the uk blog of recycled news, gadget tidbits, new media pipedreams, search engine marketing fluff and record collecting tales.

Saturday, October 23

and in one moment i went from being a music fan to a record collecting geek

It's finally happened, the somewhat inevitable step up from being a casual record collector to a bit of a geek happened today.
Again down the British Heart Foundation Record and Book shop I decided to delve into the six for a quid box, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Maybe it's not quite that bad, but there's little explaination for these purchases.

First up the album that was the turning point, Elton John 'Ice on Fire' Since I got hold of about six Elton John in one go a few months ago I've been on the quest to collect the whole back catalogue, I got a couple more for my 21st. I'm still a few off but this purchase was the significant one, as I have only listened to one half of one Elton John album since my birthday last month despite have a ten odd albums of his, then today saw fit to purchase another one. Still it does have Nikita on it.

Second up is a slightly rough copy of 'Now thats what I Call Music Ten' which has some amazing tracks on it, even if in need of a bit of a clean, but 'Never Gonna say Goodbye' by Communards followed by M/A/R/R/S 'Pump up the volume' is worth the less than twenty pence ot set me back, and besides it's given me a new challenge, get every vinyl release of 'Now' Book makers are now taking bets on whether I will have started 'every number one 45 ever quest' before christmas.

Next purchase was the 'Westside Story OST' Thankfully I can kid myself that I can Kid myself I might one day use 'America' when Dj-ing at Hothouse.

With all the talk of Band Aid III it seemed only right I acquired either a Midge Ure or Bob Geldof LP, I opted for the former. I already have 'Viena' The All Music Guide to Ultravox dedicates a grand total of three words to Rage in Edenin the bands overal profile, so it promises to be an interesting listen.

and apparently accorsding to the ever reliable AMG

Go West's second album continued in the style of their debut, and while it still has a couple of undistinguished moments, the best moments indicate that the group's songwriting skills are sharpening. The results are enjoyable, New Wave-inflected '80s dance-pop.


So and finally prehaps the most emanbresing of the purchases, Whitney Houston's debut, I bought this for one reason really, th last couple of weeks at the HotHouse I've had people requesting 'I wanna dance with somebody' which isn't on this album, but its my justification anyway.

Wednesday, October 20

been a slightly surreal 24 four hours

Didnt get up to an awful lot yesterday but still seemed to be a bit of a weird day,

Firstly managed to have Wife Swap on in the background with out the incredible urge to slit my wrists,I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but maybe its cause it was about nationality rather than class difference so it could have been construed of slight antropological interest rather than the usual lets laugh at the poor person or lets laugh at the rich person.

Secondly after listening to the excellent Oneclick/comedy show on Radio One i thought why not listen to 'The Lock Up' as I havent for ages, and a mates band had their single played out, even better when i think the lucky owners of 'Is this SHT' have had the track for over two years.

And watched half of two films when a little bit faceless, firstly 24 Hour Party People which i was really enjoying before the dvd player went haywire, but that might be because I'd only see the Joy Division Bits rather than the Happy Mondays Bits.

And Ferris Day Off, which again I was enjoying till the dvd player went loopy, still best be off cause iI gotta learn in an hour the new playout system for URF and be able to teach it as well which might be fun...

Monday, October 18

UK Music Hall Of Fame - Founding Members

Well seeing as I'm useless and missed the first episode before the repeat I'm gonna do a whilst stop run down on the program thus far, make vast generalizations, use huge brush strokes and generally question the logic of the 'Steering Panel' Behind the choices and in this post specifically the 5 artists that the Panel have chosen as founding members for the hypothetical Hall of Fame, the idea being that these sacred cows should be in there beyond any doubt, So lets have a look at the list.

The Beatles - I've seen a bit of debate in the blogosphere of late questioning the status of The Beatles, but in a TV program with a proviso of acknowledging the best UK pop music, its impossible to envisage the Beatles not being a "founder" (their words not mine)

Madonna - Now this one really did confuse me a bit, I'll touch upon the Eighties in more depth as I go through that episode, but really I can't see Madonna as one of the Five greatest artists of Pop, I can't help but wonder where it not for Michael Jackson's current legal 'difficulties' that this place was ear marked for him.

Bob Marley - At first I was a bit unsure of Marley being a shoe-in for the Five sacred cows but the more I think about it the more deserving I think he is, he music was great, he represented a whole musical spectrum, a whole country, a whole religion and 'No Woman, No Cry' is amazingly amazing.

