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iLounge
The world's largest Apple Store on Regent Street has seen some recent improvements to further secure it's "best secret toilet in London" chimp rating. Never be caught short again, as you can always rely on their first floor toilet to be free, clean and open. But now, in addition to the free WIFI the store offers you can make free phone calls using the iPhones on display. Beat the crowds by heading to the upstairs display.
P.S. Fair usage policy might apply, so don't let the Geniuses see you calling Nigeria.
29th Nov 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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Early Conchords
if you're after more from current Chimp faves the Flight Of The Conchords, there's some clips of the original radio version up at the bbc
26th Nov 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Holy Ghost Revival
1965 Records' latest signings Holy Ghost Revival are over from Seattle for some UK tour dates this month - including a slot at the 1965 all-dayer, which we'll hopefully be covering extensively.
Described as "Elizabethan theatre meets Pagan Glam” (?!), their debut album is produced by Ryan Hadlock, who was behind the controls for several Chimp favourites (Modest Mouse, Blonde Redhead, The Strokes).
Tour Dates
Nov 25th - HGR - CLASH @ LOCK TAVERN
Nov 26th - London, The Black Gardenia, Dean ST
Nov 28th - Exeter Cavern
Nov 29th - Liverpool - Bar Academy
Nov 30th - York Fibbers
Dec 01 - Skegness Butlins. Boom.
Dec 02 Dundee - The Doghouse
Dec 03 - Birmingham - Bar Academy
Dec 04 - Manchester Roadhouse
Dec 06 - Bolton The Dog and Partridge
Dec 07 - Tunbridge Wells - Forum
Dec 08 - 65 All dayer @ ULU
Dec 09 - Southampton, The Joiners
15th Nov 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Android Comes To Life
Google have launched their Android operating system for mobile phones that was announced a couple of weeks ago and put up a video guide of what it can offer. It looks like a major step towards getting phones doing more of what they are capable of - with seamless integration of Google maps of course and a pretty cool street view demo at the end of the clip. Best of all though, Google is stumping up $10,000,000 in rewards for developers who make cool apps for the platform. Local chimp finder anyone?
13th Nov 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Free Swirlies
It seems to have been overlooked in all the Radiohead frenzy, but shoe-gazing Chimp favourite's the Swirlies seem to be giving away most of their records as downloads on their website. Check out Blonder Tongue Audio Baton, They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons and the Brokedick Car EP for starters.
5th Nov 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Obey London pt2
spotted these two new Shepard Fairey works - his crew really is hitting London. Full show opens next week - if anyone spots any more, feel free to zip them over to Chimp HQ
26th Oct 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Twisted Fate
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy is among the artists contibuting to the soundtrack for the upcoming Dylan biopic I'm Not There. Check out the Myspace page for his cover of Simple Twist Of Fate and a couple of others.
Eddie Vedder, Yo La Tengo, Black Keys, Jim James with Calexico (!), Stephen Malkmus and a host of other chimp favourites have also contributed. New trailer up too. Early word from operatives suggest it's more a good idea well executed than a great film - and that Cate Blanchett is the best Dylan.
But, as if that isn't enough, check out the line-up of collaborators on board for the live 'tribute' show.
19th Oct 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ween vs Atp vs Pitchfork
Chimp favourites Ween are bringing their mayhem to the UK in March for the ATP Festival. ATP vs Pitchfork is the theme. Sebadoh, Dirty Projectors and Pissed Jeans are amongst the other acts.
Ween's new album La Cucaracha lands on October 22nd.
8th Oct 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Chimp Suffers Setback In Becoming A Person
An uptight Viennese court won't grant Matthew Hiasl Pan (a 26 year-old chimp) human status
28th Sep 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
UK iPhones
Apple are launching the iPhone in the UK today. It'll be on O2, and the 8GB phone will retail for £269 inc VAT. Launch date is November 9th. Unlimited data plans at £35, £45 and £55 pcm - on an 18 month contract. You also get free access to the Cloud's 7000 WIFI hotspots apparantly, which covers most of central London, and certainly Chimp HQ.
