Feckin' hell ! The last post was on August 11th ?! WTF is going on in here ?!?!? Not going to give the full rundown on my whereabouts over the past couple of months but I have been rather busy over the past wee while, honestly. Hmmm...
Anyhoo, I only poked my head in the door to post a link to a campaign that I very much approve of. Apologies in advance to those of my friends who are of a holy persuasion. I may have mentioned once or twice that I, um, am not that way inclined...
Tagged this one as both fun and misanthropy. Always been a winning one-two combo with the big man. Especially with Accies losing their last four straight league games...
Hi-de-hi, campers! Haven't posted for a wii while... tee-hee, see what I did there ? Yes, I finally got around to it, I let the moths out of the old wallet and bought myself that blessed Wii white beasty just like I promised... jeepers creepers, what can I say ? It is simply wonderful. I feel like a wii kid again. It's already right up there with my beloved old cpc 464 as the best games machine I have ever had. I've only got Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Super Paper Mario but they are all more than enough for this old fella at the moment. In fact, I haven't had such strained wrists since coming across(!) that Noni / ventriloquist dummy video a few months back... Ahem
BTW, it turns out that the bad yin in the Mario game is a fella named Count Bleck... hmmm... No worries, I've dealt with plenty of bleck counts back in my Hillhoose days, another one won't be a problem... I'm fully expecting the final battle to be in an incinerator facing a housing estate...
BTW II, you ain't going to believe this but my daily Wii Fit test tells me that I have a Wii Fit age of 28 (no typo, twenty friggin' eight!) and that my BMI is 22 (!!), which is apparently absolutely bloody perfect! Who knew ? I guess being built like a rack-stretched cadaver must have been actually a good thing all along and is therefore clearly the way forward for the rest of the human race... Speaking of racks, the frisky fräulein has been absent without leave for the past month or so... I'm hoping to gawd that she's just on a summer holiday back in Deutschland (her wii car - oh bugger, pun overload malfunction, I'll have to stop right now - is still parked outside the flat). Anyhoo, suppose my poor old wrists are grateful for small mercies that they can at least get some rest now...
BTW III, that ain't me in the vid. I will be found generally wearing my beloved lime green Sabbath T-shirt or suchlike when doing the old hula hoop stuff. That's how you can tell it ain't me, right ??? Glad to clear that one up.
Had to post this one when I saw it. The animated trailer for the new Rules of Hell box set. Brilliant. Especially the Neon Knight waving his chib. Bow before the power and the glory, unbelievers !!!
Whoa, that was one heavy weekend. An impossibly loud evening at the Barras on Thursday night followed by a jaunt down south in the wee small hours of Friday to get the ears pummelled again by Ron Maiden and the Dixie Chickens at the home of rugby™ - well, not quite, those old metal bands are almost never loud enough for me, but I digress - and then back up the road again to watch some decent telly. Splendid. Hmm, I feel some five word reviews coming on...
My Bloody Valentine @ Barrowlands, Glasgow The digested watch : Advice, anyone, on curing tinnitus??? Yes, they were bloody loud. Not quite at Sunn 0))) levels but much more trebly and therefore pretty darn painful. But just celebrating the excessive volume is an injustice. The truth is, they were mostly great, a perfect realisation of that hoped for ethereal, giddily melodic dreampop thing that they were striving for all those years ago. Way better than anyone could have expected. Tho' that twenty minute drone session during "You made me realise" at the end was truly a load of old wank...
Iron Maiden @ Twickenham, London The digested watch : Old skool fun for everyone Maiden were as Maiden always are... a cracking couple of hours back to being a fifteen year old again. Only playing stuff of a vintage no later than 1988 (apart from "Fear of the Dark") was certainly a big help in that regard... what a stadium, by the way. Anyway, the lads kindly deigning to play "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" was enough to make this particular old sea dog go home happy :-)
Doctor Who : "Journey's End" (Telly) The digested watch : Everything and the kitchen sink...
