Well, I'm off to Belfast today so don't expect any new content for a while. Things get back to normal on January 2nd, with albums of the year and probably a lot of chinstroking relating to them. Of all the material added to the site over the past three weeks only Billy Mahonie and the Clientele (and maybe some gig reviews) will appear in our print edition which will hopefully be ready late in February. I'm also very sorry that I haven't been bothered to update the A-Z index, or the 'recently added' bits as I've been flat-out fucked for a couple of weeks. Oh well.
I'll be at the Belle and Sebastian/ The Frames show at Queen's on 21st, and at the Feline Dream gig on 23rd. Come and say "hello!"
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last new content for a while - a kind of review of the year. Enjoy!

Another day, another major hangover. Add to that the general foggy-headed flu I'm suffering from, I'm amazed that there's been any new content at all! I even missed the Stereolab gig the other night cos I felt too ill to go. It's kind of a mix of headache, dry throat and seasonally affected boredom, so it's not much fun (the flu that is, not Stereolab)
Anyway, last night was our department's Xmas bash and we hired the venue in the Macadam building which overlooks the Thames. I made the most of the time-limited free bar (seemed like 8pm til 8.20 then 9 til 9.15 !!) so it turned out pretty good!
A weird thing happened on the way there. Myself and Matt took a wrong turn and went down a street too far, walked down the wrong side street past somewhere that looked like it could be a student halls, judging by the guy in the fancy dress afro outside it. We walked past, realised we were wrong, and doubled back. I walked very close to the guy who was wearing the afro and holding a beercan, only to hear he was talking to the security guard in a comedy Dutch accent. A closer look revealed that it was none other than Chris Morris (Brass Eye, Jam, etc) !! Now that's odd enough in itself, but this is the third time I've seen him in the street in a couple of months - I almost feel like an unintentional stalker!

I'm not too keen to start posting reviews of the year before it's actually over. The albums of the year will more than likely appear in the first week of January, and I haven't yet decided whether or not to collate the votes from emails and the message board yet - depends how broadly spread they are I suppose.
Anyway, today I've posted my Gigs of the Year, simply because I'm only going to go to a couple more so I thought I'd get a list out of the way first. See what you think, if you've got any lists of your own to post use the message board.

Late notice, but if any of you are reading this in Belfast I suggest you get along to the Go Commando Xmas Special at Katy Dalys tonight 9pm - featuring 'special guests' plus Torgas Valley Reds and DJ Chris Caul. It's only about £3 as well.

New content today - a piece called "A Total Lack of Urgency". If you remember our old front page, it said "Features (coming soon) - Why the zine is called Slow Thrills". Well, it's finally here, I've just finished writing it!

A rambling report on yesterday's festivities has been added to the site. I can safely say that this review has no chance of making it to our print issue as I wrote it last night before I fell into bed! I've only got round to coding it now.

PS If any London types are interested, the much talked about Swedish band the Hives are playing for free at the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street tomorrow at 8pm. I haven't heard them yet but i might check them out.

What a great idea to promise new content every day of the most sociable month of the year! I've just got back from the Rough Trade party and I'm completely hammered. Still, I got to see five 'bands' - from mid-afternoon til 8.30pm we had the Lollies, Chris T-T, Jacob Golden, Souvaris and Alex and Tracey from Lincoln. I'll try to post a review tomorrow.

Yeah well, I've been feeling rufffffff all day due to my over indulgence last night, but I do hope the staff in the restaurant enjoyed our inpromptu version of 'Dr Baker' by the Beta Band. Yessir!
I must own up and say that I have very little in the way of new content prepared, but I still hope to post new material all the way up to Dec 20, when I will be in Belfast and therefore without my computer. There are a few more reviews, a couple of features and an overview of the year to finish off.
(Naturally I would advise against holding your breath for these!)

NEWS
Founder member of Love, Arthur Lee is due to be freed from prison today. Rolling Stone have the story in full.

Back to normal today with a review of The Soft Boys and Of Arrowe Hill last night. Great gig. Hopefully more content tomorrow, but tonight is our office Xmas party so who knows what will happen.

Sleeeeepyhead! Due to the fact that I've just woken up AND I'm supposed to go along to see the Soft Boys in a couple of hours, there may not be any new content today. I'm writing two new pieces and they're just not ready - sorry!

