I thought this was too good to miss! Adam Ant (Lord of All) has re-recorded "Stand and Deliver" in aid of Dian Fossey's Gorilla Fund, and is taking place in the Great Gorilla Run on September 21st. As I write I'm downloading the mp3, so we'll see. Apparently, Sir Ant has been writing and recording as well, and hopes to release a new album next year. Hurrah! And he's doing it with one of the old Ants too! Anyway, if you click on the link you can download the track, sponsor Adam and generally find out about the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
See. Entertaining and socially aware. What more could you ask for?
Well, it's pretty cool - more laid back than the original - Adam's voice is still as entertaining as ever - and this proves he can still cut it as a singer! The future looks good! Again, hurrah!
Thursday, 11 September 2003
Thursday, 21 August 2003
What's Going On?
Hey kids, I'll bet you're all wondering what's going on with the old kinkyMachine site. Well, as I seem to be getting the hang of this web-design lark, I thought I'd put out a few feelers to see if I can do some sites for other people, 'cos I'm running out of ideas.
Well, actually that's not true - I've just started work on a huge Jean Michel Jarre site, and I've just published a new top-secret site (which you'll have to find for yourself (if you can!)), so I've got loads to be going on with, but I want to do this full-time, so I need to get the ball rolling, and find people to offer me work - I'm also undergoing a bit of guerilla design for a company that needs a new website but don't know it yet!
So, the upshot of all this is that the "original" kinkyMachine site has been shuffled off into a subdirectory and replaced with the all new kinkyMachine Web Designs with a spiffy (if I do say so myself) new logo.
But don't worry, all the usual crap will still be here, just maybe not updated as often as possible. I'm also going to revamp the KinkyBabes section, hopefully making it more slimline. Votes for the next babe in to me ASAP (or it's going to be Angelina Jolie!)
Well, actually that's not true - I've just started work on a huge Jean Michel Jarre site, and I've just published a new top-secret site (which you'll have to find for yourself (if you can!)), so I've got loads to be going on with, but I want to do this full-time, so I need to get the ball rolling, and find people to offer me work - I'm also undergoing a bit of guerilla design for a company that needs a new website but don't know it yet!
So, the upshot of all this is that the "original" kinkyMachine site has been shuffled off into a subdirectory and replaced with the all new kinkyMachine Web Designs with a spiffy (if I do say so myself) new logo.
But don't worry, all the usual crap will still be here, just maybe not updated as often as possible. I'm also going to revamp the KinkyBabes section, hopefully making it more slimline. Votes for the next babe in to me ASAP (or it's going to be Angelina Jolie!)
Saturday, 17 May 2003
I decided to decorate (again!)
I've moved some stuff around, gave other bits a lick of paint, brought some other bits back down from the loft, and sprayed around with some air freshener (honeysuckle, don't you know!) and generally arsed around with it all. Some of this what I'm writing here may not make much sense, 'cos I'm working 6-day weeks at the moment and I'm bloody knackered! (Job offers gladly welcomed!)
Not really too much to say, I'm afraid. Continuing on from last update's cancellation of Farscape (season 4 starting on Sci-Fi on May 18th), it has been confirmed that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is going to end at the end of this season. Now, while I think Buffy is the best show that has been on TV for a long time, I think it's right that it ends now. If it goes on any more then I think it'll become stale. It looks like it'll be going out with a bang though.... And hopefully Angel will be continuing for a while (even though that all seems to be going to hell in a handcart at the moment!)
Also this update, the return (sort of) of the recommendations and the Hall of Fame, lovingly squashed together in the new We Love... section. Who knows, I might even put some new stuff in there one day!
Right, don't go starting any wars (or liberations, or regieme changes, or whatever) and take care out there!
Laters!
Not really too much to say, I'm afraid. Continuing on from last update's cancellation of Farscape (season 4 starting on Sci-Fi on May 18th), it has been confirmed that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is going to end at the end of this season. Now, while I think Buffy is the best show that has been on TV for a long time, I think it's right that it ends now. If it goes on any more then I think it'll become stale. It looks like it'll be going out with a bang though.... And hopefully Angel will be continuing for a while (even though that all seems to be going to hell in a handcart at the moment!)
Also this update, the return (sort of) of the recommendations and the Hall of Fame, lovingly squashed together in the new We Love... section. Who knows, I might even put some new stuff in there one day!
Right, don't go starting any wars (or liberations, or regieme changes, or whatever) and take care out there!
