"Generic Emo 101"

I've just finished a rough mix for a new track and I sent it to a friend. He promptly pointed out that I should be ashamed for rallying against 'generic emo' when I produce stuff like this.



It doesn't have vocals yet so I suppose it's difficult to truly assign labels to it.

The question of course this raises is that is it acceptable to make music which doesn't push any boundaries but sounds nice? (I'm not suggesting my song sounds nice but in a general sense)

Originality rarely seems to concern the average music listener. When I used to play in my old band we got relatively good receptions and played bigger and bigger gigs. However, as we started to play those bigger gigs we attracted attention from more scene-savvy reviewers who were quick to mention our complete imitation of other and better bands. They argued that what we did had been done before and better so whats the point in our band even existing? we were surplus to requirements, unnecessary background noise.

I'm not quite sure which side of the argument I sit.

The purist in me believes that music, like any art, should push boundaries and explore new territory. The listener in me can't see the problem with 'more of the same' if the same is good.

Netbook-tastic

This is my first post on my new teeny weeny netbook.

Its lighter and almost smaller than most paperback books. I thought the keyboard might give me trouble at first but I'm typing this with relative ease. The touch pad is fairly generous providing you don't have mars bar fingers and the wifi and bluetooth seem flawless (I'm actually connected to the internet at the moment using my phone as a bluetooth modem).

Now for the question of what I'm actually going to do with it. I'll admit I'm no closer to my Parisian Cafe ideals than the last time I mentioned my netbook but i still feel that the minimalistic, Linux-based device is the future of computing.

5 years ago computers were like cars. It was about power, capability and tech demos which left us speechless. 0-60 was all that mattered. Then we started to see true innovation. Computing wasnt about supercharged, supercooled behemoths. It was about efficiency and design. People began to realise what they ACTUALLY used their computers for not what they COULD use it for. Common sense kicked in and the sensible response to "My car can touch 200mph if i really pushed it" became "So what? planning a race are we"

Although having said that... I still want a sports car.

R.I.C.E

I have twisted/sprained/fucked-up my knee. Probably doing over-extended lunges on wii fit.

I remember once spraining my ankle playing football at school. I jumped to head the ball and landed on the side of my foot, thus putting all my weight onto my ankle at a funny angle. It bruised nicely and I found it incredibly difficult to walk.

I had P.E later that afternoon and obviously couldn't do it but I had to cool my ankle down. The genius solution that my P.E teacher came up with was for me to stand in the changing room with my foot under the cold tap. In effect this meant I had to stand on one leg, with the other foot at waist height in the sink in a kind of perpetual kung fu kick. I stood like this for about 30 minutes until my leg got tired at which point someone suggested i should just change leg if I was getting tired. That person was, and probably still is, an idiot.

The treatment for a 1st or 2nd degree sprain of course can be expressed as the acronym RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

I assume that's why I'm walking around at work with no ice and no support bandage.

Awesome

Questions for an Atheist

New video on youtube.

Its a reply to this video

Space is boring.

NASA have announced that the exterior camera on the international space station is going to be turned into a 100% live webcam.

Now on the surface of it that sounds awesome. A live look into space. I don't think that's ever been done before. However after watching for a while I've come to the conclusion that space is incredibly boring really. At the moment we are treated with the amazing spectacle of watching someone fix some shit... awesome. Its the cosmological equivalent of supervising a plumber, arse crack and all, fix a leaky pipe so he doesn't nick anything.

Next up: The exciting world of 'Painter and Decorator Cam'

25 Things About Me

I got tagged with the 25 things about me game on facebook.

So I thought I'd repost it here just for fun.

1. I listen to podcasts far far to frequently. I've listened to the Ricky Gervais ones at least 10 times... Including the old XFM shows.

2. I don't own a single hat.

3. I drink about £400 worth of copella apple and elderflower juice every year.

4. I bought a 10MP D-SLR camera and so far all I've done with it is take pictures of my cat.

5. Oh and i have a cat... her name is Sookie.

6. I use twitter even though I still don't understand the allure.

7. I own a 2 bedroom flat in hucknall. Its in a relatively nice bit of hucknall without too many dirty syringes on the ground.

8. I have an old 4th gen Ipod because I'm too cheap for an Ipod Touch, Too snobby for a CD player and not cool enough for a tape player.

9. Part of my job is providing peoples address to 3rd party companies. so if you get junk mail its very possibly my fault.

10. I'm impossibly paranoid and negative about everyone's opinion of me. My genius defence mechanism to deal with this is to try my hardest not to care and appear apathetic.. doesn't work.

11. Part of me wishes I was a plumber.

12. Every time an extended family member asks me what i studied at university and i tell them i didn't go i can see them try to hide their surprise and disdain.

13. I'm not in the slightest suspicious of the number 13.

14. The number 14 however I think is a shit.

15. I haven't played in a band for about 3 years and i hate that.

16. Until a couple of weeks ago i didn't even know how to change a tire.

17. I don't own a bed. Me and my girlfriend sleep on a mattress on the floor and to be honest i really cant tell the difference.

18. I am a strict atheist and will argue the toss with any religious person with the complete conviction that I'm right and they're wrong.

19. My life up to the age of about 15 is a blur. I cant really remember anything specific or interesting about my life before that.

20. I used to own a full length leather coat and i wore it completely convinced i looked awesome. I didn't.

21. I once kissed a girl outside the post office in sutton and she pretended it didn't happen the next day.

22. I was a cub scout and had the most badges because my mum did most of them for me.

23. When i was about 8 one of my friends saw a hot water bottle on my bed and accused me of pissing the bed.. i hadn't and i didn't understand the connection between the hot water bottle and pissing the bed.. i still don't but i never used a hot water in bed again.

24. At my primary school we weren't allowed on the grass if it was wet. so we played football on the concrete.. then they banned the football... so we used a power ball... they then banned the powerball so we used a stone... congratulations health and safety.

25. Sometimes when i lie in bed at night i imagine the eulogy i would give at various peoples funerals.

Technophilia

I've just ordered a Dell Mini 9 netbook. One of the ones with an awesome back cover of course.

The idea of a piece of technology being a fashion accessory is not new but its something I've only recently become intimately acquainted with. This is largely due to the fact that for the first time in my life I have a relatively comfortable amount of free cash and it really shows. I am outnumbered by computers in my house 4 to 1 and frankly I'm beginning to feel a little concerned they might rebel and barricade themselves in the kitchen with a 'live free or die trying' attitude. I've fairly recently bought an electric drum kit too, last year i bought a new digital camera. It never stops.

So why did I buy a netbook? I have a perfectly good full size laptop (A 17" Dell Inspiron 9600 as if you cared). Well I suppose it's the dream of writing my blog on the wrought-iron tables of a Parisian cafe, drinking an expensive cup of coffee which rests rather gracefully on a copy of The Guardian's glossy supplement, which is all only possible with an pixie sized netbook. All a pipe dream of course, fueled by suggestive adverts of attractive young professionals with their computers balanced jauntily on their laps because that's how real work gets done.

Sorry I haven't posted for a while.. I'll try to do it more regularly I promise. I know how much you worry about me. Seriously one guy called the police and reported me missing.