Elvis Presley - Like it or Lump it we all saw this one coming, of late I've grown in my respect for Elvis, not only did he do the stompers, which I was too quick to dismiss he also did the heartfelt ones, @are you Lonesome' and arguably one of the best songs ever written 'Suspicious Minds' I mean that's up there with 'Tainted Love' 'Hey Jude' 'Heard it Through The Grapevine' 'Sittin on the Dock of the Bay' 'A Change is gonna come' and 'Positively 4th Street' (Blimey that list could keep going, I mean I've barely touched the eighties and none form the nineties..)

U2 - Now after Madonna being included this doesn't seem so crazy, I mean I like U2, I like them a lot but by including them you have to understand that it has been stated the are therefore better than Dylan, The Stones, The Kinks, Marvin Gaye, Otis Reding, Prince and Michael Jackson, I don't think they were the most accomplished Rock band of the Eighties or the Nineties, but I agree that they're probably more worthy than Madonna.

My new favouritest shop

I discovered the shop a while back but only now I have a little bit of money to my name have I had a chance to look properly, but the British Heart Foundation Charity Record and book shop.

For a measly £3.50 I managed to procure myself a few decent gems, and Didn't have to trek all the way back to my parents to get soaked looking through with squillion copies of K-tel compilations of easy listening standards at a carboot sale.

probably the most worthless but most rewarding is a compilation called Modern Heroes which is the first release on TV Records. As a rule I tend to stay away from compilations, the whole reason I started buying vinyl was to hear the album tracks to the great singles I already knew, but this one I found impossible to resist.

But the premise of this compilation seemed great, a few songs by artists I love, but not the obvivous ones, and a few tracks I'd never heard of but if were anything like the tracks I did know I woulda landed on my feet, I'm half way through the first side now and really enjoying it, Granted most of you won't give a flying hoot about the tracklisting, but as I couldn't find the tracklisting online at all, as I figure its long since deleted I thought I'd post it up in case should anyone ever google it.

Side One
Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
Don't Go - Yazoo
Cantonese Boy - Japan
Love Shadow - Fashion
Hanging Garden - The Cure
Today - Talk Talk
I melt with you - Modern English
African and White - China Crisis
Don't Run away from here - Strange Arrangement
I want Candy - Bow Wow Wow

Side Two
Hard Times - Human League
Bamboo House - David Sullivan/Ruichi Sakamoto
Leave in Silence - Depeche Mode
Promised You a Miracle - Simple Minds
Windpower - Thomas Dolby
Space Age Love Song - Flock of Seagulls
Made in Japan - Nancy Nova
Spirit - Bahaus
Sensitive - Mick Karn
Big Bean - Pig Bag

The most expensive of what I brought surprisingly was Lionel Ritchie - Dancing on the Ceiling, Poor Lionel everyone thinks he is an absolute joke, especially the circles I move in, personally I love the cheesiness his songs have but ultimately still respect him as one of the most enduring people to have come out of Motown, and what's a quid , to hear a crackly version of 'Say you, Say me'

There was a load of Billy Joel there and as I have nothing by him I thought I owed it to my pop collection to purchase one, I went for Innocent Man, which I'll justify to the snobs by saying I bought it so I could use uptown world to Dj with but just between me and you its cause I don't think Joels all that bad.

Again I opted for something out of the eighties (I blame Channel 4 UK Music Hall of Fame for the eighties on last night for it.) This time it was Nik Kershaw, I have loved the track "Wouldn't it be Good" since I heard a Soulwax cover of the track. I love it when you come across an Mp3 like that where it reminds you of how great the original was.

Dare by Human league has been one of the most played Vinyl I've bought so it seemed only time I invested in another album of there's, as fate would have it it's turned out to be the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced Crash, I know barely nothing about the tracks on this album so expect more about that as I listen to it.

And Finally I opted for The Housemartins - London 0 - Hull 4, which has inspired a question for the up coming music pub quiz I'm organizing: Which Musician/Group is not from Brighton? Fatboy, Eighties Matchbox or Electric Soft Parade. (I love that even more for the unintentional pun on the Fatboy Slim track 'You're not from Brighton') Personally Based on the two tracks I know "Happy Hour" and "Caravan of Love" The House Martins are vastly underrated.

Not bad for £3.50

What does it say about me...

I'm dj-ing at the Union club tonight (again...) and its a school disco night

Firstly let me say that the theme had nothing to do with me, its about as old hat as trucker caps.

Anyhow as is the law with these thing fancy dress is compulsory, well not for the punters but for those organizing it and muggins, well I was searching through my large collection of acquired ties, most of which I can never conceivably see myself wearing but daren't throw them out just in case. And found myself with the predicament of having two school ties.

Firstly the fairly standard navy blue slightly tattered with multiple school logo's on, the apparent "school tie"

And also I have my bright turquoise senior prefect tie, (yes I was a swot) it is still kinda obviously a school tie but less so.

