Year: 2009
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Albums Of The Year 2009
Compiling this year’s best of was the usual gargantuan task. I had to whittle the 152 albums I bought this year down to a top forty. In the process, I’ve had to get rid of *loads* of albums that I thought were wonderful. So, just to be on here is to be a winner. The…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 16/12/09
Woo! The last Bzangy of ’09 and a chance to play loads of fave tracks from this year! 🙂 Tonight’s best new track was ‘Carve A Pattern’ by Butcher Boy. A right, romping, stomping pop song that reminds me sometimes of Al Stewart, sometimes of Nick Drake and loads of being a kid and watching…
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Oakwood Crimbo Day Sunshine
To be honest, I’m not a great fan of Christmas. This year has been even less cheery than normal. But I looked out today and it was so beautiful, I had to brave the cold and the sheets of ice on the pavements to go and take some snaps. If you’d like to see them,…
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Crimbo Swag
Click Mr. Elephant above to see a little gallery of my Christmas pressies. 🙂
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Christmas Morning Clutter
Well, it’s 4.03am and I’m still up. For various reasons, I want tomorrow (well, today now…) to be as short a day as possible. So I thought I’d take some pics of random clutter around my house. Just click the pic above if you’d like to see the bits’n’bobs. 🙂
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Bubblegum Winter, 12/12/09
Sooo… eleven days ago I travelled up to Glasgow on the train to see The Hidden Cameras headline the Bubblegum Winter shindig. Sadly, even though Joel was there (as you can see in the pic above), he couldn’t play due to visa issues. 🙁 Well, dammit – I wasn’t going to let that ruin my…
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US Implodes Through Hypocrisy
America’s top military officer has voiced concern about an incursion by Iran into Iraq that ended with Iranian soldiers seizing an Iraqi oil well. “All of us are concerned about the influence of Iran,” Adm Mullen told a news conference in Baghdad. “I worry a great deal about Iran’s view of destabilising this region as…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 2/12/09
The best new track tonight was a newie by Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears, ‘Imitation Of The Sky.’ Taken from one of the maddest albums I’ve heard in a long time, I’d suggest you check this out if you’ve ever liked Of Montreal, The New Pornographers or any late psych/early prog. Sooo catchy! The…
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MetaPost
Here’s the stats for today’s views. Err… that’s it. Move along now… 🙂
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 18/11/09
Ahh, the best new song tonight was easy – ‘The Comfort’ by Moss. Just a perfect, singalong indiepop song. If you’ve ever sung along with The Shins, The Format, Phoenix, The Pursuit Of Happiness or Sex Clark Five, I suggest you go and buy their new album. It’s ace! The best old song was ‘Sunday’…
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Jizzing Cock Fame!
Oh wow! Look at the above pic! As I’m typing this, the current top image result if you type ‘jizzing cock’ into Google is the little chappy I drew myself which takes you to this article. How amazing is that! Out of all the websites in the world, particularly the ones featuring far more porny…
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Musical Moment 3: Bowling For Soup – ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’
Late October, 2009. It’s a week until a particularly Unhappy Anniversary rolls around and I’m feeling bad. Not sad bad, weird bad. Unpredictable bad. Incongruity-of-affect bad. I think too much about some things, too little about others. Thoughts of the unchangeable past circle continuously in my head like vultures, shrieking and swooping and there doesn’t…
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Friendship, Houseguests and Peanut Brittle
Cookie Monster – he knows how to be happy. Lately, I’ve been re-reading Alain de Botton’s ‘Consolations of Philosophy.’ My life has, for the last year, been distinctly not-great. I remembered de Botton’s book providing me with some measure of calm previously so I thought I’d dip back into it. Also lately, I’ve started a…
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A Foggy Night
Click the pic to see some foggy, glowy pics!
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 4/11/09
There wasn’t one best new track, there were three! All from the featured album by Vitalic, ‘Flashmob.’ I’m guessing it’s not inspired by Larry Niven but even so, it’s my fave electronic record of 2009 (so far!). It’s dancey, demented, dissonant deliciousness. The track ‘Flashmob’ itself sounds like Louis and Bebe Barron discovered the funk…
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Peeps
Click da pic to see some peeps I snapped the other day! 🙂
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Autumn 2009
There’s no season I particularly dislike but I do have a fondness for Autumn. I love the colours, the chill in the air, Bonfire Night, the noise of walking through piles of dry leaves on the pavement. Click the pic above to see some autumnal pics I’ve taken recently!
