Boy, that Final Crisis 4 was some scary stuff, eh? Colin sent me Submit, but you were meant to read that first I just found out. Never mind.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of updates/doncast - I have suffered a death in the family. My motherboard has fried, so my music making machine is dead on he ground, its guts out in the air waiting for the maggots.

I am lost and crippled without this thing, how sad is that? I was on the verge of tears earlier, but I fought it. Wade came round with some fish and chips. He is a lovely man.

Anyway.

I need to find some way of getting the cash to pay a new one that doesn’t involve my usual methods, reliant as they are on he dead beast. If anyone has any ideas, do get in touch. And if you’re feeling philanthropic, feel free (but not obliged) to click this clever “donate” button. I’ll send you some MP3s or ring your Mum or something for you. Or you could buy something. Christmas is coming. WAH!

Over and out.

Back when I was 10 years old, I did a paper round and saved my money up to buy studded leather wristbands from the HM (Heavy Metal) Gear catalogue. Now there was a pamphlet of wonder. Bandannas, T Shirts with skulls all over them, posters, “chokers”, leather jackets, “jams” (I never quite liked the look of them). All I could ever afford was a couple of studded leather bracelets and a cheap skull ring with adustable finger-strap that snapped when I tried to tighten it. Although I do recall my parents taking me to the Birmingham Rag Market and buying me a tiny leather jacket with tassels on it for my 11th birthday, that cost more than any birthday or Christmas present I’d ever received or would again. I became a man that day. When I got home I listened to Alice Cooper’s TRASH and Extreme’s Pornograffiitti and Guns ‘n Roses Use Your Illusion II (the blue one - infinitely better than the Paul McCartney tainted orange one). Life was good. Apart from all the shit stuff. But I’ve forgotten all that now. No, 1991 was the year of Guns ‘n’ Roses.

And then they died. Nirvana and Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg showed up, and all GnR did was release an album of punk covers sung in dodgy British Accents (”on the fahckin’ FAAAH-RMAH!”) and lose all their members apart from Axl Rose, who started looking like a slapped, steroid-pumped arse with braids.

Now, 14 years after the fact, I am told “the band” have set a seemingly solid release date for their mythical Chinese Democracy LP, and the single has gone to radio.

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND…

It’s crap.

So there you go.

I am not holding out much hope for the album being any good. But that’s OK. I have the old ones, and they’re still great (apart from Illusion I, which is half great, and that crappy covers album with spaghetti on the front I mentioned already). If I want to hear Axl Rose doing some wailing over mammoth guitar riffs with contemporary compression plug-ins all over it, I can listen to Sebastian Bach’s last LP, Angel Down - Axl guests on three of the album’s 14 songs. I think Back In The Saddle is my favourite. Axl sounds phenomenal on it (although he does start reminding me of a weird hybrid of Justin Hawkins and that gyaldem from N Dubz at the end of the thing). Wikipedia just told me its an Aerosmith song, I never knew that! Pump and Eat The Rich were my joints. Anyway. Let’s all ignore the new single, and sit back and listen to Back In the Saddle shall we?

Stream: Sebastian Bach ft. Axl Rose - Back In The Saddle

“ALL THESE INDIE KIDS IN THE LINE FOR THE TOILET!”

Oh Yeeeeyah! Marvin’s new mixtape is OUT NOW! And it’s FREE! Whoo! Sheeet, free mixtapes, who’da thunk it?

I haven’t heard the whole thing yet, but it’s sounding pretty ace so far. My Phone Is Rubbish

is fucking killer tomatoes. Here’s what Marv’s saying:

Here it is. 4 months after My last tape, 3 months after My debut album. I give you, mixtape of the year 2008. I’m so proud of this thing right here. It actually ended up taking about a month longer than intended. Bang this in your whips, your headphones, your houseparties, your evictions! This is Recession music right here. This is industrial, the 80s are back, I don’t give a fuck, dole queue, dark nights, cold days music right here. Send the link to your friends, post it on your forums, post it on your blogs, put the songs on BitTorrent, this is not for profit, this is not for a label, this is not for the radio, this is not for the critics, this is for the people who want it, the people who need it. This is for you and yours.

Download here.

Visit Marv here.

Hot new shit from ATD16. really, that tape is fucking PACKED with awesomeness.

Youtube and coppage details after the jump.

Read more…

I am confused as to why I haven’t got a photo of Marv, Litts and I. Weird.

Anyway! Bladed was recorded relatively early in the ATD16 recording process. It was pretty much instantly awesome. That Litts doing the “on the rooooads!” Bon Jovi stuff. Oh, Marv’s got a new mixtape dropping any day now, keep em peeled at his website…

Download and acapella after the jump.

10 days left to get your remix comp entries in!

Stream: Akira The Don ft Marvin & Littles - Bladed

Read more…

So, I have written an article on the carreer of Lil Wayne for The Quietus. Check it here.

In other news, Adam Walton interviewed me and Littles about ATD16 for his BBC Radio Wales show last week, and that will be running on Sunday. Adam says:

is a *special edition* of the programme.

That’s a nice way of saying that it is pre-recorded because I will be in the middle of a week off*.

However, there will be much to marvel at: Huw Williams recounts the time he became the first person on the radio, anywhere, to play Stereophonics [from their original demo]; we have the first Unsigned Advice Panel, featuring the Green Man Festival’s Jo Bartlett, record producer Greg Haver & Huw Williams [again, with a different hat on]; Peppermint Patti will be in to enthuse about their favourite music of female origins [but let’s not use the term ‘mofo’], Akira the Don expounds on the glory of his latest mixtape, ATD16, and we have a raw and ace session from The Clay.

It’s going to be full and ACE.

You will be able to hear that here.

So, as mentioned in the comments, the Winchester gig was a blast. BLAST! Jeres was on holidae in Prague, so I drafted in my ole pal B from Winchester to join myself and Brother James on the bass guitar. He had five days notice to learn the songs, and we managed to squeeze a single 2 hour rehearsal between soundcheck and the gig itself. It was ace on stilts! We made lots of new friends, some of whom joined us onstage for the final-ee of Working Together and Video Highway.

That photo up there of me and B is the only one I have - if anyone was there and took any, please do send them in, and we can have a set in the photo section.

For the LP2 gigs, we’re looking to expand the line up. Dums, keyboardage, DJ, possible backing singerage. If you have these skills do get in touch, I’m gonna start doing some auditions pretty soon.

Congratulations my peoples Martin and Mary on the birth of their huge-bollocked baby boy, Sonny Fleetfox.

SCILLIAU GWILLT!

(Welsh for mad skills. Kinda.)

In entirely unrelated doings, here’s John Cleese on the other Palin.

We are playing The Lonely Hearts Club at The Railway in Winchester tonight, in case you hadn’t heard. My ole pal B will be stepping in for Jeres,  who’s rampaging around Prague right now, on bass duties. I am excite!

You see that Third Presidential Debate? I copped it last night. Purely on showmanship, was it me or did Obama thoroughly murk the creepy blinking ole cracker type? McBain looked sweaty, desperate, and downright nasty. Surely not a good look, right? I haven’t checked any commentary. How do you stick up for a performance of that nature? Have I got Euro commie tunnel vision, or did it really go down like that?

Mayne, i was rolling in the isles at that Joe The (unlicenced) Plumber crap.

Speaking of comedy…