As far as I can imagine its very unlikely anyone from my old school is gonna be there, so the fact I feel compelled to wear the prefect tie will never be picked up on but I still feel like a right royal wally for choosing it.

Sunday, October 17

The chav issue

My flat mate bless her decided in her wisdom to magnet to our fridge a Daily Mail double page spread about Chav's.

Oh the comedy of it all, however it really brought home to me the fundamental prejudice in the chav-baiting (as well as the need for a ban on comedy news features) Its a case of the middle class mocking working class culture. I mean admitably the group is an easy target, with the self parodying nature of the group but fundamentally any mocking of chavs is I'm laughing at you because I'm posher than you.

Is that funny?

Thursday, September 23

calm before the storm

I'm really starting to panic, got a hour so free now before it all kicks off, its a real mixture of excitement and nerves.

Got a wonderful meeting in a few hours then my 21st Birthday celebration type thing on Brighton pier which shuld be a laugh.

Then tommorow for the first time since June, which the first of six gigs in eight days including two in one night.

Then the following day the fun of helping run a radio station in freshers week, oh and two hour show every day for a week.

its so hectic i nearly forgot it was my 21st in there as well.

Still no rest for the wicked, though I wouldnt exactly describe myself as wicked, but then would anyone?

Thursday, September 16

Dare - Human League

This was one of the very first vinyl LPs I bought, at the time I was going through a bit of I heart the 80's phase. And what better record than Dare to exemplify that. To be honest I didn't really know what I was buying , at the time I only knew Don't you Want Me, but it was one of my favourite songs of all time but more on that later.

(the audio clips are courtesy of Amazon which is a nice if unintended touch)


1.
Things that dreams are made of - I've actually had this album a few years now, back in the days when I didn't know who Richard X was, now he's probably one of my favourite producers. This song is probably the song on the album that reminds me of Mr X the most. Its weird to think when this album came out there were few pop acts making use of synths like this . Maybe it's because I'm removed from the times and not an expert but I see the synths in Human League on the same par as the Roxy Music debut album maybe its the success that Mister Oakey and co had that made them a lot less respected than Eno?

2. Open your heart - One of the Things I love about Phil Oakey is he absolute lack of ability in the singing department, but I think that is half the charm. In this song especially though he does rely on the backing vocals of Joanne and Susanne. The story of Joey and Suzie is one which I'm not older enough to really understand. If the I heart programs are to believed he just found them in a disco while they were at school, if that happened now I'd smell a Simon Fuller masterstroke but surely then was the same. Am I too Cynical?

3. Sound of the crowd The 'get it right now' and 'get around town' forever make this an electro reworking of 'I get around' which it isn't but it is a nice ode to the New Romantic club type things, and it has a good percussive Synth outro.

4.
Darkness -Oakey Brings us in with some lovely 'la-la-la-laaaas' It's a bit of a darkness cliche, but I'm still a sucker for the 'I can see better in the dark cliche' it's poetic in an 'I'm a teenager writing poetry' kinda way. Which has to be admired or your condemning yourself.

5.
Do or die - A little to samba for my liking, especially for a song about the difficulty of survival, a song like that. Though those early synths didn't do dark really so I'll let them off.

6.
Get Carter - I have a confession to make, I've never seen Get Carter. The amount it's referenced and name-checked I feel like I've committed some kind of pop culture cardinal sin. But I like the track is that a get out clause?

7.
I am the law - This is more of the darkness I was talking about for 'Do or Die' In this one I can't decide whether I like the really simple essentially spoken word chorus. It's like Fitter Happier of OK Computer, I can't work out whether its genius or a cop out. This listen its a genius next time might be different.

8.
Seconds It sounds like Prince on the Intro - 1999 I think, but its the start of one of the best closes to an album, Normally in my experience the first three tracks are better than the last three. There's not many cheery songs about murdering, and this is suitably dark, and its simplicity really seems to imply the fundamental simplicity of the act which ultimately gets you to question whether there can be any mitigating circumstances to the act. Not bad for an eighties synth pop band with one song.

9. Love action (I believe in love) - Oakey has put on his best butch voice in parts of this. It just make the track even more camp. But as mantra or call to arms 'I believe in love' fulfils the role nicely. I wonder if someone called Justin might have heard this one?

10. Don't you want me -One of the best mini-narrative songs ever. It's like a premise of a pulp Mills and Boon book, plus what with Oakeys discovering the Girls in the band it has a nice blurred line between the songs fiction and the bands fact. And its more catchy than a lot of STD's

Tuesday, September 14

Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

In an attempt to contribute something worthwhile to my blog rather than just links to stuff I like I've decided my recent quest to begin collecting vinyl might provide just the kinda thing I'm looking for.
Having just sorted myself out with a proper deck hooked up to my Hi-if I've started getting classic albums that I've never had on CD. So god bless the charity shops, second hand stores and car boot sales.

