Why Are You HERE?

I moved to a new blog site - come and see

I'm moving

Not physical me, only this me here. I'm moving to a new blog server. I'm hoping to be able to shift all of these blogs over with me like so many boxes in a transit van.
The new blog will look a lot prettier and have a lot more 'tools' to play with in the spirit of 2.0

I've...

Decided - not to trim my beard back anymore until next year. Lets see how big I can stand to let it get.

Lost - my My Morning Jacket tee shirt. This is bad news, it means a lot to me and is my favourite item of clothing

Sunday... again

Ugh.. it's impossible to enjoy an empty sunday when you're tired and the shadow of working tomorrow swings over your day like a dark cloud.

Am I the only one who see's those Motorway matrix signs that announce the distance and expected time to a junction as a challenge? I see the sign reading "To J9 Ashford 20 minutes" and it's a dark and clear motorway I can't seem to stop my right foot dropping down heavier on the gas pedal in an attempt to do it in 15.

I'm also curious why I can't help but picture John Travolta getting shot when Pop Tarts are mentioned.

In one of those rediscovering an old album moments I listend to R.E.M's New Adventures In Hi-Fi today. One of the songs had popped up on one of those old tape compilations I dug up a while ago. I hadn't listened to R.E.M in ages.. nothing that really appealed anymore. That being said New Adventures has always been my favourite thing they did and it gets a lot of respect from me. Here was a band still coming down from Automatic For The People who changed their sound for Monster and saw diminshed sales and rather than just go back and write another Automtic they made their bravest album to date sonically having just been given a huge pay day from Warner Bros for signing. There must've been a huge amount of pressure to produce another Losing My Religion but they stuck to their guns. Got to respect that even if you don't like the band.

While hunting for videos of songs from New Adventures I found this instead... good ol' Mr Vedder

Covers Up and Wrap Up

Wrap Up: it's cold - I have a cold.

Amusingly timed adverts: Two excruciatingly painful ads for the Beckham fragrances (ugh don't even get me started) followed by a black screen and the words "The dangers of acid erosion." A ha ha ha

Covers Up: Ok, there's a blog I read religiously and have raved about its genius before. The Berkeley Place blog is great for an all consuming music adorer like myself. Or like myself wants to be. Anyway a recent post on said blog sent out the requests for opinions on the Best Covers of the Century... so far. Great covers made after Jan 1st 2000. Of course, being the music lover I want to be and the madman of lists I spent little time finalising mine having already aquired a "Great Covers" section in my mental jukebox.

Whilst I seem to be having trouble submitting my list as a comment on the Berkeley blog I'm gonna put it here. Feel free to criticise, praise or add. Please. I'm desperate and ill, amuse me!!

1. Rocket Man (Elton John) - My Morning Jacket
2. Such Great Heights (Postal Service) - Iron & Wine
3. Against All Odds (Phil Collins) - Postal Service
4. Everyday (Buddy Holly) - Rogue Wave
5. Trouble (Cat Stevens) - Elliott Smith
6. Wicked Game (Chris Isaak) - Giant Drag
7. Devil Town (Daniel Johnston) - Bright Eyes
8. Ocean Breathes Salty (Modest Mouse) - Sun Kil Moon
9. State Trooper (Bruce Springsteen) - Arcade Fire
10. Love Rein O'er Me (The Who) - Pearl Jam

Go ahead and check em out if you don't believe me. If I knew how I'd post MP3s or links to MP3s here. But I don't. Instead have a look at these. The first is a short film thing set to My Morning Jacket's cover of Rocket Man (which also featured in Californication).



Against All Odds, The Postal Service:




Trouble, Elliott Smith. No visual so just listen and miss him.

