An update on PhDs and jobs

Hi folks,

Apologies for the rather long stretch since my last blog; as you know, much of the past couple of months has been spent going to interviews (for both PhD projects and interviews, and far more than I’m capable of recalling off the top of my head), usually with the same unwelcome outcome. However, I’m pleased to report that my long, exhaustive search for a PhD project for the next academic year is finally at an end, having accepted an offer from the group of James Dowden at the University of Nottingham. Indeed, towards the end of my search, I even had options (!) in terms of both institution and project; towards the end of March, I visited Simon Lewis at the University of Bath, and he also seemed keen to make me an offer. However, I decided to accept the Dowden offer for two main reasons:

1. Simon will only be starting his independent research career as of this September, and so is a bit of an unknown quantity in both academic and industry circles; James, on the other hand, has spent a few more years in academia and so has built up more of a reputation when it comes to his research.

2. I had a slight preference for the project on offer from James (as I think it struck a better balance between methodology development and natural product/total synthesis work; apologies to all my non-scientist readers for the all the jargon in that last sentence, but trust me, there really is no clearer way of saying it!)

Anyway, confidentiality issues prevent me from divulging precise details about the project, though I can show you the confirmation letters I received, both from the chemistry department itself and the central postgraduate admissions office (just to prove I’m not making it up, obviously!):

• Chemistry department:



• Postgraduate admissions office:



While the search for a PhD project for the next academic year has ultimately proven fruitful, the search to find work in the interim period has unfortunately been less of a success. Since my last blog, I had a telephone interview for a job in Groningen, Holland (though because the length of the contract would have resulted in a clash with the start of my PhD, nothing ultimately came of it) and a very drawn-out interview process for a job at Manchester Organics, based in the much-closer-to-home Frodsham in Cheshire. Having had a telephone pre-interview, I was subsequently invited not only to an interview in Frodsham but a follow-up “trial day” (i.e. working for a day in the labs; mind you, I spent most of the day stood around watching other people work, carrying out the occasional analytical test and setting up one set of apparatus for an experiment the following Monday, before being allowed to leave at 2.30pm.) Imagine my frustration, then, at being told I wasn’t going to be made an offer after having gone through all that (I did get a very nice lunch out of the trial day, though!)

All of this means, of course, that I’m still looking for gainful employment over the next three months, but thankfully with the PhD monkey off my back, I no longer feel the need to restrict my job search to chemistry-based jobs (although, obviously, that is still my preference) and can expand my search to any job which will keep me occupied for the next three months (with the Euros coming up, bar work looks like an increasingly enticing option!) If anyone has any offers of work or knows of any good search engines, by the way, feel free to let me know (either via the comments section or my e-mail address.)

Well, that’s all for the moment. I’m going to try and post a European leagues round-up, though probably one that’s less exhaustive (and exhausting) than my set of season previews, as well as a Euro 2008 preview, over the next couple of months (there may even be some output during the tournament itself, who knows?) In the meantime, all comments/suggestions are gratefully received by yours truly.

Later,
Liam

A quick update

Hello folks,

Well, a lot has happened in three months, and I suppose it’s incumbent on me to inform all of my loyal blog readers (hello to you both) of where I’m at career-wise. I’m going to get the bad news out of the way, first of all, by saying that my contract was not renewed at Evotec/Aptuit (I should perhaps clarify things a little here, by saying that I was working in the Chemical Development department, which was under Evotec’s control when I arrived but was sold off to Aptuit at the end of November.) The silver lining to this particular cloud was that the failure to renew my contract was not as a result of poor performance in the job (I would have been mortified if that was the case), but rather due to the lack of custom preparation work coming into Aptuit at the time and, in fairness, the warning signs (i.e. the number of people in the department who were sat on their arses all day, with nothing to do) had been there during the last month of my tenure. Also, in truth, my disappointment at not having my contract renewed had rather more to do with my frustration at having to resume the search for Chemistry work to keep me occupied until September (i.e. when I would be starting a PhD) rather than any feelings of warmth towards my previous employers (as I have made abundantly clear in the past.) The fact that I was told that Flexi-time actually meant nothing in the Development department, and that I would have to fit in with the 8am-4.30pm hours of the other employees (meaning 6.30am starts in the morning [shudders]) who, unlike me, had to fit work around family commitments, didn’t exactly engender goodwill between me and the rest of Development (nor did the relative isolation of the Development department and the absence of any kind of diversions in Didcot.)

