Mayor Johnson wants "a Tory" as next Director General of the BBC
Mayor Johnson’s latest column for the Telegraph calls for the overt politicisation of the role of Director General of the BBC, to go with the former Conservative minister now chairing the BBC Trust. He also says:
“I speak as one who has just fought a campaign in which I sometimes felt that my chief opponent was the local BBC news”.
Which reflects very well on Tim Donovan, his fucking bollocks, and the rest of the BBC London newsroom. It’s not the press’s job to make the Mayor’s life easy. The Standard’s perfectly able to do that on its own.
14 May 2012
I Ching - Drive
I Ching are a London four-piece making low-key alt-pop songs with nocturnal, electronic flourishes. Their debut single “It’s Me” came out last month on the Best Fit label, and “Drive” is the b-side – a shimmery, melancholic song with a sweet, hopeful uplift in the chorus. A couple of great remixes have surfaced lately, including a spot-on reworking from Finnish poplords Zebra and Snake, as part of the Projekta remix exchange, and a nice version by Moshi Moshi signing Fiction.
12 May 2012
Who is going to run the new London TV channel?
“Ofcom today [that’s yesterday, May 10] invited applications for 21 local TV channels across the UK. This follows new duties given to Ofcom by Parliament to license local TV.”
Applications have to be in by 13 August. The channel will be subsidised and is expected to carry at least 7 hours of local news a week.
Sounds perfect for our friends at Londonist…
Ofcom – Ofcom invites applications for first 21 local TV channels
11 May 2012
Interested in watching a video of a brain dissection? It's HD!
The blurb for this Youtube video begins, matter of factly:
“On Wednesdays at Hammersmith Hospital in London, a few recently preserved human brains are dissected…”
They do it with breadknives.
Remarkable.
The video was made for the Wellcome Collection, as part of their Brains exhibition which runs until 17 June.
11 May 2012
Conveyor
From the wonderful little NYC label Paper Garden comes this Brooklyn band, with summery, supine flourishes, razor-sharp production and more micro-hooks than velcro. The debut album is set for a July 17th release, and after the teaser track below, we can’t wait…
10 May 2012
Brainlove Festival: Female Band
Next up in our rundown of all the acts playing at this year’s Brainlove Festival is Female Band, a female-only duo (hence the name, fact fans) that cropped up on the scene via a few striking Soundcloud streams a while back.
First seeming quite mysterious, even fabricating the city of their origin, the band have recently started playing some shows and have since been seen on the bill of most venues in East/South London, picking up some influential fans along the way.
Still quite elusive when it comes to their interview technique, Female Band gave us a few words on what to expect from their show… ultimately: expect the unexpected.
Could you introduce a little about yourself first and foremost?
One girl making noise, one girl making music.
For people who haven’t seen you live before, what can they expect?
We don’t even know what to expect!
Have you played or even been to the Brainlove Festival prior to this year?
Yes, we went last year as music-lovers.
What do you think makes it unique?
The free BBQ maybe.
How do you find festivals in general?
It’s lot of fun but most of the time sound systems need to be better.
Do you prefer smaller venue shows?
I don’t think it’s possible to compare the two they are very different kinds of shows.
What do your band have going on at the moment? Anything you’re working on or forthcoming releases in the works?
Many, many, many wonderful adventures are taking the place all the time but all shall be revealed in due course.
Tickets & Lineup Info for Brainlove 2012 at: www.brainloverecords.com/festival.
10 May 2012
How to avoid the crowds at London's galleries and museums this summer
Don’t go to the busy ones.
Here’s a chart from GLA Economics’ Tourism Report which shows the most visited atttractions in the UK, according to ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions). All are in London, you’ll notice.
So avoid the British Museum and Tate Modern unless you arm yourself with a particularly pointy umbrella for dispersing tourists. The V&A and Science Museum are good each way bets.
The National Portrait Gallery also offers a reasonable ratio of breathing space to exhibit quality, albeit it’s full of portraits of dead people. But at least they’re dead people you can see.
10 May 2012
London agenda for Thursday 10 May 2012
1. Watch live music, screenings, promos, animation, quizzes and DJs at the Book Club for Screen Social [Le Cool]
2. Catch up on the work of contemporary Skull Artist Lauren Baker [Run Riot]
3. Hear the artist who created one of the ‘best albums ever to come out of the Netherlands’, rapper Pete Philly [Don’t Panic]
4. Eat some free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Golden Square [Time Out] (Until 2pm)
5. Listen to a talk that includes teabags dropped over Holland during the Second World War, the first airmail stamp, and more at Aeronautica [Ian Visits]
6. Visit the Rookery in Streatham [Tired of London]
10 May 2012
9th: Fanzine / Step Panther @ The Waiting Room
Marking their signing to the newly launched Best Fit Recordings, spawning from popular music website The Line Of Best Fit, London grunge-pop fourpiece Fanzine have recently released their brilliant sun-kissed and nostalgia-tinged single ‘LA’. The scuzzy guitar group will celebrate the 7”, which comes with an accompanying video set – yep, you guess it – in Los Angeles itself, with a special single launch at Stoke Newington’s The Waiting Room. Get down there and make sure you nab a copy of their physical release too.
09 May 2012
Embarrassing! 1000 sign petition against non-existent Starbucks on Broadway Market
The roll call of people who signed a petition opposing a Starbucks on Broadway Market before checking whether there were any plans for a Starbucks on Broadway Market can be read here.
The rumours:
The refutation:
Good for East London Lines for getting the confirmation. They had more luck with the Starbucks press office than I did.*
And there are more details and discussion at yeahhackney.
UPDATE: Starbucks have been in touch with the following statement:
“…there are no plans to open a Starbucks in Broadway Market, Hackney. I have checked with our property department and no building has been purchased and there are no plans for a Starbucks in this area.”
Come on guys! Petitions are good. Independent coffee shops are good. But don’t just sign and retweet any old stuff because it’s really confusing.
09 May 2012
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
- Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
- Punk brewery just as sexist and homophobic as the industry they rail against
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- 9 poems about London: one for each of your moods
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
- A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
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