I refer you to the following article:
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/06/city-to-job-applicants-facebook-myspace-log-ins-please.ars?utm_source=Ars+Technica+Newsletter&utm_campaign=02b200dd05-June_26_2009_Newsletter&utm_medium=email
Basically the government of Bozeman, Montana is demanding people provide their usernames and passwords for websites such as Myspace and Facebook in their job applications.
I am amused at the amount of swear words littering the comments on that article. Ars Technica people are usually so much more civilised, just goes to show how pathetic Bozeman's government is!
Someone else has pointed out that this violates Facebook's Terms of Service:
4. Registration and Account Security
Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account:
...
6. You will not share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.
It is likely that other sites have similar clauses.
I am wondering if someone has just misinterpreted something here...surely they can't be asking for people's passwords? Why not ask for your house keys and have a look in there! Fair enough if they want to search for prospective employees on the Internet, since anything they do find and access is in the public domain, but this is just a step too far.
People are wondering if it's a trick question - if you do provide your passwords then you're an idiot so you don't get hired. Seems a bit strange to me.
Yet another person is saying that providing your Social Security number (which I assume is the equivalent of Britain's National Insurance number) to a prospective employee is surely even more dangerous than giving out a Twitter password, but I think they've missed the point. The number is to help prove you're eligible to work in the country. Nicking passwords off people is just not in the same league.
The interviewer [from a local news station] was wise enough to point out that there were far less invasive ways of obtaining access to some of this information, such as having Bozeman open its own Facebook account, at which point Sullivan [Bozeman's attorney] apparently said that might be worth looking into.
No, REALLY? Bunch of prats if you ask me.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Monday, 22 June 2009
Utterly stupid.
Kate Moss has destroyed the only copies of a new batch of songs by boyfriend Jamie Hince's band The Kills.
An argument between the duo resulted in the model throwing her man's bag into a nearby swimming pool, not realising that it contained a laptop holding the only copies of six new Kills tracks. A devastated Hince apparently dived into the pool to try and salvage the equipment, through his efforts proved fruitless (Daily Mirror).
Either this is some ridiculous publicity stunt, or like a similar tale from Calvin Harris (who blamed Heathrow's Terminal 5 for losing the "only copy" of his new album), an excuse to get more time to write the album OR....Hince is a complete and utter idiot. If something is that important you BACK IT UP. For goodness' sake.
In other news...A-Level History students do not know what the words "despotic" means when used in conjuction with "Hitler". Seriously. WHY are you even bothering taking the exam? Surely they must have come across the word when learning about Hitler? Once mistook it for "weak" and wrote their entire essay based on what they believed the word to mean. Apparently they are going to protest about this. If anything, anyone who took M3 with Edexcel this session should be protesting due to the unfair inclusion of the trapezium rule, a C2 concept which people would have normally have studied a year before taking M3 or even two years, as we did. Especially given that the examiners failed to test candidates' knowledge of Newton's law of gravitation - why not ask a question about that instead of something already covered in AS Level Maths? Going back to the History paper, perhaps this is just a sign of the narrow range of students' vocabulary. Forget trying to introduce compulsory foreign languages at GCSE Level, we need to be educated more about the richness of the English language.
An argument between the duo resulted in the model throwing her man's bag into a nearby swimming pool, not realising that it contained a laptop holding the only copies of six new Kills tracks. A devastated Hince apparently dived into the pool to try and salvage the equipment, through his efforts proved fruitless (Daily Mirror).
Either this is some ridiculous publicity stunt, or like a similar tale from Calvin Harris (who blamed Heathrow's Terminal 5 for losing the "only copy" of his new album), an excuse to get more time to write the album OR....Hince is a complete and utter idiot. If something is that important you BACK IT UP. For goodness' sake.
