Sunday 24 January 2010
"Let's Dance" To The Best Song Of The 80s
See what I did there? On the title?
So there it is. David Bowie's 1982 classic, Let's Dance, is the best song of the 1980s. According to me, at least, which isn't exactly the definitive opinion, but it's mine, so that's all that matters to me anyway.
It's got a fantastic bassline, Bowie's lyrics are very well-written and it's one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard.
Now, by saying this is my favourite song of the 80s, it means I'm not taking it lightly. Remember I'm a diehard fan of The Smiths and Metallica, two awesome 80s bands (of course Metallica are still going, a Smiths reunion would be rather fantastic...)
Also watched The Boat That Rocked this afternoon, possibly one of the best soundtracks ever, if only for All Day And All Of The Night. And isn't Philip Seymour Hoffman just awesome?
Darren out, saying the only time I feel alright is by your side...
----------------
Now playing: The Kinks – All Day And All Of The Night
via FoxyTunes
Saturday 23 January 2010
5 Signs Something Very Bad Is Happening...
1) I've signed up to Twitter.
2) I read an article on Cheryl Cole in this month's Q and didn't vomit. Maybe it's because she doesn't like David Cameron.
3) I watched a film (Shortbus) from start to finish given to me by SOME VERY HORRIBLE PEOPLE which featured, rather graphically I might add: orgies, vibrating eggs, some guy wanking then crying because he may or may not have been a man-ho. I did not like this film. Kev Hughes and Graham Lawson, you manky bastards.
4) I haven't written any more of my script in two weeks. I need to get a move on.
5) David Cameron appears to be very likely to become the UK's next Prime Minister. God help us.
There we are. My own personal hell, and it's actually happening. At least I can read The Road, and be glad of the fact that I'm not living in a post-apocalyptic universe. Yet.
Darren out, saying put the crazies on the street, give them guns and feed them meat...
----------------
Now playing: Blur - Strange News From Another Star
via FoxyTunes
2) I read an article on Cheryl Cole in this month's Q and didn't vomit. Maybe it's because she doesn't like David Cameron.
3) I watched a film (Shortbus) from start to finish given to me by SOME VERY HORRIBLE PEOPLE which featured, rather graphically I might add: orgies, vibrating eggs, some guy wanking then crying because he may or may not have been a man-ho. I did not like this film. Kev Hughes and Graham Lawson, you manky bastards.
4) I haven't written any more of my script in two weeks. I need to get a move on.
5) David Cameron appears to be very likely to become the UK's next Prime Minister. God help us.
There we are. My own personal hell, and it's actually happening. At least I can read The Road, and be glad of the fact that I'm not living in a post-apocalyptic universe. Yet.
Darren out, saying put the crazies on the street, give them guns and feed them meat...
----------------
Now playing: Blur - Strange News From Another Star
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday 19 January 2010
The Road By Cormac McCarthy And The Death Of The English Language
I haven't read it yet, having only just bought it, but there's one glaring point I have to make...
NO SPEECHMARKS? WHAT THE HELL?!
I bet I'll probably love the book, it didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for no reason, but I'm assuming you can't just take liberties with the English language, punctuation-wise, but then again, at least he's not at the point of putting "LOL" and other text-speak into his novels. If a book ever gets released entirely written in text language that isn't taking the piss, I'll be the first to declare the world's ending. Bear in mind 2012 isn't that far away! It's a damn shame...
I mean, Twitter's a good idea, but the 140-character limit's just going to make people cram more into each update, leaving less room for ACTUAL ENGLISH.
If there's a Society For Proper Punctuation, sign me up!
Darren out, saying people are strange, when you're a stranger...
Listening to - People Are Strange - The Doors
People Are Strange - Echo & The Bunnymen (Both versions are awesome)
Stone Cold Crazy - Metallica
NO SPEECHMARKS? WHAT THE HELL?!
I bet I'll probably love the book, it didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for no reason, but I'm assuming you can't just take liberties with the English language, punctuation-wise, but then again, at least he's not at the point of putting "LOL" and other text-speak into his novels. If a book ever gets released entirely written in text language that isn't taking the piss, I'll be the first to declare the world's ending. Bear in mind 2012 isn't that far away! It's a damn shame...
