Gearing up

Almost ready to hit Roskilde - once again.

News from the front tells that we have secured our classic spot in area G39. I don't know how my mates pull it off every year. Apparently, the fence barrier was broken at 5 a.m. this morning...they were probably in the middle of it.

Roskilde Festival has also been hit by non-smoker's paranoia, along with the rest of Western civilisation, I am sad to say. In 2008 stages Lounge and Astoria are off limits...it marks the beginning of the end to the joyful and carefree festival spirit as we know it.

Oddly, this news hit me along with news of new legislation in Amsterdam - where coffee shops now, of course, have had a smoking ban imposed. You are, however, still allowed to smoke pure weed - which underlines the hypocrisy in a "laugh or weep" kind of way. What is it with this "ban all that is harmful or risky" surge that makes me cringe so?

Perhaps it upsets me that there is no opposite attractor. No crowd or political campaign that makes a statement like "Yeah, we like risks, we live unconcerned of reality, and we don't want to wear fucking bicycle helmets by law!"
It is always an escalation on basic liberties - public health, traffic safety, surveillance, [add other collective impositions].

Well, never mind that now - two days of work to go - and then it's Radiohead along with countless others... :)

The Slip is Hip

This NIN album is 100% free - and it is very good.
I liked 'With Teeth' but didn't get into 'Year Zero' much.
'The Slip' is a nicely balanced mix of aggression, melancholy, and ensnaring rhythms.

Reznor's new anti-establishment recording strategy is interesting; he seems very dedicated to it. Much more than Radiohead.

Grats, my boy

Obama clinches it - and I'm pleased.
Although I've despised the bashings between the campaigns, I couldn't help laugh at this comparison: