We appear to be heading in to late Autumn. Summer flies by so quickly!
Gather round the bonfire, help yourself to a baked potato and whatever fillings you like, a warming drink, and then tell us, please – what have you been listening to, reading, watching, and is there anything coming up we should know about?
Apologies for not having posted on this thread for the last couple of months, so I have a bit of catching up to do.
SEEN
Back in March, I saw Rob Brydon in concert – it was a kind of a look back at his career in a mixture of stories and songs, accompanied by an excellent band. Unfortunately, he was hampered by a very bad cold, but it was a still a very enjoyable evening.
Sadly, I had to miss out on seeing the Handsome Family in Salisbury (family illness), but I understand it was a great evening. I’ve seen them a few times before, and they always put on a good show.
WATCHED
The Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’ was much better than I was expecting, though it seemed to be very generous to both her father and her husband, but the lead performance was superb.
I enjoyed the remastered ‘Let it Be’, but as mentioned elsewhere, you realised just how much had been omitted compared to the ‘Get Back’ documentary. I also wondered why there was so much negative feedback at the time – I couldn’t see much that was damaging to any of the Beatles.
As a fan of Mick Herron, I took out my free week’s subscription to Apple TV to whiz through the first series of ‘Slow Horses’ – excellent adaptation of the first novel, with a superb cast.
Another literary adaptation which worked really well was ‘Shardlake’ on Disney – lovely period atmosphere, and a very convincing lead performance.
But a big disappointment was ‘Mary and George’ set in the time of James I, and starring the normally excellent Julianne Moore.
I’ve caught upon a number of recent films – ‘American Fiction’ (excellent, and much more subtle than the trailer suggested), ‘The Holdovers’ (funny and sad, with Paul Giametti as good as ever). Best of all were ‘The Zone of Interest’, which has been discussed elsewhere on the site and was very powerful, and ‘All of Us Strangers’ with strong performances from Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal – very moving and haunting.
HEARD
I’ve been a positive glut of new releases lately – way more than I usually do – and they’ve all been excellent.
The Black Keys ‘Ohio Players’ is their best for ages, and full of life and variety. Also in good rocking form is Ian Hunter with ‘Defiance Part 2’. In similar vein to last year’s release and with the same smattering of guest stars.
Others have commented elsewhere about the new Beth Gibbons release, which is superb – that voice! Other female voices I have enjoyed lately include Waxahatchee, and Rosali. And one that I nearly missed – Ann Savoy’s ‘Another Heart’. I only knew of her from her collaboration a while back with Linda Ronstadt, but this really is not to be missed, with some of her own Cajun songs as well as covers of songs by Richard Thompson, Bruce Springsteen and Sandy Denny.
Long time favourites The Pernice Brothers returned with their usual lovely melodies, as did T Bone Burnett with ‘The Other Side’
READ
I’ve mostly been reading non-fiction lately, although I did enjoy Maggie O’Farrell’s ‘The Marriage Portrait’. It was a slow starter, that got better and better as it went along, but still not a match for ‘Hamnet’. And another which took a while to get into was Andrew Caldecott’s ‘Rotherweird’, which had been on my shelves for quite a long time – but once I got into the flow, I really enjoyed.
Best of the non-fiction was Clare Jackson’ history of England in the seventeenth century ‘Devil Land’, mostly told from the perspective of contemporary observers from other European powers. Also recommended is ‘Islands of Abandonment’ by Cal Flyn about what happens when humans move out and nature takes back control – in turn, both hopeful and depressing.
AOB
A couple of very welcome short breaks over the last couple of months. The North Cornwall coast never fails to delight, and I had my first trip for a very long time to the wonderful city of York – not enough time to do very much, apart from remind me that I must go back soon!
An unexpected delight was a lunch date with friends, where I was introduced to a local Southampton legend – a man who makes and repairs guitars, and who was full of stories of some of those famous names he has encountered, particularly meeting and getting to know Dylan in Greenwich Village in the winter of 1961.
I was impressed with Shardlake also. Much better than I’d expected. Fingers crossed for more seasons but I’m not sure how well it was received…
Seen
I’ll sneak in 3 nights out. The third was really Saturday 1st June, but being on a Saturday makes it feel like last month. First up was a new production of Carmen at the Royal Opera House. We’d been looking forward to this as Carmen is my other half’s favourite and the amazing Aigul Akhmetshina was in the lead. The last production at Coven Garden was just weird (a particular low point was the Habanera sung in a gorilla costume), and this one was much more traditional and as a result successful. The score was taken at a furious lick, and both the adult and children’s choruses were terrific but although Aigul is a stunning singer, as well as having the acting chops and sexiness that Carmen demands, I didn’t really believe that men we were willing to die for her. A different performance of the same production is on BBC Sounds if you want to hear for yourself.
A few days later we were back in London to see Louis Brennan play a fundraiser towards covering his new album costs at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon. As well as a selection of his own songs, both familiar and from the next album, Louis had taken special requests for an additional fee. I asked for Silence, which he hadn’t played at the last band gig we saw at The Green Note. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could have asked for any song so long as Louis had enough notice to learn it, and others selected ranged from the obvious (Leonard Cohen) to the less so (Ocean Colour Scene and George Michael. I think Louis is a huge talent, and we’ve already given him a shortlist of others’ songs to choose from at the next fundraiser at the Betsey in July.
Finally, a covers band, but with a twist. The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers are made up of authors Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Luca Veste, Doug Johnstone and Stuart Neville. They assemble on suitable occasions, this time as the finale to the Capital Crime festival at the Leonardo Hotel near St Paul’s, to play raucous versions of crime adjacent songs like Psycho Killer. I’ve read several of their books, and The Light is a huge Val McDermid fan, and that was the real attraction. They were a blast though, and I’m glad to have seen them even if I wouldn’t necessarily hurry to do it again.
On television the new series of Doctor Who has swung between very good indeed to mediocre, and they didn’t do themselves any favours by having the weakest episode so far first. What unites then is enormous joy and charisma that Ncuti Gatwa brings to the role and he’s shaping up to be one of the best Doctors ever. And in another welcome revival, after a couple of less great series Inside Number 9 is finishing on a high. I’ll miss it when it’s gone, and we already have tickets to the stage show, but in the last couple of years watching some of the episodes has felt more of a duty than a pleasure. This time, every one has hit its target.
Heard
It’s shaping up to be a terrific year for albums, and those on repeat play in May have included Kathryn Williams and Withered Hand, Beth Gibbons, Katherine Priddy, and the new Richard Thompson, Ship to Shore, which I rate more highly than some on the Night Out thread.
