Posts Tagged ‘stuff i like’

Logorama Wins Best Animated Short Oscar – and Rightly So

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Watch the full 16 minute version below. Be aware there is some NSFW language.

Visit the creator’s site H5 or the Logorama site itself.

Did Ian Simpson Watch 1984 Before Designing The Beetham Tower?

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Manchester’s Beetham Tower is a building that I love.  I know many of the City’s inhabitants aren’t fans, but I love the sharp impact that it has on our skyline.  Without wanting to sound too Kevin McCloud, the juxtaposition of this huge ultra-modern shard of glass rising up from the red brick, industrial revolution buildings is stark and impressive.  As a former resident I may be slightly biased, but still – it’s a great building in my opinion.

Anyway, whilst watching the movie adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four I couldn’t help but notice what appears to be a clear render of the tower through Winston’s apartment.  It is especially clear at the point where Winston and Julia are arrested.

Manchester's Beetham Tower in the film 1984

Is Ian Simpson a fan of the 1984 film Nineteen Eighty-Four?  I think so.

Beetham Tower Image by David F Morton from Flickr

Another Very Short Music post – Stephen Fretwell, Magpie

// November 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Music

Stephen Fretwell - Magpie Album CoverI’ve not listened to this album for at least a year, and before that, plays of it came randomly and somewhat far apart.

That’s a shame really, because every time I hear this album I tell myself I should play it more often. I really like this album. I like Fretwell’s outwardly northern vocals. I like his similarly bleak northern lyrics and songwriting ability and I like his voice.

Perhaps one of the reasons I don’t listen to it that often is that it doesn’t suit every occasion. It’s something to put on and enjoy at high volume in solitude. It’s a little melancholy in parts but the majority of it is modestly optimistic; even if as is the case with “Run” the lyrics seem to be describing a damaged, yet sincere and sad relationship.

I personally (and somewhat controversially) think that when Fretwell is on form he is potentially England’s answer to Dylan. As I am a huge Dylan fan, that’s not an easy thing to say, but certain parts of this album show huge chasms of Dylan-esque potential. As controversial as I know some people might find that statement, I stand by it.

Regardless of how people may interpret it, I do love this album and although I might not listen to it over and over or every week, I’m certain I’ll always have a copy of it with me till the end of my days.

He has done a second album, which is also quite good, but for me, Magpie will always be the stand out record (unless of course he betters it with a 3rd album – EPs aside).

I’ve put a couple of tracks below for your listening pleasure. If you like them, then please go and buy the album.

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Brief Comment on a New Band on My Radar – Get Back Guinozzo

// October 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Music

Carpet Madness Get Back Guinozzo album cover
I actually can’t recall where the recommendation to check this lot out originated from, but so far I’m kind of glad I did give it a listen regardless of where it came from.

It’s far from the best album I’ve ever heard, and probably will not even make it through to the hallowed position of a band or album I listen to regularly. But, seeing as though I’ve not heard anything noteworthy from their fellow countrymen and also purveyors of relaxed and leftfield electro that is “Air” for a while, “Get Back Guinozzo” are a worthy substitute for the “Air” intermission until I hear “Love 2″ properly.

I think I’ll be giving it plenty of plays over the coming weeks and months as it’s great music to work by, relax to and generally listen to without feeling it’s taking over your existence at that time.

The standout track is the album named “Carpet Madness” which is a floaty, uplifting and surprisingly well produced and full-sounding little ditty.

I predict much praise from the blogs for that particular track and perhaps some good reviews from the big guns (The Guardian, Pitchfork, Metacritic et al) for the album in the future.

Give it a go at least.

You can listen to Get Back Guinozzo – Carpet Madness below.

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A Shameless Plug for a Friend’s Band – Mazes

// September 20th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General, Music

Mazes Mazes Mazes bandSo, the other week me and t’other half nipped over to the Lock Tavern in Camden for a nice Sunday lunch and a couple of beers, when randomly an old friend from Manchester walked up to the bar.  Not only was it quite strange to bump into someone I’ve not seen for a while, it was all the more unusual as he lives in Manchester but he was down here.

Anyway, to the point;  as it turns out Jay was playing a gig with his new band Mazes.  Having known Jay for a while and benefitting from a bit of knowledge of his past endeavours (worked with Stephen Fretwell on the successful Magpie album, was part of The Beep Seals – who I love – and has had a hand in some other successful acts) I thought it’d be rude not to stick around to see the Mazes.

As it turned out they were excellent, and I’m not just saying that to support a mate.  From my limited knowledge of the Lock Tavern, it’s not the easiest venue to get booked in and it’s even less the kind of venue where a band could get away with being a bit crap.  Thankfully, I thought they performed very well and it seemed to the rest of the crowd thought so too.

So, if you’ve got a spare few minutes to check out some new music, then pop on over to their website (funny blog) or their myspace and give them a whirl, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

As a precursor to listening, they sound a little like Stephen Malkmus, Pavement, Silver Jews or even a more intense Neutral Milk Hotel – apologies to the band if that comparison is well off – but a better Malkmus and an equal Pavement is what I hear ! :)

Anyway, have a listen and let me know what you think with some comments.

