Send Your Christmas Gifts in Your Slippers

Click edit above to add content to this empty capsule.

This is the hottest new thing in social media and is excellent news for media companies, corporations, charities and you! You can now have something collected from your house and delivered to someone you are following on Twitter if they agree to accept it.  You never find out their address, so there is no fear of privacy issues.

Sendsocial have just taken social media to a completely different level. They launched just a few days ago and already the phones are red hot.
Glen Richardson, CEO is offering FREE iphone to the first person to get Chris Moyles, radio 1  presenter to accept a gift! Could it be you? The race is on.

This is how it works

SendSocial makes sending things to your friends and relatives easy – you don’t even need to know where they live.

You can send an item knowing only your recipient’s Twitter ID or email address. We’ll send your request to the individual, and – if they choose to accept – will take their address details from them.

You’ll then receive a notification that they’re happy to hear from you, and will be asked to confirm the collection address and pay by credit or debit card. Once this is complete, we’ll provide you with an address-less label to stick to your package, which will be collected by myHermes, our delivery partners, and delivered in 3-5 working days.

The barcode contains all the important delivery information. myHermes have upgraded their systems to be able to read these: this means that items can travel safely from A to B quickly and easily, whilst giving you the peace of mind that your privacy is guaranteed.

This means that with a bit of a brainstorm, you could come up with a really hot fundraising/moneymaking campaign before Christmas….think of joint partnerships here. Do you have any corporations supporting your cause who might be able to benefit from PR injection? Secret Santa?  Competitions?

They have kept their pricing structure simple, charging one of three rates depending on the weight of your package. They don’t have any hidden charges, either – what you see is what you pay. The prices for optional extras, such as a signature on delivery, are explained below.
Parcel weight Price
0-2kg £3.99
2-5kg £6.99
5-10kg £7.99
Additional services Price
Signature on delivery £0.99
Remote area surcharge* £1.91
Up to £25 compensation cover free

Send social is set to be the biggest thing in social media next year, and the bandwagon has not even left the station yet!

Ring the living bell
(original by Melanie)

Thinking about you all the time

Shall I let this good man in?
(original by Moondog Jr/Zita Swoon)

Mooi

Trivia:
Mooi is written by Stef Kamil. The song was previously recorded by Yasmine, a Belgian singer who died earlier this year. Thé Lau, singer of The Scene worked with Yasmine too. They recorded a cover of Leonard Cohen’s The Partizan.

november 23rd 2009 / 20h-23h / listen here (click ‘luister live’)

Update (nov 24th):
click here for pics and audio.

Pixie Lott was in the Live Lounge performing a beautiful version of David Guetta and Kelly Rowland’s When Love Takes Over.

Pixie Lott – When Love Takes Over (Acoustic)

In uitzending 65 van ATLAS (Radio 1, zondag 22 november 2009, 18.15-20.30 uur) spreek ik in mijn rubriek ‘de huisbioloog’ (rond 19.50 uur) over:

Krokodillen die dino’s aten. In de Sahara zijn fossiele resten van zes nog onbekende soorten krokodillen gevonden. Ze leefden 100 miljoen jaar geleden, in de tijd dat de dinosaurussen het landleven domineerden. De zes soorten vertonen opvallende verschillen die te maken hebben met hun prooidieren en wijze van jagen. De soort met de bijnaam ‘DogCroc’ had de poten onder het lijf staan (in plaats van aan de zijkant) en kon rennend zijn prooien achtervolgen. ‘BoarCroc’ was de grootste (6 meter) en had drie rijen slagtanden – net als een wild zwijn -  om zijn prooi te verscheuren. ‘PancakeCroc’ met zijn reusachtige platte kop met scherpe tanden lag doodstil met zijn bek open in het water, wachtend op vissen. De slechts drie meter lange ‘DuckCroc’ had een soort eendenbek met gevoelige sensoren om prooien aan de waterkant op te sporen. De officiële wetenschappelijke namen publiceerde Paul Sereno (University of Chicago) en Hans Larsson (Redpath Museum, McGill University, Canada) in het online tijdschrift ZooKeys.

