Lotusblog

“Dogs die in hot cars” is not only a piece of useful advice, it’s also a band that are certain to put a smile on your face.

Read more about them here

… is pretty darn funny. Not having a TV I am out of touch with commercials, and while I am sure that 99% of them are still nonsensical, I guess there always is the 1% that makes you crack up. Kind of makes you want to be a stuntman (again). Check it out here .

I think I may have finally fixed my RSS issues that I had (with my blog entries not showing up in the Mixi-sphere). So this is a sort of test post. Can any Mixi users tell me whether this is working?

Simon called me this afternoon with some good music news. However, I am unable to elaborate. Sorry.

It was 13:30 and I was still in bed. This is the first time in absolutely ages that I have still been in bed after noon. And it feels kinda good. Last night after graf, Satoshi and I went to a good Chinese restaurant in Shinsaibashi (no, different from the one I went to on Tuesday) and then headed over to Kae-chan’s bar to celebrate her first year in business. It was fun; old friends, new friends. I haven’t laughed that much for ages. Ended up coming home around 04:00. Ate an Aussie beef rice bowl and fell asleep shortly after.

I still don’t have slick tires.

Tsuki no wa and The Toyama  Ensemble were the two bands playing last night; and they were fantastic. Emotional, beautiful acoustic craft. I thought a lot about that comment I made about electronic music a few weeks ago. And I think that what I was trying to say was something like this: acoustic music works within pre-defined musical parameters. Electronic music is free to wander away from musical conventions and create rhythms, melodies or sounds which either don’t exist, or are impossible with extant “analogue” instruments.

So electronic music is an evolutionary engine; it’s electronic music that pushes us forward. Music produced with acoustic/analogue instruments doesn’t so much hasten us towards to the future as force us to contemplate the now.

And I think that’s a pretty important balance.

Shows such as “Migratory” (the concert last night in which the two bands above appeared) shock us with their beauty. Taking us to the darker areas of our souls where Top 40 Radio Pop (and perhaps even electronic music, too, for that matter) can never reach.

Here’s a picture:

… are a band I have been hearing a lot of lately. And they are really cool.

On Friday night I was at the Grand Cafe to see Derrick May DJ-ing and I remember thinking that only electronic music is evolving. The only really cool stuff being done in music these days is in the electronic field. Rock is still in that “bass-lead-rhythm-drums” thing which was probably pretty radical in the late ’50’s, but let’s face it, it’s fucking 2005 for goodness sake! I still listen to rock, and there are definitely some good singer/songwriters out there, but there’s an awful lot of dross too.

Hip-Hop is the only other area that comes to mind where people are being truly creative, and pushing the boundaries of not only what is musically acceptable, but also socially acceptable. And it’s only by pushing the social boundaries that we can ever culturally evolve.

But back to Lemon Jelly. You definitely need to do yourself a favour and check them out.

It’s Thursday morning.

I dream of the things I’ll do, with a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe

Such wide-eyed optimism brings me close to tears. For some reason it was only today that, when listening to Glen Campbell’s tragi-western that I noticed that line. It just hit me, with a mouth full of coffee, and a heart full of ambition.

I was reduced to le néant.

Got my tax return done after all. The pre-preparation was the hardest bit- the filing and consultation (and subsequent payment of outstanding taxes) was relatively painless.

The last week was insane. I lost 3 kilograms. Got incredibly stressed out. Vomited. Had lots of silly fights with my girlfriend. Shaved my head. Worked very hard. Started some new projects. Bought an iPod. Got some suede Puma Mostro’s. Rediscovered some clothes I forgot I owned. Went to some gallery reception parties.

And now I feel great.

It’s about 15:00, Saturday the twelfth of March.

I managed to get the bulk of the tax return preliminary preparation done. The pre-prep if you like.

Now I have to actually crack open the envelope and whilst going through the “How to” guide fill in all of my numbers. It would be great if I could actually concentrate and get it done in one hour. That would totally rock. But I spot dust on my shelf, around my computer monitor and I will be darned if I let it be!

Think I might do some cleaning first then.

I am supposed to be doing my tax return today- but I got side-tracked trying to install Salling Clicker onto my Nokia 6630. Unfortunately, since Vodafone Japan crippled the phone, installing software is very tedious. You basically have to do this:

1. Download the software you want to install.
2. Use the Symbian .sis expander software such as MacUnsis to expand the file on your Mac.
* you have to make sure your Mac is in Japanese mode at this time otherwise unstuffing won’t work
3. Mount the memory card from the phone onto the Mac desktop by using a card reader.
4. Put the unstuffed files in the relevant folders in the memory card.
5. Unmount the memory card, put it back in your phone.

And this is where I have stopped. I presume that you would want to install the app onto the phone itself, rather than running it from the memory card. I guess to do this you would have to use something like FExplorer.

How stupid. How time-wasting.

And I still haven’t imported my contacts into the phone. This is another time-heavy process that, unfortunately, I am going to have to do later.

Oh, and that reminds me, only about 7 people know I have changed phones (and phone numbers). I will get around to mailing you all, but in the meantime, if you want my new number, drop me a line and I will get back to you straight away. Oh, and if anyone has any spare time lying around (say a few days) and you don’t need it, then can I please have it. Please.