Late Of The Pier Tour Blog: Sheffield to Glasgow, Sunday 8th Feb

2009-02-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

I’m on the train to Glasgow now, well, Glasgow via York. Although this is the furthest gig away from home that I’ll have to shoot, I’m less phased as I was when leaving Roehampton yesterday.

I realized just how much I had under-planned when I reached the Leadmill in Sheffield. Prior to the trip, I’d arranged all details, schedules and project logistics with Alun from supervision management, however Rob Howard’s responsible for everything on this tour.

He knew bits and bops about the project but didn’t know the full story, call it miscommunication, eh? It was all sorted out within those five minutes however. Rob and I agreed that the main concern was to maintain the bands privacy. I insisted that I wasn’t a pervasive photographer and handed Rob my Polaroid 635 Supercolor and some instant films to pass onto the band, so they could begin to document life on the road with whatever subject matter they chose. Rob gave me my AAA for the night along with a pocket sized tour guide which detailed traveling times, stage times and sound checks for each part of the tour so I know what’s happening and when during the tour.

I stayed in the photo-pit for the majority of the night, even between bands. It was really surreal being alone at a gig for the first time ever, even when shooting in the past Ive always had my brother there with me, failing that, a really close friend. It’s kind of a sign of how new and fresh this is to me. I had fun in the pit though, there’s that tension between the artist and his audience, who in this case idolized those four boys onstage. Being sandwiched so much made me feel so close to the music. I actually shot alongside a past Yorkshire photographer of the year, although I cant quite place his name now. I felt for him when he was pushed out after 3 songs, but I realized just how many strings were pulled for me tonight alone! Here’s to Glasgow and the rest!

My Year In Lists

2009-01-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

Twelve days overdue, I know, But better late then never. Here was my favourite music of 2008...

>ALBUMS

1. LATE OF THE PIER - FANTASY BLACK CHANNEL
By far my favourite album of the year was and still is Fantasy Black Channel. Its leaks energy, talent and not giving fuck effortlessly in every beat. Inspired by a depthy cross section of bands from Joy Division to Devo (say’s it all really) it’s a really open album. I first caught Late Of The Pier in a pantry-sized room at the top floor of the now deceased Hammersmith Palais during my first year at Uni, even then they were raucous, and now they're tenfold that standard!

2. LAURA MARLING - ALAS, I CANNOT SWIM
On a completely different end of the spectrum, 2008 opened me up to folk a lot more, I'd been waiting for this album for a long time after seeing Laura play some of her earliest material at a tiny bar in Brentford in February, 2006. Two years of myspace clicking paid off and when it was finally released she played an absolutely amazing showcase gig at Union Chapel, for nada! Although the album was propelled by Mercury fame, I love how Alas, I Cannot Swim hasn’t been pulped by the masses, its remained the same, and still raises hairs the same way, its just been given the nod its rightfully owed.

3. FOALS - ANTIDOTES
Yannis promised an album full of "solid drones" and Foals delivered, along with driving studio versions of 'Cassius', 'Baloons', 'Red Socks Pugie', and 'Olympic Airwaves' to demonstrate their danceability and chart credentials. Meanwhile tracks such as 'Electric Bloom’ and 'Two Steps Twice' confirm that Antidotes boasts the bands ability to make an album full of staying power at the same time.

4. BLOC PARTY - INTIMACY

5. LOS CAMPESINOS! – HOLD ON NOW, YOUNGSTER.../WE ARE BEAUTIFUL, WE ARE DOOMED

6. MGMT – ORACULAR SPECTACULAR

7. LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION – FALLING OFF THE LAVENDER BRIDGE

8. VAMPIRE WEEKEND - VAMPIRE WEEKEND

9. METRONOMY - NIGHTS OUT

10.FRIENDLY FIRES - FRIENDLY FIRES

11. THESE NEW PURITANS - BEAT PYRAMID

>GIGS:

*BLACK LIPS/KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW - HEAVEN - SEPTEMBER 16TH
Hazy rock and roll, a crowd surfer every 8 or 9 seconds (no, really!), pissy security guards, on stage nudity, red stripe. For about an hour it felt like we were in the 60's!

*AFRICA EXPREZ - KOKO - OCTOBER 22ND
7 hours of non-stop African inspired music, most of which improvised, curated heavily by Damon Albarn. I don’t need to say much more.

