:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Saturday, October 11, 2003 ::

Conclusive proof that George Lucas is an ass available here.

PS: Sorry to post two Star Wars related stories on the same day.

:: Spokesy 11.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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In the spirit of popcorn's post yesterday and in the absence of anything else to Blog, here is a picture of Comedy Legends: The Krankies:

:: Spokesy 11.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Just thought I'd let you know that Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic for the X-Box (sorry popcorn, I know Micro$haft are evil) and eventually for the PC, is absolutely amazing. An RPG where you control a party of various different types of characters from Jedi's to Wookiees with a twisty turny plot and over half a dozen different planets or ships to explore. Best of all you can choose to play the game to follow the path of the light or dark side.

I've completed the light side and I've started playing the dark path. If you like gaming I seriously recommend you get this.

PS: I'd like to think Plaid for naming their album after me, I'm flattered.

:: Spokesy 11.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Album review: Plaid – ‘Spokes’ (Warp)



Plaid’s fourth studio album was originally intended to be an EP which “would highlight the tougher, darker, more slamming tracks from the backbone of their live shows.” This is true to a degree, although several of the tracks represent more of the classic Plaid sound and even reminiscent of their Black Dog era. The slow melodic start, ‘Even Spring’, with almost twee keyboard parts and vocals reminiscent of some of Robert Plant’s anguished ramblings seems not to fit into either camp. As this is disrupted by the occasional bass note the track builds up to an unexpected midway change to a faster, full-on, glitchy, acid workout that sets the tone for the rest of the album. There is more of the live style Plaid in evidence on the warm sounding, fast paced, ‘Crumax Rins’, the driving Drum & Bass of ‘Marry’, the bouncy ‘Get What You Gave’, and the fantastically lively ‘Buns’. The duo’s dreamier side come across in ‘Upona’ (with synths that remind me of the school programs I watched in the late 80’s) and the slow, Jarre like ‘B Born Droid’. The highlights for me are the darker moments, like the moody final track ‘Quick Emix’ and the sinister, almost menacing, ‘Zeal’. Overall this is an album that can be listened to in two different ways, as a background music chill-out album it works brilliantly, but at high level it is only reminiscent of the live experience in a few places so about half of the track would have to be skipped if this was used as a party album.

Spokes is released on Monday 20.10.03 and is available for preorder now from Warpmart.

:: Dan 11.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Click here, and instantly lose a couple of hours of your life.

:: popcorn 11.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Having found the sum total off naff-all to blog, here is picture of Comedy Legends Cannon and Ball for you all.
Enjoy

:: popcorn 10.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Bucket of Bristol Water for sale on eBay. Hurry, auction ends at 19:01:30 BST today! Current bid is over 250 quid. My favorite bit: "The water is indeed fresh and will be poured in front of the seller from my kitchen tap to ensure authenticity." Procedes go to Oxfam.

:: Dan 10.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Gig review:
µ-ziq, Venetian Snares, Frog Pocket @ The Custard Factory, Birmingham, 04.10.03

Birmingham is full of cute goth/skater chicks. I recommend you go there for that alone. There’s even a shop especially for them, it’s called Oasis (I think), it’s over near the Vigin Megastore. It’s kinda like Aflecks Palace in Manc, but almost entirely clothes, no space wasted on ethnic art ornaments or the like. The only problem with it is choosing things. I came out without anything simply due to overwhelming choice and confusion.

I don’t go to Birmingham very often and don’t know the area that well. I drove to this gig and was advised by a Brummy in the office that I should park in the Jewelry Quarter and walk to Digbeth (“I like Digbeth and I can’t deny…”) from there. It was about 20 to 25 minutes walk, mostly through pedestrianised areas, so was fine for finding my way back at 2am, and the car was fine.

