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Don't stop now

"Don't stop now." It's a phrase I have been repeating to myself a number of times over the last weeks. Don't stop blogging, even though I have wanted to. The reason? Too much work. "Don't stop now." Don't stop reading, that is. Students' final papers, portfolios and a number of other assignments. That's why it's been awfully quiet on this blog for some time. And it will remain like that for some weeks to come.

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Anyway, luckily there is music to keep me going. Like the brand new Crowded House single. "Crowded House? I thought they split up ten years ago?" You're right. But a couple of months ago, they got back together again: Neil Finn on guitars and vocals, Nick Seymour on bass guitar, Mark Hart on piano and harmony, and new recruit Matt Sherrod on drums. There have already been some gigs, there was a webcast some weeks ago, and now there is a new single. What it's called? Right: Don't Stop Now.

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Produced by Steve Lillywhite , "Don't Stop Now" features the new Crowded House line-up plus a guest appearance on guitar by the legendary Johnny Marr. It has been announced as "a melodic tour de force, a hook-filled gem that gets better with every listen." You know what: I tend to agree... Just listen here, and tell me what you think.

On 2nd July, Crowded House will put out 'Time On Earth', their first release in over 10 years. The long-awaited new album contains 14 songs and, in old Crowded House tradition, the album cover features a Nick Seymour painting. Something to look forward to. If only because by then, the reading will have been finished...

 

Note: personally, I think Crowded House have always been underrated, especially by the so-called 'real' rock fans who think minor chords are for softies and who disregard any band that writes songs where melody is more important than riffs. Too bad: because as far as I am concerned, Neil Finn is one of the finest song writers of our times. But you have to be willing to listen with an open mind, of course...

Superstition

I am not superstitious, but I have been told Friday the 13th is a bad day to post on a blog. So this is NOT a post.

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NOTE: any reason is good enough to draw your attention to Superstition by Stevie Wonder. If there is any Motown song I'd have to take with me to that desolate island (no, not that one), this would be it...

Back to life

Finally life is beginning to get back to normal after a hectic couple of weeks. The Chair Jos Willems last week was a success, as well as the CONGA Award. I'll be devoting one or more posts to the Chair Jos Willems later - right now I'm still putting the presentations online. 

The missing link between the CONGA Award and the Chair Jos Willems, by the way, was the omnipresent Tom De Bruyne from i-merge. I-merge did not only win this year's CONGA Award, Tom also presented one of the keynotes of the Chair. So in honour of Tom, this photograph that he was so glad to see appear on Digimedia :-) :

No Time To Play

Not a lot of posting this week, nor the week to come. Preparations for the Chair Jos Willems/EuroBlog 2007 Conference are drawing to an end. And, as the saying goes, it's always darkest just before sunrise. I guess that's why I hardly find time for anything else but this conference nowadays.

Add to this the fact that I'm also in the organising team of the annual CONGA Award (to be held next Tuesday), and I'm sure you can see I have no time to play. What a shame...But still: worth the effort!

If you haven't registered for the Chair Jos Willems yet, you can still do so on the site. The list of participants is growing fast. So if you're into social media and you can find the time on 15, 16 and/or 17 March, don't hesitate!

Bob's your uncle

Just keep breathing, push when necessary and Bob's your uncle. According to my sister, giving birth is not such a big deal at all. The result, on the other hand...

 

Anyway, in this case, Serge is your uncle. Welcome to this world, Axelle (°25 January 2007 at 11.22 a.m. - 2.650 kg and 48.5 cm).

I smell winter

Finally. I smell winter. Not only a great song by The Housemartins, but also reality early this morning:

I know a big bunch of small people who will be thrilled to hear the school bell ring today. I think I'll join them...

Nothing beats RL

How do you get the cream of the Belgian online community* together in one room nowadays? Exactly: you pick up on the Second Life hype and organise an SL demo. That's exactly what Pascal Vanhecke did last night - thanks to Pascal for the initiative (and for setting up the online Belgian SL forum) and to One Agency for letting us use their office space.

Was it interesting? It sure was. Even with a lot of divided opinions - Miel is really digging it and gave an interesting presentation on how brands can/don't yet/should use SL, whereas Bart sees no merit in SL and is convinced it is doomed to remain a niche product (Dutch only) - it was a great initiative, if only to meet with people you usually only know or meet through the internet. **

Still, my conclusion? Nothing beats Real Life so far.

UPDATE: if you want to know what that cream looks like, you can see some photos on MarketingBlog.eu.

* Not counting in myself here of course, and still omitting a great many others.

** Some of them (like Clo) really are internet addicts; me, I am still eligible for salvation:

You Are 55% Addicted to the Internet

You're somewhat addicted to the internet - but who isn't? You can keep it under check, and you're by no means a hermit.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Five things you didn't know about me.

