Atom Heart Mother and my Mancrush

First of all, let me get it out the way. It started on Thursday. I was listening to Chris Moyles, when they talked about Robbie Williams. It got me listening to him on Spotify. Then it got me googling him. Damn. I'm a straight guy, but I so would. So talented, so arrogant, so hot. Amazing. I'm so excited about next Friday. The first play of his new single. I need to see him next year.

Now the elephant in the room is out the way, time to get back to earth. I sound so much like a swooning 13 year old girl after what I've just said, but at the moment I feel so much like a swooning 13 year old girl I guess it makes sense. Atom Heart Mother. I discovered this album during my trip to Belgium. The album itself is great, another solid Pink Floyd album, but the titular track is awesome. Weighing in at nearly 25 minutes, it's one of those songs which a non-Floyd fan will cite as the reason why Pink Floyd are crap. But they're so wrong. The amazing thing about this longer pieces is the way they used silence itself as an instrument. There are times when the silence really contributes towards making the piece of music better. The song has the scale rarely seen in Pink Floyd's music, it was recorded with a full orchestra, and to me it really allows the band to convey their message in a much more precise way. Truly awesome. One of the best bands of all time prove why that title is so often attributed to them.

Soo Busy

It's been hectic. Seriously. Such an overused word but that's the truth.

Since I got back from Belgium (and last posted... I'm sorry!) I've been to London, wandering the streets around Kings Cross with a girl who is possibly one of the coolest people I know, even though she scares the hell out of me, as well as an Italian with a fetish for the English tradition of clinking glasses and toasting "Cheers!" and a long-haired Frenchman who, in the sentiments of the song by Calvin Harris "gets all the girls". Amazing. Yet scary at the same time. Two days after that I took part in a rather uneventful camping holiday with some friends. I ate a raw potato and subsequently caught a cold (not swine flu honest bruv). Then I got home at 1 on Saturday morning. By 7 I was in Plymouth with my housemate-to-be for her birthday. We went out in Plymouth, returned in the early hours of Sunday morning, I couldn't get the bus back until 6 so I was stranded. We talked through stuff for the house which was useful. Then I arrived home and people were over, so I had to stay awake. My concentration was gone. I was a literal zombie. I collapsed at 10, but had to wake up at 11 the next morning as a friend was coming over. Then I had to play football in the evening, in my zombie-like state. Eventually I was able to sleep Monday evening. Then Tuesday the sheer amount of stuff I have to sort out hit me. I tried to sort it, but the mountain didn't move. Then this morning, my amazing sister helped me. We laughed, we cried, we sang, we danced, we got through my stuff, and now I'm feeling ready(ish). Thank you sis!

Still... the busy-ness isn't going away. Tomorow I'm heading to Paignton. Friday I'm doing a sponsored cycle ride then have a BBQ in the evening. Monday I'm going out for a meal for my grandparents' 50th anniversary. Tuesday I'm going to Salisbury to be "marched in" to my property! (Sounds scary!). Then, next Thursday. D-Day. The day I finally move out of my house of all my life.

Btw... I've not forgotten about write-ups about my holiday. I've just genuinely not had the time!

Belgium

So, Belgium. It was good. There's an awful lot I could say, but most of it is boring, so I'll just try to stick to the good stuff.

I said that the holiday would involve a lot of sitting around doing nothing. I was actually very wrong. Most of the holiday was spent touristing it up, in Ghent, Brussels and Brugges. Ghent was the closest and so we spent most time there. Brussels and Brugges we only went to on day trips. We went to cathedrals, museums, parks and art galleries. All of it fairly interesting. I saw a statue by Michaelangelo, a painting by Rubens and another painting called the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" which apparently is very famous, though I can't say I'd heard of it. I can't say I'm particularly into art but there is a almost spiritual quality to an old piece of truly amazing art such as this.

The day we went to Brugges it was hot. Seriously hot. Too hot. What we did that day was fairly unremarkable. I remember seeing awful imitation football shirts in souvenir shops. The worst was a Chelsea shirt, the sponsor on the front was Fly Emirates (that hasn't been Chelsea's shirt sponsor since 2005) and the name on the back was Robben (who left Chelsea in 2007). There were others, such as a Manchester United Van Nistelrooy shirt. Ridiculous.

