How very British of me to write about an umbrella in the middle of July. But my brolly died last week after being whipped inside out by the good old UK “summertime”, and I suspect mine wasn’t the only one to suffer such a fate. If I’d been at a festival, left to the mercy of opportunistic umbrella-hawkers, I would have been mighty miffed.
Which brings me to the Senz Stealth Umbrella: nowt less than a revolution in wind and rain protection.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday July 14th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

“Glamping” was a term that came to prominence last year to put a name to the phenomenon of posh camping - designer tents, luxury campsites, etc. Well baby, I ain’t calling anything glampy until I can whip out my laptop and surf porn music blogs until my heart’s content.

Which is where this astounding teepee comes in. As well as wi-fi, it also features a solar-powered DVD player and a queen-size bed. It’s probably not one for Glastonbury, to be honest - but if you find yourself at some idyllic outdoor event somewhere, it’s looks perfect. And pricey.

For more details and sumptuous interior pics, head over to Hippyshopper.

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday June 25th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Round about this time last year one of our writers did a marvellous job rounding up the female toilet alternatives on offer at festivals these days. A quick looksie at the search traffic making its way to the site indicates there’s a demand for this information this year as well. Hey, people still need to pee, right?
So, below you’ll find a quick run-through of the She-pee, The Whiz and The Go Bag; while if you click here you’ll find a first-hand account of Glastonbury’s she-pee urinals from last year. It’s very positive, you know.
Now, let us wallow in urination!
Avoid queues for the loos - use a She-pee, a Whiz or a Go Bag
Nothing says Glastonbury more than a brave lady holding a cardboard piss-tunnel. Right?

All you ladies who’ve snagged a ticket to Glasto should be having your very last visit to a real, live toilet that you don’t have to queue for round about now. Touch the loo roll, savour the smell of clean. Because, as we all know, queuing is all part of the experience.

Until now. Because the infamous She-pee is back. If you haven’t heard of this ingenious invention, you’re probably a man. It’s basically a female urinal, made to help girls avoid the loo line at festivals.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday June 18th, 2008 at 9:30 am

We’re not the only site into festivals, you know. Our neighbours at Nollie are mad for the whole outdoor pursuits thing, and festivals come under that remit quite nicely.
They pointed me in the direction of a camper van today, but this ain’t no ordinary dog-scented weedmobile. The frankly beautiful Volkawagen Westfalia Verdier was designed by Canadian designer Alexandre Verdier, and comes equipped with its own solar panels, a hybrid engine and “a swivel cooking range”. So you can drive to your festival feeling stylish, eat stuff that didn’t come in a polystyrene box… and feel smug as hell. I don’t know how much this thing costs, but you can’t put a price on that.
For more info and mouth-watering images, head over to Nollie.

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday April 30th, 2008 at 4:06 pm

The “heard them first” approach to music is more prominent now than ever, with magazines, TV shows and of course dozens of music blogs out there telling you what you should / shouldn’t be listening to (hi!). Now, as you’re obviously currently casting your eye over the BESTESTESTEST music blog in the interverse, you know what’s what. But how can you broadcast your superiority, short of jamming your iPod earphones into the heads of passing strangers?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday March 20th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

Some excellent news for Jamiroquai fans reaches us courtesy of our nerdlinger cousins over at Tech Digest. If you like shoo-be-do-wapping down the street with Jamiroquai in your ears you can now advertise your idiocy without speaking a single word.
Yes, these spiffing shades contain, through some kind of modern witchcraft, TWO EXCLUSIVE REMIXES of songs from Jamiroquai’s past, which, thanks to the attached earphones, you can blast straight into your already highly-damaged head.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday February 25th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

I listen to my shower radio when I brush my teeth. Too much information? Anyway, what the experience lacks is the sound of music inside my actual head. I mean, soundwaves bouncing off my teeth, through my jawbone and RIGHT INTO MY HEAD. That’s the kind of musical onslaught I could really do with first thing in the morning.
Fortunately some lunatics have actually gone and made my dream come true, kind of. Tooth Tunes toothbrushes will use some kind of magic to pipe tunes by Black-Eyed Peas, Queen and Destiny’s Child into your inner ear. And really, what other options could you possibly want?
Now you don’t have to turn the radio on to hear the same song at the same time everyday. Hurrah!
Check Tooth Tunes at Firebox.com
[via Tech Digest]

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday January 15th, 2008 at 11:04 am

Just under a year until Christmas, folks. So this would be a good time to start thinking of really good gift ideas for next year which you can then forget and beat yourself up about when you find yourself flicking furiously through the Argos catalogue on Christmas eve.
For the old-skool music enthusiast in your life who insists on clinging grimly to the analogue days, this USB Mixtape may prove an endearing waste of cash. Basically just a USB stick with not much memory, it comes in packaging that harks back to those fiddly days when creating a collection of songs required more than clicking and dragging. Aww. I can almost hear Bruno Brookes’ voice being cut off the end of Top 40 tracks as I type.
Available at Turntable Lab

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday December 31st, 2007 at 11:20 am

Since skateboarding first appeared way back when, it has been associated with music. I mean, they were developed by surfers wanting to practice on land… I can hear the ten-part harmonies from here! Of course, skaters went on to discover rock and punk, creating an identity around being a stoner drop-out and digging the sounds of snot. So with that, you can now combine the two without tattooing Sham 69 on yer forehead.

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Posted by mofgimmers on Monday November 26th, 2007 at 1:17 pm

In days gone by if you wanted to look like Michael Jackson you tried to find a red leather jacket, learned how to semi-moonwalk and sported a sequinned glove. Failing that, you sported a red anorak, practiced your “hee-hee”s and took an old goalie’s glove which you covered in crushed glass, thereby lacerating the limb of anybody to whom you offered a handshake. No? Just me?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday October 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 am