And There's No End in Sight - The Best of 2010

This, my friends, does in no way do justice to Arcade Fire's performance in Glasgow last night. Seriously, there are no words. Just saying "awesome" won't cut it at all. It was far and away the best gig I've ever been to in my life. I've seen Pearl Jam, Metallica, Biffy Clyro, Bruce Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine, and Arcade Fire were better than them all. Yes, even Bruce. They just put so much into the show, making every single song even better than it is on the albums, and by God, the songs are tremendous on the album! That video's the best quality I could find, but that's from Madison Square Garden a couple of months ago, and I know for a fact they sound awesome there, but they were so much better to hear them actually live.

This comparison might seem a bit weird, but I think it makes sense. Well, to me, at least. Seeing Arcade Fire live was like seeing Toy Story 3 for the first time. It was something I'd waited such a long time to see. Also, it was one of those things where the hype surrounding the event didn't even come close to how amazing the thing actually was. There have been so many bands and films fallen by the wayside, due to not living up to the hype, examples being the vast majority of bands championed by the NME, who rarely fail to disappoint me.

Most of all, what brings me to the comparison of Arcade Fire's live performance with that first viewing of Toy Story 3 is that after I saw Toy Story, it brought a tear to my eye, knowing that the trilogy had ended on the best way possible, and that if Disney have any sense whatsoever, they'll leave it the hell alone, and never make another. Toy Story 3 was among the best films of the year (I'll get to that later,) and one of the best of all time. Arcade Fire brought a tear to my eye, not because I'll never see them again, because I most definitely will, but I can categorically state that I will never see a better band live for the rest of my life. It was such a good feeling, but terrible at the same time for that very reason. Of course, I'll still enjoy seeing many, many more bands live, but not one will ever stand up to Arcade Fire.

Now that I've informed you all of the life-changing experience that is Arcade Fire live, I'll move on to the obligatory Best Stuff That Came Out This Year List, my Best of 2010. It's got games, films, CDs and gigs I've been to, but you can guess the winner of the last one...

GAMES

Honourable Mentions:

Angry Birds (Android)
NBA 2K11 (PS3)

5. Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Game (PS3)
One of the best movie tie-in games I've played of all time, and definitely the best downloadable game, by a mile. With Anamanaguchi's amazing chip-tune soundtrack (which is nearly as good as the film's,) four different playable characters, delightful 8-bit-esque graphics. The lack of online multiplayer means it's not higher up the list, but an update allowing you to play as Knives Chau might rectify that problem (I haven't got it yet).

4. Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3)
The eagerly awaited follow-up in the series had high expectations after the record-breaking success of Modern Warfare 2, but manages to surpass them with a story that actually makes sense compared to MW2's, and fantastic multiplayer. Throwing a tomahawk straight at someone's face never gets old.

3. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)
It shows there's still life in the PSP, and that big blockbuster-style games aren't only for the PS3. It'll keep me busy until MGS: Rising eventually gets released. Expect it in the list for next year!

2. FIFA 11 (PS3)
Of course, these games are rarely seen as little more than a squad update that you're paying forty quid for, but the improvements brought to this year's edition are noticable and greatly improve the gameplay of what is now the clear leader of the football game pack. Pro Evo has a lot of catching up to do.

1. Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
Grand Theft Auto with horses? No. Better than that. You get bored of GTA after the third playthrough, there's only so many times a six-star wanted level car chase is fun. With Red Dead, there's so many side missions and minigames to play, you're kept occupied for ages. Online is great too. Getting Paul to find me on the map to have a race, only to shoot his horse as I ride away was worth buying the game alone.

Now that you've seen my favourite games, here, my friends, are my films of the year!

FILMS

Honourable Mentions:

The A-Team (Joe Carnahan)
Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn)
How to Train Your Dragon (Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois)

5. The Social Network (David Fincher)
Andrew Garfield's performance in this film is bound to be at the very least Oscar-nominated. But you knew that already.

4. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard)
Don't watch foreign films? Start. This French prison/crime story is gripping from start to finish, and puts you in the odd position of sympathising with a guy who murders someone in prison. If Scarface was set in prison, it'd be like A Prophet. But A Prophet would still be better.

3. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
This is why Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the vest actors in Hollywood at the minute. Christopher Nolan more than made up for the disappointment of The Dark Knight with this film, his first entirely original work since his first feature in 1998.

2. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
I've mentioned why Toy Story was such a good film, and so I don't cry, I won't mention it again!

1. Scott Pilgrim vs the World (Edgar Wright)
There's a reason I've seen this film three times, you know. Michael Cera almost shakes off his awkward character traits completely, the soundtrack, well, I'll get mentioned in a minute, and you'll never look at vegans in the same way again. It's out on Blu-Ray on the 27th. Get buying. What else are you going to do with your Christmas cash? Save it?

ALBUMS/SOUNDTRACKS

Honourable Mentions:

Deftones - Diamond Eyes (Best Track - Rocket Skates)
Vampire Weekend - Contra (Best Track - Cousins)
Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown (Best Track - Pyro)

5. Anamanaguchi - Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Game Soundtrack
I would never have chosen to listen to this kind of music. Hacking Super Nintendos and Game Boys would seem a lot of hassle, but it works here, and fits in perfectly with the game, bringing me back to the good old days of playing Streets of Rage. Good times.

Key Track - The Dark One

4. Various Artists - Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The Soundtrack
Edgar Wright and Nigel Godrich compiled one hell of a CD for this film, with a great mix of old and new, with quite a fitting focus on Canadian bands, like Broken Social Scene, Metric and Plumtree.

Key Track - The Bluetones - Sleazy Bed Track

3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
James Murphy's last album under the LCD Soundsystem song is a great farewell, and I still credit him with bringing my love for Daft Punk and Justice back, after being away for such a long time.

Best Tracks - Dance Yrself Clean or All I Want

2. The Black Keys - Brothers
Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach finally hit it big with Brothers, an album that completely deserves the amount of praise it's been given. It's more of the same from The Black Keys, but in the best possible way.

Best Track - Tighten Up

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
No contest, nothing comes close. The best band of the 2000's carry on that mantle into the next decade with their third masterpiece, bringing their A-game once again and knocking it out of the park on every track.

Best Tracks - Ready to Start, or Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

GIGS


Honourable mentions:

Joshua Radin - ABC, Glasgow 15/10/2010
The Gaslight Anthem - Hyde Park, London 24/6/2010
Manic Street Preachers - Corn Exchange, Edinburgh 2/10/2010

Yet to attend: Biffy Clyro - Concert in the Gardens, Edinburgh 31/12/2010


5. Devendra Banhart and the Grogs - SECC, Glasgow 12/12/2010
By far, the best support band I've ever seen. Think if the Strokes were a folk band, and you're not far off from Banhart's sound. Well worth a listen. Very strong live as well, which impressed me, given that I'd only heard the guy's name before, and never listened to a thing he'd recorded. Fit in rather well as support for Arcade Fire.

4. Biffy Clyro - Concert Hall, Perth 29/4/2010
Awesome. I'm glad I managed to see them in a smaller venue before they started playing in places like the SECC. Some might complain they're headlining Sonisphere next year, but it's deserved. Looking forward to Hogmanay.

3. Rage Against the Machine - Finsbury Park, London 6/12/2010
It helps that the gig was free, but the atmosphere in the park was fantastic as Rage got the crowd going by taking the piss out of the X Factor. Fantastic live band, great show, even though I could barely move for the first few songs of the set, and was at one point elbowed square in the face. Their cover of The Clash's White Riot was a nice surprise, as well.

2. Pearl Jam - Hyde Park, London 24/6/2010
I'd waited 4 years for this, and it was totally worth it. Best birthday present ever. With a combination of their hits, with a few less frequently played tracks, and even a brand new song or two, Pearl Jam fucking rocked.

1. Arcade Fire - SECC, Glasgow 12/12/2010
Arcade Fire are the world's best live band for a reason. The setlist was perfect, with a good mix of old and new, but what does it really matter, since every song's as close to perfect as you'll ever get! For only having a seating ticket, the atmosphere in the place was far beyond what I'd expected, with near enough everyone in the seating area standing up. After the gig had finished, hearing hundreds singing Wake Up outside was all kinds of awesome...

I've missed writing, it's been too long. I should get back into the swing of things. At least uni's over for 2 months, I can't say I don't have the time!

Darren out, saying if I was scared, I would...

Natalie Portman Wearing A Thong

(I'll explain the title in due course.)

