Last night, I was being a gobby prick as usual, blabbing on and on about one day TV would be broadcast from the Internet to save with all the that satellite dish nonsense. Complete ramble really, had no evidence to back it up. I just thought that it made sense.
So you can imagine my surprise when I stumble upon this little video
It's the fucking future, man! Internet on your TV. Turning your entire TV schedule over to you so you can only watch the programs you want to watch. Fantastic, yeah?!
Well, yes and no really. Yes, because you can just watch the programs you want whenever you want to. Meaning that you don't have to plan your life around the TV schedule. Something that I absolutely avoid doing and thus missing out on so-called 'Great TV'.
But no, because I think it's the randomness of the TV schedule that helps us discover new TV shows. I've found some great TV just by channel hopping through the sea of bollocks that is the digital TV listings. You can't tell me that seeing 'Giant Squid vs. Mega Shark' in the listings doesn't fill you with interest.
There is also the argument that great TV is spread via word-of-mouth. Which most of it is, but I get recommended so much TV everyday it's just impractical for me to make time for it. Because if I looked up '24' on Google TV and suddenly every episode is available right in front of me, that's my day gone straight there. I've seen the first episode so I must finish the series immediately. 18 hours of life given to Jack Bauer and his brooding demeanor (For the record, I have never seen '24'. I just assume he is brooding).
So although I think this is great for the consumer as it means we can watch the TV that suites us, at a time that suites us. But it may initially hurt the struggling TV networks that rely on channel hoppers to hop onto their channel. Yes, it may force networks to create more quality programs but if there isn't enough money to do that then it's probably goodbye to traditional low budget programming and hello to 'Jack Bauer's Torture Tips'.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Tis The Season To Reform
Someone once said to me that a band only reforms for financial reasons and that no band has even got back together for the sake of the fans. Despite that Rage Against The Machine are playing a free gig this summer as a thank you for their Christmas Number 1, Soundgarden have been performing for free under the name 'Nude Dragons' and The Libertines have made a number of acoustic appearances in various London Pubs.
But recently we've seen bands not only bury their hatchets and come together but also get themselves back into the studio and record new material. Some even giving it away for free.
Most notably, Blur have recorded their new single 'Fool's Day' through Parlophone and are giving it away for nothing. This may have got every 20-something indie kid salivating at the sheer thought of it, but I am personally a little disappointed. It ticks all the boxes for Blur and shows very little similarity to Albarn's other projects (Gorillaz; The Good, The Bad and The Queen) but has still yet to excite in the way that Blur used to. At best, this is an album track. Sensible listening for those looking to kick back for the summer but nothing that is going to raise the roof.
But I can't say the same for the return of Germany's Atari Teenage Riot. ATR have not only began touring across Europe but have also released new single 'Activate' as a free download. I have a bit of a soft spot for ATR. They gave a sound for every disillusioned teenager to just go nuts to. And they haven't lost their edge from when they started over 20 years ago. It's loud, aggressive and one for clubs.
If only Axl Rose would stop being such a bell-end, we might even get the original Guns'n'Roses line up to play Reading and Leeds. Who says it can't happen? Oh, Axl... shit!
But recently we've seen bands not only bury their hatchets and come together but also get themselves back into the studio and record new material. Some even giving it away for free.
Most notably, Blur have recorded their new single 'Fool's Day' through Parlophone and are giving it away for nothing. This may have got every 20-something indie kid salivating at the sheer thought of it, but I am personally a little disappointed. It ticks all the boxes for Blur and shows very little similarity to Albarn's other projects (Gorillaz; The Good, The Bad and The Queen) but has still yet to excite in the way that Blur used to. At best, this is an album track. Sensible listening for those looking to kick back for the summer but nothing that is going to raise the roof.
But I can't say the same for the return of Germany's Atari Teenage Riot. ATR have not only began touring across Europe but have also released new single 'Activate' as a free download. I have a bit of a soft spot for ATR. They gave a sound for every disillusioned teenager to just go nuts to. And they haven't lost their edge from when they started over 20 years ago. It's loud, aggressive and one for clubs.
If only Axl Rose would stop being such a bell-end, we might even get the original Guns'n'Roses line up to play Reading and Leeds. Who says it can't happen? Oh, Axl... shit!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Sorry Eddy - Gorillaz win!
It broke today that singer/songwriter Eddy Grant is a tad ticked off at Gorillaz for stealing his song. It appears the dreadlocked Lothario has noticed a similarity between a portion of the new Gorillaz single 'Stylo' and his own song 'Time Warp', originally released as B-side for 'Electric Avenue'.
You can hear the two songs below and judge for yourself.
Eddy Grant - Time Warp (Play from 14 secs)
Gorillaz - Stylo (Play from 39 secs)
From first listen, it seems Eddy may have this one rapped up. But unfortunately, Gorillaz have won this. Although the rhythm and most of the notes seem to be the same, they are in fact slightly different.
If you listen again, you will hear that Eddy's song plays the same bar twice over; whereas the Gorillaz drop to a lower note at the end of the second bar. Effectively making the overall tune slightly different. Meaning that Eddy is really only calling plagiarism on 4 notes. Not really enough to make a case.
Although, Men At Work lost their case against Larrikin for ripping off the song 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' for using a 'substantial part of the song'. So this case may all come down to the judge's interpretation of the word 'substantial'.
But, in my opinion, no.
You can hear the two songs below and judge for yourself.
Eddy Grant - Time Warp (Play from 14 secs)
Gorillaz - Stylo (Play from 39 secs)
From first listen, it seems Eddy may have this one rapped up. But unfortunately, Gorillaz have won this. Although the rhythm and most of the notes seem to be the same, they are in fact slightly different.
If you listen again, you will hear that Eddy's song plays the same bar twice over; whereas the Gorillaz drop to a lower note at the end of the second bar. Effectively making the overall tune slightly different. Meaning that Eddy is really only calling plagiarism on 4 notes. Not really enough to make a case.
Although, Men At Work lost their case against Larrikin for ripping off the song 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree' for using a 'substantial part of the song'. So this case may all come down to the judge's interpretation of the word 'substantial'.
But, in my opinion, no.
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