Get Out Of The City And Into The Sunshine

Yet again, 10 PopCulture points for naming the reference in the title. Although saying that, as I’m writing this, the heavens appear to have opened over Preston and the surrounding area, leading to a downpour. The kind that usually only happens in films.

Summer’s Here And The Time Is Right To Generally Complain.

Over the last few days, summer has started up. It’s been warm. Maybe too warm. But it’s getting a little annoying for several reasons. Obviously, it’s nice too- the smell of a warm day is one of the best smells in the world (more in urban than fields etc- I’ll always remember the smell of the heat on the runway at Charles De Gualle airport in France, coming back from America. Being stuck on the flight for technically 29 hours (or something like that), it was the first sensation of fresh-ish air.)

Review- Martin Rev at The New Continental, Preston, Wednesday 23rd May

Yesterday (May 23rd) marked what would have been the 78th birthday of inventor Robert Moog, creator of arguably the most important instrument in pop music since the electric guitar- the Moog synthesiser. So what better way to celebrate that going to see one of the true masters of electronic music- Martin Rev- one half of the incredibly influential New York punk band Suicide.

Eyes on the floor. Play loud. Repeat.

I’ve been making mixtapes again. In a relation to the indiepop playlist I made on here AGES ago, and spurred on by the recent purchase of the My Bloody Valentine reissue/compilation (the review is just here), I’ve made a new playlist-y mixtape thing.

An opinionated view of the 2012 European Championships

In a couple of weeks, the 2012 European Football Championships will begin, hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine. Am I excited? In a word, no. But still, I’ll try and remove as much cynicism as I can, and try to create a sort-of preview. Mainly if you plan on putting a bet on.

The Awesome Fund.

I haven’t updated in a few days. That’s because, sadly, nothing much has happened that I could deem post-worthy. But never fear! I’ve got some new news, which may be able to stop this.

Stuart Murdoch has made my job easy. Again.

Without even knowing me (hello, everyone who doesn’t! I appreciate the fact that you’re reading this!), you could probably take a guess at the fact that I like Belle & Sebastian- the band, although the French kid’s TV show is very good. Try and check it out sometime.

Review- My Bloody Valentine: EPs 1988-1991

On Monday (7th May), My Bloody Valentine re-released their back catalogue, fully remastered. I’m going to say that again. On Monday (7th May), My Bloody Valentine re-released their back catalogue, fully remastered. It has taken at least 4 or 5 years, but it’s happened. Finally.

A Rant- A Proper One. And A Ramble- A Decent One.

I’m starting this post with a rant. Chances are that it’ll be a rant that will polarize opinion and alienate many, but I feel it needs to be done. If you want to skip to normal service, scroll to about halfway down.

Modern Life Is Improved

A while ago I made a fairly long, probably quite tedious list about Blur albums, coming to the conclusion that Modern Life Is Rubbish, the second, is probably the best. But only just. This afternoon, however- in a fit of post-exam boredom, I decided to see whether I could improve the album at all. Here are the results.