Category Archive

Due to poor ratings, CBS axed their new reality talent show Secret Talents Of The Stars after only one episode. The American public - well, the handful of people that watched - only got a taste of George Takei’s singing chops. Here he is with his version of the country classic “On The Road Again”. I can’t decide whether I think this clip is so bad it’s good or so bad it swung all the way back to bad, but that shirt is awesome.

Filthy Little Angels has given us so much free fun with all their themed mixes and here’s our chance to give back! They have only 25 days to raise 600 dollars to fund the pressing of a new 7″ record by The Lovely Eggs vs The Sexual Hot Bitches. Judging from the two songs below this new recording is going to be a hot little piece of dirty rock ‘n roll. So go on, donate at fundable.com and be a part of music history from the comfort of your computer.

The Lovely Eggs - I Like Birds
Sexual Hot Bitches - Floorshow/Fanfare/Don’t Dream It, Be It (from the Filthy Horror Show Mix)

Well, guys, it’s been a slow news week. If anything big and not totally stupid (basically anything related to Mr. and Mrs. McCartney, as if anyone gives a tiny rat’s ass) happened, I missed it. Here’s some interesting news-ish things I did find around the interwebs.

First things first, congratulations to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova on their Oscar this week. I’ve not actually seen Once yet, but I was still pleased that a little indie song won a big fat Oscar. And congratulations to the Academy cutting back the stingy and allowing Marketa Irglova the extra 15 seconds she needed to say thank you.

No Rock And Roll Fun points us to a CNN Money article explaining that iTunes is now second only to Wal-Mart as the highest music retailer in the U.S. I’m not at all surprised really - digital music is just too damn convenient. But it is a little sad to see proper record shops die a slow and painful death. Remember how everyone was all worried that the printed word would die with the internet and other assorted technological advances? As if people really want to read books on a little screen when they’re curled up in bed. But it turns out that’s what’s happening to record shops, slowly but surely. Tamboosh just told me the other day that Boudisque, Amsterdam’s very best music shop, is closing their doors at the end of March. That’s a damn shame, and I think we should all take a moment to mourn, even if you’ve never been there and even though they’ll still have other branches around Holland - it’s like the shop in High Fidelity but without the snobbery. We loved to go in there just to see what was up and it kind of felt like home.

In a related online story, No Rock and Roll Fun also (sorry for stealing all your stories today, guys) links to this Guardian post about the lost art of listening to an album for the first time. Graeme Thomson writes: “I’d clear some time and space, put the record on and sit with sleeve in hand, drinking in every last detail. I’d listen to it end-to-end a few times, letting it slowly seep in and under the skin.” Me too. And, sadly, I don’t really do it anymore either. I think a lot of it time related - I just don’t have the same free time as I did back in high school. But I do still save new releases for the perfect time for my first listen, and I do still read the liner notes and lyrics. I’m all for the digital revolution, but that was a nice little ritual back then, and Mr. Thomson’s post brings back fond memories of hearing some classic albums for the first time.

Totally unrelated, it seems that there’s going to be some more dead icons flogging shoes. Oh, dear. Nevermind how disgusting it is to have Ian Curtis involved in this - there’s something so depressing to me about Sid Vicious on products. I once saw a cheap plastic-y handbag with Sid & Nancy on it at the Notting Hill market. It’s always stuck in my head as one of the most depressing items I’ve ever seen - I can’t understand why Sid Vicious is seen as cool when he was really just a totally messed up kid. Anyway, let’s hope this shoe thing isn’t the start of a new “Dead Icons Selling Dumb Crap” trend, I’ll seriously have to go Falling Down on their asses.

   Johnny Boy - You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve

This one goes out to the Bean over in Germany. All the most important German phrases are in this song: if you want to attract some attention just say ‘Hast du etwas Zeit für mich, dann singe ich ein Lied für dich’. And when you see a bunch of German Trekkies you can say ‘Hielten sich für Captain Kirk’. See, a phrase for every occassion! When in doubt think of this song and you’re set, baby.

