Garbage back on the road

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Craig M

My favourite band in the world ‘Garbage’ fronted by the enigmatic Shirley Manson, hit the road this week for their co-headline ‘Rage and Rapture’ tour with the industry-icons Blondie. Their first stop? The Mountain Winery, Saratoga CA. The band seemed to be on blistering form and even dusted off a few classics they hadn’t played in a while, including their famed James Bond theme ‘The World is Not Enough’ which showcased Manson on brilliant vocal form (see below). Video courtesy of: YouTuber kyocarmesi

The tour spans various venues across the states as shown below, and I myself, as someone who can’t get to the shows themselves, am looking forward to some great footage. From this evidence, Shirley and the boys are not going to let themselves get upstaged all that easily by Debbie Harry and her Blondie band-mates.

Peaking at the Garbage

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Craig M

See what I did there? Yes, this post is primarily about two big loves of mine…Twin Peaks and the rock band Garbage. First more of an update on what’s going on with my favourite band. Firstly they are working on new music! This is reported to be a song they hope to release in time for a forthcoming tour. Shirley Manson, lead singer and general all-round bad-ass, has also contributed her vocal talents to the soundtrack of TV show ‘American Gods’ with a song she worked on with composer Brian Reitzell (Hannibal, 30 Days of Night) called ‘Queen of the Bored’ and well, it’s super cool. Video-link below:

Secondly Shirley is visiting London to attend the summer-camp music school for girls known as ‘Girls Rock London‘ as a Patron giving talks I presume on what it’s like to be a woman in the music business, conveying her 30+ years experience to the attendees. Should be very interesting. Here’s a picture of her as posted by the event organisers. Yeah, she’s looking great as usual. Now as mentioned earlier the band are preparing to go out on tour – with none other than legendary band ‘Blondie’ for the rockingly-titled ‘Rage & Rapture Tour’ which kicks off in July. Around the same time the band will also be releasing their autobiography entitled ‘This Is The Noise That Keeps Me Awake’ … so an eventful time for Garbage and a great time to be a fan of this pioneering and acclaimed band. Although they seriously don’t get the recognition they deserve these days; even 20+ years after they began, Garbage don’t answer to nobody and do their own thing, their own way … which is pretty damn cool.

On the TV front of course the big event has been the (very) long awaited return of Twin peaks – you know, that quirky little soap opera about a murdered girl that ran in the early nineties, got cancelled after it’s second season and also spawned a (mostly) reviled movie that later gained cult appeal. Now it’s back and if you thought the original was ‘a bit weird’ … well, David Lynch, series creator and all-round genius (or madman, I’m undecided) has been let off his leash and delivered possibly the strangest, darkest, freakiest and most daring TV show in years. I’ve watched 3 episodes so far of the 4 that have been revealed, and even though I’m loving it as a Lynch aficionado – it’s also really messed with my head and I can certainly understand if even die-hard Peaks fans could get turned off. Just watch it though – you just have to give it a go and make your own mind up. It’s that kind of experience. Even if you end up not liking it.

To celebrate the release of Twin Peaks, I also picked up the newly-restored version of Lynch’s Oscar-winning surreal drama Mulholland Drive and will be watching and reviewing it soon, so watch out for that.

Well that’s all from me for now. Check in again soon and I’ll have more stuff to show you…probably.

Craig.

What’s going on?

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Craig M

So with a slight update to my usual ‘update’ heading on here … I thought I’d do a post about what things have been peaking my interest of late. Let me firstly get out of the way the awesome news that my favourite band, Garbage are this summer going on tour with legendary 70s / 80s band ‘Blondie’ fronted by none other than the iconic Deborah Harry. Yes, THE Deborah Harry. Now, Shirley Manson has previously been on stage with this singer and former actress, and they are old friends from way back, so I suppose their imminent teaming up for what has been titled the ‘Rage & Rapture’ tour should have been an easy guess. This for me is two generations of a similar band, at least as far as a female-fronted, otherwise male orientated bands are concerned and there are certainly some similarities to Shirley Manson’s singing-style and that of Deborah Harry’s. So for any fan of either group – these are going to be shows not to be missed! More info: Click Here.

In other news I picked up the eagerly anticipated Resident Evil 7: Biohazard last Friday and have been nervously enjoying this scare-fest ever since. It’s of that recent trend for genuinely unnerving and scary horror games as apposed to the action-orientated style the series had gradually become known for, and is probably more like the very first game, what with secluded mansion to explore and limited ammo etc. I’m playing it on Xbox One and having a great time with it. It drips with atmosphere and the dark and gloomy visuals and accompanying eerie sound design have me on the edge of my seat.

