Back up of my "Myspace" Media related Blog

This is a backup of my Media related blog on Myspace and Wordpress. Perhaps not a true blog, in the rambling daily life kind of way that most blogs are, but rather a multi-media centric list of what has been passing through my life in any particular week. Not a review site and not a true blog. Something a little different I hope.

Mark.

[Warhammer 40,000 Dark Crusade - PC] – One of the best RTS series although this expansion seems pretty hard to me. I couldn’t really make any progress and wasn’t really enjoying it so I swallowed my pride and set it to easy mode and that left me with a fun and still challenging RTS. I particularly like the campaign and conquer mode. Its very addictive.

[Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 – PS3] – Stunning graphics and great control. An amazing selection of weapons  all with top notch sound.  The game plays pretty much like all the other call of duty games but it is more special forces based (less huge battles). I still enjoy the fire fights best (the Brazilian ghettos were particularly enjoyable) and some of the more stealthy stuff a bit less.  The settings for this game are bit controversial as they include battles in US suburbs and airports and the like. I have only played the campaign so far and the story and acting are great but I fear it is going by too quickly. I put in a solid 5 hours+ so far and I get the impression that the single player campaign may be a bit short. I am very impressed with the Special ops mode. Great Game

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Home Alone – DVD] – A great Christmas movie where the human characters are beaten up just like a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Not as good as I remembered it to be but a good laugh none the less.

[Vicar of Dibley – The Christmas Dinner Incident – DVD] – Watching the Christmas vicar of Dibley is a great tradition in our house. A very funny episode and one I never tire of watching.

[Knowing Me Knowing Yule – Alan Partridge - DVD] – The Alan Partridge Christmas special with the usual amount of uncomfortable moments and embarrassingly funny moments. Great festive Fun.

[Porridge – The Christmas Specials – DVD] – Two classic Christmas specials are collected on this DVD, "No Way Out" and "The Desperate Hours". They are both very funny but if I was to choose a favorite it would be "No Way Out" where Ronnie Barker is on absolute top form trying to get to spend Christmas in the prison hospital.

[Touch of Frost Series 13 – Endangered Species - DVD] – An excellent frost episode based around the illegal trafficking of endangered species. All the hallmarks of a classic Frost episode are present.

[Touch of Frost Series 14 – Episode 1 – Mind games – DVD] – Excellent Frost episode with many twists, turns and surprises. Still as good as ever.

[Peter Kay’s Special Kay – DVD] – A very funny collection of appearances by Peter on various shows, deleted sketches, adverts and other little gubbins. Some of it is rib bustingly funny especially the sketch with Catherine Tate.

Podcasts:

[Jonathon Ross Podcast - 11/9/09] - Jonathan is joined by comedian Rhod Gilbert who's talking Cats, Nicholas Lyndhurst and award winning mince pies! And Dizzee Rascal pops in to update Jonathan's 'street slang' dictionary. Very funny as usual

[Jonathon Ross Podcast - 11/15/09] - Jonathan is joined by the many voices of Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, out-going Dr Who, David Tennant, plus the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, James Earl Jones talks about returning to the West End stage. Very funny as usual

Music :

[Project 42] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/42.htm

[Am I Evil, the Anthology] - (Diamond Head) - Excellent British Metal album from a band that were big in the eighties. Has all the classic tracks especially such classics as "Am I evil" and "Borrowed Time".

Still sounds surprisingly fresh today and I had forgotten how good the guitarwork was.

[Live at the Lyceum] - (Genesis) - Absolutely Classic genesis gig. One of my all time favorite live concerts.

[Slade Live at The BBC] – (Slade) – Absolutely fantastic double CD with Slade at their rawest and best.

[The Alternative] (IAMX) - Discovered this band through an XM radio podcast. Fantastic 80's style synth sound and driving beats. Chris Corner also has a great voice and the lyrics are both catchy and thought provoking. A bit like a cross between “Dirty Vegas” and “She Wants Revenge”. This one is highly recommended for fans of Electronic Synth Pop.

[Marbles Live] - (Marillion) - A good live album with some nicely twiddly bits.

Books:

*Reading [Punisher Max, Vol. 5 - Hardcover] (Garth Ennis, Howard Chaykin, Goran Parlov) – [ISBN-13: 978-0785137825]

[Himalaya - Micheael Palin] - Another excellent travel/ adventure series with the Monty Python star. He takes in some absolutely breathtaking scenery on his trip along the spine of the Himalayas. Its a little more laid back than his previous adventures but no less interesting. Episodes 1 to 4.

Books:

[Brit Volume 2: AWOL] - (Robert Kirkman, Bruce Brown, Andy Kuhn, Cliff Rathburn) - This volume collects BRIT issues #7-12. Another great addition to the indestructable anti hero "Brit". This book has a bewildering number of twists and turns and It's quite a feat to be able to even keep up with it all. The artwork is great and the coloring spot on. The story is well crafted and by the end of the book things fall nicely into place. A good read.