Late autumn? Summer hasn’t started yet (in the northern hemisphere).
Nothing really to contribute except looking forward to a summer of live music (and, unfortunately, lots of work)
Here in Glasgow, we have had all three days of summer, and since then the weather has been positively autumnal. I gave in and put the central heating back on last week for a few days!
Heard
The Prisoners “Morning Star” is that rare beast, a genuinely fantastic reunion album. Recorded mostly at Abbey Road (in a radical rethink of previous production values whilst refusing to stray too far from the template that gained them a big, albeit underground, following back in the mid-eighties) this is simply a treat from start to finish. If you like The Small Faces, The Nuggets compilation album, The Jam and Hammond organs alongside some turned up to 11 guitars then you will love this. I think it might even be their best, not something that can often be said about reunion albums. They surely can’t just leave us with just this album because they are on fire at the moment.
Michael Head’s “Loophole” is another pearl from the Scouse Troubadour, perhaps the nearest to his first band The Pale Fountains, that he has done in a while. Lovely acoustic but textured songs with some beautiful Bacharach style trumpet, this is highly listenable summery stuff which keeps sounding better and better.
Paul Weller “66” has been described as Weller’s “crooner” album. It sounds quite sumptuous in places, and his voice has definitely become softer, but apart from the slightly faster tracks I’m not really sure the album has really grabbed me yet. There are some good tracks on here but maybe a few collaborations too many…Noel Gallagher for example isn’t fit to lace Weller’s designer monkey boots.
Seen
The Buzzcocks, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms. Now down to just Steve Diggle from the original band, I wasn’t expecting that much if I’m honest but combined with a visit to see my son at university, and the Wedge being walking distance from his student flat, this was worth a go. I thought they were great. A sharp, committed performance from Diggle and his hired younger hands, I really enjoyed this. Leaning heavily on the “hits” (it was the “Singles Going Steady Tour” after all) this also saw a smattering of tracks from their most recent album which I’ve been enjoying a lot for the last year or so. Diggle is clearly a Who fan but he comes across increasingly (early) Weller like and it suits him.
The Prisoners, Camden Roundhouse. Medway’s finest, The Prisoners reformed for a week long series of shows in December 2022 in a tiny theatre in Rochester to a hero’s welcome every night. That activity prompted this year’s flurry of activity with a new album, a book of fan memories and this, their largest headlining show ever. I’ve spoken about The Prisoners already here but when the crowd are as word perfect on the new songs as much as the eighties classic old garage tracks you know something is up. A crowd full of well-dressed older (ex) mods and Medway fans had a tear in the eye all night. It’s a long way from the Hammersmith Clarendon to the Roundhouse but these boys should tour.
Madness, Kingston Pryzm. Postponed from January, this was supposed to be a promo gig for the new album but as it ended up, about 4 months later, being a typical Madness greatest hits type set with just a small handful of songs from the latest record. I’ll always enjoy hearing those older songs but this new album has been a good listen this year and I’d have liked to have heard more of it live. The band though are in really good form at the moment and have grown into their elder statesmen of ska role with grace and aplomb.
Read
Luke Haines “Freaks Out!: Weirdos, Misfits and Deviants” is a hugely enjoyable, semi-autobiographical examination of the rock and pop outsiders he has admired.
Paul Hanley “Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks changed Manchester Music (and me!) On a recent Buzzcocks binge, I thought this was a very good, informative read. Great to hear the Howard Devoto side of the story and Mancunian former Fall drummer Paul Hanley does a great job of painting a contemporary picture of his near peers background.
AOB
Visited Belgium last week, by campervan, during half term. What a very civilised and understatedly pleasant country it is. Wonderful for some cycling too as the cycle lanes are all proper lanes, separate from, but still adjacent to, main roads. A lovely treat of a much-needed calm week.
Heard: Doing some deeper dives into Country. You catch me just after turning off Billy Joe Shaver. Great songwriter, and a life story and a half. This interview contains what should have been a top HORA: https://www.npr.org/2014/08/05/336615368/billy-joe-shaver-writes-country-songs-and-lives-them-too
Read: A balancing act between Shardlake and a couple of books on Little Big Horn. Two standouts are TJ Stiles and Nathaniel Philbrick.
Watched: Revisiting what was called the Blue Sky era in US tv. USA Network had a series of shows that were kinda serious, but good fun, all set in locations with…blue skies. White Collar, Royal Pains, Psych. They’re not what you’d call demanding, but they’re all well produced, and likeable, which is about all I ask for.
The school holidays and the insane activity at the end of the football/rugby season – my last match was last Saturday, in June! – rather put paid to any cinema last month, but, before the inevitable downturn in the summer, May is always a good time to lump on at the flicks…
‘Evil Does Not Exist’ (Japan) –
Beautifully shot, slow moving, evocative telling of what is now an exceedingly familiar story – See: ‘Dark Waters’, ‘Honeyland’, ‘Woman at War’, ‘The Olive Tree’, ‘Alcarras’, ‘Aquarius’, ‘The County’… have I missed any? Note that in five of the above, the chief antagonist is female.
That familiar story? Oh yes, big business muscling in on natural resources with not a care in the world, or a single thought about any implications to the environment, in order to make money for themselves and their faceless shareholders.
A major theme in ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ is the contamination of water downstream, so, in fairness, it has absolutely no relevance to us in Britain today.
‘Blackbird, Blackbird, Blackberry’ (Switzerland/Georgia)
Again, wonderfully photographed, and another film where the chief protagonist is female. It’s about a middle-aged woman, Etero, struggling a bit in business, but struggling a lot more by the fact that she is single and childless at 48 in an isolated rural community.
Paints men in general, and all but one of the similarly aged women, in a negative light. The three most positive characters in her world are younger females (one a teenager, and two shop owners in their 20s), who seem to accept Etero’s idiosyncrasies far more readily than her elders and contemporaries.
A unique opportunity to study a remote village in Georgia, unless you know of another one, for two hours.
‘Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg’
If you regard Anita to be infinitely more interesting than Keith – I’d hate to be stuck in a lift with anyone who didn’t – ‘Catching Fire’ ain’t gonna change yer mind anytime soon.
In a nutshell, Anita was the beautiful one, left at home to hold the baby, when she had considerably more to give the world than the ugly one. Her sexist fate would, it appear, to be the polar opposite of Linda McCartney’s experience as a partner of someone in the same industry at exactly the same time. Forgive me if I elaborate for a moment… a much more attractive, much more eligible, and much more successful partner in the same industry at exactly the same time.
