In praise of Toto's "Africa"

I love that song.

When the chorus kicks in, I could be high-fiving a baboon.

or doing reps with a prairie dog whilst pointing at a zebra, as if to say, "you're next zebra".

An Officer and a Gentleman and the Philips 180 Portable Record Player

I've become obsessed with this record player.



I imagine it as lady and me as the tramp. I'm ghost to it's Demi Moore. In fact it's the lady lead in any Swayze movie.

Nobody puts the Philips 180 portable record player in the corner.

Note to the fucker who outbid me on ebay: I hope you're happy with that chip on the clasp and the dent on the corner. prick.

LET'S (soft) ROCK!

Ich bin eine Zeit reisen Attentäter

This blog is in full swing now, huh guys?

So on the train back to Dublin I read this:



Bought primarily because it was a winner at this year's Eisner awards

In short (and short it is) it's about an assassin who travels back in time to kill Hitler on the bequest of a client.

It's fucking great.

I'm not familiar with Jason but he is one deadpan muthafucka. He's also a romantic, once you get down to it. This is a love story. It's really quite sweet *sob*

Also, the bio on the inside cover reads thus:

Jason was born in Norway in 1965. Suddenly he spoke to a cat. Winter filled the room. They could see the ocean.

How could you not like the guy?

Highly recommended.

What's in a name?

Out on the same day as the new Deerhoof, and on the same label, is the second album from New Yorker, Marnie Stern - the fucking terribly named "This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That"

For some reason I never got round to listening to her debut, but the follow up is a balls out rocker. Man can Marnie shred.

File beside No Age on the best fuzzed out noisy rock albums of the year list.

marnie in action (that drummer is a machine):




myspace

Deerhoooooooooof

Deerhoof are back with a new album in week or so (you can find more "information" here)

For some reason a lot of people seem to have a strong disliking for the band. Screw them. In my eyes they are one of the most interesting and experimental bands on the go, consistently zinging out a clatter of off-kilter pop songs. Good shit.

Check out the video for Fresh Born (a play for a spot on the new dairy milk advert?) from the upcoming Offend Maggie. Ever unconventional, the band leaked the song in the form of sheet music. You can listen to fan covers on their myspace, link below. Anyhow:



Offend Maggie is out on Kill Rock Stars on 7th October.

Myspace
Kill Rock Stars

#1

New year, new blog-updating intentions.



I'll begin with my experiences of 2007 which, since no one is likely to read this, will serve no purpose but as a portal for my age-retarded mind to return to it's youth come 2056.

(Assuming: a) I last that long with my sight and hearing intact
b) The internet hasn't been killed by rollerblading haircuts with stupid ass nicknames)

2007 saw me leave the island twice (in the one year! twice!). First in January for some snow skiing on the slopes of Bulgaria to varying results. Coincidently pizza and fries is pretty much all I ate whilst there due to my aversion to undercooked, indeterminable, grizzly cuts of meat.

Nothing in Bulgaria compared however to the Bacalao con la sangre menstrual y tentáculos congelados servido con chips (big up google translate!) I ordered in the world's shittest restaurant in Barcelona. Fucking muck.

That was a minor blip in the otherwise wonderful trip to Primavera Sound 07 - highlights being Justice, Battles, Chromeo and Joe puking on the nightbus.

The rest of my year was taken up by the tiresome routine of working 9-5 in a job I didn't particularly like for a wage I hated. I'm done with that in a week though, so I can't complain until I grow tired of my new job.

Best television programme/moment/use of a song in television history:

Battlestar Galactica season 3 finale. Blew my tiny little geek mind.

To be finished.......(hopefully)