Stewart Lee

A couple of weeks ago comedian Lee Hurst, the Kojak-alike who used to be on They Think It's All Over, was convicted of criminal damage after smashing the mobile phone of an audience member because he suspected his act was being filmed with the intention of material being stolen. This resulted in a Phil Jupitus article in the Gaurdian the following week questioning the frequency of joke theft, you can find the article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/feb/18/comedy-joke-theft-lee-hurst

This got Shaun and I thinking about a Stewart Lee performance we saw a few years ago, in which he lambasts Joe Pasquale in quite superb fashion for stealing fellow comedian Micheal Redman's joke. Always good to have an excuse to show some Stewart Lee, so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YE9Kthyaco

I have recently bought Stand-Up Comedian - Stewart Lee's first live DVD - taken from his 2005 set and performed in Glasgow. It is isanely funny and intelligent in equal measure, catching Lee at his finest - I strongly recommed you get yourself a copy.

My favourite Stewart Lee purchase though came through the post just today and is my new favourite thing in the whole wide world. Fact. It is a 10" vinyl of his reworking of Edward Lear's The Owl And The Pussycat. Called Pea Green Boat, Lee's droll, monotone delivery is perfect for the dry comedy as he shapes the story around the literal detail of the original. The owl's attempts at learning and subsequently playing the guitar are side-splittingly funny. There's only 500 copies so make sure you get one and treasure it. Find it at:

http://www.gofasterstripe.com/cgi-bin/website.cgi?page=videofull&id=1891

there's only one peach with the hole in the middle

I was very pleased to receive the latest email from the lovely HYPONIK Bass Bleeps and Beats guys and find out about this linky>>>>>>

PEACHES AND DRUMS OF DEATH MIXTAPE

Hot property Drums of Death and filthy mistress Peaches have become pallymates and created this wicked 40min mixtape that includes:

*a couple of new tracks from the Peach with the Hole in the Middle
mixed up with
*some old faves that have been given the DOD makeover,
*a Desert Sessions style cover version of 'Rockshow'
and peppered with
*loops, samples, and randoms talking about Peaches herself...my fave is the first guy who confesses that Peaches helped him be more open with women about sex :)

for those of you who aren't familiar with Peaches, check out this vid. i like this because it kind of shows you what to expect from her live shows too.



and as for DOD, well, i'll have to give you my verdict on his live performance when i come back from BLOC. i'm always up for a bit of dressups, and his strange Brandon Lee-from-The-Crow image is a good start. and his tunes!
here's one of my faves...

Drums of Death - Cursed by Magick

love the oldskool electro-rap, and the laser noises too :)
his style is varied though, check out his myspace for a broader taste.

ELECTRODE parties; Spring Collection '09

Woo!

Boring old hibernation skintamundo January/February is soooo over.
Grab your filofaxes and start scribbling down the following dates in your glitteriest party pen!

07/03/09 - ATOMIC JAM!

March sees myself and the rest of the ELECTRODE crew hosting the back room of the UK's biggest and best techno event; the ATOMIC JAM, held in a big old church in Birmingham; the mighty Que Club.
Start warming up your jackin' arm...now.



After the excursion to Brum we return for two months of parties in Manchester...



17/04/09 ELECTRODE host the back room at Shrewsbury's DUBCLUB



Dubclub returns to the Buttermarket for an easter extravaganza featuring b'ham heavyweight system 'KING EARTHQUAKE! Expect a evening of ground-shaking dubplates and roots reggae classics from this top quality roots sound system. The legendary reggae star, WINSTON 'sugar cane' FERGUS will also be making a guest appearance and providing sweet live vocals throughout the night. Dubclub’s Room 2 will once again be occupied by Mancunian wobpeddlers ‘Electrode’. The ever successful outfit will taking a break from hosting The Jam’s back room and will continue to probe the limits of electronic music by unleashing their distinct blend of dubstep, techno and breaks!

keith's japanese photo-diary

Have you ever wondered what it's like to tour Japan with your very own rock and roll band? Well wonder no more. Thanks to this exclusive photo diary of Keith's visit to Japan, you can almost smell the sushi yourself.

