Russell Davies

1990 weeks

day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio - fight the power

Even 20 years later this is the most originally explosive and energetic thing I've ever heard. I've always been more into the sound of a record than the shape of a tune and the Bomb Squad always made sounds you'd never heard before. Out of very familiar materials. Proper alchemy. This should be on the radio every day. Just at random. In between Moneybox and The Food Programme. Waking everyone up. Every day.

the red and the blue

On Thursday, before we all knew it was mostly too high to see, Dan asked whether the volcanic ash was as exciting than Sydney's recent red dust cloud. Answer: No, not visually anyway.

But then, today, the country woke up to cloudless skies, free of contrails. Which, in a gentle, low-key, British way, was almost as dramatic:

I bet Flickr'll go blue this evening. Maybe there'll be another magazine. It's a bit spooky.

day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio - pass out

I don't listen to music radio much so I don't often hear songs. However, in the last few weeks I've been driven away from Today on R4 more and more often and a few times I've ended up at Radio 1 and heard this. And I've not liked a song so much for ages. It reminds me oddly of early Human League or even Kraftwerk - a limited palette of simple electronic sounds, really imaginative and disjointed drum programming, loops of tune, lots of empty space, collisions of different stylistic traditions. And it sounds good loud.

day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate - toccata

I don't hate this. I can't think of a piece of music I hate. But I used to love this and now, let's say I can see its flaws.

Sky were something me and my Dad could both like, we even went to the Assembly Rooms and saw them live once. It was sort of awkward and sort of nice. I used to listen to Sky 2 all the time; I loved the clipped, meaty sound of Herbie Flowers' bass and the floaty synth noises (a Prophet maybe?). Now, though, I can only hear the formulaic drum fills and that horrible guitar sound.

day 15 - a song that describes you - do I worry?

"Do I worry? You can bet your life I do."

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love - gonna make you sweat

C & C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat

Tricky one. What would you expect me to love or not? So here are a couple of contenders.

First C & C Music Factory - one of the most ubiquitous bits of euro-bland dance you've never actually listened to but have been hearing your whole life. Instantly dismissible, from the era when bands still hired people to mime to the samples. But then you listen to the drums (especially on the Slammin' Vocal Club Mix) and their interaction with everything else and it is completely irresistible, all the best samples  and patterns ever layered sweetly on top of each other and mainlined to your central nervous system.

And/or you might be surprised by my total and complete devotion to the works of Mr Bing Crosby, which doesn't show up in my scrobbles as much as it might because I always try to listen on vinyl. Above, for instance, is the moment where he completely PWNS Frank Sinatra.

rfid and the long wallet

Be Warned: There now follows a long-winded explanation of a small tip that's probably of only marginal interest to a very small number of people.

This is my sturdy Oyster card. It enables me to travel around the sprawling metropolis and win at Chromaroma.

I keep it in my wallet.

This is a card I was recently given to enable me to access a building where I occasionally work. I keep this in my wallet too.

But then I discovered that the access card interferes with my Oyster card (though not the other way round). I presume it has an RFID chip in it. It meant I had to remove one or other from my wallet every time I went on through the gates to the tube, which was a tiny inconvenience.

(Subsequent experimentation confirmed the presence of RFID)

So I spent time googling for a wallet with a built in Faraday cage. Unfortunately they were either ugly or more aimed at those who were worried about RIFD sniffing - total blockage rather than card separation. But, in reading this I realised that all I probably needed was a thin strip of metal to go in there somewhere.

And it further occurred to me that I already owned thin strip of metal that I used to carry around in my wallet but removed because I was unlikely to need to prove my Long Now membership status in an emergency.

So I put it back in, next to the access card, with the oyster card and the access card separated by everything else in the wallet and hey bingo it works fine. So, er, if you're a Long Now member and you have an oyster card and something else with RFID in your wallet that might be worth knowing.

For everyone else - I bet this is going to be more a common problem. Keep your eye out for long thin bits of metal.

1991 weeks

day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure - pale shelter

I don't really believe in guilty pleasures. There's music you like or you don't. And the way guilty pleasures as been turned into a thing is annoying too. But then we quite often have Magic on in the office so I may not be the best judge.

There is one album that sometimes makes me a bit sheepish though - Tears For Fears: The Hurting. Not because of the music which is superb (some of the best drum noises and programming ever) but because I find myself wandering down the street singing along and the lyrics are so resolutely, gothicly self-pitying. And those glorious big tunes can't help but get you singing them at the top of your voice. YOU DON'T GIVE ME LOVE, YOU GIVE ME PALE SHELTER.YOU DON'T GIVE ME LOVE. YOU GIVE ME COLD HANDS.