If you’ve never encountered the phenomenon of song poems, then, my friend, you are in for a treat-a-roo. Song poems were – and still are – made by companies who place adverts looking for lyrics and poems to make into songs. The ads dangle the possibility of radio play and international record sales, but they’re … Read more

I’ve put two new songs up on my Myspace page, which you can listen to if you want – ‘Think Of England’ and ‘The Other Shoe’. Just click here. I’m afraid the recording quality is a bit scrappy (although better than my previous efforts), and it’s clear at several key points that my reach exceeds … Read more

(via the ever-giving wellspring of EPIC WIN that is Metafilter) So yeah today I watched these performances from an 80s Japanese kids’ TV show, three Techno-Pop bands, P-Model, Hikashu and Plastics. The sound quality is mildly anus, but you get the idea: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM9qs8KCkDg] Everything I know about J-Pop and all its bizarro corollaries could be … Read more

Look, my question to you is simply this: have you watched Paul Robertson’s Kings Of Power 4 Billion %? No? THEN DON’T COMPLAIN YOUR LIFE ISN’T EVERYTHING IT COULD BE! It is special. You could watch it on Youtube: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdoDjcI5VE] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYKe3lg8KfM] But actually the quality of the compressed vids is pretty shitty. My advice? Be … Read more

I love a lot of old video game music. Sure, there’s a hefty dollop of nostalgia at work, but many video game soundtracks are astounding in how they manage to squeeze sophisticated tunes out of limited sound capabilities. I think working with such heavy restrictions brought the best out of many composers, which is why … Read more

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRhPeJ3uzOc] I know this is a day late, but hey. If you’re not au fait with Jonathan Coulton, check out his stuff. He does mostly ‘comic’ songs, but that’s a bit reductive. The fact is, he’s got a beautiful voice, and he’s a fantastic melody writer. And then he puts a bunch of cool, silly … Read more

So, in case you don’t know, I’m kicking off a pilgrimage to open mic nights big and small all over the country (and a few beyond). I’ve got a tentative itinerary, although given that these events are mostly run by diligent amateurs, I’ve got to expect that I may turn up in a couple of … Read more

In an act of either laudable pecuniary acumen or savage recklessness, the Arts Council have elected to underwrite the beginning of my forthcoming project. If you take a peek at my Myspace page, you’ll see I’ve already got a nice little run of gigs coming up in April and May. But most of them aren’t … Read more

The story you’re about to read involves scandal, creative genius, and a 15 year conspiracy of silence. Oh – and Sonic the Hedgehog. So, after a long, long hiatus, I started playing Sonic 3 again. When I reached the Carnival Night Zone, a few bars of the awesome soundtrack were all it took to propel … Read more