>DVD:

* JUSTICE - A CROSS THE UNIVERSE
Filmed by Romain Gavras, it follows Justice on tour around the US earlier this year. I wrote a whole fucking essay piece on this movie, I can't really describe it bluntly, maybe I’ll post it soon!

Anant x

Slumdog Millionaire: Rags to Raja

2009-01-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Being my last day at home for a while I ventured out to see Slumdog Millionaire tonight and can honestly say I loved every minute, second, still frame and cell of it. It really has been a day and age since I last felt so gripped by a mainstream cinema piece, let alone a partially Hindi one!

Yet, as I walked home tonight, through the wind and minus figures, although a new ply of frost accumulated on my Fred Perry's with every step, but I couldn't help but feel warm inside (cheesefest, i know). It's a film based on Q&A, a novel by Vikas Swarup, intelligently adapted by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy.

I want to refrain from hurling out spoilers, so in short, It sees the central character, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel, Skins) treated with suspicion and interrogated by police after he wins the Hindi equivalent of the TV show 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire', and in turn he goes on to explain how he learnt the answers to the questions throughout his skewed and unjust upbringing in the shanty towns of Mumbai, India. Scored by Indian composer A.R. Rahman, who is lended the support of Sri Lankan born refugee M.I.A., Slumdog Millionaire journeys through a brutally compelling story of life in an impoverished India, with light reference to Indian cultural artifacts such as Amitabh Bachchan, Bel Puri, over-capacitated railway systems, and more jarring imagery of vast communities living under layers of corrugated sheet metal.

In honest truth, I walked in expecting a 'feel good epic' that would be rendered 'hyped' and 'passable' with age, but in actual fact I left feeling quite touched as it dealt out a saturated yet first handed and emotional account of life in the slums of India, reflective upon sociopolitical issues such as orphanage, poverty, access to knowledge, the Hindu Caste system, corruption, gang culture and human trafficking. To declare it 'eye opening' only touches on it's foundations, it is definitely worth giving up 120 minutes for.

Anant x

iTunes Cull: Finish

2009-01-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

iTunes Cull: Start

2009-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Is An Understatement

2007-04-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

The past week has been a great one indeed, first rewind back to last Thursday when I get a phone call from the RSU 'headquarters' letting me known that I've been voted 'RSU Newspaper Editor' for 2007/08 with no less than 605 votes(thats about 603 more than I imagined).

Then on Sunday morning, after what seemed to be an eternity(a.k.a 2 hours in real time) we finally got under the busy online server and bought 3 tickets for the Glastonbury Festival, as if my summer calendar wasn't already amazing enough(IOW and Muse at Wembley), I now get to trek back to the greatest festival on the planet with the company of my brother and Martin this June.

As if all of the above wasn't quite excessivly jammy enough, my brother managed to secure guestlist passes(free) for the two of us to see indie legends Travis(!) when they play the Hammersmith Apollo this May!

Anant

Simpsons Movie Trailer

2007-03-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

I know I'm posting quite excessively today but I've just seen the new Simpsons Movie trailer on youtube, and, boyhood-simpsons-fan opinion aside, it looks like its going to be quite something. Don't be afraid to watch it, its not really a spoiler, also word has it that Green Day are in the trailer (25 seconds before the ending), apparently their the band on the boat capsizing.

Judging by my snazy Simpsons widget theres only 143 days till the movie hits cinema's(27th July 2007).

The trailer can be seen below...

Anant

I Hate George Michael!/Isle Of Wight

2007-03-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am utterly pissed at George Michael, the 43 year old's just announced that he'll be the first artist to play the brand new Wembley on June 7th - stealing the honour from Muse(bit of bias there I know), who booked the venue for 16th and 17th June back in December. As a consolation Muse will still technically be the first band to play the new Wembley but its just not the same I guess.

Even if it wasnt Muse robbed I'd still prefer a current, acclaimed band that keeps winning 'best live act' awards at every ceremony under the sun to open Wembley than a has-been thats only recently been on the th news for drug possession. Oh well.

While I'm on the subject it seems Klaxons(quality) will be supporting, and according to Dom in this weeks NME(28th Feb) Wolfmother and Bloc Party(!) might join in too!

