Ziggy Stardust

Arcade Fire/The Reflektors in Blackpool the other night. Reckon it's my least favourite album of theirs but that was by far the best gig. Really incredible, great crowd and venue.

Mignolet Flanagan Suarez

Bowie is backing-vocals on Reflektor. It's fucking good. Video later, also. On the off-chance that anyone is in the Montreal area, they're playing at Salsatheque tonight.

Of course the club were right to apologise. Those songs are all referencing Munich, and if whoever replied to it didn't realise that then they shouldn't be doing the job in the first place.

Would also appreciate a stream here.

New Arcade Fire album out in the UK on October 28.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 2/10 - Utterly shit. Great soundtrack. I kind of enjoyed it actually, but still dreadful. Manhattan - 8/10 - Probably the best Woody Allen film I've seen so far, brilliantly written. Very funny.

Fair enough, its more the concept of why it would be something worthy of celebration in the first place which is odd to me. Can't be arsed with them personally. Then again I feel the same about Christmas and Easter, unless the reasons are religious. Also, the giving and receiving of presents is for the most part bollocks in my opinion. I appreciate it but don't buy them and don't expect any from others. Particularly when it's just the latest expensive luxury or something practical which could easily be bought yourself. Personal ones with something 'special' about them are alright.

Celebrating birthdays.

I've barely listened to any new releases, but 'Amok' by Atoms for Peace (super-group featuring Thom Yorke and Flea) has been my stand-out. [YOUTUBE]UTGYdm1kDBw[/YOUTUBE] The National have just released their latest album 'Trouble Will Find Me', impressed on first listen, they're really fucking good. Arcade Fire have finished recording, set for a release later this year. I like Youth Lagoon, will check that out as well as the Vampire Weekend one, who sometimes I like and sometimes think are shite. And the Deerhunter one which I had no idea about.

I like all of them.

Sickening.

Traffic – 6/10 – Three separate but related drug-centred stories, none of which are particularly interesting on their own, but together they somehow work; feeling more like a thriller than a drama at times. The flip side of that is maybe the isolated stories would have been more engaging if the characters had been given more time to develop. Good performances from Del Toro and Cheadle. Simply but excellently shot by Soderbergh, best element of the film for me. Avengers Assemble – 3/10 – Not sure what the fuss is about, a bit shit really. Found it slow to the point of boredom and the lack of plot isn’t even compensated by entertaining action set-pieces, it’s all very flat. None of the superheroes seem to have any real weaknesses, leaving it devoid of any suspense or tension. There are some funny moments, but it tries way too hard to deliver several of them in almost every scene. Johansson’s arse is worth at least two of those points alone.

Presumably that was on the Funeral tour, 2005? If so, then yeah. Those tracks might be a bit tame though, maybe throw Power Out in there. Having thought about it more, probably a bit daft to pick a band I've seen live several times before and probably will do so again. Out of bands I'll definitely never see, I'd be tempted to go for Joy Division or LCD Soundsystem, depending heavily on my mood.

Arcade Fire: Tunnels Haiti Headlights Look Like Diamonds Talking Heads: Road To Nowhere Take Me to The River Wild Wild Life This Must Be The Place (Naive Meldoy) Bowie: Rebel Rebel Starman The Man Who Sold The World Ziggy Stardust Wake Up (with Arcade Fire) [YOUTUBE]z6c9Ejfu-iU[/YOUTUBE] Would be incredible with a crowd that was arsed. Maybe get Byrne in on the act as well. I'd have loved to see Arcade Fire in their early days before getting big. Mid 70s era Bowie.

The Man Who Wasn't There – 5/10 – I love the Coen Brothers at their best, but this is probably my least favourite of theirs that I've seen. There are some good scenes and it’s stylish as always, but as a whole it just doesn't work for me, and begins to really drag in the second half. It’s not unusual for their films to feature characters that aren't traditionally likeable or sympathetic, but in this I just don’t care about anyone at all, cameo from Scarlett Johansson aside. I think it would be better if it was funnier. Fracture – 5.5/10 – Standard courtroom thriller with a silly plot becomes elevated to slightly above average level by great on screen chemistry between Gosling and Hopkins, and stylish direction. Enjoyable and instantly forgettable in equal measure, but it might have been very good with a little bit more tension built and a better ending. A River Runs Through It – 0/10 – Considering the high praise I've seen it receive, this might be the most disappointing film I've ever sat through. I could tell I wasn't going to like it within a few minutes, the unrelentingly intrusive voice over narration was painfully cheesy and explicit, and, despite its acclaimed cinematography, for me it’s shot very plainly. I think it’s supposed to be a heartfelt emotional drama, but the characters are so woefully underdeveloped that any supposed moment of significance has absolutely no impact or resonance whatsoever. Then there is Craig Sheffer, who puts in one of the worst lead acting performances I've ever witnessed.

Edward Scissorhands - 8/10 - Magical. Dog Day Afternoon - 8/10 The Artist - 4/10 - Well executed enough with a few fun moments, but when the novelty wears off it becomes a bit annoying. Felt more like a short film that just went on a really long time, probably in part due to the thin story. Decent performances from the two leads, lots of charm. Maybe the silent film thing isn't for me, but I'm keen to check out some other contemporary directors who actually specialise in the form. This comes off as a bit of an Oscar bait gimmick. Save the Tiger - 7/10 - Brilliant pacing and performances.

