UK Watercooler Eleven: A Holiday In Devon

Anyway, I braved the smoke and plumped for Caffe Nero in the end. I think I like their beans better than Starbucks.

Hurrah!

(someone told me earlier that my habit of saying "Hurrah!" to good things makes me sound like someone from a Famous Five book. Fortunately, though, they didn't go as far as saying I was Dick)

Re: the new rules: am I allowed to put you all off your dinner by talking about My New(ish) Expensive Hobby?

(again!)

(I'm not planning to do anything too graphic in the near future, to be honest. Off to another munch tomorrow, though)

I don't think the bobbies involved are the lesser spotted kind. ;-)

(Visions of Primal Scream dance in my head...)

So where is the alternate universe of Rog where women get to dominate dirty dronerock boys in leather pants and tie them up and make them do the dishes and serve? I think I'd like that place better. (Also, so would FP, I suspect.)

The Gor stuff has been in every paper, hasn't it? To be honest I think Gor fantasists usually come across as a bit silly.

xpost: oh, definitely Kate :-)

PAINT MY TOENAILS, DDB!!! ::cracks whip:: NOW LICK MY BATHTUB CLEAN AND DRY IT WITH YOUR HAIR - NO GREASE STREAKS!!!!

I think I could really get into this.

xpost: bah.

Ah, here we are.

Besides...

With almost everything you see for sale (with a possible exception of the personnel)

What is the point, I ask you? What is the point?

Do you remember when I was down in London last July on a training course? I had to walk down Endell St every day and didn't realise it was there - the following month I heard about it for the first time and was bloody kicking myself.

As in the lights that make pretty psychedelic colours (saw these in Hoxton the other day, need to go back and get one!) or is this something kinky I don't know about?

Oh, I'm sure I could come up with S&M uses for coffee - you know, like forcing a lad to hold a filter between his thighs as you poured the hot water through it so that the steam lashed his bits.

I've been reading the Routemaster book. It's lovely. It makes me really miss the old 159s. :-(

I may manage along to the pub later to buy you a farewell drink, even though I've never worked with you.

Touring/playing out of town gigs without a record out: brilliant display of self reliance, or foolish waste of money and effort?

Answers on a postcard, please.

Damn, what is UP with ILX being so slow today? Is there increased mod activity, or is someone searching to high heaven?

"Invest like Tony Soprano" has been the most noteworthy result so far.

(Also, Catty was saying last night that I should date disgustingly younger boys. Maybe AMP has the right idea after all...)

That's more like it!

Sorry to disappoint, Gerry, I was posting from home on my way back to work. You missed horrific amounts of drunken debauchery due to £4.89 bottle of wine silliness and everyone accidentally forgetting to eat.

Went round AMP's house and I taught her Reason and we made a big racket and then her sister and some other friends came round and we ate curry and talked gobshite about post-moderism and how computing has transformed conversation. It was very... very.

Then yesterday I slept and slept and slept some more. And then when I woke up, I did a big recording session with my new V-wah and oh, it's so yummy and everything sounds so great. Finally demoed both my JAMC rip-off song (the first 10 seconds are utterly note-perfect Psycho Candy) and Sticky And Brown which has become just the best song ever, if I may say so myself.

How is everyone else? What were you non-stopping at, FP?

I'm going to be good today and try to keep ILXing to a minimum and catch up on some work.

I drunk a lot on Friday, and was hung over a lot on Saturday. On Sunday we went and looked at new kitchens and got teh fear over the prices. My washing machine has died and my fridge seems to be pining and can't be far behind :-(

Got home just in time to watch Doctor Who. Just as it finished, a message came through on the computer: "going out tonight?" I wasn't planning to, but the person I was talking to was persuasive. She phoned up the club to get me put on the guest list, and I had a very good time.

So, I got in at 3.30am, and then had to get up at 7 to clean the house (parents due back off holiday), before someone picked me up at 8.30 to take me to Birmingham to the day, to go to this place (NSFW). Which was all very interesting and a nice day out!

Fixed :)

I was off Friday with the lurgy, but it cleared up enough on Saturday for me to be cautiously enthusiastic about biking, so I foolishly cycled to Harlesden and back (back = via Stamford Street) for two birthdays. Slightly hair-raising after my front brake broke, but mostly good fun (Transport For London is addicted to the canal, which does run 80% of the way from here to there, but is also closed/illegal for crucial sections). Sunday was mostly spent sitting down being more unwell, and today I'm back to (75% of) top form. The ride in today was interesting for "I know that I go downhill this street and uphill the street after, so if I go over here I should be able to go flat and not kill myself with the no brakes and the wet and the trucks going BROOOOM" fun.

Though I just found out that the people who said "No, don't worry, we're taping Eurovision and if we're up for watching it tomorrow we'll definitely let you know" did no such fucking thing :(

usual nothingness of a weekend here. had some ebay good fortune (two 12" singles i was bidding for ended up uncontested) and watched 49th Parallel (bit heavy handed with the propaganda here and there) but otherwise...

I'm hungry and want my curry now without having to wait. Grrrrrr.

I'm going to go and get myself some temp work. Or go to the pub.

I'm disappointed because although I put twice as much greens (both Kale and Spinach) in my curry, there's still not noticably any more green stuff.

xpost

Imagine how I feel after almost two years!

And nothing is balancing, and I can't figure out why. :-(

http://whomix.trilete.net/?wmid=subreadremixreviews&remixid=135

"Lots of reverb and slow = Low/Codeine/Galaxie 500 kind of version of the tune. Couldn't get a suitable drum sound on my cheapo drumbot though. By the way the guitar is supposed to sound wobbly. I'm quite pleased with the Tardisy noises. Again it's not a very faithful rendition and very quickly done."

http://whomix.trilete.net/?wmid=subreadremixreviews&remixid=18

"This is my 'Delia D's Cha-Cha-Cha mix' - a very camp and irreverent reworking of Delia Derbyshire's original, inspired by the Latin Version on the 'Dr Who - Variations on a Theme' album, which conjured up the atmosphere of cheesy old ballrooms. Me and two of my friends set about each producing a one-minute remix of the theme in a 'Come Dancing' style. One did a polka, the other did a great rhumba and I did the cha-cha-cha. It is one minute of pure chintz. Hope it makes you laugh."

see also "Jesus Built My Tardis"

Hey, I'm 4300 miles away and out of sync. Can I still play?

I didn't sleep much last night, because I was woken in the middle of the night by HORRIBLE LEG CRAMPS. I felt like I'd run ten miles or something - but only in my right leg. Took me a minute to figure out that it was all the wah-wah playing at the weekend. Bah.

Rehearsal last night was good, so I'm in a good mood. New songs uploaded to our MySpace, heh heh, a dollar for anyone who can name every single lyrical reference in there. (There are five deliberate ones that I can think of apart from the obvious Mary Chain riff.)

(obvious Mary Chain one on now, which sounds more like Johnny Boy)

(Unless you mean the one of me and my sisX0r on the bus in the MP3 player, in which case, thanks!)

x-post ha ha ha ha ha, one down, about 4 more to go...

"Not afraid" - you've been listening to Spiritualized, haven't you?

When are you coming out to play in Glasgow then?

I'm staying in a days inn which is far from the worst place I've stayed but it is one of the noisiest, its a motel type place where everyone parks outside the room which meand people drive up at all hours, slam their car doors and blip their alarms which, my car included seems to involve a honk of a horn. It doesn't have a restaurant either, only a denny's franchise on the same lot. I'm writing the travel policy at the moment and I think I need to put in a bit about having city centre hotels or at least an atrium.

I've woken up early with a headache, but that seems to be root canal related rather than anything else.