OK, with that spleen having been sufficiently vented, onto rather more positive news, in the form of my PhD search for September/October 2008. Since my last work-related blog way back in October of last year, I have sent off a glut of online PhD application forms and, pleasingly, have also been invited to quite a few departments for interviews; the first of said interviews came about at the end of November in Bristol, since when I’ve taken in visits to Nottingham (in mid-December), Imperial (the 18th of this month), Manchester (the 23rd), Oxford (the 24th, though I was later informed that particular visit was merely an informal visit and that the real interviews, should I be invited to one, will be on the 13th of Feburary) and Cambridge (last Monday), with interviews at Edinburgh (6th of February) and Sheffield (some time in the near future, though I don’t yet know when, exactly) in the pipeline. In truth, I don’t think I’ll be going to Bristol, and not just because I had my scarf nicked while out for lunch; most people there just didn’t have projects I was interested in, and the one that did (Prof Varinder Aggarwal) seemed a rather intense, austere figure (rather like my final year project supervisor) who might be difficult to work for. Everywhere else I have visited, however, I have come across at least one or two people who have interesting projects and seem good people to work for; indeed, narrowing the list of potential supervisors down has been one of the biggest problems, with me thus far being only able to rule the odd few supervisors out, either due to them not having projects available (as in the cases of Steve Ley and Ian Paterson at Cambridge, as well as Jim Anderson at Nottingham, who had some rather appealing projects available when I first applied, but who filled up his allocation quickly) or due to them being awkward, argumentative dicks (as in the case of David Hodgson at Oxford and Alan Armstrong at Imperial; the Armstrong group also had the disadvantage of, according to one of the 1st year PhD students I spoke to, not being a particularly social group, as well as being located in another building on the campus and thus being isolated from the rest of the Chemistry department there.) I will let you know the outcomes of all those interviews as soon as I hear any news, as well as keeping you informed of how the upcoming interviews went; judging by the research pages of Profs Coldham and Harrity, as well as Dr Jones (no, not that Dr Jones), I have particularly high hopes for the Sheffield visit. Just to round off this particular blog, I have also applied for a number of Chemistry jobs to keep me occupied in the interim period (the application that has progressed the furthest so far is for a job in Groningen in Holland); as ever I’ll let you know how those applications go.

Later,
Liam

It's the Profs 2007!

Hello folks!

Well, it’s that time of year again; 2007 is almost at an end and, before I get round to drinking, dancing like an eejit and doing karaoke (as is my wont on New Year’s Eve), I thought I’d share with you some of my musical highlights and lowlights of the past 12 months. As was the case last year, only albums/singles that a) have been released in the past year (apologies to Cat Power, Peter, Björn and John, and The Rapture) and b) I have listened to in that time (apologies to Radiohead, who would probably have reached the Top Five had I had chance to listen to In Rainbows, and Les Savy Fav) can garner one of these, ahem, “prestigious” awards.

What is a new (and, hopefully, welcome) addition to this end-of-year review is that, in the case of featured albums (or, at the very least, the ones I have recommended, rather than those I have slated), links will be provided to both MySpace pages (for some sample tracks) and Amazon links (should you wish, having heard said tracks, to buy the album); Youtube videos will also be provided for featured singles. So sit back, relax and enjoy the 2nd annual Prof Music Awards:

Albums of the Year – The Top Ten

1. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam: A close run thing this year (particularly given how strong the Battles album was), but this album is a joy to behold. One of the decades most influential and important bands, Animal Collective’s music has often been likened to that of Brian Wilson (both Beach Boys era and his solo stuff), but it’s arguably the spirit of eclecticism and invention which is the album’s strongest suit. There isn’t a single bad track on the album and, at its best (particularly Peacebone, #1 and closing track Derek), it is utterly beguiling. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

2. Battles – Mirrored: In any other year (last year, for example), this album would probably have romped to victory, but the above mentioned latecomer sweeped the top gong. No matter, there’s no shame in losing out on top spot to Animal Collective, and Battles achieved something far more important in 2007: creating a truly innovative math-rock album that, unlike the albums of many of their contemporaries, is both accessible and enjoyable (Leyendecker is a particular highlight.) [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

