Thursday, 31 December 2009

Planet Sound Gone!

Planet Sound Teletext Is Gone!

Have a Happy New Year Everyone.

The last couple of weeks saw the demise of Planet Sound, the Channel 4 Teletext music magazine. I've been reading it for more years than I can actually remember and I can tell you it is going to be a sad miss not being able to read it anymore.

I actually got a contribution on screen (only my second ever sent!) just a day before Michael Jackson died - it would have never got on after that! Teletext as a whole will probably be obsolete soon. Shame, I really liked it! :-(

..and Jesus - I was within an inch of kicking the TV through the wall when Fernando fuckin' Torres scored in the third minute of injury time. There was no way we deserved to lose that - I just hope that after the Arsenal thrashing we're not going to go into freefall like last season!

See you in 2010.

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Monday, 21 December 2009

R.A.T.M Xmas No.1

Rage Against The Machine Is Christmas No.1 2009

As Hatemanu will know and laugh at, I'm about the last human alive who is NOT on Facebook. I don't have any great desire to be either despite being asked several times.

It does have it's plus side though and this is one.

I have no idea why "Killing In The Name" or indeed Rage Against The Machine was picked but a mighty well done to whoever started the Facebook campaign. I've liked this track for as long as it's been released (91 or 92 I think) and can't believe it's a UK Christmas Number 1!!

I have long since lost total interest in the charts due to the domination of utter bollocks from The X-Factor. Drivel of the lowest level made for children and grandparents alike. Mass market ballad sickness. If I was ever captured behind enemy lines, torturing me would be easy - just a couple of Simon Cowell puppet-ballads and I'd be done for.

This is the unedited version of the 5-Live link up.....



What Shelagh said!!

Poor old Shelagh Fogarty - "Quick get rid of it" and then "just buy the other record".

..I think the UK just said "Fuck You I Won't Do What You Tell Me" to her and Simon Cowell. Happy Christmas.

Sunday, 13 December 2009

Villa Win At Old Trafford

Manchester United 0 Aston Villa 1

I was there as a kid in 1983 and I was there yesterday as Villa won league games at Old Trafford with a small yearly gap in between! From Peter Withe to Gabby Agbonlahor - it's been a bit of a wait!

During the final twenty minutes yesterday I felt I couldn't take anymore of the tension as I bit nails and did various other things associated with being seriously fucking nervous.

Our boys were great first half and more than deserved to be ahead through Gabby's headed goal. Once Wayne Rooney had been booked for cheating and then hit the bar I started to feel it was possibly going to be our day - the trouble is you can never believe that at Old Trafford until the final whistle goes.



The second half was a battle. I missed the first 6 minutes after catching up with my old mate Taggy on the concourse, then we just got behind the boys and made the sort of noise that must have embarrassed the silent 73,000 "home" fans.

Through some absolutely heroic defending we got 3 points and the away section was as delerious as it could ever be after a 1-0 win! People fell over seats, strangers kissed and hugged each other - it was pretty special. All the boys worked so hard but I thought Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar were rocks. I wonder if Man City think they got a good deal letting Dunny go and bringing in Lescott? I know who I'd rather have thanks!

The whole day was superb - we had a near four hour stop in Knutsford and also on the way back for some alcohol induced fun. It had been an early start at 9am and we wouldn't get back until 1.25am - but fucking hell it was well worth it! I've had to wait till now to update as my head was sore as hell this morning.

We even mentioned that it would be an idea to stop over the night at Knutsford though that was probably/definitely the drink talking by then...

To be able to give the daytrippers so much grief at the end of the game was fantastic - we took ages getting away from Old Trafford and we milked it for everything it was worth. We've suffered a lot of grief there over the years and yesterday was our time for payback.



Coaches from Ireland and all over the UK drew the curtains as the Stourbridge bus literally rocked it's way from the "Theatre Of Our Dreams". Fucking hell-hole.

.....Oh - we forgot to do the stadium tour. Damn!