"People want to see the iPhone more than they ask me for Led Zeppelin tickets."
18th Sep 2007 - 5 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
How To Fly A Plane
As you know, we're all about practical information here at Chimp HQ. Today, for example, here's some tips on How To Fly A Plane - bound to come in handy the next time you've got some bogies on your wing. Roger Tango Charlie. Over. Chhhhh
Links
get amazon to airlift you a copy here
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14th Sep 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Brakes and Veils
Chimp favourites Brakes are on a Uni tour in October:
Sep 25 London UCL Union
Oct 01 Hull Asylum, Hull University
Oct 02 Glasgow Oran Mor
Oct 03 Aberdeen Moshulu
Oct 04 Sheffield Fuzz Club, Sheffield University
Oct 06 Manchester Club Academy
Oct 07 Newcastle Northumbria University
Oct 09 Coventry Warwick University
Oct 13 Bath Bath Moles Student Night
www.myspace.com/brakesband
www.brakesbrakesbrakes.com
The Veils are also on tour with Ed Harcourt. BC's been sitting on their excellent album Nux Vomica for a while...
Oct 02 Liquid Rooms Edinburgh with Ed Harcourt
Oct 03 Oran Mor Glasgow with Ed Harcourt
Oct 04 Stage 2 Newcastle with Ed Harcourt
Oct 06 Academy 3 Manchester with Ed Harcourt
Oct 07 Fibbers York with Ed Harcourt
Oct 09 Brudenell Leeds with Ed Harcourt
Oct 10 Leadmill Sheffield with Ed Harcourt
Oct 11 Barfly Liverpool with Ed Harcourt
Oct 12 The Graduate Cambridge with Ed Harcourt
Oct 14 Arts Centre Norwich with Ed Harcourt
Oct 15 Rescue Rooms Nottingham with Ed Harcourt
Oct 16 Barfly Birmingham with Ed Harcourt
Oct 18 Point Cardiff with Ed Harcourt
Oct 19 Triinty Bristol with Ed Harcourt
Oct 20 Zodiac Oxford with Ed Harcourt
Oct 22 Digital Brighton with Ed Harcourt
Oct 23 Koko London with Ed Harcourt
www.theveils.com
www.myspace.com/theveils
13th Sep 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Mugison Goes Blind In Iceland
ah, i knew something was missing in chimp HQ - some new mugisongs. check this festival outing with his storming band: Go Blind, Mugiboogie, I Want You, and Murr Murr I didn't think that could get much better... really hanging out for the new album now
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11th Sep 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Jeffrey Lewis
12 Crass Songs
It’s been a good week for record label PR and a bad one for Chimp research, following from Muxloe’s Young Marble Giants admission, I had penned the following review based upon the first few listens of Jeffrey Lewis’ 12 Crass Songs:
Jeffrey Lewis began life as a beatnik, or at least his parents were, a lifestyle choice that deemed comic books and blues records more suitable entertainment than that old Hippy’s foe: Television. Lewis took that early absence in his life personally it seems, as TV is one of several targets in the sights of his nasally-voiced shotgun on new album 12 Crass Songs.
Before becoming a musician and a member of New York’s anti-folk movement (the power and anger of punk via acoustic guitar) Lewis drew (aha) on his upbringing to become an underground comic book artist. The sparse/direct style of comic books runs through 12 Crass Songs; it’s a wall-to-wall bunch of blunt, angry self-effacement - delivered like a crude black and white sketch through minimal music and Lewis’ talking/singing.
12 Crass Songs doesn’t let up. Nothing is spared as various tones of grey are added to the bleak portrait of the western world today. The human race is the first in the firing line on End Result “I’m part of the race that kills for possessions, part of the race that’s wiping itself out” On I Ain’t Thick, Lewis has his daggers drawn for that old villain 'The Man' who uses TV/Sarah Jessica Parker, consumerism and even history books, to keep the masses downtrodden, but Lewis ain’t having that y’all.
