comments
Something for the weekend
From 1986. But frankly, political music doesn’t get much better than this (though the YouTube video’s sound is about a half-second out of sync with the images which is annoying).
The The | Heartland
Something for the weekend
From 1997. Sound quality on the video could be better I guess, but it’s still a cracking track.
David Byrne | Dance on Vaseline
Le Grand Content
Via Adam, in email, comes this pretty incoherent but utterly captivating clip. Don’t try to read too much into it. Just smile at the gentle humour, nod in recognition at those truths that are there, and let the rest flow over you.
With a few minutes to spare…
In honour of today’s date, 8-08-08, those of you who also spent the late 80s / early 90s dancing ’til you dropped whilst gurning like a loon in English fields, should be taken right back by this classic…
Ah, those were the days. Now. Anyone got any Veras?
In. Yer. Face!
EDIT: Actually, given what’s currently going on over in China, this would probably have been a more appropriate choice…
One for the chill-out tent, that.
Something for the weekend…
A big thankyou to Michael Greenwell for pointing me towards this wonderfully laid-back live performance of Bob Marley’s Stir It Up. As I think I’ve mentioned before, The Wailers were the very first band I saw live. It was the mid-80s and Bob had sadly moved on by then, but it was a thoroughly amazing evening and live music has been a huge passion of mine ever since (I can only imagine how different my life would be if I’d skipped that gig and gone to see a football match or something else instead!) Not long after the gig had begun, a massive rastafarian in the audience (and there weren’t many of those in Athens at the time) handed a joint to a friend of mine who in turn passed it to me. It wasn’t my first toke, but it was an influential one………
Anyways, let’s Stir it Up why don’t we.
Hey Boy, Hey Boy
Hallo again. It’s been a wee while.
I just painted my house and replaced the CPU in my PC. Those two apparently unconnected facts actually resolve themselves into a single reason for why I’ve not been online much lately. Oh, and I’ve been spending lots of time staring out the window and trying to decide between the two thesis topics that I’d whittled it down to. In the end I’ve decided to go for the Freudian analysis of modern civilisation, rather than the “psychosis as cultural construct” idea. I’ll be hammering out a final title in the coming weeks, but that’s really just a case of tweaking words; right now I’m basking in the relief at finally making the decision and the knowledge that I can focus my research at last.
As a demonstration of just how distracted I’ve been by that looming decision, I only noticed this morning that the tickets blu-tacked to the side of my bookshelf (to see The Ting Tings) were for last Saturday. Bugger! Still, that’s a minor irritation, all things considered, when compared with the blessed relief.
Speaking of music, two tickets to see Leonard Cohen arrived in the mail this morning. As did a ticket to see Prince. The two concerts are on successive evenings in June which will present an incongruous juxtaposition, but one I’m looking forward to. I also considered buying a ticket for Glastonbury upon hearing they’d not sold out yet, but two things stopped me… firstly the fact that it might not be the best time to spend a week wrecked — thesis-wise… and secondly the ludicrous faff with the ticketing system. Next year, for sure though. I mentioned this to someone (that I was considering going) and they shook their head and complained “it’s a fairly dire line-up this year, though”. Hmmm… I had to point out the fact that (a) you don’t go to Glastonbury based on who is playing, you go because it’s Glastonbury; and (b) on paper, certainly it may not be the most exciting line-up the king of all festivals has seen, but if you can’t find a couple of days worth of music out of this lot, then you’re just not a music fan.
As I say though, next year……
The American Astronaut
Keeping with the music(al) theme, my dear friend Mahalia sent me the movie “The American Astronaut” on DVD many moons ago. I never got round to watching it, but have picked it up and thought about it on several occasions. Then I got pointed to the following video on Youbiquitube which makes me think I’ll be watching the entire film very soon…
And finally… “From the blogs”
It’s perhaps a little hurtful to note that the blogosphere continued on without me, almost as if my presence wasn’t an integral part of the rich tapestry of the world wide web net. Worth reading (or at least glancing at the first paragraph and thinking “huh?”) are:
di leo da liar (Merrick at Bristling Badger on the recent exposé of an inflitrator within the Climate Change action group, Plane Stupid)
HEF (Harry Hutton at Chase Me Ladies, I’m in The Cavalry… celebrates Hugh Hefner’s 82nd birthday in his inimitable style)
Binge drinking: bottling it again (Justin at Chicken Yoghurt is characteristically spot-on with his sharp précis of exactly why increasing the cost of booze by a token amount is unlikely to have much of an impact on a national alcohol problem)
Vote Boris: kill a child (Pigdogfucker at… er… Pigdogfucker on why, despite everything, voting for Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral elections is still the best option for anyone who isn’t a git)
Frank Wilson – Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) (Merrick — again — but this time at Dust on the Stylus, his wonderfully written music blog, offers an mp3 download of a glorious Motown track that I’d not encountered before. I’ve been playing it constantly ever since, though)
Dick Cheney and the Precautionary Principle (Rochenko at Smokewriting provides an analysis of US policy and concludes that the neo-conservative tendency have introduced “the precautionary principle” as a siginificant factor in setting that policy. It’s a good piece, though as I pointed out in the comments over there, I’m not sure it’s telling the whole story) best make up brushes test
Dig Yourself!!!
I’m really enjoying the new album from Nick Cave (and somewhat annoyed about failing to get a ticket for the forthcoming Dublin gig). I’m also enjoying his fantastic moustache which features prominently on magazine covers and posters wherever I go. Wandering around town today, the title track came on my mp3-player, and I found myself involuntarily strutting.
I think I may have watched this video one too many times.
Then, It's War!
Some describe Duck Soup as satire. Personally I think “observational comedy” would be more appropriate.