Waxing Gibbous

Do you know that way, when you've built something up in your mind and you're really looking forward to it, then it turns out to be utter shite? Well, I had been looking forward to 65daysofstatic for so long, I was sure that was going to happen. And did it? Did it fuck. They are easily one of the best bands I have ever seen - the drummer, especially, is fucking insanely talented. The only way I can think of describing the cacophany they create (and I hate doing this) is like a cross between Mogwai, M83, Squarepusher and Venetian Snares. My ears are still ringing. Buy everything of their's you can, savour it, and bask in the knowledge that if there is any justice in the universe, they are going to be fucking giant.

Sin City. That was the other thing I've been looking forward to for ages. I won't bore you with a sub par review, needless to say it's fucking brilliant.

I'm getting lazy at this writing malarkey. I'm off to Wales for the weekend, hopefully when I come back I'll be full of vigour and enthusiasm. And stories of drink, drugs, explosions and the shooting of rabbits. Yup.

Happy Birthday Natalie Portman

My CDs arrived the other day. I honestly don't know what the fuck - I should not be allowed to order CDs with a hangover, I always go for stuff that I wasn't really after. I ended up with Elektro 4 - Keystroke One and Solvent - Apples & Synthesizers which should be reasonably fucking cool and Ascoltare - Gallery, which I think I must have ordered due to seeing his name in the same sentence as DJ/Rupture. I've also got the new issue of the Wire, hahahahahaha.

It's the 65daysofstatic gig tomorrow night, and I have not been this excited about seeing someone in quite some time. If I don't end up with permanent hearing damage I'm gonna want my money back.

Right, have a look at this - "'Asbo' and 'chav' make dictionary". Now, I have no problem with 'ASBO', 'Chav' and 'Ned' making it into the Collins (Mickey Mouse) Dictionary, as they are commonly used terms in this country, but have a look at some of the other random buzzword shite they've put in there. 'Retrosexual', 'Property Porn', 'Bouncebackability'? What in the ever-loving fuck? No one has ever even said those fucking things outside the sphere of the media. They are 'cool' gimmicky words bandied about by Nathan Barley fucking cunts in the pages of Heat and the Sun and shit like that; no one fucking using them. Imagine saying 'retrosexual' to someone in the pub, you'd be fucking knifed. And with good reason.

Collins knows they are a fucking third rate dictionary and are loading their pages with this utter dross in a cynical attempt to get themselves into the news. And it's working too. Fucking cunts.

Seeing as they are turning into a print version of Urban Dictionary, I wonder how long it'll take for them to include 'Wank Ma Shite'.

Mystery in Spiderville

Fucking Imageshack - why have you lost my title image? You motherfuckers. Udo will watch over us, from the relative safety of Painted Over until such times as I can dig out the old image.

Enough fucking shite, you want to know about the Death From Above 1979 gig don't you? You don't? Then fuck you, and the rest of you quiet down, this isn't a fucking school picnic. They rocked harder than dinosaur bones, and I was drunk as fuck - that's the whole night stripped down to it's bare elements. On the merchandise front, I picked up a slew of badges, none of which are particularly good - I may hand them out to tramps the next time I head into town. Also, due to the aforementioned 'drunk-as-fuckness' I was pogoing about like a fucking mental patient, leaving countless cuts and bruises on my body and completely fucking my shoes. I think they are beyond help, I may have to chuck them and buy a new pair. God damnit I love those shoes as well. In the ensuing hangover the next day I ordered a fuckload of CDs from t'internet - I literally have no idea what I bought, and I'm purposefully avoiding looking at the confirmation emails. I wonder what surprises are winging their way to me.

I'm glad I went though, as it's put me back in the mood for gigs. I'm gonna go and see 65daysofstatic in a few weeks, and hopefully Sons and Daughters and, if it's not sold out, Aphex Twin. So there you go.

If the scientists who built me could see me now, I think they'd be justifiably proud

I should rant about boys 'n' girls shit more often, that last post got me the most feedback I've ever had. On the the other hand, do I really want to be another whiny emo cunt? Maybe.