This excellent documentary, with copious reels of privately-shot film, was inspired by a (superbly written) unpublished autobiography left to her son, Marlon, and my contention that the 60s is the Golden Age, and everything after it is shite, has not encountered one scintilla of shaky ground with its release. The slide after about 1968 is stark to say the least, and if I never ever again see anymore of that dull, dreary, grainy Nellcote footage… a whole scene Anita hated incidentally… it’ll be a day too soon.
She contends that it was at this point when the money men took over, and I believe her. Though not substantiated in the film, I imagine that there is a significant advantage to the hunter if their prey of choice is completely off their face all the time.
At the showing I went to, there was me, obviously, and five women. I guess men prefer to keep their precious raaawwwkkk! narrative intact.
Left the cinema wanting to discover more about Anita, and to forget about the Rolling Stones.
More later…
A typically busy month, mostly participatory. Lots of teaching people to dance in North Wales and at Chester Folk Festival, soundtracked mostly by lovely local acts, for which read ‘nothing to see here’ for most on this board.
And here are some of those lovely local acts.
(Two different spellings of my name, neither correct!)
That you with the beard, Dave?
If I could play whistle like Andy from Wet the Tea, I’d have let you know by now.
Lovely stuff!
May was good, even if the weather wasn’t. At least, not at Bearded Theory, which was a clogmire of mud. Good festy mind, if a tad overly populated with shouty guitar/drums duos. Dexys and Dog, Ferocious, were my personal highlights, along with Urban Falafel, so good I ate it twice. I caught @kid-dynamite at his beloved New Model Army, on the Friday, never knowingly coinciding a stage thereafter.
https://atthebarrier.com/2024/05/29/bearded-theory-festival-2024-live-review/
I also caught Peter Knight’s Gigspanner locally, a 100 seater converted church in Lichfield. Often neglected in praise for the expanded big band version, it was a timely reminder of the power of three.
Two main recorded music highlights were/are the new Beth Gibbons, every bit as good as hoped for, and John Moreland’s Visitor. The latter, stripped back country rock, is his best yet, his baritone croon a delight. Others worth a shout would be Bright Circumstance from Blue Rose Code, where the gloomy Van-channeler goes upbeat, and Arab Strap’s I Don’t Give a Fuck etc, where the embittered Falkirk miserablists go widescreen.
Didn’t do much reading. Watched a lot of telly. Enjoyed Eric, the Benedict Cumberbatch child abduction(ish) vehicle. Went on a bit, but Cumberbatch was wonderfully unlikeable. Currently ploughing through The Morning Show, which brings better performances out of Reece Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston than you would deem them capable of, along with the always reliable Steve Carell, who is mercurially creepy. Of course, it is little more than a long and drawn out Broadcast News, with added #Me Too, but that is no bad film. Best film on TV was When The Crawdads Sing. Superlative stuff. Without irony I am noting that Netflix and Prime are sinking fast apropos maintaining any new output of class, relying all the more in oldish films. Apple and Disney each have better content but not very often. Most nominally terrestrial TV we watch either on I-player or ITV’s oldies cable channel. Except BBC news’s, which the wife has on, whether watching or not, all day. Her main reason being, to rail and rally at the diction idiosyncrasies of their current roster of annoying presenters. Women who affect a creaky tone and men who gargle through phlegm are her biggest targets, the goals for each wide open. I find Matthew Amroliwala’s white collarless shirt my greatest annoyance, along with Carol Kirkland’s “Scotlind, Englind” pronunciation.
I find when I watch Carol Kirkland that there are distractions other than her pronunciations
to contend with.
Looks like we coincided at Green Lung (I liked them more than you did), Shanghai Treason (I liked them less than you did) and Orbital (I liked them about the same as you did)! I’ll be going again next year, I hear they’ve arranged glorious sunshine.
Depends who’s on, but it is delightfully near, and keeps me up to speed with what all the angry young people like to listen to…… I definitely felt quite old: even the ancient Wilfred Bramble with a Mohican fella, frugging around the Tea Tent, dawn to dawn, was 7 years younger. (I asked him. O”Reilly his name and a hard life.)
Heard:
Paul Weller – 66. It’s a good album, maybe not “great” but has enough going on to be “stickier” than some of PWs past releases.
Continuing the trawl through bequeathed CDs, have been listening to a lot of Van Morrison. Like with Neil Young, the question “where does one stop” has been set at Veedon Fleece (do I need to go any further?)
Seen:
Much as I still have difficulty accepting Martin Freeman with a scouse accent, have been enjoying The Responder
Rebus – never watched these on ITV, but have started on the new BBC series and am now going to go back to the earlier ones.
Pitch Invasion – 3 part doc on iPlayer about Scottish & Irish footballers and Managers and their part in the English Game – tis very good (if only for seeing Pat Nevin’s atrocious penalty again)
Read:
Paul Gorman – Totally Wired. The story of the music press (UK and US) – a comprehensive reportage, with an additional female lens slant on proceedings
Other than that, one continues a dull existence …
First of all, here in Sweden all of May had perfect summer weather – very sunny with temperatures of 23 – 27 degrees C, hardly any rain, barely any clouds. We were all going around saying that we’d gone directly from winter to summer without passing spring, and that if the rest of summer was like this it would be absolutely perfect; not too cold but, most importantly, not too hot to find the energy to do anything.
This week got a bit colder, but I could still wear skirts. This upcoming week seems to get a little colder still (14 – 17C) and more rain, but that will turn around in time for the weekend, and more importantly in time for my first vacation week (of two in June, more to come in August).
So no complaints from me!
Read:
My PC Jersild project is still going (you’ll be happy to hear 😀 ), but nearing the end. I’ve been going a bit slower now, partly to avoid the end as long as possible, partly because the quality of the novels written in his fifth and sixth decade as an author is a bit like a rollercoaster ride. I’ll read one and think “You have to be a VERY established writer to get that published” and the next one is suddenly up there with his best… Two slogs in May, but also three I gave 8/10.
I had a palate cleanser in between them in the form of a re-read (another Swedish author you wouldn’t know, and a book not translated), and just started the latest by Stephen King (“You Like It Darker”) before June began. I’ve one more short story to finish, but I can safely say that my verdict is Very Good. I mostly agree with what @Bargepole said in his review, regarding favourites etc. (Finn and Red Screen really being the only ones I liked less – but still didn’t dislike)
Heard:
Same as last month – I’ve ordered a bunch of stuff that should arrive after the weekend. Looking forward to hearing the latest from favourites like John Moreland, Amanda Bergman, Anna Tivel, Bonny Light Horseman, Mdou Moctar and Goran Kajfes Tropiques.