*Reading [Punisher Max, Vol. 5 - Hardcover] (Garth Ennis, Howard Chaykin, Goran Parlov) - [ISBN-13: 978-0785137825]

Podcasts:

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #248] - DC's new Batman and Superman Earth One Graphic Novels; New Releases of the Week; Asterios Polyp HC by David Mazzucchelli (Pantheon); 29m 29s

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #249] - Marvel's Greatest Comics; Superman Earth One Graphic Novel info; New Releases of the Week; Criminal Definitive Edition HC (Marvel/Icon); 23m 16s

[NPR All Songs Considered - Moby Recorded Live in Berlin] - Moby's latest album, Wait for Me, is his best new release in a decade, full of beauty, sadness and celebration. The singer and electronic artist is currently on tour in support of the record, giving sold-out performances to packed arenas and smaller clubs throughout Europe and the U.S. For this stellar concert, recorded live in Berlin on June 26, Moby treated fans to nearly two hours of new songs and old favorites from a career spanning nearly 20 years. A pretty good Gig.

Music:

[Transmissions From Atomhenge] - (Hawkwind) - There seems to be hundreds of Hawkwind complilation CD's in circulation and this is one of the better ones. A great selection of tracks (some I have never heard before) and some right good Hawkwind jamming sessions.

[Government Comissions: BBC Sessions 1996 - 2003] - (Mogwai) - Absolutely fantastic stuff for Mogwai fans. It Manages to improve on the studio versions in oh so many many ways and the sound is gorgeous.

[Led Zeppelin Live] - Some great stuff but I sometimes find Robert Plant a bit annoying. Jimmy Page is a guitar god.

Games:

[Warhammer 40,000 Dark Crusade - PC] – One of the best RTS series although this expansion seems pretty hard to me. I couldn’t really make any progress and wasn’t really enjoying it so I swallowed my pride and set it to easy mode and that left me with a fun and still challenging RTS. I particularly like the campaign and conquer mode. Its very addictive. I am also enjoying Skirmish.

[Fallout 3] – (PS3) – When I first started playing this game I found the controls and graphics confusing. Although the post apocalyptic world is nicely rendered I found it difficult to navigate.  The voice acting is good and the strange 50’s soundtrack is perfectly suited to the landscape. I also struggled with combat to begin with. After about 4 hours of play things started to gel and I began to enjoy myself. The controls became natural and the combat scheme a great tactical experience. The more I play the more I like it. I am starting to get the hang of the Quests but still gain the most satisfaction from wandering around killing stuff and looking for ammo and stimpacks. Its a pretty hard game and draining at times. Oh for a bit of sunshine and color.

Various stuff from Karnivool, Ocenasize and Anethema

[Transmissions From Atomhenge] – (Hawkwind) – There seems to be hundreds of Hawkwind complilation CD’s in circulation and this is one of the better ones. A great selection of tracks (some I have never heard before) and some right good Hawkwind jamming sessions.

[Government Comissions: BBC Sessions 1996 - 2003] – Absolutely fantastic stuff for Mogwai fans. It Manages to improve on the studio versions in oh so many many ways and the sound is gorgeous.

[Outlaws] – (Luke Doucet) – I wouldn’t normally be into this type of country stuff but the guitar work sounds amazing and there is some real fire and passion to the lyrics. The title Track “Outlaws” is outstanding. The whole album is pretty good.

[Triptych] – (The Bevis Frond) – Incredible prog rock album recorded by some bloke in his living room. Great songs and absolutely fantastic guitar playing. Pretty folky vocals and distinctly British. A very raw sound but wonderful with it.

Podcasts:

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Of Montreal] – Kevin Barnes (or “Georgie Fruit” in this case) and the cast of Of Montreal treats the KEXP airwaves to acoustic versions of the tracks from their funky glam-pop opus “Skeletal Lamping.” Recorded on 11/19/08 – 5 songs: Beware Our Nubile Miscreants, “Triphallus, To Punctuate!”, Touched Something’s Hollow, An Eluardian Instance, For Our Elegant Caste. I Really enjoyed This Podcast and the acoustic mixes were a refreshing change. The interviewer is terrible though and its best to fast forward past these sections.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #247] – Holiday Guide; New Releases of the Week; Driven By Lemons HC (Adhouse) and Trial Of Sherlock Holmes HC (Dynamite); 23m 05s

[NPR Live Concerts From All Songs Considered - Sonic Youth] – After spending nearly 20 years delivering crunchy, underground guitar rock for a major label, Sonic Youth has returned to its indie roots for its 16th studio album, The Eternal. Out now on Matador Records, Sonic Youth’s latest effort is among the band’s finest, with a fuzzy, tightly orchestrated mix of psych-punk rock and noisy jams. The band showcased the album in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club July 7.

