1978 (I think). I just love the tempo changes and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

'I See You, You See Me' by The Magic Numbers
A live version of this song. I've seen them countless times at festivals. Everytime I go not expecting to be excited as I have seen them loads of times before. And everytime this song absolutely kills. It's just so beautiful and moving and it without fail makes me cry.

'Stuck Between Stations' (Acoustic) by The Hold Steady
An acoustic version because I hadn't heard this before. It's got great opening lines. Possibly the best opening lines ever.

'Sylvia Plath' by Ryan Adams
Another beautiful song. I guess every man wants his Sylvia Plath.

Went to See the Gypsy

King of the streets

2007-12-07T14:30:00.000Z

I've been spending the last half hour going through videos on YouTube. It all started with a link to a Tom Waits video and ended up me watching this video below. It's 'Backstreets' by the Boss from 1975. YouTube is fucking great. Name an artist and you'll find some amazing videos. There's just hundreds of hours of videos up there on all your favourite artists at the touch of a button and for free!

There are two reasons why I am writing about this:
1) I got tickets to see him in London and Helsinki in 2008.
2) It's one of my favourite songs, and I've even named by band night at the windmill after it.

Anyway, I wanted to reproduce some of the comments here that were posted to the YouTube video. These are funny for many different ways. They kind of portray what I think about the show and the song.

"why did i have to be born in the frickin nineties "

"The warts define this performance. His voice is in tatters and still perfectly conveys the emotion. Bruce is a soul man at heart. Plus the band is absolutely COOKING."

"I've never seen anything like this, ever. He's known to be one of the best but at the same time he's so terribly underated. There is no one like him. "

"I have seen the future of rock and roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen "
--> "Correction. You have seen rock and roll at it's best. Anything that's come since have been left trailing in his dust "

Joey

Advertising signs that con you

2007-12-06T13:39:00.000Z

I feel terrible. I saw this headline on the Guardian website:

More than half of Amazon will be lost by 2030, report warns

and the first thing I thought about was the bloody online shop.

It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding

Like in the middle of Life magazine

2007-12-04T15:29:00.000Z

Music fans, especially older ones, will no doubt have heard all about this. Morrissey (who will be affectionally referred to as Mozza in this article) was interviewed by the NME. The published article seems to have some comments which could be construed as racist - certainly they appear to have racist undertones.

Mozza is claiming that his remarks were taken out-of-context and twisted by the NME who wanted to create a sensationalist piece in order to boost fledgling sales. You can read Mozza's full rebuttal over at Rockbeatstone. I'm no massive Mozza fan myself, but I can understand why he's pissed off. The fact of the matter is that he's been set-up royaly by the NME.

I was alerted to this by my mate Will with whom I had an empassioned discussion on this topic on Friday - while standing outside a pub sheltering from the rain, smoking rolled up Golden Virginia, in Brixton. We both agreed the NME had gone to shit, much like Mozza suggests in his rebuttal. One thing they may not have considered is how passionate some of his fans are. They make the Dylan freaks look sane.

Here's what they wrote on Conor McNicholas' (editor at NME) wikipedia entry... It will probably change soon, so I've copied the text as I read it at 15:30 on Tuesday 4th December. Go people power. It will be interesting to see how this all ends. It seems as if it will end in the courts... Still some good has come out of this - he probably can't afford this kind of publicity! And he's going on tour soon and has a future album to flog to record labels.

Conor McNicholas is editor of IPC-run music magazine The New Musical Express, better known as the NME. He sold the magazine down the river in the early 2000s by focusing on inconsequential tabloid rubbish and loads of boring identikit, indie-schmindley, pseudo-rebellious bands. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to a rodent, but has never let this get in the way of his magazine's worship of groundbreaking artists such as Dominic Masters.

His first professional post on a magazine was on a fledgling Manchester publication called Sub where he wrote a spoof horoscope under the pen name of Snufkin, which was not all funny. McNicholas went on to write for the dance press holding senior positions at both Ministry and Mixmag magazines before going on to edit Muzik.

In recent years he has turned the NME into a mainstream pop-magazine, with Lily Allen and The Mighty Boosh appearing on the front cover.

During his editorship Conor has won several industry awards including Consumer Magazine Editor of the Year (Periodical Publishers Association Editorial and Publishing Excellence Awards, May 2005), Entertainment Magazine Editor of the Year (British Society of Magazine Editors, November 2005), Tour of the Year for the NME Awards Tour 2006 (Vodafone Live Music Awards, October 2006), Editor of the Year and Music Magazine of the Year (Record of the Day Music Journalism and PR Awards, November 2006 ) and Brand Building Initiative of the Year for Club NME (British Society of Magazine Editors, November 2006).

In October 2007 Conor was listed as one of the 1000 most influential people in London by the Evening Standard.

In 2007 Conor was one of the judges for the Mercury Music Prize. The winning album was Myths Of The Near Future by Klaxons.

However, there has been some criticism over McNicholas's reign as editor, especially over claims that the quality of writing had slipped, the genres of music covered have become less broad and that the magazine now contains less content than in previous years.

In unrelated music news, I've written a piece for Rockbeatstone on Babyshambles' new album, Shotters Nation. The album is actually very good. Not bad for a smack head.

Last Thoughts on Woodie Guthrie

I'm just thankful and grateful

2007-11-23T12:12:00.000Z

It's Thanksgiving day/weekend in the US of A. Which is nice for them. I'm not sure why they get so excited about it, but it surely is only their version of Harvest Day here in the UK? I don't know enough about the history of it to be honest.

I remember Harvest Day as a child growing up in Sussex. We'd collect food at school and then deliver them to old people in the village as a nice gesture - and we got the afternoon off school. I remember being attacked by someone's dog as well. That was funny. Although not at the time, I was only eight.

Anyhow, happy thanksgiving to the US readers of this blog. Here's the Willam Burroughs poem called "Thanksgiving Day November 28 1986". I'm sure this will offend many, but it's mainly tongue in cheek (mainly...).

Seeing the Real You At Last

Emptied the trash

2007-11-22T14:51:00.001Z

England 2 Croatia 3. Ho Hum..

A joke making the rounds on the net - What's the difference between England and Lewis Hamilton? At the end of the day, Lewis still has a McLaren..

Million Dollar Bash

Uncle fought in Vietnam and then he fought a war all by himself

2007-11-08T12:40:00.000Z

At the moment, this blog is being reduced to a series of weird and wonderful YouTube videos. For this apologise, I know it's a little bit lazy.

Hope you enjoy this one too. It's Winnie the Pooh meets Apocalypse now - or Apoohcalypse Now.

Legionnaires Disease

This wheel's on fire

2007-11-01T13:55:00.000Z

It's fireworks night in the UK tomorrow. Here's a public service video from the 1970s. Do you know where your kids are tonight?

This Wheel's on Fire

In the hot New Jersey night

2007-10-31T16:26:00.000Z

See below for a map of Bruce Springsteen's New Jersey. You can see all of the sights in his songs.... If you can't see it properly, then click here.

In related news I'll be going over to Proud Galleries this weekend to see this new photo exhibition on the Boss. Rock n Roll photo exhibitions are often the best - there's some great rock and roll photography out there and I'm hoping that this Springsteen one can match the Dylan exhibition I saw at Proud a few years ago.

In other news, I've written a review of Lucero's last album and interviewed soon to be indie mega-stars, It Hugs Back.

Hurricane

A good car to drive after a war

2007-10-23T16:57:00.000+01:00

A piece of bad news came today. My gig for Wilco at Brixton Academy was cancelled. Due to "band illness", no other news yet, hopefully someone from the band will so the right thing and release a statement with news of rescheduled shows next year or something.

Below is a video of 'Radio Cure' from their amazing I Am Trying to Break Your Heart DVD. Get it, watch it, it's great.

Second piece of news, is that Bob Dylan is doing an advert for a gas-guzzling Cadillac SUV. Lots has been said/debated about Dylan doing adverts before - it seems that he is still the only artist whose music cannot be used in adverts. I don't really have a problem with that - just a problem that he chose to sponsor a car which so harms the environment. I guess he doesn't give a toss though. Going back to Wilco they recently used one of their new songs in a VW advert in the US of A. You can see clips of the Dylan/Cadillac advert and Wilco advert below. Dylan on film still always manages to crack me up.

Talkin' World War III Blues

In broken French

2007-10-16T17:36:00.000+01:00

Danny Kelly, football broadcaster and radio presenter, writes on Southampton FC legend, Matt Le Tissier. I've spoken about him before. But here's a little youtube reminder of how great he was, first. I like the way he writes about Matt and it is a loving tribute for one of the greats of the game who is likely to be forgotten because he played for a "small" team.

“Rock and roll”, boogie bigwig Bob Seger once sagely observed, “tends to forget”. So, it seems, do football fans. I am really struggling to understand the reaction to this week’s announcement that Matt le Tissier, of the Channel Islands, Southampton and England, has retired.

I am mystified in two ways. First, by the actual paucity of column inches devoted to the man with the lop-sided face. All right, he took his leave on the same weekend that the Queen Mother did but I’m still astonished so few words has been written about Le Tiss.

Second, what little ink has been spilt over his departure has been tinged with the bitterest bile. The line of argument seems to be “good riddance to a fat waster who chucked away what modicum of talent he had”.

This, I have to say, is incredibly spiteful. And wrong.

So I come not to bury Matt but to praise him. In an age when footballers seem almost universally to walk on feet of clay, and where our own experiences, and letdowns, make it almost impossible to have a footballing hero, Matthew le Tissier is almost beyond reproach. I don’t know how he could have arranged things so that his departure could have been more spectacular or more widely noted. All I know is that he was a one-off, a truly remarkable footballer and that we shall honestly not see his like again.

I suppose that I’m so shaken by his going because he really does represent the passing of an age. Of several actually. Like some strange hybrid dinosaur, Le Tissier represented a number of marvellous strains of the Genus Footballerus, and his tearful farewell at St Mary’s last weekend means the DNA may well have been lost forever. With his final bow, we may have seen the last of such once-revered species as The Lazy Footballer, The Maverick Footballer, The Fat Footballer and The One Club Man.

Let’s deal with the fat/lazy thing first. The Guernseyman is 6-foot-1 and for most of his career weighed in at 13 stone. Hardly likely to win him Slimmer Of The Year but no heavier than, say, recent Footballer Of The Year David Ginola. Whatever his waistband, there’s no point denying that Le Tissier was not the most athletic fellow ever to grace the greensward, but that was of little comfort to the defences that he regularly tortured before age and infirmity caught up with him. Somehow, from inside that shambling frame he found the right physical stuff to do his wonderful job.

In all, this supposed tub of lard has turned out 541 times for Southampton (starting 463 matches) and managed to drag his lazy arse into position to score against supposedly superior athletes on a mere handful of occasions. A mere 210 occasions to be precise! And what goals!

In the years running up to the emergence of David Beckham, nobody scored a greater number of spectacular efforts. Equally, all of Le Tissier’s goals seemed to be fantastic. The fellow seemingly never managed a tap-in or a bobbler; they were all twinkling dribbles, howitzer blasts or geometric chips. They used to say that you were either a great goal scorer (Lineker, quantity over quality) or a scorer of great goals (Gascoigne in his prime, or Bobby Charlton); Le Tissier was both. He was also, for the record, statistically the best penalty taker in the top division in the Nineties.

Even more damaging to his reputation than the fat thing has been the accusation that he is a maverick, that he cannot fit a team pattern. On the surface, this argument would appear to hold much water. A succession of England managers were too frightened of Le Tissier’s supposed lack of team play to put him in the national side. But the players who he played with week-in, week-out knew better. They realised that if they were prepared to run the extra yard for their genius colleague, to graft that bit harder to gain him a yard of space, a speck of time, he would reward them with the most precious coins in football’s currency, a pile of magical, win-bonus bringin’, relegation-avoidin’ goals and assists.

And Le Tissier was completely aware of his shortcomings. Barry Horne sweated and grafted and ran and toiled for Matt for several seasons in Southampton’s midfield. The Welshman recently told me that after every game, when people would be clamouring to congratulate and lionise Le Tissier, the winger would take time out to personally thank his team-mates for their efforts on his behalf.“To be thanked by a pure footballing genius”, Horne said, “was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

There are those too who criticise Le Tiss for not leaving Southampton and trying his luck at a bigger club. Again, Horne has been enlightening. In the early Nineties, Le Tissier had indeed agreed to join one of the capital’s giants. At the last minute he went to that club’s manager and asked to be released from his obligation, saying he couldn’t bear to leave either Southampton the football club or Southampton the city. Of course he can be accused, in the modern parlance, of “lacking ambition”, but, ultimately, he followed his heart (exactly as he did when playing the game) and which of us can say that that is ever a bad thing?In sticking by the team he loved, he probably sacrificed a wheelbarrow full of cash. To some that might make him a fool. To me, and millions of other football fans, it assures his status as a hero.

It is ironic that the player who most closely matched Le Tissier for pure skill should have been the Saint’s nemesis. Glenn Hoddle never forgave the Southampton man for his admittedly lacklustre performance (of which he was by no means alone!) against Italy when England lost the World Cup qualifier at Wembley in February 1997. Hoddle dropped him from the squad and waited a year before giving the wing wizard an ultimatum at the back end of the following season: Show me what you can do and you’ll go to the World Cup. The supposedly lackadaisical Le Tissier scored seven goals in Saints’ last nine fixtures and, in a B international against Russia that the press rightly regarded as a trial for the Southampton man, he scored a hat-trick. And hit the woodwork twice. Yet Hoddle didn’t even include Le Tissier in the provision squad for France 98.

Things were never the same after that. Except, that is, for one glorious day last May. They were playing the last ever match at The Dell, the ramshackle ground that Southampton had occupied for a lifetime.T he greatest player ever to regularly grace that pitch (with apologies to Ron Davies. Mike Channon, Terry Paine, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer) was on the bench. Southampton and Arsenal were sharing four goals when Le Tiss finally meandered out onto the sun-washed grass.

Of course he scored the last ever goal at the ground. Of course it was a last minute winner. And of course it was an absolute stunner. Further, it was proof that the gods of football are still taking a very active interest in what goes on and that they have a special place in their hearts for the stroller from Guernsey. It remains one of my favourite ever goals, and Matthew le Tissier is one of my favourite footballers.

I love the way he played. I loved the fact that he owned a nightclub. I love the fact he shagged busty actress Emily Symons out of Home And Away/Emmerdale. I have even forgiven him for not joining Spurs.