But hey, I amused myself last night by buying my new mac book pro and find a whole foods to get some organic grapefruit juice and sierra nevadas.

'paint the whole world blue' is so familiar (piss, just googled it. that sound you hear is me kicking myself).

'rip it up and start again' is orange juice

(I just hope that I don't have to pay royalties on all these references... But they're not samples so they can't sue me.)

last time i was in denny's i had belgian waffle with strawberries and was offered BACON to go with it. madness.

I haven't heard that "Wish I Was A Punk Rocker" song but something about it just makes me... urrggghhh. I wish I was a Dronerocker with dirt in my hair.

actually doesn't use too many, it's just the ones she uses are so obvious and jarring:

"And when God Save the Queen she turned a whiter shade of pale".

no contest.

And just... WRONG in so many senses, as well:

When music really mattered and radio was king,
When accountants didn’t have control
And the media couldn’t buy your soul

I mean, what the fuck did she think that punk was a reaction *to*?

Idiot.

Sigh. I'm having to do a crash course in music publishing again. Argh!

the other half version wasn't released itself until 1982 according to, cough, grateful dead website. http://www.deaddisc.com/ot/Mr_Pharmacist.htm
not sure i've heard this.

(I wasn't aware there was a connection to the Dead or I wouldn't have dropped the ref, argh, oh well.)

((And the nuggets comp is also a giveaway to the last of the uncaught lyrical refs.))

just had pictures of new office. which seems to be largely windows. when i pointed out it'll be hot in summer and cold in winter i was told it was ok because we have central heating and air conditioning and that i'll just have to put up with it or i may as well just go and "live in a hole". which depressed me. (building should be better insulated, better desinged and not have to resort to using as much energy to making it habitable. do they not watch the news?). pah.

I now have an IRSC code. Which makes me a proper copyright holder! Hurrah! I feel all, like, official and stuffs.

apparently the new office has efficient heat exchangers in it to handle temperatures. "Do not fear -- the units being fitted are fully specced to the building size and number of people." I wonder whether they factored in the servers and all these pcs?

They got environmental health in to measure the noise levels, too. I'm surprised it passed.

I'd go back in five minutes and if she's stll there try to get her to talk more, find out what's wrong.

I never find them diverting for long... except for bloody Solitaire, which is the biggest time eater in the world.

I did some quick rewiring of our network cupboard at 8am because I knew nobody would be doing anything. My boss gets in at 8.45: "what was wrong with the network this morning?" Bah.

I'm feeling kinda dazed today. But I'm pretty amused because I was reading whackadoo Charles Fort books on the train.

Trying to make up my mind whether to go to the shoegazer club tonight.

mmm, chocolate for breakfast.

However, I no longer have a laptop so I have to deal with the noise around here.

Can you use headphones to screen them out?

FP - link? (OK maybe not...)

hmmm - this should be unclear enough to be unfindable:

www dot
th3m0rgans dot [e and o not 3 and 0]
karoo dot net
slash blog dot htm

Blimey that's... detailed. And blue. I do feel a bit intrusive looking at it though

Monday 1st May 2006

It was a really busy day at work today, and it looks as though I am going to have to return to finish off some stuff, otherwise it will just pile up for tomorrow.

Tell me more!

Funnily enough, whenever I've been there at the same time as him, he's been sitting around arsing about with his girlfriend.

(mind you, I've just noticed, that was the Bank Holiday, and this is a shop we're talking about. You have to expect it to be busy then.)

I did hold a meeting with a person installing our new MIS system over the phone though, so I'm not just laying in bed. Although I'm about to do that now…

One line got me knitting my brow, though:

Monday 24th April 2006

We have a new starter at work today called Shane. He's a nice guy and I'm looking forward to getting cracking.

Cracking what? Is this some slang term for some strange sex thing FP is probably into?

(am I getting a reputation round here or something?)

I mean, I haven't looked at the blog, but I do kind of wonder about that sort of thing. Is it weird or pervy to read the blog of a random person you don't know? (if it's not something about an interest that you share) Or is that the whole point of blogging?

There's a sort of circle of IRL friends I'm part of, who all blog, and we all read and comment on each other's blogs. And then this woman started commenting on one person's blog, and so we started reading her blog, and we were all commenting back and forth and having a nice little community of chat.

But I just asked at a party "Hey, dude, where do you know X from, she's really cool?" and it turns out that none of us know her IRL, we all just assumed that she was a mate of one of the others. But that's kind of cool because she is a very interesting and intelligent person. It's just weird that she's not from our IRL circle, or an ILX0r, but just kind of stumbled in. Still, that's the magic of blogging.

But when it's not specific subjects, and just a rambly "this is what I did today" dear diary type blog, it just seems a bit weird and intrusive.

I'm not *complaining* ;-)

I've always read the blogs of people I don't actually know, so I guess that's why I don't find it so strange. In fact, it feels *more* intrusive when it's a real-life acquaintance.

But then again, rants about banks, sure, that's what this thread is about, rants about stuff that doesn't matter. Go right ahead.

Though, still. Banks are cnuts.

I'm feeling very lazy right now, and not sure I'm going to make it to the shoegazer club after all. Especially since I have no one to go with. :-(

Maybe I should just retired from performing, and photo shoots and anything where anyone has to have my hideousness inflicted upon them ever again. :-(

Regardless of whether it's a misunderstanding or not I think it would be better to wait until you can discuss it face-to-face with her, as she asked you to do. A lot of nuance gets lost in hastily written words.

It also doesn't come across as "random thoughts about band image" when you start naming names.

(xpost - Kate, stop that talk. you know you don't mean it)

My bad.

I think one band member dressing differently from all the rest could work, though I can't think of good examples.

Anyway, whatever. I'm just pissed off about this, and I know I'm taking everything out of proportion today because I'm PMS-ing. I'm just sick of feeling like my opinions aren't respected in this band, and feeling like I'm not allowed to have a say in how we present ourselves. And maybe that's why I take it to the blog.

From now on, I just won't be in photo shoots, and they can wear what the fuck they like and I can wear what the fuck I like and no one can complain about either. In fact, I'm so fugly I just won't go onstage, I'll be behind the curtains, just writing the songs and playing the music and never showing my ugly, unmatching mug ever again.

http://www.peripheralanomaly.co.uk/Photos/Photobands/SecretMachines190106/photos/MancAcad190106_Secret_Machines_056.JPG

now that's better.

You all threw out ideas. The majority ones won out. You can't then go stamping your feet saying "but that's not what *I* want". Your opinions will be as respected as everyone else's, I'm sure, but sometimes the majority vote is going to win.

Just wear what you sodding well like, your band will still sound the same and people who don't like you because you don't have red shoes and jangly bracelets are BIG STUPID POXY FULES.

(also you do the musicky stuff on your own, right, while the rest of them "just" sing? You can be the Chris Lowe to their collective Neil Tennant or summat)

http://www.peripheralanomaly.co.uk/Photos/Photobands/SecretMachines190106/photos/MancAcad190106_Secret_Machines_057.JPG

Anyway, I like you, I like your band. Sorry for, you know, stating my opinion on how it reads after you'd asked for opinions on what it reads like.

(xpost)

http://www.peripheralanomaly.co.uk/Photos/Photobands/SecretMachines190106/photos/MancAcad190106_Secret_Machines_144.JPG

Ailsa, I wasn't criticising you for stating your opinion. I guess maybe is the problem is that what I *feel* is actually a lot more personal than what I wrote. And in trying to de-personalise it, even though I was trying to make it more absract and philosophical, I might have made it look worse. But I'm not going to say the really personal stuff on the interweb.

I am not going to the pictures because he's going to see The X-Men and that's so much not my thing you wouldn't believe.

