Year: 2006
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Godlike Genius #1: Steve Albini
A few years back I heard Motherfucker=Redeemer (Part 1) by Godspeed! You Black Emperor on 3wk.com. I – no doubt like everyone who hears this for the first time – was blown away by the sheer intensity of it. I bought the album it was taken from (Yanqui U.X.O.) and scoured the liner notes for some clue as to the people behind it (can’t do that with a download!). G!YBE turns out to be a relatively-anonymous Canadian collective (the same ones behind the equally-absurdly-monickered Silver Mount Zion – billed on one release as The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra &… Read more
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World class what, now?
So, my kids’ school is closing down. I don’t want to get all concerned-parent-launches-Save-Our-Schools-campaign, but there are certain aspects to this that really burn my ass. The school (The British Primary School, in Vossem (near Brussels) in Belgium) has been running for thirty years. Last year the original (and now aged) founders decided that it was about time they retired, and sold it to an ‘educational company’ called WCLS (World Class Learning Schools and Systems). The announcement of the closure was made by Charlie Freer, the US-based Finance Director of WCLS, who flew over especially so he could tell us… Read more
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Phased by the Big Note
A couple of weeks ago I received a pre-release copy of the eponymously-titled debut album by new band Dead Heart Bloom. I’ve had it on heavy-rotation ever since, and a mighty fine album it is, too. Dead Heart Bloom is the latest musical vehicle for the implausibly-talented Boris Skalsky. This is the same Skalsky who was one of the leading lights in Phaser, the DC-based band who released one great album (Sway) before unfortunately imploding under the combined weights of commercial and artistic pressures. Phaser are usually categorized as ‘post-shoegazing’ (you tell me…) whereas Dead Heart Bloom are effectively uncategorizable,… Read more
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Now where did I put my ipod-ready Gucci loafers?
This Christmas I (and around 14 million others, if the figures are to believed) bit the bullet and joined the ipod bandwagon. I’d resisted for a long time, reasoning that I could play MP3s on my all-singing-all-dancing HP iPaq 4700, but the 4Gb card in my iPaq was full, and an 8GB card costs more than an actual ipod. Naturally, I plumped for the top of the range model – a 60gb ipod video (in black – you never really get over Goth!). I really can’t see myself watching videos on it, but the color screen does display the album… Read more
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The Traditional Year-End Top 10
It is traditional at the start of the year to list your ‘Top 10’ albums/movies/whatever of the preceding year. I’m just as lazy as the next music hack, so here’s my list. But in a slight twist, I’m going to list the top 10 albums I wish I’d never bought. To be fair, several of these weren’t released in 2005, but that’s when I bought them, so it still counts. Actually, a couple of these weren’t even bought in 2005, but it still burns my ass that they are taking up space on my ipod, so I thought I’d include… Read more