Bucksnort, Tennessee Superthread

[gump]

Dry riesling is probably my favourite white. New Zealand's known for sauvignon blanc, but I tend to ignore that and favour the rieslings. The Kiwi rieslings were a bit more expensive than I wished to pay, though, so I grabbed this one as it promised to be dry. Not a disappointment at all! I have some crackers and Dutch edam cheese, so I might get those out and have a right good evening here.

During the European U2 tour, you and I should totally sample some wines together. I'm keen to get stuck into some French stuff. Make my father die of jealousy.

I would love to try some Kiwi wine here but I guess it will be tough.

Oh, you're making me envious, Axver!

That sounds like a great plan for the European tour. I've put some money together for the travels, so it's all good from my side (actually, the only uncertainty is a job interview I did last night - I don't expect it to work nor to have to leave before the summer if it does, but one never knows!).

 

[gump]

Yeah, I'm expecting classes to be a waste of time. None of them are about anything I give two hoots about. Well, that's a lie, I chose them because they're topics I have interest in, but not so much academic interest. Russian history fascinates me, for instance, but it doesn't exactly tie into Kiwi history, you know? Still, I hope I enjoy it enough to put in my best effort and get first class honours. Actually, not necessary enjoy; I hope it just CHALLENGES me. I produce my best work when challenged.

I'll have to look up Letterman's broadcast times. I don't think my Thursday class clashes, but I fear the Wednesday one will. Which do I prioritise? I mean, first week classes are usually bloody pointless.

Yeah, classes are a waste of time by the time you get to the end of the degree. At some point a year or two after starting I decided I would do most of my learning by myself and with some older colleagues I looked up to. That's what my undergraduate education was all about and I don't regret it at all, couldn't have been better. I'm with you about challenging classes - these were the only classes I've cared about and the only ones I actually remembered after a few years (oh well, quite a few - it will be 10 years since I started uni next April).

edit: can you make both? I mean, go to class and update the site from your laptop?

 

[Axver]

I would love to try some Kiwi wine here but I guess it will be tough.

Oh, you're making me envious, Axver!

That sounds like a great plan for the European tour. I've put some money together for the travels, so it's all good from my side (actually, the only uncertainty is a job interview I did last night - I don't expect it to work nor to have to leave before the summer if it does, but one never knows!).

Might have to find a good wine or two to bring with me, if possible!

Ahh, righto. I'm really looking forward to making this trip work out. Speaking of the tour ... refresh U2gigs. Now.

 

[gump]

Might have to find a good wine or two to bring with me, if possible!

Ahh, righto. I'm really looking forward to making this trip work out. Speaking of the tour ... refresh U2gigs. Now.

Oh boy! That's soon (specially the rumoured date for the presales)!!!

Dublin in the end of July will be

If they are making only 50 concerts this year, does that mean we may actually get a second European leg??

 

[gump]

Might have to find a good wine or two to bring with me, if possible!

Please do!!

 

[Reggo]

Holy shit. Tour dates

 

[Axver]

Yeah, classes are a waste of time by the time you get to the end of the degree. At some point a year or two after starting I decided I would do most of my learning by myself and with some older colleagues I looked up to. That's what my undergraduate education was all about and I don't regret it at all, couldn't have been better. I'm with you about challenging classes - these were the only classes I've cared about and the only ones I actually remembered after a few years (oh well, quite a few - it will be 10 years since I started uni next April).

edit: can you make both? I mean, go to class and update the site from your laptop?

What really disappoints me is that my two favourite lecturers are both gone! One was forced out by a university restructure at the end of 2007, then the other retired at the end of last year. Oh well. I hope the thesis pushes me ... not too stressfully, but in a way that brings out my best work. If I snooze through something, I just produce crap. For me, it really is true that I don't excel at easy things, because if it's easy, finding effort and motivation is difficult. You know you can churn out something acceptable at the last minute.

Ooh, I may be able to update from my laptop. Depends if there's wireless access in the building ... definitely worth checking.

