Gonna send into Outa Space

Warning: I had nothing to do with this wonderful mixtape, but I stole it and put it on my blog.

I'm not such a fan of The Prodigy live. They tend to be kinda one-dimensional, not showcasing the multi-faceted talent of Liam Howlett.
I love mostly everything they've put out. From the borderline happy hardcore of Experience and the 90s dnb of Music For The Jilted Generation (which I remember putting on in the car to Dad saying "did something break"), to the hard industrial Fat of the Land and the synth-gone-wrong of Always Outnumbered... it's all good. As a live act, Keith Flint needs to get a new look, and perhaps some intelligence - he's pretty thick. Maxim can stay.
Kidz by Colette were nice enough to post a 70 minute mastermix (Zshare) of all that is Prodigy, blending together 15 years of golden tunes. Get it while its hot! Yum yum.
Tracklisting @http://kidzbycolette.free.fr/?p=754

--Props to Jake for the assist--

30 seconds to nowhere

Warning: This post also features stock footage.

Just realised that I hadn't put one of my China vids from a while back on here. So here's a 30 second video of a "factory" in China, which is more like a garage on an unpaved street. The quality is good, but the content is... well, simple. At least its over nice and quick eh?

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Warning: This post has sloppy aim.

"Super Pii Pii Brothers"?

I love Japan!

Edit: Despite these being a rather elaborate and impressive April Fools gag, it sows the seed in my mind...

Alkaline Trio - Help Me

Warning: This post contains better-than-your-average American punk.

So Alkaline Trio have a new album coming out this year, which I'm quite excited about. It's called Agony & Irony and it's due out...July 1 or something. They just released a video for the first single, "Help Me":

The video is really nothing special, though the song is catchy. Nice work.

I know it's a bit tangential, but am I the only one who hears Coldplay's Viva La Vida and thinks it sounds incredibly cheesy? The rest of the album is OK, Cemeteries of London being one of the better tracks, but that violin and his voice are just...far too simple.

To end on a higher, if not particularly new note, you should watch this video. If only for the multiple shots of super-hot Phee the drummer. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Whip, with Trash. Now get out yo' seat an' jump around.

Not now, I have a headache

Warning: This post isn't all it should be.

And the giant-squid-looming-on-the-kitchen-table post that I'm trying my hardest to avoid dealing with is of course the events of last weekend, in Melbourne with His Whoreness and the likes of Cut Copy, Mr. Oizo and Utah Saints. It might be for lack of good photos that do the trip justice, it might be the lack of energy I've had from the cold I achieved upon my return to reality, or my back, which has been killing me for around 2 weeks. Whatever the excuse, I certainly do want to write about it, but not at 2am on a Sunday night. Don't be offended.

Meanwhile, check out Piers' photos of the gigs. In fact, check out all of Piers' photos. They're wonderful. Especially this one of Oizo.

Shopping

Warning: This post is both spontaneous and expensive.

So I walked into a CD store today. For the first time in around 6 months. Last time I attempted to do so was in the US, but apparently CD stores no longer exist there. iTunes and Limewire have run them out of business.

I like my music in hard copy. The cover art is fun, it's nice to have a version you can lend around (for any record companies asking, the lending is purely for the people to look at it, see how cool it is and immediately purchase it), and also I can't stand the license that iTunes slaps on its downloaded tracks. Feels like I'm buying something that isn't really mine. Not sure how that analogy works but thats the vibe I get.

Today's damage was to the tune of \22,000, or around US$220. Nice to see CDs getting cheaper though - I got 10 albums for that. Namely:

Weezer - Red Album A nice comeback from Rivers and the boys after the rather disappointing Make Believe. Still reeks of "album with one good single".









Fratellis - Here We Stand Less cockney-punk, more...uplifting? album from these jokers from Glasgow. Far better than Franz Ferdinand.









Does It Offend You Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into...I've liked these guys for a while but purely through remixes of We Are Rockstars, so we'll see what the album is like. Not new, but new to me.







