I think I have a thing for solar flare videos. The sun is angry! This happened on Sunday, and I think it might explain why I had a twitchy eye all day.
(Source: theworldsbestever.com)
Recon from Matt’s African Adventure:
I love Africa - who knew that the answers to the world’s problems were right here all along.
‘Love portion’ anyone?
Here follows an extract of The Island’s metal night held last Friday.
4. There were Good Vibes for Tony
With their new album coming later this year, we knew we wanted to put on a night that celebrated the greatest, most original metal band ever. When we heard that Tony Iommi was ill, we were afraid that it would seem badly-timed and possibly insensitive to hold something like that. But what better way to send the required ‘good vibes’ than to put on a night with bands and DJs playing music that was arguably spawned in the twisted minds of Iommi and co. in the first place? Well exactly, there’s no better way. Throw down motherfucker!
Dear everybody,
Please let us release an actual album before you fuck the world up so hard that we are reduced to making guitars out of our dead relatives’ shin-bones? Be nice!
Thanks,
VVV
See the full version at Gizmodo.com
(Via The World’s Best Ever)
Star Wars fast food! As long there isn’t a Jar Jar Binks burger we’re all good. Thanks France!
‘Do you guys want a bit of backstory in this bio?’
‘No. Who cares? I’m in the band and I don’t even care.’
‘Wow.’
‘Sorry.”
‘Well it’ll just be ‘We were a different band, now we’re Vuvuvultures.’ Band bios are normally boring.’
‘OK well what about some idea of what we sound like? Like maybe some indication of our influences, and an idea of what we’re up to. Jesus I don’t envy you.’
‘Yeah wow. Thanks.’
‘What about saying that we were born in Tom Waits’ bathtub, and given up for adoption, and now we’re hellbent on revenge or something. The bastard.’
‘Maybe. That could be interesting. What if we said we were Tom Waits and Siouxie Sioux’s love-children?’
‘Do you even know any songs by Siouxie Sioux?’
‘No.’
‘…’
‘OK well maybe don’t go there dude.’
‘Maybe we should talk about how we just recorded our EP, played some rad gigs. Gigs we’re going to play. Use that ‘we did a world tour… of London and Glastonbury’ joke you made in the last one.’
‘Ha ha. Yeah. Try to figure out what you would want to read in a bio.’
‘Probably a vague idea of what we sound like, or at least our personality. So like electronic-laden-punk or whatever.’
‘Do we sound like that though? How are we punk? Is it because we like loud?’
‘Hmmm. Well there’s definitely a heavy electronic element…’
‘Yeah, but with a good amount of growl, and fostering an exotic hue.’
‘Wow. Poetic dude.’
‘Don’t forget the generally weird noises from sample play days, does that count as electronic? Plus h-bombs pop magic vocals over the top.’
‘Yeah just don’t use the word ‘organic.’
‘I think we sound like teenage Tom Waits.’
‘Yeah but that’s not a genre.’
‘FUCK micro-genres and genre-fying ourselves’
‘Uh… ‘
‘Oh Jesus I just deleted what I was writing. Is there an undo button on an iPhone? Fuck.’
‘Just shake it dude ‘
Sent from my iPhone=
WE CAN MAKE UNICORNS
An Indian Summer rooftop conversation, in which the world’s best one-hit wonders are discussed, music through the ages analysed and Warren is magicked into reality.
Sitting on a fire-escape stair case, right at the top, with view of London. For HOURS.
MC: Let’s talk about one hit wonders.
NMBC: So what are some of the best?
MC: Um… this might be kinda cheesy but I guess that’s the point with one hit wonders. The best one has to be My Sharona by the Knack.
NMBC: Yes! Totally. That’s basically what Dave Grohl based his drumming on apparently.
MC: That makes so much sense. The whole doo-doo da-da doo, da, doo, da, doo-doo da thing. And then after the weedly wee guitar solo there’s that fancy little timing thing.
NMBC: Yeah that’s gotta be why one-hit wonders are out there. At least one made sure that Dave Grohl happened.
MC: Thank you The Knack.
What would come second?
NMBC: Hmmm…
MC & NMBC: ’99 Red Balloons’?
NMBC: (Ridiculous giggling) Wow, I cannot believe you were thinking that at the same time.
MC: (Also ridiculous giggling) That’s crazy.
NMBC: I wish Warren was here. Warren needs to come up here. I wanna go get him but I don’t actually…
MC: …want to move.
NMBC: Yeah. Maybe we could talk to him, but like, through the air.
MC: Yes. But even if he wasn’t around! I’ve been thinking of that too. If only there was some kind of a way!
NMBC: Just phone him dude.
MC: I don’t have his number.
NMBC: Fuck.
Oh phones are amazing. .. You know, all you have to do is have one awesome idea.
MC: Yes, I think that’s true generally. You have to have awesome ideas. Just go and make telephones. Or a revolutionary record.
NMBC: But think about it man, that’s how all the best stuff is made. Phones would not have made any sense to anyone 200 years ago. But someone dreamed it up and then just found a way to do it!
MC: I guess so. We’ve come up with tons of rad stuff, we could be millionaires if we really concentrated.
NMBC: Absolutely.
MC: Hang on though, I’m not sure about that theory of just coming up with anything at all and being able to make it work. You couldn’t just come up with, like, mythological creatures.
NMBC: Yes you could!
MC: No. You can’t make unicorns.
NMBC: You totally can, you just need to find a way to genetically engineer a horse with a one of those sea friends with those pointy horns. For example.
MC: (Laughing) I don’t have any way to respond to that.
————————————————————————————————————-
MC: You know, as much respect as I have for bands back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, they didn’t have to work as hard on getting their music out there. They had teams of people doing that from the start. Record labels got involved so much earlier in a band’s life. Imagine how much easier it would be without having to do all the stuff we have to do now to make things happen.
NMBC: Yeah. But you couldn’t just go into a studio and record an EP unless you had massive resources. You had no way to show people your music except through shows.
- a short pause -
But think about it this way – they had no internet, no cell-phones, no way of getting their music out there at all. All they had to present themselves was their live show: that was it. They had to be a totally amazing live band if they were going to get anywhere. Which is why so many of those bands are incredible musicians. Putting us all to shame and making all that sound on the spot. There’s an energy there that’s lost in a lot of music today.
MC: Shit, that’s totally true.
NMBC: Yeah dude, they had to be so much better bands – the only ones that got through were mostly the really amazing live. Their performance was all they had to get the name out initially. Well, and a hand-job late night in an alley or something.
MC: Well I dunno, there were a lot of shitty bands. If you watch Top of the Pops from back in the 70s there were a lot of bad acts up there.
NMBC: Warren! Hey dude! You came!
W: Yeah I sure did – here’s a little present.
MC: Amazing.
I wonder how it’s going downstairs. It’s not ideal for there to be a house party at the house you’re house-sitting. Who were those Spanish people?
NMBC: I have no idea who they are or how they got here.
MC: I hope all the fancy fashion shit will be OK.
NMBC: Quote.
W: It’s kind of emotional up here. Let’s go back downstairs.
NMBC: Fuck off Warren.
