Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Another train-based anecdote (or the Origins of the Zombie London Mayoral System)
Overheard a conversation between a group of girls on the train between London Euston and Stoke-on-Trent last Friday. Apparently the London mayoral election is conducted using proportional representation (rather than the supplementary vote system, as I previously understood). I can only assume this means that once the votes have been counted, chunks are hacked from each of the candidates based on the percentage of votes they have accumulated and stitched together to make a Mayor. Sounds awesome, right?! ZOMBIE MAYOR!!
My train journey
A man gets onto a train. He's tall. Well dressed. [...] The man sits opposite a woman. Takes out his iPad. Strikes up conservation. [...] The woman is using an iPad too. [...] The man informs the woman that he went for the white version, despite reservations. Some believe that the white version is more 'feminine'. The woman thinks the white version is sleeker. The man agrees. [...] The man asks questions. Is yours the 64 GB version? Does it have 4G connectivity? Alas, price was an issue for the woman. She has the basic model. [...] The conversation dies away. [...] The man checks something on his iPhone. Makes a phone call. [...] Apparently their common interest doesn't lead to discussion of others. [...] Jamie sits quietly. Listening to music on his phone. Two books lie on the table in front of him. One finished. A bookmark indicates the other is half read. [...] Jamie dwells on how inconsequential modern life is. To be fair, ... he is listening to Radiohead.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Smashing Pumpkins
Finally saw the Pumpkins on their November 2011 'Other Side of the Kaleidyscope' UK tour:
First started listening to them in sixth form, after I saw the video for Tonight Tonight on MTV2 at a house party:
It truly is a fantastic video, based on Georges Méliès' 1902 silent black-and-white film 'A Trip to the Moon' (Le Voyage dans la Lune). Apparently Air have composed a soundtrack to a full-colour restoration. Should be interesting:
I'd already heard the majority of Gish during high school, but I hadn't really explored any further. Received Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for Christmas in 2001. It's probably my favourite album. After a house party in my second year at university, me and a friend listened to both discs until five in the morning.
Attended the first night of the tour at the Manchester Apollo. Corgan was on good form, during the encore at least. The setlist was interesting:
The gig was a little eventful. Ringo Deathstar were pretty entertaining, then we headed towards the front of the crowd for the main event. Ready for our first 'corgasm'! The first couple of songs were good, if a little underwhelming. The problem with most of the new songs was that nobody knew them. As such, the crowd did tend to get a little restless. Unfortunately, during Starla one of our party fainted. A short trip to the medical room followed and we returned to the back of the crowd around fifteen minutes later. Of course, I don't mind ... but we did miss some excellent songs, including Muzzle. That was a little disappointing. I do love that song. So, anyway ... we enjoyed the rest of the gig from the back of the venue. This was quite interesting actually. The setlist tended to comprise of a couple of new songs followed by a few classics, although these did lean heavily towards the earlier stuff. The crowd did seem to lose focus during the new songs. One guy spent the entirety of the gig calling for 1979, whilst abusing Billy. Whilst I can't condone this behaviour, I could appreciate that people had paid £35 for their tickets and probably expected a few more 'hits'. Sreaming abuse when the band are playing such classics an Thru the Eyes of Ruby (from Mellon Collie) and For Martha (the only song they played from Adore) was ludicrous though. Interestingly, nothing was played from either of the Machina albums. Presumably this will be rectified around the time they get a double-disk reissue in 2013. Looking forward to that. Still, songs like Cherub Rock and Soma received a decent reception. The new songs sounded pretty interesting too. I'd be interested to see them played after I've had chance to digest Oceania later this year. Sounded infinitely better than Zeitgeist.
And the encore:
Stole this video from youtube, not my own work. Some nice banter from Billy. Evidently a Smashing Pumpkins crowd aren't really that fussed about the Stone Roses reunion. Bit of antagonism too. Obviously Billy had noticed that some of the new songs weren't that well received. Asking the crowd if they liked anything:
So, summing it all up. I really want to see them when they tour this year. The new drummer is excellent, particularly on the newer tracks where the comparison to Chamberlain wasn't as evident. The gig was a bit of a weird one, for various reasons. I do want to buy Oceania. The focus on new tracks and the Gish/Siamese Dream era left me a little cold. That probably has a lot to do with the fact I think Mellon Collie/Adore are the better albums mind. Nothing from Zeitgeist, thankfully ... although nothing from Machina either. The new songs throughout the set didn't help the atmosphere either. If they'd played the newer songs predominantly in the first half and classics during the second half, it may have worked better. Perhaps that's just me. Overall, I'm glad that I went.
