FILMS:

Not been my peak period for cinema going but I guess the age of DVD is with us...

The Village - I saw this in the cinema... scary stuff with a Tales Of The Unexpected type twist. A dire warning against the road of being too PC and odd... you end up as a pseudo Amish apparently.

The House Of Flying Daggers - A slender, elegant tale of love, hate and its consequences from Chinese history rendered as a murder mystery/computer game. Super fights that are balletic in their precision.

DVDS:

Carnival of Souls - Utterly unnerving movie, a classic of the supernatural made on a shoestring budget.

The Invisible Ghost - A bizarre B-Movie, made in a process called Natural Color (which is of course anything but!). Stars Bela Lugosi, George Zucco (the main villain in many a mummy movie), the cheeky midget out of Freaks and Kim Fowley's dad Douglas... what else do you need to know? A classic of Mondo Hollywood, what Ed Wood would have been doing if anyone gave him a decent budget. Directed by silent-era craftsman Christy Cabanne, still gamely hanging on... which was possible pre TV.

Mesa Of Lost Women - Same type of deal. A movie where you feel you must have fallen asleep during an important bit and therefore lost the plot. In this one, Jackie Coogan caught between his child star years and his role as the original Uncle Fester presumably hits back at a world that ripped off his childhood earnings and left him bald in the world of B-Movies by turning beautiful Burlesque dancer type girls into giant spiders... or something. With a maddening spastic pseudo flamenco soundtrack... un-missable!

BOOKS:

Just now reading an autobiography of Chaplin's wayward son Michael who ran away to London to be a rather sinister looking pop singer masterminded by Larry Page... wrong call really Michael. At this time his cousin Spencer Dryden (to whom he bears an eerie resemblance) was lording it in the rock scene as Jefferson Airplane's drummer and would have been a better bet than the fabled Larry I feel... still a cool book written from the heart.

Also re-reading all of Colin Wilson's books on what I suppose nowadays would be called Fortean subjects... his clearheaded approach, both non-gullible and non-sneering, is as refreshing now as it was then. The archetypal Fortean to be sure.

Stuart Christie's Granny Made Me An Anarchist conjures up the late 1960's/early '70's world of far-left and anarchist politics only too well. Nutters playing at Che Guevara whilst Special Branch took them only too seriously, and were very naughty boys with them in the name of National Security. Stuart himself, having hung with the remnants of the Spanish Anarchist gang from Civil War times, remained slightly skeptical, though committed to libertarian Socialism. Mind you, Stuart WAS jailed for attempting to assassinate General Franco in 1965 so hearing students calling their teachers fascists was not going to fly with Stuart. I urge you to read this book.

MUSIC:

Eugene Kelly - Outside of the obvious, listening to some new stuff by my chum Eugene Kelly. Cool guitar pop from the guy who wrote five songs that Nirvana covered...but his new stuff makes that the pub trivia question answer it should have been all along, transcending his influences to back up a lyrically intense collection of songs...I just love it really!

Mary Timony - I know NOTHING about this artist. My girlfriend has two of her albums, and I think they are fabulous. You people getting into a bit of the drony folk rock will lap this up, no joke. Out on Matador via, I suppose, Beggars so good call Gerard. I highly recommend both albums... one to watch...

LIVE:

The 8th Day Of May - Super PunkFolkRock... Fairport Convention if they'd kept their first/second album style into the punk rock era... aaaahh... I'm talking rubbish now, word salad but the BEST BAND IN LONDON TODAY! Take my tip...

OTHER STUFF:

Ummm, well... the Royal Scottish Ballet production of The Nutcracker was rather nice. Lovely set, beautiful lighting, the works....

Andy and Gitte's wedding reception, the best EVER! Starring every nutter I prayed I'd never see again (just joking Mo). Great sounds, great music, great company and serious love vibes all around. An honour to be invited. Aaah, I'm just a big softie really...

STEVE STANLEY

MUSIC:

Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello (1967) - I'm shamefully late to the table on this one. I've been playing it non-stop for weeks and weeks now. Incredible production by MFQ's Jerry Yester. "Morning Glory" is among the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time.

The Groop - The Groop (1969) - Fantastic Bell Records LP from the "Groop" that contributed "A Famous Myth" to the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack. Very Fifth Dimension-esque.

Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1984) - One of my all-time favorites. I remember seeing these guys perform at the Hollywood Palladium in 1985(?). It was probably the best 14 minute set I've ever witnessed.

