Top Fives February

1st February 2011
Top 5 Images from the Thirsty and Miserable Launch

2nd February 2011
Top 5 bleakest lyrics

‘If I was burning now I’d only feel alone’ Shoes and Socks Off
‘But the boy with big ideas, sold them all for pizza and weed’ Hot Club De Paris
‘If it’s good for the economy then I am for it’ Justin Sane
‘With Friends like these who needs politicians’ David Ford
‘traipsing endless corridors of disappointment’ Mike Scott

3rd February 2011
Top 5 highlights of the internship

All the free tea and coffee I can drink
Free photography lessons
Hanging tough with models
Surrounded by inspiring photos
Ever changing exhibitions

4th February 2011
Top 5 crap forms of transport

Tram – attracts smelly people to sit next to me
University free bus – always full of dicks
National express – I could walk quicker
Anything in France – French people can’t queue FACT
Bike – still too scared to get on one again after fracturing my skull when tossed off by the purple prince


5th February 2011
Top 5 Acoustic acts to come out of great bands

Frank Turner
Mike Scott
Ben Childs
Kevin Seconds
Mike Only

6th February 2011
Top 5 stupid wrestlers from my youth

Doink the Clown
Ultimate Warrior
Jake The Snake
Macho Man Randy Savage
Million Dollar Man (AKA Noel Edmonds)


7th February 2011
Top 5 suggested 30 min documentary subjects

Growth/rebirth of DIY culture
Singer songwriters coming out of bands
Session tracks
Closure of KicFM
New/anti folk

Top 5’s week 2

8th February 2011
Top 5 acoustic acts that must be booked!

Chris T-T
Joe Tilston
David Ford
Frank Turner
Ben Childs

9th February 2011
Top 5 acoustic acts that must be booked again!

Jim Lockey
Men Diamler
Lost On Campus
Mike Scott
Mike Only

10th February 2011
Top 5 items that are constantly in my possession

Wallet
Ipod
Phone
String from the first Christmas present Caroline gave me
Watch

11th February 2011
Top 5 films that never fail to make me laugh

Airplane
Naked Gun
Top Secret
Team America
Spy Hard

12th February 2011
Top 5 Moments from the Mike, Mike and Jim Show

Mike Only’s 15-second note
Jim walking into the crowd to serenade the audience
Mike Scott’s intensity
Ren’s vagina tee shirts
Celabratory cider on the walk home

13th February 2011
Top 5 pointless fears

Not walking under ladders
Never flying on Friday the 13th
Not walking under signs on the pavement
Never stepping on cracks in a pavement
Any form of repetitive behaviour without a sensible reason

14th February 2011
Top 5 tracks to include on a valentines mix tape

Nobody Loves You – Reuben
She’s automatic – Rancid
Drinking for 11 – Mad Caddies
It must be love – Madness
Make a plan to love me – Bright Eyes


15th February 2011
Top 5 tracks not to include on an anti valentines mix tape

Through with love – Matthew Reynolds
Giving up on love – Slow Club
Bitches ain’t shit – Snoop Dog/Ben Folds
There is a light that never goes out – The Smiths
Stuff – MU330

16th February 2011
Top 5 Valentines presents I have received

Care Bear
Disney’s Robin Hood
Lightsaber
Mix CD
Dinner


17th February 2011
Top 5 records that rescued pop punk from being awful (in my opinion)

Captain Everything! – It’s not rocket science
No Use For A Name – Live in a dive
Men – Everything we’ve done so far
Mr Zippy - …says a lot about the kind of person you are
Satanic Surfers – Taste the poison

18th February 2011
Top 5 posters in the making

Hand
TV
Ipod
Split coffee mug
Radio/boom box


19th February 2011
Top 5 images from Mike Scott, Mike Only and Jim Lockey

20th February 2011
Top 5 Disney classics

Basil the great mouse detective
Robin Hood
Jungle Book
Peter Pan
Fox and the hound

21st February 2011
Top 5 Villa heroes

Juan Pablo Angel
Ian Taylor
Paul McGrath
Olof Melberg
Dwight Yorke


22nd February 2011
Top 5 future Villa heroes

Darren Bent
Ashley Young (dependant on staying at villa over the summer)
Carlos Culler
Fabien Delph
Jean Makoon II

23rd February 2011
Top 5 reasons to panic between now and the end of May

4 shows to promote and organise
30 min radio documentary to produce
4 zines to write, print and design
3 posters to design and print
4 other assignments


24th February 2011
Top 5 highlights of tonight’s show

Andy Oliveri’s Hat story
Charlie from the North Ship dropping the mic into the xylophone
Lost On Campus and his Frank Turner esq ending
The amount of people that came
Falling asleep on the sofa with LOC after the show (Rock ‘n’ Roll)

