The North

Just some new Lomo shots of the end of exams period, my house in Manchester, and my trip to Nottingham.

Cassetteboy Vs. The Bloody Apprentice

Cassetteboy are a duo from Brighton who specialise in Plunderphonics. Don't worry I didn't know what that meant either. Apparently it's when you put together a montage of tiny sound clips from existing sources, and turn them into something else. You know that tired joke comedy shows always use, when they parody devious editing and have someone saying something like "i love knobs" on the news or whatever? Yeah, that's Plunderphonics, but it's used in music too. Anyway, Cassetteboy have put together some Apprentice clips in this video, and it's actually really funny. I like the intro part when various utterances of the word "bloody" are played over the Apprentice theme tune, which by the way is "Dance of the Knights" by Sergei Prokofiev.

Jamie Foxx Vs. Arrested Development

I love this mix of Jamie Foxx's "Blame it," courtesy of DJ Fabian. The beat from "People Everyday" really improves the song in my eyes.

MP3:Blame it on the People (DJ Fabian Mix) - Jamie Foxx Vs. Arrested Development

Its got a really summery feel and I think its going to be a favourite of mine for the holidays.

Shit yourself yet today?

I watched a Spanish horror film called Rec last night and it's fully, fully terrifying. It's a kind of Blair Witch style mockumentary where a local film crew follow a fire brigade for the night and find themselves locked in an apartment building for reasons which slowly become clear as the film unravels. It's been a while since a film has left me as distressed as I was last night, and they really pull out all the stops: suspense, shock, gore, creepy children and relentless psychological torment.

What's really cool though, is that - since it's all supposed to be footage for a documentary - all the clever, tension-building techniques are diegetic and automatically justified. Each time the scene changes there's a deathly silence, then a really loud, jarring noise as the film jumps; and sometimes there are "sound problems" during scarier parts, so everything you hear becomes distorted for extra discomfort. They even do a little "rewind" sequence so you can see some of the gore twice.

Apparently there's an American remake called Quarantine, but I imagine the original is better. It's like the illegitimate love child of The Blair Witch Project and 28 Days Later, with all the moral dilemma of Sophie's Choice... Alright, maybe Sophie's Choice is an overstatement, but there's some really conscience-tearing moments. It came out a couple of years ago, so go out and rent or buy it, but have some clean pants to hand.

Old Stussy Documentary

I just found this little intro to an 80s documentary on Shawn Stussy. It's mostly him walking about and throwing poses in different outfits, but the music and the little soundbites are really funny. There's an interview with him here as well.

Goonies Bike Replica

Look at that! This guy's only gone and made an exact replica of the bike that Mikey had in The Goonies! Top nerd, but what a wicked hobby. I like the whole "Look, same pose, same location" thing  he's done in the photo, look how pleased he is with himself! And so he should be, he wanted to do it properly, and he really fucking went for it. He even got Sean Astin (Sam Wise from Lord of the Rings), who played the original Mikey, to have a go on it at what I can only assume is some kind of Goonies convention. Look at the rest of the pictures here, whatta guy!

Carlton teaches you to Break

When you were younger, did you ever watch Carlton Banks do his dance on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," and think to yourself, "Yeah he looks stupid now, but I bet he's actually a really good dancer," and then occasionally he'd do a breakdance scene or pull out some insane move, and you'd be all "That's my boy, I knew he was dope"? Well, turns out you were right all along, as this MTV infomercial from '85 shows. Turns out Carlton... sorry, Alfonso Ribeiro, released a "How to Break and Pop" guide teaching kids how to dance. It even came with its own fold-out floor mat.