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blutamax vs hdvdeo
yup, they haven't solved the next round of machines to watch stuff on yet
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6th Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
Notes from The Big Banana
A is for Aerosmith * (Love in an...)
B is for Black Crowes
C is for Coffee Shop Hotties
D is for Diamond Dave
E is for Elton John (Ze Early Years)
F is for Fish & Chips (With French Fries)
G is for Gotham *
H is for Home Fries. Uh-huh.
I is for Irving Plaza
J is for Jerry's
K is for Kim's Video
L is for Led Zeppelin. Ten Year's Gone. *
M is for Mumbles
N is for Nobu
O is for Overseas. Which is not a country.
P is for Poop. Back and forth. Forever.
Q is for Queensboro Bridge
R is for Radio City *
S is for S-p-e-l-l-i-n-g
T is for Tim & Shannon
U is for Union Square
V is for Vodka Tonic
W is for Wendy's
X is for Terence X
Y is for Yellow Taxi *
Z is for Zagat
* means likely to be replaced when I think of something wittier.
5th Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
Wendy vs The Dinosaur
Some NYC surveillance is now online, starting with the food face off above. Just when I couldn't eat anymore, a dinosaur sized steak arrived.
My front row seats at Black Crowes were re-allocated to an unsuspecting young New Yorker, who I assume scored a date and is now making out in the back of a muscle car. Cheeky contributor Marmot should be filing a gig report shortly.
5th Jan 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
it's never boring. It's not Coldplay
great feature tracking down some of the 40-odd ex-fall members in today's guardian…
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5th Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
OS2
Good news people, chimp75 favourite Old School is set to get the sequel treatment. If you still haven't got this decade's Big Lewboswki yet, pick it up in the Virgin sale for £3.99.
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5th Jan 2006 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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iBrain
"Suddenly you've got this big-screen, movie-screen, home-theater experience wherever you are…" no this new iPod photo screen head thing doesn't make you look like you're in Brainstorm at all.
4th Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
new year, new tech
happy 2006 chimps… more stuff on the way includes a superwide angle digital camera from kodak and a low-priced google cube mac mini-style computer — there's no stopping them at the moment. sky are also starting some movie and sport download thing, free to subscribers, but looks like it pcs only for the moment…
3rd Jan 2006 - Add Comment - Tweet
newmugi
nice way to round out 2005, a new mugisong, from the soundtrack to little trip to heaven, with julia stiles and forsest whittaker…
31st Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
top ten albums of 2005 (and some other notable mentions)
chimp71:
in no particular order, and some of these contain a few killer hits rather than functioning as entire albums, but hey… also this is just the stuff that was out 2005, so no dylan, no pharoah sanders, no japan, or jackson c frank etc which have all been shuffling for me nicely this year.
clor (swung me round after seeing them supporting malkmus)
stephen malkmus - face the truth (this one does work as a whole album)
matthew herbert - plat du jour (the return of the concept album! loved this live too, looking forward to the return of disco herbert in 2006 as well)
roisin murphy - ruby blue (this should point where disco herbert will be taking off from, great hearing that wonky guitar on the title track on the radio all year)
louis xiv - the best little secrets are kept (great singles here, bit patchy as an album)
jamie lidell - mulitply (real grower this, disappointed at first, dig it now)
devendra banhart - cripple crow (this is way too long, but like it a lot even though i imagine he'd be quite high maintenance to hang with)
wilco - ghost is born (c75 really swung me around on these guys, so not the alt folkies i thought they were)
ambulance ltd - ambulance ltd (great, really varied album, which they pulled off live)
caribou - milk of human kindness (ironic title seeing as they were such miserable fuckers at the montague and we pulled them from heavy rotation afterwards)
notable mentions:
arcade fire - funeral
gorillaz - demon days (all year i keep hearing the singles on the radio, liking it, and still not identifying that it's them)
Chimp 75:
First off, for me 2005 has been one of the best year's of music I can remember - and possibly the first where I'm not digging into the past for good music. In previous years, a few of this year's notable mentions would have certainly made the 10:
Clor - Clor (Fear of Music regulars, bartended my party, supported Malkmus, some great singles but the album is slightly thin in places)
Surgery - The Warlocks (the opening track is so good I rarely get past it)
Funeral - Arcade Fire (I like it more than I actually listen to it)
Bright Eyes - (See above. Too much in one year. Use Your Illusion syndrome)
Half Smiles Of The Decomposed (Came out in August 2004, but gets a nod for being a fine finale for GBV)
Liar's Exit - Bikini Atoll (This made the list, but was bumped at the last minute by Low. Still moving up the charts)
And here's my actual 10, in descending order:
10 - Ambulance Ltd. (For Yoga Means Union alone. Great live)
09 - Low - The Great Destroyer (Shoe gazing goes big time)
08 - KC Rules OK/Rocket DIY - King Creosote (Two albums, but both equally good, and both 2005)
07 - Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon (Even better than what seemed like a perfect debut)
06 - Face The Truth - Stephen Malkmus (No More Shoes, and that infectious Rod Stewart riff. Classic.)