   Nena - 99 Luftballons

Oh, woe is me. My preferred music provider is causing me problems and I was unable to complete Those Zany Charts … Sadly, we will have to wait until the next one comes up to be wowed by insights into the weird and wonderful world of popular music.

Many many apologies dear readers. 100b will make it up to you. Thankfully, until our next post you have some deliciously tasty musical nibblets posted yesterday.

Marvel is putting out old issues of their comics online, so for a few dollars a month everyone - not just the fanatic Comic-Con attending collecters - can enjoy the early original Steve Ditko made versions of Spider-man, Jack Kirby made versions of X-Men and many many more! How exciting is that?? I almost peed myself a little when I read that, I wonder how dorky that makes me … If you want to see what the comics look like online you can check out the 250 comics they have up for free for your viewing pleasure.

Has Homer Simpson started working for Willy Wonka?? That’s what this news article seems to suggest. There’s a fizzy drinks company that’s planning on putting out ham flavored sodas among other flavors for the Holidays. Who eats ham and thinks, man I wish I could suck this baby out of a can? If that doesn’t sound like Homer … and you know who would be kooky enough to oompadeedoo it? Thaaaaat’s right.

   Primus - Pork Soda

I’m so excited I can hardly concentrate. West Memphis 3 lawyers filed a motion to overturn Damien Echols’ conviction yesterday, based on new DNA evidence. Reports are still a little vague and, in some cases, slightly conflicting, but that’s to be expected when this kind of news breaks. Visit the WM3’s official website or blog to read all the news as it comes in. Also, the Echols Defense Team will be holding a press conference tomorrow, which will be broadcast as a live webcast (more information available on the WM3 website), so be sure to tune in for that. This is a massive development and Damien, Jason, and Jessie are going to need all the help they can get for what will hopefully be the final push. If you’ve followed this case at all but haven’t donated yet, now is definitely the time - every tiny little bit will get them that much closer to freedom.

100b is taking a little break from the internets, but we’ll be back in exactly two weeks. We’re going to get a little rest and, if things go according to plan, come back with some new stuff that’ll knock your socks off. We don’t know what those new things might be yet, but we’ll still be 100bitchin’ either way.

See you all in a couple of weeks!

   The Blood Arm - Going To Arizona

Elvis’ movie career is considered a big joke by most people - after all, there are an awful lot of them and they do seem a little plotless and silly. But think about it this way - Elvis starred in 31 movies in 13 years (over half of his career), from 1956 to 1969. That’s an average of 2.5 films cranked out every year. And if you watch them objectively, they’re no worse or cheesier than any other ’60s teen movie (or the ones now, come to think of it).

Each of those 31 movies had at least 6 new songs that had to be recorded for it. That makes somewhere around 186 movie soundtrack songs, 15 per year. (I’ll take this opportunity to point out that there’s barely anyone around today who will record 15 songs every three years, let alone 186 songs in their entire lifetime.) Add to that the fact that Elvis’ movie career quickly became something he himself hated. He wanted to be in real movies, to be given the chance to try something challenging. It started off that way but it didn’t take long for Colonel Parker to see the money-making potential and convince Elvis that he couldn’t afford not to make as many of them as humanly possible. Which meant that there was no time for decent plots and interesting roles - it was a lot faster (and cheaper, of course) to just stick Elvis with a few hot chicks and some slapped together songs. Also take into account that Elvis’ musical passion lay in Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll, and Gospel - not throwaway pop songs with no soul at all. Imagine how mind-numbingly boring it all must’ve been for him.