I really like some of the stuff that Sonic Youth perform but I also really hate the stuff sang by that wailing banshee of a female singer. This concert has a lot of the brash nosiy stuff that I don’t like as much but there are still some excellent Pink Floyd like Jam sessions. I still can’t understand why they have that woman singer. She is truly awful. Not a bad gig but It could have been so much better.

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Ed Harcourt]- British singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ed Harcourt stops by KEXP with a guitar and a handful of his wonderfully varied pop tracks for a lovely acoustic live performance. Recorded on  7/10/09, 4 songs: Killed By The Morning Sun, Church Of No Religion, Caterpillar, Blues Run The Game. A pretty good session with a fun interview.

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Lyrics Born]The funky Bay Area microphone acrobat Lyrics Born joins KEXP on his home turf during our live broadcast from Berkeley, California. He’s joined by singer (and his wife) Joyo Velarde, and DJ D-Sharp for some tight renditions of tracks from “Everywhere At Once.” Recorded live on  1/29/09 – 4 songs: Don’t Change, Hott 2 Deff, I’m A Phreak, I Like It, I Love It.  A very Talented Berkeley Hip Hopper.

Books:

[30 Days of Night] – (Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith) – I got this book as part of an excellent 3 part boxed and signed signed collectors set. I decided to buy it after watching the enjoyable movie based on the book. I was initially quite dissapointed when I got my copy. The books are printed on nice glossy stock and look fantastic but the artwork in an unusual abstract style. I like my graphic novels to be more conventional and less confusing to read (Its sometimes difficult to tell Vampire from Human as both parties are shown with bared teeth). The story is good (different from the movie) and I found it engaging enough to read in one sitting but it was a little short. Quite a large section of the book is given over to previews of the next books and advertisements for other books (I think this is a waste of paper). A good book but I enjoyed the movie more. [ISBN-10: 0971977550]

[Dark Days - 30 Days of Night, Book 2] – I got this book as part of an excellent 3 part boxed and signed signed collectors set. The setting for this book has changed. The heoroine from the first part has moved down to LA to continue the war on the vampires. I think this is a better book than the first one although the concept of the first was more engaging. There are many plot twists and turns and sublots going on within this relatively short tale. I am not sure if I am getting used to Ben Templesmiths art style but I found it more enjoyable in the second book and the abstract gore fest certainly portrays an atmosphere. A great book. [ISBN-10: 1932382364]

[Return to Barrow - 30 Days of Night, Book 3] – (Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith) – I got this book as part of an excellent 3 part boxed and signed signed collectors set. For this book we return to Barrow to discover the poor old town is still beset by Vampires. This time the town is ready for it…or are they ? I can only assume the more you look at  Ben Templesmiths artwork the better it gets. Its still kind of chaotic and confusing but I now feel it suits the story perfectly. The third novel is a rip roaring adventure tale with great back stories and suprises. Out of the three books this was my favorite (I read all three books on consecutive evenings). A great trilogy. [ISBN-10: 1932382364]

*Reading [Brit Volume 2 : AWOL] – (Robert Kirkman, Bruce Brown, Andy Kuhn, and Cliff Rathburn] – (ISBN-13: 978-1582408644)

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The New Avengers (76) - DVD] – I used to really enjoy this series as a child and watching it again brings the memories flooding back. By today’s standards the effects, dialogue and acting are pretty poor bit this all adds to the charm. EP 2 : “The Midas Touch”. An Ok episode with some truly awful acting and effects. Hong Kong Harry was particularily funny as the worst ever portrayal of a chinese person by a white actor. Purdy still looked great and there was a car chase between and XJS and a Aston Martin DBS so it wasn’t all bad. EP 3 : “House of Cards”. A very enjoyable episode and it featured Steeds Custom XJR12…Nice.

[Michael Palin Sahara - DVD Episodes 1 and 2] – I am a huge fan of Palin’s travel logs and this one is as good as ever. He has a unique way of fitting in with the locals and capturing the real essence of the places he visits. Like all his videos this is not an adventure for the gastronomically weak. The video Diary extras are a great bonus.

Games:

[Left 4 Dead 2 - XBOX360] – A pretty fun game with excellent weapons and insane numbers of Zombies on screen. The single player is very short and a bit disappointing. I have played a few online games and its seems OK but its too early to draw any conclusions. Great Graphics. The game seems very unbalanced online but I am persevering.