Scans van de schedels bracht aan het licht dat de hersenen van deze uitgestorven soorten beter ontwikkeld waren dan van de krokodillen van nu. Dat krokodillen nu nog voorkomen hebben ze vermoedelijk te danken aan hun amfibische levenswijze. Dino’s leefden alleen op het land.

Het Dode Dier van de Week is de houtsnip (Scolopax rusticola). Deze dagen is de doortrek van deze prachtige in herfstkleuren gestoken steltloper op zijn hoogtepunt en vallen er talloze raamslachtoffers. Ze trekken ’s nachts, worden dan door het licht van steden aangetrokken en landen tussen gebouwen. ’s Morgens gaan ze rondvliegen en vliegen dan meestal tegen glazen gebouwen aan. Ik neem een opgezette houtsnip mee. Het is behalve een mooie vogel ook smakelijk om te eten. ‘Een snepje met zijn drekje’ gold vanouds als een delicatesse. Zijn er luisteraars die wel eens snippendrek hebben gegeten? Gaat het echt om de (rauwe) ontlasting of worden de darmen samen met de rest van de ingewanden bereid?

Snippen staan overigens nu niet meer op de menukaart. De jacht is sinds een paar jaar verboden.

Onwaarschijnlijk Onderzoek – In navolging van het strobalenplassen van vorige week (dat de compostering versnelt) nu een Fins onderzoek dat aantoonde dat menselijke urine een goede kunstmest-vervanger is. Koolplanten groeiden beter na regelmatige toediening van urine en – niet minder belangrijk – smaakten zelfs beter of even goed als koolplanten die met of zonder kunstmest waren opgekweekt. Zie Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(21).  [Met dank aan Rik Kuiper en Tonie Mudde, voor hun nieuwe boek ‘Maak nooit je bed op’ 115 wetenschappelijke tips voor het dagelijks leven. Staat vol met eersteklas onwaarschijnlijk (nuttig)onderzoek.]

Zane Lowe in Teignmouth. Photo by tj.moore at Flickr.

Setlist:

1. Kasabian – Clubfoot
2. Biffy Clyro – That Golden Rule
3. Chemical Brothers vs. Party – Galvanise The Empire
4. Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours
5. Radiohead – The National Anthem
6. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
8. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
9. Whateverman – P.E. Theme
10. Old School Break
11. John Lennon – Power To The People
12. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
13. Rage Against The Machine vs. Whateverman – Killing It
14. Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
15. Edwin Starr vs. Whateverman – What War
16. White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
17. System of a Down – Chop Suey
18. Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK
19. The Prodigy – Firestarter
20. The Prodigy – Warrior’s Dance
21. Ian Brown – F.E.A.R.

A radio rip is available to download for free here.

The above is not a setlist as much as this year’s most exciting megamix – and there’s a phrase I haven’t bandied around with complete abandon since 2004. Previously, I mentioned something of writing about my favourite remixes of the year and although perhaps this isn’t the ’something’ I was expecting to write, c’est la vie. This year has been fucking awful for good remixes. I could only find three that met my flaky standards. One was the Stuart Price remix of Paparazzi which I overplayed anyway and don’t really enjoy any more, and doesn’t exist much outside of the middle eight anyway. Another was the Does It Offend You, Yeah? remix of Uprising that sometimes is better than the album version – a claim which is completely reliant on my mood at any given moment in time. But I’m a complete whore for DIOY,Y remixes anyway, so it’s a completely predictable anticlimax. The third was the Filthy Dukes mix of To Lose My Life that I thought was fun for a few weeks but it dulled quickly. Thinking about it, I only really liked it because it sounded like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, White Lies and Bimbo Jones in one big melting pot, then I realised that they all do their own thing independently and it sounds better than this track. And with that thought, this brief flirtation was o-v-a-h.

I was reminiscing about the Teignmouth weekend a couple of days ago and realised that Zane Lowe’s warm up set for the evening was, not only one of the best openers I’ve seen for a band, but it fit the bill for resuscitating this dismal commentary. I’ve seen Zane DJ in a couple of other venues before, but he didn’t leave any kind of impression on me. This clicked. He actually did two half hour sets sandwiched between some really happening local bands, and the second was superior to the first, which is above. Rather annoyingly, the audio of the second never surfaced, and I don’t remember much of it other than an amazing remix of Bonkers, so I can’t even describe it. It was amazing. But back to the first set – Zane made me dance. I never dance. Ever. I’ve never understood the appeal behind DJing, or how some people are into it in the same way that I’m into peanut butter M&Ms (you’re pressing play on a track someone else created? Inspirational.) but I have a new found appreciation for it all now. Kind of.

