The joys of London. Don't mix in up with the rest of England.
I agree Camden is the biggest shit hole in the capital. That's why I try to avoid the place as much as possible.
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
| Forum Home > Industrial music forum - Voice out, loud and clear! > Thread | ||||
|
||||
Author |
Post |
||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
This is a thread to vent on all the shit things about England.
Please post your hate on this 3rd-world country here! Feel free to contest anything I say. My grievances: Pot Noodles - in Australia at least we could get some good noodles straight from Asia. In England all you can get is Pot Noodles, which taste like absolute shit. I love the noodle+polystyrene cup format, but I can't eat this crap. The Tube - half the time there's a line suspended...but at the best of times it's hot and as overcrowded and pushy as something you'd see in India. Busses - even worse than the Tube. Busses equate to school kids blasting commercial hip hop out of their mobile phones' speakers. Tell the world your social standing by blasting some commercial rap out your phone! Lack of cafe culture - there are no cafes in London apart from chains like Starbucks and Nero. You cannot sit on the street like any other city in Europe. Cockney accents - seriously. It's called the letter "T". Use it. The theatre - they're gay. I know the cinemas in London are the worst quality in the entire world, so that must explain it. Overpopulation - London is full. I know I'm an immigrant but I won't be hanging around for long. Class system - unfortunately this is quite prevelant. The difference in wages between a shop assistant and an office worker is quite extraordinary. It's good to be on the other side of the line, but I don't want some snide, bored store clerk serving me with all the 'tude they can muster. Competitive music industry - why is it so damn hard to get a gig in this damn town? The only ones I've had are because the promoters are good friends. Trying to get a slot at Slimes is like asking the tide to turn. English snobbery - it's true, the English look down on every other nation. We have no English friends - not one. All of our friends are other Australians or from elsewhere in Europe. I've been here almost a year and I'm a fairly outgoing guy - yet I am unable to make a single English friend. The Weather - Snow at Easter. Jumper + jacket weather the rest of the time. No sun. English television - I don't own a television, but whenever I watch one, 100% of the ads are either for a) pain medication or b) insurance. Maybe a few cleaning products in there as well, but mostly the first 2. This is fucking disgusting....a nation of aspirin-addicts fearful of losing their assets. I use no hyperbole. English press - Reading the London Metro makes me feel stupider. Yes, stupider. I didn't know who Amy Winehouse or Pete Doherty were before coming here but now I know allllll about them. Thank you, London press! Oh, and stfu about Princess Di already... English Beurocracy - do you know how much it costs to get a certificate of approval to get married here? £295 PER PERSON. And you have to surrender your passport for a period of up to 14 weeks, during which time you cannot travel, just to get approved to get married. Camden Town - this den of drug dealers and miriad shitty stalls selling Nightmare Before Christmas shit can burn down to the ground as far as I'm concerned. Completely bereft of any community-spirit, yes you can buy Demonias but they will be sold to you by a big, scary, Eastern European business-man who's just flogging another commodity for cash. Okay, there are a few things that make up for it, namely: Proximity to the rest of Europe. Thriving cyber scene. The DJs at Slimes can actually beatmix. The touring bands are great. Earning £££. Mostly-english speaking. Top Gear. The Mighty Boosh. Oh, I have more grievances..but for now I have to go out, into the motherfucking rain, to get some bits from Argos... Apr 28, 08 | 6:58 am
|
||
Total Topics: 25
Total Posts: 480 |
The joys of London. Don't mix in up with the rest of England.
I agree Camden is the biggest shit hole in the capital. That's why I try to avoid the place as much as possible. Apr 28, 08 | 7:07 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Really? I'm happy to hear that the rest of England isn't like this. I've only been to Birmingham once for work, but other than that only know London.
Camden is good if you live relatively nearby and want to drop into Ressurection Records specifically to pick up the new Hocico album. Other than that it's a horrible place. The nerve of those drug dealers - they will offer you shit when there are cops in clear sight of you. They must be undercover or just fucking stupid... Apr 28, 08 | 7:11 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
Aye...
London != England England != Britain Apr 28, 08 | 7:13 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
!=?
Apr 28, 08 | 7:17 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
In direct response...
Pot Noodles - Only lunatics and the homeless eat Pot Noodles. Go to a Chinese supermarket and buy ramen or, better yet, go to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant. The Tube - It's not as bad as the Paris metro... Busses - A London thing, I think. Buses in Edinburgh aren't bad. Lack of cafe culture - A London thing. Why would you want to sit on the street in London, anyway? If you didn't get mugged in 5 minutes you'd die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We have shed loads of al fresco cafes in Edinburgh. Cockney accents - A London thing, definitely. The theatre - British theatre is the best in the world, I'm 100% sure. Ian McKellen in King Lear is superior to any other country's output. Overpopulation - London has been full since the 1500s. Class system - I'd argue that class has little to do with wages. Competitive music industry - A London thing. London's music scene is totally over-saturated. English snobbery - I personally think this is a London thing. I find London very unfriendly, even though I'm English. The Weather - The one thing I'd agree with. Saying that, we had a nice weekend. English television - You're complaining about advertising? have you watched TV in America?! English press - "Stfu about Princess Di already..." - Again, agreed. English Beurocracy - That's because you're a goddamned foreigner...=) Camden Town - "this den of drug dealers and miriad shitty stalls selling Nightmare Before Christmas shit can burn down to the ground as far as I'm concerned." - I thought it did? Apr 28, 08 | 7:21 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
"!=" = "not equal to"
Sheesh, which 3rd world country taught you mathematics...=) Apr 28, 08 | 7:21 am
| ||
Total Topics: 25
Total Posts: 480 |
I feel sorry for you if you've only been to London and Birmingham. Although it could have been worse it could have been Coventry.
Even in London there are good places and bad places. Get yourself upto Highgate or go to the pubs around Soho and Tottenham Court Road for starters. Apr 28, 08 | 7:30 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
British Museum
Natural History Museum Tate Modern Tate Britain Science Museum Greenwich Observatory The Globe All good things about London. Apr 28, 08 | 7:34 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
"Although it could have been worse it could have been Coventry."
