At The Pictures: In The Loop

Saw this big screen spin-off of the superb The Thick Of It the other day. Can’t remember the last time I laughed so much at a modern comedy film – it was possibly South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut.

It’s essentially about the run up to the invasion of Iraq, though it never uses that country’s name, and how a government minister gets spun into the debate against his will. As a piece of satire it doesn’t really have much new to say, though the observations of how British politicians turn into slightly embarrassing fan boys when meeting their American counterparts were great – the Minister and his aide riding in a limo going “this is fucking cool” and calling their mates to brag about it. Where the film excels is in its use of language. The insults are so innovatively aggressive; from pub banter up to Ministerial meetings. Anyone who says that swearing isn’t 'big' or 'clever' really needs to see it.

Special mention go out to the character of Jamie, who’s beckoned into the picture with a flourish almost deserving of pantomime, raising a cheer in the hearts of anyone who enjoyed his ‘iPod rant’ from the Thick Of It special; Rise Of The Nutters.

The Pizza Slice: Prezzo (Tre Gusti)

Welcome to my new pizza feature where I review pizzas (which I love).

Had my first visit to a Prezzo restaurant last Wednesday. I was quite excited because they’ve got a fairly proper looking pizza oven plonked at the back of the modernly furnished room. I was getting a little anxious because we had to sit in the little waiting area for what felt like ages despite the fact that there were at least 4 empty tables, and other diners leaving on a regular basis.

Anyway, we eventually got our seat and I scanned through the menu. I opted for the Tre Gusti, which features pepperoni, chicken, pancetta, and fresh rosemary. I didn’t really notice the rosemary now that I think about it, and it really needed a vegetable of sorts in there as well, olives or something. The base itself was good mind, the pizza oven gave a nice ever-so-slight charring, but on the whole the pizza lacked any level of comfort. The ladyfriend had a vegetarian thing with leeks, gorgonzola, and a perfunctory amount of olives.

Overall Rating – 5.8

Record Store Day

I was chuffed as beans to be asked to DJ in Spillers as part of Record Store Day. There's only about 300 independent record shops left in the UK now (down from a few thousand!) which is a real shame. They provide such a great service and i hate the way our towns and cities are becoming so identikit.

Here's what I played:

1. Animal Collective - Fireworks
2. War On Drugs - Taking The Farm
3. Abe Vigoda - Dead City
4. No Age - Teen Creeps
5. The Mae Shi - Lamb And Lion
6. Dananananaykroyd - Some Dresses
7. Oxford Collapse - The Birthday Wars
8. Dinosaur Jr - Been There All The Time
9. Jay Reatard - You Mean Nothing To Me
10. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
11. The Thermals - No Culture Icons
12. Wolf Parade - I'll Believe In Anything

I meant to play Jay Reatard's slightly bonkers cover of Fluorescent Grey (by Deerhunter) but I 'queued up' the wrong track. Durrrr.

I also bought the two Sonic Youth split singles (one with Beck and one with Jay Reatard) that Matador have put out to celebrate the day, and I got the new Spillers tshirt as a gift for "DJing" (I was going to buy it anyway). I wanted to go and see Truckers Of Husk's instore but I got lazy and the Blues were winning at the egg, so I've stayed home instead.

Dananananayrkoyd - 29/3/2009 @ Clwb

Saw Danan at Clwb and enjoyed every second. I love the way they strip hardcore of all its meat-headedness and just keep the "we're all in this together" communal stuff. Breaking down the invisible barrier between band and audience. Their new 'thing' is to play some repetative programmed beats and have a breakdancing party in the middle of the crowd. Crowd was really into the whole show, especially for Cardiff (on a Sunday!). Impromptu Wall of Cuddles and everything. Nice seeing a band trying their best to entertain and the people reacting to it positively.

Decided earlier today (when walking up the stairs to the canteen in work) that the ultimate gig ever for fun would be Danan, The Mae Shi, and Les Savy Fav. Imagine it!

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

I just finished reading The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway (who, it turns out, is John le Carre's son). I really enjoyed it. It's very geeky. Pirates, ninjas, kung fu, mime artists, truckers, soldiers, and corporate lackeys all thrown together in a post-apocalyptic satire of the Iraq war. Of sorts. The writing is very kinetic. Words spin and ricochet off the page, turn down dead-ends and head off on tangents. Quite breath-taking really.

Where The Wild Things Are

Been waiting ages for this. Spike Jonze's adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are. I have a vivid memory of reading the Welsh language translation a lot when I was little, sat cross-legged on the carpet of Mrs Williams classroom. I don't really remember what happens though I do remember the feel of the paper. Child goes off to the land of the monsters, becomes their king, and then goes home?

The puppet work looks lovely in the film, so glad they didn't use computery animations.

Photo Test

I'm only really doing this as a test. It's a photo I took on holiday in Canada. It came out wrong but I like it. I think I was trying to get an ultra-touristy shot of the Greek street signs.