 

[Axver]

Oh boy! That's soon (specially the rumoured date for the presales)!!!

Dublin in the end of July will be

If they are making only 50 concerts this year, does that mean we may actually get a second European leg??

Yes, those dates would suit me ideally! I'd be able to make that. I was worried about some rumours of late August - I can't stay later than 9 August.

And yes, I've heard some rumours of a second European leg, but nothing I'd consider solid yet ...

 

[gump]

What really disappoints me is that my two favourite lecturers are both gone! One was forced out by a university restructure at the end of 2007, then the other retired at the end of last year. Oh well. I hope the thesis pushes me ... not too stressfully, but in a way that brings out my best work. If I snooze through something, I just produce crap. For me, it really is true that I don't excel at easy things, because if it's easy, finding effort and motivation is difficult. You know you can churn out something acceptable at the last minute.

Ooh, I may be able to update from my laptop. Depends if there's wireless access in the building ... definitely worth checking.

The thesis is always good enough motivation. It's nice looking at it as a body of work that will remain there no matter what you do afterwards - it's different from other research in this sense... I'm sure you'll find good motivation for that and that little bit of stress that is always needed!

I'm starting to feel that stress for my PhD now, which I have to finish in 18 months... :scared:

 

[gump]

I've just realized that I missed JT round one in the survivor. How can this be??? Damn me. I would have voted for the song that got out anyways.

Edit: ha, as it turns out we're finally voting for the same song again!

 

[Axver]

Sorry guys, note-taking on U2 live on BBC Radio 5, being interviewed by Simon Mayo, so I'll be slow on replies.

I've just realized that I missed JT round one in the survivor. How can this be??? Damn me. I would have voted for the song that got out anyways.

Edit: ha, as it turns out we're finally voting for the same song again!

It lasted just two hours! The voting for Trip was emphatic, nothing like that for any other round. It was a no-brainer to just move on.

 

[gump]

It lasted just two hours! The voting for Trip was emphatic, nothing like that for any other round. It was a no-brainer to just move on.

Trip most certainly deserves it. OTH has a vote. I was too appalled to contain my anger.

 

[Reggo]

Who was the one lone crack-smoker who voted for OTH?!

ETA: :MrMacPhisto:. well, he's been wrong every round as it is. Has to keep his track record up, I suppose.

And I can't believe Bullet has so many votes.

 

[gump]

Who was the one lone crack-smoker who voted for OTH?!

And I can't believe Bullet has so many votes.

Mr.MacPhisto, of all nationalities, a Brazilian.

I'll be voting for Bullet as soon as ISHFWILF is eliminated Unless I need to vote strategically to save RTSS, RHMT or Exit (I want the first two to go to the quarterfinals).

 

[Axver]

OK, interview done. Will pass on some tidbits in a minute.

The thesis is always good enough motivation. It's nice looking at it as a body of work that will remain there no matter what you do afterwards - it's different from other research in this sense... I'm sure you'll find good motivation for that and that little bit of stress that is always needed!

I'm starting to feel that stress for my PhD now, which I have to finish in 18 months... :scared:

Indeed ... I'd like it to be something good enough that, obviously with some revision, I can submit to a journal. I realise that if I want an academic career, I need to start making a name for myself. I also need better ways to organise my research. I balance A LOT in my head. When I'm writing, I'll have all kinds of mental trains of thought chugging about, shunting, colliding; I rarely ever note-take.

How long does your PhD need to be? Think it's 80,000 words here.

Trip most certainly deserves it. OTH has a vote. I was too appalled to contain my anger.

Nice post.

 

[Reggo]

Hey, guys (Ax, I'm looking at you), I gave my friend U218 a few months ago and now she's asking me for my own compilation of the best U2 stuff. I'm wondering if I should burn her a CD of all the Survivor Winners, or the Kunstmuseum setlist, or if I should be posing this question to EYKIW...

 

[Reggo]

When I'm writing, I'll have all kinds of mental trains of thought chugging about, shunting, colliding; I rarely ever note-take.