In other news...A-Level History students do not know what the words "despotic" means when used in conjuction with "Hitler". Seriously. WHY are you even bothering taking the exam? Surely they must have come across the word when learning about Hitler? Once mistook it for "weak" and wrote their entire essay based on what they believed the word to mean. Apparently they are going to protest about this. If anything, anyone who took M3 with Edexcel this session should be protesting due to the unfair inclusion of the trapezium rule, a C2 concept which people would have normally have studied a year before taking M3 or even two years, as we did. Especially given that the examiners failed to test candidates' knowledge of Newton's law of gravitation - why not ask a question about that instead of something already covered in AS Level Maths? Going back to the History paper, perhaps this is just a sign of the narrow range of students' vocabulary. Forget trying to introduce compulsory foreign languages at GCSE Level, we need to be educated more about the richness of the English language.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Exams...
...also known as a time for me to pretend to revise and sit at the PC all day!
Everyone's been talking about Spotify (and if you're thinking "No, I jolly well haven't!" then you a) are just as barmy as me for using the phrase "jolly well" and b) haven't been paying attention to recent announcements about the growth of Spotify's catalogue) and so I figured I may as well try it out.
For the uninitiated, a less busy blogger than I would outline what Spotify is in three chunky paragraphs, but I don't have the time so I'll keep it short: Spotify is a free, legal music streaming service, made available to the public through the use of short adverts every 20 minutes or so.
Now I'm fairly impressed by the range of music on there, and it's a great way to sample an album before buying it. While I may have used last.fm for this purpose in the past, there's no denying that Spotify's catalogue is just a hell of a lot more extensive.
So, on to the music:
Jimmy Eat World - Futures: Listening to "Pain" was a right nostalgia trip back to 2004! I haven't heard this song for five years. The rest of the album is fairly good too.
The Bronx - The Bronx: People who are acquainted with The Bronx will be wondering "WHICH ALBUM?!" - I checked out the third one. The thing I find with The Bronx's music is that it's good, but it all blends together. Maybe I need to listen more carefully but I find it hard to distinguish between tracks.
Refused - This Just Might Be The Truth: A stonking great hardcore album. Excellent.
Esser - Braveface: If you like the singles then this record is a must. I know people go around saying this all the time, but I genuinely believe this is one of the better pop records released this year.
Lady Gaga - The Fame: Sadly the same can't be said for this album. Four or five songs in, my brain gave up and I stopped listening. That said, "Poker Face" is one heck of a great pop song.
---------------------------------------
As for the aforementioned exams...
M3: The worst exam I have ever done. Ever.
LTA4: Hamlet question wasn't very nice, John Clare one was excellent.
LTA6: A really nasty desensitised extract from a former nurse, but otherwise not too bad. (Which translates as: could have been a lot, lot worse.)
CPT4 and CPT5: Er. These papers were really short. Gotta be honest - I seriously lacked motivation since I don't need high marks in these two papers. That said, the fact I don't even have to pass English to get into uni was even more demotivating!!
---------------------------------------
....finally, go and vote:
http://awards.kerrang.com
My suggestions: Gallows, The Ghost of a Thousand, Gallows, Gallows. Er. Just please don't vote for a band that hasn't done anything this year (ahem, Lostprophets, as much as I love them!)
Currently listening to: Yourcodenameis:milo - They Came From The Sun. Checkitout.
Everyone's been talking about Spotify (and if you're thinking "No, I jolly well haven't!" then you a) are just as barmy as me for using the phrase "jolly well" and b) haven't been paying attention to recent announcements about the growth of Spotify's catalogue) and so I figured I may as well try it out.
For the uninitiated, a less busy blogger than I would outline what Spotify is in three chunky paragraphs, but I don't have the time so I'll keep it short: Spotify is a free, legal music streaming service, made available to the public through the use of short adverts every 20 minutes or so.
Now I'm fairly impressed by the range of music on there, and it's a great way to sample an album before buying it. While I may have used last.fm for this purpose in the past, there's no denying that Spotify's catalogue is just a hell of a lot more extensive.
So, on to the music:
Jimmy Eat World - Futures: Listening to "Pain" was a right nostalgia trip back to 2004! I haven't heard this song for five years. The rest of the album is fairly good too.
The Bronx - The Bronx: People who are acquainted with The Bronx will be wondering "WHICH ALBUM?!" - I checked out the third one. The thing I find with The Bronx's music is that it's good, but it all blends together. Maybe I need to listen more carefully but I find it hard to distinguish between tracks.
Refused - This Just Might Be The Truth: A stonking great hardcore album. Excellent.
