tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21505476283412045672024-03-06T01:04:32.474+00:00galactic mystery solversthe only mystery we couldn't solve was how not to grow upAss Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-659469681138568882010-02-06T17:14:00.000+00:002010-02-06T17:16:20.709+00:00building the brand<a href="http://galacticmysterysolvers.tumblr.com">doing more with less</a>. potentially.Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-4166742242784711832010-01-28T20:08:00.001+00:002010-01-28T20:08:00.447+00:00the basicsreasons i was wrong about the 80s.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1Xdz7KjVhpQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1Xdz7KjVhpQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span> "heavens above".</div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-21842924833318341082010-01-28T15:35:00.000+00:002010-01-28T15:36:13.722+00:00there but for fortune<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBSanx2_hmIIgMgYDyPm-AgfYsirY_DP6FTcSOKqKnnbvfVaTVdf8OFzzfewSiRx-Nd-oU2LpkUUaJlPuwJNhowoJqd4vWLZ2u2_7UxAmHnUfAkUCDjqOZR5NBgpFDQUBATtd-xy5VIEA/s1600-h/pompey.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBSanx2_hmIIgMgYDyPm-AgfYsirY_DP6FTcSOKqKnnbvfVaTVdf8OFzzfewSiRx-Nd-oU2LpkUUaJlPuwJNhowoJqd4vWLZ2u2_7UxAmHnUfAkUCDjqOZR5NBgpFDQUBATtd-xy5VIEA/s320/pompey.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431814773311829058" border="0" /></a>oh - wait a minute.Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-14692148224166174232010-01-27T20:01:00.002+00:002010-01-27T20:01:00.236+00:00the basicsjulio iglesias: making CREAM like that n--.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rSAODcg--Dc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rSAODcg--Dc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">willie knows how awesome this is.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">bonus mathematics:</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9yUk683Sl3U&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9yUk683Sl3U&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></span></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-12989397789647296742010-01-26T22:22:00.000+00:002010-01-26T22:22:00.075+00:00the basics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">suspended bicycle. bug-eyed gallic horndog. moral panic.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"when you go to the boondocks..."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X7zg_gnWDcs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X7zg_gnWDcs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">full whack:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nGdp7AI7D6A&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nGdp7AI7D6A&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">it's not just for workers rolling barrels.</span></span></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-44366558257392450242010-01-24T19:11:00.002+00:002010-01-25T22:14:15.750+00:00the marsden rattlers - 'the lambton worm'<div><img src="http://myths.e2bn.org/library/1179250279/illus233_lg.teach.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.opendrive.com/files/6029767_V5F2w/06%20The%20Lambton%20Worm.mp3">the marsden rattlers - 'the lambton worm'</a> </div><div><br /></div><div>this story scared the be-jesus out of me when i were a lad. up in geordie-land, <b>GMS' </b>far-northern correspondent confirms, they taught the song to schoolchildren, in full dialect. fierce.</div><div><br /></div><div>from <i>bbc's folk on 2 presents: northumbrian folk</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7Rz9iO9JVRIr3Rh0X27fB0wBcfBxriZD-7CZaXbwS16Ncr-g-ktT3yDIRoqMzSEogfMcMfpXQEtsg_7DIJ878X_ZYvcS8Xx0U_XiuaR1A3NUw2hV3WESBZUaJG_vA3hNPmTh1vmChWbx/s320/DSCF4304.JPG" /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><a href="http://snapcrackleandpops.blogspot.com/2010/01/bbcs-folk-on-2-presents-northumbrian.html">essential</a></span></i></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-84838517830737342682010-01-21T09:18:00.000+00:002010-01-21T09:18:00.049+00:00gigsplurge 28: the mclusky reunion remuneration proposal<div><b>mclusky, bullingdon arms, oxford, 18 january 2001 etc. etc.</b></div><div><br /></div>i'll be honest: i'll struggle to write much about mclusky on the <b>gigsplurge</b>.<b> </b>the band played oxford approximately once every three months, for three to four years, playing the same venue virtually every time, always with a similar set of rasping, buzzing, Pavement-gone-ADHD, Albini-nasty punk screeds, always with a different set of sacred-cow targets for between-song Bill Hicks-riffing onstage outbursts. <div><br /></div><div>mclusky were never less than the best, funniest band in britain, never much different. they had an evangelical preacher's knack for making you feel good by telling you you're a piece of crap. andy falkous could make you feel a craven moron for shilling for a '<a href="http://worldclassshitty.