[Warhammer 40,000 Dark Crusade - PC] – One of the best RTS series although this expansion seems pretty hard to me. I couldn’t really make any progress and wasn’t really enjoying it so I swallowed my pride and set it to easy mode and that left me with a fun and still challenging RTS. I particularly like the campaign and conquer mode. Its very addictive. I am also enjoying Skirmish.

[Fallout 3] – (PS3) – When I first started playing this game I found the controls and graphics confusing. Although the post apocalyptic world is nicely rendered I found it difficult to navigate.  The voice acting is good and the strange 50’s soundtrack is perfectly suited to the landscape. I also struggled with combat to begin with. After about 4 hours of play things started to gel and I began to enjoy myself. The controls became natural and the combat scheme a great tactical experience. The more I play the more I like it. I am starting to get the hang of the Quests but still gain the most satisfaction from wandering around killing stuff and looking for ammo and stimpacks. Its a pretty hard game and draining at times. Oh for a bit of sunshine and color.

[Qi the C series - Series 3 - Episodes 4 to 6] - An enjoyable show hosted by Stephen Fry. Some clever and witty guests. Funny and educational too. 

[The New Avengers (76) - DVD] - I used to really enjoy this series as a child and watching it again brings the memories flooding back. By today's standards the effects, dialogue and acting are pretty poor bit this all adds to the charm. EP 1 : "The Eagle's Nest". A enjoyable episode where some Monks up in Scotland try to raise Hitler. Joanna Lumley looks very fit in this episode.
 
Podcasts:
 
[X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] - The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.

[Around the Net] - This is still one of the best and funniest podcasts out there.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #246] - All 27 Spirit Archives; Upcoming on the CCL; New Releases of the Week; Agents of Atlas: Dark Reign Premiere HC; 31m 05s.

Games:

[Killzone 2 - PS3] - I found Killzone 2 to be an enjoyable 1 player campaign but I am less impressed by the skirmish and online play. Skirmish isn't bad but nothing to really write home about. Online play suffers from the bane of most console based games in that you here the incessant babbling of spoilt brat teenagers. I wish the headset had never been invented for Online play. Not very impressed.

[Left 4 Dead 2 - XBOX360] - A pretty fun game with excellent weapons and insane numbers of Zombies on screen. The single player is very short and a bit disappointing. I have played a few online games and its seems OK but its too early to draw any conclusions. Great Graphics.

Music

[Project 42] – http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/42.htm

Books:

[Punisher By Garth Ennis Omnibus HC] – (Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson, Tom Mandrake, Cam Kennedy, John McCrea, Dougie Braithwaite, Joe Quesada,) – Fantastic collection of punisher stories by Garth Ennis in an absolutely humungous hard cover book. Not as hard edged as the MAX series but no worse for this. Garth really is the master of the Punisher. The artwork is also very good.  The only slightly weak area in this collection was where Superheroes were included. I think Garth really struggles with superheroes and I thought the final superhero showdown was pretty week. Garth's take on Wolverine was also horrible. This book is an amazing collection.(ISBN-10: 0785133836)

[Carry On Emanuel - DVD] - Not the funniest Carry on movie but not still worth a watch. Not as smutty as you would expect and lacking in the charm of the earlier movies. The star is a great double of the real Emanuel.

[The best of Dave Allen - DVD] - A funny Irish Comedian that often poked fun at religion and a great collection of his sketches and monologues.

[A Touch Of Frost - Series 11 Episodes 1 and 2 -DVD] - The first episode "Another Life" I though was a great return for Frost after his suspension. All the usual Frost specialties were there and it was a great story. The second episode "Dancing in the Dark" wasn’t as good and it seemed to lack the certain spark Frost always has. Still enjoyable though.

[30 Days of Night - DVD] - A very enjoyable vampire movie with a twist. A great idea that was well executed. Scary vamps too.

Podcasts
 
[Sesslers Soapbox 11/18/2009] - Adam grieves for all the people who worked at Pandemic Studios, and discusses the possible future plans of their publisher, EA.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #245] - eBay Market Watch; New Releases of the Week; DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and Dynamite Solicitations for April 2010; 24m 18s

[John Cleese Podcast #22]- John has a word or two to say about fear and stage fright. Excellent stuff as usual.

[John Cleese Podcast #23]- Just a Shrek 3 trailer.

[John Cleese Podcast #28] - 'Tis the holiday season, in which people everywhere gather to celebrate this precious time of giving. Assembled around a blazing fire, families eat themselves sick, drink themselves silly, and fight for their entertainment options with unaccustomed ferocity. So, in order to leaven this dark time, we bring you John Cleese's Very Own Version of: The Night Before Christmas. With lots of festive love from all the Podcast Reindeer. Very funny.

