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A compilation of 15 of the Mac vs PC ads. Werd.

Celebrate Sialkot!

In amongst the excitement that awaits us this weekend, let's not forget the reason that we can get excited this weekend: the city of Sialkot.

Sialkot (Urdu/Punjabi: سیالکوٹ ) is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan at the feet of the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. Formerly, Sialkot has been the winter-capital of the State of Kashmir. The city is about 125 km north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometres from Jammu. Its diverse population of 3,000,000 mainly consists of Punjabis with a significant number of migrant Kashmiris and Pashtuns.

But what is significant about this unheralded city, especially leading up to this weekend, is that it's major industry is making footballs. Yes folks, footballs. About 60% of footballs produced world wide are made in Sialkot.

Really, it's the first week of the English Premier League that I'm excited about, but for a while I did wonder where all those footballs were made.

Predictions
Manchester United to win the title again, through sheer intimidation if not skill.

Darren Bent to be the leading scorer.

Derby, Sunderland and Wigan to drop straight down to the Championship (it's a shame Lee McCulloch has left for Rangers. Absolute talent).

Thoughts
Tottenham's new signing Darren Bent joins Dimitri Berbatov and Jermaine Defoe, making Tottenham's strike force significant.

A host of players (Marlon Harewood, Carlos Tevez and the freaky looking Paul Konchesky) have left West Ham, but a host of new players (Freddie Ljungberg, Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy) have arrived. Lucas Neill is captain so that will get a few Aussies on the bandwagon.

Newcastle is another team with a much improved forward line - an injury free Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins will cause some havok, with each complementing each other. Quality midfielder Joey Barton has also arrived from Manchester City.

Aston Villa's season goal will be to "win more games than we draw".

Liverpool have their best chance at catching Manchester United and Chelsea this season. A few quality arrivals, most notably Spaniard Fernando Torres.

Little to say about Blackburn except one of my favourite players, Benni McCarthy, is set for another massive season. Kiwi captain Ryan Nelson a solid centre back.

Mark Bresciano will make an impact when his transfer to Manchester City finally goes through. It will be good to see him on TV a bit more too.

The tiny Robbie Earnshaw returns to the Premier League, this time with Derby. Can destroy teams, but can suffer a lot from his size.

Bolton should never have let go of a defender I highly rate, Radhi Jaidi. Here's hoping Birmingham smash Bolton this season, however I do like Kevin Nolan as a tough nut leader.

So, cheers to a season of late nights, frustration at an under-performing Liverpool, misery at not having cable TV, joy at seeing my fantasy team dominate their league, and 89th minute goals meaning my tips score highly, and for 38 weeks of the best goals, saves and punch ons! *Cracks open a Carlsberg...gotta stay loyal to the brand pumping millions into my club!*

Young and Restless - Self Titled album review

This is something that should be up on the Syn website by now, in a limited form, but alas. I'm sure it'll show it's face soon...

Young and Restless - "Young and Restless"
Self-Titled debut album

Over the past 12 months “noise” has well and truly established itself as a derivative of indie. A tag to separate the likes of Wolf and Cub, Kiosk and Bit By Bats from The Shins, The Grates and everything nice.

And while you could lump anything distorted, experimental or that contains undecipherable lyrics under the noise banner, the fact is some bands are successful at it while others, to use a friend’s delightful description, sound like “cats to the slaughter”.

Thankfully for my ears, and your budgets should you choose to spend the money, Melbourne-formerly-of-Canberra five piece Young And Restless fit the bill of the former.

What separates Young And Restless is their ability to make each song take on a distinct feel while existing within a genre that at times can sound very similar from band to band.

Having relentlessly toured after being Unearthed last year, Young And Restless have finally released their debut full length release. The 12 track album was recorded by Tom Larkin of Shihad at his Melbourne studios in early 2007 and features guest vocals from Peter Saladino (Brisk) and Tom Lyngcoln (The Nation Blue).

And there is much to like about it, despite it being a watered down version of their powerful live set.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the album is lead singer Karina Utomo. While thunder might come close to rattling windows, she certainly shatters them, and it is her vocals that form the basis for Young and Restless’ unique sound. She effortlessly sings and screams with an unmatched energy, saying “fuck you” to anyone who dares judge her.

