Omission101 @ Last.FM

Presenting Radio Omission.

Last.Fm learns what songs you like, and plays you songs from the playlists of people with similar tastes. I stumbled upon it looking for the Decemberists (it's played several of their tracks for me, and they are great, Tom).

I have discovered a band called "Architecture in Helsinki" that I think I could grow to like. Similar sounds to some of the poppier Stephin Merritt.

In case anyone missed this

League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse - not a trailer, but a five minute piece of the film.

And the results of Liam Gallagher's attempts to grow his sideburns so they meet under his chin? Close, but no cigar.

Backstreet's back. Alright? Well, no.

Um, Charlotte Church. Wasn't bad. Disturbingly, she reminded me of Tina Turner.

And the Black Eyed Peas. They're not bad.

Enjoyed the Kaiser Chiefs. They were quite good.

Omission on pop. Oh Yes

In lieu of the Eurovisionfest, here are my pronouncements on Top of the Pops.

As we boogied away last week, who knew that
Yes are cool again. Eh?
Very odd to see a whole band pretend to play "Owner of lonely heart.". I wonder if they do Journey to the centre of the Earth as an encore?

Success!

Those following my academic career will no doubt be glad to know that, after two sucessive failures, my paper has finally been accepted at a workshop. So now I'm going to Lisbon. Hurrah.

Mostly, it's been lovely to see people I haven't seen for a long time over the last couple of weeks. Hello. However, I would like to point out (particularly to those of an simian disposition that there has not been, for some time, a culinary post on this blog. And the last time I did mention food, it was to a) Invite people to partake, b)a comment on how long it took, and c) very much in passing. I resent the insinuation that I'm a one trick pony.

So there.

Eurovision semi finale

Watching now. It's the Irish entry. They want to win like they want nuclear waste.

Norway rock! Wig wag sound like not only the nineties but also the eighties never happened.

Eurovision preview

Saturday night is eurovision. Since a certain big player on the international stage is probably sick of Europe by now, I'm taking the precaution of videoing the big night so I can enjoy it at leisure.

Seriously poor rhyme seems to be the order of the day: Bulgaria's Kaffe can "still remember Lorraine in the rain", and I can do no better than reproduce the first verse of Nuno Resende's "Le grande soir":

Ce soir, tous ces regards
Là dans le noir
La peur et l’espoir
Ce soir, il n’est pas trop tard
de croire
Aux rêves de gloire
Ce soir, une lumière, dans un éclair, changer d’histoire

Very powerful, I'm sure you'll agree. The use of "avoir" in the third verse is in particular touching.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereafter B&H) have gone all meta- on us, with a song about Eurovision. Quite how they portray that on stage should be a treat.

Finland's Geir Rönning is a champion of the amateur philosoph, bellowing "Why?" and asking "Will we ever find the answer?" He isn't too aloof, however, to end the first thee lines of his song with, repectively, "burning", "yearning" and "returning". Perhaps the question he is considering is "What does Boris from Croatia mean when he says 'I am like leaves carried by the wind
Wolves die alone'?"

"My persistence is outrageous
You'll be mine cause I'm contagious" - That's Cypriot men for you...

Greece answers "You're delicious
So capricious
If I find out you don’t want me I'll be vicious" Gosh. So they'll
be giving each other the full twelve points then.


My favourite so far is Austria, who sing a trumpet filled song about a girl from cuba who falls for a yodelling austrian.

Boris is the law!

According to Fox News, Boris Johnson is a "Conservative lawmaker".

Can someone name me a law that good old Boris has made?