ARBEIT MACHT FREI

I am currently (sort of) unemployed. I work part time from home for my old company which takes me approximately a full day a week with a spattering of email answering and fingering the pulse but apart from that I have no job.

At present my argument is that I don't need one. I get a small income from the above work, my mortgage is the lowest it can be without the bank paying me and I have a relatively healthy bank account. I don't have an extravagant lifestyle, although I have spent more money on goods and services recently than I did when I was working full time.

So in brief, I can get by without a job at the moment. I have yet to even try to find one, although I don't want a full time job right now, more like temping, so I don't know how easy/difficult it is. I fell into one job and stayed there for 8 years so I'm a bit alien to the process.

As soon as the PS3 and Beatles Rock Band arrives, it will be firmly forgotten about. Then there's the World Cup. So, shall we say mid July to start the job hunting?

Favourite songs in the world right now:

Circa Survive - Imaginary Enemy

The National - England

Funeral Party - NYC Moves To The Sound Of LA

Minus The Bear - My Time

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE COOL (II)

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE COOL

PLANES

Back from holiday and I noticed one thing about people - they can be very obnoxious. Evidence of this is as follows:

A man who was amazed that his lunch in a Tunisian restaurant didn't come with a sauce, and then almost guffawed at the absurdity of being offered ketchup.

People who unbuckle their seat belt as soon as the plane has landed.

A man who decided to get on his phone before he got off the plane. Yes I know it probably does nothing to the electronics but there are rules.

I am very surprised in the new Circa Survive album, mainly because it is essentially a straight up rock record. A combination of third album maturity and a major label deal no doubt.

I CUT LIKE A BUFFALO

Despite having two massive framed posters on my living room (lounge?) walls, I've never been a massive fan of The White Stripes. I love what they do, how they look and what they stand for, but as far as songs go, they aren't that great. I'll never pay to see them in concert and I haven't bought any of their albums.

However I do like Jack White. I think he's incredibly talented and it's only the White Stripes limitations that have meant that he isn't seen as one of the greatest guitarists of our generation. If the songs he produced with them were of the standard of say The Strokes or another band of that ilk, then he may be lauded more, not that he isn't lauded.

I liked The Raconteurs more than the White Stripes in terms of songs but the albums got tired more quickly than I would have liked. I especially liked the quick release of the second album. Sod it, let's not dither on an album for 4 months. It's done, it's done and no summer/autumn/winter market will make an album like that sell more or less. Get it out.

Now we have The Dead Weather, whom I now think are great. I may be an album behind but I'm right into it. They are probably the best thing that Jack White has put his name to, even though he's officially the drummer but you're trying to tell me the solo in 60 Feet Tall isn't him. Not only that but they have the wonderful Alison Mosshart. Wasted in the Kills with the toothpick shagging Jamie Hince, she gets to shine, all sultry and dirty like she should do.

In conclusion: Jack White is great but has only just found the medium to show it.

I AM EVIL

What can I say about The National? The show at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday was quite phenomenal. The way the songs built into crescendos, the instruments swelling around you. Many people complain that the Albert Hall isn't suited to rock bands but after only half a song, it was perfect. The highlight of course was Matt Berninger's walkabout during Mr November, which took him literally over our seats.

It was gig of the year and the first of the summer (Summer? The heating's on for christ's sake) which promises to be a busy June. Coming up, we have Woven Hand, Rage Against The Machine, Murder By Death, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam with Bad Religion in August.

I found the election fascinating. It was great staying up until 4 playing email tennis with Chester commenting on everything. It would have been better if we watched it together. Who knows, there'll probably be another on in a year's time. Dimbleby was brilliant as well, commanding everyone around him. Nick Robinson may be political editor and Paxman the snarling Rottweiler, but both knelt at Dimbleby's feet.

Finally Twitter had a purpose with some funny quips from the likes of David Schneider, but unfortunately with very few followers myself, no one read my comments. I have to leave that for Facebook. And so after all that, I'm now interested in politics. I know not whether it will last, but how can you not be fascinated by it all at the moment?

WE HAVE THE FACTS AND WE'RE VOTING YES

This Facebook election day is really weirding me out.

How strange it is that people are not only stating they are voting and then saying who they are voting for on Facebook. It is meant to be a secret ballot.

The most alarming thing is the amount of vitriol being thrown at various parties, and specifically their leaders, by people who probably don't usually follow politics at all.

A few examples:

A friend of mine sent me a document called Why The Tories Are Evil.
There's a group on Facebook called National Not Voting Conservative Day.
And another called We Got Rage To Number 1, We Can Get Lib Dems To Number 10.

Status updates:
Please don't vote that Tory c.nt in today...for fucks sake people...I don't want to have to look at is face for the next four years...

Come on Britain, send Mr Potato Head back to Witney with his tail between his legs...
Please.

I do think it's very important to vote, even if your proposed party of choice has no chance of winning the seat where you live. In my eyes, if you don't vote, you don't get to complain. However, can we please calm down. The country is not going to fall to its knees (although it did recently) whoever wins. People hated Thatcher but she managed to stay in power for an impressive amount of time, same with Tony Blair.

I will be voting this evening, but keeping my vote to myself because it is my right to do so, but mainly through fear of a vehement attack from my peers.

MR FOOL FOOLISH

Due to my unemployment I decided to sync my Facebook with my Spotify with my iTunes. Then, for some reason, Spotify decided that it didn't like what I called most of the songs on my iTunes and renamed them, the artist or the album, or in some cases all three.

So 5 years of diligent and meticulous database management was flushed down the shitter like, well like anything that goes down the shitter.

I had planned no to update my ipod until I had sorted it out, but considering it took all of yesterday for those bastards to do it automatically, it's probably best I didn't.

So now there's a load of songs missing in action on my iTunes. It's like they faked their own death in Vietnam and then took the name of their dead captain and are hiding in this city. I'll track you down, your family just want to know you're safe.

AND THEY WOULD NOT STOP SCREAMING

As you get older you have to answer the question: Do the hangovers get worse or can your body not take it anymore?

To be fair to my body, who isn't talking to me right now, I beat the crap out of it over the extended weekend (what is actually extended when you don't work?). I drank a lot on Friday night and then had a chicken kebab. On Saturday I had an acceptable number of pints and then on Sunday had two pizzas and a load of booze ending with rum and something at 3am. Yesterday was awful and I still ache now.

But it's not the physical pain that worsens but the mental one. When you have a lack of sleep and a shit load of depressants, because that is essentially what booze is, you feel like rubbish in your mind too. So instead of just feeling rubbish yesterday, I still feel rubbish today. Boo.

Maybe I'll have a can of delicious Strongbow for lunch.

pic courtesy of Jesse who always looks like she's having more fun than me.