Brussels was slightly more... dangerous. The plan was to park at a car park on the outskirts of the city and get the underground. Unfourtunately, we missed the turning to the car park, got in a tunnel which was about three miles long and came up in the city centre. My dad was sweating by this point, and the levels of traffic caused him to lose his nerve. He took a right turn. I thought something was wrong at the time, but it wasn't until I turned around to see a one way sign - pointing in the opposite direction to the one we were travelling in - that I realised we were in trouble. As we were hit with a barrage of horns from angry Brusselians (it is the right word, I checked) my dad started to panic more and more. The road was too narrow to turn around so we followed it to the end, the end being a roundabout. Because of the angle of the road, coupled with the stress, my dad proceeded to circumnavigate the roundabout - clockwise. Yes, his brain reverted to what it knew best and took him around the roundabout as though we were in England. Bad times. Fair to say I was pretty nervous, but we managed to survive. I think we may, however, have also skipped 3 or 4 red lights during the rest of our journey through Brussels.

We spent a lot of time on the lake near our caravan. That was sweet. It was a pretty big lake and we'd bought an inflatable boat before we left which we used every day. It was good fun, rowing around the lake, jumping out to swim and just cooling off after a very hot day. However, I got very tired swimming, very quickly, which really sucks. I've not been swimming properly for such a long time that I've gotten amazing bad at it. I really need to swim properly in the future.

The caravan site we were staying at was OK. It smelt bad in places because of the heat, in fact, in various places throught Brussels there was a strong smell of rotting rubbish. It makes you realise how good Britain's waste services are. But the mere smell of the rubbish alone didn't leave me with the enduring memory of the holiday. That came from a fateful night in which I was having a shower. Obviously the showers in campsites are communal. The block nearest to my caravan only had two showers (Europeans don't shower much apparently, they prefer to just wash at a sink) a normal one and a disabled one. I always went for the normal one if I had the choice, but one time the normal one was occupied, so I went for the disabled one. Everything was going fine, I'd just started my shower, when, for some reason, I decided to have a little sit down. The disabled shower had a little plastic folding chair like this:

Except without the arms and the bit attached to the wall was solid. Plainer basically. Now, I don't know what possessed me to sit down, but for some reason, I had the urge to do it. I opened the chair up and lowered myself onto it, when I took a glance, and saw a horrific site. The chair was covered in shit. Yes, somebody had thought it would be fun to shit on the chair and fold it up. When the chair was folded it wasn't visible, and I had noticed an odd odour in that shower, but I'd put it on coming from the toilets nearby, or the rubbish which was outside (as I mentioned, the site was rather bad smelling). Luckily I was able to stand myself back up before I sat on it, and shut the monstrosity, and presently finished my shower quickly and went back to the caravan to shiver in a corner.

I think that's all there is to the general holiday. The travelling was pretty OK, I've been on rougher journeys. I spent a lot of the time sleeping, watching DVDs or just listening to music (I'll cover that in a different post), but the highlight of the travelling was the amazing Tikka Masala I had on the ferry on the way back. I was so hungry, and it was truly amazing. I've had worse Tikka Masala in Indian resteraunts.

Home

I'm home. I have a lot to write about, but I'm tired at the moment and struggling to gather my thoughts.

I was very tempted to put the title of this post as "I'm coming home again", but if I get into the habit of titling every post with a song title, I'll have to stick to that habit and will end up getting stumped and putting a really irrelevant or stupid quote. So, I decided against that.

Some of the highlights include:

• Discovering "Atom Heart Mother" by Pink Floyd.
• Waffles.
• My dad driving the wrong way down a one-way street, then to finish it off, driving the wrong way around a round-about.
• Realising how bad I am at swimming.
• That Tikka Masala on the ferry earlier.
• Nearly sitting on a seat smeared in human faeces.

If you ain't doin' nuttin' let's fly away...

It's that time of the year. Caravan holiday with the 'rents and some friends. Belgium this year. We're getting adventurous. For about 16 years of my life we were restricted to Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. Nowadays we're international!

These holidays tend to consist of a lot of hanging around the campsite, until we eventually decide to leave and see the surrounding area. That normally ends in disaster, as none of us speak French (I'm not even sure if that's the language they speak in the part of Belgium we're going to!), so we end up trying to communicate by shouting English. Yeah, they're normally not the best planned holidays. And no, if you've seen the Inbetweeners, contrary to Jay's belief, campsites aren't full of clunge. They're full of retired couples and families with three year old children who won't shut up.

On the plus side, the hanging around the campsite (without the internet) gives me a lot of time to read and watch films. So, hopefully, when I come back next week I'll have a few reviews done. I went into Asda earlier with my sister to get a few DVDs for the journey, but because they're for both of us, that basically meant I had to get films she'd like. So she chose Life starring Eddie Murphy and Anger Management starring Adam Sandler. I managed to get Frantic starring Harrison Ford. I also have my Band of Brothers boxset to watch.

So, I'll write again next week!

