fiftyfivehundred.org

Gentrify this.

2008-05-05T23:33:36Z

LIVE EAST DIE YOUNG [uploaded by 5500]

Some of the work at the Cans Festival was just remarkable (a few pictures). That came as something of a relief, considering the amount of effort it took to see it. Today being a bank holiday, I went around 3pm, only to find the queue to get in would take 2 hours. Going back around half six, though, the wait was more like 45 minutes, and the weather was cooler. Time was of the essence because, while the art will stay on the walls when the street reopens for cars, the massive installations (the CCTV tree and multi-car pileup, for instance) were set to be removed after 10.

So, yeah, it was one of those things where you say to yourself, I live in a city like this for a reason, and I'd be dumb not to take advantage of it. Although, to be honest, I wondered if a Boris administration would have let this sort of thing occur. Promoting vandalism innit.

As we enter the brave new world of Tory rule, I guess we'll see.

London ice can freeze your toes

2008-04-27T21:40:39Z

An old-fashioned left-winger with a fondness for newts and old-fashioned dirty politics, or a 19th-century “Masterpiece Theater” Tory with an embarrassing sense of humor, or a gay policeman? It sounds like the mayoral options from a “Tintin” book...

So says Adrian Gill in a distillation of the coming London elections in today's NYT. (There was also a decent profile of the race by Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker not long ago; here's the weird abstract they've taken to publishing for the articles that don't get full online reprints.)

It's strange to exist amongst all this and not be eligible to vote. Sort of the inverse of my relationship to the US presidential election, I suppose. Despite the fact that I pay my council tax by monthly direct debit, I have no say, not being an EU national. (Unfortunately, the inverse isn't true of that: I'm still on the hook with the IRS.) So I can only stand back and watch. Nevertheless, I'm interested and even attended a husting, just to see the cartoon characters come to life. I can't say it did any of them any particular favours -- especially Brian Paddick, who came off thick as molasses -- although it made clear the ads that say 'Vote for London' and present only one tickbox, captioned 'Ken', are rather accurate propaganda. One could possibly imagine voting one's first preference for one of the well-meaning fringe parties (the Left List candidate is such an old-school true believer, you couldn't help but love her), but when it comes to the more-important second preference, Livingstone stands alone.

The vote occurs 1st May, and last night I heard from an acquaintance who works in City Hall that political appointees have had to clear out their desks (civil servants are safe -- for now, at least); there is, it turns out, no transition. We might have a new mayor on Friday. Which, again, is the inverse of the never-ending story of the campaign to become POTUS. Rather than hyperspeed, it seems to be happening in slow motion. On that score, I'm trying to trust the judgement of another writer on today's Times opinion page. Namely Frank Rich and his analysis of John McCain's 'loss' in Pennsylvania. His conclusion gave me a chuckle, and a modicum of hope: 'The Democrats’ unending brawl may be supplying prime time with a goodly share of melodrama right now, but there will be laughter aplenty once the Republican campaign that’s not ready for prime time emerges from the wings.'

‡ Just a side note to say I had two great musical experiences today, thanks to London itself, with no apparent help from the mayor. The first was hearing Stravinsky's Mass, sung by the Cathedral Choir as part of the service at St Paul's. The second was The Good, The Bad & The Queen covering The Specials' 'Ghost Town'. Amazing.

That this case is even in court is scary

2008-04-15T17:14:39Z

Um, JK Rowling and Warner Bros.? You are out of line.

Poor

2008-04-13T15:40:26Z

While it is true a number of my friends in London seem interested in the current goings-on in American politics, I can't say any of us are quite on the level of these folks.

This post isn't about you

2008-04-08T22:15:59Z

Can I just say: I am totally thrown by the revelation that there is no need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I have been trying to process this and its meaning in my life for a week now, and I don't think I've yet to come to terms with it. All these years diligently consuming ca. 2L a day, thinking it was The Right Thing To Do. Have they been in vain? It sure seems that way. What next, friends?

There's not enough room for both.

2008-04-02T21:49:13Z

rollerboogie on the creative processes behind Doctor Who v. Torchwood.
Hint: one is awesome; the other is not. And this from a girl who loved Captain Jack.

Saturday night, people are coming round mine. In the meantime, 'The Runaway Bride' is on the iPlayer. I think I'll watch it before bed, actually. Why not, really?

...alors laisse la funky musique faire parler...

2008-03-29T16:10:22Z

Like everyone else on the internet, I've made a muxtape. It's songs from this year. Some of which aren't half bad.

