Boards of Canada/Warp Records & The IT Crowd Connection?

bioluminescence · Post by **bioluminescence** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:52 pm

Well, I'm not only a big fan of BoC, I also love The IT Crowd series. What puzzles my mind is the connection between the two. What first caught my eye was, of course, the TCH poster on the wall of Moss&Roy's basement office. Recently I was reading the article on Wikipedia about the actor Christopher Morris (he plays Denholm Reynholm in the series). And what the flip - the data on his site are hosted on Warp Records servers. Also, according to Wikipedia: "British band Stereolab's song 'Nothing To Do With Me' from their 2001 album 'Sound Dust' featured various lines from Chris Morris sketches as lyrics." Stereolab have done BoC remixes as well. What's the deal?

Oliver · Post by **Oliver** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:19 pm

It seems to me that the main connection is that Chris Morris likes the music on Warp records. In Jam, he used a lot of Aphex Twin for the soundtrack. Other 'IDM' music also featured on it, for example from Ninja Tune.

Morris also directed the first Warp Films video and has also compiled a bar guide for them.

Essentially, I think that the kind of people that listen to 'IDM' music like that form of comedy, and Chris Morris clearly enjoys similar music. It's a sweeping statement, but one that I've found to be generally true.

1969 · Post by **1969** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:25 pm

lol I remember seeing the THC poster, I jumped out my chair.

Oliver · Post by **Oliver** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:28 pm

1969 wrote:lol I remember seeing the THC poster, I jumped out my chair.

I wish that Warp records were still selling that poster.

ryetronics · Post by **ryetronics** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:41 pm

Isn't Christopher Morris the guy who made that Brass Eye series? Only Brits will know what I'm talking about b/c I've never seen it on in the States, but it was a faux Hard Copy-esque show that was done really well. Hysterical stuff. The episode about "the made up drug Cake" and the pedophilia special are brilliant.

Oliver · Post by **Oliver** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:46 pm

ryetronics wrote:Isn't Christopher Morris the guy who made that Brass Eye series? Only Brits will know what I'm talking about b/c I've never seen it on in the States, but it was a faux Hard Copy-esque show that was done really well. Hysterical stuff. The episode about "the made up drug Cake" and the pedophilia special are brilliant.

That's the one. Some people find his comedy a little too distasteful but personally I find that kind of dark comedy hilarious.

boardsofdublin · Post by **boardsofdublin** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:55 pm

Oliver wrote:
1969 wrote:lol I remember seeing the THC poster, I jumped out my chair.
I wish that Warp records were still selling that poster.

So glad i got mine! Me and me fella were watchin the show lastweek or the week before and it was the one with the tch poster in the back ground. Loving the new series!! sooo much more funny than the first one!

Oliver wrote:
ryetronics wrote:Isn't Christopher Morris the guy who made that Brass Eye series? Only Brits will know what I'm talking about b/c I've never seen it on in the States, but it was a faux Hard Copy-esque show that was done really well. Hysterical stuff. The episode about "the made up drug Cake" and the pedophilia special are brilliant.
That's the one. Some people find his comedy a little too distasteful but personally I find that kind of dark comedy hilarious.

Loved that! Tower records over here always have it on sale and i always keep meaning to buy it!

A_Northern_Soul · Post by **A_Northern_Soul** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:06 pm

boardsofdublin wrote:
Oliver wrote:
1969 wrote:lol I remember seeing the THC poster, I jumped out my chair.
I wish that Warp records were still selling that poster.
So glad i got mine! Me and me fella were watchin the show lastweek or the week before and it was the one with the tch poster in the back ground. Loving the new series!! sooo much more funny than the first one!

Oliver wrote:
ryetronics wrote:Isn't Christopher Morris the guy who made that Brass Eye series? Only Brits will know what I'm talking about b/c I've never seen it on in the States, but it was a faux Hard Copy-esque show that was done really well. Hysterical stuff. The episode about "the made up drug Cake" and the pedophilia special are brilliant.
That's the one. Some people find his comedy a little too distasteful but personally I find that kind of dark comedy hilarious.
Loved that! Tower records over here always have it on sale and i always keep meaning to buy it!

You should get it my friend. Along with The Day Today. I think Chris Morris is brilliant.

With regards to the Warp connection, back in the late '90s, Chris Morris recorded a comedy programme for Radio 1 called Blue Jam - very dark, very surreal, very ambient - with sketches almost drifting into one another with a constant background soundtrack of ambient/IDM type music. Warp released a compilation of some of it.

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:12 pm

The IT crowd is just fantastic. "Hello, IT, have you turned it off an on?". Love it.
Chris Morris is a legend too. To anyone who hasn't seen the BrassEye special about "Nonce-Sense", just get it on YouTube or something. Proper, proper genius.

BTW - BBC3 has a documentary on at the minute about those new CCTV cameras the Police are using - the ones that shout at you if you are acting like a dick. BOC (Peacock Tail) is being used throughout! Surreal....

domco77 · Post by **domco77** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:03 pm

Oliver wrote:It seems to me that the main connection is that Chris Morris likes the music on Warp records. In Jam, he used a lot of Aphex Twin for the soundtrack. Other 'IDM' music also featured on it, for example from Ninja Tune.

Morris also directed the first Warp Films video and has also compiled a bar guide for them.

Essentially, I think that the kind of people that listen to 'IDM' music like that form of comedy, and Chris Morris clearly enjoys similar music. It's a sweeping statement, but one that I've found to be generally true.

