Hiromi

Why Kiss are the greatest band of all time...

An eventful couple of weeks

I'll begin with the obvious. Come next year, the most powerful nation in the world (for the time being at least) is to be taken over by this man:

The past eight years have been plagued with Americans (along with plenty of non-Americans) hating their country and the people who lead it. George Bush Jr's moronic actions over the course of his presidency have resulted in a countless number of deaths and suffering, as well as an ever-strengthening hatred towards the West. So what difference can one man really make? This little story might give a hint. Last night, about an hour or so after Mr Obama's victory was announced, an overwhelmingly large crowd of people, ranging from the young to the elderly, of all races and genders, marched up and down the streets of Boston for hours singing and shouting in praise of the new President, overjoyed that things were finally going to change, and they could once again be proud of their own country. Granted that technically Barack Obama is just another politician with another set of policies, but he stands for much more than that. He's a symbol of hope, and at the moment he's the only chance America has to change it's image and sort itself out. Whether he manages this over the next few years can only be proven in time, but for now the enthusiasm he has inspired amongst countless Americans is already having a huge effect.

The election of America's first black president coincides with the state of California voting against gay marriage with a 52% majority. The success of Proposition 8 will rewrite the constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. It is surprising in California of all states, which many would consider very liberal. The proposition is supported by blacks, evangelical Christians, Mormons and orthodox Jews. It's interesting how a common prejudice against one group can unite others. One strong supporter was quoted as saying that gay marriage and encouraged tolerance in schools are little more than "a recruiting process for homosexual behaviour". Such people should do themselves a favour and go back to school instead of getting involved in matters which have absolutely no effect on them.

Maybe not quite as important, depending on where you're from, a week or so ago two of the funniest men in Britain were suspended from the BBC.

You might already know, they were suspended for this. Admittedly the joke, while being very funny to begin with, was taken slightly too far by the third phone call, but at worst it was a bad joke. It certainly did not warrant the huge overreaction from the BBC, nor did it deserve the huge media frenzy that has ensued. I have no doubt that the majority of the people calling for the two to be fired are basing their anger on what they've read in the Daily Mail, and probably haven't heard the whole broadcast. Even Andrew Sachs himself didn't seem particularly phased by the events. The ridiculous media exaggeration is severely effecting the careers of two well-loved entertainers, which unfortunately is a common occurrence. The media is, for a huge number of people, the primary source of information, and along with that power of influence comes a large responsibility. Maybe one day they'll actually respect that, but don't hold your breath.

She Has a Boyfriend

BITCH

The roommate from hell

Just when you thought I was running out of YouTube videos...

Frankie Boyle: Funniest comedian today?

Genius

It sucks that the new album has been pushed back to next year, but at least they keep us entertained. Black Holes & Revelations and Continuum are the only albums in the past that I've ever been so excited about.

Animusic

When BT came out with This Binary Universe two years ago it really set a bench mark in a new form of digital art (if you've never heard/seen it, I highly recommend buying the CD/DVD). The Animusic project is very cleverly done, as the animations are actually performing the music (in TBU the pictures were simply a sometimes-narrative accompanniment to the music, albeit pretty spectacular animations). It's really awesome to watch, and the music is pretty cool too.

Ninja Cat

Why so serious?

The maturity is on a level you couldn't even comprehend.

That's right. It's bad humour Monday.

Freak accidents.

People were seriously hurt in these videos. They're not for the feint-hearted.

BarackRoll'd

Pandora Radio

I've been discovering an incredible amount of amazing new music over the last week. A large part of that comes from swapping music with the other Berklee students (who I'm becoming convinced collectively possess all of the music in the world), but a lot of it is due to a little thing I've found called Pandora. You enter an artist that you love and it instantly creates a radio station with similar songs, and it's a brilliant way to discover new artists. The coolest thing about it is the way it works: it doesn't judge the songs it plays you by the band, genre or mainstream success. The Music Genome Project analyses each song's makeup and Pandora plays you songs based on elements of the music you've told it you like. It's like Last.fm only way better and minus the self-conscious nonsense of your top lists. Clever stuff, isn't it?

(Anyone outside the US will have to access it through this. Just select Pandora from the drop down box.)

