jarvis

My best of 2006 post is way out of date (this is what comes of being a less than prolific blogger). However there was an album that I wanted to shine some light on, because I have continued to listen to, and it may still be my gig of 2007 so far. Jarvis’ album appealed to me for 2 main reasons;
1) it rocked
2) it was so jaundiced

rocking is pretty easy and I can name a lot of bands that do it more than adequately. But having a jaded, modern life is rubbish slant is something special, especially when it is so eloquent. It’s always about the lyrics, but simply the title “from aushwitz to ipswitch” or the video to “don’t waste your time” capture a unique slant on life. “ cunts are still running the world” requires no nuance, it’s telling like he sees it. After these gret tracks I still wasn’t expecting too much from a 40 something brit pop washup in concert. However, he rocked; great between song banter and purple haze??!? as an encore.

So this ties nicely into my eternal quandary, how does one age gracefully (or disgracefully, depending on how you want to go). I was on facebook the other day and I saw all these people that I saw in my early 20’s, and they remain douche bags. Then I would have been lairy and told them they were cunts, I have mellowed somewhat in my old age, however the temptation is very strong let me tell you….

atp vs the fans

hey kids

we were at atp vs the fans on the weekend. it ruled, no camping, hot showers, a fridge and all the mod cons. also great bands and good friends, top!

my highlights; cornelius, the books, yo la tengo, sparklehorse, les savy fav.

great!

madrid

i went to madrid this weekend to see manuel and kay-z. it was great, only a couple of days, i ate my bodyweight in jamon serrano (manuel bought a leg which we ploughed through). we played wii (the first console i have been interested in owning), drank rum?!?, and ate a lot of tapas. very nice...

photos

looking at the hyacinth fields, dim sum, roast dinners and a cat-in-a-box

Vinyl

My new found vinyl craze has gone through an obscene burst. This week I have bought/received; lps;
css, prefuse 73- extinguished outtakes, fugazi-the argument, spiritualized-amazing grace, Jarvis
7/12 inches;
Panda bear- bros, cat power- the greatest, and about 5 others
And I won on ebays;
Pixies, trompe le monde, king tubby-double album, stereolab- , broadcast-work and non-work
Luckily I got a raise, maybe now I need to get a secret credit card that dagmar can’t track…

The lovers gift-sterilisation

That’s what I got mittens for valentine’s day. Some might say it’s cruel, but others (like these guys) advocate it…

two gigs

it's not a post about data (see what i did there, switch & replace)
we went to see two pretty great gigs last week.
on monday we went to see jarvis. i really like the new album, it's got an interesting old man sleaze to it. and the titles are jaundiced enough to be coming from someone half his age; "cunts are still running the world"", "from auschwitz to ipswitch" etc




and then on friday it was lo-fi-fnk, one of the faces of new rave(tm). they were great, pumping beats, nice sportswear, fun!

i've missed you

Had a great christmas. It was cool not to travel for a holiday. I sat on my erse, boozed and slept late (and cooked a very delicious goose for Christmas). Billy ruptured her appendix on Christmas which sucked (how selfish can you get?). it was very sucky, she was in a lot of pain, and missed her slot to go back to oz, but luckily alls well that ends well and she’s sunning her bum over there now
Then benjy and phil came to visit. We repeated the same trick but looked at some windmills and went to Rotterdam (and finally went for a peek in one of the cube houses)
New years was surprisingly good,.a little raving (so to speak) and some good tunes

Last week was spent in morzine in the alps for a little snowboarding. We had lessons every day and I loved it as I thought I might. I could carve and make it down the hill in one piece. We had a hot tub to rest our aching bones and a chef cooking us great meals. Very great.

Mouldy is here this week with Clemence, so it’s all good…

marcus

prince + bratwurst

pics

my blog was getting boring, so i had to upload some pictures from the last month or do, ilja came to visit. jamie lidell played (i don't have any sonic youth pictures, but they rocked)

slack posting

Since I got back to being able to drink again, I have been a shit blog poster. Does that mean that blogging is the drinking of the teatotaller? Or that drinking allows you to spout more crap- I’m not a psychologist, but there’s a good story there.
Christmas is around the corner.. it’s also the time of year for “best of” lists. I’m a sucker for stats and numbers so this is why it appeals to me- it also tells me what I missed out this year and get my downloading ass on asap. (I talk exclusively of music, but there’s many movies and books too), but I will aim to give at least my top 5 of books, movies and albums of this year. I have started running again, it is great, but I have lost all of my condition, and I want to be totally ripped for snowboarding. Bro.
Tonight I am going to watch sonic youth, they are going to rule. Officially. “rather ripped” is far too rock for 40 year olds., it’s interesting to be an older statement of avant rock. I confess that besides dirty I’ve never been a big fan, but murray st and rather ripped have both been great. Kinda mellow and not too difficult to listen to. Anyway, tomorrow night is Jamie lidell and if you don’t have multiply, first kick yourself then go get it.
Only 5 shopping days till Christmas, get moving bitch

vincent gallo loves you (for $50k)

