Music: A right old state(less)
No idea whose photo credit this is.
Been listening to Stateless again the last couple of days. But listening once now triggers a memory from – ooh – 2006 I’d guess, around the time the album came out.
They’re playing at Leeds Rio’s, on its launch night, when it looked like it might be a really good venue. It ended up not being, but that’s not the point. It’s launch night, everyone’s excited, and I’m there with a good friend. I’m on crutches, my leg in a big strap cast, having been dislocated at The Cockpit a few weeks earlier. It’s probably my first night out since then.
Stateless come onstage. They launch into Prism #1, which swells and grows around us. We’re – um – not exactly sober. The music’s dreamy and ethereal, dancing around the air of the club. We’re about half-way back, on a riser, hands on the railings, holding on. The lights swirl. The music drifts. I catch my friend’s eye. We both smile a big, stupid, teeth-grinding smile. And then dance. Oh, man, we dance.
Right now, feeling rather ill with a nasty cold, certainly not under the influence of anything (actually not true – have taken some Morrisons Cold Relief Capsules), I listen to the album. Prism’s just finished playing. Now Exit is on. I can’t wait for This Language, ’cause that’s totally another that sends me right back to that night. And in this state, this state that’s so completely opposite to the one I was in then, all I want to do is dance, alone, in my bedroom.
That’s good music, y’know?
Later that night we headed over to the now defunct Trash and watched some RAWK bands strut their stuff. We nodded along, still in the mood. I think I ended up doing a horrible all-nighter at another friend’s house, actually, if it is indeed the same night I’m thinking off. But it was always totally about Stateless. What a tremendous record. It is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.
EDIT: It occurs to me I should probably link to some of their music.
Music: Good Boy Gone Bad?
R n’ B artist Chris Brown’s new single I Can Transform Ya, featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz has presented me with a bit of a conundrum. I’m a big Lil Wayne fan and would listen to pretty much anything produced by the borderline genius Swizz Beatz but the presence of Chris Brown has left me feeling uneasy and a tad guilty.
Film: Spookerama – Reboot the Scaries
Remakes and reboots have come thick and fast this year, and the trend seems set to continue well into 2010. Karate Kid is getting dusted off and thrown back into the dojo, some bright spark has decided that what the world needs is a new Highlander film, whilst those crazy Hollywood hacks are even putting out a new fangled take on Kevin Bacon cheese-a-thon Footloose. God help us all. But for me it is the current crop of horror film remakes that hold the most interest.
TV: The Crank File – Speaking Ill of the Dead
Whilst watching Charlie Brooker’s Gameswipe on BBC4 I was particularly struck by a computer game ad from the 1980s featuring Morecambe & Wise. This 30 second clip managed to sum up for me something I have kept a secret for years; I don’t think they’re funny and never have.
Music: On The Road To Damnation With Therapy?
Photo by RAS Photography
Games: Modern Warfare 2 – No Mercy for ‘No Russian’?
The aftermath of Modern Warfare 2's 'No Russian' scene.
If you’re into games, you’d be hard pressed to have been able to avoid the super-mega-enormo-release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 this week. This is the first game ever to have a full-blown premiere event, a la the movies. It is, according to initial stats, the fastest selling computer game ever. The hype train’s been miraculous. And, as you may know if you’re into this sort of thing, the game contains a level, called ‘No Russian’, in which you murder people in an airport.
Okay, more context than that’s required. You’re a secret CIA operative infiltrating a known terrorist group. Doing so, you tag along on an attack on an airport, which… well, I just cannot fathom in my mind at all. But that’s what happens. “Are you sure you want to play this bit?” the game asks you, twice? It could be disturbing for some players, we’re informed. Yes. You can only hope that was the point.
There’s a big debate about this level, in which the terrorist group fires assault weapons into multiple crowds of unarmed civilians. You can shoot too, if you want, though it’s never necessary. The game doesn’t acknowledge whether you do or not, though. That, depending on your viewpoint, might be a big problem.
Below the jump: the scene in question, and some thoughts. Is it the most horrible, offensive nonsense in the world of gaming? Is it a brave step for developers Infinity Ward to take? Read on to find out what I reckon.
Music: 3 Men & a Prostitute
For starters I think I should point out that this article is not an ill conceived treatment for the third instalment of the ‘Three Men & a Baby’ series. Although to be frank it would be amazing to hear Steve Guttenberg or Tom Selleck deliver classic pimpology like ‘Bitch, before you met me you weren’t nothing but a funky zero’. And who wouldn’t enjoy the spectacle of Ted Danson bedecked in all manner of ostentatious finery, trailing his street walking hos through the drizzle splattered streets of Harlem, advising them to ‘Walk between the rain drops’? (Copyright Iceberg Slim 1967)
Flights of fancy aside, I am of course talking about chart bothering popsters the Black Eyed Peas. But before we get onto them here’s a story I think many people will be able to relate to.
TV: Thoughts on The X-Factor
Art Fist Editor Jon Cronshaw talks about the dark side of ITV’s flagship Saturday night sing-a-thon…
There’s something incredibly sinister about the X-Factor. I could never put my finger on it previous years, but I think I’ve worked it out: the X-Factor is like a bad 1950s science-fiction novel.
Film: Thoughts on 13 Ghosts
Carrying on from our Halloween themed film contributions, former Leeds Sanctuary Nightlife Editor and all round good egg Georgie Bentinck gives The Daily Scoundrel the low down on 13 Ghosts
Right. I know what I’m about to say is going to be quite controversial, but I actually think Thirteen Ghosts is a bloody scary film, and quite well acted 97% of the time. I consider myself a veteran of scary movies (I thrive on the adrenaline rush, I’m pretty crazy like that), and in my opinion it’s rare to find a film that is both engaging, and makes me hide behind a cushion.
Film: Thoughts on UP
I almost feel guilty for the fact that I only ever praise things when I write for The Scoundrel. Almost. But if I am to start sounding off about the things I hate in modern film, it certainly won’t start with the new Disney Pixar flick, UP.
UP is beautiful in its simplicity in the way that its simplicity is beautiful – and I honestly believe that sentence sums up the film more than the rest of this write up will. You see, for all its complicated and wonderful new technologies that easily make it the prettiest animated film to date, it deals with the most identifiable of human emotion: loss. We all know what it feels like to lose someone (Unless you’re lucky then its just something) and our leading character Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner – Mary Tyler Moore) begins his film by meeting someone, loving someone and losing someone. It is a stout introduction that simulataniously sets up the plotline and attaches us to the Carl’s character. It sounds like such a simple thing to do on a ground level: make the audience like the main character. But its slightly more tricky when it comes to getting an adult audience to genuinely feel some emotion for an animated character.
New on Resolution Magazine- Review | We Sing Encore 03/09/2010
- Preview | Avoid 03/09/2010
- Mafia II Jimmy’s Vendetta DLC out Sept 7, trailer 02/09/2010