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Mosh Halloween 2009
Wow – what an excellent Halloween! I was going to stay in for reasons I won’t go into here but after talking it over with mates, I just thought, fuckit – go out. And I’m glad I did as I danced till my knees ached and saw some absolutely amazing costumes, the majority hand-made. I…
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Troops Out Speeches
Here are some speeches I recorded on my iPhone at the demo on Saturday. Please download them and feel free to use them in any way whatever.
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Troops Out Of Afghanistan Demo, 24/10/09
In the rush for the train, I forgot my SLR so I grabbed a few pics on my iPhone, please forgive the fuzziness. Click on the pic to see a gallery. On Saturday, I travelled down to London to take part in the Troops Out demo (details here). And amazing demo. It was so moving…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 21/10/09
The best new track tonight was ‘DQMOT’ by People Under The Stairs. Every album they release is full of gems and I really had a tough time picking one to play tonight. Amazing hip hop, just pure fun and wicked rapping! The sharp-eyed Groinker might notice a bit more retro electro than I normally play.…
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A True Hero
Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who is facing a court martial because he refuses to return to fight in Afghanistan, will defy military orders from his commanding officer and join the 24 October demonstration. “I am marching to send a message to Gordon Brown. Instead of sending more troops, he must bring them all home. I’m…
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Best Facebook Exchange Ever
LULZ!
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 7/10/09
The best new song tonight was ‘Straight Edge Hangover’ by the chaps above, In Defence. A lovely dollop of new (but old-skool-sounding) sXe hardcore, it slotted in nicely towards the end of my set when I had a need for some straight-edge shoutiness. Probably because I’ve been getting so much shit for choosing to be…
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White Town Live At HDIF, 24/9/09
(pics by Ian Watson) Wow – I had a brilliant time playing at How Does It Feel To Be Loved? in London on Thursday night. And I was honoured to be on the same bill as Honey Pine Dresser, Cavalcade and Arthur & Martha. All fab bands and lovely peeps. The gig started off a…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 23/9/09
The best new track tonight was ‘Sweet Beef’ from The Bear Quartet, another damn fine Swedish alternative band that I only know about due to my Scandi excursions of the last few years. Check out the new album from them, it’s marvellous! The best old track was, of course, ‘Obsession’ by Animotion. What can I…
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Kell & Chocs
A pretty girl and some tasty chocs… mmmm… Click the pic!
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Derby Feste 2009
Click the pic above to see some snaps from this year’s Feste! 😀
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Butterflies & Other Tiny Wonders
There’s a buddleia next to my garage that was becoming huge and unruly so it was hacked back to this: Well, the hardy thing grew back and I’m glad – butterflies love it! This summer, I’d often go out to the car and the re-grown monster would have twenty or more butterflies all over it.…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 9/9/09
Tonight’s best new track was ‘Kids At The Club’ by The Paper Merchants. Bias disclosure: I recently gigged with TPM in Sweden and got talking to them all as I liked their show so much. And they’re as wonderful as their music. Sooo, yeah, I’m biased. But if you love singalong pop, I reckon you’ll…
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Cosy Den Five Year Festival
(Click any of the pics to see a gallery of the day!) Just over a month ago, on August 1st, I played the Cosy Den Five Year festival. It was brilliant. This is the line-up for that day: Jap Adaptors Tada Tata Paddington DC The Paper Merchants White Town Vit Pals Allo Darlin’ Suburban Kids…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 26/8/09
The best new track tonight was ‘The Architect’ by It Dies Today. Yes, pure metalcore, yes, magnificent, shuddering breakdowns. And, yes, the new album, out on September 15th, is excellent. Buy it if you need a bit of a shout and a windmill. 🙂 The best old track was a complete contrast: ‘En noches como…
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When 0 = 45
How to deface this sign? A random swear word? A Fauvist splash of ferocious, masking primary? The venerable jizzing cock? No. The defacer was clever. S/he made a mathematical addition (heh). The simple, almost minimalist placing of that Indian invention, the numeral 0. We are both surprised and confounded. The defacer has made 0 =…
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Summer Singalong 2009
Here’s another Summer Singalong, a playlist that’s just the right length to burn onto a CDR and then bung into your car. Hopefully, it’ll make you yell along, windows open, like I do. Enjoy! A Place to Bury Strangers – It Is Nothing Taking Back Sunday – Sink Into Me Even as We Speak –…
