1,474 Megapixel Image Of The Inauguration

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Wow. You can literally zoom forever! I'm currently scanning the crowd for anything out of the ordinary/funny.

Why can't I spend similar amounts of time on tasks like University work? I'm too easily pleased by the most meaningless things...

Stella Luna - "Stargazer"

Stargazer

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1. Change (6:35)
2. Stargazer (5:01)
3. Antares (8:19)
4. A Bridge To Nowhere (6:30)

When you're presented with an album entitled "Stargazer" by a band called Stella Luna, you begin to assume absolute knowledge of the artist, the music and the story. "Typical Shoegaze done typically" comes instantly to mind. What makes Stella Luna's 2002 EP special is that it isn't typical Shoegaze. Of course there are evident borrowed ideas but there isn't that overbearing sense of plagiarism that taints the majority of the bands and artists currently working in and around the Nugaze scene. It's refreshing. It's good! Swathes of rich riverberated walls of distorted guitars coupled with driving rhythms and steady, solid drumming are the key players within the 4 tracks on show. There is a strong sense of euphoria present too which caught me completely off gaurd instead of the usual ethereal, distant, almost cold feeling you'd expect from any other contemporary Dream Pop act.

Unfortunately, Stella Luna has since then fallen from this Earth and finding information on them or their follow up Full-length which was planned for late 2002 is more than difficult. At least we got a taster of their abilities and maybe we'll see an album in the future.

8.3/10

Herd of Elephants

I think these get better and better as time goes by.

Why don't they just man up and make an actual cartoon?! I'd definitely watch it.

Charlie Cooper, rest in peace.

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One half of one of the most genuinely promising acts in and around the Post-Rock and IDM scene has died. Telefon Tel Aviv had the potential to do great things for years and years to come but sadly, on the 22nd of January, Charles Wesley Cooper III passed away. While it's still pretty vague and reasons behind the late musicians death are uncertain, it's the wishes of the friends, family and collegues of Charlie that we speculate no further.

All I can say is that they have my deepest condolences. My thoughts are with them all.

"The funny thing about cancer"?

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An interview with Jamie Ross, 19 year old Scottish lad with Cancer and a great way with words. His blog, cataloguing the trails and realisations of dealing with his affliction, is a million light-years away from usual intense doom and overbearing gloom of the regular Cancer story. It's genuinely funny.

http://cancerouscapers.blogspot.com/

Ben And Bruno - "100 Grim Reapers"

100 Grim Reapers

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1. Life Will Recover (1:49)
2. New Friend Song (2:55)
3. Take Hold Upon (5:44)
4. Out From Where (1:42)
5. 100 Grim Reapers (3:06)
6. Given The Attributes (4:29)
7. Casting Shadows (3:49)
8. O You Sad Life (0:59)
9. Pack Of Light Blue Birds (4:39)
10. Chant 1 (0:45)
11. To Fill The Void (4:00)
12. () (1:08)
13. Do You Mind What You See? (4:05)
14. Famous (1:40)
15. Torn And Pulled (3:37)
16. Next To Your Side (4:04)

“Ben and Bruno” is a group of songs based on one character named Ben. After losing his mother at a very young age, Ben is abducted by a religious fanatic who has been living in the apartment above the family. Ben, during his trip while fleeing from the police, falls in love with the woman who has abducted him. The story continues after the capture of his new love and he grows older…marrying, having two daughters, divorcing his wife.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back from life and lose yourself in a piece of music. If you ever feel the strongest urge to do this, then please, immerse yourself in the story behind 100 Grim Reapers. It's upsetting but in the most devastatingly beautiful way. I really want to critique this album but, in all honesty, and in full knowledge that it isn't the best record ever, I can't bring myself to do it. It's too special.

N.A./10

Alva Noto - "Xerrox Vol.2"

Xerrox Vol.2

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1. Xerrox Phaser Acat 1 (12:11)
2. Xerrox Rin (0:51)
3. Xerrox Soma (7:11)
4. Xerrox Meta Phaser (6:23)
5. Xerrox Sora (6:54
6. Xerrox Monophaser 1 (8:04)
7. Xerrox Monophaser 2 (5:31)
8. Xerrox Teion (2:03)
9. Xerrox Teion Acat (5:26)
10. Xerrox Tek Part 1 (5:28)
11. Xerrox Monophaser 3 (6:14)

Finding the words to describe volume 2 in Carsten Nicolai's Xerrox series isn't easy. What we have is a dense and rich atmosphere of vibrant sounds and dreamy drones that flow and merge seamlessly into one majestic opus. While the intention was to hark back to the idealism of film score, employing a linear aesthetic to the music, you can't help but feel that there's something much greater here. The theme itself would require the use of other means of sensory stimualation, but I feel Alva Noto has done more in this collection of sounds than what any picture or word could possibly add to or expand on. Using samples and collaborations from his recent tour of the USA, we find weathered borrowings from Stephen O'Malley and Michael Nyman as well as rehashings of Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto's encore from 2004's "Insen" tour. This is an out and out masterpiece. A true work of great art.