Yeah, I'm going for Woo, but mainly because of CD 2, Guitar Bollocks. Here it is: Hold On - Alabama Shakes Country and blues infused rock. Like this a lot, particularly the vocals. Fire Bug - JD McPherson Rootsy rock ‘n’ roll? Wouldn't usually be my kind of thing, but again, I’m enjoying it. Leave Your Body Behind You - Richard Hawley Dirtier guitars, which is a good start. Doesn’t really grab me, a bit meandering and needs to rock out more than it does. OK. Stuck On The Puzzle - Alex Turner From the Submarine soundtrack, which I liked, but at first thought that maybe it was better suited to that than isolated listening, with drab first impressions. It’s just clicked now though, not a big fan of the Arctic Monkey’s, or his quiff, but a good song. I Won't Let It Happen - The Ramones Ah, The Ramones of dickhead t-shirt fame. Never listened to them before, I’m impressed. More indie-pop than I expected, which works nicely for me. C'mere - Interpol Never got into these despite a couple of half-arsed attempts, still undecided with this. Should be right up my street on the face of it, but nothing is really grabbing me here. Cat People - David Bowie Wasn't familiar with this before, but its Bowie and its fucking great, obviously. Tell Me (What's On Your Mind) - Allah-Las This is getting boring; I need more negative things to say. Excellent 60s inspired guitar pop. Not an entirely new find as I heard one of their tracks a few weeks ago, but this has reminded me that I need to delve further. The Execution of All Things - Rilo Kiley Here we go, more like it. This starts out inoffensively enough I suppose, then the vocals kick in. I’m usually fond of an indie chick but she does less than nothing for me. The only track on the disc that I’d skip in future, awful. Trash - Suede Back on form here, love this very much. Been on a bit of Suede-kick lately, think they’re an underrated band. Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground I'm a bit hot and cold with the much praised ‘Velvet Underground & Nico’, but this is absolutely stunning. I plan to listen to them a lot more. Inhaler - Foals Great bass line and other guitar related things. What Difference Does It Make (Peel Session Version) - The Smiths Another new track for me. Pretty standard fare for The Smiths, which isn't a bad thing. Golden Cage - The Whitest Boy Alive Pleasantly groovy, gets my approval. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Love the country vocals and conversational style. Brilliant end to a brilliant CD. Big thanks to my Santa (If it's not Woo then step forward), I've been lucky to receive enjoyable CDs every year so far but this has definitely been my favourite. Second CD in particular has given me a lot of listening to do.

Thank You for Smoking - 7/10

Yep. Appreciate the review, AoT, quite a positive one too which is a bonus. Interesting that the two tracks you didn't like are the ones I regret including in hindsight. As you say it wasn't a particularly jolly selection and I also thought it might have been a bit samey, so I think in trying to vary it a bit I ended up trying to be overly clever with it, including songs that didn't really belong there, something I've done every year.

CD I – FUNKY BOLLOCKS I’d like to apologise in advance to my Santa as I know nothing about Hip-Hop, or music for that matter. 365 – Black Milk Bad start, not really what I look for in hip-hop (I don’t actually know what that is, though). Breakin’ the Chains Of Love – Fitz And The Tantrums Like this a lot, soulful and fun. Watchu’ Want from Me? – Homeboy Sandman This has been a grower, liking it more with each listen. Going out on a limb here and saying that I prefer the flow of this guy. Don’t like the singing chorus though. Nor do I appreciate the piano. Disparate Youth - Santigold First one that I recognised instantly, pretty sure it’s from an advert. I listened this on the bus before, which the track strangely suited, but I’m going off it rapidly. A bit annoying. Exhibit C – Jay Electronica Another low point, this one falls very flat. Willing for it to end. Some Place – Nick Waterhouse Is this Blues? I’m not great with musical genres. Anyway, I probably wouldn’t chose to listen out of context from the CD, but it works here and provides a welcome lift. Survival Tactics – Joey Bada$$ feat. Capital STEEZ Decent again on the hip-hop front, living up to the CD’s funky title a bit more here. He has a very silly name though. Didn’t I - Darondo Nice soulful voice, but the song as a whole doesn’t grab me enough. What It Is – The Cool Kids Hip-hop again, not fond on this at all. Our Generation – John Legend & The Roots His voice is fucking great. Nice backing vocals with some decent rapping thrown in there too. A head-bobbing foot-tapper. Gas Drawls – MF Doom Fairly chilled out, which I initially just found to be a bit dull. It’s OK though, seems to be a grower. Say So – Allen Stone I quite like this, although I can see it beginning to grate after not too long. Decent cheesy pop song nonetheless. Flexi With da Tech (Nique) – Artifacts Really digging the beat. Could I even describe it as ‘funktastic’? The First Cut Is The Deepest – P.P. Arnold Good voice but the instrumentation irks me slightly. Not a bad tune though. I'm Leaving - Mos Def Liked it at first but I've gone off it, a shrinker. I don't know, perhaps it sounds a bit too glossy. Slightly disappointing end to an enjoyable enough CD. Overall a very worthwhile listen, something new that pushed me out of my comfort zone. Definitely some tracks there that will prompt me to give the artists a further listen. I’ll also revisit the CD as a whole again as these are still relatively early impressions (didn’t give it as much play time as I’d planned), I already like it a lot more than I did after the first listen. Going to give the second disc another go soon, will have the next review up in a bit.

I've got mine sorted via download now, will give it a first play later on. I've got quite a lot on right now so it may take a while to get a review up, but I'll have plenty of time to give it a good listen. First impression of the track listing is that it's pretty much all stuff that I'm unfamiliar with, looking forward to it.

Animal Kingdom - 8.2/10

Haven't received mine either.

Doc Hollywood - 5/10 The Royal Tenenbaums - 3/10 - My first experience with a Wes Anderson film, not impressed at all. Visually it's brilliant at times and he has a great eye for detail, but still I kind of hated it. Many reasons why that I wont go into but most of all I just found it extremely boring, and annoying.