3. Justice - †: 2007 was arguably the year that, after a few years in the doldrums, dance/electronic music fought back to reclaim dancefloors the world over from the indie kids. Of course, as with any movement/revival, there was a hell of a lot of dross released (more on that later), but there were a couple of bands that managed to elevate themselves from the rest of the crowd and produce quality albums. Most impressive were Justice, who defied their lazy critics (who dismissed them as Daft Punk imitators) to produce a sparkling album that owed as much to Judas Priest and Black Sabbath as it did to Parisian techno (D.A.N.C.E being the one notable exception.) That’s not to say that the only thing Daft Punk and Justice have in common is their Parisian roots, however; after all, † (like Homework before it) is likely to be held up as one of the landmark electronic albums. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

4. Panda Bear – Person Pitch: A good year, this, for Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear); not only has he, as drummer with Animal Collective, scooped the top Prof prize, but he’s also got a well-earned place in this year’s Top Five with his own solo output. What marks this album out from his previous solo outings is that, while Person Pitch shares many of the features that make Animal Collective albums such a joy to listen to, this album has a unique feel and sound to it (i.e. sounding like a Panda Bear album, rather than sounding like another Animal Collective album.) At long last, the Panda may have found his natural habitat [groan – Ed.] [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

5. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver: Voted best album of the year by GU Music’s critics, but narrowly misses out on that honour in these awards. Nevertheless, this is James Murphy’s finest work to date; in the hands of a less skilled musician, songs about 30-something muso insecurities and mid-life crises would grate, but Murphy has constructed an album full of soulful, grown-up electronic music from these unpromising raw materials. Worth the cost of the album for “Get Innocuous!” alone. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

6. M.I.A. – Kala: It’s perhaps pushing it ever so slightly to suggest (as some have) that this is an album with no weak points (I’m still not completely won over when it come to The Turn), but this album ought to finally put paid to those “Empress with no clothes” jibes and confirm M.I.A. as one of the most exciting and innovative artists around today. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

7. Digitalism – Idealism: In a year where dance music made a dramatic resurgence, only Justice did more to light the touch paper in 2007. Like Justice, Digitalism have a healthy penchant for feeding synth sounds through guitar filters to produce invigorating, powerful dance music. At times, they can seem a little too in thrall to their idols (the Daft Punk and Kraftwerk influences are clearly evident) but Idealism should still be remembered as one of 2007’s most enjoyable, high quality albums. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

8. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife: Qualifying by virtue of its UK release date being in January of 2007 (even though it had been released in the previous October in the States), this was one of the first albums I listened to in 2007, and even now is still one of my favourite albums of the year. This is the Decemberists first release on a major record label (Capitol Records, to be precise), and many feared (myself included) that such a label move might dilute their eccentric, folksy edge. Not a bit of it; there may be no sea shanties on this album (as there had been on Picaresque), but if anything, The Crane Wife is even more leftfield (featuring, as it does, two tracks clocking in at 10+ minutes.) Sweeter, more lilting and more melodic than a prog-folk album should rightfully sound. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

9. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible: In a year in which most of the indie releases were infuriatingly mediocre, Canada’s finest export (after Terrance and Phillip, of course) stood out like a Belisha beacon. Neon Bible saw Arcade Fire display their more political side, with withering critiques about the war, the church, the aggressive pursuit of fame by parents for their kids, and other such cheery subjects. The sombre subject matter and the occasional tendency towards Springsteen-style grandiosity mean that this album doesn’t quite live up to the astonishingly high standard of its predecessor, but that’s hardly a disgrace, and Arcade Fire remain one of the most important bands around right now. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

10. !!! – Myth Takes: Following on from the Rapture’s impressive “Pieces of the People We Love” album from the previous year, !!! further enhanced New York’s position as the epicentre of electrofunk with their most accomplished and accessible album to date. What is most impressive about this album is the way in which !!! have played to their strengths (i.e. by eschewing the politics and reining in Nic Offer’s histrionics, and in turn accentuating their infectious funk riffs); the result is an addictive, dancey record that puts their Nu-Rave counterparts firmly in the shade. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

Best of the rest

• Robyn – Robyn: A pop album that one needn’t feel guilty about listening to; eclectic, inventive and intelligent. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