His passing from the game should not be a matter for carping and pettiness.Instead there should be bunting in the street, a nationwide ringing of bells and a recognition that this was, as Saints fans have always averred, a God.

© Danny Kelly 2002

Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag

But it's like I'm stuck inside a painting

2007-10-15T15:28:00.001+01:00

Ladies and Gentleman...Bob Dylan the artist. It is going on display in Germany. Expect it to go for a fortune even if he isn't the best artist in the world (see also: Ronnie Wood's art). I like it though, it could have been a great cover to Blood on the Tracks (not that the cover isn't great already).

Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight

Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight

2007-10-11T11:23:00.000+01:00

Many people have been blogging about this new TV series (well, new in the UK) called Flight of the Conchords. It's an HBO comedy that is set in New York where two aspiring rock and roll stars (who also happen to be from New Zealand) are trying to get somewhere with their music. It's very Curb Your Enthusiasm, although the difference comes with the songs which are parodies (obviously). They break into song in the episodes. And these songs are truly funny. They take the piss out of artists, genres and themselves in such a brilliant manner.

Here are a couple of the best, youtube even has full episodes which you can watch (until HBO taken 'em down):

"I can't believe, that i'm sharing a kebab with the most beautiful girl I have ever seen with a kebab"

"I rap about reality like me and my grandma drinking a cup of tea"

In other me news. The gig night went very well, thank you. Some great bands on stage. I've also written a review of Manu Chao's new record, La Radionlina.

Chimes of Freedom.

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people

2007-10-04T15:45:00.000+01:00

This is kind of my bootleg series. Something I wrote but which hasn't be published. But I'm doing it here. It's my review of the Concert for Diana which I wrote in real time in the Summer. I think it's quite funny to be honest.... Let me know what you think, perhaps this takes you back. Christ that concert was shit.

Quite possibly the worst idea for a concert ever - the Princess Diana concert has been organised to...well I don't really know why. It all seems like an attempt to keep the memory of Diana alive and we all know how much the English people love this kind of thing, allows us to wallow in some kind of national moment of melancholy, happiness and respect. Happy Birthday to Lady Di who would have been 46 this year.

Although this will be published after the event, I am writing this in real time. I know that many regular readers will be interested in how this event went, but were probably busy mowing the lawn. No fear, Rockbeatstone is on hand to give you the complete low-down. Please read on as I go through all of the acts and comment on the sycophantic and disgusting TV coverage. This is very much a real-time blog affair, I'll be writing my comments down as they come into my mind.

Pre-concert
The interviewer woman in the stadium to a couple who are all dressed up in Union Jack costumes. "Who do you want to see?""Elton John. But otherwise I'm most excited about seeing William and Harry"

Jamie Theakston has just described Supertramp as "sophisticated". He's going through all the music Diana loved, apparently ‘Lady in Red' was her favourite song. "As a child Diana also loved to dance and in 1976 won her school dancing competition", whittles Jamie, trying to justify the idea behind the concert. Like who gives a flying fuck?

Now Andrew Marr, ex-senior political correspondent with the BBC and former editor of the Independent is being interviewed for some reason. Has the entire BBC gone mad? He's most looking forward to seeing Status Quo and Lily Allen. "Lilly is a big favourite of mine". Hmmmm...

"The eyes of the world are on Wembley Stadium", says Theakston. Hang on a minute Jamie, I think you're overstating how much people in Africa, Asia and South America give a shit. I'm sure the people of the refugee camps in Darfur are tuned in though. A kind of real life tragedy that Diana may have highlighted had she been alive.

4pm - Elton, James Morrison and Lily Allen
Elton's on the stage. 1st act and he's doing ‘Song for You'. First reaction to Wembley Stadium - loads of empty seats. Maybe it's not only the rest of the world who doesn't give a flying toss. He's now introducing the event and has brought on HRH Prince William and Prince Harry. They're now introducing the concert. "This evening is all about what my mother loved in life". Polite applause from the crowd. Harry gets vaguely political by saying hello to his squaddie mates in Iraq. "We want you to have an awesome time," says Willy. Somehow the ‘awesome' sounds completely forced as if he never uses the word in real life.

Duran Duran are now on the stage. ‘Sunrise' (I think that's what it's called). Surprisingly rocking. Maybe I've already watched too much of this event, time for a cigarette I think. ‘Wild Boyz' sees them shout dementedly on the stage. TV cameras show Harry and Willy in the royal box. Harry's girlfriend Chelsey (whose dad allegedly has business interests in Zimbabwe) is dressed up like a footballers wife. ‘Her Name is Rio' dedicated to the memory of this country's favourite Princess, Margaret, sorry Diana. Got confused for a minute. An over-weight 50 year old man is dancing with his hag of a wife in the front row. There's a lovely synthesiser solo in the middle and then some saxophone. How very Thatcherite.

James Morrisson is now on stage. This requires no further comment. He sings like a girl though. Cue photos of probably deeply dissatisfied 30 year-old somethings who can't remember all the words but still feel the need to sing along. And yes, there they are.

Sienna Miller and Dennis Hopper are now presenting the next act. Dennis looks like a midget. He seems to have come a long way since his days as the LSD fuelled actor in Easy Rider. He's wearing an olive tie with a sky blue suit jacket. They are presenting Lily Allen. Andrew Marr is probably sporting a massive bonk-on right now. Prince Willy is clapping out of tune - he obviously didn't inherit Diana's musical and dancing talents. Lily is wearing a short dress and high-heels. Very different from when she was snapped at Glastonbury dressed as a mushroom in the early hours of the morn with Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys on a drink and drugs inspired binge a few days ago.

Luton Indoor Bowling Club is now the next charity featured in the mini-videos which are played between acts . Fergie from Black Eyed Peas is now on stage doing her thing. I think it would be funny if the cameras showed Beatrice and whatever the other is called, because Fergie is their mum. Not the one on stage, the ginger one who makes loads of dosh in the USA. The crowd seem completely bemused as to what is happening. Which is understandable as most of them are 40 or 50 something white women.

5pm - The Feeling, NERD and Nelly Furtado
I'm already thinking that this is a bad idea. But now I've started, I need to finish.
"Please show the necessary awe" says the voice over. What the fuck? Oh no, it's OK, it's for Keefer Sutherland, so I can agree with that. He looks a bit pissed - Rock n Roll, Keefer. He's introducing The Feeling, who he's seen twice apparently. I can't stand the Feeling. Absolute rubbish. Indie music for people who don't like music. Time to make a cup of tea methinks.
NERD is now on stage. Farrell's now asking Wembley and Great Britain to stand up for peace. Some crazy-beats are now starting, lots of hip-hop ramblings. This is most ridiculous. Would Diana approve? I can't think that Prince Charles would, so she most probably would. Still the wrong act for this kind of crowd, I think. "She's seeexy", sings Farrell. Is he talking about Diana? "Her ass is a spaceship that I'd like to ride", continues NERD. I still like to think he's singing about Diana.

Bill Clinton is giving his thoughts on Diana's work on HIV and land mine charities. Fair enough.
Simon Cowell and some people are on stage. People are booing him. Maybe the crowd isn't as stupid as I thought. Nelly Furtado is doing her thing. She looks pretty hot in a pink dress it has to be said. However, probably best enjoyed with the sound on the TV turned off. Princes Harry and Willy are both strutting their stuff in the royal box. Seems like the Magners has been flowing freely up-there. They can't dance at all.

There's now some ballet being done on stage. Apparently the ENO doing Diana's favourite ballet, Swan Lake. I'm officially bored now. I've just checked the TV guide and this goes on until 10.30 in the evening. I think this was a mistake - I suppose I only have myself to blame seeing as I should have checked before hand.

6pm - Status Quo, Supertramp (nearly) and Joss Stone
Will Young is wearing a bright pink t-shirt and bopping along to Abba while Ferne Cotton interviews him. He loved Diana's style. "And style goes with character", says Will Young. So there you have it. The bright-pink t-shirt wearing X-factor winner has spoken.
After a long break, Status Quo have joined the stage. ‘Rockin' all over the world'. Predictable. They now look like old men as opposed to the middle aged men who started Live Aid all those years ago. Still, probably the best thing so far, which says a lot about the quality of the music on stage.

They've ran out of charities, so they are showing a video of Diana and her kids at Thorpe Park. We're now descending into home video territory.

Dennis Hopper is back to introduce Joss Stone. She's warbling and warbling, closing her eyes and sounding like a poppy-Janis Joplin. All the while, I'm getting ever closer to breaking point. She's spending lots of her time looking at the band and not out into the crowd. Polite applause for Joss from the crowd who also seem a little tired of this now.

Now we have Supertramp. Rather Roger Hodgson from Supertramp. Sophisticated it certainly is. ‘Dreamer'. Now this is a good song. Shame about the solo synth interpretation of it. Couldn't he get his band mates together for this? It would have been the greatest thing of the night. By Far. But he didn't and we're stuck with nearly but not quite Supertramp. A medley of songs from Hodgson, his singing is out of range and to be frank, absolutely pitiful. He's now on guitar and speaking and speaking and speaking and won't stop. It's worse than a Bono rant. ‘Give a Little Bit' is accompanied by the whole stadium singing and clapping. At least he's got the punters out of their seats. Still some glaring red empty sections though.

Orson is on next. They look like they do too many drugs. Beforehand, Ferne Cotton told us how great the day is. I'm getting bored of the BBC telling us what a great day it is every three minutes. As if we're not sure, but the fact that Ferne Cotton and Jamie Theakston keep telling us its great will convince us that it is. Orson are predictably forgettable.

7pm - Tom Jones, Bryan Ferry and Tony Blair
Pre-recorded interview with Fergie. Apparently her set wanted to encapsulate the "inner and outer beauty" of Diana. Funny all I saw was a crock of shite. 500 million people are supposed to be watching this. Poor us. They're now interviewing Sienna Miller. She's hot.

Tom Jones is now on stage. He's old. Plastic surgery still looking good though. He's now playing a song by the Arctic Monkeys of all people. ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' is destroyed. I wonder if Alex Turner is one of the 500 million people watching? I hope for his sanity's sake he isn't. You have to hear him sing, "From 1984". Truly ridiculous (I've used that word a lot haven't I?). Joss Stone is out for another one, she's duetting with Tom Jones. She's dressed like she was at the Brits. Still no damn shoes. Stupid god damn hippy.

Will Young is out on stage dressed in a white suit and so are his dancers. They are doing some silly dance. Is it just me or does the crowd sound completely subdued. There was hardly any applause after TJ & JS? Still I guess it will be forgotten as the BBC ram the "electric atmosphere" myth down our throats. Natasha Bedingfield is now out on the stage, the voice over tells me that her song, ‘Unwritten' was the most played song on US radio last year. She must be absolutely minted. I'm not sure I've heard this song at all.

Boris Becker & John McEnroe are over from Wimbledon. Boris Becker still sounds like a German porn-star. They're introducing Bryan Ferry. He's playing one of his songs. Thank god he's not butchering Dylan as he has done on his recent Dylan covers album. Oh no! I spoke too soon. ‘Make You Feel My Love' is next. STOP IT NOW, BRYAN. Thankfully he redeems himself slightly with ‘Stick Together'. Brilliant song and very up-tempo. Nice one Bryan, but stick to your own songs please. Nobody Sings Dylan like Dylan after all.

Tony cunting Blair is now speaking about Diana. Go away and leave us alone, you're no longer Prime Minister. Go away. God, that has made me even more rageous.

My levels of rage are not going to be lowered by the next band. A medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber musical songs. I'm off for a moment, this is getting all a bit too much for me. Might put my dinner on to be honest. Webber is being interviewed and still looks like a pug-faced midget. Still he's better than Tony Blair. But only ever-so-slightly. Over on BBC 2 they have the Hampton Court Flower Show, so the BBC is really hitting the Daily Mail target audience this evening.

8pm - Rod Stewart, Kanye West
P. Diddy is being interviewed by Ferne. He's saying how much Diana meant to him and that it's an honour to play for her. David Beckham is now being interviewed. Apparently he's close friends with Diddy. Beckham is so dull, I'm so glad he no longer is England Captain so we don't have to hear him whittle on for hours. He's also saying something about the Spice Girls reuniting, but I've entered some kind of momentary coma.

Rod Stewart is being introduced by Keefer Sutherland who is going on about his mate Ray who he met in a pub in Wembley down the street. Keefer's obviously got more sense than to stay in the stadium to witness this bullshit. ‘Maggie Mae' is as brilliant as one would expect. Stewart's best song. The whole royal box is swaying for this one. A crowd favourite and probably the best reception for an artist yet. ‘We are Sailing' becomes one of those lighters in the air moments, although smoking is now prohibited in England, so there's very little of that.

Theakston describes today as an all you can eat buffet of music, dance and entertainment. What you mean one of those cheap Chinese buffets that leave you bloated and give you food poisoning?

Kanye West is now running all over the stage with some truly bizarre sunglasses. Some large white monstrosity of a pair. ‘Golddigger'. Another song for Diana? Lots of shouting, can't really make out what he's saying. Maybe I'm getting too old for this hip-hop. I don't think I'll ever really get it. Oh well, my loss. The shots of the crowd are absolutely hilarious. Loads of ageing, over-weight women trying to strut their stuff, not realising that 500 million people are laughing at their "moves".

9pm - P Diddy, Take That, my mind switching off
P. Diddy brings the rap section of this concert to a close. Dressed all in white he' wearing sunglasses despite the fact that the sun has long started to go down. Lots of shouting by Diddy. "Makes some noise for Princess Diana, yo'all...We miss you... we love you... Years ago Princess Diana went to a better place, today we celebrate her rebirth" This is the speech by Diddy. But what the hell has happened? Will Diana return and be reborn live on stage tonight? Now that would be a great feat and certainly a great show closer.

Christ he's at it again..."Princess Diana was our Princess, Diana we miss You, Come on yo'all, make some noise". It's just all a little bit too American for this British crowd. "I love you, we miss you, Prince William, Prince Harry we love you". It's never ending. He is now getting everyone to wave to the heavens to say hello to Diana. For fucks sake. This is absolutely terrible. Probably the worst thing at an event like this since Mariah Carey had all those kids on stage at Live8.

David Beckham is now on stage and he is truly honoured to be here. Apparently. Funny how no one goes on stage to say that this is all a little bit shit. He's now banging on about Take That who he's introducing. I'm not even going to watch this bit.