www.keiththeband.com

Mexican Institute of Sound / Joe Europe

Sometimes I'll start listening to an old album out of the blue and not stop playing it over and over for a week or two (this may be slightly manic behaviour, I'm not sure - perhaps I should be a little concerned). So it is that this week I've been immersing myself in the glorious Pinata, the second album from Mexican Institute of Sound from 2007. I must admit that his mix of hip-hop beats with rumbas, slasa's and a general latin feeling goes right up my flagpole for a salute (ooh-er). Katia, Tania, Paulina Y La Kim, with it's sampled harp and Futurama bells (believe me, it works!) is a tune I can listen to again and again and again and aga..oh you get the idea. There's a warmth to the grooves and the tracks tickle you rather than kick you up the jacksie - (nearly) always a plus in my opinion!
Anyway, with this total immersion having brainwashed me (in a wholeheartedly lovely way you understand) I decided to check out the previews of his new album, Soy Sauce, which is due for release in Spring. I have to say that the four tracks that were available to listen to were dissapointing. Whilst still maintaining a latin influence there seems to be much heavier use of guitars, live drums and more raw vocals. Rather than making for a more intimate sound He seems to have lost the charm from the music. The tracks also sound a little confused, too many ideas and influences and no recognisible thread linking the sound together. My advice is buy Pinata rather than Soy Sauce, skip the first two tracks, then let the album burrow into your mind.

So, feeling a little dissapointed I wanted to treat my ears before leaving the cyber world. Thus it is that I wound up listening to an archive download of Joe Europe's Borderline radio show. Well pickle my plums, this was a much more satisfying venture. I must admit that Mr Europe is a close friend of team Woozy, but trust me - there's no favouritism at play here. His show is a blend of techno, disco, broken beat, breaks and pretty much anything that operates in that sphere of music. I must admit that I have already gone on to buy some of the tunes that I heard and if he continues to pluck tunes of this quality for our listening pleasure then I may have to get a second job. Anyway don't take my word for it, have a listen yourself...

Borderline 01

http://www.zshare.net/audio/5373852292f9158e/

Disko! (You don't care) - Superpitcher
Supernova (Pezzner rmx) - Rocca
Psycho (Audio Jack rmx) - 20:20 vision
Smile for Me (Chaim rmx) - Sei A
Love on the Line (Unabombers rmx) Crazy P
Thumper (Joe Europe rmx) - Manta Electrica
Bad Runner - Brodinski
My Friend Roland - Joe Europe
Moved - Audio Werner
Hey Consuelo (Samin rmx) - Piere Bucci
Crazy Dog Biscuit (Kink rmx) - The Bulgarian ft. Spoek
Bash Head - Joe Europe
Lets Get Over - Deetron
Skyhook 2 - Phil Kieran
Better Living Through Distortion

Borderline 02

http://www.zshare.net/audio/547507005b75eb32/

1. Zou Zou - DJ Koze
2. Moon Song (Weird Knights Mix) - They Came from the Stars When I Saw Them
3. La Roquette - Chateau Flight
4. I'll Lick Your Spine (Repeat Repeat Mix) - Let's Go Outside
5. BBBoot - Bionic Bump Band
6. Kodo Verano - The Per Eckbo Orchestra
7. Keep On (Stimming RMX) - Dan Berkson & James What Feat. Robert Owens
8. Sulo - Joe Europe
9. Business Acumen - In Flagranti
10. Impulse - Santos Resiak
11. Everybody's Talkin - MyMy
12. Jolly Joker (DJ Koze Mix) - Alter Ego
13. Serpent (Murat Kilic Mix) - Solead
14. Stranjah from my Scanner (Acid Mix) - Tripmasterz
15. Bar a Thym (Foremost Poets Mix) - Kerri Chandler
16. Doesn't Matter (Kasper Bjorke Mix) - Kasper Bjork feat. the Pierces

Borderline 03

http://www.zshare.net/audio/55416391f2b0660f/

1. Kes - Barrakas
2. Waterpark - Baobinga and ID
3. The Strange Things I'll Remember (Jet Project rmx) - Mirror Music
4. Blacklight - Peace Division
5. Naomi (Dirt Crew rmx) - M.A.N.D.Y.
6. 4 Weeks in Poverty - Bearweasel
7. Elenor - Decimal
8. Apetite - Chin Chin (Chicken Lips Dub)
9. Master of One - Sei A
10. Slackjaw - JoeEurope
11. Nut Disco - Prztz
12. Working Title - Vlad Sokolov
13. Doodles - Droido
14. Zoo - Kleep
15. Wit Me Na - Raz Ohara

Garmanbozia

I scare myself.

My brother and I spent Saturday watching harrowing films that made me feel all scared.
The icing on the cake was Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me.

I'd accidentally found out who killed Laura Palmer (Thanks a lot, frikkin "100 Best TV Endings" or whatever the fahk it was called...thanks) before getting to the end of Twin Peaks Season 2, so when I saw Fire Walk With me in FOPP for £3, i was like, yeeeeahh. Why not.

