REST IN PC

Could this be the most boring day of the year? I think it must be. To prove it I've devised a formula:

Bloated post-Christmas inertia + back at parents - self-motivation or money = listless ennui + dull pangs of existential angst

To cheer you up, check out DeathSpace (strapline="MySpace doesn't end at death") a pointless but morbidly intriguing online resource compiling a list of MySpace users who've passed on from this world. Their profile pages freeze-framed forever at a moment just before their untimely deaths, their unfortunate legacy is destined to be a series of trite epitaphs posted by friends. Here are some of my personal favourites:

"Dude, so sorry to hear about your accident. It really sucks. RIP"
"Hopefully you can access MySpace in heaven"
"I feel so privileged to make your final top 8"
"Tell me in a dream how God is. I always wanted to know"
"Six months and I still can't believe you're gone. Gutting"
"You look so hot in that pic. Such a waste"

2006: AN AURAL RETROSPECTIVE

My twenty albums of the year, in alphabetical order:

Ten Years of Tears - Arab Strap
Fur and Gold - Bat for Lashes
The Life Pursuit - Belle and Sebastian
Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Victory For the Common Muse - The Divine Comedy
Yes, Virginia - The Dresden Dolls
The Tragic Treasury - The Gothic Arches
Gravity Won't Get You High - The Grates
Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop - Luke Haines
Awoo - The Hidden Cameras
Under the Crooked Moon - The Hot Puppies
The Lemonheads - The Lemonheads
Someone to Drive You Home - The Long Blondes
Live It Out - Metric
Ys - Joanna Newsom
Writers Block - Peter, Bjorn and John
We Are the Pipettes - The Pipettes
White Bread Black Beer - Scritti Politti
Show Your Bones - Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

PUPPY LOVE

Have I mentioned how absurdly ace the Hot Puppies are yet? Read my review of their Water Rats gig here >>

HOW THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WORKS

The Kooks are one of those bands I've harboured a mild antipathy towards for a while now without being able to put my finger on precisely why. This review from the fearlessly incisive Stylus Magazine helps to clarify matters a great deal.

For anyone under any illusions as to the cynical machinations deployed by major labels in promoting their 'talent', I suggest you take a seat before reading on...

Review of 'Inside In/Inside Out' by the Kooks >>

(*SPOILER WARNING* It's a hoax alas, but why let that stand in the way of a good stitch-up?)