I loved the way it was put together – though I will say that the airhorns all the way through got me excited for a play of the Freemasons remix of Ring The Alarm, which Zane obviously did not play: it was so not the audience for the Freemasons (myself aside, and I would have danced for everyone else there if it had come on),  but I loved all of the thought which had gone into each track and how it would work best in the mix. It was a great blend of genres, alongside music from today and music from ye olden days as well that provided an education for some of the younger audience members there (“Isn’t this from that Fatman Scoop song?”). It created an air of context for the set Muse went on to play, both musically and emotionally, and that’s a beautiful thing.

I would have taken System of a Down out though. I hate that song. Flobots would have worked just as well there.

Nice work Zane Looooooooooooooooooowe. I’m on board.

@ President Herman Van Rompuy

Mijnheer de President

 Hartelijke felicitaties met ‘de rozen van TSM’!

 … En, kan het anders op een blog die ook een beetje literaire blog wil zijn, met een eigen haiku. Of mijn woordcreatie u ooit onder ogen komt, betwijfel ik zeer, maar ook ik ben niet ongevoelig gebleven voor de grote eer die de eerste minister van mijn land te beurt is gevallen. De woorden die ik u hoorde spreken, troffen me in het hart. Uw ‘naturel’, uw ‘echtheid’ voor de camera’s van de wereld, de rustige vastheid in uw stem waren me eens te meer opgevallen. U straalde integriteit en vastbeslotenheid uit. Uw filosofische diepgang, uw humor, lyrische bevlogenheid en retoriek konden me weer sterk bekoren.

De macht van het woord. Het woord als verzoener en als speelse en elegante diepgangmaker – nu eens niet als wapen … De kracht van poëzie. Een aanspraak op onze creativiteit. Mindfulness. Rustige vastheid. Geluksbrenger. Uw haiku’s gaan in vogelvlucht de wereld rond, en hoewel volgens professor Japanologie Willy Van de Walle die dichtvorm onvertaalbaar is, waagt de BBC er zich er toch al aan … Uw bijnaam van Haiku Herman, ook al eens Herman Haiku, klinkt steeds luider op.

Onder invloed van Vlaamse trots en grote bewondering (nee, u bent geen nobele onbekende in The Sausage Machine – u prijkt al van in de beginperiode op de blogroll en u staat als tag genoteerd), en de invloed van de ster- en haiku-meme (Europa, presidentschap, Japanse dichtkunst), wil ik u mijn gedichtje aanbieden. Een haiku-ode.

Het was Phara de Aguirre die me sterk aanporde om een haiku te schrijven, en Haiku140 van Chas Newport die me naar Twitter lokte … Om er mijn felicitaties voor u vorm te geven. Ik weet wel dat mijn haiku niet onder de regels van haiku140 valt, ik gebruikte Twitter enkel als drager van een ‘traditionele’ haiku die ik in herhaling heb doorgegeven: precies 140 tekens, dat wel.

Op Radio 1 frist(e) u zelf voor de (herbe)luisteraars de regels van die ’gewone’ haiku nog eens op. Leuk toch, de president himself die gratis haikules geeft! Radio 1 heeft trouwens ook opgeroepen om haiku’s voor u te versturen naar hun forum. Mag ik u een tip? Bijzonder en mooi: op zijn Aardling-blog verwelkomt Stijn Vogels u als overlord met een leuke bewerking van Magrittes tot een nieuwe surrealistische creatie, én … een haiku. Of was u bij hem al geweest?

Eerlijk, ik werd wel wakkergeschud uit de roes van de lofzang … o, simpele duif … toen ik vernam dat u nog meer zou gaan ‘verdienen’ dan uw US-collega president Barack Obama. Fabelachtig. Onvoorstelbaar veel voor mij, kleine garnaal. Ik, Assepoester voor ze de prins ontmoette. Ik ging er even van hallucineren: u, als een piet piraat zware gouden munten scheppend in uw schatkist. De vleespotten van Egypte. Hoe zult u de terugkeer van de klassenmaatschappij verhinderen, begon ik me af te vragen. Met welke middelen de stijgende armoede bestrijden? De alleenstaande moeders van Europa en daarbuiten uit het slop halen? Maar dit terzijde. Ach, een dissonante alinea. Schrijven is schrappen, nee?

