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Up Here In My Tree

I'm trading stories with the leaves.

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Friday, December 29, 2006
Here's to 2007
Well, I might not be able to post much between now and the New Year so can I just wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! I am off to Spain on Sunday to enjoy the festivities and get as drunk as you can when you are staying with the in-laws!! No doubt I will post at some point while I am out there, probably when everyone else is having siesta time!! Anyway, have a jolly good New Year, drink lots and do whatever it is you do!!!

Hasta pronto mis amigos!!!
posted by korova @ 8:16 pm   0 comments
Thursday, December 28, 2006
There goes another christmas...


Hope you all had a great christmas!
posted by korova @ 8:26 pm   0 comments
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Significant Events
I currently have a poll running on my other site regarding the most significant events of the past twelve months. Please take the time to vote in the poll (it's in the sidebar), I will be interested to see what people vote for.
posted by korova @ 9:37 pm   0 comments
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Fountains Of Vomit and Suicidal Carols
So Christmas is nearly here. Whoopeee! I used to love Christmas. So much so I used to be violently ill on Christmas Day, projectile vomiting and everything. Hey, we were poor and we had to make up for a lack of any decorations. I would find it hard to open any presents because I was shaking with excitement (now I shake due to alcohol poisoning!). Now I kinda have a rather blase attitude to the whole thing. Guess it's age and my ever developing grouchiness with life in general.

One thing I cannot abide, are Christmas songs. Any Christmas songs. Carols, pop songs, novelty records. All total shite. I doubt man could have devised a greater method of torture than making people trudge round depressing high streets whilst this kind of bilge is blasted out of every shop front. I once worked in a shop that played Christmas songs all day every day, for a MONTH. Suicide was becoming a very real possibility. Thank Christ (oh, little bit of blasphemy there) I don't work in such a place now. After all, I have a wife to think about. I don't won't her hearing that her husband has killed himself in some horrible Christmas Carol type mishap. That would really put a dampener on things.

So, ban all Christmas songs....NOW!!! They suck. And while we are at it, let's reclaim Santa from Coca Cola and make him green again! I'm gonna ran a campaign for next Christmas to reclaim Santa from the corporate whores. Oooops, wrong blog.

posted by korova @ 11:11 pm   2 comments
Of Crack Dens and Towering Sexuality
Today I have been mainly spending my day at a den of vice. Pure immorality. Nothing but sex, drugs and violence dominate this filthy little hole. Maybe one day I will return. One day.....
posted by korova @ 11:08 pm   1 comments
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thought For The Day
Don't leave it three years before you clean your oven!
posted by korova @ 10:33 pm   2 comments
Winter Days

Amongst the murky weather, there lurks a World Heritage Site


Yes, while Wes has snow (proper winter weather) to contend with we just have murky, horrible winter days to contend with. Days like this are so damn depressing, no wonder we are such a pessimistic nation, look at the weather we have to put up with!! At this rate, we won't have a white Christmas, we'll have a grey Christmas. How depressing.
posted by korova @ 5:36 pm   1 comments
Monday, December 18, 2006
Tedious Chores
Tomorrow is 'Wrapping Christmas Presents Day'. Whooop, and indeed, whooop.
posted by korova @ 11:29 pm   0 comments
New Address
Got bored, changed my address!! Oh yeah, and my title. Nothing to do with Wes' changes. Honest guv'.
posted by korova @ 8:12 pm   0 comments
I Have A Dream, errr...........
I had a weird dream last night. I dreamt George W Bush was forced to train in an army camp. Everyone was laughing at the pathetic fool. What makes it even worse was the fact he was in a t-shirt and shorts. And he was all sweaty and stuff. Does that mean that there is something wrong with me?
posted by korova @ 6:57 pm   4 comments
New Look Blogs
There must be a thing about new look blogs at the moment. Aliemalie changed hers, and just when I decided to spend all week-end updating mine, Wes changes his!! Change your blog's look, it's the latest fashion!!!
posted by korova @ 6:55 pm   0 comments
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Yeah, I know, I have been very lazy posting over here recently! I have been working really hard on developing my other blog, so many apologies for the neglect. Apologies out of the way, no let's move on to the matter in hand!!

The latest in my (occasional) series of the essential albums of the early 90s is the phenomenal Superunknown. This is, in my opinion, the greatest album of the period, if not the genre. It has very few weak tracks on the album, an outstanding achievement given that it contains 15 songs (16 if you include She Likes Surprises) and runs to over 70 minutes! Many of the singles released from this album have become classics in their own right. Few could argue with the quality of songs such as Spoonman, Black Hole Sun, Fell on Black Days, The Day I Tried to Live and Superunknown. It is very difficult, however, to choose any tracks that standout above the rest, the quality is so high. Not only is the quality high, there is a distinct variation in the styles. You have the Eastern influence of songs like Half, the psychedelia of Head Down and the dirty grunge of 4th July.

One of my early favourites was Spoonman. I always always intrigued to know why the title was credited to Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam. I since discovered that Ament wrote a list of possible song titles during the filming for Singles and Cornell took it upon himself to write a song with one of those titles, and so Spoonman was born!! I loved that song when I first heard it. The use of the spoons was so unexpected and yet so skillfully done. I mean, who would have thought playing the spoons would sound so cool on a rock song??? Not me, but then Artis the Spoonman is a damn fine player.