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/799-tsmog013.jpg">blur: are shite</a>' t-shirt. so:</div><div><br /></div><div>mclusky's posthumous veneration as something bordering on the best british punk band since the pistols (if you hate the clash) or the clash (if you hate the pistols) is one of the more baffling--and pleasing--developments in the stateside indie media during the last ten years. in some sense, it provides a nice karmic balance to the equally-odd embrace of post-<i>OK Computer </i>radiohead records, balancing the pretence and pomposity of the latter lot with directness, energy, honesty, and an ironic wit blunt enough to cross the ocean. there we have it.</div><div><br /></div><div>having seen a lot of the funky troupes of my provincial youth reunite for "that cheese", i'm brewing a formula for band reunion finances. ten points:</div><div> </div><div>(i) the angle of incidence of increased critical acclaim is clearly a key factor, as is </div><div>(ii) the lack of people who saw the original incarnation. </div><div>(iii) the quality of subsequent bands' outputs, divided by </div><div>(iv) the profile of said bands also acts in msclusky's favour, what with all <b>future of the left </b> reviews announcing a great record by a band that isn't mclusky. </div><div>(v) the likelihood of a fracas, reigniting old tensions, and thus keeping the reunion short and maximally profitable. </div><div>(vi) three LPs, three nights at camden koko on the <i>Don't Look Back Circuit</i>. </div><div>(vii) the kanye of acerbic lo-fi post-punk, falkous will say something funny at the first gig, equalling mad blog hits. </div><div>(viii) the age of the target audience should be borne in mind for maximum cheddar extraction: <b>GMS </b>just turned thirty and found himself rich beyond the dreams of avarice (try it). </div><div>(ix) ATP didn't book them the first time around. as someone who has booked mclusky, that's a serious dent to credibility on the cut-throat alt-rock circuit. automatic headline slot at butlins.</div><div>(x) <a href="http://www.moderndog.com/drupal-6.2/sites/default/files/images/M_Mclusky_FPO.posterimage.jpg">posters</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YoF17mvYVMw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YoF17mvYVMw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-33158254204359645112010-01-20T19:52:00.002+00:002010-01-20T20:07:12.273+00:00rest in peace: a blogger-slash-writer respects<img src="http://www.twainquotes.com/DeathLaughWeep.gif" /><div><br /></div><div>GMS is pouring liquor on the ground for those that ain't make it. don't worry, i have an absorbent cloth.<div><br /></div><div><b>XXXXX</b> had a major effect on me at a hard point in my <span class="apple-style-span"><s><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";color:black">thesis</span></s></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black"> life. their passing made me reflect on the records they released commercially and think which mp3 or youtube video-link i would post, unless they were wrestlers, in which case a different kind of tribute is called for.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black"></span></span>hope you're doing good, blog readers. stay strong.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jMUk1R_fKEA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jMUk1R_fKEA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;">*Note: Scott Walker isn't dead. The video is a "thematic choice".</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-82614660318654594432010-01-11T00:01:00.001+00:002010-01-11T00:01:00.314+00:00gigsplurge 27: workhouse, reynolds, december 2000<b>Workhouse, Reynolds, Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, 21 December 2000</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>As promoters, we generally had two ideas. One was greasy, swaggering blues punk in thrall to Jon Spencer, the Birthday Party and the Gun Club. The other was chugging minor chord post-rock made by blokes who felt Steve Albini had a 'look' worth cultivating. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both sort-of-genres wore their budget credentials with a wry British underdog wit; neither had much success in the 00s, although there was the odd glimmer in chancers like <b>Hope of the States</b> and the <b>Libertines</b>. Indie-punk moved towards aloof CBGB revivalism, funk flailing or emo histrionics; post-rock headed for the earnest triumphalism of <b>Explosions in the Sky</b> or took a left turn towards <b>Four Tet </b>and <b>Boards of Canada</b>'s pastoral electronica.