Systematic Death plays out like a comic book story, etching a sketch of Mr and Mrs Average America doomed to a life of misery, oppression and downright idiocy under the SYSTEM SYSTEM SYSTEM!
If he’s pissed at Sarah Jessica Parker, then imagine the ire Lewis reserves for Bush (I bet even Sarah Jessica Parker is pissed at him) and Mr. President’s policies, particularly his idea of defence, come under the penlike scalpel of Lewis. Even punk itself isn’t safe. Punk is Dead laments that the movement that once inspired Lewis and his contempories sold itself out “Punk is Dead. Punk is Dead. Just another cheap product for the consumer’s head”.
I would disagree however, what is punk other than getting a personal message out there by the most direct means possible (or is that DHL? (Corporate Fascists)). It’s easy to roll the eyes at another New York artist bitching about conspiracies and the like, but that’s exactly the fuel that feeds 12 Crass Songs. The world in 2007 is a mixed-up place of complacency and terror, artists that stick their head out, stare you in the eyes and point that out should be saluted. However, it surely wouldn’t detract from the message to add a splash of colour now and again, if only musically….
Then, like a tardy Colombo, I discovered that I had overlooked a vital piece of evidence; 12 Crass Songs is exactly that; 12 cover versions from late 70s/Early 80s English Anarchists Crass. It’s depressing to think that 30 year old messages of protest and opposition still ring true and clear today, and strangely all of my thoughts were still valid - even though I refuse to believe that Sarah Jessica Parker was a key instrument in Thatcher’s oppression of Britain’s working classes.
3rd Sep 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 2.5 star reviewsOn The Air Tonight
We're not pimping ourselves out to the advertisers quite yet, but check out this new chimp-friendly spot, which will be going out on TV tonight in the UK (during the ads of the Big Brother final if you can bear to watch). It's by the creative director guy who was behind that other 'modern classic' ad with the Sony balls.
31st Aug 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
The Dude In Me
thanks to dr chimp for pointing us towards further evidence of The Dude generally abiding
26th Aug 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Volume IV
a new player enters the arena! in honour of a new hk chimp arrival, today's song can only be... Voodoo Child. Welcome to the party, Jimi F!
8th Aug 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Three Men in a Float
For his latest project Idle author and Chimp buddy Dan Kieran has been driving across the UK in a milk float. See some highlights here.
7th Aug 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
My Name... Is Michael Cained
DJ Sir Michael Caine has finally put together that chill-out album we've all been waiting for - Chicane, St. Germain, Talvin Singh's remix of John Martyn and yes, chimp fave Doctor Rockit...
Links
play cained
?I?ve always been interested in music and over the years have made literally thousand of tapes?
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1st Aug 2007 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Caribou
Andorra
City Slang
More enjoyable laptop psychedelia from reindeer-lover Dan Snaith. All works pretty well, with opener Melody Day launching things in a melancholy style (great Four Tet remix on the single as well, for once a reworking that takes things down rather than up). Feels a bit more live than previous outings, keeping the samples more in the background. The song to jam ratio is improved this time too; feels like a band rather than a solo project. If you're into the whole acoustic guitars being sampled thing, you'll be happy taking a trip to Andorra. We're still holding his Montague Arms freakout against him at Chimp Towers, but that shouldn't put you off.
24th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsSong Of The Day: Volume IV
Song Of The Day seems to have become Song Of The Quarter recently, with the last one being added way back in May when Dr. Chimp Jr joined us.
As BC's out of the office on holiday this week I've been cranking up The Flaming Lips, and Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung from At War With The Mystics has floated to the top. This great live band can be a great album band when they drop the jokes.
