1/31/2004 06:19:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|I was listening to The Sacrilicious Sounds Of The Supersuckers earlier on today, and am kicking myself for not going to see them last weekend. I must be stupid, especially as I already know they're a great live band. The first time I saw them was in the Freebutt in Brighton, a tiny backroom that was far too small for them. The speaker stacks got knocked over three songs in and there were people dancing on the bar. It was great. So my resolution is more gigs more often. Starting with Explosions In The Sky next Wednesday, and then The Rapture the week after. Should be a pair of fine shows. I shall report on them anon. Hong Kong planning is becoming a bit more advanced. I bought a guidebook, and have been busy scoping out the veggie restaurants, of which there seem to be a fair few. I also believe the Buddhist monks provide vegetarian food. If I am lucky, maybe they will throw in a few kung fu lessons as well. Peter Kay was in Coronation St tonight. It was rubbish. I am blogging to:Motorhead|W|P|107549786549456352|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/27/2004 08:16:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|We are going to Hong Kong in March. Should be pretty cool, as long as the bird flu stays away...not that we will be going anywhere near any chickens. Now I have to reread David Mitchell's "Ghostwritten". And you should too. The return to work was only mildly toxic, alhough that G500 box set is now deleted. Grrr. Had to content myself with ordering "On Fire" instead. The one record I have been playing to death in the last couple of days is an fairly illegal but extremely clever bootleg, splicing the vocals from Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" onto the music of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Totally rock 'n' roll. I don't think I am ready for that jelly. Bob Mould has a blog! You can read it here. |W|P|107515976185316735|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/26/2004 04:10:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|ack, back to work tomorrow. Frst thing I will do is order the Galaxie 500 box set for myself. I have spent most of the last week listening to the "Today" album, and I want more more more. Finally made it to the IFI to see Tattoo, on the last day of its run, when it had been relegated to the distinctly odd second screen. It was good, if a little too obviously influenced by the likes of Seven. It is set in a Berlin where tattoos are considered artworks and coveted by unscrupulous collectors. A legendary Japanese tattooist completed twelve tattoos before mysteriously dying and all twelve have been stolen, their original owners killed and discarded. Well worth seeing if you have the chance. I want this book... I have always said if ever I was to do a postgrad degree (money permitting), it would be on Catullus. I am intrigued to see how Mr Burl has written a 300 page biography of someone we know absolutely nothing about... |W|P|107505851380835554|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/21/2004 07:26:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|We saw Lost In Translation this afternoon. Very enjoyable. I know we are supposed to focus on the whole unresolved romance thing, but for me the high point of the movie was the chance to listen to My Bloody Valentine played REALLY FUCKING LOUDLY in a dark cinema. Followed it up with a trip around the new Oriental Emporium on Abbey St. This is also highly recommended - it is full of mad stuff that I have never seen before. I love the idea that there is this kind of parallel shopping world to the one we are used to. A world where there is no Coca Cola or McCain Oven Fries, but instead a series of foods in increasingly bizarre packaging featuring all kinds of dementedly happy cartoon animals. We contented ourselves with buying some marshmallows in a plastic bag shaped like a smiling bunny rabbit and left. I am still hankering after the Koala chocolate biscuits. |W|P|107463821174563072|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/19/2004 08:32:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|along with CP Snow, the FAI can be damned as well. Why? Well, as if it wasn't bad enough that everybody in the country supports Man Utd, they have decreed that you can only get a ticket for the upcoming Brazil game if you buy tickets for all the other Irish friendlies up to the end of April as well. Not only is that ridiculously expensive, my desire to watch 90 minutes of Ireland vs Poland is about the same as my desire to give all my money to Lady Bruce-Partington's Home for Distressed Aristocrats and start voting Tory. Pmeh. |W|P|107446932393480974|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/19/2004 08:21:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|And I thought some of my customers were trying it on... "BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating after an angry man returned a computer he had just bought saying it was packed with small potatoes instead of computer parts. The store replaced the computer free of charge but became suspicious when he returned