Archive for October of 2004
At least, that's my excuse
October 27, 2004
I was cutting some cheese for a sandwich... it was close to the end of the block of cheese so was a bit thin. As I was making the cut it... toppled... and the knife ran across the top of my left forefinger's nail.
I, Caligula
October 16, 2004
In one of those “bugger... need something to read” moments at Liverpool Street station the other week, I ended up picking up Allan Massie's Caligula.
Gaius Caligula is know as the mad emperor, the one who made his horse a consul. But has he simply been a victim of circumstance and rumour? In this marvellously entertaining, illuminating novel, Allan Massie paints a revelatory portrait of Caligula's life and times.
Stop with the secret tracks already
October 16, 2004
Just taken delivery of Mansun's final (re-union tours notwithstanding) album: Kleptomania - a 3 CD collection comprising the unfinished tracks for their aborted 4th album, fan-voted B-side and EP tracks and a collection of previously un-released tracks. Some fine tracks there, included the stuff meant for the album... pity they split up 
The last track on the unfinished album has one of those "secret" tracks where there's five minutes or so of silence in the middle of the last, noticably ... except it's fifteen minutes of silence before the second track kicks in. This is very annoying when you've ripped the CD so you can play it through your Karma and have to sit through the fifteen minutes of silence blasting out of the car stereo. This can lead to you hoping for a traffic jam so you have time to fast forward, which is a Very Bad Thing™
The last track on the unfinished album has one of those "secret" tracks where there's five minutes or so of silence in the middle of the last, noticably ... except it's fifteen minutes of silence before the second track kicks in. This is very annoying when you've ripped the CD so you can play it through your Karma and have to sit through the fifteen minutes of silence blasting out of the car stereo. This can lead to you hoping for a traffic jam so you have time to fast forward, which is a Very Bad Thing™
Double the pleasure
October 02, 2004My ears! The goggles! They do nothing!
October 01, 2004
I'll not lay claim to being the biggest fan of vocals (acapella singing: meh. Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey vocal histronics: meh. Rap: meh [apart from OutKast]) and I've happily listened to bands who's vocal abilities are patchy at best (Sonic Youth and New Order spring to mind), but, Christ on a crutch, this has to be the most flat and tuneless vocal performance ever to hit the charts. It's almost painful to listen in places.
I'm going to go listen to some Glenn Branca... loud.
I'm going to go listen to some Glenn Branca... loud.