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20th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
It's Too Cate To Stop Now
thanks to Dr Chimp for pointing us to this nuts clip of Blanchett as Dylan clip from the new Dylan bio from Todd Haynes, I'm Not There - w David Cross as Ginsberg
16th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
nicole invaders
not sure it's going to top the 1978 donald sutherland chimp classic, but nicole kidman and daniel craig are lined up in the latest invasion of the body snatchers remake the invasion
11th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
;) history
thanks to dr chimp for pointing us towards this great moment in modern life: the invention of the smiley (retrieved from the original tape, apparently)
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9th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
The National Daytrotter
Daytrotter have a great 4 track live session for download - by Chimp favourite's The National. It includes a cover of 80's classic Pretty In Pink.
9th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
more mara
gigs and a new EMi album on the way from lovely chimp fave mara carlyle
Weds 11th July - Bodrum Cafe, Stoke Newington
Sun 5th August - Green Note, Camden
Thurs 9th August - Green Note, Camden
Sat 8th September - South Hill Park, Bracknell
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4th Jul 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Fopp to flop?
Music retailer and favourite chimp store Fopp is in trouble...
UPDATE:
'It is with great regret that we announce the closure of Fopp.
Our store chain is profitable, well regarded and loved by our loyal customers and staff. However we have failed to gain the necessary support from major stakeholders, suppliers and their credit insurers to generate sufficient working capital to run our expanding business.
We would like to thank staff and customers for their support over the past 25 years'
ENDS
A fopp spokesperson
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29th Jun 2007 - 8 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Glastonbury Report
I've been scrutinising this year's Glastonbury festival from the comfort of the sofa, making extensive use of the red button on the remote. One thing I've realised is that I'm definitely the target audience for BBC 4. John Fogerty put in a barn storming performance, reclaiming Rockin' All Over The World in his encore. The Dude would have fainted.
The Stooges were awesome with Iggy back at the helm. Chimp hero Mike Watt had his moment in the limelight, but it was Iggy's show - finishing with the most audacious stage invasion I think I have ever seen. Brilliant.
Links
watch sets again here
mike watt interview for bass player magazine
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24th Jun 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
toto, not in kansas
nuts version of africa. ten chimp points for anyone who can work out this tuning
18th Jun 2007 - 4 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
World Tour of Japan 2007: Tokyo
After 14 days of fun, we are now back in the land of the chimp - with a crash. My notes from the field tapered off after a while - mainly because I was on holiday, and finally got used to being off duty. We spent the last few days holed up in our 45th floor hotel room, looking out over the megalopolis. According to official figures, the city proper of Tokyo clocks in at 8.4 million, ranking it 12th in the world (Mumbai takes gold, with 13m).... however, the Metropolitan Area of Tokyo is listed as 31.7 million, 10 million clear of it's nearest rival - Seoul. London ranks 15th and 17th respectively.
It feels absolutely massive, and from the view out the window there is nothing in site but city and urban buildings. Where London has maybe two or three areas you could mistake for the centre (West End, City, maybe Docklands) Tokyo has a good dozen. While it's not as looming as New York - the majority of buildings are 10+ floors even in the outer areas - the fact that it is so consistent makes it easy to overlook anything under 10 floors.
It's all high-tech, all neon and totally great - so bump it up your list of destinations and make it your next holiday. The slow running trains and general grubbiness of London have been a major come down.
Back in chimp-mode however I watched a multitude of films back-to-back on the plane:
Children of Men (3 stars)
The Astronaut Farmer (3 stars)
Pan's Labyrinth (3.5 stars)
Breach (3 stars)
The Pursuit of Happyness (2.5 stars)
Once In A Lifetime (3 stars)
...and took notes on a couple more:
The Holiday (2.5 stars)
9th Jun 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Latitude
pretty chimp-friendly line up at this year's latitude festival - wilco, midlake, arcade fire, clap your hands say yeah, the rapture, the national, jarvis, CSS, the good the bad the queen
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8th Jun 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Simian Mobile Disco
Attack Decay Sustain Release
Wichita
With Dance Music Guy on extended leave due to ‘exhaustion’, the job of reviewing any music with beeps, bleeps and several beatsperminute generally falls to whoever is hanging around chimp hq after hours. Like stumbling round the darkened corridors of an after hours clubs for the first time, the move from Distortion Feedback Superfuzz Bigmuff to Attack Decay Sustain Release can be a disorientating affair.
