Monday, December 10, 2007
We're not unreasonable
Van's out of town this week and I (foolishly) failed to make the appropriate social preparations. The last time I was out of town for a week she filled her entire calendar with parties, dinners and movies with friends.
Me? I stayed home the whole weekend recuperating from fever and flu and watching Shrek the Third.
The silver lining on all of this was threefold:
- I made further headway on Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan, the most arrogant, irritating and mind blowing book I've read in recent memory. On which, more later.
- I discovered the brilliant, and certainly somewhat insane, Jonathan Coulton, who is the songwriter I wish I became and the musician I certainly would never have become. I obtained some of his tracks (the first time I recall willingly shelling out $5 for downloaded music) for a Christmas CD to give to friends.
- I managed to get my USB Guitar cable to work, being inspired by said somewhat insane musician to write a song about... well, something.
I’d like to help you Tom, in any way I can
I sure appreciate the way you’re working with me
I’m not a monster Tom, well, technically I am
I guess I am...
Labels: books, jonathan coulton, music, nassim taleb, random stuff
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Last night's music
What it actually was, was the Levi's One To Watch tour, where three "up and coming" bands perform in quick succession. Strewn around the lounge area of Barfly were postcards showing off past alumni of the OTW program. How very corporate, an "incubator" for the latest pre-testosterone band sensations.
Before the music began playing we grabbed a quick chicken n' pizza at the local grease merchant, and caught the first act just after they started playing. Snow Fight in the City Centre are a horribly named, slickly produced sextet who happen to play very radio friendly, approachable rock. Shame I can hardly remember the tunes themselves. "Listen" was a standout, as were the synchronized flailings of the keyboarder and their lead, who managed to NOT give off the patent preppy angst that's pretty much standard issue these days.
Well into my third whiskey and coke, Ghosts finally played. Throughout their set lead singer Simon was bedeviled by technical problems, but nevermind. The songs themselves felt like this summer's new anthems. Of the three who played they felt the most musically consistent and familiar with the stage and with the material. "The World is Outside" and their opening track (whose name I didn't catch" were both standouts.
Lastly, Air Traffic stepped out on the stage looking as though they just stepped out of their school jumpers. I guess whoever signed them thought "Yeah, next Arctic Monkeys!" Their set was entertaining but was a musical jumble of Radiohead-y angst, Coldplaylike atmospheric piano and even Green Day ish punk speed guitar. The highlight for me was the lead singer / keyboardist, a tall boy with a pneumatic mouth who sang in Thom Yorke territory while keeping his musical credibility (no fake, eyes-closed-head-shaking bullshit). He sang the way the music felt; very ragged and very real.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. We managed to close out with a hastily grabbed pint before catching the last train back to Chester. Who knows, maybe we can bask our aura of superiority when one of these bands makes Glastonbury. "Ghosts? bah. I was there way back when..."
Before the music began playing we grabbed a quick chicken n' pizza at the local grease merchant, and caught the first act just after they started playing. Snow Fight in the City Centre are a horribly named, slickly produced sextet who happen to play very radio friendly, approachable rock. Shame I can hardly remember the tunes themselves. "Listen" was a standout, as were the synchronized flailings of the keyboarder and their lead, who managed to NOT give off the patent preppy angst that's pretty much standard issue these days.
Well into my third whiskey and coke, Ghosts finally played. Throughout their set lead singer Simon was bedeviled by technical problems, but nevermind. The songs themselves felt like this summer's new anthems. Of the three who played they felt the most musically consistent and familiar with the stage and with the material. "The World is Outside" and their opening track (whose name I didn't catch" were both standouts.
Lastly, Air Traffic stepped out on the stage looking as though they just stepped out of their school jumpers. I guess whoever signed them thought "Yeah, next Arctic Monkeys!" Their set was entertaining but was a musical jumble of Radiohead-y angst, Coldplaylike atmospheric piano and even Green Day ish punk speed guitar. The highlight for me was the lead singer / keyboardist, a tall boy with a pneumatic mouth who sang in Thom Yorke territory while keeping his musical credibility (no fake, eyes-closed-head-shaking bullshit). He sang the way the music felt; very ragged and very real.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. We managed to close out with a hastily grabbed pint before catching the last train back to Chester. Who knows, maybe we can bask our aura of superiority when one of these bands makes Glastonbury. "Ghosts? bah. I was there way back when..."
Labels: music
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Ghosts / Traveller
I will be going with some workmates to see The Ghosts tonight in Liverpool. One of our crew "knows the band", as it were, and we'll be catching the uber slow train into the city to see them play. Being well into old age myself, I can't help but be nostalgic for the good old days of grunge when rock was rock and there was none of this achingly hip "guitar pop" bullshit. Still, it'll be a night out and, who knows, they might even be good.
While work on the whole has been same-y up in Chester, there are times when being up here has its advantages. I've already taken enough first class train commutes to qualify for Virgin's Traveller program. The only REAL advantage to this is the free weekend train travel (hence our excessively long journey up to Edinburgh a couple weeks ago).
Not all first classes are made equal, of course; top of the heap are the Pendolino leaning coaches (known to some as the Vomit Express) with their "gourmet" meals, drink all you can and free newspapers. Then there's the Voyager coaches with the prepackaged meal boxes (a la BA Europe) and ungodly schedules. If you're really unlucky, the train won'e have a first class at all; you'll be stuck riding in cattle class with the peons. In times such as these one must make do.
* * *
While work on the whole has been same-y up in Chester, there are times when being up here has its advantages. I've already taken enough first class train commutes to qualify for Virgin's Traveller program. The only REAL advantage to this is the free weekend train travel (hence our excessively long journey up to Edinburgh a couple weeks ago).
Not all first classes are made equal, of course; top of the heap are the Pendolino leaning coaches (known to some as the Vomit Express) with their "gourmet" meals, drink all you can and free newspapers. Then there's the Voyager coaches with the prepackaged meal boxes (a la BA Europe) and ungodly schedules. If you're really unlucky, the train won'e have a first class at all; you'll be stuck riding in cattle class with the peons. In times such as these one must make do.
Labels: music, random stuff, travel
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