Or Milton Keynes... Apr 28, 08 | 7:35 am
| ||
Total Topics: 18
Total Posts: 899 |
If London was crap, why more and more people are moving there? The answer is MONEY. Unless you're a total lame ass loser, you will find a job that's better than anything you've had in your home country. I agree it's full and overpopulated, but it has it's charms. Like every other city in the world. Cut London some slack.
Apr 28, 08 | 7:44 am
| ||
Total Topics: 34
Total Posts: 943 |
Christ didnt realise it was difficult to get a gig at slimes! :O This scene is hardly creaking under the weight of so much abundant talent surely anyone half-decent should be able to get a chance....Think you are pushing it about the beat matching, ive heard some well dodgy mixing in my time in there!
I dont mind the tube. You should try getting a bus in Bristol, my hometown- you will be crying out for the tube afterwards, believe me. I like Camden, altho i agree that its pretty grim. It suffers from a mix of scene kid snarling 'Im so great' attitude and dozy tourists clogging up the narrow pavements. Thus making it difficult for people like me who actually is there for a purpose (usually resurrection records) to get where Im going. Spot on about the nighmare before christmas merch! Totally agree about the class system. In fact this whole thread makes me wonder just what makes great britain so great? Apr 28, 08 | 7:46 am
| ||
Total Topics: 25
Total Posts: 480 |
What made Great Britain so great?
The Empire and the Slave trade. As for Slimelight and gigs in London. Its incredibly difficult for electronic bands to get gigs without a promoter behind them. Flag runs most of the electro-orientated gigs in London. So contact them. Other promoters have basically no interest in putting on electronic bands when there is a million indie guitar bands out there who will fill a venue. Apr 28, 08 | 7:50 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
What made Great Britain so great?
Yorkshire. Apr 28, 08 | 7:53 am
| ||
Total Topics: 4
Total Posts: 123 |
I`m in the north and i`d say it isnt much better up here... I`d agree the class system is prevalent in uk and society is very much split along those lines.. the streets are not placers for hanging out in or just being around, the enlish have this obsession with compartmentalization, metally and in the country its self everything has a set place ... parks are for being outside in, have people hanging about in the streets then they are obvious riff-raff.. we worship our institutions and regulation every-fucking-thing..
personally i`d like to escape to the mainland before it becomes some obscene version of US only more socially repressed. Apr 28, 08 | 8:01 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
Slimelight in general - No comment. Have stopped going at all. Steve's outside of Slimelight sets rock tho'...
Gigs in London - Have heard that ULU Student Union is taking all comers at the moment (Merzbow played there a few weeks back - not a Flag concert). Music biz is always about who you know. I was lucky and have a few friends on Slimes staff... still haven't played there yet (DJing or otherwise). Slimes is renowned for being difficult that way tho', I'm told. Class system - it's more like a "do you give a toss and have an education?" system. No real problems if you're prepared to put in a bit of graft and aren't on a Commonwealth holiday-visa (if you are, welcome to exploitation central). I agree on the lack of cafes tho'. You'd think there'd be more, and near the river too... *shrug* It's still better than at home, and my day job is in the finance industry. 'Nuff said really. Apr 28, 08 | 8:14 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Flag runs most of the electro-orientated gigs in London. So contact them.
Yeah, I had a good chat with Frank. He said because he's never heard of us he'll work with us if we buy some cover-disc slots on some UK magazines like Alternative Magazine. There's a few more important things on the shopping list than £150 for a cover-disc slot, so I'll leave it for now. It's probably easier to get a gig as a band than it is to get a DJ slot. There's so many talented DJs around that you've got a snowball's chance of even a guest-slot... just what makes great britain so great I don't know...I get this overwhelming feeling that we are in a fallen empire...a country that was once great but is now beyond a joke. Though, like was said above, it's probably been like this since the 1500's. Unless you're a total lame ass loser, you will find a job that's better than anything you've had in your home country. Agreed :) Like I already said, one of the best things about living in London is earning Pounds. The Tube - It's not as bad as the Paris metro... Hah...yeah, at least the trains on the tube come every minute or 3. Had to wait a whopping 6 minutes for a train in Paris...I was outraged. But stll, after almost a year of daily Tube-travelling, changing at Kings Cross St Pancras every week-day in the middle of peak-hour, along with half of London, it's a laughable situation and I'm sick of it.. You know what I'm talking about.. I must admit I do have a bit of Edinburgh-envy. It sounds alot nicer. Although I have some goth friends there who apparantly get a bit of shit for the way they look. Apr 28, 08 | 8:23 am
| ||
Total Topics: 13
Total Posts: 422 |
@ Psykick
Lack of cafe culture - A London thing. Why would you want to sit on the street in London, anyway? If you didn't get mugged in 5 minutes you'd die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We have shed loads of al fresco cafes in Edinburgh. Tha cafes were my favourite thing about Edinburgh. On the 2 days a year when the weather was good enough to sit outside that is... Apr 28, 08 | 8:23 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
RE the class system, this is just a gripe as a consumer, not as a worker.
I actually think there's very positive discrimination in the workplace with Australians. We have a reputation of being hard workers, and the English fluency and first-world background is a plus. I have a good job in the public sector, and got my job within the first week of arriving (first interview I went to). Alternatively, I have a friend with a Polish surname, and it took him 6 months to find a job. I'm just sick of walking into a store like Argos or HMV or something, and dealing with some cockney bitch behind the counter on £4-5/hour, giving me attitude. I know you earn fuck-all, and that sucks, but don't take it out on me! Apr 28, 08 | 8:31 am
| ||
Total Topics: 34
Total Posts: 943 |
@toadflakz
"Slimelight in general - No comment. Have stopped going at all. Steve's outside of Slimelight sets rock tho'..." Really? I have to say that I caught his dj set at club antichrist and he started with [x]-rx and it was same old same old from there lol. Although I should stress thats not intended as criticism as his dj slots at slimes are usually the best parts of the night. In defence of slimelight as it seems to get criticised a lot, are there any better club nights in the country let alone London? They have just closed down two nights in the city where I live (admittedly they both werent great nights) and having been to the betty ford clinic and club antichrist Id take slimes any day. Apr 28, 08 | 8:40 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
I've seen some flyers for some cool-sounding clubs in other cities. Seems to be alot that specialist in harsh EBM mixed with dark psy, which is a fave mix of mine.