a short time later with another potato-filled computer casing, police in the western city of Kaiserslautern said on Monday. "The second time he said he didn't need a computer any more and asked for his money back in cash," a police spokesman said. Police are now investigating the man for fraud" |W|P|107446812490362167|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/19/2004 07:42:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|Two days into a week off work, and now the relaxation is beginning to kick in. I plan to spend the rest doing...well, as little as possible really. My own private Dublin film festival is off to a flying start, with screenings so far of Return Of The King, A Mighty Wind, Jaws, and 24 Hour Party People. Other films scheduled to make an appearance over the next few days include Wings Of Desire , Lost In Translation, Tattoo and Audition. Books lined up for the week are Latter Days (the latest Cerebus TPB) and John Gribbin's Science : a History , which after a cursory glance at in Waterstones seems to be a) very interesting, and b) understandable to a layman like me. CP Snow be damned. Just finished reading Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress Of Solitude, an excellent novel dealing with race in 1970's New York, the movement of soul into funk into hiphop, the problems of being a lonely kid in a hostile school, and, most crucially, superheroes. Recommended. And to leave you on a cliffhanger, where are Es and I going to go on holiday in March? We were all set for Kerala, till we twigged that my holiday dates coincide rather too neatly with the start of the monsoon season. Hmm, we want somewhere tropical, preferably with decent beaches, and some interesting places to go and monkeys to see. Answers on a postcard please...(bearing in mind we'll probably end up in Bognor) I am blogging to Doves "leave at sunrise Sleep by the ocean"|W|P|107446655003111708|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/17/2004 06:30:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|Jimmi Lawrence, the guitarist from Hope Of The States, was found dead this morning. We saw them play a couple of months ago, and I honestly thought they were going to be one of the best bands of 2004. What a stupid stupid waste.|W|P|107428903728167013|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/07/2004 06:43:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P| this is the cover to Cerebus 300. Hard to know how I'm going to feel when I actually hold this in my hands in March. I will have been reading the book for about 14 years by then, and the last issue is bound to be...emotional. By some weird quirk, I might actually be in Canada when it's published. Maybe I can sell the idea to Es as a Cerebus Memorial Tour. I kind of doubt it, though. (I found that image on this blog by the way. It contains some pretty good commentary on Cerebus, and is definitely worth looking at if you're a fan.) |W|P|107342572610776090|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com1/07/2004 12:02:00 AM|W|P|dan|W|P|long time no update. Sorry to my regular and loyal audience (hello Tain & Esther), but it is now time to disgorge whatever has been simmering in the back of my brain for the last few days and weeks. Christmas was OK. Obviously working in a record shop in December imbues me with nothing but a deep seated fear and hatred of the public, and leaves me generally fretful for the continued existence of the race. If people are this stupid, runs my reasoning, how can they even manage to breed? The two days off we had were good though, and saw much laziness and torpor, along with plenty of eating and drinking. And that's the meaning of Christmas, kids! Things are returning to normal at work now - it is more like a slow dribble of idiots rather than the full parades we had to suffer in December, all eager to celebrate the incorrect anniversary of the birth of that Jewish terrorist by buying horrifically exploitative best ofs (does anyone you know really need "The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow" in their life?) and repulsive boy band drivel. New Years was a good night. We had some friends over from the UK, and elected to stay in all night drinking and playing records. Always a good option, given that NYE in town centres is a night for amateur drinkers. Mournful country music is far better for partying than happy music you can dance to. I am aware that I may be in a minority on this one. On a music tip, I have a new favourite band! Explosions In The Sky's new album "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place" is just wonderful. It's instrumental, epic quiet/loud stuff, not dissimilar from Godpeed You Black Emperor or Mogwai, but with a beautiful chiming warmth to it. They are playing here in February. Their record label's website describes them as "possibly the loudest live band ever". I can't wait. More American visitors last night, when we met with Dru and Carmen from the PP boards, along with their friend Matt. We went to a couple of pubs and a good time was had by all. Well, by me, anyway. Nice people. Good night.|W|P|107340270423228587|W|P||W|P|danpawley@gmail.com