Rocking the Soul train
Oh yes on holiday I've had much opportunity to consider things… Like what music do I like, and why do I like it?
I can safely say that I like:
ROYAL TRUX
ROLLING STONES
DAVID BOWIE
ELLIOTT SMITH
DAFT PUNK
THE FALL
FLAMING LIPS
RAMONES
and numerous other groups whose music is similar to these artists.
I can't really find any reason why I like these bands and not others. I would like to claim it's to do with SOUL, like oh they don't sell themselves to ad merhants, but they do (Bowie and the Stones do anyway). Or being genuine, but the Trux are a curious blend of the genuine and the not-so, and Bowie ripped off everyone. And what does genuine mean?
So now I've decided it's just attitude and cool. I can't deny it, it's utterly superficial, but I like all of these artists because of something to do with their attitude. The whiney or groany vocals, the sweet instrumentation, the rhythm section, the endless addictions! The not giving a fuck but really giving a fuck at the same time.
I can never dig U2 or the Coldplay clones because they're so relentlessly dull. Say what you like, and maybe Witch's Tit ain't the most meaningful song in the world, but the truth lies in The Spectre, Second Skin, Pol Pot Pie, Needle in the Hay, Independence Day, Brainville, Heroes, C.R.E.E.P, Judy is a Punk. Not in ELEfuckingVATION.
/rant paused (will no doubt continue)…
Is Devon Heaven?
The answer to the question is no. After a couple of days of decent weather, culminating in my falling down a ditch, it is now drizzling in the traditional manner. I'm off to beautiful Plymouth.
Share ThisHolidays
We're in Devon for the Easter holiday. We've had some good weather and lots of beer. I fell down a ditch in the dark and hurt my knee. Photos coming soon (not of my knee though).
Share ThisA brief note on character encoding
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As this site contains links and quotes in Spanish and Catalan, I felt it was important to make an effort to properly present any accents that the languages might use. Thus, if some characters are displaying incorrectly in your browser, check (under the View menu) that you have Character Encoding set to 'automatic' or 'auto-select'.
While this hasn't cleared up all my problems (the letter à doesn't seem to be working), it has fixed most of them.
This page is encoded in Unicode (UTF-8)
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It's the time of the season.
It's planting time! Spring really has arrived now.
Computer disaster - Go 64-bit!
Our computer went awol about 2 weeks ago. The motherboard was knackered, so after a lot of testing and praying, we accepted that we had to put the machine in for an unscheduled upgrade.
New motherboard: Asus SK8-Deluxe with 5.1 sound
New processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200 (running at about 2.2 GHz)
Plus: new power supply of 400w, new fans and some other generic stuff.
Gemma's dad insisted on doing all the work (he loves doing all that stuff). All went well until Gemma's dad told me that he was going to back up our OS hard disk in order to re-format it for the new operating system install. Alarm bells went off in my head, and I desperately tried to stop him from doing any of this without my making sure that everything was properly backed up.
After the back up and reformat, I advised to install Windows XP x64 RC2 which is legally available for free, and would make best use of the 64-bit capabilities of the new system. This done, the computer was returned to my care and I hooked up all the peripherals and switched it on.
The disk had not (of course) been properly backed up. The program files were saved. But then, the registry was deleted, so most don't work. The 'My Documents' folder was saved. But not the 'Application Data' or 'Local Settings' folders. So I lost 3 years of emails. The 'Install Sandra 2005' folder was saved, but not the 'Photos' folder. We lost about 200 photos from the last year. No point crying about it but it happened almost as I predicted it. Never mind.
The motherboard and processor seem to be working fine, though I don't use RAID or a couple of the other features so I can't comment on them.
Then the next challenge. Halfway through the computer's absence, something happened to the wireless adsl router and we lost internet connectivity on our laptop. I'm pretty sure we changed nothing, and ya.com are sure that our line is ok, so now I have to take a finetoothed comb through the net settings and find out what's wrong. Further success in this direction will be announced by a 'woo hoo' post on this site.
