Listen Up
Things to listen to. The Grey Album, Bill Hicks gig via Nick Barlow, Goran Bregovic and the Modena City Ramblers live gypsy punk version of Bella Ciao.
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:: Thursday, February 26, 2004 ::
Autogarden
Congestion charges start to bite.
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:: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 ::
Amsterdam Posters
Some days in Amsterdam which included a trip to the marvellous Lambiek and an internati onal bloggers conference of myself and Martin Wisse in a pleasant bar.
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:: Thursday, February 19, 2004 ::
Edinburgh People's Festival
The plans for the Edinburgh People's Festival 2004 are now taking shape! Bigger, better, higher, faster.
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:: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 ::
Writing on the Wall
The revolt against the council tax is growing and is becoming an unescapable problem for the government both in Westminster and Holyrood. And they know it.
"Ex-cabinet minister and key Blair ally Stephen Byers is to attack the council tax as "unfair" and argue business does not pay its share of local spending.
Poorer people are paying a contribution disproportionate to their wealth, Mr Byers will say.
He will tell a local government conference on Thursday the council tax is unsustainable and must be replaced.
"The poorest 10% pay over four times more of their income in council tax than the richest 10%," he will say."
"The present system of council tax is unsustainable. It needs to be replaced by a new system which protects pensioners and those in greatest need while ensuring that business pays its fair share." BBC
In Scotland New Labour face the difficulty of opposition to their tax from all quarters, including their partners in the executive the Liberal Democrats. The SSP alternative the Scottish Service Tax is also attracting attention. In a fine example of using the 'net in a political campaign the SSP have launched http://www.scrapthecounciltax.com/ complete with blog and a handy calculator to see what you would be paying.
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:: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 ::
Everything Solid Melts Into Air
Time for a redesign. Any feedback welcome. Browser problems etc.
I imagine there will be a few tweeks to come over the next wee while.
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:: Monday, February 16, 2004 ::
"If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed."
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Quotes from Either President of the United States George W. Bush or Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars Movies
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:: Friday, February 13, 2004 ::
There will be apple trees on Mars
In the light of George Bush's speech on landing a man on Mars, we recall that the Soviets had the idea first. Here it is immortalised in the song 'There will be apple trees on Mars' courtesy of the astounding Soviet Music site.
And I think Ken Macleod might appreciate To the Stars "...on the star roads we can hear victorious song of the Earth..." A song about Soviet cosmonauts.
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:: Thursday, February 12, 2004 ::
The Transatlanticist Session
Silver Pill | The Cribs | Death Cab for Cutie Edinburgh Venue 10.2.2004
The Venue was mobbed for the Death Cab for Cutie gig. Just caught the end of Silver Pill, so all I can say is they were loud. The Cribs, from Leeds, were melodic, charismatic and pretty entertaining and I expect big things from them. The only low note was one song which was a straight Strokes rip-off. And they should keep their trousers on and refrain from displaying their nylon y-fronts.
Death Cab for Cutie are terribly nice young men from Seattle. The sort any young indie femme could happily take home to mother. "Edinburgh's a really beautiful city", "I wished I lived in a castle" they wistfully opined, in much the same manner as every other band upon their first visit here. But we weren't there for the chat and they didn't disappoint musically. Some great versions of A Movie Script Ending, Sound of Settling and Transatlanticism.
Photos courtesy of Mr Z. My batteries packed in.
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:: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 ::
Eternal Glory to Comrade Valentine
It's that time of year again, when romance is in the air and thoughts turn to theOfficial Slogans for Comrade Valentine's Day 2004
"Workers and Oppressed People, Unite to Make Comrade Valentine's Day a Joyous Holiday of Proletarian Class Love and Militant Struggle!
Decisively Defeat the Sinister Schemes of the Bush/Cheney Gangster Clique to Thwart the Romantic Aspirations of the L/G/B/T/Q masses!
Eternal Glory to Comrade Valentine!"
All courtesy of American lefties Freedom Road Socialist Organization who also have the latest column from ex-US Army type Stan Goff.
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:: Monday, February 09, 2004 ::
Ban the Brand
Currently in Edinburgh a campaign is underway to stop the growing menace of corporate sponsorship in our schools. Everything that moves is getting a Coke or Adidas label on it. Of course the schools are desperate for the cash. But parents just face more problems with their kids demanding the latest, greatest Beckham approved boot and stuffing their faces with deeply unhealthy Coke, McDonalds etc. Even the Scottish Parliament has forced some concessions concerning advertising from these multinationals. The underlying issue is a creeping privatisation of education.
More info via No Sweat
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:: Monday, February 02, 2004 ::
Twilight of the Dogs
The Twilight Singers - King Tut's Glasgow 31st January 2004
The Twilight Singers hit Glasgow this weekend. They are the current band of former Afghan Whig Greg Dulli and, live at least, they are in the same ass-kicking category. Greg is a charismatic if somewhat Belushiesque frontman and name-checking Big Country does no harm although my requests for Into the Valley went unmet. Highlights were The Killer, Teenage Wristband and Papillon from current album Blackberry Belle and there was a nice run through of some old Whigs numbers (Uptown Again and Faded plus snatches of some others) not to mention Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. Fair play to Greg who not only did a brief Darkness medley but also came on for the encores wearing a kilt.
More photos from Mr Z. here although the one above's mine.
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