Walking towards the Bull Ring I’d barley rounded the corner when a guy flagged me down and was chatting as if he new me, passed me a scrap of paper as he shock my hand, and offered me some really good weed.
“Um, no think, I don’t need any”
“It’s really, really good weed”
“I don’t need any, honestly”
He then went on to list all the other really, really good drugs he had available.
“No, no. I don’t need any. I’m clean.”
“Oh, oh, right. No problem. Just you looked like you were after some. Sorry to bother you. See ya.”
I looked like I was after some! Bastard! Other than that, he was the most unusually polite drug dealer I’ve ever met. Strange.

The actual gig:
Frog Pocket
I arrived halfway through Frog Pocket’s set. The only stuff of his I’d heard previously was the 7” on Planet Mu, which is nice, subtle stuff, which in no way prepares you for the hardcore live experience. One tall, skinny, long haired (surprise) guy, playing a fiddle over breakcore beats whist stamping on pedals and hitting buttons on a sequencer. A couple of fiddle tracks were then followed by a guitar track with plenty of smashing around of guitar/feedback/scraping etc. all over the same hard hitting ever changing beats and rhythms. The set was then finished off with a screaming punk style track. All good fun and very impressive stuff. Some of his self released stuff on mouthmoth records should definitely be worth tracking down.

Venetian Snares
Snares opened with new single Einstein Rosen Bridge to warn us up and then launched straight into the sort of banging and crashing, relentless cut up rhythms you’d expect from “the best thing in breakcore” (Mike P quote, possibly paraphrased slightly). The set featured the classics you’d expect, Dance Like You’re Selling Nails and his remix of Doormouse’s Skellechiars in particular working the crowd into a frenzy. I don’t remember hearing any of the more chilled material from Winter in the Belly of a Snake or any of the older Doll Doll Doll material, but it’s possible they were all in there in some form fucked up beyond recognition. Speedranch joined Snares on stage for a rendition of We Hate Russell but probably less than a minute into the performance when he decided to be all rock’n’roll and destroy the “art installation” at the front of the stage. Now, this installation looked like a pile of cardboard boxes with green lights in them that had been dumped on the stage. When I first saw it I presumed it was yet to be artistically arranged but it transpired that this had been done already. I admit I don’t know much about art… but I know that that was shit and was asking for a boot in it. However, the organisers didn’t seem to agree with this, it was perhaps a little disrespectful, so someone wrestled Speed off stage mid song damaging even more equipment (musical gear, not just shit art) in the process, and a further three people were required to restrain him afterwards. Snares was obviously pretty pissed off by all of this and his heart didn’t seem to be in it for the rest of the set. He played the remaining 10 or so minutes without moving or swinging his arms around the way he had been before. He played several minutes of piercing modulating high frequency noise that made several people need to go a sit down and wandered off in a bit of an anticlimax. It was still a great set but was somewhat marred by the Speedranch incident, and was only 40 minutes long (was it supposed to be longer?).

µ-ziq
Mike P’s set was good to see. He hasn’t played live much of late. I believe his set at Dedbeat earlier in the year was his first for over two years, and his tour over the summer took in more of the US than it did of Europe. The set was predominantly material from Bilious Paths with a few older pieces thrown in like Lunatic Harness’s Brace Yourself Jason. These were not played in a mixed style but more of a one after the other with little silent (mains hum, could they sort out a decent PA?) gaps in-between style. It would have been nice I think to hear it more following and less like track off the album played one after the other. How much live mixing and meddling with the tracks was going on it don’t know. It was definitely good to hear the new track on a large PA, something they undoubtedly benefit from, but there was little feeling of actually watching a live performance.

:: Dan 9.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Sorry to be a couple of days behind on this one, but I'd like the new Doctor Who to be Angelina Jolie in a thong, or any big-breasted woman in a thong.

It would certainly liven it up a bit, no one would care about the shonky effects.

Isn't anyone else worried that it's being written by the Queer As Folk writer?

:: Spokesy 9.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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Yeah, I've heard that rumour too. Eddie would be good, but I'd like to see Bill Bailey do it.

:: Dan 6.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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New Who could be Glorious.

:: popcorn 6.10.03 [Arc]    ::
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