The Clientele are the latest new addition to the site. An interview with them will be up here later this evening. This will also appear in our first proper issue in the New Year.

An all new interview with Rickie Lee Jones is our latest addition.

Ten new items in a row - even I'm surprised! The material is getting a little thin on the ground now though. Looks like we will have to wheel out some reviews of the year to make it to December 20th (which is when I have a rest!). You can post your own contributions for end of year polls on the discussion site or by email jonathan@slowthrills.com.
Things to do this week..
12th December - penultimate Poptones event at Notting Hill Arts Club, 6pm-1am, £3 before 8pm, £5 after - features The Soft Boys and Of Arrowe Hill (bands on a t 9pm and 10pm)
15th December Rough Trade ROTA sessions Xmas event at Notting Arts Club FREE - Xmas flavoured sets from all sorts including Jacob Golden, Lincoln, The Lollies and Chris T-T. 3.30pm- 8.15pm.
16th December Stereolab, Shepherds Bush Empire, £11.50 in advance.

Well, well, well, guess what today's new content is then?
That's right, it's a review of yesterday's show by Camera Obscura and Simon Breed.

I'm dashing out the door to Camera Obscura's gig at Notting Hill Arts Club, but not before I've uploaded today's new content - an interview with Bob Mould, which we published as part of Weedbus issue 9, mid 1995.

Today's new content is a live review of the White Stripes gig in Kentish Town last night.

Godspeed You Black Emperor! tour dates announced

Brighton Corn Exchange (March 16)
London Forum (18)
London tbc (19)
Birmingham tbc (20)
Dublin Olympia (22)
Belfast Empire (23)
Glasgow Q13 (24)
Bradford St. George Hall (26)
Newcastle tbc (27)
Colchester The Church (April 19)

Just made it! Here's that Jane Siberry interview I promised.

Well, depending on what time I get in from seeing the White Stripes, a new interview with Jane Siberry should be online this evening. Watch this space!

Cheating a bit today - the new content isn't original, it was first included on FallNet. More devastatingly original content tomorrow!
I found this interview by Odran Smith (one of our old gang) tucked away in the archives of the official Fall website. The Frank Chickens may be long gone but Kazuko from the band is still active and recently collaborated with the Fall.
Interview with Kazuko Hohki of the Frank Chickens by Odran Smith, April 2001

Odran Smith: Was it Grant Showbiz's idea to bring yourself and The Fall
together and collaborate?
Kazuko Hohki: Yes!
OS: Have you listened to any of The Fall's back catalogue? If the answer is
yes... what are your favourite songs?
KH: Yes but can't remember the names - a song about an old woman appeals to
me lately.
OS: Did you meet Mark E Smith during the recording of the Unutterable?
KH: No, I've met him several times though.
OS: Are The Fall popular in Japan?
KH: Among special people, yes.
OS: Do you know what 'Cyber Insekt' is about?
KH: No!
OS: What is Kazumi Taguchi [Kazuko's partner in the Frank Chickens] doing
nowadays?
KH: She's been a manageress of a hair salon in Mayfair, and now works for a
Japanese car factory as a translator.
OS: What do you miss most about Japan? And what would you miss most if you
returned to Japan?
KH: I used to miss my parents a lot but, now they are dead, they are
permanently with me. I'd miss British people (my friends), the feeling of
being a foreigner which liberates me, the multi-culturalness of London, my
house, space...
OS: Were you surprised that Ninja Tune decided to remix 'We Are Ninja'
(2000) after all this time?
KH: About time! They are good people.
OS: What did you think of Shonen Knife?
KH: Great to have Japanese women doing things not expected of them. More
please!
OS: Were you shocked at the positive critical opinion about the Unutterable
and, in particular, 'Cyber Insekt'?
KH: I don't follow music media, so am ignorant.
Kazuko's web site

Today's offering is a live review of Bridge and Tunnel, Wolf Colonel and The Robocop Kraus at the Notting Hill Arts Club.

