The End of the Blog

The end of The End of the Blog...

2010-01-21T14:36:00.003Z

Ive decided to put this site to bed. So alas another blog goes the way of the dodo. Perhaps ill create a new blog someday and maybe ill afford it more attention unlike the sporadic nature of posting here. Thanks to whoever stopped by and had a read and left a comment and thanks to those who didnt also...you really missed out guys! but as of January 2010 there shall be no more posts.

I'll sign off now i got a train to catch, so ill leave you in the capable hands of Ulrich Schnauss..See you again somewhere on the internet. :)

The End of the Blog (2008-2010)

Goodbye!

ALBUM OF THE DECADE.

2010-01-01T06:44:00.008Z

Discovery - Daft Punk.

No competition really. French duo could have played to the hipster crowd after the barn storming Homwork from 1997 but decided to push their creative boundaries and changed pop music for the decade to come as a result. Discovery is a record that wears its love of pop music on its sleave and it set the tone for the rest of the decade.This album is way more influential than anybody would have first realised back in 2001.Probably way more influential than any of us realise .... even now. Nostalgia without arch- awarnesss of the fact. Samplism but done so slickly. Pretty much foreshadowed the decade long fatuation with 80s music. Its such a good record.....Timeless. Seriously just go listen to it right now. Merci !

P.S. they werent to have known but they did have a sizeable part to play in the birth of autotune!

My favourite album of 2009...

2009-12-21T20:35:00.003Z

Last year i came up with a list , this year im just going to name my favourite album and be done with it.

Truth be told Cut Copys In Ghost Colours ( last years number 1!) is going to be my favourite album for the next couple of years but in the spirit of the rather pointless exercise of end of year summaries ill attempt to name my favourite album , film , tv show , washing powder , shampoo and toothpaste of 2009.

So whats my favourite album???

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

Ive always liked the sound of Phoenix , their production sounds very clean and clear , perfect for headphone listening. All good and well you say but do they have any tunes..?? Yessir tunes a plenty , lovely guitar work , nice melodies and what i see as a lack of self consciousness about the whole thing. Some of us may not like the soft rock furnishings of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix but then again i think the more discerning listener would find something quite exciting in this album. I'll be honest i was initially underwhelmed by this record but boy did it grow on me. Ill be listening to it for many years to come. So if you havent already i suggest getting to know this excellent record, the most satisfying record of 2009 in my opinion.

songy song time

2009-12-19T17:35:00.002Z

song for budget wednesday ( or any wednesday for that matter)

2009-12-09T17:45:00.003Z

"
yup i know the budget news aint great....but have you listened to this track by this kid called VEGA?"

"On hearing the track Jimmy forgets his woes and realises whats truely important in life."

.....Thats the spirit Jimmy!!

song for tuesday in december

2009-12-08T23:39:00.000Z

song for mandag...

2009-11-23T14:42:00.001Z

a song for thierry.....

2009-11-19T10:09:00.002Z

*JUST Bought*****

2009-11-04T19:16:00.002Z

Air France - GBG Belongs To Us

2009-10-13T13:47:00.003+01:00

? dont know much about this band

heard this track on a mixtape from the excellent people over at Butter Team

This song sounds like Ibiza in 1989...ie it reminds me of Technique a bit..

I love this song

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

2009-10-12T11:55:00.002+01:00

this song takes off from 1:50 onwards

this song REAlly takes off from about the 3 :23 point

i love love love the new order style guitar led outro....

FRANCOIS NEMETA + KINGS OF CONVENIENCE + CUTE GIRLS

2009-10-11T23:49:00.002+01:00

i like this song and video

SONG - BOAT BEHIND BY KINGS OF CONVENIENCE

VIDEO - FRANCOIS NEMETA

Kings of Convenience - Boat Behind from françois nemeta on Vimeo.

2009-10-04T15:00:00.003+01:00

idle sunday morning

2009-10-04T14:36:00.001+01:00

the song rocks , the video rocks

2009-09-28T20:27:00.001+01:00

man of the moment noah lennox and Atlas Sound.

As far as i know this is a fan made vid. It works really well..

Song for Sunday

2009-09-27T23:22:00.002+01:00

nice song..and i think the video is simple but effective.

I dont believe any of these dudes have ever surfed , their arms are too skinny!. Brian Wilson didnt surf either..His music was alright though.....

Spotted this trailer earlier...