Hoe hoger aan de top, des te meer wind de boom vangt. (Een mens begint straks nog in haiku’s te denken … ) Geen wonder dat de journalist van de kwijnende krant, de jaloerse collega-politicus, de blogger zonder beter onderwerp zich verkneukelt in zijn woorden. Wat lees ik bijvoorbeeld op Seksloos? Onthechte en gniffelende castraat, theewaterige mysticus, …

Herman gaat de koffiemachines bedienen tijdens de aanstaande EU-toppen en zal nieuwelingen als Roemenië en Bulgarije gaan inwijden in de edele kunst van het uitstel, de vertraging, de lege bewering, de valse ambitie. Enfin.

En verder: Sinds wanneer los je problemen op met haiku’s? 

Nanana. Tuurlijk kan kunst de wereld niet redden als je haar geen kans geeft. Manmanman, dit kan beter. Beetje goedkope poging tot satire toch. U kunt ermee lachen, zei u in al uw wijsheid, met al die spottende benamingen. Daarvoor moet je de ‘Dalai Lama’ van de EU niet zijn.

Vorige woensdag nog zag ik u naast H. M. Koningin Paola ‘tronen’ op de plechtige uitreiking van de Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren, een tijdje geleden ‘poseerde’ u met één van uw zonen en Marc Wellens voor mijn foto in de KBC-toren te Antwerpen, op de eerste samenkomst van de Antwerpse alumni van de K.U.Leuven … U merkt het, u hebt ook fans onder bloggende oma’s-alumni. Ik vernam bij Phara dat u zopas ook weer opa bent geworden… Hartelijk gelukgewenst!*

 Foto JB voor TSM, Antwerpen, 30-03-2009

Heel veel geluk, Mijnheer de President!

janien van The Sausage Machine

* In alle bescheidenheid. ‘t Is niet dat ik me tegenover u familiair en informeel wil opstellen. Ik ben me goed bewust van mijn ‘positie’. Weet ik mijn plaats wel in de hiërarchische structuur van de samenleving? Klinkt mijn ‘open felicitatiebrief’ al te pocherig en pretentieus? Het heeft alles te maken met de aard van het medium: bloggen is immers ook een krachtige vorm van ‘exposure’, profilering, of je dat nu echt wilt of niet. Of je je er sterk van bewust bent of minder of niet. Het is ook meer of minder inkijk geven in het grote dagboek van je leven. In verbinding en verbondenheid met velen, groot én klein.

Stream 1       128 Kbps

Radio Magic Fm Live – Soft Music !

as you are apparently the biggest listeners to the George Lamb show on BBC Radio 6, which was on from 10am til 1pm on weekdays has reached its end. The show has been moved to a 7am slot on Saturdays and Sundays.  The childish gibberings, features, slating of that fat bloke on Radio 1, humour, with a smattering of great tunes that eased most listeners into the lush voice of Cerys Matthews on weekdays will be on at 7am?!  On the weekend?!  That is really asking a lot of your listeners, I think, unless it’s people who have been up all night.  Who’s going to come back from a club and go “What’s perfect for this moment?  I know, I’ll put on the George Lamb show!”  That’ll go down like a shit storm in a chocolate factory and make all the disco biscuit chewing, face munchers well happy!  They wanna hear something more like this!

His ever expanding TV work is apparently the reason why the show has been moved.  In case you hadn’t noticed, George Lamb is shit on TV anyway.  Utter crap, getting himself involved in a programme in its final death throes - Big Brother(’s Little Brother), furthermore, Make My Body Younger and his latest foray into lowest common denominator television, Young Butcher of the Year and soon to be broadcast Young Mechanic of the Year.  Let’s make everyone a celebrity, there’s enough to go round guys, honest.  You too could be like Dom on the fucking One Show.  What utter pony!!