25th February 2011
Top 5 Pics from last nights show

26th February 2011
Top 5 birthday presents for a 25 year old lady
Stacking lyric rings
Tickets to a show I wanted to go to
Awesome lamp
Luke Leighfield tote with him dressed as a wolf
Camera

27th February 2011
Top 5 highlights of West Midlands Safari Park

It’s a drive through zoo
Ostrich attacking car
Mega ugly kid
Two pence machines
Stupid staff at pizza hut forgetting to charge half our meal

28th February 2011
Top 5 lowlights of West Midlands Safari Park

No Monkeys
Fixed teddy grabbers
Not being allowed to play the can game for an incredible hulk
Cold/wet
Slow people always blocking the way

The Echoes Exes and Whys

From the off it’s not hard to see why this Cheltenham pop punk quartet are so hotly tipped. The combination of emotional pop melodies and driving punkrock guitars create something special.
The band are certainly a pop punk act with the development of the genre in mind, and sound nothing like the late nineties definitions of the genre. There seems to be an influence from the Scandinavian specialty melodic hardcore, particularly throughout the instrumentation, and the vocal peaks and troughs which have served so many bands so well as a formula.

This debut single feels like a statement of intent and shows a band who know their way around a catchy hook and a powerful riff, combining both into an accomplished individual style.

With Cheltenham being such a melting pot of musical talent it will be interesting to hear more from these four gents and see how their sound develops. It would be completely unfair and unbalanced to make a full judgment on one single alone, but if the next one sounds like this I think Cheltenham could have found themselves someone to challenge the 4ft Fingers for their pop punk crown.

A late photo update from Mike Only, Jim Lockey and Mike Scott

Top Fives and new year's resolutions

I seem to have set myself a bit of a boy project for the year, after reading and watching High Fidelity one too many times I decided to challenge myself to write a Top 5 for every single day of 2011, here are the first 31

1st January 2011
Top 5 resolutions for 2011

Create a top five for every day
Save Kic FM from extinction
See more of friends and family
Write more
Get in a shape other than spherical

2nd January 2011
Top 5 highs of 2010

Getting published regularly
Out Of Step’s Birthday
Frank Turner at 2000trees
Eat A Book’s matinee show with Coke Bust
Interviewing so many people I admire

3rd January 2011
Top 5 lows of 2010

Shows which went wrong
Leaving so may shows early to get trains/buses home
Aston Villa from August
Con-Dem government
Not spending enough time with friends and family

4th January 2011
Top 5 time wasters on a seven hour drive to Scotland

Sleeping
5 hour audio books
New music
Reading joke books to the driver (good for the passenger not so good for driver)
Tapping (again only good for passenger)

5th January 2011
Top 5 One album wonders
After seeing a Secret Machines record on sale in a record shop I started thinking of other bands that have only released one decent record during their career.

Badly Drawn Boy
Spiritulized
Secret Machines
Maximo Park
Jeff Buckley (if he hadn’t died I’m sure he would have released plenty on beautiful albums)

6th January 2011
Top 5 Things I learned about Scotland

80% of Scottish people we met were miserable
Anything can be deep fried
Locks are massive
You are never far from a mountain/waterfall/something pretty
It’s an awesome place to be a passenger

7th January 2011
Top 5 bits of Edinburgh

Even the Premier in has rooms with a view
The zoo is ace
The buses are cheap and run all night
The up light castle overlooking the city
It doesn’t fit the capital city has to be expensive rule

8th January 2011
Top 5 film trilogies

Mighty Ducks
Naked Gun
Star Wars
Bourne
Toy Story

9th January 2011
Top 5 live events to look out for in 2011

200trees Festival
The return Of Out Of Step
Thirsty and Miserable’s monthly night
Grozerock Festival
The Descendents

10th January 2011
Top 5 releases to look forward to in 2011

The Strokes
Hot Club De Paris
Ute
Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun’s split with Chewing on Tinfoil
Hold Your Horse Is

11th January 2011
Top 5 independent labels in the UK

Big Scary Monsters
Holy Roar
Alchopop
Istartedthefire Records
Off Cut Records

12th January 2011
Top 5 Players I want to see at Villa after the transfer window shuts

Ashley Young
Benzema
Makoun or a quality midfielder
Samba or any decent CB
Robbie Keane or a decent goal scorer

13th January 2011
Top 5 ways to save Kic FM

Writing to MP’s
Applying for funding
Gigs
Investments
Charity auctions

14th January 2011
Top 5 epic album tracks

AFI – ….But Home In Nowhere
Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun – Vessels
Leftfield – Release The Preasure
Talons - Hollow Depth
Tuung – Weekend Away

