the artist formerly known as Londis...

blink and you'll miss it, but this shop beside Busáras Luas stop is actually a "Landis". clever.

(double click on the above image for a closer look)

Poland Place

Given that the only thing of note on this tiny Dublin street..


.. is this Polish barbers..



...then why hasnt anyone painted over the 'M' on the street sign yet??

Michael Scott: the thinking man's chameleon!

"Sometimes I'll start a sentence and I won't even know where it's going..."

Leinster Rugby: its a long way from there to here..

Leinster's jersey has gone from this..


.. fast forward to this..


.. then this..


..to this & this..

.. but now THIS!?


Sacre bleu this is bad.. Still, at least we have the consolation of being Champions of Europe to make up for this shortcoming!!

How to be a good dictator: dress like Michael Jackson...

this story from TMZ.com is Off The Wall!!



Gotham Chopra - friend of MJ - has claimed that the release of North-Korean-imprisoned prisoners Laura Ling and Euna Lee hinged on one question: Is Kim Jong Il a "Thriller" fan? Chopra, also a friend of both American reporters, says Jackson called him three weeks ago asking how he could help. Jackson thought Jong Il would let them go if he talked to him ... provided the North Korean leader was a fan.

One reason why Michael thought Jong Il could be a devotee: "You know, he wears jackets like mine."

Gotham told Jackson he'd look into it -- but Michael died before the plan could get off the ground.

A Short History of the Irish Diaspora

Found this satirical clip in Ronan Carr's 2000 short film Coolockland:



Loosely described as "a film noir pastiche of soaring Dublin property values and Irish society's obsession with celebrity culture", Coolockland meets somewhere between a weird dream about the Anglo-Irish literary canon and a lampooning of Sin City (before it was even made!)..

Clint Dempsey: Coolness personified

After his crafty performances in both the "EPL" for Fulham and in the Confederations Cup for Team USA of late, Clint Dempsey's stock has risen enormously from bit-part yank to hard-grafting lynchpin in any side he plays in. In fact, he is the embodiment of the sea-change in US football in recent years, no longer afraid to stick it to world-beaters and deploying an ethic of grit and balance that Trapattoni would be proud of!

And just when you thought Andy Cole was the best (i.e. only) rap artist to emerge from a Craven Cottage dressing room, this NikeSoccer video crops up to show us that Clint Dempsey has got the vocal delivery to match his on-pitch credentials:

What do Stacey's Mom, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, and Mmmbop have in common...?

Tinted Windows, thats what! The new hybrid supergroup comprising James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins), Taylor Hanson of Mmmbop fame, the bassist from Fountains of Wayne, and Cheap Trick's drummer.

Their self-titled LP has been out since the end of April so its well past its zeitgeist-date at this stage..

Despite Taylor Hanson's naff musical beginnings - luckily they don't transfer on this effort – it’s not bad. It is unashamed power-chord-driven pop rock, to the extent they could be pigeonholed as a Thinking Man's Busted! This is probably unfair though, in patches it does lend itself more to Dinosaur Jr's 2007 album Beyond..

Check out the single Messing With My Head...

Dead Serious is another good album track too...

Health warning: this is college rock by a band with an average age of 42 - not everyone's rock music ideal. There is however some trademark James Iha guitar-squealing, albeit used more sparingly in the mix..

Am I the only one who thinks this album is half-decent?

Review - Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night Of The Soul

As if parting ways with Paul McCartney and Radiohead wasn't enough kudos-shattering for one decade, EMI now finds itself embroiled in a right kerfuffle with the enduringly zeitgesity producer-cum-cash cow Danger Mouse. His über collaboration-compilation with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse - featuring such luminaries as Frank Black, Iggy Pop, Julian Casablancas, Gruff Rhys, and Nina Persson (The Cardigans) - has been streaming online on NPR for the past few weeks , originally in anticipation of a physical release through EMI. However, following disagreement with EMI over release logistics, Mouse et al have opted for the pragmatic route. With David Lynch contributing a vast collection of photography described as a "visual narrative" to the music, the album's completion was marked by a limited release of an artbook of these photographs along with "a blank CD-R as an artefact to use however you see fit".

It might not be available on an official CD release, or via a legitimate download, but that nice NPR stream of the album came in handy...

So, how does it rate?

Well, Gnarls Barkley it isn't. Nor would you expect Danger Mouse not to diversify with every new project he embarks on. Given the time of year this album has found its audience, you might expect Danger Mouse to have one eye on shiny summer pop-ulism. Not the case. Its a remarkably dark album, perhaps best stored up for those dull introverted winter nights.

Album opener 'Revenge' finds a pensive Flaming Lips churning out what can loosely be described as a sombre retake of 'Fight Test' in that it features the same Wayne Coyne confidence-inducing brand of lyrics but in a far more stifled and moody fashion. Although slow-paced a lá Beck's cover of "I Need Your Lovin (Like The Sunshine)" it does reach an intense drum-laden crescendo, the kind that leaves you wishing that this was a full-length Flaming Lips album in its own right so they could continue exploring this newfound dark sound.

The renaissance of Gruff Rhys finds a new chapter on 'Just War' - it starts out as a swampy slide guitar effort but quickly sidesteps into electricified layers. Although oozing in complexities, its actually quite a simple tongue-in-cheek anti-war song.

Another highlight includes Frank Black's appearance on 'Angel's Harp' - it has all you would want from Black - the thrashy guitars, the iconic wail, its fantastic. Although sounding quite fresh and new, its possibly the most Pixie-esque track he's written since that band stopped recording together.

Apparently all the vocalists on this album were sent instrumental tracks and simply asked to record over them with whatever vocals they wanted and its pretty evident on Iggy Pop's effort 'Pain'. By no means Iggy Pop's worst ever project - see his Sum 41 collaboration - it does come across as a self-indulgent imitation of Ian Curtis. Even though there mightn't have been a Joy Division without the Iggy influence, this song just isn't good.

The rest of the album is very filler-ed - albeit with some bright spots from Nina Persson and Julian Casablancas - but on the whole DNOTS keeps Danger Mouse up there on the producer wishlists across the popular music landscape. Surely Michael Jackson will be on the phone to recruit him for that comeback album any day now...

Finally, a tasteful abstract video of Mogwai performing live!

Mogwai - Mogwai Fear Satan from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

someday these guys will get round to releasing a live DVD, and it will be awesome.