Sadly, if you are a fan of any of the above mentioned programmes, then you ARE the lowest common denominator backing the funneling of TV license money into SHIT!  Shitting on the grave of John Logie Baird turning in it beneath you as you defecate!

The BBC along with six major social-networking sites has recently started a campaign to make both kids and adults across Britain Bullyproof.

Bullying is a major problem. 69% of children in the UK have reported being bullied at one point in their lives, and shockingly, 16 kids or adolescents commit suicide because of bullying each year. I remember when I started secondary school for the first time my biggest fear was that I would get bullied. Luckily I never was, but many children and teens aren’t that lucky.

Bullying is not just a kids problem either. One in four adults have reported being bullied in the workplace.

So what effect does bullying have on people? Obviously, confidence is effected when someone gets bullied. It’s easy to feel alone and vulnerable if you’re being picked on. Confidence doesn’t magically increase once the bullying stops either. It can make it harder for victims to make friends or build trusting relationships. 1 in 3 children who have been bullied in school play truant, leaving them at risk of doing badly in lessons and exams and not gaining the qualifications they deserve. This can then have an effect on the career a bullying victim follows. For those who have to leave a workplace because of bullying it has a similar effect – not allowing victims to climb the career ladder at work because they have to leave the company.

Visit the BBC Bullyproof website for tips from celebs such as Cheryl Cole and Alesha Dixon, advice and links to social networking sites who are behind the cause.

My own top tips on staying bullyproof are:

• Surround yourself with people who love and respect you. Bullies like to pick on those who have no-one to stand up for them.
• Tell someone if you’re being bullied. This can be a friend, who can watch out for you and help you stand up to the bullies; a teacher or a parent or guardian. You could also talk to a youth group leader or religious leader.
• Remember that not everyone is a bully. Just because you’ve been bullied once it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be bullied again. Try and keep your trust in others.
• Build your confidence by making friends. Why not join an after school club such as dance or drama lessons, Guides or Scouts, or a music group?
• If you aren’t being bullied yourself, remember to keep an eye out for people who might be. Stand up for others, and they will stand up for you.

Remember that bullies are usually cowards, who have to pick on others to make themselves feel big and powerful. This quote from the movie 17 Again really says it all…

One… underneath all that male bravado there’s a insecure little girl just banging on the closet door trying to get out. Two… like a caveman [the bully's] brain is… underdeveloped, therefore [he] is unable to use self control so he has to act aggressively. Three… [he] has a small wiener.

Stay strong, respect yourself, remember you’re loved, and stay BullyProof!

Check out helpline numbers here if you need advice.

Door dit aan te prijzen door een te benijden persoon! Maar van Radio 1 mag je toch wel een beetje zorgvuldigheid verwachten? Kennelijk niet dus. Met dank aan Optioneel.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Kid Sister is releasing her long awaited debut album today ‘Ultraviolet‘, with Angello and Ingrosso bringing a clubbier feel to the album with their version of ‘Right Hand Hi’, a favourite of Radio 1 DJ Dev.

Kid Sister is releasing her long awaited debut album today ‘Ultraviolet‘, with Angello and Ingrosso bringing a clubbier feel to the album with their version of ‘Right Hand Hi’, a favourite of Radio 1 DJ Dev.

The three people are Chris Moyles, Comedy Dave and Dom from the Radio 1 breakfast show. This is the most fun we have ever seen people have for free, and it is so damn funny to watch  we might have a party to celebrate it!

We laaaave it!

Totally forgot about this on:
Stef will introduce his session-guests play some of his favourite tracks on Radio 1’s Exit.

Tonight, 22h, live streaming available here

Update:
listen here

In uitzending 64 van ATLAS (Radio 1, zondag 15 november 2009, 18.15-20.30 uur) spreek ik in mijn rubriek ‘de huisbioloog’ (rond 19.50 uur) over:

Ze waren warmbloedig. Dat is de conclusie van een recente studie naar het antwoord op de vraag die wetenschappers al lang bezighoudt (en in twee kampen verdeelt): ‘Waren dinosaurussen koudbloedig of warmbloedig?’ Herman Pontzer (Washington University, St. Louis) en collega’s (The Royal Veterinary College, London) formuleren hun conclusie minder stellig, maar hun nieuwe biomechanische benadering (een model dat de energiekosten van lopen en rennen bepaalt op basis van de lengte van de botten in de achterpoot) wijst er sterk op dat de grotere dino’s niet aangedreven zouden kunnen worden door een koudbloedige stofwisseling. Warmbloedige dieren kunnen simpelweg meer energie produceren. De conclusie van Pontzer, afgelopen week gepubliceerd in PLoS ONE, sluit aan bij een oudere studie naar het gefossiliseerde hart van een grote dino die stelde dat het hart – met vier kamers en een enkele aorta – in beginsel het hart van een warmbloedig dier is. Het koudbloedige kamp heeft al tegenargumenten geventileerd.

Het Dode Dier van de Week is de mug. Dit naar aanleiding van het verschijnen, volgende week, van het boek ‘Mug’, geschreven door de medisch-entomoloog Bart Knols, over de fascinerende en genadeloze wereld van deze bloedzuigers. Hij beschrijft hoe muggen het verloop van de wereldgeschiedenis hebben bepaald, hoe onderzoekers ontdekten welke rol muggen spelen bij ziekteoverdracht, en hoe de wetenschap naarstig zoekt naar nieuwe bestrijdingsmethoden: van klamboes en schimmels tot genetische modificatie en sterilisatie van mannetjesmuggen met behulp van radioactieve straling. ‘Mug’  beantwoordt vragen als: beschermt het eten van knoflook of het drinken van bier tegen muggen? En waarom wordt de een altijd gebeten en de ander nooit? Knols beschrijft ook zijn eigen onderzoek waarmee hij ontdekte dat Afrikaanse malariamuggen net zo verzot zijn op zweetvoetengeur als op het aroma van Limburgse kaas.

Ruim twintig jaar eigen onderzoek en opgedane kennis samengebald in een vlot leesbaar, machtig interessant boek. Warm aanbevolen door de huisbioloog.

Onwaarschijnlijk Onderzoek – [de BBC meldt:] De Britse hovenier Philip Whaites propageert een nieuwe methode om, op een duurzame manier, sneller van de enorme hoeveelheid herfstbladeren (bladafval) af te komen. Hij introduceerde het ‘plassen in je tuin’. Op het landgoed Wimpole Hall waar hij werkt, zette hij alle tuinlieden aan om op speciaal daarvoor geplaatste strobalen te plassen. Aan het eind van de dag worden de ‘pisbalen’ over de composthoop uitgespreid. De urine blijkt het composteerproces te activeren en versnellen. Bovendien, zo berekende hij, bespaart plassen in de tuin 30% water omdat de toiletten veel minder doorgespoeld worden. Heb je een composthoop, plas er dan in, luidt het advies van Whaites. Wetenschappelijke bewijs is er (nog) niet.

 In Feiten en Fillet op Radio 1 hoorde ik Dries Buytaert, de uitvinder van Drupal, tekst en uitleg geven (te herbeluisteren) over zijn geesteskind. Dat gebeurde n.a.v. de lancering morgen 15 november 2009 van de hernieuwde website van de koning, op de Dag van de Dynastie. De website van de Belgische monarchie zal vanaf dan op Drupal draaien. Nu, ik ben geen geek. Ik heb goed proberen te luisteren naar Dries Buytaert en (ook blogger) Koen Fillet.

Op Dries Buytaerts persoonlijke site lees ik over hem en Drupal:

  He is the original creator and project lead of Drupal, an open source social publishing system. He is co-founder and chief technology officer of Acquia, a venture-backed software company that offers products and services for Drupal. Dries is also working on Mollom, a service that helps you identify content quality and that stops website spam. People often laugh at his hair but he is cool with that.

Op Twitter werd het ‘koninklijke nieuws’ door Drupal architect Dieter Beheydt de wereld ingestuurd.

Zoals de overheid en vele anderen, grote en kleinere beroemdheden, krijgt dus ook koning Albert II een open source website. … Bij Flip Kowlier ziet Drupal er zo uit, en de world’s hardest Drupal band, de Kitten Killers, doen het zo. ‘t Is maar dat we het weten. ‘Grote’ voorbeelden trekken.

