The BBC is proposing to launch its on demand TV system, iPlayer, but it will only be available to people using a Microsoft operating system. Firstly, this expresses a n unjustifiable commercial bias. Secondly, it fails in the BBC’s obligation to provide universal services by excluding Mac and Linux users. Thirdly, it supports Microsoft’s digital [...]

I’m listening to ‘Fur and Gold‘, the debut album by Bat for Lashes, aka Natasha Khan. It is definitely worth a listen. Her voice has a similar, ethereal quality to Kate Bush and her music is, IMHO, reminscent of Bjork and, at times, Sigur Ros. All in all, I’m rather impressed.
xD.

Apparently, on the way back from Glastonbury, there were problems with the trains and so there was a large group of people waiting in a very muddy field. Some wag started saying it was like a concentration camp - at which point someone in a uniform arrived to tell them that they could get on [...]

I recently signed up to last.fm1. It is a great site - you find music similar to your current tastes. You can either just plug in names of bands and do various searches around that, or put a piece of software that notes what you listen to and how often (yes, it does sound a [...]

How did we get 19 points? Well, 12 from Malta and seven from Ireland. I appreciate the fraternal greetings, but Scooch were shite. Utter rubbish. Sorry to Scooch, but sexual innuendo doesn’t translate and the entire gimmick was you were a bit like flight attendants. Britain never stood a chance. Having said that, the Irish [...]

The wonderful Swiss entry for Eurovision, DJ Bobo, with his Lordi rip off, Vampires Are Alive, has been knocked out of the contest at the semi-final. It had been predicted as a potential winner, but perhaps people see it as just a rip off.
How will Britain fare? The campness should help for Eurovision, but it’s [...]

I’ve been listening to a band called Portobella recently. Do take a listen. The lead singer, Luciana Caporaso, featured in Yeah Yeah by Bodyrox, which has done well in the charts. I can’t quite understand why Portobella didn’t - they have fantastic songs, particularly Viva La Difference and Covered in Punk. Scroll down the Portobella [...]

Yes, and I don’t care who knows it. Eurovision, the annual display of xenophobia, nepotism and geopolitics masquerading as a song contest is one of the great annual events.
I wonder why Germany gave so many points to Turkey (and, for similar reasons, Spain to the UK). Is it because there are lots of immigrants who [...]

Thanks to Anchit for giving me this link… a French group called the Nouvelles Vagues that reinterpret punk in a bossa nova style.
http://www.nouvellesvagues.com/francais/music.html
They receive four hats out of a possible five.
xD.