Esser - Braveface: If you like the singles then this record is a must. I know people go around saying this all the time, but I genuinely believe this is one of the better pop records released this year.
Lady Gaga - The Fame: Sadly the same can't be said for this album. Four or five songs in, my brain gave up and I stopped listening. That said, "Poker Face" is one heck of a great pop song.
---------------------------------------
As for the aforementioned exams...
M3: The worst exam I have ever done. Ever.
LTA4: Hamlet question wasn't very nice, John Clare one was excellent.
LTA6: A really nasty desensitised extract from a former nurse, but otherwise not too bad. (Which translates as: could have been a lot, lot worse.)
CPT4 and CPT5: Er. These papers were really short. Gotta be honest - I seriously lacked motivation since I don't need high marks in these two papers. That said, the fact I don't even have to pass English to get into uni was even more demotivating!!
---------------------------------------
....finally, go and vote:
http://awards.kerrang.com
My suggestions: Gallows, The Ghost of a Thousand, Gallows, Gallows. Er. Just please don't vote for a band that hasn't done anything this year (ahem, Lostprophets, as much as I love them!)
Currently listening to: Yourcodenameis:milo - They Came From The Sun. Checkitout.
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Wimbledon's New Roof
There's poetic justice in the fact it's very gloomy in Wimbledon today, and it certainly looks like it's going to rain!
Here's a game for you guys - spot the difference!
Waffle:
Dress:
Er...
Here's a game for you guys - spot the difference!
Waffle:
Dress:
Er...
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Monday, 27 April 2009
Gallows: Grey Britain
Gallows
Grey Britain opens with the bleak sounds of the River Thames; a rising crescendo of strings unfolds and subsides into powerful guitars. Gallows are back, with a vengeance. London is the Reason is classic Gallows, matching the vibrant energy of debut Orchestra of Wolves with a darker timbre. The end of this song is spectacular, a frenzied mix of frenetic guitars and gang vocals. Leeches and Black Eyes are similar bursts of hardcore.
Next up is an anthem, definitely a stand out track on the album: I Dread the Night. A chaotic riff-laden concoction with pounding drums, this track certainly is “serious as a heart attack”. Carrying on in a similar vein, Death Voices gives way to a haunting piano and strings section. This leads well into Act I of The Vulture, an acoustic track where vocalist Frank Carter makes a temporary departure from his harsh-throated yells, singing tenderly instead. Following this tranquil interlude, Act II, a more intense, rockier version of the song, has a greater impact on the listener.
A wail of sirens signals the start of The Riverbed, one of the heavier songs on the album. This continues with The Great Forgiver, a severe detonation of hardcore. Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil makes an effective appearance on Graves, his ethereal vocals augmenting the overall timbre of the track. Chugging guitars on Queensberry Rules culminate in a evocatively grand ending. The forbidding strains of a string section paired with piano set the scene for Misery, offset by more gang vocals and heavy bass. Some excellent guitarwork on Crucif**ks is followed by a phenomenally beautiful orchestral section. This is an appropriately epic ending for one of the best rock albums of the decade; Grey Britain definitely lives up to the hype.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Quick Reviews
/iheartcc - Computer Club - Like Editors, but even duller.
/callingmayday - calling MAYDAY - My ears are yelling "Mayday", this is boring!
/fakeproblems - Fake Problems - Laid back ska-style rock music, not bad at all.
/vaughanking - Vaughan King - The music is beautiful but his voice grates.
/boysinaband - Boys in a Band - As rubbish as their name is, their music is pretty fun to listen to.
/theseasounds - The Sea - I just don't like this. Yuck.
/thisissharks - Sharks - Please, let nobody ever think to put "punk" and "soul" together in this way again.
/666hellmouth - Hellmouth - Just another metal band.
/remedyrocks - Remedy - Run of the mill classic rock, but a lot better than anything else on this list so far!
/copyhaho - Copy Haho - They have a song called "You Are My Coal Mine". That should tell you all you need to know about this lot. Actually I'm not being fair, I ought to say something about the music, so here goes: ordinary indie rock.
/holystate - Holy State - You can certainly hear the post-hardcore influences in this band's sound, pretty good.
/saveyourbreathband - Save Your Breath - Pretty decent pop rock!
/bridesmusic - Bridges - Excellent melodic hardcore.
/chewlips - Chew Lips - Solo is an excellent single.
/caloriesband - Calories - Foals-esque indie rock, quite good.
/defeater - Defeater - Regular hardcore, nothing special.
/titusandronicus - Titus Andronicus - What a horrid noise. My poor speakers.
/thejoyformidable - The Joy Formidable - Their 8 track album can be downloaded for free. Judging by the tracks I checked out, it's probably NOT worth it.
/goldkids - Gold Kids - Pretty decent. Being hyped a lot, not quite sure it's worth it but the music is more enjoyable than the rest of this list.
/shotgunriot - Shotgun Riot - Very good, nice and energetic.
I'm not in a bad mood or anything, I swear I've just heard it all before.
/callingmayday - calling MAYDAY - My ears are yelling "Mayday", this is boring!
/fakeproblems - Fake Problems - Laid back ska-style rock music, not bad at all.
/vaughanking - Vaughan King - The music is beautiful but his voice grates.
/boysinaband - Boys in a Band - As rubbish as their name is, their music is pretty fun to listen to.
/theseasounds - The Sea - I just don't like this. Yuck.
/thisissharks - Sharks - Please, let nobody ever think to put "punk" and "soul" together in this way again.
/666hellmouth - Hellmouth - Just another metal band.
/remedyrocks - Remedy - Run of the mill classic rock, but a lot better than anything else on this list so far!
/copyhaho - Copy Haho - They have a song called "You Are My Coal Mine". That should tell you all you need to know about this lot. Actually I'm not being fair, I ought to say something about the music, so here goes: ordinary indie rock.
/holystate - Holy State - You can certainly hear the post-hardcore influences in this band's sound, pretty good.
/saveyourbreathband - Save Your Breath - Pretty decent pop rock!
/bridesmusic - Bridges - Excellent melodic hardcore.
/chewlips - Chew Lips - Solo is an excellent single.
/caloriesband - Calories - Foals-esque indie rock, quite good.
/defeater - Defeater - Regular hardcore, nothing special.
/titusandronicus - Titus Andronicus - What a horrid noise. My poor speakers.
/thejoyformidable - The Joy Formidable - Their 8 track album can be downloaded for free. Judging by the tracks I checked out, it's probably NOT worth it.
/goldkids - Gold Kids - Pretty decent. Being hyped a lot, not quite sure it's worth it but the music is more enjoyable than the rest of this list.
/shotgunriot - Shotgun Riot - Very good, nice and energetic.
I'm not in a bad mood or anything, I swear I've just heard it all before.
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Abandonment
I have not abandoned this journal...merely taken a rest from writing. And so, on to the real subject matter.
A: I am never speaking to you again!
B: Oh good, less earache for me!
Uniqlo have brought out a range of jeans in 16 different colours! Wow! And guess what, you can look like a prat in 15 of them for the low low price of £24.99!
A: I am never speaking to you again!
B: Oh good, less earache for me!
Uniqlo have brought out a range of jeans in 16 different colours! Wow! And guess what, you can look like a prat in 15 of them for the low low price of £24.99!
Friday, 10 October 2008
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Free Music?
Forget The Charlatans free album, and that terrible Violet-copy-of-everything-else-they've-ever-done-Hill song that Coldplay recently gave away, good quality free music has been sitting around on the Internet for ages. I remember when "download single" meant you could head over to Ash's website and pick up Clones for free...or Slipknot's to download Pulse Of The Maggots, if you're into wearing scary masks and all that. Despite the "digital revolution" (CDs are digital anyway -gasp-, so goodness knows why this term seems to be used exclusively to refer to mp3s), bands are still making their music available to download for free, even though "download single" no longer makes a gleam of triumph appear in the eyes of cheapskates (read: me). Never mind about the one sad little song that iTunes gives away each week (two if you count the promotion with Bebo, which doesn't seem to work half the time anyway and not having a Bebo account I can't really do much about that), there's a lot more than that out there.