Another Short Post – Revisiting Nathan Barley

// August 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Design, General, Movies

Nathan Barley - Sugar Ape Magazine coverSo, I’ve just spent a couple of days working freelance on-site for a “trendy” London (Shoreditch) design agency and for some reason I was reminded of the brief glimmer of brilliance that was the TV series: Nathan Barley.

I’m not saying who I it was that I was working for that reminded me of Nathan Barley and “Sugar Ape” in particular; because that would do them a great disservice. In all honesty they were an outstanding agency, with a sterling client list and a lot of talented creative people on their staff. But something in that office, little things here and there screamed “Sugar Ape” to me.  Perhaps it was the background ping-pong, maybe something else; what I can say though is that at least there were no games of “cock, muff, bumhole” going on – that I could see anyway.

Anyway, it was the perfect excuse/reminder for me to go home and revisit this great series. Watching it again I still find it funny, and even more relevant today than it was in 2005. I even had trouble working out whether your typical “new-media-hipster” saw the series and adopted the attitude and mannerisms in an “oh-so-cool” ironic fashion or whether it was just a genuine parody of it’s time and people haven’t changed that much. Either way it strikes a chord and makes me laugh.

It’s yet another true gem from Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris – everything they touch seems to turn to laughter. So if you haven’t seen this series yet then please go out and acquire the DVD, it’s funny, incisive and daft and therefore worth a few hours of anybodies time.

Ian Brown – Stellify EP and Video

// August 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Music

Ian Brown Stellify EP coverI’ve not got much time to properly review this today, so I’ll expand on it later.  But Ian Brown’s new EP Stellify is well worth buying for both time-served King Monkey fans and new-comers.

The four track ep takes its tracks from the upcoming “My Way” album and signifies a return to form after the underwhelming effort (sorry, that is hard to admit) that was “The World is Yours”.

In the words of Ian Brown himself; Beg, steal, borrow or buy it – it’s worth it.

Here’s the video for Stellify featuring Ian taking a stroll through the streets of Manchester.


Video player and video stream supplied by Polydor/Universal Music

What Do People Talk To Me About?

// August 10th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // General, Music, Technology and Gadgets

As a web-type-person, I often find myself in conversations with friends or new acquaintances who either:

  1. Have the bestest idea ever, ever, ever for a website that they want to make.
  2. Are curious about what stimulates my technological erogenous zones.
  3. Think I’m a gamer who can recommend the best video game to buy at any moment in time.

I don’t want to pick on my friends, (I value my friends dearly so would never) but a bit of chagrin on their part every now and again is an intrinsic element of the makeup of any 21st Century man; so a little ribbing here is fair game.

I’ll address point 3 first of all.  I know NOTHING about gaming (outside of the iPhone gaming world of course).  This is because of two reasons; one, I just don’t have the time to waste and two, I’m absolutely rubbish at most games (I blame my unwieldily large hands and small controllers). I of course pick up on the buzz that surrounds new games, platforms or emerging technology,  however I’ve only ever completed two games in my entire life: Splinter Cell and Silent Hill on the original Xbox. The only thing that compelled me to do such a thing was to test out the Dolby Digital surround system I bought around the same time.  I loved the fact that you could hear things creeping up on you and react to it.  It was an immersive experience that I found interesting.  However it soon wore off and my XBox and PS2 were again reduced to dusty ornaments on my TV cabinet.

Since then I’ve tried hard (for the millionth time) to get into games, buying a PS3 in the process and the only thing I spent any notable time on was Call of Duty 4.  The PS3 is still with us but now only gets rolled out at parties when my fiancé insists on getting SingStar going.  So to conclude, if you want games advice I suggest a visit to IGN would be much more valuable than a chat with myself.  One day though, I’ll find the time to get into it… one day.

Now onto the good stuff.  Every other webby or venture capital person will probably chuckle to themselves recognising this familiar situation.  Everybody I know has a great idea for a website, and naturally I’m their first port of call.  The only problem is that 99% of these ideas have already been done, and 70% of them have already been done well.  Being a person who spends at least 2-3 hours a day digesting something in the region of 300 individual tech, gadget, innovation, design and development RSS feeds I tend to have a good idea of what’s happening, what’s new and what works and doesn’t on the web.  So if a friend suggests an idea, chances are if it’s been done I’ll know about it.

The problem with this is that often you have to shatter dreams. :(  A lot of my friends don’t use the internet much, so they don’t see everything and aren’t aware of some of the great sites out there.  It’s not easy to tell them that something has already been done or that it might not work, but if someone has an epiphany and decides that what the internet needs is somewhere you can go and buy books then you have no choice but to point out Amazon.

I’ve had the odd idea suggested here and there that have been genuinely innovative, some of which are in my development pipeline, but the majority are unfortunately already out there.  I would never suggest that people stop approaching me with ideas though as you never know, they may hit a home run. There are a also a hell of a lot of sites out there that could be done better.

The final thing people talk to me about, and this is often the point where I somehow manage to bore and repel people at parties.  That is: what sites and technologies do I admire on the web?  I could (and often do) go on for hours about my favourites.  I’ll try and give a brief summary of typical daily web activites and favourites to save you all the boredom.

