A year in review

So another year ends.
It has been a tough year for me. Getting a new job at the tail end of 2009 meant coming to terms with that in 2010 but actually work has been the least of my worries. I've settled in ok and aside from a few rough patches work has been good.
My marriage has suffered a bit. For the first time in 7 years we've been off more often than on, or at least 50/50. I guess this has something to do with my wife being diagnosed with a failing thyroid and the lack of sleep and the horrendous recovery period from a traumatic birth... but still.
Our house extension has also been a major stress, taking months longer and costing much more than we thought.
Not to mention moving house.

But there has been positives. One of my perennial New Year's resolutions is to better keep in touch with friends. I never think about the possibility of making new ones. But this year I've made two great new friends, one of whom I didn't know at all in 2009. If nothing else that has made the year worthwhile.
I turned 30, which actually I enjoyed. I always think of myself as a 30 year old anyway so at least now I actually am!
Some good nights out have been had. My sons have been growing up brilliantly.
Nobody close to me died or even got seriously injured :-)

So I look forward rather than back as I hope for better things to come in 2011.

Peace.

Randon Rant: Christmas

Don't panic, I'm not gonna rail against Christmas. I actually despise all those bah humbuggers because there is enough to get miserable about through the year without dampening the festive spirit as well.
I tell you what though - the whole thing is massively stressful.
Meeting up with family sounds fun enough but preparing for a visit is hell. Not to mention overstocking on food and chocolates and having to buy ad wrap everyone's present. I love buying presents for people but so many at once leaves it more of a chore than anything.
And is it me or does it get earlier every year?
I also despise 'Christmas music'. Oh for someone to write a decent Christmas tune that hasn't already been heard a thousand times before. The bland awful versions of 'classics' that we get re-recorded by today's pop artists are useless.
Snow: I love it and it's brilliant for the kids. But it shuts half the country down! Football matches shouldn't be cancelled and when people can't get home...
Anyway.
Despite it all I love Christmas because mostly it brings out the best in people and that can't be bad!

Posting Frenzy

Howdy.
Long time no speaky.
As mentioned previously, work blocked me from accessing this so I've been unale to post much of late. But there was some stuff I wanted to post before the new year so it's all going to come at once now in a mad flurry.
Just thought you might like to know.

Randon Rant: Blocked!

So now the internet controls at work have decided to block blogs, meaning it makes it very difficult to write stuff at work. Which means I have to use my time at home to wite this stuff, hence not much being written recently :-)
But the interesting thing about the work web blocking program, is that sometimes it let you off. Like the first time I tried to write this post, only to have the site blocked while I was writing it, meaning when it came to post it, I couldn't. Random.

I don't see the point in blocking internet sites at work anyway, apart from the obvious stuff like porn and gambling.
But blogs? Facebook? Why? If people want to waste time at work they will find a way. there are a million and one other sites I can browse instead of Facebook, so why piss me off by not letting me access it?

Random Rant: Common Courtesy

So I had my morning ruined today by someone who was entering the building at the same time as me. I stopped to hold the door open for them and they didn't say a word. What does it cost them to say thanks!?
People like that really annoy me.

The Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs Appreciation Society

Children's movies that can hold the interest of adults are of particular interest to me, given that through my children I will end up watching children's movies numerous tmes over.
Pixar tend to be thought of as the master at this, with both pure family entertainment such as Toy Story and movies that appear to be more aimed at adults but are able to keep the interest of children (Wall-E). Dreamworks movies, unlike pixar's output, tend to operate on two levels to cater for adults and children seperately, but also opt towards pop culture references instead of traditional jokes. I'm not saying either way is better than the other, though in my experience the Pixar films tend to have more rewatch value.
Here are some of the best, categorised in a slightly random way, children's films that can appeal to adults.

Pixar's best
The Incredibles. As with a lot of Pixar's output, the Incredibles deals with a lot of adult issues in a child friendly way but also contains great characters and brilliant set pieces, alongside some top voice work. Very re-watchable, especially for fans of the comic book/super hero genre.

Disney's best
The Emperor's New Groove. The usual disney style plot and morales are wrapped up in some genuine laughs, and a think outside the box approach which includes some surrealist humour and 4th wall breaking. Again, some good voice work adds to the quality and there are some really quotable lines as well.