I mean, Twitter's a good idea, but the 140-character limit's just going to make people cram more into each update, leaving less room for ACTUAL ENGLISH.
If there's a Society For Proper Punctuation, sign me up!
Darren out, saying people are strange, when you're a stranger...
Listening to - People Are Strange - The Doors
People Are Strange - Echo & The Bunnymen (Both versions are awesome)
Stone Cold Crazy - Metallica
Sunday 17 January 2010
Scary Sofa Sales, The British School of Languages, Vampire Weekend and Eli Roth's Baseball Bat
So yes, I’m back from Paris, having had the most awesome trip ever, but I‘ll go over the sights in detail (WITH PICTURES!!!) later this week. After a day back in Larbert, I’m now in Dundee, where I’ll be until Friday, finally able to reacquaint myself with Groucho’s, after well over a month’s absence of not getting any records, and having looked for Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 record in Paris, and because the search turned out to be fruitless, I’ll have another look while I’m here.
Shortly before we left for Dundee, I was listening to the radio, having been given a lift in my mum’s car, devoid of a CD player or iPod thingy (?), and hearing the DJ saying a requested song (by Edwin Starr, for those interested/who know who he is, because I don’t) would be coming shortly. Straight away, I started to hear one of those easy-listening jazz-type songs, now typically an indicator that a DFS sale announcement was on its way, but once I started to hear lyrics instead of hearing that a 3-piece leather suite was going for £375 with interest free credit for 2 years, it obviously turned out that this was the Edwin Starr song the man from Linlithgow or wherever so desperately wanted to hear. So maybe DFS isn’t going to take over the world, but it’s certainly making me live in fear that a man was going to start shouting about a random once-in-a-lifetime sale as soon as I hear a song on the radio, for fear that DFS had hijacked it for their next advertising campaign. That may put me off Spotify, that…
So, going over to Paris, not knowing a word of French and armed only with a French phrasebook and an assumption that food names would be vaguely similar all over the world - which turned out to be totally wrong, by the way - Kirstie and I hit the town, looking for a panini or two. Conveniently, we found a place round the corner from the hotel, although once we began to order, we discovered I was totally out of my depth. The woman at the counter spoke so quickly, I didn’t know where to start! Eventually, we just gave up and pointed at the stuff we wanted. Totally wasn’t worth it, mind you, for the Panini was mingin’.
Also discovering at the Metro stations (which is possibly one of the highlights of the holiday, because we could go anywhere we liked in the city for only 30 euros for 5 days with a Paris Visite card. Not a bad deal, that. Also, if you ever intend on going to Paris, go before you turn 25, since if you have an EU passport and under 25, a hell of a lot of places are free, the Louvre, Pompidou Centre and the Arc De Triomphe being three of them. Christ, this is a long side-note…) and the airports, which handily accommodated all of us French-impaired bottom wipers/sons of a silly person (delete Python reference as required) with handy hints as to where the hell to go in clear English. In stark contrast, upon arriving back in Edinburgh, I couldn’t see a word of anything other than English. Goes to show how lazy in general the British are really, although since pointing and speaking in English that little bit louder seems to work for the most part, why should we change? Because it’s only fair, isn’t it?
And,on to Vampire Weekend, a band who I’ve long appreciated, but because they only had the one album, there wasn’t that much to enjoy. With the release of Contra, their second album, I get to love them that much more. With 10 tracks, with only one lasting 6 minutes, it’s a short, but very sweet album, and their self-styled sound - “Upper West Side Soweto” is just as clear as it was in their debut, with their African influences shining through, and Cousins, Run, Horchata, Giving up the Gun and Holiday are personal favourites, so basically the majority of the album is top-notch. I want to go and see them in February, but don’t know anyone else that’s a fan. If any of you exist, and there bloody well should be, let me know!
And on a final note, I got round to buying Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino’s 4th finest film, after Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown. Although to be honest, I love all of Tarantino’s films, but Death Proof’s a wee bit on the stinky side, even if Kurt Russell is awesome. Daniel Bruhl’s Frederick Zoller is a highlight of the film, even if I was a fan of his from seeing Goodbye Lenin! At school, so it’s good to see him in something more substantial than a 5-minute cameo in The Bourne Ultimatum. Eli Roth’s not the greatest actor on the planet, and his directing credentials (Hostel, Hostel Part 2 and Cabin Fever) aren’t exactly anything other than torture-porn-tastic, although I’m looking forward to seeing the full version of Nation’s Pride, the film-within-a-film that Roth’s directed, which is actually a major plot point of IB, but you don’t see much of it, probably because it’s rather long…
Anyway, I’m heading off, will write again soon, with the promise of pictures of a big tower, a Toyota hanging up on a wall and a grave. That’s right, I visited a cemetery. What a way to spend a Friday morning…
Darren out, saying we in the Nazi-killin’ business, and son, business is a-boomin’!
