Randomiser #15: 15 January 2007
Today's song: Tenacious D, "Car Chase City."
This is from the Pick of Destiny soundtrack album, and come to think of it, I never did get around to seeing the film. The reviews were a bit mixed, and judging from the album, there are points where it veers a little too far to hey-aren't-we-wacky. Mind you, it's also got some genuinely great moments, such as their attempt at politically conscious songwriting. ("And let me tell you something else about the government / They're fucking up the environment / They're taking all the beautiful fucking animals / And making them fucking extinct.")
I saw Tenacious D when they played Glasgow a couple of years back, and god only knows how they managed to get booked by a student union in the first place. They're a great live comedy act, which is really the point. I suspect one problem with the movie is that even though they plainly don't care that much about the plot, they end up having to write some songs that are basically just rock pastiches to bridge gaps in the story. This certainly isn't anything special on its own.
Also:
- Okay, apparently Americans do know about Thunderbirds. God knows how we managed to export that to them, but it's a strange world sometimes.
- I seem to be in the midst of a bout of 24-hour flu. Well, I'm hoping for 24 hours, anyway. The downside of being self-employed is that there's nobody to delegate work to, so anything short of "bedridden" means I just have to plough on regardless.
- They're closing Parliament Hall tomorrow so that the BBC can film a documentary segment there. I'd love to know who thought that it was a good idea to invite them in, not just during working hours, but on a Tuesday, which is the busiest day of the week and when the hall is normally packed solid with people waiting for their cases to start. Presumably the Scottish Court Service expects them to wait in the car park. If they want to film in daylight (which I could understand, because the stained glass windows will look a lot better), what's wrong with the weekend?
- ITV Play censured over spectacularly unwinnable phone-in quiz. Everyone knows that these premium-rate phone-in quiz channels are basically a tax on the stupid, and they're crying out for proper regulation. You might think that ITV Play, being a major brand name, would be slightly more trustworthy than most. But here we have them seriously arguing that there was no breach of the broadcasting code, rule 2.11 ("Competitions should be conducted fairly") in a competition where the question was to identify "things you find in a woman's handbag", and the answers included "a balaclava" and "rawl plugs." Really, if that isn't illegal, it should be.
- New Sophie Ellis-Bextor single: quite good, actually. Not sure about that video, though. What on earth was the pitch? "Wear this red dress and we'll wander around Venice for an afternoon. Make sure to point at things dramatically."
This is from the Pick of Destiny soundtrack album, and come to think of it, I never did get around to seeing the film. The reviews were a bit mixed, and judging from the album, there are points where it veers a little too far to hey-aren't-we-wacky. Mind you, it's also got some genuinely great moments, such as their attempt at politically conscious songwriting. ("And let me tell you something else about the government / They're fucking up the environment / They're taking all the beautiful fucking animals / And making them fucking extinct.")
I saw Tenacious D when they played Glasgow a couple of years back, and god only knows how they managed to get booked by a student union in the first place. They're a great live comedy act, which is really the point. I suspect one problem with the movie is that even though they plainly don't care that much about the plot, they end up having to write some songs that are basically just rock pastiches to bridge gaps in the story. This certainly isn't anything special on its own.
Also:
- Okay, apparently Americans do know about Thunderbirds. God knows how we managed to export that to them, but it's a strange world sometimes.
- I seem to be in the midst of a bout of 24-hour flu. Well, I'm hoping for 24 hours, anyway. The downside of being self-employed is that there's nobody to delegate work to, so anything short of "bedridden" means I just have to plough on regardless.
- They're closing Parliament Hall tomorrow so that the BBC can film a documentary segment there. I'd love to know who thought that it was a good idea to invite them in, not just during working hours, but on a Tuesday, which is the busiest day of the week and when the hall is normally packed solid with people waiting for their cases to start. Presumably the Scottish Court Service expects them to wait in the car park. If they want to film in daylight (which I could understand, because the stained glass windows will look a lot better), what's wrong with the weekend?
- ITV Play censured over spectacularly unwinnable phone-in quiz. Everyone knows that these premium-rate phone-in quiz channels are basically a tax on the stupid, and they're crying out for proper regulation. You might think that ITV Play, being a major brand name, would be slightly more trustworthy than most. But here we have them seriously arguing that there was no breach of the broadcasting code, rule 2.11 ("Competitions should be conducted fairly") in a competition where the question was to identify "things you find in a woman's handbag", and the answers included "a balaclava" and "rawl plugs." Really, if that isn't illegal, it should be.
- New Sophie Ellis-Bextor single: quite good, actually. Not sure about that video, though. What on earth was the pitch? "Wear this red dress and we'll wander around Venice for an afternoon. Make sure to point at things dramatically."
posted by Paul O'Brien at 9:36 pm
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