Samorost

Welcome to the beautiful and weird world of Samorost.

On my iPod these days...

Well well well, the spring harvest is here and some things are good indeed!


Darren Hayman, "Table for One"
Thankfully, the ex-Hefner frontman has gone back to the style that we liked so much, and thrashed that stupid analog keyboard he used to much in tha latter Hefner days. It's no Fidelity Wars, but it's a fine collection of songs. You can also try "Cortinaland", a 5-track Ep released last summer. You can find out more about Darren on the old Hefner website.



Electrelane, "Axes"
These four girls' instrumental songs will thrill you if you appreciated My Bloody Valentine's soft, inscrutable vocals or Stereolab's beautiful loops. It’s loud and quiet, aggressive and calming, menacing and sweet, slow-paced and frenzied. Above all it’s a startlingly beautiful and unique record. You can meet the girls here.



Architecture in Helsinki, "in case we die"
This is the nicest surprise of al the records I've been listening to recently. The eight Australians accomplish without all the hype what a band like Clap your hands tries to (and fails), and deliver an album that is dangerously addictive. These guys may become the new Arcade Fire, and if you want to check them out, all you have to do is go to their website and listen to some clips.

¿Borrachina?, ¿Marchosa? Tal vez seas la monja perfecta.

¿Conoces bien el mundo y la vida? Pues mejor podrás ayudar a los hombres y mujeres de este mundo. Y no serás la primera: Santa María Magdalena, sin ir más lejos, también fue una cachonda como tú.

Piénsalo. Piensa en ser religiosa. Más que valor, hace falta mucho amor. (P.C.)

Wow, this order must be desperate to get new recruits...

Like Father, not Like Son

 "Trying to eliminate Sadam Hussein would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. ... There was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see, violating another one of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-conciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

- George H.W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft in their 1998 book "A World Transformed."

Taken from Andrew's blog: http://ajpilgri.blogspot.com/

Valladolid's Godzilla

The Furries live in Madrid

Yessir! I was lucky enough to see them for the second time. As usual, it was a small crowd with the occasional drunk Welsh expatriate...

I read somewhere that SFU are the British answer to the Flaming Lips, only better. Well, one of their shows is guaranteed to make you laugh and think, all of this among references to UFO encounters and pictures of Tony and George W with the words "liar" and ''murderer" superimposed while they performed a 20-minute techno version of their classic "The man don't give a fuck".


They're also a technology-savvy team, deploying some amazing visuals to increase the impact of their sonic attack: the highlight of an already-excellent set is new track 'Zoom!', which explodes across their backdrops like a supernova on an alien mothership whilst the music swells around it. When the band departs from the stage after a distorsion-filled ''Receptacle for the Respectable'', I'm quite satisfied.

left: a shot from the "juxtapose with U" video

Now listen to this: it's guaranteed to give you 65% more intelligence, and it was recorded live&acoustic at the Minnesota Public Radio or something.

Ah! Brokeback...

More cartoons here

The birds, pt.II