Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
100 Records That Shook the World, #27
Television
Marquee Moon (LP)
Released in 1977, Television's Marquee Moon is often cited as the seminal post-punk/new wave record, largely because unlike conventional punk's three-chord thrash, Marquee Moon is full of extended guitar improv and layered textures. Like many critically acclaimed songs and albums, it wasn't a commercial success.
The whole album is weird and different to anything else released at the time. From the front cover photo by Robert Mapplethorpe to Tom Verlaine's nervous and edgy delivery, the album shimmers. The band never achieved anything more than a cult status in their native USA but were in fact more popular in the UK, thanks largely to a rave review by Nick Kent in the NME.
Many artists have cited this album as a major influence - Stephen Morris of New Order and Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode to name but two. Rolling Stone ranked it at number 128 in their '500 Greatest Albums of All Time'.
Enjoy.
Answer: Cadillac Records
So last time on the Puzzler I asked you in which film you would find rapper and actor Mos Def portraying a real-life rock'n'roll icon? The answer is the wonderful Cadillac Records, which chronicles the rise of Chess Records and all its artists. in this movie you can find Beyonce playing Etta James, Cedric The Entertainer portraying Willie Dixon, label owner Leonard Chess played by the illustrious Adrien Brody, and Mr. Mos Def in the guise of Chuck Berry. Here's a look...
So... next question.
Which famous reggae artist famously covered Chuck Berry's most well-known song?
So... next question.
Which famous reggae artist famously covered Chuck Berry's most well-known song?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Weird Thoughts
Sometimes I have thoughts that, to me at least, seem normal. To other people, not so much. Like the thought I am about to lay on you hep cats and cool chicks right now.
I was in the shower the other day, mainly because I needed a good wash, but also because when I'm in the shower I find I can actually think. It's nice and peaceful in there, and I find my mind wanders. And when it wanders, I think of things that are interesting, funny, but a bit weird. So prepare yourself.
The thought I had was this: It doesn't matter what age your computer is, if you are trying to open a web page, the more important and useful the website, the slower it is likely to load. It is a strange conspiracy that is somehow hard-wired into the inner workings of the Interwebs. There is some piece of code somewhere that ensures that Gmail will take forever to load, while Angry Birds opens in an instant, no matter whether your machine is a brand-new iMac or a steam-driven piece of crap running Windows 3.1.
Conversely, the more trivial, pointless, or pornographic the web page, then the harder it will be to close it.
Computing speed has no bearing on it. It makes not one iota of difference that you bought your brand-new top-of-the-line PC or Mac yesterday. If you're trying to close a page in a hurry for some reason - say for example your boss is about to stroll past your desk as you're surfing the Intertubes (hey, I'm not saying you do that, but some people do) then the page you have open had better be Hotmail or NPR.org or something useful, because if you're watching one-legged midget stripper clowns on acid doing naughty sexy time, as soon as you click the little red X you will see popup (DouchebagDating.com) after popup (You've won an iPod! This no joke! You are fo sho the 999,999th person to click on this page!!!!!!) appear, coupled with the old egg-timer icon and perhaps a little window saying Really? You want to leave this page?? Good grief man, what's wrong with you?? , all of which will be floating above the midget clowns doing naughty things to each other's naughty bits, and your employer will know that you are perhaps NOT Employee of the Month. Not only that, but the more extreme and bizarre the website, the slower the pages close. You are comparatively safe with Teen Sexpots and Horny Housewives. But get stronger than that and you are going to wait an age. Not that I look at any of that type of stuff, you understand.
But why is this? Is it just another example of the powers that be trying to embarrass us all and criminalize everything we do? Like those little anti-piracy ads they tack on the beginning of movies on DVD. You wouldn't download a car, they say. So why would you download a movie? Look, mate, here's the thing. No, we wouldn't download a car. Because it's impossible. But if it was possible, we sure as hell would! I'd have my own dealership by now.
OK. Now I need a shower.
I was in the shower the other day, mainly because I needed a good wash, but also because when I'm in the shower I find I can actually think. It's nice and peaceful in there, and I find my mind wanders. And when it wanders, I think of things that are interesting, funny, but a bit weird. So prepare yourself.
The thought I had was this: It doesn't matter what age your computer is, if you are trying to open a web page, the more important and useful the website, the slower it is likely to load. It is a strange conspiracy that is somehow hard-wired into the inner workings of the Interwebs. There is some piece of code somewhere that ensures that Gmail will take forever to load, while Angry Birds opens in an instant, no matter whether your machine is a brand-new iMac or a steam-driven piece of crap running Windows 3.1.
Conversely, the more trivial, pointless, or pornographic the web page, then the harder it will be to close it.
Computing speed has no bearing on it. It makes not one iota of difference that you bought your brand-new top-of-the-line PC or Mac yesterday. If you're trying to close a page in a hurry for some reason - say for example your boss is about to stroll past your desk as you're surfing the Intertubes (hey, I'm not saying you do that, but some people do) then the page you have open had better be Hotmail or NPR.org or something useful, because if you're watching one-legged midget stripper clowns on acid doing naughty sexy time, as soon as you click the little red X you will see popup (DouchebagDating.com) after popup (You've won an iPod! This no joke! You are fo sho the 999,999th person to click on this page!!!!!!) appear, coupled with the old egg-timer icon and perhaps a little window saying Really? You want to leave this page?? Good grief man, what's wrong with you?? , all of which will be floating above the midget clowns doing naughty things to each other's naughty bits, and your employer will know that you are perhaps NOT Employee of the Month. Not only that, but the more extreme and bizarre the website, the slower the pages close. You are comparatively safe with Teen Sexpots and Horny Housewives. But get stronger than that and you are going to wait an age. Not that I look at any of that type of stuff, you understand.
But why is this? Is it just another example of the powers that be trying to embarrass us all and criminalize everything we do? Like those little anti-piracy ads they tack on the beginning of movies on DVD. You wouldn't download a car, they say. So why would you download a movie? Look, mate, here's the thing. No, we wouldn't download a car. Because it's impossible. But if it was possible, we sure as hell would! I'd have my own dealership by now.
OK. Now I need a shower.
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