Select Shun Two

Another track from a series of free cds that came with Select magazine ten-plus years ago. This is Black Box Recorder, a band formed by former Auteur Luke Haines, John Moore (previously in The Jesus and Mary Chain and John Moore's Expressway) and singer Sarah Nixey. They made some interesting records, a bit like a sarcastic and caustic St Etienne. This song, The Facts Of Life, is remixed by The Chocolate Layers, a psuedonym for Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey (both from Pulp, obviously). For the record this cd was Revolutions 01, and also featured Stereophonics (urgh), Queens Of the Stone Age's Feel Good Hit Of The Summer (yes!), Alpinestars (Manc electronica), The Go-Betweens (I really should feature something by them), Tailgunner featuring Noel Gallagher (nein danke), The Automator and Kool Keith (turn of the millenium hiphop), The Delgados (never really checked them out but believe they're very good), Brothers In Sound, My Vitriol, King Adora (ha, remember them), Underworld (Pearl's Girl live) and Grandaddy. Mixed bag then really.

04 The Facts Of Life.wma#1#1

Six Months Of Condemnation

Interesting article by John Harris in Friday's Guardian, initially about the student protests. I'll recap some of his points, and add a few. Obviously it attracted it's fair share of criticism from the people that leave comments on webpages. Y'know bloggers and the like.

The Con-Dem government have been in power for six months.
They have no real mandate (about 1 in 5 of the population voted Tory).
The Dem part of the government have reneged on various manifesto pledges (Clegg signed a pledge against increasing university tuition fees. Tuition fees increased this week).
Higher education is to become the preserve of the wealthy again.
EMA (up to £30 for poorer 16-18 year olds staying on at college) is to be axed.
This week Ian Duncan Smith refered to avoidance of work as a 'sin'.
But there are currently 5 unemployed people going for each available job.
Child care credit is to be cut to 'force' young mothers back to work.
The cuts the government are bringing in in benefit reform and welfare will, according to many independent commentators including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, hit poorer families and women the hardest.
Plans to restructure housing benefit could lead to a dramatic increase in evictions, DHS B&B, and homelessness.
Libraries, care for the elderly and other public facilities are going to be closed.
Arts budgets will be cut by up to 100% by some councils.
The bankers will be left to do what they do, and be paid enormous bonuses, despite them being partly responsible for some of the mess. Barclays has announced a bonus pot of £1.6 billion.
The cabinet contains 18 millionaires.
David Cameron (ex-Eton and Oxford) describes himself and his wife as 'middle-class'.
His personal fortune is estimated at somewhere between £3.4 million.
Cameron's helper Nick Clegg is sitting on £1.8 million.
Middle-class or old-school, rich, ruling elite?
We're all in this together.



In other news Pulp have reformed.


17 Last Day of the Miners' Strike.wma