WillWybrow.com

Writing about Red Alert 3 made me realise that there needs to be a cool word for the DRM crisis that EA have instigated. I wanted to make a play on the word “dictatorship,” but it didn’t pan out. So for now, we’ll have to call it DRMinism. It rhymes with ‘feminism,’ which is almost good enough. But, fuck DRM.

Who wants to come see Alestorm with me in Peterborough on the 5th of September? It’s only £5.

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Remember just two years ago
When our bands were playing house shows?

Remember how we struggled (oh!)
Remember nights we spent on hard wood floors?

We’re fighting for
To make a change
To live our lives the way we dreamed,
Despite what they might say.

You’re there when I fall
You helped me be strong
Even when I lost my faith
Now we’re standing so tall
We’ve made it through it all
And we’ll keep it going strong
‘Cause I feel it in the songs

To all my friends from around the way,
Much respect, we owe you dues,
We’ve got your back, you’ve got ours too.
I’ll be there, should you fall
And I just wanted you to know
You can always count on me…

In the Songs, by Midtown. For what comfort it can offer.

A lot of people ask me about my taste in music. Music is very fashionable these days, and I think the digital scene has a lot to do with that. Nah, that’s bollocks, music has been like this for decades. People think that they can have a meaningful discussion about bands with me, but I think I could stretch as far as to differentiate between “they’re amazing,” “they’re ok,” “they’re horrendous,” and “not applicable” (if I haven’t heard anything by a band). Music is great, but as with all things, I’m extremely fussy and closeminded.

But, however, for the benefit of those who are truly interested, here’s a page just for you.

Bands I’ve Seen Live

• Goo Goo Dolls
• Lostprophets
• Rise Against
• Muse
• Linkin Park

Support Acts I’ve Seen Live

• The Tender Box
• The New 1920
• Bring Me the Horizon
• The Bronx
• Cancer Bats
• Dirty Pretty Things
• The Streets
• Rodrigo Y Gabriella
• Biffy Clyro

My Top Three Support Acts

1. Rodrigo Y Gabriella
2. Biffy Clyro
3. Bring Me the Horizon

Bands I Would Like to See Again

• Linkin Park
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Rise Against

Bands I Would Like to See for the First Time

• +44
• The Hives
• Hellogoodbye
• Sum 41
• Cascada
• Kaiser Chiefs
• The Offspring

Old Bands I Would Have Liked to Have Seen

• Blink-182
• Midtown
• Something Corporate

Bands I Would NOT Like to See

• Jay-Z
• Cobra Starship
• Angels and Airwaves
• Billy Talent
• Pendulum

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. It’s late, so I’ve probably missed loads. Plus, my music collection is a sad hundred miles away.

There’s a Facebook group specifically for my year in secondary school that I’ve only just started perusing. It only took a third of the photos to make me stop for a while and turn my face away wearing a wasted (because nobody was there to experience it) “every single one of you was a fucking cunt back then” expression. Bitter? Who, me? No, of course not, but just because I don’t want to hunt every one of them down and feed them feet-first under a steamroller doesn’t mean I won’t let everyone know the truth, that I was almost the only decent person there.

Some people have changed since then, and others I wouldn’t know about, but I’d go as far as to say there has been a <+1% swing in the quality of people from that shitty place. The year below is even worse… honestly, people are getting worse every single year.

Who knows why everyone is such a cunt? I certainly don’t, but it’s probably to do with religion… Maybe I’m just laying blame on a recurring culprit as a form of scapegoatery because I can’t think of anything justifiable to call them on…

Fanboytopia

Last night in bed, I was thinking to myself. There are a few things that I really enjoy, or things that I think have unparalleled greatness. I wanted to share with you guys just a few things that I’m a “fanboy” of, without any justification. I’m thinking it’ll offset some of the negativity that’s rife through this festering pit of criticisms.

