ComEnts

Sounds like you missed the food, the service and the beer over here, Mike. I personally believe that it is exactly those qualities which keep our nation great – you lament the lack of late liquor/lager licences, the quality of service and the food over here but I say that if we are to keep this nation;

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,This other Eden, demi-paradise,This fortress built by Nature for herselfAgainst infection and the hand of war,This happy breed of men, this little world,This precious stone set in the silver sea,Which serves it in the office of a wallOr as a moat defensive to a house,Against the envy of less happier lands,—This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

out of pubs, cafes, fast food eateries and other nefarious dens of iniquity, then it is exactly this slapdash approach to customer service and quality that will do so. Those of any note will forego the overpriced, overcooked slop and will instead seek out good, wholesome food and alcoholic refreshment to sate their urges. We don’t want every bar, café and restaurant giving out 5 star service – we need to be reminded of that which is “simply not good enough” on a daily basis if we are to maintain the standards which keep Britannia ruling the waves.

Johnny Foreigner can do as he or she pleases to allow their barbaric hordes to lapse into the soporific blanket of luxury, choice, quality – a life of ease and comfort, it will be their downfall. Spare the rod and spoil the public, I say. Let’s keep England dissatisfied, hungry for more, for better ways and means. The great English drive for high standards did not come about because we had it handed to us on a plate, it came about because we were sick of the weather, sick of the feudal kingdom social structures, sick of oppression and the class system – from these fires were forged the indomitable spirit, the same spirit that made epoch-making strides in technology, agriculture, arts, sciences and medicine, the same spirit that roared up in defiance against the dark hordes of the 20th century, the same spirit that saw famine in Ethopia and said “We cannot sit idly by. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.”

And do we want this populace to fester in greasy spoons, fast food bars and pubs made luxurious by the better service, better quality, better value and better experience offered to us by our extended brethren overseas? Shall we watch a nation expand about the waistline and decline about the cerebellum as our every wish is granted, our every need catered for and our every whim satisfied? No, THIS WILL NOT DO. So I say hike up the prices, lower the quality, slow the service and condemn those of us who would still forego the opportunity to seek out something better in favour of a life of flaccidity. The Great Briton would never dwell in these cholesterol-sodden pits of iniquity for long enough to succumb to their wares. The Great Briton would take those who would choose to do so by the scruff of the neck, plant their faces up against the glass windows of the local booze and grease pits and scream with the passion of righteous indignation "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT? IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?".

So, I say hike up the prices, lower the quality, slow down the service and slap the faces of those who would seek to be wrapped in the soul-sapping blankets of luxury and satisfaction. This country should be happy, but never satisfied.

So I'm back from Prague. I need to whinge about a few things.

Why are our licensing laws and bars so horrendously bad? Why can't bars stay open as late as they want? It's totally ridiculous. How can anyone think that making everyone drink as much as they can in 2 hours then throwing them onto the street is a good idea? Labour (who's queen's speech was one of the most worrying since the Conservatives banned public assembly with music) promised us they'd reform it but haven't. Bastards. Also, table service is totally amazing, I want that here too. I'm perfectly happy to pay the tips that would be required to fund the staff for it.

Why can't we make decent food? Ok, there are exceptions but in Europe you go pretty much anywhere (except McDonalds) and they'll give you a very decent meal. Here you are most likely to get some microwaved or deep fried crap. Nothing actually prepared properly by someone who can cook. Whetherspoons for example, why put up with this shit?

Proper beer. I want proper nice lager with no chemicals. No reason why we can't make that here is there? Hangovers are massively reduced. It's unbelievable. Plus it tastes loads better.

Surely it's not that hard? Nice places to drink nice food with nice beer and nice service. Why can't we do something so simple? We all need to be more assertive and demanding from our hospitality industry and maybe they'll learn. There are places that do good food and beer, frequent those and never go to the crap ones.

Prague has all that and is set in stunning surroundings. A truly amazing city.

On the music front we caught the end of a battle of the bands at a Rock Cafe, one I really would love to gig... At the end a kind of Czech Jim Bowes came on stage to present the prizes. I had no idea what he was saying but apparently it was funny. He didn't play scissors paper stone. The only band we saw was a quite good at what they do but uninspiring band fronted by a guy we dubbed the Czech Morrissey.

On the first night there was an amazing Blues/Jazz/Covers guy playing in the Marquis de Sade bar who was really good. Don't go there though, it's in all the guidebooks but they don't tell you the bar staff are all off their tits Australians who forget most of every order and are unbelievably slow. They also run out of glasses between every order.

I can't remember much else.

What did I miss here?

I couldn't resist that terrible pun.

I'm going to Prague tomorrow! Dobry Den! Pivo! So there won't be any updates from me for the next few days. Luckily the only person who's complained about infrequent updates to the blog is also going to Prague. Thank goodness All I have to do to be ready is buy some clothes, a coat and get some cash. I have finally got Vodafone that my phone was actually barred abroad so they've unlocked it and I should (hopefully) be able to use it! Last time I was in Prague I saw a Czech Police covers band - that's a band of Czechs playing covers of Police songs not Czech Police playing covers. Nikhil (ex SU guitarist) and I met a keyboard player who was working as a cloakroom attendent in a rock bar. Oh and we saw this big fat American blues guy called Clean Head Phil, Twice! There was also the incident with the non-stop Guns'n'Roses videos and the B52 cocktails with absynth... Basically I can't wait. If I remember anything about it when I get back I'll tell you all about it!

