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.