Sorry for the very very long delay in posting, in which I promised I'd post my Songs of the Week, not once, but twice, and failed to deliver on both occasions. I wholeheartedly apologise, and will strive to make amends with a post that will hopefully redeem myself to you, the reader, and set the balance of the world right again. (Note to self - You're sounding like a dick. Stop it.) As a result of this long-overdue catch-up of the life of Darren, this post will be long. Be patient, and I hope it'll be a rewarding read, in some way, at least.

I'll start off by listing my Songs of the (Past Three (Because Let's Go Surfing Doesn't Count)) Weeks.

Here we go!

Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
Modest Mouse - Float On
Arcade Fire - Ready to Start
Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Cavalera Conspiracy - Terrorize
Rihanna - The Only Girl (In The World)

Aye, you did read that correctly. That guy that shouts from the rooftops (in a metaphorical sense, because it doesn't mean much literally, my roof's in a cul-de-sac and really quite low, so it'd have little effect. Plus I have no voice amplification technology to speak of, so... yeah.) about the state of modern music and how people who don't write their own songs are the devil has listed Rihanna's latest single as one of his Songs of the Week.


THE SECTION WHERE DARREN EXPLAINS CHOOSING RIHANNA!

I feel that my use of bold text may lead you all to expect some change of heart regarding my taste in music or some deep philosophical meaning behind my choice. Well:

I JUST HAPPENED TO REALLY LIKE THE SONG...

There. It just came to me that it's actually a fantastic song. The bass gets me. You should know by now that a catchy bassline has me hooked every time, and TOG(ITW) has exactly that. Also, the video's a crock of shit, but ignore it, and watch this only for that amazing song. At the time of writing, it's been on repeat on iTunes 14 times. (Note: I'd written that sentence at half 11, so that count's way off. Think of it now as closer to 40. I had it on in the car on the way to Stirling this morning. And yes, I did sing. Badly.) This is also one

of the very few times I'll join the bandwagon and say "TUUNE!"and meaning it totally seriously for a song that doesn't feature guitars or real drums. Expect this not to happen for some time afterwards. Here's the shite video, if only to listen to that awesome song. You're welcome.

Now that I've got that out of the way, here's videos for the rest of the SOTWs, with special mention going to Superstar. The acoustic version recorded for BBC's Live Lounge is rather nifty as well, and a great song in its own right. 

WEEK 1

Lupe Fiasco - Superstar

This video's crap quality, but it's the best I could find that'd let me embed it:

Modest Mouse - Float On

WEEK 2

Arcade Fire - Ready to Start

Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

WEEK 3

Cavalera Conspiracy - Terrorize

And there we are! So yeah, I hope you at least give the songs a good listen if you haven't already, and if some/all of them end up on your Spotify playlist, or iPod, or whatever, then no harm done!

I also discovered major lols this week, as I learned of the existence of Star War: The Backstroke of the West, a version of Revenge of the Sith that was translated into Chinese, but translated horribly back into English subtitles. For example, when Vader finds out SPOILER ALERT that Padme dies, he screams "Noooooooooo!" But in The Backstroke of the West, he says this:

I actually ended up crying with laughter, and had to stop watching Return of the Jedi, (with proper English subtitles, thank you very much,) because I was no longer paying attention. I managed to find it online as a torrent, so in the next few days or so I should have it. Anyone who wants to collapse in fits of laughter, and that's only by seeing the pictures on here - http://winterson.com/2009/01/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west-redux.html - then I'd recommend you to do the same.

Also, there's a film out next year that I reckon's going to be on the same quotability level as Anchorman. Not a word of a lie. This is the trailer for Your Highness, and it has Natalie Portman wearing a thong in it (Hopefully manky people on Google might get otherwise distracted and come here! Yay!):

More Your Highness Videos

The accents are borderline horrific, but it's James Franco and Danny McBride, so I'll let it slip. This LOOKS like comedy gold, but we'll need to wait until June before it hits screens over here to see if I'm right.

Well that's me done for now, but I'll be back as soon as I can with another post!

Darren out, saying 'cause I'm the only one who understands...

It's Close to Midnight...

Guys, guys, guys. Now I might often tell you such and such a song has the best video ever. On all occasions, except for this one, I have to be ignored. THIS is the best video of all time.



