Friday April 5, 2024

FILM/TV
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (SBS)
Fantastic, funny, and I’m obsessed with the Swedish accent.
Do I Sound Gay? (2014)
I was in two minds whether to watch this or not but it was about to vanish from Tubi so I thought I may as well. It is interesting, and good, seeing how the concepts and even the premise of this documentary have dated (badly) in just 10 years. Many seem almost alien now.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Director Yorgos Lanthimos is having a moment currently with Poor Things. This is one of his earlier films. It’s very black and strange and I mostly loved it but “it isn’t for everyone” barely cuts it. Also a big caveat for the initial visuals of very graphic surgery that almost made me bail on watching the rest.
Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman (2017)
A ten-part half hour series that has taken me over three years(!) to watch. I’ve no idea why, it’s enoyable (and bizarre). Anyway, I finally finished it today and am now craving some sort of chestnut dessert.


PRINT
Indie Pop Lesson – Twee Grrrls Club
(2012)
A fun book I picked up in Japan many years ago, now on offer currently for a ludicrous $213 AUD from an Amazon seller it seems. Gives a good overview of indie music diving into categories that include themes, countries and indie labels. The hosts are Japanese music fans named Sumire, Moe, Satomi, Mayo and er, Methyl.


SOUND
Continuing on my Indie pop journey from last week, including:
Club 8 – The Friend I Once Had (1998)
Idha – Melody Inn (1994)
The Haywains – A37 Revisited (2011)
Kitty Craft – Beats and Breaks from the Flower Patch (1999)
Marbles – Pyramid Landing And Other Favorites (1997)
Fantastic Something – Fantastic Something (1985)
Shack – Zilch (1989)
Anthony Adverse – The Red Shoes (1998)
and many more…


Friday January 5, 2024

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]


PRINT

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.