There's been virtual tumbleweed drifting across Herts On Fire for a few months. It's been poor, but I blame Twitter. Haven't quite formulated my reasoning, but am working on it. I am a bit skeptical about the Twit thing. Not to sound very Gen (crank)Y, but the clue with Twitter seems to be in the name. It's the noise baby birds make when they're hanging around the nest smoking fags and waiting for the next lot of worms to turn up. And no-one has ever described a two week old starling as 'time poor'.
Still, thanks to Twitter I do know that Stephen Fry is currently at an Oscar party (it's 7.15am LA time), having recently completed his 12th tequila sunrise of the evening and wrapped up a passionate conversation about the Enlightenment with a plant pot. Melchett would be proud. ("Baaaa!")
I'm think I'm swimming against the tide and will need to rethink. After all, even Charlie Brooker has a Twitter account, and he's the man who once described the Apple Mac as 'a glorified Fisher Price play centre for adults'. (Come to think of it, the iMac could use a big red horn and a steering wheel.) Empire Online is twitting too and I am encouraged to get involved. Will Empire 'followers' want to hear about my daily hobnob consumption? Only time will tell.
Join the fun here. Meanwhile, changing the subject to something currently closer to my heart... The Friendly Fires. They're a band that never fails to make me grin stupidly while fighting the urge to launch into a headspin, and they're from Hertfordshire. And so are now official Herts On Fire houseband. Their debut was one of my favourite albums of last year, an infectious swirl of primary coloured (electro)pop with monster choruses and steepling breakdowns.
Friendly Fires seem to lend themselves to lovely remixes too, including the Aeroplane mix of Paris, and this balearic magic by Swedish producers of the moment, Air France. Something sunny for spring and a promise of time on the beach (eventually). Both tracks will feature on the eagerly-awaited Back To Choppers Volume 7, as soon as I've worked out who's doing the eager awaiting.
ps go Danny Boyle!
3 hours ago
