Monday 29 November 2010

My perfect home cinema setup:

TV: Sony KDL-40EX503
Speakers: B&W 685 Theatre (+ B&W ASW610 subwoofer)
Amplifier: Onkyo TX-SR608
CD Player: Audiolab 8200CD
Blu-ray Player: Sony BDP-S570
HDMI Cables: QED Profile HDMI
Remote Control: Logitech Harmony One
Speaker Stands: Partington ANSA 60
Speaker Cables: Chord Company Carnival Silver
Mains Cable: Merlin Tarantula MK6
Conditioner: Lindy 6-way
Equipment Rack: Hi Fi Racks Podium
Subwoofer Isolator: Auralex SubDude(HD)
Cable TV: Virgin Media V+

Wednesday 24 November 2010

The only thing I like about the second to last image are those shoes! The outfit—not so much…

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Album Reviews:

AWWBLOT: And What Will be Left of Them?:

I saw this young indie band at ‘The Railway’—a small pub near my old university. They instantly caught my interest and I found myself grinning throughout the set. I spoke to the two lead singers after the show and they said that they knew Los Campesinos!—or, at least, that one of them was related to them? That was, coincidently, the first band they reminded me of—the second Blink-182. The same youth-energy, the male and female lead singers voices play off each other (I think enjoying male and female duo’s is becoming a habit for me—X, Wussy, the xx and, now that I’m mentioning it, Los Campesinos!). I think the lyrics (and the song-writing) could be a bit more focused/tight. A−

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy:

Not as soulful as ‘The College Dropout’, not as meticulous as ‘Late Registration’—but certainly hard as nails. I love the flow of the album—I like the melodies and the rhymes are clever and descriptive—most of all, though, I’m glad West is finally standing up to his ego. He’s taken some time off and he’s learning that intelligence and narcissism don’t necessarily go hand in hand. He’s also decided to focus on songform (even if it’s still too stylistic)—more so than on his previous two efforts. My favourite tracks are the final five, starting from ‘Runaway’ (although I love the riff on ‘Devil in a New Dress’). I’m just glad he’s back. A

Sunday 21 November 2010

Like my end-of-year film list I’m going to attempt a best of album list and fill it in as I go along (this is only in the name of fun, for me—it’s mostly how they will appear on the list, successively, not the exact scores):

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. The Roots: How I Got Over
7. Elizabeth Cook: Welder
8. Vampire Weekend: Contra
9. Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain’t No Grave
10. M.I.A.: Maya

11.
12. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Fantasy
13.
14. Nicki Minaj: Pink Friday
15. Girl Talk: All Day

22. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Jesus Christ I think I’m gonna shit my pants when the deluxe version of this CD comes out..! :p

Tuesday 16 November 2010

TV Reviews:

The Royle Family: What makes this so hilarious is the great situation acting. Just now—while watching the show to critique—Ricky Tomlinson, removing wallpaper, wipes the sweat from his armpit, smells it, and then uses it to wipe his face. All seemingly natural. All seamlessly hilarious. How could watching people in a room be so entertaining? A