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Trailer Park: A Single Man
Good-looking trailer up for fashion maestro Tom Ford's first foray into film-making - A Single Man.
14th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Spotify For iPhone: Review
With a ton of never-played-CDs archived around my house, I've been looking for a reason to get rid of them and move forwards with technology. Spotify has been looking like a likely candidate to fill that gap for a while - although with little difference between their offering and the likes of Real Player or the current incarnation of Napster, I'm not sure why - as I would never have gone near them. I think their stand-alone app (and now iPhone/Android app) just came along at the right time, as the market matured to a suitable place.
At £10 a month it rivals the price of buying a new CD per month - with around 80% of the other music in the world thrown in as a bonus, although it is always disappointing when they don't have something - and as the Chimp iTunes is loaded with pre-release stuff it often seems a little behind. New releases generally become available as soon as you can buy them however, and a simple small auto-playlist from iTunes could fill the remaining gap.
I was a little unsure of the sound quality at first, though suspected my fading headphones to be the more guilty party - and Hot For Teacher sounded better and clearer than ever. While listening over 3G there were minor delays between tracks and it dropped out in a couple of notorious 3G black spots en route to work, but generally it's very acceptable. Changing the way you think about using the app can certainly improve things and offline syncing of playlists is a simple task - but it's the playlists themselves that highlight the main issue with both the desktop app and the phone version - the organisation of music. If you could sort and search within playlists like iTunes, you could easily build up favourite playlists, ratings and dynamic playlists too. Importing your owned music from iTunes would also be a major bonus.
With the desktop version of Spotify only at version 0.3.19 however, it's a very reasonable assumption that there's plenty more to come - and any success is bound to be met with a retaliatory offering from Apple, or at the very least Napster and Real Rhapsody - both of which allegedly have mobile versions under development. Exciting times.
P.S. Since launching the iPhone version, Spotify has reverted to an invite-only service in the UK. We have 2 invites for any struggling listeners in UK, Spain Sweden, Norway, Finland or France.
14th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Everett True
You may have heard about the war of words between Courtney Love and Grohl/Novoselic last week, but one good thing to come out of it was the discovery of the website of music journo Everett True, the man often credited with promoting Nirvana and grunge's big break-through.
Here's a run down of his Last FM page.
14th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Google Map Monopoly
Looks like Monopoly is coming to a Google Map near you, with a new online version of the game allowing you to play across the entire world and let you buy your own road.
The official site isn't isn't live yet, but there's a blog - and Wired have seen a demo.
UPDATE: It's now live, but overloaded...
11th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Remember The Word
90's post-pub entertainment show The Word pretty much set the pace for a lot of music in the 90's, introducing a load of new bands (Nirvana, The Lemonheads, L7, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins and Cypress Hill amongst others), thanks to music booker Jo Whiley and creating a lot of controversy with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Johhny Rotten, Shabba Ranks and audience participation section The Hopefuls (snog a granny anyone?).
The show was axed after 5 series in 1995, but it lives on through a pretty well-packed channel on YouTube - although I had to dig around to find Eddie Vedder drinking bile beer for the Jim Rose circus. So that's why no one likes Pearl Jam...
Get The Word here.
10th Sep 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
At Home With Bob Pollard
Nice at-home-with-Bob-Pollard type article over in the Spin archive.
"I like these old solid-state cassette players for recording - they get a good, bright guitar sound. When Guided By Voices were on TVT, they'd make us go to a studio to make the demos, then a bigger studio to record the album, a process I really don't understand."
10th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Airline Seat Review
With marmot and I heading off to NYC for a team tour in December, I stumbled across the handy V-Flyer website, rating every seat of the plane for access, TV viewing angles, lean-back-potential and more.
9th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Spotify For iPhone Is Here
In the app store now. Test drive coming soon, on a day pass if possible.
UPDATE: Day pass is not possible, so I guess a more thorough test is coming soonish.
UPDATE: I'm up and running - just need to remember to use it now. I have two invites if any struggling citizens in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France or Spain are on the sniff.
7th Sep 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
People Person
Being the kind of easy going people person that I am, I often find myself trailing behind someone on the street, thinking "Look at this douchebag ... thinks he's all blah blah blah". More and more of late, that douchbag has been shockingly similar to me.