2009-09-15T20:53:00.001+01:00

Shotgun yielding dude is the next DeNiro...

Sometimes certain quotes just hit me...

2009-09-14T02:45:00.001+01:00

"Never compromise a dream. Do what you must. The fears, beasts, and mountains before you are part of the plan. Stepping stones to a promised land. To a time and place that is so much closer than even you expect. So don't let your eyes deceive you, for even as you read these words, your ship swiftly approaches…"

song of the day

2009-09-14T02:41:00.000+01:00

Its Midweek.. its Midlake!

2009-09-09T19:23:00.002+01:00

I love this song. Had forgotten about it though , and then i heard it while driving a few weeks back.

Also an observation ,for those of you who know me..i dont think i'd look out of place in this band.

Mike Dooley tells it like it is...

2009-08-29T13:57:00.000+01:00

Old West Chronicles Part 6 - Travel

2009-08-24T20:16:00.001+01:00

my favourite spoof trailer ever..ever.ever.ever.ever......

2009-08-24T20:11:00.000+01:00

i have back pain , i found this video...it made me laugh and for a few mins i forgot my back pain..

2009-08-22T01:07:00.006+01:00

thanks dr boris and your unintenionally funny video.

2:39? why was that redubbed...actually the whole video sounds like it was recorded in stops and starts over a period of time.

song of the day

2009-08-17T14:57:00.002+01:00

Knightlife - Crusader

buy here yo

RIP John Hughes

2009-08-07T16:09:00.003+01:00

I think this instrumental version of Ladyhawkes Back of the Van would have fitted perfectly into any Hughes movie...Maybe playing over the end credits scene.

So sit back , enjoy the music and replay your favourite John Hughes movie moments in the cinema of your minds.

The Beatles: Rock Band

2009-07-07T16:39:00.002+01:00

This promo vid for the new Rock Band game is a lovely piece of filmmaking/animation...

Michael Jackson....

2009-06-26T11:55:00.012+01:00

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist and entertainer. - Wikepedia

It feels quite surreal to read that sentence.

My first musical memories are of Michael Jackson. I was three and and a half years old when he released Bad in August 1987. It was his seventh studio album but for all i knew it was his first , Michael Jackson year zero.

When i saw the music video for Bad it blew my mind. This man was the coolest person i had ever seen...The release of a new Jackson album and the music videos that accompanied them were events. Those music videos from the 1980s still give me goosebumps , the music , the choreography , the physics defying dance moves , the sheer ambition of it all. If you want to talk about childhood heroes yeah i guess you could say Michael Jackson was mine.

I pretty much stopped caring about Michael Jackson and his musical output in my early teens around the time he released HIStory. I remember it as being an event alright but somehow the man and his downright weird and strange personal life had got in the way of my enjoyment of his music , and truth be told his music just wasnt as good as before. ( okay Stranger in Moscow from 1996 is a damn good song.)

Maybe the Michael Jackson i grew up idolising died a long time ago. Maybe some time around 1993 and those child abuse allegations...I dont know. I suppose i just find it hard to seperate the man from the music. But maybe i could allow for two Michael Jacksons , : my childhood hero who seemed to make the world a more exciting place and the sad strange man whose world turned into a freakshow. I know which one ill be mourning the loss of.

Michael Jackson was an American recording artist and entertainer.

PS: For the record i now believe that Jackson was never a child molester but, rather, the victim of two extortion attempts.

So this "Twitter Revolution."...

2009-06-17T20:10:00.009+01:00

The mob mentality of the twitter hive mind and the habit of jumping on the bandwagon of issues which most of them are not overly familiar with worries me. Im not refering to actual Iranians in their own country using facebook , twitter and whatever other social media to organise themselves but i am talking about young progressive Westerners who are identifying and vicariously involving themselves with what they may think is an exciting revolution. All from the safety of their computer.

Jeremy Scahill over at Rebel Reports has some interesting thoughts on this and offers his two cents worth

Also over at Rebel Reports i found a link to this

Heres a truncated excerpt which articulates pretty well whats going on here..Its directed at all the new Iran experts...

"Who thought until this morning that Shiraz was just the name of a wine

Who’s beaming with pride you can now write ‘Ahmadinejad’ without copy-and-pasting it from a news website....