I don't spend as much time on the EBM floor of Slimes as the top floor, and the DJs playing powernoise and dark psy are surprisingly good I think. Honestly, the music is the best thing about Slimes, and it's actually pretty good... Apr 28, 08 | 8:45 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ Preempt,
"Tha cafes were my favourite thing about Edinburgh. On the 2 days a year when the weather was good enough to sit outside that is..." There is that, yeah...=) Although, when it's nice then it tends to be *really* nice. We actually had quite a balmy weekend so hopefully that bodes well. I, personally, think that Edinburgh is the best city in the UK and when the weather's good it's great fun. If it's *really* sunny then I get to use my roof garden...=) @ VirulHOINT, "I must admit I do have a bit of Edinburgh-envy. It sounds alot nicer. Although I have some goth friends there who apparantly get a bit of shit for the way they look. " In my experience, Edinburgh is more goth friendly than a lot of UK cities. We've got a decent amount of gothy bars and more clubs than you can shake a stick at. You get people on the street that will shout at anyone dressed slightly weird but, after a couple of bottles of Buckfast, they'll shout at anyone. Even people who aren't actually there. If you walk around Granton at 2am in full goth-gear then, yeah, you might get some grief. I really don't see the class thing as an issue but maybe I'm too close to it. Apr 28, 08 | 8:55 am
| ||
Total Topics: 34
Total Posts: 943 |
@ VirulHOINHt
Totally agree, what other reason is there to go but for the music? The type of people that go there are generally very cliquey and I cant be arsed to get involved in all that. Generally I have had the best nights in there when I have just gone on my own on the spur of the moment and dont know anyone in there. Musically its very good I think. More of a mix than other ebm/industrial nights and im always hearing new tracks that get me into other bands etc. Apr 28, 08 | 9:22 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
^^Yeah, there's always plenty of "ooh what's this track!?" moments at Slimes.
I find the regular crowd there interesting....the women dress for the part, nice cyber/uv-reactive clothes and hair extensions/tubes, but they dance like they're at an R&B club, hypnotically gyrating their reproductive organs like they're in a Ricky Martin video or something.. I wasn't prepared for that dancing style in a club like that. It is a bit cliquey in there... Oddly enough, it's easy to meet and talk to random people outside waiting in the line to get in, or walking from Angel station..but somehow more cliquey once inside. Apr 28, 08 | 9:29 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Oh - and Soman is playing this weekend.
Can't ask for more than that. Except for the rest of the city to not be so retarded. Apr 28, 08 | 9:31 am
| ||
Total Topics: 36
Total Posts: 812 |
Vents etc easily summed up...
If you don't like it why you here.... If you don't like it then fuck off..... I do have vents etc but it still comes to to the above 2 points at the end of the day... Apr 28, 08 | 9:44 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Thanks Satan - we're moving to Holland :)
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this.... But the only people who defent the situation they are in are the ones who have to stay in it... Apr 28, 08 | 9:46 am
| ||
Total Topics: 290
Total Posts: 6645 |
* Obsession with London.
I dont even see it as part of England. its more like its own shitty country. I hate how foreigners seem to think its the be-all-end-all of England, and judge England on shitty London. People that think England has shit food have probably been to london, people that think English are all rude-cunts have probably been to London. * Shit sci-fi. England used to produce THE best sci-fi with sapphire & steel, quatermass, Red Dwarf, CLASSIC dr who and Blakes7. Now it has ruined that name with crap like current Dr who, Torchwood, Primeval and the like. Embarassingly bad to the extreme. * Anti-American Sentiments. Seriously, if your going to be critical of America quit being a twat yourself. I found it embarassing when I was hanging out good American buddies who visited and people asked the most ignorant questions to them and stereotyped them into the typical "bush/christian idiot" when they are as against that idiocy as anyone else. @VirulHOINHt, You havent made a single-friend here ? thats probably cos alot of us limeys in the south are usually fucking unapproachable and keep to themselves, its hard to talk to anyone in the south. Up north people seem alot more friendlier. Anyhow, your always welcome to come visit me. But id never go back to London again myself. Too many fucking people, and I hate that city. Apr 28, 08 | 9:50 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
@Storm and Virul3nt: hehe... Guess my taste is very wide and well-informed then. Generally, I got to Slimes and I'm disappointed because on the middle-floor they're playing the same old synthpop that they were a year ago (and only the standard mixes, not even the remixes) and that to call it an EBM floor is a complete misnomer because it's 90% synthpop.
The upstairs floor is cool, if you're extremely into noise or darkpsy. I like noise. And I like darkpsy. I just don't want to listen to it all night except for a few hours when Horny Simon is playing. There is a helluva lot of stuff that they're NOT playing which may not be the absolute greatest hugest hit records of all time, but they need to be played because I go there twice in 3 months on the 3 Floor Slime and it feels like the 2 nights are a clone of each other music-wise. Live music on the top floor is aboslute shit. The sound sucks, the stage lighting sucks, and more importently the cliquey cyber types are so shoved up their own arses that anyone they think is "not cool" they try walk all over... Now me being a bit of a typical rivet tends to get angry very quickly. And I almost exploded when I tried to do the big night last year with Angelspit, Ayria, Terrorfakt and E-Craft (those being the ones I wanted to see). The bands came on very late. Their sound sucked, uber-tall motherfuckers shoved in front of me (I'm talking my nose was pushed into this motherfuckers back he was so close) and then proceeded to try and dance. I wanted to kill the motherfucker, I swear! >:( I haven't been back since that night... And after the stupid fuckheads at Die Krupps (a Flag concert where they packed Dingwalls to the limits because they'd decided the Ballroom was too expensive or some shit - and then a mosh started resulting in much pain), I've almost sworn off going to see acts in the UK entirely because of it. But back to a happier point: When Steve plays Inferno, his sets rock. The AntiChrist at Sin last year with DJ Cyberchrist was extremely good. And I'm going to say that I think your assessment of people's beat-matching is also incorrect. ;) You haven't heard myself or my South African DJ friends play yet... ;) Apr 28, 08 | 10:02 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Chris C'tan:
Well, I was surprised, because I've spoken to nice English people online, such as your fine self, but now realise the difference between London and the rest of England. Thanks for the offer :) I've made lots of friends - but all of them are from Europe. Though we are planning a trip further north to Edinburgh soon... The food is quite bad here indeed... I thought London (esp. Brick Lane) was famous for it's Indian curries at least, but I haven't had a good one here yet. There's one phenomenally good Thai restaurant in Soho, though. I've only met a few Americans, and they've all been nice + intelligent. But I'm still a bit scared to go to that country... Apr 28, 08 | 10:03 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
I've never been to Slimelight but my girlfriend has. She summed it up by saying "the floor was sticky and it smelt of piss".
