3 Who, although a gifted academic, is still a douche.

But, work has dragged me back to the computer, and forced me to note the slow decline in traffic that invariably results in us not being online to feed our readers sweet morsels of wit. Seriously, can’t you people just party in the archives?

In other news, our genetically modified growing system here at Worship St Towers has, quite literally, borne fruit:

Some lvoely cherry tomatoes right there; we have tried them and, despite our crop looking like approximately 8, they are awesomely tasty. More growing experiments to come.

Link dump to come later tonight. Thanks for listening, you’ve been great.

]]> http://worshipstirregulars.com/2008/08/28/welcome-back/feed/ http://worshipstirregulars.com/2008/08/15/she-is-the-new-thing/ http://worshipstirregulars.com/2008/08/15/she-is-the-new-thing/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:13:28 +0000 chairmanmeow http://worshipstirregulars.com/?p=380 Slow news week over at Irregular Towers, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to welcome my new niece into the World. She is officially, the new thing. Here’s the Horrors’ track by the same name.

Nicky Thomas:
[See post to listen to audio]

Pulp:
[See post to listen to audio]

“This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won’t play no more
too much fighting on the dance floor”

Lyrics there from Ghost Town by the Specials, which, if you replace ghost with eco, may prove an ominous prophecy for the future of Eco Towns. Listen to the track here:

[See post to listen to audio]

For a blast from the past, click here to listen to Harry J and the Allstars, Liquidator).

What would Captain Planet make of the proposed ‘Eco Towns’ in the UK? Well, I think he’d wouldn’t be too bothered because if he were real, he would now be getting epically BD with the growing hoards of eco-conscious ladies in the UK. Captain Planet would be getting laid on the scale of George Best in the 70s, as the environment has justifiably nudged to the forefront of the minds of those well-off enough to have a choice as to what car they drive, where they source their vegetables and an ability to buy bags that are anything but free plastic bags.

I have digressed from the outset, what I actually want to consider is the following statement from Hegel in the context of the ‘New Towns’ of the UK and the proposed Eco Towns;

“What experience and history teach is this-that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it”

Under very different circumstances (i.e the conclusion of the second World War) the government made moves to reconstruct the UK against a backdrop of a country with a changing economic composition (certain industries growing, some dying) and a people displaced through the attrition of the War. This led to a program of developing New Towns (predominantly in the South East) with stellar line-up including Bracknell, Basildon, Stevenage and Harlow. There was then a second and third wave of ‘New Towns’ (between the 60s and 70s) including places such as Milton Keynes, Skelmersdale and Northampton.

The fortunes of these New Towns have been as varied as the response you might get from the government  when questioned on their stance on Eco Towns. At the one end of the scale you have towns such as Skelmersdale, Welwyn Garden City and Basildon that either feature or were nominated for inclusion in The Idler’s infamous “Crap Towns” book. From personal experience, Skelmersdale is really quite a grim place, with roundabout after roundabout which has developed a grim and dark undertone which you might expect considering it lives in the shadow of Liverpool, which despite it’s undoubted importance to the UK, has struggled somewhat over the last 30 years to cope with the sector shifts in the UK economy. On the topic of Basildon, apparently the locals have taken to calling a certain part of town (which I assume is akin to some sort of Essex Sin City) as ‘Bas Vegas’ . This reminds me of my home town Torbay, which the locals have taken to calling Torbaydos (the similarities are negligable although Torbay does have some of the highest incidents of bankrupcy, teenage pregnancy and lowest wages in the UK).

On the other end of the scale you have Milton Keynes (much maligned by the masses but admired by many ‘in the know’ such as town planners, architects and business leaders) and Bracknell which have massively exceeded the population targets set for them and will no doubt go from strength to strength over the next 20 years.

The point of showing the diverse fortunes of the ‘New Towns’ in the context of Eco Towns and Hegels quote is that the government should heed these examples (and one of the main maxims of property); it is location, location, location which is important here. In the context of Eco Towns, it is actually “location, location, location” squared. Firstly, the government needs to be forward-looking in deciding where these eco-towns are going to be; what is the UK demographic going to look like in 20 years and how do Eco Towns fit in? Secondly, the government needs to be forward-looking in terms of industry; where Bracknell & Milton Keynes have succeeded is the fact that they are replaced to act as a alternative or secondary location for the London-centric service industry. What industries are a ‘good-fit’ with Eco Towns and where should they be located to benefit from this?