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Workhouse </b>still chug along, <b>Reynolds </b>split in 2007. Here are the latter, with what I'd describe as an agreeable stoner lurch. Very nice:</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Z2aI0nh0Wk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Z2aI0nh0Wk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-79914985053714864012010-01-10T12:30:00.003+00:002010-01-10T12:53:25.020+00:00gigsplurge 26: gold blade etc., december 2000<i>the <b>GMS </b>gigsplurge almost reached the end of 2000 by the end of 2009, and generated a lot of japanese spam in the process. a victory that you, reader, are welcome to share.</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Gold Blade, Holy Roman Empire, Twister, Toby Slater, Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, 14 December 2009</b></div><div><br /></div><div>amidst the ruins of britpop and in the absence of anything else particularly coherent, a pattern has emerged across 2000: ageing punky greasers with impressive hair playing deranged blues riffs to hopeful punters (liquor for Rowland S. Howard). hence, to round off 2000 we have <b>gold blade</b>, mancunian motormouth punk pundit john robb's <i>nation of ulysses </i>bootboy band, sham 69-ing christmas carols and hitting the stage from a broom cupboard in the corner of the bullingdon arms, the better to underline their grinning goon strummer-isms.</div><div><br /></div><div>long since having retreated to bare-chested punk revival all-dayers, the blade in their prime (that is, the first one-and-a-half albums) rivalled king prawn in their toilet-venue omnipresence, and in their ability to inspire concurrent pogoing and frugging in the moshpit--the more delightful at the height of nu-metal and the NIN stomp. this gig was booked under the aegis of our then-online mag, <i>full; </i>but with the website stagnating (writing crap on the internets never being the most rewarding) it was also the launch of our promoting venture, <i>strictly hardcore</i>--named, appropriately, after the blade's single, the logo written on an arm like richey manic. it's beginning to look like we had an unhealthy belief in this sort of stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div>support from <b>the holy roman empire</b> and <b>twister</b>, already covered in this series, and from <b>toby slater</b>, who sang songs locally and i believe still does. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a4ShOKUNsj8&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a4ShOKUNsj8&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-14026153967267320732009-12-15T18:41:00.002+00:002009-12-15T18:44:45.205+00:00sunn is funn. O))).<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:black">if i was to interrupt this blog for a spot of how's-your-father, chances are i'd head to the stereo and stick on some <b>sunn o)))</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">. those guys know a thing or two, i can tell you. they mostly hail from the good ol' <st1:country-region st="on">USA</st1:country-region>, which we all know is the land that invented loving--just ask philip larkin, or the president of the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">united states</st1:place></st1:country-region>.* we all like to have fun, don't we--as long as it's safe. and sunn's blade-hatted laser-fingered mind-goblin singer attila csihar is no different. but don't take my word for it. i'll give the last word to the boys in the band. the band sunn o))).</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">*I didn’t say his name because he might change, and then I’d look like a ninny.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7a0Z2yndlOs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7a0Z2yndlOs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></span></span></p>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-58478312929951639942009-12-10T21:31:00.000+00:002009-12-10T21:31:00.496+00:00gigsplurge 25: tompaulin, vigilance black special & servant, november 2000<b>Tompaulin, Vigilance Black Special, Servant, Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, 30 November 2000</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Finishing off the year with a trio of gigs <b>GMS' </b>gang booked at the Bully. Haven't a clue about <b>Servant</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Vigilance Black Special </b>were second only to the Workhouse amongst the Oxford bands of the time. Rarely, for a local outift, they sounded like grown-ups: dark