Dirty Old Men

Yesterday, Kevin and I delved into the strange world of the bizarre, we went to an Alternative and Burlesque fair at Sound Control in Manchester. We went with the intent of taking many pictures of many weird, wonderful and creative people who have little or no interest in what the mainstream world thinks of them. Despite the sign upon entry forbidding it, there were many people carrying SLR cameras and snapping pictures of the lovely performers and latex-clad models, so we finally got our cameras out and joined them.

Later, in the pub, we talked about the photographers, and Kev came to the realisation that almost all of the photographers looked like that which could be described as "dirty old men". I really hope that is not how we came across, because, even though I do like female curvy parts dressed in shiny fabrics, I have a genuine interest in the alternative lifestyle and really enjoy being around people who live it. Maybe next time I will wear a bit of eye-liner and tighter trousers in an attempt to fit in more.

Either way, here are a couple of photographs I took during the Eustratia fashion show, which was dark, atmospheric and entertaining, and the models were beautiful. The bright stage lighting and rules against the use of flashes meant almost all of my pictures came out very noisy, but, with thanks to Kev giving me a few shooting tips, I got a few photographs I like.

...and, of course, here is a link to the designer  http://www.eustratia.co.uk/

I think I think too much

Isn't it awkward when you walk out of a shop, or any kind of building, and somebody is walking in the direction you want to go, at the same speed, but you only clock them when it's too late and you are alongside them, total strangers walking together like a married couple? Common sense would tell you to slow down, but you don't, you speed up, what right has this person to walk ahead of you? The other person also picks up his pace too and, before long, you are stuck in a strange, married couple, power walking race.

I think too much.
Now, when I say "I think too much", I don't mean I dwell on such awkward situations, or lose sleep thinking about insults that have been thrown my way or how I could have handled myself better in an argument. I don't really care about people's opinions of me, I handle awkwardness pretty well, and, Jen will back me up, I have absolutely no trouble sleeping. I have also never said a sentence like "what do you think she meant when she said it's not me, it's her?" or "do you think he hates me?".

No, when I say "I think too much" I mean that, as I am getting older, simple things are starting to confuse me more, and it's driving me mad!

Let me explain (or try to). Media is becoming too clever. Remember back in the day, nobody knew why the blue hedgehog wanted to run dead fast and collect rings, but it didn't matter, and we enjoyed Sonic's mad adventures regardless. Today, a single video game can have about 60 different storylines, they encourage you to take detours, use your initiative and look for secrets.
Films are the same, remember when you first saw The Matrix, or Donnie Darko, and you left the film with thousands of questions, massive discussions were had about the plots, subplots and plot-holes. More recently, films like Inception and Cabin in the Woods force you to read between the lines just to figure out what in the blue hell is going on.

This really is brilliant, as media has become more advanced, it is making its audience think more, therefore we're becoming cleverer, and as people get smarter, our entertainment will continue to get better. Fantastic, right?

No, it is becoming a problem for me. I like to think I have always been quite clever, even when I was mindlessly guiding the blue hedgehog towards his goal.
Now, when 28 year old me is playing a game, I search the entire place where I am, top to bottom, front to back, left to right, throughly, before moving on, just in case I miss something, or do something wrong.

Films and books are the same, I find myself filling in plot-holes and trying to predict twists before the story has even begun, and this is not as rewarding as it sounds.

I recently watched a great film called Hobo With A Shotgun... The title says exactly what it is, it's about a homeless man who goes to a city that is completely corrupt, befriends a hooker, buys a shot-gun and inserts his own brand of justice to the city, blasting the shit out of everything. A really simple idea, not much thought required and a whole load of fun. I, however, found myself trying to find hidden meanings, analysing everything that was said and reading between the lines. This film didn't require that, everything was to be taken at face value and I just couldn't, so I found the film rather confusing.

It's now happening with everything, I can read a lovely little article on discovery news or howstuffworks.com, and I end up reading each line 4 or 5 times. It becomes a tangle of over analysis in my head and I just get confused. It's even beginning to happen with text messages and blogs.

Is this normal? I think I need to just keep things simple inside my brain, see things for their face value, stop reading between the lines and just enjoy that which is meant to be enjoyed as the artist intended.

...either that or play Sonic The Hedgehog more.

Stone Fucking Sour

People often ask me: Christopher James Foxon, Who is your favourite band/artist in the whole amazing world of musical entertainment?

Nobody has asked me that since primary school. Onwards and upwards, anyways.

Anyone who knows me will know that my favourite band changes about 3 times a minute, as does my favourite genre of music. My hard drive is crammed with everything from Carribean Dub to Japanese Electronic pop, 1940s crooners to noughtie dizzy rascals and everything in between, except usher and FUCKING wolfmother.

So how can I say who my favourite is? This could be a pretty tedious blog.

Well, the first band I truely loved was Oasis. But if you were concious in 1995 and didn't love oasis, you are weird and I don't want to talk to you.

Oasis, for me, were amazing, up until about 98, when I heard guitars doing things that guitars shouldn't do. Korn were a band that changed my life. When I heard Korn I wanted to grow my hair long, get tattoos and scream about how shit life is. Korn introduced me to heavy metal, technically Korn should be classed as as my favourite band. Yet, how can I class Korn as my favourite band when Deftones do the same thing as Korn only much much much much better. It's like using a knife to screw a screw into a plank of wood... It works, but a screwdriver is much better.

After seeing them live for the first time, Mudvayne became a massive thing to me, I adored them for years, to the point where I even got some lyrics tattooed on me. LD50 may very well be my most listened to album, even today.

Away from metal, Jurrassic 5, Holy Fuck, Daft Punk, TV on the Radio, The Chemical Brothers, Little Boots, Lady Gaga, Gorillaz, Bjork, The Gaslight Anthem, Faithless, and, for a brief year in the early 2000's, The Insane Clown Posse, have all become obsessions for me over the years. Away from metal, though, my favourite band have to be Justice.

Could justice be my favourite band? They are relatively new, 2 studio albums and a (stunning) live album, not much to base something so big on. Plus, they're French.

Either way, rock will always be where my heart lies, so it's only natural that if I am to have a favourite band, it has to be a rock band. It's my blog so I make the rules.

Now, the legacy of Metallica is beyond amazing, nobody can argue what an absolute force they are in rock music. So much so that a Metallica tattoo was inevitable. The problem, though, in the 90s, Metallica made 2 terrible albums in Load and ReLoad.

Step up SLIPKNOT! A legacy that will live on just like Metallica's, a 100% success rate with albums, an energetic and original live show, and a sound so brutal that it makes you want to chew concrete yet melodic and accessible enough to play it to your grandmother. Slipknot, fronted by the greatest frontman in history, Corey Taylor, deserve to be my favourite band.

Corey Taylor, however, has another band and I prefer them. Stone Sour! Now, I have mentioned many great artists and found something wrong with them all, or bands that are better, or reasons not to like them so much... I can't think of anything wrong with Stone Sour. I love every track they have made. I love their lyrics, their catchy guitar riffs and epic solos and Corey's voice is perfect for the band. I love Stone Sour. They are my favourite band. This perfectly sets up my blogs over the next few months before their new album comes out and I see them live in December.

Whatever, though. Why do I need to have a favourite band? After all, it only depends on what mood I am in, doesn't it?

Something to blog about, I guess.