Life after fame: Lloyd Cole on what your hotel room tells you about your pop career - Features, Music - The Independent

via independent.co.uk

Enjoyed this article written by Lloyd Cole, spans his career - measured by the quality of the hotel room he is booked into. From big-label excess to small time solo act.

Band Name Quiz (from 2002)

This is a (silly) cryptic quiz we (EJC music club dudes) put together one evening... it greatly amused us at the time... wonder if it still does!

1. able
   ? can


2. mega-voice
   ? ultravox


3. swedish palindrome
   ? abba


4. turkey relish
   ? cranberries


5. st trinians
   ? girlschool


6. polite snog
   ? kiss


7. not hate
   ? love


8. grunge heaven
   ? nirvana


9. portacabbage
   ? prefab sprout


10. bees arse
    ? sting


11. fuzz/filth/stench/pigs/coppers/feds/rozzers
    ? the police


12. confectionary
    ? the sweet


13. not no
    ? yes


14. samantha, darren & tabatha, under a spell
    ? b*witched


15. skeletal 007 boss
    ? boney m


16. easy as 1-2-3...
    ? abc


17. entrance and exit
    ? the doors


18. definite article, definitely
    ? the the


19. same as it ever was
    ? status quo


20. west of asia
    ? europe


21. John Logi Baird's big idea
    ? television


22. wailing ghost in native america
    ? siouxsie & the banshees


23. barbarella barbarella
    ? duran duran


24. honeycomb buzz
    ? voice of the beehive


25. kebab before autumn
    ? donna summer


26. electric gender bender
    ? ac/dc


27. big apple mannequins
    ? new york dolls


28. bland & blonde, neither IQ or ECU
    ? dollar


29. tiny boat races
    ? small faces


30. aa bottom
    ? zz top


31. bowie's young dudes
    ? mott the hoople


32. lame brains
    ? simple minds


33. vietnamese capital sucks (NOT!)
    ? hanoi rocks


34. dark carrions
    ? black crowes


35. mother & son immaculately linked
    ? jesus & mary chain


36. chemical nocturnal sprinters
    ? dexys midnight runners


37. chillier cocktail
    ? kula shaker


38. conversing crania
    ? talking heads


39. citrus crush
    ? orange juice


40. thankfully deceased
    ? grateful dead


41. depressed pearlmakers sect
    ? blue oyster cult


42. handmade in deutchland
    ? kraftwerk


43. saline duct secretion goes bang
    ? teardrop explodes


44. overpopulated dwelling
    ? crowded house


45. U 4 E Ah
    ? xtc


46. east of europe
    ? asia


47. pretentious french face
    ? visage


48. incomplete elements
    ? earth wind and fire


49. petrified flowers
    ? stone roses


50. 3 footed feathered friends
    ? the yardbirds


51. pleasure fraction
    ? joy division


52. from the ame
    ? de le soul


53. oyster gridlock
    ? pearl jam


54. I own this messy massacre of love?
    ? my bloody valentine


55. airborne beatle in a flap
    ? wings


56. profound indigo
    ? deep purple


57. johan-sebastian-dude ike&tina turbo !!!!!!!
    ? bachman turner overdrive


58. knock knock
    ? the who


59. curly, larry & mo
    ? the stooges


60. lemon sorcery symphonia
    ? yellow magic orchestra


61. satans little helpers
    ? the damned


62. next noise for England's capital
    ? future sound of london


63. metal maggie
    ? iron maiden


64. heavy metal airship
    ? led zeppelin


65. scarlet monarch
    ? king crimson


66. perverted nun
    ? twisted sister


67. division of naked apes
    ? human league


68. rugs on drugs
    ? inspiral carpets


69. heavyweight oxymoron male
    ? fatboy slim


70. ma, pa & kids, keeping the ships from the rocks
    ? lighthouse family


71. pitter patter of...
    ? little feat


72. comfortable prison
    ? soft cell


73. gothic remedy
    ? the cure


74. sanfrancisco rolls-royces
    ? bay city rollers


75. soupey scottish valley
    ? glen campbell


76. le sid vicious
    ? daft punk


77. satsuma soporific state
    ? tangerine dream


78. glad start to the working week
    ? happy mondays


79. ocular dream state
    ? rem


80. symphonic movement after dusk
    ? orchestral manouvres in the dark


81. land of the rising sun
    ? japan


82. not from these shores
    ? foreigner


83. 3 of these to heaven
    ? steps


84. always rises to the top
    ? cream


85. buttoned up jumpers
    ? the cardigans


86. nixon/carter/clinton/reagan/bush
    ? presidents of the USA


87. annually, with jelly, icecream & cake
    ? birthday party


88. first yell
    ? primal scream

This is a (silly) quiz we (EJC music club dudes) put together one evening... it greatly amused us at the time... wonder if it still does!