Before that it's time for another great looking Gimp night at Reading Fez. My co-blogger's former band Yankee 99er are playing as are those Rebus chaps who are some of the few people who ever respond with comments to my blog entries.

What else has been going on... Oh yeah, I went to see Left Side Brain in Southampton at The Joiners. Was a great night, their new stuff is sounding really good. I'm really looking forward to hearing the album if Amazon ever take their fat fingers out of their arses and send me a copy.

I'm reading Anthony Kiedis' autobiography "Scar Tissue" at the moment, what an amazing read - it just sucks you straight in from the first chapter. I've been deeply in love with the Red Hots (see how quickly you can pick up the "correct" terminology?) since "Mother's Milk" - still their best album in my opinion - after seeing the video for "Taste the Pain" on Raw Power (classic late-night rock TV show) and so when my cuz asked for it for his birthday it was with the caveat that I could have 2nd dibs.

AK - or Mr. Kiedis, to avoid 1st person conjugatory confusion - comes across as a genuinely warm and compassionate human being who just happens to have lived a life that has been crazier than a bag full of snakes. It's the honest and almost-naïve way that he explains his attitude towards taking boat-loads of contraband, the early career of RHCP (I've only read as far as Hillel Slovak re-joining the band) and his relationship with Flea - it's a great read and I'm sure it will get better. They haven’t even met Chad Smith yet (surely destined to be played by Will Ferrell in the film of the band's career?).

Müf rehearsal on Saturday was legendary, we've got three songs together (well, we can remember most of how they go…) and loads of other bits and pieces ideas to play around with. I'm comfortable singing, if not completely happy with the lyrics I have so far - at least I've dropped the Amercian accent! - and we're starting to really bed in as an artistic enterprise. But, as Ian the drumspanker mentioned to me yesterday, he's only around till March so we either have to convince him that his destiny lies with us, or find a new drummist in the spring. Wonder if Dave Grohl fancies taking on a new project? Spent Sunday trying Ian out as drummist for Red Antennae too, Nat and Dan thought he was the poodle's noodles, but as he'll probably be away with his other band in March, the most we can hope for is a handful of gigs out of him and [hopefully] some new recordings.

Spent Saturday night with Red Antennae catching up with ex-drummer Tim who was back from university for the weekend. Went to a restaurant in Hackney called LMNT, which was unbelievable. It's a French-Egyptian place, the interior looks like the set of an Indiana Jones film (our table was inside a giant urn), and the food was amazing, cheap (£25 a head for a great night out?) and on our table about 3 mins after we had ordered. Try the Egyptian Ice Teas - they were almost my downfall.

I'm off to see my former band Yankee 99er play at the Fez this Wednesday, I'll be reviewing the evening's performances in an attempt to try and keep a balanced, objective viewpoint under unique circumstances, and quite frankly I can’t wait. I know the band rock out with the power of 10 tigers, so it'll be a good show, but it will be the first time I've seen them from out front! They have a little work to do after the photo on their website though, which looks more like a boy band than a rock band, but I suppose they are trying to get away from comparisons to the Darkness which were always hanging around. Not sure if looking like Savage Garden is going to help them, but it's still early doors and knowing Henry they'll probably - hopefully - try out a few other "looks" before they crack it.

I am so excited about the rehearsal tomorrow. It's been too long.

The replacement Megadeth CDs arrived. Woo Hoo!

It's been a busy month of CD buying for after a couple of months of not really buying anything with the whole house move and things. It's very refreshing to be getting loads of new stuff again!

The currently listening to CD collection on my desk now consists of the following, all of which I've got recently (and all but 2 for £5 each):

• Rust in Peace, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying, So Far, So Good... So What! by Megadeth, I've never been a huge Megadeth fan but they are one of those bands I need to know more about. These are all remasters and under a fiver so it seemed a little hard to resist checking them out.


• Dizzee Rascal - Showtime, which is absolutely stunning, better than his debut. He's possibly the person currently working in music I most admire.


• Therapy? - Never Apologise Never Explain, a return to form for one of my favourite all time bands. Looking forward to seeing them at the Fez in a couple of weeks time. Which will be the fourth time I've seen them in just over a year!


• Velvet Revolver - Contraband, a definite grower if not an all time classic. This will struggle to get more plays with the other stuff I have here.


• Hot Potatoes - The Best of Devo which is absolutely brilliant. I will have to pick up all their albums. I now totally love Devo.


• See Through This and Leave - Cooper Temple Clause, just bought this because I quite like them and it was a fiver. Pretty good, glad I've got it even if just for the singles.


• Gang of Four - Brief History of the Twentieth Century, I think this is going to take a little bit more work on my part. I quite like it but I never seem to be in the mood to put it on.