Because Sony doesn't want the video embedded, it probably won't work on this, so just give it a click and watch it on YouTube. I'm not putting up a crappy quality version with half the video cut out, it detracts from the overall effect of the video. I mean even now, that Vincent Price voiceover is fucking scary. Elmer Bernstein's extra music in between the actual song, "Scary Music" as it's described in the credits. Oh, and that bassline. You might be aware of this, or not, but I love bass in songs (to a certain degree), and Thriller has one of the best basslines in recorded music. This changed music videos forever, and it's clear why. Having such a high-calibre director as John Landis didn't hurt, and the video still stands up today, looking far better than modern-day videos. The thing's so tightly choreographed as well, makes you respect the work that went into the production that bit more. Rick Baker's make-up is fantastic, but having won six Oscars for his craft. It just makes the whole thing look that bit more convincing. Sure, MJ had a few hits (and misses) but nothing, NOTHING, stands up to Thriller. Personally, I don't like the guy at all, but he does deserve credit for what he's done (musically, that is.)

This next video is testament to the fact that Thriller is just one of those songs that shouldn't be touched. By anyone. Ever.



This piece of unnecessarily melancholy pish is going to lead nicely to my next point, The X-Factor. I had to sit through that last night. As did, according to average viewing figures, 10 or 11 million other hapless sods. I was not impressed. This Matt guy, of whom Kirst has been creaming about the past month or so, turned out to be crap, and that walking Topman advert who murdered (I will not say covered) Thriller made me want to pour acid into my ears. That bad. Sure, interpreting a song in your own way is fine, but not if you're going to turn it into a moody sad-fest that pretty much goes against what the song was about in the first place. Watch that top video again. Apart from the zombies and the evil laughter at the end, it's not meant to be taken seriously. Read MJ's disclaimer at the start! (He was a raging Jehovah's Witness at the time.) This Aiden character sounds like if Harry McVeigh, the singer from White Lies, was repeatedly punched in the balls, making his voice go just that little bit higher. As you can see, I was not impressed in the slightest.

Now this guy, on the other hand, is a man I can get behind. That moustache...

Last night, he looked like a murderous lion tamer. Exactly what you need on a Halloween themed night, to complement Cheryl's string vest-like dress, that Katie's Gaga-on-a-budget style wig, and those Diet Biebers with the vampire bites. It's like they want to make every schoolgirl in the country scream at levels only dogs can hear, which in an ideal world would then encourage the dogs to attack said Diet Biebers, and hang them from bridges across the country to warn children against the dangers shite boybands. In an ideal world. If you see me with a dog whistle in the near future, you know what I'll be doing. Muahahahaha...

Also, on an unrelated note, I realised I'm seeing Arcade Fire in over a month. WIN. (That's the singer's name, but also an expression of victory. Double meaning!)

Darren out, saying instead of a quote, I'll leave you with this..

. 

I'm A Loser Baby, So Why Don't You Kill Me?

If you weren't aware already, I managed to get myself a ticket to see Arcade Fire at the SECC in December! Even though it's a seating ticket, it's still square in the middle, so it could have been much worse. Yeah, I've broken my most important rule for going to gigs (NO SEATING), but tough. It's ARCADE FIRE. I really don't care.

And in other fantastic news this week, Scott Pilgrim's out next Friday! I don't have enough cash to go and see it on Wednesday, I'll be in North Berwick anyway, but whether I'm there or back home on Friday, I'm going to see it. If anyone sees it before then, and happens to give me spoilers, I swear to Science, you're going in the communal hole...

I'd better explain the communal hole very quickly. It's basically my Room 101, and people/things I hate go in it. For example, neds, people who go out of their way to say the new Arcade Fire album is "shite," (when it quite clearly isn't), Florence Welch, Dappy, David Guetta, whoever came up with the Clubland CDs (seriously, 15(ish) is more than enough), and Axl Rose. The good thing about the communal hole is that it's always got room to expand!

Back to Pilgrim! Anyway, I downloaded the accompanying game from the Playstation Store, and it's well worth the £7.99, or at least it will be when I get paid, currently playing the demo at the moment. Think of it as a comic-book, less violent, yet twice as awesome version of Streets of Rage, and you're about halfway there!
The music in the game takes you back to the games of the early 90s as well, which I like. I miss my Mega Drive.

The film soundtrack is really intriguing as well. First off, the score's been written by Nigel Godrich, who's best known as the producer for Radiohead. Next, Beck, who I've so lovingly referenced in the title (and signoff) has written the songs for Sex Bob-Omb, Scott's band, while being given the brief by Edgar Wright that you shouldn't be able to tell whether the songs are "awful or awesome." CONFUSION!