Honourable mention
Chicken Little. This strikes me as Disney's attempt to do a dreamworks movie. Modern looking animation and packed with pop culture references this is underrated in my opinion and contains planty of genuine laughs for the adults.

Dreamwork's best
Kung-Fu Panda runs it close, but Monsters V Aliens pip it for me, despite some occasional misfires in the gag dept. The voice cast is good and the scenes with the president steal the show, but there is more than enough here to keep adults interested.

Simply the best
Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs. Love this movie. The plot framework is similar to most other kids movies but you don't even notice because there is so much going on and so many laughs to be had that you get completely sucked in. Brilliant voice cast (Mr T as an overzealous cop is awesome), sharp witty script, some brilliant wtf moments that you don't think can be in a childen's movie and quoteable lines galore. If you haven't seen it; watch it!!

Not for kids
Coraline. Great film but it will scare your kids stupid :-)

Serialised Novella: part 2

It’s a really thick accent. I hate talking on the phone, especially to people who have very thick accents. There is only so many times you can ask people to repeat themselves before it seems rude and you just have to start calling them Selma even though there name is probably Thelma. This guy sounds Eastern European; probably Polish given the amount of Polish people in Southampton. I’m assuming the call is from somebody local. Either way he is definitely telling me somebody has died.
‘Who?’ I’m asking, trying to clarify whether this is actually someone I know or just an unfortunate wrong number. After some back and forth I think I piece it together. It’s the instructor. The Clay Pigeon Instructor, the guy who showed us how to use the gun. He’s been shot. In the throat with a 12 gauge, his 12 gauge it turns out. That doesn’t sound pleasant. At first I can’t see how this relates to me, I only met the guy once after all, but it transpires that he was shot on the same day we were there, probably not so long after our session. Of course my fingerprints are on the gun because I used it to shoot clays.
‘So I’m a suspect?’ They want to see our whole group for questioning. I guess I can see the sense in that. I’m trying to remember now whether anyone disappeared for a bit. Which is weird; it’s not like I think one of my mates killed the guy. Even if one of them was that way inclined, why would they want to kill a guy they’d just met?


Later on I’m sat answering questions for a police officer. Not the same one as before, this one’s English. I’d had a mental picture of what this might be like, probably based on a thousand and one Hollywood movies. Actually it is nothing like that. There isn’t any one-way glass, there is no ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine; the desk I’m sat at could be any desk in any office and the guy I’m talking to could be someone you’d see down the local pub. Minus the uniform of course. I’m being asked to give a breakdown of exactly what happened on the morning of the murder, which is quite surreal. They are trying to ascertain where I was at what time and who I was with. It transpires that I have an alibi at the time of the murder, which comes as relief even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t kill the guy. I was with my brother at the time; we’d gone to find somewhere that sold bottled drinks. It was a hot day after all and everyone was parched from standing out in the sun hefting a shotgun for the previous two hours. I got the feeling that the lady we’d bought the drinks from had confirmed we were there, so we were in the clear. The other feeling I got, one that made me feel less than comfortable, was that they were convinced it was someone in our group that committed the crime. I provided character references for them all, telling the officer that I’ve known them for ages and each one was a stand up guy. He didn’t look entirely convinced.


At home that evening I had a strange sense of being disconnected from reality. This isn’t the kind of thing that normally happens to me. I’m sure everyone thinks that, until something like this does happen to them. It doesn’t seem real. My wife isn’t sure how to react either. The elephant in the room here is the notion that someone we know, one of our friends, could actually be a cold blooded killer. I think that made us both feel slightly sick. We snuggled up on the sofa and watched a movie, as we do most nights, but I couldn’t concentrate at all and I was glad when it finished and I was able to take my thoughts to bed. Physically I felt exhausted but my mind was racing. I began to mentally paint a picture of each of the friends I went Clay Pigeon Shooting with to decide if I thought any were capable of the crime that had been committed.

The Dune Saga

I read an interesting article recently about the Hugo Award winning novel Dune, by Frank Herbert. It was a reassessment of the book and rightly praised the novel for being a science fiction classic.
Amongst the many comments written in response to the article were people asking about the sequels, prequels and extensions to the Dune saga, whether they were any good or not, and an equal amount of people offering up their opinion on them.
Dune remains one of my favourite books and I thought I would offer some advice on those looking to read it and the rest of the Dune books.