...Who’s changed your Facebook profile picture to a green rectangle saying “Where’s my vote?” even though you don’t actually vote in Iran

Who actually thinks that Mir-Hossein Mousavi is a secular
And that his election means that Iran will give up its nuclear claims
And allow you to visit Tehran for Christmas

Who joyfully makes Azadi/Tiananmen square comparisons
Who first heard of Azadi square last Sunday

But who nevertheless

Has been tweeting, and re-tweeting, and polluting cyberspace with what is essentially hearsay, rumours, and unconfirmed truncated reports or falsification coming from people who actually know about the realities of Iran’s political world and have an agenda:

You know nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing about what happened, or is happening across Iran at the very moment. Most of us don’t, actually. What we see is a tiny slice of reality, mind you, what is happening on the main squares in the big cities, under camera lenses. "

Songs for Sunday

2009-06-07T16:29:00.006+01:00

Overheard this track while perusing a newsagents in France the other week. It was pissing cats and dogs outside and i ran to the nearest shop for shelter. I searched in vain for an English language section , so i just enjoyed the book cover artwork instead. Avalon came on in the backround ,i dripped water on the books and realised how much i like this song and the album of the same name...Its my favourite Roxy Music record.

Soundtrack to my Summer...

2009-06-03T12:18:00.002+01:00

...provided by Phoenix and their new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Six months into 2009 and i think i may have listened to my favourite record of the year.

track 1 )

the fan made video above is great..

track 2 )

Vive le France !!

song of the day...

2009-05-11T21:22:00.000+01:00

"Hey Fergal whats cool?"

2009-05-06T14:07:00.002+01:00

yo ! well interesting that you should ask because here be the very things that are rocking my week ...

* Music - DJ MEHDI

* TV/INTERNET-TV - My favourite comedian now has his own show

* This performance ! -

* also i think i fell in love with this girl..

..thats it my peoples, thats whats cool.

alt hip hop from da vault

2009-05-01T19:51:00.002+01:00

1)
...two good things come together. An unlikely collaboration but it is as they say a dope cut.

2)
...instrumental version of this is also worth checking out.

3)
...while we are on the subjuct of unlikely collaborations!!! This is fcking great. From the album 'Pet Sounds: In The Key of Dee' by Bullion.

4)

5)

song for a tuesday in april in 2009...

2009-04-21T12:52:00.004+01:00

My favourite track on the album. Empire of the Fleetwood Mac more like!

Bollywood had an off day...

2009-04-21T10:15:00.005+01:00

I think they just dragged this dude in off the street..

So as far as i can make out the clip starts with awfuldancingman trying to dry a letter hes tip-exxed. This he then celebrates with a roll around the garden , as you do. And then he starts "dancing" again...

He picks up a chick , sort of drags her around a bit and then she disappears ( women huh? )

About 1:07 awfuldancingman starts backing away from us, and into a rose bush. I think hes a bit drunk. Shit hes started dancing again.

1:56 chick re-appears! His awful dancing has somehow summoned her..

1:58 shirt change. ( wait is this the same guy? im confused)

2:03 Chick digs the shirt.....someawful dancing follows. Both parties guilty here..

2:11 RAPE ATTEMPT!

2:13 I think we got a puker. Either hes disgusted at his actions or this is a side effect of some AWFUL dance moves..

2:20 she forgives him! And doesnt seem to mind his pukey breath. Shes got no self respect this lady..

2:24 Some of the most half-assed dancing ive witnessed . Hes not even trying!...Actually i dont think he's well.

3:03 woah , he dances and walks the steps backwards. Walks up 2 steps backwards..Just about.

Your glad you stayed to the end cos he now breaks out all the moves...3:24 This brings on the end of the world. Goddamnit awfuldancing man!

End

Bill Moyers tells it like it is...

2009-04-20T15:45:00.007+01:00

"..when historians come to tell the story of America in our time, I'll wager they will not be able to ignore this remarkable and compelling portrayal of life in our cities.."

Yesterday i lay out in the sun and listened to the audio version of Bill Moyers interview with David Simon. I would urge everyone , whether familiar with The Wire or not , to go check it out..http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04172009/watch.html.

BEARDS ARE FUN

2009-04-17T18:08:00.002+01:00

Tattoo by Jack Handey

2009-04-16T11:18:00.003+01:00

from the new yorker

Recently, I got a sex change on a whim. I was out drinking with some friends, got really drunk, and went in for the surgery. The doctors suggested I wait until I was sober, but I said no, give me the sex change.

