Bzangy Groink

Year: 2004

  • Albums Of The Year 2004

    These are the best albums of 2004. I’ve tried to put them in some kind of order but really, I love them all. Thank you to all the artists below for making 2004 one of the greatest years for new music that I can remember. I salute you! (By the way, the links aren’t affiliate…

  • Special Offer

    Click here to see what it is

  • Indian Ocean Tsunamis

    There’s nothing I can say about this horrible disaster, apart from to provide the following link: Asia Earthquake and Floods Appeal The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal in response to the widespread flooding, caused by Sunday’s massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. More than 69,000 people are known to have died, thousands…

  • What??

    Huh? 3145 visits in less than a month, and that’s not including robots or search spiders? I used to get a lot of visits because of the nightclubbing pics I posted. But since I haven’t been posting those recently, I can only assume a lot of people are amused by the rambings of a morbidly…

  • Bless Playlist 27/12/2004

    Waterloo. Insert Abba joke here… Tonight’s top new song was ‘All That You Know’ by Waterloo. Although remiss in correctly titling their website, they more than make up for this heinous error with their finely-honed indie guitar pop. Very, very catchy! The best old song was Supertramp’s ‘Logical Song,’ which sounded particularly sweet right after…

  • Frosty Boxing Day Dawn

    I got to bed very early on Christmas Day so I actually managed to get up and out by dawn this morning to get some snaps. Being a knob, I forgot to wrap up properly and thus froze my arse off since it was -4. My fingers are still throbbing and feel a bit weird.…

  • It’s Wonderful Live!

    Stagfoot Promotions is the brainchild of Daz and Loz. Their first ever event was this amazing couple of nights at the Bless, on the 22nd and 23rd December. Eight great bands, going from the evil metallll of Dead By Dawn to the Boystown Discotronics of [Heart] Yeah!! The highlight for me was an amazingly ramshackle…

  • Merry Fucking Christmas From Me!

    There’s a little pressie from me especially to yoooooou if you can be arsed to click the link to the White Town site above.

  • Bless Playlist 20/12/2004

    Mr. Riddim Killa himself Woaah! You can definitely tell it’s Crimbo! The Bless was absolutely packed and consequently I didn’t get to play as much new music as usual. I find it strange when people get aggrieved that I don’t play The Killers / Libertines / Bloc Party / insert chart schmindie band. After all,…

  • Another Internet Wonder

    So, here’s how the story goes… A while ago, I’m downloading music off the net (I’m not going to say where from just in case any nasty RIAA types are reading this). And I see an EP from a band I’ve never heard of called The Jeunes. So I download it, give it a listen…

  • Elgoog

    There was an article about elgooG in the New Scientist. But I found it cos I was searching for info about Lou Barlow’s new album, which is called Emoh. Or should that be emoH? It’s a mine of great info, like the following: tuobA » kniorG ygnazB … na dah ,nwoT etihW ,dnab ym nehw…

  • UK Investigated For War Crimes

    Claims that the UK has committed war crimes against Iraqi civilians are being examined by the International Criminal Court after complaints by a panel of legal experts. In a letter seen by The Independent on Sunday, the chief prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague has described the war crimes allegations as “one of the…

  • How The Antiwar Movement Is Winning

    Senior army commanders have expressed fears that the increasingly vocal anti-Iraq war movement is discouraging thousands of young men from considering a career in the armed forces. They blame high-profile campaigns against the war, often led by bereaved parents and supported by celebrities and political figures, for worsening recruitment problems, particularly into the infantry. According…

  • The First Web Forum Murder?

    Click here for full story WARNING – don’t follow the above link if you’re at all squeamish. It’s horrible stuff.

  • Water Drops

    Last night I tried some water drop shots. Although they’re nowhere near as good as these ones, I’m quite pleased as it’s the first time I’ve tried these kind of tiny exposure times. Click here for the pics!

  • Bless Playlist 13/12/2004

    Tonight there isn’t one best new track, there are three. All courtesy of the Street Lourd Party compilation album. It’s a brilliant French hip hop comp and it’s living proof there’s a mighty amount of talent over there. The flow on some of the tracks is simply beautiful and even though I can’t follow more…

  • Plus Ça Change . . .

    I spend Mondays wading through new tracks to play when I’m DJing that night. Skipping through some old stuff, I started listening to Ultravox’s ‘Ha!Ha!Ha!’ and I’m amazed at how contemporary it sounds again. There are so many current indie bands who are basically ripping-off ‘Frozen Ones’ or ‘Fear In The Western World.’ Still, I…

  • Paramedics Doubt Kelly’s Suicide

    Two paramedics who attended the scene where weapons expert David Kelly was found dead have expressed surprise at the official inquiry’s conclusion. The Hutton Inquiry found he died as a result of a slit wrist in July 2003. But the medics said the small amount of blood they saw around the body was inconsistent with…

  • Butler: Blair Guilty Of ‘Bad Government’