Apr 28, 08 | 10:09 am
| ||
Total Topics: 290
Total Posts: 6645 |
@VirulHOINHt,
iv found nearly everywhere EXCEPT London iv been to has been at least 'ok' to pretty decent. And man, if you want a decent Indian Curry go to anywhere BUT London. Hell, even my small village has a nice Indian Curry restaurant, and the people that serve are very friendly. I hope you have better experiences outside Hell..eh London. Apr 28, 08 | 10:10 am
| ||
Total Topics: 290
Total Posts: 6645 |
@Psykick V for Vampyr,
iv been once and that is an accurate description as you can get. The whole place was a toilet, including many of the people there. Apr 28, 08 | 10:10 am
| ||
Total Topics: 36
Total Posts: 812 |
@Virul.....
I'm leaving on the boat soon after yours :))) Apr 28, 08 | 10:11 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Toadflakz:
Yeah, the Slimes format of having pre-Slimes bands and then Slimes bands is very weird. I was at that Ego Likeness+Ayria+Angelpit / Terrorfakt+E-Craft gig. We got there early, Ego Likeness were still finishing up, and this was about 20:30... But the band I reeeally wanted to see was E-Craft. The worst thing was, after Angelspit, they closed the effing band floor for like 3 hours to "clean" it! So we had to subject ourselves to the cramped bar-area... Then when the door opened there was a DJ on for an hour, and then Terrorfakt. They played a brilliant set but we'd been there for hours and headaches were setting in. Since I was so resolved on seeing E-Craft, we made a deal to catch their first song and then leave, which we did. Fuck...it's just ridiculous..it's as if they think if they put the pre-bands on really early, we'll stay at the venue for 9 hours and spend hundreds of pounds at the bar or something.... I CALL MONKEY SCHEME! (hey, Terrorfakt's even involved...j/k) re beatmixing, let's just say it's better than what I'm used to in AU and I heard in the US they don't beatmix either. Personally, I'm quite good at beatmixing, so can't tolerate it when other DJs don't even try. At least they give it a shot at Slimes... Oh - and on the "EBM" floor, I do not find that they play outdated synthpop hits, but this new "industrial" stuff, you know, Endzeit stuff, Straftans, post-Combichrist clones, that sort of thing. But I still prefer the upstairs for the noise+psy. Apr 28, 08 | 10:12 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
more importently the cliquey cyber types are so shoved up their own arses that anyone they think is "not cool" they try walk all over.
yeah i get that n the wendyhouse in leeds. the fashonata and socilites tend to travell. i sware, the next time a prissey bitch with fake hair and a two dimensional waste pushes me out of the way im going to push her into the way of a passing truck. Apr 28, 08 | 10:14 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
INNIT?!!?
also, re: british tv, American television is pretty much the same. One commercial for medications after another, all day. Brave New World, here we come! Apr 28, 08 | 10:16 am
| ||
Total Topics: 294
Total Posts: 4158 |
Aren't Australians basically the descendants of criminals FROM Britain? No wonder they don't like you, they hear your accent and think of your nation's history, some asshole pissing off a stingray, and bad Crocodile Dundee Movies.
I have no problem with either nation because i live in America, where everything is going to hell quite fast. Apr 28, 08 | 10:19 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Chris C'tan:
I have an irrational phobia of small towns and rural areas. This is why I chose to live in London. I'm a bit worried because Holland is quite "rural", but all the cities are like 20 minutes apart and you're only ever 20-60 minutes away from Schiphol airport... That and windmils = awesome. @Pathogen: I stand by my theory that there is nothing in Brave New World that we are not already doing today. These Londoners are the biggest bunch of Eccy-munters and Alco's I've seen! Who can blame them for wanting a holiday from their London lives... Apr 28, 08 | 10:21 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Thanks for the history lesson, The Feckler. I'm very grateful for the reminder. But I've already said that there is positive discrimination towards Australians. I wouldn't want to be Polish or Black trying to make friends and influence people in London either.
Apr 28, 08 | 10:23 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
@Virul: At least you haven't been there when some of the middle-floor DJs whip out the Marilyn Manson and System of a Down... :)
Yeah, the variety on the middle-floor is limited to the absolute hittest of hits and even then, I've not heard one track from the new Grendel played at Slimes. Zombienatione sometimes 3 times in a night (FFS!) but "Hate this"? Or "Void malign"? Not a whisper... Ever. And they took 6 months to start playing Noisuf-X's new album too... Also, they've recently started playing Lass uns Tanzen. That was old in Germany a year ago already! It's really, really upsetting to me. In South Africa (of all places) if you didn't have a new release (legally I might add) within 2 weeks of EU release date, the patrons would start slagging you. Here the patrons are so fucked off their brackets on various drug cocktails, the music is secondary, which is why the DJs are... not up to my personal high standards. ;) Even the good ones. Apr 28, 08 | 10:24 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
I must admit, the little I know about London confuses the hell out of me. Being charged absurd amounts of money simply to drive into a city for a day would get the entire city council hung, drawn and quartered in any American city (aside from New York, but they're weird).