Well, to make a long story short (so to speak), I woke up with breasts, a vagina, and a splitting headache. Also, I had a tattoo. I don’t remember where I got it, but there it was.

I was a woman for several weeks. The people at work were nice about it, but, to tell you the truth, I didn’t really have time to enjoy being a woman—I was swamped with projects. Finally, I decided to go back to being a man. For one thing, I hadn’t thought about how you need to change your whole wardrobe.

When I went in for the second surgery, I asked the doctor if he could also remove the tattoo while he was at it. He said, “But since you’re going to be a man again, wouldn’t you like to keep the tattoo?” I said no, man or woman, I didn’t want the tattoo.

I woke up from the operation, and I was a man again. But get this: I still had the tattoo! I thought, Am I crazy? I confronted the surgeon, and he said he thought we had left the tattoo part undecided. Now that I was a man, I felt like punching him, but I didn’t. Instead, I just made an appointment to come back and get the tattoo removed.

I should have been suspicious when I went back to the hospital and they put me under full anesthesia, because when I woke up I was a woman again but the tattoo was still there! They said it had been a mistake, and to make up for it they would do my next surgery for free.

I didn’t know what to do. I became depressed. I started getting hounded by my insurance company. They had covered my sex-change operations in full, but they said they didn’t cover tattoo removal. But I didn’t have a tattoo removal, I told them. They said they had already paid my doctor for one by mistake, and now I had to reimburse them. I called my doctor, and he said he hadn’t received any payment for tattoo removal.

I was so mad, I felt like suing someone. But who? My drinking buddies didn’t have any money, and I had no luck tracking down the tattoo parlor.

I gave up. I started hitting the bars and sleeping around. I don’t even remember if I was a man or a woman at that point. I felt a little cheap, so maybe I was a woman.

One night, after some meaningless sex, he or she turned to me and said, “You know, I really like your tattoo.” Something clicked in my head, and in my gut or maybe my uterus. I hadn’t realized it, but I also liked the tattoo. I was a tattoo person!

I called my doctor and told him the news: I wanted to get another sex-change operation, but I was going to keep the tattoo. He said I was an idiot. But I don’t care. If wanting to keep your tattoo makes you an idiot, then I’m the king of the idiots. Or the queen of the idiots—I have to look.

*************

I should just give up posting original stuff here and set up a Jack Handey tribute blog. I would feel no shame because he is that good. If you like surreal absurdist humour he is the man( or woman ) for you....check out Deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com for more

song of the fukn week!

2009-04-15T20:00:00.005+01:00

might be getting a little over excited cos they are Irish but damn if this isnt a great tune! Cant wait to hear more from Two Door Cinema Club...

SERIOUSLY??!

2009-04-13T18:00:00.005+01:00

" ...In light of a recent assault on a TMZ photographer, Woody Harrelson has brilliantly defended his actions by claiming he was still in character and "mistook [the paparazzi] for a zombie."

In a statement issued by his publicist, Harrelson explained that he had just "wrapped a movie called 'Zombieland,' in which [he] was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character."..." VIA THE PLAYLIST

Contemporary sequel naming logic....

2009-04-11T15:40:00.007+01:00

what with Fast And Furious blaizing a new trail for sequel naming Adam Buxton endeavours to take the franchise to its logical conclusion.....According to Mr Buxton the fifth installment will just be called....

"Fas Fur"

- animal based race film involving horses as Vin Diesels ex con decides to join horses , he breeds a weird siamese horse with eight legs..

The sixth installment the sequel to "Fas Fur" is just called .....

"Fa Fu"

, it stars Vin again as an ex - con again who now fancies Paul Walkers character and soon the pair join forces to investigate each other ,its a homo-erotic type thriller..

Also the franchise spawns a spin off called "The And The " as these definite articles have been left over from the previous film. This movie " The And The " would follow the stories of all the people waiting at the start and finish line of the race and what they get up to ..

"FF..."

Now the final installment of the whole franchise will be called "FF..." , Vin Diesels ex con is so bitter at undercover cop Paul Walker ( who he now no longer fancies ) that he lets the air out of his tyres, and this takes ninety minutes...

Adam Buxton i take my hat off to you... ********All of the above roughly transcribed from the Adam and Joe Podcast 4th Arpil 09**** Go! Download! Now! over here

So thats...

