Thursday 26th July

It soon rolls around again, and with the rain finally past us (Fingers and Toes crossed) the pub may start to fill up again both on the inside as well as the smokers on the outside. This week was OK a bit of a slow, well non starter really. As you will see from Shaun's Blog we only got a handful of songs in tonight, unlike the newbie who got all four of his in despite being asleep for most of the night!. Ah well not to worry, at least it gives me the chance to ramble on about other inane drivel to fill up this weeks space with.
Now I have been accused of spamming other bloggers to get my readership up, and although I have done a little of this, some of these other blogs are quite, well, strange. You do get the occasional good read though. You can also come across the odd widget or add on for your blog page, all of which comes in very handy. All in all though it amazes me just how many people do write these things. Some are very good, some are very funny, some are just plain weird, but each to their own I say. Hayley didn't think I would of stuck to mine for as long as I have, but I love my little weekly delve into publishing. It's not all about spouting off your views, but its a great way to keep a diary of your life I suppose. In a way blogging has become the 21st centuries diary, especially if you read some of the other blogs out there. If you ever have a spare minute click on a few next blog links at the top of the page and have a read of some of these other pages. You may not always get a good one but if you look you will eventually find a gem!
Now on my blog travels I have also find a couple of links for blog directories. The best so far is BRITBLOG.COM. If you click on the link you can search through all the registered blogs in the U.K. and some ex-pats around the globe. You also get the nifty little flag to place in the sidebar! (Mine is right at the bottom of my side-bar) If you get a U.S. blogger there is the same kind of thing to get registered over on there blog listings too, but the U.K. one is for me! Now you also get to read blogs by people who, for whatever reason, have found the time to find some absolutely cracking YouTube videos, even funnier than the ones you post up Shaun! So as I feel it my duty to bring these amusing videos to you here is a couple of the best I have found so far.
First up is the amazing Chinese Back Street Boys. These lads have been knocking around on YouTube for ages, and the amount of hits they get is unreal. Now the quality is not the best, but the lip-sinc by these guys is unbelievable. They have even got themselves a T.V. deal out of this in China, and they advertise for such giants as Pepsi. All this from a pair of student's pissing about on YouTube! Anyway here it is so enjoy.





Next up is equally impressive, and another gem from our Asian friend's. This time it is from a...get this Filipino jail with 1500 inmates dancing to the Micheal Jackson 'Thriller' music, doing the routines to a very high standard. Now it does look a little put on I admit, but if it's real then what a blast this little bugger is. They have also filmed sequel's as well which I will bring you on a slow Blog week in the future...... to much of a good thing will spoil you. Anyway here it is so enjoy....



Now I know I did just say too much of a good thing will spoil you, but on my search for the above video I found an even better one! So too much of a good thing... no way bugger it here you go more funny stuff. Again its a Michael Jackson take off of the ' Thriller ' video. This one speaks for itself. Its the video done in Lego form. Brilliant stop-go animation. And it is is true to the original video, if you don't believe me just look at the werewolf transformation and the big Zombie dance routine, they are priceless. Sit back and relax folks its a long one, but worth every minute....



Now I could go on with these for ages. All three had me in stitches, especially the Lego one. Now the first two are from checking out other blogs, but the Lego is my contribution to the 'I've found something funny on YouTube and your all going to see it' file. Much more to come I'm sure in the future.....
Now with enough space filled up this week, it's time for this weeks songs. As I said earlier not many sang this week, only three i fact, but three good ones. They were 1. Union Of The Snake by Duran Duran 2. Hand Enough by The Enemy and 3. Something Beautiful by Robbie Williams.





Union Of The Snake by Duran Duran link



A little change of direction to start off with this week with this 80's classic. Now not taking the michael in anyway but my good lady wife was not even 2 year's old when this little ditty came out, so unsurprisingly I don't think she was to familiar with it. It is in my opinion one of the best tracks Simon Le Bon wrote. There was a lot of speculation among fans and critics as to what the song actually means. Some think it references a cult or military organisation. Others believe that the song is about the darker side of humanity and that the 'snake' represents the evil taking control of a person. This is somewhat strengthened by the chorus: "The Union of the Snake is on the climb, moving up, it's gonna race, gonna break through the borderline". The borderline is that between good and evil and evil is beginning to take over. Simon Le Bon hinted in the Duran Duran lyric book The Book of Words, that the borderline might be one between the conscious and subconscious minds. In later interviews he admitted it was a reference to Tantric sex. I love the old 80's stuff and I hope to spark a mini revival in the next few weeks. on the night rating 7/10





Had Enough by The Enemy link



Well from the old to the new, the very new. This is a great track by a great new British band. Way back in February when myself and Shaun went to see The Fratellis in Birmingham, The Enemy were the support band, and my review of them was well lets say a little critical, but in six months, some constant radio airplay, and with a change of heart from me, they are now blooming into a brilliant young band. They recently supported The Fratellis, Kasabian, Ash and Manic Street Preachers on their UK tours. They have since begun their own UK tour and in-store signings to promote their current single, "Had Enough", as well as their recently released album, We'll Live and Die in these Towns.The band were formerly known as Bridges and as Bridges they held the title of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Band of the Month in July 2005. In 2006 the band were the opening act of the Godiva festival, and again played the event in July 2007, second headliners beneath the Super Furry Animals. In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, played the 'Guardian lounge' on Saturday and the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T In The Park in the 'Futures' tent on the 7th July. On July 16, 2007 the band's debut album: We'll Live and Die in these Towns went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums chart on release.
The Enemy have been confirmed as headliners of the 2007 NME Rock N Roll Riot Tour, to be conducted during September and October. on the night rating 8/10





Something Beautiful by Robbie Williams link



Short and sweet line up of songs this week, and I ended tonight with a request from Tina (Thanks hon) and the wife (See me later for a flogging!). I suppose I don't mind the Robbie stuff. He is a Vale fan after all, and he did make the majority of his song right smack bang in my vocal range. It's like we come from the same town or something... spooky! The video of the song featured a casting in which people from all over Europe contested to win the chance to perform as Robbie Williams at the end of the same video. The first part of the video shows many fans trying to impress the jury of the contest (one of which is identified to be Robbie's father), which finally selects 3 finalists: Peter, Rebecca and Bjorn. The second part of the video shows the preparation of those three participants to appear in the video, learning from a dance teacher how to dance like Robbie Williams and also some of the Celebrity status they get as finalist of the contest, with an interview in a radio station and a stay in a luxury hotel room. The final part of the video shows the live performances of the three finalists, each representing a different stage in the career of Robbie Williams.
The first version of the video ended inviting the viewers to vote at the Robbie Williams' website for who they thought was the best performer. The second version of the video ended with one of the finalists meeting Robbie Williams at a Bus stop as the winner of the contest. The one who meets Robbie varies from country to country. However, none knew that they would be meeting Robbie and the bus stop so their surprise is genuine!
This video shows some influence by Reality shows, specially X-Factor, and is one of the few which has two different endings. on the night rating 8/10





There you go then gang short and sweet. Next week will hopefully have a few more tracks to write about, including hopefully a My Chemical Romance song and the new one by the fabulous Biffy Clyro. Now I did promise a review of the new Simpson's movie which is now out on general release, and all will happen in the next few days folks so stay patient, but as usual to end on a Homer high note, here is his quote of the week. Ta Ra me hearties......



"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over fifty and if its speed dropped, it would explode! I think it was called ... "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
Homer J Simpson