The milk snatcher's birthday was yesterday!Don't forget that when she finally dies there will be a BIG party in Trafalgar Square and I shall certainly be having a celebratory drink or two!
Thursday, 15 October 2009
How could I have forgotten?
The milk snatcher's birthday was yesterday!Don't forget that when she finally dies there will be a BIG party in Trafalgar Square and I shall certainly be having a celebratory drink or two!
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
How ill is Khamenei?
- This may be a very interesting few days, it appears Khamenei health in real question. May just be too frail to carry on? #iranelection
- had false reports Khamenei death before, i'm vry cautious, but my instict - no evidence - is that he is not long 4 ths world #iranelection
- Source: Qom ldrs prepare 4 fight 2 gain power in wake of Khamenei condition being serious. No way 2 100% confirm reports coma #iranelection
- Mixed reports Khameni, some sources claim it is very serious, but one caution that he had a minor episode and is recovered #iranelection
- There may be some truth to reports that Khameni condition not good, but no confirmation of Coma. #iranelection #iran
- Several sources Khameni collapsed yesterday and is in private clinic with son and doctors. No way verify his condition. #iranelection
Spiritualized @ RFH, London
Jason Pierce performing Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Photograph: Jim Dyson/GettyReleased in 1997, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the key text in Spiritualized's canon. It was the album that synthesised all of frontman Jason Pierce's influences (from gospel to free jazz) and preoccupations (drugs, religion, the agony of love). Performed in its cacophonous entirety at the Royal Festival Hall, in a suitably extravagant arrangement – aside from Pierce and his six-piece band, there is a mini-orchestra of strings and wind players, plus a 12-person choir – it still dazzles, although at this scale its imperfections also feel exposed.
There is a thinness to Pierce's songwriting: dwelling on his acrimonious split from the band's then keyboardist, Kate Radley, he seeks no complexity in his emotions. The affecting fragility of Broken Heart is undermined by the fact that what Pierce expresses is the lavish melancholy of Hollywood movies. In All of My Thoughts, Pierce luxuriates in his misery. And sometimes, that pleasure in pain becomes sadistic. Electricity is a screech of nerve-shredding noise, while the black screams in the seemingly interminable closer Cop Shoot Cop create the impression that hell has opened up. No wonder Pierce applauds the audience: we're passing an endurance test just by staying in our seats.
But at its best, the show offers a kind of transcendence. With its disjointed rhythm and odd texture, Stay With Me eschews sentimentality yet captures a lifetime of romantic experience. Initially woozy, I Think I'm in Love slowly envelops the audience in a pulsating, repetitive groove. When it ends, you feel exquisitely transported.
1973 Catholic church logo
The 70s were definitely a simpler time, but today this logo for the Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission looks like an admission of guilt. 
From extraction to consumption: Oil, an exhibition by Edward Burtynsky
State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) oilfields, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2006
Elvis Costello - Veronica
Pretty certain that this was shot in St Kilda by John Hillcoat
and the video for 'I Wanna Be Loved' (which I can't find) has EC in a photo booth which at the end pans out to Flinders Street Station.
There is some trivia for all you Melbourne folk!
There is some trivia for all you Melbourne folk!
Elvis Costello - Accidents Will Happen
The first animated music video by Annabelle Janckel & Rocky Morton who went on to bigger things with Max Headroom.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Preview of Tom Wait's new live album
The extraordinary Mister Tom Waits is hereby formally announcing the opening of his first ever official web site as well as the upcoming release of his long rumored much speculated about live album “Glitter and Doom” due out November 24th.To visit the new site, simply go to: www.tomwaits.com or just click here. Besides a sumptuous assortment of facts, images and sounds relating to the strange and beloved entertainer, you can also preview the first eight songs of “Glitter and Doom” for free!
Glitter and Doom is a two disc collection of tracks from Waits’ recent Glitter and Doom tour of the US and Europe. The first disc recreates an evening’s performance with 17 tracks are selected from 10 cities. The second disc is a bonus compendium called TOM TALES, which features the comic bromides, strange musings, and unusual facts that Tom traditionally shares with his audience during the piano set. The topics range from the ritual of insects to the last dying breath of Henry Ford.
The album features all eras of Waits’ as he shifts from an array of characters: carnival barker, preacher, country singer, soul balladeer; cabaret singer and storyteller. Backed by a versatile band, Waits departs from the songs’ original incarnations. The songs instrumentation and rhythms are rearranged and reimagined. There are swampy tribal rhythms, ominous hymns, gypsy flavored ballads, searing rhythmic r&b, and blues boogies.. As expected, the songs are about hanged men, woebegone sailors, sword swallowers, fugitives, shamans, ghosts, dance instructors and prison guards. Enjoy.
NOOOOOOO!
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, the era defining music will see a new incarnation in the form of a music/theatre production to open in Fall 2010 on Broadway.
The original music will become the backdrop to an immersive story about a mysterious character known only as 'The Spaceman' and is currently being written by Tim Rice and Ben Elton. It will feature two original songs from Elton John.
The original music will become the backdrop to an immersive story about a mysterious character known only as 'The Spaceman' and is currently being written by Tim Rice and Ben Elton. It will feature two original songs from Elton John.
Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Release Date: November 16Label: Sony Music
“This album is so precise and everything on it sounds amazing; it's arranged so nicely. Jason Pierce is a genius”
Ben Goldwasser, MGMT
“I had a job cleaning a private golf course from 4am to 6am. My boss was a fucking idiot.
What got me through that job was listening to [Ladies and Gentlemen]”
Guy Garvey, Elbow
Spiritualized will re-issue their classic album ‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space’ on Monday 16th November on Sony Music.