For some reason my parents never had this album which seems pretty strange considering just how ubiquitous it has become. In all honesty when I got hold of this I thought I only knew title track and didn't expect a huge amount from it.
anyways a track by track run down

1. Bridge over troubled water
I doubt there's much about this that I can say that hasn't been before, it's about as beautifully powerful as it can get and is a prime example of how Popstars/Pop Idol/The Xfactor isn't all bad. It's the kinda song that inadvertently is impossible to avoid and has a place in the conscious of society but it wasn't until the accapella version by those who would become Hear'say and Liberty X , that I truly understood the sentiment and emotion of the song. Sometimes it takes something like that to truly appreciate a song that's "just there"

2. El candor pasa
For some reason this track is filed in my brain as a Christmas song rather than the hypothetical option a or option b it really is. The minds a strange thing.

3. Cecilia
The first track on the album I didn't realise I already knew, and Ive got Suggs to thank for that, his first solo album had a cover of this one there. That album was one of the first that I actually bought with my own money, and its got a strong place in my heart. I defiantly appreciate the original, show just how simple a song can be, to me like the great early Beatles Singles but with out repeated infinitum nature that inevitably goes with anything penned by John and Paul.

4. Keep the customer satisfied
A bombastic horn line crashing drums and a clever catchy lyric a pleasant surprise.

5. So long Frank Lloyd Wright
More what I expected of the album, gentle and plantive, but it's always gonna be hard to make a stormer about dedicated to an architect

6. Boxer
This song is all about three little word lie-la-lie a proper moment in a song, they don't come along like that often. The only kinda bit like that were I sit waiting for a certain point in a song recently is the breakdown in Take me Out By Franz Ferdidnand, who knows in 30 odd year people might be writing about that moment in the song...

7. Baby driver
Intro reminds me of hey little schoolboy or summin by Rod Stewart which is probably a slur on Art and Simon, though probably not as bad as an insult as the fact I think modern bands like the Libertines et al would love for a song like this. (though prob not admit it)

8. Only living boy in New York
An album were you have well crafted tracks like this reasonably late on proves to me just how lacking some albums are. I mean its not as great as some of the earlier tracks on the album, but that's the difference between a good album and a classic album where there is no weak tracks.

9. Why don't you write me
The dual harmonies get me everytime, there's a few punk bands out there like Twofold that sucker punch me with four part vocals but I'm still a sucker for a pair.

10. Bye bye love
Another one I knew, but didn't know I know. That's something I maybe a bit lacking in in songs at the moment, handclaps basic guitar and vocals that's all you need.

11. Song for the asking
Quite a romantic little sketch at the end, apparently this wasn't intended to be the final track and it's abrupt end certainly seems a bit of a disappointing end

Saturday, September 4

if you love music

you must go to
http://mr-69830.mr.valuehost.co.uk/LOO_&_PLACIDO_Kids_rock.mp3

listen to it love it and tell your friends about it

Saturday, August 21

at last i'm here

well finally i have the internet in my house

and its major fast whizzy one as well

so i shall be taking full advantage of what that offers
by downloading music legally of course

i want to check out some new bands in brighton
but i want them to be good

always a dilema

so feel free to make suggestions

it's been a weird day
i went food shopping
(that wasn't the weird bit)

then seemingly got poached
strange i tell thee

Friday, August 6

it's been a while

Well been a little why since I posted

So thought I'd knock up a hasty one while I've got access for it might be a while before I'm next back online.

Firstly I suggest by entirely legal methods you obtain Song for Whoever by The Beautiful South.

It has great lyrics and is responsible for my current MSN name.

Also in an attempt to make this post more interesting I thought I'd post up my comments from The Brighton Buzz Chart

( I Hope Jp Doesnt Mind....)

Anyway my short two pence worth on the top five DVDs and Video Games

DVDS
No 5. HONEY
Non Mover this week is the lastest in a long line of fine dancing films, including the amazing flash dance and strictly ball room. hmmm

No 4. SCHOOL OF ROCK
If The Darkness were a film they'd be School Of Rock, it's even better than This Is Spinal Tap

No 3. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
New Entry this week is Wrestling's The Rock Action Movie Vehical, personally I rather buy the Die Hard Trilogy.

No 2. DOGVILLLE
A second New Entry in this weeks chart, the experimental film dtaring Nicole Kidman, the former Mrs Cruise can do no wrong in my eyes, and this film sees her perfectly cast as the outsider in a small town.

