darthphil.com

Tourism

2008-05-14T09:40:00.004+01:00

Yes I'm at that stage of Grand Theft Auto - ignoring the story and looking for weird crap... and Ricky Gervais.

Things that suck, and things that don't suck - part whatever

2008-05-05T23:34:00.003+01:00

Let's start with something that sucks:

Leicester being relegated into the third tier of the English Football league for the first time in over 100 years

Yes I know I'm a crap football fan: I don't own a season ticket, I don't get pissed every other weekend and spend my time in the company of thousands of other like minded fans, I follow Leicester in a way that could be described as 'ambient' at times - through a brief few seconds of reporting on Sky Sports News here and there, or through hopelessly optimistic Leicester supporting websites - by all rights I shouldn't care.

But I do, and watching them go down to the delight of a pub full of Coventry City fans was pretty much the least fun thing I've witnessed this year...

Things that didn't suck? This:

A brand new, completely free (both financially and guilt speaking) Nine Inch Nails album. It's ace, and you can download it in a variety of formats here.

todo.txt

2008-04-29T14:04:00.004+01:00

I have a text file on the desktop of my laptop at home (well embedded into it using Samurize as I like to show off my geek credentials occasionally) called todo.txt. For the past few weeks all it has said is "dry clean suit, play Lost Odyssey."

The suit thing is fair enough, it needs cleaning - but what is Lost Odyssey and why play it? Well, it's a Japanese role playing game for the XBox360: it tells a story about a thousand year old immortal character, was produced by some of the minds behind the Final Fantasy series and spans a story crossing 4 DVDs. It's very nice to look at, has some good old fashioned turn based RPG mechanics (which I like - I'm old, sue me!), and a pretty good story for most parts.

Sixty hours of game play later and I'm done, you would think I'd want a rest after that, but oh no! I have two little problems: Number one is the back log of over a dozen unfinished games that normally squats accusingly under my TV,but looming large (quite literally) over all of those is this beast of a game:

I may be some time...

BORIS, definitely the capitalised version...

2008-04-25T14:58:00.005+01:00

The above picture is from Wednesday night,

Support was from Growing whom I'm still not sure what to make of - they made some interesting sounds, but I was a bit thrown by the fact that I couldn't work out how the actions they performed on stage related to the noises I heard. Have a look at this video to see what I mean.

Boris went down the more traditional route, which is fine by me. \m/

The most god awful picture you will see of Portishead, ever!

2008-04-18T14:58:00.004+01:00

The headline is another example of what I like to call a 'lie', I have far worse pictures on my phone...

So, I went to see Portishead last night (ner, ner ner! he said making silly faces in your general direction). The support act was great, if you like East European folk music - and accordians... hmm.

Portishead were... comfortable. I think that describes them best, still trying to warm to the new material, it does seem to miss a certain je ne sais quoi. I think it may be the lack of slightly psychotic obsessing over lost love that I'm just not getting from the new album.

Anyway, can't be bothered to describe it in detail so why not have a look at some more crap pictures of said gig over here.

Lies & porn

2008-04-15T11:09:00.007+01:00

I will update my website regularly and I won't make a big song and dance about a swanky new redesign then let it stagnate for at least a month. Pah!

Anyway, about those pornographic comic books:

The book is called Lost Girls written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Melinda Gebbie, it comes (fnar) in 3 volumes, and according to Wikipedia: "Lost Girls is an erotic graphic novel depicting the sexual adventures of three important female fictional characters of the late 19th and early 20th century".

I've got my hands on it as I'm, well - not a fan as such, but someone who recognises Alan Moore as one of the most important writers in the comic book industry, plus due to the nature of the content you have to snap this book up quick before it gets banned.

So what do I think of it? Well, I'm not sure - the language does seem a bit "Ooh more tea vicar! Don't mind if I do" etc, but with more reference to orifices, and the story is maybe a bit thin if you take all of the incessant shagging away.

As a piece of pornography I'm not sure about it either, probably due to over exposure of the internet - I mean, we've all seen pretty much everything that is to be seen haven't we? Or maybe because there are some fairly distasteful elements to the story (incest, bestiality it's all here!), or maybe I'm just not into comic book characters shagging.

