2010, the cultural review
Jim Carroll
It’s (nearly) the end of the year as we know it so how do you feel? Next week in The Irish Times, we’ll be rounding up the cultural highs and lows, hits and misses, ups and downs of 2010 and we want YOU to join in the fun.
If you’re up for it, let us know about your year in culture. What was your cultural highlight of the year? What was the biggest disappointment? The biggest surprise? What will you be glad to see the back of? And did you see the future, and what was it?
Get musing.
Cultural Highlight:
The amount of fantastic free music given away by Irish artists, from the Cast of Cheers to Not Squares to the Brilliant Things and the Holy Roman Army, every taste was catered for. Phenomenal.
Biggest Disappointment:
The end of Road Records. A very sad state of affairs when one of Ireland’s most loved record shops is forced to close. Thanks very much Brian Cowen.
Biggest Surprise:
The amazing international uptake of Conor O’Brien. Fantastic what an appearance on Jools Holland can do for someone’s career. Well deserved.
Glad to see the back of:
A year without a U2 release is always good for Irish music. It allows the smaller artists to shine, and not get overshadowed by the enormous amount of media coverage Bono always receives.
In the future:
Another great year for Irish music in 2011. With so many great upcoming acts on the scene, it’ll be really exciting. It’s going to be tough to top the sheer quality of 2010, but I can’t wait to see bands try.
my own year in review:
gigs of the year
gorillaz. o2.
janelle monae. tripod.
of montreal. the academy
owen pallett. union chapel. london.
beach house. vicar street.
joanna newsom. palace theatre. manchester.
cocorosie. the button factor.
films of the year
toy story 3 and inception
sporting moments of the year
fc united 3 rochdale 2
manchester united 4 manchester city 3 (league cup)
barcelona 5 real madrid 0
disappointment of the year
the world cup. yawn.
apart from this bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TrSEZZIJ8k
return to form of the year
apres match
comedian of the year
reginald d hunter.
hopes for 2011
the demise of fianna fail
the demise of michael mcintyre
Cultural Highlight
Glastonbury. Five days of sunshine, surrounded by arts and music.
Biggest surprise:
The hype surrounding Janelle Monae. Do not get her. (runs)
Biggest disappointment
Cut Copy at Tripod. Awful rubbish.
CULTURAL HIGHLIGHT – THE GATE IN 2010
The Gate continued to excel themselves, with Arcadia, Krapp’s Last Tape and a superb Death of a Salesman featuring a remarkable performance by Harris Yulin. Their Beckett-Pinter-Mamet Mini-Festival was excellent, not least Mamet’s Boston Marriage with the wonderful Fiona Bell and Justine Mitchell and Pinter’s A Celebration with the ever-reliable Nick Dunning. Both those productions, in particular, warranted longer runs. Jane Eyre rounded off the year with an enjoyable night of cosy Winter theatre.
POP CULTURE MOMENT OF THE YEAR
Willow Smith’s pop hit, Whip My Hair, as performed by Jimmy Fallon as old school Neil Young (with uncannily accurate voice) and 2010 Bruce Springsteen as 1975 Bruce Springsteen. Genius.
And redframewhitelight’s moment of the year, in case you didn’t see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpxZwbPcA38
Record of the year: Hidden by These New Puritans.
Cultural Highlight of the year: The Capello Index
Highlights
Series 3 of Breaking Bad – last few episodes were especially great
John Grant in Toronto – around 20 people in an old chapel in Toronto – Amazing.
Snoop Dogg at Glastonbury – great weather, great party atmosphere.
Lowlights
Watching Ireland fall to its knees from afar.
Mistakenly giving Piranha 3D a chance. Even on a wet sunday afternoon with a hangover this was just unbearable rubbish.
No Parks and Recreation
Hopes for the New Year
The new series of Parks and Recreation.
Come on Tyrone!!!!!!!!!
My cultural highlight was two nights of the behemoth Einsturzende Neubauten in Prague recently. Still relevant & still compelling after all these years. Fell for Joanna Newsome’s ‘Have One On Me’ after previous resistance.