Ain't it funny how you think you're gonna be okay

2008-03-21T01:46:13Z

Philip and I went to see Sugababes tonight for his birthday. It was really, really fun. We were on the 9th row, which meant we could see every little thing (including the Amy Winehouse-inspired eye liner), so the filming on cameras/phones going on around us was incessant. To that end, Phil noticed that people seemed to be rather partisan when it came to capturing the performance, regardless of who was actually performing. For instance, there was a fellow standing in front of us that only recorded Keisha, never mind that she was actually only contributing some 'runs' while her compatriots took most of the leads. I thought that was the case in this video, and that jmbradbury1 was a Heidi partisan, but it turns out he/she just didn't want to move the camera.

Regardless of who's on camera, they covered 'Don't Let Go' by En Vogue, and it was SO GOOD. We're going to see Girls Aloud in May, and, although I can imagine their performance being more of a well-coordinated spectacle, I'm not convinced they could sound better than the 'Babes. But I guess we'll see.

Anyway, an early happy birthday to my best mate.

I ain't sayin' she a golddigga

2008-03-20T13:38:34Z

Because there's no real analogue with national distribution, I think it's hard for Americans to have a real sense of the tabloids in Britain. There's the Post in New York, of course, but I suppose what comes closest are the excesses of certain programming on Fox News and the histrionic tone of someone like Nancy Grace. Still, those stations you can switch off; it's a bit harder to avert one's gaze from the newsstands when they are all around you.

Anyway, the latest target of front page vitriol is Heather Mills, in the wake of her divorce settlement earlier this week. Yesterday I was in the supermarket, and there she was, everywhere I turned, in unflattering photographs with even less flattering 50 pt. font captions. I feel sympathy for what she's going through -- divorce can't be easy or happy for anyone -- but as I realised last night in a rather heated discussion with a friend, she's a hard person to stick up for. By which I mean, she seems quite happy, albeit (one has to assume) unwitting, to dig the holes into which the red tops merrily throw her, never mind the judge hearing her case. As we all know (how could we not, seeing as it has such relevance to our daily lives), he reduced her requested settlement quite significantly, saying "she has only herself to blame. If, as she has done, a litigant flagrantly over-eggs the pudding and thus deprives the court of any sensible assistance, then he or she is likely to find that the court takes a robust view and drastically prunes the proposed budget." So, one finds oneself defending her position in the abstract, rather than defending her.

Which is exactly what today's Guardian attempts to do, in a rather even-handed and circumspect fashion: Kira Cochrane on the feminist dilemma that is the now-former Mrs McCartney.

Oh, and speaking of Lady Heathers, Julie Cooper was on Reaper last night, playing the devil's girlfriend (obvs.), and it was the source of such early OC nostalgia. I miss those kids.

Say the word, Anders & Stine

2008-03-12T22:35:08Z

Today's success was getting home from work before 8pm. Mind you, it was 7.45, but we'll take it when we can get it. I've already billed nearly 30 hours since Monday. Which means I only need to put in another 5 to be 'fully utilised' this week. I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to pass that mark...

You know what show I actually really enjoy? Reaper. It runs on E4 here, although it seems a bit like CW material in the States. I dunno. I appreciate its silliness and good-natured humour. I'm sure you're all too cool to have seen or have enjoyed it, but that's all right. When I want to feel cool, I just have to walk out my front door into the New York Times's new favourite 'hood, Hackney. Which isn't such a bad deal.

Oh, about MGMT. I read, also in the Times, them described as 'experimental'. But then I listened to half their album this morning before I went to the office, and they were sort of like New Order meets Arcade Fire. Which, I'm sorry, is Not That Experimental. I liked them and all, but I expected them to make me uncomfortable with my limited range of taste because they were 'out there'. No.

But, on the subject of music, if we could note my favourite single of the moment... ladies and gentlemen, 'Fascination':

It's like a Gap advert filled with adorable Danes singing infectious Scandi-pop. Amazing. (The other day it came on while I was in the gym, on the treadmill, and I felt like I could possibly run for the rest of the night so long as those Alphabeat kids didn't stop singing. True story. Promise.)

Also on music: Jason Mraz is apparently the new Jack Johnson. And Jewel's gone country (again). And Nadine gets off to a bit of a rough start, but the Aloud successfully remember the choreography from their video. (Well done, ladies! You're all looking great. Yes, even you, Kimberley.)

Last up: lately I feel I'm supposed to have a tumblr (or a tumble or an [insert proper noun here to describe tumblring for you]) to be au courant on the blogging tip. Am I? I can barely get motivated to write anything here. But I don't want to let the side down. Ya know?