Things are changing...

And I can't fucking wait.

The future of memory...

A little old, but interesting.

Watchmen

You really should've seen this already since it's been played during the trailers before The Dark Knight. Go buy the graphic novel.

Russel Peters

Watched this for the first time in a while. Check it out

Idioteque

Had the pleasure of seeing Radiohead live on Sunday. They put on one hell of a show. So do these guys.

Some songs you should hear...

I've been discovering, and rediscovering, a lot of great music in the last few weeks, so here's a few stand out tracks.

Aim - Northwest:
Aim is an English DJ, and his music is like a mix of ambience and hip-hop beats. It takes cool to an entirely new level. The album is Flight 602 and it's definitely worth checking out.

The Mayfield Four - Backslide:
This is the old band of Myles Kennedy - the frontman of Alter Bridge. The album Second Skin is full of amazing songs, and this one is getting the most listens at the moment.

John Mayer - I Don't Need No Doctor:
This is a Ray Charles tune, but John Mayer's cover is an awesome jazzed-up tribute which more than does the song justice.

The Lost Sheep

I'm not really sure who deserves the most credit here. Is it Adrian Munsey for his musical genius, is it the musicians for being able to keep straight faces or is it in fact the sheep for the inspiration? Who knows, maybe the music really does speak to them, but I do know one thing for sure: I could never do this.

Piano Ratiug

Mute Math's new album is going to be nice.

End of an era...

Friday marked my last day of school ever. A relief? Kind of. That's not to say I won't miss the general banter and completely unproductive lessons that made up my time at Stamford School. I'm just ready to move onto other things. It was a bit of a fun day as you might imagine. It was fancy dress for a start - I was decked out in full ninja attire, complete with nunchuks (I managed to avoid hurting myself, barely) - but that was just the beginning. What better way to say goodbye to the establishment which I spent ten years of my life at, than by pulling pranks?

The pranks kicked off with a few boys breaking into the school hall at about 1:30am and builing a nice beach scene at the front. It is actually sawdust, but that doesn't make it any less impressive.

Next up, we have the infamous sports day streakers, who ran on the track to do a lap of victory during the girls 800m race.

The next one was the old jumper scene at the science block. No doubt the poor bastard got fed up of physics lessons.

In the morning we were greeted with a beautiful sight. This huge banner hung across the school chapel. I won't get into what S.S.I. actually stands for, but at it's heart it's sexist propaganda.

And of course, what prank day would be complete without some newspapering of common rooms?

The final prank was replacing millions of framed photos around school with ones that we'd prepared. There were far too many for me to put them all up here but to give you a taste, here is a shot from the Regional Dumping Championships:

Here we have the starting line up of the annual cross-Stamford street race:

Here you can see a shot taken from the 6th form Maths-Debate:

And last but not least, our school Underwater Pool 1st Team:

Friday was topped off with a five-hour stretch in the pub, then dinner, and then off to the club. All in all a fitting end to school life.

Put The Needle On The Record

Ocean

Warts and all (and there's a lot of them). The original is by John Butler if you didn't know.

Chilled

Right now I'm in the thick of that time of year when everything's piling on. You feel like you're reaching for that prize of freedom but you can't grab it quite yet. As it stands, two weeks worth of intense work is paying off in the form of a little peace. I feel kind of bad in a way. Other people are whizzing around losing their minds but I'm in a position where I can see the funny side of the chaos. Now it's time to make up about 90 hours of sleep.

Here's something for me to look forward to (I know, I'm going to Leeds, I sold out):

And now some Tommy Emmanuel to brighten up your day (as if it needed it):

The Slip

Selfishness

It's in us all.

Paranoia's a funny thing...

If I screw up, it means I screwed up. It doesn't mean I've given up.

Got it?

Eldar

Songbird

Until the record industry finally sorts itself out, we all need a way to get our fix of music. Since OiNK got shut down, I found myself buying less music (yes, places like that actually HELPED sales) so I've constantly been looking for an alternative. This is a pretty different approach. It's kind of like iTunes, but more customisable, and it's a web browser all in one. It's not the best way to fill you computers with tonnes of high quality albums like OiNK was, but it's a fine way to get music which you can then buy if you want. Because I wouldn't dream of encouraging stealing music...

