Who needs a music studio? May 14, 2009
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This is great. While I don’t exactly have a studio built around me, I do have quite a bit of expensive gadgetry to help me make silly sounds.
Turns out all I need is an iPhone and some apps.
Great performance of a great song.
‘scuse me, Squire. Can you spare a mouse recommendation? May 7, 2009
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I’m very literally at my wit’s end. I NEED A NEW MOUSE.
The best mouse I’ve ever owned is Microsoft’s Arc mouse which is perfect – lightweight and elegant. I use it on the desktop all the time but I’m now gonna have to buy another for the laptop. There’s just one problem; in order to stay as Elle McPherson-like as possible, the Arc uses AAA batteries – possibly the only thing in the whole house that does.
Let’s get one thing straight – I have an AA and AAA recharger along with approximately 100 rechargeable batteries of either type. BUT whenever I want four of the suckers, they are never recharged. So I keep a stock of Earth destroying normal batteries (y’know – the ones that last about 18 times longer than any rechargeable one).
So if I buy the Arc I will need to invest in a steady stream of AAAs which I assume the council will try and one day detect in my bin and charge me a fortune to recycle for daring to throw away.
I’ll go for the Arc.
Great album rediscovered May 7, 2009
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I used to listen to this all the time and then somehow it slipped past me when I wasn’t looking – something to do with 1000s of albums to listen to.
John Squire’s brave solo debut after The Stone Roses and The Seahorses is awesome. I remember reading that John felt incredibly self-concious about his voice which is undeniably weak but has a hidden strength a la Dylan.
This is a great collection of song with wonderful guitar layers and beautiful lyrics which are uniquely delivered. Highlights for me are definitely:
Joe Louis
Time Changes Everything
15 Days (good account of Stone Roses days)
Transatlantic Near Death Experience … easily the stand-out track of the album
Sophia – beautiful tribute to his wife. Loving lyrics. Great one!
:
Fancy a free copy of Windows? May 7, 2009
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If you must...
The RC tag means that barring major issues this will be the software that eventually goes on sale later this year.
The only snag is that this free version will expire on June 1, 2010, so you get it for about a year.
I shall be testing it over the coming weeks but if you fancy jumping in now, head to the download page
Captain hyperbole strikes again May 7, 2009
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If in doubt, press it
Big deal.
I mean, clearly I’m pleased for the chap and his family but why is this even newsworthy, let alone making the main page headline? Would the BBC run a headline ‘Man delivers baby after reading a book about it’ or even ‘Instructional video helps man deliver baby’?
Of course not.
You’d think that after almost 15 years of the web being mainstream we would have realised by now that it can actually teach you things.
While I’m in rant mode, what about the suggestion that a new web service, Wolfram Alpha, ‘could be as important as Google’?
I’m sure that any PR agency loves to drop in the biggest name possible when making such statements but it’s actually pretty meaningless.
The site, wolframalpha.com, aims to be a vast database of information and answers with a computer engine at the front that can understand questions put to it.
Analysing the structure of a sentence that can be phrased in any number of different ways and understanding what is being said is an incredibly difficult thing to do.
The annual Turin test pits humans against computers, with the object being that the computer programmer can genuinely convince the human that he is corresponding with another human.
It’s extremely easy to pose a question that will throw even the most advanced software.
So the idea of Wolfram Alpha (any chance of a better name?) being as important as Google is incorrect.
Stating that it may become as important as a search engine might be more legitimate, but it will need to scale lofty heights to be as good at its game as the Big G.
Journal For Plague Lovers May 20, 2009
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It was utterly ace.
For Birdland (look ‘em up, pop pickers) I’m also sure I was in the audience because one of the blonde haired toss-bags tried to perform crude brain surgery on sound man Macca’s head with his Telecaster and you don’t forget riots so easily.
The thing about the MSP (I hate the term ‘Manics’) is that I’ve seen them three or four times, each of those times being in the early days and I really don’t remember where I was or if I was behind a bar at the time. Go figure.
Anyway, I’ve always loved MSP – sometimes more than others. The Holy Bible is an absolutely amazing album but it’s so bleak and dark that I have to be really upbeat to listen to it.
I continued briefly to listen to MSP albums after Richey’s disappearance in 1995 and actually enjoyed their stuff as a three piece.
Then they ran out of material and entered their decidedly dodgy phase.
Know Your Enemy was OKish but I’ve not even listened to what came after. Even Send Away The Tigers from a couple of years ago was BitTorrented and remains largely ignore.
Out this week is Journal For Plague Lovers and, my God Almighty, it’s a return to the old days – not least of all because the lyrics are taken from a notebook that Richey handed to Nicky before his disappearance.
Nicky has sat on this content for so long. These are lyrics written in a world not troubled by the war on terrorism but are troubled nonetheless. Putting non-rhyming poetry to song wasn’t easy but the outcome is astonishing. It’s like a missing limb on a world famous sportsman suddenly growing back. I’m not saying that MSP can forget any further future with Richey but, my God, you realise how much the man’s lyrics contributed to the chill that goes up your spine with a good MSP song.
I’ve been listening to this album all day now and I have to profess that I have a side of my that can’t resist sentimentality. As such ‘William’s Last Words’ is absolutely fucking awesome. I can honestly say it’s one of the best songs I’ve heard for a very long time.
“I’m just gonna close my eyes
Think about my family
Shed a little tear
Goodnight sleep tight
Goodnight, God bless
Goodnight North Star
I’ll try my best
Isn’t it lovely when the dawn brings the dew? I’ll be watching over you.
Isn’t it lovely when the dawn brings the dew? I’ll be watching over you.
I even love the devil
But yes he did me harm
Don’t keep me any longer
Cuz I’m really tired
I’d love to go to sleep
And wake up happy
The musicianship and direction of that song in particular is straight off ‘This Is My Truth…’ but the rest of the album is a clear nod back to The Holy Bible, particularly with the movie samples and vocal filters.
Already I love this album and I’ve only owned it a couple of days. It’s all parts rocking, lyrical, soaring, nostalgic and huge points to Nicky for breaking into song. He did it for a reason. I still wish that reason might be out there somewhere and listening to it.