Gigs/Music, Football, Beer / Wine, travelling to new places/countries, art galleries, I love london. running, keeping fit, the thrill of buying a new pair of trainers/shoes. Although the last one does have a distressing element where I don't want to wear them in case they get scuffed. I love to travel, discover new places, cultures. Don't mind where I visit, Beach, City, Mountains, its all good, its all different.
I'd like to meet:
Dunno, surprise me. Please don't contact me if you want me to do or say weird stuff for you. I'm here for my mates really. I will politely decline friend invites from nubile (or fat) women (or men) who want me to subscribe to their "special pictures and movies" websites. N.b - Having been on myspace a while, and despite my request, 50 year old men posing as 19 year old girls still try to get me to subscribe to their stupid websites.
Music:
I love music, I love discovering new stuff, there is an almost infinite amount of music to discover which is great, sometimes its daunting though, where do you start on a band with a substantial back catalogue? I love going to gigs. Try and do a couple a month. Have a vast range of tastes, in no particular order - Isobel Campbell/Mark Laneghan. Howling Bells. Jon Redfern. Duke Spirit. Morning after girls. Tunng. Sigur Ros. Mogwai (I love my post rock quiet quiet loud white noise). PJ harvey, Curve, Talk Talk - their later stuff -spirit of eden is one of my all time favourite albums. Shout out louds, jose gonzales, concretes, kings of convenience. John Martyn, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, be your own pet, bad manners, Juliette Lewis and the licks, old ska and dub reggae esp Black Uhuru/sly and robbie, Jimmy Cliff, Emiliana Torrini, catherine wheel (underrated band - even when I was a shoegazer), espers, white stripes, goldfrapp, kings of leon, kinks, kraftwerk, lady sovereign, the go team, ladytron, led zep, pink floyd, massive attack, miranda sex garden, my bloody valentine, N.E.R.D, queen adreena/daisy chainsaw, nirvana, prodigy, stranglers, skunk anansi/skin, cat stevens, the bees, rakes, subways, we are scientists, kate bush, white rose movement and lots of other stuff...
Some vids and live performances I enjoy / am amused by / I am terrified by.First up, a video cut by Danielavideopro (check youtube) of Drowning Pool's 'Bodies' to scenes from the film 300. Excellent, love the razor sharp guitar in this song, and the violence in the film complements it marvellously. Spartans and Persion cutting lumps out of each other. Beautiful!Next up, the Stranglers, when I was a teenager I wanted to play football like Liam Brady, and bass like JJ Burnel. I achieved neither. Tank is a great tongue in cheek punk track. (credit to Shiveringman on youtube)Kraftwerk, the best thing to come out of Dusseldorf since some sort of sausage I'm sure. Here they sing about important subjects, like Pocket Calculators. Have you ever played air Pocket Calculator? You should, it's fun.Before Midge Ure joined and shagged it up, Ultravox were fronted by John Foxx and played intelligent "art punk". This is one of their classier numbers from the old grey whistle test.Aphex Twin's truly frightening video, what makes me laugh is how they sold the concept to the old lady actress appearing in the video. "So Doris, you're walking your dog and you come across this TV. An eight foot naked skinny bald monster then climbs out of the TV and starts screaming in your face nearly knocking you off your feet." hahahahaha. Truly unsettling.Next up Mogwai, always a fan of post rock... another unsettling video prefixed with a darkly comic disclaimer.
Muscially beautiful but achingly sad somehow.Catherine Wheel, so underrated. Veered from shoegazer to hard rock. This song is heavily influenced by their producer Tim Friese-Greene, you can hear the Hammond Organ and distorted Harmonica evocative of Talk Talk at their melancholic best...Talking about Talk Talk, here is one of Mark Hollis' solo works (credit Toorlooo on youtube for vid images). He's disappeared from the music scene now. Shame. This is a sad and beautiful song.Nex up Pink Floyd. Careful With that Axe Eugene must have been awesome to see live. So what if its self indulgent. it's brilliant pre-post-rock!PJ Harvey, This is love. Wow. What a vid. What a song. Dirty blues at its best!Ok one more. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Spellbound. Don't make songs like this anymore! Love the barnet too!
Movies:
Weird stuff or quirky.
Wicker Man (the original).
Lord of the rings.
Once upon a time in the west.
Alien, Das Boot, the Hill, Seven Samurai, Spider Man and X-Men. From Dusk Till Dawn.
Oh, and White Chicks. I want to see 300, Last King of Scotland. And am looking forward to Spider Man 3. If I wasn't lazy, I would take acting lessons and usurp Toby McGuire as Spider Man. I'd be great.
Television:
Mighty Boosh, Mitchell and Webb/Peep Show, Garth Marenghi, Monnnkeeeyyyy!!!! I secretly (well overtly now) like Star Trek, but I wouldn't stick latex ears on, not in public anyway. I also like historical TV, where some old dude walks around some field talking about a famous battle and occasionally swings an imaginary sword around when he gets excited. However, I think me and my mate Sal could be excellent historical documentary hosts as we would talk about it in Hackney jive and bring the battle of Thermopylae some contemporary dialogue. TV bores me though, I restrict myself to only 8 hours a day...
Books:
I used to read a lot of books, now though I have the attention span of a hyperactive goat who drinks too much orange squash.
I usually read stuff about survival / high adventure. Arctic explorers who end up adrift or stranded and their survival stories. Enjoy reading about the human spirit in extreme conditions and team dynamics.
Been reading stuff by Neil Gaiman, he's cool. A great mind, with some sick twists. Gotta read his comics now and get back into the graphic novel world.
At the moment, reading Frank McLintocks autobiography, got Perry Groves' one in reserve. Check out Klaus Kinski's autobio, its filthy.
Heroes:
Hypno-disc from Robot Wars, Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy, Tripitaka, Tripitakas Talking Horse. David Attenborough. Spike Milligan. Muhammed Ali. Tony Benn. Jean-Jacque Burnel. Martin Keown. Che Guevara. Spider Man. The Pre-raphaelite brotherhood for their beautiful portrayals of girls in historical / mythical garb! They are jaw droppingly gorgeous.
