Distant Signal - St Paul's Square promo shot

A huge thank you to everyone who came to last night's Distant Signal gig. It was great to see you all. We had an incredible time, and enjoyed playing alongside some top notch bands: Jewels, Killing Fields of Ontario and Loutish Lover. We took this shot after the soundcheck. Some dude was shouting at his girlfriend over by the church (out of shot on the left), which detracted slightly from a very peaceful atmosphere in a nice part of Brum. The Actress & Bishop has definitely become our favourite venue.

Afterwards Paul, Dave, Scott and I swapped St Paul's Square for Red Square and partook of a few drinks. All in all, a very good night. I'll be adding more photos from the gig photographer and Charlotte's camera soon.

All hail Bingu, The Devourer

Distant Signal @ The Actress & Bishop / Saturday 27th Feb

That's right Signalers, DS will be playing at The Actress & Bishop in Birmingham this Saturday night. The address is 35 Ludgate Hill, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 1EH. If you can't make it, check out the songs at myspace/distantsignal.

The hills are alive with the science of music

Every month The Science Museum puts on a late night special where grown-ups can play unashamedly with the attractions without having to shoulder barge a toddler out of the way.

We went to two lectures, one on music's effect on the brain and a second by Robin Wilson on the intervals between notes and their mathematical properties. It was fascinating to learn how the system of equal temperament (used to correct the gaps between musical intervals) means that every major third on a piano is sharp, but we are accustomed to hearing it.

Unfortunately, my own temperament was far from being equal and we made for the relative solace of the tube. If you like the idea of having a beer as you stroll around the museum, pop along.

Before I was a swimmer, I was a gambler

Big River Man charts the dream of an overweight Slovenian boozehound to swim the entire length of the Amazon river (over 5,000 km). There's a vague idea that by doing this, Martin Strel will raise our awareness of rainforest destruction but it is his insane determination that drives the quest. It's an adventure hilarious and mortifying by turns, but mostly hilarious. Martin is like a real-life Steve Zissou, when not drink-driving or swimming he attends a dressage display in his honour and cultivates a detached mental state known cryptically as 'the fourth dimension' (!?).

Despite the inanity, or more probably because of it, Martin's quest really did start me thinking about the Amazon. As a guitarist, I was particularly appalled to learn how much deforestation can be attributed to the manufacture of electric guitars and might do some digging around to see what the big manufacturers are doing to source sustainable wood (crap pun intended - sorry). It certainly makes those tree-hugging musos seem a bit hypocritical.

Another issue is the razing of the Amazon to support cattle for meat production (ahem, McDonald's). This is a big problem, killing off thousands of species and threatening around half of the Amazon in the medium term. Now, I've thought about going vegetarian a couple of times but the truth is I love steak, I love burgers, chicken, all of it. Having said that, I'm prepared to accept that meat is a bit more of a luxury than we've been led to believe over the past few years. I don't mind paying for the privilege of knowing half of South America wasn't burnt down so I can eat cheap rump.

Don't think that Big River Man is as heavy-handed as my diatribe though: it's like Apocalypse Now with Slovenians.

Brockenhurst, The New Forest

We went on a day trip down to Brockenhurst in The New Forest, nursing slight hangovers after a rocking good night out with Guy and his pal James (see below). The weather held off admirably and we retraced a path on which we had gotten lost about a year and a half ago on our first break away together.



Back to more tranquil scenes:



I'm thinking of using this one on the actual Uffmoor CD if I can't get any better shots next weekend. No rush, aye?

Self-smarted

I've been watching too much Trailer Park Boys, if that's possible.

People worth following on Twitter

Twitter is only as interesting as the people you're stalking following. Here's a quick list of people I follow and what they have to offer.

Science

@TheRealBuzz - Buzz Aldrin, moon-botherer with a mean left hook
@garrettlisi - surfer physicist behind E8 theory. Lives on a beach in Hawaii, thinking about particles
@profbriancox - you know: the handsome, charismatic face of BBC science. I want to trust him
@michiokaku - you know: the older, charismatic face of BBC science. Linked to his Facebook
@twisst - fantastic service that messages you to say when the International Space Station is about to pass overhead. Presumably good for impressing girls when you need a shooting star, but it's never worked for me.