Regarding the updates on the Sonic Boom story, I have been unable to find out anything more. The only web-based stuff I could find was this thread on the I Love Everything forum

BREAKING NEWS!
I've heard from a reliable source that Sonic Boom (of Spectrum/ Spacemen3 fame) has been arrested for drug possession in North Carolina. He was near the end of Spectrum's tour of the US. If the story is true, he is facing either a spell in jail or, if he's lucky, a refusal of his visa. If I can find a website with the story on it I will post it here later.

Newly added today - an interview with Huw from the Pooh Sticks. This dates from 1995 and was published in issue 10 of our former zine Weedbus. I'm not going to adding much old stuff through December but Pooh Sticks stuff on the web is a little bit scarce, so there you go.

In today's instalment:
A live review of Ladytron and Olympic Lifts at the Scala.

I've completely forgotten about the new releases!
Here goes - three new ones and three compilations -

Minotaur Shock Chiff chaffs and willow warblers
folktronica, would you believe! melodic folk tinged electronica a bit like a poppier Boards of Canada

Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia Indian Ink
hotly tipped, supporting Smog on the 11th at Union Chapel

Silver Jews Bright Flight
fourth album from David Berman's Silver Jews - with Lambchop as his backing band

Deus No More Loud Music
a collection of their various singles - unable to confirm if they've called it a day although their official site hasn't been updated since Jan, 2001, so...

John Cale Dream Interpretation: Inside the Dream Syndicate vol 2 and Stainless Gamelan: Inside the Dream Syndicate vol 3
another two installments in the series collecting John Cale's work from the 60's. Vol 2 features material from Cale and Tony Conrad and a track from 1965 featuring Angus Maclise, and the third features him with Sterling Morrison, Angus Maclise and Terry Jennings

As part of a major production drive in the run up to our first issue in the new year, I've decided to add something new to this site every day. This mad idea came about because I was thinking earlier of having a sort of advent calendar on this site just to brighten it up a little, maybe just the odd photo each day, then I thought "why not just add something each day throughout December". It's not as daft as it sounds as we have a bit of a backlog.
We'll see what develops, but meanwhile here's today's contribution - a review of Smog and Kidd Dynamo.

Recommended Christmas related listening: - Captain Beefheart 'There Ain't no Santa Claus on the Evening Stage' (from 'Clear Spot')

Thanks to the person in the tiger suit outside my work, who has just made me aware of Stop Esso Day

Main news is that the World Cup Draw has taken place. I'm already looking forward to it.

Having got carried away with the new material last week, I have been ignoring my website responsiblities since. I am also skint so I've been trying not to think too much about going to gigs all the time - notably missed Jeffrey Lewis + Jacob Golden on the same bill this week, as well as a gig by the Amazing Pilots, though I didn't know about it til too late! However, I am tempted by:
Jetplane Landing headlining at the Monarch on Monday 3rd (£5)
Of Arrowe Hill, psychedelic types on first at Camden Dublin Castle's Club Fandango on Tuesday 4th. (£5)
Website matters yet to be sorted include three new live reviews (Smog, Ladytron, Bridge and Tunnel) and an updated A-Z, but I'm kind of dealing with that asap. New releases will be added here very soon.

NEW STUFF!!
I know it's hard to believe, but I have managed to upload some NEW interviews.
BIlly Mahonie and Calexico are online now. The Billy Mahonie interview will also appear in our debut print issue early next year.

New releases are on the wane as we near the end of the year.
A couple of good new ones from Domino
Jim O'Rourke Insignificance
Papa M Whatever, Mortal
it's also worth mentioning Without Ghosts by Bridge and Tunnel who I saw play an excellent show on Saturday. Interesting to see the Sunday Times call it the "best instrumental album of the year" when there are quite a lot of vocals on it. Whatever, it's good stuff, and the live review will be added in a full update tomorrow.

Sad news that Michael Karoli, the ex-Can guitarist has died. The official confirmation is on Holger Czukay's website and there is also an obituary on Pitchfork.

A couple of gigs for Saturday 17th...
Bridge and Tunnel + Wolf Colonel, ROTA sessions at Notting Hill Arts Club, 4pm-8pm Free
Life Without Buildings, the Spitz (Spitalfields), 8pm £5

Yeah well, went to Ladytron + Olympic Lifts last night, pretty good all round. A 'proper' review' of that and Smog from last weekend will be up very soon. I met A LOT of people and was all talked out by the end of the night. It was completely sold out, and the bar was very crowded and was £3.20 a pint, so that meant I wasn't too drunk ;) Glad the OL slipmats arrived in time, I wonder if they sold any? Playing Sheffield tonight.