Also, I have a new film to add to my Favourites List: The Royal Tenenbaums. Directed and written (with some help from Owen Wilson) by Wes Anderson, who also directed the sublime Fantastic Mr Fox, it's about three child prodigies who lose their talents over twenty years after their mum and dad separate. Bill Murray's in it. Kinda the only reason you need to watch it. Hey, it's why I ALMOST liked Garfield! The cast is superb though, with Owen and Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Stiller. Like I said before, I've only seen two of his films, but Wes Anderson is now probably my favourite director. When you look at the DVD extras, you see the work he puts into the films, such as meeting with Roald Dahl's wife and recording dialogue outdoors for Fantastic Mr Fox, it's great to see, instead of your Michael Bays (who also needs to go in the communal hole) who just take the money and cause explosions, then piss off again.

Also, give Beck a listen, particularly Odelay and Modern Guilt. Two very good albums.

My pre-excitement for seeing the Manics has started already, with the free download of "I'm Leaving You For Solitude," a B-side for the first single from their new album. Check out www.thequietus.com to find it. Excellent stuff.

Well I'm going to Dundee this afternoon, so I'd better head and actually get ready!

Darren out, saying I've got a devil's haircut in my mind!

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Now playing: Beck - Devil's Haircut
via FoxyTunes

Arcade Fire's Deserved Chart Success, Camping, and Scott Pilgrim (Again)

Yeah, it's been a while since I last wrote, apologies. I've been away, saving up for this one mega-post of awesome!

First up, ARCADE FIRE are playing the SECC on Sunday, 12th of December. For my own sake, I have to be there. There's absolutely no way I'm missing this. If I have to go myself, I will. I'm thinking of it as a Christmas present to myself. Problem is, I have to be up before 9am, after Calum's night out, well, the night before. Tough, I'm getting a ticket. I've never been so adamant, with the exception of Pearl Jam, to get a ticket. And if I don't get one for Glasgow, to Manchester I go!

Second, still in the realm of Arcade Fire-related news, The Suburbs is Number One! Finally, for a week at least, the record-buying public of Great Britain has seen sense! There's no reason it shouldn't be Number One, it deserves to have awards thrown at it, left right and centre. From start to finish, this is a flawless album. I can't say it's any better than Funeral or Neon Bible, because I really can't choose between the three. They're all such good albums. Like Sgt. Pepper, or Born In The USA, The Suburbs is just one of those albums that I just feel like a better person for having listened to it. Maybe it's just because it puts me in a fantastic frame of mind, or that it makes want to make music myself. I come straight back down to earth, mind you, because I know no matter how much I practised, I could never come close to making anything as good as this. And in a way, that saddens me. So really, all I can do is sit back, pop the CD in the hi-fi, and press play.

I finally saw Toy Story 3 last Thursday, and I've said it before on Facebook, but I'm not gonna lie. The ending made me cry. Unlike certain blogs/websites/idiots at work, I'm not going to spoil the film for you if you haven't seen it yet, silly sausages that you are. Just don't think it's all going to be exactly how it was. That, my friends would make for a shite end to a trilogy. Godfather Part III and X-Men: The Last Stand have already done that. I'm going to say it's among the best sequels I've ever seen, and it's such a fitting end to the trilogy as well. Don't take my word for it though, just go and see a testament to Pixar's truly consistently excellent storytelling.

And in extremely awesome news, I'm going camping tomorrow! So what if the weather's probably not going to be fantastic, but I don't care! It's not going to put a dampener on things at all! (Ah, well, literally, it will, but... you know what? New metaphor!) It's not going to rain on our parade! I give up.

Anyway, the five of us go to CALLANDER tomorrow, and I really can't wait. It's been ages since the five of us were all together, with the exception of tonight of course, which basically involved us walking around Asda in Cumbernauld (what's it called?) with a trolley full of disposable barbeques. And cider. With a bottle of Midori thrown in as well. Jakes that we are. Also, my Little Nicky impression was also put to good use: "Deep South!", and I got disappointed by the lack of the re-release of Rated R in Asda. I'll buy it at some point tomorrow if it's out. It's just such a good album, and it seems weird that it's ten years old already! Listen out for Monsters in the Parasol, Auto Pilot, Lightning Song, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, In The Fade and Better Living Through Chemistry. Yes, I've listed half the album, but it's that good. Just ignore Josh Homme's dickishness, and just listen to the music. Bloody fantastic album.