On the music front I’ve been enjoying albums from Blossoms, Tegan and Sara and Two Door Cinema Club in my growing journey to broaden my horizons and discover different artists than purely my beloved Garbage. It’s fun finding out what’s out there and Apple Music is helping me do that perfectly.

TV-wise I’m getting into the latest series of Homeland, a firm favourite and also gritty British period drama Taboo starring Tom Hardy, which will do me nicely in the run up to The Walking Dead and eventually the return of Game of Thrones.

Other than work, that’s pretty much me for now. Come back soon and I’ll tell you a little more.

Craig.

Scenes that make the movie

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Craig M

I’ve been thinking about this idea for a post. Ten memorable scenes from some of my favourite movies of all time, or simply great moments that make a particular movie going experience stick in my head. This may become a continuing series as I recall other great moments…but for now, here are ten stand out moments from great movies: Minor spoilers.

Akira

Teddy bears & hallucinations.

As a telepathic Kaneda post-brush with an infected child of the Akira experiment, recovers in hospital, he begins to experience terrifying hallucinations where teddy bears and toys comes to life as his powers start to manifest in horrifying ways. One of the defining moments of this complex and ground-breaking Anime.

An America Werewolf In London

Stick to the road

Two back packers after stumbling into local watering hole The Slaughtered Lamb are ushered back out into the night, with simply the warning of ‘stay on the road, keep clear of the moores’ – which they subsequently ignore and are soon stalked by a blood thirsty werewolf in John Landis’ still superb 1984 horror classic.

Blue Velvet

In Dreams

Amateur detective Kyle MacLachlan gets a little too close to nut-job mobster Dennis Hopper who takes him for a visit to his cross-dressing neighbourhood friend Dean Stockwell, who lip-syncs to Roy Orbinson’s timeless classic in possibly one of David Lynch’s most freaky and brilliant scenes.

Boogie Nights

Disco montage

As former nobody Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) rises to infamy in the seventies porn movie industry, we are treated to this fabulous disco montage, cut seamlessly with various shots of Dirk ‘in action’ or receiving awards and culminating in a wonderfully choreographed dance number with fellow stars Reed Rothchild (John C Reilly) and Roller-girl (Heather Graham).

Eyes Wide Shut

The secret sex party

Only in a Stanley Kubrick movie can a high society sex orgy come across as creepy and surreal. The master film maker in probably his most misunderstood work, presents the viewer with a secret society that Tom Cruise manages to sneak inside of and witness the debauchery of most-likely high profile dignitaries with various high class call girls. All to a haunting, incredibly eerie score.

Goodfellas

Paranoia, drugs and guns

In the final act of the movie an increasingly paranoid Ray Liotta, struggles to juggle family responsibilities with fencing guns for Robert DeNiro and avoiding what he thinks is an FBI helicopter during the day from hell. Expertly edited for maximum tension and intensity by the grand master Martin Scorsese.

Monsters Inc.

A chase through the doors

After discovering the main villain’s evil scheme, Billy Crystal’s motor-mouthed Mike and John Goodman’s lovable Sully are chased by Steve Buscemi’s dastardly Randall into the inner workings of the Monsters Inc. facility and through a plethora of doors into the human world. Exciting, inventive and visually stunning.

Pulp Fiction

Jack Rabbit Slims

In a mob movie with pop-culture quoting wise guys and a soundtrack to die for, who’d have thought one of the best scenes would be a night out between John Travolta’s mob hitman and gangsters-mol Uma Thurman? Culminating in the world famous Twist Contest. Sharp dialogue, a highly memorable setting, and an after-math that segway’s into probably the other best scene in this movie.

Saving Private Ryan

Omaha Beach Landing

After visiting the final resting place of hundreds of soldiers, an elderly veteran recalls his experience with tears in his eyes – switch to the shocking beach onslaught in Omaha in 1944 as thousands of troops fight against impossible odds. A stunning opening to one of the greatest WWII movies ever made, with star (Tom Hanks) and director (Steven Spielberg) on blistering form.

Trainspotting

Clubbing to Blondie.

Taking a break from ripping people off and doing drugs, Ewan McGregor’s Renton finds himself on a night out with friends, hitting the clubs and listening to Heaven 17 and Blondie (or Sleeper doing a marvellous version of Atomic), where he meets Diane (Kelly MacDonald) and leads to a montage of sex, alcohol and pulse-pounding music in Danny Boyle’s break-out gem.

Do you agree with my list? Have favourite scenes of your own? Leave your comments below or link to your own lists…