This is good thing about
London: before the movie, I was early so I explored. I walked the side streets alone, looking in the interesting shop windows.
I found a delightful newage shop in Neil’s yard, on the cusp between the Covent Garden, Tottenham court road and Bloomsbury areas, that had poseable action figures of Sigmund Freud and Jesus Christ in the window, next to the crystal balls, books on healing your aura using cheese dip (I’m exaggerating), sculptures of goddesses waving their genitalia, tarot cards and other junk. There was a Jesus figurine with nodding head action. Suitable, I suppose for the rear window of your car. Well, I found it all very funny.
Yes, retail therapy makes me happy. This is how I am when I'm happy.
The movie, Talk to her is great, if you’re into Pedro Almodovar films. All too human, all to weird. All at the same time. I can’t really describe it in greater detail than that.
This is bad thing about London: we were almost stranded. We didn’t know that the tubes closed early on Sunday, missed that last central line train, got a northern line southbound. Ash got a late train from Waterloo to Clapham junction and I rattled along the last eastbound district line train from Embankment.
FSOL’s The Isness .. I haven’t made my mind up yet if I can get over the earnest cornball approach. Melody was never FSOL’s strongest suit, and using more traditional instrumentation and arrangements doesn’t play to their strengths. Perhaps they want to be Shpongle, but are to serious and try too hard. Shpongle is sonically far more interesting. Will I ever find time to read the words of sweetness and light in the booklet? Where did they dig up that nasal-voiced folksinger and why is he whining cornball lyrics with sitar backing? Will I resist the urge to slap them upside the head with a frenetic Pixies track about assorted sexual acts and mayhem? (For the first time in my life, I own Pixes CDs) How long until the too-clever-by-half sleeve design breaks? Is it just a ploy to discract us from the music? Is this really the same people who did Lifeforms and Dead Cities? Is this album just inane shite or will it grow on me? This whole 'trip out, it's nothing but colourfull and beautifull butterflies' vibe is like so 1992 and I'm really not with it.
One more robot learns to be something more than a machine
Yoshimi battles the pink robots is the album of the moment. Both this and the Isness are sub-Pink Floyd space-rock meanderings. However where Isness is vocal it is cheesy, and Yoshimi is interesting. Where Isness is ambient it is uninteresting, and Yoshimi is melodic. And Yoshimi has breakbeats on a rock album. And more synth than guitar. Cool.
But somehow it feels like it’s the tallest dwarf in the current crop, not the latest giant. But it is growing on me.