"The Fast and the Furious"
"2 Fast 2 Furious"
"The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"
"Fast & Furious"
"Fas Fur"
"Fa Fu"
"FF"

Not forgetting the spin-off "The And The "

seth rogen overkill? No not yet cos ive a damn good feeling about this movie..( okay its only a trailer but still...)

2009-04-09T16:00:00.001+01:00

ole!

2009-03-31T14:11:00.002+01:00

he did take my headline away but still nice to see Olbermann get a Python reference in ( HOW COULD YOU NOT!)

Q. Where and when would you like to be? A. Dunedin , New Zealand 1985

2009-03-27T17:07:00.004Z

The Verlaines - Doomsday

fridaysong

2009-03-27T16:50:00.002Z

The Chills - Leather Jacket

charlie brooker nails it as per usual ( with the help of Dr Park Dietz )

2009-03-26T12:43:00.007Z

On the 11th of March thousands gathered in Northern Ireland for a peace demonstration , presenting a united front of Protestants and Catholics .

On the 11th of March a 17-year-old gunman went on the rampage at his former high school in southern Germany , leaving 16 people dead.

If it bleeds it leads...

Hey News! Charlie Brooker is on to you!!

Newswipe with Charlie Brooker, Wednesdays 10:30 BBC4

2009-03-23T14:20:00.003Z

Blogstipation

n. Inability to blog regularly.
n. Inability to think of anything to blog about.

song for friday(night)

2009-03-13T18:30:00.001Z

Futurecop! - Transformers

Proto -Daft Punk

2009-03-04T14:25:00.004Z

Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Laurent Brancowitz formed Darlin' in 1992 . The indie rock trio called themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name. Darlin didnt last long and two bands formed from the ashes - Daft Punk and Phoenix..

I like these two tracks especially Darlin ,its a great track. Funny in that it reminds me of that noisepop that is popular at the moment ie No Age , Wavves.

a wee funky old playlist...

2009-03-04T12:02:00.003Z

Harmonia - Deluxe (Immer Wieder)

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

Sheila & The B. Devotion - Spacer

Chic - I Want Your Love

Song des Tages

2009-03-03T14:11:00.001Z

now this is a movie poster...

2009-03-02T12:59:00.002Z

a song for you...

2009-03-02T12:46:00.001Z

adam buxton , he the man

2009-02-23T17:41:00.004Z

new week..new music...Coconut Records!

2009-02-23T14:47:00.001Z

Coconut Records = Jason Schwartzman = actor = son of actress Talia Shire = nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, cousin of Nicolas Cage, Sofia Coppola = former drummer in Phantom Planet....plus many other things too i presume.

From what ive heard of Coconut Records , its far better that any of Phantom Planets output . Schwartzman has produced pop songs of the fun , breezy , light and catchy variety which reminds my ears of Brendan Bensons Lapalco record.

You can hear tracks from Coconut Records' new album, Davy right over here

DRAGONS DONT DO DENS

2009-02-20T11:09:00.005Z

Wahay another week another Irish version of a successful British tv show. So last night saw the Irish series of Dragons Den begin on RTE. In hounour of this momentous occassion ive posted this clip...

Its got Barry Murphy in it..( my favourite Irish comedian)

Barry Murphy is a genius.

Oscar predictions...

2009-02-20T10:27:00.006Z

Its a prediction , not my opinion on who actually deserves what , just trying to read how the Oscars will go....

Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger

Best Supporting Actress - Marisa Tomei

Lead Actor - Mickey Rourke

Lead Actress - Kate Winslett

Best Director - Danny Boyle

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature - Wall- E

Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy ( Slumdog Millionaire)

Original Screenplay - Mike Leigh (Happy- Go Lucky)

Documentary Feature - Man on Wire

Best Score - A.R. Rahman ( Slumdog Millionaire )

Shotgun Stories

2009-02-19T14:41:00.001Z

Best movie ive seen so far this year...

Looking forward to Jeff Nichols next movie.

today is a GOOD day...

2009-02-14T13:50:00.001Z

i just discovered this piece of aural ecstasy

French touch plus Australian touch...we need some Irish touch!

song of the fridayNight!

2009-02-13T19:17:00.000Z

oh man this track!

Lifelike- So Electric

song of the friday...

2009-02-13T16:28:00.000Z

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

song of the day..

2009-02-11T16:15:00.000Z

bonus = its got pretty girls in it too..

wavves..