Listening to - Cat People (Inglourious Basterds Soundtrack) - David Bowie
Shortly before we left for Dundee, I was listening to the radio, having been given a lift in my mum’s car, devoid of a CD player or iPod thingy (?), and hearing the DJ saying a requested song (by Edwin Starr, for those interested/who know who he is, because I don’t) would be coming shortly. Straight away, I started to hear one of those easy-listening jazz-type songs, now typically an indicator that a DFS sale announcement was on its way, but once I started to hear lyrics instead of hearing that a 3-piece leather suite was going for £375 with interest free credit for 2 years, it obviously turned out that this was the Edwin Starr song the man from Linlithgow or wherever so desperately wanted to hear. So maybe DFS isn’t going to take over the world, but it’s certainly making me live in fear that a man was going to start shouting about a random once-in-a-lifetime sale as soon as I hear a song on the radio, for fear that DFS had hijacked it for their next advertising campaign. That may put me off Spotify, that…
So, going over to Paris, not knowing a word of French and armed only with a French phrasebook and an assumption that food names would be vaguely similar all over the world - which turned out to be totally wrong, by the way - Kirstie and I hit the town, looking for a panini or two. Conveniently, we found a place round the corner from the hotel, although once we began to order, we discovered I was totally out of my depth. The woman at the counter spoke so quickly, I didn’t know where to start! Eventually, we just gave up and pointed at the stuff we wanted. Totally wasn’t worth it, mind you, for the Panini was mingin’.
Also discovering at the Metro stations (which is possibly one of the highlights of the holiday, because we could go anywhere we liked in the city for only 30 euros for 5 days with a Paris Visite card. Not a bad deal, that. Also, if you ever intend on going to Paris, go before you turn 25, since if you have an EU passport and under 25, a hell of a lot of places are free, the Louvre, Pompidou Centre and the Arc De Triomphe being three of them. Christ, this is a long side-note…) and the airports, which handily accommodated all of us French-impaired bottom wipers/sons of a silly person (delete Python reference as required) with handy hints as to where the hell to go in clear English. In stark contrast, upon arriving back in Edinburgh, I couldn’t see a word of anything other than English. Goes to show how lazy in general the British are really, although since pointing and speaking in English that little bit louder seems to work for the most part, why should we change? Because it’s only fair, isn’t it?
And,on to Vampire Weekend, a band who I’ve long appreciated, but because they only had the one album, there wasn’t that much to enjoy. With the release of Contra, their second album, I get to love them that much more. With 10 tracks, with only one lasting 6 minutes, it’s a short, but very sweet album, and their self-styled sound - “Upper West Side Soweto” is just as clear as it was in their debut, with their African influences shining through, and Cousins, Run, Horchata, Giving up the Gun and Holiday are personal favourites, so basically the majority of the album is top-notch. I want to go and see them in February, but don’t know anyone else that’s a fan. If any of you exist, and there bloody well should be, let me know!
And on a final note, I got round to buying Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino’s 4th finest film, after Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown. Although to be honest, I love all of Tarantino’s films, but Death Proof’s a wee bit on the stinky side, even if Kurt Russell is awesome. Daniel Bruhl’s Frederick Zoller is a highlight of the film, even if I was a fan of his from seeing Goodbye Lenin! At school, so it’s good to see him in something more substantial than a 5-minute cameo in The Bourne Ultimatum. Eli Roth’s not the greatest actor on the planet, and his directing credentials (Hostel, Hostel Part 2 and Cabin Fever) aren’t exactly anything other than torture-porn-tastic, although I’m looking forward to seeing the full version of Nation’s Pride, the film-within-a-film that Roth’s directed, which is actually a major plot point of IB, but you don’t see much of it, probably because it’s rather long…
Anyway, I’m heading off, will write again soon, with the promise of pictures of a big tower, a Toyota hanging up on a wall and a grave. That’s right, I visited a cemetery. What a way to spend a Friday morning…
Darren out, saying we in the Nazi-killin’ business, and son, business is a-boomin’!