Closely follow that by one of those occassions where I go see a film without reading a review or having seen the trailer beforehand. Step up ‘Winter’s Bone’. As grim as it gets unique take on Film Noir.
Laughed my ass off at Coogan/Brydon’s ‘The Trip’-in particular the Michael Caine impersonation face-off. Season four of Man Men, the best thing on TV.
Discovered the fiction of James Salter thanks to the re-issue of his novel ‘A Sport & A Past-time’. This year’s Richard Yates?
Disappointed by ‘Inception’. All puff & bluster with ludicrous dialogue and an OTT score. Not as smart as it thought it was either.
I want a reduction in my TV licence fee on foot of ‘Fade Street’.
Must mention The Cranes and Brendan Perry gigs. As well as Nouvelle Vague playing
Good gigs. The 1,2,3,4 – London.
Ariel Pink
Arcade Fire’s return to form the other week at the point.
Films: Banksy’s documentary was hilarious. I thought Inception was a pile of drivel that looked Constantly failed to even attempt to back up the nonsense, which could have at least let us pretend that it might be plausible.
Albums. Caribou – Perfume Genius – James Blake – Four Tet (particularly his essential mix on bbc radio 1 which is floating about on Soundcloud – pure bliss) – Gil Scot-Heron (including getting to discover his back catalogue)…
Looking to 2011: Hopefully we’ll get to hear the Rubberbandits on liveline more often…regular slot I reckon wouldn’t go amiss…
Gigs of the year: Mount Kimbie @ Roisin Dubh, Shackleton @ the twisted pepper, Modest Mouse @ somewhere in belfast, DJ Shadow @ Tripod, GSYB @ Tripod
Cultural Highlight: Bloc Weekender- grandmaster flash, flying lotus and 3 nights of dubstep and techno adventures.
Biggest Surprise: James Blake, “post-dubstep!!”, i always find really nice surprises in all city records.
Biggest Disappointment: the death of DEAF and many record stores at home and abroad. (rooted records in bristol is the latest to go and it was such a great shop) and Mary Anne Hobbs leaving radio
2011: dublin gigs for flying lotus, gold panda, nosaj thing (hopefully), the futher mutation and contagion of bass music, james blake album, joy orbison album (hopefully), outlook festival in croatia, aphex twins show @ bloc, and on a personal tip my new radio show.
My highs and lows this year..
Album:
* The ArchAndroid – Janelle Monae
* Friendship – The Redneck Manifesto
* Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter
* Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
* Up To Snuff – Ivan St John
* I’m New Here – Gil Scott Heron
* Here’s To Taking It Easy – Phospherescent
* Goodbye Falkenberg – Race Horses
* Dark Night Of The Soul – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
* The Nameless – Cathy Davey
Festival:
* Primaverasound
* Electric Picnic
* Harmonic
* Body & Soul
Cinema:
* Shutter Island
* Kick Ass
* The Social Network
* American:The Bill Hicks Story
TV:
* Rubicon
* Boardwalk Empire
* Conan
Book:
* The War For Late Night – Bill Carter
* Decoded – Jay Z
* Just Kids – Patti Smith
Reasons To Be Cheerful:
* Apres Match buoys Fintan/Lenihan/FF’ers sketch on Late Late Show
* Conor(Villagers) OWNING Later with Jools
* Horse Outside!
Let down:
* Obama
* Closure of Road Records
* IMRO picking a fight with Irish bloggers
* The O2( ANYTHING would have been better than The Point. Not being the worst large venue in Europe is not enough. The audience for Stevie was brightly lit and as a result frustratingly talkative.)
Music 2011:
* Anna Calvi
* Ivan St John
* Race Horses
* Halves
* Vision Air
Full disclosure, I manage Ivan. I’ve a fair idea..