Here's some defining characteristics of my type, defined by CJ as "post skate":
- Just graduated from a rucksack, probably to a groovy laptop bag? Check. It's hanging to the right too.
- Vans, or even better some exotic variation that you won't have heard of.
- Can't let go of the denim, so spending extra on an expensive variation. Possibly from Japan. "They're like art, almost".
- In the graphics/film/website business.
- Beard.
- iPhone. Or getting one soon.
- Jeff Bridges may well be a style role model. Or Paul Newman. Or Steve McQueen.
You'd hate me if you didn't know me. In fact, I'd hate me if I didn't know me.
4th Sep 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Promo Promo: How You Like Me Now?
Nice promo for The Heavy's new track How You like Me Now?
4th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Pastels/Tenniscoats
Two Sunsets
Geographic
In something of a dream team match up, Two Sunsets sees Japanese psych-folk popsters Tenniscoats team up with... Scottish psych-folk popsters Pastels - for an album of psych folk pop.
Joking aside, this is a beautiful record, meeting all expectations for a long-on-hiatus revered band like the Pastels, recently more consumed by the running of their Domino funded label Geographic.
Two Sunsets is dreamy, shoe-gazing pop that is an effortless listen, ebbing and flowing and creating a world and language of its own, although that language is not dissimilar to the work of those other occasional-Japanese-avant-garde-collaborators Damon & Naomi.
The the aptly-titled opening track, Tokyo Glasgow starts things off, while Two Sunsets is a highlight, as is the intriguingly titled closer Start Slowly We Sound Like A Loch - gently layering keyboards and sounds to build up a lush soundscape. Beautiful.
4th Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
More Hitler Outrage
This time he's mad about not being able to have the latest camera tech. I think this may well be the next Rick-roll.
3rd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
HTML 5
You'll need a VERY up to date browser to get this high-tech website working, as it makes heavy use of the upcoming HTML 5 standard. Safari 4 / Firefox 3.1+ should do it.
3rd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tech: Just Good Enough
Interesting article up at Wired about how the bleeding edge is often giving way to cheap and cheerful - for video cameras, to combat aircraft to mp3s...
3rd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About
Nice run-down at Wired of some fast disappearing technology and culture - not least the VHS tape.
Worth checking out at least for Flickr user makelessnoise's photo of his cousins VHS collection.
2nd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Pearl Jam In Reverse Order
Examiner.com has an epic run down of 160 Pearl Jam tracks in order of fan favouritism.
It's an epic undertaking and a bit tricky to follow, but here's three big sections: 1 | 2 | 3
2nd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Street Mattress
Nice collection of photos of discarded mattresses at Street Mattress. Maybe we should think about a Dead TV spin-off?
2nd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Sub Pop Sneakers
Sub Pop Nikes. At least it can be argued that they're both from the Pacific North-West.
2nd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Arctic Monkeys
Humbug
Domino
While the Arctic Monkey's second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was seen as something of a departure from the more chart friendly sound of tracks like I Bet You Look Good..., that departure is now seeming like more of a correction to where the band wanted to be heading. You may be expecting another departure here, after having read notes on how the band headed out to the desert to record this with Josh Homme, but stylistically it is a very logical continuation.
With the exception of the forever tracksuit-toting drummer, the band seems to have gone though a group mentality change on their new haircuts, graduating from teenage rockers to proper long-hairs, reflecting the most obviously development of the sound, as the band embrace darker, more American rock influences - notable in the angry squeals of Fire and The Thud, or the epic-sounding drawl of Dance Little Liar.
505, which proved a huge hit as the closer at this year's Reading festival, hinted at a new direction at the end of Favourite Worst Nightmare, but that hint is not really built upon here. The name calling narrative of Cornerstone probably comes closest, with Alex Turner's flowing vocals unfolding the narrative, proving Turner is without a doubt the star of the band. He is developing into a true icon, with a confidence on stage and song-writing ability that rivals Noel Gallagher, minus the attitude problem.
Darker than Whatever People Say I Am..., but with perhaps less of the abrasiveness of Favourite Worst Nightmare, Humbug is lacking the instant catchy hits of both - but none the less is a solid, consistent album that will surely reveal its true hand after many more listens.