The original is rightly acclaimed as a classic and is an immensely complex and enjoyable read. Herbert’s writing style is difficult to imitate effectively, he combines a very humanistic tale with a very cerebral setting and outlook.
The first two follow up novels, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune form part of a trilogy of books which fit together well and tell an enclosed story – the story of Paul Artredies and his time on Dune. These books I would recommend to anybody and everybody.
The 4th book written by Herbert, God Emperor of Dune, exists in a time period of its own, many years after the original trilogy. Although it provides an interesting bridge in the series it isn’t the best book to read and changes the focus of the series to the character Duncan Idaho.
The 5th and 6th books written, Herectics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, pick up the story long after the 4th book and exist as a pair. While not quite up to the standard of the original trilogy, they are well worth reading and tell an interesting story. Chapterhouse finishes on a cliffhanger of sorts and when Herbert died the Dune legacy was continued by his son Brian, a science fiction author in his own write, and Kevin Anderson.
The books they wrote are often universally derided, but the original trilogy of prequels, set just before the events of the original Dune, are actually worth reading. House Corrino, House Artredies and House Harkonnen follow the fortunes of the three great houses whose fates were linked to the event sin Dune and Herbert and Anderson are quite comfortable writing about characters that have direct relation to the original books and manage to imitate the original style quite effectively.
Following that success, another three books (The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, the Battle of Corrin) were written set many years before the Dune events, recounting the wars with the machines that was spoken about as ancient history by the characters in the Dune books. This particular trilogy was to prove an epic failure in the eyes of the Dune fans and I am no exception. The writing style is botched and the characters we are introduced to, often great relations to the ones we know and love, are flat and not easy to like. These books I would avoid.
Brian and Kevin then turned their attention to finishing the series by providing a continuation to Chapterhouse and an answer to the cliffhanger. Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune were again heavily criticised by many fans but, while not being up to the standard of the ‘House’ prequels (let alone the original books) they are a passable read and do at least provide a satisfactory ending to the saga. The major criticism was that they brought in elements from their own machine wars prequels that were not felt to be congruent with the way the original books would have ended. This is partially true, but I would recommend a fan of the series read them all the same.
This would have been a good place to stop but already three more books are coming; Paul of Dune is a wholly unnecessary telling of the story between Dune and Dune Messiah, an area that Frank Herbert must have felt was unnecessary in the first place otherwise he would have written about it in these two books. The Winds of Dune and the Throne of Dune I have yet to read so I cannot comment, suffice to say that even many fans of the Dune world have stopped reading the newly produced books now and I can’t say I blame them!

England's failings

Thought I would have my say on this as I have been reading a lot about it lately, as you'd expect. Here is what I think went wrong with England's World Cup campaign.

1. Fabio Capello. His inflexibility when it came to the way he handled the players obviously led to some disharmony in the camp. This stretched to the system England played on the pitch as the rigid 4-4-2 wasn't changed throughout even to get the best out of players who are used to other systems. Equally, his subs were, at times, just wrong. His faith in Heskey is as misplaced as it is wavering. That said I'm not surprised he remains in post.

2. The players. Despite not being happy with the system the big players didn't perform well at all. Given that most played together during qualifying, the fact they looked like they didn't even know each other was unforgiveable. The excuse of being tired is rubbish, other nations seem fine and their players have played the same amount of games. Same goes for the ball.

3. The squad. I guess this combines both of the above but the squad was wrong from the start. Adam Johnson should have been there. Dawson and Crouch both should have been used more. Carragher shouldn't have been there. Hart should have started in goal etc

4. The Germans. They just thrashed Argentina 4-0. They only beat us 4-1. Basically they made us look bad because they are playing so well.

5. The Ref/Linesman. Despite point number 4, we might have held up a lot better had we gone in 2-2 at half time. They certainly wouldn't have been able to catch us on the break so badly because we wouldn't have been chasing the game so much.

6. The press. I get that the media have a right to have a go at the team a bit if they do not perform. But the over the top attacks on the team, certainly after the USA game where we played ok, are unnecessary and don't help at all. Anyone is bound to be affected by that much criticism and if our players looked nervous on the pitch it is probably because in the back of their mind they were thinking about the kicking they'd get in the media for not performing.