(do you want my "I'm unemployed, oh woe is me" afternoon drinking and boredom traumas on this thread, or should I start a "UK no Watercoolers because we don't have a JOB" thread?)

I'm just looking at cute photos of Secret Machines' birthday parties. Wow, those Curtis brothers sure have pointy noses.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2363/1091/1600/Chicago-5-12-2006-123.jpg

OK, tantrum over. I feel a lot better and more calm now. Apologies for the spat. Normal service to resume now.

I shall have a think, and maybe get back to you.

Actually, there was some article in the Metro the other day about how more and more women are becoming addicted to gambling thanks to online gaming.

I'm feeling kinda too cranky to go to the shoegazer club now, which is probably a shame. I've been really rubbish about this sort of thing lately. But then again, if I'm really PMSing and cranky, I will just get pissed off at everyone anyway.

But... but... I should make the effort to go out more and meet pointy nosed shoegazer boys people.

my java object still not serializable despite having exactly 0 members. must be something else. that's it, my total achievement for today was commenting out all the code i wrote yesterday. and changing my ilx login name.

went down the river at lunchtime though, discovering it's not as far as i thought (about 3 blocks away, less than 10 minutes). grey heron stood on the wall and two cormorants by the jetty thing.

off home to eat curry.

Gambling is great (at, like £1 a time). The other day I was meeting Madchen in the pub and I got there early and she *knew* I would be on the quiz machine.

One of the tv engineers just came and put them all back. Dust is everywhere and at the rate we're going I could be here beyond memorial day.

How terrible.

?????

Oh and yeah to the Chevy truck but make sure there's bear/cattle bars on it. Whatever they're called, those chrome spoilers for the rich.

I spent ages yesterday trying to find trainers but couldn't see any I liked :( I shouldn't shop in Covent Garden, it's depressing.

This trip has been a tour of chain restaurants here: ihop, bennigans, red lobster, chipolte, etc. An experience, I'm looking forward to getting back to quinoa and sweet potato superfood salads.

Beanz, I was shopping in Covent Garden last night, too. But I did not see you. I couldn't find anything to buy, either.

I went to the shoegazer club by myself in the end. Sat down by myself and in 30 seconds flat I was surrounded by Norwegian dirty dronerock boys. That was a bit... odd.

Fucking phenomenal DJ-ing from Will Carruthers. Wow. We kept smiling at each other, but I didn't have the guts to talk to him. I am such a dork. The High Dials were cute but kind of polite until they got the Sitar out, and then they were MIGHTY WIBBLE, oh yes. Then freaking Serena Maneesh took AN HOUR AND A HALF to go on. Like, WTF? I have no idea what the hold up was, they were all just standing around the stage chatting to their mates until the audience actually started to get quite aggressive.

And when they finally went on, they sounded RUBBISH. Awful fucking mix, just terrible, couldn't hear a thing and they're prancing about like idiots - I was so annoyed I was going to just leave, but on the way out, I ran into a whole gang of my friends, so I ended up staying, and I'm glad I did, because the sound was marginally better at the back, and they stopped mucking about and turned into My Bloody Valentine.

Still didn't have the guts to talk to Will, even though he was hanging chatting on the edge of our gang, but what was I going to say to him? "YOU ARE A GOD AMOUNG DIRTY DRONEROCK BASSISTS!!!" I should have told him how good his DJ set was, but I was too shy. Sigh.

I am missing teknival this weekend, james is doing a 3 way 25kw link up. He did a party near carcassone last weekend (and didn't tell me).

http://thesecretmachines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/12%7E1.jpg

Also, would it be pathetic to get a tattoo of this:

http://www.p-vine.com/images/db/PCD23236.jpg

I think it's somehow unlikely that after 20 years or whatever, I'm going to stop loving them any time soon.

My teenage band did Spacemen 3 covers and we even shamelessly ripped off their logo. Imagine the above, but with a coathanger in place of the triangle and eye (is it an eye?)...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/biondino/3.gif

Ha ha, Mark,that's hillarious. I'm not sure if it's an eye or a third eye or radio waves or the WUBWUBWUB but pyramid meets the eye sounds about right.

Happy Friday indeed, Mitya. I can barely keep mine eyes open.

Errr... more on the skinny legs/plump ass front. Oh my:

http://www.glidemagazine.com/images/img.php?m=480&t=gallery&i=image7691.jpg

He's like the Julian Casablancas whose music I can actually listen to!

*mouth open, no words coming out*

You are fucking JOKING??? Awwww no :(

Oh, Mark - did you not know about that? Shit, yeah, it was part of the Camden Crawl or something. My mate went, and said he was bouncing for days afterwards, it was so good.

saw them play at the too pure christmas party one year. stunning. always meant to go see them again but they split up weeks later. 12 years on and i miss them again...

oh, well. fixed my serializable object problem (had two things of the same name and same package in different jars and it was picking up the wrong one. remedial mistake really but, y'know, a compiler warning would've been nice. java, pah)

two night's worth of curry left to eat...

long weekend, always dull...

til tuesday then...

Also I found out I got the flat in Hackney I was looking at last week!

Also I was skint before my first proper paycheck, but I was at home so it didn't matter.

Hi everyone.

I'm feeling a bit... blah today. Didn't really enjoy the long weekend much, didn't get either as much done, or as much rest as I wanted.

Went to a party on Saturday night, and missed the last train so I got stuck there. Crashed out on the hostess's bed, but it was like my idea of hell, trying to sleep with a fucking party going on next door. Ugh ugh ugh, note to self: WATCH OUT FOR LAST TRAINS AND DO NOT GET STUCK OUT IN THE BACK END OF BEYOND AGAIN.

Was woken at 6am by some random bloke trying to get into bed with us, and I just freaked out and went and waited for the first train. Ugh. I've waited for a lot of last trains, but never a first train.

The next day was a total wash-out, not so much the hangover but the lack of sleep, and I got my period, so I just lay around the house being miserable. Pretty much did the same thing again on Monday, though I also made a curry.

Didn't finish the painting, didn't do any of Luxembourgh's album artwork, didn't finish Noyfriend (even though I have found the funniest sample to start it) - just lay around writing. I'm worried about the amount of writing I've been doing. I like to pretend it's psychological therapy or something, but maybe it's just reality avoidance. I'm not doing a very good job of interacting with real people at the moment, only the imaginary ones. :-(

Lovely weekend for me too - hanging around at My New Favourite Club on Saturday night, then dinner with the family of one of my best friends on Sunday. Yesterday I went out to the kinkiest shop in town - B&Q - to price up parts for building myself some stuff.* Conclusion: B&Q is bloody expensive.

Sunday morning was nice actually - driving home through the twilight. I didn't leave the club until an hour after the official closing time, because they didn't seem particularly bothered about shifting anyone, but it was still completely dark. By the time I got home, 90mins later, it was completely light, although still before sunrise.

(* if I make my own kit, it's made-to-measure for me. That's the plan, anyway. Plus, it's good fun.)

FP that sounds like quite an investment.

I love first trains. It feels civilised even though you're hung over.

I like first trains better than last trains. People are more polite when they're hungover rather than still drunk. Also, there was the hottest boy in the world on the Northern Line, who got off at my stop, but went to wait for a different Southern train.

I was more just pissed off by the party thing. Like, one of the two chicks who lives there has really not got her head around the idea of home ownership yet. After the last party, they had several noise complaints, and both the Environmental Health people came and then the Residents Association came round. So before the party, they were all "no, no, it's just a quiet dinner party!" but of course everyone gets drunk and that goes out the window. But yeah, *I'm* the bitch for turning the stereo down, even though I'm just trying to save their asses from the Residents Association. :-(

I'm not looking forward to touring now, let me tell you. I'm too old for this partying shit.

didn't speak to another living soul all weekend (ok, two faraway telephonic souls, one more than usual, but nobody in the flesh except shopkeepers).watched tv, wrote some code. which reminds me...