Listening to - Cat People (Inglourious Basterds Soundtrack) - David Bowie
Wednesday 6 January 2010
A 2009-Themed Retrospective
A very belated Happy New Year to you all!
Well, the last year was the mother of all mixed bags personally, with absolutely hating school, work etc being the major downside. The highlights though couldn't have been better, with turning 18, going to uni, finding the awesomest group of friends, discovering the just-as-awesomeness of records/record shops (think I got away with that one...) getting a car, going to T in the Park, seeing Bruce Springsteen, and finally there's Kirst. Wow. It's fair to say she alone's made my year, so I thank you! Paul, Rachael and Calum, thank you also for the fantastic laughs in the second half of the year, you've all been epic, keep it up!
As discussed with Calum today, using my Sherlock-like powers of deduction, we decided that last year, politically and economically, at least, was pretty gash. Thanks Watson, couldn't have done it without you, old chap!
Musically, however, it was awesome. Here's The Top Ten Albums of 2009 (Alphabetical, like):
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Jamie T - Kings & Queens
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
U2 - No Line On The Horizon
White Lies - To Lose My Life
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
It's been an awesome year for films as well (Here's another list):
(500) Days of Summer
Sherlock Holmes
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Hangover
District 9
Avatar
Watchmen
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Wrestler
Star Trek
And the worst: 2012... LAME!!!
And here's some nifty games!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The Beatles: Rock Band
FIFA 10
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Aye, so it's not been too bad, has it?
Darren out, saying that the Government has built these ships...
----------------
Now playing: The Strokes - On The Other Side
via FoxyTunes
Well, the last year was the mother of all mixed bags personally, with absolutely hating school, work etc being the major downside. The highlights though couldn't have been better, with turning 18, going to uni, finding the awesomest group of friends, discovering the just-as-awesomeness of records/record shops (think I got away with that one...) getting a car, going to T in the Park, seeing Bruce Springsteen, and finally there's Kirst. Wow. It's fair to say she alone's made my year, so I thank you! Paul, Rachael and Calum, thank you also for the fantastic laughs in the second half of the year, you've all been epic, keep it up!
As discussed with Calum today, using my Sherlock-like powers of deduction, we decided that last year, politically and economically, at least, was pretty gash. Thanks Watson, couldn't have done it without you, old chap!
Musically, however, it was awesome. Here's The Top Ten Albums of 2009 (Alphabetical, like):
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Jamie T - Kings & Queens
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
U2 - No Line On The Horizon
White Lies - To Lose My Life
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
It's been an awesome year for films as well (Here's another list):
(500) Days of Summer
Sherlock Holmes
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Hangover
District 9
Avatar
Watchmen
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Wrestler
Star Trek
And the worst: 2012... LAME!!!
And here's some nifty games!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The Beatles: Rock Band
FIFA 10
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Aye, so it's not been too bad, has it?
Darren out, saying that the Government has built these ships...
----------------
Now playing: The Strokes - On The Other Side
via FoxyTunes
Monday 4 January 2010
Counting And Breathing, I'm Leaving Here Tomorrow...
Well it's not strictly tomorrow, but I'm counting down the days till I leave for Paris on Sunday! Can't wait, very much looking forward to seeing Jim Morrison's grave (bit morbid, yes, but come on, it's JIM MORRISON!!!), the Hard Rock Cafe, the Pompidou Centre (the building's incredibly cool) and the Eiffel Tower, after never getting to go up it when I went there with school on the Business Management trip.
Also, I'm finally seeing Sherlock Holmes on Tuesday with the gang, finally getting my Guy Ritchie/ RDJr fix in one go!
On that note, I'll be giving my REVIEW OF 2009 very soon!
Darren out, saying Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstacy and Alcohol.... CCCCCCocaine!!!
Also, I'm finally seeing Sherlock Holmes on Tuesday with the gang, finally getting my Guy Ritchie/ RDJr fix in one go!
On that note, I'll be giving my REVIEW OF 2009 very soon!
Darren out, saying Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstacy and Alcohol.... CCCCCCocaine!!!
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