Now, I know it seems like pop music Armageddon at the moment, what with that cock juggling cunt-fuck 'Crazy Frog' stampeding towards the number one spot (I'll leave the rest of this rant to someone who actually gives a shit about the state of the UK charts), but for me it's a pretty good week. I just ordered Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger, Autechre - Untitlted and Lyrics Born - Same Shit Different Day, which will be the first CDs I've bought in ages, and I'm off to see Death From Above 1979 tonight. I'll try and report back tomorrow with my verdict, and news of any badges purchased.

In other music related news - I won the latest Ninja Tune newsletter competition, which is pretty awesome for someone who never wins a fucking thing (OK, so I won a competition years ago that coincided with the release of the 'Masters of the Universe' movie, but I won't count that as I was really wee. God I thought those toys were the shit - if only Mother hadn't fucking gave them away! Anyways...). I won a 'Ninja Tuna' hoody, designed by Mr Scruff. It's not really my colour (dahling), but it's comfy and supposedly 'rare' or some shit.

One last moan before I go - I just got Gozu, Three Extremes, Stacy and Junk through the post, and Sin City and Star Wars are out in the cinema - and I'm working all fucking weekend, it's typical.

Now fuck off.

This peach is sub-par

I ain't updated in a while 'cos, basically, I haven't had much of interest to say. I was planning to write up a big fuck-off review of my week back in the land of chibs and Whisky but I really don't think anyone wants to read that, and I certainly canny be fucked writing it. So, instead I'll do a quick run down:

The Warriors
Showing at the Glasgow Film Theatre with a new and improvised soundtrack being layed down by some New Yoiker named Tes - this was.......interesting. First off, he didn't keep one sound from the original film - all the dialogue only appeared as subtitles. This meant we missed the infamous "Can you dig it?" and "Warriors.....come out and playeeeeeeee" bits, and you canny have the Warriors without them. Secondly, some of the music just did not fit the movie at all. Tes' stuff was very like John Carpenter in places, but at other times it was like the fucking 'Gonk' from Dawn of the Dead or some shit. You do not laugh at the fucking Baseball Furies and you do not use music that will make people laugh at the Baseball Furies. When I went for a pish about halfway through, there were guys in the toilet up for rushing Tes (oh Glasgow) and just playing the rest of the film with the original soundtrack. This heated atmosphere did yield one classic moment though - when Luther was clanking the bottles together on screen, tonnes of motherfuckers in the crowd were all filling in the sound effects themselves by clanking their empties together - vaguely menacing and fun. Tes done a bit of a freestyle at the end, which was pretty cool and probably the only live hip-hop I've ever seen in a cinema.

Pressure
I headed down to this after the movie and met up with the boys outside. Fuck me it was good to be back in the Arches - you forget just how punishing the techno can be, ensconced in those sweaty stone vaults. Vitalic rocked the fuck out of the place and Adam Beyer was immense. Why can't we have techno like this down in London?

Laptop Jams
Live laptop tomfoolery in the basement of the Brunswick Hotel, which is a sweet little venue. The music took a while to get going, as it was basically 6 or 7 random guys just sonically bouncing off one another, but there were some nice moments. The visuals were shite though.

Titanium
Heavy metal afternoon/night in Barfly, organised by my ex's sister. This was pretty cool, even if me and my wee brother were the only ones not in black tops. We had to leave early so I only caught one band - not really my thing, but hey, it was for a good cause.

LCD Soundsystem
Playing in a venue fucking miles away on the South side of Glasgow called the Tramway. We walked in and the Optimo DJs were warming up, which was pretty fucking cool. Hot Chip were supporting and they were damn fucking fine. James Murphy and company were amazing, though I was pretty toasted by the time they came on so am probably no the best judge of quality. I canny remember if it was 'Daft Punk are playing at my house' or 'Losing My Edge', but they done a really shitty version of one of them. The only low point of their.

Soundhaus
We swanned along to the Soundhaus after LCD Soundsytem, to cap off the night. We were contemplating going to the almighty Optimo, but ESG were playing and it was a bank holiday so the place was fucking wadded and rammed. The Soundhaus is a filthy (in the best possible way) wee underground/member's only place and is always fucking banging. This night was no exception - I was fucking motherfucked (good choice of words there, Marc'o).

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Jesus. Maybe I'll write up a proper review of this, fuck, I may even go and see it again just to get a second opinion (come-down Marc'o was technically the one who seen it). Basically - Martin Freeman and Mos Def are amazing; Sam Rockwell......what the fuck was going on with Zaphod? Zooey Deschanel was hot but a bit wooden; the Vogons were good, but given too much of a central role; it was 'Hollywoodised' a bit too much; the Guide itself was under-used, as was the Improbability Drive; it was cut down quite a bit from the book (and the book is not that long at all); the newly introduced sub-plot with John Malkovich was shit and pointless and shit; it looked lovely, and I think I'll leave it there. I did read the book again on the way back down here, so I suppose it's good that it reminded me to re-read them all again.

Fuck, can you believe this is the quick run down?

Asia Argento is fucking hot

I've been back in Glasgow for almost 2 days now, and it feels a bit odd. It's so fucking small. Anyway, tonight's the night when shit really kicks off - The Warriors screening @ The GFT, then Pressure @ The Arches, which will no doubt fuck me up good and proper.

While looking through the wee booklet for Triptych, I realised that Savage Pencil does all the illustrations for the festival this year (including that crazy owl I used on the last entry I wrote about Triptych). Jesus, I forgot how fucking awesome he is. His insane scribblings can be seen adorning the pages of Ken Hollings' masterpiece Destroy All Monsters, which you severely have to fucking read. Now.

Here's a little present for you, dear reader. It's the mid 80s electro hip-hop stylings of the Latin Rascals, with their tribute to Eddie Murphy - Axel F (New York Rap Remix). Enjoy, I'm off to get some breakfast.

The Early Life of Venetian Snares

Aaron Funk was born in 1977 in Baraboo, Wisconsin to snake farmer Leviathan Funk and aeronautical engineer Missy 'Misdemeanour' Funk. Aaron had a rough and troubled childhood, fending for himself amongst his father’s reptiles, battling the poisonous creatures for morsels and scraps to eat, and sleeping with one eye open. It was here, at a young age, that he learned an appreciation for the power of music; he would sing the fanged bastards to sleep in order to steal their food and milk their fangs. This milking went on for many years until Aaron was confident he had enough. As his father came in one day with the usual offering of lifeless rats and mice Aaron pounced, forcing him to the ground and pouring the toxic venom down his throat. At aged 7, he made good his escape. But not before liberating his father’s wallet from his jacket pocket.

Arriving on a Greyhound bus in Cottonwood, California in the summer of 1984, with his heart full of hope and his stomach full of something other than rodent flesh, he fell in with a group of Bavarian gypsies who ran a travelling circus. He spent his days learning the ways of the acrobat, and his nights increasing his musical knowledge through the folk songs of his new 'family'. Aaron became more and more confident in his abilities and decided he would make it his life's work to garner fame and riches, and one day rid the world of snakes, much like Saint Patrick did in Ireland, all those years ago. Knowing full well Bavarian troubadouring and snake-charming lullabies wouldn't be sufficient for world domination; he built his first synthesizer from a broken Sinclair Spectrum, bits from an old Ford Model T and some corrugated iron, at age 14. It was with this unwieldy piece of machinery that he shaped his first album, 'Jack Rabbit Ham-fistedness and It's Effect on the Third Trimester of Unwanted Pregnancies'. It contained only 2 compositions, one of them being a 70 year old man intoning the word 'brass' over and over again for 50 minutes, with a looped beat from an old Nina Simone song in the background, and the other being Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' played backwards. Kerrang called it 'A truly groundbreaking album, best listened to at the lowest perceivable volume while eating an artic roll', whilst NME described it as 'The future of rock and roll' and awarded it a prestigious '5-Stars'.

The success of this debut album made Aaron a multi billionaire at the age of 16, so he shelved his promising music career to become a Pirate Kiss-o-gram. He believed that this job would give him the mental clarity he would need to formulate the 'Snake Apocalypse' he desired so much. His life continued on quite comfortably for just over a year, but a string of unwise investments in anti-snake hammers and a catastrophic addiction to plantains swallowed up the vast majority of his fortune and forced him into hiding just days before his 18th birthday.

Nothing much was heard from Funk until, late in 1999 he re-emerged, now calling himself Venetian Snares. His first release under the new moniker was the 12" 'Greg Hates Car Culture', which caused massive ructions in the burgeoning electronic music scene. A breakcore and gabber monster, NME described it as 'The future of rock and roll' and awarded it '5-Stars', whilst the Wire devoted 18 pages to it, each painstakingly written out in hieroglyphics using the blood of Seb Coe. This would just be the first of many groundbreaking and genre-defining works Venetian Snares would release, and was a call to arms for an ever changing and exciting electronic music scene.

Fifteen Interesting facts about Aaron Funk

-He is composed entirely of heavy photons. If you get close enough, you can hear the plasma his body is comprised of, vibrating

-He has a 17 year old lactose intolerant cat named Trevor

-In Minsk there is a fifty-foot tall glass statue of him, which dominates the city's main square. At midday on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes the sunlight is focused through the statue onto a point no larger than the head of a pin. Every year the mayor lights a cigar using this focussed light, which is then passed around the fathers of any babies born on that day

-He discovered Tungsten and Molybedenum

-He has guest starred in 57 episodes of the Simpsons, but has only ever had one line. It was 'You wanna go faster? I call disaster'

-He is an avid breeder of geese and swans

-Twice a year he visits the concrete encased reactors at Chernobyl. He writes profane limericks on the walls using pink lipstick

-He has a base on the moon where he is constructing a giant laser, which he plans to use to carve his initials into the polar ice caps

-He has a coat made entirely from the bee's fur. It took a crack team of blind lepers in Cambodia 5 years to make it

-There is a room in each of his mansions where he houses his vast collection of out-of-date, unopened Ambrosia Creamed Rice cans

-He is afflicted with Picquerism, which he satisfies by poking girls with French bread in the queues at Tescos, then running to his car to masturbate furiously

-His favourite film is Shallow Grave, and he one day hopes to marry Christopher 'Dr Who' Eccleston

-He does not believe in the second law of thermodynamics and was once charged with attempted murder for beating a man to within an inch of his life for even mentioning the name 'Carnot'

-He has a horse called John, but refuses to ride her, as he is scared of being kicked in the face whilst putting the saddle on her back. This is due to a childhood phobia of the board game 'Buckaroo'

-His favourite food is pâté made from the hearts of baby starlings, suffocated en masse in giant Hessian sacks


Venetian Snares new album 'Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett' is available now from good record shops

Live MP3s can be downloaded from VSnares.com

I said it knowing full well I had no intention of doing it

This has got to be the greatest safety video in existence. It's a wee bit slow to get going, but when it does......Jesus. It's like the Evil Dead, in a German warehouse.

I've been seeing a lot of good films recently, and have to recommend Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengence, Bubba Ho-Tep and The Machinist. My love for Christian Bale is well known, so I won't go into detail about the The Machinist. Let me just say, it's a bit more David Lynch-ey than Brad Anderson's last film Session 9, and better for it.

Now, Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr Vengence.......fuck me. I thought Takashi Miike was where it was at with regards to Asian cinema but these 2 Chan-wook Park films show just how fucking awesome and batshit crazy the Koreans are. You literally owe it to your brain to see them. They both deal with similar themes (revenge, inter-familial bonds, motherfuckers getting fucked up), but they do it in totally different ways. The range of emotion they take you through is unparralelled in most films coming out just now - you will not forget these movies, they will be burned into your psyche. Oh, and they are both stunningly photographed too.

Bubba Ho-Tep was good.....probably better than I gave it credit for, at first. I had built it up in my head so much that I was quite disappointed when I watched it. Then, after thinking about it for a while I realised I had kind of missed the point. I was a expecting an off the wall action film with JFK and Elvis kicking the shit out of a Mummy and cracking wise. What I got was a beautifully touching film that made you think. And I'm pretty sure that's better. I'm gonna rewatch it again soon with this new mindest.

So, what's coming up next? Sin City, which everyone informs me is the shit. Romero's Land of The Dead, which has gotta be awesome. Star Wars - if Lucas fucks this up I'm pretty sure someone will put a hit out on him, you know what enraged geeks are like. And coming up really soon - The Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy. I'm gonna go see this when I'm up in Glasgow, and I really don't know what to expect. The previews look amazing, but will it capture the book's glorious nonsense? I hope so.

Cursed by his own hubris

In addition to the fucking television, inexplicably buried in the back garden, my flatmate introduced me to this little gem in the kitchen sink the other day:


Why yes, that's right - a motherfucking dead baby mouse, apparently drowned in the very same water we used to wash the dishes. I done what any self respecting man would have done - laughed, photographed it, then picked it up by the tail and threatened to hurl it over the back wall onto the road. We ended up binning it instead.

Oh well, I'll have to amuse myself by immolating the ants who seem to be infesting the kitchen as well.

I'm gay for Christian Bale

When I first heard that Christopher 'Memento' Nolan was directing the new Batman film, 'Batman Begins', the first thing that popped into my head was "I hope there's more fire-breathing horse action than the previous films". Looks like my prayers have been answered:

Batman Begins [Trailer Mirror 1]
Batman Begins [Trailer Mirror 2]

It's Christain Bale, as Patrick Fucking Bateman, as Batman. It's gonna be so many different kinds of awesome.

No mean city

I'm all booked up for going back to Glasgow. One week of fucked up debauchery awaits, from the 27th of April to the 4th of May. As you may or may not know, that is the weekend of the Triptych Festival, Scotland's premiere eclectic music festival sponsored by an alcoholic beveridge. So far the only things I'm definately going to are the showing of 'The Warriors' at the GFT on Friday (with live DJ accompaniment), LCD Soundsystem on the Sunday and Optimo, also on the Sunday night. I'll probably go to Pressure, which is the motherfucking best techno night in the UK, on the Friday night (with Slam, Adam Beyer, Percy X and Jacques Lu Cont DJing, and Vitalic playing LIVE) and spend all day Saturday in Mono, so it should be a fuckin' messy weekend.

It'll be good to get back for a wee week and see all the bawbags again, it's been too long.

Oo oo - if you don't know the Perry Bible Fellowship, you should click here. I swear to fuck if you don't laugh at these comics I'll come round your house, stab you in the fucking face with a Philips screwdriver, douse you in petrol and watch your humourless body burn to a crisp.

"I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds"

I've now realised how nonsensical it is to have the Blog called one thing (Spirit Creature Not Wearing The Shape Of A Man) and have the URL as something else (http://circushands.blogspot.com), so I think it's time for me to change that title image. Right now, I canny be arsed, so here is a picture I took of a squirrel:



I stamped his guts out 30 seconds after this photo was taken. I'm sure I heard him call me a prick.


EDIT - - I've changed the title image now, to give everything a bit more uniformity. I dunno if I'm happy with it, but it'll have to stay that way until I can get my grubby paws on a copy of Photoshop.

Sweet Zombie Jesus

To celebrate Jesus rising from the grave to feed on the blood of the living, I ended up going to Transmission at the Alexandria Palace in North London. It's a behemoth of a place, perched atop a hill overlooking London. Majestic is probably a pretty good word to describe it. I'm too young to have gone to any proper old skool raves, so it turned out to be quite a mad experience - 10,000 fucked up gurners bouncing away with whistles, white gloves, glow sticks, horns, etcetera in a listed building, it's a cool way to spend a balmy spring evening. It'd been ages since I'd had a good dance, too. There's actual mobile phone footage of me in action, which is bound to be a laugh now the weekend has worn off.

In other news - I got one fucking paltry easter egg. And it was hollow, as usual. Imagine an easter egg that was like a Creme Egg, filled with sugary albumin and yolk - that'd fuck you with diabetes before you even got halfway through. That's the motherfucker I want to get my hands on.

My CDs arrived the other day, though I've only had a chance to listen to 65 Days of Static. Fuck me it's awesome - like Mogwai only a bit more immediate, and a bit more electronic. Rather than listen to the other new stuff, I decided to listen to the little fucking rabbit in my head instead - he told me to order Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and Modey Lemon - Thunder and Lightning. I suppose the little cunt has a point, I really canny believe I don't own them yet.