One gig in London tonight is the fantastic Jacob Golden who is playing the Barfly acoustic night at the Enterprise in Chalk Farm, admission is only £3.

Don't forget that Ladytron, Olympic Lifts and DJ Andrew Weatherall are playing the Scala, Pentonville Road Kings Cross (beside Thameslink station) tonight. Tickets are still available at £9. The ad in last week's Time Out stated that Mina and Le Hammond Inferno were also on the bill, though I've no confirmation of that.

The White Stripes set for Jo Wylie's new show will be on Channel 4 at 11.35pm tonight. I was supposed to go to the recording but was otherwise engaged, so it'll be interesting to see what I've missed. White Stripes did three songs for tv, and two more for the crowd apparently.

Tuesday night and I haven't even done the new releases yet! Here goes...

The Fall Are you are Missing Winner
I haven't heard it myself and I've been giving recent gigs a wide berth, but
I'm told that this is up there with 'The Unutterable' - still on form
apparently.

bis Return to Central
Now on Artful records, leaning even further towards electronic music.

Chris T-T The 253
12 track album from Chris T-T on snowstorm, dedicated to the bus route from Euston to Aldgate (which goes past my old flat). Great reviews everywhere and has played recently with Elbow and Turin Brakes.

Brian Eno Compact Forest Proposal
5 studies for "010101" San Francisco Museum of Modern Art 2001. 10 active cd players were used in this installation, each playing a specially cut cd featuring a single layer of the total music. The cds had a different number of tracks, some silent, and each player was set to play in random order. The final music is an ever changing combination. This cd
represents possible conditions of the installation piece (obviously it doesn't have the same effect as the installation)

Radiohead I Might be Wrong - Live
Well, I might be wrong but I reckon this 8 track live album was recorded at this gig in Oxford. In which case I'll not buy it as I have the whole gig on minidisc! It's good though. It features tracks from Kid A and Amnesiac plus a new track 'True Love Waits"

I've been a bit all-over-the-place this week, but I'm off to Belfast for the weekend. I'll hopefully be going to the Smog show at the Empire Music Hall on Sunday, but we won't be interviewing Bill Callahan as his publicists have told us he's "too shy". Awww. Speaking of interviews, I hope to have uploaded some of our new material over the next week. I've been keeping these close to my chest but I may as well tell you that the first of these will be
CALEXICO
BILLY MAHONIE
JANE SIBERRY
THE CLIENTELE
RICKIE LEE JONES
with a couple more to be confirmed.
The first print edition will be out around New Year and will be a 'London special', featuring bands mainly from the London area. I would really like to make it free so I'll have to get cracking with some fundraising, especially as I also want to remove all banners and ads across this website.
Meanwhile, I'm off to update the A-Z Index (zzzzzzz)

Doh! I knew I should have tried to go to Beyond Nashville, as it turns out that PJ Harvey was the surprise guest on Saturday night. She appeared on a bill headed by Giant Sand, which also featured Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse, John Parish, Evan Dando, Vic Chesnutt and Lambchop's Kurt Wagner. According to the NME, a stetson-clad Harvey performed X's 'Johnny Hit And Run Pauline' with old touring partners Giant Sand, as well as Sparklehorse classics 'Homecoming Queen' and 'Eyepennies' with Mark Linkous. She also appeared as part of her regular guitarist John Parish's 10-piece band, singing one song and contributing guitar.
The bill was put together by Giant Sand mainman and master of ceremonies Howe Gelb, who received a standing ovation from the 2,000 capacity crowd at the end of the evening.

If you've got tickets for one of the Goldfrapp shows this week in London, you'll probably know that the whole thing has been postponed because Alison Goldfrapp has tonsilitis. The shows are now confirmed to take place on December 3-5, with original tickets valid for the new shows. Tickets for November 5 are now valid for December 3, tickets for November 6 are now valid for December 4 and tickets for November 7 are valid for December 5.