Lee Hazlewood soul mixing with a countryfied take on <i>Henry's Dream</i>-era Bad Seeds. They now live dotted around the country, but are "keeping the band going", I'm glad to hear. Perhaps they might keep the band going in Oxford sometime soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea was for promising Peel-types <b>tompaulin</b> to be introduced by Tom Paulin--the sort of personal touch you'd expect from imaginative types like <b>GMS <i>et al</i></b>. Sadly, the self-parodying Keats-misunderstanding late-night lit-pundit (who is surprisingly huge in person) sold us down the river for a date with Mark Lawson and that lot. He missed a cracker: tompaulin were likened to Belle & Sebastian at the time, but unlike a lot of imitators, they preserved the wit, range and occasional bile of B&S, while also being imaginative and versatile in their own right. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope they won't mind me nicking a lump from <a href="http://www.myspace.com/tompaulin68">their myspace page</a>: interesting stuff, in the context of this series:</div><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 11px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 3px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 3px; ">Tompaulin formed in a bedroom in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1999. We loved records and wanted to make our own. Our first single was self-financed and released on a local label, Action Records. We had never even played live when 'Ballad of the Bootboys' sold out in a week. We borrowed some money and recorded another two singles with our friend Vinny Peculiar in Liverpool. 'Slender' and 'It’s a Girl’s World' also sold out very quickly. We were in the NME and all the music papers, and everyone contacted us wanting to sign, represent, remix and re-define us. We didn’t have a clue what was going on. Simon didn’t even have an amp. Vinny used to lend us all his stuff.<br /><br />We signed to Uglyman Records in a pub in Blackburn. Guy Lovelady was the only person who came to Blackburn to see us and we were fed up with going to London every week. So we signed and made an LP, 'The Town and the City,' with him. It got good press and favourable radio play for the single, resulting in two Peel sessions and a gig at Glastonbury. More people came to see us live and we continued to receive great press and reviews, except we were surrounded by people who talked about units and strategies, features and angles and while all this was going on, the world went Strokes and White Stripes mad.<br />Our manager told us we were finished.<br />We didn’t feel finished.<br /><br />We contacted Jim Reid from our beloved Jesus and Mary Chain records and went in the studio and recorded a new EP.<br /><br />'Give Me a Riot in the Summertime' did very well for us, the Guardian Guide said we were on to something and we thought so too. We compiled all our singles on a CD we called 'Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.' Chris Roberts, writing for Uncut called it, "A revelation."<br /><br />With the money we made from that we bought a small studio of our own and recorded 'Into The Black.' We asked Jim Reid back, this time to sing on 'Seams.' The Clientele, Ben Lurie (JAMC) and loads of other people came in to hang out and help and we had a good time recording it, despite the downbeat tone of the record.<br /><br />Mojo and Uncut gave it four stars and all the usual press loved it, except the NME who ignored it.<br />The record label said, "Can’t hear a single."<br /><br />We were fiercely proud of 'Into The Black' and decided to start playing live after two years off. We toured Germany and Scandinavia to sold out shows and came home to headline a sold out 'POW! To the People' mini-festival for Track and Field at the Barfly in London.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 11px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 3px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 3px; ">Then we split up.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7tG2xNSHHn4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7tG2xNSHHn4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-52271775795618428312009-12-09T19:07:00.000+00:002009-12-09T19:08:07.599+00:00the basics60s stuff. appalling interview. 80s stuff.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3e8vpoj0lDs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3e8vpoj0lDs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-56251917594072071652009-12-09T01:08:00.000+00:002009-12-09T01:08:00.695+00:00gigsplurge 24: six by seven, december 200021st birthday spent with the punishing indie-drone misanthropy of <b>six by seven</b>. 