[The News Quiz 15 May 2009] - Expenses mistakes. Sandi Toksvig and the team take a look at MPs expenses and, in contrast to most major newspapers this week, some other stories as well. Fred MacAulay, Josie Long, Hugo Rifkind and Jeremy Hardy are the guests. Produced by Ed Morrish. Not a particularly good episode. Josie Long was terrible and not in the least bit funny.

[The News Quiz 22 May 2009] - Speaking and Not Speaking.  Gordon Brown's refusal to call an snap election, the leader of the BNP taking tea with the Queen, and Speaker Michael Martin's resignation get the News Quiz treatment.  Host Sandi Toksvig is joined by Francis Wheen, Fred Macaulay, Robin Ince and Now Show regular Steve Punt.  Carolyn Brown reads the news.  Produced by Victoria Lloyd. Back to form on this episode.

[The News Quiz 29 May 2009] - Reform.  Nick Clegg's proposals for reform, Julie Kirkbride's expenses, and the nuclear ambitions of North Korea get the News Quiz treatment.  Host Sandi Toksvig presides over Rory Bremner, Fred Macaulay, Andy Zaltzman and Danielle Ward.  Produced by Victoria Lloyd. Good stuff.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast 31 Oct 2009] - Jonathan is joined by upcoming young actor and former So Solid Crew member, Ashley Walters, plus there's a touch of glamour with Hammer House girls Madeline Smith and Valerie Leon. I particularly enjoyed the Hammer ladies as it brought back many memories.

Music:

[Am I Evil, the Anthology] - (Diamond Head) - Excellent British Metal album from a band that were big in the eighties. Has all the best tracks especially such classics as "Am I evil" and "Borrowed Time".  Still sounds surprisingly fresh today and I had forgotten how good the guitarwork was.

[Bjork's Greatest Hits] - (Bjork) - A very talented and very strange lady. Excellent CD and so many tunes that could have been Bond themes. Good Stuff.

[Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots ] – (The Flaming Lips) – A strange yet enjoyable CD with some great electronic sounds. The version I have has some alternative mixes which are even better than the originals.

Books:

*Reading [Punisher By Garth Ennis Omnibus HC] – (Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson, Tom Mandrake, Cam Kennedy, John McCrea, Dougie Braithwaite, Joe Quesada,) – (ISBN-10: 0785133836)

Games:

[Warhammer 40,000 Dark Crusade - PC] - One of the best RTS series although this expansion seems pretty hard to me. I couldn’t really make any progress and wasn’t really enjoying it so I swallowed my pride and set it to easy mode and that left me with a fun and still challenging RTS. I particularly like the campaign and conquer mode. Its very addictive. The ORC's seemed to be a real pain to beat when they seem to be spawning an endless supply of cannon fodder. I finally figured out there weak spot.

[Killzone 2 - PS3] - I found Killzone 2 to be an enjoyable 1 player campaign but never tried the skirmish and online play. Skirmish isnt bad but nothing to really write home about. Online play suffers from the bane of most console based games in that you here the incessant babbling of spoilt brat teenagers. I wish the headset had never been invented for Online play. Not very impressed.

[Two Ronnies Christmas Special 1982] – Absolutely classic British Comedy. So good you can watch it when its not xmas.

Podcasts:

[X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] – The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.

[Around the Net] – This is still one of the best and funniest podcasts out there.

[Sesslers Soapbox 10/21/2009] – Adam uses Borderlands as an example of how “grinding” can be as satisfying experience if the game’s mechanics are solid. It is true, you cant beat levelling up when you are stressed.

[Sesslers Soapbox 11/4/2009] – Adam takes Infinity Ward to task for their involvement with a recent Modern Warfare 2 viral video that included offensive language. Adam definitely has his angry head on for this one.

[Sesslers Soapbox 11/11/2009] – Adam discusses the infamous Modern Warfare 2 airport scene, and why he thinks the gaming industry must be allowed to push the envelope. The man has a point.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast 10/19/2009] – Jonathan talks about the joys of cooking with River Cottage chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall plus actor Carlos Bernard, one of the stars of hit series ‘24' resists Jonathan’s attempts to discover the plot of season 8. Great stuff.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast 10/24/2009] – Jonathan is joined by The Thick of It and In The Loop star, Peter Capaldi, plus actress Tracy Ann Oberman talks about appearing in an on-line only thriller – Girl Number 9. Great stuff.

Games:

[Warhammer 40,000 Dark Crusade - PC] – One of the best RTS series although this expansion seems pretty hard to me. I couldn’t really make any progress and wasn’t really enjoying it so I swallowed my pride and set it to easy mode and that left me with a fun and still challenging RTS. I particularly like the campaign and conquer mode. Its very addictive. The ORC’s are a real pain to beat when they seem to be spawning an endless supply of cannon fodder.