I'm not building anything expensive - only a set of spreader bars.

This might amuse Ed if noone else: I worked out that, for my size, the ideal length for the longest one would be more or less 4ft 8.5in

I like watching the sunrise. But I like it to be a quiet, moving experience, not having POP THE GLOCK THE GLOCK WE POP blasting in my ears at full volume. Bah.

I am turning into a cranky old woman.

They're called sleepers over here btw :-P Although the ones at points aren't sleepers - they're called timbers instead, they're usually still wooden, and they're slightly wider than sleepers, to allow for them not being at right angles to the rail.

back down to earth today, got red reminder fron IR, so I'm filling in the quarterly tax return, ugh.

I'm so stupid I've been trying to work out how to sample in Cubase. I wanted just a 5-second snatch from a 12-minute track and didn't have enough memory to load the whole thing, so I had to do some careful editing. And then found out there was an easier way to do it after all... argh.

I piss myself laughing whenever I hear it, though, so I think it's effective.

Have I said, btw, I'm probably coming down to London the last week in June.

Bit sad to be clockwatching already since I have only just come back after four days off, but I'm feeling pathetic and sickly today.

Having worked out my contributions due, I went to the link provided on the IR's own paperwork to pay:

Sorry but the page you are trying to reach cannot be found.

This has possibly been caused by a number of pages being deleted or moved as part of the migration to the new HM Revenue & Customs website or the page address has been typed incorrectly.

I guess I'll go down to the post office, and pay it in cash over the counter. Going self employed as of tax year '06-'07, so I won't have to faff around with this anymore, thank goodness.

I managed to upload some stuff to Flickr, the new hotel has wifi, albeit flakey wifi.

Argh, I always forget how much Other Boards can suck. Bunch of stupid boys complaining about the place "being flooded with fangirls" because of my posts. Fuck right off, kiddieboy.

And here was me feeling all down about it and not really wanting to do it because we can't find a freaking driver. GODDAMNIT, WHY CAN'T ANYONE DRIVE?!?!?

Last night I dreamed I got a drivers' license, with the express purpose of driving to Truck. But then Dirty Dronerock Benjamin gave me a VW bug. Which was quite nice.

Oh god, I am so happy, someone gave me a link to an intrview with Dirty Dronerock Benjamin where he's all talking about his pedals and NASA and maths and starts talking about his songs as We kind of think of these first songs like your thesis. You kind of put it out there, and then the rest of the record you spend your time proving it.

I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM TALK ABOUT MATHS SOME MORE, YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALL GOOEY!!!

Ailsa, we might take you up on that - though for your sake, I hope you get a job before then or you'll go mad of boredom - we are staying overnight so that the driver will get to enjoy themselves with the pink wine, as well.

Its not that I don't think that Kid's bein encouraged to learn science is a good thing, its just the really mawkish way that kids are encouraged to do so at every turn. Still it was really cool. The shuttle landing ruway is so long and so flat that if you stand at the mid point what you think is a gentle slope towards the end is actually the curvature of the earth. Even the 3D IMAX movie about the moon, narrated by Tom Hanks, was pretty cool.

Well, it's kind of on topic... Yeah, I would imagine that the US could ruin even space exploration by making it all mawkish and awful.

But wow... the runway sounds incredible. I suppose it's got to be that big to see it from space. ;-)

I've only been to the control centre in Houston, but that was cool enough. We got to watch from the observation gallery while they brought a shuttle in. So awesome.

I've often wondered about whether I'd take the capsule if I were lost in space. The idea of floating off out there is appealing in a kind of ultimate-death way. Is that fucked up? Would it get boring? I'd rather turn off the oxygen than take poison anyway.

Depends on how long your oxygen supply would last. I don't think I would take the pill, either.

(But I would take a slug of tequila, which is what he was actually talking about, swooooon...)

Isn't that one of the biggest manmade structures this side of the Pyramids? I've heard it has its own weather systems in it.

The graphics are a bit off-putting, I must admit. There are so many boutique FX pedals, I can't keep up with it all.

Supersonic Fuzz Gun sounds good. OK, these look at lot cooler than those stupid ones with the naked girls on that they were discussing on ILM.

nope, no idea. have never talked to them, only saw them that once. knew horst (of the website) from the indiepop list (and have met two of the others on that list at other times incidently, once in pam's bathroom, once before B&S in shepherd's bush, also indiepop-l@eskimo.com people)

didn't one of them become quickspace? tom? looking at quickspace discog i am missing the last 7 years of their output...

FoxRox Through-zero flanger:

http://www.foxroxelectronics.com/TZF1.html

Red Witch "Moon Phaser"

http://www.redwitchanalogpedals.com/deluxemoonphaser.html

Analog Man "Clone Chorus" (EH small clone copy w/true bypass & effect depth knob instead of switch)

http://www.analogman.com/clone.htm

Analog Man "CompROSSor" (sounds like it would sound great w/my 12-string, also my "milk box" comp pedal is fucked)

http://www.analogman.com/rossmod.htm

That zero-through flanger sounds amazing, though.

Mr. Knight (yeah, I didn't know he was gonna be at the party, and I'm slightly annoyed at AMP for not telling me until he got there, but that's a whole nother story) was telling me that the reason my Memory Man is so noisy is it needs a True Bypass adjustment but I'm not enough of a geek to customise mine own pedals.

http://images.filmmagic.com/images/tnm/8677040.jpg

God, he's pretty. Lookit his arms.

He was waiiting for you to speed (it's the end of the month hence quotas) so he could pull you over and call you a queer or a hippy. You know it.

Just found a cache of serious underage (and seriously ginger, wow*) pics of Dirty Dronerock Benjamin. I feel dirty just looking at them. He looked kinda like the cute one out of Busted, or maybe all teenage boys look alike. Zoinks.

*I'm actually wondering now if he's one of those blokes that dyes his hair to make himself look *less* ginger...

Well set your language to English (UK), then!

Hang on a second, wait, no, down libido, he's, like 27, now. Never mind. Safe.

Goodnight

I'm off to Hull this afternoon. O, lucky me.

One of the assistants phoned up earlier just to say "remember to bring your body armour and cattle prod!"

(xpost)

By which I mean Madchen did the drive, and I sat next to her except for a bit between somewhere and somewhere else, and it was no hassle at all :-)

xpost

My colleagues of course, thought it was hillarious, and said it was "just like that bit in Notting Hill". Except with my mum, not Hugh Grant. Hrrrmmmm.

Should I get a haircut or a harmonic generator?

I've never had a haircut I didn't regret, and never bought a pedal I did. But I think I need the former more than the latter.

POG or HOG... ooh, the possibilities are endless.

harmonic generator, haircuts are for loosers.

Even DDBen gets haircuts for photos shoots. Oh, I need a stylist. And a pedal tech.

She got big yellow eyes lighting up like Xmas
Turning tricks baby
Electric Mistress

A Harmonic Generator Intermodulator

Except Datsuns DDBs are STOOOPID cause ANY FULE KNOW that Electric Mistress is a FLANGER and a Harmonic Generator is called a POG or HOG.

Grrrr, sexist creep annoying me, so I'm just going to look at the pretty, pointy nosed ginger boy, ooooooh, lovely.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/collective/dnaimages/040213/secretmachines3.jpg

First he goes off on the tack that it's a joke, then he goes off on the tack that his comments aren't even sexist in the first place.

I can't be bothered to argue with this cretin, but still.

Oh, band funs.