    Tony Blair’s autocratic style of government was savaged yesterday by Lord Butler, the former cabinet secretary. Lord Butler, who led the inquiry into intelligence failures on the Iraq war that largely exonerated the Prime Minister, said the Blair Government was guilty of “too much emphasis on selling” its own policies, “too much central control” and…

  • Bless Crimbo Party

    I can’t remember the last work-related party I went to. I think it was in 1983. I only went to this one cos all the women who work at the Bless are absolutely gorgeous. And Tim would look quite good stripped and greased-up too. Click here for the pics! Just after the above pics, all…

  • Bless Playlist 6/12/2004

    Shesus loves you This week’s top track was ‘In The France’ by Shesus. It’s from their new EP on Narnack Records. There’s a tremendous surge of energy on this EP, shouty and poppy guitar indie with some very catchy choruses. Check it out if you’ve ever liked The Pixies, Sleater-Kinney or other classic muscular rawk.…

  • Infected By The Shins

    (Please follow this link if you’re not familiar with basic memetic theory.) I’ve just spent the last hour working out the chords to The Shins’ ‘New Slang’ and singing it over and over till I’m a bit hoarse. I think I’ve just had the memetic equivalent of a horrendous fever which has broken tonight. It…

  • The Knockoff Project

    I found The Knockoff Project just googling around. If you’re a fan of album cover designs or just a music trainspotter, it’s an essential page. I started looking at a couple and then got hooked. Some of them I knew, but I was completely surprised by other knock-offs. Watch out though… before you know it,…

  • Beats Capri

    Last Wednesday I did a photoshoot of Beats Capri at Bar Lisi on Sadlergate. It was a long, tiring day but I think I got some lovely shots of the band, particularly the two classy dames. It was very, very nice of Bar Lisi to let us have the space for so long. It’s a…

  • A Torrent Of Great SF!

    I’m as happy as a dog with two cocks. Why? I’ve got ‘Iron Sunrise’ by Charles Stross waiting for me upstairs. I started it last night and its wonderfully-paced plot made me miss a lot of sleep. I love that feeling of having a book waiting: you know it’s sitting there, plump with marvels that…

  • Buy This Film!

    I don’t normally do links to shops but… This is the best film ever made! And you can buy it for eight quid. Or less, if you take advantage of their special offer. Feel free to click on the link: I’m not affiliated with the site in any way and I won’t get any money…

  • GNOD Music Map

    I’ve been a-loving GNOD for a long time now. And I’ve found a fair few new bands / authors via its wonderfully idiosyncratic database wrangling. This morning I got an email from the GNOD central nexus informing me about their lovely new Music Map feature. Give it a whirl, it’s very soothing watching the names…

  • Yay For Canada!

    I can’t find any pics of this on the web so far but I’m watching the TV news and it’s full of Canadians protesting Bush’s visit there. They’ve just pulled down a statue of Bush in an event as staged as the original US-managed Hussein-toppling. Bush tried to make the best of it but the…

  • They Work For You

    Another great link that I found via NTK. NTK pointed me towards My Society and that took me to They Work For You. Just type in your postcode and find out how much your MP’s actually been doing for the whacking great salary they pay themselves (not including their immense expense accounts). So, what’s Bob…

  • Need To Know

    I’ve now had about four or five peeps come up to me to thank me for putting them onto UK Resistance. So, what the hell, I may as well plug the equally always excellent NTK. Like UKR, it’s very geek-orientated so if you’re quite normal you’ll probably find it dull. If, however, you take pride…

  • Girls, Please Send Me Your Naked Pictures

    Where’s the Livejournal gif for my current mood? I want it 128 colours and no dither used So that dull fucking twats See it and drop dead Where’s the handy animation To hang over my head? Where’s the killfilter for your stream of utter shite? Why can’t I banish you from my eyes? Your thirteenth-hand…

  • Bless Playlist 29/11/2004

    Jimmy Edgar This week’s top new music was Jimmy Edgar‘s ‘Uniform (Citation).’ It’s from his new release on Warp Records. Please check it out if you’re a fan of the bleeping and the blooping. The top old song was ‘White Punks On Hope’ by Crass. What can I say about Crass, these magnificent lions who…

  • War Is Over (If You Want It)

    Obviously what causes war is the desire for power, position, prestige, money; also the disease called nationalism, the worship of a flag; and the disease of organized religion, the worship of a dogma. All these are the causes of war; if you as an individual belong to any of the organized religions, if you are…

  • The Wundaweb!