Music:

[Project 42] – http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/42.htm

[Themata] – (Karnivool) – A pretty good nu metal album with some hints of Tool in some of the arrangements. I have heard better stuff by them.
[Man of Aran] – (British Sea Power) – I didnt realize that this was going to be a soundtrack, I just automatically bought it because it was BSP and I am a BSP fan. After the first two tracks I was thinking they were taking the mickey and was wondering if the album was ever going to get going. The soundtrack is pretty dull and repetetive to listen to on its own although there are some Clannad moments. Music to meditate to but not to groove to?

[Sugar] – (Aloha) – This band is very hard to categorize so I am not even going to try. Oh well….they are sort of free form Jazz experimental Indie band. Their music is complex, with strange time signatures and instruments and Is quite a challenge to listen too. It is not really brash or harsh but there is so much going on and you rarely get a comfortable feeling that you know where the songs are going next. Xylophones seem to feature prominently. I listened to this album once back in 2004 and discarded it. I found it last week while tidying up and gave it a second chance. I am glad I did as either my musical tastes have broadened or the album has improved with age. It gets better every time I listen to it.
 

[That's Your Fire] – (Aloha) – A unique sounding Indie experimental band with complicated time signatures and a freerange Jazz approach to song writing. Xylophones feature prominently in the arrangements. This album is similar in style to the later release “Sugar” but it is a little more laid back and it doesn’t give your ears quite the same work out. Great band and a great album.

[Live In America] – (The Sweet) – I was really surprised just how good this concert is. All the hits are there and all of them are played flawlessly. They even have the extended version of “Love is Like Oxygen”. Some of the tracks I am not so familiar with but I was shocked at just how much like Deep Purple they sounded. Excellent album especially if you are a Sweet fan.

Books:

*Reading [Punisher By Garth Ennis Omnibus HC]– (Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson, Tom Mandrake, Cam Kennedy, John McCrea, Dougie Braithwaite, Joe Quesada,) – (ISBN-10: 0785133836)

Week Beginning 31st August 2009:

DVD/UMD/Bluray:

[Goodnight Sweetheart - Series 2 - Episodes 1 to 10 - DVD] - Nicholas Lyndhurst stars in this intriguing and light hearted comedy series about a TV repairman married to an overpowering woman who manages to find his way back to the 1940's. He finds a new Sweetheart back in 1940 and the series plays around with the ideas of time travel, morality and trying to keep 2 relationships going. It has some genuinely funny moments and is an easy watch. I enjoyed it and I think they did a particularly good Job of recreating 1940's London (must have eaten up the budget Quite a bit). His wife in the present is that ghastly actress who was one of the Stars of "Rita, Sue and Bob too" and a Coronation Street regular. His best friend is an ex "Bread" cast member.   Nicholas Lyndhurst is still pretty "Rodney" although not such a plonker :-). Series 2 follows on pretty much the same as the first series. Hard to figure out how they will lead into the third season.

[Pushing Daisies Season 2 Episode 13- Bluray] - The final episode of Pushing Daisies brought to a close this excellent TV series. Most of the loose ends were tied up but it felt like it was a little rushed (I don't think they were expecting to be cancelled). The only loose end that was left dangling in the Breeze was the mysterious stranger that rescued the Piemaker and Olive from the cliff top whom we presumed was the Piemaker's father. Perhaps they expected to expand on this story line in Season 3. Sorry to see this end so soon but at least they ended on a high note.

[Touch Of Frost – Series 6 Episode 1 – The Appendix man - DVD] – David Jason is fantastic in this quirky detective series. Another great episode.

[Touch Of Frost – Series 6 Episode 2 – One Mans Meat -DVD] – David Jason is fantastic in this quirky detective series. Another great episode.

[Camblewick Green – Episodes 1 to 4 - DVD] – Childhood memories :)

[Minder Series 1 - Episodes 8 and 9] – Classic minder before it all got a bit silly. George Cole is really good as Arthur Daley in the earlier series and Dennis Waterman is cheery and witty as the ex boxer con Terry. In later series all Terry did was moan and whine and Arthur was a little less believable. Great stuff.

Books:

[Mice Templar Volume 1] - (Michael Avon Oeming, Bryan J.Glass) - Collects Mice Templar #1-6 - As the title of the book suggests, this is a story with mice and a sword and sorcery theme. This deluxe soft cover has excellent paper and  way better than usual set of extras including some very in depth articles. The artwork is well done but lacks a little detail in favor of artistic presentation. This made it a little difficult for me to tell who was who at times. The story was pretty good with some nice plot twists and turns and it had the same sort of serious tone that watership Down used so effectively NOT Disney at all). I have yet to find animal based Graphic Novel that approaches my favorite authors work (William Horwood) but this wasn't bad at all. Very comprehensive set of extras. [ISBN-13: 978-1607061274]