Apr 28, 08 | 10:25 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Toadflakz:
You're fucking dead right about Zombienation!!! Goddamn... Like I said though, I'm an upstairs man.. The majority of the punters are indeed munted or there with their reproductive organs in mind, hence the incredibly scantily-clad ladeez. I'd say very few are there for the music. But for those of us who can appreciate the music when it's good and the occasionally skilled DJ it's all the better! Apr 28, 08 | 10:28 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Patho:
I know - charging Americans to drive into their capital-centres would be like taking away their guns! Woooooahhhhhhhhhh NO I DIDN'T!!! :P Apr 28, 08 | 10:30 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ Pathogen,
"Being charged absurd amounts of money simply to drive into a city for a day" The congestion charge is just for certain, congested areas of London. You can still drive around a good part of London and avoid the charge areas. It's a step up from pedestrianising the area which is something that would be impossible in London. Anyway, doesn't America charge a toll just to use the highways? @ VirulHOINH, I certainly haven't seen much in the way of anti-Polish sentiment around here, apart from the usual morons bumping their gums. We have Polish delis and bakers throughout the town (and they're lovely), a good number of Polish hairdressers, Polish-language signs in the doctors' surgeries and increasing numbers of Polish people working in shops. I can point you to a couple of good curry houses in Edinburgh. I'm off to one myself tonight. Apr 28, 08 | 10:33 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
Hey, I have to make sure McDonald's gets my five Big Macs with extra cheese right somehow!
Apr 28, 08 | 10:33 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
PV: That's state by state, and usually only certain segments of the highways. For instance, in Illinois, there's a long stretch of one of the major highways that becomes a toll highway after you get out of Chicago (past the airport, specifically), but as soon as you hit Wisconsin, it's magically not a toll road. Also magically, when you get to Wisconsin, it's suddenly paved properly.
Apr 28, 08 | 10:35 am
| ||
Total Topics: 34
Total Posts: 943 |
@ chris coreline
You get that shit up north too? I agree with the sentiments expressed earlier that northerners are generally nicer, Ive lived in the south all me life and on the occasions Ive been visiting in the north there has always sturck me as being a difference, which is why its disappointing to hear of cyber snobbery there. Plus ive heard that its quite friendly and welcoming at the wendy house, although that might have been propaganda from the club itself. Shows that this scene as a whole (in the uk anyway) is so full of people who are so far up their own arse that it doesnt matter what city you are in, you are guaranteed to be surrounded by people who are really just a waste of good air. @ VirulHOINHt & Toadflakz Yeh its more terror ebm these days on the middle floor with a little bit of synth pop thrown in. I dont have a lot of time for the upper floor these days- the industrial is generally shit, often its just too much noise and not enough rhythm rendering it undancable and often unlistenable. Agreed, the djs do make an effort when it comes to the beat matching, just seems to me there is the occasional glaring error lol. Slimes is a dump no question about it, but I felt strangely out of place the times that I went to synthetic culture, man that place was too nice a venue for ebm/synth-pop. Its just not right going to an ebm night in a well kept club with nice fittings instead of the usual dungeon/toilet you normally get. Apr 28, 08 | 10:36 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Pathogen: on your way to church, right?
@Psykick Vamp: I've certainly seen alot of Polish shops and establishments where I live. In fact in the area of London where I live, before people ask for change, they ask if I speak English, because they assume that the only white people there are Polish. Good to hear you haven't seen any discrimination though. Apr 28, 08 | 10:37 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
VirulHOINHt: To Wal-Mart, actually.
Apr 28, 08 | 10:39 am
| ||
Total Topics: 36
Total Posts: 812 |
I hate everyone equally ;)
Apr 28, 08 | 10:40 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
@Virul: Yep. It's just a pity that live shows turn into a "look at me, I like this band so I'm cool" contest. It irks me greatly...
So I avoid the place and go to Inferno instead. Better company, when Steve plays (or their resident semi-cyber DJ) the music is better than Slimes middle-floor. The booze is cheaper and the entrance is cheaper. Also, going once a month means I'm not over-exposed to certain branches of my music collection so when I hear a Noisuf-X track I'll actually dance instead of yawning at the overplayedness of it all.... ;) @patho: Hehe... New York voted out a congestion charging scheme like London's. Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing. On the contrary, I think it's quite good. Especially the extension to 4x4s for single rich people. I'd give exemptions to families if they show proof they have large families (then they'd pay normal car rates). Most people use the train/Tube to get to work here. It's a lot cheaper than a car. Apr 28, 08 | 10:41 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ Storm,
"Ive been visiting in the north there has always sturck me as being a difference, which is why its disappointing to hear of cyber snobbery there" The problem is that goth snootiness trumps Northern friendliness. @ VirulHOINHt, It's not that there's *no* discrimination. There certainly is. I just don't think it's endemic or particularly targetted against Poles. In Scotland, the biggest target for racism is probably the English. Apr 28, 08 | 10:41 am
| ||
Total Topics: 34
Total Posts: 943 |
@ Toadflakz
Just to add Slimes djs are generally slow at filtering stuff through, they have just started spinning 'Harsh Generation', the last couple of times Ive been there in March they have played 'Void Malign' and 'Dirty'. Apr 28, 08 | 10:43 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@Patho: ah, on your way to wal-mart to buy some bullets, eh?
Okay sorry I'll stop this now! @Toadflakz: I should really give Inferno a try.... Though I am happy with the drinks at Slimes. You can BYO anything (one time we had some friends staying with us, and we mixed absinthe and fanta in a big 2L bottle and walked in carrying that lol), or it's £2 for a can of Strongbow (mmmmm), which I think is pretty good value. The status of Slimes has obviously gotten quite out of control though...it's got the ego of a "super-club" or something.. @Psykick: Wow, that's surprising, I didn't know there was such active racism against the english in Edinburgh. Luckily, people can't pick my accent straight away. I've worked with people who couldn't tell I wasn't english for 2 weeks, and even then they wouldn't have guessed Australian. Non-native English speakers have no clue (most recent guess was that I have a French accent) Very neutral accent... Apr 28, 08 | 10:51 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
I must admit, I still secretly hope everyone in Scotland acts like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jha0dxEAmLQ
Apr 28, 08 | 10:56 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ VirulHOINHt,
It's not really an active racism but a general background thing, which is possibly more disturbing. I can walk about most of Scotland, with my relatively posh English accent, and get no trouble whatsoever but there's a certain type of character that will immediately blame me personally for every woe that Scotland's suffered over the past 500 years. Only yesterday there was some guy on the train who asked a guy next to me what the next stop was and when the guy responded perfectly politely but with a bit of an English accent the Scottish guy responded with "You sound like a right fucking London cunt". Turns out the guy was actually from Cumbria... You will get lots of "banter" about the English and (hilariously) how we're all shandy-drinking poofs but there is a simmering resentment there, which can be quite frightening. There's a lot of religious issues in Scotland, too, mainly compounded by football violence (the two main football teams in Scotland, Celtic and Rangers are firmly divided between Catholics and Protestants). It's allegedly better nowadays but you wouldn't know it from walking about certain parts of Glasgow. Apr 28, 08 | 11:01 am
| ||
Total Topics: 1
Total Posts: 44 |
tea and crumpets too
Apr 28, 08 | 11:06 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Well maybe the English are all a bunch of shandy-drinking, blouse-wearing, tea-swilling poofs!