That was a long post. Have been meaning to write something about this gig since November mind...
First started listening to them in sixth form, after I saw the video for Tonight Tonight on MTV2 at a house party:
It truly is a fantastic video, based on Georges Méliès' 1902 silent black-and-white film 'A Trip to the Moon' (Le Voyage dans la Lune). Apparently Air have composed a soundtrack to a full-colour restoration. Should be interesting:
I'd already heard the majority of Gish during high school, but I hadn't really explored any further. Received Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for Christmas in 2001. It's probably my favourite album. After a house party in my second year at university, me and a friend listened to both discs until five in the morning.
Attended the first night of the tour at the Manchester Apollo. Corgan was on good form, during the encore at least. The setlist was interesting:
- Quasar
- Panopticon
- Starla
- Geek USA
- Muzzle
- Window Paine
- Lightning Strikes
- Soma
- Siva
- Oceania
- Frail and Bedazzled
- Silverfuck
- Pinwheels
- Pale Horse
- Thru the Eyes of Ruby
- Cherub Rock
- Owata
- My Love is Winter
- For Martha
- Zero
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings
The gig was a little eventful. Ringo Deathstar were pretty entertaining, then we headed towards the front of the crowd for the main event. Ready for our first 'corgasm'! The first couple of songs were good, if a little underwhelming. The problem with most of the new songs was that nobody knew them. As such, the crowd did tend to get a little restless. Unfortunately, during Starla one of our party fainted. A short trip to the medical room followed and we returned to the back of the crowd around fifteen minutes later. Of course, I don't mind ... but we did miss some excellent songs, including Muzzle. That was a little disappointing. I do love that song. So, anyway ... we enjoyed the rest of the gig from the back of the venue. This was quite interesting actually. The setlist tended to comprise of a couple of new songs followed by a few classics, although these did lean heavily towards the earlier stuff. The crowd did seem to lose focus during the new songs. One guy spent the entirety of the gig calling for 1979, whilst abusing Billy. Whilst I can't condone this behaviour, I could appreciate that people had paid £35 for their tickets and probably expected a few more 'hits'. Sreaming abuse when the band are playing such classics an Thru the Eyes of Ruby (from Mellon Collie) and For Martha (the only song they played from Adore) was ludicrous though. Interestingly, nothing was played from either of the Machina albums. Presumably this will be rectified around the time they get a double-disk reissue in 2013. Looking forward to that. Still, songs like Cherub Rock and Soma received a decent reception. The new songs sounded pretty interesting too. I'd be interested to see them played after I've had chance to digest Oceania later this year. Sounded infinitely better than Zeitgeist.
And the encore:
Stole this video from youtube, not my own work. Some nice banter from Billy. Evidently a Smashing Pumpkins crowd aren't really that fussed about the Stone Roses reunion. Bit of antagonism too. Obviously Billy had noticed that some of the new songs weren't that well received. Asking the crowd if they liked anything:
- "Might even play some songs you know next time. Oh, you like that one eh? Cheeky bastards"
So, summing it all up. I really want to see them when they tour this year. The new drummer is excellent, particularly on the newer tracks where the comparison to Chamberlain wasn't as evident. The gig was a bit of a weird one, for various reasons. I do want to buy Oceania. The focus on new tracks and the Gish/Siamese Dream era left me a little cold. That probably has a lot to do with the fact I think Mellon Collie/Adore are the better albums mind. Nothing from Zeitgeist, thankfully ... although nothing from Machina either. The new songs throughout the set didn't help the atmosphere either. If they'd played the newer songs predominantly in the first half and classics during the second half, it may have worked better. Perhaps that's just me. Overall, I'm glad that I went.
That was a long post. Have been meaning to write something about this gig since November mind...
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Night Terrors
Think one or more of my flatmates may be scared of the dark. It's the only plausible explanation for both landing lights to still be on when everyone appears to have gone to bed.
Raindance
Saw a rather interesting film called Synchronicity (シンクロニシティ) back in October. It was part of the Raindance film festival, an annual independent film festival based in London. Had to get up rather early on a Sunday morning and the cinema wasn't exactly packed.