2nd Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsTrailer Park: The Men Who Stare At Goats
Trailer up for the new Psy-ops comedy The Men Who Stare At Goats, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and a post-dude Jeff Bridges. The movie is directed by Clooney's Smokehouse Productions buddy Grant Heslov.
It's based on the book of the same name and is the 'true' story of the US Military's attempts to use harness psychic powers...
1st Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tentacle Attack!
When tentacles attack! Loving these inflatable monster attacks that have been popping up. Filthy Luker is the artist.
1st Sep 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Das Avatar
Hitler is not happy with some of the early word surrounding James Cameron's new movie Avatar.
Via AICN
28th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Dogs In Space DVD
Richard Lowenstein's excellent Melbourne set, post-punk drama Dogs In Space is finally getting a decent DVD release today, following a restoration and screening at the Melbourne Film Festival. The film was a big favourite in my own film-school days - and features some of the best drug-induced party scenes going. Well worth the shipping cost of having it sent over from Australia.
Great soundtrack too.
28th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Radiohead On TV This Weekend
There's a whole bunch of Radiohead stuff on Sky Arts this Sunday, including a screening of the excellent Meeting People Is Easy, a festival performance from Eurockeennes and an interview with Dave Fanning.
Their headline set from Reading is also on BBC 3 on Sunday night, and VH1 are preceding that with a show called In Rainbows Live From The Basement on Sunday at 10.00. Set PVR to stun.
It's hard to believe the pretentious looking students in the Anyone Can Play Guitar video would end up as the pretentious-looking middle aged band they are now.... although listening back even that song had a few clues of what was to come. If only the lyrics were in a language you couldn't understand and there was no accompanying video.
28th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
20 Years of Satellite TV
Interesting article up at Wired about the first direct-to-consumer satellite TV, launched by BSB in 1989.
28th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Crank It Up
Go green with Pearl Jam during festival season. The band have worked with Global Inheritance to provide hand-cranked audio players at a Bay Area festival, allowing you to flex your muscles and listen to four tracks from their new album.
#CSF
#CurrentAffairs
#Music
#Tech
28th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Greatest Chase Ever
A fun video up at Greatest Chase Ever - all part of a semi-subtle Converse marketing campaign. You can find an index of all the linked up sites here.
27th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Twitterfy
The media mash-up continues, with Spotify adding Twitter capabilities, to allow you to post a link to the playlist/song/artists that you are listening too. Handy, if not as well presented as the excellent blip.fm
27th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
In The Studio With Jeff Koons
Nice studio tour with Jeff Koons up via the Tate, via hypebeast.
26th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Digitize
Projections have come a long way since I was hauling Super-8's around Old St in the 90's. Check out this impressive projection performance in Paris.
Via Chase Jarvis.
26th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
We'll Know When We Get There
Touching story about one fan's pen-pal relationship with the late John Hughes.
26th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Wilco
Troxy, London
As with the Shepherd's Bush show in 2007, Wilco's show at London's recently revived Troxy started off fairly sedately, with the band thundering through a few tracks before Tweedy addressed the crowd and the atmosphere began to grow. That atmosphere was cemented by the birthday cake brought on stage for the 42 year old Tweedy and a rendition of Happy Birthday launched into a great version of Hate It Here. With the show now in full-swing, I'm The Man Who Loves You worked the crown into a cheering frenzy.
Guitarist Nels Cline adds a live-wire element to the band, near-permanently twitching on the sidelines, waiting for the opportunity to unleash another blistering solo - a fact not overlooked by Jeff Tweedy who joked that Cline's double headed guitar was a reward for the preceding guitar solo on a magnificent Impossible Germany. Wilco are no one-trick pony though and every member of the band contributes at a notable level, with the band constantly adding new touches and flourishes from songs all through out their back catalogue - such as the gorgeous slide guitar and keyboard on Jesus Etc. An encore of Don't Forget The Flowers was a brief reminder of Wilco's 'alt.country' roots, before the sonic assault of At Least That's What She Said and Kidsmoke brought us more up to date with their later sonic adventures, as well as dropping in a crowd-sourced mini-cover of We Are The Champions (see it on video!). A band with three guitarists capable of virtuoso solos is unlikely to disappoint, as noted by the flamboyant guitar duel between Nels Cline and the admirably capable Pat Sansone.