But it must be quite something to be in a country with such prevelant religious tension. In AU, at least the parts I come from, we take the whole "religion" thing with a grain of salt (as we take most things). No tension, no war, no fucking history to speak of... It's good to be in Europe where there is some history, but sometimes I can be a bit insensitive. Apr 28, 08 | 11:08 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
It's irritating, more than anything. Halfwits wasting their time on hating people who (OMG) believe a slightly different translation of a made-up book than they do. If you believe in religion then fair enough but the amount of energy that goes into Catholic/Protestant scuffles (normally between drunken thugs) is annoying and depressing in equal measures.
Thankfully, they keep themselves to themselves and it's worse in Glasgow than it is in Edinburgh so I'm well out of it. I do like shandy (now and then) along with tea *and* crumpets, I have to admit. Never worn a blouse though... Apr 28, 08 | 11:12 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
@PV and Virul: hehe... Wear black in South Africa and you get spat on in shopping malls and called a racist. ;)
Apr 28, 08 | 11:15 am
| ||
Total Topics: 37
Total Posts: 1003 |
..called a racist.
Sorry, called a satanist! EDIT BUTTON FTW! Apr 28, 08 | 11:16 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
I think we're missing the important question here. Chavs: Hilarious or not? I vote yes.
Apr 28, 08 | 11:18 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Halfwits wasting their time on hating people who (OMG) believe a slightly different translation of a made-up book than they do.
OMG.....you have no idea how much I agree with what you just said....like whoah.. I could go on...but I'm sure you know my reasons. I like scones. In fact I do like stopping by a deli on the way to work and starting my day with a good scone. But I don't like crumpets. Oh - and Devonshire Tea (that's like tea and a scone w/ jam + cream, right?) is the fucking BUSINESS. Apr 28, 08 | 11:19 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Chavs.... I'd rather spend a night in the Gaza Strip than a Chav-infested street. I'm serious...
Apr 28, 08 | 11:22 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
oh man, from an outsider perspective, the whole chav thing is fucking HILARIOUS. The Devvo films are the only thing David Firth has done that I find even remotely watchable.
Apr 28, 08 | 11:26 am
| ||
Total Topics: 2
Total Posts: 106 |
Haha thats some funny shit :) The class issue is actually worse in the US than the UK we just have the marketing trick that wearing blue jeans and acting "local" makes you a populist.
I think on average your rich don't make quite the income that we do (even w/ the dollar devaluing) (I was briefly looking for jobs in london and was a bit astounded at the income disparity) but act "richer" but our rich are actually richer but act poorer. Actually I take that back, our rich act rich .. mcmansions, tacky cars etc .. but its a bougiouse rich .. you guys have the classist rich thing going on .. they are both horrible in just .. different ways.. Apr 28, 08 | 11:30 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
^^RE rich not being rich... Ever see the show "Keeping Up Appearances"?
"Bucket residence, lady of the house speaking!" Oh, and blame Donald Trump :) Apr 28, 08 | 11:33 am
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
Apr 28, 08 | 11:37 am
| ||
Total Topics: 5
Total Posts: 667 |
I watch Ramsey's kitchen nightmares on BBC. I really hope English society isn't represented by the doofs running those restaurants. The Ramsey fellow seems much more reasonable on that show than on Hell's Kitchen...
Apr 28, 08 | 11:55 am
| ||
Total Topics: 17
Total Posts: 2612 |
@ VirulHOINHt,
"English snobbery - it's true, the English look down on every other nation. We have no English friends - not one. All of our friends are other Australians or from elsewhere in Europe. I've been here almost a year and I'm a fairly outgoing guy - yet I am unable to make a single English friend." Perhaps you are a victim of history. I met my first Australian complaining about how everything in London is shit in a comic shop in Covent Garden in, I think, 1990. He went to great lengths to explain to the guy behind the counter how nothing about London was any good and that Australia was much better. He did eventually get asked why he didn't fuck off back to Australia. Since then, I've lost track of how many Australians I've heard saying broadly the same thing. Maybe compared with Australia, England is shit, but pointing it out doesn't make one a particularly lovable guest. Sadly, recognisable accent or not, you are now a stereotype of the Australian in London and the cycle continues. Londoners expect Australians to moan about the place and so view them with suspicion. Australians don't get on with the locals as a result and start to complain... Why do Australians persist in coming here? When they get back to Australia, do they forget to tell everyone what an awful time they had? I don't get it. Apr 28, 08 | 12:12 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ VirulHOINHt,
"[i]Oh - and Devonshire Tea (that's like tea and a scone w/ jam + cream, right?) is the fucking BUSINESS.[/i[" Call it a cream tea to be on the safe side. People in Cornwall will tie you up and burn you on the morrow if you say it's from Devon. Apr 28, 08 | 12:15 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
@raedarius:
Believe me, I have other things to talk about than how shit England is. And I'm especially careful about it when talking to people who live here - only when directly asked of my opinions do I say that personally I find life hard here. You're right, you're not going to win friends and influence people by bashing their homeland, so I don't mention it in social situations. I'm just venting here, based on my experiences :) I'm surprised that most of the responses came from UK-natives actually. The only thing I can think to explain why Londoners seem so closed-natured, is that they must have a front about Australians, assuming that we hate it here, and we have a front about Londoners, assuming that they look down on us by default due to history, so we act defensively, and that sub-conscious feeling from both parties must come across somehow. Does that sound right? Apr 28, 08 | 12:37 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 82
Total Posts: 5063 |
<<<Anyway, doesn't America charge a toll just to use the highways?>>>
As Pathogen said, it's really a state by state issue - and typically more on the east coast (even though they've started a couple tolls here in the Pacific Northwest to pay off a couple new bridges). Apr 28, 08 | 12:44 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 17
Total Posts: 2612 |
@ VirulHOINHt,
That's pretty much the sum of it, though places like the Redback Tavern and The Church (the original Kings Cross one) contribute too... "I'm surprised that most of the responses came from UK-natives actually." The dynamic between London and the rest of the UK is quite interesting really. In short, the rest of the UK hates London, and London doesn't give the rest of the UK much thought. I spent my childhood in the north resenting London, then I moved here for work and I can't see myself leaving. Apr 28, 08 | 12:50 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 82
Total Posts: 5063 |
Oh, and responding to the original rant:
I've only been to London once for vacation. I thought the Tube was great. Took me everywhere I wanted to go (when I finally figured out how to read the map - glad my wife was with me, as she's the smart one). I'd love to have something like that in my town. All we have are buses and...buses (not counting cabs). Granted, Seattle's small enough to literally walk anywhere you want within an hour or so, but still. They're just now biulding a lightrail system...which will be going through no areas in which I travel through... My real gripe with the town was the air pollution. Only in Toyko have I ever seen it so bad. When you can actually see the clouded air from cars hanging over the streets, there's a problem. Apr 28, 08 | 12:55 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 290
Total Posts: 6645 |
@VirulHOINHt,
I dont know about that. Londoners seem closed-natured to everyone including their own selves from my experience (at least). And I like Aussies :D Apr 28, 08 | 12:59 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
Virul: So do you wear that cork hat thing? Does Foster's really flow in all the rivers? is Paul Hogan really President For Life?
