Welcome to The Very Now – a snapshot of some of the things I watched, listened to, read and noticed over the last week.
ONLINE
Soyons-Suave
A blog I’ve followed for many years which is all about celebrating the “suave” in music, film and pop culture. It’s campy and fun with regular, appealingly named, blog segments such as Pour le plaisir, Le Brushing du jour, Et maintenant chantons !, Le trio du jour, and L’Instant Grrr.
TV/FILM
Dr Who Xmas Special – The Church on Ruby Road (Xmas Special – Disney+)
A good start to the new Doctor and companion, but the less said about the singing goblins the better.
Living For The Dead (TV Series -Disney+ via Hulu)
Sort of a Queer Eye for the supernatural with an LGBTQ scooby gang you’ll want for besties.
The Secret World of Snacks (TV Documentary – SBS via Channel 4)
A fascinating deep dive into the businesses and rivalries that make ice cream, chocolate, sandwiches etc… Jo Brand and Dawn French narrate, it’s good.
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
The gold-standard of made-for-tv movies and reason for innumerable 1970s nightmares. Karen Black is phenomenal in, not one but, 4 roles.
Changing Ends (ABC iView)
Alan Carr bio comedy. I’m only 1 episode in but so far it’s brilliant.
007: Road To A Million (Prime)
A James Bond themed Amazing Race. Nail-biting, truly.
SOUND
Giorgio Tuma – In The Morning We’ll Meet (2011)
Kitty Craft – The TOYTOWN Tape (2023)
A re-released/expanded version of the album I put out originally on TOYTOWN.
Bill Nelson – Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (1981)
Do you dream AT all?
Matt Berry – Simplicity (2023)
Excellent library sounds from Svengali Berry.
Sandii & The Sunsetz – [a compilation I made]
RE:Search Incredibly Strange Music Volume 1
A book I revisit frequently although Soyons-suave, from their downloadable compilation, reminded me about the Lypsinka chapter, which in turn sent me down a rabbit hole of astonishing Lypsinka videos.
MORE SOUND
As a result of the Mickey McGowan chapter of the above book I explored more of the music that I hadn’t gotten to as yet, yielding some discoveries including:
Harpo Marx – Harpo (1957)
The Melachrino Strings – Moods In Music: Music For Reading (1958)
Walt Disney’s The Enchanted Tiki Room (Disneyland Soundtrack) (1968)
Albums recorded by Canaries and more I’m still working through – plus reminders of music I already had - Yma Sumac, Elisabeth Waldo, Ferrante & Teicher, Clara Rockmore, Mort Garson, Eben Ahbez, Les Baxter, and the list goes on… Next up, The Phantom Surfers chapter.
The Very Now 