I'm not even going to attempt to describe the film....It's directed by David Lynch.
:)

Since watching this harrowing, uncomfortable, mind butt-fuck of a film i've been listening to David Lynch film soundtracks, and Angelo Badalamenti's stuff pretty much non-stop.

I've entered this world. And i cannot go back. I would like to drag you all down with me...

I want all of my garmanbozia.
David Lynch - The Pink Room

Angelo Badalamenti - Drug Deal Blues

Keith Tour Dates.

With their second album Vice and Virtue in the shops very soon, our friends Keith will be touring the UK on the following dates:

17th February - York, Fibbers. 14+
18th February - Leeds, Cockpit 3. 14+
21st February - Manchester, Night & Day. 18+
22nd February - Cardiff, Barfly. 16+
24th February - London, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. 18+
26th February - Derby, The Royal. 14+
27th February - Barrow-in-Furness, The Canteen



Also, Keith bassist and general good-egg Wadders will be posting a diary from their recent Japanese tour up here very soon.

Bad Vibes, Good Book.

A few weeks ago I glimpsed a review of a book by Luke Haines entitled Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In It's Downfall. I have admired Haines' songwriting on and off for many years (although I prefer his Black Box Recorder output to his earlier work that this book covers) and in the early 90's his ascent to glory seemed assured - he was "the new girl in town that everyone wants to fuck". His band, the Auteurs, were feted by the press and nominated for the Mercury Music Prize (an event he describes, with winning disdain, as a "feeble-minded sports day for the music biz") before their burgeoning career was pretty much flattened by the juggernaut of Britpop. Bad Vibes is his recollection of the next few years, but it could easily be a comic novel.

In his introduction Haines is at pains to make it clear that he bears no ill will towards those mentioned, "most of whom I don't think about very often", before going on to insult just about everybody who played a part in the most egotistical and truly stupid 'movement' the British music industry ever foisted on an ever-gullible public - myself included. A born contrarian, Haines has long been a Southern middle-class equivalent of Mark E Smith. He describes himself as a "reformed egomaniac" and attempts to portray himself as an unashamed elitist, but it isn't his forte - he is much more entertaining when reverting to type as a grumpy, acerbic misanthrope. He is unreservedly vile in his treatment of most people he meets (he despises his own cellist and hires a rhythm guitarist on the strength that "The Cellist pompously loathes him") and his obliviousness to his own obnoxiousness is what makes Bad Vibes such an entertaining read.

As funny as he is grumpy it is however not his bilious condemnations of his contemporaries but his recollections of being on tour that really hit the sweet-spot. Often sailing close to Spinal Tap territory it is a mixture of the comic (playing to 17 people in a 950 capacity venue, going on before a comedian whilst supporting The The) and the tragic (lost in a haze of dope smoke and alcohol, he heard voices that goaded him to leap from a 15-foot wall on to concrete. He broke both his legs and spent months in a wheelchair). As becomes apparent as the book goes on, Haines has a rather big self-destruct button that he likes to press quite often.

I did find this book hugely entertaining, but still felt a little frustrated at the end. Haines luxuriates in his role as pantomime villain, but there's an undercurrent of misdirection in what he writes. The real Luke Haines is missing. He gives only the barest details of his personal life or history and, as a consequence, this reads more like a comic novel than a memoir. Despite his contrary ways, it's painfully apparent that Haines's political views are a matter of style, not substance. As Baader Meinhof he wrote an album, an "ogre-funk opus, in praise of 70s terrorism", and in place of a press release, sent out photocopied pages from The Anarchist Cookbook, detailing how to construct a nail bomb. Unsurprisingly, the response was mixed. He was accused of being obscure, of wilfully concealing any moral point. But he's waited until now to confess that there was no point. He simply had the hots for the iconography: Patty Hearst posing with an AK-47, Andreas Baader with his long hair and Ray-Bans. "Terrorist chic," he writes. "You got to love it." Indeed, Haines loved it so much that he had his drummer dress as a member of the Provisional IRA during TV performances. He can also be contradictory - in one section of the book he chastises the members of various northern rock groups chanting "two world wars and one world cup" whilst at a European festival, yet later remembers himself touring Germany and blasting the theme from The Great Escape at every rest stop. It is also true that much of his snideness about other bands seems to be schoolboy score-settling.

I would recommend this as a humorous take on life in a b-list band - nothing more, nothing less. Enjoy it for that and you will not be disappointed.