But this month was just for getting to know last month’s haul better.
Warming up to some, getting tired of some, but mostly my opinions are the same as then.
Seen:
I always struggle to remember…but I saw a documentary about the Swedish band Imperiet that was decent. I know I sampled the first episodes of a few series and documentaries that came recommended from various sources, but got fed up half-way through some of them, and while I lasted through the first episode of a couple, I didn’t feel any need or wish to keep watching any more episodes. I hardly ever do anymore.
I bought a bunch of films on DVD that were on sale, but haven’t had the time to watch any of them yet…saving them for my holidays. Hoping to do another personal Film Festival this summer, since last year’s was so satisfying, but that will probably have to wait until my late summer vacation.
AOB:
Plans for the June vacation weeks are (among other activities) to continue my home improvement project, in small increments that are managable and not too exhausting. And to finish planting flowers on my balcony, which – thanks to the lovely weather – I started in early May for once. Right now one corner of the balcony looks wonderful, the rest is lacking flower boxes but has heaps of old pots and dead plants on the floor…
I managed to catch a summer cold going around, which kept me home for a few days and still has me coughing two weeks later. But definitely not as bad anymore.
I was meaning to vote early in the EU elections this week, but everything conspired against it, so I’ll now have to get up early tomorrow to do it on election day before going to work. I’m nervous that I won’t wake up in time – I’ve been having a hard time waking up even thirty minutes earlier lately, and I’ll need at least an hour extra tomorrow to be sure to get to vote and still catch the bus in time. Haven’t decided who to vote for yet either…I just know which ones I definitely WON’T vote for! I usually decide when I’m standing with the envelope in hand, so that’s not unusual. 🙂
I read a (edge of) Scandi-noir book this month – ‘Snowblind’ by Ragnar Jónasson, set at an isolated town at the top of Iceland, translated from Icelandic in English. It was gently gripping – a page-turner without being ‘great literature’, but good ‘character stuff’ going on as well as the crime-solving aspect. And none of the Nesbo-esque gore of some of the genre.
That sounds promising – I’ll seek that one out!
As you know, I’m not much of a crime enthusiast, apart from the old(fashioned) stuff, so don’t take my word for it, but lately it seems that the new Swedish crime writers have turned to historical crime fiction. Of course, not having read any of it, it may still be historical noir for all I know, but I’ve been getting the feeling that it’s partly more of a cosy vibe.
But the established crime writers are probably still peddling their gory, so called “realistic” (pffft…) noir.
I prefer my gore in the horror genre!
It’s Colin’s report about the lack of gore that I find encouraging…
Locust – Kaisfatdad and I are going to see Bonny Light Horseman at Nalen on 13 November (very unusual for me to get a ticket for a standing-only gig nowadays!). Come and join us!
Bought and downloaded!
The Stockholm Afterword Mini Mingle is finally taking place…is it possible? Well, if the band and the three of us manages to keep healthy, this mythical gathering may actually take place. And could there be a better venue for it, steeped in both musical and religious history…? 😀
I’m buying the first round.
Fantastic news that the first SAMM may finally take place.
But (sorry to be a wet blanket here @Locust and @DuCo01) Nalen is going to be sold out and heaving that evening and there’ll be ambient noise by the bucketload. The chances of any kind of conversation will be nil.
Let’s meet up at Nalen, but please can we have our first SAMM somewhere else a lot quieter on another day?
Sure, @Kaisfatdad, but good luck making it happen! 😀
We’ve been talking about it for MANY years now, and this is as close to an actual meet-up that we’ve ever been – maybe it’s easier to see this gig as the starting point and take it from there?
The vacations are coming up, everybody’s going to be busy relaxing in various locations; then when autumn comes around everybody’s busy with everyday life stuff starting back up again (except @Duco01, who’s retired).
But absolutely, I’m up for it if you can organize it and find a time and place that works for all of us! I don’t have the energy to do something about it myself, I’m afraid. Good luck!
I think a few of us could have met up at RT at the RAH if we’d put our minds to it.
Maybe in five years?
I think that will deserve a Nights Out Review all of it’s own 😊
More cinema
‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ (Italy)
Another cracker, and huge in Italy, where it apparently did better business than ‘Barbie’ last summer. Black and white, set in the late 1940s, female leading role (again), the same actor directs (‘La Chimera’ also has a female director), about a man who beats up his wife on a regular basis – it’s alright, he “… fought in two world wars”, a phrase she rolls her eyes at each time it’s trotted out – and her seemingly compliant role in his behaviour.
However, she’s more astute than many, including her eldest daughter, believe her to be, and the ending, a completely unexpected ending, is a salutary and timely lesson about how important democracy is and how vital it is to cast your vote at elections.
‘La Chimera’ (Italy/France/Switzerland)
This is a really quirky, perplexing, vaguely bonkers film about a young man, ‘the maestro’, with mystical powers, who instinctively knows where tombs, filled with treasure, are buried, and is part of a madcap (more Keystone Cops than the Godfather) criminal gang who dig them up. He does the brainy stuff, they do the pilfering, he’s just done a spell in prison, they haven’t!
‘La Chimera’ is reminiscent of so many European releases today – they’re invariably 60s in style and tone, and at no time do they feel any great need to explain themselves. It’s a seriously fine picture, it might well be a classic, and the staff at my local cinema – all in their 20s – seem to have all seen it at least twice and are raving about it. The female lead, called Italia in the film, is actually from Brazil, and could walk into any French New Wave film without anyone batting an eyelid.
Planning to see it again next week.
TV
‘Let It Be’ (Disney+)
It’s bewildering how divisive the original ‘Let It Be’ project seems to be. Now perfectly restored – it looks incredible – the joyous 80-minute blast is still utterly incredible. Indeed, its natural bedfellow in 2024 has to be ‘Summer of Soul’, and there can be no higher accolade than that.
What a wonderful array of music documentaries we’ve had in recent years, and, hold yer horses, here comes another one…
‘The Beach Boys’ (Disney+)
Did I write the narrative for this? I can’t remember writing the narrative for this, but I think I must have written the narrative for this. Where’s my cheque? Someone get on the blower to BBHQ right away.
The early years – Hawthorne in its 50s pomp, previously unseen footage of the group long before ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’, Murry Wilson’s initially very positive role in the tale, Capitol not having a clue what to do with them – are covered in forensic detail. Indeed, I decided to make a cup of tea quite a long way in, with the seismic shift of the Beatles appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show (February 1964) still a full ten minutes away.