Under the circumstances, it’s pretty incredible that Elvis managed to record anything good during that time period at all. Some of them are even classics: “Love Me Tender” (from Love Me Tender, 1956) “Jailhouse Rock” (Jailhouse Rock, 1957), “(Let Me Be Your) Teddybear” (Loving You, 1957), “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (Blue Hawaii, 1961), “Return To Sender” (Girls! Girls! Girls!, 1962), “Viva Las Vegas” (Viva Las Vegas, 1968), and these three:

   Elvis Presley - Hard Headed Woman (King Creole, 195
   Elvis Presley - What’d I Say (Viva Las Vegas, 1964)
   Elvis Presley - Rubberneckin’ (Change Of Habit, 1969)

Thai police officers that break the rules are forced to wear hot pink Hello Kitty armbands. Well, I would break the stinkin’ rules just to become a Hello Kitty cop. Of course I’m a girl and not some macho police cop man, but I can’t believe they turned something so sweet and purdy into a magic manhood stealing piece of fabric. I say wear it with pride! If you get laughed at just whip out that big ass Hello Kitty gun. Yeah, who’s cute now, punk??? [AP]

   Presidents Of The USA - Kitty

At a magnificent 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 9.5 inches thick, last saturday Collinsville, Illinois aka home of the World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle (??) will probably make it into the Guinness Book Of Records with the World’s Largest Ketchup Packet. That’s a whole lotta Heinz.

   Stompin’ Tom Connors - The Ketchup Song

Okay, whoever has the fucking basketball just give it back already.

Damn.

And, before this gets out of hand, no, the photo is the not the basketball in question.

Today is West Memphis Three Awareness Day. Make yourself aware. Recent DNA testing - agreed with the prosecution after much wrangling - have resulted in developments said to be significant and could mean a new trial.

Learn more about the facts and news in the case at the West Memphis Three site and contribute to the WM3 Support Fund.

If you think it couldn’t happen to you - think again. It can. It has. It does.

   Black Flag - Rise Above

A short while ago, our lovely friend Tamboosh posted a very Brady birthday treat for me. I couldn’t come up with anything quite so perfect for the Tamboosh, who celebrates her own birthday on this very day, so I had to think about what she likes. Tam likes cheesy pop songs. She also likes fun glam rock. And, like all of us, she likes to boogie. On this most special of days, I think Tam should listen to this song really loud, do a little boogie, and know that she’s the most awesome thing ever.

A very Happy Birthday to our Mighty Tamboosh.*

   T Rex - I Love To Boogie

(*new awesome nickname courtesy of our other friend, aDawgg.)

I’ll deny it when I get over the shock that Sweden didn’t win, but I watched the whole Eurovision Songfestival final with some friends for the first time ever last Saturday. It was predictably cheesy, camp and well, crap. So I was surprised when Sweden’s act The Ark with their song “The Worrying Kind” didn’t suck at all. It’s glammer than Ziggy Stardust rolling around in pink glitter with a golden guitar and it’s so much fun. Ok, it’s not hard to sound good in between the Eurovision entries, but I don’t think this was just a polished turd in a lake of stinky poo, - ew sorry - I think they were genuinely good.

Today we’re celebrating the birthday of the most badass chica this side of the Rio Grande, who just happens to be a truly amazing friend to boot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAN!

Last year I sent her a birthday song by the New Kids On The Block. Needless to say, I had a hard time finding anything that could possibly be as good. I believe I have found its match in this awesome clip of the animated series of the Brady Bunch! Though the song has been featured on the “real” show, this clip is so, ahem, beautifully illustrated any Brady fan would jump to see a glimpse of it. I think.

“Time To Change” isn’t a secret message to The Bean to change, on the contrary. It is a coming-of-age song that is nothing if not appropriate for a twenty-something girl, excuse me, woman. Bean’s love for the Brady Bunch is well recorded, but the thing that clinched it for me were the lines “A little bit of living, a little bit of growing all adds up to you” and “A girl’s a woman too”. True that.

Have a very Brady birthday Bean, enjoy! (Sorry about the annoying, magic, rhyming bird, I have no idea what he’s doing there …)

Oh my god, it has started. We are well into the 21st century and I’ve been waiting for my jetpack and funny robot servant in the style of Rosie The Robot for years now. Hiroshi Ishiguro has put us one step closer to my vision of the future with his robotic clone. It’s called Geminoid and it frowns when you poke it, it also breathes and its face moves on its own! It won’t be able to replace Mr. Ishiguro in the workplace yet, but I’m sure that technology is just around the corner.

