Music Round-up 2007
December 13, 2007
It’s almost the end of the year and before I look ahead to 2008 I thought I would have a retrospective look at what ‘floated my music boat’ in 2007.
Burial: Untrue
An utterly amazing album from the elusive Burial. Dark and evocative. For me, it’s a hyperdub rendition of the urban, grimy, often dirty, sometimes scary but always beautiful place that is London. Genius!
Battles: Mirrored
Experimental, electronic, ear-bleeding math-rock! Brilliant! Saw them at Koko’s in October. They’re even better live!
Holy Fuck: LP
Not dissimilar to Battles but a lot more edgy, dark and dirty (thinking Echo Sam here) is the lo-fi improvisational electronic band Holy fuck. One to watch in 2008 I think.
Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
Beautiful indie rock from Daniel Rossen, Ed Drost, Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear (what a great name!). Serious song-writing talent. Yellow House is also my favourite album cover of the year.
Thurston Moore: Trees Outside The Academy
Theatrical weirdo or song-writing genius, say what you like about the prolific Mr Moore, he makes great music. A diversion perhaps from his experimental noisecapades he delivers a classic pop album with really good ‘real songs’.
Screaming Tea Party: Death Egg
I stumbled across the Screaming Tea Party playing a set at the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park earlier in the year. Sonic Youth-esque, hazy lo-fi, melodic underground indie rock. Bloody brilliant and supercool they are too!
The National: Boxer
Beautifully crafted, resonant, poetic. I’ll never tire of this album. If I had to order this list this would be very high up the top.
The Octopus Project: Hello, Avalanche
Disparate and exclectic, changing styles at the flick of a hat from disco-punk, laptop pop to drum and bass and fuck knows what really. They may very well require multiple listens to fully appreciate but appreciate I do!
Simian Mobile Disco: Attack Decay Sustain Release
One to play loud in the office on a Friday afternoon. A great party album! “I’m a hustler baby, that’s what my daddy’s made me… if I had the money to go to a record store I would...”. Indeed.
The Cinematic Orchestra: Ma Fleur
Good old sentimental, instrumental somewhat gentrified tunes to listen to on a Sunday morning under a duvet!
![Bombay Bicycle Club: How We Are [EP]](http://peeklondon.com/images/uploads/bombaybicycleclub_thumb.jpg)
Bombay Bicycle Club: How We Are [EP]
If, by some magical but unlikely accident, Marc Bolan found himself fronting Pavement, the outcome would very likely sound like Bombay Bicycle Club. I like everything about this band except for the unfortunate name.
The new Poke Website
December 12, 2007
I‘m a coder at Poke. We have a brand new website. It looks good, it’s easy to use, useful, honest and relevant. Proud to be a Poker!
Notting Still
December 10, 2007
During the busy, festive season in London two photographer friends and I have decided to put on an exhibition of brand new works. The show is entitled ‘Notting Still’ (clearly we’re not taking ourselves too seriously). So far, I’ve met lots of very interesting people, I’ve had some fantastic feedback and I can honestly say it’s been a great success. It’s bloody hard work and there were times when I didn’t think I was going to make it but it has been worth it.
Alex Schneideman
December 07, 2007
Pictures are more interesting if the way you envisage them is challenged
Quote & Photo { Alex Schneideman }
Cockney’s Pie & Mash Shop
December 05, 2007
On the corner of Portobello Road and Golborne Road. One of my favorite lunch spots in London. Two pies, one mash with lots of liquor. It really doesn’t get any better! The pies are baked on the premises, they aren’t loaded full of artificial flavours and you get all this for £2.50. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. Thanks Ruth!
Photo { Paul & Jo’s }
Brian Ulrich: Mr. T
November 30, 2007
Work for the 5%
November 29, 2007
I‘m a realist and 95% of the work I do is tedious. You have to find ways to stay motivated and excited and the incentive is that 5% that isn’t. It’s a little cynical I know. I think I’m at about 82% today. Back to work then…
Robin Howie
November 28, 2007
Many urban areas only have substitute public places which are in fact privately owned.
Quote & Photo { Robin Howie: A Dialogue with Public Space }
A run of bad luck
November 21, 2007
I‘ve had a run of pretty bad luck with my photography lately. I got 6 rolls/scans back from my pro-lab (who are usually excellent by the way) today and there’s almost no colour in them at all! It makes for a nice effect but it’s hardly what you’d expect from an xpro. Still, this little dude is my favourite photo ever! I’m going to blow him up BIG and frame him and put him on my wall to remind me of this time.
Charles Weever Cushman
November 21, 2007
Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries.
Beautiful stuff! Hugely inspirational.
Pixelsurgeon is dead
November 21, 2007
Well, it’s a sad day. Sad in that it marks the end of the long running Pixelsurgeon. Best of luck to Jason and Sam, and the many contributors, and thank you. Pixelsurgeon was an inspiration to me. It represented everything that was sexy about the digital industry at the time. It was my motivation in the very early days. It was fresh and exciting and I remember thinking “I’ll have some of that!”
Go-Karting
November 19, 2007
Spent my Sunday go-karting at Daytona Sandown Park. Organised by my very good friend Nigel. It’s a fantastic outdoor track and there were 21 of us on it! Needless to say it was chaos. Of note though, was that on that track with all of us was none other than Phil Prew. Who’s Phil Prew? He’s Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer! He came second and not one of us mentioned the Chinese Grand Prix tire gamble!
I came sixth if you care, with a fastest lap of 00:52:11.
High on London
November 16, 2007
London is an amazing city and I have spend a lot of time photographing it. I have become somewhat obsessed (I’ll admit) with the London Skyline. Perhaps it’s unique to my experience but I’ve found it extremely difficult to get access to certain sites in London. I really don’t like that fact that they’re exclusive; try getting into St Mary’s Axe (The Gherkin) and you’ll see what I mean. Apart from a few sites London ‘highs’ are off limits. It’s a sign of the times I guess.
But, saying that, we’re far from deprived. There is the London Eye, Tower 42 and Monument (scheduled to re-open in 2008) amongst others. There’s also the London Open House (the dates for 2008 are the 20th and 21st September) and I would encourage everyone to make the most of the two days of the year the rest of us get to enjoy otherwise restricted access to some of London’s beautiful building.
As as side note, you may or may not be aware that Ken Livingston has lifted the limit on tall buildings in London and that currently there are several large scale building projects due for completion by 2012. For more details on these project take a look here.
Canon EOS 300
November 16, 2007
She was my workhorse but now she’s worn out. Broken. My dear old Canon EOS. She’s taken some beautiful photo’s. She’s been all over the world to exotic places like India and New York. Anyway. I was gutted. That was until my wonderful wife logged on to eBay and bought me another. It cost £10 with postage. T.E.N quid! Bloody great. Thanks darling!
Robert Llewellyn
November 16, 2007
If you’re searching for happiness, earn less. If you’re searching for a new Audi TT, and you think that’s going to make you happy, earn more.
Quote { Robert Llewellyn: Making do }
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