You know what's remarkable? That England looks in no way like Southern California.

Seven Things I Think I Think

1. Somehow, the Kaiser Cheifs have become one of the biggest bands in England. I mean, like almost a million albums sold this year. God help us all.

2. I really like the Virgin Airlines entertainment package. Good choice of movies, music, games, documentaries, and email. Made the seven hour flight home yesterday go by a lot faster. Managed to see Hustle and Flow, Fantastic Four and play some Battleship against other passengers on board. Nice.

3. Big Ben is one huge clock. I mean huge. And it's one of the most recognizible sites in London. It's got this amazing history as well. Pretty cool stuff if you really dig deep.

4. OK, so last week, I wondered if anyone cared about Madonna anymore. Yes, old women and gay men in the US, plus the entire country of England. I couldn't get away from Madonna and her new album. Spreads in the London Sunday newspaper, videos all over the place, gay nights named after her new album. It was just utter Madonna madness.

5. Celebration is a fantastic new band. Coming out of the ashes of the Love Life and Jaks. They have made a great debut album, with the help of friend/producer Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio, at the healm. Their live show is utter chaos, with singer Katrina Ford jumping out into the crowd and dancing with stunned specatators. At first many are in stunned and confused, as the show goes on they are in awe and many begin to shake right along with her. A real treat to watch.

6. Rough Trade shop is an amazing place to visit. It puts halfway decent US record store to shame. I mean, they write a review for every disc. Every single one! And the selection of singles, 7"'s, and UK exclusives, made me want to cry. On top of that they have this amazing Album Club, where for something like 50 pounds, (roughly $75) they send you five of their recommended albums based on your preferences, and if you don't like one, you simply send it back and pick from one of the other ten recommended disc. Pretty cool stuff. Sadly it's only available in the UK and other European countries.

7. I am simply amazed by this new Clearlake CD. It's called Ambers and will be released in the US early next year. You can preview some demos at their site and it's certainly pretty cool to check out a few tracks in their infancy, then hear them in their fullness on the album. I was lucky enough to get a copy in advance. Somehow this band manages to create some of the most beautiful, meloncholic music in all of England. This album finds itself with a little more guitar punch and instrumentation than it's predessors and quite possibly sees the band at the height of their creativity.

I've been listening to this band People In Planes a lot lately. Formerly known as Tetra Splendour, the South Wales band has created an excellent EP, with swirling guitars, strong melodies, subtle hooks, and soaring vocals. They have this great song called "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)", which I"m sure you can find on their site somewhere. Pleasant surprise from of all places, Wind Up Records. Weird huh. Check out this cool video game they have on their website. Kinda funny.

oh, and check out this cool picture I took of the Breeders at Blackheath Hall in London. They were a ton of fun to watch, and I even got to see them twice. Yay Kim Deal, who seems to be doing well for herself these days. I've heard she's been clean for two years. That's just great news.