Now that the android ball has finally started rolling I wonder if they’re really gonna be as great as I imagine. I’m just a little bit scared of what’s gonna happen when some Lex Luthor type evil genius gets his hands on the android and the footage of Ishiguro and Geminoid together totally creeps me out.

Check out videos of the Geminoid on pinktentacle.com.

   Das Wanderlust - I Wish I Was A Robot

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to announce what our loyal readers may have already noticed.

With the acquisition of onehunderdb.com, our small corner of the universe now has a more permanent presence on the Internets! This is a big deal around the office here.

You may scoff.

But this is Step 2 in our takeover of the entertainment industry.

   Ja’net Du Bois - Movin’ On Up (aka The Jefferson’s Theme)

Sigh, it’s been two years since we’ve even heard from Interpol. Their website kept teasing us with its never changing message and after a while it directed us to their forum, which had a lot of speculating fans on it, but nothing solid. Just when I was about ready to have a search party out for them I recently came across a little interview with Daniel Kessler on BBC radio saying that their new album is due to come out at the beginning of Summer, aiming for June. Oop, Bean pointed out that our bitchin’ release list has been saying that the new Interpol CD will be out on June 4th for a while now. Woo! He didn’t reveal an album title yet, but he did say there’s probably going to be a song called “Mammoth” on it. I’m sure it’s going to be as big as that sounds, but for now I’m just happy they gave us a sign of life.

Listen to the brief radio interview:

   Daniel Kessler on BBC Radio

Why we love them in the first place:

   Interpol - Untitled

Update: For more information about their new album titled Our Love To Admire including the complete tracklisting go to clickmusic.com.

Shitdisco is cool and the song is nice and all, but the “Ok” video is fan-freaking-tastic! I love pop-up books. I think more kids would read if we could get, say Wuthering Heights as a pop-up book! Hey, if we can have a stupid squirrel butcher Wordsworth, a pop-up version of The Great Gatsby is not that far off …

If you, like me, have been stuck behind a computer the better chunk of your day, when you’ve been eating, sleeping and pulling your hair out at your desk and you know you’re nowhere near done staring at that stinking screen, you might need a way to keep from going cuckoos nest crazy. Here’s what helps for me:

Every once in a while when you feel like you’re about to crack listen to “The Clapping Song” and enjoy how much sense it doesn’t make. Then make up a silly dance to it and get all those petrified muscles working. It works even better when you’re on a six cup instant capuccino caffeine high. It’ll keep your brain from shutting down at least 2 more hours.

   Anita Harris - The Clapping Song

After all the chaos over at Blogger, we finally jumped ship and moved over here. So far, we like it here much better. Why didn’t I know how amazing WordPress is before now?!

Anyway, we’ll leave the old 100b on Blogger until they go ahead and delete it or do whatever they do with abandoned blogs, but all new posts will happen over here. We’ve moved all our old stuff over and I’m working on making it look all pretty. It’ll take me a little while, but I’ve made sure it’s at least readable for the time being. I’m very, very excited about our new home!

I can’t sleep so I started a-browsing when I came across a clip of The White Stripes on The Simpsons’ episode that aired last Sunday! Here it is for all of you who, like me, missed the excitement. I think it’s hilarious and I agree with Otto the stoner busdriver dude, it is indeed trippy. Whoo, insomnia pays off yet again!

Yesterday was the anniversary of Elvis’ death and I really wanted to write a great tribute post but, as my New Band Day post made clear, I was in a bit of rush. I figure that any time is a good time for a tribute, so I guess today will be fine.

To most people, Elvis is just Graceland and glittery jumpsuits, but he was so much more. It’s easy to forget that he was just a guy who had his own problems and his own life and wasn’t only a big Vegas show. Musically, he changed everything. You could argue that he ripped off unrecognized black artists, but you could also argue that he brought some focus to artists that the world would’ve ignored forever if someone hadn’t shoved them in their faces. (How many people of my generation knew about Son House before The White Stripes told us about him? I didn’t and I discovered a whole new world through them.) Elvis worshipped those musicians; as far as I understand, he didn’t set out to steal their sound, he just wanted to sound like them.