Extras

Saturday, 7 November 2009

Football Training

A Busy Night, A Busy Morning

Last night was the Firework Display at Hucclecote Rugby Club.

It was the first time we'd taken Daniel to one of these and he really enjoyed it. I'd quite underestimated the amount of people turning up to the event as in the end it would have been quicker to walk than to drive!



There were hundreds there and the display was really good, lasting for about 25 minutes with a huge bang at the end!

Then this morning Daniel had his first football training session with Hucclecote Youth Football Club Under 5's.

Nine children were present with the session running alongside the under 6's. They were given basic dribbing skills from side to side and then from one end of the small pitch to the other - then scoring some goals which they obviously all enjoyed.

Daniel was probably slightly slower with the skills than some of the others but took care to dribble round the markers that were set out rather than just running past them. In the end there was a little match which was good fun and a nice way to finish the session.

The coach huddled everyone around and said that each week there would be a trophy awarded to the player who impressed the coach the most. All the children had done really well but you can imagine how chuffed we were when he said Daniel was the winner for the first week for listening and doing everything he asked. Now he gets to keep the trophy for a week before taking it back next Saturday.



He's really enjoyed it - I think he'll be going back somehow!

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

TUF Heavyweights

The Ultimate Fighter - The Heavyweights



Been watching this with interest on the FIVE USA Channel on Saturday nights.

I can only think so far that Dana White must be incredibly disappointed with Rampage Jackson as a coach. As his fighters have lost he's started to disown them after the fights leaving Rashad and his coaches to console them! Plus, his pre-coaching of Zak Jensen was absolutely appalling.

Instead of coaching the guy he just continually went on about Darrill Schoonover having "titties". Jensen looked embarrassed at times and it was cringing to watch. I bet most of his team wish they had Rashad Evans coaching them!

Ross Noble's Tour Of Australia



Great viewing on Channel 5 (always on Sky+ though so I can whizz through the boring adverts). Ross is a lucky boy, travelling on his motorbike to see remote parts of Australia that few of us will ever get to see.

Saw him at Cheltenham Town Hall a few years back and he was great. I do wonder where they store the giant inflatable balls on the road mind!

Sunderland 0 Aston Villa 0 (1-3 on Penalties)


Brad Guzan - penalty king! Not only saving the day in normal time with the save from Kenwyn Jones but to save so many in the shootout was amazing.

Massive well done to the club for laying on free transport too. Something they were not obliged to do but did it nonetheless.

The last time a Villa goalkeeper had a blinder at Sunderland in a League Cup match (Mark Bosnich at Roker Park - his best ever game IMO), we did rather well in the following ties I seem to recall.....

Sunday, 11 October 2009

5FDP Review

Five Finger Death Punch - My Review

I have to admit really liking these guys after hearing their debut album and then the follow up which has not long been released.

I've always liked hard rock / various forms of metal but never particularly liked screamed vocals - this has plenty, but also has enough good clean vocals to clamp people like me, and now I'm hooked.

The first album (The Way Of The Fist) is heavier than the second in my opinion, not that the second is soft but the slower ones are definitely not as heavy. Probably like many people I heard "The Bleeding" and thought it was excellent and went from there with the rest of the album. Most of the record follows a "screamed/growled" verse and "sung" chorus which works very well.



Certainly on the first album there isn't a track I don't like whereas on the second there are a couple which get skipped. On the second CD (War Is The Answer),"Dying Breed" is a really brutal start and "Hard To See" is a great single. "No One Gets Left Behind" is my personal fave.



I've since bought a few albums from bands I probably wouldn't have before. 36 Crazyfists, All That Remains and Atreyu, finding some really good stuff in there. It would appear my musical taste has certainly got heavier in the last few months having had no temptation to buy albums from Muse and Editors who I've followed both from the start due to very average sounding singles.

Lyrically there may be a flaw or two with 5FDP but I'm not going to argue with Ivan and his boys! I'd love to see em' live!