Hot Chip are due to release a new album in February 2009 called One Life Stand. Although there were a couple of memorable songs on last year's Made in The Dark, I found it disappointing in comparison to 2006's The Warning. This song, a new take on a previously released song, shows some promise. The foreboding sounding synths sound a bit like Depeche Mode, while the more upbeat chorus is more what we have come to expect from Hot Chip.
No official video available yet unfortunately.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
In The Loop
Ok. So, I may be coming to this a bit late, but I only just got around to watching it on DVD last night. This is probably because I can barely tolerate politics in real life, never mind on the screen. I have been a fan of Armando Iannucci since The Day Today, but I couldn't bring myself to watch this. I assumed that the film would be preachy and would explore technical elements of politics that would go over my head.
How wrong I was.
The film follows the government officials behind the scenes and their attempts at promoting or preventing the war which the American President and the Prime Minister plan to launch in the Middle East. It is a spin off from Armando Iannucci's program The Thick Of It, which I am only now beginning to watch. Here is a selection of Malcolm Tucker's (played byPeter Capaldi) best bits from the film.
How wrong I was.
The film follows the government officials behind the scenes and their attempts at promoting or preventing the war which the American President and the Prime Minister plan to launch in the Middle East. It is a spin off from Armando Iannucci's program The Thick Of It, which I am only now beginning to watch. Here is a selection of Malcolm Tucker's (played byPeter Capaldi) best bits from the film.
Monday, 9 November 2009
Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
"Why am I here, says the silence, what have I done, echoes the emptiness, why have I ruined myself ..."
This novel came to my attention while researching my novel idea. Because the novel explores the concept of addiction, my research turned up the typical works. Hunter S. Thompson, James Frey, Irvine Welsh etc. Then somebody suggested Under The Volcano. I researched Malcolm Lowry, and found that the subject of the book closely mirrored his own life. Finding Lowry intriguing, I bought a copy.
Geoffrey Firmin, the British Consul to Mexico, wants to write a book. His endeavours are thwarted by his alcoholism, a problem which affects all areas of his life, not least his relationship with ex-wife Yvonne. Yvonne arrives in Mexico on the Day of The Dead to try and start anew. This is easier said than done however. The presence of Jaques, Geoffrey's childhood friend, and Hugh, his brother who had an affair with Yvonne, only serves to complicate matters.
At first, I struggled with the book. This was mainly because I read about 50 pages and nothing of any consequence had happened. About a week later, I picked it up again and was soon blown away. The book is packed with beautiful imagery and Geoffrey's stream of consciousness. He is a man in a desperate situation, he knows that the drink is killing him but simply can't stop. This exploration of a man on the edge of the abyss is incredibly moving, all the more so when you consider Lowry's own tragic death. Below is the epitaph he wrote for himself.
This novel came to my attention while researching my novel idea. Because the novel explores the concept of addiction, my research turned up the typical works. Hunter S. Thompson, James Frey, Irvine Welsh etc. Then somebody suggested Under The Volcano. I researched Malcolm Lowry, and found that the subject of the book closely mirrored his own life. Finding Lowry intriguing, I bought a copy.
Geoffrey Firmin, the British Consul to Mexico, wants to write a book. His endeavours are thwarted by his alcoholism, a problem which affects all areas of his life, not least his relationship with ex-wife Yvonne. Yvonne arrives in Mexico on the Day of The Dead to try and start anew. This is easier said than done however. The presence of Jaques, Geoffrey's childhood friend, and Hugh, his brother who had an affair with Yvonne, only serves to complicate matters.
At first, I struggled with the book. This was mainly because I read about 50 pages and nothing of any consequence had happened. About a week later, I picked it up again and was soon blown away. The book is packed with beautiful imagery and Geoffrey's stream of consciousness. He is a man in a desperate situation, he knows that the drink is killing him but simply can't stop. This exploration of a man on the edge of the abyss is incredibly moving, all the more so when you consider Lowry's own tragic death. Below is the epitaph he wrote for himself.
Malcolm Lowry
Late of the Bowery
His prose was flowery
And often glowery
He lived,nightly, and drank, daily,
And died playing the ukulele.
Selected Poems of Malcolm Lowry
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Bob Dylan has 'Christmas in the Heart'
About a month ago, I saw news popping up on certain music sites and blogs suggesting that Dylan was to release a Christmas album. I laughed at the very idea and put it to the back of my mind. He's Jewish for God's sake.
It seems I was wrong to laugh. Dylan's official website has confirmed that he is releasing a Christmas album. This worries me. I am concerned that the poor man may have lost it. Advertising cars, lingerie and releasing an album through a coffee store were all bad moves as far as I am concerned. But a Christmas album? This must put a considerable dent in his credibility. However, it is for charity. And man does he look and sound like he's having fun in this video.
Only Dylan could pull this off so well.
It seems I was wrong to laugh. Dylan's official website has confirmed that he is releasing a Christmas album. This worries me. I am concerned that the poor man may have lost it. Advertising cars, lingerie and releasing an album through a coffee store were all bad moves as far as I am concerned. But a Christmas album? This must put a considerable dent in his credibility. However, it is for charity. And man does he look and sound like he's having fun in this video.Only Dylan could pull this off so well.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
I hadn't heard about The Mountain Goats until reading Pitchfork's review of their new album The Life of the World to Come. Although the review was favourable, I was sceptical. This was due to the fact that each song appeared to be based on a passage from the bible. Immediately, alarm bells started to ring. Reluctantly, I set about looking for a few songs from the new album (their 17th) on YouTube. And I'm glad I did.
Hostages, heroin and the end of the world. Needless to say, my fears about the album being a glorified lecture on why God is great were quickly allayed.
Interesting fact: The video for this song is directed by the writer/director of the film Brick.
Hostages, heroin and the end of the world. Needless to say, my fears about the album being a glorified lecture on why God is great were quickly allayed.
Interesting fact: The video for this song is directed by the writer/director of the film Brick.
Friday, 2 October 2009
Death and The Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
This is another novel which was suggested by a tutor from my Masters course. Again, it features an aspiring author. Viktor wants to write novels, but instead ends up writing obituaries for the local newspaper. The strange thing about it is, the obituaries are for people who haven't died yet. When the subjects of his writing start to die under mysterious circumstances, Viktor becomes aware that a criminal organisation is using his obituaries as a hit list.
Throughout the book, Viktor interacts with a number of other people including a young girl who comes to live with him after her father disappears, and her maid who he has a sexual relationship with. However, the only character apart from himself that he ever seems to care about is the titular penguin. Viktor adopted Misha the penguin from a zoo that went bust (this is based on a true story) and throughout the book, Misha mirrors the mood of his owner. Much comedy is derived from Viktor's avatar, with his dodgy heart and mood swings, and the humour is essential to the novel. This is definitely a book I plan to reread. My only negative comment would be that the English translation leaves a little to be desired.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
A Serious Man Trailer
The Coen Brothers new black comedy is set for release in the UK in November. The plot is a modern day retelling of the story of Job. It also apparently involves the quantum mechanics thought experiment, Schrödinger's cat (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat). The trailer looks promising.
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