Ricky Gervais is now on-stage and he's doing the Diana death song from the Office. Elton John is spending ages and he had to fill in with some stuff. Good job Ricky Gervais is naturally funny. He ended up doing the David Brent dance and Bowie's ‘Pug-Nosed Face' song from Extras.

10pm - Elton John
There's no other way this concert could have ended really. The fact that he sang at the funeral gives him automatic dibs on the final place. Elton is now on stage doing his thing. ‘Saturday Night', ‘Tiny Dancer' and some other ones - I'm not really a fan, so I don't know. He does really looks like he's enjoyed the high life throughout his years though - what a fat neck.

Speech by Willy and Harry. Mothers charities, yada yada yada. Just get on with ‘Candle in the Wind' and we can all go home and be done with this. Oh no! Some more videos. Nelson Mandela is banging on about Diana (really, who is the real hero here?) Crap, some home video footage about her life. What a load of tosh.

No ‘Candle in the Wind'. I guess that's for the best seeing as it would descend into morbid tears. Wembley is lit up and it is all over. Time to go home Wembley and for me to switch off.

Conclusion
I'm sorry Rockbeatstone readers, but this is probably the last time that I'll try and do something like this again. I thought I could take six hours of mediocre music which would be on rotation on BBC Radio Two but I just couldn't. I think I'm now going to put on a Neil Young DVD, try and get my grip back on reality. What this concert does prove is what awful taste in music the majority of the UK population have. It really drained my physically and mentally. The Princess Diana concert is symbolic of all that's wrong with the UK royal family. Bloated, with ageing stars and very few highlights and on the BBC. Thank God we don't need to organise another one for a while yet.

Like a Rolling Stone

The hour when the ship comes in

2007-09-26T14:19:00.000+01:00

Sometimes things happen which makes all the tomfoolery of this blog appear irrelevant. What's going on right now in Myanmar, previously known as Burma, is one of those occassions.

I'll leave it to others to comment, this is not supposed to be a political blog, but you get the feeling that a militaristic regime as odious as that in power would have been tackled by the international communty a long time ago, had it had vast amounts of oil reserves (see also Mugabe in Zimbabwe).

However, perhaps we could be on the brink of change anyway with the Monks, students and civilians deciding to take to the streets to protest. What sparked this all off was an increase in fuel duty. So oil is still tied into this all anyway. The country has been getting poorer and poorer and is adrift from the international community with only China as a real friend, meanwhile thousands of refugees are fleeing the country on a daily basis.

One feels a little bit helpless really, looking at this through a computer, but it may well be the first popular revolution broadcast via the internet. This could become a moment of history in the same way that fall of Eastern Europe was, or Tianamen Square. But this time the net is giving people their information and allowing people a say, and we're not watching it through TV sets. This could be a moment in history for us too.

As of time of writing the facebook group to show support to the people of Burma has over 13,000 members. Websites such as the Guardian and BBC are focusing on this issue with a rolling blog and extensive reporting and videos. The Irrawaddy News is covering this extensively too (a South East Asian based news service/blog). Other videos have been posted over at YouTube. The Burnese based blogs reporting this protest are being blocked at the moment, mobile phone coverage has been disabled and internet cafes have been forcefully closed but as the Prime Minister said at the Labour Party Conference today, "The whole world is now watching Burma". You can petition the PM to keep up his actions on Burma, by visiting this website and signing the petition.

Finally, the anarchist in me loves this - you can annoy these companies who do business with the regime. Fuckers. They have no soul.

I hope that a peaceful outcome will arise where members of the military decide not to shoot their own people and turn their guns on the corrupt tyrants running this country. Whatever the outcome the whole world will be watching, blogging and discussing it via the internet.

And you readers will know me well enough now... I couldn't help but think about 'When the Ship Comes In', Bob Dylan's song from The Times They Are A-Changin'... Everything with me comes back to Bob, but it's worth listening to this song, I know I will be tonight..

"Oh the foes will rise

With the sleep still in their eyes

And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'.

But they'll pinch themselves and squeal

And know that it's for real,

The hour when the ship comes in.

Then they'll raise their hands,

Sayin' we'll meet all your demands,

But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered.

And like Pharaoh's tribe,

They'll be drownded in the tide,

And like Goliath, they'll be conquered."

When the Ship Comes In

See the cross-eyed pirates sitting

2007-09-25T16:23:00.000+01:00

Something that crossed my mind. Last week it was 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day'.

This week Gabrielle is plugging her new song.

Coincidence? I think not.

Read my review of Johnny Flynn's gig at the Royal Albert Hall. Pukka.

Farewell Angelina

Well, I just can't rest without you, love, I need your company

2007-09-19T13:55:00.000+01:00

Here's a Bukowski poem for you... It's called 'Men without Women'

finally,
goaded by the high price of
female relationships
he lashed his ankles to the
bedpoles
and tried to reach his
own
penis
with his
mouth:
close but no
cigar.
another of nature's dirtytricks.

finally, in a fury, he gave it a last
madattempt.
something cracked in his
back
and a blue flame
engulfed hisbrain.

after 45 minutes ofagony
he got himself off
the bed,
found he couldn't stand straight.
each time he tried
a hundred knives cut
into both his back andhis soul.

the next day he managed to drive tothe doctor's
office
bent low over the steering wheel
barely able to see through the
windshield.

"how did you do this?"
the
doctor
asked.

he told the doctor
the honest
truth
because he felt
that an informed
diagnosis
was the only chance
for a complete
cure.

"what" said thedoctor.
"you'rekidding?"

"no, that's whathappened."
"please excuse me,
I'll be rightback."

there was a deadsilence.
then he heard the
soft laughter of
the doctor and the
nurse from
behind the door.
then it grewlouder.

he sat there
looking out the office
window:
there was a park outside
with lovely mature trees, it was
a fine summer afternoon
the birds were out in force and
for some odd reason
he longed for a shimmering bowl
of cool wet grapes.

the laughter behind the door
grew softer again
and then died out
as he sat therewaiting.

Up to Me

Backstreets III - Friday 5th October

2007-09-14T14:40:00.001+01:00

I'm organising another gig night. Feel free to come down and bring as many freinds and/or family as you like. This will be another awesome night of musical carnage.

Friday October 5th at the Windmill in Brixton. Four english pounds on the door, doors are 8pm 'til late.

CAPTAIN BLACK (Camden)
This year they've toured the UK with the Holloways and received BBC Radio One airplay thanks to Colin Murray who is a fan. Mixing elements of country, skiffle, punk and pop they live outside any musical scene and their electric live shows have seen them build a large fan base. Perfect Friday night music to get drunk and shake your ass to.

RESTLESSLIST (Brighton)
Perhaps the most original band in yonks... The brain-child of Matt Thwaits (Electric Soft Parade) and Ben Elliot, the line-up was expanded to include Tom White (The Brakes, Electric Soft Parade) and the band Zettasaur. Their debut album, 'The Rise and Fall of the Curtain Club' was released in June on Life is Easy Records and they've toured with Battles and Mystery Jets. Sounds like a madman on crack at some horrific funfair. Has to be heard, and seen, to be believed.

IT HUGS BACK (Kent)
Kent's finest muscial export bring their country rock influenced tunes back to the Windmill. Mixing elements of Wilco and Sonic Youth, they flirt between country-punk rock and melancholia in a heart-beat. They've had a busy year playing a session for Rob DaBank on BBC Radio One, playing the Bestival and End of the Road festivals in September. They've recently released a new single 'Carefully' on Too Pure Records.

ALPHABET BACKWARDS (Oxford)
Windmill debut for this Oxford band who mix nu-folk, country and pop and craft intimate yet atmospheric tunes. One to keep an eye out for in the future.

Plus, as always, Rockbeatstone contributors Jamie & Will spinning tunes until the early hours of the morning!

More information:
Rockbeatstone
Backstreets MySpazz
Windmill website

And you thinks it's funny

2007-09-11T15:41:00.000+01:00

Got these sent to me by a mate, I have no idea where they came from. They made me laugh though!

Lasty Thoughts on Woody Guthrie

Magic in a magical land

2007-09-10T17:52:00.000+01:00

Well hello. I know I haven't been on here in ages. I spent most of last couple of weeks fuming at the indignity of not being able to get a ticket for Bruce Springsteen's O2 show. It looks like i'll be searching the internet fan sites for a while yet. Failing that there's the option of a tout. And it is close to Xmas so I guess that could be my present. But having said that fuck you to the touts who sold two tickets for £670 on ebay. Scum bags, I hope that you die, but not before you sell me one at below face value, two minutes before the band are onstage and you start to panic because you need to sell the tickets.

Otherwise, I should have some news about the third band-night that I'm organising. I'll post that here tomorrow.

Oh yes, I also went to see the Hold Steady at the Electric Ballroom. Read what I thought of the band when I first saw them a few months ago. My latitude review is also up. And I've written a review of the new Bruce album which leaked to me on Friday.

What have I got coming up? An unsigned concert at the Bull & Gate tomorrow, Eric Andersen on Saturday (which will be brilliant), then Manu Chao in October at Brixton Academy, finally for the month my gig night at the Windmill on Friday October 5th. Looking at November, I've got tickets for Wilco...again. In December I should be seeing Lucero and Okkervil River.

Mozambique

Whose screams filled the arena loud

2007-08-28T17:32:00.000+01:00

19th December 2007, O2 Arena, London.

SWEET!!!!!!!

Who Killed Davey Moore

Can I blow a little smoke on you?

2007-08-23T15:07:00.000+01:00

Sorry I've been on holiday at a mate's wedding and also at a music festival. Finally, on the last night of my break I saw the Rolling Stones at the O2 arena in London.

Long time readers of this blog will remember that I gave up smoking. I have since restarted and it is obviously something wrong and stupid, but what the heck.

The Rolling Stones don't give two shits about all the "smoking will kill you" argument. Indeed, at the very same concert both Keith Richards and Ron Wood were smoking on stage. The UK media has taken a lot of interest in this and portrayed them as the rock and roll rebels.

To me it is pathetic. They could argue that they are props for their stage show. I mean could you imagine Richards without a fag? I remember watching a video of the 1999 tour at some place in Germany and Richards was smoking a spliff on stage... And we all know the infamous drug busts and stories of him snorting his dad's ashes. And were now giving him shit for this?

But what kind of society do we live in where the media portray the Stones as rebelious for smoking a cigarette? It shows how illiberal we have become in this country.

Otherwise the concert was great, although I had vertigo from being too high in the stands (only a little relieved from drinking copious amounts of alcohol) and the music bounced off the roof of the arena. The O2 is a little souless, a bit like a massive shopping centre under canvas. And they have a pizza express there which is odd for a music venue - but I guess it is the future.

You can read somehting I penned during the holidays at Rockbeatstone. A review of the compilation of a relatively unknown singer-songwriter Eric Andersen. He's playing a pub in Walthamstow in September, go check him out. I've also heard the new Bruce Springsteen song. It rocks. Read what I think of that here.

Tough Mama

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship

2007-08-07T13:40:00.000+01:00

I'm going on holiday, so I'm going to leave you with a short story by Kafka.

A Little Fable

"Alas," said the mouse, "the world is growing smaller every day. At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when at last I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into,"

"You only need to change your direction," said the cat, and ate it up."

Mr Tambourine Man

I don't want to believe them, all I want is your word

2007-08-06T16:13:00.000+01:00

Wikipedia is a great resource. It is perhaps the best example of Web 2.0 allowing the masses to create something interesting, informative and useful. However it is also open to being messed around with. Here's the early career section of the Wikipedia entry (as of Monday 6th August, pm) for legendary hard man actor, Ray Winstone. Don't believe everything you read:

Winstone was born in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. His family was originally from Cirencester - half of them moving to London, the other half to Wales. Moving via Plaistow to Enfield when Winstone was 7, his father (also Raymond) was a managing director (he is now retired and living on an estate in Hampshire) while his mother, Margaret, was an heiress. Winstone recalls playing croquet with his friends until "Moors Murderers" Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were arrested after preying on children. Winstone was educated at Notting Hill and Ealing High School. He showed great interest in art, music and history, going on to study Philosophy at Cambridge University.

Winstone had an early affinity for acting; his father's butler would take him to the cinema every Wednesday afternoon, and Winstone later recalled seeing 101 Dalmatians and rushing towards the screen to berate Cruella de Vil. Later, he would witness Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and the bug would bite: "I thought 'I could be that geezer'" he said later.

Other major influences included John Wayne, James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. After persuading his mother to give him some extra tuition money, he took to the stage, appearing as a Cockney newspaper-seller in a production of Emile And The Detectives.Winstone was also a fan of croquet. At age 12, Winstone joined the Surbiton Croquet Club and, over the next 10 years, won 80 out of 88 matches. He was London Schoolboy Champion on three occasions, playing twice for England. The experience gave him a perspective on his later career: "If you can get on a lawn with 2000 people watching, then walking onstage isn't hard."

The seasons they are turnin'

2007-08-03T11:48:00.000+01:00

Here in the UK we have a thing called the 'Silly Season' which is where the newspapers have no news to print and the only thing that is included in papers are stories about potential Shark sightings off Cornwall (as seen in the Sun this week which persists with the story despite scientists telling them that there was no Great White in the Sea off Cornwall).

Here in blogland the equivalent of Silly Season is where a blogger posts youtube clips to hide the fact that they have completely ran out of ideas and don't want to write about Britney Spears. Indeed, i've written about this before.

So here are two vids on YouTube. The first is a teaser trailer of the new series of Futurama. Possibly one of the most underrated cartoon comedy series. The writing and gags make it better than any Simpsons episode in the last four years, but all anyone wants Matt Groening to do is write stories of the little yellow family. They totally rip into Fox for cancelling the series.

The second is a video of Kevin Smith (Clerks, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) speaking at a Comic Book convention or something and totally ripping the piss. He should do stand-up.

Enjoy!

Moonlight

Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales

2007-07-27T15:32:00.000+01:00

The other day I has a cataclysmic vision of a big brother UK.

I was on the train heading south when the rain starting pouring, going past the Battersea high-rises which were all covered in clouds and rain a computerised feminine voice came over the loud-speakers: "Beggars sometimes operate on thsi train. Please do not encourage them by giving money. If you spot a beggar please inform a member of staff" (or words to that effect).