• The Raveonettes – Lust, Lust, Lust: The Danish Jesus and Mary Chain acolytes have ditched the kitsch and produced, in Lust, Lust, Lust, their darkest, most ominous sounding and most accomplished album to date. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

• Richard Hawley – Lady’s Bridge: Not quite as good as Cole’s Corner, but this romantic take on the city of Sheffield still retains much of the charm of his previous work. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

• Maps – We Can Create: The recipient of this year’s Mercury prize in an just world; though James Chapman (chief songwriter and the man who, to all intents and purposes, is Maps) sometimes adheres to the My Bloody Valentine/Spiritualized blueprint a bit too closely, the album’s high points are just about as dreamy as shoegaze gets. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

The Nicolas Anelka award for Most Unfairly Maligned Album of 2007

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Some Loud Thunder: Having come to prominence as a product of what has come to be called the “Pitchfork factor”, CYHSY are now experiencing the backlash. It’s true that Some Loud Thunder isn’t as impressive as their eponymous debut, but it’s still a good album and one which surely didn’t deserve the critical mauling it received in some sections of the music press. [MySpace page] [Amazon link]

The Ronaldinho award for Most Disappointing Album of 2007

The Go! Team – Proof of Youth: For an award such as this, it’s tempting to go for an album that’s overhyped (such as the Hold Steady’s Boys and Girls in America) or a half-hearted one by a normally excellent band (such as Air’s Pocket Symphony), but the former is lyrically excellent (even if the music does bear too much resemblance to that of the E Street Band) and the latter, while not Air’s best album, is still an exquisite sounding record (besides, the Far Eastern influences on the album at least show a band that’s prepared to evolve musically.) By contrast, the Go! Team’s latest album (while by no means a poor record) shows a band that hasn’t evolved much at all since their 2004 debut “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” (which was a much better album than Proof of Youth.) A sound that felt like a breath of fresh air when the Go! Team first emerged is starting to sound a bit like a shtick now.

The (appropriately festively monikered) Turkey of the Year 2007

Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future: A closely contested award, this one, given the release in 2007 of Simian Mobile Disco’s similarly banal “Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release”, not to mention a plethora of atrocious nu-rave releases, posh former public school students (Kate Nash and Jack Peñate, I’m looking in your direction) inflicting their Mockney affectations on an unfortunate and unsuspecting society, and, of course, a James Blunt album release. But it’s not just their Nathan Barley-esque pseudo-rave output that elevates (if that’s the right word) Klaxons to wooden spoon status (though their music is diabolical), it’s also the Johnny Borrell-like delusions of grandeur that grate (their graceless acceptance speech for a completely undeserved Mercury victory, in which they hailed themselves as having made the "most forward-thinking record of the last eight years”, was a particular nadir.) What makes it worse is the outpouring of love they’ve received from the music press; I can brush off the praise from the NME (a kind of Hello magazine for teenage indie pups), the musically disengaged broadsheets like the Times, Telegraph and Observer (who know fuck all about music anyway) and even Pitchfork (who have occasionally taken leave of their senses and swallowed the hype surrounding such hacks.) However, the cowardly volte-face of the GU music editor in allowing them to claim a No. 5 spot in their Top 50 albums of the Year (presumably at the behest of Alexis Petridis, who also knows fuck all about music) is hard to stomach (to see how they got it right first time, click here.) Not since The Strokes were at the peak of their popularity have I hated a band with as much venom (and I was vindicated when it came to the Strokes; if there’s any justice in the world, Klaxons will go the same way.)

And finally, the singles of the Year

1. M.I.A. – Jimmy: Possibly the best techno-Bollywood fusion track ever made (which is more of a compliment than it sounds, honest.) [Video]

2. Justice – D.A.N.C.E: Probably the only track from † that sounds like Discovery-era Daft Punk, but no worse for that; one of the highlights of the album (the video’s pretty good, too.)