Label Samplers:
I was just looking up a band that I only have one track by, Allister (currently on hiatus), to try and get more songs by them, and I came across their label site, Drive-Thru Records. Unfortunately for Little Miss Out Of Pocket, there weren't any more tracks available by Allister, but the label did have a free sampler available for download with a bunch of tracks by their current roster, so I figured it was worth a look at. Click on the featured download box. You may have to download something called Echospin, but this only takes a minute and then you'll be able to get all the mp3s.
Click. Includes tracks by Halifax (no, nothing to do with those irritating bank adverts with the walking purses and suchlike), An Angle and Socratic.
http://www.drivethrurecords.com/home.htm
Being a rather bored bean indeed, I decided to type "download label sampler" into Google, in the hope that something would turn up. This was a good decision, as I immediately found a few more bundles of tracks. I clicked on something called Bridge 9, thinking that I had heard that name before. You type your name and e-mail in (if you don't want to part with your personal data then it doesn't matter if it's complete rubbish) and you can download the sampler.
Click. Includes tracks by New Found Glory, Ruiner and Have Heart.
http://www.bridge9.com/
The next thing that caught my eye was Matador Records. Apparently this is an annual sampler, so do check back in about a year's time for more musical goodness. They also have various other mp3s up on their website, so have a look around.
Click. Includes tracks by Cat Power and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.
http://www.matadorrecords.com/
There are various other label samplers wandering around the web, so go and check it out for yourself. Label samplers are also given away free in music magazines such as Rocksound and at indie record stores like Banquet Records, so keep an eye out.
Label Sites:
Although Wikipedia is what some might call the font of all knowledge, label sites are an excellent place to start with when you want to find out about a band. They usually have songs available to listen to and some tracks may be up for download as well. Downloadable tracks are more commonly found on indie label sites. Major labels aren't that keen on giving away free music. It is worth looking up a band on Wikipedia to see what labels they previously released records with even if they are with a major label now, as some labels have songs from alumni as well as previews for their current roster. Here's a list of some label sites that I have found particularly useful:
Epitaph/Burning Heart
http://www.epitaph.com/
http://www.burningheart.com/
Oddly enough, although the same bands appear on both sites (Epitaph has the rights to distribute Swedish record label Burning Heart Records' output in North America), they don't have the same tracks up for download, so you can collect a few more than usual to try out before picking up a record if you're into bands like The Hives, Refused, Millencolin, Matchbook Romance and The Offspring.
Sub Pop
http://www.subpop.com/
How my heart crumbled when I discovered that my local HMV no longer sells ex-chart CD singles. Oh well, I was still able to get Balloons by Foals off the label site, so that'll be enough to tide me over until I can get their album. Other artists you may want to check out include Sleater-Kinney and CSS.
Purepainsugar
http://www.purepainsugar.com/
This is a French record label, and they have a very good collection of songs for those wishing to find out more about euro-screamo/European skramz/EU hardcore/whatever else you feel like calling some people from Europe screaming while accompanied by delectable guitar parts and raging percussion. A sudden yearning on my part for more bands like Amanda Woodward was dispelled upon discovering this website, which has music by Mihai Edrisch, Raein and many others.
Level Plane
http://www.level-plane.com/
Set up by Greg Drudy (Saetia, Hot Cross), this was one of the first places I went to when I was trying to find more music that could be called "people screaming while accompanied by delectable guitar parts and raging percussion", or hardcore (but depending on who you are speaking to that could be asking for trouble as people do not always seem to agree on what is "real" hardcore). Aside from this, bands such as the aforementioned Amanda Woodward, City of Caterpillar and Transistor Transistor have released records with Level Plane, so you can check them out here.
Jade Tree
http://www.jadetree.com/
There's some great alt rock bands to be found here, such as Jets To Brazil, onelinedrawing, Pedro The Lion and The Promise Ring. Just go and download some stuff now, you'll probably love it.
...In Conclusion:
Yes, it may be possible to just live off free songs, but the point of all this is to introduce you to new acts and encourage you to buy their records. Labels don't give away music for the fun of it. Free music is a good way to find bands you wouldn't have heard on the radio, so go out and support indie acts by purchasing their records if you like what you hear.