Looking around the train there were literally hundreds of safety notices: Don't: eat, smoke, hang your head out of the window, put your hands in the door, pull the safety leaver, don't smoke a camel, don't punch the snack trolley, don't do this, don't do that.

Looking around the sanitised carriage there were a few older women devouring their celebrity magazines, seemingly oblivious to all that was around and not caring. It felt like I was in that film where there are no babies in the world anymore, Children of Men. The vision of future London seems to me to be frightfully close to fruition (albeit without the weird baby thing).

Sorry ...I just feel that I realised then and there that things are a little screwy in the UK at the moment. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be here... Maybe I should just chill out, but riding that tain on Monday evening gave me the chills for a country, to paraphrase BRMC, on which I no longer want to waste my love.

Chimes of Freedom

Then time will tell

2007-07-25T16:21:00.000+01:00

Mark Ronson is now a superstar DJ who has redone and remixed many famous and semi-famous songs. He'll will be redoing Bob Dylan's 'Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine' for a new Dylan best-of collection due out at the end of the year.

The Guardian arts & entertainment blog covered this subject this week one of the comments on the article had this joke.

Two dj's are talking in a bar..
DJ 1 says to DJ 2, "fancy going to the movies?"
DJ2 says "dunno, depends who the projectionist is"

And I guess that says it all about my take on DJ culture. Be interesting to see what Ronson does with the song though. He'll probably add a few horns and that'll be it. Attempting to make it sound modern, it will probably end up being the most-dated track on the collection in five years time.

Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine

I'd be there on Wednesday night

2007-07-23T15:16:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite artists at Latitude was Elvis Perkins. He really tore the house down with his melancholy singer-songwriting. Brilliant stuff. I've written a review of his album, Ash Wednesday over at Rockbeatstone. Below is a clip of my favourite song from the album performed live on David Letterman. When he last was in the UK he played the Borderline - I expect he'll be back playing bigger venues when he's next in London...

Expect a review of the Latitude festival soon.

Percy's Song

The party's over, and there's less and less to say

2007-07-17T13:19:00.000+01:00

There are some songs that you listen to and pass on almost without thinking. Then something happens which makes you listen to it again and reappraise that song. This happened to me today.

I've just come back from the Latitude Festival in Suffolk, which is probably the best festival I've ever been to: stages where we could easily get to the front when we wanted, large open spaces to lie down in the sun, beautiful setting in the woods surrounded by a lake, small stages 'hidden' in the middle of said woods, no aggro, and some great, great, and absolutely mesmerising music from some amazing musicians.

One of the bands we saw were the Hold Steady, probably my favourite band right now. They finished with 'Killer Parties' (as they did when I saw them at Shepherds Bush a few weeks ago), a beautiful end to the set it really made me realise what a great band they were and firmly cemented in my mind what a great set I had just witnessed.

A beautiful slow song, it builds with a repetitive bass line which oozes the feelings of the end of the night. It's truly amazing with Craig Finn's beat-poetry lyrics really encapsulating the spirit of a massive night: "I'm pretty sure we partied, I don't really remember". Which is how the best parties should always be, I guess.

Anyway, I've only listened to this song today - at lunch and commuting into work. I just can't get it out of my mind. I guess that this song fully encapsulates the weekend I've just had. It has just made me smile and smile. I love it when music does this kind of thing to you. It really is an absolute joy to be listening to that song and remembering the weekend I've just had. Music is sometimes a powerful thing.

Other bands I saw were: Wilco, Magic Numbers, Cake, Two Gallants, Herman Dune, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The National, Arcade Fire, Jarvis Cocker (who played 'Eye of the Tiger' as set closer), The Good the Bad the Queen, Elvis Perkins, Cold War Kids, the Rapture and some others I've probably forgotten. Comes with a HeNotBusyBeingBornisBusyDying stamp of approval. I'll be reviewing this soon for Rockbeatstone.

Highlands

Unless they're from another world

2007-07-12T13:41:00.000+01:00

Before I head off to the Latitude Festival in Suffolk, I wanted to show you all my favourite episode of the Simpsons which features a guest voice from the legendary Johnny Cash. He's the fox. In this episode, Homer ends up being deported to another dimension where all is bizarre and not as it seems.

I've also written some stuff. Click for a review of Art Brut's new album, It's a Bit Complicated.

Series of Dreams

2007-07-08T12:19:00.000+01:00

Dignity never been photographed
(for some reason, I can't edit my subject line!)

I've recently got the internet at home, so I can now update this blog with loads of photos that have been stuck on my hard drive for the last few months. Here is me meeting Southampton FC legend, Matthew Le Tissier. I went to see Saints v Derby (0-1) earlier in the year.

Another footie related one. This is Barnet v Stockport. Barnet has a quaint ground, vrey old-school. So far from the billions of pounds floating around the Premiership. Another great day out. I like the photo as it is an action shot. Wonder at the beauty of North London behind. What a shit-hole.

I imagine that I'll be updating with photos for a while yet, seeing as I've ran out of interesting things to say. Coming up will be: photos of Amsterdam, Milano and Metallica at Wembley.

Dignity

For another plate of food

2007-07-03T15:52:00.000+01:00

Metro newspaper in London had this story which Ananova is running, in their informative 'Quirkies' section of their news service.

A guest stunned hotel staff by scoffing 15 fried breakfasts in one sitting.

Businessman Barry Bradley, 47, paid £7.50 for the 'all you can eat' grease mountain, which took more than three hours to devour.

He gobbled up at least 30 sausages, 20 rashers of bacon, 15 fried eggs and three tins of beans, reports Metro.

He even topped it off with six bowls of cereal at the Premier Travel Inn in Tonbridge, Kent.
A waitress said: "We couldn't believe it - he looked like he was never going to stop."

I've also written some stuff. A review of the new Bruce Springsteen album and a review of Mumm-Ra's debut album. Please read them if you're interested in what I have to say about them.

One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)

I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range

2007-06-29T11:12:00.000+01:00

I am no McGyver

Yesterday I had the worst day of my life.

In the morning I have a routine as many people do. I get up, turn the radio on, lie in bed for about half-an-hour, get up, put my dressing gown on, gather my towel and head to the shower via the toilet.

Yesterday I did all of this as normal, except when I went to unlock the door, the key snapped and I was trapped inside my toilet. Four white walls, a small window with bars across, a toilet and a cork-tiled floor. I don't think I realised quite how difficult a position I was in for some time. My housemate had already gone to work for the day.

I tried and tried with the end of the shaft to unlock the door, when this failed I even tried to smash the door down, but it opens inwards so I couldn't and I was trapped. I had no watch, did not know what time it was. I sat on the toilet and pondered my situation: what was I going to do? I had nothing to read. There was no sink, bath or shower, just a solitary toilet.

I knew that there was a good chance that my flat-mate Jamie would be back in the evening, however there was even the possibility that he would stay round his girlfriend's for the night or even the entire weekend...this was something that I didn't even want to contemplate. I heard the door-bell go a few times (one of which was my colleague who was worried that work had had no news of my whereabouts), I heard my phone go off every half-hour or so. I was trapped and couldn't do anything.

I had a sudden MacGyver moment and tried to create a device which would help me, but you can't make much out of an empty loo roll and a broken key. And I always was crap with handiwork. Then I thought about using the electricity from the lightbulb wire to burn through the bars but realised that this was a dangerous and stupid thing to do. And it probably wouldn't have worked.

When you're in this situation weird things happen to you. You try to think about interesting things. You think about all the small details and you make an action plan. I was going to wait until my flatmate came home and if he didn't I was going to attract the attentions of my neighbours leaving in the next morning for work (for them to call the Fire Brigade or Police or something) by shouting and stamping at the top of my voice. This was my plan and I was sticking by it. If they didn't hear me then the water in the toilet would sustain me until my housemate was to show up.

Without a watch I could not work out what time it was so I spent lots of time listening to the what was going on outside - I heard the cheers of children - school was over, I heard the construction work stop (it must have been the end of the day, say 5.30pm). I heard the distant rumble of tube trains deep below get further and further apart (it must be towards the end of the tubes).

Finally at 12.30am, when I had lost all hope that my flatmate was not coming home, he returned and I shouted and shouted. He eventually handed me some pliers through the window and I managed to grab the end of the key shaft and turn the key. When I was out I was a trembling wreck and stumbled to the kitchen for a long drink of water and some food. I had spent over 16 hours trapped inside my toilet and my legs were shaking all over. But my ordeal was now finished. Never before have I been so happy to see Jamie come home, even if he was completely drunk. I checked my phone - 4 messages and 36 unanswered calls. Oops.

On the plus side me and Paris Hilton now have something in common. I'll use this blog to send her a message. Come and talk to me baby, we've both been through solitary confinement and we both share a common bond: that of stupidity.

But what have I learnt? Never to lock the toilet when I'm the only person in the house. I'd laugh if it happened to anyone else. I'll gradually learn to laugh at this story, but what a day!

Things have Changed

The glamour and the bright lights and the politics of sin

2007-06-27T15:28:00.000+01:00

A History of Tony Blair

Early years - everyone loves him, he's so cool, he plays guitar, he could be our very own Bill Clinton. At Diana's death he coins an iconic phrase that will probably be his only legacy.

Mid years - pisses everyone off by going to war in Iraq, despite the dossier which even a two year old deaf, dumb and blind kid could work out was dodgy.

Late years - Continues to bomb the shite out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Becomes really arrogant. No one likes him anymore - even the Labour Party. Clings onto power because the rest of British politics is inept.

Today - Fucks off from Downing Street. Accepts role as Middle East envoy.

Hold on a minute... First of all Blair goes around the Middle East and bombs the shit out of Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of democracy all the while continually supporting the undemocratic states in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Now he's going to be on hand to help solve the crisis that he has, in part, created? WTF? No wonder the Middle East hates us.

Fuck off and retire you cunt.

Sorry about the language. I'm very angry that I'm going to see his face for years to come. He had a golden opportunity in 1997 to change this country for the better. He never introduced his sweeping reforms of the electoral system, he wasted money on stupid schemes (ID cards, NHS computer project, the Dome) which no one wanted/wants. He had wide-ranging support from the public and could have really changed things. But Blair didn't. Everyting is the same now - we're a little wealthier so I guess people stopped caring. As long as we have our two holidays a year, who cares about democratic reform?

Anyhow, see you later Blair. You will forever be remembered for a war that no-one wanted and a phrase which Alistair Campbell probably wrote for you. That's quite an achievement isn't it? I hope your mother is proud.

Dead Man, Dead Man

He's got his mother's eyes

2007-06-26T12:42:00.000+01:00

Another YouTube classic! I love YouTube!

Lord, Protect My Child

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands

2007-06-25T16:23:00.000+01:00

OK. This is my last post about Glastonbury. TV highlights included Arcade Fire, Shirley Bassey, Arctic Monkeys and a wonderful John Fogerty who showed them all how it's supposed to be done (take note the Killers). Don't know what it was like watching this for real though.

In this post on a messageboard I visit, that of music website Drowned in Sound, there were loads of hilarious comments on the BBC TV coverage.

"Jo Wiley needs to be put down for the good of the nation”

“Pretty much all the presenters are penis farmers”

And the best comment on the crowd, which I think echos what I was trying to say on Friday, is here: “It’s as if the whole of Putney managed to get a ticket”

My favourite comment on the TV footage at the weekend was legendary Mark Radcliffe speaking with Jo Wiley. She was asking him about Mika.

Wiley: “He’s not your scene is he?”
Radcliffe: “It’s not that, I just don’t like him”

Made me laugh out loud.

This year, as well as the Great Escape Festival in Brighton which was in May, I'll be going to Lowlands in Holland in August (Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, NIN, Kasabian, The Killers among many others) and a new one for me in the shape of Latitude (Arcade Fire (again!), Wilco, the Hold Steady, Cake among many others). Latitude is only 20,000 people and they have loads of other stuff going on. Should be fun and not too hectic.

Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands

The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall

2007-06-22T13:38:00.000+01:00

This weekend it's Glastonbury ("Glasto") and, if you're in the UK, you'll have no reason not to know this. Glasto has become so big that just about everysingle newspaper has some sort of Glasto coverage. Andy McNabb, the Sun's war expert even had Glasto survival tips. The Daily Telegraph, renowned for it's pro-hippy, youthful outlook even had extensive coverage.

Glastonbury used to be a festival for the alternative. Freaks, hippies, rockers, dissafected youth. Now it's all about the middle classes and Notting Hill set taking a weekend off to go camping in the countryside. There's very little rock and roll about it anymore.

As the dude from musical trendsetters Hot Chip states in the Guardian Glasto blog (FFS!!!):

"Even Glastonbury is threatening to morph into a kind of musical version of the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival. Mums and dads with prams and spliffs and mud, all there together - it looks all wrong".

If you are thinking that I'm bitter about not being there, then you might be right. However, paying £150 to stand at the back of 60,000 people to see musical acts (many of which I have manged to see before in smaller, more intimate situations) on a big screen seems a little ridiculous.

It's far too big a festival for its own good. And it now seems to be attracting knobs - Stupid know-it-alls who never go to gigs, or even listen to music regulary. Glastonbury is the festival equivalent of the music of Coldplay. And these guys and gals always end up playing up the fact that they went camping, it rained, but they were so out of their head on e that they didn't care. And they have a kind of smugness and the view that if you don't go to Glasto then you're not a proper music fan. Like whatever, "you went camping!", talk to the hand!

There are plenty of nicer, smaller festivals which are properly alternative. That's where the cool people really go to in the summer. So fuck you Peaches Geldof, you're not going to out-cool me.

Finally, the weather report: It's currently raining at the festival site.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts

So many of my brothers, they still want to be the boss

2007-06-21T12:01:00.000+01:00

The internet is great. It allows me to research completly random stuff.

Here is the speech that Bruce Springsteen made before Bob Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the USA (the one that matters, not that shitty Channel 4 knock off).

"The first time I heard Bob Dylan, I was in the car with my mother listening to WMCA, and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind. Like a Rolling Stone. My mother, she was no stiff with Rock 'N' Roll, she liked the music, sat there for a minute, then looked at me and said "That guy can't sing". But I knew she was wrong. I sat there and I didn't say nothing but I knew that I was listening to the toughest voice that I had ever heard. It was lean and it sounded somehow simultaneously young and adult.

I ran out and bought the single and ran home and played it, but they must made a mistake in the factory because a Lenny Welch song came on. The label was wrong. So I ran back to the store, got the Dylan, and came back and played it. Then I went out and got "Highway 61". That was all I played for weeks, looking at the cover with Bob in that satin blue jacket and Triumph motorcycle shirt.