The Family Tree - Miss Butters (1968) - A recent favorite of mine. Bob Segarini's masterwork grows with each listening. The Nilsson connection is noteworthy: the record was released on RCA the same week as Aerial Ballet; Harry co-wrote one tune; Harry's arranger, George Tipton, is all over the record; the cover was even painted by the same artist who painted Aerial Ballet. A must have.

Randy Newman - Sail Away (1972) - A flawless album. "Political Science"s lyrical aptness grows with every passing year.

FILMS:

Harold and Maude (1971) - A perfect story with a perfect soundtrack. One of my all time favorites.

The J1_azz Singer (1927) - A true cinematic gem starring Al Jolson. Kinda over-hyped for its historical relevance; it actually wasn't the first talkie. More importantly, it's a moving story about the struggle between following familial tradition and following your dreams.

Team America (2004) - I haven't laughed this hard at the movies in a long time. The scene with the singing North Korean dictator slayed me.

Cinema Paradiso (1989) - Giuseppe Tornatore's nostalgic look at a projectionist's love affair with film.

BOOKS:

Mutiny on the Bounty By Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (1932) - Pitcairn Island starts to look pretty enticing after a long day in LA traffic.

The Outsider By Colin Wilson (1956) - My Aussie cousin hipped me to this fascinating and homeless (at the time) author. Great book about alienation from a fifties London perspective.

Anything by Oscar Wilde.

Chronicles Volume 1 By Bob Dylan(2004) - To hear these stories told in Dylan's own words really makes you feel like you were there.

LIVE:

Randy Newman with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (Feb 12th, 2005) Randy was in top form that night, performing many of his classic tunes with his original orchestral arrangements. Stunning.

ANDY MORTEN

MUSIC:

Tim Hardin - Tim Hardin 1 & 2 (1966/67) - I was inspired to listen to these again after that Radio Two documentary about him. His first two albums are pretty much inseparable although there's a little more exotic instrumentation on 2. All his shit-your-pants songs are here: "Reason To Believe", "If I Were A Carpenter", "Lady Came From Baltimore", "Black Sheep Boy", "Misty Roses", "Red Balloon", "Hang On To A Dream", the list goes on and on. I don't care what anybody says, Tim did his own songs better than anyone.

The Uncle Devil Show - A Terrible Beauty (2004) - I don't think a week has passed since I picked this up last summer when I haven't played at least a couple of tracks from it. The thing is, doing that just makes me want to listen to the whole thing again! I can't remember the last time I became such a pathetic fan boy about a new record. I hereby vote for 'I Had A Drink About You Last Night' as the greatest alcoholic break-up song to contain the line "I'd even take a dip in Barrymore's pool" ever! Miserable genius.

Ennio Morricone - "Il Mio Nome E Nessune" (1973) - "My Name Is Nobody" indeed. Discovering this on a recent comp of Morricone spaghetti western soundtracks was a hugely pleasant surprise - the song had been whizzing round my brain for the last year or so since it was used as the theme tune to the BBC2 black comedy Nightie Night and I had absolutely no idea what it was. It certainly doesn't sound like Morricone's handy work, more like an early 70s kids' TV science show!

FILMS:

Sideways (2004) - I saw this with my new wife on our honeymoon and was profoundly affected by it. It's basically a road movie centered around these two middle-aged guys kind of finding themselves whilst wine tasting and getting their end away respectively. Incredibly touching and very funny too. In my opinion, Paul Giamatti is one of the best actors working today. He's also in American Splendor which blew me away too. Nerds unite!

Rear Window (1954) - I've only really started appreciating Hitchcock's movies as I've got older and this is one of his best. Everything about it is bang on, I could watch it over and over. I seem to have a strange fascination with things that take place in a confined space. I think that's why I like Bottom so much. Or maybe it's the endless nob gags and mindless violence.

TV:

Early Doors (2003) - I've watched a lot of TV comedy DVDs recently where you end up doing the entire series of six or eight shows over two evenings. This one seemed to get lost amongst the kerfuffle about Little Britain and the like. It's a gentle, observational piece written by Craig Cash of Royle Family fame and set in a Manchester boozer (it's that confined space thing again). Bugger all happens really - it's just the regulars talking and the relationships between them all. Kind of like Mike Leigh doing Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads. Lovely stuff.

BOOKS:

I haven't read a book for ages, my attention span these days is pathetic. The last thing I remember reading were a few of Richard Brautigan's novels which only take about an hour each. Oh, and Andrew Loog Oldham's 2Stoned. Utter madness.

LIVE:

I saw so many great bands while we were playing in Spain last year. One called Biscuit really blew me away with their awesome rock power. And then we had to follow them! Our mates The Overtures played at the wedding and had everybody on their feet in a slightly alarming "look - I am my dad" kinda way.