Yep: for a long time I thought I might be able to escape it, but the '5 things meme' has reached Koekelare. Thank you Neville - I'll remember... ;-)

I could tell you I can't really imagine going through life without music, but that would hardly be much of a surprise, would it? But - just for the fun of it - I tried to link the five things you (probably) didn't know about me to a song/clip I have always liked. Here goes:

1] As a child (and later on too, of course - at least until the network decided to stop the show in 1987) I always watched Toppop, a music show on Dutch television presented by Ad Visser. The only time I can actually remember looking away, feeling uncomfortable, was when Nina Hagen made her Toppop debut with Unbeschreiblich Weiblich in 1978. Don't laugh: I was, after all, only seven. And let's face it: until then, I had thought all women were warm, soft and gentle and certainly nothing like this...

By the way: as I got a bit older, I also got over my Nina Hagen phobia...

2] The first album I ever bought was Too Tough To Die by The Ramones. The opening track of the album is Mama's Boy. Confession number 2: during my first summer camp my parents had to come and get me. I was too homesick to stay (hey, I was six, okay :-) ).Yep, I guess I was a bit of a mama's boy too:

3] Confession number 3: I am afraid of heights. Not the heights you reach when you're standing on an average ladder, but serious heights. They make my knees go weak, make my hand palms sweat and make my head spin. I guess that's more or less the definition of acrophobia... Anyway, the first song that made me feel equally dizzy and realize there was other, more disturbing stuff out there than the average mainstream pop/rock/punk was Death Valley 69 by Sonic Youth (originally released on Bad Moon Rising from 1985). It gave me the creeps but boy, did I like it... I am not such a big Sonic Youth fan today (and yes, I have more or less shifted back towards the mainstream when it comes to music), but Death Valley 69 is forever engraved in my ears (could that be the cause of my tinnitus? - call that a free extra confession). Perhaps it will now be in yours too:

4] As the opening dance for our wedding, I had suggested I Want You by Elvis Costello to my wife... well fiancee at the time. A great song. But when she found out what the song was really about, her enthusiasm quickly diminished. We eventually chose the Carole King classic You've Got A Friend, but in a version by the fabulous Housemartins. Confession number 4: I would not choose it again; it is, let's face it, kind of tacky. But the things you do when you are young... Anyway: here's The Housemartins 'live' on Top of the Pops with Me and The Farmer (I didn't find their version of You've Got A Friend on YouTube) from their 1987 album The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death (watch out for Norman Fatboy Slim Cook on bass):

5] Call it a new year's resolution that is doomed to fail (moreover so since I do not believe in new year's resolutions, remember?), but as from today I no longer smoke. Am I going to miss it? You bet. But I have noticed a few times already I can do without a smoke for several days in a row. And since smoking bans are emerging in more places than ever, I guess I might as well pack it in. Besides: which parent doesn't want to set the right example for his kids? And then a final confession: I hate being drunk and I hate drunk people. I can't even really remember the time I was drunk for the last time (must be somewhere in my student days). Mind you: I do like a nice beer from time to time, and I enjoy a good glass of wine, or the odd single malt every now and then. But as soon as I feel I'm reaching my limits, I switch to something non-alcholic. I guess this really is the end of my rock 'n roll years. No more cigarettes and alcohol:

I suppose it's my turn now to tag five other people. But you know what: if you feel like picking up the meme, go for it. I am curious about a few secrets from so many people I have no idea who to choose first. I know: I'm a bit of a killjoy. Well, let's say that could have been the sixth thing you maybe didn't know about me. I just didn't find the right song to match it. :-)

A pre-emptive post (2)

I don't have many new year's resolutions. The reason is that I don't really believe in them. I could of course tell you I'll try and be polite, gentle, respectful and so on in 2007. But I am not going to. Instead I would like to say sorry in advance for all the stupid things I am bound to write, post, say and do in 2007... Or was I just looking for an excuse to point you to this great ad? Whatever... Happy new year! :-)

[ad by Quattro Saatchi & Saatchi Belgium - via]

Later!

Since I have been elected man of the year 2006, I guess I can rest on my laurels for a while now. That's why I'll be taking some time off - at least where this blog is concerned - and (more or less putting Tom Murphy's advice to my and my family's benefit) focus my attention on the really important things in life for the last ten days of the year. And you know what: I suggest you all do the same.  :-)

In the meantime: enjoy the YouTube revelation of the year as far as I'm concerned: Olga Janssens a.k.a. Ronita Yori a.k.a. The Singing Toilet Lady. She is 69 years old and finally got picked up this year by national radio. She has already written six novels and numerous songs, and is currently hoping her hobbies will lead to a breakthrough. Rumour has it that in the meantime her internet presence has led to a record company wanting to sign her...

Time magazine is right: "In 2006, the World Wide Web became a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter." See you in 2007 - hope you have a great Christmas and a wonderful new year!