Label Samplers:
I was just looking up a band that I only have one track by, Allister (currently on hiatus), to try and get more songs by them, and I came across their label site, Drive-Thru Records. Unfortunately for Little Miss Out Of Pocket, there weren't any more tracks available by Allister, but the label did have a free sampler available for download with a bunch of tracks by their current roster, so I figured it was worth a look at. Click on the featured download box. You may have to download something called Echospin, but this only takes a minute and then you'll be able to get all the mp3s.
Click. Includes tracks by Halifax (no, nothing to do with those irritating bank adverts with the walking purses and suchlike), An Angle and Socratic.
http://www.drivethrurecords.com/home.htm
Being a rather bored bean indeed, I decided to type "download label sampler" into Google, in the hope that something would turn up. This was a good decision, as I immediately found a few more bundles of tracks. I clicked on something called Bridge 9, thinking that I had heard that name before. You type your name and e-mail in (if you don't want to part with your personal data then it doesn't matter if it's complete rubbish) and you can download the sampler.
Click. Includes tracks by New Found Glory, Ruiner and Have Heart.
http://www.bridge9.com/
The next thing that caught my eye was Matador Records. Apparently this is an annual sampler, so do check back in about a year's time for more musical goodness. They also have various other mp3s up on their website, so have a look around.
Click. Includes tracks by Cat Power and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.
http://www.matadorrecords.com/
There are various other label samplers wandering around the web, so go and check it out for yourself. Label samplers are also given away free in music magazines such as Rocksound and at indie record stores like Banquet Records, so keep an eye out.
Label Sites:
Although Wikipedia is what some might call the font of all knowledge, label sites are an excellent place to start with when you want to find out about a band. They usually have songs available to listen to and some tracks may be up for download as well. Downloadable tracks are more commonly found on indie label sites. Major labels aren't that keen on giving away free music. It is worth looking up a band on Wikipedia to see what labels they previously released records with even if they are with a major label now, as some labels have songs from alumni as well as previews for their current roster. Here's a list of some label sites that I have found particularly useful:
Epitaph/Burning Heart
http://www.epitaph.com/
http://www.burningheart.com/
Oddly enough, although the same bands appear on both sites (Epitaph has the rights to distribute Swedish record label Burning Heart Records' output in North America), they don't have the same tracks up for download, so you can collect a few more than usual to try out before picking up a record if you're into bands like The Hives, Refused, Millencolin, Matchbook Romance and The Offspring.
Sub Pop
http://www.subpop.com/
How my heart crumbled when I discovered that my local HMV no longer sells ex-chart CD singles. Oh well, I was still able to get Balloons by Foals off the label site, so that'll be enough to tide me over until I can get their album. Other artists you may want to check out include Sleater-Kinney and CSS.
Purepainsugar
http://www.purepainsugar.com/
This is a French record label, and they have a very good collection of songs for those wishing to find out more about euro-screamo/European skramz/EU hardcore/whatever else you feel like calling some people from Europe screaming while accompanied by delectable guitar parts and raging percussion. A sudden yearning on my part for more bands like Amanda Woodward was dispelled upon discovering this website, which has music by Mihai Edrisch, Raein and many others.
Level Plane
http://www.level-plane.com/
Set up by Greg Drudy (Saetia, Hot Cross), this was one of the first places I went to when I was trying to find more music that could be called "people screaming while accompanied by delectable guitar parts and raging percussion", or hardcore (but depending on who you are speaking to that could be asking for trouble as people do not always seem to agree on what is "real" hardcore). Aside from this, bands such as the aforementioned Amanda Woodward, City of Caterpillar and Transistor Transistor have released records with Level Plane, so you can check them out here.
Jade Tree
http://www.jadetree.com/
There's some great alt rock bands to be found here, such as Jets To Brazil, onelinedrawing, Pedro The Lion and The Promise Ring. Just go and download some stuff now, you'll probably love it.
...In Conclusion:
Yes, it may be possible to just live off free songs, but the point of all this is to introduce you to new acts and encourage you to buy their records. Labels don't give away music for the fun of it. Free music is a good way to find bands you wouldn't have heard on the radio, so go out and support indie acts by purchasing their records if you like what you hear.
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