When I was a kid, Bob's voice somehow thrilled me and scared me, it made me feel kind of irresponsibly innocent - it still does - when it reached down and touched what little worldliness a fifteen- year-old high school kid in New Jersey had in him at the time. Dylan was a revolutionary. Bob freed the mind the way Elvis freed the body. He showed us that just because the music was innately physical did not mean that it was anti-intellectual. He had the vision and the talent to make a pop song that contained the whole world. He invented a new way a pop singer could sound, broke through the limitations of what a recording artist could achieve, and changed the face of Rock 'N' Roll forever.

Without Bob, the Beatles wouldn't have made "Sgt. Pepper", the Beach Boys wouldn't have made "Pet Sounds", The Sex Pistols wouldn't have made "God Save The Queen", U2 wouldn't have done "Pride in the Name of Love", Marvin Gaye wouldn't have done "What's Goin' On", the Count Five would not have done "Psychotic Reaction" and Grandmaster Flash might not have done "The Message" and there would have never been a group named the Electric Prunes. To this day, whenever great rock music is being made, there is the shadow of Bob Dylan. Bob's own modern work has gone unjustly underappreciated because it's had to stand in that shadow. If there was a young guy out there, writing the Empire Burlesque album, writing "Every Grain of Sand", they'd be calling him the new Bob Dylan.

About three months ago, I was watching the Rolling Stone Special on TV. Bob came on and he was in a real cranky mood. He was kind of bitchin' and moanin' about how his fans come up to him on the street and treat him like a long lost brother or something, even though they don't know him. Now speaking as a fan, when I was fifteen and I heard "Like a Rolling Stone", I heard a guy who had the guts to take on the whole world and who made me feel like I had to too. Maybe some people misunderstood that voice as saying that somehow Bob was going to do the job for them, but as we grow older, we learn that there isn't anybody out there who can do that job for anybody else. So I'm just here tonight to say thanks, to say that I wouldn't be here without you, to say that there isn't a soul in this room who does not owe you his thanks, and to steal a line from one of your songs - whether you like it or not - "You was the brother that I never had"."

Trouble in Mind

Sing 'Amazing Grace' all the way to the Swiss banks

2007-06-20T13:50:00.000+01:00

Yo! Yo! Yo! Internet. I've been away from my blog as I've really had nothing to say and/or been too busy to say it.

But a few nights ago, my housemate and I were watching some telly (TV for you yanks). In the UK at the moment there is a tendency to have adverts with "normal" guys singing along to a famous tune or revised famous tune. The two that automatically spring to mind are the AA for their roadside assistance advert where they are all singing 'See You Again', and Halifax who take normal songs and add their own words to it.

They are complete and utter bull and always turn me off. I don't know why they do these adverts - they are annoying to the extreme and always make me leave the room or shout obscenities at the screen. Halifax even has a minor celebrity called Howard who has been made semi-famous by his singing. He briefly appeared in the Xmas special of the Office, for the fans of the show out there. His photo is above.

In one of the Halifax ones (yes, they have a number of them), they are covering some RnB shite for shite song and at one bit the dancers in the background (dressed in the Halifax uniform) start pounding their behinds in a fashion reminiscent of a modern MTV video. WTF? I mean, would you trust your hard earned money to a bunch of sexual deviants? Quite possibly the worst advert ever for a bank.

Some stuff I've been writing recently. There's a review of Wilco at Shepherds Bush Empire, a review of the Traveling Wilburys Collection, a review of a new band called the Outside Royalty who are wicked, and some random track reviews. I hope you all enjoy. Coming up are reviews of Art Brut at the Astoria and Bruce Springsteen's recent CD/DVD release.

Foot of Pride

Paint the daytime black

2007-06-11T13:20:00.000+01:00

I couldn't resist. I just couldn't. I'm such a weak person. I had to find out how it all ended. And I did this morning via the net. I haven't seen the ending myself yet, but it appears to me to be the best possible ending for a series of the Sopranos stature. It will certainly remain one of the most talked about TV series endings of all time. I know some would have wanted a more conventional ending, but it really had to be something bizarre, weird and brilliant to live up to the previous 85 episodes. I have my own theories about what the ending represents and what it is all about but will wait until I see it for real before commenting.

I can't wait until they decide to show this to us in the UK or it is released on DVD. So farewell Tony and his family (genetic and criminal). I will miss you loads but will return to this series as an old friend probably for the rest of my life. It truly is the Shakespeare of television, there is no other series that can even get close.

I'd like to thank David Chase and HBO for a superb series. I wonder if he'll do another programme in the future? He obviously has the talent and now the clout behind him to do whatever he pleases, I hope that he'll come back with a TV series equally as strong, but I know deep in my heart that he'll never be able to touch the levels of genius that was the Sopranos.

She Belongs to Me

Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest

2007-06-07T15:39:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry I haven't written anything here for a while. I've been very busy.

It was my second gig night on Friday. It went very well, as many, if not more, people than last time and some great bands. Some excellent DJing at the end from Will and Jamie as well. Thanks to all my friends who read this who turned up.

The final band of the night, The Mules, are f'in great. They finished with an encore performance of 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' by the Band. Absolutely incredible. On their myspace the Mules state that they like both types of music, country and western. A great country based party band. Absolutel legends. Go and see them if you can.

Some of the artists I played inbetween the bands included: The Boss, the Hold Steady, Lucero, The Stones, Kenny Rogers, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Kingsmen, The Stone Roses, BRMC, Wilco. Surprisingly I didn't play any Dylan. Don't know why really, just didn't feel like it. I should have though.

The night ended with much drunkeness. I ended up enjoying the night to it's fullest and got properly drunk, once all of my duties were completed. Before I went home, I decided to go to the toilet and thought that it would be a good idea to go, although I didn't want to be a chav and saw a builders portaloo on a construction site across the road. In my drunken stupor I broke into the site and used the portaloo. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I broke the law to not break another. It did make sense in a bizarre twisted way.

My review of the Great Escape festival is up at Rockbeatstone. Also I'm aware that many of you are reading this through facebook. That's cool, just wanted you to know that I have a proper blog and this updates automatically...I'm not a facebook junkie or anything.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat

2007-05-30T15:28:00.000+01:00

Nice hat Jeff!

'You Are My Face' by Wilco on Jools Holland last Friday.

Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat

Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down

2007-05-25T16:10:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I wonder what the point of a blog is. I mean, I’m a nobody who is spouting a load of shite.

I’ve also been having difficulty recently in finding any inspiration of topics to write on. I mean, look at yesterday’s post, that was a bloody joke.

I’m not even inspired to rip-off some internet find and pretend that it is my discovery.

But then I thought, it’s alright, it’s OK, just write about how you’ve got no inspiration.

Boom, there goes another Internet milestone. However, having read many blogs over the last couple of years it appears that this is a subject that many like to write about. In fact it’s probably in the top five topics for blogging (number two to be precise):

1. George W. Bush.
2. “I’ve no inspiration” blog post.
3. Paris Hilton.
4. The Iraq War.
5. Google.

I made that list up, by the way.

Nick Cave has done much the same thing, although he did it in the medium he knows best, song. ‘There She Goes My Beautiful World’ is a song about his muse not providing any inspiration – paradoxically she does of course because he writes a song about it. However, I seem to be veering into a proper blog-post territory now so should abandon this train of thought.

Why is it that such brilliant books/songs/poems were written thanks to streams of consciousness, whereas all I can muster are a few piss-poor gags and ramblings about nothing when I try?

Long weekend in the UK. I’m going to get trollied tonight (and for three days after!). This should be fun. Let's hope it provides me with some inspiration.

Hurricane

Salute him when his birthday comes

2007-05-24T10:46:00.000+01:00

It's Bob Dylan's Birthday today. He's 66. Happy Birthday Bob!

Young Bob:

Cool and happy Bob:

Changing course of music Bob:

Tangled Up in Blue Bob:

The Eighties were not kind to Dylan:

The 90s - Comeback Bob:

The 00's - Weirdo Bob (Gods n Generals video):

Current Bob (photo from Birmingham '07):

She Belongs to Me

My American dream

2007-05-22T11:32:00.000+01:00

I went to see Wilco on Sunday night. At the end of the set (which was broadcast live to the world via the internet), an English singer called Bill Fay came on stage to sing his song, 'Be Not So Fearful' with the band. Apparently it was the first time in 30 years that he appeared on stage. See photo below, which I've borrowed from a Wilco fansite. I'll be writing a review soon.

In other news... Bruce Springsteen is releasing a DVD of his recent show in Dublin. I saw the two London legs of this show. Absolutely amazing. I can't wait for the DVD to come out (only two weeks left). See a preview below of the song, 'American Land'. Looks and sounds great.

Heartland

The motorcycle black madonna

2007-05-15T14:36:00.000+01:00

I've written some stuff on Rockbeatstone that may be of interest to you, readers of this esteemed blog.

Firstly, there is a review of the new BRMC which, along with Wilco and the Hold Steady's last release, is the best thing I've listened to this year.

Secondly there is a live review of Grinderman. I had the chance to see them live at HMV. Another free concert I saw was Rufus Wainwright. I never thought I'd see a camper guy than the singer-dude from Scissor Sisters, but I now have! He sung like an absolute angel, I was in complete and utter awe, as were the rest of the crowd who were just so quiet. It has to be one of the most surprising gigs that I've ever witnessed. I didn't write a review as I only caught a few numbers of his, but wow! I will definately look up his stuff, I think he has a new album out at the moment. Gordon Brown is also a fan apparently.

Finally, I've got a feature on bootlegging up. This is the first part of the article which looks at the history of bootlegs, etc... The second part which I shall be writing over the course of the week will look at some of the best bootlegs ever.

Tonight I'm going to see a new band from Denmark called the Kissaway Trail at the Barfly. Should be good.

More astute readers will see that I've added a button to the right of my blog in honour of the free Alan Johnson campaign. I saw this at Asterisk's blog, he wrote a post far more eloquently than I ever could, which says why he felt the need to put it up. I agree with him completly.

Gates of Eden

All non-believers and men stealers talkin' in the name of religion

2007-05-14T14:21:00.000+01:00

Here's what happens when you piss a BBC journalist off...

To be fair to him he was being hounded and pestered by Scientologists for doing an indepth look at their "religion". See the rant in full and his report on Panorama tonight (BBC 1).

Slow Train

I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint

2007-05-11T13:19:00.000+01:00

This weekend sees my football team, Southampton FC take part in the playoffs. For those outside of the UK who are reading this blog it is a kind-of mini-tournament where the winner gains promotion to the Premier League. Our first match is tomorrow at St Mary's stadium, and I for one cannot wait. However, I am also a little nervous. In fact I'm nervous as hell. The rest of the season is now completely irrelevant. Our entire season now hinges on us getting through three matches.

There is a good omen however, our manager, George Burely was the last manager to win a playoff at the old Wembley Stadium, so here's to hoping that he can be the first at the new stadium. See the photo of him below shouting out orders.

This season our young team has done bloody well. We are well respected by football commentators and the other managers for playing flowing, passing football (which to be honest is a rarity in the Championship) and we've by far got the best talent. The only thing that has let us down is our defence which has leaked too many goals for my liking. Players of the season for me have been George Rasiak and Gareth Bale. (See photos below).

In other news, when I went out at lunchtime, there were a multitude of TV cameras and journalists outside a building. Apparently, Gordon Brown had just launched his campaign to be elected leader of Labour and thus Prime Minister. It took place in a building next to a building-site, which I guess could hold some relevance and symbolism, although I'm struggling to think what that could be. Anyway, I'm getting to the age where I believe that politics has lost any relevance to my life and almost always fails to change anything for the better. As the Kaiser Chiefs sing, "Everything is average Nowadays".

Also if you thought my review of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky was good then read this one from the Guardian. They do a minute-by-minute look at one album every week which makes for a very particular and comedic review. Here is the concluding paragraph on Sky Blue Sky. (PS: It's out on Monday so go and buy it).

Imagine a lazy, if devilishly handsome and talented boyfriend, moping around the house, making excuses for his lameness, only to allow occasional flashes of his former loveliness to break through his listlessness. And then, when you're almost to the end of your tether, he only bloody goes and gives you the greatest kiss of your life. Wilco, you're maddening!

And landed in Brussels

2007-05-10T12:15:00.000+01:00

I'm going to Belgium this weekend to see my family who live out there. There is a game that people play which involves trying to think of five famous Belgians. Wikipedia has a list of famous Belgians, unfortunately I've not heard of most of them so it doesn't work very well and seems to confirm the point/joke. However the inventor of the Saxophone was Belgian (a Mr Sax) and Tintin was also Belgian (and fictional). Perhaps of more interest to you is the article on Belgian beers.

Before I go, it would be great if you read my review of Wilco's new album, Sky Blue Sky.

Finally, here's a photo of the Belgian countryside. Exciting isn't it?

When I Paint My Masterpiece

I wouldn't marry the president, Uh-huh

2007-05-08T11:50:00.000+01:00

Well my other country had elections at the weekend and France chose to elect Nicolas Sarkozy as President, known as “Sarko”. Before I start my rant, I’d like to say that I do have the right to vote in France but choose not too – not because of political apathy, but because I feel it is a bit rich for myself living in the UK having a say on what happens in a country where I no longer live.

He’s been touted as a Thatcherite by the UK press, but he is more like Berlusconi to be honest. In France there was no mention of his marital problems, critics claim that his close links to the French media have allowed him to suppress this news which I believe is of importance when choosing a person to lead the country. His wife also had her book, detailing the issues in her marriage, scrapped by the publishers days before release thanks to political pressure from “Sarko” (this was when they were “on a break”). So he’s got the media on his side at the moment.

What interests me the most is this article from the Independent that claims that had the election excluded those over 55, then Segolene Royal would have won. Easily. So we can see a divided France. The young and urban voted for Royal, the older, rural and pensioned voted for Sarko. Many would have been attracted to his authoritarian stance rather than his plans for economic reform. The young on the otherhand seem a little angry, like this blogger's post-election playlist seems to indicate.