The future's not looking so bad

H.A.A.R.P.

One of, if not THE best gig I've ever been to.

So what?

As nice as it may sound to say that music brings out the best in people, the truth is there's always people arguing about what's better than what. This is never more shameful than those people who insist on arguing than Coltrane is better than Miles, or vise versa. If that's what you're doing, then you're missing the point. What is the point, you ask? Sit down, put your speeches away, and have a listen.

(This is probably the best version of So What? that's ever been captured on film, and it may even be better than the version from A Kind Of Blue, which is something worth owning if you don't already.)

Chocolate Rain

I can't help but feel ashamed at discovering this so late. Every now and then I come across a musician who sums up everything I want to be and more. I have to hand it to Tay Zonday, because he's that man. The poetic lyrics, the angelic voice, the sensational music (not to mention the flawless mic technique). Chocolate Rain might just be the greatest piece of music made since Barbie Girl.

Tay Zonday, I salute you.

Objection!

As much as I like to complain about how much work I have, the reality is I'd probably have a lot more spare time if I didn't play DS for hours on end. Hey, nobody's perfect, right? Apollo's probably a lot cooler than Phoenix, but the ending was PROPER GASH.

Charity Rock went awesome. The Kendal Mills Experience rocked the house (we ended up finishing with a barely rehearsed version of Rock 'n' Roll by Led Zep) and the whole night went pretty smoothly. There was a lack of photographs though...

I'm on holiday for the next three weeks (I say holiday, I have lots to do) and I've spent all of today listening to Muse's HAARP live album, and yes, I was there.

I'm off to learn some songs. Have a charity acoustic night coming up in a few weeks.

Best Week Ever

To sum up: 

1. The evaluation company I used have made a horrible mistake and are terrible at communication which seems to mean that they may have cost me my chance of getting into Berklee. 

2. The sound guy for Charity Rock next week has decided to sell his PA and is telling me now that he can't do it. He's given me some random replacement's phone number but he is equally terrible at communication. 

3. Certain teachers are incapable of getting organised with selling tickets and instead obsess over moronic details of emails to make my life even more difficult.

4. My amp is screwed.

5. One of the two bands for Charity Rock that I'm in just can't get organised.

6. I have a 2500-word essay to do, another 1500-word essay, two smaller essays, as well as all my music tech coursework. By Thursday.

7. I have my grade 8 exam on Friday, and I need time to practice.

Yeah, good times.

Boston, Massachusetts

Right now I'm in my hotel room in Boston. I only got here this morning, but I already love the place. It's only about 7:20 here but the jetlag has put me into bed pretty early...

My Berklee interview is tomorrow morning so I'll be breaking out the suit in full force. I'm actually looking forward to the interview part. It's the audition I'm bricking it over. Had a look round the Berklee buildings today and for the most part they seem pretty damn nice.

This is actually my first time in America and it's looking pretty good to me. I can really see myself being here for the next five years! Also it's not as cold as I thought it would be. Many photos to follow I'm sure...

Bucking the Trend

Today was the annual Prefect's Netball match - a day adorned with charity, cheering crowds, cross dressing and, of course, world class netball. This event has always, understandably, been dominated by the girls every year. Until today.

Not only did we get the upper hand on the fairer sex, we actually destroyed them. We showed off our awesome skills, and legs, to snatch a 7 - 1 victory (no doubt in some part to my incredible goalkeeping skills). There was much anger and criticising of the refereeing but our rough antics in no way took away from our victory as far as we were concerned. That's one for the men. Photos of me in a skirt to follow.

In other news, I may or not be going to see Anti-Flag tomorrow who are being supported by my friend's band Brassphemy, depending on my brother's plans. I've also got a million things to learn over the weekend for various performances and things, most notably my Berklee audition where I'm playing this.

On a side note, Boston Legal is absolutely brilliant.

Ahhhhhhhhh bo.

Mute Math

Are one of the best bands bands to emerge for a while.

The self-titled album is absolutely incredible. Go buy it. Now.

Here's a video to give you a taste.

 

El Studio

As it stands.