10 of my favourite riffs:-

I tried to restrict to guitar only but realised that there are too many other riffs that are cool with other instruments as well.

1. Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker - Clawhammer thingie I play at least once a day in my head. Catchy as hell!

2. Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water - 'Nuff said.

3. Black Sabbath - Supernaut - First heard this as a cover by 10,000 Homo DJs/Al Jourgenson. Makes my body twitch.

4. The Beatles - Day Tripper - Always a kick to play.

5. The Who - I Can See for Miles - Majestic and grand.

6. Sly & The Family Stone - Thank You for Fallentinme Be Mice Elf Again - My fave bass riff. Repetitive and mind-numbingly simple yet effective.

7. Metallica - Some Kind of Monster - One of the best metal riffs ever. James Hetfield must dream up riffs in his sleep. The rest of St. Anger ain't bad either.

8. Van Halen - Jump - Both the synth riff and the guitar riff. Nice feministic lyrics as well.

9. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Foxy Lady - Good enough aural Viagra.

10. Nine Inch Nails - Closer - Sexy synth-bass riff tailor-made for strippers.

Drove to Klang and back to see my uncle. Hellish lar. Haven't driven so far in along time so legs and head was aching. The food was worth it though. Hei gor pak (pork and shrimp).

Also replenished CDs of Jimi Hendrix's Are you Experienced? and First Rays of the New Rising Sun cos my cassette copies are fucked.

She's Lost ContrHAUL

Just got some Joy Division repackages. Each of the albums comes with a bonus live disc. My love of Joy Division is probably that I liked New Order first. I hated the early New Order (which sounded like JD) at first - too gloomy and doomy. But got "Unknown Pleasures" and loved them from there.

Unknown Pleasures - Still very sterile sounding despite the remastering. I don't care what they say about Skinny Puppy, but for me, ground zero for industrial rock is here. My fave tune - "She's Lost Control". Excellent bassline. Monotonous to extremes. Comes with a bonus live disc at the Factory, Manchester which is discordant as hell. Love this. My favourite JD album. Got it on cassette yoinks ago in Singapore. The counter guy said the authorities banned this for a while as it was "underground" music. Weird policy eh?

Closer - I never had this before. More expansive sound than their debut. Some nice-sounding keyboards and more diverse percussion. Fave song here? Most of them... But my favourite is probably "Atrocity Exhibition". Comes with a bonus live disc of the show at University of London Union, taped from the audience no less. They sound almost metallic here, showing their love for Black Sabbath.

Still - Not an official album as Ian Curtis died after making "Closer". Mostly out-takes and songs in progress. "Dead Souls" is gripping (NIN covered it) though but no "Atmosphere" here. Didn't get this when it came out either. It's double album squeezed on one CD. Didn't really like their version of "Sister Ray" as I thought it doesn't work as well as the orginal. Enjoyed the live portion slightly better, though, as the Curtis sung "Ceremony" is miles better than Barney on vocals. Comes with a bonus live disc, also taped from the audience, with a soundcheck as well, at High Wycombe Town Hall. Contains the definitive version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart", I feel.

So that completes my collection I guess. I have a cassette copy of "Substance"- A and B-sides of singles. That one has "Atmosphere".

Some DVDs I watched recently:-

Ginger Snaps

Pretty interesting take on the werewolf story, although tying in lycanthropy with the menstrual cycle is nothing new, as Alan Moore did a long time ago in an issue of "Swamp Thing". Still, pretty funny, as the girl has a tail. Basically a drama of two sisters. Revived my interest in the sub-genre and probably rewatching Dog Soldiers.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Saw this ages ago. Needed a rewatching I guess. A bit too long and anti-climactic after the "blowing up the bridge" sequence. No doubt it's Sergio Leone's best, though.

Rio Bravo

Another rewatch. Quentin Tarantino's favourite Western. Superb acting throughout. Favourite part is the Ricky Nelson - Dean Martin duet. About the only John Wayne western I've watched, but I'm getting "The Searchers" soon.

Hostel 2

Lotsa tributes to Italian horror and splatter, with a distinctively Argento-ish death sequence. All said though, not as mean spirited as the first movie and definitely not as inpirational as the source material - makes me hanker for "gialli" like Torso, Deep Red and Delirium. Ending made me cross my legs.

Shrek 3

Jus to finish the trilogy as I've watched the first two. Not really that funny and cringe-worthy in parts (especially the princesses striking back). Hated that hippy sorcerer.

Simpsons Movie

Funny although hardly as macabre as the series. The comic timing is also not as punchy as the series.

Salon Kitty

Supposedly a Nazisploitation movie but this is quite good arthouse porn. I'm a big Tinto Brass fan. This one has midget and amputee porn and bread-penis of Hitler fetishism (don ask).