Amazing (planned) Chinese bus reminds me of...

This amazing public transport plan from China (found via slashdot)

China to build ginormous buses that cars can drive under

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/02/china-to-build-ginormous-buses-that-cars-can-drive-under-video/

Reminds me of the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro.

West Ham 'Fans delighted with new kit' shocker

Looks like West Ham have got a decent reto design for the new season's away kit. Lovely photo ad with players eating at a "traditional greasy spoon" cafe (spot the sauce bottles) looking back to the days of Bonzo, Lamps, Trev and Devo and the traditional pre-match fry-up (load them carbs!).

Looking forward to the new home kit too:

The new home shirt - which will also feature a welcome return to a more traditional design - is to be revealed later this month.

via Knees up Mother Brown - West Ham United FC Online: News.

Bowie STATIONTOSTATION SPECIAL AND DELUXE EDITION BOXES DUE IN SEPTEMBER

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="480" caption="STATIONTOSTATION Deluxe Box...mmmmmmm"][/caption]

I mostly buy music as mp3s these days... although I still buy a few CDs (especially where the CD is cheaper/the-same-price as a download). However this would be tempting.. even though I already have most of (nearly all) the music on multiple formats. I remember buying the "Live Nassau Coliseum" on a bootleg cassette at the Portobello Road market... and then some time later finding it as a vinyl bootleg - you can't replicate that excitement of discovery via a torrent search.
I expect my/our generation (mid forties now) must be the last who will likely still lust after "owning the object".

We first mentioned this one almost a year ago (08.11.2009 NEWS: STATION TO STATION FOUR DISC SET DUE NEXT YEAR) and it is with much pleasure that we are now able to exclusively announce the release of EMI's 3-CD Special Edition and 5-CD, DVD and heavyweight vinyl Deluxe Edition of David Bowie's massively influential 1976 album, Station To Station ...along with the much bootlegged fan favourite: Live Nassau Coliseum

From: davidbowie.com/news

Photos for Dennis' Birthday

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Family Group at Dennis' 70th"][/caption]

Uncle Dennis is soon to be 80.. can it really be 10 years ago since we got together to celebrate his 70th?

Here's some photos from that event 10 years ago plus some other old family ones which were dusted off on that occasion.

Photo set - click HERE

Photos/Videos of Day out with Wendy, Richard & Girls & Dogs & Horses.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Horsing around"][/caption]

Charlie and I had a great day out with (sister) Wendy and family over in Cumbria yesterday. Charlie had an excellent horse riding lesson with Wendy and progressed to enjoying "rising trot" under her tuition.

Photo Set here

There's also some Videos here

Young Premier League Footballers (try to) do some good

This is a very encouraging story:

Stoke's Dave Kitson leads call for non-league youth investment

West Ham's Jack Collison and Aston Villa's Curtis Davies have joined the striker in asking for money for grassroots football

From the Guardian

Our nearest pro club Darlington (beware - awful flash encumbered website!) were just relegated from League 2. They have recently announced new Advanced Development Centres in partnership with a non-profit company Elite Advanced Development - website for the Darlington one here.

I made some inquiries about this as they were inviting kids to attend trials - here's a news item from our footy club website.

To the crucial question  "who is funding the professional football club's Advanced Development Centres " the answer is - the kids themselves - or of course rather their parents/families via weekly fees and having to buy the required kit.

I think given the amount of money in professional football - it's outrageous that a pro-club does not have the resources to run these types of academies. Darlington FC's financial problems are well known (recently emerging from administration). However many other lower league clubs are following the same route - with players/parents effectively funding the academies.

I sympathise with the plight of the clubs - for them it may well be this method or no academies - but I refuse to join in with it.

Well done to Kitson, Collison & Davies for taking a stand and highlighting the issue.

Stoke's Dave Kitson leads call for non-league youth investment

West Ham's Jack Collison and Aston Villa's Curtis Davies have joined the striker in asking for money for grassroots football

Momus: Bubble Music - following on that Heaven 17 80s revisit...

Enjoyed this.... hadn't come across Momus before... know nothing about all his other stuff (should I?). This definitely sounds like an early 80s Japan/Sakamoto/YMO kinda thing (includes samples of "Bamboo Music") -  Fun!

Momus: Bubble Music

via YouTube - Momus: Bubble Music.

Windows 3.0 Anniversary - but you can't beat the Windows 386 (2.1) video

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="202" caption="Win 3.0"][/caption]

Nice Reg article about the 20th anniversary of the launch of Windows 3.0 and it's impact on computing and the industry (and notes the importance of Solitaire!).