Philosophy

@PeterSinger - NZ ethics prof, recently interviewed in Examined Life
@CornelWest - charismatic civil rights activist and thinker, also recently in Examined Life
@platospodcasts - Mark Vernon, philosopher, author
@theschooloflife - how to lead a fulfilled life. Possibly some scary Scientology cult currently stockpiling sarin gas in central London, but I don't think so...
@aphorisms - most of our foremost thinkers are dead, but you can still receive their wisdom in 140 character format thanks to this twitterer
@alaindebotton - popular thought-botherer

Music

@mybandowen - Mike Kinsella of Owen, Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Owls... basically every Chicago band
@jimmyeatworld - the first band to really put Twitter to use. Studio shots and humour
@distantsignal - gig and recording updates from the veteran Halesowen rock quartet I just happen to be part of
@whyanticon -Yoni Wolf and cohorts

Comedy

@fishbulb - bleak dispatches from Cardiff
@danatkinson - comedian and compere beyond compare

Web & design

@dogwonder - the new stuff, burgers and politics

General

@preppystar - rock 'n' roll, pub crawls and celebrity spotting in London
@subpadmonkey - updates from the annals of bookdata integration, startling facts and one-liners
@uffmoor - me, Removable Type, Uffmoor Woods Music Club, web stuff
@lovewit - cheese and wine, cheese and wine
@kirstiemccrum - Salacious Crumb
@threemarketeers - what's hot in the world of soon to be published paperbacks
@billgates - you were expecting maybe Steve Jobs? Billionaire philanthropist / evil monopolist
@barackobama - Pied Piper of twitter, also involved in politics

Let me know if you have any good suggestions, I might add them to the list. None of the above tend to spam out your twitter feed, but you might want to download Tweetdeck (free) and organise 'em into lists in order to keep track of what folk are saying.

To Infinity and Beyond

Thanks to my folks and Dave for pointing out this excellent Horizon about infinity. It's on iPlayer until the 23rd of Feb if you missed it. It takes infinity from an abstract concept to a multiverse of possible particle configurations of our universe. The most mind-boggling bits for me were the mathematical proofs that some infinities are larger than others, (and others' mothers?). These left you reeling trying to understand what they might mean. It's all very humbling and brings you back to the here and now thanking god that you're on solid ground where everything is relative to something and you aren't floating in an endless quagmire of typing monkeys where everything looks like a Guinness ad.

I loved that the largest number used in a proof to date is called 'Graham'.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

We just got back from Tom Stoppard's play, EGBDF at the National Theatre. Director Felix Barrett, of the interactive theatre group Punchdrunk, did a phenomenal job of bringing a supposedly hallucinated orchestra into the action - involving them in a sinisterly choreographed KGB fight routine, acting and more than a few gags.

The play is set in a psychiatric hospital where a certain prisoner is sent because of his political views, and is based on the life of Vladimir Bukovsky, who protested his imprisonment through hunger strikes. The acting is rage-inducing, humourous and haunting but it's the broken, black and white Wizard of Oz vision of an absurd and hypocritical Soviet asylum that will stay with you.

Beth Jeans Houghton & Stornoway at Reading Arts: South Street

Thanks to Guy, we saw Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny and Stornoway last night. Promoters Twisted Folk were the masterminds behind this confluence of indie folk luminaries. BJH&THOD got my vote for their stage banter, bittersweet harmonies and some shiver-inducing lyrics. Also, the bassist was apparently in the Byker Grove episode where Ant or Dec got shot in the eyes with a paintball gun. 'I Will Return, I Promise' was probably my favourite, you can hear it on their myspace.

"Day by day, I'm making plans to get away
and in the morning I'll be gone,
in the morning I'll be gone.
Orange skies will dress me as I rise
from the lake where I belong
from the lake where I belong."