Nice analogy

 

[Axver]

OK, here are my raw notes from the part of the interview I caught. Will turn this into a U2gigs article. Some other details are in my memory. Some stuff here won't make the article. Thought you guys would be interested enough to read it. Phrasing is obviously terrible as I was just writing on-the-go:

- NLOTH, song: in Bono's head, it's a tribute to Kraftwerk and work in Berlin, but just hearing it, he thought it was more like Kings Of Leon.
- Adam: new model of music distribution. Being paid and funding yourself more significant for young bands than for U2. Music being out there and people having access is a good thing, but how will young bands survive. Bono says listening to music is just one part; world around it through photography, liner notes. Digital space will be a revolution, a renaissance of album artwork, that you can interact with, shape, attach - moving images too. Bring "experience of music into an environment".
- Last tour, thought of doing a side of an album (Achtung, JT, Boy), especially nearly did it for Boy.
- Bono claims that they opened for a wet t-shirt concert on their first US tour in Texas. [this is actually not true]
- Commercialisation of material with remasters, multiple singles - U2 say they're to blame, not the record company; don't buy it if you don't like it. Bono worries about completists, that they can be exploited. Remastering, per Adam, vinyl cuts put straight to CD, so the remastering was to bring them up to CD quality.
- Promotion - the band believe it a lot and want people to give it a chance. They don't just want it out there like Achtung was.

 

[Axver]

Hey, guys (Ax, I'm looking at you), I gave my friend U218 a few months ago and now she's asking me for my own compilation of the best U2 stuff. I'm wondering if I should burn her a CD of all the Survivor Winners, or the Kunstmuseum setlist, or if I should be posing this question to EYKIW...

Haha, Kunstmuseum set would be awesome. Though it sure has some odd picks.

 

[gump]

OK, interview done. Will pass on some tidbits in a minute.

Indeed ... I'd like it to be something good enough that, obviously with some revision, I can submit to a journal. I realise that if I want an academic career, I need to start making a name for myself. I also need better ways to organise my research. I balance A LOT in my head. When I'm writing, I'll have all kinds of mental trains of thought chugging about, shunting, colliding; I rarely ever note-take.

How long does your PhD need to be? Think it's 80,000 words here.

Nice post.

Do try to think about your thesis in article format, it's very helpful though sometimes hard to do. In terms of organization, I'm not sure if it would be helpful to you, but I keep a small black notebook on me all the time for whenever I have some crazy idea that could be useful for the thesis. Most of the time I'll just reject them outright later on, but some of the ideas remain. I also keep handy summaries of everything relevant I read as my memory is really bad and I end up forgetting some important parts.

I'm not sure how long the thesis needs to be, I'd say most theses here have about 200 pages. Not sure how it translates into word count. What concerns me is not really the writing itself, but the empirical research I have to conduct in the remaining time (I'm supposed to interview former rebels in civil wars).

 

[gump]

Nice analogy

Speaking of which, there's this new indie charity album called "Dark Was The Night" which contains a song called Train Song. Ax, I'll send it to you tonight. Though as a metal fan I assume you don't like Feist too much? I find the song really great - it has double vocals (Feist and the Death Cab for Cutie guy), one on the right channel and the other on the left channel (sort of like the Strokes with Regina Spektor in Modern Girls and Old-Fashioned Boys, only much more melodic).

 

[Reggo]

Haha, Kunstmuseum set would be awesome. Though it sure has some odd picks.

I actually wrote a list last night. Here it is:

(note: I included some of the crap songs cause I'm not sure what she likes exactly.)