By their very nature, Eco Towns will be a major step in environmentally conscious living and if done properly, should allow the UK to demonstrate to the rest of World what is achievable. However, the challenge is really to make them economically sustainable i.e. to be desirable for people to live in and to be desirable to industries (of a suitable nature) to want to locate near.

Note, it’s actually Rollercoaster Tycoon on the Atari. But seriously, Theme Park was epic

Oh yeah, and Simian Mobile Disco are rocking up as well. If you haven’t already got a ticket, get one because I guarantee you’ll be dancing all day and night finding “your new favourite track” on an hourly basis. Here’s one to get you started:

[See post to listen to audio]

If you can’t make it today, here’s Skull Juice latest radio installment which puts you half way towards having your own little house party.

[See post to listen to audio]

Away from the DJ side of things, there are some interesting acts playing. Regular readers will know that Mystery Jets and Laura Marling are firm favourites of ours, so it’ll be good to see them again. The NME hype machine will be in full flow as Lightspeed Champion, Foals and Wild Beasts roll into town, if I’m honest, none of which do a great deal for me (aside from Foals - French Open). By the time Rob Da Bank takes the stage at 7pm, there will still be 12 hours of partying to be had considering the afterparty ends at 7am at the End! Expect to bump into characters like this…

If the sun comes out, I predict Of Montreal will have an epic set with their unique brand of camp experimental rock.

As a sucker for a generous helping of scuzzy guitar, my one to watch is New York rockers Les Savy Fav and ask yourself; what would wolves do?

There’s a strong chance I am alone on this, but personally I like my rock venues to be shit scary. Dark basements you would only consider entering when recklessly drunk, on the tail end of a speed binge. I remember in my teenage years at the Brixton Fridge, watching a guy bleed all over a sink as he reset his broken nose and ran back out to mosh in front of Poison Ivy. I like my venues to double as gay bars on Tuesdays, so if you get the wrong day you’ll wind up having a very different experience. These things reassure me that rock is alive and pulsating with the hate and violence of our jilted generation.

Sin, located in the down market end of the West End is not such a place. I must be candid about the fact I do not know what they were playing downstairs. Perhaps you could ask the guy with more piercings than a smack addict, whose name was Harry and he worked in a Sussex architect’s office. It was certainly some shouty combination of drums and guitars, gravely vocals forced out of a middle class throat. I do remember the opening DJ was an extremely hot girl and then when I went back at 2am to ask for Rage Against the Machine the DJ had morphed into a man in drag. It did take me longer than it should for me to realise, but he was facing away from me and wearing a black wig. Really.

But I deviate. My point is about Harry, the man with a shitty face and a charming demeanour. Everyone wore black at this place. In much the same way as The Electric Showrooms, it is easy to feel like you are attending an international ‘I love the Crow’ convention. (I was only at the Camden Electric Ballrooms because I had got the venue confused with the Angel one. The website is confusing, I think deliberately in an attempt to dilute all the Crow fanatics).

No one at Sin scared me, I was by far and away the most unhinged person there. The dance floor was self conscious and no one could quite settle on quite how to rock out in the appropriate manner. People were having a good time, there were plenty of bull horn fists and long ‘Bodyform’ / Timotei hair. From what I could tell they were predominantly revelling in the thrill of being out of the chatroom and in the club, sharing their music without the hindrance of typing. No one intimidated me, which I found disappointing. Trodden toes responded with polite apologies. Newcastle Brown Ale was sold by the bottle, often associate with commercial suicide. A nice big bottle of fight juice you can smash in half when you get to the bottom.

My Dad tells me stories of Nottingham bars where Newcy Broon was served in draught. Outside on the street, the men fought on the right of the door and women fought on the left. The streets were busy on a Friday night. All I have to come back at him with is Harry and that makes me feel like a pussy. My father mocks me with his tales of ‘The Stones’. Of breaking in to Hendrix gigs, standing at the back of the upper balcony and still not being able to heae a person shouting directly into your ear. Let’s get back to basics. Go on Sin, go ahead, ‘Pick up the gun’.