In addition to my earlier, more specific post, some other highlights:
CONCERTS
Tori Amos (Iveagh Gardens) – a great setting and a near-perfect setlist
Crosby, Stills and Nash (O2) – even managed to top last year’s excellent Marquee show
Steve Hogarth (Crawdaddy) – wherein one man and a piano captivated the room
Elton John with Ray Cooper (O2) – a forty year career spanned in a 2hr 45min show: stunning
Pearl Jam (Odyssey, Belfast) – probably the best show they’ve ever played on this island
BOOKS
Nick Kent: Apathy for the Devil
Mark Kermode: It’s Only a Movie
Graham Thomson: Under the Ivy – The Life and Music of Kate Bush
Louise Wener: Different for Girls
TELEVISION
Downton Abbey
Mad Men: Season Four
My highs and Lows in culture from the other side of the Atlantic.
Highs: Music- Noisette -Never forget you
Miley Cyrus- Ending Hannah Montana
The Script- comes to America
Michael Buble- Crazy Love
Eminem
Movies-Burlesque marks return of Cher
Inception
Dispicable Me
Books- I discovered writer Declan Hughes- Ed Loy series from an Article in the Irish Times
TV- True Blood Series 3- introduction of Alcide Herveaux
The Office
The Mentalist
The New Hawaii 5-0
Lows: Music Kanye West-over exposed Jackass with Diamonds in his teeth
Bono – just over exposed
Whitney Houston- one catastrophic meltdown after another
Movies: Eat, Pray. Love
Books: Anything written by Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck or any Teabagger
TV: The 400th season of Survivor, the Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Mary Byrne being voted off
x-factor
Moments of Insanity: Rise of the Tea Party, possible war with North Korea, volcanic eruptions, financial
meltdowns on both sides of the Atlantic, record unemplpoyment, Obama’s lack of a
backbown, oil spills, illness of close friend, decline of my 97 year old grandmother
Moments of Shear sadness: Loss of my beloved German Shepard
Moments of Shear Joy: Friends Aine, Luciana, and Camila having babies, returning to Ireland 2 times
Getting told unexpectedly that I am loved
That was my year 2010.
ALBUMS
Scuba ‘Triangulation’
Salem ‘King Night’
The Knife ‘Tomorrow, In a Year’
Mark Kozelek ‘Admiral Fell Promises’
Massive Attack ‘Heligoland’
Jonsi ‘Go’
ISAN ‘Glow In The Dark Safari Set’
Solar Bears ‘She Was Coloured In’
I’m Not A Gun ‘Solace’
Laura Marling ‘I Speak Because I Can’
Ikonika, ‘Contact, Love, Want, Have’
Glasser ‘Ring’
Dum Dum Girls ‘I Will Be’
Flying Lotus ‘Cosmogramma’
Errors ‘Come Down With Me’
Mount Kimbie ‘Crooks & Lovers’
Neil Young ‘Le Noise’
Ann Scott ‘Flo’
Sleigh Bells ‘Treats’
The National ‘High Violet’
Magnetic Man ‘Magnetic Man’
Crystal Castles ‘Crystal Castles’
Lali Puna ‘Our Inventions’
Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock And Electronic Musik 1972-83
Bonobo ‘Black Sands’
GIGS
Retribution Gospel Choir (Whelans)
Tortoise (Whelans)
Dinosaur Jr (Vicar Street)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Tripod)
The National (Olympia)
FESTIVAL
Electric Picnic
FILMS
The Social Network
Enter The Void
Another Year
Savage
Greenberg
TV
The Trip
This Is England ‘86
Tonight With Vincent Browne
The return of D’unbelievables has to be the cultural highlight of any year!
Ronan@1 ”Biggest Disappointment:
The end of Road Records. A very sad state of affairs when one of Ireland’s most loved record shops is forced to close. Thanks very much Brian Cowen”
People don’t buy CDs anymore, that’s why it closed. It’s not Brian Cowen’s fault – we can’t blame him for EVERYTHING!
So many Irish cultural moments to savour this year. Among them:
Druid’s production of Enda Walsh’s Penelope at the Everyman Palace. Much hilarity pepperered with poignant insights into love, desire and ageing. Brilliantly staged.