    I just got this incoming transmission from Commander Zorg, CEO of UK Resistance: Dude! Thanks for ignoring most of 2003, when the site wasn’t funny, or updated, or any good. Cheers, Gary That’s the beauty of the wunnerful innerned. Maybe Zorg’s a stalker of mine but I think it’s more likely he found my UKR…

  • UK Resistance

    I used to read a lot of funny websites. Then I stopped because they weren’t funny any more. The funny was replaced with banner ads strobing at 30Hz, popups, popunders, popfuckingsideways and leaden parodies of Star Wars films. This emigration to Unfunny Land was usually when the websites started chasing big money, hanging out in…

  • Logic Pro 7 Hell

    I managed to capture the above pic in the few Planck seconds that Logic wasn’t crashing like a bastard I haven’t been writing much on here lately because I’ve been finishing off a remix I’m doing for The Jeunes, an excellent up-and-coming band from Seattle. One of the reasons it’s taken so bloody long is…

  • Bless Playlist 22/11/2004

    Robotnicka, great punk fun Tonight’s top new song was ‘Banana’ by French punks Robotnicka. It’s a marvellous splurge of techpunk, sounding a bit like ’79 Devo but with its own twist. But don’t take my word for it: since Robotnicka are lovely anarchists, you can check it out yourself by downloading it from their website…

  • Colin Powell – Good Riddance To Another PNAC Nazi

    I’m watching the ITV news about the resignation of Colin Powell. What complete, utter bullshit. They’re painting him as some kind of moderate. Moderate? I suppose if you called Speer a moderate Nazi, then Powell is a moderate in relation to the PNAC cabal who now run America. At this moment they’re talking about Powell’s…

  • Bless Playlist 15/11/2004

    Chin up, Chin Up Chin Up! Tonight’s top tune was ‘I Hope For Tumbleweeds’ by Chin Up Chin Up. Confusing name, cracking band. Check out their debut album on Flameshovel Records. It’s a corker, very layered and yet still accessible. They’ve been compared to Braid but to my ears they’re a lot poppier. Still twiddly…

  • R.I.P. O.D.B.

    Ol’ Dirty Bastard, one of the rap world’s most colorful characters and biggest troublemakers, died Saturday afternoon, after collapsing at the Wu-Tang Clan’s Manhattan recording studio. He was 35, and would have turned 36 today [Monday 15th]. (Source: NJ.com) Fucking hell – 35? For anyone who’s ever loved hip hop, ODB’s death is like a…

  • November Sunshine

    It was beautifully crisp and clear today, freezing but sparkly bright. I love the low sun and I waited for just the right angle before nipping out and getting these macro shots. Click here for the pics!

  • IOAA, Inflight Program & Salo @ The Bless, Derby, 9/11/04

    Inflight in flight It’s great to see live music back in The Bless. It used to be a great little venue in the ’80s and it’s getting that reputation again now. Last Tuesday was a varied musical night, going from the acoustic jangling of Salo through the shouty head-hurting of Inflight to a poppy set…

  • Voices From Fallujah

    Below is pretty much the entire article from the BBC News website. I just wanted to preserve it here. There’s nothing else I can add that would make the evil of the US attack on Fallujah any clearer. Hamid Flewa, lawyer and Falluja resident: We heard a lot overnight [on Wednesday] and the bombing intensified…

  • 10th November Emergency Protest

    Today, Ele and I went to London to take part in an emergency protest outside Parliament. Click here for the pics. The protest was to demand the removal of British troops from Iraq and also to support relatives of British troops who were trying to present a wreath to Tony Blair. Have you heard Blair…

  • Disabled People Are Funny, Aren’t They?

    LONDON (AP) – Britain’s most famous scientist, Stephen Hawking, condemned the U.S. led invasion of Iraq as a “war crime” and said Tuesday it was based on lies. “The war was based on two lies,” said Hawking. “The first was we were in danger of weapons of mass destruction and the second was that Iraq…

  • The Murder Of Fallujah

    Take a look at the picture above. That’s one of the Iraqi “insurgents” that are being massacred in the massive US assault on Fallujah that started today. This young boy’s father was killed in a US bombing attack. He survived. For now. The above picture is the truth behind all the US propaganda. They portray…

  • Bless Playlist 8/11/2004

    This week’s top new choon was by ‘Monkey’ by Low. It’s a brooding, chugging slab of menace and I don’t know what the hell it’s about. Except I’m glad I’m not a monkey. It’s from their new album which is not out till January 2005 (Sub Pop in the US, Rough Trade over here) so…

  • The Cowards Of The Right

    Pte. Paul Lowe, murdered by Bush and Blair Relatives of the three Black Watch soldiers killed in Iraq have lashed out at the government’s decision to send them into a more dangerous zone. The younger brother of Private Paul Lowe, 19, a Black Watch soldier himself who only recently returned from Basra, said his “brother,…

  • Different Fireworks

    Tonight has been full of booms and whistles, electric flashes and echoing, stuttering reports. A typical Bonfire Night. As I was driving to Long Eaton earlier on, the road was lit up in saturated bursts, rockets exploding over Acorn Way. I was warm in my car, a hot meal in my fat belly, feeling safe…

  • Sorryeverybody.com

    I got sent this link by my mate Paul. It’s funny and a good answer to anti-American cretins. Hate Bush by all means, but remember that tens of millions of ordinary Americans protested and campaigned, tried their very best to stop his insane warmongering. Did you do the same about Blair?