Or is it? From the Prodigy, through Leftfield and the Chemical Brothers, casually throwing in a bit of Daft Punk and perhaps a dash of Air and onto Basement Jaxx and Groove Armada, the list of dance acts (groups) that have crossed over into the relatively mainstream world of drums and bass (plus rhythmn and lead guitars) have been few and far between. Which is understandable really, coming from a style of music that wears its underground credentials more proudly than most. Simian Mobile Disco, like those listed above, have brought the clubs up to the people, rather than forcing the people reluctantly down into the clubs. And it’s a no-lose situation for both sides. Simian Mobile Disco are guaranteed a nice slice of uncompeted success, whilst the ageing zeitgeist hunters can keep their finger in the region of the pulse, but their feet away from the dance floors.
Attack Decay Sustain Release allows us sun kissed indie heads to dabble in the dark side, getting that weekend vibe before going to the pub to continue the Kings of Leon debate, head back home at closing time and maybe come down with a bit of Neil Young’s Harvest.
7th Jun 2007 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviewsNight Driving
There's more than a touch of Michael Mann about the new VW Golf ad. Check out the website, where you can edit your own version. They offer music from Solaris for the edit, but as every chimp knows, Wedding Present's Interstate 5 is the only soundtrack for night driving.
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7th Jun 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
World Tour of Japan 2007: Kyoto
As Mike D would say: "Kyoto!". Ye old capital of Japan was way smaller than I imagined, but still with some pretty hefty buildings and of course a multitude of fine palaces and shogun lair's. Top left is Kinkaku-ji Temple (or Golden Pavilion), and top right is the view of Kyoto from the Kiyomizu Temple, which was pretty amazing. Both were swamped with Japanese tourists, but you see the odd lone westerner acting all nonchalant like they're blending in, thinking they are Chuck Norris.
Went to a fantastic izakaya (drink/snacks combo) in Kyoto, with a ton of tatsy treats. We then headed out for some serious Karaoke, as it was BW's birthday. No Mötley Crüe caught our attention but they certainly had some, plus pretty much everything you could imagine. All the favourites of course (Toto, Elton, G'n'R), plus Clap Your Hands, The View, ZZ Top, Pearl Jam and a bunch of stuff that probably hasn't even come out yet. The Sonic Youth version of Superstar made for a good duet, as well as the Chimp classic Jump.
4th Jun 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Wilco
Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
For a while now Wilco have been the final frontier when it comes to live music. In the last few years many of the greats have been ticked off my list and tonight the final pillar was going to fall. Wilco certainly didn't disappoint. You could divide this gig into two distinct sections - before Jeff Tweedy addressed the crowd and after. Ploughing through 3 choice cuts from the new album and some Wilco classics including I Am Trying To Break Your Heart it seemed Tweedy was here to do a professional job and get the hell out of there. Then the surprisingly charismatic frontman decided to include us in their fun and the whole night took off. And after that it went pretty much as I'd expected, which is good - as I expected nothing short of greatness.Wilco have never been the kind of band to come out punching with soaring anthems or fancy pyrotechnics so it wasn't until mid-way through that their brilliance fully seeps in and you stand there totally porous to their genius. That's when songs like At Least That's What You Said, Hummingbird and A Shot In The Arm envelop you in their warmth and you are forever changed. Glen Kotche's drumming was, as expected, the back bone to this stunning performance, and new signing Nels Kline frequently took new tracks like Impossible Germany and the beautiful You Are My Face to dazzling heights as he frantically throttled the neck of his guitar. But it was the awesome rendition of the epic Spiders (Kidsmoke) that totally stole the show and took it stellar. I have always considered A Ghost Is Born to be Wilco's finest and this reinforced my opinion. During the 10 minute marathon of climbing guitars, heavy drumming and swirling sound effects this band became something else. This song alone puts them in their own category and though Sky Blue Sky sees them opting for time out of this category for a while their place will always be guaranteed. It was a pleasure to be in the company of this band and its music.