30th birthday later this week, to be spent in the company of fuck buttons. if you've come here for damascene moments, the exit's that-a-way. if you've come here for lil' wayne, <a href="http://galacticmysterysolvers.blogspot.com/search/label/lil'%20wayne">be my guest</a>. underrated band that sounds like spacemen 3 of the decade?<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5_o4Oiokh8E&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5_o4Oiokh8E&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-39367844722224476282009-12-08T21:40:00.000+00:002009-12-08T21:08:33.137+00:00gigsplurge 23: queens of the stone age etc., november 2000<span style="font-weight: bold;">Queens of the Stone Age, Snake River Conspiracy & Backyard Babies, Astoria, London, 23 November 2000<br /></span><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Live venues enjoyed mixed fortunes across the decade. Increased revenues from live music masked a shift in the balance of payments in favour of the bigger venues and bands. In Oxford, half the small venues already mentioned have folded, ceased promoting new bands, or re-emerged under new management. In London, the Astoria was the most high-profile casualty. </div><div><br /></div><div>Its closure was initiated by populist Mayor Ken Livingstone, but caused only a minor ripple of nostalgic protest. Its rivals had more obvious qualities and friends in higher places: it could not be defended as part of a community's musical heritage like Camden's striking Roundhouse; nor was it among the elite of <i>Newsnight Review</i> crossover venues like the ICA, the Barbican or the RFH--attacks on which would have the boradsheets editorialising on cultural decline; nor was it even a particularly nice venue, like the Brixton Academy or the Union Chapel. Yet it performed a key function in the career cycle of a certain class of band. The Astoria's claim was to be the biggest toilet venue in Britain: hosting bands with an NME buzz, one-and-a-half hit singles, and a shot at the big-time on the back of a national tour. </div><div><br /></div><div>It felt, too, like an overgrown indie boghole. A strange, dank smell. Sticky floors. A shitty 'Star Bar' covered in cack-handed, unsettling portraits of Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon, in which errant members of Three Colours Red could be spotted sipping warm lager from plastic pint pots. A weird tension between indie drudgery of weeknights and the second-rate pop acts booked for the G.A.Y. nightclub on weekends. Unfortunates flyering in the rain for nightclubs offering, appealingly, "indie / metal".</div><div><br /></div><div>For all the mediciocrity of the venue, I'd seen some great gigs there: Pavement in their pomp in 1997; Machinehead playing heart-punchingly loud in 1998; Mogwai lifting the roof off in 1999. This gig was not among them, but it was sort of archetypal of what I remember about the Astoria. All three bands were typical fag-smelling "indie / metal" nightclub fodder. <b>Backyard Babies</b> were a 'glam / sleaze' metal band from Sweden, who wore sailor hats and leather and said lewd things into the mic. They didn't have any tunes, or any redeeming sense of humour, and hence weren't the Darkness. <b>Snake River Conspiracy </b>fulfilled the "indie / metal" quotient: <i>Kerrang </i>pin-up lady singer, flabby industro-metal blokes, laughable cover of 'How Soon Is Now'. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Queens of the Stone Age </b>would go on to produce one of the best records of the decade, and to assemble one of the best live bands I'll (eventually) write about here. But in 2000 they were the familiar Astoria headliners, one-and-a-half singles in, nearly there. The Astoria gave them a big stage--the sort that they'd eventually fill with Mark Lanegan's howling vocals, Dave Grohl's irrepressible drums, and Josh Homme's weird, sideways take on stoner rock. On this night the skewed funk riffs broke up the flow; Oliveri and Homme never gelled; the band poised uncertainly between indie and metal, lacking the confidence and swagger to forge their own sound. The Astoria was a staging post: rarely the scene of triumphant victories, never an all-expenses-paid consumer experience, but consistently interesting and engaging as a place to watch the music scene change. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3GcGMRMu5nY&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3GcGMRMu5nY&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-9976901116187728102009-12-08T20:58:00.000+00:002009-12-08T20:59:53.104+00:00the basicsrural pursuit. portly grunger.<div>beer labelled beer.