Lastly on Muse, I got tickets for the Isle Of Wight Festival in you guessed it - the Isle Of Wight. The festivals going to be headlined by Snow Patrol, and rumour has it The Rolling Stones...but more importantly...Muse - On Matt Bellamy's Birthday!

Anant

A Couple More Reviews...

2007-03-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded a couple more live reviews to my flickr page, I've reviewed two NME Awards shows from February; the Howling Bells and The Maccabees at Koko on the 25th and 27th(respectively). Hope you enjoy reading them.

The Howling Bells

The Maccabees

Anant

Kate Nash

2007-02-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

I came across this singer-songwriter called Kate Nash the other day and she's already sent my iTunes playcount into double figures. I decided to write a short review for her Double A side single...here it is...

In other news I got a hair cut, I miss my finge tho, despite how messy and dare i say it 'Emo' it was getting. Heres a little sentimental photo of me and the hair enjoying ourselves...

Anant

Bloc Party Album Review

2007-02-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

I've just uploaded my review of the spanking new Bloc Party record to my flickr page. For those of you who find it hard to read in image form heres the review in text below. I decided not to give this album a rating out of 10 as usual as it doesn't need one and, the album has loads of interesting modern themes pinned to it and I think anyone used to city life can relate to it, anyway I'll cut the jibba jabba - here it is....

__________________________________

BLOC PARTY - A WEEKEND IN THE CITY(Wichita Recordings)

Its one thing when a weekly music magazine hype your debut prior to release and you manage to live up to it and then some, but punters naturally expect the goods the second time round. Regardless of the pressures in hand Bloc Party have gone on to create a bold second effort. Produced at Grouse Lodge Studios (Ireland) with the help of Garrett “Jacknife” Lee, ‘A Weekend In The City’ is more politically charged and lyrically grounded and in their words “challenges Coldplay” over accessibility.

Burnt in and out with voice collages ‘Hunting for Witches’ is, strangely enough, a danceable song about Xenophobia in modern Britain, further downstream “Where Is Home?” also themes itself around hostility and discomfort and angst directed towards second generation citizens with ricocheting guitar flicks for extra lift. The two tracks provide a brilliant critique to a nation falsely recognised as a cosmopolitan one.

Waiting For The 7.18 documents the life of a Londoner ridden with frustration, Monday morning syndrome, nine-to-fives, and daily commutes. It’s a song centring on a character who has nothing to show for his/her life post graduation, reminiscing life experiences and wishing they took more risks and chances during youth. Climaxing with the plea “Lets drive to Brighton on the weekend”.

Continuing with modernists topics ‘Uniform’ critiques youth culture today and in particular the patterns amongst teensters and scenesters hanging out in malls being idle, following popular culture trends, abusing drink, drugs and others “when they have entertainment and things to pass the time".

One feature that made predecessor Silent Alarm such a hit for music fans was love, and Bloc Party haven’t departed from this notion. Tracks like ‘I Still Remember’ and ‘Sunday’ are memoirs of love past and present, which ooze confidence and nostalgia (“Our love could have soured, over playgrounds and rooftops”).

Singles wise, the first half of AWITC packs more punch than the latter which is much more sensitive and if you wanted to be harsh, “weaker” in comparison. The Prayer (the first single, shatters the amps with its drum loops and guitars humming like a beehive. Singer Kele Okereke voices his prayer for fulfilment with the words “tonight make me unstoppable and I will charm, I will slice, I will dazzle them with my wit”. ‘The Prayer’ and ‘On’ are both tracks depicting drug taking (“Hidden away in every old toilet…Rolled up twenties, they disappear”), not necessarily legitimating them but evocatively elaborating on why people choose and more so need to take them. The string arrangements ‘On’ embeds are sure to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand tall. These tracks are the centrepiece of the records fixation with the storytelling of how nowadays people just want to go out and get mashed. What better way for the album to comedown but “SRXT”.A track named after a widely used anti depressant drug. Inspired by his friend’s near suicide Kele pens the words “A battle that lasts a lifetime, a fight that never ends”.

A Weekend In The City is a record scored straight down the middle, coupling love and grit, an album which backdrops the state of a nation. Overflowing with intelligent beats and finely produced rhythm there’s no reason for it to not replica the success of its older brother. There’s no need to speak further, the album is summed up in its first line, ambitiously “trying to be heroic in an age of modernity”.

__________________________________

Anant

It's Been A While...