Remember - remove the head or destroy the brain.

Future Elbow Fortress

Jesus titty-fucking Christ, I'm getting a bit lackadaisical about updating this Blog (are you supposed to capitalise it?), aren't I?

Due to my poor showing last year, in regards to CD buying, and consumerism in general - I've decided to go batshit crazy this year and put any money concerns to the back of my capacious mind. To this end, I've been buying a fuck-tonne of CDs. The best finds of the year so far have been:

Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman I'm a Machine
This is heavy as fuck and makes you want to dance about like a loon. I think they are being hyped to fuck, but this is one band that deserves it.

Duran Duran Duran - Very Pleasure
With artwork that can only be described as 'GAY', the look of this CD may put some people off. Fuckwits! This is an amazing masterpiece of an album (the first to be released on Jason Forrest's CockRockDisco label), full of jackhammering breakcore, 80's synths and Amen breaks.

ADAADAT - Trade & Distribution Almanac Volume 2
I swear to God I'm in love with this label. At only £7.49 there is no excuse not to buy this CD. Buy it.

I've just ordered some CDs from my ever growing list of shit that I must buy ('possessions define who I am') - 65 Days of Static - Full of Math, Hrvatski - Irrevocably Overdriven Break Freakout Megamix and Romvelope - One Course Meal.

Hopefully they'll come sailing through my letterbox quickstyle.

People who update their website frequently aren't having sex

So yeah, Nathan Barley's been getting much better after a lacklustre start. I've actually been 'Laughing Out Loud' at bits of it. Be sure to watch the new one this Friday - it's the most like the 'Cunt' strip on TVGoHome so far. There are a coupla harsh as fuck bits.



Anyways, I went to see Roots Manuva at the Brixton CARLING(TM) Academy on Friday night - he fucking rocked. When he done Witness, the place almost came. There was a guy standing next to us, skinning up, and one of the girls I was with said she was gonna try and get a draw. It was only when he sparked it that we realised he had crumbled crack into it. Oh Brixton, you are incorrigible.

All Yesterday's Parties

Within about an hour of my mates arriving in London we were fucked. God knows how I survived living up in Glasgow (ok, so it gave me an ulcer, but that's neither here nor there). We pretty much tore shit up in London town for a couple of days, and before I knew it I had my hands on a spare ticket for All Tomorrow's Parties, and was on a train to Camber Sands. Saying it was a 'bit cold' when we got there is like saying 4 guys fucking is a 'bit gay', but after braving the temperatures and getting all our shit (including a Slint goody bag, wooo) we finally got into our chalet. That poor chalet, we were only in it about 15 minutes before it looked like Hiroshima, post bomb.

Anyways, Friday night was awesome - I remember being terminally drunk while taking in Deerhoof, no thanks to the busload of spastics (and single darling) they had manning the bar, but the rest of the night was, understandably, a blur.

Rather than waffling on, I'll just outline some of my favourite shit:

-Mogwai. Goddammit they blew me away. I've seen them before but this time they were something else. They played a couple of awesome new songs, dragged Aidan Moffat up for a wee sing song and closed the set with a stunning rendition of 'Like Herod'. My ears are literally still ringing.

-Although it was unbearably cold at times, it was fun just bouncing about, enjoying the atmosphere. Wandering round the site, drunkenly banging on chalet doors was ace - it was one of the many ways I ended up talking to much random headcases.

-Being drunk for an entire weekend! I mean, how debauched is it to have pretty much 24 hour drinking available? Not that I've never spent a whole weekend off my rocker, but it was great doing it in such a cool place.

-Seeing Slint. Although I'm not a massive fan, they were pretty damn good, and their programmed TV channel in the chalet was good fun.

-Love as Laughter were a nice surprise. I think I've heard some bits and bobs from them through various mates, but never really took notice. I reckon I'll have to nab some of their stuff now, after a rousing live performance.

-Neil Hamburger (off the wall comedian) said some of the harshest statements I've ever heard. It was a great way to start the Sunday. Some of his best jokes being - "What do you get if you cross Elton John with a puma. I don't know, but keep it away from your ass.", and "What's the difference between a porcupine and Courtney Love? If a porcupine pricks you with one of its needles you won't get HIV." Classy.