It’s quite simple; The Wildhearts are one of the best British rock bands of the last 20 years, and there’s definitely an argument to be made that Ginger is (and has been for a long time) one of the most important figures in modern British rock music.

A prolific songwriter and musician, he’s always bubbling away somewhere writing your new favourite riff, recording his latest project or playing a show that’s just as likely to be a secret acoustic set as a loud in your face national tour. 

People like Ginger were born to do these things. They do what they do because natural talent compells them, not because a careers officer interviewed him at age 15 and suggested he learn a few chords.

What Ginger does is play guitar, write songs, drink liquor, take a lot of drugs, go on wacky retreats to find inspiration (or disappear altogether) and enjoy life.

Good work if you can get it.

Somewhere amongst all that he finds time to get onstage with the band and blows audience’s heads clean off with a confidence and ability rarely seen. Fortunately there’s a wealth of world class material to back up the swagger.

When putting together a setlist you’d think after 20 years it’d be an easy decision for them; please the crowd with well known hits and pepper the set with standout tracks from new album ‘Chutzpah!’.

And maybe beacause that’s what we thought they’d do, that’s what they didn’t do. The set was divided into two distinct halves; first half was a complete run through of the new album, second half the more usual crowd pleasing greatest hits.

It was a format I personally thought worked very well and not something I’ve seen since A Perfect Circle first toured their debut ‘Mer De Noms’ (although in that instance it was more due to the limiting factor of only having one album’s worth of material to draw from!).

‘Chutzpah!’ is the Wildhearts latest album and my first journey into being a Wildhearts fan proper. I’ve seen them live once before (which was also awesome) but I’ve only really been aware of their more well known songs such as ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’, ‘TV Tan’ and the lesser known solo Ginger song ‘Motorvate’.

I’ve also read about Ginger’s well publicised battles with band members and substances over the years, but this is the first album I’ve bought into and actively listened to on release.

So I guess you could call me a ‘Wildhearts-aware’ prior to the gig. After the gig I was definitely a ‘Wildhearts fan’.

Viewed as an introduction to the new album, the first half of their set it made me want to go and listen to it all over again. If this was the first time I’d heard the tunes I’d have been straight off to the merch stand to pick up a copy. 

Coming onstage they were greeted like returning heroes and promptly ripped into ‘The Jackson Whites’ (ideal to start a storming set and album with). If the new album was anything longer than the 35 or so minutes it is then this run through would’ve been a bit too much. While undoubtedly fun, the relative unfamiliarity of the new material had the crowd’s attention and appreciation but garnered a reserved response for the most part.

This attitude was mirrored by the band with Ginger telling us they’d do the album and then things would get a bit more informal and boozy in the second half. I guess this is because they can play the old songs with their eyes closed whereas new material needs more concentration (and a more sober head).

When the band came back onstage for the second half it was clear the crowd and the band had been saving their energy for this part of the gig. Given I’m writing this whole thing about two months after actually going to the gig I can’t remember the setlist here but ‘TV Tan’ was noticable by it’s absence.

Also, due to being in the middle of the sweaty insanity right up front for the entire second half I can only really review the second half by how I felt being consumed by it.

Suffice to say it was one of the best gigs I’ve been to for sheer enjoyment.

After a few beverages Ginger has relaxed into his jovial, wisecracking self and explains to us that his guitar “appears to have been drinking”. I’m not well enough acqainted with Wildhearts history to know why Kerrang described Rock City as their “spiritual home” but there’s a genuine love for the band and it’s not unrequited.

Whereas most frontmen will tell whatever city they happen to be in that they love them and how they’re a much better crowd than last night or the nearest rival town (Papa Roach, I’m looking at you), there’s something very sincere about Ginger saying exactly this to the audience. Maybe it’s because he’s been doing it for so long and he’s gotten the standard patter of revving up an audience down cold, but I really believed him. They all look so happy to be up there still able to perform and provide entertainment for what they rightly recognise as a room full of loyal fans.

There’s some young ‘uns yes, but mercifully few of the silly fringed, badly tattooed and undernourished adolescent emo’s. They’re clearly saving up their pocket money for the Papa Roach gig in a couple of weeks. I went to that gig and the audiences couldn’t have been much more different. I’ll stick with my greasy northerner band. They can keep their shiny professional horror punk (whatever the FUCK that means) rock stars.