It was a rather unusual film. Although quite a lot happened plot-wise in the short 80 minute running time, it felt very reflective and almost dream-like. The film opens with the lead actress, Miyamoto Issui (宮本一粋), sensuously kissing a model head, before following the two young leads with a hand-held camera as they run through a park. Two extremely contrasting scenes. I was left completely disorientated by the time the first ten minutes was over.
Basically, the film is about two young people living in Tokyo. Although they sleep together, they're not a couple. Stuck on the cusp of adulthood, with no great desire or motivation to move forwards. Directionless. Sure most twenty-somethings of the current generation will probably relate. We're pretty comfortable in our lives. Living a prolonged adolescence with our parents acting as a safety net whilst we decide whether to further our education or work dead-end jobs to kill time before we find 'a purpose' for our lives. Not that it'll be any different from those who went before us, I'm sure. It's unlikely we'll be married with kids by the time we're thirty though.
Quite a lot does happen in the film. The trials of the young female character snap the young male character out of his stupor to come to her aid, well ... in a fashion. However, it was the overarching themes of the film that stuck with me. Maybe it's due to the fact that those are the feelings that I can relate to. Feel pretty directionless myself after all. My twenty-seventh birthday is fast approaching.
The performance by Miyamoto Issui really struck me. Although I couldn't really find that much information about the film (gather it was a first-time director and would imagine the actors weren't overly experienced either ... guess we'll not be seeing a UK release anytime, not even sure how extensive the Japanese release was), I did discover that she was formally in a band called Nichika (二千花, meaning two thousand flowers) between 2006 and 2009. Managed to get hold of a copy of their album. It's pretty good. Nothing too challenging could perhaps be a fair criticism, ... but still. Really like this video for the song New Water (あたらしい水):
It was a rather unusual film. Although quite a lot happened plot-wise in the short 80 minute running time, it felt very reflective and almost dream-like. The film opens with the lead actress, Miyamoto Issui (宮本一粋), sensuously kissing a model head, before following the two young leads with a hand-held camera as they run through a park. Two extremely contrasting scenes. I was left completely disorientated by the time the first ten minutes was over.
Basically, the film is about two young people living in Tokyo. Although they sleep together, they're not a couple. Stuck on the cusp of adulthood, with no great desire or motivation to move forwards. Directionless. Sure most twenty-somethings of the current generation will probably relate. We're pretty comfortable in our lives. Living a prolonged adolescence with our parents acting as a safety net whilst we decide whether to further our education or work dead-end jobs to kill time before we find 'a purpose' for our lives. Not that it'll be any different from those who went before us, I'm sure. It's unlikely we'll be married with kids by the time we're thirty though.
Quite a lot does happen in the film. The trials of the young female character snap the young male character out of his stupor to come to her aid, well ... in a fashion. However, it was the overarching themes of the film that stuck with me. Maybe it's due to the fact that those are the feelings that I can relate to. Feel pretty directionless myself after all. My twenty-seventh birthday is fast approaching.
The performance by Miyamoto Issui really struck me. Although I couldn't really find that much information about the film (gather it was a first-time director and would imagine the actors weren't overly experienced either ... guess we'll not be seeing a UK release anytime, not even sure how extensive the Japanese release was), I did discover that she was formally in a band called Nichika (二千花, meaning two thousand flowers) between 2006 and 2009. Managed to get hold of a copy of their album. It's pretty good. Nothing too challenging could perhaps be a fair criticism, ... but still. Really like this video for the song New Water (あたらしい水):
New Year
Okay, figured I should start writing something on this blog again. It's now 2012. Well, it's nearly the end of February actually ... so 2012 has represented the present state for the best part of two months now. Seen as the world is going to end imminently, I may as well find some way to waste my time on a Sunday evening.
In any case, thought I'd start by writing about some of the more interesting things I came across towards the end of last year.
In any case, thought I'd start by writing about some of the more interesting things I came across towards the end of last year.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Updates
So, I managed to keep this blog going just over a week! I do get easily distracted. Going to try to pick it up again. Lots of things that I could catch up with, ... summer festivals attended (Wilderness & Leeds), new favourite bands (Gogol Bordello, Digitalism, Does It Offend You Yeah?), my holiday in the Lake District, interesting new films I've seen (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Summer Wars, Grave of the Fireflies), not-so interesting new films I've seen (the Inbetweeners movie, Wolverine) and presumably all the other stuff happening in my life. Will get back to you on that.
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