The album’s opener, “Need A Hit”, showcases exactly what Young and Restless are about and gives you a sense of what is to come. A crunching bass drum leads into a driving guitar and deep bass lines, slowing down before tearing the room apart.

There is a certain beauty in distortion.

And you feel you are only just getting into it as it speeds up with the second track “I Pointed At You And You Burst Into Flames”.

The album weaves through elements of catchy, indie disco drum beats (Kapow!) to insane, window shattering vocals (I Pointed At You…). Heavy bass drums and relentless guitars (Need A Hit) back to carefully plucked guitar strings (Black).

At times all of 30 seconds can showcase all four elements at once. The tracks “Police, Police”, my favourite “Here It Comes (Lungs)” and the song that defines Young And Restless, first single “Satan” epitomise this exact sentiment.

It remains a shame that you must wait until track nine to hear “Satan”. It’s a song Utomo has described as being about peer pressure (“step right up and shake hands with the devil / listen to Satan, listen to him”).

Similarities can be drawn between the opening of “Black” and Refused’s “Deadly Rhythm” while “Police Police” displays unintentional hints of The Bravery.

And “Dirty Kicks” remains the low point of the ground breaking debut. Dominated by a dirty guitar feel, it’s a little repetitive and reverts to aspects of “noise” music that can be found in so many lesser artists in the genre – aimless thrashing and a relative (to other tracks) simplicity that doesn’t characterise Young And Restless.

But for the most part it’s an album that will leave you a mess but you’ll feel good about being this way. It’s delicate at times, brutal at others while being amazingly complex, incredibly diverse and full of raw energy. While Karina Utomo destroys any stereotypes in her path, this album destroys every idea of what music is supposed to be like.

a broken record spins in circles, she just can't listen anymore

They're lyrics by Finch. While they're a band I don't hugely like, I did like that song for a while.

The point of that is that the song is called "New Beginnings". And its relevence is that I've had my hand forced regarding this piece of citizen journalism and so I'm getting this blog up and running again. Yeah, cheers Jonty...I...uhhh...owe you one.

To coincide with this monumentous occasion, I'll write and tell you that one of my most anticipated albums was released today - Liam Finn's solo debut "I'll Be Lightning". And thanks to a certain uncle and aunty (not the ABC, unfortunately) and their Sanity voucher from last Christmas dug up during a spontaneous and infrequent tidy of my room, I bought myself this album while keeping my hard earnt in my pocket. (That hard earnt went towards a sub of the day barely 20 metres from the Sanity store).

Two-and-a-half years ago Kiwi band Betchadupa, that Finn fronts, played a free lunchtime gig at RMIT's Bowen St. All of 50 people watched it, most only for five minutes while walking to insignificant classes, particularly in week one. Especially when they could've seen an amazing band.

I doubt I could call it a life changing experience - Liamm Finn never has actually done anything that's changed the course of my life - however it did make me go out and investigate further. and off to JB Hifi I went.

I scored myself the cheaper of their two albums, The Alphabetchadupa, and it took a while to get into. But after several listens and 30 months later it easily sits in the top five albums that I own now, with the track "Lucy's Song" recognised in a similar fashion.

Liam Finn, for the ignorant few out there the son of Crowded House and Split Enz legend Neil, has the ability to say so much in so few words. It's self reflective, emotive music sung with a gentleness that evokes ideas of a guy being honest to himeslf, if not anything else. It's beautiful song writing, but ever so simple. It's about the most basic things in life that we often overlook or take for granted. It's about many things, but you wouldn't think so.

I guess the best way to sum it up is by saying it's exactly like the (environmentally friendly) booklet that it comes with. There is no words in the booklet. Just photos. Of nothing special either: a green paddock that looks like somewhere in England (where he now calls home); a destroyed computer screen on a footpath; a street of terrace houses with leafless trees in the middle of Winter; the front of a hotel dimly lit by a fading street light.

Perhaps two of the most nothing photos of them all show a rusting clothes line in a suburban backyard with an overgrown weed spiralling up the side of a brick house, and an image of Finn behind a table with a blank expression and a similarly blank black t-shirt.

They are images of nothing, but yet you feel like you've completed a journey.