This Week's Listening

So I told you about the films I've watched over the last few days, but what music have I been listening to? Here we go:

Run this Town - Jay-Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West

Have got slightly addicted to this song. Jay-Z & Kanye are probably my favourite two rappers of all time, so any time they collaborate, it's an instant thumbs up from me. Not a massive Rihanna fan but she does what's needed in this song and it's better for it. It could be massive. More radio-friendly than D.O.A., but retaining the depth you'd expect from a Jay-Z song. He's a bit unlucky though, Kanye really outshines him in this song, but he does get the better verse. That leads me on to:

Numb/Encore - Jay-Z & Linkin Park

It's no secret that I'm no fan of Linkin Park. It's the kind of wailing aimed at pre-pubescent teens whose only problems come from being laughed at because they tripped over their shoelaces in the corridor at school. That said, in this song, I feel they actually contribute as opposed to take away, which in my opinion shows Jay-Z's greatness. He very rarely makes a bad collaboration. Jay-Z himself is just on phenomenal form in this song. Speaking of phenomenal:

Lungs - Florence and the Machine

Early competitor for album of the year in my opinion. Fantastic album by one of the hottest new bands around. 'Nuff said.

United States of Eurasia - Muse

This is a song I'm pretty torn on to be honest. I'm a big Muse fan, but this song won't go down with my favourites. It just sounds like, well, Queen. I'm not the only one who thinks that. All my Muse-loving friends say it too, and all the posts on Youtube seem to comment on it too. I guess it depends on whether you like Queen as to whether that's good or not. Personally I do, but I still struggle to like this song. It feels like Muse are trying to be something that they're not. Maybe it'll grow on me. Time will tell.

Holiday - Dizzee Rascal

Love this song. It's catchy and danceable with a great summer feel to it. Whilst it's not been as big as Bonkers, and probably won't be, it's still a great tune that'll get plenty of radio and club airtime.

I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

The new number 1, and a deserved number in my opinion. It's feel-good, positive, energetic and extremely danceable. I first heard this song about six weeks ago and loved it on my first listen. It's gradually climbed the charts and knocked JLS off the top spot this week. Built on a sample from the song Heartbreaker by MSTRKRFT, it's not the most complex song musically of all time, but it's good enough for me.

Supernova - Mr Hudson ft. Kanye West

An excellent song showcasing the potential of Mr Hudson, a new act signed by Kanye West onto his label, and now being mentored by the man himself. Fingers crossed, I might be going to see Mr Hudson live in the autumn!

What am I listening to at the moment? Walking Boogie - Snooky Pryor. My new favourite song of all time? No. But a cheeky little blues number, worth a listen nonetheless.

This Week's Viewing

OK so a few days ago I decided I would start a blog, so to kick it off, I thought I'd review a few of the films I'd seen in the last couple of days. So, here we go!

Red Dragon (2002)


Red Dragon is the prequel to both the 1991 thriller classic "The Silence of the Lambs" and its 2001 sequel "Hannibal". Anthony Hopkins reprises his Oscar and BAFTA award winning role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant psychiatrist with cannibalistic tendancies.

I really enjoyed this film. Anthony Hopkins was again, brilliant, though he was looking older and weaker than in Lambs (to be fair to him, he was into his sixties during the filming of this movie). Part of the fear of him in Lambs was his intimidating physical presence. However, the role of Lecter must be nigh on impossible to play, yet Hopkins was able to pull it off, and create one of the most memorable film characters of all time.


The protagonist of this film was Will Graham, the FBI agent that discovered that Lecter was a serial killer, although the brawl that ensued nearly ended in Graham becoming Lecter's next victim. He subsequently retires, but is begged to come out of retirement to help in the capture of the "Tooth Fairy", a serial killer with a distinctive modus operandi. Graham is played by Edward Norton. I feel sorry for Norton - trying to better Jodie Foster's amazing performance in Lambs is a tall order, and comparisons will naturally be drawn. Norton, unfortunately fell short of Foster's performance, though that is, I suppose, to be expected. Graham was supposed to feel fear for his family at all times, and this was rather hit & miss.


The standout performances for me were Ralph Fiennes as the disturbed killer Francis Dolarhyde, dubbed the "Tooth Fairy" by the press, but calling himself "Red Dragon" and Emily Watson as Reba McClane, Dolarhyde's blind colleague and love interest that cause him an inner conflict that leads to an excellent twist in the plot that helps to keep the film exciting until the very end. Dolarhyde is socially awkward in normal situations, but when he's in control, about to kill, is a completely different man. As the film progresses, the character truly seems torn between trying to live a normal life and trying to overcome the years of abuse under his grandmother's care by transforming himself into the "Red Dragon". Watson is brilliant as the sweet yet naive woman who gets entangled in something much more dangerous than she's expecting. I always think that acting blind must be extremely challenging, yet she manages to pull it off, the blindness being an important part of the story, as Dolarhyde's problems come from his self-image problems, so for a woman to not care about that allows him a degree of normality.