Had a good morning once that was over. Went to an electronics surplus shop, called skycraft, which does loads of ex nasa stuff. Banks and banks of oscillators, signal generators, spacerock harvesters, mysterious rack gear. I wish it was down the road. Also I found a place called Bubbalou's Bodacious Bar-B-Cue to eat lunch, in Pulled pork, collard greens and cornbread.

Funny funny email from my mum this morning when I asked what I should do with the collected works of Henry James:

sweetheart you coudl improve your litersacy by reading them. Can you find out what it will caost to returne them to me? If not too expensive i woudl like thme. Love ya MUM

Lecturing me on my "litersacy" she's indecipherable without a spellchecker... tee hee hee.

I mean, is snooping on your colleagues actually part of your job?

Well, yes, really. Not *all* of them, but I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on the ones who are tenants rather than colleagues, to make sure they're not doing anything dodgy.

But she doesn't seem to be talking to me after a spat on my blog, so who knows. This is the stupid crap that ends up destroying bands, but I can't seem to stop myself doing it.

Maybe all I want to do is fight with everyone at the moment, and I should confine it to verbally beating up stupid sexist NOIZE DUDES on the TSM board instead.

http://www.peripheralanomaly.co.uk/Photos/Photobands/SecretMachines190106/photos/MancAcad190106_Secret_Machines_001.JPG

YOU HAVE TO BUY ONE!!!1 Screw a haircut, heh.

x-post OHMIGOD, THAT WAS AN AWESOME PEDALS YOU LENT ME!!! But no, it's the POG that Benjamin uses.

http://www.guitarexperience.co.uk/html/images/emporium/products/thumbnails/29.jpg

that shop in denmark st that has all the ridiculously expensive vintaj guitars had crowther pedals in stock last year HEED THE DEVIL SITTING ON YR LEFT SHOULDER.

I have to buy an external hard drive to back up my Mac this month, anyway.

Hey, G-Kit! How was your holiday? Where'd you go?

x-post hello TISSP! Where you been? Currently working on a rework of Noyfriend with better guitars, but yeah, it'll have to be remixed.

I went on holiday, too.

I would be up for your NOIZE remix, assuming you have forever and a day to wait, which seems to be the current time it takes me to remix anything.

Well, now we've moved on to an email row, which I suppose is better. Might be healthy to clear the air.

TISSP, I seem to be taking forever and a day to finish anything at the moment. So that's about on schedule.

http://www.roderickangle.com/images/bands/TheSecretMachines.jpg

Don't they look like they should be recording tracks with names like "The Purple Bubblegum Connundrum"? I think they should do a side project, like XTC did with the Dukes of Stratosph34r.

Kate, reading something posted on a public message board does not constitute eavesdropping. Please don't split up until I've been to see you!

I have applied for five jobs today! Go me! I want one where I don't have to do anything and I can drink coffee and read teh internets and email my pals and get paid for it. I like not working, but it doesn't pay very well.

Pfunk, it's the guitarist from Secret Machines. My new musical crush, and the master of more pedals than I can get my head around. Also exceptionally cute and ginger and pointy-nosed.

Ah, Benjamin, Benjamin, keep me sane in WORK HELL.

Not really interesting for you as i can't give any trainspottery details about it but it did impress me.
I wish my Residual Echoes album i ordered last week would arrive. Its only coming from bristol yet an ebay purchase from a day after came from the states. I think they use lots of pedals. Do you know of them Kate? Kinda weird spacerock stuff.

No, don't know RE, I am so out of touch. G!YBE (sorry, did they move the exclamation point about again?) just are all about too much of a muchness, too many guitarists, too many pedals, so it doesn't surprise me.

Anyway, I'm peturbed because Julian has lost loads of weight and now I don't find him attractive any more:

http://www.thestrokesfan.com/pictures/albums/Miscellaneous/Appearances/RollingStoneCelebrates1000thIssue/normal_57536806_10.jpg

...then again, actually that's kind of a relief as I HATE HATE HATE his band. Phew.

Dammit, back to my end of month statements. How can this bloke have activity if he's been off sick for a year and a half?

I think one of my mates has secret machines stuff. I can get it off him. He is a pink floyd fan.

Neu! rock!

The rest of it is all... "I.... (I... I...) I had a friend (friend... friend... you gotta just imagine the echo chamber on this) he went... INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!" which gets kind of old kinda quick.

Also, didn't mean to post like I don't like GY!BE, I like them because they are so much of a muchness. I mean, I'd never imply that I don't like wibbling dronerock canuck hippies, after all I'm mates with Mr. Noodles, right? :-)

All bought pre internet when i couldnt find any new music i liked and krautrock was hell to find apart from Can reissues, neu! cd bootlegs and Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Amon Duul II cds.

But no way was my mate gonna convince me to buy Gentle Giant, Yes, ELP (URGH), jethro Tull etc. So he bought them (the ones he didnt have that his big bro took with him when he moved)
He tried to get me into pink floyd but it just didnt connect with me. The Wall sucks!

I hope we haven't scared the others off with this talk of prog, spacerock and drone rock!

I have a massive soft spot for Yes because my dad used to listen to them. Aw, and even ELP have their moments, mainly the one where Keith Emerson pulls his gigantor synthesisor over on top of him after stabbing it repeatedly with knives...

Now stop, because you're getting me excited and I've got reports to run.

Give TSM a try. Most people tend to like Now Here Is Nowhere, it's a bit more accessible. God, I sound like I'm street teaming, but I'm just in love with them at the moment.

However, I have to warn you, Kerr, you do have to put up with me going all fangirly over things like this:

http://www.kingkoncert.com/Portals/7ecbf8d1-c7e0-4596-974c-cd348ddfe15f/Emerson.jpg

And this:

http://www.thehighwaystar.com/reviews/us98/elpmoog.jpg

OMIGOD, THE KILLER WALL OF MOOG, LET'S SEE MR. BRANDON CURTIS DO SOME OF THAT, OH YEAH!!!

Oh my.

When all else fails, spam the thread with Moog porn. That gets us excited.

http://www.tubevision.com/LEGO_666_SUNN_02.JPG

http://www.tubevision.com/LEGO_SUNN_03.JPG

Now You gonna make a Spacemen 3 Lego set?

Don't be silly, we don't make Spacemen 3 Lego, we make Spacemen 3 Speak'N'Spells. ;-)

What is it with bands and action figures? It's something that only, you know, boybands and stuff are supposed to do. But then I go to Forbidden Planet and see, like Joey Ramone action figures.

I mean, Kiss, sure. They were designed for action men. But My Chemical Romance? Eh?

Action figures of Keith Emerson stabbing his synths with knives?

But yes. Of course I'd buy them. I mean, I even bought the "Barbie My Scene" doll of the dirty dronerock bassist.

Actually, that gives me a terrible idea... where was that thread where we posted them all? There was a sort of "ethnic" Hispanic looking one, too, wasn't there? I'm going to get them, colour one's hair red and make TSM Action Men. Oh yes.

I wd pay money for Gryphon action figures w/changeable hands holding different medieval instruments "Richard Harvey action figure can play portative organ, krumhorn or recorder" etc. Or maybe one of Peter Hammill, sitting at a writing desk in a pose of Byronic despair.

VV frustrating day @ work. Why can't wholesalers actually have stuff in stock, like ever?

Dammit, why can't I find that MyScene thing now?

http://www.manbehindthedoll.com/images/riverowtghs.jpg

What a shit day.

I don't know if I should let my boss know now, in case she tries to load me up with more stuff for tonight, or ask tomorrow and spend the next hour and a half slacking.

::bounce::

How are you all today? Who's not on holiday?

I got a lie-in this morning because I'm working 9-6 instead of 8-5. Hurrah! It's left me bouncy and cheerful.

On the downside, I've got hayfever for the first time this year.