Share ThisUS involvement in the Madrid coup
I missed a Televisió de Catalunya documentary last night which examined the alleged involvement of the US (or at least the CIA) in the attempted coup of 1981. Briefly, sections of the army and paramilitary police force attempted to re-establish a form of ultra-right wing dictatorship. For one reason or another, King Juan Carlos refused to give his backing to the coup and it failed. The city of Valencia was also placed under military control.
Spanish blogger Aykela has some stuff about the coup, and the alleged conspiracy which included the US Ambassador to Madrid, Terence Todman.
Share ThisFranco statue removed, but Spain fails to talk.
Ben Sills captured the right sentiment in his Guardian piece:It was a suitable end for the dictator: the police came and took him with no warning in the middle of the night, despite the cries of his supporters.
The city of Madrid has removed the last statue to Franco, nearly thirty years after the fascist dictator died. But the opportunity to at last open a broad debate over Spain's recent history disappeared as quietly and quickly as the statue itself. A number of neo-nazis and other pro Franco skinheads and degenerates saluted the great dictator and sang charming songs from the ultra right. The post-fascist Partido Populár (PP) accused the ruling Socialist party of political shenanigans. The local council didn't say much at all.
Even where I live, there are still occasional yet striking reminders of the dictatorship. Two apartment buildings close to my home have a "Ministerio de Vivienda" plaques with the classic falange yoke and arrows logo. These symbols are illegal in Spain, and residents are urged from time to time to report them wherever they see them. But then they're not mentioned for a while and (typical in Spain!) after the campaign is over, it's impossible to find out who to report them to.
There are two things that worry me about the persistence of fascist symbology in normal life in Spain. Firstly it means that there are plenty of people who just don't care about it. It would be easy to say that as an outsider, I have little true understanding of 'the way things were' or of how people want to forget. But the truth is that you don't need to have been there to know that the Act of Forgetting is a sad indictment of the way that even after Franco's death, his henchmen continued to threaten and blackmail the Spanish people. "Forgive us, or we'll go after the reds" and "Better if you just forget about what happened" seem to have been the dominant calls from the right wing, and the PP still use them today.
The fact is that the Spanish dictatorship was not one man, but millions of supporters who took part in the murder of tens of thousands of their fellow citizens. No argument can hide that truth, nor the fact that Franco overthrew the democratically elected government when he launched his army rebellion in 1936. If debate is going to happen, it needs to happen now. Or the Spanish may be doomed to repeat their mistakes.
Share ThisSelling your soul
"Do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll call, every word you say is suspect, you're a corporate whore and eh, end of story." Bill Hicks.
Davina McCall, can you hear me? You know that hair colourant which you do the commercial for? Where you talk with your 'Mum' about how great the hair colour you've achieved is? And you're not in character… you're just Davina? And you say 'love you' to your 'Mum'? And how much did they pay you to say that? Hopefully it was a lot of money. I imagine it would be. You wouldn't sell your feelings for your 'Mum' for just a few grand. Those feelings must be worth a lot of money. I hope they paid you every penny. So now, when you say 'love you' to your 'Mum' you can think of the money you were paid for the time you said that. LOVE YOU.
There is something inherently wrong with selling your emotions to a company who will use them in order to market a product. There is something immoral about writing a song for someone and then selling it to a company who will then use it to market a product. When you make the decision to put a price tag on your emotions, you say 'you can buy me for this'. All this ought to be obvious. Indeed, there are many songwriters and artists who do not sell their emotions like that.
But what about beliefs? Is it right to sell your beliefs to people? Example: if I am a socialist, is it right for me to CAPITALISE on my beliefs by selling them to other people? Case in point: badrash.com (no, not this website! I'm talking about the usurpers, badrash.com).
The guys next door. They are self proclaimed lefties. Gay rights, veganism, not being a Republican: nothing is too extreme or alternative for them. They are literally subverting normality with their radical ideology. Their motto/catchphrase if you will is "Anarchy to vegan. In and out. And all ends except right". Clever huh? I bet you feel utterly subverted having read that. Do you see what they've done? They've managed to say that they represent every possible position in the political spectrum. Except the right wing. Genius. That's what you've gotta love about these guys. Their hearts are in the right place. Not the "Right" place like Hitler or Bush, no: I mean the correct place. IE we are totally down with the kids. Buy our stuff.