9.3/10

Science Of Yabra - "Don't Panic"

Don't Panic

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1. The Unoriginal Saint (2:57)
2. I Would Rather Lose A Friend Than A Spleen (2:23)
3. Sorry Johnny X (3:18)
4. Amazing Brilliant Genius (3:12)
5. New Nemisis (4:44)
6. Good Times Ruin (2:36)
7. The Kill Is Mean (2:22)
8. Your Voice Is The Tax (2:14)

Snotty, raw and aggressive: three key ingredients for the making of a brilliant Post-Hardcore record. Fusing intricate riffs with blisteringly intense rhythms and great vocals, Science Of Yabra have managed to create quite a wonderful racket. "An amazing blend of East Coast and West Coast post punk that will remind you of Fugazi, Rites of Spring and Drive Like Jehu" is enough of a compliment to sell this record to any self-respecting fan of Punk and Hardcore.

7.8/10

WithoutLove's Brown Bag Campaign

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If you could take 10 seconds to read this website and then take another 10 to consider helping then that would be really great. It's not asking for a lot and 1000 is an easy target. I'll get mine together tomorrow or the next day.

Oh, and feel free to pass the message along to anyone and everyone you know.

Thank you.

Sianspheric - "The Sound Of The Colour Of The Sun"

The Sound Of The Colour Of The Sun

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1. Audiophone (6:08)
2. To Myself (5:14)
3. Tous Les Soirs (4:49)
4. Childrenrunningthroughovergrowntallgrass (1:35)
5. QFD (5:59)
6. Radiodiffusion (6:46)
7. Slightly Less Sunshine (5:25)
8. Ending Is Better Than Mending (4:01)
9. So Blue (4:59)
10. Everything's A Wave (6:03)

This really is what the colour of the Sun would sound like. There's a warmth to this album that's prevalent throughout the quieter, calmer, cleaner moments of Dream Pop as well as in harsh and abrasive walls of distorted guitar, feedback and noise not that uncommon to Shoegaze. This really is a heavyweight in the World of Nugaze and modern Dream Pop. Ethereal enough to warrent recollection of Slowive and then at the drop of a hat, they're as sonically menacing as My Bloody Valentine with just as much rhythm and melody.

8.2/10

Emeralds - "What Happened"

What Happened

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1. Alive In The Sea Of Information (8:02)
2. Damaged Kids (15:01)
3. Up In The Air (4:02)
4. Living Room (16:43)
5. Disappearing Ink (13:32)

It's difficult to place Emeralds. At their core, musically, what you get is vast and expansive synth drones. While there's still hints of Noise and of Ambient, it'd be wrong to say Emeralds are one or the other. What I can say, however, is that whatever they're doing works and it's nothing short of magical. The Ohio trio produce some of the most touching and brilliant soundscapes, coupling great walls of synth and noise with Mark McGuire's twinkling guitar leads and flashes of feedback. It's unfair to say this early on in the year that I've picked my top album for 2009 but I honestly can't help myself. This is what experimental music is all about.

9.1/10

Ahahahaha!

Potentially the funniest thing in the history of advertisement. Cadbury's 1, Everyone else 0.

Grouper - "Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill"

Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill

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1. Disengaged (4:16)
2. Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping (2:53)
3. Stuck (5:59)
4. When We Fall (2:07)
5. Traveling Through A Sea (4:23)
6. Fishing Bird (Empty Gutted In The Evening Breeze) (3:51)
7. Invisible (3:55)
8. I'm Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (2:21)
9. A Cover Over (2:48)
10. Wind And Snow (4:30)
11. Tidal Wave (5:35)
12. We've All Gone To Sleep (3:03)

Wonderfully haunting and dreamy, Liz Harris' Grouper project goes from strength to strength in making great music. Here, unlike previous releases, she's upped the game (and the production values!) to produce a brand of Dream Pop worthy of a Cocteau Twins comparison. Although more drone orientated, parallels can be drawn with the older generation of Shoegazers with the muffled, indistinguishable vocals and reverberated, gentle acoustic guitar work. Probably the best record to come out last year. Liz Harris, I love you.

