We’ve been having fun with Googlism, a website that filters descriptions from Google to tell you what Google “thinks” of you. For example:
princess stomper is normally represented as a small pink bunny
princess stomper is a former magazine contributor and music researcher
princess stomper is making way too many assumptions in this article Continue reading
I’ve never thought to wonder whether William D Drake was born in England, but The Rising of the Lights makes me wonder. I take my very English version of national pride (faint smugness rather than any sort of nastiness) as being a by-product of not being born here. You have to an outsider to really appreciate a place. Continue reading
Lucy Cage’s superb review of the new William D Drake album was such that it inspired veteran Cardiacs-hater Everett True to give them another listen. It certainly inspired me to spend some time listening to Cardiacs this afternoon, and picking just one song isn’t merely impossible, it’s plain wrong!
It’s so easy to find people who say “I don’t like Cardiacs”, but after over 30 years of making music, that’s a lot like saying “I don’t like David Bowie”. Sure, there’s certain recogniseable common elements that you can associate with “the Cardiacs sound”, but their music is so varied that even if you think you hate them, you’ll love at least one of these.
This is actually an incredibly difficult post to write. Most people reading this blog will know that I’m a long-time Cardiacs fan, and will probably have an inkling that they’re one of the most innovative bands of the past 35 years. Acts as diverse as Faith No More, Radiohead, Battles, Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, the Pixies, the Melvins and System of a Down have cited them as an influence. The band has also been a huge influence on me personally – and are just such lovely human beings that I feel truly lucky to have spent as much time with them as I did in the 90s.
The awful thing is that Tim Smith suffered a severe stroke and heart attack in 2008 and is still being treated in hospital. To raise money for his continuing medical care, a tribute album, Leader of the Starry Skies, has been recorded and will be released on Believers Roast on 6 December. The contributors are “friends and family” of the band, and include XTC’s Andy Partridge, Julianne Regan from All About Eve, Ultrasound, Knifeworld and Oceansize. Each has donated their time and energy freely as “a testament to the love we all have for Tim.”
Reinspired 