-Badges, tonnes of them! I have more Slint badges than one man could ever need!

-Sitting listening to Matmos while chatting up a couple of randoms. It just seemed.....so right.

-Seeing my mate Stewart bouncing about giving out copies of his (now award winning!) Beard Magazine. He was like a giddy schoolkid. I think even Dave Pajo got one. Oh, and the wee bastard got an interview with Mogwai!

The only bad things were:

-Forgetting to go on the Go-Karts

-Having to leave early and thus missing Sons and Daughters (who were a late replacement for Mark Kozelek, who had stubbed his toe or something). They are one of my favourite up and coming bands, and I really wanted to see them again. I was very close to just ignoring work on Monday morning, but sense preavailed. My mates inform me they were perfect on stage. Grrrrr.

-Having to miss most of Early Man, due to having to go on a dope run. They looked like they were gonna fucking rock.

-The sparseness of the bands - When looking at previous year's lineups, you see far more artists. Only about 4 of the shows have really burned themselves onto my mind permanantly. I imagine it's so everybody could get to see all the bands, but it did cause a nightmare trying to move around the place. And why stick Mogwai on at that time in the afternoon? Even they made a comment about it.

-The Red Nails. They were shit.

All in all, it was one of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my life. My body is still paying for it (not to mention my wallet, damn desirable Rock Action t-shirts), but it was worth it. I'd love to go to the Vincent Gallo curated one in April, but I doubt it'll happen. So, next year then.

Yams Yams Yams

Expect an update on All Tomorrow's Parties.....just as soon as this brain of mine starts working properly again. What a fucking week I've had - get a visit from the boys, end up in Camber Sands. Yes, it all makes sense really.

Oh, and it seems like Nathan Barley ain't too bad. I caught episode 3 last night, and found it to be quite amusing. No where near as brutal as Ideal was, though. Fucking harsh.

'Butter me up baby, I'm ready for my close up'

I'm all about the scarlet nail polish

Fucking internet purchases. I've ordered a metric fuck-tonne of T-shirts over the last 3 or 4 weeks from various sites on the 'net, and not one of the fuckers has arrived. Some of these companies are no more than two-bit fucktards, but the others are respectable entrepreneurs. I reckon my bastard postman is knocking them off...I've never seen him, which makes me suspicious.

Anyways, my parents were down visiting for the weekend, which meant a coupla days of heavy boozing. God, I was working on both days too, I didn't start until 4pm. It was a merry old time. I was supposed to meet them in a (very heavy duty) Ranger's pub to watch the Old Firm game on Sunday, but I got there so late it was full. There was a whole swathe of guys jostling to get in, and after talking to a few of them we decided to get a taxi to another pub showing the game. It was a strange sensation watching the game with a load of random crazy Scotsmen, none of whom knew one another an hour before, but I had a good laugh. And the 'Gers won.

The boys come down this weekend, so no doubt I'll be fuckin' pratted for most of the time. Ah, the heady life of an alcoholic.

Keep it Jackson...

"We'd be fools not to ride this strange torpedo to the end"

Hunter S. Thompson

RIP

July 18th 1939 - February 20th 2005

"Age of Stupidity"

Nathan Barley just finished 20 minutes ago. All I can really say is 'hmmmm'. It was ok, not at all 'laugh-out-loud' funny, but still pretty good for a first episode establishing it's characters and setting the scene. It was quite slow and subdued, not what most people would be expecting from 'Meedja Terrorists' Morris and Brooker. The dialogue was more reminiscent of Brooker's stuff, I thought, but it did bear the hallmarks of Chris Morris' direction. The bit when Ashcroft was being interviewed for the Weekend on Sunday was excrutiating, almost Jam like. And speaking of Ashcroft, I thought Julian Barratt's acting was excellent. Nathan Barley himself was pretty obnoxious, but not how I imagined him from TVGoHome

The funniest bit? The 'Nazi Experiments in Colour' poster behind the film producer, that gave me a bit of a chuckle. It could almost be a headline from the Day Today - 'Nazi experiments with colour result in German pigment embargo'.

"Peace and fuck you! Believe!"