Move on to Brian’s breakdown, and a more reflective vibe, culminating in the primary colours of ‘Pet Sounds’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Smile’… all brilliantly covered… until beige sets in – cocaine, heroin, Manson, Nixon, and the jaw-dropping, po-faced tedium of grahamandjoni et al – and the pace of the story suddenly changes from that of an octogenarian marathon runner with cramp, to Usain Bolt deciding, as the weather’s nice, he’s going to run fast today!
All of which means that the tiring procession of ‘Sunflower’ (1970) to ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’ (2012) takes up less time than David Marks’s 18-month tenure in the group.
Now, I haven’t got too much of a problem with that – in fact, I have absolutely ‘no’ problem with that – but I suspect many on this site will have a problem with that! Did BBHQ run out of money or something?
I’d just like to drop off here that the latest (and last) season of Inside No. 9 has been terrific. The one in the escape room is right up there in my top 5, posssibly top 3 episodes of the entire collection. I do hope the lads are going to be working on new projects.
@dkhbrit remaking On The Buses 😉
Apparently they still plan to write together and there is obviously the stage play next year already announced.
Seen: a busy month with 6 gigs. I saw Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand at a new-to-me venue , the Horse & Bamboo in Waterfoot, a couple of miles from Rawtenstall towards Bacup. Nice venue with a small audience. Kathryn & Dan both did a 20m support slot, then after an interval came out as the duo to play their Willson:Williams album. I have to say I was diappointed. They both made mistakes during their solo sets and in their duo set there were an alarming number of moments when they didn’t seem to know what they were doing. It’s not like it was their first gig of the tour either. Had I stuck to my original plan of travelling into Manchester to see them at Manchester Folk Festival, paying £7 more for my ticket than I did at Waterfoot I’d have been distinctly unhappy. A week later I went to Bury Met to see The Hackles, an Americana Trio from Oregon. Their ticket sales were so low that they put them in the bar rather than the #2 theatre which was already in use. The Met soundman had to dig a 15yr old analogue desk out of storage and remember how to use it. The band were halfway through a UK tour which started in Shetland where they played 11 sets in 4 days. In direct conrast to Willson & Williams they were very well rehearsed. Their fiddler used an unusual bow called an Incredibow which she said took some getting used to as it was so stiff but on the upside she could use it to fend off an attacker.
My local Folk Club’s guests in May were the excellent Jaywalkers, a Chester based bluegrass trio. They were tremendous and very good vaue for a £10 ticket. A couple of days later I went to Leigh Acoustic Night where I paid £3 to hear some good local performers and Guest Artist Chris Fox, a young singer-songwriter from Huntingdon. 3rd time I’ve seen Chris and he just keeps on getting better each time. Check him out if he’s playing anywhere near you. 2 days later I took advantage of a lift up to Settle in nasty weather to see the splendid Wayward Jane at Victoria Hall. They had a fiddle dep as regular fiddler Rachel has recently become a new Mum. I always enjoy hearing them play and this gig was no exception. And finally Mrs B & I went up to the Glasshouse (the venue formerly known as The Sage) in Gateshead to see the Richard Thompson Band. I saw the opener Jim Moray last September at the Allen Valleys Folk Festival so I knew how good he is in solo mode. He makes it all look very easy. I enjoyed the RT set without being blown away as I have at some of his gigs. As others have said, his grandson Zack is a very impressive player. One notable thing about this concert was how quiet it was under new soundman Tristan compared with some of the unneccessary audio blast we used to get from his predeccessor Simon Tassano. For his encore RT came on with a red Rickenbacker 12 string and the band played Bells of Rhymney a la The Byrds. I decided to take a photo of RT & guitar and just as I was doing so my phone came up with a BBC Breaking News headline: Donald Trump found guilty on all charges. I’ll always be able to remember where I was when that story broke. RT must have been told too as he announced it right after the final applause stopped.
I didn’t know until I got to the Glasshouse that the smaller theatre was playing host to another RT, namely Robin Trower. Our hotel bar was almost deserted but there were 2 guys there who’d travelled down from Glasgow to see him. They told me he is 79 and was superb. When I said I was surprised he was in the small theatre they said he was only doing 3 UK gigs, all in England before heading out to the US to play a big venue tour.
I was at the Sage last september before it was obliged to find a new name. I didn’t stay at my usual hotel (The Encore Ramada) as it was Great North Run weekend and prices had gone through the roof. But I could see that what used to be the Mill St Car Park was now a hole in the ground surrounded by fencing proclaiming the forthcoming arrival of a new 12500 seater events space to be called The Sage. When I stayed at the Ramada for the RT band in May there appeared to be effectively no progress in this venture. But there was a huge black symmetrical multistory car park opposite the hotel. The barman told me the hole in the ground had been there for 2.5 years as the project appeared to have run out of funds and was clearly sveral years away from opening. But what’s the big black car park I asked, thinking it was connected with the college buildings that have sprung up there over recent years. Turns out it’s the carpark for the hole in the ground, all built and ready to go, but not in use. Project Management, isn’t it, mmmm?
Heard: Ater being disappointed with the Kathryn Williams & Withern Hand performance, but reading good reviews of their album on these pages, I downloaded it from Bandcamp. I like it a lot. I bought another 3 but haven’t given them enough listening yet to give a reliable opinion. That particularly applies to Martin Simpson’s Skydancers which is a double CD. I’ve had a couple of listens to Emily Barkers new album Fragile as Humans, and likewise the new CD from Harbottle & Jonas called Wild Goose. None of them have turned me off so far so I’ll have a better idea next month. As regards last month’s crop I’m really enjoying All My Friends by Aoife O’Donovan and am greatly looking forward to her gig at The Barbican tomorrow week. And I’m liking Waxahatchee’s Tiger Blood. I’d quite like to see her in Manchester but am put off by the idea of a standing gig.
On the telebox I watched Passenger and really wish I hadn’t. 6 hours of my life I won’t get back. I was left thinking “Somebody commissioned this???” I guess you can’t win ’em all. In better news I watched and greatly enjoyed the 2nd series of Blue Lights. Some very good character development in my opinion. I’m pleased to see it’s been greenlighted for series 3 & 4
It were good, weren’t it, bar the ghastly let’s let our hair down like regular folk finale, which was vile.
