Peaking at the Garbage

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Craig Micklewright

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 Micklewright

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.

New toys, new music, new year!

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Craig Micklewright

Well it’s a new year and I managed after dipping into some savings to get myself a new toy. Therefore I recently purchased the iPad Air 2 which following buying directly from Apple I got engraved with my name and my website address. So far I’m finding it invaluable to further explore my growing interest in music, and having subscribed to Apple Music in recent weeks it’s given me a way of discovering new music and having more variety in what I choose to listen to … something I hadn’t really being doing for a long time. It’s also enabling me to get more into some TV shows I previously missed out on and am currently enjoying Super Girl and also hoping to start watching Blacklist.

In related news I was happy to see that last night Garbage’s lead singer Shirley Manson received the ‘powerhouse’ award at the She Rocks Awards ceremony in Los Angels that is held annually to promote women in the music industry, both on stage and behind the scenes. In addition to this news I also saw a separate interview with Garbage drummer / producer Butch Vig where amongst other topics he revealed that the band is to release a cover of Cat Stevens’ “Where do the children play” as part of forth-coming charity album Music to Inspire – Artists UNited Against Human Trafficking. It’s to be released on January 31. In other Garbage news the band also recently revealed a limited edition of their forth-coming autobiography ‘This Is The Noise That Keeps Me Awake’ which for the first 1000 copies sold will be signed by the band and come with an exclusive vinyl consisting of 6 unreleased live recordings as well as a presentation box. I some how managed to nab one of the first 1000 so am ridiculously looking forward to July when it will finally be in my hands!

Having been unwell last week and the week before I haven’t really been in the right mood to play games or watch movies, and have mostly spent my spare time chilling. However now better I’ve been getting back into the sublime The Last Guardian which from the maker’s of cult PlayStation games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, is a breath of fresh air in an industry full of shooters and well, violent games like Grand Theft Auto and Mafia 3. I love the exploration, puzzle solving and the look of the fantasy world the game inhabits, and well the icing on the cake is the unique concept of a little boy and his enormous dog / bird-like creature – the two having to work together and rely on each other to get through the world in one piece. Seven years in the making, many rumours of it’s cancellation and the end result is everything I could have hoped for. I’m also towards the end of Gears of War 4 to go back to a gun-obsessed kill-fest but hey, this series has really struck a cord with me and the fourth entry is just as action packed and gorgeous as the other games and I’m enjoying it a great deal. However I’ve never been able to gel with the multi-player, which granted has become a big part of the franchise but I’m sorry…I just don’t find it ‘fun’.

There’s also several movies I’d like to see but haven’t got around to as of yet. The Golden Globe winning La La Land and also Passengers, Hackshaw Ridge and especially the imminent Trainspotting 2 are all on my radar. Hopefully you’ll get to see reviews of all of these at some stage, so keep your eyes pealed.

That’s all from me for now. Until nest time.

Craig.

2016 a look back

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

Regular visitors to this blog will already know what my major highlight of 2016 was … hey, I still can’t stop talking about it. Yes it was going to watch my favourite band Garbage perform at the Troxy theatre in London and to actually meet them. Wow, I still pinch myself that it actually happened but it did and I feel so proud of myself for achieving a true dream of mine. Their latest studio album ‘Strange Little Birds’ also impressed.

Other than that event, I think 2016 has been a decent year for quality movies, something that will be reflected in my end of year Top Ten coming on New Years Eve (make sure you check back here then!). But it hasn’t all been great. There’s also been a number of disappointments and rubbish I’ve had to sit through just to bring my opinion to you, my readers. Particular disappointments include the rather poor Legend, a new movie about the British gangsters Ronnie & Reggie Kray, and despite the casting of Tom Hardy in both roles, this was a borderline insulting Hollywood-isation of a violent and gritty true story that was done so much better when the Kemp brothers from Spandau Ballet did it in the early nineties. I really didn’t get much out of The Coen Brothers’ Hail Caesar! either, which should have been a fun, fascinating snapshot of old Hollywood, but had a limp script and a confusing plot that just felt like a slog despite good production values. Also along the way I felt underwhelmed by Deadpool … probably the most hyped and acclaimed comic book movie of the year that left me a little ‘meh’ despite finding it funny, it just seemed a bit of a one note show. The summer also brought with it some further disappointments … let’s all agree that Batman V Superman could have been better, and well, wasn’t Suicide Squad a let down, promising so much and delivered so little? I wasn’t that impressed with Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! either – a deflating spiritual follow up to his classic Dazed & Confused.

