[syn]finity:

Lou Reed's 'Metal Music Machine' sucked, but it was meant to! So, following on from my recent post about the things bands do to make themselves feel they're getting somewhere (bless 'em!), I'd like now to wax lyrical about the things they do that actually make their music suck! To start though, a little diversion... A friend of mine manages one of the biggest bands to come out of Manchester in the 90s (I'm not mentioning any names!). This 'man-in-the-know' once recounted to me that he had witnessed a young band starting to create that ubiquitous 'buzz' in the Manchester scene. Word got out that these lads were good, they had an incredible stage show, they really pushed the boundaries. But most enticing of all, they were mysteriously unidentifiable; they wore masks on stage, they didn't have an online presence, they couldn't be contacted. Wow, radical! Don't ask me how, but word of this great new band (dare I say it, this...

You're probably aware that we are drowning in an ocean of mediocrity. Yes, I know, there's mediocrity all around us; the TV, the music business, in fact everywhere you care to look. But I'm talking about mediocrity in 'literature', as if that term actually means something these days. Once upon a time, not so long ago, 'literature' was a respectable part of the art world. Authors were mysterious intellectuals, removed from society, tortured souls poring over their foolscap notepads with quill in hand. They were just names, often widely-known ones, like A-list celebrities with no public face, controversy or paparazzi. The authors' agents, dark figures sifting through their ever-growing slush pile of tales, held sway over a global industry from behind locked doors. The authors' publishers were equally elusive, a forbidden realm for those with literary aspirations, with the ability to put their clients names right into the homes of the reading public...

Are these guys hiding at the bottom of your garden? Today, in a rather long blog post, I'd like to speculate a little about the possibility of life existing elsewhere in the Universe. Since I get asked about this topic just about every time I walk into a room, I’d like to tell you what science currently has to say about life in the Universe and what we’re doing to investigate the possibility. The belief that we are not alone in the Universe is of course as old as humankind itself. The idea that there are other worlds populated by other-worldly creatures is a common and natural trait of our species. I think it was an inevitable idea once we had conceived of our own self-identity. But, the concept of life-forms existing elsewhere in the Universe, in the modern scientific sense that we all understand today, is also not new. Many ancient Greek philosophers, including Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus and Plutarch, were of the firm belief that other worlds existed and some even spec...

It's a struggle being in a band. You spend all of your spare cash on equipment, room hire and studio time. You spend all your free hours practicing, writing songs, trying to hone your skills and come up with stuff that you are happy with and that you hope other people will enjoy. It's hard work, and often the only return you get is a few people nodding their heads in appreciation of your live set. But, given all this hard work, what do most bands want? They want to be recognised, taken seriously, successful even. And how do they measure that success? By playing sold-out shows? Selling enough merchandise to keep them in guitar strings? Having three people download their EP? Headlining Glastonbury? The measure of success is different from band to band. But, after many years spent in the regional 'music scene' (if there is indeed such a thing), I find it easy to spot those bands that don't have any measure of success (or talent), but make the mistake of trying to g...

The advent of indie publishing has had the same effect on writing as streaming has had on music. As a reader, you have a bewildering array of books to choose from, by established as well as back-room authors, from all over the world, in all genres, at all prices, and many for FREE. There's an awful load of rubbish in this global digital slush-pile, but there are also many excellent independent authors writing some top-notch books. That word, used above, - FREE -, is a matter of contention for me. Amazon run an author program called 'Select' which allows authors to discount their books (or make them available for FREE) for up to five days during a 90-day sign-up period. The philosophy is that the spike in downloads increases the book's Amazon ranking (and hence visibility) resulting in more sales once the book returns to its nominal price. Cynical ploy? The disadvantage of the 'Select' program is that you, the author, give Amazon the exclusive right to se...

Thanks for connecting with me on Blogspot. First up, as you'll see, this is my first post, but one of many I hope. Here, I'll be expounding on such weighty topics as astronomy and cosmology (and often others aspects of science too), and updating you on my creative pursuits, namely writing and music production. For starters, take a look at my page for The Bergamese Sect where you can find details of this, my debut novel. If you like a good thriller (think Simon Toyne, John Case, Sam Bourne or even Dan Brown), then please buy a copy, and do let me know what you think. Also, take a quick meander over to my driftbox page where you will find a link to my music site. Strangely, for a music site, there is no music there yet, but it will be coming just as soon as it's finished! In the meantime, you can follow my updates here or why not follow the fan page so you're the first to know what driftbox are up to. So, what about the title of this post, you're asking! Well...