DUNCE

A couple of weeks ago I took a Mensa IQ test.

It's not that I had anything to prove...I was just curious!

I'd taken a 'home test' years ago but never posted it back. So randomly about two months back I did it again. Mensa responded saying I probably had an IQ of 148, so I should take the supervised test.

I'd woken up earlyish the day of the test. It's just a shame I had forgotten all about it! For some reason I had thought it was the following week (yeah...so, not looking great haha!)...

but I remembered in the nick of time and briskly walked to the venue.

The tests were really fucking difficult in places! I kept on panicking and even filled in one of the answer papers incorrectly! I ticked the boxes for 'Test 3' whilst actually on 'Test 2' which meant wasting 5 mins of crucial time correcting it!

I didn't tell many of my mates because I was sure that I'd fucked up.

And sure enough I did.

Mensa tell me I have an IQ of 147 (I'm in the top 3% of the population). To get into Mensa you need 148 (top 2%).

Which ain't bad!

But yeah, I'm gonna retake it next year and actually get in!

"You may be a dunce by Mensa standards but you're still a cool dude." Claire from YACHT

Grey Oceans Part 2

Time for another little update on Grey Oceans!

It's not long now until the album is released:

3rd May in Europe

11th May in USA

but amazingly there are a few sites that are streaming the whole fucking album!

This one and this one!

I am possibly gonna create a music specific blog in the next week, so my review of the album can wait!

But in the mean time I'll give a brief overview of my favourite tracks. Of course, each has it's merits but I highly recommend the below:

Smokey Taboo This one really exemplifies the new direction. You can still hear the Cocorosie sound and the lyrics are as poetic as ever!

Hopscotch A little drum and bass-ey but it grew on me very fast!

The Moon Asked the Crow ("...for a little show...") :)

Lemonade The first single from the album. I love how it begins all twinkly. Sierra's voice is awesome!!!

PREORDER GREY OCEANS!

We lucky bastards can now pre-order the upcoming (and awesome) new album by Cocorosie, Grey Oceans!

iTunes Amazon

(I'll shove my Paypal in here too on the off chance that somebody wants to buy me a copy!)

This is Cocorosie's first album on Sub Pop after leaving Touch & Go. I feel like I've waited 1000 years for this, but from what I've heard it sounds awesome...

Listen to Lemonade here. It's very good.

Trinity’s Crying
Smokey Taboo
Hopscotch
Undertaker
Grey Oceans
R.I.P. Burn Face
The Moon Asked the Crow
Lemonade
Gallows
Fairy Paradise
Here I Come

The teasers and clips from live shows are making me ECSTATIC!

OWEN PALLETT

I'm loving Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) 's latest album Heartland.

Check it out on Spotify here : Owen Pallett – Heartland

I particularly like "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt".

The best part is he is playing Manchester ON MY BIRTHDAY!

March 28th at the Deaf Institute - if you see me I'll have a pint ;)

SMOKEY TABOO

Cocorosie have released a little teaser!

I'm very fucking excited now. This album has been a lonnnng time coming.

Also, I went a little insane on Friday and convinced myself the album was out. So I went to Piccadilly Records to look for it....to no avail.

I was thinking of Joanna Newsom. Argh! Equally as good though :)

GREY OCEANS

COCOROSIE release their 4th album on the 3rd of May!

I probably should have surmised that since I've already got tickets to their Manchester Cathedral gig on 7th May!

I'm really excited to see what direction they've gone in. I assume they're gonna go back to something more minimal. Coconuts, Plenty of Junk Food was so simple-yet-effective. I loved every track, from the poppy Happy Eyez to the gorgeous soulful Milkman.

The cathedral gig should be fucking awesome. I'm VERY excited.

Chat Roulette

I've just discovered the pleasures of Chatroulette.com!

Well, not the same pleasures as most of the guys on there, but equally as sordid.

If you haven't checked it out yet, then do! But CAUTION! You've probably seen a lot of porn "accidentally" in your time on the internet, so you probably aren't that shockable.

What ChatRoulette essentially does is connect you, cam to cam, with RANDOM STRANGERS! There's always between 20,000 and 60,000 people online when I've been on it, yet I'd say 1 in every 5 'strangers' is a guy jerking off/beating off/wanking/choking the chicken.

Horrific as that can be there are some proper freaks on there to laugh at :)

Such as this guy. Who I think was asking to see Kermit's penis.

If anyone sees Kermit/Miss Piggy later on make sure you give them a wave! :P