Category
Music
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01.22.07There is a light that never goes outSo early in December, I went to the Half Moon in Putney to see The Smyths play a gig to a packed room. Now, while I'll admit to having been a big Smiths fan in the last century, I've always been a bit iffy about cover bands, for a whole bunch of reasons. First up: I don't have a lot of truck with lookalikes (and before we go any further, can I just state for the permanent record that the word is lookalike not looky-likey. Gah!) or impersonators. In fact, I'd go as far as to say they get on my nerves. ...
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12.27.06iTunes playlist rulesNo, I'm not being effusive, for a change: I'm noodling about the rules which generate smart playlists in iTunes. So, when you create a smart playlist, you get to choose a set of criteria which the library matches against - for example, "Artist contains X" or "Rated Y stars" or "Genre is Z" "BPM is N". SO far, so straightforward. I've found a bunch of sites which allow people to share their playlists, which is nice and everything, but I've got in mind something else - what if you could allow people to share their rules, but not the titles which it ...
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12.15.06Gwen Wraps it upI read my sister's hilarious critique of Gwen Stefani's new video this morning. She is very funny. My sister, not Gwen. So then, in the process of watching the video in question, aside from wondering why, at the beginning, she mutters "sayzupnsfannyzmahnuvidjowaannuurp", I realise that she'd been taking wrapping lessons from none other than famed footballer-cum-clumsy-rapper John Barnes. It's true! Compare the evidence: If you value your sanity, skip forward to about 1'32" when everyone's sitting on the bed. Listen for about 10 seconds. Now watch this:
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11.25.06She dreamed the library fallen downLast time I was sleepless on the redeye back from Washington to London, I found myself rifling through my mp3 player in an effort to find the most perfect music for staring out of the window as we hurtled through the night sky, towards the dawn on a plane full of sleepy travellers. I came up with a few candidates, but my two leading contenders were as follows: Such Great Heights - The Postal Service Originally discovered via last.fm's lovely "recommended" feature, there was something about the insistent rhythm and the rather sweet sentiment that seemed fitting to the surreality of transatlantic midnight ...
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08.04.06What goes aroundSeveral years ago, I read a post on an Ani DiFranco [tangent: I wonder when I stopped being into ADF? Can't remember there being a specific moment, but I haven't been listening to her stuff much, and didn't buy her last few albums] UseNet group [tangent: Gosh, just realised I haven't checked UseNet for years] recommending that people check out an upcoming singer-songwriter called Terra Naomi. I visited her site, listened to a few tracks and one in particular - Flesh for Bones - got lodged in my brain, where it remained for a long time. Today, I had to show ...
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08.02.06meish’s User Page - Last.fmI've been using Last.fm for a couple of years now, and here's my verdict: it rocks my socks off. It's been a fairly constant companion for especially the last year, but I think I've finally hit on the perfect blend of submitted tracks and radio listening (and "love this track" submissions), so that my personal and reccommended radio stations are now pretty spot-on, and my loved tracks station contains enough to keep me going through sleepless hot nights and restless dull days. The new(ish) player app is great, too - a distinct improvement on the last, offering much more flexibility and control, ...
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01.23.06The Gits Music Awards: 14 - The A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Musical Activity award(for the artist whose interviews/column inches/political broadcasts/press conferences far outweighed their musical contribution to the year) It's always a bit of a tosser toss-up between Geldof and Bono for this particular award, and in previous years it's been a close-run race with new boy Chris “=” Martin vying for attention at every conceivable opportunity, earning extra points for wearing his heart on his sleeve – or, more accurately, his Make Trade Fair symbol on his hand – at every situation where there are likely to be cameras. Video shoots, gigs, press conferences, out shopping with Gwynnie and little Granny Smith (or ...
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01.23.06The Gits Music Awards: 13 - The Daniel Whoingfield award(for the artist who seems to be famous without any perceivable talent or significant output whatsoever) Sean Paul, but mostly because every song sounds EXACTLY THE SAME. Seriously. How does he do that? Here’s a moneysaving tip, Sean Paul fans. Next time he has a single out, simply go down to the shop and buy one of his previous singles (they’ll be piled in the clearance bin by the till, marked down to 99p or so) because I assure you, it will be pretty much identical to his new effort.
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01.23.06The Gits Music Awards: 12 - The Depressing Northerners award(for the latest batch of gloomy whippet farmers) Difficult to say. I haven’t been able to look at ex-Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft without becoming depressed at his horrible lank hair and bizarrely stretched face, but that probably doesn’t count.
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01.22.06The Gits Music Awards: 11 - The Switch Off Your Television Set and Do Something Less Boring Instead award(for the artist who spent more time on children's television than in the studio or on the stage) McFly. Hotly touted (by their own record company) as the Next Big Thing in Music, the New Busted, etc etc, but in reality, nothing more than a bunch of big-faced children with Soho hair-dos and safety pins in their clothes. I’m sitting here, trying to summon a McFly song to mind, and there’s nothing there. I can picture them cavorting and gurning on some Saturday morning TV extravaganza, answering calls from viewers, possibly even taking part in a "humourous" skit ...
recent posts
- Being a list of people who are annoying me today
- On Seeing the future
- iTunes: FAIL
- Yes, We Are All Individuals
- Scenes From a Commute
- Flipping marvellous
- The Polite Amount
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