Heard
Apart from those I already knew, I expected my Coachella viewing to throw up some new indie weirdos or dicks with decks. Instead, two of the acts that caught my eye were popstress Sabrina Carpenter, whose in-the-meantime increasing profile suggests she’s about to go mega and Chappell Roan, a colourful character with a quiver full of choruses (my goddaughter tells me my taste these days gives off “great lesbian energy” and CR fits right in, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised). Over the last couple of months I’ve grown extremely keen on her poptacular debut from last year The Rise and Fall Of A Midwest Princess*, which has grabbed me more than any of the 70 odd new records that I’ve become acquainted with this year, so I was delighted to see her turn up in a recent NPR Tiny Desk, fag-in-wig and surrounded by her all girl band. I’m not overly fond of the album’s production, so it was nice to hear the songs played in what is becoming my favourite format. Didn’t play the new single either, unless my recollection fails me.
Seen
Somehow, I’ve accumulated a lot of football podcasts, which I dip in and out of pretty regularly. Normally things slow down a bit at this time of the year, but, with the Euros imminent, I’ve acquired some more.
Talking about a Tiny Desk in “Heard” followed by podcasts in “Seen” is a roundabout way of getting to.. the best thing I saw this month was a YouTube video by a guy called Alfie Potts Harmer about the world’s largest football stadium, the Veliki Strahovski Stadion in Prague, which has a capacity of 250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand) and how come it’s in Prague and how it ever came to be built at all.
Doctor Who is back, baby!
At least that’s what we’re saying in our house – apparently the new series has been pretty divisive, even among the fans and the ratings are not good at all. Some might say it’s too back, as Monsieur Moffat’s manipulations in the Boom! episode were oh-so-familiar and Monsieur Davies, has been cutting and pasting his greatest hits – a blonde companion on her first trip off world and in the future using Doc magic to phone her Mum, a dishy, charming Captain Jack figure dropping in and getting all flirty
And with the finale to come, it looks like said companion is going to be terribly important yet again.
But blimey, the dialogue, the imaginative situations, the chemistry between and energy of The Doctor and Ruby is just such an improvement on the stiff, careless, uninvolving Jodie period.
Read
Hey, I finished last month’s book, so that’s something.
Looking Forward To
A bit of time off, binging Glastonbury on the box, hopefully some nice weather and a couple of drinks. And, either football’s coming home or Luke Shaw will be, after breaking down five minutes into his crazy emergency return.
(Who says Gareth doesn’t gamble?)
*Usually when I discover something from the recent past which I missed, I go back to the Afterword’s albums of the year and there it is and I feel foolish for not getting on board sooner. Not in this case, though..
This is just flimsy pretext to post Von Dutch. Because Von Dutch is good.
You should have taken a moment to add the CR song to your playlist, you utter knob..
Doctor Who is being carried by Ncuti’s charisma, and not much beyond that.
My immediate reaction to some of the shows has been “RTD: Oooh, look how good I am”, with no idea about how the story actually is a television episode. There’s been very little to vest in, and the relationships are just not credibly – within the Who universe – written.
A huge let down.
From what I’ve been reading, the majority would agree with you. All I can say is I’m happy and I think the last four episodes could have slotted in 15 years ago without looking out of place (which, I suppose, is to acknowledge it’s always been a tad inconsistent over a whole series).
I thought “73 Yards” and “Dot And Bubble” were very good. A definite step up from the lacklustre previous three. Yet to watch the sixth one.
@Sewer Robot you are prophetic! I heard Sabrina Carpenter’s new single yesterday and it surely is “a smash hit”
May’s Albums:
Sam Braysher – “That’s Him: The Music Of Kurt Weill”
Joe Daniels & His Hotshots In Drumnastics – “British Swing Volume One”
Turning Point – “Vanishing Dream”
Various – “Into The Archives Vol. 1” (Jazz In Britain sampler)
The Mike Carr Organ Trio featuring Harold McNair – “Live At The Ship Inn 1967”
The Michael Garrick Septet featuring Joe Harriott – “…At Short Notice”
Neil Ardley – “Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows: Live ’75”
Tubby Hayes Quartet – “The Complete Hopbine ’69”
Bobby Wellins – “The Satin Album” & “Nomad”
Poppy Ackroyd – “Pause Reworked”
Fergus McCreadie – “Sketches” & “Stream”
Tim Garland Lighthouse Trio – “Moment Of Departure”
Nubiyan Twist – “Find Your Flame”
Jasmine Myra – “Rising”
Nils Petter Molvaer – “Solo At Peer Gynt Festival”
Buster Williams – “Blues Alley DC, 24-05-05 Late Show”
Shabaka – “Perceive It’s Beauty, Acknowledge It’s Grace” & “Afrikan Culture”
GoGo Penguin – “From The North – Live In Manchester”
Amanda Whiting – “The Liminality Of Her”
Nduduzo Makhathini – “In The Spirit Of Ntu”
Ahmad Jamal – “Like Someone In Love”
Brad Mehldau – “Après Fauré”
Kenny Barron – “Beyond This Place”
Chick Corea, Béla Fleck – “Remembrance”
Wadada Leo Smith, Amina Claudine Myers – “Central Park’s Mosaics Of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens”
Maria Chiara Argirò – “Closer” & “The Fall Dance”
Albert Ayler Trio – “Spiritual Unity”
Duke Ellington – “…And His Mother Called Him Bill” & “Far East Suite”
Brother Jack McDuff – “Ain’t No Sunshine (Live In Seattle)”
Greg Foat – “Live At Can Rudayla, Ibiza”
Kjetil Mulelid – “Agoja”
Charles Mingus – “The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady”
John Surman, John Warren – “Tales Of The Algonquin”
Betty Carter – “The Audience With Betty Carter”
Jan Garbarek Quartet – “Afric Pepperbird”
Pat Metheny – “Bright Size Life”
Fergus Quill Trio – “Zoop Zoop” & “¡Blamo!”
Fergus Quill – “Now That’s What I Call Noise!”
Bobby Wellins Quartet – “What Was Happening”
The New Jazz Orchestra – “Jazz Calendar: Olympic Studios ’66”
Sun Ra – “Hendersonia – Sun Ra Performs Fletcher Henderson” & “Excelsior Mill”
Ella Clayton – “Stairwell” & “Murmurations”
Various – “Red Hot + Latin: Silencio = Muerte”
Various – “Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute To Cole Porter”
Red Hot Org, Meshell Ndegeocello – “Red Hot & Ra: The Magic City”
Red Hot Org, Various – “Red Hot & Ra: Nuclear War”
Red Hot Org, Kronos Quartet – “Outer Spaceways Incorporated” – 3 Advance Tracks
Red Hot Org, Various – “Red Hot & Ra: Solar”
Jimmy Cleveland – “Introducing Jimmy Cleveland And His All Stars”
Fingers – “The Complete Fingers Remember Mingus”
Freddie Redd Quintet – “Shades Of Redd” & “Redd’s Blues”
Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo – “Pra Você, Ilza”
Some of these are replacements of low-quality previous acquisitions, some I haven’t played yet. A few I’ve played and almost immediately forgotten.