05 - Take Fountain - The Wedding Present (Let down by a couple of annoying tracks, but the rest gets 11 out of 10)
04 - Gimme Fiction - Spoon (Definite future-classic-rock)
03 - Alligator - The National (Definitely one to watch, as they will only get better. Awesome live.)
02 - A Ghost Is Born - Wilco (OK, this was actually mid 2004, but it's been on heavy rotation all 2005)
01 - Z - My Morning Jacket (The most anticpated album I've had for a while, and still getting better. They rule.)
If you don't have them, go get them. Can't wait for 2006.
27th Dec 2005 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Merry Christmas Chimps!
Hang tight, and once the panel has reconvened we will deliver our Best of 2005 stuff.
25th Dec 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: II
King Creosote's cover of Grace, from the compilation Dream Brother: The Songs Of Tim & Jeff Buckley. Loving King Creosote this year.
23rd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
ATP 2006
Look's like this year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival is shaping up to be a good one, with many of Chimpomatic's 2005 favourites playing:
All Tomorrows Parties
The line up for next year's event is starting to take shape :
Week 1 includes
Mudhoney, Comets on Fire, Black Mountain, The Drones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, TV on the Radio, Devendra Banhart, Vashti Bunyan, Bert Jansch
Week 2 includes
Dinosaur JR, Dead Meadow, Sleater-Kinney, Spoon, The Shins, The New Pornographers, The Decemberists, Clinic and Big Business
With many more to be added.
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23rd Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
best of 2005
yes, it's nearly over. time to get the annual chimpomatic best of underway ...we'll get the official list up once we've had a night in, but in the meantime, nominations are welcome… seems to have been the year of dylan in chimp towers, with louis xiv, mugison (of course), stephen malkmus, QOTSA, my morning jacket etc etc all strong contenders ...but what have we missed?
21st Dec 2005 - 8 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
qt
this is just ridiculous. the kittens section is especially out-there
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20th Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Revisionist
Wikipedia inventor Jimmy Wales has been caught re-writing his own bio. You would have thought he could at least have planeted a trojan horse or something. Nina Myers would have.
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20th Dec 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
b.o.b. marleysson
some crazy-ass icelandic reggae mpfree over at planet mugison… mp3
17th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
the globe is warmer
we need to get nature to cooperate with us…
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17th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
thrilling moon
big big moon predicted in the uk tonight. to go with the insanely beautiful/toxic sunset we've just had…
15th Dec 2005 - 5 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Pandora
In case reading Chimpomatic isn't providing you with enough musical guidance, try Pandora.
15th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Sausage & Mash of the Day
Spent my lunchtime pacing around the City looking for the perfect Sausage & Mash, before settling at the S&M Cafe. Good flavours, but I could have done with a bigger portion.
13th Dec 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
this text will self destruct
some new text service that auto deletes after 40 seconds is on the way ...like someone won't be able to hack that.
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13th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
herberts getting hot(line) in herrre
a chance to be on the new herbert record in case you haven't checked magic and accident recently…
that boy herbert writes: "My new record is called SCALE and takes as its starting point, the idea of distance in our lives. For one track I am trying to make a small connection with the potential audience of the album. To this end, we have set up an answer phone at k7 hq. The number there is : +49 32 22 1918 394
If you would like to contribute, please call this number and leave me a sound. Any sound. Preferably not speech or something vocal. Please DON'T say what the sound is or your name, I'm interested in making a piece of music out of noises that I don't know anything about. If you'd like to register your contribution, and name then please email dan@k7.com
Regardless, if you'd like to add a noise to the record, just call up and leave me a sound. Every sound will be used.
You have until december the 15th to do it."
12th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: II
don't quite know how this one's passed me by, but shake appeal off the stooges' raw power is a pretty meaty way to start the day if you're in need of waking up a bit. also spotted some dogs barking in the background of dylan's every grain of sand on the bootleg series vol 1-3…
12th Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
And now the circle is complete...
A sad day for this music fan... the Select-a-disc sign has been taken down and the Sister Ray sign is up on the Berwick Street store.
BUT, Select-a-disc are now doing online sales at their website, and at the old store prices....
10th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
kent get no…
actually, the superman teaser is pretty satisfying. but not as action-packed as the mutant gangwar of X3
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9th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
24 Natic
I love the Die-Hard style Christmas hat.
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8th Dec 2005 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Salt/Wound
MMJ might have cancelled, but there's a Clapyourhandssayyeah / The National / Dr. Dog 'spectacular' at GBV's favourite NYC venue Irving Plaza on New Year's Eve... which is SOLD OUT!