Apr 28, 08 | 1:07 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 9
Total Posts: 20 |
This is what I would say to any immigrant who is moaning about their lot : piss off somewhere else if you're not happy here.
I was born in France and believe me, after 11 years of being here (because I was in love with English culture, history, literature, eccentricity, etc.), I still think it was the best decision EVER. At least this country is ALIVE. I'm sure if you haven't got any English friends it's because of you not them. Sorry, but that's the way I see it... The man of my life is English and wow ... No, it's not perfect but there's absolutely nowhere else I would like to live. I can't even be bothered to go through your list. Because you're right. But hell, rather that than anywhere else. Good luck in your search of the perfect country. Apr 28, 08 | 2:43 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
FabienneT: piss off somewhere else if you're not happy here.
I always hate it when people say that. If that had been the rhetoric that won the day in 1776, the US would still be a British dependency. Apr 28, 08 | 3:05 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 9
Total Posts: 20 |
I have no rhetoric whatsoever myself. I just think people are responsible for what they do and the decision they make.
Apr 28, 08 | 3:17 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
Well yeah, but I don't think that invalidates the possibility that they may have coherent criticisms of their adopted home. As long as it's a real argument (IE, not "x country sucks because none of the women like me" or something), I think a lot of immigrants are in a good position to shed much-needed light on social problems that natives have grown so accustomed to that they don't see them anymore.
Apr 28, 08 | 3:23 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ Paxyll,
"My real gripe with the town was the air pollution. Only in Toyko have I ever seen it so bad." Interestingly, the only place I've seen *really* bad air pollution in the scared-to-go-outside vein is in Los Angeles. London, Tokyo and even Beijing didn't come close, in my experience. I agree with Chris in that Londoners are just nippy with everyone, even other Londoners. All big cities look down on the provincials but you probably have to understand that a lot of native Londoners may well have never left (Greater) London. Apr 28, 08 | 3:27 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 718
Total Posts: 5725 |
I think some of these things are universal. You go on a piece of shit public bus here in Philadelphia and you get "gangstas" blaring their cell music or headphones. weee..
I still want to visit London/England overall. So much history! Apr 28, 08 | 3:31 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 435
Total Posts: 3777 |
Apr 28, 08 | 4:16 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 17
Total Posts: 2612 |
@ gigatronik,
"National(ized) socialist medicine only takes care of the basics."  Why isn't that page called http://wiki.gibberish.com ? It seems more appropriate. Apr 28, 08 | 4:29 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
In Britain we ask the same but it's "Why do all Americans have braces..."
Apr 28, 08 | 4:32 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 5
Total Posts: 667 |
I think it's because we're British descendents and we're terrified of our teeth ending up like any BBC show....
That said ya'll make the best Chicken Tikka Masala over in GB :) Apr 28, 08 | 4:42 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 4:44 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS BRACES
Apr 28, 08 | 5:28 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 5:29 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS BRACES
Apr 28, 08 | 5:30 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 5:31 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS BRACES
Apr 28, 08 | 5:31 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 5:32 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS BRACES
Apr 28, 08 | 5:33 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 5:35 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS BRACES
Apr 28, 08 | 5:36 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
DENTAL PLAN
Apr 28, 08 | 5:41 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 0 |
LISA NEEDS-
aw, thanks a lot charlie, now you made me lose my concentration. Apr 28, 08 | 5:46 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 82
Total Posts: 5063 |
DENTAL PLAN .
Apr 28, 08 | 6:20 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 82
Total Posts: 5063 |
<<<Interestingly, the only place I've seen *really* bad air pollution in the scared-to-go-outside vein is in Los Angeles. >>>
With LA, it's a combo of pollution and just the way the air is in that area. It was reported to be brown air long before white settlers ended up there. Both Toyko and London had something I had never seen before: What looked like a fog looming over the highways. Apr 28, 08 | 6:25 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
UGLY WOMEN
TERRIBLE FOOD FUCKED WEATHER Apr 28, 08 | 7:53 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 57
Total Posts: 2551 |
@malfunkt:
Are you talking about England or the upcoming Gothic Cruise? Apr 28, 08 | 9:17 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 435
Total Posts: 3777 |
hahaah
Apr 28, 08 | 11:27 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
LOLz :)
Apr 29, 08 | 3:20 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
@ Paxyll,
"With LA, it's a combo of pollution and just the way the air is in that area. It was reported to be brown air long before white settlers ended up there." Sorry, but "brown air"? Hah hah hah! The problem with LA (same problem with Athens) is that it's in a bowl formation. Coastal winds want to blow inland but are baffled by raised land so can't go anywhere and any pollution just settles. No matter, really. The pollution is still *bad*. The geographical formations just amplify it. I remember driving into LA to get to the airport and thinking I was heading into the dust storm from the Mummy. Not saying that London or Tokyo or *good*, obviously. London can be very, very grimy. Apr 29, 08 | 4:02 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
RE the Tube being "good", well..of course it's good on a holiday to get you around. But try catching it every day and changing at one of the busiest stations at rush hour twice a day. It's downright undignified, squeezing into the cars like that. And the pollution is something else...any Londoner will know that when they blow their nose, black stuff comes out..
