Category: personal

If you can see this, eat your greens has successfully moved to its new home at eukhost.

…cos she’s been down South and held peasants in her arms.

…passing out while you were passing out your rules.

“The board felt you could improve on your .NET experience and felt you could have been more inventive with your answers.”

Sigh. Anyone got any tips for inventive answers to interview questions?

I haven’t posted a music video for a while, so here’s a rousing anthem from my current favourite band, Hot Water Music. Perhaps it’ll go some way towards cleansing my brain of Celine Dion’s truly awful cover of You Shook Me All Night Long. There are dark, nameless horrors lurking in the hidden corners of youtube, ready to catch the unwary.

Here’s some more HWM. I saw ’em live in Camden just after they released No division. They were ace.

An animated title sequence, courtesy of Charlie Owen. Everyone should have a title sequence.

After one whole quart of brandy
Like a daisy, I’m awake
With no Bromo-Seltzer handy
I don’t even shake
Men are not a new sensation
I’ve done pretty well I think
But this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink
I’m wild again, beguiled again
A simpering, whimpering child again
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
Couldn’t sleep and wouldn’t sleep
When love came and told me, I shouldn’t sleep
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
Lost my heart, but what of it
He is cold I agree
He can laugh, but I love it
Although the laugh’s on me
I’ll sing to him, each spring to him
And long, for the day when I’ll cling to him
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
He’s a fool and don’t I know it
But a fool can have his charms
I’m in love and don’t I show it
Like a babe in arms
Love’s the same old sad sensation
Lately I’ve not slept a wink
Since this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink
I’ve sinned a lot, I’m mean a lot
But I’m like sweet seventeen a lot
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
I’ll sing to him, each spring to him
And worship the trousers that cling to him
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
When he talks, he is seeking
Words to get off his chest
Horizontally speaking, he’s at his very best
Vexed again, perplexed again
Thank God, I can be oversexed again
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – am I
Wise at last, my eyes at last,
Are cutting you down to your size at last
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered – no more
Burned a lot, but learned a lot
And now

How do I love the Minutemen? Let me count the ways. Suffice it to say that on the insanely long train-and-night-bus journey home from Brighton yesterday, I listened to double nickels on the dime twice, all the way through.

So it was with some excitement that I greeted the discovery, on Friday night, of a fresh new copy of We Jam Econo (Disc 1), from Amazon rentals, on the welcome mat at O’Donnell Mansions. Tim Irwin’s documentary is a work of love about a great band – three blokes who formed a punk band out of a love of making music and because they had something they wanted to say. And yes, the Minutemen were a punk band, even if they did do Blue Oyster Cult and CCR covers. In fact, maybe because they did Blue Oyster Cult and CCR covers.

Anyway, my excitement was not unwarranted. This is a great music documentary, about a band that still sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard. Live film of the band is interspersed with interviews – Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski, Kira, ed fROMOHIO and Mike Watt’s mum among others. Much of the story is told by Mike Watt, with occasional stories from George Hurley. The DVD includes 222 minutes of extras, on two discs. I may have to buy myself a copy.

Such a shame that they’ll be mostly remembered as the band that did the theme tune for Jackass.

History Lesson Part II

Our band could be your life real names’ll be proof. me and Mike Watt we played for years. punk rock changed our lives. We learned punk rock in Hollywood drove up from Pedro we were fucking corndogs we’d go drink and pogo. Mr. Narrator! This is Bob Dylan to me my story could be his songs I’m his soldier child our band is scientist rock. but I was E Bloom then Richard Hell Joe Strummer and John Doe. me and Mike Watt playing guitar.

Exciting news (if you’re me): John Shuttleworth’s film ‘It’s nice up north’ is back, by popular demand, at the Greenwich Picturehouse on Tuesday night.

And I have a ticket!