Last time I wrote one of these posts, I was hoping to go on to read more books in time for the next post in September. Pick up my reading levels and that. Well...that never happened, and even deciding to postpone that post to include October hasn't helped either. I would argue uni and workload meant I had less time for reading, but one look at my screentime makes that claim look silly.
Either way, here's some music and movies I've been enjoying over the past few months. As always, any albums have hyperlinks!
Music
I've been fairly slow when it comes to checking out new music this year, but I think I've more than made up for it this past week. Aside from checking out Yo La Tengo, Mogwai, and Genesis (the Peter Gabriel years, obviously), I've also listened to a few new albums.
No Bad Memories is the latest release by the Avalanches, an Australian dance group with a flair for combining catchy tunes with ridiculous amounts of samples. I love their debut album, Since I Left You, which is entirely composed of samples from songs, media, or even nature, blended into a terrifically joyful party. Since then, they've toned down the sampling, focusing more on comparatively straightforward compositions, leading to their fourth album released last week.
It's still an ambitious release, themed around catchy pop songs either side of interludes composed of scrambled advertisements. Indeed, you find yourself jumping from one melody to a commercialised swarm of noise almost abruptly. Whether this is supposed to mimic social media and how you flick between random content, I'm not sure. All in all, the album has thirty-one tracks, but the longest is just over three minutes long; the album as a whole is just fifty-two minutes!
My favourite tracks are probably the buoyant Every Single Weekend, featuring producer Jamie XX, which sounds like a song you'd hear blasting through the speakers at a holiday beach party. All the Time in the World, featuring Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo, is another wonderful track, with his singing a highlight. I also love some of the more chill tracks, including the title track and Can't Get Over Losing You with Portraits of Tracy. That said, the album works best as an experience from start to finish - it's very unique, for sure.
I also listened to Dopamine Chamber, the fifth album by Irish rock group Fontaines DC, and was less impressed. I've never been that into Fontaines, but typically I'll find myself preferring their edgier post-punk songs. Albums like Dogrel and A Hero's Death showed them at their most energetic, with some of the tracks still being perpetual earworms for me.
On Dopamine Chamber, though, they've shifted towards a more pop-based sound. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering the Fontaines I loved the most, it does feel a bit unexpected. There is a dark undercurrent running through songs like Marianne and Happy For You, but it almost sounds sterile and overpolished. It's made for arenas, almost like the band expects their fans to sing along in unison, but at the expense of their early rawness.
I know this sounds like I'm complaining about a band changing up their sound; trust me, I don't mind it that much. In fact, I'm sure the songs will grow on me in due time - they're clearly well-written and produced, and I love Grian Chatten's vocals. The songs just sound lifeless and chorus-reliant right now. However, they are one of the biggest indie rock bands right now, so they must be doing something right. Even my friends who aren't that into music have put Fontaines on their socials. I'm not feeling the dopamine yet, though.
Film
A few weeks ago, I enjoyed watching a few foreign-made films. That made me over-reliant on subtitles, but hey - I loved them.
- I started off with Parasite - 2019 Oscar-winning Parasite, no less - which is about a working-class South Korean family infiltrating a wealthier family's lives. It's terrifically funny, whilst simultaneously serious and even horrifying. I won't spoil the film, but it does change tack about halfway through, which only adds to the experience. It's a pretty enjoyable film which also manages to discuss themes of capitalism and poverty in a thought-provoking manner.
- Amelie, a 2001 French film about a woman who gets joy out of helping others, was another fun watch. Its style - bold and brash, often narrated in an almost documentary-like manner - sounds like it could get annoying after a while. Instead, I was enthralled by the protagonist, played by Audrey Tautou, and her various playful schemes to support various people, or even punish those she deems a nuisance. It's a very colourful, almost nostalgic film, full of love and absurdity that highlights just how odd and tragic, yet also beautiful, life can truly be.
- I finished off by watching Memories by Murder, a 2003 release directed by Bong Joon Ho, the same guy who directed Parasite. I watched it based off a recommendation from a friend, and I'm glad I did. It's based on a real-life case of a serial killer, with the film follows a small police force trying to solve a case. The force toy between public pressures, a deep-rooted need for justice, and the strain this obsession can have on people who want to capture a monster. It's worth checking out - I found it to be a fairly slow burner, and it helps to not approach the film as a typical detective thriller.
TV
Not much on the TV side of things, but I finished Game of Thrones, hurrah. I don't think I should have, though - the ending was proper disappointing. I'm not sure I would have ended things like that, then again I was kinda out of it by the time season eight rolled around. I ended up spending three months watching the show in all, and towards the end, I was just looking to watch something else.
Perhaps this is controversial, but I'm not sure if I'm any better after having watched Game of Thrones. It just didn't captivate me as much as shows like Breaking Bad have. There were so many characters, it made following the show from the start more difficult than I would have hoped for, and they just kept adding them towards the end. Come the final episode, I'd be hard pressed to admit if I cared for any of them.
I just don't think action-filled political dramas are my thing. Hell, I'm not sure if TV is my thing, either. Since I started watching films, I've found myself less willing to start watching an epic drama. It feels like a far larger time commitment than necessary, especially when a show can be as disappointing as that final episode was. Talk about throwing away a legacy.
Musicals
I nearly forgot, but I also saw the Producers at the Garrick Theatre right at the start of September. God, it's funny. It's such a great musical. It's about two guys who decide to run a show with the sole aim of getting a tax write-off, yet it happens to be a smash hit. Obviously, that's a very simplified synopsis, I've not even mentioned the bit about the Nazis.
Now, I would tell you guys to go see it, but it's sadly finished its run in the West End...which I regret deeply, because it means I should have absolutely written this post back in early September. Instead, all I can say is the acting was tremendous, the songs were catchy and quirky, and it might be my favourite musical. If you're convinced by all this, why not check out the two film versions; it was originally a film directed by Mel Brooks, after all.
God, the musical was amazing. Sorry, mum, for not writing about it sooner. I know you loved it as much as I did!
And that's why I need to start reading. If I don't, then all my readers will miss out on some great nights out.
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