I had weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of listing some small justification or explanation of why I think these things are so great, but I decided against it, as it will encourage people to pick holes in my reasoning. But I’m really fine with what I think, even if it is irrational (because in my mind, taste in certain things is irrational and, obviously, completely circumstantial and subjective (and so, unarguable)).

So, if you had to pick ten of the most awesome things in your life (and they can be anything - people, concepts, bands, foods or anything) that you are a die-hard fan of (and this is measured relative to your own obsessions of things, not other people’s. That is to say that even if you don’t own clothing plastered with a band’s image and cover your room in posters of the band, you can consider yourself a fanboy if you’re more devoted to them than you are to other bands… if that makes sense?), what would those ten things be?

• Opera Internet Browser
• Legacy of Kain series
• Relentless Energy Drink
• Firefly/Serenity series
• Sainsbury’s Supermarket
• Warwick Atheists
• Azureus Bittorrent Client
• Jasc Paint Shop Pro
• Sonic the Hedgehog (especially pre-2003)
• WordPress

And, just so you all know, it was a deliberate move not to put my lady-friend in the list. That implies nothing, I’d still trade these things all away for her in a heartbeat. Remember that.

I only own clothing adorned with the image of three of those things (it oughtn’t be too hard to guess which ones), but I’m working on it. Also, the number ten was arbitrary, here are some of the runners-up:

• Southern Comfort
• Subway
• Rise Against
• Blink-182
• Clickteam
• Facebook
• The Herbs and Spices aisle in supermarkets
• xkcd
• Lindt Lindor truffles
• Tesco Whole Orange Squash (no added sugar)
• Mountain Dew
• Smoked Salmon
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Christian Bale
• JD Wetherspoon
• Nintendo DS

Having looked over the list, there’s quite a lot of computery/internet stuff there, as well as quite a lot of food… I guess it shows the main interests in my life…

…That Modern Art is a Complete Farce?

I’ve been to the Tate Modern gallery. Twice. And do you know what? It blew. I can appreciate art when it’s a well-painted depiction of something, whether inspired or original, but when you’re faced with some of the garbage being dubbed “art” these days… it’s enough to make one want to crawl into a dark, deep hole and never emerge again until the world has destroyed itself completely, and only feral wolves and dirty insects are alive.

Art is not a real-life object taken out of context. Nor is it abstract paintings of real-life things. Art is not a urine-coloured plastic toilet bowl, nor a plughole set into the wall, nor yet red plastic strips hung from the ceiling. And art is definitely not a blank canvas with a single slash in it, like I saw last time I was there. What a fucking ripoff, even free is too much to pay to get into that fecal passage of a gallery. They did have some paying customers there to see the chargeable exhibitions, though, so I guess they keep all the “real” art for the subscribers.

The last time I went, they had a parrot on show as one of the pieces. A real-life, flapping, yapping parrot. I mean - what? It’s a goddamn parrot. A picture of it would be art. But the parrot itself is not art, it’s just lazy. Just paint the fucking thing! Whenever you go to the zoo to see animals, you think you’re seeing captive creatures, but what you actually see is art. The zoo is a lie, children, just like Father Christmas and Gordon Brown. Do not believe anything your parents tell you.

I’m sick of this label of “art” being thrown out all over the place these days. Next they’ll be labelling the crap I doodled onto a tissue “art”. Or maybe the crap I crapped onto a tissue? I’m going to submit some used toilet paper as art… let’s see what those ignorant bastards have to say to that.

Art is art, not this pussy brand we get today. It’s like music these days too. That, like modern art, tries to be something it isn’t. Music these days has to have ‘deep meaning’ to it, and ‘emotions’ behind it. Well, that’s flawed, because often the real meaning put across has to be compromised to make the lyrics fit the tune, rhyme or beat of a song. Real truth would just be a passage of prose with neither rhyme nor reason.

Because, let’s face it: sometimes, the truth just isn’t poetic.

Love, TC.