It's been months since I posted on here so apologies to my two loyal readers... I've been writing some stuff about life and nonsense on some other website as a columnist which has been alright but I've told everyone about it and still no one has posted a reply. Don't really bother me as I just sometimes need to vent or get things of my mind. I suppose from now on, this will be my own little secret, bar Aaron and Lucy who may occasionally pop in to discover some other random mad posts.

This last few months have been hard what with the government cut-backs and some great music which as you know easily distracts me. Right now, it's the first Best Coast album which is a funny place to start I suppose. I first heard this band back in April last year and they blew me away but then I saw them live and realised they were just a great old-fashioned indie band (what better way to do indie??) in the vein of a pretty stoned Ramones but with girls. Their debut album is great and amongst my favourite of last year - don't ask me what is yet I'm still deciding, maybe by the end of this 2011 I'll have worked it out. There's loads out there that's all I know - Neil Young, Brian Wilson does Gershwin, Beach House, Gaslight Anthemn, where shall I stop.. now, I think, that'll do.

Anyway, what about all this shit the tory coalition are putting us through? All I know is they are fucking with the wrong people this time. A banker who took his company to the point where they have to be taken into part-government control gets a great big bonus and I've still freezing my nuts off after working all the hours I can as it's warmer in the shop than it is in my flat because my housing benefit is currently suspended whilst they re-evaluate my claim... where is the justice!?!? There ain't any... the solution? Bring this bunch of smug c***s down now (I hate using that word and promise it will be the only word I ever censor) is the only solution. Bring this whole system down. There's nothing left to do. Get you and all your friends together and make sure they attend any protests that you can get to... I know I'll try. The warmth of the burning banks should keep me warmer that working at my shop.

BRIGHTON LIVE RETURNS

I know it's been a while so apologies for that but been experiencing some computer problems. Any how on with the business of the day.

Had a feeling it was creeping up on us now-ish and was right. Brighton Live is back, but is it going to be any good and are there any bands worth trekking out to see? I had a spare hour this morning so went through and listened to anything that sounded interesting. Here’s what I came up with…

Wednesday (6^th October) gets us off to a nice sedate, folky kind of start with:

• Creaking Chair who play a kind of introspective Nick Drake type folk but with electric sound and Glen Belt who are a trifle unoriginal but their neo-folk indie pop songs sound like good fun play and it’s all at the Bee’s Mouth on Wednesday night

• Tallulah May plays interesting blues/folk inspired tunes and does it really well and is playing at the Ali-Cats on Wednesday and Friday

Thursday (7^th October) looks kind of easy as the only thing I could find was:

• The Perils who are a pretty damn fine indie/rock band and can be caught at the Brunswick on Thursday

Friday (8^th October) looks like a mad rush around town or a bit of decision-making as:

• Hollywood Assassins are a girl-fronted rock’n’roll band who seem pretty real and play at the Hydrant on Friday

• Man Ray Sky are just sublime (see that kind of rhymes so maybe I can be a poet?!?) and you should definitely go check them out at The Brunswick on Friday

• Ramona are a great girl-fronted indie-pop outfit who are, seemingly, destined for big things and play the VIP event at the start of the fest and also for us non-VIPs at the Latest Music Bar on Friday.

• The Robot Heart are sublime, folk-pop who are appearing at the BBC stage at the Prince Albert on Friday. Go and hear their debut EP Dust and then go see them!

• The Valentines are top indie-pop types who are fresh from supporting The Libertines so get along to the Prince Albert on Friday if you like the sound of them

Monsters Build Mean Robots are a pretty great post-rock band with slight pop tendencies and they should be seen somewhere if the promoters have the brains to take them off the ‘reserve list’!

Well ain't that bleeding typical... no great gigs for months and then, upcoming, we have three of the best bands on the planet playing in our humble little town in the space of a week! What am I to do? Who shall I go and see?? No Age, Mudhoney or 65 Days of Static?? It just ain't right is it!?! Atleast that ain't until October but doubtless all the cool kids will be choming at the bit to get No Age tickets so it looks like us old duffers will yet again have to go see Mudhoney (oh what a chore!!) Now, Part Chimp or The Telescopes... hmm, atleast I suppose neither of them will sell out.

DEATH TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!

My time at the Excess Press has come to an end. It was all very conciliatory in the meeting I had with the owner on Tuesday and I must confess that I had a wave of relief sweep over me as I walked back home that lunchtime. As is always the way when I get involved in the industry things were going through my mind as to why it had ended. The boss told me it was simply due to a re-organisation of the company and in which a young intern would take over my responsibilities as well as run the office. They could go in five days a week whilst I was only able to work two or three days during the same period and it was their dream to be a music pr, a thing that would scare me witless if truth be known so there you go…
I do have to ask the question though, when did music become such an industry? As a music fan I consider myself lucky to have discovered music that speaks to me and suits who I am. Why do we need people to tell us who we should like when we have so much media through which we can discover music by ourselves? Surely in this day and age we can be rely upon our own ears to tell us what we like.
The industry is dying and for that I am more grateful and relieved. Seeing how the plugging business works first hand was a terrifying spectacle – bands forming under force pretences and pretending to be something that they are not, old stars who still battle the demons of their past whilst couch-surfing their way around life, making sure that above all else the journalists and the ‘taste makers’ get whatever it is they want as long as they cover our new hot band.
So all I can say is long live music but lets bring an end to this horrid industry once and for all!