Miracle Drug
Love And Peace Or Else
One Step Closer
Summer Rain
The Fly
Ultraviolet
Acrobat
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
One Tree Hill
Exit
Van Diemen's Land
Angel Of Harlem
Heartland
Desire
When Love Comes To Town
Silver And Gold
Discotheque
Staring At The Sun
Mofo
Gone
Please
Velvet Dress
If God Will Send His Angels
Numb
The Wanderer
Zooropa
Lemon
Stay
Some Days Are Better Than Others
Seconds
Drowning Man
Bad
Wire
Indian summer Sky
Promenade
4th Of July
MLK
A Sort of Homecoming
Elvis Presley And America
The Unforgettable Fire
An Cat Dubh
Into The Heart
I Will Follow
The Electric Co.
A Day Without Me
October
Tomorrow
Fire
Rejoice
With A Shout
Stranger In A Strange Land
I Threw A Brick Through A Window
Gloria
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Miss Sarajevo
Electrical Storm
The Hands That Built America
The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Stateless
Slug

Feel free to suggest any changes.

 

[gump]

I actually wrote a list last night. Here it is:

(note: I included some of the crap songs cause I'm not sure what she likes exactly.)

Miracle Drug
Love And Peace Or Else
One Step Closer
Summer Rain
Walk On (acoustic)
The Fly
Ultraviolet
Acrobat
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
One Tree Hill
Exit
Van Diemen's Land
Angel Of Harlem
Desire
Discotheque
Staring At The Sun
Mofo
Gone
Please
Velvet Dress
If God Will Send His Angels
Numb
The Wanderer
Zooropa
Lemon
Stay
Some Days Are Better Than Others
Seconds
Drowning Man
Bad
Wire
Indian summer Sky
Promenade
4th Of July
MLK
A Sort of Homecoming
Elvis Presley And America
The Unforgettable Fire
An Cat Dub
Into The Heart
I Will Follow
The Electric Co.
A Day Without Me
October
Tomorrow
Fire
Rejoice
With A Shout
Stranger In A Strange Land
I Threw A Brick Through A Window
Gloria
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
Miss Sarajevo
Electrical Storm
The Hands That Built America
The Ground Beneath Her Feet

Feel free to suggest any changes.

I would try to split it in two halves, 80s and 90s (and forget most of the 00s) this way she can sort of feel the career progression. Maybe organize more or less chronologically, but in a way that flows well?

I would also add Heartland, Stateless and Slug.

 

[Reggo]

I would try to split it in two halves, 80s and 90s (and forget most of the 00s) this way she can sort of feel the career progression. Maybe organize more or less chronologically, but in a way that flows well?

I would also add Heartland, Stateless and Slug.

Alright.

 

[Axver]

Sorry again for not being so on-the-ball here as usual ... it's a busy day in U2 fan world for me!

Do try to think about your thesis in article format, it's very helpful though sometimes hard to do. In terms of organization, I'm not sure if it would be helpful to you, but I keep a small black notebook on me all the time for whenever I have some crazy idea that could be useful for the thesis. Most of the time I'll just reject them outright later on, but some of the ideas remain. I also keep handy summaries of everything relevant I read as my memory is really bad and I end up forgetting some important parts.

I'm not sure how long the thesis needs to be, I'd say most theses here have about 200 pages. Not sure how it translates into word count. What concerns me is not really the writing itself, but the empirical research I have to conduct in the remaining time (I'm supposed to interview former rebels in civil wars).

I always try to have scraps of paper on me for similar cases - though actually it happens more often with fiction writing than with my academic work. I've all kinds of strange scraps of ideas lying around! I know I need to modify my research methods. I hate taking notes, so I often have all these books, documents, etc. piled around me as I write, and I do a lot all at once. It avoids needlessly copying down details I don't actually need, but I don't think it'd be manageable for a thesis like it has been for short undergrad essays.

Oh, you guys go by page count? I thought that was just an American thing. I find it a kind of dodgy way to measure length. My Honours thesis is 12,000 words, then I believe they expect 50,000 for Masters and 80,000 for PhD. I'll obviously go straight onto PhD next year.

And wow, those sound like they'll be some intense interviews.