While doing a bit of background research, I found something interesting about one of my favourite tracks, Like Suicide. The following is from Wikipedia:

"Like Suicide," the last track off of Soundgarden's Superunknown was inspired when Chris Cornell was in his basement trying to write songs. He heard a 'thump' that came from the ground floor. When he opened the front door to investigate he saw a bird had flown into the door and had nearly killed itself. He subsequently put the bird out of its misery. The lyrics are almost literally what happened.

Heard it from another room/ Eyes were waking up just to fall asleep/ Love's like suicide/ Dazed out in a garden bed/ With a broken neck lays my broken gift/ just like suicide/ / And my last ditch/ Was my last brick/ Lent to finish her/ Finish her

The song goes on but this is the primary part that pertains to the bird.

Cool eh? One of my favourite Soundgarden songs is about a bird that had flown into a door. I guess that goes to show what an imaginative writer Cornell really is!

If you want to buy the album that defined the early nineties Seattle scene, this is the one!! It is one of the very few albums that I can listen to from beginning to end without pressing skip once. No self-respecting fan of 'alternative rock' can afford to be without it. End of.

Stand-out tracks: Every single damn one of them!!

Black Hole Sun:

posted by korova @ 6:44 pm   0 comments
Sunday, December 17, 2006
You Decide......
Ok, I have indulged in some cosmetic changes to my other blog. I really like it (although it is not as impressive as aliemalie's, but then we can't all be as cool!!), but I want you to let me know what you think. Answer the poll below, and I will consider your answers thoroughly. Any other comments, please use the comments box. Thanks guys!!


posted by korova @ 9:20 pm   2 comments
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Art of Solitude
I guess this sounds strange coming from a blogger, but why don't people believe in solitude anymore? It has always bugged me, this depressing need to be around people all the time, to have them comfort you and massage your ego. What is wrong with just saying 'I want some time alone'? I guess the art of solitude died when the age of communication began. Now we feel that we can be with people all the time, via the internet/mobile phone/whatever.

It took me an age to eventually buy a mobile phone. I thought of them as a metaphorical umbilical cord. I felt that people were using them as if to say: 'Yes, I have friends. I know people. I feel safe.' By talking on the phone all the time, they were making up for their own insecurities. It is a very public way to demonstrate that you are actually a very popular, interesting person. See how interesting I am, people want to talk to me all day long.

I can also never understand why people feel they need to be around each other all the time. Whether it be partners/friends/family, what is wrong with just taking some time out for yourself? Time to read. Time to think. Time to do something creative. Why do we need to feel wanted all the time? Is it something about our insecurity? Who knows. The stupid thing is, I am writing this hoping that someone will read it and ease my insecurities. See, I am a failed sad loner.
posted by korova @ 11:56 pm   7 comments
Photos From London
Tower Bridge
Britney
Art installation on South Bank
The Gherkin
Lovely Jennifer
posted by korova @ 11:18 pm   0 comments
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Skin and Bones
I have just recently received my copy of the new Foo Fighters DVD and CD, Skin and Bones, and I have been listening to it non-stop. I was lucky enough to see them tour last year in support of In Your Honour, but I had mixed feelings after the event. Allow me to explain.

I have been a fan of them since day 1, and I loved Colour and the Shape. However, just recently I have found a lot of their stuff to be a bit repetitive. It just seems like they are trying to produce the best head banging riff, instead of concentrating on the actual substance of the songs. This has, however, seen them explode in popularity and now everyone seems to be a fan. I guess this is what pisses me off more than anything else. I guess that is one of the cool things about Pearl Jam. I mean, I know they are big in a lot of other places, but over here they have never really been massive. It kind of makes them my band and, although a part of me wants them to be huge, I like the fact that they are my secret.

I first got to se the Foos back in 1997. Back then they were a popular rock band, but they were still relatively small. I guess this was exemplified by the venue I saw them at. It was 26th May 1997 and we saw them at the Southampton Guildhall. This was around the time The Colour... was released and they played mainly small venues. The Guildhall only holds about 1,000 people, so you can imagine what it was like. Even at the back, you felt like you could reach out and touch the band. It was awesome and, along with Radiohead's Kid A gig in London, it was a highlight in my gig-going past. I remember being three rows back and seeing Dave close up and realising that just a matter of inches away from me was the drummer from Nirvana (who I sadly never got to see) and lead singer of a band that were likely to become massive. It was a very cool moment, and I am proud to see that I really was there before they became huge.

Then came the Earls Court gig. Well, on this occassion, there must have been around 20,000 people there at least, so it was a very different experience. Unfortunately we had seats right at the back (bummer) so we did't really get the full experience. But the crowd was such a difference. At Southampton there were some real hard-core rockers, punks and grungers (like myself!), the full alternative experience. At Earls Court, there was a more mainstream crowd. The kind that would go to a Westlife gig if they could get tickets. How disheartening. They seemed to have lost their alternative roots and become an ordinary rock band. I could have cried. Then comes the DVD......

The DVD contains there gig at Hyde Park (which I missed out on). This time there was 85,000 people there. I suppose a part of me is happy that they have done so well, but another part longs for the days where I was one of just a thousand people crammed into a tiny venue. I guess those days will never return. Damn. Thankfully, the acoustic set makes up for this. Some of the songs sound so well crafted that you cannot deny that the guy has immense talent. There are even songs that I ignored on their last album that I have grown to love on this one (Over and Out being one). Although, I do wish they would play the original Everlong (what an amazing song - their best). I guess I should just hold onto my happy memories of seeing them in the early days, but it is hard to think that I will never again experience such an intimate gig.
posted by korova @ 2:03 pm   4 comments
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