[Battler Britton] – (Garth Ennis, Colin Wilson)- Garth Ennis brings back one of the golden age of British war comics with great illustrations by Colin Wilson. The style certainly took me back to my days of reading “Warlord” and “Commando” comics as a kid, although I never read “Battler Britton” when it was popular. I enjoyed the story but I felt that it was a little short for the $20 asking price. [ISBN-13: 978-1-4012-1378-7]

*Reading* - [Lost Girls Hardcover Edition - Hardcover] - (Alan Moore, Melinda Gebbie) - [ISBN-13: 978-1603090445]

Podcasts:

[Sesslers Soapbox - 8/26/09] - Adam explains that, like art, game critiques must include works of the past and present in order so the reader has a frame of reference. Serious stuff for a change.

[Jonathon Ross - 29th June 2009]- Jonathan learns some basic measuring techniques from 'Mathmagician' Johnny Ball and singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright talks about his foray into the world of opera.

[Jonathon Ross -  5th July 2009] - Jonathan is joined by comedian and writer Danny Wallace who talks about the rights and wrongs of looking up old friends and Myleene Klass is around with some tips on staying young!

[Jonathon Ross -  14th July 2009]- Jonathan is joined by Avenger and Bond girl, Honor Blackman, plus Oasis frontman, Noel Gallagher gives us an insight into the life behind the rock and roll star

[Jonathon Ross -  20th July 2009] - Jonathan is joined by one of the country's best known artists and creator of the Sgt Peppers album cover, Sir Peter Blake, plus comedian Jason Manford has some thoughts on bringing up twins!

[Jonathan Ross - 24th July 2009] - Jonathon discusses the curse of good looks with fellow hearthrob and Hollywood actor, Ethan Hawke, and Charlie Brooker talks about what "You Have Been Watching".

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #234] - Interview with Terry Moore, Strangers In Paradise Omnibus (Abstract Studios). THE Trade Paperback Podcast. The only podcast solely dedicated to news, information and reviews on all sorts of comic book collected editions.

Music:

[Jeff Beck Greatest Hits] - (Jeff Beck) - I have never really listened to any of Jeff Beck's work with the exception of "Hi Ho Silver Lining" but after reading good things about him in a guitar mag I decided to check him out. He is obviously a excellent guitarist but this greatest hits collection did nothing for me. Some of the instrumental stuff had a very "elevator music" feel to me. It was interesting to hear the original version of "Shapes of Things" as I had previously only heard Gary Moore's version. I much prefer Gary's rendition.

[Thunder and Lightning] - (Thin Lizzy) - Although this album did not achieve critical acclaim it is my favourite Lizzy studio album and the live album supporting it "Life" is my favorite Lizzy live album. It has some fantastic tracks from the pounding "Thunder and Lightning" and "Cold Sweat" to the melodic "Sun Goes Down" and "This is The one". Phil's final effort was a testement to his immense talents.

[The River Sessions Volume 1] - (Pallas) - Excellent Live album full of early Pallas stuff. A treat for Pallas fans and a great selection of tracks. Raw and wonderfull.

[Am I Evil, the Anthology] - (Diamond Head) - Excellent British Metal album from a band that were big in the eighties. Has all the classic tracks especially such classics as "Am I evil" and "Borrowed Time".  Still sounds surprisingly fresh today and I had forgotten how good the guitarwork was.

[Elvis 30 Number 1 hits] - (Elvis Presley) - Hail to the king baby.

[Live in Cologne 1976] - (Rainbow) - Classic Rainbow line up with Dio and a great choice of songs. Ritchie was on particularily good form for this gig. The version of Mistreated is a match for anything done by Purple. It also has "Stargazer" and "Catch The Rainbow"...nuff said.

[The Very Beast of Dio]- (Dio) - I think RJ Dio is one of the best heavy rock vocalists of all time. I particularly enjoyed his stint in Rainbow where I reckon he did some of his best work. This album contains my favorite Dio tracks, Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark, Dream Evil and the last in line. I saw him live a few years back and he was still fantastic.

[Brothers in Arms] - (Dire Straits) - I havent listened to this album for over 10 years although I pretty much listened it to death when it was released. I even saw them on the Brothers in arms tour. Some of it sounds very dated now like the first 3 tracks which were by far the most commercial offerings on the album. What did shock me was how good the rest of the album still sounds. The production is amazing. "Latest Trick" is still my favorite track on the album.

Week Beginning 24th August 2009:
 

Week Beginning 17th August 2009

Week Beginning 10th Aug 2009

 

Week Beginning 2 Aug 2009

Podcasts:

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Japandroids] -  A rockin' live set from the spirited duo from Vancouver, B.C. whose minimal garage-pop is as noisy as it is catchy. Japandroids play songs from the debut LP "Post-Nothing" and do a nice cover of Big Black's "Racer X." Recorded on 6/16/2009 - 4 songs: Crazy/Forever, Heart Sweats, Racer X, Young Hearts Spark Fire. Musically I like this band as they have drive and energy and a certain rawness. Vocally I am less convinced but they are still worth a listen if you like your music raw and back to basics.
 