2009-02-09T12:47:00.000Z

What do you get when you mix Beach Boys esque sunny melodies with the atonal guitar sound of Sonic Youth?

um my new favourite band

..http://www.myspace.com/wavves

Song o' the day

2009-01-31T12:50:00.000Z

The seventh track on In Ghost Colours is called So Haunted and at 4 minutes 27 seconds its just too darn short. The outro never lasts as long as id like it too..Thankfully Melbourne based producer Knightlife must have concurred. I just love this expanded outro remix he has done...

Check out Knightlife myspace...If you like classic French house you'll most definitely enjoy http://www.myspace.com/dancewithknightlife

Seperation of church and state anyone?

2009-01-22T09:47:00.000Z

Captain Picard agrees...

(taken from graham l @ http://twitter.com/Glinner)

best of 2008 in movies

2008-12-27T19:38:00.001Z

technically some of these movies are 2007 releases but actually didnt arrive at Irish cinemas until 2008. Ive watched plenty of movies this year , but not nearly enough. Some of these movies i caught on the cinema screen, others on dvd and in the case of one choice on tv. Of course this list is entirely subjective and i'm probably totally off the mark but i am being honest. So the fact that The Dark Knight gets no mention is because in all honesty i found it a boring , overlong, semi- coherent piece of filmmaking.

So heres my top 5...

1) In The Shadow Of The Moon

- visually poetic, beautifully scored , intelligent measured filmaking..

2) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

- graceful, elegiac , magic piece of moviemaking + the best movie score ive heard in a long time.

3) Paranoid Park

- as visually pure and beautiful as moviemaking gets..

4) The Mist

- a "horror movie for grown ups". An "allegory for the current post-911 culture of fear". Both of these and maybe the best Frank Darabont film since Shawshank.

5) The English Surgeon

- a gem of movie. Funny , sad , deeply touching.

best of 2008 in music

2008-12-22T20:45:00.000Z

Its probably a fools errand to try and come up with a definitive list of the best albums of any year, but lists are fun and i wont be doing anything better tonight so why not..Heres my top 5.

1) Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

Ive listened to this album every week since i bought it last March/April. Ive told everyone to go out and buy it , its the best record of 2008 is what i say. Of Course thats just my opinion, but ive yet to hear a better album this year and with 2008 coming to its conclusion its unlikely that In Ghost Colours will be knocked off its perch. Its an unmitigated joy , pure synth pop bliss from start to finish. I actually feel sorry for those who havent listened to this record yet. There is much going for this new wave of hipster associated dance music ( Hercules and Love Affair, Hot Chip, Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, The Presets etc) but nobody in that current bracket can touch the shimmering triumph that is Cut Copys In Ghost Colours.

2) M83 - Saturdays = Youth

The 1980s is my favourite decade for music. No irony intended. There is also nothing ironic about Anthony Gonzalez/M83 relationship with the 80s. This man is sincere in his love for the decade of my birth. The decade of New Order, Tears for Fears, The Cure , Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush and the cinematic output of John Hughes. All of which act as touchstones for Saturdays = Youth , which is no bad thing in my book.

3)Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes share a coastline with Brian Wilson. But further up the coast where its colder and theres more wooded areas. Beach Boys plus forest? That sounds a bit glib. Its a lovely record.

4)Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Catchy as hell.

5) Bon Iver - For Emma , Forever Ago

A musical accompaniment to Walden or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau ?

more song o the day ( song o the night?)

2008-12-20T20:17:00.000Z

Miracle Fortress - Hold Your Secrets to Your Heart

song o' the day

2008-12-20T17:15:00.000Z

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (12 extended)

song o' the day...

2008-12-15T10:03:00.001Z

Passing By - Ulrich Schnauss

We're All Going To Die

2008-12-12T13:30:00.000Z

2008-12-01T19:40:00.002Z

Not much of a post this. Just poppping in to blow the dust off the blog seeing as its been some time since any activity here..

It has become considerabley colder of late, the weather that is , not the blog ( thats just dusty).

Reclaiming Palin

2008-11-10T17:58:00.000Z

Now with the election done and dusted and herself heading back to Alaska , Michael can set about reclaiming his good name after that brief case of identity theft..After all there is only one Palin!

The Audacity of That!

2008-11-05T15:04:00.001Z

Momentous that's the word isn't it. A victory for passion over cynicism , the hopeful over the sceptics. What will it really mean? For today at least i dont really care...

Damn i wish i was in America right now!