No 1. Starsky and Hutch
Remaining at the top of the chart for annother week. Sandler and Owen's Dynamic Duo have captured the elusive number 1 in the Brighton DVD Buzz Chart for a impressive ?????? Weeks


5) TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL: PANDORA TOMORROW
A Non Mover this week is the crouch-and-edge-along-a-corridor-in-the dark-with-a-ruddy-big-gun-tastic Pandora Tommorow.

4) UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal
Not going any where this week (a bit like Sven) is the footballing game dedicated to the tournament where England could maybe win a Penalty Shoot Out.

3) HARRY POTTER - PRISONER OF AZKABAN
Another Non Mover is our lil'(h)arry seems everybody can't wait to have a virtual shake of the Wizards Wand.

2) Shrek 2
And Yet another Non Mover is Shrek, he's big, he's green he's not as good as Puss In Boots.

1) Driver 3
Surprise Surprise another Non Mover, for another week, is Driver 3 or D R I V 3 R as they like to call it. So Video Game Equivalent to 5ive

Tune in to to Juice Tommorow from 11 to hear me stumble over my lines on local radio and all over the world online....

Friday, July 30

it's a little bit funny, this feeling inside

Recently I've been re-assessing Elton John; Admitably because of the Scissor Sisters aping of him and me finally getting a copy of Tiny Dancer from almost famous. And I've come to the conclusion he's under-rated.

Its far to easy to file him under Diva, not particularly helped by Bo Selecta's "i'm gonna bum you into next week" Pastiche, but re-listening to his greatest hits ignoring all the Queen of the Divas stuff surprised me.

I've always loved "Your Song" and the fact I quite like Moulin Rogue certainly helps my appreciation of that track, i love the sentiment of the lyrics and msuically its and old school earworm.

(As an aside anyone who wants to answer this exam question feel free... "Baz Lurhman is the second most excellent director with decent soundtracks behind Quentin Tarintino, Discus")

"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" is another belter that I can appreciate even with Blue's involvement, It's a real sing-along-with-your-headphones-on-whilst-on-a-train-much-to-the-embarasment-of-onlookers kinda song.

Granted the Candle in the Wind Song was a bit ill advised in terms of gaining kudos from a cynic...

Wednesday, July 28

Statistics Bloody Statistics

The more I think about filesharing, the more guilty I feel, but I can't help but agree with this artical, theres very few albums ofr songs i've downloaded that i would have gone out and bought and/or afforded.

The the dodgy CD's I have that I might have bought tend to be those I copy off my mates, and completely removed from the whole napster issue.

Thats something that kinda irks me is all the literature about filesharing I've read seems to completely ignore the role CD duplication technology has had in the piracy problem.

I admit I downloaded music before I could burn it to a CD but how many people actually did?


And I know theres iPods now but I can seriously only name five people I know who own one. bare in mind I am nearly 21, internet-savvy music fan from Brighton a fairly trendy city so I woulda thought I'm ideal friend of iPod material.

Is it because Dell, Sony and the other PC's are geniune businesses the Music industry doesnt want to challenge their involvement?
(ignoring big brother style this corporation owns this one who owns this one style connections between companies)

Instead the consumer and the inovative maverick programmers who get the brunt of legal action.

If the willingness and foresight had been there legal download services of iTunes/Napster v2 could have been in place before the napster case even reached court.

And while I'm riling, send journos, radio stations etc mp3 promo's even with DRM, it would save the companies a fortune, i know how many promos get made and how many sit around offices etc never getting used, this simple step would surely make the labels and the artist more money and maybe do the environment a little good and help the "leaked" album syndrome....


am i rambling ?

Wednesday, July 21

You wait all year for a music prize then two come along at once...

Well i swore this year I would bet on who I wanted to win.

Too often in the last few years iIve guessed right

Which means I won'tt stand a chance this year but I can try at least

Anyhow my thoughts....


Basement Jaxx – ‘Kish Kash’

I don't actually own this album so I can't say for definate but i can't see this winning, they are already pretty big and to be honest I don't think anyone else can.

Belle & Sebastian – ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’

Prob to big to stand a chance, I mean they've won a brit award before... a great album mind and probably my favourite from the list, still I don't fancy a punt.

Franz Ferdinand – ‘Franz Ferdinand’

Apparently the favourite, and I have to say its quality album and deserved to make the shortlist, however not so sure it will take home the money, it seems the Mercury see's its self as a highlight of new and less wellknown music, you can't really say that FF need the exposure.

Jamelia – ‘Thank You’

I have to say its good to see Jamelia in there, I havent heard the album thru but based on the three singles you've gotta say its prob one of the best straight ahead pop albums of the year

Keane – ‘Hopes And Fears’

Indie is dead long live Indie, I like Keane, they make big song that sound good on the radio about feelings and girls not liking you and stuff, which is admirable and praps been lacking of late, but best album of the year and mercury winner methinks not.

