Get ready to get down, Greek-style

A lot of the P-Club are of to Santorini for the Scout's nuptials next week, which seems like a pretty good excuse to post this great scene from Zorba the Greek:



Yiamas!

- Mr. Ed and Beigey

Speaking of silly...

Late update: Labour holds penistone.

Swing spares Balls...

And it seems a hung parliament beckons. Despite the lack of a decisive outcome, it certainly has been an exciting election. I've been glued to the BBC livestream all evening, it's uncanny how similar the coverage is to this classic:



Plus ca change...

Mr. Ed

We Had a Hell of a Good Time Together

I found this in our stable shortly after Bluecupboard physically left our Earthly Pastures - I know I was meant to find it.

Taken from What Do You Care What Other People Think? by Richard P. Feynman.

"It's hard to explain. If a Martian (who, we'll imagine, never dies except by accident) came to Earth and saw this peculiar race of creatures - these humans who live about seventy or eighty years, knowing that death is going to come - it would look to him like a terrible problem of psychology to live under those circumstances, knowing that life is only temporary. Well, we humans somehow figure out how to live despite this problem; we laugh, we joke, we live.

The only difference for me and Arlene was, instead of fifty years, it was five years. It was only a quantitative difference - the psychological problem was just the same. The only way it would have become any different is if we had said to ourselves, "But those other people have it better, because they might live fifty years." But that's crazy. Why make yourself miserable saying things like, "Why do we have such bad luck? What has God done to us? What have we done to deserve this?" - all of which, if you understand reality and take it completely into your heart, are irrelevant and unsolvable. They are just things that nobody can know. Your situation is just an accident of life.

We had a hell of a good time together."

Beigey. x

Won't Someone think of the Ponies

- Via No 1 Fan Grace

Snow my god!

It's been a mighty cold and snowy winter all over the northern hemisphere. Now, it seems even little old Chucktown might get a taste of the white stuff. From teh Wethurdotcom:

The storm will reach a position just off the South Carolina coast by late tonight. Once it reaches this point it is expected to intensify which will spread snow up the South Carolina coast bringing accumulating snows to places like Charleston and Myrtle Beach before pulling out to sea Saturday morning.

Very excited about seeing palm-trees with snow on them!

- Mr. Ed

How do they do that?

- Philip

Grey

Grey. Grey is the theme. Grey is created through the mixing of complementary colours - colours on opposing sides of the colour wheel doing battle and finding agreement in mulch. Grey is the colour of the day at present. However, it is also the hue of better things. In the grey corner then I present to you, mon petit chaumes, Papercuts - Future Primitive:



And the chromatically similar and similarly sinister, Acts Of Man, by Midlake:




A final wikipedic raid tells us that the first recorded use of grey as a colour name in English was in AD 700. So, um, there.

Monotonously yours
Chives

What is a pearl anyway?

A pearl,
like many precious stones, is an accident of nature.
It is for precisely this reason it is held in high esteem;
such accidents are rare.

The oyster seeks only to salve an irritation;
the result, in the the hands of man,
becomes a gem.

It's no secret to most of you P-clubbers that I'm a big - neigh - massive Janis Joplin fan. That said, I'm not an expert on Jople-trivia, so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that I recently stumbled on an interesting tidbit from the life of the Queen of Rock. I knew that Pearl was posthumously released and that it was her best selling album, however, I was not aware that the instrumental track, buried alive in the blues, was never intended to be instrumental at all. Here it is, have a listen:



Joplin was scheduled to record the vocals for buried alive in the blues on October 5th, 1970; tragically, she was found dead on the 4th. The odd thing is, you almost wouldn't notice. The track is already chocked full of instrumental fabulousness (fabulocity?), which is why it's always been one of my favourite songs on the album. It acts as a foil, providing a break from Janis's vocals - yet at same time emphasizing them by their absence - and it also showcases the talents of the sublime Full Tilt Boogie Band backing her.

And it's a curious thing to contemplate: the song that never was. The unfinished work is a common theme in art and science, to be sure; however, the unfinished work that works despite being incomplete, is a rare thing indeed - perhaps that's an awkward way to put it, but I trust you follow my drift. Moreover, what does it mean for art and the intention of artists? I'm reminded of a few of Blue Cupboard's works that Beigey and I found in his studio. They seemed to be complete, yet by their context - their placement in the studio, for example - it seemed equally clear that he did not consider them 'finished'. If we're all postmodernists now - aren't we all? - then who is to say that a work is 'finished' or 'unfinished' anyway? Before this 'post' becomes a rant I'll leave you, dear ponies, but it is something to ponder, no doubt.