Elvis’ life and career were so complicated that it took the amazing music historian (and one of my personal heroes) Peter Guralnick two volumes to cover it completely. I’m finding myself floundering to write anything about him that can even cover a fraction of his importance and influence. I think I’ll just say that if you only know Elvis as the logo that we see plastered everywhere, you should give his music another chance. There’s never been anyone like him and there probably never will be again. Those early Sun recordings are some of the most thrilling music that’s ever been recorded - they’re full of that fire that comes from youth and the excitement of doing something new and different.

   Elvis Presley - Baby Let’s Play House

Here are the links to a 15 minute short film about the fabulous Ladyfuzz. Even if you don’t like the band, members of Bloc Party, The Rakes, Mystery Jets, Absentee and Why Lout? were also interviewed to discuss the band and their debut album Kerfuffle which came out in March.

http://streamos.warnermusic.com/real/wmiuk/ladyfuzz/EPKv_hi.ram
http://streamos.warnermusic.com/real/wmiuk/ladyfuzz/EPKv_lo.ram
http://streamos.warnermusic.com/wmedia/wmiuk/ladyfuzz/EPKv_hi.asx
http://streamos.warnermusic.com/wmedia/wmiuk/ladyfuzz/EPKv_lo.asx
http://streamos.warnermusic.com/qtime/wmiuk/ladyfuzz/EPKv_hi.mov

Seeing as it’s Poptastic Day, even if it’s not my turn this week, it seems like a good time to mention the current campaign to get Art Brut some air time on Top Of The Pops before it’s too late. It’s a shame that TOTP couldn’t be saved, it’s an institution. I reckon some renovation could’ve done wonders, but it doesn’t matter now. The only thing that we (the people) can do is get Art Brut on there before it’s gone forever. C’mon, who else could do the final show justice?! A petition has been created and Art Brut needs you. They’ve got 4536 signatures right now - go sign it, quick!

Art Brut Top Of The Pops Petition

Today is West Memphis 3 Awareness Day. If you’ve never heard of them, here’s the deal. There’s these three guys in prison in Arkansas, for crimes they had absolutely nothing to do with. Today marks the 13th anniversary of Jesse Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols’ imprisonment. They’ve been locked up for 13 years. If you’re sitting all cosy in your bedroom, like me, you can probably help them.

Before I tell you just a little bit about their case, something has to be mentioned that is usually forgotten. The WM3 were arrested for the murders of three little boys, just eight years old. At the end of this post, I’ll give you all some links to read more about the case in general, and you’ll be able to find out more about the original crime as well. Suffice it to say, it was horrible and hideous and should never, ever, ever have happened. As important as it is to get the WM3 out of prison, it’s just as important to remember that whoever is actually guilty of this crime should be found.

Jesse, Jason, and Damien have come to be known as the West Memphis 3, obviously, because of where they’re from and where the murders took place, a kind of poor and very religious area. These three were picked out because they were different, because they listened to heavy metal and wore black clothes. It may seem insane to some of us, but I guess they seemed like a threat to a lot of people. The investigation had gone on too long with no arrests and something had to happen, quick. Damien Echols, who was seen as a problem child to some members of the community, must have seemed like a sure shot. He was weird and didn’t fit in anywhere and thus must have been involved in some kind of satanic cult. Jason just happened to be his best friend, so he may as well be taken down, too. And Jesse? Well, a young man who is pretty close to being mentally handicapped is easy to manipulate, which is exactly what you need to set up a case against someone when you have no evidence whatsoever. These three guys fit the bill perfectly, and the police wouldn’t have to deal with the community panic any longer. It was quick and easy and they could all look like heroes.

Jesse was questioned, and was forced into a confession. If you don’t believe me, read the transcripts of the interrogation. When Jesse says something that conflicts with the what the police know to be true (most obviously with the time of the murders), they twist him around and put words into his mouth until he spits back exactly what they want him to say. Young and probably very scared, it didn’t take him long to figure out how to make it all stop.