However as an objet d'art I think it's fantastic. Each panel is painted beautifully, the books themselves are proper hardback editions with dust covers painted like old children's books and the three volumes come in a nice sturdy box.

...

And now I've just realised I've resorted to talking about the box that, possibly one of the most groundbreaking pieces of comic book work, comes in. I'm giving up now! Have a read of what Neil Gaiman wrote about Lost Girls, it's a much better read.

darthphil.com 2008 - a user's guide

2008-03-14T17:08:00.009Z

So, at least someone has noticed the new design. I thought I'd do a quick post to explain some of the intracies of the new layout, there may be a couple of tricks worth stealing...

First things first, the 'crap all over the floor' background image - I've had that idea stuck in my head for some time but had difficulty getting a decent image using the constraints of only ever using a camera phone. Although it would be nice to say the image is one which carefully describes the complexity of my moods I think what it is really showing is a sad indictment that my life can be reduced to the contents of a hard drive, an ipod and a couple of game controllers. Then again, it could just be a pleasant background image...

I've kept the flickr badges as I think they are quite a nice touch, if you are into your HTML and CSS I've added a very subtle filter/opacity effect to tone down the brightness along with the worlds most subtle drop down shadow effect. The drop down around the main blog is a complete cheat by the way, have a look at the background image if you are interested in this sort of thing.

As for navigation, well as you may have noticed there isn't one! Let's be honest, I don't update this site enough for it to merit one, plus according to the stats most people just drop in to read the front page. If for some reason you do need to find an old post there is a fairly unusable search box for you to play with in the top right corner.

I've kept a few links to other parts of the internet where I maintain a presence, I think most people are net savvy enough to recognise the icons (incidently, for the web developers out there, I've tried using the CSS opacity effect to produce a sort of mouse over effect - and yes, I know - it doesn't work in Internet Explorer). If you are someone who is frustrated by the lack of updates on this site you may want to keep an eye on my youtube and del.icio.us pages.

OK, I think that's enough for now. Next on the agenda: either pornographic comic books or more reason why my taste in music rules!

Hmm...

2008-03-13T01:08:00.001Z

Seems like there is something different at darthphil.com

Amsterdam, sans tulips

2008-03-07T14:24:00.002Z

I've finally got round to uploading my pictures of last weekend's jaunt to Amsterdam, don't worry all pictures of 'herbal' cigarettes have been removed (although there does seem to be a few damaged rizla packets hanging around) so everyone should be able to keep their jobs.

Here is the link to the flickr set.

Jesus loves you... maybe a bit too much.

2008-02-24T14:31:00.004Z

So very wrong... So very funny.

I am working on a new site design for what it's worth - a leaner, meaner one with a slightly more relevant background image to reflect my lifestyle (the current car thing came from a brief Forza 2 obsession, which is very much over). So, there is the possibilty that these silly little posts will stop soon and be replaced with some good old fashioned procrastinating - watch this space I guess...

This one is going out for the Arvo Pärt massive

2008-02-14T00:42:00.002Z

live recording of Stars of the Lid playing Arvo Parts "FRATRES"
recorded in Utrecht, the Netherlands(DEC.2008)

...that could quite easily move me towards religion

Wisdom

2008-02-06T18:52:00.000Z

If McDonald's "Happy Meals" are named after the emotional state children experience while consuming them, shouldn't the adult versions be called "Self-Loathing Meals"?

I didn't think of that btw, this chap did.

Beautiful, isn't it?

2008-02-01T23:34:00.000Z

The reason why I will buy a PS3 at some point...

2008-01-10T10:07:00.000Z

Namco have decided to put Star Wars characters into the next Soul Calibur game, Yoda is in the XBox 360 version and Vader is in the PS3 version and you know which side of that fence I reside on.

More info and some fairly funny fanboy comments here.

Christmas

2007-12-30T22:27:00.000Z

...was all about one person this year.

This is Rose trying to climb up my brother - bit of a problem when you are only 6 weeks old and as far as motor skills go you have only just figured out how to smile.

This is my completely unflappable and brilliant Mum with Rose.

Here is Rose with my brother, Wee Willie Winkie, and my sister in law.

And here is Rose with our family's Uncle Buck - me!