Snow Patrol – ‘Final Straw’

Same really applies for snow patrol, its a decidely average album, i do like spitting games the current single mind, they are Radio 1 a list playlsit material not exactly in need to any help to reach critical mass really

Joss Stone – ‘The Soul Sessions’

The backlash against her has already started, poor girls been lumped with Jamie Cullum and Katie Mealauauahwhaha, plus the fact its a covers album, poor lamb doesnt stand a chance.

The Streets – ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’

It's really surprised and in a way peeved me that everyone seems certain Skiner is gonna be there or thereabouts, original pirate material was a far more deserving effort than this, granted its a quality album and "Dry your eyes" might be his first number one blah blah blah, this is a good lil Streets album, it isnt the groundbreaker that Original Pirate Material was, it might win but it would be a travesty.

Ty – ‘Upwards’

I don't really know ty, but i've heard he's good from a few reliable sources which i reckon makes him a good bet, in fact i might end up putting my money where my mouth is on this one. He sounds good and is unknown perfect mewcury material.

Amy Winehouse – ‘Frank’

Hmmm might be my favourite for a bet, not the best album ever but its been a slow grower and has definate 50 quid man potential, might not be a worthy winner but almost certainly a contender

Robert Wyatt – ‘Cuckooland’

I know nothing about this bloke which loadsa people seem to think is a pre-requsite for wining the mercury, personally i can't see it happening, still being nominated aint bad

The Zutons – ‘Who Killed...The Zutons’

I don't have their album but i have to say i've seen them twice and both gigs are prob in my top twenty ever and prob the best of the last 12 months, i don't think they will but i would like them to win, they aren't as well known as some of the more fancied acts but, thats what it is sposed to be about, prob not a sensible bet but worthy winner. if the Daily Mirror are to be believed (which they prob arent) they reckon this is a 100-1 shot in which case i might find it hard to resist everone loves an underdog



Prehaps bit more admirable is the popjustice's twenty quid music prize

And appropriately in this modern utopia world were no one buys albums, they legally download music from iTunes to there iPod to listen to on the tube (apparently in the eyes of some papers and websites everyone is 25-34 and lives in london owns an iPod etc etc) popjutice are focusing on singles

Which i think is infinately more relevent

So here they be:

Emma Bunton 'Maybe'
Busted 'Crashed The Wedding'
Girls Aloud 'The Show'
Jamelia 'Superstar'
Javine 'Surrender'
Keane 'Somewhere Only We Know'
Shaznay Lewis 'Never Felt Like This Before'
McFly 'Five Colours In Her Hair'
Rachel Stevens 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex'
Rachel Stevens 'Some Girls'
Sugababes 'Hole In The Head'
Will Young 'Leave Right Now'



Now there are some amazing tracks in there
I heart "the show" and "some girls" for my sins...

That might be because they are still fresh mind;

And the Jamelia, Mcfly, Sugababes and the debut offering Miss Stevens all worthy contenders

I've got a feeling Girls Aloud Might win it like last year, but you can help decide
at a yet unannounced "ceremony" the readers of popjustice.com will be discusing the merits and choosing the winner

Now Thats What I Call Democracy 45

I'll be there if i can convince some people to come with me

Any takers....

Tuesday, July 20

this man seems to be a genius

been messing around reading blogs and not writing my own again

came across 50 quid man

seems to be right on if this

so who's setting one up in brighton then...

Wednesday, April 7

rambled

its 30 yesrs since abba won eurovision this week, i have to say abba aren't looked back on with such nostalgia as the beatles but i think they definately have them matched on all out shameless pop-ness

granted they prob would lose out in the progressive experimentalism, but in a pop band do you need that?


worhty of note cause it means eurovision is coming round soon
will i actually organise a drinking game based around it this year?

i hope so

been listening to the kayne west album today, and against my better judgement i'm really getting into it, granted the hip hop beats with chipmunk speeded up soul samples are a little predicatable and there are more skits than you can shake a stick at but i like it

if thats a crime crucify me

oxegen is looking like the quality line up seeing as reading and glasto's seem a bit, i dunno, uninspired isle of white is prob better. i wanna start a festival where i decide who plays and it only costs £30 and they dont let any trouble making loo-lighters in think it'd be good?

Tuesday, April 6

moe rehashed stuff from elsewhere

poor vicky beckham/adams not only the who-ha about her marriage her laebl has gone under, but worry not music fans this doesnt affect roster-mate craig david which is a silver lining i sure posh will appreciate.