It was also the year that I tried to branch out, listen to more music (not just the aforementioned band) and discovered new artists like Kristin Kontrol, PVRIS and Against The Current … yeah, thankyou Apple Music. So broadening my horizons has been fun, even if in the music industry it has been sad to see the passing of legends such as David Bowie and Prince this year. With that said, the music industry continues to irritate me however and I find myself left cold by much of today’s most popular music (Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and to an extent Gwen Stefani all delivered rather ‘average’ albums despite plenty of publicity and hype). Yet I find solace in those artists existing outside of the heavily publicised, record label controlled mainstream and well, there’s some really good stuff to find if you’re willing to look beyond what you’re told to listen to.

On the TV route highlights of the year for me have definitely been the last season of Game of Thrones, arguably the best yet and some of the best TV I’ve witnessed all year. I also got a lot of enjoyment out of House of Cards (I’m still behind…currently on season 3). Daredevil was also good, despite a slow start. However the big surprise this year has been just how good West World turned out to be, of which I’m due to watch the final episode any day now. Orange Is The New Black was underwhelming this year though and despite some shocks towards the end, really needs to step up it’s writing and characterisation for the next season or I can see myself switching off.

Oh and hasn’t it been a packed year for videogames? I enjoyed and completed the following: Uncharted 4, Deus Ex Mankind Divided and Titan Fall 2 … but have played many other titles, some of which have been too huge to finish (yet) or have caused me to lose interest. One such game like that has been The Division, which managed to lose it’s appeal after a while and I haven’t gone back to it in ages … something I can’t say for the similar Destiny which with it’s expansions and still-intriguing concept keeps on pulling me back even two years since release. The news of updated versions of current systems wasn’t so good however, having spent a great deal of money on owning the PS4 and Xbox One only to have the advent of PS4 Pro and Xbox One Scorpio to eventually replace them. But for now I’m still happy with what I’ve got and will continue to be until games stop getting released for these machines.

I wanted with this post to touch on the various things that have interested me and stood out for good or bad this year and with that I’ll sign off for now. There’s some more reviews on the horizon and of course my end of year Top Ten. So watch this space for much more soon.

Craig.

Update

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

So what has been going on with me lately? Movie viewing is a little slow of late…you’ll have noticed only the occasional review. Well, we’re in the middle of gaming season in the run up to Christmas, and I’ve managed to get hold of a few titles. These are Watchdogs 2, Gears of War 4 and I’m still ploughing through Mafia 3 … and then there’s also Recore – a game I’m not sure at this stage if I’ll go back to. That’s not to mention the various games I’ve still yet to play or get hold of, namely Battlefield 1 and Dishonoured 2. It’s a lot to have on one’s plate and well, games aren’t that short these days…with many being huge open world fairs that last me months.

In other more personal news, I’m pretty busy in work and well, the day to day grind can get stressful occasionally, but I’m getting by in my own way. With my birthday recently it’s given me a mental kick up the arse to be more positive, not dwell on the past and try and be in a better mood more often and for longer periods. I think I do struggle with depression, and can really let it take a grip of me sometimes … but I can’t let it and have to fight against it the best I can.

In recent weeks I’ve realised too that I’m a bit addicted to my favourite band, Garbage and I understand more than anyone this can get a tiresome and over-familiar subject to family and friends. However I actually do enjoy everything about them … listening to their music, following their escapades on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and just enjoying the whole journey with them. It’s a hobby for me and more than just an interest in their music, and has become a big part of my life. I suppose meeting them back in June was the ultimate and has only gone towards making me feel closer to them as a fan. I suppose I shouldn’t really care what others think, should I?

Also, my annual Top Ten Movies of the year is of course on the horizon and I’ve tried my best to watch so many movies, especially some of the real big-hitters of the year. As always, it’s going to be fun compiling a Top Ten and I think It’ll be interesting to see what I make my number 1. I also look forward to reading other blogger’s top tens when the time comes.

Well that’s all from me for now.

Craig.