 

[gump]

OK, here are my raw notes from the part of the interview I caught. Will turn this into a U2gigs article. Some other details are in my memory. Some stuff here won't make the article. Thought you guys would be interested enough to read it. Phrasing is obviously terrible as I was just writing on-the-go:

- NLOTH, song: in Bono's head, it's a tribute to Kraftwerk and work in Berlin, but just hearing it, he thought it was more like Kings Of Leon.
- Adam: new model of music distribution. Being paid and funding yourself more significant for young bands than for U2. Music being out there and people having access is a good thing, but how will young bands survive. Bono says listening to music is just one part; world around it through photography, liner notes. Digital space will be a revolution, a renaissance of album artwork, that you can interact with, shape, attach - moving images too. Bring "experience of music into an environment".
- Last tour, thought of doing a side of an album (Achtung, JT, Boy), especially nearly did it for Boy.
- Bono claims that they opened for a wet t-shirt concert on their first US tour in Texas. [this is actually not true]
- Commercialisation of material with remasters, multiple singles - U2 say they're to blame, not the record company; don't buy it if you don't like it. Bono worries about completists, that they can be exploited. Remastering, per Adam, vinyl cuts put straight to CD, so the remastering was to bring them up to CD quality.
- Promotion - the band believe it a lot and want people to give it a chance. They don't just want it out there like Achtung was.

Thanks for posting this

Two things:

- Bono claims that they opened for a wet t-shirt concert on their first US tour in Texas. [this is actually not true]

WTF

Last tour, thought of doing a side of an album (Achtung, JT, Boy), especially nearly did it for Boy.

Please play a full side of TUF this tour.

 

[Reggo]

Please play a full side of TUF this tour.

THIS.

clf

 

[Axver]

Speaking of which, there's this new indie charity album called "Dark Was The Night" which contains a song called Train Song. Ax, I'll send it to you tonight. Though as a metal fan I assume you don't like Feist too much? I find the song really great - it has double vocals (Feist and the Death Cab for Cutie guy), one on the right channel and the other on the left channel (sort of like the Strokes with Regina Spektor in Modern Girls and Old-Fashioned Boys, only much more melodic).

Ha, awesome, send it my way. My tastes tend to be fairly diverse actually - as fond as I am of some metal subgenres, it actually surprises me how little they show up on my last.fm charts. This evening, I'm rather addicted to the indie stylings of Pinback; one track I'd been writing off for months suddenly hit me and I can't get enough of it.

As for Feist, I've only heard one or two of her songs ... one was that annoying song used in iTunes ads, but you can't judge anybody by that, as we well know with U2!

 

[Axver]

Reggo, I'm with Renato's suggestions for the tracklist - also, not sure why you'd use 4th Of July (especially since it's the weakest UF era instrumental), and how come an acoustic Walk On?

Two things:

WTF


Please play a full side of TUF this tour.

Haha, apparently that "opened for a wet t-shirt contest" story has been going around for a while, and both Bono and Adam spoke about it as if it happened. But I've seen a couple of reviews of the gig refuting the claim.

And oh man, can you imagine the first side of UF?

 

[gump]

I always try to have scraps of paper on me for similar cases - though actually it happens more often with fiction writing than with my academic work. I've all kinds of strange scraps of ideas lying around! I know I need to modify my research methods. I hate taking notes, so I often have all these books, documents, etc. piled around me as I write, and I do a lot all at once. It avoids needlessly copying down details I don't actually need, but I don't think it'd be manageable for a thesis like it has been for short undergrad essays.

Oh, you guys go by page count? I thought that was just an American thing. I find it a kind of dodgy way to measure length. My Honours thesis is 12,000 words, then I believe they expect 50,000 for Masters and 80,000 for PhD. I'll obviously go straight onto PhD next year.

And wow, those sound like they'll be some intense interviews.

I would do very little note-taking before, but I find it extremely useful now, particularly when I have some gaps in between intensive research periods. It helps me get me up to speed quickly.

To be frank, I think we don't really have a minimum or maximum word/page limit for the thesis. But we do use page count, generally with strict rules for margins, space between lines and font, so you have a uniform size for everybody.

I'm looking forward to the interviews. It would help if I manage to get transferred to the field in the second semester, if not I'll have to plan for some visits. I