BC - 4 Stars
As a powerhouse band Wilco seem to be getting better and better, with some great contributions from the new boys coming up through the ranks, and notably the Clapton-suited summer signing Nels Cline up front proving some major firepower. Jeff Tweedy holds his own in a guitar duel however, of which there were plenty - mostly more full on and rocking than I could have ever anticipated.
In a live setting the quiet/loud formula of many of the tracks was more apparent - even on many pre A Ghost Is Born numbers, and certainly on beefed up renditions of some of the Sky Blue Sky highlights, such as Side With The Seeds. Many of the more low-key songs like Poor Places and Via Chicago were given a fleshed out majesty by the full band that made them sound better than ever with the finer details or the effects, keyboards and backing vocals more richly presented. Surprisingly the big stand out for me was Woody Guthries Airline to Heaven, which found the band firing on all 6 cylinders to magical effect.... and there was even room for an extra Nels Cline solo.
After the crowd got into the swing of it, Tweedy lightened up and things really picked up getting better and better. This is a man I never thought I would see doing the running man, but there you go. With two extended encores it seemed like we were in Wilco heaven, and with the introduction of Bill Fay for a rendition of his Be Not So Fearful we were provided with a touching tribute to some of the bands roots and influences. Fantastic.
CSF - 4.5 Stars
just to add to the dedicated tweedy-watchers above. for some reason i had them filed in the wrong side side of my alt country factfile for years, have to say i'm glad we've put in the conversion hours at chimp towers to get me up to speed. have only really got round to absorbing the last two albums, but enjoyed everything they played. totally concur on Spiders (Kidsmoke) being the stand-out moment - love those loooong jams where everything cruises and then explodes. Impossible Germany had a great solo to finish it off, loved the freak-out stuff on Via Chicago and that last Bill Fay track was a very sweet closer. never really noticed the beatles influence on the wilco sound before, suddenly felt like i was watching a kind of US indie version of Wings (a good thing in my book). great playing from the whole band, and good to hear a band rocking out without just turning up the amps to 11.
brought 3 other newbies w me; all walked out converts which leads me to award a pretty conclusive...
4 Stars - c71
22nd May 2007 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4.5 star reviews
Cymande live
although there's something of a divide when it comes to the f-word in chimp towers, it's worth noting that legendary british rastafunkarians Cymande are playing the jazz cafe london, aug 3
2nd May 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Song Of The Day: Volume IV
It couldn't be anything other than forever young, in honour of the newest Dylan on the block… congratulations to dr and mrs dr chimp
1st May 2007 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Modest Tour
Re-juvenated chimp favourites Modest Mouse have announced a Europen tour:
Sun 20-May -- Somerset, UK -- ATP vs the Fans
Wed 23-May -- London, UK -- Royal Albert Hall
Sat 26th- May– Glasgow, UK –- ABC
Sun 27th – May-- Wolverhampton –- Wulfrun Hall
Mon 28th – May-- Nottingham –- Rock City
Tue 29th – May-- Manchester – Ritz Ballroom
Fri 1-Jun -- Barcelona, ES -- Primavera Sound
16th Apr 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
summerset house
hot chip, kasabian, mika rumoured for this year's somerset house summer series hmmmm hope there's someone a bit more chimp-friendly. still disappointed about missing QOTSA thanks to those pesky london bombers
16th Apr 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Midlake in Session
6 Music have got chimp faves Midlake live in their Hub thing. (did we really only give Van Occupanther 3.5?!!!)
16th Apr 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Dylan Seuss
thanks to Dr Chimp for this story, which finally answers the question: "What would Dr Seuss have sounded like if he was Bob Dylan?"
