Source Code (2011)

I watched the new movie from director Duncan Jones (Son of David Bowie, also director of 2009 science fiction movie, Moon) a couple of months back – Source Code.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, the premise is that Jake Gyllenhaal is soldier Captain Colter Stevens, undertaking a mission as part of a special unit, and has been transported into the body of a passenger on a train that was the scene of an explosion earlier that day. His mission is to re-live the last 8 minutes of the passenger’s life over and over again to slowly uncover clues as to the identity of the bomber, so his plans to strike again can be stopped.

The Captain starts the movie unaware as to where he is or why he doesn’t look like himself but slowly pieces the information together with the help of his handler, Vera Farmiga.

The movie has had  mixed reviews – I personally really enjoyed it both in terms of the Hollywood sci-fi action appeal and the range of themes explored by the narrative (time travel, parallel universes and on a more personal level duty, destiny, regret, choices). It was pretty much a current and modified version of Minority Report (2002), which was long overdue – we have glass touch-screen technology now so the tech from that film doesn’t seem so impossible anymore…

Jake Gyllenhaal was convincing, the visual effects were dramatic, the conclusion was full of hope and optimism – although, without ruining the plot, I’ve heard the opinion that it should have stopped at the freeze-frame to avoid the cheese factor – if you don’t go in expecting the dark and understated sinister unravelling of Moon but are prepared for a Hollywood suspense thriller with an interesting premise, you won’t be disappointed.

The point of this post for me was twofold:

1. To touch briefly on my new theory of time travel and why, if it’s possible, no one’s visibly come back from the future yet

Clearly there’s tech involved that means if you are here from the future, although risking catalysing a chain reaction that leads to the non-existence of donuts, anyone that you share your secret with is also transported back to the future with you. Which means that we don’t find out about the invention of time-travel until we invent it. Sorry Source Code.

2. To post a song.

I know the movie was set on a Chicago commuter train but I was at The Great Escape in Brighton this weekend and heard this song live for the first time – at an in-store show from Guillemots at Beyond Retro:

Guillemots – Trains to Brazil (Acoustic)

It was one of my top 3 gigs of the festival – the other two being from Breton and Lucy Rose – and they played both older material and songs from their new album, Walk the River. On tour in the UK at the moment.

Mono Solo - Shane Alexander (2010)

I miss my old friends right now.

This will mean nothing at all to most people but Angela, Mary (a long time ago) & Kaj have moved overseas, plus Mon away temporarily…Sal, Ali and my school & uni mates are around but I see them once or twice a month at best, James doesn’t sit close enough to eat my lunch anymore, Bij, Sonia, Nehal don’t live 5 minutes down the road anymore…

Don’t get me wrong, they’re still great friends of mine, and I’ve also made some fantastic new ones – but it isn’t the same as huddling around the lunch tables with a cup of instant coffee at school break times to catch up on the latest gossip, or walking down the corridor in halls to see if anyone wants to head down to the college bar…or even burning the late-night  Excel oil in solidarity with tricolore salad & mushroom tortellini.

The time to catch up with nearest & dearest used to be either as easy as going to the kitchen in your own house, or set aside for you  in a structured….or enforced ;)… fashion. Now we actually have to make an effort in advance, arrange to meet somewhere central, work around each others’ schedules, risk last-minute cancellations and, for overseas friends…rely on skype.

We mostly tend to get together for birthdays, house-warmings, engagements, weddings – it’s still great, but not as familiar.

I rarely post links to songs on MySpace, but feel like it might be appropriate for my nostalgia on this occasion.

Shane Alexander – Keep You In Mind

Here’s his official site – his name is Shane Alexander, he’s from LA California, and this song is from his fourth album, Mono Solo.

One for the changing times.

The Strokes - Heart In A Cage (2006)

I wasn’t really expecting anything from this film. I know Sofia Coppola directed The Virgin Suicides (incredible film) and Lost In Translation (Oscar-winner I’m yet to see)…but I remember her from The Godfather Part III – and then as an actress, not a director – which, needless to say, wasn’t the best of the Trilogy.

So I went to the cinema willing to give it a fair go and, although it didn’t seem to have a discernible or forward-moving plot, nor particularly leave me with feelings of empathy towards any of the characters by the end of the 97 minutes it ran, it was a beautifully shot and quietly understated film.

The one scene that stood out for me was the under-water tea party Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning, who played his on-screen daughter, had in the swimming pool of their hotel – mostly because of this song:

Julian Casablancas – I’ll Try Anything Once

It’s stripped back, simple and heartfelt – perfect for the playful and also sentimental moment shared by father and daughter towards the close of the movie. It’s also, I think, the B-side to the 2006 release Heart In A Cage and an early version of what was later released as You Only Live Once, which sounds completely different.

I wouldn’t watch Somewhere (2010) again myself, but I wouldn’t ever tell someone not to see it. Unless they only like action movies.

I remembered it today… and managed to find it on soundcloud:

Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Wild is the Wind (Live at The Lexington)

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Rivers

You can gauge from the 200-strong crowd in pin-drop silence in the background of the recording just how hypnotic the performance from singer Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin was during that specific song – barely audible and so all the more intense vocals backed by the subtlest hint of percussion.

The rest of the set was fantastic but it was this particular song almost moved me to tears – a version of a song originally sung by Johnny Mathis in the late 50s and most famously covered by Nina Simone and, later, David Bowie.

Thank you to morrisday for capturing a moment of which I might not otherwise have had any record.

I came away from the gig thinking “I know why they’re called Wildbirds & Peacedrums”… except there’s only one bird. (I’m sorry, I had to do that – this post is far too serious without it…)

The two-piece are from Sweden, and are currently on The Leaf Label, with their last release, Rivers, being the focus of their recent shows – the last of which was at Union Chapel backed by a choir which I have no doubt would have been breathtaking in such an awe-inspiring venue.

