Monday morning randomness for the gaiety of the nation
(1) Just how good were TV On The Radio on Saturday night? How about intense, searing, life-affirming, rollicking, immense and magnificent? Anyone who walked away from that show feeling otherwise must have lost the power to be moved by music or to have their synapses blown away. It was a show to remind you just how incredible a bunch of folks with guitars, drums, microphones and a Moog can be when the mood is right. If everyone at the gig who claims to be in a band went away after that show and set about trying to produce music as good as that, the world would be a much better place. And that’s a show which didn’t even feature one of my favourite tunes of Zero Nine, “Halfway Home”. Interesting to see too that TVOTR were flogging their tees from the tour-bus outside the venue after the gig.
(2) Unlike some people, On The Record did not receive an invitation to Silvio’s supper last week, but we’re not bitter about it. No, really, we’re not bitter about missing out on all that food (house-cured Irish salmon, grilled tenderloin steak and vanilla crème brulee - don’t flaming like crème brulee anyway) and entertainment (the Irish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Prof Micheal Ó Suilleabháin as well as a troupe of set-dancers - sure, it was like a night out at Johnnie Fox’s). The guest-list does make fascinating reading - wonder if there is any connection between some people on the list and soft interviews carried out with Silvio in the past? Where was the love for Silvio’s fellow Feck Lisbon advocates from the Sinn Fein camp? And will Silvio be throwing similar bashes (with vegetarian options and line-dancing) for all those who plan to vote No in the Lisbon 2 referdendum?
(3) As most of you will know by now, Jay Reatard was a no-show in Dublin last night leaving a couple of dozen fans of Memphis garage punk-rock kicking their heels on a Sunday night. Dude missed his flight from Hotlanta, y’know. Shame on the Heineken Green Synergy people for not sending a private jet to pick him up. Fecking sponsors….
(4) Malcolm Gladwell’s new tome Outliers is published this week and Tim Adams had a fascinating piece on Gladwell and the book in yesterday’s Observer. Gladwell fans who find themselves in London next Monday might like to know that he’s giving two lectures at the Lyceum while he’s in town.
(5) Staying with the Observer, there was an odd piece on Jamie Oliver in the Food Monthly supplement yesterday. It would seem that Rachel Cooke had a bit of her chip on her shoulder about Oliver (at least three mentions of his cars and jeeps) and his Ministry of Food initiative which led to a piece which as disjointed as a badly roasted rib of beef.
(6) If you’re only going to see one film this year about a cowboy who found God, Karl Rove and the keys to the White House, it will unfortunately have to be W. Oliver Stone’s film is the cinematic equivalent of one of those cut and paste books you get after a band become overnight successes. Josh Brolin is superb, but the story hits more bumps and raises more dust than a drive down a bumpy Texan blue highway. John Waters, on the other hand, seems to go to flicks like W with his eyes on the audience rather than the big screen.
(7) Those who have not already checked out the Nick Thinks blog should make amends this morning. Every day, Ruan plays his dad, Nick, an album. Every day, Nick tells Ruan what he makes of the album.
(8) From the On The Record parish newsletter. Regular wisecracking reader and man-about-Dublin-town Matt Vinyl is back on the radio. Yes, the Golden Maverick rides again and this time, he ain’t got no calf milk replacer. Every Monday night from 11pm to 1am, Matt sits in his salubrious penthouse and plays a selection of tunes which, thanks to the wonders of the interweb and a VPN, are then broadcast on Power FM. He takes requests too.
(9) Excellent piece from Keith Duggan on John Dower’s Thrilla In Manila documentary which revisits the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier bout from 1975 and especially all the trash-talking which went on in the lead-up to the fight. On a similar boxing tip, the peerless When We Were Kings was also on the box last week, giving you another take on Ali in all his pomp.
(10) Busted! Nialler9 has found some interesting, uhm, similarities between a review of a new Coldplay EP which appeared in The Sun and a review of the same yoke in Hot Press. Question: what the hell was Nialler9 doing reading reviews of a Coldplay EP to begin with?
(11) And finally, one of the highlights from Saturday night.
9:28 am
I didn’t think TVotR were much good. The music was great but their voices let them down. For some reason they bury their voices under the mush and then try and scream to be heard. After a while it just started to irritate me.
I didn’t really sense the crowd were all that into it either. They got a good applause after every song but the atmosphere dropped more than a few times and apart from one or two songs, nobody really got into it.
I liked W. but I’m not an expert on US politics. Maybe thats the key. Brolin was excellent, the board room scenes were gripping. If its mostly fiction I didn’t mind.
Comment by Peter81