Wednesday, December 15, 2004
New music...
I'm going to make a prediction here. Bloc Party will be the band of 2005. Heres why:
The music:
Although they have released only three singles so far, the critics are already salivating over the prospect of the album. Their sound is spiky and angular, like Futureheads without the jump-cut chord changes, or Franz Ferdinand without the treble twang. The video for their July release "Little Thoughts" is here. The lead singer possesses a recieved pronunciation bark of a voice, which sounds better than it reads. The rhythm section is five star: check the bass shift in the chorus on the video, or the seamless shift into 7/4 time at the end of the song. The guitars are agile, sinuos and shimmering, and are an object lesson to bands who prefer to bludgeon their way up the charts, Oasis style.
The Look:
Bloc Party look cool. They were born for the cover of Dazed and Confused. Along with Franz Ferdinand, Libertines, and (grits teeth) Razorlight, they project an aura beyond their constituent parts, in a way that Cold Play, Snow Patrol et al don't.
The Attitude:
Refreshingly, BP manage a whole interview without talking overtly about politics. They sound intelligent, without coming across as smart-arses, and are simultaneously forthcoming and holding back. They also manage the rare feat of self mythologising in a self-depracating and not entirely serious manner. If they can keep handling the media in this fashion, 2005 is theirs for the taking.
J
I'm going to make a prediction here. Bloc Party will be the band of 2005. Heres why:
The music:
Although they have released only three singles so far, the critics are already salivating over the prospect of the album. Their sound is spiky and angular, like Futureheads without the jump-cut chord changes, or Franz Ferdinand without the treble twang. The video for their July release "Little Thoughts" is here. The lead singer possesses a recieved pronunciation bark of a voice, which sounds better than it reads. The rhythm section is five star: check the bass shift in the chorus on the video, or the seamless shift into 7/4 time at the end of the song. The guitars are agile, sinuos and shimmering, and are an object lesson to bands who prefer to bludgeon their way up the charts, Oasis style.
The Look:
Bloc Party look cool. They were born for the cover of Dazed and Confused. Along with Franz Ferdinand, Libertines, and (grits teeth) Razorlight, they project an aura beyond their constituent parts, in a way that Cold Play, Snow Patrol et al don't.
The Attitude:
Refreshingly, BP manage a whole interview without talking overtly about politics. They sound intelligent, without coming across as smart-arses, and are simultaneously forthcoming and holding back. They also manage the rare feat of self mythologising in a self-depracating and not entirely serious manner. If they can keep handling the media in this fashion, 2005 is theirs for the taking.
J
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
This post at Martini Republic and this followup at Juan Cole's site have been doing the blogosphere rounds in the past day or so. The posts relate to the Iraqi blog Iraq the Model, and the US visit of two of the writers behind it.
I don't intend to enter the fray on the merits of these postings; eric, harry's place and the rest have covered most of the relevant bases already.
I'd prefer to focus on the comments related to this post on Martini Republic. It's worth reading the thread in full, but one post stands out as a classic of the 'in all probability, the CIA is responsible' school of argument. Lets check out this gem from "Ghandi"
"I am VERY glad to see this issue getting some attention. Having posted at the IraqTheModel blog several hundred times, I am convinced it is a CIA front."
Hmmn. This guy is exhibiting all the signs of a conspiracy nut: Inappropriate use of caps, obsessive behaviour, and conclusion through sentiment rather than reason.
"I was also threatened with personal violence by people who trawled my blog for details of my name, address and ISP. I believe there are CIA agents monitoring the comments at ITM who now have this information, despite the fact that I have not made it publicly available."
Add paranoia to the list. Yeah bub, like the boys at langley haven't got better things to do with their time.
"I hope some serious attention will be brought to bear on these Fadhil brothers and reveal them as frauds."
Come on pal, your putting the cart before the horse here. Serious attention could reveal a number of things; them being frauds is just one possibility. However i get the impression that no investigation, however credible, will satisfy you unless it fits in with your preconceptions. If it doesn't then i'd imagine you'd see the investigation itself as a CIA fraud....
"In the meantime, CIA front of not, the comments section at IraqTheModel remains a disgraceful reflection of the ugly face of George W. Bush's USA."
A classic parting shot: "Even if accusation x doesn't stick, accusation y is no less important"
The thread continues in a similar vein, including several revealing exchanges regarding the bona fides of ITM and another iraqi blogger, Riverbend, but i lack the time to fisk every contribution. one last highlight from a wingnut called "bombay":
"I share the views of perhaps 48% of the American people, not 2% [of the iraqi people, his claimed ITM %age]"
Scary stuff, if true.
J
I don't intend to enter the fray on the merits of these postings; eric, harry's place and the rest have covered most of the relevant bases already.
I'd prefer to focus on the comments related to this post on Martini Republic. It's worth reading the thread in full, but one post stands out as a classic of the 'in all probability, the CIA is responsible' school of argument. Lets check out this gem from "Ghandi"
"I am VERY glad to see this issue getting some attention. Having posted at the IraqTheModel blog several hundred times, I am convinced it is a CIA front."
Hmmn. This guy is exhibiting all the signs of a conspiracy nut: Inappropriate use of caps, obsessive behaviour, and conclusion through sentiment rather than reason.
"I was also threatened with personal violence by people who trawled my blog for details of my name, address and ISP. I believe there are CIA agents monitoring the comments at ITM who now have this information, despite the fact that I have not made it publicly available."
Add paranoia to the list. Yeah bub, like the boys at langley haven't got better things to do with their time.
"I hope some serious attention will be brought to bear on these Fadhil brothers and reveal them as frauds."
Come on pal, your putting the cart before the horse here. Serious attention could reveal a number of things; them being frauds is just one possibility. However i get the impression that no investigation, however credible, will satisfy you unless it fits in with your preconceptions. If it doesn't then i'd imagine you'd see the investigation itself as a CIA fraud....
"In the meantime, CIA front of not, the comments section at IraqTheModel remains a disgraceful reflection of the ugly face of George W. Bush's USA."
A classic parting shot: "Even if accusation x doesn't stick, accusation y is no less important"
The thread continues in a similar vein, including several revealing exchanges regarding the bona fides of ITM and another iraqi blogger, Riverbend, but i lack the time to fisk every contribution. one last highlight from a wingnut called "bombay":
"I share the views of perhaps 48% of the American people, not 2% [of the iraqi people, his claimed ITM %age]"
Scary stuff, if true.
J
A couple of Geography tests...
"Dumb Yanks" click here.
"Euro-weenies" click here.
J
Via Mick Hartley
"Dumb Yanks" click here.
"Euro-weenies" click here.
J
Via Mick Hartley