If McCain were Lewis Hamilton...and if Lewis Hamilton were a cyclist...

2008-11-03T14:16:00.000Z

Old people and placards...

2008-10-23T16:27:00.000+01:00

Angry public protests are surely the domain of the young people arent they? Of course not. However the sight of so many elderly people looking so angry can be a little jarring at first glance.

Yesterdays pensioner protest threw up some interesting images. There were some choice pictures in todays paper. I was especially impressed by the placards on display.

TRUE DAT...

Bullet holes and blood. Nice..

But surely the best of the bunch...

picture of the day #245

2008-10-16T23:38:00.000+01:00

in a desperate bid to revive his foundering campaign McCain busted some moves post- debate....

im trying to not post political stuff, i really am...

2008-10-13T14:16:00.000+01:00

"Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she's a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation."

This article from Rolling Stone magazine is just too damn good..

After deBATES...

2008-10-08T13:30:00.001+01:00

Two debates since my last post and as it stands now im pretty sure the Obama/Biden ticket is going to win the election. My fears about the Biden /Palin debate proved unfounded thankfully and last nights debate saw Obama come off calm, poised and presidential. In fact its theres to lose at this point. There it is, ive said it, ive declared it no going back now.

Obama 08!

Sarah Palin..Be afraid..be very afraid

2008-10-01T22:46:00.000+01:00

The whole Sarah Palin fiasco is deeply disappointing and quite scary . Other than her star turn as the new poster girl for Republicans at that party's convention she hasn't done much to prove her detractors wrong, and how could she for those detractors are right. Clearly unqualified, not at all fit for the post and beholden to strange fundamentalist views her appearance on the biggest political stage of all boggles the mind. Even more mind boggling however is the thought that none of this will matter in the end, because in the end she could very well be the VP and one step away from the leadership of the most powerful nation on the planet.

But surely she will come unstuck? And hasn't she already done so in the few interviews the press have being granted with her? Indeed those interviews are cringe worthy and she has being exposed (steady now) but I've got this ill feeling that the women is sort of invincible and not in a good way. You would like to assume that Joe Biden, that seasoned Washington old boy and foreign policy expert, would go to town on Palin in the upcoming Vice-Presidential debate and this seems likely. Though in a culture of reduced attention spans which gorges on info-tainment and glib soundbites its likely that this debate could be a lot closer, or at least that's the impression American television audiences will get. And i know who that's going to benefit the most..

This story from the BBC News website is quite depressing and outlines why i fear for Biden.

"It wasn't about how much she knew about the issues. People didn't care about her experience, they just thought, 'This is the drink of water we need'." WTF!!

HAPPINESS IS...

2008-09-30T14:12:00.000+01:00

I knew that Arts degree would stand to me...

2008-09-18T22:03:00.000+01:00

link for larger image

"the sorts of people we think will be good for the job are:

Arts, Architecture and Humanities students : No real reason, well actually i suppose there is, Its just were going to be working with somebody for hours on end its quite nice to talk about stuff were interested in as well."

If only all job advertisements were like the above.

Ear to the sounds...

2008-09-14T19:35:00.000+01:00

Yesterday i discovered the "music" of Quinn Kiesow. National Public Radio asked musicians to send in the their " musical takes on the California dream" so obviously enough they received lots of songs which mentioned California and dreams and whatnot. The eventual winner of the competition was Kiesow whose "song" ( that's the last of the commas) is unique in that it was composed entirely of sounds of urban Los Angeles, from squeaking bus brakes and clicking skateboards to clacking shoes. Sound montage as musical tune. Theres some spoken word thrown in also as Kiesow gives us a running commentary over the sounds, truth be told i found this a little irritating but i guess it does play a part in the overall experience.

The track is titled Los Angeles and apparently Kiesow spent 80 hours in the studio putting it together. After the Los Angeles track he decided to point his microphone toward Europe and has since made tracks called " Madrid" and "Barcelona" . You can have a listen to the track here..

If he ever decided to make an Irish song I'm pretty sure it would only really have one sound, that sound being rain.

It seems like we in Ireland have been living under a perpetual rain cloud. Irish people are quite familiar with rain but there has been a hell a lot of it over these last few months. And yet we still complain. Though i do wonder whether i really dislike the bad weather as much as all that.

Have we just been conditioned to dislike it or is abhorrence of bad weather inherent in humans.?