Not a bad series ending to an up and down series. In typical Russell T fashion, he brought back a cast of a billion previous supporting characters to fill in the spaces where things like suspense and plot details usually go but it would be churlish to suggest it wasn't enjoyable. Just hope the whole doctor clone thing will now finally put the kibosh on the Billie the vampire slayer "I luv you Rose Tyler" gurning business being reprised. Actually, I'm hoping against hope that the arrival of Lord Moffat will herald a return to proper Baker-Pertwee weirdness values and the disposal of all that sub Hollyoaks rubbidge.
BTW, when wee Martha went to Germany, I was also hoping against hope that they'd taken up my story idea of her going to the zoo to save all the eisbärbabies before escaping with them to Glasgow(!) where she elopes with a tall, dark, handsome (well, one out of three ain't bad) native she meets there. Bah, curse those narrow minded fools !!!
I've seen it folks. Nerd heaven. It exists. I've been there. There doesn't even have to be any death involved (except maybe for those last vestiges hipster aspiration, never a problem for Mexton). Yes, last Thursday night, Video Games Live at the Royal Concert Hall. Two and a half hours watching and listening to the wonderful RSNO trawling through the game music back pages all the way from Pong and Space Invaders (yes, they had the violins doing the honours for Pong's minimalist bleeps and the double basses grinding out the marching invader "tune"!) right up to the contemporary full bhuna orchestral scores from those new fangled 3D graphics demos that they are trying to pass off as games to the kids today such as Halo 3, God of War, blah blah [yawn].
In between the two extremes was where the real gold was to be found, a quick trawl through the late eighties arcades, my spiritual home, with Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Rastan Saga and the mighty Out Run, the latter being especially well served by an impromptu solo piano medley later on in the proceedings, a glorious slice of none-more eighties hawaiian shirted heaven! Other highlights for the big man were the Mario medley (especially the piano genius Martin Leung playing my old favourite, the Benny Hill-esque über jolly SNES Super Mario World level two music) and a finishing blast of selections from Castlevania right at the death. A spectacular night's entertainment, so good that I just had to eschew my usual self-imposed five word review limit for one night only (unless Maiden are amazing at Twickers next Saturday, always a possibility).
Had a ticket for Radiohead at Glasgow Green on the Friday but didn't go - any gig was going to be a come down from the bleep worship. It was peeing down with rain and, perhaps more importantly, the third week of the League of Legends darts was on Setanta - gotta get your priorities straight, right? Though I will admit to almost regretting it after seeing blingmeister Bobby George unfastening his right breast pocket after every 180 he hit and flashing his man boob. Eeewwww. Still, another great evenings telly. Been reading Sid Waddell's "Bellies and Bullseyes" for the past couple of weeks so was well up for the darts. Just a shame Sidney isn't providing the tonsils for the tungsten tickling this time... "At the age of 31, Alexander of Macedonia wept salt tears for there were no more worlds to conquer... Eric Bristow is only 27". Yes, there really is only one word for that - magic darts !!!
Made with the help of -
Journey "Revelation" - Aaargh, Davros, we should have feckin' went to see 'em!!! The wee Fillipino chappy on the mic is a vocal Perry doppelgänger! And this new album is a belter to boot. Goddammit !!! The rest of you, stop that sniggering at the back there!
What a frankly fucking rotten few months the grim reaper has inflicted on the blighted face of humanity. Balls to all the standard issue vileness of war, genocide and famine, I'm talking about some of the funniest people on the planet popping their cloggs, and in quite alarming numbers, too. On this side of the pond, Alan Coren and the sainted Humph have slipped away into the long night. Now, over in the States, I find out that George Carlin has just been taken as well.
If you don't know the great man's work, imagine that the blessed Bill Hicks had an angrier, even more misanthropic grandad with a super high IQ and what we might euphemistically say was a colourful vocabulary and you might get somewhere near the ballpark old George played in. He was 71 so the old yin had a good innings but it's still another monumental pisser for me.
Thankfully, there is bucket loads of him on YouTube, do yourselves a favour and have a gander. Here's one of my favourites to be going on with :
Bah, went down to the old fart's day at Monsters of Rawwwkk Download on Friday past. Lovely wee train journey down, lovely wee hotel in Derby, lovely weather, all wasted on me as I felt as sick as a dog with chronic gut ache and old man back - tho' partaking in the traditional Donny death-burger didn't help matters much. Serves me right for being a skiving bar steward earlier in the week - karmic retribution, baby. Anyways, I'm not going to dwell on it. It was nearly a bloody great day. Mercifully, the big fella only saw four bands as it turned out...