Top 20 albums released in 2007 that I seem to have listened to a fair amount:

2007-12-18T23:26:00.000Z

In alphabetic order!

Apparat - Walls
Beautiful techno/glitch/pop album from Germany.

Battles - Mirrored
One of the few bands around that can honestly be called unique.

Big Business - Here Come The Waterworks
The business half of The Melvins, quite literally.

Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City
Out of place in this list, but I don't care.

Boris with Merzbow - Rock Dream
Not as big a head fuck as you probably think if you are aware of the separate careers of these two.

Burial - Untrue
Sad but strangely not depressing, true urban music.

Chrome Hoof - Pre-Emptive False Rapture
Think Black Sabbath meets Funkadelic for an easy point of reference.

The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur
Sparse and wonderful - true soul music.

Fink - Distance & Time
This years Sophia, but not as depressing.

Jesu - Conqueror
Justin Broadrick goes pop? Get the Japanese version for the bonus Sundown/Sun Rise EP, which is stunning!

Jesu - Pale Sketches
More pop music? But for the fans this time.

KTL - 2
Music for dead children, scares me silly.

Larsen - Abeceda
Tribute to the work of Czech typographer Karel Teige... No! Come back! It's really good!

Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Trent Reznor discovers his social conscience - and writes some pretty good tunes in the process.

Om - Pilgrimage
Devotional Stoner rock via drums, bass, vocals and nothing else.

Oxbow - The Narcotic Story
Oxbow are a decent, honest to goodness Rock Band with lots of interesting ideas.

PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Sparse and honest, to the point of being uncomfortable.

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Melodramatic and romantic, but in a good way.

Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed
Sweet, sweet, stoner sludge.

Zozobra - Harmonic Tremors
As close to an Old Man Gloom album as I'll get this year.

Coming next, my top songs of 2007.

It all getting a bit Danny Dyer

2007-12-16T18:34:00.000Z

This is Tom:

He is a Portsmouth fan.

He is also a very naughty boy...

If I could spend 8 minutes 2 seconds of this year stuck in a loop...

2007-12-13T21:40:00.000Z

It would be this one:
I might be getting a bit obsessed with Jesse Sykes.

Altar

2007-12-11T00:30:00.000Z

I've just seen Boris live...

and Sunn O)))...

and Boris and Sunn O))) on stage at the same fucking time!

Some pictures:

Boris are amazing! They started slow, gentle even, until half way through their set when they must have hit a weakness in the tectonic plate under England, it honestly felt like being in an earthquake.

As for Sunn O))), I'll be honest I think they were a bit quiet - this is the third time I've seen them live and I just haven't had the whole "my god - my nose is vibrating" - moment as I did the first time. However, their new singer Attila outdid himself today, basically going for a look which was a cross between a corpse, a pagan god and a tree.

Now Boris and Sunn O))) together? Fuck and indeed yes! Unfortunatly I had to leave early due to trains so I only got to see a couple of songs (although I don't think they were going to do the full version of Altar) but what songs. They surprised me and started off with a ballard, The Sinking Belle... I was almost in tears in the end. They played it perfectly... Then they followed with Etna! Now if Boris managed to hit a tectonic plate during their brief set, together with Sunn O))) they managed to drill right through, it was like a volcanic eruption. They so need to play together again.

And in other "can music get better" - news. Have you heard What Portishead are up to? This is a video from this weekends ATP festival:

They have turned into Nine Inch Nails! Joy!

Warning: the following bassline is dangerous

2007-12-09T21:50:00.000Z

The Bug featuring Warrior Queen - Poison Dart

Absolutely massive! As some other people seem to think...

This weekend sucked, I have evidence

2007-12-03T00:09:00.000Z

I knew this weekend was going to suck I could feel it in my bones last week, and these old things never lie.

Friday was cold and wet; I got drunk too quickly, went home early and ended up watching Requiem for a Dream. One of my favourite films, but a classic example of a film which should never be watched whilst feeling a big emotional. It's about four people and their collective and individual descents into addiction, none of the stories end happily. Doesn't sound much of an endorsement does it? It does have a really good soundtrack, and mentioning the film gives me an excuse to post an mp3 to break this post up a bit.