Oh no he didn't

2008-03-11T00:27:07Z

I'm glad the Times makes explicit one of the seedier aspects of Fake George Fox's behavior w/r/t his friend: he went to visit her the night before Valentine's Day. I mean, obviously, he shouldn't have been going to visit her at all, but come on, dude. That's just uncalled for.

'Aries up yer bum'

2008-02-24T22:03:07Z

I assume this'll be playable by those of you not connecting to teh intarweb via a .uk ISP, or, at least, I hope it will: Catherine Tate interviews David Tennant on Chain Reaction.

Also, and completely unrelated: I have no idea if this is the 'official' video or what (it looks as though someone pointed a video camera at a television screen, if you ask me), but I would just like to shout out to Galaxie 500's 'Tugboat', which is probably one of my favourite songs ever. (By which I mean Top 100, at least.)

Bonnie & Clyde

2008-02-21T15:52:46Z

I like it when other people post so I don't have to.

Take this losing hand and make it win

2008-02-15T01:13:05Z

I started the week in Belgium, and I will end it in California. The intervening days have been spent at home, but there hasn't been much chance to pack for my Saturday morning plane.

To be fair, that's my own fault. For instance, Philip and I went to a great gig tonight: Sheryl Crow at the Scala, with its capacity of something like 700. I think the setlist would have benefited from some album tracks, but it was all about The New Record and The Singles and, honestly, that was fine. I'd not heard 'Leaving Las Vegas' for, well, I'm not sure how long, but they played it, I started thinking back to uni and about the video, and I couldn't wait to YouTube it. And here it is:

Meantime, Petridis ain't feeling the Feeling.
Oh, dear.

A whole new world

2008-01-31T00:43:47Z

Earlier tonight, I watched an episode of Wonderland that involved a married mother of four who had a 10-month affair in (on? with?!) Second Life. (The 'embedding disabled by request' trailer is here.)

As you might expect, it did not end well.

Whoops.

Having said that, though, apparently dreams do come true for some.

And, lest you think the wedding industry exists only in the real world, apparently there are professional videographers for your SL nuptials so you can relive the happy moment you never actually lived at all. Amazing.

I Fought the Northern Line (and the Northern Line Won)

2008-01-22T23:30:38Z

Philip and I went to see Morrissey tonight at the Roundhouse. It was okay. I can't say much for the new songs, but 'Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself' sounded particularly lovely. 'Death of a Disco Dancer,' too. Though I've seen him at least 5 prior times, this was my first time seeing him in the UK. In many respects it wasn't that much different, but 'Irish Blood, English Heart' clearly resonated with the crowd in a more visceral way. I'd give the gig a 3.5 out of 5, which is about as much as I would have expected. It's never going to be as amazing as the first time, is it? And, as the quality of the new material decreases and drags down the average, well, you take the good with the bad. Still, apart from transport delays, a nice night.

Oh, and apparently Moz supports Barack Obama. Down with 'Billary', says he.

In other news, how strange to come home to find out that Heath Ledger has died. And how exciting to find out a new Spiritualized album is just a few months off.

I can't remember if I put it on my list for last year -- I suspect I didn't, as I don't own it; it was originally a soundtrack-only release -- but this morning in the gym, I was reminded yet again of how much I love Take That's 'Rule the World'. There is nothing more you can ask of a power ballad.

This is what they call straight talk

2008-01-05T15:08:42Z

From an article on McCain's potentially improved prospects comes this quote from the Huckabee campaign manager about their plans for New Hampshire next week: '"We’re going to see if we can’t take Romney out," Mr. Rollins said. "We like John. Nobody likes Romney."' When are political campaigns this honest? And, thus, how much did I laugh to read that? Because who exactly does like Romney? When I was in Florida for Christmas, we drove a vehicle emblazoned in MITT08 stickers, and I wanted to stick my head out the window and stare in wonder that such people actually existed.

Having been away for the past year (and it's nearly been that, if you can believe), I've been able to pick and choose how much attention to pay to of The Never-ending Campaign. But now that something has actually happened (even as bizarre and almost anti-democratic as I find the Iowa caucuses), it's starting to get more interesting. I have honest reservations about all of the Democrats -- some more than others, to be sure -- but I'll be happy to cast my vote for any of them. Well, the viable ones. Which is to say Obama or Rodham Clinton. So 'either' of them, if we're going to be grammatically precise. My favourite Sarahs apparently have no similar hesitation: they're Obama Ladies. Exhibit A, the concerned parent; Exhibit B, the scholarly sentimentalist. Which is amazing.