Unfortunately, I fear for France. I feel, like Royal did, that he will prove to be devisive. The fact that there are now clearly observable lines across French society is not new to me – these certainly existed when I lived there. But they are now more violent than in the past – many on the wrong side of the line (i.e. the poor) are severely angry at a society that no longer speaks for them or to them. “Sarko”, if he chooses to be as ruthless as he was at the time of the violence last year when he was Interior Minister, will only enflame the situation even more (calling the protestors “racaille” or “Scum” in English doesn’t help). Two nights of rioting across Paris, and other regional cities have greeted the news that “Sarko” is going to be president. This comes as no surprise to me.

But what many British commentators have forgotten is that a French President has less power than a British Prime Minister. In many respects he is a figure-head who prances around the world claiming independence of Anglo-US foreign policy and pisses people off – it’s just what the French President is supposed to do. We’ll have to wait until the elections for the parliament to see whether he has the majority and political force necessary for his reforms to go through.

All I can say is that I am glad that I no longer live in France and have to deal with this shit. Here’s a message of support from Tony Blair, British PM. I guess that says it all. The last thing anyone needs is encouragement from the guy who history will judge as being the idiot who got the UK into an illegal and immoral war. So click on the play button below to see Tony blabbering on in French.

Froggie Went a Courtin'

There was music in the cafes at night

2007-05-04T17:01:00.000+01:00

Hello, this is an advert for my gig night. If you live in London, come down to the Windmill. It will be fun. In other music related news, I've written a review of Treecreeper's debut Grain.

FRIDAY 1st JUNE, Doors 8pm (tickets are £4 on the door or available in advance from here) @ the Windmill in Brixton (click here for a map).

Fresh from bringing Prinzhorn Dance School to the Windmill in March, Backstreets is, erm, back and bringing you some of the most exciting bands in London. Backstreets is brought to you in association with Rockbeatstone Magazine.

THE MULES (Oxford/London)..play what's come to be known as electrobilly – punky and funky country music with gypsy folk and post-rock thrown in for a bit of spice, but, overall, their music defies categorisation. The band's debut album was released in March to widespread critical acclaim and their song, 'We're Good People' was remixed by Brazilian hipsters, CSS. Their unique sound will make you shake your ass in wild abandon.

MISSISSIPPI WITCH (London) ...caused quite a stir last year with the release of their debut single 'Just for Roosevelt' which was regularly featured on Xfm (John Kennedy's show). This two piece, originally from the hinterland regions of mid-USA, sound like the White Stripes, the Blues Explosion and Captain Beefheart rolled into one. Expect your ears to bleed.

THE WIRE (Brighton/London)This band originally from Brighton but now based in Brixton, will be coming to this gig fresh from the Great Escape Festival in Brighton, and this is only their third concert ever! The Wire combine indie, soul and electronica to devastating effect and their energetic live set brilliantly busts through genres to create a unique sound.

STASH (London)...far from a subdued opening act. Mixing the Ramones with elements of Jimi Hendrix, they should provide enough noise to blast you punters into the party spirit. Quiet they are not.

More information from Rockbeatstone or the Backstreets MySpace

Tangled Up in Blue

Mama, put my guns in the ground

2007-05-03T10:32:00.000+01:00

The best blog post in the world was written by this person last week. I've taken the liberty of quoting it in full here. Check out the blog Anti-Crapitalist...

High School shootings

Whilst there are shootings and other stuff in other countries I was reading some of the comments in the UK Times and Telegraph online today from US posters. They were full of those “Fuck you English, we don‘t give shit what you think” posts in response to the debate on America’s obsession with guns.

This made me question whether we are in fact wrong to attempt to comment upon and analyse what is an internal matter for the USA, and whether we have any legitimate right to do so at all.

[Or whether it was simply the case that every NRA cardholding, NASCAR loving, pickup driving, shithead in the US had been told to start posting aggressively on UK media sites by the NRA National Executive].

The Europeans certainly can’t help criticising anything that seems to go wrong in America and you have to sit down for a second and think why we do it.

…… I think I have the answer.

The problem with America, and the reason why acts such as this draw criticism in Europe and elsewhere, is that we are fucking sick of watching your fucking films, drinking your fucking shitty coffee, buying your fucking shitty goods and having our lives invaded every fucking second by the constant bombardment of all of this SHITE that tells us you’re the best country in the world and how your so great at fucking everything. We don‘t ask for it. We don‘t demand access to your culture. You just shovel it into everyone‘s face 24 hours a fucking day until we think were part of it and therefore think we have the right to comment.

I don’t want to watch fucking shite like “Friends” on UK TV, or buy fucking Starbuck’s coffee on my street corner. You did that not me. We didn’t ask for it.

And because you impose your culture on us telling us how friggin great everything is, the minute an event happens that proves that all this shite that you produce in the media is just that, shite, we just can’t resist pointing it out. Because we know that your not all living happy shiny lives in La La Land, and that most of what you generate to show the rest of the world how great you are is fucking rubbish.

The US is not the worlds biggest democracy, it’s a country of big winners and big losers, only your stupid enough to let your losers arm themselves and attack the winners.

The US Government proved after Hurricane Katrina that it does not even give a flying fuck about its own poor or dispossessed so what can the rest of the world realistically benefit from interracting with US culture or values.

Cho Seung-hui is just another armed, pissed off, mentally unstable, loser who should not even have been able to look in a gunshop window never mind be allowed to purchase a fucking gun. Even serious mental health problems, which he had in December 2005, does not seem to preclude you from buying a gun in the free-est country in the world.

Its hardly a shining beacon to the rest of the world and we can’t help pointing that out because the "cultural" imperialism you export to tell us how great things are just fucking pisses us off.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

They all play on penny whistles

2007-05-02T13:58:00.000+01:00

On Friday I went to Milan. It was a great trip to a city I’ve never been to before. I went to see Dylan (as most of my recent trips seem to involve him, I thought I’d bring it up early) at the Datchtforum in Assagio, on the outskirts of town.

A small review of the concert. Italian fans are absolutely mental. There was loads of cheering, the fans were really digging it – applauding every guitar solo, hand-clapping, I’m pretty sure there was some moshing down in the front. It makes a change from the gig-weary, cool Londonite crowd that I’m more used to seeing.

Bob-wise his performance was again excellent as it has been on every show I’ve seen in 2007. His diction/singing was again better than anything I witnessed in 2004/5/6. Highlights on that Friday were ‘Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues’ and a brilliant carnivalesque ‘Desolation Row’ which even had Bob dancing! A great performance of this song.

Another surprising highlight was ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ where the crowd sang along and it had a lot more power than the other versions I saw in Amsterdam, London or Birmingham.

The rest of the trip was taken with sightseeing around Milan’s famous landmarks, and also a wonderful chance encounter with Eric Andersen. Such a nice man.

If you want to see what I thought of Bob Dylan in Birmingham then click on this link here for a proper review. In other news, I've recently moved. More on that later this week.

Desolation Row.

You're an Idiot, Babe

2007-04-26T11:23:00.000+01:00

Idiot Wind

I can't even touch the books you've read

2007-04-25T13:47:00.000+01:00

Some books I’ve been reading:

The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz by Ron Jeremy
As promised here is my review of Ron Jeremy’s Autobiography.
It’s a great book. Not only for the funny porno tales, but for the honesty with which he reveals his frustrations at not being taken seriously. His work means that he has lost all the women dear to him in his life. But it is like a drug for him and he can’t change his ways. By the end of the book, he’s accepted that he will forever be known as Porn’s most famous star. And it’s a little sad in many respects. But overall it is a very funny read punctuated by real humanity.

Tony Visconti: the Autobiography.
This book is on the world famous producer who worked with Marc Bolan and T-Rex and David Bowie (among many others). Again this was an interesting read, although it lagged a little towards the end. Some of the stories surrounding Bowie’s songs are very interesting though - it would make a great read for a Bowie fan.

Gangs: A Journey into the Hear of the British Underworld by Tony Thompson.
This was given to me by my mate Will as a birthday present. He assured me that this wasn’t some crappy book aimed at FHM readers and was really interesting. And you know what, despite my worries that he was completely wrong, he did have a very valid point. The author goes undercover with British gangs and charts their history. Looking at various aspects of the criminal underworld (Guns, drugs, robbery, people-smuggling), the book does a great job of teaching the reader about how incredibly dodgy these characters are and does reveal the lack of success the police has had in stopping organised crime. As a fan of the Sopranos, it was great to read about their English colleagues.

The Progressive Patriot by Billy Bragg.
I’m now tucking into Billy Bragg’s book. I’ve only read a couple of chapters so far, but it is very promising indeed. The premise of the book is Bragg’s interpretation of patriotism and how where he has come from has defined the person he has become. As would be expected by a book from Bragg politics are important throughout and he does a great job of mixing current and past political issues and linking them to his personal life and experiences. Looking forward to finishing this one while I’m on holiday this weekend.

Other things:

Some other stuff I’ve been doing recently includes seeing the Arctic Monkeys at the Astoria in London. I’ve also been listening to Willy Mason’s new record. Click on the links to see what I thought of them.

Idiot Wind

I found hopeless love in the room above

2007-04-24T12:27:00.000+01:00

A new song from Bob Dylan! Always an exciting event for myself, I have yet to hear this. It is available on the Lucky You soundtrack, a film about some dude who gambles or something. The soundtrack also features the Boss.

Here are the lyrics to the new Dylan song, 'Huck's Tune'

Well I wandered alone through a desert of stone
And I dreamt of my future wife
My sword's in my hand and I'm next in command
In this version of death called life

My plate and my cup are right straight up
I took a rose from the hand of a child
When I kiss your lips, the honey drips
I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

Every day we meet on any old street
And you're in your girlish prime
The short and the tall are coming to the ball
I go there all the time

Behind every tree there's something to see
The river is wider than a mile
I tried you twice, you can't be nice
I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

Here come the nurse with money in her purse
Here come the ladies and men
You push it all in and you've no chance to win
You play 'em on down to the end

I'm laying in the sand getting a sunshine tan
Moving along riding in style
From my toes to my head you knock me dead
I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

I count the years and I shed no tears
I'm blinded to what might have been
Nature's voice makes my heart rejoice
Play me the wild song of the wind

I found hopeless love in the room above
When the sun and the weather were riled
You're as fine as wine, I ain't handing you no line
I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

All the marry little elves can go hang themselves
My faith is as cold as can be
I'm stacked high to the roof and I'm not without proof
If you don't believe me, come see

You think I'm blue, I think so too
In my words you'll find no guile
The game's gotten old
The deck's gone cold
And I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

Huck's Tune

I need something to support me

2007-04-23T12:34:00.000+01:00

Q: What do the Queen, Osama Bin Laden, Zammo from Grange Hill, Johnny Rotten, Rachal Stevens (from S Club 7), Dale Winton and Greg Rudeski have in common?

A: They are all Arsenal fans.

It was a slow news day for the sun who brought us the "Royal Exclusive" that the Queen supports Arsenal. What a load of bollocks, how lazy are their journalists? 12 people died in a police station bomblast in Iraq on Sunday, by the way.

Money Blues

I'd throw all the guns and the tanks in the sea

2007-04-20T15:46:00.000+01:00

I've not commented on the shootings in Virginia. The guy was obviously a nut-job. But discussing this in the office today revealed this nugget of information (originally from the Economist magazine).

Since 1963 more American citizens have been killed by guns in the USA than American soldiers killed in the foreign battlefields of the whole of the 20th century.

WWI and WWII were pretty bloody as well. Draw your own conclusions from that.

Let Me Die in my Footsteps

You've Got a lot of Nerve

2007-04-19T13:46:00.000+01:00

Does anyone else want to go round this kid’s house, smash up his computer, punch him in the face and steal his tickets ? Read what I’m on about here.

I mean he's making money off the back of music fans so he can go to the cinema with his mates. What a tosser. Get a fucking paper round you little shit.

Alternatively you can read my live review of Tiny Masters of Today. They are a punk band from Brooklyn, New York. Their average age is 11. They were hilarious.

Positively 4th Street

Even the bloodhounds of London couldn't find you today

2007-04-17T10:57:00.000+01:00

Some random thoughts from Dylan's two concerts at Wembley... this is not a review.

1) After treating me like a piece of shit at Bruce Springsteen last year, the security were at it again, accusing me of smoking cannabis in front of the venue when it quite clearly was a rolled up cigarette and despite there being no smell of pot anywhere. I almost got thrown out before I had even entered the gig. What a bunch of tossers. It seems as if all they need is a yellow jacket (which ironically had 'customer support' written on the back) to become complete and utter nazis. I hate them with a passion.

2) There is a deaf guy who goes to Dylan concerts and has all the lyrics printed out from the website. I guess this is how he follows the songs.

3) Dylan fans are a crazy bunch - from wild old hippies, to people entering their mid-life crisis to some of the most beautiful young women in the world. Odd mix of people.

4) There was a pissed-up Scottish bird shouting Dylan related football chants before the show. This was funny.

5) One of Dylan's roadies has a serious limp in their left leg.

6) Dylan's concerts are the only ones where they burn incense on the stage throughout (at least out of all the concerts I have been to)

7)'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' (from where the title to this blog is taken) is always an excellent song. I think that it is impossible for me not to enjoy it live.

8) 'Ain't Talkin' is now my favourite song from Modern Times. It was great last night.

9) Wembley Arena's pricing is ridiculous - £6 for chicken and chips, £3.50 for a crappy hotdog. Bollocks to that!

10) Frederica, is a woman who goes to every concert with a sign saying 'I need free ticket'. She often gets in. What you don't know is that she collects numerous 'free' tickets and sells them on to fund her Bob obsession. She should be avoided like the plague. I saw her on both nights in London.

Bring on Birmingham tonight, let's hope there's more random stuff going on.

While you're waiting for me to return with news of Birmingham, please read my review of Neon Bible.

Something's Burning Baby

Do you remember where you been?

2007-04-12T16:53:00.000+01:00

In case people are wondering what i've been upto... I am still alive.

Firstly I assulted a grandmother who was close to getting the last £3 primark T-shirt in the new shop on Oxford Street. I was arrested and thrown in prison for a while. When I was released I went to County Durham to attend an unofficial Skins party I saw on MySpace. In case you're wondering, I was the one who urinated on the wedding dress.

No really, I went to Amsterdam to see Bob Dylan. I had a wicked time, met lots of Dylan friends and spent most of my time in pubs and other local establishments. I've drank so much over the last few days, I think my body will soon give up on me.

Then I returned to the UK to celebrate my birthday with friends in my local. I got some cool presents like some model Meerkats, the Extras DVD boxset and the Big Lebowski on DVD (I only previously had it on video, but my copy is worn out, so that's nice).