SCOTT PILGRIM'S OUT ON THE 25TH AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!!!

Cera-gasm over, but I can't stress enough how much I'm looking forward to this film. I've got book 3 coming tomorrow, and I know I've not finished them all yet (You never know, Larbert Library might have them...) but I honestly think it's going to be a better film than Kick-Ass. Now I loved that movie, and they're different on so many levels, but I've hyped this up so much, is has to be perfect.



Also, I'm buying this. It's just so damn cool!

Darren out, saying from the window, to the wall! (to the wall...)

I Know A Place Where No Planes Go...

In America, this will show at 10pm in New York, meaning it will be on here at 3am. I will be watching it. Tired as hell, yes, it'll take at least a full can of Relentless to keep awake, therefore momentarily undoing all the work of my 10PP in the process, but I'll be watching. This is the extent to which I love Arcade Fire. In that I will temporarily halt my quest for fitness to watch this.

The album comes out on Monday, and I'm not even going to play it in the car, which I usually do. I'm absolutely loving the prospect of opening the CD and putting it into the record player (it has a CD bit, too. I should make that clear.) just so I can properly savour one of the best singles in living memory, from the best band of the last ten years. I'm even getting jitters just deciding what one of the eight covers I'm going to choose from. I really cannot wait for this album to come out. It's actually all I've been thinking about for the last hour and a half. Also, I'm entering every competition going to try and win tickets to the Leeds Festival, so I can see them. Also, LCD Soundsystem are on at the same time as GNR. Anyone who knows me at all would know who I'd rather see. Course, I'd still see Gogol Bordello, one of the world's weirdest, yet fantastic live bands, Biffy Clyro and Queens of the Stone Age.

I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but like I said earlier, that's how much I love this band. Damn it, they'd better tour next year!

Also, I just found out Vampire Weekend, also very high in my list of all-time favourites, are playing in Edinburgh in November! I really want to go to this, although not by myself, obviously, so if anyone else is interested, (the tickets are not badly priced at £22.50, by the way) let me know!

Darren out, saying I have seen the same, and know the shame in your defeat...

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Now playing: Mumford & Sons - The Cave
via FoxyTunes

Men Who Hate Women...

...is the original Swedish title for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the best thing to come from Sweden since IKEA. After reading the books, I had wanted to go and see the adaptation, and because I had just missed it, had to wait until the BD came out yesterday And having finished it this morning, it's safe to say it's among the best book to film adaptations I've seen, and I have seen a fair few. Aye, sure, an entire subplot or two gets cut, but they're not vital and would probably do more harm than good, were they actually in the film. It's over two and a half hours, so to be honest, I reckon it'd add a fair bit to an already very long film.

I'm still unconvinced by the impending remake in 2012 though, even if it's going to be directed by David Fincher. The guy's fantastic, see Zodiac and Fight Club for prime examples, but I've always been against remakes, and it's very rarely that they work out. It's just an easy way for studios to make money by building on an already successful film and just squeeze out as much money as possible from it. Michael Haneke directed a film called Funny Games a few years ago, and last year, made an almost shot-for-shot remake in English. Sure, he'll have his own artistic reason behind it, but is watching a film with subtitles really so bloody hard? I do it anyway, even if the film's in English (force of habit), but I love watching foreign films. Oldboy, The Lives of Others, Goodbye Lenin, A Prophet, The Baader Meinhof Complex and JCVD are all in other languages, and having to read from subtitles doesn't detract from the film at all. If anything, it makes you pay more attention to it. Plus, watching a film that's been dubbed into English annoys me, mainly because it's just weird to see.

And away from rantsville and on to happier reports that I'm right back into Arcade Fire again. Since I usually listen certain types of music at one point and pretty much ignore everything else on my iPod, it's only been a week or so since Arcade Fire held that position, and they're back again. Quite rightly too, since they're... aye, I'll say it. The best band of the last 10 years. The new album's out a week on Monday, so I recommend you get it. From the songs I've heard, with The Suburbs being my favourite, it's going to be just as good as the first two albums, which is a very tall order!



Also, I've been listening to my records again after a few weeks away. I don't know why exactly, but I just feel better listening to the crackle, when I put the needle onto the vinyl. Maybe it's because I know what's coming after. Spending nearly £20 on Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures was totally worth it...

Darren out, saying I've been looking for a guide to come and take me by the hand...

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Now playing: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
via FoxyTunes