Links
how many hams must a man not like?
green eggs and bob
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13th Apr 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Fucking Champs
VI
Drag City
Believe it or not, there are downsides to being a Chimpomatic reviewer. The parties, premieres and indecent proposals all pale into significance when deadline day looms and the Alpha Males at Chimp HQ start bearing teeth. To stay in favour, it is necessary to listen to albums at inappropriate times and locations. For example; The Fucking Champs. As you may have guessed, they don’t do subtle. They don’t do singers either. I guess they believe that singers are for pussies and most definitely not for Fucking Champs. Besides, who needs words when you have a couple of Jock electric guitars beating the shit out of all-comers like a Double Dragon Tag-team (ably assisted by their sidekick Powerdrummerdude).
Yes, there is a time and a place for the Champs and it’s not on a crowded commuter train at 8.30 in the morning (professional courtesy prevents me from playing anything under maximum volume) or at 11.30am whilst trying to see off a particular enthusiastic hangover. No. The Fucking Champs are most definitely a band for the night before - this is music for movie double acts: Bill and Ted. Wayne and Garth. For all the dudes that like to R.O.F’ing.K!
I feel bad about rating this; like the old codger telling those darned kids to turn the party down AGAIN. But those leading chimps are showing signs of chest-beating with all these recent stars flying round and it is pretty one-dimensional (unless you count the Brian May-esque guitar duet of Abide with Me as another dimension) with its (party) Time and (ice cold and refreshing) Place.
But hey. Ratings are probably for pussies too. The Fucking Champs are here to take over the world, so you might as well shotgun a brewski and join ‘em.
8th Apr 2007 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 2.5 star reviewsQuiz NIght
Despite having Chimp North down on loan, Team Chimpomatic put in a pitiful performance at last night's pub quiz.
Free CDs for anyone who can work out all 30 questions that led to these answers....
4th Apr 2007 - 8 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
keep it cusack
more projects from Chimp Towers favourites John and Joan Cusack on the way: possible cheesefest Martian Child and then War Inc - very Grosse Point Blankelike
2nd Apr 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Urban Ski
no, this wasn't one of the superior chimp team missing the slopes in london
28th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Google Home Page
I'm loving the new improved Google home page at the moment. They have added some themes, which keep things a lot tidier than before ...plus the sunshine on mine changes to match my London location. As you can see, it also allows you to add custom RSS feeds, meaning I can see any chimp updates at a moments notice.....
You'll need a Google account to subscribe.
26th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Midlake Chemicals
Chimp favourites Midlake are quickly selling out their upcoming UK tour, as well as finding time to guest on the forthcoming Chemical Brothers album. If that awesome Flaming Lips collaboration is anything to go by the result could be good...
23rd Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Superior Snow Report 07
catching edges, piling on the pancakes and answering crucial questions like "just how many jugs of this no-hangover beer can we really get through?" - yes, it's a hard life on snowchimp duties. as well as an unconfirmed bear chimp sighting, and a possible undercover marmot surveillance operation, we've had two chimps up on black runs (that's where the hot chocolate guy is), one mastering the finer points of the magic carpet ride misty 900 side-slide, and one benched for the last three days after a rib-shattering (ok, totally severe internal bruising) wipeout, on what he claims is "canadian tv research". that dude never stops working. the team managed to avoid getting sucked into the "st patty's day" green beerfest last night, although we did count it in the night before. it's like new year's bro, greener, n'kay?
18th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet
Douglas Coupland
Short interview with popular chimp tech fiction author Douglas Coupland on his thoughts on Blogging, YouTube and more.
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15th Mar 2007 - Add Comment - Tweet