i had a job interview, which i didn’t even realise was an interview until about halfway thorugh.
spent all day (from 8am this morning until now - 12 hours) installing and re-installing and re-re-installing the OS on my computer. tppk the video back to the shop. forgot to eat, got an agressive letter from my estate agnency. caught my knuckle on the fan inside my computer and sprayed blood all over the inside of it. still works. i guess blood isn’t only thicker than water; it’s less conductive.

Posted by Andrew Clare on Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
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there’s just not enough nothing in the world, so i grab it while i can. there’s been a lot of talk about cakes round here these days. what i did today, i phoned up about my national insurance, i played guitar with 3 fingers for a couple of hours, i read a book. i avoided the computer. there are things i am supposed to be doing that involve computers but today i am not doing that. i write a lot of entries into this blog but they’re all up here (you can’t see me doing this but i’m tapping my head with my index finger). i took another look at the cover for issue zero and decided i don’t really like it a whole lot and that i’d rather do something completely different and nothing at all to do with chicks on speed. you can’t force these things if they’re not there.

Posted by Andrew Clare on Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
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Still decorating. Water got fixed. Job fell through. Andrew came round this morning. His hair bounces. Eaten many mints - chocolate and otherwise. Been doing no Plan B stuff - but don’t tell the editors. Couple of offers of funding are trickling through. Those lovely Howl ladies have offered to fly me over to Belfast in June to stage a Plan B night. I want Lesbo Pig to play!

Recieved advance CD of new Sink And Stove compilation, Hospital Radio. Much excitement, as The Legend! (’The King Of Hobart’) is track 21 (out of 21). There’s even more excitement over at kill rock stars - where The Legend! is track number ONE! on their new Tracks And Fields compilation. And they’ve even put an MP3 of the song up on site. Whoa. I am totally psyched.

Watched The Truman Show last night. Ate three bean salad with bulgar wheat and chilli. Gazed into space. Won at table-tennis, where I seem to have perfected my smash (are you reading, Chris?). The Albert called, wanting me to stage another Plan B spectacular: it’s happening next Wednesday (21/4), my birthday, 8-11pm, right by Brighton station, free entry, usual DJs playing female-led decadence…and we might even see the return of Everett True’s fabled Quizatron. Guess I’ll need to do a mail out. Does anyone know if the students are back yet?

All in all, another satisfactory Tuesday.
The poppies are due to appear any day.

Posted by Everett True on Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
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Painted a large pink (peony) stripe across the main wall in our living room two days ago. That, and the new terracota back wall means that we’re finally living out our Seventies dream. Discovered a new paint (Duracoat) that is supposed to do the job gloss paint does - if so, that’s a relief. It’s bad enough getting among all the various nooks and crannies of a door frame without also having sticky white stuff on your hands that refuses to wash off just as your neighbours come to call.

The Jam, The Mamas And Papas, Small Faces, Jonathan Ross on Radio 2 talking about Asda and the egg man, Aretha Franklin and The Undertones are our decorating music of choice. All was going swimmingly until C heard a gushing sound from behind the recently painted terracota wall - we rush upstairs, and our boiler is spewing forth water in every direction, the water meter going crazy.

It’s 16 hours later now, and Nationwide’s Domestic “Helpline” still haven’t found a Corgi engineer in the Brighton area to help us. We have no water, no heating and… well, the “no water” part is bad enough.

The bulbs on top of the spring onions harden with each passing day. We suspect they contain seeds. Bulbous seeds.

Posted by Everett True on Sunday, April 11th, 2004
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Brighton intern Jon Boy left his copy of Comes With A Smile on my kitchen table earlier. Never realised that men making music could be so interesting…

Anyone male looking for reassurance that the hegemony that once existed still exists should pick up a copy now. Not that it doesn’t seem to be a worthy publication, fuelled by enthusiasts - but whenever I suggest an all-female issue of whatever magazine I’m involved in, I get criticised for being discriminatory… hang on! What about almost every single issue of almost every single other music publication out there? The NME, for example. What about their weekly Men In Rock specials?

A food programme was just talking about former battery hens being allowed to run free after retirement - it’s chicken Nirvana, apparently. What? Is Kurt even on the front covers of food magazines now?