Motörhead The digested watch : Rickenbacker 4001; Ace of bass Alternatively : Much better in a pub...
Hmmm, usually I like the Motörheadbangers as much as anyone but they really need the concentrated volume of an enclosed space to give you the full impact of their barrage... their usual crunch was essentially lost as it wafted across the field. Still, some great moments in there, including a touching(honestly!) cover of "Rosalie" dedicated to "my mate Phil Lynott". And "Overkill" is always amazing, Mikkey Dee's drum assault allied to that bass always does the job for me.
Fall of Troy The digested watch : Feisty oddball racket - cheers, lads! Alternatively : Only non-dinosaurs spotted down there...
Had a soft spot for these young 'uns for a wee while - that Terrorizer magazine CD is always worth a punt for fans of extreme music of all kinds. Anyways, sound to me kinda like a three way between Nirvana, King Crimson and Brutal Truth. HardGrungeyProgCore, hmm, now that does have a certain ring to it...
Judas Priest The digested watch : Leppard meets Slayer in Brum Alternatively : Barmy old skool pantomime magick!
I love the Priest, b*ll*cks to the lot of you. My gut ache temporarily eased off while the lads were on stage and they rewarded me with a gem of a set showing off a lot of old semi-obscurities that I'd never heard them do live ("Eat Me Alive"!). Only Priest could do an AOR sing-a-long like "You Got Another Thing Coming" minutes after the proto-Slayer blasts of "Dissident Agressor" and the screaming "Painkiller". The old fella's voice is showing signs of wear in the upper registers but he is still the doyen of metal singers (along with wee Ron, of course). Superb, almost worth the admission price on their own.
Kiss The digested watch : Lipstick, powder & paint; not shaky! Alternatively : Biggest dinosaurs spotted down there...
Hell, my guts were really playing up by this point and I only stayed for six or so of their toons before crawling away to my bed. I'd seen all of their schtick before, of course, when they first re-formed over ten years ago now and it is essentially the same show... however, it is still a brilliant piece of light entertainment. And the real Ace and Catman didn't seem at all missed to these jaded ears... There, that's more than enough waffle from me - so much for this whole five word review quick knock off thing...
Anyhoo, I only poked my head in the door to post a link to a campaign that I very much approve of. Apologies in advance to those of my friends who are of a holy persuasion. I may have mentioned once or twice that I, um, am not that way inclined...
My Bloody Valentine @ Barrowlands, Glasgow
I've seen it folks. Nerd heaven. It exists. I've been there. There doesn't even have to be any death involved (except maybe for those last vestiges hipster aspiration, never a problem for Mexton). Yes, last Thursday night, Video Games Live at the Royal Concert Hall. Two and a half hours watching and listening to the wonderful RSNO trawling through the game music back pages all the way from Pong and Space Invaders (yes, they had the violins doing the honours for Pong's minimalist bleeps and the double basses grinding out the marching invader "tune"!) right up to the contemporary full bhuna orchestral scores from those new fangled 3D graphics demos that they are trying to pass off as games to the kids today such as Halo 3, God of War, blah blah [yawn].
Had a ticket for Radiohead at Glasgow Green on the Friday but didn't go - any gig was going to be a come down from the bleep worship. It was peeing down with rain and, perhaps more importantly, the third week of the League of Legends darts was on Setanta - gotta get your priorities straight, right? Though I will admit to almost regretting it after seeing blingmeister Bobby George unfastening his right breast pocket after every 180 he hit and flashing his man boob. Eeewwww. Still, another great evenings telly. Been reading Sid Waddell's "Bellies and Bullseyes" for the past couple of weeks so was well up for the darts. Just a shame Sidney isn't providing the tonsils for the tungsten tickling this time... "At the age of 31, Alexander of Macedonia wept salt tears for there were no more worlds to conquer... Eric Bristow is only 27". Yes, there really is only one word for that - magic darts !!!
Judas Priest