First of all, as previously mentioned in my RSS reader (NetNewsWire) I have something in the region of 300 RSS feeds.  The majority of which are technology and gadget blogs; Engadget, Gizmodo, Geekologie, Slashdot, The Register are typical examples.  Then there’s the meme, viral and web buzz sites like, Digg, Buzzfeed and Urlesque.  To top it all off there’s a bunch of fashion, design, style and trend sites like PSFK, Retro to Go, Springwise etc.

The upside to all those feeds is that I get a pretty good picture of trending technology, design, and development techniques.  Keeping me on my toes and ensuring I don’t get left behind.  The downside is that I end up seeing the same stories posted over and over again on different blogs.  I should at least delete two of Gizmodo, Engadget and Geekologie but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

As for my favourite sites that I actually visit… Well, I can’t resist a bit of time here and there on the Manchester United Red Issue forums (is it bad form to release football allegiance to potential clients?)  if there was ever a site not to be taken seriously then the Red Issue Main forum is it.  But it provides me with an entertaining source of United news and many comedy moments.  Weirdly I have no traditional news sources in any of my RSS feeds so I visit the BBC, Guardian and other major news sources on a regular basis.

Somewhat unsurprisingly to regular readers of this blog, the sites I spend the bulk of my none-work-related online time (I actually think all my time online is work related as seeing what the internet does is what I do) is spent on music sites.  I visit Metacritic, Pitchfork, RCRD LBL and Vice Magazine Music at least every other day to get a fix.  I always want to know what’s new, what’s great and what’s bad so these sites are an essential resource.

When working from home like I do your only company is often just music, therefore it is a huge part of my life.  Those sites make sure that the music I work to keeps me lifted and engaged, rather than bored and searching for something to listen to.  I also love to visit my last.fm profile every now and again to see what’s made it to the top of my chart that day, week or month.

But, the question I hear you ask is what is my favourite website?  Well, in all honesty it changes on an at least a weekly basis if not daily.  However the site I can’t pull myself away from at the moment is the Hype Machine.  The Hype Machine indexes a whole bunch of the best music blogs looking for reviews and tracks.  It then pulls the tracks into its own embedded media player and the reviews end up in their homepage stream.

There are many great things about The Hype Machine, for instance you can seamlessly go from page to page without interrupting the music player, it loads in new blog posts in real time via ajax, it auto tags tracks and artists to create charts and other dynamic content and of course it creates it’s own charts based upon popular songs played that day.

In my opinion the people over at The Hype Machine completely ‘get’ music online.  They even recently launched a new chart which monitors Twitter looking for song mentions: a great example of their ability to latch onto and integrate happening trends.

Creating your own profile allows you to feel a part of the site as your played tracks contribute to the overall charts, it even updates your last.fm and twitter streams with your recently played and loved tracks. I think it is a perfect example of how user generated content should be done.  You may – correctly -assume that Twitter and Facebook are great examples of UGC, but with Twitter and Facebook your activity and content is limited to your own pages and networks, but with Hype Machine you affect and decide the overall site content.  I believe it is one of the few “perfect” user-generated-content sites out there, the fact it is music related just makes things better for me.

So there you have it.  A little insight into my daily tech activities interspersed with some hardcore evangelism for my current favourite website – I did warn you I could go on a bit about my favourite things online!

An Oft Overlooked Hip Hop Gem – Atmosphere

// July 17th, 2009 // No Comments » // General

Atmosphere When Life Gives You Lemons Album CoverNow like many others I like a bit of the old hippety hop every now and again, especially anything with an “old-skool” taste to it, none of this autotune R&B nonsense.

Whilst randomly browsing the A’s in my iTunes I rediscovered the Atmosphere album “When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold”. This album was originally sent to me last year to contemplate and in all honesty I’d have probably passed it by hadn’t it had such a wonderful title. Anyway back in last year I gave it a chance and quite liked it, finding myself enamoured particularly by the handclap synthy sound of “Shoulda Known” and the silky feel of “Puppets”.

Listening to it again tonight gave me a new appreciation for the overall slickness of this album and I would recommend it to any other hip hop listeners out there. Any purveyors of hip hop who can convince Tom Waits to beat box for them are worthy of mention just for that in fact.

As a side note, iTunes genius threw up another hip hop fave of mine from recent years, K-Os -Elektrik Heat, The Seekwill. This little Canadian born ditty of recent years makes me yearn for the old days of proper rap music. Have a listen.

Essential Addition to Your Summer Playlist – Discovery

// June 11th, 2009 // No Comments » // Music

Discover LP Album ArtorkIf summer ever comes that is; I thought it was meant to be always sunny and warm down here – or so my cockernee friends always told me.

Anyway, Jon Hicks yesterday posted a brief intro to the new band Discovery (he discovered it perhaps?). Discovery are a side project taking 50% of its members from Vampire Weekend and 50% from Ra Ra Riot a blend that works for me as I quite like both bands.

This type of synthy electro pop is the perfect way to brighten up your day a little. Have a listen over at the Hype Machine.

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