The album release co-incides with the upcoming live performances of the entire album; part of All Tomorrow’s Parties ‘Don’t Look Back’ series, as previously announced. The band were approached two years ago to perform the album live on its 10th anniversary. It took a while for J.Spaceman to finally agree to the idea. ‘It was a decision made at altitude’ he says referring to being on top of Mt. Buller in Australia at the time. The live performances will see the regular band augmented with strings, brass and choir.
It is now 12 years since ‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space’ made a profound impact in the summer of 1997, both critically and commercially, with its psychedelic soundscapes and heart-rending lyrics. It has influenced a whole range of musicians ever since. It was NME’s album of the year for 1997 and reached No.4 in the official charts. Originally packaged as a giant pill offering a written prescription, the concept was creatively inspired reflecting the depth of emotion and trauma laid bare on this truly remarkable work.
The album will be released with new artwork on special limited edition formats with bonus content. These bonus tracks were in storage and subsequently forgotten about until Jason Pierce moved house and discovered the ‘lost’ recordings from 12 years ago. The tracks give a valuable insight into the artist’s work-in-progress – demos, instrumental versions, sessions mixes – and highlight an aim for perfection prior to recording the definitive version.
The formats include:
The Collector’s Edition. This will include 12 x 3” Mini CD’s of the complete full album track-by-track, an homage to the original release. This will be accompanied by 2 bonus discs (as per tracklisting below). Only 1,000 of these sets will be made, making these extremely limited.
The Special Edition will include the original album in the legendary and unique pill pack style packaging, alongside the 2 bonus discs. This Special Edition will also will be a limited, one-off release.
The original album with new artwork and a revised version of opening track ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ (now including “Can’t Help Falling In Love” as originally intended for this album), will also be released as a Standard 1CD Version.
Track Listing is as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
1. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
2. Come Together
3. I Think I’m in Love
4. All of My Thoughts
5. Stay With Me
6. Electricity
7. Home of the Brave
8. The Individual
9. Broken Heart
10. No God Only Religion
11. Cool Waves
12. Cop Shoot Cop
Bonus CD 1
1. Ladies And Gentlemen (A Cappella)
2. Ladies And Gentlemen (Demo)
3. Ladies And Gentlemen (Strings)
4. Ladies And Gentlemen (Kate Telephone Call)
5. Ladies And Gentlemen (Moles Studio Mix 7)
6. Ladies And Gentlemen (Original Oratone Ideas)
7. Ladies And Gentlemen (A Cappella w/ Lead Vocal)
8. Come Together (Instrumental Demo)
9. Come Together (Demo In Lower Key)
10. I Think I'm In Love (Original Demo Idea)
11. I Think I'm In Love (Demo)
12. I Think I'm In Love (Drums/Wah)
13. I Think I'm In Love (A Cappella)
14. I Think I'm In Love (Vocal Demo Jan 96)
15. I Think I'm In Love (Gospel Choir Session)
16. All Of My Thoughts (Demo)
17. All Of My Thoughts (Strings)
18. Rocket Shaped Song
Bonus CD 2
1. Electricity (Demo)
2. Electricity (January 96)
3. Electricity (June 96)
4. Home Of The Brave (Demo)
5. Home Of The Brave (Panned Vocal)
6. Beautiful Happiness
7. Broken Heart (Demo)
8. Broken Heart (Strings)
9. Broken Heart (Vocal Harmony/Angel Corpus Christi)
10. Broken Heart (Early Vocal)
11. No God Only Religion (Demo)
12. No God Only Religion (Horns)
13. Cool Waves (Demo)
14. Cool Waves (String Session Mix)
15. Cop Shoot Cop (Demo)
16. Cop Shoot Cop (Dr. John 'The National Anthem)
17. Cop Shoot Cop (String Session Mix)
Spiritualized are set to perform the album in its entirety at the following venues:
12 / 13 October
Royal Festival Hall – London
SOLD OUT
14 December
Apollo – Manchester
£25 + booking fee via 0844 4777677 / giggsandtours.com
16 / 17 December
Barbican – London
£32.50 + booking fee via www.barbican.org.uk
19 December
Sage Centre - Gateshead
£32.50 + booking fee via www.tickets.thesagegateshead.org
Monday, 12 October 2009
Mentally ill Briton faces execution for smuggling heroin into China
Police show of a group of hardcore convicts at a sentencing rally in Wenzhou, China, 7 April 2004. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty ImagesLawyers warn that Akmal Shaikh, 53, who has delusional psychosis, could be shot dead in jail after reports that his second appeal has failed.
@'The Guardian'
@'The Guardian'
Andy Gill meets Andy Gill
After 30 years of being mistaken for him, The Independent's music critic Andy Gill meets the Gang of Four's Andy Gill to discuss a shared passion for pop powered by ideas.@'The Independent'
Sunday, 11 October 2009
The Illusion of Sex
The Illusion of Sex, by Harvard psychologist Richard Russell, won Third Prize at the 2009 Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest. The two side-by-side faces are perceived as male (right) and female (left). However, both of them are versions of the same androgynous face. The two images are exactly identical, except that the contrast between the eyes and mouth and the rest of the face is higher for the face on the left than for the face on the right. This illusion shows that contrast is an important cue for determining the sex of a face, with low-contrast faces appearing male and high-contrast faces appearing female. And it may also explain why females in many cultures darken their eyes and mouths with make-up. A made-up face looks more feminine than a fresh face.@'Scientific American'
Saturday, 10 October 2009
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