Check it, For just $50k you too can now win a night of unbridled passion with actor/guitar hero/misogynist/tough guy Vincent gallo (cheaper than buying his semen anyway).
Also it applies to anyone ”Heavy set, older, red heads and even black chicks can have me if they can pay the bill”

hype machine

i think this is a great site. If you have heard of a band and want to find out what they sound like, put the name in the search function and kaboom they’ll link you to mp3 blogs that are posting that track. Very useful for checking out what the “kids” are listening to and for finding cool mp3 blogs too. Ps I had blood taken today and barely winced.

opiate of the masses

I am a semi-Luddite at home, we don't get any teevee. There is so much crap on that i dont usually miss it (and my pet bugbear is reality tv and how crap it is)
However, with time on my hands bored in the hospital i got to browse a number of channels and loved two programs; iron chef and project runway.
Iron chef is classic, a reality show with aspiring cooks having to go through immunity rounds and cook wierd challenges (a new tgi fridays meal, ingredients out of a vending machine). A cooking show with a twist (and salman rushdie’s girlfriend presenting it, who is real purty) i hope betty goes next...
Project runway is also on on reality show, this time with fashion designers (one with the most outrageous neck tattoo) most entertaining.
Which leads me to think that dvd series, books and red wine wont get me through the winter, and the idiot box needs to be cranked up tivo-style..

......

start spreading the news

the light, the tunnel, old friends & JC

it was nearly like that kids...
i was about to make my triumphant entry into winning the new york marathon. i trained my ass off, lots of early mornings, shitloads of pasta, enough gatorade- i was ready for it. unfortunately at the 23rd mile something happened and i flaked out. the next thing i heard was an american voice asking me how i felt and waking up plugged into oxygen in the back of an ambulance.
it was rough, i didn't know where i lived, why i was in the us, where i was staying etc etc. i got rushed into intensive care, double drips, oxygen, heart rate monitors the whole deal...
it was Rhabdomyolysis which means muscle tissue breaking down and poisoning the blood. i had to stay in hospital from sunday through saturday..
that's ok if you feel poorly, but when you feel ok it sucks. it's so boring and i was expected to get out every day after my blood test.
i missed my conference, hospital bills are $35k+, but at least i have my health :)

bmw drivers are jerkoffs

some people say that since i started driving a bmw and using a blackberry, i've turned into a facile, money-driven jerkoff.

i disagree.

i've always been shallow, money hungry and a jerkoff, it's just now i have the trappings of this have finally been allowed to me...
bite me losers

Jack your body loser

(friday night's post which got lost on blogger)
I may have to subvert the title of a hot chip track, but like a chump I'm hanging on a stop trein heading back to utrecht after missing my stop.
Had a cool few drinks in eindhoven beforw my macdonalds fuelled trip home.
This week was very poor for my marathon training. I got drunk off my ass till 3am in hamburg on wednesday. But luckily I got o drink a quick kulsch in cologne wit ill-j on my way home. We're going to hook up properly for the idfa, but it was good to see him and see his photos.
Aside from that this week has been uneventful.. We ate some good spanish food at guillermo's house.
My work got us a trip away for the weekend for our wedding, and we're trreating ourselves to maastricht. I'm intrigued. We get a nice hotel and dinner and get to explore a new town. But for now, like the twat I am. I chill on the train half sober dreaming of being home. Over and/or out
-- Sent via BlackBerry

zoot woman

last night we went to eat sushi and watch zoot woman.
both were good, i had been craving some miso soup, that with a little sashimi and some very nice scallop ngiri (and the obligatory asahi)
unfortunately sushi meant we got to zoot woman late, but they were pretty cool (though the singer looked like a prize twat, and les rhythmes digitales was awol)

also this week, my sweetheart celebrated her birthday. we went to luce for dinner, it was pretty good, i had quail filled with goose liver and some nice italian cheese.
unfortunately the trains fucked out on my way home for birthday celebrations so dagmar had to come pick me up. there was a slayer concert in den bosch and i got to drink beer with these slayer fans however. dutch slayer fans are personable fellows (and it always surprises me how many metalheads are proper nerds)
going to rotterdam today to look at some art, maybe catch the al gore movie.