There is a bunch of other minor stuff but these are the major things that led to us crashing out.
I hope that, regardless of whether Capello stays or not, we start to use younger players and develop more of a team attitude rather than a bunch of stars mentality.
And try something other than 4-4-2 is that doesn't suit!

In sickness and in health...

Went to a wedding at the weekend, a cousin of my wife. Had a lovely time, aside from our boys coming down with a sickness bug. So we had a lovely evening at the reeption but the next morning we had to dash.
Then me and the Mrs caught it as well, so we've had vomiting and two days of not eating and things are just about returning to normal now.

So far this year has been the year of the sickness: I've had more time off work sick than my previous 5 years put together.
Here's hoping it gets better.

Serialised Novella: Part 1

So with my lack of workload at the moment I need soemthing to do in the office that looks like work. Its been a while since I've written any kind of fiction because I don't normally have the time these days with the kids. But I fancied giving it a go, see if I still had the knack or whether another one of my few talents had dried up completely!
I've started to write a short story/novella/maybe even a novel and will serialise it on the blog here. That way I can write it in bite-size chunks and don't have to plan ahead too much. It might turn out to be a disaster but I'll give it a go.
It will remain unamed for now because I have no idea what is going to happen.
Without further ado...

PART 1

Through the window, past the translucent reflection of the building’s strip lighting, the flag billowed in the wind, providing the most energetic activity within my eye line. The hustle and bustle of the office had been reduced to bleary eyes staring at blinking screens and muffled conversations about meaningless subjects. The contrast between outside an in had never been so defined; the bright sunshine somehow failing to pierce the force field of gloom that held stay within the workplace walls. I glanced slowly around my desk, my gaze falling like a thousand particles of dust upon in-trays and post-its, each unmoved by my attention. A writing pad, filled with the busy scrawl of my handwriting, seemed entirely at odds with its surroundings, its list of tasks urgently insistent that I and my colleagues awake from the lethargic haze that enveloped us.
I, of course, had an excuse for my inactivity. I’m sure my colleagues would suggest the same, although I’m equally sure that such excuses would be half-hearted and not provide a particularly compelling case for the defence. But in my case, the reason is valid. I was awaiting a phone call and, in case you remain unconvinced dear reader of my sincerity, let me assure you that this particular phone call was one that had the potential to change my life.
So I sit at my desk, my thoughts caught half way between the dull grind of the airless office and the endless terrifying possibilities stretching out in front of me as a result of the phone call that I am waiting for. And I have been waiting for a long time.
When the phone finally rings it takes a moment to register as my mind, stupefied by the surroundings, takes its time to realise the actuality of what is happening. Then it sharpens and cuts through the haze and the hairs on my arms are tingling and I’m taking deep breaths trying to slow my heart. The pause between rings seems to last a lifetime. I reach across my desk and lift the receiver.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, for what use is the middle of the story without the beginning? And the beginning, my dear readers, is where we really should begin…


A very different office atmosphere, or maybe just a different interpretation. It’s a World Cup year and everyone has high hopes for the home nation. The sun has interrupted a particularly grey patch of recent weather and the anticipation of better times is palpable, as it often is at this time of the season. The government have cut our budget again and the effect is motivating, a backs to the wall attitude to soldier on regardless. That or a deep seated sense of denial. Either way the office feels a bit more alive these days, and despite my tiredness I also feel enthused with a sense of productivity.
Today also happens to be my birthday, which may add to my personal sense of optimism. I’m thirty and, contrary to popular wisdom, it feels like a good age to be. I’m looking forward rather than back, excited to still be young enough to take on the world while having a bit more knowledge about how to do so. They say the thirties are the new twenties and I believe them. I’d celebrated the previous weekend, going clay pigeon shooting with a group of friends and having a BBQ in the evening. There’d been some drinking and everyone had a good time. Today I was going for another drink, at lunchtime with some work colleagues. This probably meant my productivity would drop somewhat in the afternoon but I felt like I’d earned it and my boss was away on business so what the hell…
Lunchtime came and went, as did three pints of lager and a shot of tequila. The tequila was payback from a friend who’d never tried the stuff before I insisted she have a shot at a recent party. Not normally my chosen lunch time tipple but it did ensure I was less concerned about what was happening around me that afternoon. Until I received a certain phone call.
I was sat as my desk as usual, playing some random World Cup quiz game I’d found online in-between numerous trips to the toilet courtesy of the lager. I was mostly being ignored and ignoring my colleagues as they went about their regular business. When the phone went I was slightly irked that something, probably work related, should interrupt my procrastination. But I soon found myself trying to come to terms with what the person on the other end of the line was saying. It appears that someone has died.

Look out for Part 2, coming soon (ish)

Busy Times

Not had the chance to post much recently due to the busy nature of my life at the moment so here is a summary/recap on what has been going on and what I think about it…

We’re in our new house! Pretty settled and almost box free and it feels good. Aside from some small conundrums like why the heating comes on when the hot water does, all is well and it seems like home. Having said that, plans are afoot for the extension, out very friendly neighbour doesn’t seem to have any objections and the builder is all set to go. Now I need to work out how we can afford it.

Just chaired an important meeting at work because both my boss (the usual chair) and his boss (the deputy chair) were unavailable. Was nervous beforehand as I’d never even been to this group previously. But it went well, which is satisfying.

England, and Green in particular, have been castigated for drawing with the USA, despite what I felt was an acceptable opening game performance against a relatively strong side. We dominated for long spells and they never really looked like scoring.

The World Cup on the whole has been a bit flat so far, Germany’s performance aside. Hopefully Brazil will liven things up today.

My 30th birthday came and went and much fun was had. Clay Pigeon shooting was great even if my brother proved to be better at it than me. And the BBQ and drinking session in the evening went well and was a nice way to christen our new house.

p.s. watched Coraline the other day. Great film :-)

Films of the Decade

I enjoyed thinking about my favourite albums of the decade so much that I thought I would write about my favourite films as well...

The 15 best films of the last 10 years

Listed alphabetically with a single sentence to explain their presence on this list.


Anchorman (2004)
The most quotable movie since Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Brick (2005)
A new an original take on film noir.

Casino Royale (2006)
Best Bond film ever.

The Dark Knight (2008)
Heath Ledger’s finest performance.

Dodgeball (2004)
Wet your pants funny.

Donnie Darko (2001)
Truly unique.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Gondry and Kauffman at their peak.

Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Combines the epic with the personal.

The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar’s best film.

Iron Man (2008)
Best Superhero film ever.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Razor sharp witty dialogue and brilliant chemistry between the leads.

Memento (2000)
Fantastic storytelling device.

Minority Report (2002)
Speilberg’s best Science Fiction film.

Serenity (2005)
Brings the excellence of the TV series to the big screen.

Stranger than Fiction (2006)
A romantic comedy with a brilliantly unimaginable quirk.


Honourable Mention

Let the Right One in (2008)

I admit to not having seen Let the Right One in yet but I’m looking forward to it and am that confident that it would have made my list had I seen it that I’m giving it a special mention here.

Others Considered

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Children of Men (2006)
Juno (2007)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Being John Malkovich (2000)
28 Days Later (2002)
Bourne Identity (2002)

My thoughts on the England Squad

Capello named his 30 man squad for the World Cup and there are a few surprises. He now has to cut this squad to 23 men to actually go to South Africa.
The ones in bold below are the ones I would definitely let go.

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

But for my final two I'm not so sure!
I don't like Carragher but there appears to be no other cover at RB. It is a real shame that Wes Brown was injured.
I don’t think Heskey should be in the squad but he is the only target man there so I think he should stay for that reason.
With Carragher being able to cover central defence as well as RB, I think one from Dawson, King, Ferdinand and Terry will go, with my money on Dawson, which is again a shame since he has had a great season.
Bent will probably be dropped to due to his similarity to Defoe.
I think Parker and A Johnson both deserve their shot.

With two caveats; that it has to be from the 30 above and assuming all the 30 are fit, this is my ideal England starting 11:

Hart
Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole
Lennon, Gerrard, Barry, Lampard, Johnson
Rooney

In my opinion this makes the best use of Rooney, playing as he has done for United with two proper wingers who can deliver consistent crosses and also gets the best from Lampard and Gerrard who can push forward in central positions.

In praise of good managers

Just wanted to say an awesome congrats to Fulham for getting to the Europa League Final. Great achievement and I'll be cheering them on to go all the way.
Kudos has to go to Roy Hodgeson who has brought them on leaps and bounds since he took the managerial reigns and is a completely class bloke.
Would be happy with him at Utd when Fergie finally bites the bullet.