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Obama Murders Nine More Pakistanis
At least nine people are reported to have been killed in north-west Pakistan in a suspected US missile strike. One or two missiles targeted a compound in the village of Dande Darpa Khel in the tribal region of North Waziristan, Pakistani officials said. (Source: BBC News) Another day, another terror attack by US drones on…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 12/8/09
Whoop! The best new track tonight was ‘It Is Nothing’ by A Place To Bury Strangers. It’s a bendy, distorty wall of shoegazey loveliness. Check out the album too, they thow a swaggering, garage twist into the mix. The best old track was ‘Kickin’ Back’ by BeachBuggy. This is the perfect song to blast out…
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McDonald’s Roof Protest
Click any of the pics for more shots Today, 17th August. A man climbed onto the roof to shout out his protest at the way Derbyshire police had failed to investigate him being mugged. Malc and I were just walking up St. Peter’s Street and we joined the very calm, very peaceful crowd of onlookers…
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Indietracks 2009
Au Revoir Simone On the 24th-26th of July, I went to Indietracks. And it was great. For the miniscule sum of £55, I got to see loads of wonderful bands. And I mean loads. In fact, if I have a moan, it’s that there were simply too many great bands on: I couldn’t see everything…
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How Does It Feel Playlist 18/07/09
Pic nicked from Ian’s HDIF site, click it to see more! Again, I had a marvellous time DJing at How Does It Feel. I played plenty of old indiepop classics but also threw in some newer stuff, like the Fresh & Onlys, Loney, Dear and Matt & Kim. It was lovely to get everyone up…
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Newcastle Gig
It’s me! (Pic taken by Geoff Kosmonaut.) On July 12th, I played at The Head of Steam, Newcastle. It was great. The gig was organised by Stephen This Almighty Pop and I was lucky enough to be playing with his band Kosmonaut and also with The Honda Express (featuring members of Strawberry Story). Although Stephen…
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A Busy Time
Busy bee! I’ve been very busy lately which is good for my life, bad for regular website updates. 🙂 To round it up: Sunday July 12th – first British gig in years for my mate Stephen Almighty Pop. Ace! Saturday 18th July – I DJed at How Does It Feel in London. Double ace! Friday…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 15/7/09
Best new track tonight was LMFAO‘s ‘I Am Not A Whore.’ A perfect mix of pervy sexparty rap and stupid electro. Definitely a summer stunner! The best old track was ‘Dancing Queen’ by Laakso. Okay, so it’s only two years old but this is a fantastic pop song and it’s from a wonderful, sweeping album…
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Badges
Some badges, some very old, some just born.
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FaceAss
This is the subtle advert that appears on the right of my Facebook homepage. Now, I’m as interested in staring at women’s bums as much as the next straight/bi guy or bi/lesbian gal. But this… this just depresses the crap out of me. She looks like a prize exhibit at a livestock show. Not sexy.…
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Bzangy Groink Playlist 1/7/09
Sorry it’s taken so long putting this playlist up, I’ve been getting ready for Sunday’s gig! 🙂 Right, the best new track last week was ‘Nur Ein Gruss’ by Wienzeile. Just a fantastic tune, this Austrian crew have also produced one of my fave albums of 2009 so far with ‘Gestalten, Gestalten.’ Check ’em out!…
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Bzangy Groink Podcast 27/6/09
Here’s the new podcast! 🙂
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America’s Crimes Not Newsworthy
More than 50 people died in missile strikes by a US drone aircraft in a Taliban stronghold area of Pakistan, officials there have said. “Three missiles were fired by drones as people were dispersing after offering funeral prayers for Niazi Wali,” the official said, referring to a militant commander killed in an earlier drone attack.…
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Chocolate Pengies!
I decided to make my own chocs using Green & Black’s 85% chocolate plus seeds, nuts and dried fruit from Soundbites in Derby. They came out pretty much okay but the mold I used is actually intended for ice cubes. It’s a little too deep for chocs. But not bad for a first attempt! 🙂…
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Terminator Salvation
Today was Father’s Day so I took my Dad to see the most blokey film on at the moment: Terminator Salvation. (Or Terminator: Salvation. Or T4: Salvation. I’m not quite sure which one is definitive!) Quick review: it’s great! Go and see it now! Now, onto the more lengthy, wanky appraisal… (WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! DO…