SSR

My iphone is being repaired just now, which means no stanza app (and therefore no Vanity Fair), so I'm back to working on my stack of real books - some of which you see pictured above. I finished Kill Your Friends last week and it's brilliant. Oh, the 90s, were they really so extreme?! I'm now finishing off I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

I am flying to Bratislava in a couple of days' time for a week's holiday, so that should give me ample chance to chill and get through one or two more. Not having a job is pretty awesome, so much so that today I got reprimanded for gloating. Oops. I have around six weeks left in London, then three months in NZ to look forward to. What's next? I have an inkling but I'll save that for another day.

Once, enough?

Some things can only happen once.

Like the time you let me kiss you, at last.

The naïveté, audacity and sheer destructive bonding of the winter's night you welcomed me to your home and your history.

The evening we walked to my house together and stood beneath the tree on the corner in full, glorious blossom.

And the weekend we met in a foreign country with no expectations. 

As I get older I am realising the value in chance events, that unfold perfectly, that could never be planned or staged but instead emerge unexpectedly as beautiful moments, now suspended indefinitely in the formaldehyde of my memory.

What I'm learning is that these things can never happen again. The moment passes, innocence goes with it and I lose a part of myself if I try to live life in reverse. 

Train roll on. Tuesday's gone.      

Faith No More

I love Faith No More. They're a band that's endured the test of time and my occasionally fickle allegiances. I recall my initial fascination as a child in 1990 sitting watching the Saturday morning music show, captivated by Epic - and on learning of their reunion in 2009, over the course of the last three months they've overtaken all competition in climbing to the upper echelons of my last.fm charts, with over 1000 listens in the last three months alone.



Of the last three months' top tracks, FNM hold 14 of the 15 top places (if you're curious, the odd one out is a Röyksopp track, This Must Be It) with between 26 and 50 plays each. Probably because I didn't own it digitally until recently, songs from The Real Thing lead the charge.



But what is it about their sound and of late, stage presence that is so enthralling? It's a combination of Patton's incredibly versatile and powerful voice, the genre-scalping musicianship that crosses sexy lounge grooves indiscriminately with apoplectic metal, and the intelligent and often very funny lyrics. I love the character studies, like RV, Crack Hitler, Edge of the World, and Zombie Eaters. When I first saw them at Brixton Academy on 10 June, I stopped being me and became the music. I had a similar experience on 18 June at Hurricane Festival in Germany, and even more so at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin last Thursday 27 August. There is an element of crowd worship, of ritual and participation, passion and adulation.

Now I do have some self-awareness, and clearly, I am bordering on obsessive fandom - it's true Faith No More can do no wrong. But I see no issue in having belief and yes - faith - in a rock band. They haven't let me down yet.

Festivities

Today I got an @reply from @EddieArgos and it was quite exciting - all three words! It started with my catching up on the Eddie Argos Resource, specifically this post which made amusing use of the adjective 'festive'. I could go into more detail but I'm feeling a bit self-conscious, blogging about tweeting. I will just say that I did worry a bit that he would think I was calling him fat, even though I suppose I kind of was, but never in a bad way, you know.

In other news, I finished posting photos from Primavera, flickr edition (facebook edition to follow, one day). Also, I had an excellent weekend at Glastonbury. Loads of photos yet to come (from that and Hurricane) - in the meantime check out these ones, which are far more awesome.

Also, today I have downloaded Justice, Wilco and Faith No More. I think this makes me a well-rounded person.

Hurricane Festival

Every festival I've been to this summer has been the best one yet. I didn't think anything could beat ATP: The Breeders, nor Primavera Sound, but it seems that Hurricane just did! My first tent-festival in two years, and I'll remember it for persistent hangovers, best in show wellies, new and lovely Irish friends, and slow sunsets. I live-tweeted the whole event, but due to some sort of transmission failure, you're experiencing a delay. There will be a similar delay until I get my photos online.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present a weekend in Scheeßel:

Thursday 18 June 2009 23:26
Wrong tram stop? We are lost in Bremen :)

23:45
Not lost. At our accom. Bremen is flat and mild and the inhabitants friendly so far.

Friday 19 June 2009 10:34
Made train with nanoseconds to spare, epic sprint through station. Please rain stay in Bremen.

12:47
Tent up before first rain. 3 in tent, drinking sangria from carton listening to FNM.

14:06
Second rain over now. Hot again. Think music starts soon. Becks=yuck

14:25
Aah portaloos, how much I haven't missed you

15:44
Glasvegas..Go Square Go! Raining hard, subsiding..?

Glasvegas were the weekend's one disappointment. They opened the festival, and only played three songs!!

16:55
The Horrors, sweet! Hour of hot sun, looks like another downpour approaches



18:52
The Sounds sounding good. Sangria in a box ftw. Love Hurricane

19:40
Waiting for the Editors. FNM playing through speakers 'Like a snake between two stones/it itches in your bones'

23:30
KOL. Doing it. I am watching with one eye

The next ages were spent wandering around the festival's many camping areas and carparks, where we still couldn't find what we were looking for. Had some fun on the hunt nonetheless, before passing out in the tent.

Saturday 20 June 2009 10:05
Urgh the reconstruction begins

Pretty bad hangover on Saturday. It got worse until it finally went away in the late afternoon.

18:32
Really is something how soon after a hangover one can recommence. Mars Volta are sounding crazy

19:52
Fleet Foxes yay! We are fully recovered & dancing & found the hot Irish

20:23
And now Pixies!!!

21:21
Regrouping ahead of FNM. Weather stabilised, not exactly warm but nice. Watching crane bungy

22:55
We are at the front waiting for FNM.. atmosphere is jubilant..squee!!



FNM's set was fabulous. The crowd were lapping it up, and my team had made it to very close to the front. This meant a lot of pogoing and screaming, and nearly wetting myself a few times. Details are what you're after, right? Got a couple of good pictures, all in good time.

Sunday 21 June 2009
01:06
Oh god Nick Cave is singing The Ship Song

01:19
He just dedicated Henry Lee to PJ Harvey

Nick Cave was incredible. I kind of needed some time to process having seen FNM again, but there wasn't any, because there was Mr Cave singing 'Dig, Lazarus, Dig!', and 'The Ship Song', both 'Henry Lee' and 'Stagger Lee', 'The Mercy Seat'.. beautiful. Moving on to day 3, severe sleep deprivation, but it's all for a good cause!

15:19
And we're back in time for Gogol Bordello. Yuck ice cream. Good merch. Wait for pics

15:38
If pirate was a genre Gogol Bordello would own it

16:54
Lily Allen: loud, better than I expected

18:07
Eagles of Death Megal. Thought I knew them, turns out I don't. Weissbeer: it's make or break

20:52
Ladyhawke just kicked our ASSES! Jane says: NZ reprazent!

21:20
NIN next

21:37
God is dead! And March of the Pigs!! NIN

I was expecting newer stuff from Trent, but then he went and played a load of tracks from The Downward Spiral! It was great.

22:50
And now: Friendly Fires FTW

22 June 2009 12:57
Back in Bremen. Lunch time, whaddya know, Monday is Knuckle Day!

So now I have these three nights in my own bed, before heading to Glastonbury on Thursday. Must make the most of them. Photos to follow. I've started posting my Primavera pics - you can see them here.