I'm not about to lose myself in some philosophical discourse but as weather goes bad weather ain't all that bad in my books. I have trouble with choices and decision making from time to time. I find myself getting flustered if confronted with too many choices and possibilities. I'm not overly fond of buffets and self service i prefer menus and table service. I like things being simplified a little. I find all you can eat buffets a bitter sweet experience. When it rains it simplifies things a little. Theres is no choice i will have to wear a jacket. Its to windy outside i cannot go surf or go jog, two choices have been eliminated thanks to the help of unsavoury weather. I can now read a book or watch a film or do whatever else indoors without worrying that I'm missing out on some better experiences and opportunities outside. And everybody else is indoors also for it is far too nasty outside .

Isn't that nice ,isn't that comforting.

So all in all I'm not a basher of bad weather . It has its uses and i haven't even talked of the actual aesthetic beauty of a dark grey rain laden cloud hovering over above us in the sky. I think that the climate here in North West Ireland seems similar to that of the Pacific Northwest in America. Rain and mist feature prominently in both places. Gus Van Sants latest film Paranoid Park is set in Portland, Oregon. I really like the movie , its one of the best I've seen in the last year. Its got rain in there too, quite a bit actually and when its not raining it looks like it just has or is just about too. The movie looks greats, just like bad weather. I love the opening credits, a minute or so into these and i knew i was going to enjoy the film. So for your viewing pleasure...

2008-09-13T19:29:00.001+01:00

Is this REALLY the end of the blog?.
Of course not you little worry warts.
Is it just a regular blog then?
NO it is not!
Could it hasten the end of the blog?
Yes that is extremely likely.
If so then how exactly?
If i was to tell you that then that would actually hasten the whole process even more.
Are you talking nonsense?
Yes i think i am.
So have we wasted our time in coming here?
I should hope not for that is not the aim of EotB.
So what is your aim?

My aim is to entertain your brain!

The End of the Blog

The end of The End of the Blog...

ALBUM OF THE DECADE.

My favourite album of 2009...

songy song time

song for budget wednesday ( or any wednesday for that matter)

song for tuesday in december

song for mandag...

a song for thierry.....

*******JUST Bought***********

Air France - GBG Belongs To Us

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

FRANCOIS NEMETA + KINGS OF CONVENIENCE + CUTE GIRLS

idle sunday morning

the song rocks , the video rocks

Song for Sunday

Spotted this trailer earlier...

Sometimes certain quotes just hit me...

song of the day

Its Midweek.. its Midlake!

Mike Dooley tells it like it is...

Old West Chronicles Part 6 - Travel

my favourite spoof trailer ever..ever.ever.ever.ever......

i have back pain , i found this video...it made me laugh and for a few mins i forgot my back pain..

song of the day

RIP John Hughes

The Beatles: Rock Band

Michael Jackson....

So this "Twitter Revolution."...

Songs for Sunday

Soundtrack to my Summer...

song of the day...

"Hey Fergal whats cool?"

alt hip hop from da vault

song for a tuesday in april in 2009...

Bollywood had an off day...

Bill Moyers tells it like it is...

BEARDS ARE FUN

Tattoo by Jack Handey

song of the fukn week!

SERIOUSLY??!

Contemporary sequel naming logic....

seth rogen overkill? No not yet cos ive a damn good feeling about this movie..( okay its only a trailer but still...)

ole!

Q. Where and when would you like to be? A. Dunedin , New Zealand 1985

fridaysong

charlie brooker nails it as per usual ( with the help of Dr Park Dietz )

song for friday(night)

Proto -Daft Punk

a wee funky old playlist...

Song des Tages

now this is a movie poster...

a song for you...

adam buxton , he the man

new week..new music...Coconut Records!

DRAGONS DONT DO DENS

Oscar predictions...

Shotgun Stories

today is a GOOD day...

song of the fridayNight!

song of the friday...

song of the day..

wavves..

Song o' the day

Seperation of church and state anyone?

best of 2008 in movies

best of 2008 in music

more song o the day ( song o the night?)

song o' the day

song o' the day...

We're All Going To Die

Reclaiming Palin

The Audacity of That!

If McCain were Lewis Hamilton...and if Lewis Hamilton were a cyclist...

Old people and placards...

picture of the day #245

im trying to not post political stuff, i really am...

After deBATES...

Sarah Palin..Be afraid..be very afraid

HAPPINESS IS...

*JUST Bought*****