With a description of a satanic ritual in hand, the police went for Damien and Jason. With evidence like Damien’s journal (with disturbing Metallica lyrics and satanic doodles written inside) and an expert on satanic cults, the trials were pretty much what you’d expect. Jesse and Jason are now serving life sentences, and Damien is currently on death row.

The case is incredibly complicated and I wouldn’t be able to give you accurate detail, so I haven’t even tried. I hope I’ve given you enough information to make you want to know more. If you’re with me on this, help them. What they need most is support and money. A lot of their legal work is done for free, by lawyers and experts who believe in them. But they still need to pay for other stuff, most importantly DNA testing that wasn’t available when they were originally tried. You can donate to any of their defense funds, but Damien really needs it the most, for now. If you can’t donate anything, tell your friends about them and maybe they’ll tell someone else, and so on.

I don’t know how to write about these guys without being emotional. I worry about them at night. I think of them when I’m out having fun at a concert because they should be out having fun as well. I think about how frustrating it must be to be locked away, year after year, and how trapped they must feel in a legal system that has done nothing but let them down. It breaks my heart. The only thing I can figure is that I can help Damien in whatever way I can, which will in turn help Jesse and Jason, which will in turn help the many others out there in similar situations. If you have the time to be reading this, then you surely have a half hour to read more about them. Please do, every little bit will help them.

Go to the official WM3 support site and find out more about the three and the case. The site is run by three supporters, who do all of the work for free, and have an amazing archive of legal information and evidence online for you to look through for yourself.

Donate to The Damien Echols Defense Fund via Paypal, which you can find out about here.

Find out other ways to help here.

Order the amazing book about the case, by journalist Mara Leveritt here (US) (though, if you order via wm3.org, they get a percentage of the total to help run the site) or here (UK). While you’re there, also pick up Damien’s beautifully written book, Almost Home, to hear his side of the story.

Watch the two documentaries by the makers of “Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster” (The first was made during the trials, the second four years later), available to order on DVD here and here (US), or here (UK - amazon has it listed as a US import, but it isn’t).

The Crimea have come up with a unique way to make some potentially big money for charity. They’ve started The Big Swap for War Child. The idea is, if I understand it correctly, that they have an item - right now it’s a rare Arctic Monkeys 7″ - and if you’re interested you offer them something in return that is higher in value. They want to keep trading up and up until they have an item that is worth a million pounds. So dig through your closet and antiques and other things people might pay a bundle for and help these guys out. Check out the Big Swap Site for updates and more detail on how it works or go to their myspace.

There’s always something disturbing about seeing an established actor or actress do something other than act. I imagine it’s almost like catching your dad in women’s clothes: it’s not what you expected and though it seems to make your dad happy, it doesn’t look right either. Combine that with The Curse Of The Singing Actor and they really never stood a chance in the harsh music world. The Curse has consistently worked against nearly every actor that has tried to “dabble in music”. There are some examples of actors and actresses who have some success in the music industry, but for every actor that “made it” there are a hundred who crashed and burned. That’s all part of The Curse.

Northern Exposure was one of my favorite tv-shows in the nineties. John Corbett played Chris the DJ, a sensitive, but super-manly man. Since then he has played many similar roles, but I never tire of watching him act. So when I learned that he was recording a CD, I got scared. Out of morbid curiosity - the same that makes me want to watch Mariah “act” in Glitter and listen to William Shatner’s “dramatic readings” of popular songs on his CD Has Been, which is actually so bad it’s good - I listened to some of The John Corbett Band’s songs on their site. Oh, how I wish I hadn’t. His music of choice is that horrible New Country music, made popular by Garth Brooks and the like. We here at 100b try to not make it a habit to tell the world why exactly some band sucks. But I’m sorry John, that sound will linger in my brain and come back when I least expect it, like an embarrassing memory, which is what this musical stint should be. I’m all for creative diversity, but his talents clearly lie elsewhere. I would’ve been the first to celebrate him if he had turned out to be a gifted musician but, sadly, The Curse has struck again.

It is indeed New Band Day, but I’ll get on that later. For now, I had to post this, because it just may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Ever.