Jerome Bel at the Cork Opera House. The enfant terrible of dance took Cork audiences on a mesmerising journey of sound, light and performance.
Mindfield/Janelle Monae/Food stalls all at Electric Picnic
The magic of hearing Richard Hawley live at the Pavilion.
The comic tenderness of Emma Donohue’s deservedly Booker shortlisted The Room.
Nevan Lahart at the RHA. Thrilling solo show that was political, playful and personal. Visually stunning.
The creative marvels sent daily to my iPad by Flavourpill via Flipboard, and the global cartoon genius of http://www.cagle.com
My sister Oonagh Kearney’s beautiful film Her Mother’s Daughters screened outside in Temple Bar Square as part of RTE/The Arts Council’s Film on the Box
The 100 musicians who participated in Mel Mercier’s creative hommage to Aloys Fleischmann, a sound art installation that enchanted visitors to the Glucksman gallery.
And of course the cross-over of audiences for Mixtapes: popular music in contemporary art including a fabulous session with Mr. On the Record himself. Thanks Jim.
Quint @ 17: I’m going to blame him for everything, regardless of whether he’s responsible. Global warming, snow, the fact that I burnt my chicken dinner. It’s all his fault.
Enda Walsh’s Penelope at Galway Arts Festival
Neil Watkins – The year of Magical Wanking at Queer Notions
Rufus Wainwright at The Grand Canal Theatre
Oonagh Kearneys short film – Her Mothers Daughters
Conor Horgans short film Deep End Dance
Lady Gaga at the O2 ( really)
Pan Pan – Rehearsal Playing the DANE DTF
As you are now so once were we – The Company DFF
Play Group Berlin Love Tour DFF
The Whale Watching Tour – NCH
Kaleidoscope Night live at The Odessa ( all of them)
Hofesh Shechter at Galway Arts Festival
Foot washing for the Soul KAF
Jonsi ‘Go’
The Pipe
I AM LOVE – and Tilda Swinton at The Lighthouse Cinema
Susan Phillipsz KAF
Corn Exchange Freefall at GAF and The Abbey
David McWilliams OUTSIDERS
Fintan O’ Toole for cultural provocation
Caoimhin O Raghallaigh – Tunes, Album, Collaborations
and it goes on…….
cultural highlights -
Berlin Love Tour
As you are now so once were we
thisispopbaby’s Werk
Festival of World Cultures 10th anniversary
Cultural Highlight – In general; the incredible standard of music from all genres that was released in Ireland this year. It was a whopper of a year for music.
Specifically:
Top gigs
- Amiina with Caoimhin O Raghallaigh at FOWC
- Portico Quartet, The Factory Sligo
- Young Hearts Run Free gigs- all of them
- Adrian Crowley, Hulk and Chequerboard with Donal Dineen in a tiny church in Tralee.
(DOI- I was involved in running the last gig but it was such a special night, one of those where all the work is worthwhile and it turns into a kind of magic. Stunning performances from all three)
Top Gallery Shows
- Neven La Harte- A Lively Start to a Dead End at The RHA
- Vertical Thoughts: Morton Feldman and the Visual Arts at IMMA
- Mark Garry – Another Place at The Kerlin Gallery
- Post-War American Art: The Novak/O’Doherty Collection at IMMA
Top Performances
- Olwyn Fouere in Sodome My Love at Project
- The Sunshine at Body and Soul Festival
- Myles O’Reilly’s beautiful music films for Arbutus Yarns
Books
- Let The Great World Spin – Colum McCann
- The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
Top Albums
- Efterklang – Magic Chairs
- Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me
- Thread Pulls – New Thoughts
- Four Tet – There is Love in You
- Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
musical things to look forward to in 2011: new releases from Katie Kim, Deaf Joe and Spilly Walker
Biggest disappointment: Road Records closing and the bloody volcano cancelling gigs all over the shop
Biggest Surprise: Derry winning the UK City of Culture for 2013, should make for a really interesting cultural year on the island in the future
Glad to see the back of: Brian Cowen….got to be soon right?