Oh well, I'm off to the wilds of England (Worcestershire to be precise) to help "train people" for a couple of days, so don't expect much activity around here. I will be in Belfast over the weekend, but for anyone in London I have to point out that the wonderful Jacob Golden is playing in Notting Hill Arts Club for free on Saturday afternoon (10th) and then Mogwai are playing Brixton Academy that night. Should anyone still care, the Fall are also playing that night, at Kentish Town Forum.
Don't forget that The Clientele are supporting Ladybug Transistor at the Spitz on 8th November, and Olympic Lifts are supporting Ladytron at the Scala on the 14th. Apparently Mina and Le Hammond Inferno are also on the bill for that.

Finally the Undertones movie is being premiered this week. 'Teenage Kicks - The Undertones', narrated by John Peel, will be shown first this week (November 7) on BBC 1 (at 10.35pm GMT, Northern Ireland region). A longer version of the film (72-minutes - the TV version is 40 minutes long) will then be shown at the Regus London Film Festival on November 16 and 18. The film will also be shown as part of the Foyle Film Festival in The Undertones hometown of Derry on November 17.
'Teenage Kicks', features previously unseen footage of the band from their beginnings in 1975 to their split in 1983. Former frontman Feargal Sharkey, who no longer communicates with any of the other members, makes a rare appearance talking about his time in the band. The movie is still without a main distributor.

Some fancy new releases for 5th November...

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions Bavarian Fruit Bread
yep, it's her out of Mazzy Star with her debut solo album, ably assisted by Colm O'Coisoig from My Bloody Valentine. Lovely fragile music.

Sophia Da Nachten
Live album from former God Machine front man Robin Proper-Sheppard, recorded at festivals in Europe including four new songs,three reworkings and a cover of John Lennon's 'Jealous Guy'.

The Music You might as well try to fuck me Possible title of the year from the band with the internet unfriendly name - have you ever tried searching for them!? Their second single which carries on from where the debut left off.

The Sonics The Savage Young Sonics
Some of the most primitive recordings you'll ever hear, rougher than their legendary studio stuff which was distorted onto 2-track. Recorded at dances and at home between 1961-64, includes liner notes by Sonics founder/guitarist Larry Parypa

Current 93 Some soft black stars seen over London
7 track live cd (retail £8.99) from this years Bloomsbury Theatre performance - sleeved in a full colour gatefold digipack with 4 new paintings by David Tibet.

I went to see 'The Man Who Wasn't There' yesterday, another great movie by the Coen Brothers. I find it extraordinary that they can be so prolific and yet keep changing styles and settings with such success. This movie isn't a knockabout comedy like 'Raising Arizona' or 'O Brother Where Art Thou?', it's humour is very deadpan and overall it's deeply melancholic.
It reminded me of that Bob Dylan song that goes "People dont live or die/ People just float". I think all the complaints about boredom, slow pace, and lack of vitality are completely off the mark. The Coens obviously were making a point about spiritually drained people who let themselves float through life until they make fatal decisions. Comparisons with Albert Camus 'The Stranger' have been cropping up in a lot of the reviews. Ed Krane, The Barber (Billy Bob Thornton) is performing a perfectly stupid task that never ceases to repeat itself, without gathering the slightest meaning. He even, in his blank way, waxes philosophical, :"I want...I wanna put hair with...dirt, regular house dirt." "Ed, what the heck are ya talkin' about?" "I...Skip it." The movie gets you inside the head of a guy for whom the simplest, everyday stuff is ceasing to make sense.
Billy Bob's understated acting is so deceptively simple. He looks great and I have to say that this is the most gorgeous looking film I've seen in a long time. Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who filmed in color and processed into richly textured, silvery black and white, gives the film a lustrous tone and a often ghostly, dreamlike feel.
Overall, a really striking, memorable movie.

Link to PJ Harvey's review fit and working again, thanks Iain!

Completely forgot about BEYOND NASHVILLE at the Barbican, most of this weekend and various events til Nov 12th. The big one tonight is sold out (Kurt Wagner, Howe Gelb, Kristin Hersh etc) but there are some free events over the weekend. Lincoln and Oh Susanna are on now, Willard Grant Conspiracy are playing for free after 11.30pm, Barbican level 1. Mark Mulcahy is also doing something tomorrow afternoon.

