Monday 23 December 2013

Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead & Scum

There are plenty of prison films, but I've only ever seen two believable ones.

Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead isn't Nick Cave's singular vision (he a co-writer) but the film perfectly mirrors the themes in his songwriting.  No escape, no redemption, no happy endings.

It would be fair to say Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead owes a certain amount of dept to Scum, an equally grim and affecting film.  

This ain't Hollywood, that's for sure.  

Merry Christmas everyone.








Monday 16 December 2013

Monday 9 December 2013

George Orwell - Politics and the English Language

I don't necessarily agree with everything Orwell says, but I'd recommend this essay to anyone. Undoubtedly it remains relevant - possibly more than it did in 1946.  

It begins: 

Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent, and our language — so the argument runs — must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes ... (continues here


Monday 2 December 2013

History of Electronic / Electroacoustic Music (1937-2001)

If, like me, you thought electronic music didn't get going until the late 20th Century, you're in for a shocker.

Here's a collection of 476 tracks that'll blow that misconception out of the water.  (This is going to take a while.)

Some absolutely amazing stuff here.