What I'm Watching

1. Babylon

Babylon was on last Sunday on Channel 4 (you can catch it on 4OD if you missed it). It was a one off cop comedy drama that's being made into a series later in the year. I found it really entertaining!

2. Top Gear

OK, it's not for everyone, and I don't drive so I don't know very much about cars, but Sundays are dull and Top Gear isn't the worst way you could spend an hour!

3. Scandimania

I'm quite fascinated by Scandinavia, so Scandimania is a good show for me! I'm not a big Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall fan, but I can look past that to learn more about Scandinavia.

4. The BAFTAs

They're finally here! Tonight, BBC1, 9pm. I'll be posting a blog about them tomorrow. Very excited!

Ad of The Week

This week my Ad of the Week comes courtesy of Channel 4. As you'll probably be aware, it's the Winter Olympics right now and there's quite a bit of controversy about it being held in Sochi, Russia due to Russia's stance on LGBT rights. In light of this, a lot of people and organisations have come out in support of the LGBT community which is great to see, and Channel 4 have done it in a big way.

They have created an advert/music video called Gay Mountain. I think the only thing I can say is you should just watch it. It does pretty much speak for itself, it's hardly trying to be subtle about things! But it makes an impact.

And what a fitting day to have this as my Ad of the Week, being that it's the day of love and all.

Review - Too Much Information - Maxïmo Park

Those, like me, who have been with Maximo Park since the beginning, will notice a bit of a change in direction with some songs on Too Much Information. That being said, it's not a bad change. Every band's sound matures and listening to Too Much Information's predecessor The National Health, you can see that it was a very natural path to take.

The album opens with Give, Get, Take. It's a toe-tapping number, and instantly the presence of the synths are there, and this carries the album all the way through it's opening tracks. This leads through to Brain Cells, and Leave This Island, this is where that change in direction really comes into play. Two purely synth driven songs. It took a couple of listens to get used to the sound, but both carry what Maximo Park's strengths have always been, good lyrics and catchy tunes. I've found myself with both in my head on more than once occasion.

Lydia, The Ink Will Never Dry moves to more familiar sounds, certainly reminiscent of songs from earlier works such as Our Earthly Pleasures, just more mature. Maximo Park are now on their fifth studio album, so the changes in sound are not radical nor too surprising, simply the sounds of an established band who know what they like to play.
My Bloody Mind is a personal favourite of mine, it starts off punchy, fast-paced but halfway through slows down and becomes more melodic, the change on paper seems like it wouldn't work, but it blends so seamlessly you don't even notice.

Of the last few tracks on Too Much Information, Is It True?, Drinking Martinis, and Midnight On The Hill are of a similar vein to Lydia, in that they are in-keeping with Maximo Park's well established sound. I Recognise This Light is another of my favourites, fast-paced, one to sing along and have a bit of a dance to. Her Name Was Audre is an energetic song and definitely a track for the live shows, it does lead nicely, however, into the final track of the album, Where We're Going, which is a slower but very good song. It's a nice ending to the album.

Fans of Maximo Park are sure to enjoy this latest offering, and for any new fans it's a very easy album to listen to.

Music Monday

Well, it's Monday again. A busy week looms, this week on the blog I'm going to be reviewing Maximo Park's new album Too Much Information, and doing a new What I'm Watching post, because there's been some good bits of telly recently!

So, here's my Monday playlist to get us going.

 My Bloody Mind - Maximo Park

Would You Still Be There? - Of Mice & Men

Mainline - Hot Water Music

Rewind - AFI

The Shine - Dave Hause

Ad of the Week

So the Super Bowl has been and gone, and to pay a little tribute to those huge adverts, this weeks Ad of the Week is the non-Super Bowl advert from Newcastle Brown Ale, created by Droga5. It's a pretty genius way of advertising really. An advert all dressed up as not an advert at all, starring a popular actress (Anna Kendrick) and sent viral.

By using an American actress and making it central to the Super Bowl, or should that be S****r B**l , it reaches a new demographic for brand. In England, a lot of people have heard of Brown Ale, but I don't know how popular it is in America, so it's a great way to get the brand out there.
The advert's tagline - "No Bollocks" sums up the advert, the brand, and the place it was born. I live in Newcastle, I can vouch for this.

I just think it's an incredibly clever way of creating a whole campaign without even having to put it on TV.

Review - Inside Llewyn Davis

Set in 1960s New York, Inside Llewyn Davis follows a young, struggling folk musician trying to make a living, before the days of Bob Dylan. Davis (played tremendously by Oscar Isaac) bounces from sofa to sofa in Greenwhich Village, playing gigs at the Gaslight when he can, and tying to make money from his first solo album. Along the way we meet some of the people in Davis' life, including musicians Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean (Carey Mulligan), and even though we only see a brief snippet of their lives, you can already see the beginnings of their various layers unravelling, especially Jean's.

The Coen brothers have delivered another fantastic piece of cinema. Llewyn Davis' story grabs you, and sends you on a journey where your opinions of the film's lead are constantly challenged. You get drawn into Davis' struggles, and you find yourself questioning if he really wants it enough to warrant the things he goes through and the things he does. I don't want to reveal too much of the plot, but the plot isn't what carries the film as much as the characters. Seeing brief snippets of other people's worlds while following Davis around is a nice touch, we meet characters such as Roland Turner (John Goodman) and Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund), who clearly have a lot more going on with them than we ever really get to find out. We meet these people, but our relationship with them only goes as far as Davis' interaction, we never follow them on their own journeys, so there's always more to wonder about. 

While really, not a lot happens, so lovers of action may not be so enthralled, the film is so well acted and so beautifully dark to look at, you get entirely drawn in and always wonder what will happen to Llweyn Davis. It's certainly not surprising the film has been nominated for the 'best cinematography' Academy Award. If you get the chance, you should definitely see Inside Llweyn Davis.

Music Monday

So, as it's a new month, I thought how about a new little feature! Every Monday I'll be posting a mini playlist of 5 songs I'm loving at the moment, and everyone can see my (possibly questionable) taste in music...

And the first ever Music Monday is... -

Unconditional Love - Against Me!

Non Typical - Chuck Ragan

Car Crash - This Ground Moves

One For The Road - Arctic Monkeys

Open Eyed - Skindred