Random Access… Well just, Random
So after all the hype, all the tweets, the Vine videos, the YouTube campaign, the viral videos and the build up Random Access Memories was released this week.
I didn’t listen to the streamed version on iTunes as I had preordered my copy of the new Daft Punk album and wanted to enjoy it.
Sadly I wish I had listened to the streamed version as I would have cancelled my order!
I have listened to RAM three times now and unfortunately for me it does not grow on me at all.
I cannot find a thread through the album and the eclectic style does not do me any favours as a listener. It starts off well enough but then dips to a slow melodic plod. Throw in the pointless interview with Girgio and I cannot but wonder what Daft Punk were trying to achieve.
I get it that the songs are a collection of memories from the robots, strung together loosely but it simply does not work.
On first listen I feel asleep during Get Lucky (which is much better than the radio edit) and when I woke up at Contact I honestly thought it was all one track.
There is an awful lot of repetition in the album and although this usually plays for Daft Punks strengths I just feel that they have over done it.
Some tracks are laboured and tired and just don’t seem to go anywhere.
Songs such as Fragments of Time really do try to get the party started but it just becomes a repetitive melody.
Contact is a nice idea but I feel it’s been done already by the likes of Lemon Jelly with Spacewalk and countless others.
Touch is the perfect example of where it all goes wrong – it tries to be a dance hit, it tries to be acoustic but it’s mix with acapella lyrics, odd sound effects distorted tones and random synth patterns. Daft Punk please decide what each track is and bloody stick with it!
I can see what Daft Punk were trying to achieve with the 70′s riffs etc but it feels like this was an experiment which never really got going. None of these songs are very dynamic and just don’t seem to go anywhere.
Of all 13 tracks I have only star rated two or three (Get Lucky, Fragments of Time and Don’ it Right) the rest I am sad to say will be confined to the great pop dustbin that already includes Human After All.
I so wanted this to be a great album but it’s not and I cannot see how I can make myself like it. I tried to listen to it all on the train home (well I did), but there were several occasions where I just wanted to switch it off.
Of course I’ll be flamed for my review and the twitterati are loving this but I hate to think it’s all young kids who have not heard anything quite like this before (see my post on the 20th anniversary of janet.). I really don’t find it at all encouraging or listenable.
A lost opportunity for Daft Punk and an album that has been marketed beyond its actual value.
For those who love it – good for you. I just hope you haven’t been sucked in on the promise of one track, the marketing and the fact that it’s “a new album by Daft Punk”.
Poor show Robots. Poor show.
Change of Plan…
So it wasn’t a brilliant day today and the Gipis plan had me running an easy 15 minutes as an “easy recovery day”.
I decided that I wanted to keep the pace that Gipis recommended but keep going.
I also decided that I would stop counting my warm up and cool down sections in my work out. This has been skewing my results for a bit and I was pleased that the run with Paul on Friday was a true reflection of what I am possible of.
I have been running long enough that I now know how long I need to walk to warm up and the same goes for cooling down so that will no longer be added or counted into my running plans.
This means I find tonight’s map really interesting as I was to run a regular pace for the duration of the run and can clearly see that I started off slow and got into my stride as I went.
I am very happy that the rest of the run is much the same shade which means I managed to keep a good pace throughout the run. This is especially good as the coaching ran out at 15 minutes and I simply carried on until I reached 5K, trying to make sure I maintained a regular rhythm – which it looks like I did.
I wasn’t as fast as I was running with Paul on Friday but I am pleased that I just kept going and I didn’t think about pausing.
I also managed to reduce the amount of water I drank and subsequently reduced the amount of crap I felt the need to clear from my chest. It was quite humid tonight so I thought it would be worse (and I hasn’t had my inhaler) – yet all seemed to go well.
Fastest track tonight was Alive by Empire of the Sun although oddly that does also include the slow section.
I’ve noticed since Friday that the soles of my trainers are starting to wear so I have had to hunt around for a new pair of Nike LunarGlide +4′s. This is not as easy as it sounds as it seems that Nike are starting to stop stocking them (probably to get us all purchasing Flyknits). I did manage to get a pair online (the exact same colouring I have now) – I won’t wear them until after the Richmond 10K on the 1st. I am sure that my current trainers will last until then.
I had a minor pain in the top of my left knee following Fridays run and this is possibly due to my trainers – my knee feels ok tonight. Thankfully a couple of minutes Saturday and Sunday on the foam roller seemed to set everything right.
Paul and I are meeting for dinner tomorrow so that I can plan how I can going to train for the half marathon. A fortnight before the run Richard and I are off to Canada so I need to work out whether I train for the race date of until Canada. I am sure we’ll work it out.
I wanted to thank all of those who have already sponsored me for my Half Marathon on the 6th October – you guys are the best 
Woodkid / Excerpts
I finally got around to putting my Woodkid videos together from Tuesday evening.
They weren't as great as I was expecting but you get the general idea…
janet. 20 years on…
20 years ago Janet Jackson released janet. a career defining album and one that would change the shape of pop music for ever.
Janet had broken her way from her family ties with Control and put the world to rights with Rhythm Nation 1814, by janet. was the album that would change everything.
I sit here and moan about how people dote on the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna, but truth be known if it wasn’t for janet. they probably wouldn’t be here.
She (with the help of production geniuses Jam and Lewis) defined a generation and brought a new flavour of music to the masses.
From the moment the world heard the opening bars of That’s the Way Love Goes we knew things would change for ever. Nothing as laid back or as soulful had hit the air waves and nothing like it had certainly never scaled to the top of the pop, R&B, dance charts.
In fact this was the great thing about janet., most struggled to pigeon-hole it as one form of music or another.
You had the infectious and raunchy if. The pop inspired and light Because of Love and the heart wrenching Again all spawned from the same album.
Other hits including You Want This were already pushing the envelope when released on janet.but the added rap mid section paved the way for listeners ears to tune into other great artists to follow such as Missie Elliot, TLC and Pink.
The content of the album was also very raunchy and risqué in places. I remember hearing Janet interview by Dave Lee Travis on Radio 1 (I still have this on cassette) and he quizzed her about Throb. Of course Miss Jackson insisted it was about “the throb of the music and the effect on you when you hit the dancefloor” but we all know that’s simply not the case.
Miss Jackson may have been innocent at the release of janet. but subsequent work prove that she is certainly nasty 
If you have never heard the album please get onto Spotify or iTunes and give it a go. Forget any preconceptions about Janet and her family ties. Forget about Nipple Gate. (Still one of the best marketed music events of all time – beat that Madonna!). Just sit back, listen to the opening tones of Morning and let Janet take you through an escapade full of love, sex (safe-sex mind you remember to be a good boy), break up, heart-break and of course a healthy dose of voyeurism and PDA (anytime, anyplace).
This is truly one of the best albums of the nineties and one of my all time favourite albums*
Oh and what can you say about that Rolling Stone cover – now that was groundbreaking… I wonder if anyone would get away with all this these days. It makes me feel that the world has definitely gone backwards somewhat.
*although I may have to change that quote if you insist on including Whoops now, but let’s not go there!
And then the crowd did this…
During the Woodkid concert this wonderfully spontaneous moment happened when he was saying his goodbyes following the Run Boy Run.
We all started to sing the string section from the song (which I believe from Woodkids reaction on Facebook, this has never happened before) and then this happened…
I am so happy someone caught this on camera and really pleased that Woodkid himself posted this on Facebook stating “thank you London, this was a wonderful moment in my life that I will never forget”.
Brilliant. Truly the power of the crowd and the perfect example of what a fantastic concert we witnessed on Tuesday.
Running to Lambeth
I went on another lunchtime time run with Paul today and we extended our route to Lambeth Bridge. This added about 1.5K onto the run we completed last Friday.
We learnt from last weeks experience though and stuck to back roads as much as we could.
That said we had to stop to cross Westminster Bridge at Westminster Palace due to the crowds, government vehicles and traffic lights.
I was happy to run close to Paul’s pace (even though he was on a go slow due to a lively night out on the beer!)
Conditions were ok although it was quite windy in places.
I felt a few twinges here and there but persisted as I was determined to keep up with Paul as much as I could. As you can see we managed a pace of 5:07 at one point so we were certainly motoring along.
Next week we are going to change tactic and do some speed work instead – this will be more like the work I have been doing with the Gipis training.
Not long to go until the Richmond 10K and the more I run with Paul the more confidence I get and the more enthusiastic I am about race day
Coming back into work and carrying on working does seem to astound my colleagues but I like to think it’s testament to what I have achieved
Run Trunkguy Run!
Well the mid section of tonight's training was fairly long and fast. I had a tough central 15 minute section where I had to run quickly and I managed to maintain my pace for most of the run.
Of course electronics coaches such as Gipis cannot keep calculate for hills and wind but I think I managed pretty well considering.
As you can see from the map it's very warm with plenty of green streaks in there. I am really happy with tonight's achievement especially as I had a few nagging doubts about a pain in my knee/back of my leg. It feels fine now. I am sure it's a result of last nights activities…
I was unsure how I would cope on tonight's run as I was at the Woodkid concert last night jumping and dancing around all night. I think I managed about 5 hours sleep to so I was tired and achy today.
I did adjust my playlist so that the Woodkid tracks were closer to the start of the run and in the fast section and it worked. Believe me once you have been in a concert where there are massive drums thundering out the beat and you see his enthusiam – it's nothing short of infectious.
I did chuckle today as I walked past St Paul's and the bells started to chime, I was immediately transported to last night, th eglantine white statue of the boy and the opening bars of Run Boy Run. This brought a huge smile to my face.
In fact we enjoyed last night so much we have already booked for his next show in London in November as he will be accompanied by a full orchestra.
I have now told everyone about my half marathon ambitions and am very pleased with the positive response I have had from friends, family and colleagues. I have already raised £150 which is brilliant – thank you. Some people are confused and think I am running a marathon, I'm not. This is a daunting enough challenge for me!
The Richmond Park 10k is a couple weeks away and I am confident that I will be in good shape for it. I plan another run with Paul during Friday lunch break so that should give us more opportunity to time into one another's running rhythm.
Today's fastest track was The Conquest of Space by Woodkid
