British Sea Power conquering our shores finally?

The word on the street, the air and the space-behind-my-mom's-house-where-I-occasionally-crap-in is that British Sea Power may be heading to this side of the world for shows in KL, Singapore and Bandung. Now you can of course choose not to believe me just like how I once believed that the band members were not a marauding pack of blood-thirsty devil hounds.

Then I saw the picture above.

Believe people, believe.

British Sea Power - Stunde Null (from Valhalla Dancehall)

Gig-gles: Jimmy Eat World, Singapore, 1 April 2011

(Courtesy of Obvious Girl)

So while Jimmy Eat World were performing 'Sweetness' to end their Singapore show, an epiphany suddenly hit me: I know what Jimmy wanted us to sing back to him. The secret lies in the third "whoa-oh". That particular one has some striking vocal similarities to the mating call of a parakeet, which I know because I have a parakeet named Peter, who I treat with incredible love and kindness.

So anyways, after careful, delicate consultation with Peter my pet parakeet, I managed to get him to confess what it actually means, and so I would like to finally share with the world exactly what he wrote down. It is:

I'll tell you anything! Please stop stabbing that fork down my throat!

Hmmm, that does seem like a strange thing that Jimmy wants us to sing back. But I trust Peter. And he trusts me. See? Right now he's pointing that fork at me. He must be wanting to feed me! Such a good parakeet. Now just poke that piece of fried chicken won't you, and then bring the fork back up to my mou... stabbbb... thudddd.... squawkkk you, you dunce!

Set list:

1. Bleed American
2. A Praise Chorus
3. My Best Theory
4. Coffee And Cigarettes
5. Your New Aesthetic
6. Let It Happen
7. Futures
8. Big Casino
9. Dizzy
10. Action Needs An Audience
11. Pain
12. Get It Faster
13. 23
14. Evidence
15. For Me This Is Heaven
16. Hear You Me
17. Work
18. Blister
19. Goodbye Sky Harbor

Encore:
20. Invented
21. The Middle
22. Sweetness

Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me (from Bleed American)

The Strokes live in Indonesia sometime in 2011?

As much as I can admit that we don't get quite as much action as Singapore does, I can at least take comfort in the fact that Singapore possibly does not get as much action as Indonesia. And you might be wondering how one can take comfort in something like that but it's really simple. It's like would I rather have my wife sleep with:

a) Amber Heard
b) Conan the Barbarian
c) Diana Agron

What do you think? Obvious huh? Of course it would be him.

The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness (from Angles)

Friday Fartwork: Radiohead's The King of Limbs

Radiohead
The King of Limbs
(Self-released)

Today, we'll take a look at the very simple, yet deceptively complex, fartwork of Radiohead's new album The King of Limbs.

A few thoughts will hit you when you first come into contact with this piece of art - and they are, by-and-large, mundane observations: What are these things? Why does one appear to have three arms (possibly just on one side) and the other doesn't? Is one a reflection of the other? Where are they and what are they feeling? And if at all, which one between these two creatures is the implied king of limbs?

And thus we move on to the more complicated, even abstract, probings: What do the contrasting colours of these two creatures say about the colours of Thom Yorke's chakras? What's the significance of the juxtaposition between the tree details at the top of the album cover and the abstract vertical paint lines at the bottom? Is the "The King Of Limbs" typography acting as a separator to the fragmented psyche of Mr Yorke, and if so, are there any clues suggesting how this king will hold both extremes in tension?

The key to really understanding this fartwork, however, lies not in any of the above questions but in this: Where is the band name "Radiohead" and what have these two ghouls to do with it?

It should now become much clearer to you that the green ghoul in the background has just eaten the word "Radiohead" and has choked while trying to swallow it. That explains why he has turned green and that his eyes are wide with terror - nay, desperation! The white diagonal lines above the green ghoul's head indicates its surprise and alarm at having choked so badly.

The other ghoul, the one in yellow, is clearly seen running away from the scene (to the left - the two brown ovals above "The" are its eyes) to get help for his friend. Look closely and you will see the urgency in his eyes, expressed through the horizontal paint daubs under each of the brown ovals. It doesn't take much to feel his determination to seek medical treatment and seek it fast. His fleeing from the scene now lends new meaning to the expression on his choking friend's face - he now fears the thought of being alone in this forest at night.