Yep! I'm a massive Morris fan + massive BOC fan!

yeah.thats.right.orange · Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:48 pm

Oliver wrote:
1969 wrote:lol I remember seeing the THC poster, I jumped out my chair.
I wish that Warp records were still selling that poster.

I bought the poster in a record store for $10 this summer.

BunnyRabbit · Post by **BunnyRabbit** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:45 am

The link is there but I wouldn't read too much into it. I would guess that the poster was put there but the set design people.

The Morris-Warp links are strong as described above but there's been nothing doing these past few years.

The man Morris has now left the programme and I have't seen the poster this series either...

Shoes · Post by **Shoes** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:43 pm

I saw a Mr. Scruff poster this time. Chris Morris likes BoC, and since he and director/writer Graham Linehan are good friends, I bet Graham does too. Maybe the set designer is a fan, or maybe he/she just thought the two nerds in the IT department would like that sort of music.

Twoist · Post by **Twoist** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:02 pm

Shoes wrote:I saw a Mr. Scruff poster this time. Chris Morris likes BoC, and since he and director/writer Graham Linehan are good friends, I bet Graham does too. Maybe the set designer is a fan, or maybe he/she just thought the two nerds in the IT department would like that sort of music.

The plot thickens. Take a look at the'At Home With The Linehans' interview on one particular IT Crowd fansite.

"...I've grown up with Space Invaders and it really hit me full on. I've never lost my taste for computer games and I've grown up with all these geeky things that I can't talk to hardly anyone about. Another reason to do this was to kinda say well I like indie comics and computer games and esoteric bands. I just wanted to do a show that didn't talk too much about it because I didn't want people who weren't interested in these things to switch off, but I wanted to make sure that Roy 's wearing ‘Guided By Voices' t-shirts, and I wanted to make sure there were posters for ‘Boards of Canada ' and comics by Chris Ware and Pete Bagge. There's a lot of Buddy Bradley in Roy . It was great being able to populate the set with all these things..."

Add to this, the very occasional appearance of BoC choonage in Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (Mr Brooker also being a good friend / collaborator of both Chris Morris and Graham Linehan) and you've got yourself a little Axis of BoC-ites who know how to tickle funnybones for the masses.

(well worth checking out GL's blog by the way - well worth a look on a daily basis.

A_Northern_Soul · Post by **A_Northern_Soul** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:56 pm

Twoist wrote:
Shoes wrote:I saw a Mr. Scruff poster this time. Chris Morris likes BoC, and since he and director/writer Graham Linehan are good friends, I bet Graham does too. Maybe the set designer is a fan, or maybe he/she just thought the two nerds in the IT department would like that sort of music.
The plot thickens. Take a look at the'At Home With The Linehans' interview on one particular IT Crowd fansite.

"...I've grown up with Space Invaders and it really hit me full on. I've never lost my taste for computer games and I've grown up with all these geeky things that I can't talk to hardly anyone about. Another reason to do this was to kinda say well I like indie comics and computer games and esoteric bands. I just wanted to do a show that didn't talk too much about it because I didn't want people who weren't interested in these things to switch off, but I wanted to make sure that Roy 's wearing ‘Guided By Voices' t-shirts, and I wanted to make sure there were posters for ‘Boards of Canada ' and comics by Chris Ware and Pete Bagge. There's a lot of Buddy Bradley in Roy . It was great being able to populate the set with all these things..."

Add to this, the very occasional appearance of BoC choonage in Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe (Mr Brooker also being a good friend / collaborator of both Chris Morris and Graham Linehan) and you've got yourself a little Axis of BoC-ites who know how to tickle funnybones for the masses.

(well worth checking out GL's blog by the way - well worth a look on a daily basis.

Nice find. And cheers for the pointer to Linehan's blog. He's a very funny man.

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:05 pm

Charlie Brooker is almost too funny at times. More than once I have had to turn him off or stop reading his piece in the Guardian. Proper funny.

A_Northern_Soul · Post by **A_Northern_Soul** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:10 pm

Mexicola wrote:Charlie Brooker is almost too funny at times. More than once I have had to turn him off or stop reading his piece in the Guardian. Proper funny.

Agreed. I love his TV column in The Guide. If you haven't seen it, you should check out [urlhttp://www.tvgohome.com] TV Go Home[/url] for some of his older work.

Mexicola · Post by **Mexicola** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:15 pm

A_Northern_Soul wrote:
Mexicola wrote:Charlie Brooker is almost too funny at times. More than once I have had to turn him off or stop reading his piece in the Guardian. Proper funny.
Agreed. I love his TV column in The Guide. If you haven't seen it, you should check out [urlhttp://www.tvgohome.com] TV Go Home[/url] for some of his older work.

Just caught his latest rant on spiders. Legendary Brooker.

Fearless Flounder · Post by **Fearless Flounder** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:11 pm

Yep , morris is a legend right enough. Surprised that loadsa great stuff from the radio1 Jam shows didn't make it onto his warp compilation.

Am I right in saying that Aphex once said in an interview that Chris Morris tried to snog him once?
Or did I just dream that?

Twoist · Post by **Twoist** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:24 pm

A_Northern_Soul wrote:I love his TV column in The Guide. If you haven't seen it, you should check out [urlhttp://www.tvgohome.com] TV Go Home[/url] for some of his older work.

New series of Screenwipe starts tonight on BBC4!