Birthday part 1: fireworks at Alexandra Palace, then some drinking. It's as simple as that!

I've been to see the wonderful Amelie at last. Afterwards as I walked back up Wood Green High Road it seemed like I had been cocooned from the ugly modern world for a couple of hours. It seemed to strike a chord with me, maybe it's something to do with being an only child and having an overactive imagination. I absolutely loved it.

On to musical matters now, and news that the Clientele are playing next week in the Spitz. They're supporting the Ladybug Transistor on Thursday 8th November, and I don't know how much it costs yet!

Loooook, it's the Delgados Studio Diary! Follow the progress as they record their new album in Glasgow.

I've been beavering away on the website, and I've updated the PJ Harvey, Hefner and Les Savy Fav pages with new reviews, and added a recent review of Preston School of Industry.

I'm suffering from the first onset of birthday-planning stress which is seriously distracting me from finishing the live reviews! This year my birthday (Nov 4th) falls when I'm in London so I have to try and mobilise everyone towards some kind of central meeting point. People come and go from London all the time, so you get various friends saying things like "I can't do Saturday, but I'm free next Wednesday" and your celebrations end up being diluted. Things are easier in Belfast, when everyone just meets in Katy Daly's, buys you a pint and you end up staggering home hammered.
So far I've managed to narrow it down to a particular day - Saturday 3rd - which is something at least! Getting everyone in the same place may be more of a challenge, though I think I'll keep it central early on (say, Covent Garden or Soho) though Notting Hill Arts Club in the afternoon is also possible. Who knows where we'll end up, but the odds of getting everyone to the Bonnie Prince Billy gig in Shepherds Bush Empire would be slim to say the least!

On the subject of gigs, Mercury Rev at Shepherds Bush Empire on Nov 1 +2 is completely sold out, as is the first Air show at Brixton Academy on the 3rd. Still tickets for Air on the 4th apparently. And on a smaller scale, Kaito are playing on Nov 2 Upstairs at the Garage, as part of the Silver Rocket club. Should be £4 or £5, late bar.

Not much in the way of new releases this week, just a couple of singles caught my eye.
Jetplane Landing Revolution Rock 7" (yogaboy). JPL feature Andrew ex-Cuckoo in their ranks, this is the follow up to their track on the last Fierce Panda EP.
The Rock of Travolta I love it when a plan comes together Cd single. Currently being lusted after by all sorts of majors, this is a new version of the track from their debut mini-album.   

As for gigs, don't forget Olympic Lifts and Saloon on 30th October at the Toynbee Hall Arts Cafe, 28 Commercial Street London, E1 6LS. It's a Track and Field promotion, so it should be about £5 in. Nearest tubes Aldgate East or Liverpool St.

Some people have written to tell me that they like this front page so it's staying for a while. I'm busy trying to get the live reviews up to date at the moment. Hirameka Hi-Fi has been uploaded and PJ Harvey, Les Savy Fav, PSOI, Hefner, Clone Quartet will be up by Monday. I have a lot of CDs to wade through as well, so don't hold your breath!
I've been all over the place this week. I was in Belfast on 23rd and 24th, and went to Sketchy to see Clone Quartet and Drebin. I was expecting great things and was sorely disappointed. The only other gig I went to this week was Hefner at the unfeasibly large Shepherds Bush Empire. Good as usual, though a bit contrary of them to play hardly anything from their new analogue-snyth dominated album 'Dead Media'. Afraid of a backlash? I arrived a bit late so missed all of the Lucksmiths (great apparently) and I only saw a couple tunes from Appliance, who seemed a bit dull. Anyway, the Lucksmiths are playing again tonight at the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town so I might go along. Oh yeah, and Suicide are playing tomorrow, details below.

On the way back from Belfast I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which really isn't my usual thing, but I was so annoyed by the accusations of occultism in the Belfast Telegraph by various Free Presbyterians and overtly religious managers of toyshops that I thought I would see what the fuss was about. I wonder how many of them have actually read it?