Monday, April 5

inevitable bloggin material part two

david what were you doing, mr beckham has made the most ludacrous decision< /a> of his life since getting with posh spice in the first place,

now my quest to find a pic of the lucky lady without getting out of bed and buying a paper, cause rea;;y for those who havent seen her really thats the question, if she were right proper good looking it mighta been worth ditching the horse lady

i'm not that shallow honest, but try denying you would ask the same question.

holy moly and popbitch didnt forwarn me about this though, come on where the new gossip email i don't know about....

Inevitable blogging material part one

well a decade is a long time...

year its ten years since mr kurt nirvana got a big ol'gun and blew his brains out, and as a fitting tribute nme put his mug on the cover, xfm play a different nirvana on the half hour and virgin megastores in london have set up a shrine (their words not mine)

sure i'm not alone in the sentiment that i dont know what all the fuss is about.
However whilst my american bloggin friends havent yet dived in I thought I ought to, while i'm sure they will write some clever and insightful pieces on the subject i wanna ask who else gets this kinda treatment, Lennon and Elvis, who not even the most cynical music snob could really argue against,

is kurt up to their standard? and even more pressing why are people like mercury, hendrix, drake, and buckley (both generations) given such death anniversary stuff

xfm as some kind of redemption have just played my woman by white town, so their already on the way to being forgive


the nme on the other hand.....

Sunday, April 4

lazy sunday afternoon

hmmm been a weird one today.....


firstly spent the morning reading a multitude of blogs about glasto and the ticket difficulties/fiasco, fortunately for me the indie-tastic line up wasnt appealing enough to shell out 100 odd quid, however those indie than thou and those with the whole 'ot's glasto and thus cause it was started by hippys and is still badly organised it gives this incredible atmosphere bullshit blah blah'

I think for some people the whole its on a farm thing can justify the shambles that tickets seem to be.

However trust no rock and roll fun to provide a really good and
workable solution



Friday, April 2

it were a tour de force type thing

last night i found myself watching possibly the most surreal and absurb televisual experience i have seen

'this week' is normally a not to bad political programme, goes quite well with my strange sleep patern and passing interesting in politics, normally its not much to blog about however yesterday it most certainly was

Andrew Neil, the normal presenter was away, exciting i hear you cry....


So normal guest portillo was joined by janet street porter, plenty entertaining to start with.

then they upped the ante, well when discusing the banning of smoking in public places in Ireland which insightful, amusing and most of all astute special guest could they secure

Shane MacGowan who'd come straight from a show, so was a little inebriated


hilarity ensued...

nothing stranger than drifting off to sleep to janet street porter make a pigs ear of reading autocue questions to a incomprehensible MacGowan who had to be diciphered by portillo

Oh and Martin Mardell dressed in a pink jockeys outfit on a rocking horse.....

in other news:


wish i'd done a good april fools like newflux or suprnova with their japeenese satalite scam had me for a bit that one....


also a little latin for you:

Nil disputandum de gustibus - No disputing about tastes

Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi - Excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog

Visne saltare? Viam Latam Fungosam scio - Do you want to dance? I know the Funky Broadway

hmmm dogstab song in latin?




Thursday, April 1

searching for the thread

been listening to buck 65 - square today wanted to bring you some of the great lyrics from it but search high and low on google i couldnt find any to cut and paste, so if there's any buck fans out there who fancy transcribing the album for me fell free



stylus magazine is starting to become my new favourist online music source, i dunno how much longer i can handle nme.com's one of libertines opens new milk bottle stories

if you have means of acquitring random music legally i thoroughly recommend you use that to download the chi-lites - are you my woman - which is offcourse the horns from crazy in love in their original setting, not sure if i like the track yet but without a doubt its an interesting listen

in answer to my question from my last post; is it ok to like lcd soundsystem? well following a discussion thing on my new bible i feel there's no shame in it...


also for those who haven't procured an digital version of skinner esq. latest and possible greatest you might want to look here also a wealth of bootleg type madness

#######newsflash######

new favourite site

till i couldnt get the songs to download :(

check popshots for an interesting hypocrisy insight thingy, i'll explain basically korn's new video is all about multi-media conglomeration and anti big major labels despite being signed to sony so clicky the link for a more coherent deconstruction and explanation of what idiots korn seem to be and the ever lovable mister stern


Tuesday, March 30

better late than ever

blimey so go the great intentions of updating daily


still inspired by easy broadband access and a slew of amazing blogs providing my daily web reading, feel the great urge to do my little bit of a copy cat, there's that saying about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself anyway

quick run down on a not hugely eventful day in the world of me

~taking full of advantage of my late move into bitorent, of course i'm only downloading copyright free stuff

~really liking the hustle on the beeb, shame its the last one really, might have to get the dvd, sad and shameful as it might seem

~digging some fine german pop, Wir sind Helden: par exemple especially recommended comes their track auriele which bares more than a passing resemblance to a certain urban poet whose name might or might rhyme with dyke swimmer

~dolly parton 9 to 5, i'm not gay or owt but quality track, might make a few appearances when i making those summer mix tape or two

~am i the only one expecting a daphne and celeste renaisence sometime soon... i've not joined their fanclub but in case you fancy it

~and a thought to leave you with LCD soundsystem unacceptable hipster-ism or admirable double-irony-type-stuff?