The Wildhearts have always had a genuine knack for combining killer riffs and choruses with a keen appreciation of pop sensibility and hooks. This combination makes for a fantastically positive atmosphere and being in the same room as them means you’ll have a smile on your face, even if you’ve never seen or heard them before. They’re one of those bands that have crossed over into simply being ‘a great band’ instead of having to quantify it with the word ‘rock’.

As far as I’m concerned, The Foo Fighters are damn lucky to have gotten to where they are in the music world. It could’ve easily been The Wildhearts, it should’ve been The Wildhearts. Only thing is that I don’t think Ginger would want that kind of exposure.

Fine, if you like the Foo’s that’s up to you, but people who aren’t into rock claim to be into it simply because they like ‘Monkey Wrench’ or ‘Learn To Fly’ (or whatever the lastest Radio 1 friendly formulaic three minute ditty is fresh off the never ending Grohl conveyer belt).

The Wildhearts are ours, not Radio 1’s, not the so called ‘music fans’ who think the music world begins & ends with Glastonbury and certainly not those pesky emo children I mentioned earlier.

No, The Wildhearts are ours. And I’ll be buying a ticket to see them whenever I’m in the same place as they’re playing.

And, just as I thought the evening couldn’t get any better, it did. In fact, it got awesome.

Although to write about exactly WHY it got awesome would break my self imposed rule about not writing about things that are too personal. Still, two months on, at least Anne -Marie agrees our unofficial first date was an awesome night full of silly dancing, glam music and late night car-conversation.

So, in the tradition of giving a gig some kind of star rating, taking into account how awesome the gig was and then how awesome the after-gig club night was I’d have to go…

5 FUCKING STARS!

GEORDIE pop star Cheryl Cole is lending her voice to a new campaign to crack down on cyber-bullying. Natasha Taghavi looks at how the move will protect youngsters online.

THE issue of bullying over the internet is a growing problem for young people.

There are more and more outlets for teenagers to vent their abuse at each other with the rise of social networking internet sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Now Radio 1 is collaborating with the operators of such sites in a bid to tackle the growing issue of cyber-bullying.

The campaign has recruited high profile and popular celebrities who youngsters admire in a bid to change behaviour.

Supporters include Geordie pop star and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, TV presenter Fearne Cotton, singer Alesha Dixon, girl band The Saturdays and boyband JLS.

Cheryl tells victims of online bullying: “If you’re comfortable with yourself, there’s nothing more beautiful than somebody that is comfortable and confident in themselves.

“Surround yourself with the people that absolutely adore you and love you for who you are.” With up to one in three youngsters claiming to have been victims of online abuse, the issue of online bullying is an increasing concern.

And as the amount of time young people spend on social networking sites has significantly risen in recent years, the problem is set to get worse.

Back in 2007, the Chronicle reported on how children were filming attacks on fellow pupils and posting the clips to YouTube.

One clip filmed on Tyneside showed schoolchildren standing by as a boy tried to protect himself from punches raining down on him.

To combat the problem, Facebook, MySpace and Bebo are teaming up in an effort to “bullyproof” young people as part of National Bullying week, which runs from November 16 to 20.

The firms will encourage users to become active in the campaign, by joining a “bullyproof” profile, distributing a video that tackles the issue, with links to blogs, discussion forums and other relative information and advice.

The campaign will then be promoted on YouTube as well as MSN.co.uk.

Ben Cooper, deputy controller for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, said: “Online bullying has repeatedly hit the headlines this year and is a serious problem for many of our listeners.

“Radio 1 and 1Xtra continually strive to raise awareness of issues that affect young people and we felt the issue of online bullying needed to be tackled.”

Radio 1 presenter Aled Haydn-Jones said bullying was still a “really big issue”.

“A lot of the things that people can do to protect themselves online are actually really simple but people are still unaware of what they can do,” he added.

For further advice and information on how to get involved visit www.bbc.co.uk/bullyproof.

Source

Rob will be on BBC Radio 1 in the UK on Thursday

Thanks to @vampirefreak101:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ <– listen to Radio 1 here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch <- BBC Switch website here

Letmesign.com via Pattinson Life