Right, I'm making this the index page for a few days because things have got a bit out of date on the main site, and the new updated index is looking a bit screwy to say the least. What you should know is that I have uploaded a new interview with Rocket From the Crypt. Iain spoke to Paul (aka sax player Apollo 9) on the phone and I reckon it's turned out rather well. New reviews of PJ Harvey, Les Savy Fav, Preston School of Industry and Hirameka Hi-Fi will be ready by the end of the week, as will the newly updated front page and A-Z index. Sorry!

Don't forget that our discussion site is here.

Today I went to the playback of the Aphex Twin's new 100 minute album Drukqs in the Rough Trade Shop in Covent Garden. Stayed for around half an hour as the shop was a bit empty to just hang around in. They had covered the entire shop with the artwork though, which was apparently the first time that had been done since 'Never Mind the Bollocks' came out in 1977! As for the music, I would say that a lot of it sounds like typical Aphex stuff, much like 'Come to Daddy' or 'Richard D James'. I really liked the minimal piano pieces, sort of a 'music concrete' influence and something a bit different from his previous releases. Didn't hear anything that touched 'Windowlicker' though.
I had already bought 4 CDs today (Kaito, Simian, Set Fire to Flames and Piano Magic) so didn't shell out for Drukqs just yet.

I'm not a great one for spotting celebrities around London, but on the way home through Soho I spotted none other than satirical genius Chris Morris (Brass Eye, Blue Jam etc) in Marks and Spencers! I was too starstruck to queue behind him and see what he was buying though.

Should list some gigs while I'm in the mood...
23rd Oct To Rococo Rot + Manitoba (Leaf) Cargo, 83 rivington St, Shoreditch, £8
24th Oct The Cranes London the Garage
25th Oct Khan + Kid Congo Powers Kosmische at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane E1 - £5 before 10pm, £7 after. (8pm-2am)
26th Oct Hefner + Appliance + Beulah - Shepherds Bush Empire
28th Oct Suicide + Fat Truckers Sonic Mook Expt Rocks at the ICA, 7pm- 12am £10

I'll be in Belfast for a couple of days in the middle of this week, and I may get to go to Sketchy at Auntie Annies 24th Oct, as The Clone Quartet and Drebin are playing. Back in England, Hefner have a few dates next week - 24th Brighton Concorde 2, 25th Oxford Zodiac, 26th London Shepherds Bush Empire. Appliance support on all three, and Beulah open the show in London only.

Audio Galaxy would seem to have gone the same way as Napster. The authorities (RIAA) forced them to block their files on Wednesday night, unless an artist previously granted permission to use their mp3s. What do you use instead? Take it to our message board.

It wasn't my intention to only update this once a week, but... Quite a busy week, we even had an anthrax scare in work!
Spent last weekend in Dublin, the first time I'd been there in FOUR YEARS!! Went to quite a lot of pubs and ended up at Voodoo on Saturday night - sort of popular RnB stuff and a very mixed crowd(!). Had a fun time, but the city really needs to sort out their public transport system - there are too many people to cope with, even for someone like me who had come over from London. One top tip - don't EVER get a 16A Dublin bus to the Airport unless you've got at least an hour to spare!
Back in London I managed to miss Superchunk but I finally got round to seeing A.I (in the new cinema in Wood Green). The popular view seems to be that if you're a Spielberg fan you won't like the middle section, and if you're a Kubrick fan you'll hate the last section. I can appreciate the last argument up to a point but overall I have to say that I liked it, it was actually better than I'd expected. Although it is a fable/ fairytale, I thought it would have worked better had it ended about 40 minutes earlier (don't want to go into detail and spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it). Bizarrely I read an interview with Toyah who thought that the last section was great and the rest was boring!
Oh yeah, and on Thursday I went to see Les Savy Fav, Enon and Econoline at the Garage, and LSF were totally great, even better than the other times i had seen them. Enon, however, had an off night and were oddly disappointing. 'Proper' review v.soon.

OUT ON MONDAY.....

ALBUMS
Aphex Twin Drukqs (warp)
A long five years since the last album 'Richard D James' - 30 tracks from hardcore drum n bass, music concrete and beautiful piano tunes - double cd

Pulp We Love Life (Island)
Out a last, another long-awaited release. Production from scott walker, quite intrigued to hear this.

Piano Magic Seasonally Affective (Rocket Girl)
double cd collection spanning 4 years of Piano Magic - singles (As &Bs) ,compilation tracks and some rare stuff.