The 10 best albums of the last 10 years

Seemed like a good time to be thinking about this, given that we're at the end of the decade. The following are just my own opinions and choices so don't get too worked up if you don't agree...

Listed Alphabetically


Absolution – Muse (2003)

This third album from the British trio finally put paid to the daft Radiohead comparisons and established them as a lot more than just an awesome live act. For those who thought that the only way for Muse to go was more eccentric and over the top it also proved the band could operate as a collective and produce songs with subtle texture and hooks in addition to the bombastic riffs.

Standout Tracks: Time is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome.


American Idiot – Greenday (2004)

Following the change of pace on previous album Warning, many thought Greenday growing up was Greenday losing their edge. American Idiot succeeded where its predecessor failed by joining the maturity with the raw edge of the early albums, none more so in the concept driven lyrics biting at the Bush regime.

Standout Tracks: Jesus of Suburbia, Boulevard of Broken Dreams.


Blinking Lights and Other Revelations – Eels (2005)

A 33 track double album recorded over the course of 7 years is a mammoth project by anyone’s standards but the result was well worth waiting for and secured E’s place amongst the leading songwriters of his generation. Critics lapped it up and described it as a masterpiece and, for once, they weren’t wrong.

Standout Tracks: To Lick your Boots, Losing Streak.


Broadcast to the World – Zebrahead (2006)

If their previous album found them on the cusp of mainstream acceptance, Broadcast to the World saw them embrace it, producing a hit single in the process. Operating effectively in the hybrid area of punk, metal and hip hop, this album saw all the themes mesh together perfectly, providing a career peak that may not be matched again.

Standout Tracks: Rated ‘U’ for Ugly, Karma-Flavoured Whiskey.


Final Straw – Snow Patrol (2004)

Another album that broke a band into the mainstream on the back of good songwriting that explored the darker emotional areas of relationships, Final Straw is equally at home with short rocky tunes or epic ballads, all overseen by soaring vocals. They went on to bigger things, but Final Straw remains their most intimately accessible moment.

Standout Tracks: Run, Chocolate.


Once – Nightwish (2004)

The most epic of albums from the most epic of bands, this was the moment Nightwish went truly huge, with a full blown orchestra and choir supporting their metallic symphonies. You could search for a long time and not find a piece of music as perfectly beautiful as Ghost Love Score.

Standout Tracks: Ghost Love Score, Nemo.


The Bluetones – The Bluetones (2006)

One of the hardest working bands in the business got lots of critical praise for this, their eponymously titled 5th album, but as usual the general public seemed to ignore them. More fool them as the Bluetones contains more brilliantly crafted pop tunes than you could shake a very big stick at.

Standout Tracks: Surrendered, Hope and Jump.


Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008)

Undoubtedly the shortest album on this list at only just over half an hour, Vampire Weekend is packed with clever lyrics and intriguing orchestration that makes you feel more intelligent just by listening to it. Although it was dismissed by some as lightweight and twee, the album actually rewards on multiple listens as it reveals its delightful subtle touches.

Standout Tracks: Mansard Roof, A-Punk.


Voices – Matchbook Romance (2006)

Making great steps from their debut album, Matchbook Romance added complexity to their metal riffs and a density to their songs which make the experience all the more intense. Finally finding some notoriety after their song Monsters was included in Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock, it was a bitter pill when the band subsequently split up and left Voices as their final legacy.

Standout Tracks: Monsters, My Mannequin can Dance.


With Love and Squalor – We are Scientists (2005)

Last but by no means least, With Love and Squalor is a great example of when you don’t need to necessarily do anything new to be successful, simply do what you do better than anyone else. Several other bands were pursuing the same up tempo rock as was the zeitgeist at the time, but the clever lyrics and exceptional playing across the album marks this one out from the pack.

Standout Tracks: Inaction, Cash Cow.



Honourable Mention

Howling Bells – Howling Bells (2006)

Standout Tracks: Broken Bones, Low Happening.



Others Considered

The Script – The Script (2008)
Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke (2008)
The Remote Part – Idlewild (2002)
The Bravery – The Bravery (2005)
Hands – Little Boots (2009)
Myths of the Near Future – Klaxons (2007)

Random Rant: Togetherness

I'm V Tired right now, mainly because of having children but also because I was out drinking til 3am on Thursday. Very good night out, loads of people for three different reasons (Promotion, Leaving, Birthday) and lots of fun had.

