X to the power of......You've got to be kidding

Well, I've got a huge smile on my face today. It would seem like Xfm's bold programming move "XU" where YOU the listener were in charge of the content (but in reality, they just wanted to save money and fire lots of DJ's ) has been a complete disaster. Have a look at the figures, they've gone from a 2% share to just 1.2%, they've shed 10% of their audience, and their hours total has plummeted. I suppose I shouldn't gloat; but you know what? I'm going to. This is nothing more than Karma coming round to bite them on the arse, and I wish nothing more for the morons who "run" the station now than for them to lose their jobs and see them dumped unceremoniously on the scrapheap.
I still feel so sad about Xfm, not that I'm no longer involved with it- but that a great station has been so callously ruined by people who care more about profit than they do about music.

The fallout from the Oink shutdown has been interesting...

This is perhaps the most thought-provoking insight into how the site worked.
(original story here)

Hurrah! for Web Development!

We've seen Hard URL's go up on Shadowglobe in the last few days, and there's a Wall on the way as well! All of this has been keeping me busy, but I musn't grumble.
another thing I musn't really grumble about is the onset of winter: despite me raising my collar, shivering slightly, and gritting my teeth in the face of yet another chilly blast of arctic air, I actually quite like the cold. When I was young, all I wanted was to be warm- warm houses, thick duvets, wooly blankets, sunshine, hot baths....as I've grown older, I actually like the cold. There's something crisp and clean about the winter, something definite.

Here's a great idea....

Guess the meanings of words- the more you get right, the more rice gets donated to hungry people across the world.

Trying to play a video game whilst carrying a Gnome...

Would seem to be difficult, but very entertaining :)

On a train down to the coast......

With this piece of mesmeric video art in my mind........

Call and Response from wreckandsalvage on Vimeo.
Reminds me of negativland, which can't be a bad thing.

And while we're doing nostalgia....

This photo is from a history of the Wonderstuff that I've been checking out online. That picture must have been taken some time in 1987, when I was working at Rough Trade/Slam City. Martin and Miles were regular visitors to Slam, and I used to give them free clothes- Martin and Malc are wearing the shirts I gave them...
I'd not seen this photo for 20 years, but seeing it now, I can remember handing those shirts over, checking the sizes (Martin wanted a red shirt in XL)...
It's very hard for me to think that Martin is no longer with us; I loved him to bits, and seeing things like this always leave me a little tearful. RIP, fella, I love you to bits.
x

Just to prove that I hadn't died.....

I've been busy doing loads of things over the last week or so, but I still managed to make it onto the pages of the Guardian Blog, which was quite cool....
I also went to see Turin Brakes at the Forum in Kentish Town, at which i was somewhat haunted by the ghosts of my past. As I sat in the balcony, watching the gig (very good, as it happens) all I could think of were the myriad occasions I'd been through the venues doors over the years. I can remember sneaking in to watch Tackhead, still sweating from a Jesus Jones gig at the Bull & Gate next door, moshing to the Pixies on a wave of almost pure euphoria in 1987, watching Coldplay play a Xmas gig there and thinking "Next year they'll be the biggest band in the world" (and next year, they were)...Seeing the Wonderstuff, the Voice Of The Beehive....so many gigs....
And, of course, all the times that we played there. We sold out a couple of nights in 1989, and held both the merchandise record and the bar record, which was rather cool. I think the merch record stood for about 10 years, the bar record for about 7 :)
The first floor bar is just across from the old Tea room, where we had a presentation to award us with gold and silver discs for "Doubt" and silver discs for "Liquidiser" . I can remember hitching a lift home with my mate Paul, in his old Renault van later on that night, and everyone had a disc on their lap, as we swerved round the roads of North London....

Another year older....

...and deeper in debt *sighs*
The weekend was notable for a number of things, but top of the list were:

1. My First Home Chelsea game of the season. Due to a combination of bad luck and prior engagements, Chelsea v. Fulham was the first time I'd been back in my seat (Matthew Harding upper, just to the left of the goal). We were awful, so there was a Little bit of a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Also leaving a taste were the new pies (there's been a bit o a catering overhaul). The steak pies are now square, not round: the filling tastes more homemade, but not quite as good as the old pies. the Bovril tastes exactly the same.
2. I got a pair Of Doc Martins! When I was a kid, they were the one pair of shoes I coveted more than any other, and my love affair with the brand never really stopped, it's just that I forgot about them for a while. Plus, I've lived in trainers for years, so I think it was about time I had some sturdy footwear. I got a pair of cherry-red low tops, and in true hooligan fashion, immediately polished them using BLACK polish, so they turn into the colour of a wonderfully livid bruise (how apt).