Quarantine the Past

Pitchfork have revealed the tracklist for the Pavement retrospective Quarantine the Past. The list was chosen by a fan as part of a competition and judged by the band. It starts with the song that was voted their best by Pavement fans, a fact that often surprises people. 'Zurich is Stained' is a sweet ditty in CGDGBE tuning, if I remember correctly, and indeed one of their best. If you haven't got into them yet, this might be a good place to start: just in time for the 90s revival to begin apace and to fill the coffers of these good men.

Of course, with any 'best of' album there will be a degree of elision. Bear in mind that I'm a card-carrying superfan, but Pavement were a band who threw away songs other bands should have killed for, so anything short of the full set of albums and copious b-sides, radio sessions and live mp3s will never seem enough. And anyway, where's 'Grounded'? Perhaps my favourite song of all time. I'll get this if only for the excellent cover art, and because after the money I spent on ATP tickets I may as well be a completist...

Holy shit, is that Malkmus sitting on the devil's knee with a lyre? Are we getting some Robert Johnson vibes here?

01 Zurich Is Stained (Slanted and Enchanted)
02 Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (Slanted and Enchanted)
03 Grave Architecture (Wowee Zowee)
04 Unfair (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
05 …And Carrot Rope (Terror Twilight)
06 Shady Lane / J Vs. S (Brighten the Corners)
07 Two States (Slanted and Enchanted)
08 Fame Throwa (Slanted and Enchanted)
09 Cut Your Hair (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
10 Here (Slanted and Enchanted)
11 Extradition (Wowee Zowee)
12 Stereo (Brighten the Corners)
13 The Hexx (Terror Twilight)
14 Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse) (Watery, Domestic EP)
15 Kennel District (Wowee Zowee)
16 Price Yeah! (Slay Tracks 1933-1969 EP)
17 No Life Singed Her (Slanted and Enchanted)
18 Stop Breathin’ (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
19 Type Slowly (Live) (Tibet Freedom Concert compilation)
20 Fin (Brighten the Corners)
21 Forklift (Demolition Pilot J-7 EP)
22 Fight This Generation (Wowee Zowee)
23 Box Elder (Slay Tracks 1933-1969 EP

Are you e-literate?

Until a few days ago the world stood by, wondering with collectively baited breath what magical new contraption Steve Jobs would pull from his turtleneck to breathe joy into our lives.

Witness Apple™'s new paradigm-bothering creation: the book. That's right, thanks to the silicon transistor chip even schmoes like you will be able to read the works of Tennyson, Dickens and Shakespeare without procuring an expensive hand-inked manuscript. We've all been there: you're reading in Starbucks when your black turtleneck starts chafing like Google™-knows-what. You raise a hand to scratch and grande latte goes all over your cumbersome parchment scroll of Anna Karenina. Try returning that to the Apple Store™ library. In contrast, your new Apple iPad will have a wipe-clean surface - perfect for the tears that will be spilling down your cheeks at the next misery memoir you're going to read: its price tag.

Let's face it, words are sometimes big and frequently heavy. Before Jeff Bezos and Jobs came along, how were you supposed to carry the tens of thousands of books you need to take you from Holloway Road to King's Place each morning? And what has a hardback ever done to improve your status? By which I mean status updates, of course.


Unlike paper-based prototypes, (which were irresponsibly culled from sustainable forests), your new Apple™ will save the environment by filling unsightly landfills with beautifully designed electronic goods every two years. Not only that but your new book will stimulate developing economies by giving their workforce the opportunity to dig up their mineral resources for computer manufacturers to encase in plastic. Their children will finally have the chance to work their clever little fingers by assembling your 3G antennae. Imagine children making computers! They must have good schools...

It's a bright new age of enlightenment. I can't wait until I'm on a train and a fellow reader tweets me to recommend No Logo™ from the iTunes™ store. I will embrace them and know that somewhere the bullet is gliding silently towards the back of my head.