House of Gerrish International » Matt

Nick Drake

Matt — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:31:41 +0000

Anticipating another forgettable Friday night out, last weekend, beer in hand, I switched on the TV to get me in the mood. Three hours later I was still watching BBC 4′s special on Nick Drake, the elusive English folk singer, who I’m sure you all know. Usually I would run a mile from red-bearded hippies and organic, stripy-tighted troubadours. But the tribute concert to the man was actually very touching -- seeing the elegant lady tapping on the piano, the strings in harmony behind and the singers with almost trance-like immersion. But above all, his songs -- each one reminding…

LA

Matt — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:24:13 +0000

“Cities are distinguished by the catastrophic forms they presuppose and which are a vital part of their essential charm. New York is King Kong, or the blackout, or vertical bombardment: Towering Inferno. Los Angeles is the horizontal fault, California breaking off and sliding into the Pacific: Earthquake.”
- Jean Baudrillard

“Los Angeles is just New York lying down”
- Quentin Crisp

“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re beautiful. Everybody’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.”
- Andy Warhol

“I’d move to Los Angeles if New Zealand and Australia were swallowed up…

The Polar Bear Club of Coney Island

Matt — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:07:47 +0000

I recently took the half-hour trip across Brooklyn to visit Coney Island. Over sprawling neighbourhoods and cemeteries the F train rattled until it reached its final destination, a platform suspended on stilts with the sound of gulls and sniff of sea air. To the beach I walked, along quiet streets, packed away for the Winter months, past empty markets, fairgrounds and beer gardens, till I hit the boardwalk, the wooden arc and beating heart of Coney Island. To my surprise, there in front of me, gathered on the boards was a small group of smiling, half-naked men, clad in rubber…

Lil Wayne

Matt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:48:03 +0000

I’ve been living in New York for a few months now. I can’t help but notice the widespread adoration for Dwayne Michael Carter, aka Lil Wayne. This does not just include preppy kids in average nightclubs, but intelligent, self-conscious connoisseurs of culture, such as my flatmate Greg, who prides himself on an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things, from the smell of children to lox bagels, roofies to Ryan Phillipe.

But when we bring up Lil Wayne, formerly of ‘Hot Boys’, he seems to melt like a knob of butter on Beyonce’s inner thigh. Why, I ask, do you worship…

Trillions

Matt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:49:26 +0000

Found this brilliant mind-boggling video on the future of computers. Let me know what you make of it!

Trillions from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.

Charlie Winston

Matt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:50:44 +0000

Charlie Winston is an English singer-songwriter who has taken France by storm, topping the charts with his song, ‘Like a Hobo’. All things imply that he is about to do the same in the UK. HOG contributor Greg Spielberg thinks it’s a bit of one-hit wonder. What do you think?

The White Buffalo

Matt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:15:19 +0000

I literally stumbled across this gig the other night at The Living Room on Ludlow Street. The artist in question was a singer-songwriter by the name of The White Buffalo.

He was a big, barrel-chested man – must be 6ft 4 – with a thick beard and raw lumberjack-shirt, a throwback to the time of hard touring, hard drinking artists who really lived what they sang about.

Whether he is “a legend in the making”, as his website insists, is another story. But it was an entertaining hour or so packed with catchy songs and strong vocals.

Best tracks:
…

Lord of the Ringpieces

Matt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:24:26 +0000

A moment of reflection:

Back in 2003 we were up at Edinburgh University. Each morning we would leave Pollock Halls and head up South Clerk street into George Square. We’d pick up a sandwich at Twigs and buy a £5 album from Fopp. At night we’d hit Crags and then on to Why Not to be told, ‘Your night’s over pal’ by a grim bouncer. The North Sea winds would accompany us back home.

Back then the university years were spread out before us. Life on the other side was a distant thought. I often think about those times with…

Jay-Z

Matt — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:14:39 +0000

New York Street Art

Matt — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:05:00 +0000