2007-02-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

Indeed it has been sometime since this blog’s seen some action, unlike myself, I'm in the middle of a crammed week. I’ve considered that some people have the attention spans of the goldfish sort so I’ll do a short round up and try not to tangent off into a novel.

On Saturday and Sunday I was busy helping my cousin exhibit his chocolate fondue company at the Asiana Bridal Exhibition at the Riverbank Plaza Hotel on the South Bank. I spent the following day finishing up a photo shoot for another of my cousins’ business, this time a beauty salon.

Tuesday began at approximately 7:45am. Myself and Ammy went down to a swanky little bar in London to watch “The Culture Show” being filmed by the BBC in front of a tiny audience, the show, hosted by Lauren Laverne also featured flavour of the month Mika and the living ledge that is Patrick Stewart! We also met some awesome blokes from up north who kept us in hysterics all day. The show is being broadcast on BBC2 Tonight(3rd) at 7.30pm. I must add that I fell asleep on the tube back home for the first time ever in my life!

I guess stealing the odd ten minutes of Zzzz’s wasn’t such a bad idea really, I went to see Bloc party play a three night residency at the (newly saved, I think) Astoria from Wednesday to Friday which was quite exhausting. Exhausting however not regretful, each night had a different feel to it, a different supporting cast(Fields, Metric and Absentee) each day being the obvious reason. I went to all three nights with Katherine, we tried to mix it up a bit each night and enjoy the gigs from different views, first night from the heart of the crowd, the second on the balcony upstairs (which was an amazing view) all before enjoying the finale in the front row in front of Mr.Russell Lissack. Bloc Party themselves also tried to mix up their set and used the gigs to give fans a spin of their new record ‘A Weekend In The City’ (Out 5th Feb). My favourite night would have to be a tie between the latter two, with all the poster smuggling and chocolate bar antics(to cut a long story short Matt ate my dairy milk I threw onstage during ‘Helicopter’). I got a new compact camera today, which isn’t too compact but I don’t love it any less, with 7x zoom its quite handy for gigging. I took a few quality photos tonight, which – with a few tweaks on iPhoto are looking dapper.

So Now its somewhere between Friday night and Saturday dusk and I’m waiting for details of Diana’s birthday party to be texted back to me. Maybe its not wise to blog right now, two parties this weekent and refreshers week next week ontop of exhaustion don’t brew up a great academic Spring term. Oh Well, Cheerio!

Anant

Jamie T Live at the Astoria

2007-01-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

Please forgive the lateness of my post.

The other night, Wednesday 24th January 2007 to be precise, I saw Jamie T play to a sell out crowd at the charing cross Astoria. The gig was extra special as my good mate Neil's and his band - Them Nudes, were supporting. Most bands may have crumbled with the nerves and pressure but the guys relished the oppourtunity to play such a renowned venue and it was probably the best level I personally have ever seen them play to. Also supporting were the brilliant Maccabees, fronted by Orlando Weeks who never fails to dress for the occasion, he was wearing a sequin waistcoat as I recall.

Onto the main attraction - Jamie T, he played a set with lasted over an hour and saw him showcase most of his debut 'Panic Prevention', This was my first time experiencing Jamie with his full backing band(The Pacemakers), so it was great to hear some of the tracks played across 5 musicians rather than just on an acoustic bass(which he still encorporated into his set). His encore was to be blunt - mad: including solo renditions 'Living with Betty' and his cover of Billy Bragg's 'A New England', before closing with a special sped up version of his latest lift 'Calm Down Dearest'.

As if an excellent bill wasn't enough I also met up with a few ex-Northolt mates, the wintermans, Ben off course, a handfull of people from my halls of residence, two guys I met at a Bloc Party gig over a year ago, and a few of my flatmates ...in Sainsbury's of all places.

Anant

Refreshers Week at Roe!

2007-01-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

It's been awsomely brought to my attention that the RSU are brewing up a 'Refreshers Week' for the week of the 5th-11th to gear all of us freshly-loaned students into the Spring semester. I'm mostly looking foreward to the Belfry reunion for the Digby crowd, Bands night, and the fancy dress bop.

Heres how the week takes shape:

Mon 5th
- Welcome Back Do, Hammersmith Palais
Tues 6th
- Digby reunion at the Belfry
Wed 7th
- Fez Club, Putney
Thurs 8th
- Bands Night
Fri 9th
-Refreshers Fair, The Bop(Fancy Dress)
Sun 11th
- Film night: Forest Gump and American Pie

For full and more pretty looking information clicky here.

Anant

Whilst The Workload's Away Anant Will Play

2007-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

After a long hard two week stretch my autumn photography modules finally over. I had to present my photos to a group of about 20 students and lecturer's in and out of the studios today. It went suprisingly well and despite the pressure of grilling by lecturers(they seemed to dig them!) I dont think I did bad at all, trust me - when nervous, OD on skittles and bottled water. It turned out to be quite a strange day, with a humungus tree branch rolling down the studio roof(Roehamptons known for its tree's) and freak wind so strong it walks you down the street.

So anyway, now all that hard graft's done and dusted I can get down to some old skool fun during my Uni's two week 'Inter-Semester break' !Not entirly sure how to use the hours, probably meet up with some friends, watch snakes on a plane on DVD another 12 times over, review a couple albums and buy alot of crap online. Aren't Holidays just bliss?With rumours of 'refreshers week' at Roe spring semester looks bright and yes...orange. Roll on Spring!

Anant

Crisis Vols Party

2007-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

If I could sum it up in one piece of dialogue it would have to be the following:

Anant: "Hey Andy, Happy new year! How're you doing?Do you remember me?"
Andy: "Yeh, off course I remember you Memec!"

Twas a good night with dancing and random people who liked my face!

Anant.

Chris Cain Shaves His Tache!

2007-01-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Chris Cain of We Are Scientists has shaved off his infamous heavyweight moustache to recreate a scene from the Nicole Kidman movie 'My Life" ...for a laugh. It see's him giving a short leson on how to shave for his son- whom he will never see as he's been diagnosed with a terminal disease.

The guilty-to-love-yet-hilarious video, filmed by W.A.S singer/guitar man Keith Murray is on the bands youtube channel and can be seen below:

Anant

Them Nudes Last Night

2007-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Went out to see my chum Neil play the Koko last night, exactly a month after my last gig (Maccabees, ULU). The gig was part of Club NME night and saw Neil's band Them Nudes play a short half hour set around midnight. I also had Aakash and Claire for company whilst in the lavish backstage area. We were amused by the cartoon put on loop which seemed to have the Harlem Globetrotters in it. The gig itself went great with the crowd diggin' Them Nudes alot. I've uploaded my favourite photos from the night to my flickr site, be sure to check them out! In other news, I moved back into uni this evening.Hurrah!

Them Nudes Myspace
Photos

Anant.

Muse - BH&R Most Downloaded Album of 2006

2007-01-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

My Album of the year for 2006, Muse's 'Black Holes & Revelations' has been crowned the most popular album based on download sales, fending off the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Gnarls Barkley, and Snow Patrol - whose album 'Eyes Open' was actually the most popular album of 2006 based on sales across all sales platforms. This makes me a very happy bunny considering Muse are my all time favourite band!

Long Live Muse!

Anant.

LOAN RANGER!

2007-01-04T07:32:00.002-08:00

Just been informed that I've recieved my Student Loan for this term! Woo, now have £2586 and 25 fine pense to my name lol. Gives me some ammunition for my inter semester break which starts around the 20th Jan! Shudn't need it all, I'm quite well with my account front, only got overdrawn on last day of term last year - thats quite a stat I'm sure many would agree.

To 2007!

Anant.

Seeing The Grates!

2007-01-02T16:36:00.002-08:00

I've just bought tickets to see jumpcentric Aussies The Grates + The Blood Arm at ULU in March. If the Kings College gig last October was anything to go by it shud be mental and uber fun-filled. Last time I met the band and walked away with a bunch of free balloons.If anyone fancies tickets their still available here.

The Grates Official Site
The Grates Myspace
Read my review of The Grates at KCLSU last October

Anant.

Facebook

2007-01-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

...Is the most addictive thing in the world to me right now. Just signed up this morning after I found my like 105th invite to join in my hotmail inbox. If I could sum it up I'd say its like friends reunited for friends who needent be reunited. Also I think facbook would probably suck if you didnt go to uni as it seems to revolve around uni friend networks. It's like myspace minus the bands, but plus the photo albums.