3. Robyn – With Every Heartbeat: Thank goodness for this track in amongst all the Kate Nash’s and Umbrellas, or last summer would have been completely unbearable. [Video]

4. !!! – Heart of Hearts: Pitchfork described this track as a six minute distillation of everything that !!! do well; I think that sums it up perfectly. [Video]

5. Digitalism - Pogo: Don’t let the fact that Sky have started using it for their football coverage put you off; even by Idealism’s high standards, this is particularly high-octane stuff. [Video]

6. Battles – Atlas: Apparently inspired by schaffel (a techno offshoot made popular in the clubs of Cologne) but sounding eerily like Marc Bolan on an acid trip, this track is still both weird and wonderful in equal measure (the year’s number 1 in an alternate universe, as The Guide put it.) [Video]

Well, that’s all for 2007, folks. All that remains is for me to wish you all a happy and prosperous 2008. As ever, feel free to post your suggestions for musical highlights and lowlights of 2007 (after all, this award list, while a lengthy tome, is hardly an exhaustive account of the year’s music; you may also wish to take me to task over some of my choices in this list.) Also, look out for my mid-season European football round-up (which should be coming out after the next round of Premier League matches.)

See you all in 2008,
Liam

Euro 2008 draw: Minute-by-minute

11am: Hello folks, and welcome to live minute-by-minute coverage of the Euro 2008 draw. Any comments/questions/abuse can be directed to my inbox at liamdavidodonnell@hotmail.co.uk.

Pre-amble: First of all, while we're waiting for the real action to begin, let's pause for a minute to pay our respects to those who have not made it. 2008's edition will be a Home Nations-lite edition, which is, of course, a great tragedy. Think about it: no long -ball football, no mention of destiny pre-determining English supremacy at a major tournament. And let's think also of all the lost revenue at all those WAG-free boutiques and fan-free bars, of all the chairs and tables that won't be lobbed across city squares, all the fountains that won't be urinated in. (What a waste...)

11:11: Now presenting the only Scot that will make an appearance anywhere near the tournament, David Taylor (former SFA chief and current UEFA general secretary.) He says the draw will never be exciting as the football (he can't have seen Switzerland-Ukraine in last year's World Cup.)

11:15: Things I'm looking forward to in Euro 2008:

a) No WAGS
b) No flags
c) No England training coverage
d) Matches featuring non-Home Nations sides not being treated as mere sideshows
e) Being able to follow my ancestral past and cheer on the Poles (even as they crash out of the tournament without a single point.)
f) AC Jimbo and his pod friends (Barry's Big-Ron style butcherings of assorted foreign languages will again be hilarious, I'm sure.)

Things I'm dreading:

a) Motty banging on about the War if Germany are drawn with Poland or the Czechs
b) Motty full stop
c) Clive Tyldesley resurrecting that lame Mutu-Pokemon gag given Romania's presence at the finals.
d) Complaints from the press and fans that "it's just not the same without England" (you're right, it's better.)
e) Another Greece victory (at least if they play as negatively as last time.)

11:23: Roger Federer and Hermann Meier are now taking us on a guided tour of the Swiss and Austrian venues (cue this column's face going green with envy at not being able to go.)

11: 25: A quick aside to talk about the possibility of a Group Of Death (TM): Raymond Domenech has been complaining (not unjustifiably) about the bizarre seeding policy which could end up producing a group containing Holland, Italy, Germany and France (personally, I don't know why Domenech is afraid of facing a Dutch side that lost in Romania and could only beat Luxembourg 1-0 at home, but there you go.) On a serious note, though, the Grauniad's staff and agencies claim that France's 4th seeding is due to their relatively poor qualifying results for Germany 2006 and Austria/Switzerland 2008, but France have also had much tougher groups than, say, Sweden, Czech Republic and Holland, so results are bound to be poorer with that in mind.

11:30: I've noticed that there have been a lot of choral/operatic performances at this draw (not that UEFA are ones to trade in stereotypes related to a tournament taking place in Central Europe, of course.)

11:35: Still lots of dignitaries congratulating each othzzzzzzz................ Oh, the planning for the tournament is going well, the hosts will be very welcomizzzzzzzzz...........

11:37: Getting closer now: Giovanni Ivantino (deputy general secretary of UEFA) is explaining the technicalities (the Swiss will be in Group A, and the Austrians will be in B.) Domenech has yet to anrgily decry the rules determining seeding yet (will let you know if he's evicted.)

11:40: It's starting: Peter Schmeichel has drawn ... HOLLAND. They will be in Group C.

11:41: That leaves: GREECE in Group D.

11:42: In group A, we will have.... TURKEY in Group A with the Swiss (talk turns to the battle of Istanbul.) They will be in position A4 in the Group.