Live Gigs:
Sam Braysher Quartet at The Bear Club in Luton on May 3rd. Nice friendly, funky little place and a good sax-piano-bass-drums quartet. Sam on sax and the pianist were particularly good.
Jazz Manouche with two acoustic guitars, violin, sax/clarinet and bass at The Elephant in North Finchley on May 5th was good but not outstanding. A lot of noise from rowdy football-lovers in the other bar put the musicians off a bit, I think.
Denys Baptiste, Andrew McCormack, Gary Crosby and Rod Youngs played John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme at The Pizza Express in Soho on May 9th and it was fantastic.
Stanley Dee played at Tropic in Ruislip on May 10th. Tropic is in the social club of Wealdstone FC. Cover bands are the usual thing to be seen there. Drink prices are pleasantly low for the London area. Sound was good and the band were on good form. Aurora Borealis visible from the car park as we punters left.
The 3rd Watford Junction Jazz Festival was on from the 17th to the 19th of May but was a bit lacklustre this year, I thought. I went to the Friday night show by Lokkhi Terra at the Pump House Theatre, which was a pretty good fusion of Latin, African and Indian music. The Saturday afternoon show at the smaller Colne River Room at The Pumphouse was a good one. The Maddy Coombs Quartet were on first and were very good. After an interval we were treated to a weird and wonderful show by the fantastically bonkers Fergus Quill Trio. A highlight!
Jean Toussaint was on in the main Pumphouse Theatre in the evening and he was good, but not great, if you know what I mean.
I was contemplating catching one of the free pub gigs around up by Watford Heath on the Sunday afternoon and another on the Heath stage, but I didn’t fancy the large amount of walking involved, getting to and from there, which has no bus services anywhere nearby and no car parking. I gave it a miss, as I was going to The Elephant to see brilliant pianist Neil Angilley later.
That was an excellent evening.
On May 22nd I ventured to SJQ in Dalston to see Hejira vocalist/guitarist Hattie Whitehead play some of her own material. The support, Ella Clayton, was excellent as was Hattie. Sound was very good. Everything crystal clear.
On the 31st I went to another of Tomorrow’s Warriors “Plus One” gigs in the top floor space at Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road. Four of the young students from TW (piano, trumpet, string bass, drums) plus excellent guest pianist Deschanel Gordon, playing a couple of jazz standards and some interesting compositions by the very good student pianist. A short 1-hour show with Deschanel only playing on half of the numbers and the two pianists sharing the piano to great effect for a finale of Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin'”.
Reading:
Re-reading a couple from Mick Herron’s pre-“Slow Horses” detective series featuring cynical private detective Zoë Boehm. “The Last Voice You Hear” and “Why We Die”.
Very good characterisation and plotting and the action mostly keeps the pages turning, but just a touch too much philosophising can sometimes bog things down.
Just one more of the series to go.
TV:
The new “Doctor Who” is improving, thankfully, after a rather poor start. The second series of “Blue Lights” was very good. “Murder They Hope” is quite enjoyably bonkers but only in small doses. I started watching “The Gone” but it didn’t really grab me in the first few episodes, so I probably won’t finish it.
Other Stuff:
Replaced my horrible old bed with a better one, courtesy of my sister, who was replacing it at hers with a posher one from her son and daughter-in-law, who have bought an extremely posh one for themselves. I also acquired a decent chest of drawers and another CD rack, just like my other ones, that was going into a skip otherwise. Hired a Transit van to take my old bed and various items of accumulated junk to the Recycling Centre. Had to get a Recycling Centre Permit from The Council in order to bring a van in there, as otherwise it would be assumed I was disposing of commercial waste.
Spent considerably more than I would have liked to, sorting out a problem with my car’s power steering.
My sister had her 75th birthday on the 24th, so there was a little “do” at her eldest son’s on the 26th.
A Make Your Own Pizza competition was held, an expensive but extremely nice cake plus sundry other comestibles were eaten and a very tricky and silly tabletop game was played. It involved a couple of small rubber objects (a hot-dog and a chicken, with suckers on their bases) that had to be thrown in various different ways*, according to a set of instruction cards, and land upright to allow turning over each one of another set of cards, thus completing a picture of the player’s object to win the game.
**Overarm, underarm, left-handed, sideways, over-shoulder facing away …
I have visions of a kitchen piled high with ironing and unwashed dishes. Where do you find the time?
He doesn’t cook and he doesn’t wear clothes.
😉
Being a fairly antisocial neo-insomniac with no SO or kids and only a small extended family, gives me plenty of time for music listening.
Haven’t posted for 2 or 3 months. I retired in April and my life has been a whirlwind of activity including numerous Nord pole walks, walking football (injured myself on my first run out) and creative writing lessons which are huge fun.
HEARD:Withered Hand – like it very much
John Moreland – Visitor – excellent but I love all of his stuff.
Richard Hawley – In this city they call you love – a lovely return to form – his last album was greatbut noisy – this is back to his tuneful ballads which is where my love lies.
Bonny Light Horseman – See you free – good but will need a few listens.
Eels Time – anything by E is lapped up in this house. Doesnt deviate from his template but that is fine with me.
Old stuff – listening to Salif Keita, Nina Simone, Warterboys (1985) and a wonderful new relaese of Jackie Leven – Live or die (a 4 cd set of two live concerts in Bremen five years apart in 1999 and 2004.
The first alone, the second with Michael Cosgrove – some duplications of songs but different versions. I really miss Jackie and this is a nice reminder of how good an artist he was and also his talent as a raconteur).
SEEN:
Mary Gauthier – Nottingham. Superb concert and a gifted songwriter with interesting subjects.
Elbow – Very good and the new songs fitted well into their setlist. I would say they are more muscular than previous times i have seen them.
Bruce Springsteen – Cardiff – still the boss – 3 hours and he could still reach the falsetto on The River.
On TV – Blue lights – superb.
Baby Reindeer – disturbing.
At the Cinema I shared the same view as @JustTim re Back to Black – superb lead performance but really surprised her Dad and her hubby got let off the hook.