Us Unix Workstation people sneared at the time of course - and (as linux users) still do ;-)

Any Windows anniversary is an excuse to watch this stunning promo-video for an earlier 386/2.1 version. If you've never seen this you MUST watch (if you don't have time for it all - jump to around 7 mins) . What were they thinking!?

Heaven 17

I enjoyed the recent BBC2 documentary on Heaven 17 which I caught up with last night.

Heaven 17: The Story of Penthouse and Pavement

They came across as likeable still down to earth guys.... and the insight into their Sheffield roots was nice (the scenes with Gregory's parents).

I loved Penthouse and Pavement at the time... especially this 12" single of 'Play to Win' - which is in a box in our loft and overdue a dusting off and play...

Heaven 17 - Play to Win 12\" [B.E.F. Disco Mix]

New R4 Series of The Shuttleworths

Caught this last night (available on on iPlayer). Still very funny in that gentle way.

JS takes on eBay in pursuit of a toaster with advanced features (it has an inbuilt crum tray AND variable browning).

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The Shuttleworths.

Pam & Arthur's Trip to Paris for their 50th Wedding Anniversary

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Pam & Arthur visit to Paris (May 2010)"][/caption]

Photos from Pam & Arthur's weekend in Paris to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Click the photo to link to photo set (or click here)

Now Panic and Freak Out Poster/Remix

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Now Panic and Freak Out"][/caption]

I liked the "Keep Calm and Carry On" WW2 poster (I even have a T-shirt) however perhaps this "Now Panic and Freak Out" remix is more appropriate for our times.

Not sure when it originated.. perhaps up to a year ago basd on some quick googling.

This blog (from last year) collects a bunch of them.

It's our wedding anniversary today

It was 12 years ago and what a great day we had.... the online photos were from our first digital camera (a Fuji) - many taken by our friend Minos.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Wedding Day 1998"][/caption]

Dotcom bubble burst - Where were you?

As covered widely in the press & on the web - today is the anniversary of the peak of the NASDAQ tech stocks.

"On 10 March 2000, the Nasdaq index of leading technology shares spiked, bursting the Dotcom bubble."

I was in my tenth year at Oracle at the time - though would leave in the Summer and join in with a badly/unluckily timed yet prescient start up intended to digitally distribute classical music. Searching for funding for an Internet venture in Q2 of 2000 turned out to be not a good plan!(Of course I blame the likes of pets.com and boo.com and the fools who gave them millions to burn with no sound business plan).

Those late nineties boom years were great fun though.. with much of the promise being fulfilled within a decade or so.

I have fond memories of touting an (ahem) N|C (network computer) around Europe... another idea before its time (and of course fatally flawed in execution). But we see the promise of "thin client computing" fulfilled in today's IT via various technologies (netbooks, smartphones, tablets, "cloud computing", virtual desktops etc.). Larry's vision was good - the timing and execution questionable.

The other main technology I was associated with at that time was "Video on Demand". Fifteen years on from the excitement of the early trials (with BT in the UK) streamed high quality (OK,  decent-ish quality) video is normal today (BC iPlayer Youtube et al).

Some of my friends and colleagues from those days are still at Oracle - some (unbelievably!) having served 20+ years there.

So where were you and what memories do you have?

BBC News - Dotcom bubble burst: 10 years on.

WIRED: March 10, 2000: Pop Goes the Nasdaq!

networkworld: Time Flies Dept.: Dot-com craze peaked 10 years ago

March 10, 2000: Pop Goes the Nasdaq!

My Birthday today...

Thanks for the greetings people... and can it really be 5 years since my 40th.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Petrols play at my 40th birthday"][/caption]

We had a great party with some great live music.. including for of The Petrols playing together. Here's some photos from that party - weren't we young!

This year after breakfast at Granny pam's we're off to see Ponyo with Charlie (now a Miyazki fan after watching My Neighbor Totoro and Porco Rosso on TV recently).

Computer Engineer Barbie coming soon to a toy store near you

Looking geek chic, Computer Engineer Barbie® wears a t-shirt featuring binary code and computer/keyboard icon along with a pair of black knit skinny pants. Computer Engineer carries a Barbie® smart phone, fashionable laptop case, flat watch and Bluetooth earpiece. With stylish pink-frame glasses and a shiny laptop, she is ready to conquer the day’s tasks on the go or from her desk.

via Computer Engineer Barbie coming soon to a toy store near you • The Register.

NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission

Lovely - real fans will spot all the references:

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL—NASA officials announced today the successful launch of the new shuttle Moonage Daydream, marking the beginning of a long-anticipated two-week conceptual mission inspired by British rock star David Bowie.

From The Onion