Ruminantly ruminating,

- Mr. Ed

Catharsis?

Dear Blue Cupboard,

This seems so silly, I can't believe I'm writing to you like this, but somehow it makes sense too. Maybe a blog post or an email is the 21st century version of sending a letter up the flue? I don't know, and I guess it doesn't matter. The point is, I miss you. Terribly. Your absence leaves me achingly, wretchedly alone. I don't really know what to do with myself sometimes, all I want is to have you say one thing - just one thing - back to me. Sometimes I think if I say (or write) bad things, things you wouldn't approve of, maybe you'll send me a signal - any signal would do - and at least I'd know you are there, somewhere. But that's just it, isn't it? You aren't there. For fuck's sake, why aren't you there? Why? For the love of fucking everything, why are we - all of us - denied you? This really isn't fair, or right or anything. I just want one moment, just one split fucking second with you again. Is that so much to ask?

You had a look in your eyes sometimes, often in the last few years, like you knew that I was squandering my time. Did you know this was coming? I hope not. I think sometimes you worried it would, but I hope you didn't dwell on it too much. It's a funny thing really. I find myself alternating between missing you so much that I wish you could see us, even though you're gone, and worrying that if you were able to see us, you'd see how much we we're all suffering and that would be the worst thing in the world. I hope you didn't think this out too much - who am I kidding - I know how vivid your imagination could be, and I'm sure you imagined a million terrible versions of all this. Did you think about what this would do to me, and Annabel and Ella, and our folks? Did you see all this? Was that the sadness in those sweet blue eyes? I really hope you didn't dwell on it too much. After all, that would hurt you more than any shitty tumour could. Isn't that ironic? No, I agree, fuck that.

I miss you so much - it hurts too much - I just can't bare it. I love you so much. I just turned over the record again... I skipped ahead to "You don't have to cry". Remember how we used to laugh about this song, the hippy-dippy lyrics about "living a reality blah blah blah and telephones" and all that shit. Christ on a bike, who will stay up all night with me and talk about that sort of nonsense now? You've left this enormous hole in my life - in our lives - and how the buggery bollocks are we supposed to fill it? There's just no way. No way. I don't even want to think about this - about you - anymore, but can I stop? Can I fuck. It's just the most achingly lonely feeling, not having you in the world. It's just so wrong. and even worse, there is no making it right.

Oh fuck,

- Mr. Ed

Chap hop!

I am just the biggest fan of this Elemental chap (and I do mean chap), and his tea-based rapping. Check out "Cup of Brown Joy" below:



When I say herbal, you say no thanks!

- Mr. Ed

You just gotta fill that little space...

Something that Chives might appriciate more than most other ponies.



Ya know?

Colin

The front fell off

Self-explanatory, really.

- Mr. Ed

Via Teh Sully.

Could it be true!?!

A Pavement reunion? For realz yo!?! Apparently so... In celebration of such joyous news, here's Shady Lane:



- Mr. Ed

Via teh Yglesias

More Mattoy!

Here's OUB - another installment from the rare and previously unreleased "Rue de Spa Sessions" by Mattoy. I think you'll agree - it's is pointy little number with a swagger several pints wide. The footage, as you all bloody well know, is from a certain past New Year's Eve party. There's a Simon clip in there too, but then it wouldn't be a Zvayam video if it didn't feature Simon. You can click here for a larger version, or watch it below:



- Mr. Ed

How bad options help us make choices

I stumbled on this the other day and it occurred to me it was pretty damn Pony worthy. By the way, there are lots of other really good TED talks out there on the intertubes to watch too...



- Mr. Ed

Solar Powered?

Well the P Club finally went global. Recorded and edited literally a quarter of the world apart, here is "Kramfundstum" by Mattoy, with some half-arsed video provided by Zvayam.



Bon Chance mes amis,

Mr. Ed, for Chives Eclair and SqueEZy jUPiter

Happy Birthday Bluecupboard

We love you and miss you.

- Mr. Ed

Stand by me

Haven't felt much like posting things lately, but Beigey just played this for me, and it took me back to a long, long time ago when Blue Cupboard and I were foals.


- Dr. Ed

A message...

from the American Institute for the Destruction of Tooth Fairy Science.


Via Hell's News Stand.

- Mr. Ed