Tag: music

Station Identification

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There’s been a lot of Her in the news.

Including the assertion that most of the folk who see it as a goal to be emulated in our technologies haven’t watched the end.

The end (which I did watch) if memory serves is where the AIs ‘leave’ to go hang out with the emulated ghost of Alan Watts in the Oort Cloud.

And it’s ok, cos everyone then realises how alienated they’ve been by technofeudalism, and go for a picnic.

Or something.

I was trying to find a talk that Kevin Slavin gave, 16 or so years ago at the Architectural Association – at the launch of the BLDGBLOG book.

I can’t.

But again, if memory serves, it’s epic coda was the machines full of HFT algos ascending, like the end of Her, to a realm of pure lightspeed hyperfinance, uncoupled from the physical world they had been chained to.

Maybe, on a good day, I think the machines, and the people who think like machines will delaminate themselves, and we’ll be left behind – but it’ll be ok, because we’ll have people like Louis Cole.

Doing Louis Cole things.

I mean.

Song of the year, so far, hands-down: ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ by (The) Gossip

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Standing in the Way of Control
Standing in the Way of Control
Gossip

Bought it, and put it into heavy-rotation a couple of months ago, but it came on the radio on the way into the city this morning, and still sounds poundingly-good.

The soundtrack to the gritty, urban, soulful, sexually-free, action-packed, anti-establishment, Grant-Morrison-scripted, teenage-freedom, Michael Bay summer blockbuster that was never made.

Yet.

Fantastic.

But is it Gossip?

Or The Gossip?

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Richard James/Turntable Cafe: A Noson Llawen

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The Seven Sleepers Den
The Seven Sleepers Den
Richard James

We just came back from a performance by Richard James and supporting band at the Purcell Rooms, organised by St. Etienne as part of their "Turntable cafe" events.

It was a special Welsh-themed event, with screenings of vintage Welsh pop TV show "Disc-A-Dawn" preceding the ex-Gorky's Zygotic Mynci member's show.

In a word it was lovely, especially for someone extremely jetlagged. It would be kindest to say that the lyrics were undemanding – but his guitar and banjo playing more than made up for that.

I walked out with the album, and also the Welsh Rare Beat compilation compiled by Gruff Rhys, Andy Votel et al.

Also walked out with a conviction to get back to my schoolboy standard of Welsh-speaking before next St. David's Day…

Many thanks to Russell for turning me on to the event. Cracking stuff.

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Sounds of the Summer #3: Peter ,Bjorn and John

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Pbj
Pbj

It's Lauren Lavernne's record of the week on XFM, and like 'Justice Vs Simian' it's nothing epoch making, but perfectly pleasant all the same. First blind listen of it, I thought it was Primal Scream in a whimsical moment – Bobby Gillespie-ish half-spoken-half-sung call with a flat-ish female (I guessed guesting supermodel, a la Moss on 'Some Velvet Morning') response.

Turns out it's not.

More here, including an MP3 while stocks last.

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