What a waster

The Sun today launches a campaign to get Pete locked up and off the streets.

Some will try to see a funny side in his latest comedy of errors. But the joke has worn thin. The reality is seedy and sad.

So far the legal system has been letting him do what he likes.

But it’s time to lock him up, give him counselling, offer him help.

Pete promises to be a great musician — but behind closed doors he suffers terrible depression and mental health issues.

He is prone to bursting into tears at any moment.

The constant arrests are a cry for help.

Pete MUST get a prison sentence before he dies or causes a major traffic accident.

I’d love to take credit for finding this ridiculous story, but it actually came from No Rock And Roll Fun so I offer my thanks to them (and I hope I’ve credited them properly). Go there to check out their take on it, or check out the full story at The Sun Online.

I had hoped never to blog about Pete Doherty, not because I have anything against him - his business is his business, and I’m not sure why his problems should be my business - but because there are thousands of blog posts out there already if you need a fix. Unless Babyshambles releases another single as fabulous as “Fuck Forever”, I promise this’ll be my one and only Pete Doherty post.

Let me just say right now: I’m sick. There’s snot and coughing and irrational shifts between hot and cold and it’s just not pretty. I’m a little emotional and feeling a little resentful towards Valentine’s Day.

It’s become a bit of a Generation X/Y cliché to bitch about Valentine’s Day and claim we hate it. We’re all too cool and cynical for romantic goop. I actually like goop, but I do have a problem with this:

This bear stands for everything I find offensive about this holiday. I want to choke him with my bear (haha) hands. These gifts are not romantic and definitely do not show that someone cares. If someone gave this to me, I would assume they don’t care all that much and just grabbed something off the shelf at Walmart at the last minute. Not to mention: what on earth would you do with it?? Everyone knows it’ll just sit around until enough time has passed that you don’t feel too guilty throwing it out.

The most romantic Valentine’s Day I ever had didn’t involve a single gift. The Guy and I always spent our time together in clubs and bars with a group of people. For the one Valentine’s Day we were together, we stayed in together for the first time and rented movies. There were no presents or flowers or cards in red envelopes. It was lovely (even if he did turn out to be useless and evil).

The things that are actually sweet usually aren’t pink and heart-shaped. Here’s a song that I think is incredibly sweet, about love and friendship - the way it should be. I’m going back to bed now, enjoy your Valentine’s Day.

   Diana Ross - When We Grow Up

In the beginning, there was Punk. (Ok, it wasn’t the beginning, but it is for this story.) Punk came along because Rock had become fat and lazy. But it didn’t last - The Sex Pistols imploded and Blondie hit the big time. There was some nifty Post-Punk stuff going on, but it got all a bit icky as the 80s progressed. Guitar-ish music hit a funk and was taken over by the fun-lovin’ 80s pop charts. But, huzzah! - there was this new-fangled music they called Rap, or The Hip-Hop. And it was good. And there was Grunge and, following the demise of The One They Called Kurt Cobain, Britpop. They were good, too, but short-lived and everything after it became a sad copy of stolen sounds. In the States, Rock bands were increasingly bloated versions of Nirvana and Pearl Jam until they eventually became Staind and Nickleback. In the UK, S Club Seven and Atomic Kitten took over and anyone with a guitar went into hiding.

But there was still Hip-Hop, so teenagers with ears still had something great to listen to. There was Missy Elliot, and The Fugees (for a little while), and Busta Rhymes, and Outkast, and Mos Def, and the Wu-Tang Clan, and The Roots. Most of those guys are still around, but now they’re considered some sort of Alternative Hip-Hop. They used to be Top 40.

There seems to be some sort of see-saw thing that goes on with Rock and Hip-Hop. For the first time since Britpop fizzled out, Rock is interesting again - and, whether you’re fans or not, we have The Strokes and The White Stripes to thank for it. But while Rock is up, Hip-Hop is down - in a major way. (I’m speaking of Popular/Chart music here. I know there’s always good underground stuff to be found, in any genre.) Who exactly is going to save Popular Hip-Hop now? 50 Cent? The Game? Even Eminem is getting tired. And don’t even get me started on The Black Eyed Peas.