11:43: Yay! POLAND have the Austrians in Group B. And they are in position B4.

11:44: And FRANCE have Holland! It's happened! A Group of Death is developing! And they will be in position C4.

11:45: Last ball of the bottom seeds, and it's RUSSIA (obviously.) And they'll be D4.

11:46: There's still hope for the French; they should be able to beat Sweden and the Czechs.

11:47: PORTUGAL will be in Group A (easy ride for Scolari, then.) And they're A3 (Portugal will open with Turkey.)

11:48: GERMANY will play Austria (we have a nice derby there, and "Big Gay" Jogi must be delighted with that.) Oh no, Germany will play Poland (please, BBC, don't take that game and give it to Motson.)

11:49: ROMANIA will be in C with France and Holland (could have been worse for France and the Dutch, but this still looks like the toughest group.)

11:50: SPAIN will be in D (they won't relish playing Greece again, given what happened last time.)

11:51: And playing the Swiss in the opening game will be ... CZECH REPUBLIC. Sorry, can't be bothered allocated group positions any more.

11:52: CROATIA; their fortune continues (they have the Austrians in B.) And Germany avoid Italy (they'll be thrilled with that.)

11:53: ITALY! The Group of Death has unfurled in C!

11:55: Last of all, SWEDEN dodge a bullet by being drawn with Spain, Greece and Russia in D.

So, to confirm, the draw is as follows:

A. SWITZERLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
PORTUGAL
TURKEY

B. AUSTRIA
CROATIA
GERMANY
POLAND

C. HOLLAND
ITALY
ROMANIA
FRANCE

D. GREECE
SWEDEN
SPAIN
RUSSIA

Well, France and Italy (two of Europe's better sides technically) have every right to feel aggrieved with that draw, as do Romania (a useful side who would probably qualify from any other group): what odds on the top seeded side, Holland, propping up the group? Meanwhile Germany have been gifted a Group of Life (Croatia should join Germany in the knockouts but Poland may have an outside chance; Austria should still perform abysmally, despite the draw being quite kind to them.) Russia should be out of their depth in D (Spain should qualfy without too many problems, but Greece could well edge a somewhat Zlatan Ibrahimovic-dependent Sweden.) Meanwhile, Switzerland could well be the host that does well in this tournament; they are quite a solid side with one or two decent attackers, and ought to edge a ropey Turkey side and a transitional Czech side to join Portugal in the knockouts (the Portuguese, meanwhile, should be thanking their lucky stars that, despite being so mediocre recently, they've been gifted an easily negotiable group phase.)

That's all for now folks. See you soon.
Liam

A few musical musings

Hello folks,

Well, it’s been a few weeks since my last posting (on the subject of Euro 2008, though more on that in a second), and much has happened in the musical world in the intervening period (well, that has been of interest to me, anyway) so I thought I’d share with you some of my highlights and lowlights from the past month…

First up, it’s one of my personal favourite artists of all time, part of the best songwriting partnership of all time (along with Johnny Marr) in the best band of all time (The Smiths), and a man who’s penned a fair few decent songs on his own; yup, it’s Moz. Alas, he’s been doing what he does worst this past week: dabbling in issues race and migration, declaring that “the gates of Britain have been flooded” and prompting the all-too-predictable “Bigmouth strikes again” headlines on the front cover of the NME (for anyone unfamiliar with this publication, the NME is the music press equivalent of the Sun.) Now, it has been alleged by Morrissey’s manager that the contents of the interview had been heavily doctored by NME editor (and the man to blame for the inexorable rise of the moronic nu-rave fad) Conor McNicholas in order to cast himself as a “hero” in the fight against racism (at a time when the NME is doing much to highlight the Love Music Hate Racism cause), while simultaneously casting Morrissey as a bigoted, right-wing thug. Knowing the NME, such a scenario would perhaps not surprise me, and it’s also true that the interviewer Tim Jonze was so incensed by the re-working of the piece that he wanted his name removed from all but the Q&A section. The trouble is, though, that (and as a fan of his work, particularly with the Smiths, it pains me to say it) Morrissey has plenty of previous in this respect; not only does the content of the interview sound alarmingly similar to Enoch Powell’s rightly-decried “Rivers of Blood” speech, but Morrissey has also in the past described reggae music as “vile”, walked out on stage at Finsbury Park draped in a Union Jack (at a gig people knew National Front members were likely to gatecrash) and also penned the song “Bengali In Platforms” (a thinly-veiled reference to British Muslims, containing the lyric “Life’s so very hard when you belong here.”) It’s also been correctly pointed out that it’s a bit rich of Morrissey to be bemoaning supposed “mass migration” as a Mancunian of Irish immigrant extraction. The sad fact is that, while Moz is easy to love because of his impressive back-catalogue, he is just as easy to despise because of his repugnant views, not least his pining for a Britain that ceased to exist at least 50 years ago.