Because, regardless of who comes out ahead, it's nice that -- so far, at least -- people are actually excited about whom they can vote for rather than disgusted by whom they must vote against (Romney notwithstanding). That, in itself, seems like progress.

Make it like a Cole Porter song.

2008-01-02T19:13:23Z

Did I tell you I'll be seeing Ms Minogue later this year? (I don't suppose we'll see David Tennant dancing in the audience for that, but here he is, along with John Simm, chatting with good ol' Jools in support of lovely Astrid. Information: charming.)

My year in music

2007-12-17T00:59:24Z

Per usual, I never make any real claims for this business except that it represents what I've liked. Because of constraints on my time and budget, there's bound to be loads of stuff I've missed (or had and not listened to like I probably should have done, like the Battles album or Burial), and probably some of that stuff I'd like enough to list and maybe even make no. 1. Speaking of, I don't usually include rankings in these lists, but for whatever reason I have this year.

Before posting this, I revisited the past. Which was a bit weird, frankly, but such is the nature of LiveJournal. At any rate, you can, too: 2003; 2004; 2005; and 2006. Weird or no, the emergent theme is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

So, without further ado...

top 10
01. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
02. Jamie T - Panic Prevention
03. Radiohead - In Rainbows
04. Róisín Murphy - Overpowered
05. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - s/t
06. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
07. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad
08. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga
09. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
10. Jens Lekman - Night Falls over Kortedala
the rest
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Blonde Redhead - 23
Girls Aloud - Tangled Up
Justice - †
Klaxons - Myths of Near Future
The National - Boxer
Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Tracey Thorn - Out of the Woods

top 10
01. Robyn (ft. Kleerup) - 'With Every Heartbeat'
02. LCD Soundsystem - 'North American Scum'
03. Leona Lewis - 'Bleeding Love'
04. Eve - 'Tambourine'
05. The National - 'Start A War'
06. Patrick Wolf - 'The Magic Position'
07. Rihanna - 'Don't Stop the Music'
08. Girls Aloud - 'Call The Shots'
09. Justice - 'D.A.N.C.E.'
10. Groove Armada (ft. Mutya Buena) - 'Song 4 Mutya'
the rest
Tori Amos - 'Big Wheel'
Andrew Bird - 'Plasticities'
Booty Luv - 'Boogie 2Nite'
Sophie Ellis-Bextor - 'If You Go'
Feist - 'One Two Three Four'
Franz Ferdinand - 'All My Friends'
TGTB&TQ - 'Herculean'
The Gossip - 'Careless Whisper'
PJ Harvey - 'The Silence'
Jamie T - 'Calm Down Dearest'
Klaxons - 'It's Not Over Yet'
Miranda Lambert - 'Desperation'
Jens Lekman - 'A Postcard to Nina'
Kylie Minogue - 'The One'
Róisín Murphy - 'Cry Baby'
New Young Pony Club - 'The Bomb'
Yoko Ono - 'Walking On Thin Ice (PSB Electro Mix)'
Radiohead - 'All I Need'
Britney Spears - 'Toy Soldier'
Spoon - 'The Ghost of You Lingers'
Stars - 'My Favourite Book'
Sugababes - 'Never Gonna Dance Again'
Tracey Thorn - 'It's All True'
Timbaland (ft. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) - 'Give It To Me'
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Down Boy'

and an X Factor bonus track: Leon Jackson - 'When You Believe'

+ The Feeling - 2nd March - Apollo Hammersmith, London
+ LCD Soundsystem - 5th March - Cargo, London
+ Spiritualized - 26th April - Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
+ 'Forest of No Return: Hal Willner Presents Vintage Disney Songbook' (ft. Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, Grace Jones, Beth Orton, Pete Doherty, Shane MacGowan, Skye Edwards, et al.) - 17th June - Royal Festival Hall, London
+ Panda Bear - 23rd June - Bowery Ballroom, New York
+ Lovebox Weekender (ft. Blondie, the B-52s, the Rapture, Patrick Wolf, Groove Armada, et al.) - 21st & 22nd July - Victoria Park, London
+ Spoon - 17th August - Borderline, London
+ Beirut - 10th November - Roundhouse, London
+ Róisín Murphy - 27th November - Koko, London
+ Jens Lekman - 11th December - Luminaire

5500 @ 2007-12-02T22:31:00

2007-12-03T06:55:50Z

After a night's stopover in snowy Chicago (Ethiopian for dinner, followed by bowling in Lincoln Square; Target, Marshall's, and Jamba Juice today), I have arrived in LA. It's not quite 48 hours since I left London, and I have spent at least half that time en route to or from airports (LHR, ORD, MDW, LAX) or in the air, perfecting my carbon footprint. Good times.