Would Thom Yorke himself show up - much like in the video for There There - and exact vengeance on this ghoul for its bandname binge? A truly chilling thought, left unanswered.

Radiohead - Feral (from the album The King of Limbs)

This Week's Track 9: Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Bavarian Fruit Bread

Ah nothing like an exotic bread. I mean, Bavarian fruit bread may sound somewhat exciting but it's not even half as exciting as some of the bread I love to eat for breakfast. What kind? Well, there's the Arizonian jackalope butt bun. Oh oh and of course the Dagobah Yoda dentures bread. The last one has a real zing to it. Makes me want to speak in passive voice.

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Bavarian Fruit Bread (from Bavarian Fruit Bread)

Bob Dylan Live in Singapore: Timbre: Rock & Roots on April 15 & 16

There are no longer many things in life you can guarantee. I mean, I could guarantee you that I will still be typing this post three seconds from now but then again I could well be kidnapped by a grizzly bear from my suburban home and taken back to its cave up in the mountains so that I can fix its TV and sing him Cliff Richard songs. It's a long shot but anything's possible.

But, I can more or less guarantee that Bob Dylan no longer looks like the picture above. It's probably been awhile since he looked like the picture above. In fact, when Bob Dylan last looked like the picture above, I was still a chicken and on my way to evolving into a ferret. It would be a good 6,000 years before I started walking on two legs.

For more info, go here

Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone (live) (from The Very Best of MTV Unplugged)

Look what I found in the bargain bin

Various Artists
Empire Records soundtrack
(A&M)

Price: RM9

Oh, the pleasures of reliving those lost days vicariously through a bargain bin. As I rummaged through this particular bargain bin, countless items brought back all those memories from my youth: fragments of pigeon intestines, worn out nunchucks wwrapped in barb wire, Autobots and GI Joes glued together and making out, a bloody fan blade, and strands of Mr Ricardo's chest hair. And yes, this soundtrack. I miss those days. Oh Hi, Mr Ricardo! Long time no see! My, you've lost weight. Neat! Ooo, nice chest hair...

The Innocence Mission - Bright As Yellow (from Empire Records Soundtrack)

In the papers today...

A cross-eyed opossum in Germany has become an Internet sensation. Heidi the opossum has earned herself 65,000 friends on Facebook by virtue of being cross-eyed. The opossum was abandoned at an animal shelter in the United States before being picked up and sent to Germany, and her handlers attribute her condition to a combination of her previous diet and a possible build up of fat deposits behind her eyes. Nevertheless, Heidi has already expanded on her fame to open a Twitter account, where her first tweet was "My marble table is way doper than Kanye's. Sucka."

This story reminds me of: Lady Lazarus - The Eye In The Eye Of The Storm (from Mantic)

An American soldier who went AWOL has turned himself in, and has been ordered to complete his one-year tour of duty. Jeff Hanks cited mental health problems as his reason for going AWOL, and returned to North Carolina in the middle of his stint in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, he turned himself in on Veterans Day, even though he insists his mental health has not been cured. When reporters visited his home to find out why, they discovered that actually he decided to return because his version of Football Manager didn't have Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool's manager, which totally bummed him out.

This story reminds me of: Hujan - Lonely Soldier Boy (from Lonely Soldier Boy)

American police in Idaho are investigating the case of a stalker who has been leaving severed animal heads on the front porch of a family. The unidentified man has so far left the heads of an elk and a mule, as well as the remains of a bunny. The police have cited this as being fairly reminiscent of scenes from The Godfather and Fatal Attraction. However, a reporter who met with the stalker said that actually, the stalker is trying to recreate the characters from Shrek, except that he can't find a cat, so he's replacing it with a bunny and naming it Hops 'n Clops. He also said to tell him if anyone spots a sexy dragon he can behead.

This story reminds me of: Conquering Animal Sound - Bear (from Kammerspiel)

This Week's Track 9: The Polyphonic Spree - Light to Follow

Dear Dad,

When I grow up, I want to be a responsible person, a light to follow, just like you. Never mind that I am not following much of your light, instead I am following another light, namely this:

It's mainly because of those Japanese words at the side, which translates to 'Luke, I'm your father'. I know, my name may not be Luke but somehow, the sign speaks to me, I don't know why. Anyways, here's to being a light to follow someday.