@Patho: yep, I wear the cork-hat. Compared to the US stereotypes, I'll take the cork-hat :) Oh, and I've never had Forsters! But as for the comments to the effect of "why the fuck did I move to London?", well, why the fuck not? Apart from the obvious reason of it being an English-speaking home-base to see the rest of Europe from. For adventure, to see something I hadn't seen before, and experience it for myself. To do shit I wouldn't have imagined doing. To hear some music that I would never have heard before, and to put all of these experiences into music somehow. To see if this is the perfect city... But alas, the more I see of the world, the more I realise there is no perfect city. I came, I experienced, and now I can say first-hand that it sucks. What's wrong with any of that? It is sad the amount of people who've never left this town. I guess not everyone has that thing in them that wants to see the world... Apr 29, 08 | 4:41 am
| ||
Total Topics: 17
Total Posts: 2612 |
"UGLY WOMEN
TERRIBLE FOOD FUCKED WEATHER" Wasn't that what Jacques Chirac was overheard saying that cost Paris the Olympics? Apr 30, 08 | 6:51 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
^^hahahaha.....
At least Paris has a certain magic to it.... Apr 30, 08 | 6:53 am
| ||
Total Topics: 47
Total Posts: 4709 |
Paris is alright. I went there as a child and had a shit time but I'm slowly getting over my prejudice.
Apr 30, 08 | 7:05 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
I was prepared to hate Paris.. I'd heard so much hate on that city - that the people were rude, that it was run-down, dangerous, etc...but had a great time and found it beautiful.
Apr 30, 08 | 7:08 am
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
I actually kinda like Camden Town because it has an underground vibe that is patently lacking in Istanbul or Ankara, everything here seems to be mainstreamlined if you know what I'm saying. Oh, yeah, there are crazies in Istiklal Street, there all sorts of expensive arty farty cafes, pointless alternative clothing shops, "we are cool people" record shops, run down clubs, weird looking clubbers/druggies, ghetto outcasts, drug dealers, strange (and low quality) food, and all of that, but that many punks/goths gathering around and totally wasting their time and money is something to be seen!
And yeah, Camden Town even made into the Gibson novel "Pattern Recognition", he seems to have enjoyed the mixed culture there. I wouldn't quite want to live there though, I know those kinds of places, it's like a black hole, I bet 90% of the people who live there never get to see other parts of London LOL :) Apr 30, 08 | 7:09 am
| ||
Total Topics: 17
Total Posts: 2612 |
My only problem with Paris is that Parisians actively discourage you from trying to speak French if they don't think you're good enough at it.
Apr 30, 08 | 7:12 am
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
Another point: early Gibson novels were full of mall goths, in one novel they were used as disposable henchmen IIRC :) I suppose that was prior to the prevalence of hot topic foths :D
Apr 30, 08 | 7:12 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
I read Pattern Recognition before seeing Camden, so I was a bit disappointed :P I like his "Children's Crusade" term though :) I'd like to read that again (err, for a 3rd time) now after having seen it. Also I've seen Japan since reading that book so that would be interesting to re-read for that too.
I must admit...Camden does have a buttload of Vibe/Edge. It's just that there's so many stores selling cheap knock-off goth clothes, sold by people who have nothing to do with the scene, that it makes this scene seem even more plasticky and un-individual than it probably is. Even the punks look like a tourist attraction, in the same basket as the guards outside Buckingham Palace... Go take your photo with a genuine Camden punk holding a Dr Martens sign... Apr 30, 08 | 7:18 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
re Gibson's sprawl-trilogy "Gothicks" - they were a homicidal street gang from the projects/slums! Definitely pre-Hot Topic :)
Apr 30, 08 | 7:19 am
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
yeah, and considering that early goth was influenced by cyberpunk literature (just take a look at some bauhaus videos), it's like a full circle. who knows maybe the hot topic owners were Gibson fans, too :P in another novel (probably sprawl trilogy) the protagonists had to actually fight mall goths. perhaps even the term was used, damnit i shouldn't be giving away my read books to people!
and then you see owen wilson's nascent gothic stage, and combined with the fact that he then became the icon of side line, i conclude that the mighty owen wilson is a gothic prophet, and who knows, maybe he is jesus/mohammed/buddha all in one! Apr 30, 08 | 7:26 am
| ||
Total Topics: 93
Total Posts: 2547 |
Whaddya mean "early goth"? Gibson's still a huge influence!
I only remember the Gothicks being mentioned in Count Zero, and while I remember they were stuck in a club in a mall, I don't remember that they had to fight any of the Gothicks there. Though I wish I had that with me to I could double-check too! Pretty amazing about Owen Wilson's goth past! I'm wondering, was he an icon of side-line before that pic was discovered?? Gibson is such a beatnick thouh.. total hippy..I went to a signing. the way he talks and the language he uses is so beatnick! Apr 30, 08 | 7:54 am
| ||
Total Topics: 310
Total Posts: 6981 |
Aha, maybe it was Gibson who tripped on Acid and saw the future of mall goths :)
Yeah, OWEN was an icon before the discovery of the goth pic :) Apr 30, 08 | 10:08 am
| ||
Total Topics: 24
Total Posts: 685 |
Don't you EVER.. EVER FUCKING BEAT ON POT FUCKING NOODLES YOU CUNT FELCHING DOGSHIT PENIS!!!!!
Pot Noodles are food of THE GODS! Incidentally... London is primarily arse. And you were talking about that. London is nothing like the rest of England. I have no idea why but it just isn't. Also - Cafe Culture doesn't exist, Pub Culture does. Apr 30, 08 | 3:47 pm
| ||
Total Topics: 36
Total Posts: 812 |
PS: potnoodles is Welsh....... not English
May 01, 08 | 8:10 am
| ||