Genius

Mark E. Smith, on form, on TV, a year ago (or two, or three, I dunno, dates conflict). This is The Fall:

All the Little Fishies

Wagner James Au was right, when he wrote at New World Notes, that this offering by Winston Ackland is infuriatingly catchy. Pretty funky to look at too.

Getting Down with Jayzus

Courtesy of my better half and Afghan Headpsin comes this offering from London jungle legend Andy C and MC GQ, in soundclash with the Holy Ghost. Top editing, and a slab of rolling urban D&B:

Irreverence Blogified

C/o a comment left on my Tw*tdanglin’ post, I’m led to an excellent blog who shares my admiration of the Daily Mail. Although I took a pop at the Daily Express elsewhere today, the Mail retains my real loyalty, particularly that doyenne of common sense and cultural cohesion, Melanie Ph*llips.

That’s Fucking Stupid – byline: “Common sense just isn’t very common anymore”. Their anti-regulatory, free speech, anti-hyperbolic and sensible take on political and social affairs might turn out to be a front for utter lunacy but I reckon not. Go and read it anyway.

Evolution of Cyberpunk

Since actively entering the blogosphere there have been a clutch of blogs that I’ve read regularly and have grown to respect greatly. One of these is Simon Sellar’s Ballardian.  Whilst Simon’s writing and research is of consistently high quality, occasionally he posts something stand-out, like this post last week:

‘Unblinking, clinical’: From Ballard to cyberpunk

In his introduction to the Mirrorshades anthology, [Bruce] Sterling wrote: ‘The cyberpunks are perhaps the first SF generation to grow up not only within the literary tradition of science fiction but in a truly science-fictional world… the techniques of classical “hard SF” … are not just literary tools but an aid to daily life. They are a means of understanding, and highly valued.’ Sterling’s reference to ‘hard SF’ — time-honoured narratives infused with the spirit of scientific investigation — suggests an affinity with the traditions of the genre, a love of the dizzying ideas and sheer scope of the best SF writing. However, his positioning of the cyberpunk movement as ostensibly a form of realism indicates a shift in the genre’s relationship to the technology it once idealised…

Read the rest here.