And just to prove how utterly committed to socialism and all anti-capitalist movements (yes, every single one), they are selling LEFT-WING BRANDED MERCHANDISE on their website.
Way to go, boys. Like Tony Blair, you've found a reliable way to CASH IN on left wing sentiments and MAKE MONEY out of them. So you and your fellow pseudo-socialists can all go in uniform, branded identically like good little soldiers of capitalism.
Salient points:
(1) we are not all united on the left. Indeed, 'the left' itself is something of a myth created by those with more reactionary and conservative opinions. In fact, the spectrum of ideologies represented in the left wing make it logically impossible that you could support all at the same time. It is people like this who have no coherent beliefs and a simple "CONTRA" attitude who give socialism a bad name. Grow up.
(2) it is not cool to be a profiteer. No one likes a man who turns up at the barricade with t-shirts for sale. You cannot be on both sides at once. Make up your minds.
(3) it is illegal under equal opportunities law (which was introduced across the world on the back of decent trade union members campaigning for equality for all - a truly noble cause) to design your website in a way that it is not accessible to disabled people. Particularly in the cases of businesses, but also for all other websites, it is illegal and immoral to deny access to people unable to read text-images. Any website - particularly one pretending to be down with the kids, and not a profiteering shop - would be well advised to at least provide a text based version of the site available for those who need to use a special browser to view html pages. Or do you just hate disabled people?
Share ThisReligious extremism poses a threat to my liberty
After the BBC broadcast the controversial show "Jerry Springer: The Opera" in January, it was widely expected that the hard core of Christian fundamentalists behind the thousands of complaints received prior to broadcast, would attempt a legal assault on the BBC.
Today, they launched an attack on the BBC on two counts: firstly that the Corporation has failed the public by not 'upholding taste and decency' as it is charged to; and secondly that the BBC, as a public authority, has broken section 9 of the Human Rights Act.
The efforts against freedom of speech are being spearheaded by registered charity (cos that means a hell of a lot!!) The Christian Institute - a sort of catch-all bunch of meddlers and maniacs who are focused on (read obsessed by): sex, drugs, rock music, swearing, sex, 'religious liberties' (which means stopping people from criticising you - actually, they support this), sex, 'Christianity and the constitution', sex etc etc blah blah.
These people are obsessed with turning back the clock on all the social change that has occurred within the last 50 years. Unfortunately, as stick-in-the-mud seduces, they don't really know much about why society has changed, why it's a foolish enterprise to try to reverse the changes, and why our modern society can do fine without their moralistic preaching.
Under the guise of 'protecting freedom', some religious groups (though this doesn't include the Christian Institute) are attempting to make it a crime to question faith and the norms, values and laws of those who hold it. This will establish the precedent that religious groups can use legal action to prevent freedom of expression for others, if they claim that something offends their faith and or sensibilities. The idea, according to the UK government, is to give religious groups the same protection under law as racial groups.
But people are born with their race. They make a faith based choice when it comes to religion, and the difference between race and religion should always be remembered. The Home Office has stated that because Jews are protected by race laws, other religious groups deserve the same protection. The problem here is that Jews are protected by race laws because they are a race, and one which has suffered particularly at the hands of those who would oppress on racial grounds.
Religion and faith are not something you are born with, they are something you make a choice to apply yourself to, and something for which you are responsible. It follows that if you have strong faith in something, you shouldn't seek to prevent others from questioning your faith: you should embrace their discourse and try to show them why you believe what you do.
Share ThisRoyal Trux is science
Interesting results in the latest Trux Science debate.
All sorts of translation can be found here.
R'n'B, Exile, Pirates and the Trux
My iPod has been playing Exile on Main Street pretty much on repeat for the last week… this is my third phase of Exile in the last year; each wave more powerful than the last.
There is something purely life affirming and heavenly about this record. The songs are wonderful (especially Rocks Off, Rip This Joint, Loving Cup, Soul Survivor), the lyrics cool ("I'm drifting through the days at lightning speed"), the music eclectic (gospel, R'n'B, soul, rock'n'roll, boogie woogie, country) … all make this album a work of real mastery.