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DX0WiCJEnUA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DX0WiCJEnUA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-22382738454635635742009-12-08T12:55:00.000+00:002009-12-08T12:55:00.283+00:00the basicsall the basics. and then some.<div>"a pot from spaho ahmetovic".</div><div>goose towel.<br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qg44qKSbsdQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qg44qKSbsdQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-50998956699010047622009-12-07T22:08:00.000+00:002009-12-07T22:08:00.203+00:00the basicslariat. arm drag takedown. spinning toe hold.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JjI5wotM_ZU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JjI5wotM_ZU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-73002833347171306632009-12-06T15:43:00.000+00:002009-12-06T15:43:00.234+00:00the basicsblurry stuff. big hair.<div>rocking out in a warm coat.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PAMqJP4VvdE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PAMqJP4VvdE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-13100047259270886412009-12-05T21:59:00.000+00:002009-12-05T21:59:00.464+00:00the basicsdarkened room. space nymphs. worried look.<div>ground control geek hat.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D67kmFzSh_o&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D67kmFzSh_o&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-8206503512747620962009-12-04T00:32:00.000+00:002009-12-04T00:32:00.567+00:00gigsplurge 22: penthouse & monkey island, november 2000<span style="font-weight: bold;">Penthouse, Monkey Island, Oxford Point, 11 November 2000<br /><br /></span>The New Rock Revolution which the NME heralded at the start of the decade promised to re-inject sneering, swaggering, snotty rock'n'roll attitude into a directionless music scene.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Of course, it did nothing of the sort. Beyond a few good debut albums, the scene opened up new possibilities for hair-care salesmen, mobile phone companies and teen drama scriptwriters, while closing down opportunities for rockers too sick, ugly or funny to market.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Penthouse </span>(renamed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fifty Tons of Black Terror</span> after legal action from wealthy pornographers) were far too nasty a proposition for selling leather goods to pre-teens. By which I mean they sounded like the Jesus Lizard dressed as the Bad Seeds playing Pussy Galore records in a dustbin. As did <span style="font-weight: bold;">Monkey Island</span>.<br /><br />I miss these guys, and fellow travelers like Groop Dogdrill and Gallon Drunk. But I get a rare pleasure from reading the names of bands they moved on to (via <a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthouseindex.htm">Gin Palace's Penthouse page</a>):<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthousejonbiography.htm">Jon Free</a></strong> is now playing in <strong><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/">GIN PALACE</a></strong>, plus does occasional stints with Country Teasers and London Dirthole Company (ex-Headbutt).</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><br /><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthousecharliebiography.htm">Charlie Finke</a></strong> now fronts <strong><a href="http://thecesarians.com/">THE CESARIANS</a> </strong>, featuring ex-members of Gretschen Hofner, The Auteurs, Monkey Island and even Christian Death!</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><br /><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthousetimbiography.htm">Tim Cedar</a></strong> went on to found the uber-heavy <strong><a href="http://www.partchimp.com/">PART CHIMP</a></strong>, and primal electro-droners <strong><a href="http://www.myspace.com/diemunchmachine">DIE MUNCH MACHINE</a></strong></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><br /><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthouseesmebiography.htm">Esme MacDonald</a></strong> has a new band called, laughably, '<strong>THE HORN</strong>'. He sings and plays bass in this band. He tells me Lunasound ('home of the has-beens') are going to put out an album by them next year...</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong><br /><a href="http://www.ginpalace.net/penthousegraemebiography.htm">Graeme Flynn</a></strong> left the band in June '99. He is currently playing in an outfit along with Jim Jones from <strong>Thee Hypnotics</strong>. Previously called <strong><a href="http://www.myspace.com/4598906">BLACK MOSES</a></strong>, I have it on good authority that they have changed their name to the (rather presumptuous) <strong>'LICENSED TO DESTROY!!!'