But what is it with people who don't say goodbye? I like to know where people are. Not in a creepy way but because it is a big scary world and it is nice to look out for people in your group. Then said people go and disappear and someone mentions that they went home about an hour later. I'm not asking for a song and dance but not letting people know that you're leaving strikes me as rude.

Whatever.

Random Rant: Internet Speeds

Long time no post.

My bloody internet connection is going so slowly at the moment! It's infuriating. I appreciate that speeds are slower at peak times but I somehow doubt the whole of the western world is on the internet over the easter weekend.

In other news I might be suffering with depression. I can assure however this is not down to the speed of my internet connection.

Fantasy Football

Back from a week's training in Bournemouth, which was fantastic aside from the training itself. But I passed the course so what more can I ask for.
Had a cracking week on the Fantasy Football, finally moving up to third spot in my local league and breaking the top 3 monopoly that has existed all season thus far.
Maybe I should go away and therefore not think about tinkering with my team more often.
This guy is great BTW
http://www.yahoofantasyfootballuk.blogspot.com/
and has helped me immensley.

Random Rant: Lacuna Coil

My first proper rant and it is something that has bugged me for a while, the way bands can often be accused of changing their style to a more commercial one to gain chart success. They lose the old fans but gain a set of new ones. Sometimes they are heavily criticised for doing so, at other times it seems encouraged.
I bought a few albums recently, all of which were initially a disappointment to me given the band's previous work. Some then grew on me more than others, some remained disappointing.
I'll probably come back to this topic in future psots but for today I want to talk about the latest Lacuna Coil album, Shallow Life.
Back in the day Lacuna Coil were critically praised and had a small fanbase. The release of their third album, Comalies, saw their fanbase expand a lot and their next album, Karmacode, appeared to be a massive change in style to try and capitalise on this. It was criticised by many of the fans of their classic style.
But I think the progression was actually a natural one.
Their early albums contained long songs with lots of guitar solos, slow paced and with vocals mainly from their supremely talented frontwoman, Christina.
Comalies, which remains their best album in my opinion, had enough of these traits but you can also see the shortening of the songs, the reduction of solos and the emergence of the male co-vocalist. I think these developments were ignored because the album was great and the blanace was right. If LC has stopped at this point in terms of direction it would have been perfect.
But Karmacode showed the furthering of this trend, with the songs becoming all 'comercial' 3 minutes in length, Christina being often reduced to a backing singer and the lack of practically any guitar solos. Crucially perhaps they also experimented with a few different styles, possibly to attract new fans.
The album was crucified critically and many fans hated it, although the album itself was not that bad. The thing that got to me was that fans siad they were selling out, a term which I hate, and that they had changed their style for commercial success. I disagree and point to the trend that had long since been developing in their music.
The latest album, Shallow Life, does bring back some of the old style but the balance they had on Comalies is no longer apparent and actually it strikes me as ther worst album yet. But not because they were attempting to sell out!!
Any new fans would be advised to buy Comalies and see the live where they remian excellent.

Hitmen

Just watched In Bruges for the 2nd time. Great film.
Top 5 hitmen films (no order)

1. Grosse Point Blank
2. Leon
3. In Bruges
4. You Kill Me
5. Lucky Number Slevin

Love it.

Cracking Weekend

Afternoon all,

Am feeling completely shattered today after staying up late last night and watching the Superbowl. Just glad I had today off work unlike some of my mates. Great win for the Saints in an entertaining match. I didn't end up drinking any alcohol because I was still hungover from Saturday night. A very good friend of mine turned 40 and we had a cracking celebration at the Fusion Inn in Lymington, where I had far too much to drink but didn't regret it at all.
The only downside was having the Mrs and my parents (who were here to help her with the kids while I was out partying) getting at me all day on Sunday for being a useless git.
Which to be fair I was!

Itchy

Welcome

Hello readers!

Though I doubt there is anyone there yet, being that this is my first post and the blog has only existed for a few hours.
Thought I would break the duck and it seemed only right to write a genric 'welcome' post as the first one.
So Welcome to all those out there in the blogsphere.

Happy reading!