My favourite track from the album is Iris: The Wave, available to stream on we7, and if you can catch a show, do – I’d go again.

First seen at The Lexington supporting Pete & the Pirates, Lucy Rose is an unsigned singer-songwriter from London who’s been doing the rounds in the small-but-celebrated gig venues (The Lexington, Old Queen’s Head, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen and, coming up The Luminaire, The Lock Tavern and Upstairs @ Ronnie Scott’s).

She has that Kate Nash London pronunciation but with a softness and an emotional crack to the tone that evokes a genuine connection as opposed to disconnected appreciation.

There’s no description up on her Last.fm page at the moment and no downloadabe or streamable mp3s that I could find in the public domain (other than the MySpace), but I’d highly recommend catching her live, especially with the band behind her.

My favourite so far is the live demo of Don‘t You Worry – for some reason it really feels like an Emily-Katie Fitch moment…

Again, no picture as no album cover.

Her voice has such a beautiful, soft, texture and her demeanour is unassuming but captivating. Every song was pure and simple – acoustic guitar with accompaniment from cello, glockenspiel (?) and double bass (John Thorne) – and it wasn’t just a plug & play show, you could really feel what each track meant to her, personally.

I love it when that happens!

I wanted to post her new single up here but can’t find it so here’s an alternative:

Lou Rhodes – Beloved One

Lou Rhodes - Beloved One

At one point towards the end of the set, she said something along the lines of “Every show is about the crowd – sometimes you feel a connection with them and sometimes you just don’t. You’re one of the former” (paraphrasing here, but that was the gist of it)…and then went on to talk about her facebook page and that we should all go there every day and post our “one good thing” for the day to help remind us of the good things that happen in life when things aren’t going so well.

Clearly Lou marketing her forthcoming album – coincidentally titled “One Good Thing” – but it did make me think.

I know I’m guilty, when things aren’t going exactly how I’d like them to (or even sometimes when they’re going really well!), of focussing on what I’m unhappy about or what’s getting me down and forgetting the little things that happen every day to bring a smile to my face. Having some way to help me remember, even spending a few minutes each day thinking about it, sounds like a good thing…

So I’m going to try to tweet one every day with the additional bonuses being that a) I can do it by text from my phone and b) something that made me smile might have a similar effect on someone else.

From yesterday, it’s making snowflake stencils to decorate the office windows for our party. Simple things.

If anyone’s interested, or even wants to join in, I’ll tag them #onegoodthing.

Some free marketing for Lou Rhodes’ new album, One Good Thing, to be released on The Cinematic Orchestra‘s new label Motion Audio and distributed by Ninja Tune in March 2010…

With the ability to silence the chatterings of a crowded bar, to command the undivided attention of her audience and to convey perfectly a complimentary power and vulnerability in one breath, Andreya’s music is raw soul personified.

Andreya Triana – Daydreamers (reverbnation player Track 1)

Andreya Triana

As yet unreleased, this is the song that stood out for me in an otherwise also jaw-dropping performance at Vibe Bar, where she played barefoot with a single acoustic guitar accomplice as part of a line-up that also introduced me to the music of recent Mercury Music Prize-winner Speech Debelle.

I’m excited to hear what her debut album brings, particularly as it’s also going to feature the skills of “superproducer supremo extraordinaire Bonobo” and some “song writes courtesy of the singer/songwriter with the crazy skills and talents Fink”. It’s dropping later this year.

In the meantime, check out her MySpace and an exclusive live show recorded for Red Bull Music Academy at Cargo, London.

I’ve fallen in love with instrumental guitar music lately. First Truckers of Husk, then Rick Tomlinson and the associated Otis Taylor and now this:

The Paper Hats – Waltz of Circassian Beauties

The Paper Hats - Deseret Canyon

It has such a pensive feel to it – a luscious green mountain pasture at sunrise. But not here – perhaps in Italy, or Spain…or…Mexico. It’s such a simple piece but also dynamic, and I particularly love the section from about 1min 50 where it takes a melancholy and erratic turn for about 40-50s (repeated later on).

The beauty of an instrumental, for me, is the potential for interpretation, for turning it into what it means for you personally, rather than relying on the writer’s expression.

This particular track is on ‘Deseret Canyon’, released in August 2008 but I was only able to find it as an mp3 download on Amazon.

Florence + the Machine

It’s somewhat inevitable that cover versions tend to pale in comparison to the original outcome of creative genius, although there are a few exceptions, but Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine does a pretty good job of maintaining the vulnerable purity of the Beirut’s ‘Postcards from Italy’ whilst injecting her own distinctive and powerful vocal style…no sugary-femme high notes here.

Florence and the Machine – Postcards from Italy

There are a few other tracks on the last.fm and MySpace pages as well.

Here’s the original for comparison – in case you haven’t heard it, another one I’ve been playing on repeat in recent times.

Beirut – Postcards from Italy

(This is the one that’s on spotify, not the Florence cover)

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Not sure I entirely agree with their MySpace profile headline…in fact, I know I don’t (“get ****ed. get drunk. shoot up. have fun.”) – but the band were a recommendation from our mate Thom Lyons and, of the tracks up there, this one is my favourite:

Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s – A Children’s Crusade on Acid

It’s from their 2008 releases “Animal!” and “Not Animal”, the dual release being the result of artistic differences with their label, and has a quiet sadness to it that I almost missed until I listened to the lyrics. There’s a lot of audio from their other albums available on their last.fm page but, oddly, not this one.

Also….there’s no Margot!