Posted by Everett True on Thursday, April 8th, 2004
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Note to self. Really like the following records:

Klang (even if they are somewhat obviously influenced by Electrelane)
The Parkinsons (even though I know that by admitting so will make me a pariah among my own crowd, ‘New Wave’ sounds snotty in prime ‘77 style)
Heist (not only do they steal melodies from Mary Poppins, but they also, wonderfully, lift lyrics from The Sound Of Music, and match them both to sometimes cutie, sometimes Mercury Rev-style, poise)
Lolita Storm (of course)
!!!
Spektrum
DJ Shitmat
Coco Rosie

Posted by Everett True on Thursday, April 8th, 2004
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This morning, I had a stack of approximately 2,000 CDs fall on my head from a considerable height as I tried to reorganise my office. My Brighton intern Ruth looked shocked, didn’t know quite what to say. Neither did I. Yes, my head is cut up.

Since the news of my covering TV Personalities songs live has been posted on one of their fansites, I’ve had a couple of strange requests. One, from their former bassist (and ex-Swell Map), the highly eccentric and loveable Mr Jowe Head offering to play on stage with me, if I so desire. The second, from a fan in Germany, suggesting that The Legend! plays the songs of Mr Daniel Treacy might be just the tonic that country requires later this year. Whoa. I never thought I’d end up in a covers band, especially considering the difficulty I have learning even one chord.

At the radio show this afternoon, played a whole range of strange and haunting female singers - Coco Rosie, Innocence Mission, Kathryn Williams, Laura Viers - much to the surprised pleasure of my London intern Melissa. And there was I thinking she only liked soul boy stuff. Met with our non-music ads manager Jim in the North Laines to discus various strategies, and ways to put on Plan B club nights without risking too much upfront. First choice for April, the killer double bill of Blue Minkies and Lesbo Pig. Doesn’t mean it will happen.

Posted by Everett True on Monday, April 5th, 2004
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Posted by Andrew Clare on Sunday, April 4th, 2004
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last night i had a dream that i was being chased around a town. i think it was hastings, may have been newcastle. i know the two are drastically different but, you know, it was a dream. So anyway, i was being chased around by some heavies of some kind and then at some point it turned into a move with actors playing everyone, including me, and it was like i was watching the movie, and in this movie there were flashbacks to what had happened earlier and it was all from another chase movie except this one happened in some really bizzarre and expensive looking set-pieces, it all seemed to take place in some huge exhibition centre with big rides and huge pipes everywhere and a section underneath that was like the natural history museum but with loads of fascinating exhibits that you just couldn’t stop looking at like giant snakes and crystal skulls and cross-sections of elephants, so that part of the chase took place at slower than walking pace, with both the chasers and the chasee aware of the urgency for speed, but unable to tear themselves away from the exhibits.
then, when i woke up i realised that the flashback parts weren’t from other movies i’d seen at all, they were from other dreams i’d had about 5 years ago. that only ever happened to me once before, having dreams set in the same locations but years later.
then for some reason i could remember loads of stuff about when i was a kid that i’d forgotten about, like the fact that i used to hear voices. only for about half a second at a time, like someone had switched a radio on and off right behind my ear.

Posted by Andrew Clare on Sunday, April 4th, 2004
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I’m sitting, waiting for people to come round and buy some CDs and vinyl. Had a few already, but not enough: the amount of effort involved in shifting stuff around the house is great and hence the financial gain needs to be great. Suffered a momentary twang of regret when The Flaming Lips’ 1990 album In A Priest Driven Ambulance disappeared, with its blowsy version of ‘What A Wonderful World’. Then I played a few seconds of it, and figured it’s better off in other hands. Pleased to see some of the Beck CDs finally shifting: thought they would’ve long ago.

One chap asked hopefully after Nirvana’s ‘Love Buzz’, but I think it was more that he wanted to be in its presence then a serious offer of cash. Not sure I want to sell it anyway. What, sell the record that helped kick start the entire “grunge” farrago? Surely there’s something morally distasteful about that. Although not as morally distasteful as that Nirvana Graphic Novel that Omnibus were kind enough to send me a few days back – cherubs overseeing scenes of love, Tobi Vail depicted as busty foxy grunge chick and everything, tears and tantrum and needle-pricks and more tears and tantrums and needle-pricks…with no room left for humanity anywhere. In the past few weeks I’ve turned down requests from Radio 1, 2, 5 and 6 to prostitute myself and talk about the past: I wouldn’t mind so much but they so patently 1) don’t know who the fuck I am, and 2) don’t give a fuck who Kurt was either.

The spring onions that we left to go to seed last year now have funny bulb-like growths at the top. The rosemary has sprouted purple flowers.

Posted by Everett True on Sunday, April 4th, 2004
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