Keeping Me Alive

http://www.stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-sally-shapiro-he-keeps-me-alive-stereogum-prem.html

8-bit

Is it just me who, in occasional misty-eyed moments, harks back to the glory days of early 90s dance music and video game culture? Well, apparently I'm not completely alone...

Alex Mauer (described as a 'chiptune musician') is releasing his new album of "conceptual synthsizer music" exclusively, it seems, as an Nintendo NES cartridge... Luckily for those of us for whom the NES has long been consigned to the attic (why such a cruel exile?), examples of the album are available to listen to on his Myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/alexmauer

To be listened to whilst drinking Cherryade through a straw, playing Sensible Soccer on a PROPER old joystick and ignoring Wimbledon on the telly. Superb!

[Found on ForeverGeek.com]

Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam

"They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,  
    Love and desire and hate:   
I think they have no portion in us after   
    We pass the gate.         

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:   
    Out of a misty dream   
Our path emerges for a while, then closes   
    Within a dream."

Architecture

"and i am nothing of a builder,
but here i dreamt i was an architect,
and i built this balustrade,
to keep you home, to keep you safe,
from the outside world

but the angles and the corners,
even though my work is unparalleled,
they never seemed to meet,
this structure fell about our feet,
and we were free to go"

Obscure

"Darling you will always be around
Whether my mood's up or if it's down
In dreams I try to take you far away
But you never stay
No you never stay"

Alectronic is Gilbert O'Sullivan (naturally) and you can all claim your five pounds.

No Fun

The High Court ruling this week against online music retailer CD-Wow sets an incredibly dangerous and worrying precedent. In one fell swoop the British music industry has lost any claim they might have had to the moral high ground in the fight against piracy by essentially criminalising companies who attempt to give those who actually want to buy legitimate products a good deal. Imagine if the same logic was applied to bananas. Or cocaine... (erm, you've lost us now, Neil...)

As usual, "No rock And Roll Fun" has the most incisive commentary, which I urge you to read:
http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2007/05/cd-ow-massive-fine-for-trying-to-save.html

It's a blog worth subscribing to as well, for those of you who fear for the future of popular culture...

WHY, THAT'S DELIGHTFUL!

http://users.livejournal.com/tao_/
It may not be exactly, uh, the prettiest site on the Interweb, but Graham Linehan's blog (or, in his words, 'Hompendium of Dorithies') is certainly worth a visit. He of the writing-half-of-Father-Ted fame serves up some searingly skewed political analysis and comedy interludes, as well as other random ephemera. Very funny stuff and worth keeping an eye on too...