Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Well, the itrip was phenomenally easy to install and use. Now, just got to try and sort out Broadband. I've spent about 3 hours on the phone to the technical dept. Who've tried everything, right down to pinging and changing the registry (?), you name it, they've tried it. Success rate so far: 0%. Emerged from Leicester Square tube this morning to the strains of "Heroes", which, under a glowering December sky felt absolutely perfect. The genius of the shuffle facility followed it up with "Brickfield Nights". Yowza. Made me want to bunk off work.
But I didn't.
Pah.

Monday, December 29, 2003

Crikey. All of this under Camden- most of Camden it would seem as well. Can you imagine the stench if it was completely full of horses?
So, How was it for you?
About 350 miles in 2 days, 7 hours of self-production, a couple of huge meals (one was huge enough to inspire a catastrophic bout of indigestion) and one very tired DJ. Actually ended up having the real Xmas shindig on the 27th with Pete, Michelle, Campbell and Sam. *Oooh look it's 4am!!!*
BTW, I now have an iTrip. Will let you all know if it enriches my life.

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

A tale of two taxis.
Two songs sharing the same subject: it's great being in the back of a Black Cab. First up , "In The Back Of a Taxi" by  The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. and straight after that: Shampoo's "Shiny Black Taxi Cab" It's rather odd, both songs manage to convey how great it is to lounge on the back seat and feel at one with the city.
The Human Clock - is Rocking. It's useless and yet strangely indispensable.
Humbug. Stuck in the Studio on Xmas Eve. I'll be back here for the next two days as well. *sighs*

Monday, December 22, 2003

Damn. We get to play with Finch. Sham 69 and the Stray Cats are playing the opposing sites on opposite days. Bah. Nothing against Finch; but the need to Rock this town and break out of borstal is somewhat stronger.
Every one a Maserati. How does he do it?
Okay, so this photo of Steve alba in the pipeline fullpipe. (It's the cover) The line where that pipe goes beyond vert is clearly visible...so where is Steve exactly? I'm guessing about 10.30 (pipe heights are measured in "clock" time) Bewilderingly brilliant; bear in mind this is at the end of the 70's, on a skinny little board. New-schoolers don't have it all their own
A Weekend of indulgence for me: started with a riotous Friday night out with the estate agents and lots of comfort food for the next couple of days.

Friday, December 19, 2003

I'm really into aimless searching. You just gawp at the screen until something strange comes along, grab the link and way you go. It's like fishing with a lobotomy. The other obvious time-waster of the moment has to be reading some random confessions. Are they real? Who cares?
So, the weekend beckons, with all it's last-minute xmas shopping hell. Can't wait. The christmas week for me is going to be an utter bastard....i'm working for the whole of it.

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Wahey! Wim Mertens MP3 action, for those of you out there who don't know what I'm on about.
I know this is going to sound like shameless self-aggrandizement (sp?) but I was always proud to be an H-Boy. Im there somewhere (with two eyes!!)
Sworn to fun, Loyal to none, that's the H-Boyz way of living........
I'm about to go broadband, which means i'm going to be supplied with all sorts of space to start my own webpage, yadda yadda yadda...and yet i'm strangely loyal to this tawdry little page i've produced so far: if it works, should I really mess with the formula?
Snobs of the world: rise up against the Hoi Polloi.
Wim Mertens update: still can't find "A Teils Leis" so i've decided to wrap my ears around some Bitches for the forseeable future. The box set for "In a Silent Way" needs a bit of a rest.

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Wondering whether some replacement software might make the little white marvel even easier to understand...I'm liking the simple interface a lot, the only trouble with Musicmatch is it's somewhat.....fiddly.
A cold crisp day in London Town....a perfect day for Wim Mertens, if only I hadn't left all the CD's back in Brighton. D'oh! A spot of DJing tonight, got to try and keep on that straight and narrow...

Monday, December 15, 2003

A sting in the tail. That was the weekend for me; the cold had one last hurrah before it let me out of its embrace......a weekend of lying on the sofa unable to move. I've never felt quite so rotten before. On a personal fitness tip; I got to get down the gym with unstinting alacrity this week, I'm feeling out of shape and out of sorts. This week also brings with it the urgent need to try and sort out everyone's Christmas presents. *Sigh*
Tonight is meant for one thing only: lying around on the bed and messing with the Xbox.

Thursday, December 11, 2003

Still the most fun you can have on the interwebnet. (Inna rub-a-dub style,natch.) 
(EDIT 2023 - still here!)
Back to Brighton tonight for the Blur gig. Oddly, they play there 21 years to the day that The Jam played the Last gig of their career and officially split. All those crazy US pharmaceuticals of mine seem to actually have kicked the cold into touch: I'm just left with a hollow, painful cough and a head that feels like it's been slammed into a wall.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

One of the strange side effects of being ill is that I feel, sort of.....porous. Walking over to the Launderette this evening, through thick waves of fog, I could almost feel it seeping into me. Looks like my attendance at the Feeder gig will have to fall by the wayside: Blur looks like much more of a viable prospect. By the time we reach The Bluetones, i'm going to be pulling cartwheels every 10 paces.
Grrrrreat. Another headcold. Probably brought on by rather too much fun, but hey ho. On the plus side, it will mean a night of DVD's and chicken soup, so it's not all bad news.

Monday, December 08, 2003

Just got a little sneak peek of the new 80's Matchbox magnum opus: it's amazing. The gigs I saw 'em play recently showed true flashes of brilliance, the single is a logical extension of that. Poppy? Yeah sure, but they've just taken what it is they do and moved it up a level.
And what was my weekend like, I hear you call? Due to Fridays *ahem* messiness- Most of Saturday saw me on a Sofa, shivering and sweating alternately. Sunday? lotsa cooking. I do a mean dauphinoise. People, Let's hear it for Gruyere.

Saturday, December 06, 2003

It's that beehive thing, it's left me rather emotional. But, i'm liking it. It's nice to care about music so much that it fires off real emotions. Plus, VOTB were always inolved with the whole Food Records thing, they feel like a part of my career that somehow moved to the states and lost contact. Got to stop going on about my love for the gig, but it's rather difficult: I live for this sort of connection with pop music: when it comes along, I wallow.
That is it. The end of a long Week. Will try and sleep very soon. Queens of Noize ruled tonight...ended up playing loads of Drum'n'Bass and Dancehall...........want to take a guess as to whether I was happy? Clue: I was. Gotta Sleep.

Friday, December 05, 2003

It's been a long time since I cried at a gig. But, last night, it happened again. Midway through the Voice of the Beehive set, when they played a song I suddenly realised I hadn't heard for over 10 years. So many memories. And the last time? The Pursuit of Happiness, Ghent, 1989. "Beautiful White". In other news: it's the last day of a long week, DJ set @ the Queens of Noize tonight, then I can finally change gear.

Thursday, December 04, 2003

Need to kill time? This is a strange site that's always interested me, though I could never quite grasp it's true identity: was it real? a spoof? Some of the emotions within are visceral, to say the very least. Alternatively, if you've got a while, then this story is the best way to kill half an hour that I can think of. By turns, it's interesting, funny, sad, uplifting, confusing, ridiculous and yet deadly serious. Aw, just read it, you'll see what I mean.
OK, so I got blootered. Top quality party action last night .This was an undoubted highlight for me: just being at the side of the stage when the last chorus kicked in was absolutely wonderful.

Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Busy exploring the shuffle facility on the ipod. As I type this, let's just quickly give the button a few presses and See where it takes us. The Kills, Larry Saunders, The Dickies, Lata Mangeshkar, Richard Hell, Beastie Boys, Sasha, Cecile, Syd Barrett, Culture, Beenie Man, Simon and Garfunkel (after Beenie Man? Genius!) The Saints, The Clash, The Sleepy Jackson, Big Black, Aphex Twin, Santana, Primal Scream, Lucinda Williams, Captain Beefheart.
So there you go. 21 random tunes. Only another 3000 to go.
Last night was the first of this weeks DJing appearances, helped greatly by the decision not to get absolutely blootered. Xfm party tonight. Will I be the same model of restraint? Let's see shall we?

Monday, December 01, 2003

It's a weird one. Approximately four hours sleep should have left me feeling like a zombie by now. Yet, I feel strangely energetic. Looking forward to sleep, though. This week is a busy one (again). DJ-ing tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday, with a Wonderstuff gig sandwiched in the middle. Speaking of the Stuffies gig, I'm going to have to come clean and say that prospect of being in the presence of these two ladies is the real reason I'm going to the gig. The last time? An Orgy under the Underworld, for those of you who remember.
Tired, very very tired. Every now and again, insomnia pops up and wreaks its havoc on my life. Today is one of those days. Mind you, on a positive note, it means i'm functioning on 100% pure adrenalin.