Posts Tagged ‘ danny smith ’

Local Election Coverage – Live

The count in the council elections starts at 10pm tonight, with a third of the seats up for grabs. We’ve sent columnist Danny Smith to the media centre to see what’s going on. He’s tweeting from our @BirminghamINS account, and will do a full write-up whenever he gets to it. For proper coverage there is an official council Live Blog (embeded here): Local Election Count 2011 They’re tweeting using the hashtag #brumvotes2011. More info here.

Danny Smith: Skinner in the Underworld

Going Through Hell is Mike Skinner’s first single from his last album as The Streets. It’s an oddly poetic title that has a lot of resonances, including echoes of the Greek myth Orpheus when our titular hero walked through hell to return his wife, Eurydice, to the Land of the Living. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was completely intentional, Mike Skinner strikes me as a smart guy. The image of a Greek hero is also apt, an all-conquering hero after many trials and tests returning home but finding this his hardest test yet is an old rote. It was, after all and as he kept reminding us the last time he would be performing in his home city. And I don’t use the word ‘hero’ lightly. The gig tonight was a story of someone facing adversity, and overcoming it with aplomb. The adversity being the crowd. When I first got there the crowd was notable by its diversity, a massive age range. But as the venue started filling up, the mid-twenties gym rat started to swell the ranks, polo-shirted skinheads stinking of Lynx deodorant. In the half an hour between the support acts and The Streets starting things...

Danny Smith: Winterval starts here

The opinions of Danny Smith do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers of this blog, its affiliates, or any sane adult human beings. He currently lives in your cupboard, watching, always watching. Last year Birmingham City Council held a Christmas lights ceremony that ended in what most called a ‘fiasco’. Our crap Altamont was down to nobody guessing that one of the biggest bands of the moment giving a free concert would be popular. This year instead of a big fuss there will be a Christmas parade. In November. One month and ten days before Christmas, reindeer and whatnot will be kicking off our celebrations. With no pretence at trying to encompass other celebrations to draw out the shopping season, at least with ‘Winterval’ they were trying. Its an old rote that Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year but five weeks before Christmas is bordering on silly, seeing as most men are still be scurrying around in the dark on Christmas eve wondering if a bottle of screen wash is a suitable present for a ten year old. Granted, Jesus was probably born in April but lets try to stay within December eh?

Flatpack – part of the furniture

Brum’s (perhaps the World’s) best film festival starts today — I’m off to the Stephen Duffy film on Sunday at least. But here’s some recommendations from other people Danny Smith (more here): “Down Terrace – Friday 26 march Normally I stay away from anything that even resembles a kitchen sink drama having been inoculated against the allure of grey bleak humanity by growing up in a house with EastEnders on every single day. But when you introduce Ben Wheatly (him what did Ideal and Modern Toss) and tense crime plot then I have to say I’m a little more than intrigued.” & PixieSixer from More Canals…: “Short Film Triple-Bill at VIVID on Thursday 25 March (6-10.30pm). With a selection of regionally made animated shorts, highlights from Shooting People’s Shooters Film of the Month competition, and an assortment of music videos and other shorts from London’s only weekly short film evening, Short and Sweet, it is sure to be a highly entertaining evening jam-packed with creative audiovisual goodness. And, what’s more, it’s free!” If you’ve got any yourself I’m sure we’d be glad to hear them.

Danny Smith: Tag nuts

So I spoke to the Editor* about what to write about this week and he gave me this, probably to wind me up, which suggests that ten people are responsible for most of the graffiti in Brum. I knew my feelings on graff have been documented ad nauseum in other places. Also I find the weary ‘is it art?’ argument nonsensical and unhelpful and am at loathe to drag it out one more time. So, for once, I thought it would be good to give someone active in that world a chance to reply. The guy I spoke to didn’t want to be named so I haven’t. What do you think of the thought that there only ten people responsible for the graffiti in Birmingham? I doubt the council see it like this to be honest, I can imagine they have a wanted list a lot longer. But who knows. They will have probably whittled it down to their top ten targets who they have literally charted as the top ten. However what they don’t realise is that if your a “tagger” part of that concept is to get up. As many times as possible. More than anyone else....

I was watching and saying manly things when Birmingham City almost beat Man Utd on Saturday, but first, a story; When I was younger I was deemed shy and somewhat bookish, if you would have asked me at the time I probably would have more described myself as “mysterious” or “a lone wolf” proving not only was I a bit socially awkward, but also a bit of a tool. The cure for this, my matriarchal Nan decided, was to get a job in a pub as soon as I was old enough. The pub was, and by all accounts still is, quite rough. When I arrived for my first shift the manager, a lurching ex-police officer, took me to one side and explained that the pub was mainly a Zulu* pub and if there was any trouble I should just go get him, referring to a group of blokes in the corner he said: ‘See the big one?’ ‘Can’t miss him’ I said ‘He’s one of the Lieutenants give him whatever he wants and I’ll square it with him later’ ‘OK’ I said ‘See him’ pointing a particularly violent looking one with a fist full sovereign rings ‘he’s a...

Danny Smith: Backstabbers Guide to Wolverhampton

In the slow news week between Christmas and New Years the BBC decided that it would be newsworthy to point out how shit Wolverhampton was. My first reaction was ‘have these people never been to Coventry?’ I mean our sister site, Wolverhampton: it doesn’t suck dog shit from the treads of a zombie’s hush puppies probably wont mind me saying that Wolvo is a bland wasteland of chain shops, a middlingly terrible football team with England’s most soulless and dispiriting ground and only a decent sized music venue to redeem it. But compared to the seventh ring of concrete hell that is Coventry, Wolverhampton is a mythical Shangri-La where lemonade runs from the taps and tramps vomit rainbows. Its also not the first time Lonely Planet has had a pop at Wolverhampton or the Midlands in general. It seems we are the Lonely Planet’s go-to guys if they need quick bit of publicity. A bit like the Express resorting to anything Diana related when their figures dip, but instead of placing us on an impossible plinth, they piss all over our chips, our arms, and our hair. Transit Trio, Wolverhampton, 1980., originally uploaded by Lady Wulfrun. These polls are...

I want to talk about Birmingham’s bid for Britain’s City of Culture. Now this shouldn’t be confused for the European City of Culture bid, which if won brings money, tourists and actual prestige, That’s going to the South Hampshire region in 2022 which by then, if Internet idiots are to be believed, we will all be destroyed by an alignment of planets as predicted by the Mayans*. No this is the British city of culture, a knock off basically. So if Birmingham is successful what would we actually win? Well, potentially holding the Brit awards and the Turner prize, although not even that is not definite. And I’m not sure how this would be that even be beneficial. Do we want the Turner prize? Recently it’s turned into an attention grabbing oddity choosing deliberately challenging pieces for the sole reason of angering Sun readers and inciting headlines. And lets face it the art facilities in Birmingham are embarrassingly small, although what we do have is excellent. Including the always interesting Vivid, the young but ever growing Eastside projects, and the only venue really large enough to hold the Turner prize, the Ikon. And the Brits, who watches the Brits...

Mr Egg is closed, and it seems only partly related to undiluted catering vinegar thrown into drunk peoples eyes. But be it through mad chefs or vermin in the cupboards, I’m not surprised it has happened; I’m surprised it took so long. Mr Egg is a Birmingham institution (and not just because there’s a rat in the kitchen), it’s something rare in Birmingham — independent. It’s a lot like the sixties, if you can remember it you were never there, god knows no sane person would eat there sober. If pushed I can remember the giant cloth egg on the ceiling and the overpowering smell of grease. Just walking past has always a barometer of the current economic climate ‘EAT LIKE A KING FOR 50p’ declared the sign, and then in my teenage years ‘EAT LIKE A KING FOR £1’, a little later when the gay community settled down the road ‘EAT LIKE A QUEEN FOR £1.50’. It seems to have survived due to clever marketing, location and cheap prices. The food itself was on the whole, greasy slop served on dirty plates. I like to think that the custom came from late night diners being loyal to an...

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Birmingham's emotional wellbeing* on Saturday 11th of February 2012 18:27: 60.9 % (okay)

Posts Tagged ‘ danny smith ’

Local Election Coverage – Live

Danny Smith: Skinner in the Underworld

Danny Smith: Winterval starts here

Flatpack – part of the furniture

Danny Smith: Tag nuts

Danny Smith: Blues and me

Danny Smith: Backstabbers Guide to Wolverhampton

Danny Smith: Big City Culture

Danny Smith: Is Mr Egg beaten?

@onBirmingham – Breaking Brum News on Twitter