“walking football (injured myself on my first run out)”. Steve, do I really need to tell you where you’re going wrong? There’s a clue in the name of the activity.
Cheers for the tip on the Jackie Leven live CD set, Steve. I wasn’t aware of that release.
Always love the Big Man from the Kingdom of Fife.
When we drove down to Arvika last week, Mrs KFD’s choice of in-drive entertainment was Jackie Leven, @DuCo01.
He’s an artist that people remember. When I was a funeral recently, a guy who haven’t met for 10 years thanked me for introducing him to Big Jackie’s music.
A challenging month.
My dearest friend passed away suddenly, in May, and his family asked me to speak at his funeral about him and his love of music. That was a great honour. We first met in 85, and stayed close all down the years, especially bonding over music, both still thrilled to find a new thing, or uncover something joyful we had missed.
I got the sad news on the same day that I got the new Michael Head LP , Loophole – he was a big fan, so that was a difficult listen, knowing that we will no longer have the chance to talk enthusiastically about music. It’s a good LP, of course.
I posted on this topic already, but I would encourage everyone here – if you are bothered about what music to have at your funeral, please make sure that is written down and shared with your loved ones well ahead of time. You don’t want to end up with “Angels” just because “it’s a very popular choice now”. For his service, we settled on :
– Gathering – Starman, David Bowie
– Entry – L.O.V.E. (Love), Al Green
– Committal – Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley
– Reflection – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Nina Simone
– Exit – Fly Me To The Moon, Frank Sinatra with Count Basie &Tell It Like It Is – Etta James.
In other news, Stewart Lee has invited The Primevals to play The Lexington, London, on Monday 1st July.
His blurb runs – “Now entering their fifth decade, and a dozen albums down, Glasgow’s gutterbilly veterans lay widescreen Americana and free jazz flavoured freak-outs over a durable garage punk template. Immortal and imperious at last, now The Primevals really are what they once merely dreamed of being.”
He will be opening the gig with a short set of new material.
On the way down south, we are also playing The Black Prince in Northampton on Sunday June 30th. If you are planning to come to either gig, please buy your ticket in advance – another gig on the Saturday (a multi band event in Preston) has been cancelled because of a shortage of advanced ticket sales.
“Gutterbilly”!!!! Love it!!!!
Sorry for your loss hombre – that’s a kicker.
Heard
2024 seems to be shaping up as the year when every artist I’ve ever liked is releasing a new album. That’s not always proved to be a good thing. This month’s batch:
Pet Shop Boys, Nonetheless. I like this a lot. Ok it’s not imperial phase but then not much is, but it’s a very good album to be putting out 40+ years into a career.
Barry Adamson, Cut to Black. I got a bit overexcited by this one, even posting about it on here. It’s good, and it’s nice to have him back, but not quite holding up as I thought it might.
Camera Obscura, Look to the East, look to the West. Was delighted to have them back after so long but this is a little meh. It’s pleasant but I’d have hoped for a little more than that after 11 years.
Richard Hawley, In this city they call you love. What a disappointment. I’ve followed Hawley since Lowedges but I think he’s just lost me. The opener is great but too much of the rest is just slow to medium plod. Truelove’s Gutter is a very long time ago.
I also heard a fair bit of Taylor Swift in the Bernabeu from the kitchen window. The audience seemed to be enjoying it, they were even noisier than a Real Madrid goal, and my children reported back the next day that it was in fact the greatest thing ever.
Read
Earlier this year I developed an Orwell obsession. This continued with DJ Taylor’s excellent if a tad too long biography. Also included one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a long time, Dorian Lynsky’s The Ministry of Truth, A Biography of 1984. A brilliant look at the influences on and the influences of 1984. I came out with a massive reading list. So far:
Huxley, Brave New World. Can’t belive I’ve waited so long to read this. Wonderful. But I reckon I prefer 1984.
Yevgeny Zamyatin, We. The grandad of dystopian fiction. A very obvious influence on both Brave New World and 1984. Glad to have read it. But did I actually like it? No.
Dave Eggers, The Circle. An enjoyable if slightly obvious dystopian novel about a social media mega-corp. I polished it off in no time.
Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano. I absolutely loved Vonnegut as a student but hadn’t read him in at least 25 years. So pleased to report he’s as good as I remember. This was his first novel and is very different stylistically to his later, better known stuff. But it’s still funny, sad and thought provoking. I now have my next reading project – reread Vonnegut in order of publication. Have so far reread Sirens of Titan and half of Mother Night. He was a genius.
Seen
Lots of old films as usual. The highlight was watching Reservoir Dogs with my 20 year old, the same age I was when I saw it at the cinema when it came out. She loved it but it didn’t freak her out as it did me and the whole cinema back then. We’d never seen anything like it. She clearly has. Still, it’s held up very well.
@Guiri Thank you for prompting me to reread some Vonnegut. Long overdue!
FILMS AND THAT
after my top 100 albums list last year I have a new project. Don’t worry, I won’t be posting detailed reviews here, but my aim is to watch every (Japanese) Godzilla movie this year. Notched up a few more in May, of which the undisputed highlight was Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack. Sixteen more to go, then maybe I’ll start on all the Gamera flicks…
Other films I enjoyed included revisiting the John Woo classic A Better Tomorrow – has there ever been a cooler man than Chow Yun Fat in his prime? – Shinobi Yaguchi’s lightweight but likeable road movie Dance With Me, and a couple of movies from the online Japanese Film Festival: Single 8 is a sweet little story about some Star Wars obsessed school kids trying to make their own 8mm version in 1978. Probably doesn’t need to be two hours long, but it’s just about charming enough to get away with it, and the directors own 8mm home movies in the credits are a nice touch. And so onto Baby Assassins, where two young girls leave high school and share their first flat together. They go to interviews for terrible service jobs, they play Nintendo on the sofa, eat combini food, and they are also highly skilled assassins who leave a trail of bodies sprawling across the film. The mix of ultraviolence and comedy works surprisingly well (the transition between the two in the final maid cafe scene is brilliant) and the chemistry between the two leads sells this one. It’s sometimes a bit too broad but there are genuine laugh out loud moments allied to some excellent fight choreography. Lots of fun, going to try to track down the sequel next.
BOOKS
Embarked on a reread of Gene Wolfe’s Book Of The New Sun, which I have been meaning to do for at least a decade. It is so dense and knotty I have been reading in conjunction with a podcast (Alazabo Soup) breaking down each chapter., which has offered a ton of insights and interpretations that would have eluded me otherwise. Maybe the only SF work which bears comparison with Ulysses?