Still, it was great to see friends, and I'm happy to report that the hotel here has a reasonable complement of cable channels. Which is to say both HGTV and TLC.

I may not be having much luck downloading Hope's eviction on Saturday night, but at least there's What's With That Decked Out Christmas House?

I'm going to see her July, you know. Wowowowow.

I've waited my turn, I've waited in line

2007-11-28T00:52:35Z

Z-list celebrity spotted at tonight's Róisín Murphy gig: Brian Friedman, the 'creative director' of X Factor. Also, apparently, the '6th member' of 'N Sync. And dancer in that Jake Gyllenhaal classic, Bubble Boy. I didn't think he could be cheesier, but it seems his current look is actually an improvement on past styles. So, well done, Bri.

Thankfully, the concert was a trillion times better than the roller skaters he sent out to support Alisha in her crash-and-burn performance a few weeks ago.

But how could it be anything otherwise? Róisín's lovely. And talented. Check her out on Jools Holland:

Less inspiring: the new video for 'Be Mine'. Is she a child minder, or just friends with a midget? It's hard to say. Either way, I wish they'd done something that matches how great the song is. No dice, I'm afraid.

This world that I've found is too good to be true

2007-11-25T16:42:57Z

I'll admit the performance is not quite as amazing when not viewed in the heat of the competition, but I do not regret for a moment the 35p I spent voting for Same Difference last night.

Nicola says MORE LAWS

2007-11-12T21:36:22Z

This Saturday, I had a few memorable musical experiences:
1. The positively surreal Same Difference.
2. A super concert by Beirut.
3. Matt of Matt & Kim repeatedly climbing up on a table between songs at their 'secret' underground gig.

I'm glad YouTube allows me to relive at least one of them...

PS Speaking of YouTubery, Kylie's performance of 'The One' on this weekend's The Kylie Show is rather gorgeous. You could do worse than those 3'49".

Present proof

2007-11-09T20:51:56Z

Last night, I was explaining Thanksgiving to a friend. Particularly the part about how it leads into 'the holidays' and how honestly no one works between the end of November and New Year's. Well, office types, at least. Of course, as soon as I said it, I realised that'll probably not be the case here, which made me a bit sad. But then, at the end of the day today, I learned I may be heading to LA for a week at the beginning of December, so that's something. It'd be for work and all, but I might stop off in Chicago en route, and that's even more something.

For now, I'm watching the repeat of last week's X Factor results, and the dreadful performance of 'Hanky Panky' by Hope. Glamorous innit.

Fade like starlight to a glimmer

2007-11-05T19:58:54Z

It's all very exciting living in the 'coolest city in the world' (see American GQ's November issue), but the truth of the matter is the ultimate highlight of my Saturday night might have been watching the spectacle that is Rhydian.

But then again, it might not have been.

Even still, it was a great weekend -- for one thing, swimming outdoors in the sunshine is a incredibly more pleasant way to work out than swimming indoors in the dark basement of my gym. And, I became a Louise Bourgeois convert, thanks to the Tate Modern's current exhibition. Except for the explication of purely historical fact (yes assuming that exists thanks humanist scholars one and all), the walltext, especially any quotes from the artist herself, should be disregarded. The work says plenty. Unfortunately, there's not much of it online, but the breadth of style and media is remarkable. The thematics remain consistent, though, and it's fascinating to see her reinvention of prior works even now. The late period output is installation and the late, late is fabric ('late, late' as in, she's in her 90s), and honestly it's some of her best. And, it's not just me that thinks so: Rachel Cooke wrote in the Observer, 'I walked through the final rooms three times. They are mesmerising.' Too right.

After the Bourgeois, I wandered along the South Bank to the Painting of Modern Life at the Hayward. The central premise is twofold: photography's mediation of contemporary painting, and contemporary painting's approach to everyday, lived experience. As one might expect, Gerhard Richter features prominently (okay by me because I can hardly get enough). More exciting, though, was exposure to a few artists whom I ended up loving: Peter Doig, Thomas Eggerer, Vija Celmins, and Wilhelm Sasnal. The exhibition did go on a bit (I got bored of the 'current events' stuff, and the top floor felt bloated), but I would be quite happy to see it again.

But next will probably be the sex one at the Barbican. For now, I'm off to be a goth: Siouxsie's playing a concert in Camden.