Music video by The Blue Aeroplanes performing Jacket Hangs.
Although I was shamefully ignoring Betty Boo back in 1990, I was at least listening to some genius music.
The Blue Aeroplanes remain glorious. Their early 90's albums - Swagger, Beatsongs and Life Model are as fine a trio of consistent brillance as any band has ever produced.
This song, the opening single from Swagger contains officially the best opening line in recorded history.
Music video for Betty Boo's hit single 'Where Are You Baby?'. This song was also featured in the teen comedy Career Opportunities where Jennifer Connelly and Frank Whaley are locked inside the Target overnight and roller skate to this song. Fun song and video! Enjoy! ©1990 Sire Records
I hated Betty Boo's music 20 years ago.
Late adolescent indie snobbery was the cause. Basically, she wasn't Kristin Hersh or something I think.
I now see the error of my ways.
Boy, I really miss youand all I wanna do is kiss youI've used up all my tissues'cause there's more serious of issues
On so many levels this song and this video is fantastic.
I've now spotified her two albums, and I see what a goddamn fool I was.
Video for Embrace's single "Nature's Law". Buy 'Embrace - This New Day' on iTunes featuring 'Nature's Law' http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/this-new-day/id155750708
Like I said, I love Embrace.
Go to http://www.asseenonthetv.co.uk/kfc for more information
An advert for fried chicken. That's what it is.
I was going to moan about it. KFC using a cover of an Embrace song and trying to make their product somehow classy.
I was going to quote Merlin Mann:
....the same company that first made American adults like your grandparents feel entirely comfortable feeding their family out of a greasily translucent cardboard bucket.
I was going to link to his excellent post from last year when KFC introduced this brown thing where the chicken somehow was the bun, and recall his tweet:
However, I've since read that despite my belief that they quietly split up 5 years ago, Embrace have a new album in the works. I love Embrace.
Things don't seem so bad now. I fancy a Zinger and Hot Wings.
How the alternative vote works.
It's only 4 minutes long. Show it to anyone who asks what this voting referendum is all about.
The 'Spoiler Effect' as explained 3 minutes in is the clincher for me.
AV isn't PR, it's flawed, doesn't always work, isn't what I ultimately want, but it's a massive step forward from First Past The Post.
20 years ago to this very day, I was stood on the Holte End at Villa Park watching West Ham lose 0-4 to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Semi-Final.
Two decades on, Tony Gale's unjust sending off still hurts. It changed the game for sure. Gale was at his career peak at that time.
It came to define the career of referee Keith Hackett, who told the Daily Mail this year:
My decision dramatically affected the game and ruined a lot of people's day out. It was a tight one, tighter still today.
The thing that nobody knew was that, the Thursday prior to the match, referees were told at a meeting the law had not been applied properly. We were told a simple foul was all that was necessary for a sending-off.
Gale was sent off for a foul that would not have got a yellow card a week before.
It's all people ever talk to Gale about. That goes for me, too.
image: BBC
Despite the result, the game remains a highlight of my West Ham supporting life.
An atmosphere never experienced before or since. Non-stop singing and the longest rendition of 'Billy Bonds' Claret and Blue army' in history. Every time Forest scored, we just sang louder. Solidarity, defiance, nonsensical celebration. Whatever it was it felt great.
This video captures a part of it. Motson and Charlton are wittering on about a 19 year old Roy Keane, but the real story, the only story anyone was talking about afterwards, as evidenced by the BBC director's choice of camera shots, was the West Ham fans at 4-0 down. Years on, non-West Ham fans still remind me of it.
I've never felt so elated coming out of a game. Or hoarse.
The 2006 Cup Final showed that although football has changed, some of that spirit remains. It makes me wonder what would happen if West Ham ever actually win anything.