Passing Thoughts

Turning away

I have commented before on the fact that I think America is heading towards being a dictatorship. Nothing in the last year has convinced me that that is not true. The police are gaining more and more sweeping powers to dig into personal information. The media industry is waging a war on ordinary people that if they win will see music being something that you need to pay for every time you use or listen to. The huge (and from a non-American point of view baffling) outrage over Janet Jacksons breast seems designed to help sweeten the path more censorship laws. The American business system seems to be heading towards ever increasing over regulation rather than innovation. I am surprised the opposition parties are allowed to have rallies when they are challenging Bush. I hold by my prediction that America are on a very slippery slope indeed.

Life is hectic at the moment as ever but nothing that needs anouncing. Milo is shooting up at an alarming rate and is as full of beans as ever.

Some wonderful music:

• How to slice a loaf of bread by the Hafler Trio. The Hafler Trio are one of my favourite bands at the moment. These great dark slabs of sound are great to listen to while on the train or walking around. All encompasing they translate you to another place.
• Perpetuum Mobile by Einsturzende Neubauten Another great EN relase. Its easy to imagine that EN are just noise if you have never heard them but they are great songwriters and this album goes from the utterly intimate to the full on. Beautiful indeed.
• Tilt by Scott Walker. I had shivers up my spine listening to this walking to the station the other day.
• Sleeping on Roads by Neil Halstead. Once standing in front of the great wall of sound that was Slowdive. Halstead's music with Mojave 3 and here on his own is no a lot quieter and more intimate. This is just a great singer/songwriter album - intimate, hints of alt.country and very enjoyable if you are in the mood

and as for books. How good is Christopher Brookmyre.