15th January 2011
Top 5 song titles that make me chuckle

E=MC Hammered –Pulled Apart By Horses
Je Suis Un Funky Homme – Marmaduke Duke
This Is How You Spell "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics" – Los Campesinos
It ‘ceases’ to be whining if you are still ‘shitting blood’ Laura Stevenson and the Cans
Everytime a teenager listens to drum and bass a rock star dies – Reuben

16th January 2011
Top 5 ways to spend Christmas money

Subscribing to BSM for the year a track every Monday to get the week off to a good start
Soda Stream syrup
Got Got Need’s sale – awesome Luke Leighfield Tee’s for £5
Goldeneye for the Wii
Police Squad the series RIP Leslie Nielsen


17th January 2011
Top 5 worst things to say in tomorrows internship interview at a photography gallery

I have no interest in photography at all
To be honest I think I could run this place better
My favourite photograph was in April’s playboy, cracking chebbs!
Surely you could just get a disposable camera?
I mostly photograph strangers from bushes

18th January 2011
Top 5 features to be included in zine one

Highlights of 2010
Reviews
News
Intro
Look forward to 2011

19th January 2011
Top 5 shows I’m looking forward to in the next few weeks

Ben Folds
Men Diamler, Falcons and Gareth Harper
The Arteries
Mike Scott, Jim Lockey and Mike Only
Jim Noir

20th January 2011
Top 5 stupid adverts

Asda shopping with friends then price checking together the next day
Stupid rock shaped Glade sprayer as if anyone has shitty plastic looking rocks anywhere at home
Ariel no one stands next to the washing machine waiting for it to finish
JLS and the masturbation competition
Every single collect the magazine to build a scale house first issue £1 the other 3 before it’s discontinued £300

Appologies for the massive rant

21st January 2011
Top 5 footballers I hate

Joey Barton
Andy Carrol
Robbie Savage
El Hadj Diouf
Ronaldo (not the fat tranny botherer the greasy Portuguese one)

22nd January 2011
Top 5 Manchester United footballers I hate

Wayne Rooney
Nemanja Vidic
Wes Brown
Gary Neville
Nanni

23rd January 2011
Top 5 positives about semester two

No Group work
No Group work
No Group work
No Group work
No Group work

24th January 2011
Top 5 Improvements to make to Zine 2

Remember the margins
Staples
Add another page
Print all images B&W before photocopying
Page Numbers

25th January 2011
Top 5 Christmas presents

Giant Tigger Pez
Pingu Pez
Soda Stream
Tickets for Ben Folds
Phone box teapot

26th January 2011
Top 5 Alternative dance floor fillers for tomorrow

Dancefloor – Chewing On Tinfoil
11th Dimension – Julian Casiblancis
Swim - Surfer Blood
Rebel Rebel – David Bowie
TV Party – Black Flag

27th January 2011
Top 5 things that will make Thirsty and Miserable’s launch great

Great Music
Great Venue
Free Cake
Awesome Zine
Stowford Press on tap

28th January 2011
Top 5 things that made Thirsty and Miserable’s launch great

Awesome atmosphere
All three acts played their hearts out
Free cakes
People came
People bought zines

29th January 2011
Top 5 tips for the perfect all dayer

Don’t go for all you can eat after 6 hours of beer drinking
Remember your bowling gets worse after a drink it’s not pool
A whole day of drinking will make you gassy make sure you are comfortable with your company
Choose your company well
Get Wii Party and pretend to be JLS


30th January 2011
Top 5 things about having water again

My squash doesn’t have a layer of sediment at the bottom
The toilet flushes
I can shower again
I have clean clothes
I can drink squash again!

31st January 2011
Top 5 Transfer deadline day going’s on

Torres what a shock
And Carol for £35m ha
El Hadj Diouf off to Scotland
The best player in the Scotish league leaving for £400,000
Newcastle replacing Carol with Steven Ireland

Thirsty and Miserable Launch

Thursday 27th of Jan saw the launch of a new night in Cheltenham built on a new set of ideas with a strong DIY attitude and a little help from our friends and the nice folk at istartedthefire records. The launch had a very strong local line up with Gareth Harper, Falcons and Men Diamler all playing their hearts out in an intimate setting in front of a receptive audience.

After the three acts had wowed the crowd Men Diamler joined the Thirsty and Miserable DJ's behind the decks as we both played contrasting tracks with no attention payed to genres. Bellow are a selection of images from the night if you want to read a full review you will have to wit until the second issue of the Thirsty and Miserable zine.