But above all, the instrumentation and Keith's voice in the background - except in Happy where he leads - lend this album something unexpressably great. The sheer work that went in to producing the laziest, easiest sound you'll ever hear is evident when you listen to Sweet Black Angel. On first listen, the song sounds like a messy pile of old blues and dischordant voices, complete with percussion. As you listen and listen, the complexity of the sound comes out - the layers, the tones, the rhythm. This might be the best non electric song ever recorded by a rock and roll band, whatever that means. And then the shudder as the harmonica shakes off a chord.
The key to why I like Exile above all else must be the Trux connection. I can hear Neil singing but it's Keith. I can see Jennifer arranging and perfecting, but it's Keith again. It's widely recognised (well, as widely as anything like this could be) that Neil Hagerty was the driving force behind Pussy Galore's cover of the Exile album (something I'm still trying to lay my hands on). You can feel the influence in Trux records - and there's nothing wrong with being influenced by the best. It's rhythm and blues - the real thing. Let's reclaim that genre for decent music. I hate this utter trash that masquerades as RnB.
Oh you can see Cocksucker Blues while you listen to this - the band standing, their entourage consumed by addiction and decadence. The core stable. This is the best album ever recorded by anyone. It's that simple. And I swear an oath that I've never said that about any other album, whatever Gemma might have you think. And it beats Sticky Fingers hands down. Over produced those fingers, and all structured.
Keith will next be seen playing Capt. Jack Sparrow's father in Pirates of the Caribbean… out next year (I think).
Share ThisThose Iraqi Reparations (an old story, but a good'n)
I spent a while looking for this info today, and it's always handy to have the link to hand… also, this story makes a good read for those who haven't already heard it.
Find out who is claiming war reparations from impoverished Iraq due to the invasion of Kuwait (remember that invasion, where Iraq hinted at what they were going to do, the US nodded and said "OK!!", seeing the perfect opportunity for a permanent military presence in a Gulf State: Saudi) — and how much it will cost the children of Iraq.
Share ThisTransparency for the blind
The Freedom of Information Act (FIA) which came into power at the beginning of the year was outwardly intended to "open government up" to the people. It was promised that the bill would lead to a new era of transparency, that citizens would be able to see inside the traditionally secretive corridors of power (or at least pay a tenner to see what records the government keeps about us). As ever, this was only ever half of the story. The FIA seems custom built to allow the government to share information between its various departments, but still withhold it from normal citizens.
Case in point: The Guardian has discovered that the MoD refuses to share information about its employees, citing the Data Protection Act, Human Rights Act and security restrictions. Security is, of course, a decent reason to a certain degree: your average analyst at GCHQ wouldn't want people hassling them because the Sun had run some campaign or other and printed their home telephone number (as would probably happen eventually). But this is a matter of tightening the law on harassment. As for the DPA and human rights laws, if the MoD succeeds in setting this precedent, the whole FIA would be rendered fairly useless.
Perhaps this ought not surprise observers, given how famously secretive the current government is.
Share ThisSyria, Bush and Alan Partridge
The pressure on Syria to withdraw from the Lebanon really seems to have come from nowhere. Who would have thought that an assassination a month ago would bring about some serious sabre rattling from the US? Well, lots of people really. Syria has been on the target list for a long time, and the US have found an issue to attack it for which many European and Arab countries actually support the US on.
It looks increasingly likely that Bush's policy, whatever he may say at European summits, is of further antagonism and instability in the middle east. ITN news ran a story yesterday which interrupted The World Is Not Enough (possibly the best recent Bond movie) which seemed to be saying that democracy is spreading in the mid-east. Citing Egypt, the Lebanon, Palestine and even Iraq as examples, ITN was obviously trying to suggest that US foreign policy has been successful.
Of course, this is something that only Alan Partridge could believe. Listen now to the latest repeat of Knowing Me Knowing You, where Alan takes cocaine and interviews a 52 year old TV host.
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a blog by Tom Clarke in Barcelona, Catalonia, covering politics, culture and society
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