and soundcloud gave a glimpse of a positive digital music future…
the highs
goriillaz at the 02, party from start to finish
janelle monae and jonsi at EP
cracking wonky hip hop albums
mount kimbie
in the days of movies being made for $200 million an amazing film was made for $15000 ‘monsters’
chelsea winning the double
lows
every reality tv show there is dumming down the nation
mistaking a bottle of gin for a bottle of water
the script
A huge achievement for the Irish arts, ICT and av sectors in November this year that went under the radar was the worlds first ever LIVE Internet streaming in HIgh Definition of opera irelands opening night of Tosca from The Gaiety Theatre to the world on smartphone, computer and to venues (arts centres, hotels & community venues) throughout Ireland… testament to the skill and ambition of our creative sector…..it was pulled out of the hat four days in advance of the event…….something to celebrate…more to follow in 2011…
best album – flying lotus ‘cosmogramma’ by a country mile for me, ellison is light years ahead
best gig – tindersticks at st canices cathedral for kilkenny arts fest, free ticket got me there, knew little about their music, their white-boy gloom-soul in a church was a pretty religious experience
biggest surprise – …the gloom that has taken hold of the country…
biggest disappointment – the fact that brian cowen and brian lenihan wouldn’t f*ck off. politicians in any other country would have been firebombed out of office with their levels of complicity and culpability. instead they ploughed ahead in (what they saw as) the national interest, hanging billions of debt round our necks for years to come.
biggest hope for 2011 – the country wins some sort of newly founded international lottery and.. nah seriously just hope some of the gloom and fear lifts off the average person here. what else.. hope tax-dodging u2 front-bum bono gets a pasting for tax dodging by the red tops should he reappear to ask us to buy another record of theirs.. hope against hope arsenal could somehow land the premier league (in the name of beautifully reckless, edge-of-your-seat football) and alex ferguson’s jaw falls off from all that chewing.. hope james blake’s record lives up to the billing i’m personally creating for it.. hope flying lotus crafts another record fast.. hope irish music repeats the same brilliance next year, so much of what i’ve listened to and loved this year has been irish..
i should also add.. we’re talking culture here not politics (so excuse my rantings about FF above..) so..
most enjoyable exhibition i caught this year was the feldman/vertical thoughts one at the imma. first time i’d seen a franz kilne in the flesh. awesome. feldman’s collection of rugs was also a wonderful thing to behold.
just recently saw the pipe, recommended viewing for all irish folk (and not at all for the politics, for the community/character side of the irish people on show and for the beautiful camerawork)
didn’t get to the theatre much this year, much to my shame.. roll on 2011!
Highlights- in Theatre seeing Circa, Enron and Medea during the Theatre Festival and The Girl who forgot to sing badly- a perfectly packaged children’s show at The Ark..
Favourite gigs were The Avett Brothers, Port O’Brien and Caitlin Rose & Megafaun all at Crawdaddy, The National at The Olympia and at Electric Picnic, Jonsi & Robyn at E.P.
A real personal highlight was finally making it to Dingle for Other Voices and by some miracle managing to get tickets for the Sunday evening – The National’s set was awesome in it’s intensity but I was also very impressed with John Smith and Ellie Goulding
I really like the Workman’s club as a venue and I had some fun Friday nights at Glider- I look forward to more in 2011
Album of the year for me was definetly High Violet but I also very much enjoyed James Vincent Mc Morrow, very impressed with him and his band’s show at The Button Factory, it’s working togther very nicely. Brilliant to see Villagers getting such great press here and abroad, thoroughly deserved..
TV of the year- the peerless Mad Men and for rollicking good fun and excellent acting True Blood
Low Lights- the ridiculous amount of natterers at Harmonic’s Midlake/Grizzly Bear gig- an amazing line-up totally wasted on half the audience- never travelling to Cork for a gig again!