I've booked a hotel for tomorrow night, so I can spend the weekend zooming about the country and still get some sleep too, which should come in handy when it comes to not causing horrible pile-ups on the M1.

resonated my vag

And people say *I* give too much information out! ;-)

yes, TISSP! I want an ep, too! How do I get one?

Ah, Ailsa, at least you have the time to stay home and wait for the washing machine man. Mine has been broken for SIX MONTHS NOW coz I don't have the time to wait for a repairman. Maybe you could offer a repairman house-sitting service? Where people pay you to go round their houses and let repairmen in. This could be a nice little sideline.

(It is nice to see you happy, Kate)

(xpost)

Woo, Tissp. I'd be careful if I were you - don't send any of the bloody ones to known black witches, otherwise they will be able to CONTROL YOUR SOUL.

(Gah, FP has got me thinking all naughty now, and I read "bagging and tagging" as "teabagging" argh, argh, stop the smut.)

(I still find it funny that you think "munch" sounds rude)

I maintain I have no discernable soul to be controlled.

I'm quite manic today, and it can't all be down to coffee.

I think it's all the bass vibrations really have cleared out my head. I've often noticed that going to experimental gigs and stuff, that sound that overpowering and enveloping can often be really relaxing.

Man, that sucks, Ed, but travel always makes me ill. It's something about the confined air and the jet lag. Eat raw garlic. I know it will make you socially unacceptable, but it works.

Where was that ILM thread where we were talking about why gurlz always play bass?

*bad mood*

There's another Loop fan on TSM board! Wow! It's funny because that board really is half teenage girls going "ah, they're so dreamy" and half droneheads going "arrrrr, Krautrock, let's swap Harmonia bootlegs!" And it's often all the same people.

What drone were you listening to last night then?

I turned my stereo up as loud as I dared with my neighbour complaining - it was actually shaking the floor. Like I said, I had to create a new EQ setting for my iTunes, just for sunno))) which is basically the bass turned all the way up and nothing else.

It just makes anything else you play after it sound like a toy. I've had these conversations with Frances and Mr. Night after experimental gigs and the like - there is something really soothing about envelopping sound on that kind of level, but really only if it's played right. I think it's about the low end, especially throbbing on the low end, it's kind of like the heartbeat of being in your mother's womb or something. I don't like lots of high end noise, that just hurts and gives me a headache, but low end modulation is really, really relaxing.

*This is not actually true, but we both like this story so much it is going in the official version

I was gutted when I found out norm didnt wear a cape and a wizards cap in his shop.

He said a cape would get stained by WD40.
It's time a prog friendly WD40 was invented!

Spinning, Brittlehead Girl, Black Sun, This Is Where You End, Arc-Light (Sonar), Pulse, Thief Of Fire (though that might not be SFW), Shot With A Diamond

Unless it's specifics you're after, and not a general sampler.

I mean, the early stuff is lovely and all, but still, it's quite Spacemen 3 heavily indebted, and also a bit trippy-dippy-hippie (not that there's anything wrong with that, but you know what I mean.) While I like my Loop HEAVY and relentless.

Also, Robert was a hottie, but I was never allowed to say that because Joe would get jealous. Bah.

Hey Norman!

My fave website. I've only ordered from them once before just before xmas to get some small pressies for the above mentioned family.
The Mouth Puckering Acid Drops were
awesome so i think i'll be getting some more for myself.

Click that link and drool at the selection!

I think i'll buy two lots.

http://www.soundheads.co.uk/loopimage11.jpg

PRRRRRRETTY!!!

I want toffees. Those old kinds you used to get in the cornershop with the sugar coating, mmmm. Stick to your teeth.

x-post, HAH. I just want time-travel maps from him, as per the other thread.

Actually, since You Send It is banned, I propose a new method, "Send It, You".

Since hes about 39/40 hes seen loadsa bands i wouldve loved to have seen.
I got into music late @ 18 via Nirvana but didn't go to gigs til i was 22!

Cheers!

im not paying that!

I only pay silly money for colour vinyl!

and
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LOOP-Space-Rock-2-DISCOS-A-GILDED-ETERNETY_W0QQitemZ4887323934QQcategoryZ119564QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thats all i own by loop.
I'd like Heaven's End and the EP's on vinyl but for like £5 each :) not those prices.

These Boris albums every few months takes all my money.

it's just frustrating to me, the amount of stuff of this that I actually own, but have no way of accessing, and just hoping that it's not stored too badly, not to mention hoping my mum hasn't thrown it away...

I just can't seem to get it into her head that records can be worth something - not just as aesthetic objects and loving the music, but also, HEY THIS IS WORTH THIRTY EUROS, WHAT'S THAT - FIFTY BUCKS?!?!? then she might be a bit more careful with them. Sigh.

(OK, we have been having a gigglefest over photos of various Curtises with microphones projecting from their areas, but still.)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/mel_face/1.jpg

dermot also has a radio n show (where n is somewhere in the range 2-6). saturday afternoons if memory hasn't failed.

I have the brazillian cd box set version of that. very rare.
I also have the japanese vinyl issue. Very rare too.
Probably the weakest Boris album and .... well go do a search on ebay and see how much Boris, Sunn o))), Earth , Pelican, Khanate, Isis, Red Sparowes, Old Man Gloom vinyl goes for.
If i dont get that stuff as soon as it goes on sale(for like £10) then i cant afford it as it all ends up on ebay for a FORTUNE that i could never ever afford.
So much stuff sells for $100+ .

Drone stuff is/has been very hip i guess lately and so much of it sells for just silly money after selling out in less than an hour online.

I'm dreading the Southern Lord vinyl of Boris 'pink' coming out incase its while im in bed and i miss out. Theres also 2 more Boris lps coming.
And I just can't say no!

Countdown to pubbage in ten... no, nine minutes. Hurrah!

mines not in a box but it is still annoyingly sized and things tend to fall out of the case when i play it.

> Probably the weakest Boris album

um, we'll have to disagree there. the other samples i've heard (from Pink) i didn't like but that lp, which is bound to be different as it's a soundtrack, was approaching nice whilst still being, er, sonic.

No wonder I didnt win. hardly any were "stoner" haha. That was as good as I could manage.

Got any of those Kate?

I'm sitting here blasting Amon Duul II which is spinning like my head is right now. Argh, I don't want to have to do this. Argh.

But argh, blimey, yeah, it makes me feel old. I'm starting to know how the older music freaks I used to hang out with when I was a teenager felt, because I'm trying to discuss music with the kids on TSM board and I'm all like "Aw, yeah, Loop, they were great - oh, and you gotta get S3's Recurring..." and then realising that these records are older than they are. Eep!

It is weird to contemplate how old some of this stuff is, I think moreso b/c of the prevalence of retro aesthetic/record collection rock in, uh, mainstream indie since then.

Which Amon Duul is it, out of curiosity?

My Residual Echoes lp still didn't arrive.

I've given up following Who, Suzy. Going to wait and get them on DVD.
:-(

What's weird, Pash, is how fresh and weird and far out a lot of this old stuff still sounds. Modern indie rock seems to slavishly reproduce the aesthetic of it, but very few of them reproduce the wildness of it.

Then again, I'd say TSM don't sound that retro, but although they wear their influences on their sleeves, they manage to mix and match enough to make it sound fresh, a different take.

Though the Loop album is one of my favourites, I must admit Sundial's "Other Way Out" is a much, much better take on the same sort of sound.

Dammit, I'm picking through my top 40 of Krautrock. It's Faust's Jennifer now.

Who ripped this song off, which very similar song structure and lyrics "Jennifer... with your orange hair, Jennifer, with your green eyes. Jennifer with your dress of deepest purple... Jennifer, where are you tonight?" Who did that?