Clint Mansell - Summer Overture

On Saturday I got up too early, ended up in work for half the day and found out that a distant family member had died - which of course made me think of how much I miss my Dad again. Not helped by a storyline in 52 (a comic book series I'm reading which I should talk about in a future post as it's very interesting) where a character dies of lung cancer - the descriptions of the noises people make in the last few days of a terminal illness, and the use of morphine was a bit too close to home to be comfortable.

And then this:

Not that I'm in any way equating the death of someone you know to a console breaking down as that would be crass. I just want to point out another way that this weekend sucked.

Support your local improvisational DJ + punk rock guitarist duo!

2007-11-14T00:10:00.000Z

...and you get nice little thank you notes like this one when you buy their new CD.

Rose

2007-11-11T23:09:00.000Z

The young lady you see above, kicking some serious Bruce Lee moves, is my new niece. Her name is Rose and clearly she is awesome.

Games wot I is playing - Part 1

2007-11-04T20:46:00.000Z

The Orange Box

This contains 5 games: Half-life 2 and it's two episodic add-ons, Team Fortress 2 (which I doubt I'll play as it involves genuine social interaction), and Portal...

Half-Life 2 is a fantastic game, that goes without saying if you know anything about games, and episodes one and two do a brilliant job of continuing it's legacy. But Portal, what a game!

The premise is simple: you are placed in a room with an exit. You have to get to that exit by navigating various puzzles. You have a gun which can fire two 'portals', these 'portals' can attach themselves to certain types of surface and when they do you can move between these portals. The trailer probably describes this process better than I do:

Although I completed this game in a single sitting, which implies that it is too short, I have to say it was one of the best games I've ever played. It starts as a simple puzzle game, but as you play through it you start seeing hints of a darker world hidden behind the main game world, until you end up 'breaking' the game world and confronting this completely deranged computer who has been making your life miserable. It's at this point where the game's script peaks, for example:

"There was even going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends are invited to. I invited your best friend the companion cube, of course he couldn't come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends. Because of how unlikable you are. Its says right here in your personal file. Unlikeable. Liked by no one. A bitter unlikable loner. Whose passings shall not be mourned. Shall not be mourned. Thats exactly what it says. Very formal. Very official. It also says you are adopted. So thats funny too."

Now that is comedy!

They even manage to tie in the Portal universe to the Half-Life 2 universe, which hopefully means the portal gun will make a re-appearance in Half-Life 2 Episode 3. I kind of hope they don't make a proper sequel to Portal as it could tarnish the sheen of this almost perfect game.

Friday Morning Devotional Music

2007-10-19T09:38:00.000+01:00

If you are an aficionado of the work of Justin Broadrick you'll be more than aware that this year has been a good year: by my reckoning we've had 2 albums, 2 full EPs, 3 remixes that I know of and a split EP from his Jesu project and the year isn't over yet. It wouldn't suprise me if he slips another EP in on the sly before Christmas.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, keep up! I go on about this sort of stuff all the time on this blog, plus if you peruse my last.fm stats it would appear that Jesu is my second favourite band, although the fact that Justin Broadrick releases music under several different projects complicates matters - if you add up all his other stuff he probably gets bumped to the top.

Anyway this post is for people who haven't been drawn into this music yet, I have a couple of mp3s for you.

First one is from Pale Sketches, an album of tracks that for one reason or another didn't make it to a full release. I'm damned if I'll call it an out-takes compilation as the stuff on this CD is far too good to be described as such. If you want a frame of reference, if you like Boards of Canada, but also like guitars I think you would like this. This is the first track:

MP3: Don't Dream It

The piano line has a hint of Coldplay about it, sort of, and there is a wonderfully positive vocal sample tying the track together - which seems to have been lifted from a very unlikely source. Anyway lie back, look to the heavens, think positive thoughts and let the bass line wash over you that's my advice.

Second track is from the Lifeline EP, it features the legendary Jarboe from Swans fame, and as a track seems to be universally hated by other Jesu fans:

MP3: Storm Comin' On

I really don't understand why, it's a perfectly good song and I really like the idea of trying some different vocals; plus Swans are my third favourite band according to last.fm - and criticising anyone connected to them is pretty much blasphemy.

Anyway, hope you enjoy these. If you do you can buy the CDs here and here.