SINGLES
Lo Fidelity Allstars Lo Fi's in Ibiza (Skint)
not my usual sort of thing, but a damn fine single nevertheless.

Mogwai My Father My King (Rock Action)
inspired by Arthur Baker and recorded with Steve Albini. Twenty minutes long and one of their best releases to date.

One gig I forgot to mention in London this weekend is part of the Strange Fruit club Upstairs at the Garage on Saturday night. It features NY indie-punk band (and new Poptones signing) French Kicks, ably supported by British Sea Power, £5, 8pm.

New releases next week:

The Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra - Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward (Kranky)
Stunning new album from Godspeed you Black Emperor offshot - ASMZ's sound is fleshed a bit more than on their debut last year - this is easily up to the standard of their parent band.
Billy Mahonie What Becomes Before (southern)
a huge leap forward from their debut album. Heavier, sharper and more focused. Interview on this site very soon.
Beachwood Sparks Once we were trees (Rough Trade)
new country psychdelia from LA's best kept secret - some members moonlight in the Tyde and Lilys

Re-issues
Goldfrapp Felt Mountain-limited edition (Mute)
A bit like they did with Moby, Mute have now included an extra cd with key remixes, new versions of album tracks and the cover of Olivia Newton John's physical (!)
Piano Magic Low Birth Weight/ Artists Rifles (Rocket Girl) - first two albums back out again, get them if you missed out first time.
Various - Mosh and Go (Fierce Panda) -  this cd contains both the mosh and go double packs released on fierce panda a few weeks ago. Features tracks from Jimmy Eat World, San Quentin, Stapleton, Kids Near Water, Jetplane Landing (ex-Cuckoo), Econoline, etc plus extra tracks from 100 Reasons, Seafood and Twist.

A couple of things...
First of all, the tube strike for tomorrow is off so you can go out and enjoy all those fantastic gigs on in London. One thing worth mentioning is 'LondonIndieNYC' - a benefit event happening at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringon (opposite the Guardian building). DJs from Strange Fruit and other London-based indie clubs will be joining forces across both floors of the venue...

Mrs Slowthrills has just phoned from Belfast to tell me how great Torgas Valley Reds were at the Belfest showcase gig in Katy Daly's.

Two good gigs to watch out for in London next week, both at the Garage, Highbury Corner.
Tues 16 Oct Superchunk + Wisdom of Harry +San Quentin (£8.50 adv)
Thurs 18 Oct Les Savy Fav (£7 adv)

Speaking of Superchunk, their new single 'Late Century Dream' is available as a free download from
Matador Europe's website (how do record companies make money again?!)

In case you don't already know, Belfest is happening (in Belfast, of course!) this week. All the details are here. The free showcases take place on 10th and 11th and feature Kidd Dynamo, Go Commando, Drat, Torgas Valley Reds, Desert Hearts, Basic and an awful lot more.
Haven't been around London much, therefore I'm pretty much out of touch with what's been going on. There are a lot of big gigs this week - Tindersticks at the Royal Albert Hall, Spiritualized, Sparklehorse, all on Fri 12, but then there's also a tube strike that day.
Also at the Royal Festival Hall there are some shows as part of the 'Mind Your Head' season - Hawkwind accompanied by Arthur Brown (!) and Graham from Blur (!!!) are on tonight (10th) with lovely Add n to x in support, and Faust will be more than likely setting fire to things at the same venue on Fri 12th.
One smaller show of interest is the first date in the Amazing Pilots residency at the Windmill SW2. It's on Sunday night (13th) and will cost £2 to get in. All I know is that they're originally from Northern Ireland and they come highly recommended. 'Rootsy' was how someone desribed them to me. I think that the residency will run every Sunday for a few weeks, and precedes their first releases on the very fine Easy Tiger label. More on them soon.
I'll be in Dublin this weekend, so I'm on the lookout for anything interesting to do there.

New releases this week:
Fugazi - The Argument. Yep, they've still got it.
Royksopp - Melody AM. Rough Trade sez "analogue warmth,the harmonies of film music and classical composers and the fatness of the eighties - stunning"
Pulp - The Trees/Sunrise. First single from the new Scott Walker produced album.