controlFunction's Xanga

Bernard Cribbins is Kicking Your Arse

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:02:19 GMT

Bernard Cribbins is Kicking Your Arse right now, just by being here, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Bernard Cribbins is Still Kicking Your Arse

im movin ur site

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:29:32 GMT

here's a link to my own other site which has now been moved to 50webs

http://controlfunction.50webs.com/

yes it's in the profile, but this just provides extra linkage...

Ziltoid the Omniscient

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:46:33 GMT

This is the best thing ever

A fantastic modern War of the Worlds with a brilliant sense of humour and music that will simultaneously hit you like a planet and lullaby you to sleep.
Devin Townsend is a Wizard. He is one of the Wizards, one of the guides. I'm certain Bill Bailey is one too. Possibly THE Wizard. But Townsend is a sonic Wizard. I heard someone refer to him as a Wizard and just knew I had to appropriate the term for him. Devin Townsend is a 21 Century musical fucking Wizard. Whilst he is an astonishing musician, he is also a wicked comedian, and Ziltoid is full of great laughs that never get stale. For those who don't get Ziltoid, wake the fuck up! As Herman the Planet Smasher says "And I hate musicals," Devin has the best joke of all!
Ziltoid the Omniscient is a Metal Musical. How often do you see one of those eh? And if you do is it awesome? Bet not. Cos Ziltoid is, and Ziltoid will make you swoon at the awesomeness of the vast audio landscapes, as Devin's galaxy sized music towers over all. The most amazing feat is that he so neatly and perfectly puts the comedy,. right up hard smack bang against the hardest of the hard Strapping Young Lad style hammering, and probably some of the most evocative and atmospheric music since Erik Satie performed his strange and emotionally compelling Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes. Well almost. Satie may have the edge in some ways, but Devin Townsend can gently sing to you in a way you'd sing to your 3 year old to put them to sleep. Nevermind that the same song also features a vocal that a million metal singers would fucking sell their soul for, a voice that can tear sheet metal from walls like tissue paper, and sounds like a trapped demonic entity screaming with the rage of a burning supernova. Yep, that's Devin's full on Strapping voice screaming "I"m Ziltoid! I don't give a shit!"
I could go on a lot more, but everyone else has already done that and that's not my job anyway.

"People of Earth, we are your Ziltoidian Overlords, resistance, is futile!"

Get it now
or

"I shall you kill all of you one by one
and I shall take
my
Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!"

Linda's Healing Creams

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:34:31 GMT

A little ad for a friend of mine whose business I helped make the website for..

http://lindashealingcreams.50webs.com/index.html

I love Dreamweaver and style sheets, it really is a new level of laziness.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:14:48 GMT

Had the weirdest dream this morning, well, I've been having a lot of them, but this was (for me anyway) particularly interesting. Somehow it involved Tom Baker as the Doctor, (that's Doctor Who for those of you who don't know, look it up...) and he'd returned to the role of The Doctor, in a new series story of Doctor Who. The new series Doctor is now David Tennant, who does a pretty good job, (despite some weak writing here and there) and there has been talk of Tom the most well known Doctor making an appearance in the new series.
Well, that would be difficult for Tom to appear realistically as the Doctor as he once had, as he is now much older and appears quite different in some ways, though in many ways he's the same, if not a more mellowed, exxagerated version of what he was before. But my dream features him, as the Doctor, but the twist (I fucking hate that word) was that due to some freaky time distortion thing the current 10th Doctor did with the Daleks, it affected the timeline of the Doctor, and hence Tom's Doctor at some point, in kind of reverse time, meaning he could show up in the show, (with good makeukp and lighting and effects and stuf) and almost look as good as he did before, but any differences could be put down to this "time distortion effect."
Peter Davison also made an appearance as a slightly older 5th Doctor, complete with 3 K9's, (one of which was gold) and there were all trying to help him.
Curious and intersesting, and somewhat disturbing. And it "felt" cool to see Tom as the Doctor again, but in really weird circumstances.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 16:58:17 GMT

Still listening to....

This album is awesome. A big fucking plus for ENZ fanz.
Superior in all ways to the average "Living Enz" from about 1985, Extravagenza is the Enz at their best, rejuvinated, from 1993, when they had had some time apart, had been doing other things and were no longer worried about the band's demise. Almost all of the songs are great.
My personal exceptions are "I See Red" which I feel cannot be translated properly to stage, or is not, due to Neil's lazy guitar playing (which he does everytime the song is played live); the song is meant to be a punk song, not a strum along; and Straight Old Line, which is usually one of my favourite songs, but Neil avoids the guitar solo and they all miss the key change and "water down" the song a bit.
Of fucking AWESOME note are: "Best Friend," which I've never heard before and sounds quite early, Bold as Brass, (which is one of my favourites cos it's from Dizrythmia) which includes Rob Gillies (always to be missed from the Enz) playing all over the place, Eddie Rayner's gorgeous "Pioneer" instrumental (which is one of my favourite pieces of music of all time) and of course "Without a Doubt" and "Charlie" both from Dizrythmia. The first three Enz albums are my favourite and Dizrythmia is the third of these. Though Phil Judd has left by this stage, his influence can still be heard, yet Dizrythmia is as much the Enz without him in many ways, and is a transitional album also in many ways. While the first Enz album "Mental Notes" is like some surreal artistic dreamscape, and the second "Second Thoughts" is like time travelling vaudeville Harlequins moonlightintg in the 1920's, (yes it's that weird), Dizrythmia is like the same vaudville Harlequins changed around somewhat and translated into a futuristic circus landscape. The Enz never stay still, they never get boring, and yet their first three albums are probably their most experimental and most dynamic in terms of creating new sounds. Later albums are good and unique but are much more "pop" oriented and fall much more easily into conventional song structures. Dizrythmia never sounds dated; its sounds are extrordinary and sophisticated and timeless in a way that "Dark Side of the Moon" really would hope to be, but isn't.

And lest you think I'm reviewing the wrong album here, it is the great reproductions of these songs that help to make Extravagenza something really cool. It's one thing to do the "greatest" hits but to do other older and odder stuff (which is usually cooler) is just excellent.

AND: Tim's voice is excellent all the way through. Occassionally Tim's voice can be a bit fucked up, but on this recording, it's excellent.
And Tim thanks all the members of the Enz during the nightmarish, and tragic ballad Charlie. How cool.

If you dont' really know the Enz, or have only heard their "pop" songs, look into more of their stuff, especially their older stuff, and you will find a total treasure trove of musical and atmospheric excellence that lead to a lot of cool stuff later on.

cheers

controlFunction

PS: Phil Judd's new album should be out soon, so stay tuned and keep your eyes out! The man is a genius.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:55:56 GMT

I recently purchased one of my favourite albums on CD. The incredible and atmospheric Disintegration, which I have on cassette and have loved forever. As far as Cure albums go, it ranks as equal favourite to: Pornography, Faith, Wish, and the Glove's Blue Sunshine, which strictly isn't a Cure album, but is weird enough to kind of be. Almost.

Anyway, it's greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:49:45 GMT

My wonderful Goth Tigger also gave me this: the most excellent third season to the very excellent Beast Wars series. She got me the Second Season last year. And got me the last season this year. Dammit she is cool.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:47:40 GMT

Among many other fine and wonderful things, I recently acquired the most excellent Extravagena by the very very most excellent Split Enz. My wonderful Goth Tigger gave it to me for my birthday which was really nice. Much is happening lately, very very much. Almost too much to write down. I shall continue thus

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:19:15 GMT