Tuesday, March 9

time to go home

finally presented my animation project

leaving me some free time to lay cm4

and read about grime (http://skykicking.tripod.com)
whilst listening to a so-cal ska supergroup

blimey arent i eclectic
that or have no real sense of taste

think its time to get my hair cut

Monday, March 8

oooohhhh i hate flash

with the deadline for my animation nearing i have been pulling out hair left right and centre
still looks like its done
its hardly finding nemo...
but i'm far from the most artistic when it comes to drawing and the like

been a hectic few days since last post
seems like a new house is needed for next year in brighton
and some new housemates

still seems like might not be end of the world
looking forward to the possibility of some housemates who can inspire and maybe collabarate with me on stuff
which would be pretty cool

laterly i have been loving the music provided by www.newflux.blogspot.com
well worthy of daily checks, makes me wish i had sodding broadband

lateroony

Wednesday, February 18

home sweet home

a quick drive through the backwaters of sussex and surrey and i'm home
where hot water is plentiful, the fridge is never empty and i can have milk in my tea without fear of disentry...

all is good, so a few quiet days at home to ctahc up on some reading and to listen to xfm,

it really seems an extravagence to buy a dab radio so i can listen in brighton, but each time i hear the station it gets harder and harder not to buy one

at the moment thinking of going for a alarm clock dab thingymajig, the reasoning behind this is that at least then i can justify to myself buying one, even though it would prob be one of the most expensive alarms clocks about

anyhow rather cheerful today cause a few kind people have expressed an interest in maybe some experience

of course nothing concrete as yet, but nothing better than an email saying 'tell us about yourself' especial if you're as vain as me.....

Tuesday, February 17

blimey

i have been a bit lax havent i

this sites been up a while and i not really been making use of it
well after a plethora (or however its spelt) of personal shit its about time got my life in order right?

well a quick update on wahsts going on in kelvin-ville

about to knock up an article for uni paper about my star studded visit to the nme awards aftershow, where me one or two celebs and all the other music industry liggers of note qued for hours for bottle of carling, i mean really carling is bad enough but bottles
its just a bit of a joke


my flash animation course is starting to get pretty heavy, its getting to the moment of truth whether my own dreams of a brass eye style animations with gary glitter as a peado/fairytale bad guy is worth the possibility of a examiner backlash, i just don't have that true revoluntary spirit do i?

still the dj-ing is going well had a few weeks off, but can't wait to get back and it means the kids might have caught up enough to let me play NERD now....

bless them i love the way they go mental just sometimes i wish they'd be a bit more open minded still c'est la vie as someone french once said

k

Tuesday, January 6

first day back

was first day back at uni yesterday

and it all went wrong, my first seminar cancelled, then i thought i'll go do some work in the library, but the search thing was down

could it get any worse...

still today looks like it could be better, hopefully

moyles isnt bad, just ringing up the chappel where britney got married, but its just a madeup feature thats disappointing

still better than coxy

Sunday, January 4

houston we seem to be ok

well my first post is up and the look isnt to bad again. just working on getting my website from my pc to my mac, a slightly late new years resolution; don't get double up on stuff, my rooms too tiny for all my stuff before i have two computers in it.

still uni starts tomorrow, and with it my first seminar on radio, could be good, learn how i should be doing it rather than how i am.

seeing as i'm telling of whats coming up, in not to long hope is there will be a new secondhandtoys cd, a six track 50 copies cd-r. it'll be a bit like an invite only gig but a cd, i'll give it to those i think deserve a copy and those who ask nicely, as yet no acts are set in stone, we'll just have to wait and see i spose

oh and i'm listening to a radio 2 special on joseph and his technicolour dream coat who says i'm not rock and roll

a long time coming

well i've had blogs of various sorts knocking around for an age, so thought it was only about time to do a proper one, gonna do my best to update it. and looking at my uni time table shouldnt be to much of a problem, six hours a week hardly seems like a full time education does it? any how this blog should form the updated part of my personal website as i'm becoming a self whoring media type i felt it was about time for a www.kelvinnewman.com but i'm too tight/skint for a proper domain name so expect a da.ru address soon.

in mean time keep it tuned here for the lastest and greatest going on in the world of me