I would have ranted about Band Aid but that's already going on at berkshire live

Come Monday morning their help pages were working and from them I worked out that I could have used their automated returns thing which was working last week if I'd had the help to tell me what to do. Mental note: use commas. OK, anyway they are going to send me new CDs, I have to return the empty boxes and they'll (apparently) refund my postage for the return.

The howcomes and whyforths of what makes a band sound good is a bit of an odd debate, as opinions on "good" and "bad" are all subjective, and it's hard to apply any sort of objectivity as "being original/unique/innovative" can all be used to cover up a multitude of sins. But as far as the individual performers go, it's up to them to find a band that suits their own individual sounds/styles, etc. and then it's up to them to play that which they are happy playing in a way that they are happy with. There's a certain amount of faith-leaping that goes on; the performer(s) has to be happy and confident in what they are doing and then just pray that other people agree/enjoy it for the same reasons.

Müf went out for a drink last night, first band social engagement?

Anyway, whilst watching the bands at Colorz the following question came back into my head from where it has been worked on by the subconcious to no avail.

"Why do some bands sound good and some sound shit?"

I had been thinking that maybe it was a combination of tightness, quality of equipment and the quality of ability to get the sound that you want out of that equipment. I put the question to AK and Sam to get their thoughts. After sleeping on it I think that AK probably hit the nail on his response which was in essence; "They know what it should sound like".

It sounds simple when stated like that but it's not really. Knowing what sound you want to achieve and how to do it is hard enough but actually achieving that, or as close as you can get to it, is even harder. The basis though is to know what you want to sound like, be able to hear and feel what you do sound like and tell if those two things are different. Maybe that's it. I dunno!

Buying a really nice guitar probably helps loads as well.

Amazon, schmamazon

I'm extremely annoyed by Amazon at the moment. They sent me my Megadeth but two of the CD boxes didn't have CDs in. Wankers. So I wanted to complain and all the help documents on their website are empty so I've been sending complaints to random addresses at Amazon in the hope that one of them will get through to someone who isn't an automated response telling me that wheresmymegadethyoubastards@amazon.co.uk doesn't accept incoming e-mail. Ok, so I didn't send anything to that address.

Therapy?'s new albums works though which is very good. Their best for ages.

Yours,
Annoyed of Reading.

Wow - that's the worst pun I've ever used! I'm almost proud of myself.. (background info: Megadeth mainman = Dave Mustaine). Mike mentioned that he was ordering some Megadeth CD's, which made me think about the quality of Muf lyrics (sorry, can't be arsed to do the umlaut!). Now, Dave Mustaine's lyrics are awesome (most of the time, in my opinion it's only his subject matter which falters), and I'm definitely using him as an inspiration to write Muf lyrics. I've got a few vocal melodies in mind (if I can stop trying to sound like Layne Staley when I sing, they'll be fine!) but the lyrics will be key...

So, I had a dream last night. One of those really realistic ones. In the dream I checked the blog and saw that there were loads and loads of comments on my previous few blog entries. I was very excited but they ended up just being the normal stuff where local band members post (unfortunately justified) abuse at me. I still had to change back to IE to read them though. Must be too much thinking about trying to fix that stupid problem.

No, don't get on the phone to your friends to discuss that incredibly exciting news quite yet. I haven't finished.

To counter getting too arty farty from listening to too much Gang of Four and Devo (as purchased in the previous blog entry) I've ordered myself 3 remastered Megadeth albums for £4.97 each from Amazon and the new Therapy? album. Unfortunately they didn't seem to have a remastered Countdown to Extinction. Does this mean that Müf will start writing songs that are halfway between Gang of Four and Megadeth? Or will we find the common ground between Devo and Therapy??* Actually both of those combinations sound pretty awesome.

*That's one question mark for the band name and one to indicate it's a question

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been trying to sort out this non-IE browser problem. It's very dull and very hard. The archive pages now work, the other pages is a server setting that I'm sure I can fix.

Other than that I was ill most of last week and didn't do anything, although I am up to speed with the latest daytime TV schedules.

On Saturday I did feel well enough to go to the RISC for the Access All Areas gig. That was good. I like the place as a venue. It's a nice size and location. Looked pretty cool. Shomaha were really good. I even bought their CD and that wasn't purely because the singer from Chinafight's extremely foxy girlfriend was the one going round selling them. Well... ok, maybe that was why. Anyway, Shomaha reminded me a lot of Tool, and I like Tool. The Heys were pretty good too, although every time they started a song I thought "Is this a cover?" it never was but I had this nagging feeling I'd heard all their intros before somewhere. Chinafight and The Race I think probably played well as well but I was totally wankered by the time they were on and can't really remember much about them. I was going to review it but as I can't remember half of the gig it's probably not a great idea. Whoops. Still, cool venue. I look forward to the next one. Oh, if you go, the entrance is round the back.

FOPP also provided me with a few more £5 CDs, Devo greatest hits, Gang of Four greatest hits, Ivor Cutler's Jammy Smears which I got because Graham out of Three Litre covered one of the songs off the album and I really liked it.

As for the band, apparently we're already big in Germany, but they can't spell.