Tonight I'm going to see the Arctic Monkeys at the Astoria. Bring it on. I've also finally had my review of the best gig of the year, Arcade Fire, published over at Rockbeatstone.

Rita May

Is to say I've been hittin' some hard travelin' too

2007-04-05T16:56:00.000+01:00

As you may remember, my youngest brother has decided to go travelling. He’s just finished his stint at a farm/factory farm in Mildura, Victoria, close to the border with New South Wales. It’s basically a remote Australian town. On their website they helpfully list all of the town’s facilites such as petrol stations and banks. As you’d expect from an Australian Town, the section on Arts, Heritage and Culture is particularly weak…

I haven’t heard/spoken to him in months. But he did find the time to send me a link to his travelblog. So this is basically a photo montage of all the exciting things he’s been doing in Australia for the last six months.

And it only has three photos, one of him on a forklift truck, one of a kangaroo road sign and one of him in a pub drinking with his mates.

What a complete and utter tosser – he’s not even bothered to send me any real news or real photos. I hope that he’s done more than that in his six months! Idiot.

[note: do you see my jealous streak coming out?]

Song to Woody

Dignity never been photographed

2007-04-04T12:32:00.000+01:00

One of my best friends from school is a Canadian bird called Bree (yes, she is named after a cheese). She's been living out in East Timor, the youngest nation on the planet, doing amazing stuff out there with the UN while a civil war rages. She is a true kind soul with not a bad bone in her body. Yes, she is often hyperactive and unable to stop speaking, but apart from that she's cool and I love her to bits (as a friend, before you start mocking me like you probably did at primary school).

While she was out in Timor, she met a Scottish guy called Robin who was a photographer. He sadly and unexpectedly passed away. In order to honour him and his work, Bree has set up a website with his photos. It would be great if you could take a peek. He really was an amazing photographer and they will move you. She's got some slideshows and stuff sorted on there as well.

Check out the website here.

Dignity

The Lone Wolf went out drinking

2007-04-02T12:33:00.000+01:00

Hello world.

I am tired. I spent all day drinking on Saturday. Not recommended. Started with a Liverpool v Arsenal football match and finally eneded at 4.30am on Sunday morning.

More worringly is the fact that I woke up six hours later and didn't have a hangover.

You may remember that I went to see Gwar. You can read my review of the gig here.

Tough Mama

All the friends I ever had are gone

2007-03-30T15:51:00.000+01:00

Adam and Joe did some of the best comedy on British television in the 1990s. Their show was famous for using toys to parody famous films and TV programmes. Find below the video of their parody of 'Friends', called 'Furrends'.

Enjoy!

Delia

And it's all over now, Baby Blue

2007-03-28T17:08:00.000+01:00

The greatest TV show of all time is soon coming to an end. If you live in the US of A then the final series of the Sopranos is going to be aired on Easter Sunday (that's April 8th).

If you live in the UK and are addicted to the show, then do not search for "sopranos" on google, avoid all emails from America for the next three months and do not read the newspapers. It seems that we (avid UK based fans) will have to be very careful to not accidentally find out what happens. Seeing as More4/E4/Channel 4 will not pull their finger out and give this series in a respectable time-frame, we'll have to wait until the TV overlords decide that we are worthy enough to see this.

I mean what is all that about? Why can't we just have the show the day after the US airing or something? It would certainly stop those little nerdy pricks downloading it from the net, which seems to excite TV executives to a stupid degree. Hey, even better, why not release it on DVD first as soon as the series is over in the States? I know I'd pay £100 for that.

While we're waiting for it to make our way to our shores, why not get some food down our throats, Sopranos style? Regarding the plot line... my money is on AJ entering the "family" and Tony snuffing it. Only time or a misplaced click of the mouse will prove me right or wrong.

In other news I've written a review of the Playing Fields debut album and one of Craig Johnston's debut EP.

It's All Over Now Baby Blue

Well, it can't be no guitar player

2007-03-27T13:31:00.000+01:00

At the weekend I went to the Gibson Guitar photo exhibition at Blink Gallery in Poland Street, Soho. It was great, but as usual I wanted to buy lots of the photos on display, but again I didn’t have the required £1,000 to £2,000 spare. This exhibition is to celebrate one of the greatest guitar manufacturers in the world.

Essentially, loads of rock stars with their Gibson guitars. There were photos of Slash, the Beatles, the Stones, Jimi, the Who, Dylan, Jack White, BB King and U2 and even the Travelling Willburys (which was a bargain at £650! Four stars for the price of less than one!). But what most perplexed me was the inclusion of a recent Madonna playing a guitar. What the fuck is all that about? And she was more expensive than some of the other photos on display. Her photo should have cost about 80p. She now looks like some old tranny-whore.

See some of the photos below. For more photos and details, see their website here. It is definitely worth visiting if you have a spare moment.

Call Letter Blues

You can show me a new place to start

2007-03-26T14:28:00.000+01:00

All new singing and dancing rockbeatstone is online. It will enable the website to be searched better by google, people to see more clearly what is new and what is not and crucially, enable the writers to update the website instantaneously.

I’ve written reviews of Tom Waits’s most recent offering, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards, the Young Kinves debut album, and Boys and Girls in America from Springsteen revivalists, the Hold Steady.

Expect some more new stuff on there from myself soon.

Where Teardrops Fall

Sister, lemme tell you about a Vision I Saw (#4)

2007-03-23T16:47:00.000Z

Visions that encapsulate London. #4 - Estate Agents

Back to my rants about London. In the space of three days a shop space near my office has been turned into an estate agent. Just last week it was an art gallery.

I’ve written about estate agents before and how I hate them and their ways, they seem to be popping up everywhere. They are full of complete and utter tossers, out there trying to make an easy commission. What a load of bollocks. Says it all that an art gallery has made way for these bastards.

But they’re spreading like a virus, attacking the vital areas of London. What was a nice street in Bloomsbury with a ‘village-feel’ to it has instantly been cheapened by the addition of Wanker, Tosser & Sons, or whatever they are called, at the expense of an artists gallery. Sure the gallery was exclusively for the mega-rich but it was part of the street’s character. Now we’ve got white walls and trendy computer screens, with stupidly expensive houses in the window that no-one can afford.

And it’s the same all over London, it seems as if the British obsession with property is killing the soul of our local communities. I hope that there’s a housing crash so the buggers can be brought down to earth and some of these estate agents can one day be replaced by bookshops, record shops, and art galleries. I know that this realistically isn’t going to happen anytime soon, if at all, but one can dream.

Bastards!

Read other Visions of London

Precious Angel

Turning children into punks and slaves

2007-03-22T10:07:00.000Z

It's not everyday that a random trip to the pub results in meeting a former Sex Pistol.

The weird evening started like this. A phone call from my friend Steve who really wants to go to Filthy McNasty’s, probably London’s greatest pub. So I call a few friends who also turn up and we all meet at the pub. There are posters all over the wall from the punk era. Concert and album posters for the Clash, the Sex Pistols, Ian Dury, etc.. Which is cool and very interesting. And we find out that they are being exhibited there as part of a celebration of punk music. Then a guy in a very expensive Italian jacket walks in and I swear that I know the guy but I can’t place him. And this starts to bug me for a while.

Then a bloke goes to the stage section of the pub and introduces himself, he’s David Nolan and he’s written a book called The Gig that Changed the World about the Sex Pistols’ Lesser Free Trade Hall concert that about 7 million people say they were there. What is for sure is that Morrissey, Peter Hook of Joy Division and members of Buzzcocks and Simply Red (urgh!) were. As well as Tony Wilson of Factory Records. The concert is recreated in the film 24 hour Party People. It could well be one of the most influential concerts of all time. Interestingly enough, the Lesser Free Trade Hall is above the real Free Trade Hall where the infamous "Judas!" shout at Dylan in 1966 happens. There is so much musical history in that building. Sadly, it is now a hotel.

After his presentation, we go up to the guy and start talking to him about the book, about the creation of musical legends and we ask him to sign our books which we’ve now bought. And he says, you should get Glenn Matlock over there to sign it and it all clicks into place in my mind.

We all went over, had a chat with him and he was a friendly guy. He is playing a gig at the pub, but he can’t remember which night (punk rock!). A nice chat, got him to autograph my book and got a photo with him.

My friend Steve’s fiancé doesn’t know who he is and starts asking him whether “he’s followed his dream”. “Not yet”, comes the rather bemused reply. Funny as hell, but I'm sure that it is different to the usual questions he gets.

Here’s a photo of Glenn getting pissed with Sid and Nancy. Couldn't find any on-stage photos on the net. This maybe because he was thrown out of the band for allegedly "liking the Beatles" in 1977. Glenn's on the left with a pint in his hand. This must have been taken after he left the band.

Band of the Hand (It's Hell Time Man!)

Next to come was the old gray cat, Uh-huh

2007-03-19T11:35:00.000Z

I watched the most amazing programme of all time on television last night. No it is not ‘the Sopranos’ or ‘Match of the Day’ but ‘Meerkat Manor’.

It’s an animal documentary about a group of Meerkat’s (surprisingly enough). And it is more addictive than crack. It’s truly brilliant and showcases the amazing social interactions between these creatures. The commentary is also absolutely hilarious. Once over, you just want to find out what’s happening to these creatures.

I highly recommend it. Sunday nights 6pm, BBC two. Watch it and you will be won over. There are clips on the official fan site of Meerkat Manor, as well as games, etc..

Froggie went a Courtin’

A whore will pass the hat, collect a hundred grand and say thanks

2007-03-16T16:04:00.000Z

As promised here is my second post of the day...

Joss Stone astounded the world a few years back with her voice and covers album. She was a girl of seventeen and sang soul songs like a diva. The press loved her.

Fast-forward a few years and it seems like everyone hates her. She appeared at the Brits and spoke like an American, this in itself is very weird. Her south-western accent had been replaced with a Californian drawl. She now dresses like a wannabe hippie icon of the flower-power generation. On her website she has written a seven thousand word (!) thank you note. Thanking everyone from Lemar to James Brown, “i just miss you and wanna talk to u about so many things. because i know somehow this message will find its way to your spirit.”

This is annoying for a few reasons. Firstly, she doesn’t use punctuation or capital letters throughout (this always pisses me off). Secondly, it is so self-congratulating and lovey-dovey that it makes you want to puke. Seriously, if you have a spare three hours then sit down and have a read of it. You will feel much better because you will now be sure that you are not the stupidest person on the planet.

So in tribute to Joss Stone, I’m going to write my own thank you note for my blog.

i wanna thank the lord and his little baby jesus without which we would not be on this planet and the blogosphere would not have been created.

i wanna thank the good guys a blogger who have hosted my blog. Big up to you guys. Of course thanks to google who own blogger. no evil RESPECT!!! i wanna thank the old dude who invented the internet (Al Gore) peace and green love.

Mum and Dad thanks. theres so much I could say but won’t, as I only have 7,000 words to fill.

James Brown. i miss you so much man. There are so many things that i want to say to you. It is because of you that I started to write a blog. Soul man was my inspiration. i know that you’re in heaven blogging with god now.

Whoever started the rumour that elton john is gay is a liar. i hope that you write to mr elton and apologise i have proof of this. love u ej!

To all my friends, who come in to do my make-up before i blog and support me…hugs and kisses. u know who you are
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

[continued ad infinitum]

Foot of Pride

The sky's changing color

2007-03-16T12:10:00.000Z

Another music post. It appears that this is the only topic on which I’m writing at the moment. I’ve got so many concerts coming up it’s untrue (check out my MySpace calendar to see what I’m going to in the coming months). Last night I saw the amazing brilliance of Arcade Fire. Such a great band. They play every gig like it’s their last and are just so passionate. I’m lucky enough to be seeing them again tomorrow. Just writing about it is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up again. I'll be writing a proper review on the new rockbeatstone when it is all finished.

But what I really wanted to write about today is Wilco. I’ve written a preview of their new album, Blue Sky Blue on Music For Grown Ups. I can’t wait until it is released and they come to London. I used to like Wilco, I had seen them live and I loved all of their albums and I had a few bootlegs. Then I split up with my girlfriend and all of their songs spoke to me. They nearly all became songs about my life, like the best songs should. I can’t get over how one’s personal circumstances can make the difference between a "good song" and a "truly beautiful song that you can't live without". Jeff Tweedy’s (leader of the band) songs about love are, quite simply, stunning.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Wilco and Jeff Tweedy for writing songs which are dear to me and which have helped me through rough times. Which reminds me of another blog post I thought about writing… I’ll be back later on today.

Farewell Angelina

Come you Masters of Gwar

2007-03-15T12:07:00.000Z

Hello,

In case you were wondering, I’m not ill or anything, I’ve just been busy at work this week, so haven’t had much time to update. I’ve also been busy helping out with rockbeatstone’s new website (coming soon…) and putting things in place for the second of my gig nights, Backstreets.

Today I am seeing the second best live band in the world today, Arcade Fire. I am very excited by this, it will be amazing.

However, tomorrow, for some unknown reason (well, a friend twisted my arm), I am going to see a band called Gwar at the Mean Fiddler in central London. In case you haven’t heard of them, here is how they are described on the venue’s website:

“The band is best known for their elaborate sci-fi/horror film inspired costumes; raunchy, obscene, politically incorrect lyrics; and graphic stage performances.”

They are on their “Europe Must Be Destroyed” leg of their “Beyond Hell 2007 World Tour”. When the term “graphic stage performances” is used it means that they cut off each other’s limbs and the crowd get drenched in fake blood. They also have a massive penis which fires fake urine and semen into the crowd. Last time my friend saw them, they opened with a freak show. This concert is going to rock like no other.

You can check out Gwar here at their website, or as they call it, ‘The Official Cyber-Fortress of Your Lords and Masters, Gwar’.

Masters of War

About the greatest gambler, you all should know him well

2007-03-12T11:44:00.000Z

This weekend I had the most bizarre stroke of luck. My friend had organised a trip to a casino in central London. We used to go a lot when we were at university, and I hadn’t been since so it was good to go back. I was initially worried that the stakes were going to be too high, with a £5 minimum on black jack (my game of choice) compared to the £1 and £2 minimum’s we had at the Casinos in Newcastle. So it took me a long time to pluck up the courage to hit the table.