Anant

New Years Resolution

2007-01-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

My New Years Resolution for 2007 is a mixture of getting down to work and getting down to some old skool fun, its the time honoured tradition of "working hard and playing hard". My schedule for January seems a great way to kick this off, with deadlines for 15th and then a series of gigs to cap off the month. These holidays have also taught me that I want to use my time more productively, so I definatly want to do more then laze about in my four months off during the summer too.

Keep checking back contantly to see how well Anant keeps his set goals during 2007!

Anant.

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

2007 is well and truly underway. I saw in the new year working at the Park Lane Hilton , catering for the iron bribe of £10 an hour.Thats a good £80 plus tips, I'm not complianing! The night was rolling on just fine and dandy until a few youths started a brawl which resulted in the evacuation of 1100 people in about 15 minutes. There were flying glass bottles, chairs and people outposting unnecessary pride by throwing punches. Thankfully this was after the countdown(around 1.00am) so not many nights(as possible) were ruined. The countdown itself was sweet, I got to spend it with my brother and my Mum )who was a guest at the party), it was far better than a couple years ago when I was working and had a coffee cup in my fists at the stroke of midnight.

So, with 2006 behind us the only way is foreward and what better way to start it with the next installment of my student loan coming through any week now! Joy!

Finally Happy New Year to anyone sad enough or with enough pitty to be reading this!

p.s New Years Resolution coming soon

Anant

The Wintermans Photo's

2006-12-30T17:49:00.001-08:00

I've just finished uploading 12 photos of The Wintermans shot along the grand union canal yesturday(29th Dec) online. It was a hell of a muddy day and took alot of patience from both mine and the boys' behalf, even so we sorted it!Unfortunatly Andy couldn't make it to the shoot but we still worked through the wind and wet. Head over to my Flickr to check out the lot!

The Wintermans Myspace
My Flickr

Anant.

Saturday the 30th December, I Hardly Knew Yee...

2006-12-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

As a result of waking up at 9.05PM today I feel as though I've lost a day of my life. The reson being that I finished my last shift at Crisis Open Christmas 2006 this morning. The shift itself was great and as ever I met some interesting characters during the ten or so hour slug. Afterwards we decended upon a nearby pub sardined with crisis volunteers ordering pints at quarter to nine. Later on me, Aaky, Ras(h) and Hitz all got 12 inches from Subway on Liverpool Street...Finally I dipped in and out of sleep and drooled on the train home. Nice.

Anant

SALE! SALE! SALE!

2006-12-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

I hit the traditional post Christmas Sales in central London earlier today, in order to beat the rush I left home at about 8.20am, London was quite eerily quiet in places such as Carnaby street and Regents Street.

I bought a new hoodie and a rather cool checkered shirt from H and M (Much much muchly needed) which wern't actually in the sales but were still great value for money, I did manage to score some nice Vans trainers in their 50% off sale which was sweet.

Finally I bought Snakes On A Plane on DVD which I'll probably watch later on tonight.

My uni work remains untouched! All in all however, it was a practical day.

Anant!

Merry Christmas / R.I.P James Brown

2006-12-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas all, hope all of you are well and happy and feasting on an animal or three. My Christmas has been rolling on fine this year so far, I got some nice pressies, a fish eye lens atachment for my Camera and a bit of money, the perfect gift for a photography student who'se pockets are burnt out.

The days been fogged by a bit of sadness though, Soul legend James Brown unfortunatly passed away earlier today aged 73. Click below to see a clip of the "sex machine" in action.

Anant.

Crisis 1/3

2006-12-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier today I completed my first of three night shifts as a volunteer for Crisis, a charity for homeless persons. Staggering in at just about half past ten this is the best time to write a post about it as I slept through most of the daylight hours today. Last night was quite something, we were understaffed due to a lack of volunteers, however everything ran smooth leaving Sam from management to declare it "one of those classic nights". Also on a more bizare note, I ran a couple of shifts with a girl named Kirsty, who studied at Roehampton University last year and lived in Bede House room 219(I'm in 212 - thats right across the hall). Well I beter get some food down me, gotta venture off for a second night in about 45 minutes. Hmm 10.00pm- 8.30am...the good life.

P.S Crisis are quite under-manned this year, so if anyone feels they can help get yourself down there.

P.P.S Unfortunately cameras arent permitted so no photo's I'm afraid!