8.5/10

The Lost Shoe Project

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Quite a nifty little site here. Someone has taken the time to photograph and catalogue all of the lost shoes they stumble across. The thought behind it all is the idea of something "becoming lost in plain sight" which I find incredibly appealing. Give it a look. It's a great way to waste 5 minutes.

How does someone lose a single shoe anyway? At what point do you realise it's gone? I don't know about you but I feel it'd be somewhat instantaneous with me.

"Hey! WAIT A SECOND! I had two of these on earlier?"

Kashiwa Daisuke - "Program Music I"

Program Music I

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1. stella (36:07)
2. write once, run melos (26:00)

Two tracks spanning just over 1 hour of the most lush and beautifully crafted Post-Rock come IDM that you could possibly imagine. Reminiscent of label mate and fellow Japanese producer World's End Girlfriend, we find Kashiwa Daisuke's remedy of long winded Post-Rock never falls short of the mark, consistently pleasing and never boring. This has to be one of the best records of the last few years and certainly a favourite of mine from 2007.

9.6/10

"Pope launches Vatican on YouTube"

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Pahaha, whatever will they think of next.

As if it wasn't bad enough; having people like David Cameron updating us about his policies in his "randomly caught" blogger videos, now we have old Bene giving us the good word from God through the great vessel we all know and love called YouTube.

Is anyone else as excited as I am? Do you think we'll get to see the real Benedict XVI in action?! I can't wait to see the user comments.

2008: Best of

I've had over a month now to allow 2008's music to digest. It's been difficult even narrowing down a list of the best the year had to offer because even now I'm still coming to terms with what went on in '06 & '07, haha. I'll try and keep this as short and as sweet as possible. I'll also try to incorporate a download link when I can.

• 2562 - Aerial (Dubstep, Minimal Techno)
• Dead Congregation - Graves Of The Archangels (Death Metal, Old-School)
• Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli Manet In Aeternum: Chaining The Katechon(Black Metal, Experimental) Download
• Emeralds - Solar Bridge (Drone, Ambient, Noise) Download
• Errors - It's Not Something But It Is Like Whatever
  (Post-Rock, Electronic)
• Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (Indie Rock)
• Gnaw Their Tongues - (Black Metal, Avantgarde, Experimental)
• Goslings, The - Occasion (Drone, Noise, Shoegaze)
• Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (Acoustic, Dream Pop, Drone) Download
• Odal - Najis (Noise)
• Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling (Post-Rock)
• Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista (Modern Classical, Ambient, Experimental, Neofolk)
• Stegm - Harm Reduction (Noise)
• Taiga Remains - Ribbons Of Dust (Ambient, Drone) Download

There's a lot I neglected to mention and I guess I could update this over time. There's a provisional list for starters.

National Film Board Of Canada

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Here's an archive of National Film Board Of Canada movies, shorts and animations. What a great, great resource. It's all there. Full videos ready to stream and there's certainly a lot on offer.

It's funny how time passes.

It has been over a year since my last entry. In that past year a lot has come to pass and change. I took up smoking twice since then. And then went on to quit twice. Yes, I am no longer a smoker! I'm also back at University. That could be construed as an attempt to rectify my life. A sort of half arsed effort to being a better person. Don't be fooled; I still drink too much, avoid forming any kind of discernible sleeping pattern and then there's the wholesome fact that I managed to get a job which I kept for a year only to indirectly fire myself. I left due to varying reasons not even worth your time or mine to peruse the finer details. Urban Outfitters, however, are shit employers.

And that's a lot of what being 21 has shown me. A lot of things in this life are, shall we say, less than grand. In fact, practically everything is far from it. We all come to terms with the manageably annoying and the dull or dreadful. It's easy to switch off the television because there's nothing good on and we all have the choice to listen to the music we'd like to listen to. BUT what about public transport?

I pay somewhere up to £10 a day on getting to University and back. Trains. Ugh. In the mornings, I feel like I'm being shipped to a concentration camp. I shouldn't have to pay a fiver every day only to have to stand up like a battery chicken, with the newspaper of the man in front of me in my chest and the crotch of the man behind me digging into my thigh. 7.55am "Uddingston to Glasgow Central", fuck you.

And then there's the bus. I'm almost positive that the only reason we run bus services in Glasgow is for the sole purpose of sheltering the servile, vapid, useless scum that are always prowling down the back seats. "Don't sit near the back", you say? I HAVE to. When you're graced with monstrously long legs then you have no options. It's either sit up the back and be spat upon or sit near the front, sideways, and have everybody look at you like you're one of the backdwelling socially inept gobshites! 255, fuck you.

Anyway, before I go on any longer... I'll have a top rated albums list for 2008 with reviews, songs and honourable mentions. And I'm considering listing some of the better moments of '08 too. Everything isn't so bad, hah.