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Thoughts about music and the world in general, which may offer an insight into our creative process, or not. Subscribe to the RSS feed for updates.
Temporary holiday from real world
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I’ve been slightly distracted from the album release lately, having been at the Edinburgh festival pretty much solidly for three weeks. The festival does that to you - it is an enormous bubble, sealed off from the outside world. This is partly because it feels like the whole world is in Edinburgh, so that stepping outside it would feel like stepping into space.
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The war against rockism
Sunday, July 22, 2007
In the top 100 ‘most horrible ideologies ever’ chart, rockism probably wouldn’t be in the top ten, alongside fascism. I don’t think I’d be prepared to go to prison in protest against it (not that this would happen anyway). But it really does make me cross sometimes.
Petrol pumps, Christianity, Richard Dawkins
Monday, July 16, 2007
I’ve always loved beaches. They fill me with a very strange mix of tranquillity (all that sand, and gentle lapping waves, and vast amounts of sky) and existential terror (it’s like staring into the face of infinity, looking out at the sea, even if the rational part of you knows that Ireland or somewhere is just over the horizon).
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The dark ages are approaching… No, wait, here’s Chris Moyles
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
On Saturday morning, I suddenly realised I was going to miss the whole of Live Earth. There was a moment of mild regret. Then I read a description of the running order. “Black Eyed Peas introduced by June Sarpong.” “Damien Rice and David Gray introduced by Boris Becker.” Wow, I thought. The end of the world can’t come soon enough, really, can it?
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JT LeRoy and the Fakester Genocide
Sunday, July 01, 2007
I’ll get on to talking about our song The Fakester Genocide in a minute. First, though, a bit about a recent fakester murder. Wasn’t the JT LeRoy trial fascinating?
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What’s Drowning Nightmare 1 all about then?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The next few blogs on this site are going to explain what the 11 songs on our album, The Regional Variations, are about. I know, isn’t it exciting? This one is about Drowning Nightmare 1. Sort of. Be warned: lengthy tangent approaching. Let’s begin. At a show we played at Metro in London last year, I got talking to a woman in the audience who seemed very surprised and disappointed to discover Hamish and I are not lovers…
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‘Call us snobs.’ Ok, you’re snobs
Friday, June 22, 2007
I read the NME today, for the first time in a while, curious as to whether it was worth Ash, our PR person, sending them a copy of the album. Clearly we’re not going to turn down publicity from anyone (we are not idiots) but it really made me cross, as the NME generally does.
In defence of albums
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Back when we released our first single - a CD, which we spent much time and more money than was probably sensible or necessary packaging as beautifully as possible - I couldn’t help noticing how many people were suddenly predicting the imminent demise of the CD single.
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Architecture and Morality
Friday, June 15, 2007
I had a dream about OMD the other night. I’m walking through town with Andy McCluskey and someone like Janet Street Porter. Andy is explaining why he went from making landmark experimental pop albums like Architecture & Morality and Dazzleships to writing gloopy, predictable ballads for Atomic Kitten. To illustrate the different direction his life could have gone in, he takes us to Billy Childish’s house…
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Hero worship
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The greatness of Kitchens of Distinction is something I frequently shout about at anyone who will listen, even as they stare at me in mute incomprehension when I tell them The Death of Cool is one of the best albums of the last 20 years.
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