I took out £60 on the night, spent £20 of it in the pub (where I confidently declared that I was "feeling lucky today") and had £40 to ‘loose’. I like it this way as I know that I’ll have spent money and had a good laugh at the same time and it helps me keep it all under control. It’s easy to get carried away with these things. I started off with roulette and had a lucky streak and made my first £20 become £50. I then had a drink and some free food before returning to Roulette and managed to loose all of my profit in about ten minutes...

It was then I took the fateful decision to play the cards and I made £100! Luck was quite simply with me. I then took a break and again had a few drinks before returning to the table where I made a further £130! I was just so incredibly lucky. Everything I did was right, each decision brilliant and I had the cards in my favour. I was so amused by this situation that I even tried pushing my luck, took a card on 17 for the hell of it and got 21! Even when I was trying to loose I couldn’t.

But Casino’s in the UK are a funny thing. There’s nothing glamorous about them. They are filled with Chinese people (one player spent £300 in about 2 minutes on roulette and another had a £600 debit card transaction refused by her bank at the cashing desk) and many people who look of a dubious nature. Those dubious characters that fill smoky pubs and who all seem to make deals on their mobile phones while sipping a pint of stella.

In the London casino there were also a few people who looked like whores. I’m not kidding you, a woman who spent her time around the tables on the look-out for someone who had won it big and who had her breasts on constant display for all to see. This is about as far from the glitz and glamour of Vegas as it is possible to get.

But I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I’ve always approached gambling as a pleasant past-time which I do from time to time. This weekend I got lucky, but next time I won’t be as lucky, it’s when you’re expecting that big win to come around on the next roll of the roulette wheel, the next throw of the craps dice, the next croupier at black jack, the next roll of the slot machine that you’ve got a problem. Unfortunately, there were plenty of people in the casino at the weekend who were thinking like that. These are the people who will need help when the super-casinos come around and gambling is further liberalised.

I won't be making a trip back to the casino for a while... I'm going to enjoy the winning feeling for a long time before I return - I'll only end up loosing. It's the nature of the game. And hopefully some of those sorry sorry people in the casino will realise this soon. But I think they won't.

Ramblin', Gamblin' Willie

Where all the cars are stripped between the gates of night

2007-03-09T12:13:00.000Z

Some of you may be wondering what I do for a living. Sure you’ve seen me write about music and sport, but that’s just for fun. You’ve heard about me organising a gig night – that too is just for fun.

I’m actually a mechanic during the day. Yesterday a journalist came to speak to me about my other hobby. You can read what he’s written about my life here.

Golden Loom

I'll just bid farewell till we meet again

2007-03-08T12:32:00.000Z

Another Dylan post - yes I know... I promise to write about something else tomorrow.

Uncut magazine have a daily treasure trove of stuff found on YouTube. Today’s is the Bob Dylan performance of ‘Restless Farewell’ at Frank Sinatra’s 8oth birthday party. It’s an amazing performance of this song which every time I watch sends shivers down my spine and along the back of my neck.

The look on Sinatra’s face at the end is priceless, he looks like he’s had one of those life changing moments, one of those transcending Dylan moments when you can’t help but be in awe. I’ve been lucky enough to witness a few moments like these myself. He just looks like he’s seen a ghost. Dylan may never be as good a singer as Sinatra was, but I bet that at that moment in time Sinatra would have swapped his voice and all of his success for the ability to write a song only half as good as ‘Restless Farewell’.

But then after the camera pans to David Hasselhof who is trying to fight back the tears…and I laugh which is a shame as I’ve been so moved by the performance. I guess Hasselhof does weird things to you. Here’s my favourite verse from the song:

“Oh ev'ry girl that ever I've touched,
I did not do it harmfully.
And ev'ry girl that ever I've hurt,
I did not do it knowin'ly.
But to remain as friends and make amends
You need the time and stay behind.
And since my feet are now fast
And point away from the past,
I'll bid farewell and be down the line.”

Wow. That Dylan has a way with words. I think he'll make it big some day. Here's the video:

Restless Farewell

As she was walkin' by the arcade

2007-03-07T11:15:00.000Z

Arcade Fire countdown: Only eight more days to go until I see the second greatest live band in the world play Brixton Academy (second only to Wilco).

I've been listening to their new album Neon Bible. Great stuff. I especially like track two: 'Keep the Car Running' and of course 'Intervention' which I first heard around Xmas time. Best line from 'Intervention' is this one by far: "They're singing hallelujah when defeating your heart".

But the album is all about mood, and there's stacks of it on Neon Bible. I'll write a proper review when I get the time and post a link to it here. Can't wait until next Thursday though, i'm stupidly excited by the prospect of seeing this band again.

See Arcade Fire play 'Intervention' on my blog

Simple Twist of Fate

Thinking about the government

2007-03-06T14:38:00.000Z

Here is a wonderful colour photo of the world's most famous, and probably first, music video: 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'. This was filmed when Dylan visited the UK in 1965 and can be seen on the excellent documentary, Dont Look Back by D.A. Pennebaker. It's coming out in an expanded edition over the next few weeks in the UK. The shot was taken in the alley behind the Savoy in London where he was staying.

Subterrnanean Homesick Blues

'Bout an old man who never done wrong

2007-03-06T12:52:00.000Z

So I’ve written an article on the UEFA Champions League and how it is now a crock of shite.

And I’ve received some feedback. Apparently people think that I’m a 60 year-old fart. Maybe I am in spirit but I'm certainly not in body.

Read the controversial article now.

Man on the Street

Boys in the street beginning to play

2007-03-05T13:35:00.000Z

So my gig night (Backstreets at the Windmill) got underway to a flying start. We were lucky with the last minute addition of Prinzhorn Dance School and unlucky with the rain. But overall I think everyone had fun. The night was part of an idea to promote the magazine I write for, Rockbeatstone.

It was incredibly stressful at the start…technical problems meant a delayed start but we managed to make up time pretty quickly. First on was Adam Killip from my favourite London based band, the Tailors. He did a solo set of bittersweet songs, some hilarious, some just simply moving. A brilliant and genuine guy, his band’s record is out today. I think all of you should look this band up they’re great. I’d also like to thank him as without him none of this would have been possible.

Elks were on next and they simply rocked the place. Including a grand finale where the guitar player moved into the crowd. They certainly were getting into it with passion battling jet lag and illness at the same time. Red Fishes were on after Elks and they too played an amazing set, Chaz, singer and guitarist is a great Bob Dylan fan and we spoke about our passion for his music at length after the show. They’re playing some gigs in April around London so please do go and see them if you have the chance.

The Furies are possibly the most rock and roll guys I’ve ever met. They spent much of the soundcheck time chatting up any female in the room. I’ve got a brilliant picture with one of them winking while he has his arm around my mate Steve’s fiancée. They quite simply rocked. They’ve certainly got the attitude down to a tee. ‘Money’ is a great rock and roll song too.

Finally, Prinzhorn Dance School, those last minute additions came to the stage. Another great set from them, they were using this as a warm-up to their night at the Astoria with LCD Soundsystem and for a Saturday night gig at Scala. Some great guys, the girl bass-player (I can’t remember her name) seems to be too sweet for rock and roll! A lovely girl, I just hope the industry doesn’t destroy her. Very friendly and chatty, she seemed to be so excited and thanked me for letting them play by giving me a massive and unexpected hug which just felt lovely. There are some people who are just great at giving hugs!

Finally, Rockbeatstone contributors Jamie and Will played a DJ set into the early hours of the morn which included ‘Power of Love’. I hated it (the song, not the rest of their set) but I’m glad that the entire room seemed to be dancing along. A great set from these first time DJs and I'd like to publicly thank them.

At the end of the night, I was sitting with a beer, lost in my own thoughts at the ridiculousness of it all. There were couples left/right/centre getting off with each other which made me laugh. Perhaps my gig night started some meaningful romances. Or maybe it just helped a few people have some drunken fun? But I couldn't help but feel proud looking at all the people having fun around me.

I certainly never felt that I could have done this a few months ago. My thoughts about this came out of the blue, it was just something that I felt I wanted to do and I just buckled down and organised it. Although stressful I had the best feeling after the night was up. I felt on top of the world and to be honest it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like that.

Here’s to the next night, when I’ve recovered slightly and thought about who I’d like to play. I hope you can make it next time. Finally, thanks to the Windmill for trusting me to put on my gig night!

'Till I fell in Love With You

Things fall to pieces in my face

2007-03-01T11:22:00.000Z

There is a new album by Wilco called Blue Sky Blue coming out in May. They're playing Shepherds Bush Empire on May 20th and i'll be there. I just can't miss this band coming to London. As I've probably written here before, they are one of my favourite live bands in the world.

You can hear some of the new songs here. 'You Are My Face' is amazing. I think you'll agree that these sound absolutely glorious, possibly some of the best songs of the last I don't know how many years. The lyrics to 'You Are My Face' are below. I feel like crying at the beauty of it all.

Fuck me, I'm emotional today. Maybe I'm having a male time of the month thing.

YOU ARE MY FACE

I remember my mother's sister's husband's brother
Working in the gold mine, full time, filling in for sunshine
Filing in to tight lines, ordinary beehives

The door screams i hate you, hate you
Hanging 'round my blue jeans
Why is there no breeze?
No currency of leaves
No current through the water while
No feelings i can see

I trust no emotion
I believe in locomotion
I've turned to rust, as we've discussed
Though I must have let you down too many times
In the dirt and the dust

[Guitar]

I have no idea how this happens
All of my maps have been overthrown
Happenstance has changed my glance
So many times, my heart has been outgrown

Now everybody's feeling all alone
Can't tell you who I am
When everybody's feeling all alone
Can't tell you who I am

[Guitar]

I am looking forward
Toward the shadows chasing bones
My face is stitched and sewing
Our houses hemmed into homes
Trying to be thankful

Our stories fit into phones
And our voices lift so easily, a gift given accidentally
When we're not sure we're alone

Everything is Broken

The cracked bells and washed-out horns

2007-02-28T14:24:00.000Z

The organisation of my gig night (Backstreets at the Windmill, Friday 2nd March, 8pm) took a surprising turn when some people called Prinzhorn Dance School said that they wanted to play.

They're on DFA Records (Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem) and they're warming up for their UK tour with LCD Soundsystem by playing a "secret" gig at Backstreets! They're currently causing quite a buzz on the UK music scene. It should be a great set from these boyos.

So the line-up is now as follows:

Prinzhorn Dance School
The Furies
The Red Fishes
Elks
Adam from the Tailors

More information can be found on the Rockbeatstone newsblog. I hope to see some of you henotbusybeingbornisbusydying readers at the Windmill on Friday!

I Want You

Crying like a fire in the sun

2007-02-27T12:29:00.000Z

I'm quite excited that i'm lucky enough to be able to go and see Arcade Fire twice in the space of a week in a couple of weeks time. Here's a video of them on the American TV programme Saturday Night Live playing 'Intervention'. I can't wait... they are amazing live and it's been nearly two years since I saw them for the first and only time.

It's All Over Now Baby Blue

When they tried to strangle Larry...

2007-02-22T11:18:00.000Z

I don’t know why I love Curb Your Enthusiasm so much. It’s probably because it makes me laugh…but that’s the simple answer. I guess I like it because the protagonist (Larry David) plays an extreme version of himself. A man who questions everything, who hates being in the wrong and who ponders about the little things in life. Just like Seinfeld (the previous show he worked on), it’s a show about “nothing”. I also love it because the script is about 10 pages long per episode and most of the dialogue is improvised. In Curb, Larry asks important questions, such as is it only black muslims who ware bow ties? Why is it alright to say ‘fuck’ or ‘dick’ but not ‘cunt’? Why can’t you congratulate a father on the size of his son’s manhood?

I guess somewhere deep inside of me, I want to be that person. Here’s a quote and the clip from my favourite episode. Larry scores pitchside seats for basketball and manages to ingure Shaquille O’Neil. All of Los Angeles hates him, but his life changes for the better and everything works out fine for him. In this clip he goes to Starbucks and mocks their pretentious coffee. Brilliant stuff.

Larry: “What's in this latte?”
Starbucks employee: “Milk and coffee”
Larry: “Oh my God. Milk and coffee. I never would have thought of that. That's so brilliant”.
Larry: “I'll have a vanilla... one of those vanilla bullshit things. You know, whatever you want, some vanilla bullshit latte cappa thing. Whatever you got.”

Joey

Drinkin' too many kegs

2007-02-21T14:40:00.000Z

Jesus Christ do I feel bad today.

Here's a hint: never stay up drinking cocktails until 3am on a school night.

Here's another hint: This is the best band in the world right now (Thanks to Will for the three month heads up). Listen to the song 'Stuck Between Stations' first. Best song ever.

Listen to me and you'll have a healthier lifestyle and good taste in music.

Please Mrs Henry

Let your hair hang low

2007-02-19T13:59:00.000Z

As you will all know, Britney Spears has gone mental and shaved all of her hair off.

Some brilliant entrepreneur is now selling an original lock of her hair on ebay.

Happy bidding.

Alberta

When He returns

2007-02-16T13:57:00.001Z

I am a trend setter. I've been banging on about Springsteen here and to my friends for ages now ... at last other people are realising. From the very brilliant Guardian journalist John Harris:

"It is time, I fear, to temporarily stop playing retro one-upmanship and place all those CDs by Can, Gang of Four and Albert Ayler to one side. Never mind that the man himself is currently coming over all folksome and keeping his classic incarnation at arm's length: 2007 is the year of the long-delayed Bruce Springsteen revival. By the summer - just maybe, anyway - boom-boxes at Glastonbury will be soundtracking warm afternoons with repeat-plays of Darkness on the Edge of Town, while callow students realise that now him from the Kooks has claimed that "It's almost impossible not to be influenced by Nick Drake", it's time to move in exactly the opposite direction, strap your hands across the nearest available engines, and put on Born to Run."

Read the complete article here.

When he Returns

With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest

2007-02-15T11:20:00.000Z

I may have spoken about this before, but for my work I need to read the Daily Express everyday. It truly is one of Britain’s worst newspapers. Not only in terms of it’s political point of view, but also in terms of quality. The writers are rubbish, the columnists are awful, the layout is cheap, the sports coverage is pitiful.

Everyday they have a question to which readers can phone in their point of view. These are always simple questions with ‘Yes/No’ answers. Today’s question was particularly brilliant:

Is Britain going to the dogs?

YES: 0901 031 1501 or text DXVOTE A to 82100
NO: 0901 031 1502 or text DXVOTE B to 82100

I’ve included the phone numbers so you too can participate in this important exercise in democracy.

Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again