Dexpistols - Lesson.04A nice snapshot of great electro from Tokyo's hipster djs of the moment. Educational indeed. Personal remixes of Digiki and The Lowbrows included.








2 many djs - Radio Soulwax Live: get yer yo yo's out pt.3I've gone a bit off 2 many djs as a live act, as they seem a bit sellout (which is sad seeing as they did so much for the mash-up movement), but they do tend to bring some good shit to my attention. You could say I bought this as a stepping stone or merely out of curiousity.

The Black Ghosts - Mixtape I don't actually like the Black Ghosts. I find the vocalist annoying, and the lyrics cheesy. Having said that, they do make good music. So I went with their mix album as opposed to the studio one. They're coming to World in Kyoto in July. Yay.






Simian Mobile Disco - Live In Japan I have reason to believe this album came out a few days before they actually played here last weekend, so I'm curious as to how this is "live". I missed the show (8pm didn't agree with me, and I was buggered), but I'm keen to check what I missed out on.


Portishead - Third I promised I'd buy it, didn't I? Now they owe me. Live tour including Osaka pleasethanks.










Justice - DJ Mix Leur Selection Justice doing what they originally became famous for - picking good songs and playing them in succession. It's like a talented version of Fatboy Slim. Nice collection of new and old here.







Pendulum - In Silico Just paying them back for a good 2nd album. Can't wait to see them in August.











Yum yum.

In other music news, Jason Mraz announced a tour of Japan to go with his Fuji Rock gig that includes Osaka (July 30) and surprisingly, Hiroshima. Guess he wants to see the Peace Park. Still, I'm happy. I was rueing not having the dough and leave from work to blow mindlessly on heading out to Niigata at the end of July. Now if only Underworld would plan a tour with Data, Switch and the Juggs, and I wouldn't even have a reason to regret missing Fuji.

Good Morning Caleb

Warning: This post only features births, not deaths or marriages.


Caleb Isaac Fieldes-Booth
Born 11.50pm June 11th 2008 NZT, to Hannah Fieldes and Ramon Booth.
No complications (unless you call not having a name for 4 days a complication).
So far is prone to sleeping and looking like a scrunched up human being.

Welcome. Just so you know, I'm the cool uncle. Not the other two jokers. They're my wingmen.

What bemused Facebook user are you?

Warning: This post contains painfully obvious multi-choice questions.

I'm sure any user of Facebook is aware of how utterly irritating some of the third party applications kicking around can be. They're like the "FWD this and your crush will fall in love with you!" emails of the networking world. Ones that get my blood rushing to my face (and book) include any "Am I a hottie?" apps, gift giving apps, and those heretical "Vampire vs. Zombie (vs. my patience)" ones. Why oh why do I want an egg that will hatch into a can of soup? Maybe in real life, especially if its a nice biske. But not as a tiny picture on my already cluttered profile.

The quizzes kicking around remind me of Cleo magazine and the whole "will your relationship stand the test of time" or "is this just carpet burn or should I see a gyno" multi-choice garbage they used to sell at your local dairy. For all I know they still do.
But recently, these quizzes appear to have gotten a little out of hand. What started out as "What animal are you?" or "What kind of kisser are you?" has now exercised its statistical parameters and has moved into slightly more concerning territory, seen below:


I'm sorry, but "want the US and France to get out of Lebanon"? Yes, that reflects my personality to a t. I'm so glad I wasted my time on this.

Personally, I'm looking forward to quizzes such as the following:


See also:
- Which MJ are you?
- What Starbucks coffee are you? (brought to you by Starbucks coffee)
- Which natural disaster victim are you? (Answer "A" for every question and you'll get "Mariah Carey concertgoer")

What was I going to do, use the shirt to pretend I have a gun?

Warning: This post may get you kicked off an airplane.

Man banned from jet for Transformers T-shirt
AIRPORT guards stopped a man boarding a plane — for wearing a Transformers T-shirt showing a cartoon gun.

I mean seriously. What the fuck. This isn't funny anymore.