Hip-Hop all sounds the same now, and it’s all ass. There was once a time when it was good to sound different.

“Nowadays everybody tries to copy what the hot style is. There are guys out there that are like Frankensteins, this kind of ghoulish pastiche of Jay-Z and Biggie and Nas and whoever else they feel they need to sound like to get paid,” said writer/historian Brian Coleman. “In the ’80s you’d get laughed off the stage for copying someone else’s style. That was considered heresy.”
(qtd. in “Remembering The Golden Age Of Hip-Hop”)

Personally, I blame Ja Rule. He started the whole skinny-R&B-singer-chorus thing, and now it’s all anyone does, song after song after song.

I stopped listening to Hip-Hop after The Strokes and The White Stripes changed everything, but not because I stopped liking it. It stopped being good.

But I’ve rediscovered The Beat. Everybody’s already blogged their asses off about this, but we should all have copies of both Dizzee Rascal albums, and of M.I.A.’s Arular (which got robbed at the Mercury Awards).

And it’s not just hip-hop beats that are blasting out of my stereo right now. You should all go pick up the Cut Copy’s Bright Like Neon Love - it’s like the 80s, only better. And I was lucky enough to get a copy of The Infadels’ We Are Not The Infadels a few weeks ago, and I’ve been playing in non-stop ever since. It was officially released this week - if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go out right now and get yourself a copy. The Infadels do funk-punk not unlike The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem, but with a lot more punch and more consistent quality. (I love about half of both The Rapture’s and LCD Soundsystem’s efforts, but get a little bored with the other halves.) If you don’t believe me, check out “Love Like Semtex” and “Topboy”, two songs that are already on my Best Of 2006 list.

I sure did miss The Beat.

Watching Night Of The Living Dead the other day, this amazing thing was noticed by (unfortunately) not me, but my brother:

Coincidence, or not?

I am now the proud owner of a beautiful diploma and a pretty well-earned Master’s Degree in English Literature. In celebration, I’d like to share this with you all:

After meeting this terrifying dragon, Harold’s frightened little hand begins to shake and he accidently draws waves of water! But don’t worry, it all ends up reasonably well.

I found Harold and The Purple Crayon hidden away on a bookshelf a few days ago. Harold’s always been my favorite character of children’s literature and it seemed appropriate that he should re-appear just as I recieved my degree.

Well, I was scooped by Stereogum (actually, by So Much Silence) on the Kaiser Chiefs thing, by one measly day. No matter, I know I’m still cool.

While I’ve been cleaning out the storage in my house recently, I found this and I thought there must be someone who would like it as much as I do.

I told my brother about it, and he said it must have come from “that place” our uncle used to work. I have no idea what this mysterious “place” was, but it must’ve been awesome. It’s one of the most 80s things I’ve ever seen and it must be cool if I’ve kept it for nearly 20 years.

Expect more bizarre things from the dusty corners of my home in the future.

A few weeks ago, I pre-ordered the new War Child compilation, Help: A Day In The Life, but I only got around to listening to it today. I’m sure you all know about the making of this album but, if not, it’s a charity album recorded in one day by (British) bands. The same was done 10 years ago, at the height of Britpop, and I’m sure it raised loads of money for War Child.

This time around, the album features new tracks by Razorlight, Coldplay, The Magic Numbers, The Coral, Maximo Park, Bloc Party, The Go! Team, Babyshambles - among others - and, much to my confusion, a cover of John and Yoko’s “Happy Christmas, War Is Over” by Boy George and Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons).

My personal favorite is the Kaiser Chief’s cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine. I know a lot of people out there have issues with the Kaiser Chiefs, but I think they’re fun, so I’m going to share this track with you all.

   Kaiser Chiefs - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

I’ll only leave it up for a day or so because it’s a charity album and you really should go buy it yourself, you cheap bastards. You can buy it at HMV.co.uk and Amazon.co.uk. Or you can download it from anywhere in the world (as far as I know) via the War Child Music site.