All in all, this would be up there with my favourite thrillers of all time, alongside it's sequel Silence of the Lambs. Whilst it doesn't quite measure up to it's big brother, it is still an excellent film in it's own right. Sir Anthony Hopkins shows yet again why he deserves to be placed among the greatest actors of this generation, without even getting out of third gear. He created the definitive movie Hannibal Lecter, one of the most memorable film characters of all time.


BASEketball (1998)



Low-brow comedy starring the creators of South Park Matt Stone and Trey Parker.as Joe "Coop" Cooper and Doug Remer, thirty-something slackers with the dream of becoming big sports stars, without the drive or determination to back that dream up, until, one day, by chance, they invent a new sport - a mixture of baseball and basketball which in a matter of weeks has take the neighbourhood by storm, and pretty soon after, is a nationwide phenomenon. The sport is based on the ideals that modern sports are too commercial and have lost what made them so special (a point of view I can certainly sympathise with), but pretty soon, as the founder of the professional game dies, Robert Vaughn's sinister character Baxter Cain sets his sight on commercialising the game more for greater revenues. Coop, whilst falling for a woman working for a children's charity, tries to stop this happening. In the end he does, and he gets the girl. Happy ever after stuff.

As I said, it's low-brow stuff, but it got me laughing. It does have a serious message that only really applies to sports fans, but as one myself, I got it, and it made me think. Stone & Parker won't go down as the greatest comedic actors ever, but I was pleased to see they didn't revert to doing South Park voices (except from one time, when the Cartman voice was used) and they played the stereotypical slacker well. Their kiss was comedy gold. In conclusion, a thumbs up from me.

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)


Hollywood's hottest couple star opposite each other in this action romcom. I have to say, if Angelina hadn't been in this film, I probably wouldn't have made it to the end. The story felt ridiculous, the acting was poor, the direction was uninspired.

John Smith meets Jane in Colombia, where fate drives them together. A holiday romance ensues and pretty soon they're married. Little do they know that their respective partners are assassins for rival agencies (assassin agencies!?!), and each of them must keep their true occupation hidden from everyone, including each other. However, not long into the film, they find themselves driven against each other, with their next contract being their spouse. Chaos ensues, until they realise they are truly in love, and unable to kill each other, at which point they team up and take on the world. Big guns, explosions, overly-choreographed fight scenes and sexual tension aim to make an exciting climax, but in truth I found it boring.

Angelina really is the one of only a few positive things I have to say about this film. She was amazing as the feisty yet sexy woman. Whilst this wasn't her best acting performance, she was better than Brad. Vince Vaughn was also quite good as Eddie, John's best friend. That said, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone I'm afraid.

You, Me and Dupree (2006)


Charming romcom in which Owen Wilson really shines as Dupree, a slacker struggling to find an aim in life. Matt Dillon is Carl who marries Kate Hudson's Molly at the start of the film. Dupree is Carl's best friend, and after Dupree gets fired from his job he moves in with the newlyweds. What follows isn't domestic bliss, as Dupree inadvertently burns the house down. However, with nowhere to go, he moves back in, and soon is comforting Molly as she doesn't get to spend any time with Carl due to his work commitments. Meanwhile Carl feels under appreciated as he works long hours for Bob Thompson (his father-in-law, played by Michael Douglas) in a tense environment - Mr Thompson is manipulative and Carl is convinced he hates him and only promoted him as he married his daughter. He tries to convince Carl to get a vasectomy (the reason for which I'm not quite sure?) and never invites him fishing. Meanwhile, Molly discovers Dupree has an untapped depth and sweet side to him. Carl assumes the worst, and him and Dupree are driven apart, until Carl kicks Dupree out. The next day, Carl attacks Dupree and proceeds to run away. Dupree enlists the help of the local children to help find Carl, who he finds in a bar. Dupree helps Carl confront Mr Thompson (who had previously fired Carl) and then Carl and Molly reunite. Dupree becomes a motivational speaker.

I really liked this film. Owen Wilson was hilarious at times and deeply moving at others. He created a deeply likeable character that I genuinely felt an affinity for. Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson were okay. Not as impressive as Wilson but not bad either. There were some truly hilarious moments in the film. The revelation that Wilson's crush the librarian at the school that Molly works is something of a slut is fantastic, as is the fight with Paco the security guard at the end, and the moment when Dupree falls the glass ceiling had me in stitches.

Hello!

Hi and welcome to my blog!

I'm Nigel - as my profile says, I'm 18, have just finished my A levels, and am going to work for a year before I start university. I support Chelsea, love films and music, and read a bit when I get the time! I'm not sure yet what I'll be writing about here. The films I watch, the books I read, the music I listen to, the places I go, the people I meet, I guess all of that.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check up again in the future and comment!

Nigel