Crisis Open Christmas 2006

Anant

My Favourite Music of 2006

2006-12-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

With the likes of NME and Gigwise compiling their top album/singles lists, I thought it would be a nice way to pass the time to create my own list of my essential albums that best soundtracked 2006 for me and more...

MY TOP 15 ALBUMS:
1. MUSE - Black Holes And Revelations*
2. YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Show Your Bones
3. THE KOOKS – Inside In/ Inside Out
4. CSS – Cansei De Ser Sexy
5. LARRIKIN LOVE - The Freedom Spark
6. THOM YORKE – The Eraser
7. THE GRATES - Gravity Won’t Get You High
8. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
9. METRIC – Live It Out
10. MYSTERY JETS – Making Dens
11. KASABIAN - Empire
12. RAZORLIGHT - Razorlight
13. WOLFMOTHER - Wolfmother
14. FLAMING LIPS – At War with The Mystics
15. HOWLING BELLS – Howling Bells

(Featured Album Art)
* = No surprise there

MY FAVOURITE "NEW BAND" OF 2006:
CSS/ THE MACCABEES
After lot of thought I couldn't really decide between these two. Thus I cheated and made it a tie between CSS and The Maccabees. With CSS hailing from Sao Paulo and The Maccabees from some corner of southern England their worlds and music couldn't be further apart, however their rationale for being my favourite new bands to emerge in 2006 are because of both bands' live shows, which are more like parties than gigs to be fair.

(Left: CSS, Right:The Maccabees)

Signing out, Anant!

Christmas Shopping...

2006-12-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

Is now complete! Woo! After purchasing my mums gift earlier today its safe to say that all my Christmas shopping is done and dusted. On the downside I had to brave the very busy London crowds and the freezing fog monster which has had its grip on the capital for about four whole days now.

Anant

DIG!

2006-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Following the advice of my brother, I watched the movie 'DIG!' on DVD in the comfort of my own home tonight.

The movie documents the relationship of two bands; Brian Jonestown Massacre(who you probably haven't heard of) and the The Dandy Warhol's(who you probably have heard of) over a period of seven long years and follows them both on joint and separate touring stints. The movie contrasts the Dandy's huge success in both the US and Europe with the BJM's failure to start, with the Dandy's signing to major label Capitol whilst the BJM are still finding their feet after front-man Anton Newcombe tackles with heroin abuse and refuses to
"sell himself" in his words, to a major record company.

Shot in documentary style on a variety of film formats, the movie deals with the bands inital bonding and bitter fall out due to drink, drugs, fights,rock n' roll rivalries and jealousy.

The trailer can be seen below:

Anant

Greenfog

2006-12-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

As I walked to the chippie this fine evening I was met with a sea of fog. I thought it looked quite cool, like a scene from that old 'horror' movie...The Fog! In addition to gawking I also took some pictures(having minor technical difficulties with uploading rotated photos at the mo).

Anant

Cobra Good Curry Awards 2007

2006-12-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

Just got back in from the Cobra Good Curry Awards 2007. The annual bash was this year held at the Park Lane Hilton in London town. I can confirm that it was a great afternoon out.

My family thoroughly cleaned up, with Madhu's taking 'Best Asian Outside Caterer' and my uncle Kewal Anand accepting a 'Lifetime Achievement' award for his work at the Brilliant Restaurant.

The event was co-hosted by Industry mogul Pat Chapman and Sky News Anchor Lisa Aziz. Entertainment came in the form of a 4 piece string section - Dil Se Strings, and erm... an Asian Elvis impersonator. Quite a mix then eh!

Anant

Hello! Hi! Salut! Karibu!

2006-12-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

The joys of holiday boredom have spurred me on to start up my own blog. I've been thinking of doing this for a while but have always been put off by plans or work or more plans to not do work. I think this blog will be a nice device for me to enthuse in my photography; both academic and personal, as well as my love of journalism - by adding reviews and any features i might write in the future. It shall also be a place to just go on about the general or wacky events of an 18 going on 19 Londoner.

This blog may be a tad slow at times but consider it as a small baby in an incubator - it just needs patience, in the meantime theres a whole whole world of Anant Naik related junk to sift through on the interweb...

Flickr : My Photography
Myspace : My Personal Mypsace (complete with regulation photos)

Stay tuned folks!
Anant