8th Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
new peaks?
don't really believe it, but apparently there's talk of finding some new log and coffee based crimes for agent dale cooper to solve…
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7th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Quote of the day
haven't had a song of the day for a bit, but while we sort that out here's a quote, c/o dr chimp…
"Everybody's going to remember your songs, it's just that nobody's gonna be able to play them" - Bob Dylan, to The Edge.
7th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
free bands
not quite as exciting as free beer obviously, but you can get tickets to see hard fi, graham coxon and the magic numbers at the Carling Academy Islington on Thursday 12th January, from the carling site, 12th dec onwards
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6th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
mini jack
the 24 season 4 boxset is coming with a mini episode at the end, set months after jack goes dark… season 5 coming in jan in the states, no news of the official (ie non-torrent) uk release
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6th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
today in mammal news
love it when they find "new" creatures like this. where have they been hiding?
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6th Dec 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Aaaaaargggghhh!
New Year's Eve Show & European Tour Cancelled
Jim James of My Morning Jacket will be sidelined for a while due to health complications related to pneumonia. My Morning Jacket will unfortunately have to cancel an upcoming show on New Year's Eve as well as their European tour that was to begin on January 18th, 2006.
The band would like to extend their sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. My Morning Jacket hopes to reschedule the European dates as soon as Jim is fully recovered and able to perform. We thank you for your understanding.
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6th Dec 2005 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
king chimp
early positive reports coming in for peter jackson's king kong… looking fwd to this one
5th Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
uptown
hk retrospective world tour update.1
uptown rockers rockering the kids at this year's hk rockit festival… supertight
3rd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Non-Metal Jacket
The excellent Archive.org website has a rash of live recording from My Morning Jacket's recent outings accross North America, including a radio taping of Jim James' solo show at Easy Street Records
2nd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
CocoRosie
A new contributor to chimpomatic has entered the arena, with a bolshy 5 star review for last night's CocoRosie concert.
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humping unicorns spewing rainbows
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2nd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
CocoRosie
Scala, London
After the tragic let down (and probably the best sleep I’ve had in a long time) of the recent Bob Dylan concert I really needed Coco Rosie to restore my faith in live music. I was not disappointed. This was one of the most creative live performances I have ever seen. Sneaking on quietly amid a barrage of French rappers in tutu’s, the sisters captivated the audience from the first note. The music was totally live with classical piano and harp accompanying human beatbox, animal noises, delicate acoustic guitar and strange childlike vocals that sounded like a cross between Billie Holliday, Bjork and that freaky exorcist in Poltergeist. One of the sisters (Sierra) is a trained opera singer and it sure made for a refreshing contrast to hear such an enchantingly powerful voice booming out of a girl dressed in baseball cap and general hip hop gear, while her sister looked like she had just got out of bed and threw on her boyfriends oversized Tupac t-shirt. The stage seemed packed with lots of strangely dressed people doing their own thing around these utterly engaging sisters while a huge back projection played lo-fi images of Care Bears, Unicorns, Rainbows and all the other regulars from your average dream/nightmare scenario.
Their energy was electrifying. You really felt like you were witnessing something totally live and that anything could happen. When someone called out a request from the crowd they just said ‘OK’ and played it. During the encore people were pulled up on stage from the crowd and encouraged to join the free-for-all-sing-along finale that never seemed to end.
Despite the opinion of one guy in the crowd who shouted out ‘you’re a fucking sham’ this was a refreshing, unpretentious and totally unique display of creativity that respectfully nodded to it’s various influences but took the music and performance to places I have never seen before.
The following review of the new album Noah’s Ark on Spin.com just about sums it up: “Sierra and Bianca sound like humping unicorns spewing rainbows in a muddled watercolor field: fantastical and childlike and strangely pretty all at once.”
2nd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 5 star reviewsHidden Agenda
The Times seems to have unconvered the real reason behind George Bush's War On Terror.
2nd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Face/Off
"Remember Rock With U, or When the Doves Cry? Enjoy our end of year show as we celebrate with some of the talented artists who have graced our stage over the last year: Marcia Escoffery, Randolph Matthews, Fola, Floetic Lara, Junior, Eshe Escoffery, Kenny Barry and more..."
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2nd Dec 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
radio foo
full hk update coming later when this chimp's had some time to sleep off the 24 hour jetathon, but in the meantime, a quick nod to the 6 Music Selector — Foo Fighters on dec 12, where dave and the boys are taking over the programming for the whole day…
1st Dec 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
The Spinto Band
Enjoying Nice And Nicely Done, the debut album from The Spinto Band this week, but something's not quite right. There's a touch of the kazoo about them and I suspect the could be heading for a shallow grave with the likes of the Magic Numbers and The Killers.
Enjoy them while they last.
30th Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
For those about to rock...
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...there's no need to leave your desk anymore.
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29th Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet
Small Holes
Apparently, people in Cardiff are the proud owners of the world's smallest holes.
Thanks to Dr. Chimp for the tip off.
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29th Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet