…Love shitty music.  Especially dance music, it’s never ending and everyone knows all the words.  I guess I’m over here because of their taste in music, so I can’t really complain. I’m pretty much adapted to this place, for the most part, I just try to accept things the way they are and not dwell on the fact that they don’t make sense, like my last sentence.  I’m currently in Nottingham, the Goo Goo Dolls are playing next door to us tonight, we got passes to go watch Johnny Reznik and that other, more portly dude hack it up later on.   Should be interesting.

Breath easy internet, I have returned to my blogging post. Over the last week and a half I’ve been journeying up the Pacific Coast with Bear Hunter . As it turns out, when I try and write on my laptop while in the van I start to puke all over my band mates — hence, my absence from Synthesis Blog. Over the next few days I will be recounting my harrowing journey (in between fascinating posts about pop stars getting busted for drugs, children with weird growths on their bodies and general paranoid-paranormal fodder). Get ready, dear readers. Get your asses ready.

So I’ve been in the UK for a few days now and I’m still getting used to how things work around this place.  the first thing that threw me off is their money, it’s totally pointless, I have a pocket full of change that is worth, if converted to the American dollar, a whole shitload.  I found that the majority of people dislike Americans, especially if you show up at “their” pub and try to have a good time.  Little kids here are complete shitheads, today I was called a longhaired cunt and had rocks and pens thrown at me by four 12 year olds.  Don’t ever take pictures of shithead kids, this will happen to you too.  220volt power is the dumbest thing ever invented.  Glastonbury Festival, while cool, hip and elite, actually is a giant hippy fest headlined by some bands I have never heard of.  British accents aren’t cool, especially when someone is telling you something you should remember.  Try packing your mouth full grapes and then say a sentence to someone, see how much they understand what is being said.  Everyone here is a lush.  This is actually a good thing, except that 16 year old can drink me under the table.  And the number one thing I can’t and refuse to get used to is…..  the damn food.  It’s the worst stuff I’ve ever had.  They can’t make breakfast, scrambled eggs are apparently the hardest food to make taste good.  The fish and chips are alright, they would have been better if they took the bones out though.  After reading this over I’m wondering how I’m going to survive another two weeks here?  I’ll figure it out I guess.  At least it looks nice.

UK eclectic popsters Supergrass will be joining forces with the Foo Fighters for a month’s worth of touring come July 9th. Supergrass will be touring in support of their latest release, Diamond Hoo Ha.

Supregrass is a whole hell of a lot cooler than the Foo Fighters.

I can’t believe he hasn’t played on American Television before. UK heartthrob Ed Harcourt will be on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show this evening to promote his new album (well, that is to say his 2006 album that never got released in the States) The Beautiful Lie, which came out on Dovecote Records last Tuesday. Listening to The Beautiful Lie (and his back catalogue as well) it baffles me why he isn’t as huge in North America as he is in Europe. Last March during SXSW I ended up tagging along and filming Ed and his wife Gita as he got a sweet tattoo of one of his first songs, “Sing For My Supper” on his arm in Austin, TX. Enjoy our lil’ mini doc:

ED HARCOURT TO MAKE U.S. TELEVISION DEBUT ON THE TONIGHT SHOW JUNE 6, WEEK OF ‘THE BEAUTIFUL LIE’ RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2008 - Not long since wreaking havoc on Austin, Texas during SXSW, the illustrious Ed Harcourt will return to the States from his native England to perform on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Friday, June 6. Timed perfectly with the release of his fourth full-length album, THE BEAUTIFUL LIE, due June 3 on Dovecote Records, Harcourt will celebrate the arrival of this much-awaited LP with a national television debut.

The Mercury Prize-nominated Harcourt has been keeping extraordinarily busy on tour with the Gutter Twins overseas, where he has been joining Greg Dulli, Mark Lanegan and co. on stage following his own opening set. “Ed Harcourt’s songs are as close to cabaret tunes and 1960s pop as they are to current rock,” recently noted the NEW YORK TIMES while UNDER THE RADAR hailed ‘The Beautiful Lie’ as “his best work to date.” The WALL STREET JOURNAL was on hand for one of his acclaimed Austin performances, calling Harcourt, “a gifted songwriter in the mold of Karl Wallinger and XTC’s Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding” adding, “and thus a descendant of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.”

Lead radio single, “Revolution in the Heart,” mimics Harcourt’s larger-than-life personality, brimming with his exquisite piano playing, booming delivery, thunderous rhythms and bursting backup vocals, compliments of The Magic Numbers. The track is currently going for adds at radio, already receiving early support across the country from stations like Starbucks XM Café, KBAC and others.

This visit is a precursor to additional U.S. tour dates this summer, to be announced soon.

[The following was written by Synthesis Weekly columnist Emilie Clark. She can be reached at emilie@synthesis.net.]

Coming Soon

It’s a well-known fact that people like to adapt movies from books. It’s also a well-known fact that most of these efforts suck. So it’s my job to warn you about upcoming adaptations so you have ample time to read the book. This gives you the chance to complain about inconsistencies and general “suckiness” while still in the theater, making you look learned and therefore more attractive. You can thank me later.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, July 4th: This is a documentary, so I guess it won’t really do to get mad about liberties taken with the adaptation. But it can’t hurt to read some of the famous Gonzo’s work if only for your own amusement. From the description it seems like the filmmakers are big fans, which can be bad in a documentary if you’re trying to eek out truth. The gist I get is that the point the film makes is that Thompson did what journalists are too afraid to do nowadays, namely get high and write caustic things about politicians. This may be true, but I easily tire of ‘60s and ‘70s nostalgia. Sure people were a bit crazier back then and I’m sure there are things to be learned from that era, but it’s over, so deal.

Journey To the Center of the Earth 3D, July 11th: Based on the classic Jules Verne novel about a rogue scientist who travels to, you guessed it, the center of the earth. According to Wikipedia, this novel didn’t age as well as some of Verne’s other works, because he was mostly wrong about what is contained in the center of the earth. However, none of that really matters because this movie is in 3D. And I will watch anything in 3D, even if it stars Brendan Fraser.

more upcoming adaptations after the jump.
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