Sunday, bloody Sunday

Why do they make Cliff Richard calendars? Surely all his fans are either too out of it to know what day it is, let alone month or year or living in the past? Come to think of it, why is there such an array of calenders? Why look at the same picture every day for a whole month, surely there's no way you can love something so much. Like Porsches? Want to look at the same picture of one for 31 days then, next month look at another for 30? It's not like you don't know what's coming either as everyone flips through the entire wealth of 12 pictures when they first get it. In fact, they look at the pictures on the back before they buy it or even open the shrink wrap. I've lost count of the number of calendars I've looked at out of idle boredom this year alone and not one of them contained an image so beguiling or stunning that I'd need a whole month to take it in or appreciate it.

That being said, I haven't seen any Penelope Cruz calenders yet... Quite a rant, nonetheless. My cynical and bitter mood may just be down to lack of sleep and yummy cake. I did have an active thursday evening and friday day.. A perfect day followed by two hours in traffic on the m25. Arghh poxy Dartford crossings. Either that or it could just be down to the stupid excess of marketing - everything has a calender.

A great weekend for BrokenOrchestra with a new song recorded and mixed after I spent the week entirely unhappy with my guitar part when we laid it down last week. Plus we managed a little festive ditty today that sounds like a dirty jam with Jingle Bells being violated by a fuzzy guitar. C'est Rock n Roll!

I'm a little concerned that I seem to have become addicted to playing random strangers at scrabble on facebook. This can't be a good thing. Can it? Still, healthier than crack and cheaper too.

Do You Need Any Help?

Ok, something is bugging me. Surprise surprise, right? It's the over-helpfulness that certain retail outlets push out.

I went into Sainsburys the other evening for a couple of items, literally two things. 2 pints of milk and a loaf of bread so that I could have breakfast and make lunch the next day before work. I get to the till and what does the cashier ask? "Would you like any help with packing?" Now, granted if it's a parent with their kids and a weekly shop I could understand that question but when it's just one bloke and his beard there's really no need for it. And there's no way to answer it without sounding grumpy/ungrateful or sarcastic: "No" or "I'm fine, thanks."

Popped into Halfords (bastards, bastards, bastards) this morning as one of my stoplights is out and I wanted to get the bulb while I remembered. Get to the till and what do they ask? "Would you like that fitted for you?" What??!!! Yeah sure charge me a tenner to fit a £2 bulb. Granted I did look a bit... disoreantated but it was early (half tenish) on a Sunday morning, I was tired, there were a LOT of noisy kids upstairs playing with bikes and the stereo was blasting out r'n'b from the audio department so I wouldn't exactly be looking alert or thrilled if it were any other time of day.

Go to HMV, take a CD to the counter and they ask "is there anything else you wanted?" What??!! Why??!! Do they think that, well, yes I actually wanted another couple of albums but couldn't be bothered with bringing them up here so I'd like you to show your great degree of customer service by going and getting them for me. In fact, while you're asking I'd like Penelope Cruz, a private yact in a tropical ocean and a tub of squirty cream - all one situation mind.

These aren't just isolated instances. My point is that, yes, it is nice that you offer good customer service but when you offer it constantly when it is CLEARLY not needed it becomes redundant and seems 100% insincere and when somebody does need you to go out of the way it no longer seems like you're giving something special in the way of service more over that you're just doing something you didn't expect to be taken up on. Perhaps it's incase each customer is the dreaded Mystery Shopper and you don't wanna be losing points because you couldn't be bothered to smile (though that seems to have gone out of the window and been replaced with a somewhat begrudging "is there anything else we can do for you today?" yeah: fuck off) so they go over the top. Surely, though, the mystery shopper is unlikely to just be buying a pack of socks while texting on his mobile? Use your common sense! Seriously, much more of this forced politeness - which never comes across as genuine - and I may just start going back on my morals and using the automatic tills.

In other news, I regret to announce that I recently destroyed Legs' homes on my wing mirror at the jet wash. After a week of despair and guilt I was thrilled when I headed out to my car yesterday to find that he/she had built a spectacular web in place of the others and is obviously a waterproof arachnid. Long live Legs