Laters!
Saturday, 19 October 2002
Hey everybody! How's it going out there?
The more astute of you will have noticed that this site was actually updated a few weeks ago, but I didn't get around to changing this welcome message. Well, I have now, so stop whingeing (not that any of you have. Are you still out there? I can hear you breathing....!)
So, after 4 years, Farscape has been cancelled, because it's not getting the viewers and it cost too much to make. I think this is a real pity, because it was one of the most innovative shows on TV. On first glance it may not look like it - Buck Rogers meets Blake's 7 meets the Muppets may be the high concept definition, but it certainly became more than the sum of its parts. I urge you all to watch the final season on BBC2 on Mondays (I'll try and remember, but keep forgetting!) or season 3 on Sci-Fi on Sundays (and some other time during the week too). You never know, it may get a last minute reprieve, but I doubt it. So farewell John, Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, Rygel and all the others. We'll miss you.
I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner (2 months away at the time of writing). It doesn't seem that long ago that we were putting all the decorations away! And what the frell happened to summer? I'm still waiting for it to get warm! Ho hum, still, there's plenty of new stuff to keep us all busy in the dark evenings - Attack of the Clones and Spider-Man on DVD, plus TV will start to get better soon, but we have to wait until January before we get new Buffy, Angel and Enterprise on Sky. Boo. But, considering the way things go, the next time I'll update this site, we'll be well into 2003!
Right, I'm going now. Adios Amoebas!
So, after 4 years, Farscape has been cancelled, because it's not getting the viewers and it cost too much to make. I think this is a real pity, because it was one of the most innovative shows on TV. On first glance it may not look like it - Buck Rogers meets Blake's 7 meets the Muppets may be the high concept definition, but it certainly became more than the sum of its parts. I urge you all to watch the final season on BBC2 on Mondays (I'll try and remember, but keep forgetting!) or season 3 on Sci-Fi on Sundays (and some other time during the week too). You never know, it may get a last minute reprieve, but I doubt it. So farewell John, Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, Rygel and all the others. We'll miss you.
I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner (2 months away at the time of writing). It doesn't seem that long ago that we were putting all the decorations away! And what the frell happened to summer? I'm still waiting for it to get warm! Ho hum, still, there's plenty of new stuff to keep us all busy in the dark evenings - Attack of the Clones and Spider-Man on DVD, plus TV will start to get better soon, but we have to wait until January before we get new Buffy, Angel and Enterprise on Sky. Boo. But, considering the way things go, the next time I'll update this site, we'll be well into 2003!
Right, I'm going now. Adios Amoebas!
Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Review: "Never Enough - The Best of Jesus Jones" by Jesus Jones
Well, here it is. After five years in the wilderness (most of them without a record contract), the Jones boys have returned (sort of) with a greatest hits compilation to support their recent tour of the UK and the US. This album contains the best bits gleaned from the four EMI albums they recorded between 1989 (Liquidizer) and 1997 (Already) and contains some real classics.
Aside from the singles, a few albums tracks have sneaked into the mix (personally selected by lead singer and songwriter Mike Edwards) as well as the obligatory new track ("Come On Home") to ensure that the album is bought by those fans who already have all the albums. Darn their dastardly tactics. Still, if you have got the albums already, there's always the second disc to listen to. This contains a collection of mixes and alternate versions of the singles, mixed by the likes of the Prodigy and Aphex Twin (both supplying versions of "Zeroes and Ones" from 1993's Perverse). However it's the first three tracks that get the attention. "Info Sicko", "Enough - Never Enough" and "Beat it Down" are all rougher versions of "Info Freako", "Never Enough" and "Bring it on Down" and show what the band were like when they first started - all thrashing guitars, raw samples and attitude, but with a great ear for production and a tune.
Jesus Jones probably got recognized with the release of their second album, Doubt (1991) and the slew of chart singles that came from it. Starting with their first top 20 hit, "Real Real Real" (a song which was actually a piss-take - but nobody noticed) and continuing through their biggest hit to date, "International Bright Young Thing" (also my own favorite) and "Who? Where? Why?" the band established themselves both at home and abroad.
Apart from the singles, some of the choices Edwards has made for the track listing come as a bit of surprise. Instead of using the original version of "Move Mountains", Liquidizer's opening track, Edwards has chosen a remix by Ben Chapman, which is a lot more dance orientated and loses some of the passion and originality of the album version. Again, with "International Bright Young Thing" and "Who? Where? Why?", the remixed single versions have been selected. I feel that once again, the album versions are better, but less familiar to casual fans. Of particular interest is the inclusion of "Blissed" (Doubt) and "Idiot Stare" (Perverse) both brilliant album tracks that have appeared on my own car-tape compilation. "Blissed" is a chilled pulsing ode to doing nothing: "If the sun shines today, I think I'll stay in anyway", while "Idiot Stare" is a twisting, frenetic anger-ballad: 'I don't know if I care, / I can't feel, I can't speak, I can't think, / Caught in an Idiot Stare."
Already, the much underrated fourth album supplies three tracks, the excellent but unpopular single "Chemical #1" and the album tracks "The Next Big Thing" and "They're Out There", which are OK, but there are better tracks on the album. The new single, "Come On Home" is classic Jesus Jones - samples, harmonies and a bit of thrash thrown in for good measure.
All in all, this is an excellent testament to Jesus Jones' work, which has survived longer and with more stamina than some of their contemporaries (such as EMF or Ned's Atomic Dustbin). I would have liked to have seen more rare tracks and B-sides on the second CD, such as "Broken Bones" (from the US version of Liquidizer) or "Maryland" (the B-side to "International Bright Young Thing") or even their version of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" from the NME Ruby Trax album. Where the band go from here is anyone's guess. A free download of their single "In the Face of All of This" from their US-only album London is available from the official website (www.jesusjones.com) so you can judge for yourself!
Aside from the singles, a few albums tracks have sneaked into the mix (personally selected by lead singer and songwriter Mike Edwards) as well as the obligatory new track ("Come On Home") to ensure that the album is bought by those fans who already have all the albums. Darn their dastardly tactics. Still, if you have got the albums already, there's always the second disc to listen to. This contains a collection of mixes and alternate versions of the singles, mixed by the likes of the Prodigy and Aphex Twin (both supplying versions of "Zeroes and Ones" from 1993's Perverse). However it's the first three tracks that get the attention. "Info Sicko", "Enough - Never Enough" and "Beat it Down" are all rougher versions of "Info Freako", "Never Enough" and "Bring it on Down" and show what the band were like when they first started - all thrashing guitars, raw samples and attitude, but with a great ear for production and a tune.
Jesus Jones probably got recognized with the release of their second album, Doubt (1991) and the slew of chart singles that came from it. Starting with their first top 20 hit, "Real Real Real" (a song which was actually a piss-take - but nobody noticed) and continuing through their biggest hit to date, "International Bright Young Thing" (also my own favorite) and "Who? Where? Why?" the band established themselves both at home and abroad.
Apart from the singles, some of the choices Edwards has made for the track listing come as a bit of surprise. Instead of using the original version of "Move Mountains", Liquidizer's opening track, Edwards has chosen a remix by Ben Chapman, which is a lot more dance orientated and loses some of the passion and originality of the album version. Again, with "International Bright Young Thing" and "Who? Where? Why?", the remixed single versions have been selected. I feel that once again, the album versions are better, but less familiar to casual fans. Of particular interest is the inclusion of "Blissed" (Doubt) and "Idiot Stare" (Perverse) both brilliant album tracks that have appeared on my own car-tape compilation. "Blissed" is a chilled pulsing ode to doing nothing: "If the sun shines today, I think I'll stay in anyway", while "Idiot Stare" is a twisting, frenetic anger-ballad: 'I don't know if I care, / I can't feel, I can't speak, I can't think, / Caught in an Idiot Stare."
Already, the much underrated fourth album supplies three tracks, the excellent but unpopular single "Chemical #1" and the album tracks "The Next Big Thing" and "They're Out There", which are OK, but there are better tracks on the album. The new single, "Come On Home" is classic Jesus Jones - samples, harmonies and a bit of thrash thrown in for good measure.
All in all, this is an excellent testament to Jesus Jones' work, which has survived longer and with more stamina than some of their contemporaries (such as EMF or Ned's Atomic Dustbin). I would have liked to have seen more rare tracks and B-sides on the second CD, such as "Broken Bones" (from the US version of Liquidizer) or "Maryland" (the B-side to "International Bright Young Thing") or even their version of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" from the NME Ruby Trax album. Where the band go from here is anyone's guess. A free download of their single "In the Face of All of This" from their US-only album London is available from the official website (www.jesusjones.com) so you can judge for yourself!
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