Dammit, why is listening to krautrock always about figuring out who ripped off which band. :-)

Ooh, what to listen to now? early Kraftwerk or La Dusseldorf?

What, no Harmonia, Kerr? No Harmonia, No credibility! :-D

x-post. ok 70s german rock too i know.

Can you explain this in non-technical terms, Pash?

"Fade Out", and other great albums from the late '80s are depressing in a way to listen to, It reminds me of the way the whole founding myth of acid house/club music got swallowed hook line & sinker, and worst of all the way indie music just seemed to roll over and surrender both to this, then to grunge. I hate the way so many bands - for me blur and ride are the worst examples - seem to get to the point where they're ready to take off & do some fucking great, out stuff, but then they just flop out into retro parody, or knocking off whatever's hip & easy to play. Obviously this is my version of nioneties UK music, it might not bear any actualy real resemblance to the way things actually were, but that's the way it seemed to me at the time.

I want to listen to "Isn't anything", but it's at home :(

(xpost 1, yeah the 1st telescopes album is great, I'll sort you out w/that next week if you like kerr. It's really intense fuzz/drone. They were incredibly good & intense live)

(x-post 2, I'm crap at explaining it, mitya, but this explains it really well.

That basically CDs today are mastered so high, everything is so compressed to make it sound BIG and BRIGHT on CDs/the radio that it's just giant solid mass of sound, no dynamics. If you look at the soundwave, it's just one big flat thick line, rather than a spikey waveform.

There was a lot more dynamics in the mastering process in the Old Days. So the quiet bits would be more quiet, and the loud bits more distinct -if you wanted the full effect of the volume, turn it up loud and it will still sound great, with a range of frequences. Rather than the over compressed mess that is music today.

x-post

I like Blur and Ride btw.
Bands i never liked, Slowdive, Chapterhouse..

Do you like Swervedriver, Kerr? they were the shoegazer/grunge crossover band.

The problem with that mastering technique is that it kills hard rock stone dead. The worst example I can think of (which I'll probably cop a bit of flak for) is the second Muse album. The band is driving and powerful, but it's all at the same level! All the power and impact has been smoothed out. It's muzak, ugh.

x-post *Points at Norm for saying Muse*

And you've been hitting the 80s hardcore the rest of the weekend, haven't you?

Wow, I cannot believe how long it just took me to get these two bloody data dumps to balance. I think it's time for lunch. If I can tear myself away from La Dusseldorf.

Dammit, I meant to listen to all the new drone stuff, but I've just been enjoying the Krautrock disc too much.

You should listen to the 1st Ash Ra Tempel album this afternoon.
Great album.

and don't forget 'Die Die Die', the extra 12" with the first lp.

AMP just texted me to say that they are playing Noyfriend on the Radio and discussing what a Noyfriend is! Have we coined something? We can actually claim Suzy rights on this if it takes off!

I'm listening to Circulus now, and this is the best thing I've heard in AGES. Hippie-folk-prog-psych omigod, this is so ridiculous I love it. Have I become a walking cliche?

OK, because I was laughing too hard at their photos.

Actually, someone was telling me to get it (Frances?) but I forgot.

I love it! It's just so different to anything else I have. The lyrics are even sillier than Syd Barretts (ie awesome) I can imagine Syd writing the one about the scarecrow.

Chuck on Witchcraft albums after them. Compliments them perfectly.

What is it with these bands, naming themselves after utterly CRAP amplifiers?

Former bassist had an Earth cabinet and we got a permanent marker and some tape and amended it to "Fart" which was it sounded like.

Better than naming bands after pedals?

Sorry, after six straight hours of hardcore maths, my brain is going a bit wonky. Boris is even starting to make sense, even though I know it's in Japanese.

Which one is on?

I mean, that *was* definitely heavy metal. OK, it didn't have comedy vocals, sounded a bit more like Fugazi to me. But still. METAL!!!

Try Absolutego. Thats the fans fave. The masterpiece.
You should like Drone/Evil and Feedbacker too.
Heavy Rocks and Akuma No Uta are the stoner/doom albums.

Have been on the Loop again this morning. :-)

Mutha-FUCKAH (fuckah... fuckah... fuckah....)

I am the thief of revberb...

Bah, feeling glum today. I hate going home after a good weekend - it reminds me just how fucking lonely I can get sometimes.

I fucked up my out-of-office settings and sent an automated reply to every email in my inbox (10,000-ish) and some of those were undeliverable and set up a feedback loop. So I've got 40,000 emails in my inbox, my account has been shut down for being too huge and it's taking a long time to delete them (1 hour 15 mins so far, just to mark them before deleting). In the meantime, I've got a huge amount of real work to do. Today is shaping up to be a real pain in the arse.

I need to revive thw walk thread as well as we only have a few weekends where I can do a walk and I like to do a south oxfordshire or another costal one soon.

Ed where did you swim?

Yes, Ed, I will burn you the Circulus. It's good fun. I think you will like it.

Hurrah, also I got my Plan B this morning with my review of Bellowhead and it wasn't actually cut to shit like I thought it would be.

Man, Beanz, that is harsh about your inbox. Bloody out of office replies!

Aw, FP, Monday comedown. Bah.

I'm just feeling so high on sleep deprivation that i don't even know who I am or where I am any more.

How big/strong is the river there?

Am still working on deleting emails :(

Or are they all so hungover that they're not out of bed yet?

I shall have to look out for that, Neil was interested to see what a Bellowheadreview in an 'indie' magazine would be like.

Yesterday was quiet, I was supposed to be going out to the Comedy Store with a friend who was in town, but the things went wrong, and weird, and ended with me getting home from Fulham Palace Street at 3.00 in the morning. This morning was one of those like in Fight Club where everything in my flat has a transparent label superimposed on it, only in an alien language. "what.. is... oh, it's a toothbrush"

FP, look at it this way, wouldn't you feel worse if you didn't go out?

Argh, you're wordy type people. Help me find a word. I'm looking for that word meaning "converting people to your cause with a religious type fervour". I think it's something like prosthelatise, but I can't seem to find it in any dictionary. What word am I thinking of?

(xpost)

proselytise

Have you played Isis yet? Oceanic and Panopticon are amongst my fave albums ever. You will love "Altered Course" from panopticon.

Last week you saw id been playing 80s hardcore on http://www.last.fm/user/trailofgybe/ the previous week
Well look at my new weekly chart for last week!

Funny... AMPy was writing about this in the current Plan B.

Oh and you can join http://www.last.fm/group/ilXor !!!

Loop were my 3rd most played band last week all because of this thread where everyone spoke about them.

I didnt get an email saying Plan B was out. I usually order it.
I better go check the site.

My lp didnt arrive today so i need to email Invadashop.

Though all of her articles are super good this issue. Not that she's not always good, but her Final Fantasy article actually made me laugh out loud with joy on the train this morning to the point where the cute indie boy with the boots actually looked at me, in an "oh my god, this girl is crazy" sort of way.

Oh, indie boy on the train with the big boots and the lamer indie beard, I love you... Yesterday you looked approvingly at my guitar. Today you looked approvingly at my Plan B. Will you ever look approvingly at *me*?

Emailed invada.

You should sign up for Last FM, Kate.

I did notice that the bleach we use in our loo is "Forest Pine" flavour, though.

(And four quid? Don't think so! Try more like fifteen!)

(I am assuming here that the aim is not to annoy your co-workers, I may be coming at this backwards)

http://big.chez-alice.fr/pierrotom/TSM/DSC00045.JPG

God, he's pretty, but this pictures are way too big to post:

http://big.chez-alice.fr/pierrotom/TSM/DSC00031.JPG

http://big.chez-alice.fr/pierrotom/TSM/DSC00039.JPG

I can see every pore on his gingery freckled arms... swoon!

