Bus Stop As Artistic Expression

Via Boing Boing comes this collection of Soviet Roadside Bus-stops. Collected by a group called Polar Inertia, they range from surreal to minimalist and they are all great.

It's True, But Only In Certain Ways

For some reason it seems Simon Cowell, judge of American Idol so it says, has decided to have a go a Bob Dylan. No Rock 'n' Roll Fun have had a go at this and it's probably only a matter of time before Ten-Bob Dylan has a go, even the Guardian article get's in the required cheap shot:

"Of course, who could dispute the musical gravitas of the man behind such talents as Robson and Jerome, and Il Divo, versus that of one of the defining icons of the last century?"

But it seems to me that Cowell is right, in a way. Bob probably does bore him to tears, that's just a matter of taste I don't think Dylan will be losing any sleep over that.Cowell also says, though:

"I've got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of American Idol, we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don't believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make American Idol a better show."

The first point is almost undeniably true. If 10 Dylans are in the final, a Dylan is going to win, so why watch it? Perhaps if they let him do some original material instead of trying to make all those Dylans sound like the same, bland karaoke contestant that American Idol churns out (although it might be fun to watch Dylan trying to remove all the things that make him unique in order to belt out a soaring rendidtion of Wind Beneath My Wings so he can be told "he really owned that song") , then it might drag in a few viewers but even then probably not 30 million. Ratings for a show and the talent displayed on it being rarely connected.

The Bob Dylans of this world couldn't possibly make American Idol a better show, it s what it is and no amount of turd-polishing is going to help. The Bob Dylans of this world could make a better show, they could make something with integrity, talent, heart, artistry, all those things that are important to people who really like music, given the audience we have, unfortunatly, it would probably last about 5 episodes before the ratings killed it, with people turning over to watch the next great soap event instead.

It's OK To Watch Rome Now

Apparently just watching it for the nudity and the rumpy-pumpy wasn't enough now it means something:

This season sees rapid shifts in Rome’s ruling authority—"Long live the Republic!" the town crier calls, hedging his bets—and a deepening of the show’s understanding of where power ultimately resides. In the world view of the Republic, curses were the court of last appeal; soon, Rome’s final word will belong to its Emperor. Power is not bestowed by the gods but seized by the ambitious. And it can even be used, we are rather brutally shown, to quell the unrest caused by other ambitious men—that is, for the public good. By challenging the liberal conviction that all power corrupts, the show, despite its flaws, has finally become a drama worthy of HBO’s name.

Actually, though, James Purefoy begs to differ:

When we started doing publicity early on in the last series, we fought billing it as a soap, but actually it is a soap; it's sex in the sandals, it's like Roman Dynasty. Then, once you get your head around that as an actor, you kind of play into it a lot more, you relax into it, it's fine, that's what it is. The Sopranos is a soap, there are good soaps and there are bad soaps, and just because it's a soap, don't be bitchy and snobby about the genre, make the best soap you can. And that's what I think it is, and now everybody realises they are in a Roman soap, it's kind of a lot easier to do - and you're not quite so precious about it.

Theory And Practice

Michael Berubé discusses, at length, the merits of Charlie Watts as a drummer and doesn't even tell the "Your drummer? You're my singer!" anecdote. Still, it does have this little gem tucked in there somewhere:

[T]he great Elvin Jones, when asked in 1982 by Modern Drummer whether he’d gone to the 18-inch bass drum for a "jazzier, poppier sound," replying that he’d gotten an 18-inch bass drum because it fits in the trunk of his car. He’d always wanted one of those huge 28-inch Jelly Roll Morton-era bass drums, he explained, but he had to keep tying it to the top of his car, see, and it kept falling off. . . .

Must Be Getting Old

I was going to get all snotty about this article in Vanity where the reviewer tries to test 11 premium vodkas in one evening and manages six. But then the idea of "Premium Vodka" stumped me. I think it comes down to vodka they'll charge you more than 30 EUROs a bottle for. I'm not much of a vodka drinker but I believe the main things you need to have for vodka are pure alcohol and water, and premium vodkas are exactly that, so how can they cost so much?

Marketing and gullible posers must be the answer.

Vodka comes in three varieties surely:

1) Due to all the impurities it will definitely give you a hangover
2) Some impurities and a possibly hangover
3) No impurities and a hangover only if you really over do it.

After that it's a matter of bottle design as to whether you buy it or not. So if you're paying more than the price of a bottle of Absolut you are being ripped off.

It's Not A Graphic Novel, Percy

Bookslut's Jessa Crispin links to artist Eddie Campbell's blog entry on illustrating panels of a page of From Hell book from Alan Moore's descriptions. Digging around Eddie's blog I found, well stumbled over really, a series of posts comparing the photo references Campbell and Moore took to the completed images. Eddie made 6 posts and a post script, they are absolutely fascinating. You can find them here:

Alan Moore's London 1, Alan Moore's London 2, Alan Moore's London 3, Alan Moore's London 4, Alan Moore's London 5, Alan Moore's London 6, Alan Moore's London Postscript

It Takes A Stadium

I guess it takes a shiny new Stadium to get Donny Rovers in the Guardian.

It's only a slight pity that "Keepmoat" has connections to Doncaster Council's less than illustrious past.

BBC Finally Get Joke Behind Brass Eye

Stars must 'check science facts'
Celebrities have been asked to check their facts before lending support to scientific research and campaigns, rather than risk misleading people.

Dancing Fool

The Bluesbakery website has reorganised the Galleries and added some new pics from recent sessions. Personally I like this one:


I have no idea about this one, however:

Happy New Year

Sorry for that whole week and a bit of nothing, but I was back in England seeing family and friends and drinking as much bitter, and sometimes stout or mild, as possible. More later, maybe, my regular posting schedule should return to normal, but I do have a week's worth of catching up to do.