Wilco may be a bunch of (mostly) middle aged men who make great music, but as a (nearly) middle aged man looking for little more than great music, who's complaining? If you forget the fancy lightshows and expect nothing more than guitars and cowboy shirts you are unlikely to be disappointed by one of their ever-outstanding live shows.
Setlist:
Wilco (The Song)
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Company In My Back
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
One Wing
A Shot in the Arm
Radio Cure
Handshake Drugs
Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway (again)
Deeper Down
Impossible Germany
You Never Know
Jesus, Etc.
Can’t Stand It
Hate It Here
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You
At Least That’s What You Said
Forget the Flowers
Heavy Metal Drummer
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
I’m A Wheel
Hoodoo Voodoo
26th Aug 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews
Trailer Park: Inception
Teaser trailer up for Christopher Nolan's next movie Inception. If Matrix looking sci-fi floats your boat, don't get too excited - it's not out until July.
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Unclap Your Hands
Talk about making life difficult for yourself. After rushing out their dissaointing second album, Clap Your Hands have vanished off the face of the earth, presumably into torment and potential collapse. Meanwhile, frontman Alec Ounsworth has recorded an album under the name Flashy Python, which you can already buy online or listen to below. It's not bad, and unsurprisingly Clap-Your-Hands-esque.
Ounsworth also has an album due on October 20th under his own name...
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Captain Blood
Looks like Errol Flynn favourite Captain Blood might be getting a sci-fi re-boot. Aaaaar!
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tony Blair vs Jet Li
"Don't make me execute my 9 point plan Mr Li!"
Actually, it's more a case of Tony Blair & Jet Li vs Climate Change, as Ten Toes Tony hooks up with Jet Li's One Foundation for some charity work. Video by Dan Chung.
See tonyblairoffice.org for more info.
25th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: Dudeism
Not sure I'm OK with VW appropriating The Dude to sell cars, but check out the details of their new campaign over at Creative Review.
24th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Kids Back In The Hall
Charge your glasses, Canadian comedy legends The Kids in the Hall are re-uniting for a new show. Written by the Kids, the show will be the story of a small town troubled by a serial killer.... but I think we can assume that's not the whole story.
Read the story at Variety, via AICN.
24th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Stuck In A Rut
Some good tips from Photographer Chase Jarvis on how to escape that mid-life career crisis.
24th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ziggy Stardust App
The music iPhone mash-up continues to find its feet. Check out this Ziggy Stardust app, bringing together some David Bowie with an archive of 600+ of Mick Rock's photos from the period.
24th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans
WIRED have roped Brad Pitt into contributing to their guide to modern living - and by the brevity of his answers you can almost believe it's really him....
Here's some favourites:
- Fleece and company logos don't mix
- Kill your zombie brother. He's not your brother. He's a zombie.
- Keep music mixes for friends to 60 minutes or less.
- Back up your hard drive. Right now.
- Don't send out a follow-up email apologizing for a typo in a previous email
- For marital peace, keep separate Netflix queues
- Never post a picture of yourself shirtless in your dating profile (men only).
21st Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Loo Tube
Nice documentary series going up at Merge Records in support of Lou Barlow's forthcoming new album. Here's part 1.
21st Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Avatar
Trailer up for James Cameron's long-awaited movie Avatar. Looks alright, but I'm not holding my breath. 3D motion capture, blah blah blah. Looks a bit like one of those cheapo saturday morning Channel 5 animations to me.
Am I the only one who doesn't worship at the altar of Cameron?
20th Aug 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Top Tarantino
I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds yet, so Tarantino is still in my bad books - but that didn't stop me catching some of his themed screenings on Sky Movies last weekend. It was basically him giving intros to some of the movies Sky had rights to show his all time favourite movies.
Here's a nugget of, perhaps surprising, info though: Tarantino's favourite movies that have been made since he began directing. In alphabetical order, with the exception of Battle Royale, which claims the number one spot. If that's not a surprise, then the fact that Matrix was a long-standing number one might be. It was only toppled by the watering down of the franchise by numbers 2 & 3.
Battle Royale
Anything Else
Audition
The Blade
Boogie Nights
Dazed and Confused
Dogville
Fight Club
Friday
The Host
The Insider
Joint Security Area
Lost In Translation
The Matrix
Memories of Murder
Police Story 3 aka Supercop
Shaun of the Dead
Speed
Team America
Unbreakable
19th Aug 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet