Simon Bookish
Those of you who are relative neophytes to this journal may not remember Simon Bookish but he figured quite large on my sonar throughout 2004-5 . . . by which I mean that I seem to have an awful lot of blurry gig photos, like this one from Notting Hill Arts Centre:
He has been low-key for a long time, doing limited-appeal-edition albums, art performances, theatre and the occasional gig. Periodically, I check his website but am usually disappointed, so imagine how happy I was to discover that not only does he have a new album out on Tomlab but that the song put on his myspace is fantastic classic English avant-pop. He even has a live band supporting him rather than just a laptop, adding a whole new dimension.
For those who want more, why not read this interview (the cover feature, no less!) that I did with him for The Mind’s Construction.
YouTube Hitler
I have become slightly addicted to that strange genre of YouTube videos in which Adolf Hitler’s breakdown (depicted in Downfall) as Germany capitulates is applied to other, more ephemeral subjects.
I don’t know what makes it so compelling — perhaps the mixture of high and low subject matter, perhaps the inherent humour in the punchline repetition — but on idle days (like when I’m waiting for 15,000 photos to be imported into the new version of iPhoto) I can’t get enough of them.
With the advent of the new football season, a spate of clips have been added in which Hitler has a breakdown over things like Adebayor’s wage hike, Chelsea’s pre-season, being a Spurs fan, and Ronaldo’s pre-season flirtation with Real Madrid.
The genre originated with the geeks*: showing Hitler getting banned from Windows Live and World of Warcraft, as well as fuming that HD-DVD lost the format war. What is interesting in any such ultra-niche genre are the subtle differences – whether they change the context and how much they try to stay within the boundaries of the words spoken.
Of course you could argue that the producers and consumers of these videos are the gravediggers at the funeral of civilization: a world that is so cynical and decadent and lacking in intellectual engagement is ultimately destined for Wall-E style collapse (without the techno-afterlife).
* This video of Hitler’s car being stolen appears to be the earliest, unless you know different. Well?
Inappropriate Typography
If you’re going to create a nice monument celebrating 100 years of sailing in Cascais, don’t use Comic Sans — it isn’t a comic!
Milton Glaser’s famous rebus, I Heart NY is a brilliant piece of minimalist typography. This mug in a poundshop isn’t quite up to the same standard.
Finally, I have been meaning to post this for ages and ages. First time I saw the shop front I thought it must be some cool skateshop or something — it’s all very funky. In fact, it was a betting shop. It’s like serving a single malt in a pink plastic beaker. It has, predictably, now closed down.