(x-post, I am not going to the wedding! It isn't happening now!)

http://www.musiclush.com/Images/SecretMachines/SecretMachines7.jpg

Want one.

In bed. Where I will probably just go to sleep and dream of bank recconciliations because I am so tired. But he will still be there when I wake up. Though I may kick him out and make him go and sit in the living room because all that guitar tinkering would keep me awake.

I am too tired to make any sense. Sigh.

Really, I just want sleeeeeeep.

http://thesecretmachines.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/ben05.jpg

Then get some headphones and put on Dopesmoker

I love that album even though i'm a non-smoker!

I can only look at ginger DDBs in a desperate effort to stay awake.

One more league table... sigh.

If it's about putting things in lists then NO NO NO MORE LISTS I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO ONE MORE LEAGUE TABLE OR I AM GOING TO GO MAD.

Quick, look at the ginger DDB. Phew. Calm again.

Though someone on TSM board listened to my complaints of boredom and posted about 150 pictures of them from last year. Hurrah!

Benjamin in A CAPE!!!

http://static.flickr.com/66/160995605_776480dd10.jpg

And they keep trying to say they're not a prog band. You're not going to shake that reputation if you keep wearing capes onstage!

Bwaaaahhhh... what are the glowing bouncing things? Mummy, I'm scared. Are they UFOs or ghosts?

Kept being woken up by the sun this morning. Bloody sun, I have got to do something about the curtain situation.

How is everyone today?

I'm getting my heart totally ripped to pieces discovering that Secret Machines are actually SHORTER than me. OK, Brandon is shorter than me. Still waiting to hear about Benjamin. He may be just taller, which is the perfect height.

I've got Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice songs stuck in my head this morning. Sigh.

So, I was in the office kitchen making a cup of tea, talking to Wee Fiona, one of the people who know, and she brings up the same subject.

"Well, I know X knows," she says.

"Nah, I doubt it," I reply.

"Um, yes, because I told her. I wanted to see if Big Dave was right, you see, so I asked X. So then of course she wanted to know what it was. And she managed to drag it out of me."

I suppose the moral of the story is: don't tell your colleagues ANYTHING, ever, about your personal life. Not that I care, particularly, though. I'm happy to be open about what I do - which is probably a lot less lurid than people think - so long as it doesn't mean people think about me any differnetly.

I want a glowing thing. They look awesome, like the J-pop hedgehogs.

I really don't care what people here think about me anyway, to be honest. Some people would probably think that any interest in anything that isn't 100% vanilla would be a sign of Dangerous Deviance - quick, hide the children from them!!! - but none of them have said anything to me yet.

We had an employee and his partner locked up about a year ago for sexual offences which were later overturned on appeal - her daughter took a picture of them having sex, the Boots photo staff called the police, they were charged with Sex In The Presence Of A Minor. The reaction of most of the staff was "oh my god he's a paedophile! Lock him up and throw away the key!" When I pointed out that yes, he's a tosser, and thick with it, but what happened doesn't actually make him a paedophile, some of the people here refused to talk to me for a few days - they thought *that* was a sign that I was dangerously deviant myself. That's the sort of level of thinking that goes on among a lot of the staff here.

xpost: no, Kate, I don't.

I've just seen photos from the shoot (the flickred ones, not the proper ones) and ARRRRGGGHHHH I am so going ginger. Help.

FP, what is it that you do in your hobby, and why is it expensive? /blunt

Because it was the daughter who took the film to be developed - that was what made them suspicious.

Actually it doesn't have to be expensive, but My New Expensive Hobby sounds better. The best toys to play with are your mind and your senses, and you get them for free.

Unless this is an even newer hobby, and you're specifying it's expensive to differentiate it from the other hobby...

It's f00tb@ll stickers, isn't it?

xpost: I think she was about 11 or 12, but I'm not really sure.

This story makes NO SENSE

Which is probably why they won their appeal!

They admitted that the underage daughter had taken the photo. The reason for the original conviction, according to the judge, was that they were smiling at the camera, so they clearly knew what was going on, so "she just burst in on us and took the photo" wasn't an acceptable defence.

(the whole thing isn't *really* a hobby, to be honest - to most of the people involved it's a bit more important than that)

Our external email has been down for 2 days. Been wondering why it was so quiet!

My life is full of excitement innit.

On the plus side my acid drop sweets arrived from http://www.aquarterof.co.uk

Though actually, if they're on tour, maybe their record company person is on tour with them, and that's why out of contact.

I think G*off B*rrow from P0rt1shead has something to do with the shop/label.
It didnt say anything on the site about being a pre-order. Plus i've had problems with them before with late delivery when i've ordered stuff by The Heads and Mammatus
www.invadashop.co.uk/

Still not as bad as Rise Ab0ve Records though.

Sigh. Perfect nose. So pointed.

http://static.flickr.com/65/160992574_939002bfeb.jpg

Did you listen to any music last night then?

I like to absorb new stuff in doses, listen to it repeatedly if I like it and really drown in it.

I should really get some headphones and listen to stuff at work. It's starting to bug me that I don't. Hard to concentrate. (really, I am just avoiding doing this massive rec.)

Argh, got to meet Luxemboy soon. He's dropping off the new single which I'm supposed to be doing artwork for.

What will arrive 1st Plan B or the LP?

Oh, and the sun has bought my freckles out loads. I'm really paranoid about my freckles, so this may not be a good, thing, but I don't care cos I'm so chilled out and happy cos of the weekend. Yay to everyone!

Also, have you not been following this thread? Freckles = TEH SEXXXXX0R so fear not.

(esp. if we can find one that John & Jon are playing. Just saying, like.)

Unfortunatly I'm not dressed in a "New York, New YOOOOORK!" On-The-Town stylee sailor (although there was a costume there), it was more a Modern Major General style, with a nice officers jacket and a a sailors hat. To complete it I had a pair of white gloves, which made look like both an extra from Top Gun and a old skool hardcore raver.

However, speaking of space-prog (etc) have you chaps heard the latest "Sounds of the Solar System"? It was on Today this morning. Listen here:

http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/

Check out "The eerie sounds" of Saturn (second link down) for some serious scariness as your hear the sound of a storm on Saturn. Spooky and great.

And you think that dressing like a character out of Gilbert & Sullivan is BAD thing?!??! Post, post, post!

Ooh, I want to listen to the sounds of Saturn, that sounds awesome.

My lack of gingerness is confusing - I've got the pale complexion and melanin deposits, but no gingerness. Except for my beard - if I leave that for a while, it goes ginger. And I've been tyold I've got a "ginger personality", whatever THAT means.

Did I hear housewarming? I love housewarmings! Although tissp, don't arrange it if there is . . . I mean . . . . try not to let it clash with . . . . anything that people might want to . . . . be in the pub during . . .

But this is definitely ginger:

http://static.flickr.com/44/161110713_9f5f5259c5.jpg

(God, all my weird paranoias. The Welsh Dream. Fear of turning ginger.)

(OK, probably because you want to keep your friends and you wouldn't if you set them up to be molested by me, but still.)

I'm having the piss taken out of me. I'm supposed to be working on a project at a certain stage. So I get told that stage has arrived, I do my thing... and then revisions are made to stuff from the earlier stage and all my input is useless. OK that's a bit vague - I'm laying out an advert. But the copy keeps getting revised afer I've done the 'final' version. Not just the copy - the whole fucking thing. I'm wasting hours and hours, and I've got my real work to do too... I really want to go home now, but I'll be here forever.

Sorry to interrupt.

Lucky fiery gingery people - I'm just going grey.

And by the time i finished it was too late for lunch. I'll just have dinner about 5 and have my rolls n soup for supper.

I am now listening to VDGG.