Another Year, Another Fock Festival

Well howdy lads. Am just returned from the Cambridge Folk Festival, and SIGH back at work. But for the mo (my lunch break) I'll do my fock fest review and revel in the memories:

Me, Choc Chip and Schwesty (joined by Ma and Pa Ding and X and Y on the Saturday) tripped down the road on Thursday, pitched our dayglo tents, and sat in the (mostly) sun drinking litres and litres of cider. Happy days. As usual there was a great array of acts I've never heard of, to delight my ears, and this is my best selection:

• Fanfare Ciocarlia - not something I'd ever listen to in the comfort of my own home, but great fun live. An 11-man Romanian Gypsy brass band who I can best describe as being like all your disreputable (and slightly chubby) uncles let loose drunk with trumpets and horns. Best known for their version of "Born to be Wild" at the end of Borat the Movie...
• Shooglenifty - a rather brilliant bunch of Scots who combine traditional tunes with contemporary dance rhythms and general strangeness. Headed up by a bloke on a fiddle that looks like a tramp, dances like a weirdo, and who you might well cross the street to avoid in normal life. But well worth a listen.
• Newton Faulkner - A dreadlocked ging-boy much beloved by the teenage Ra-Ras of the South West, and a brilliant guitarist who even manages to make the theme tune to Baywatch sound mighty fine. His voice is not exactly offensive either, but you half wish he wouldn't bother with that lark, and just let the "plucking" do the talking.
• Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - Geordie lasses singing traditional Geordie songs, and keeping it sweet and simple. Lovely dubbly.
• Martha Tilston and the Woods - excellent singer, with a lot of her own material, including a song called "Artificial Me" which'll make any office-dweller feel melancholy with empathy.
• The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Just catch 'em if you can. Brilliant and hilarious. Definitely the most entertaining set of the weekend...
• Seasick Steve - He's actually a hobo. He actually does swig large quantities of Jack Daniels as he plays. He actually looks like he might die on stage at any moment. But really good fun, and a must for anyone who loves a bit of proper southern-style Geeeeeetar...
• Haugaard and Hoirup - a rather sweet Danish duo, one baby-faced, one chubby, who play traditional Danish tunes. Very chilled, and relaxing, and altogether pleasant to the ears.
• Bellowhead - High camp weirdness, involving fiddles, brass, wind up toys and car horns, and traditional English folk songs and tunes to boot. What the hell it'd sound like on a CD I have no clue, but live, it's enough to get even the grumpiest jigging with joy...

Oh there's too many. Anyways join the camp next year or be a fool!!!!

Frick. Have to work now. Arg.

The Rant is Back

The blog is back!! It’s been awhile, for many reasons:

Work arg
Stress arg
Holiday yeh
Apathy arg

But now I am back on this planet, and feeling social again, so I shall restart the blog with a short thought on Clare Forlani (**RANT** C.S.I New York. Stupid Brit bint. Plummy. Wooden as fuck and with a smug pout that just begs for one in the kisser **RANT**) and some mundane musing on Formula One….

I often wonder why I should like watching a bunch of rich young idiots driving too fast round a track in souped up go-karts, especially when I really don’t like cars at all. But I do. So there. And the race last Saturday at the Nurberg Ring was really very entertaining. Rain, beautiful, rain. It may be flooding us to buggery, but boy does it make F1 more interesting.

Best of all, though, was the advert for Mercedes in one of the breaks. Now you probably have to like F1 to appreciate this but hell it made me chuckle (a lot):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-AQGohc3zI

Not least cos it features me old fave Mika Hakkinen. I can’t explain my love of this man, especially as he seems to permanently sport the look of an uncle who’s just about to embarrass you at a family party. But I reckon the adoration was probably cemented when he mucked up a race a few years back, and sat by the track crying (got me, me being a saddo of a high degree) and also his dry wit, which I’ve missed a lot since he departed the F1 circus. Favourite quote so far:

Jean Alesi: Going through Eau Rouge is like having an orgasm.
Interviewer: Mika, Jean described us that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm.
Mika Hakkinen: Nah ... Jean is probably just sh**ting his pants and mixing up those feelings.