Next, it’s some news of a much more pleasant nature: My Bloody Valentine are the latest group to announce they’re making a comeback (and, given that the past 18 months or so has seen the return of Take That, The Spice Girls and Duran Duran, arguably the most welcome, too.) Not only are they touring again (alas, only three gigs have been announced so far, all of which were at inconvenient dates, and which sold far too quickly for me to get hold of a ticket anyway) but they have also announced that they will be releasing a follow-up to their masterpiece Loveless some time in 2008 (which would otherwise not be particularly unusual or newsworthy, except that Loveless was released in 1991.) I must admit to being a little bit apprehensive about the new MBV album, as I know I’ll end up comparing it with Loveless (my fear is that it just won’t be quite as good as its predecessor.) One also wonders what the motivation is behind the decision to release a new album (after all, they’ve already assured themselves a place in the pantheon of greats, having released one of the essential albums.) Nonetheless, I’m still looking forward to its release.

And finally, some, ahem, “eye candy”; recently, I was reminded of the subject of bizarre music videos by the footage accompanying two recent single releases. Firstly, the video to Simian Mobile Disco’s most recent release “Hustler”, hyped by the NME (them again) as the “sickest music video ever”, which is bizarre considering that, much like their musical output, it isn’t even the most original, given that it blatantly rips off the video to Aphex Twin’s Windowlicker (both a better song and a better video.) Mind you, this is the band that featured a number of girls each other kissing for four minutes straight in the original video for this song, so perhaps it would have been foolish to expect better. Via the Guardian’s music pages, I was also directed to the video for !!!’s most recent single “Yadnus” which features, among other things, singing roadkill (nice.) My personal vote for the most bizarre music video of all time would have to be Windowlicker, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mention them here.

Later,
Liam

P.S. Barring any technical problems, I’ll be attempting to take on the likes of Barry Glendenning et. al. at their own game, by offering minute-by-minute coverage of the Euro 2008 draw as it happens. If you can stomach that, join me tomorrow from 11:30am GMT (think of it as me watching UEFA suits trot out tired platitudes and present reams of meaningless video footage, so that you don’t have to.)

Euro trippin'

Hello folks!

Well, another round of Euro 2008 qualifiers is upon us. But rather than do as much of the myopic English press seem to have done (i.e. pour over the minutiae of what will surely be another stultifyingly boring but comfortably attained 1-0 win for England, as critiqued excellently here), I would prefer to talk about a far more compelling group, one with genuine intrigue and excitement. That is, of course, Group B, where those young Scottish upstarts have managed to stay in contention for a place in Austria/Switzerland (so much so that they can now, apparently, “taste the Toblerone”), climbing to the top of the group and threatening to put one of the two World Cup finalists (Italy and France) out of the tournament. While there has inevitably been a great deal of bluster in the press on both sides of the border, my suspicion is that it will ultimately end in disappointment. For one thing, the run-in for Scotland is by some distance the hardest of the three teams (at home to Ukraine on Saturday, followed by an away trip to Georgia this Wednesday and a showdown with Italy at Hampden in November.) As Ukraine have not yet been mathematically eliminated, the first of those three games presents obvious difficulties (i.e. a full strength Ukraine side, though Shevchenko’s struggles at Stamford Bridge will be a definite fillip for the Scots) and will demand another exceptional performance (and I’m not sure that, even for all the recent improvements in the Scottish game and the recent results that Scottish sides have been achieving, the talent pool is yet deep enough to reproduce more performances like the two they produced at home and away to France.) Meanwhile, an away trip to Georgia has, in recent years, been the type of fixture that has proved Scotland’s undoing, while Italy are the world champions (albeit a stuttering set of world champions.) Feasibly, Scotland could drop points in all three (though, despite the fears of Kevin McCarra et al, the Georgia game is really one they ought to win), which will almost certainly not be good enough.

By contrast, France have a rather straightforward run-in, with games against the Faroe Islands (away) and Lithuania (home) in the next four days, followed by a trip to Ukraine next month. The first two fixture are pretty much dead rubbers (anyone who says “there are no easy fixtures in international football anymore” is talking bollocks), while France are likely to be taking on an already-eliminated (and, possibly, somewhat weakened and slightly de-motivated) Ukraine next month, so one would expect a maximum nine points and passage to Euro 2008. If either of the two big guns ought to be concerned, it should probably be the Azzurri, who ought to beat Georgia at home in their next match (and, indeed, the Faroes at home in their final match), but who could be facing a potentially decisive trip to Hampden in November. Given that Scotland will probably still be in contention at that point, and that Italian sides are often rattled by the ferocity of some British crowds and the “Anglo-Saxon” style of play, disaster could ensue for Donadoni’s side. My feeling, though, is that they may just squeak a draw and get through that way. Even if Scotland do miss out, though, the disappointment shouldn’t be too overwhelming, or sustained for that long, as their extremely credible performance in the group is likely to have significantly boosted their FIFA/UEFA co-efficient (or something); as a result, they ought to get a much kinder qualifying group for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and, quite possibly, for Poland/Ukraine 2012. Coupled with the recent technical and tactical improvements in the Scottish game, there’s a fair chance that we could be seeing the gregarious but good-natured Tartan Army at both of those tournaments.

Well, that’s all for now, everyone. Just enough time to round up some of the other interesting bits from this weekend’s round of fixtures, and make another set of rubbish predictions (because it’s been so long since I last made any):

• Germany to register a comfortable win (2-0, probably) over a mediocre Ireland side (whose long-ball tactics make Sam Allardyce’s sides look positively progressive); having secured their qualification, the Mannschaft will relax and allow the Czechs to secure the point(s) they need.

• Denmark to come roaring back into Group F contention by beating Spain (thus heaping more pressure on La Fúria Roja’s clueless, simian coach.)

• Romania and Holland to play out a draw that does Bulgaria no good.

• Poland to all but secure qualification by beating Kazakhstan at home, and Finland & Portugal to keep on winning (that Portugal-Finland showdown on November 21st looks tasty…)

• Same situation in Group B as in A, with Poland, Finland and Portugal substituted for Greece, Norway and Turkey respectively (their group’s decisive showdown is between Norway and Turkey on November 17th, by the way.)

See you all later,
Liam

Jobless no more

Hello folks!

And a particularly cheery hello it is. Yes, as the title implies, and despite what I considered to be a fairly lamentable interview (during which I was unable to answer the question, posed to me by the HR interviewer, about what I considered to be the merits/drawbacks of choosing a job in industry over a PhD studentship; only an awkward, seemingly interminable silence and much furrowing of my own brow ensued) I have now been given a job as a lab lackey at Evotec (well, I say the company’s name is Evotec; apparently, they were taken over by an American company and will be called something completely different by the time I start work there), based in Abingdon (near Oxford.) One can only surmise that they must regularly get employees leaving to do PhD’s if I was able to dodge that particular bullet, but no matter, eh?

Anyway, I start off on a three month probationary contract (standard practice, so I’m told) and assuming that the building is structurally intact at the end of those three months (and I haven’t managed to poison everyone), I will be offered a permanent contract. Admittedly, I am still using this job as a twelve month stop-gap prior to doing a PhD in organic chemistry the following year, but, at this stage, the crucial thing is that, by the time the next set of PhD projects come around in September/October of next year, I will still be doing organic chemistry work (with those practical skills still intact, I will probably be far more attractive as a PhD candidate to chemistry academics than if I spent the next year out of chemistry.)

Well, that’s all for now. Suffice it to say that, after several months of largely fruitless PhD/job searches, this week’s news came as an almighty relief. Perhaps the old cliché of having to hit rock bottom before your luck starts changing for the better is true after all (and after Wednesday’s abysmal display against Marseille, particularly from the comically inept Momo Sissoko, who should have been sold to Juve when we had the chance, it certainly felt at the time like such depths were being plumbed.)

All the best,
Liam