</strong></span>: <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QO60PToBEpY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QO60PToBEpY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /></span>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-33130037556196209602009-12-03T21:54:00.000+00:002009-12-03T21:54:00.194+00:00the basicspouch for the tie.<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U5tqAbrZeX0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U5tqAbrZeX0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-48953479019218198162009-12-02T11:58:00.000+00:002009-12-02T11:58:00.143+00:00gigsplurge 21: the workhouse, caretaker, union kid, november 2000<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Workhouse, Caretaker & Union Kid, Bullingdon Arms, Oxford, 11 November 2000<br /><br /></span>Great music inspires great writing.<br /><br />Local rag Nightshift on the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Workhouse</span>: "a sonic cathedral of sound".<br />Drowned in Sound on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Union Kid</span>: "dynamics which can be best described as dynamic ... But when Union Kid are sad, their music is sad. As you listen to the heartfelt lyrics and the music has been slowed right down, you can almost feel a frown coming on."<br />Skippscage--apparently--on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Caretaker</span>: "The sound of Caretaker tonight was fat - really fat - no… phat!"<br /><br />Of all the nights our outfit organized at the Bully, this may have been the most enjoyable, in that it was Peel-tastic, short, and headlined by Oxford's greatest band.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jrR2H4dwSUs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jrR2H4dwSUs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-74830943582566016572009-12-01T21:38:00.000+00:002009-12-01T21:38:00.902+00:00the basics2CV. leggy blonde. playing the trombone on a bridge.<div>"i'm not a astronaut."</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zGh5rM3GWL4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zGh5rM3GWL4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2150547628341204567.post-37824324308296808302009-12-01T18:58:00.002+00:002009-12-01T19:38:24.593+00:00gigsplurge 20: digital hardcore records, november 2000<span style="font-weight: bold;">Alec Empire, Nic Endo & ec8or, Oxford Zodiac, 7 November 2000</span><br /><br />Listening to Atari Teenage Riot in the late 90s was like hearing the Wu-Tang Clan five years earlier. Not nearly as good, of course, but in both cases the music sounded like the work of dangerous, unpredictable nutters whose live shows might descend into violent mayhem in the blink of an eye.<br /><br />For the Wu, this proved deceptive<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">. </span></span>Travelling to see them in Brixton, <span style="font-weight: bold;">GMS </span>fully expected to be run out of town like a common pygmy, only to find a crowd far friendlier than most indie gigs. Atari Teenage Riot, though, courted confrontation, inciting trouble if it didn't find its way to them naturally.<br /><br />A worthy stance, perhaps, against far-right agitators in the German techno scene, or against heavy handed police on the Continent; and always wedded to a thrilling amount of noise and righteous energy. But in Britain their confrontational approach always seemed blunted. At the LA2 in 1999 they had goaded ageing punkers until one pushed Alec Empire off a speaker stack; in a support slot at Brixton Academy, they had offended Foo Fighters fans with a barrage of white noise; on record, Empire had pre-empted Dangermouse by flaunting copyright and tearing up Elvis records. Amusing enough, and always worth the asking price; but the band might have sought out some more threatening, less conservative targets: Eastbourne on a Sunday would have been a place to start.<br /><br />This gig--a showcase of DJ sets, preaching to the converted--abandoned even the confrontational posture. Frustratingly, enigmatic frontman Carl Crack skulked by the t-shirt stand all night, while Nic Endo tortured a small black box, Alec Empire showcased his burgeoning nu-metal inclinations from the DJ booth, and one of them other ones--ec8or, I'm thinking--provided a tidy set of chaotic techno. An intruguing, occasionally brilliant band tailing off not with a bang, but with a really really loud whimper.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hkb3r9filcM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hkb3r9filcM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Ass Hathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752792662517875913noreply@blogger.com0