Yours truly

The Geek

The Polyphonic Spree - Light to Follow (from The Fragile Army)

Look what I found in the bargain bin

Tori Amos
Under The Pink
(Atlantic)

Price: RM9

I would like to counter Tori's advice and say that if you want to be a real man this year, you shouldn't get under the pink. but get under the blue and black. I'm telling you, every real man this world should endeavour to colour his whole life blue and black. Look at me: my grenades are blue and black. My venus flytrap garden is blue and black. Even my Backstreet Boys wallpaper is blue and bla... whoa, did I say wallpaper? Oh. Err yes, pink. So sissy.

Tori Amos - Pretty Good Year (from Under the Pink)

The Sick Sick Six: how to journey through new year illness

Have you started the new year sick? Well, then you have done the right thing in reading this blog entry. Because two of us three pirates have also fallen sick to begin the new year. And so as part of our continued quest towards personal improvement, we made it our new year's resolution to give top notch advice on everything that happens to us. Yes, so look forward to more entries on how to walk from the bed to the bathroom, how to pick up a teaspoon, and how to turn a beanbag into a Tron-blasting cannon. Yes, we want to share everything we do.

Stage 1: realising you are sick
As all good AA groups tell us, the first step comes in admitting you have a problem. So go ahead, join us and say those three important words: I... am... sycamore tree! Eh err, sorry. Not sure what came over us there. Let's try again. I... am... sincerely not sick I'm as fit as a finch, thank you! Oh teehee. What happened? Ah yes, those three words. Let's go: I... am... shooting fireworks outta yo wimpy rumpface, yo wuss and a half! Neh neh nehneh neh neh, weak'n'turdy teh teh!
Le Vice - Hard To Be Ill (from Le Vice)

Stage 2: coughing
So you've done the confession? (So did we.) Well done. It will definitely help you to cope with the first clear symptoms, which is the hacking cough. In other cases, you might also catch the slashing cough, or the chainsawing cough, or the rattatat on yo fatfatcat cough. But most times, the cough just hacks. Let it hack.
Menomena - Cough Coughing (from I Am The Fun Blame Monster)

Stage 3: catching the cold
Soon, the cold sets in. Some people say that the best way to counter the cold is to drink green tea. We say press B to block, then left + A to counter uppercut. Works 43.2% of the time.
Inch Chua - Cold, Conned & Conquered (from Wallflower)

Stage 4: catching the flu
Catching the flu is a very important step in your journey through new year illness. It will prevent the flu from becoming the fly. It's harder to catch the fly.
M.I.A. - Bird Flu (from Kala)

Stage 5: the fever
Eventually, your head feels hot. We know how that feels. There was one time Genusfrog complained that his head felt hot, so we instantly recognised that he was developing a fever, and we quickly shoved 4 Panadols down this throat. He kept insisting that it was because he had a bag of dynamite tied around his neck, but you see, that's another sign of fever: giving weak excuses for not wanting any medicine. Don't accept it.
Them:Youth - Fever Rising (from Fever Rising)

Stage 6: playing games
We have arrived at the most important of this six-stage process: taking full advantage of your sickness to develop yourself. Yes, we're talking about maximising potential and achieving goals even in the downest of times. So please follow our model for growth, and catch up on Mad Men, throw chicken bones at your neighbour's poodle and pee on your house plants. It's time to become the better you.
Guided by Voices - Game of Pricks (from The Best of Guided By Voices: Human Amusements At Hourly Rates)

Look what I found in the bargain bin

Badly Drawn Boy
Have You Fed The Fish?
(Twisted Nerve)

Price: RM9

I love my pets. I try my best to take care of them. So one day, I'm hanging around this pawn shop, and I spot this album. And so I bring it to the counter, dig into my wallet, and suddenly something dawns upon me: I forgot to feed my fish!

Silly willy, me.

Good thing Kermit came over for tea a couple of minutes after that. He brought his nephews. And one of his nephews has always been the adventurous type, so I let him feed my fish:



Thanks, Kermit.

Badly Drawn Boy - 40 Days, 40 Fights (from Have You Fed The Fish?)