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Steve Earle] Veteran country rocker Steve Earle plays tribute to one of America's late-great songwriters Townes Van Zandt with his covers record "Townes." He stops by KEXP for a candid interview about Mr. Van Zandt and an acoustic live set featuring three songs from the record and "Copperhead Road" one of his own early classics. Recorded on 5/16/2009 - 4 songs: Pancho And Lefty, Brand New Companion, Lungs, Copperhead Road. I was not very Impressed with the stuff from the new record. To be honest the only song I like by Steve Earle is Copperhead Road. The solo version on this session is not too bad.

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Of Montreal] - Kevin Barnes (or "Georgie Fruit" in this case) and the cast of Of Montreal treats the KEXP airwaves to acoustic versions of the tracks from their funky glam-pop opus "Skeletal Lamping." Recorded on 11/19/08 - 5 songs: Beware Our Nubile Miscreants, "Triphallus, To Punctuate!", Touched Something's Hollow, An Eluardian Instance, For Our Elegant Caste. I Really enjoyed This Podcast and the acoustic mixes were a refreshing change. The interviewer is terrible though and its best to fast forward past these sections.

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Lykke Li] - Swedish singer Lykke Li performs an affecting set of some of her most popular songs for KEXP at CMJ 2008. Recorded live at Gibson Showroom on 10/21/08 - 4 songs: Dance Dance Dance, I'm Good I'm Gone, Little Bit, Tonight. Pretty good podcast with some interesting arrangements. Certainly a fresh sound but the Interview portion is a bit hard work to listen too.

[KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Mahjongg] - Chicago electro-tribal experimentalists Mahjongg raid Engine Room Studio in this exclusive live performance on KEXP. Recorded on 7/16/08 - 4 songs: Tell the Police the Truth, Whoop, Those Birds Are Bats, Trilogy. Seriously wacky garage style electro stuff. I really liked "Tell the Police" but the other stuff didn't do so much for me.

[XM Weekly Podcast #36] - This week Billy Zero features Tres Bien from Florida and a new song from the Dub Pistols latest release. Billy also features a great new band from Texas called The Morning Benders who are on tour with The Kooks in 2008. Next is Gospel Gossip and a song from the self-titled Jim Noir release on Barsuk. Last to be featured this week is a band called Sleepercar and we'll hear two tracks from their release, West Texas. Nothing particularly noteworthy in this weeks show.

Music:

[Cheat The Gallows] - (Bigelf) - This band have a very seventies sound with strong influences from Early Deep Purple, Zappa, Uriah Heap, Marc Bolan and a bit of glam rock too. Great musicianship with particularily noteworthy Keyboard and Guitar solos. The music can be a bit over dramatic in parts but it is inventive and there are lots of variation within the same song. Good Stuff if you like your Galm Rock with a modern twist.

[Hex] - (Bigelf) - A very seventies sounding rock album with some hints of many big bands. I particularily noticed some Sabbath influences on this one. Good Album with great Guitar and Keyboards. I didn't enjoy this album as much as "Cheat the Gallows".

[Act III - Life And Death] - (The Dear Hunter) - A record based upon strong vocal harmonies with a little bit of a Queen or Killers feel to it. Pretty Good but I don't think I would class it as prog.

[Still Dangerous] - (Thin Lizzy) - A 1977 concert from Philadelphias live theater that was recently released after remaining Dormant for many years. A fantastic live album with great vocals and pristine double lead guitars. As good as Live and Dangerous. I hope they can find some more stuff like this.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:
 

[Snuff Box Series 1 - DVD] - Snuff Box  is a BBC Three sketch show starring and written by Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher with additional material by Nicky Gargano. Both actors use their real names for their main characters. Berry plays a hangman ("High Executioner to the King of England"), and Fulcher his assistant. Both these gentlemen were regulars on the Mighty Boosh. The majority of the program is set in a "gentlemen's club for hangmen", although the show is also interspersed with sequences of sketches, often featuring different characters. This program is definitely way out there in terms of material and it doesn’t surprise me that it wasn’t a great success. I actually enjoyed Snuff Box and found its bizzarre sense of humor to be compelling and the music actually pretty good. Snuff Box is definitely not for everyone but worth a look if you have an open mind. I Really like the theme tune.

[Watchmen Directors Cut – Bluray]- A very long (3 hour +) movie based upon the Alan Moore graphic novel illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The sound and picture quality was fantastic and the dynamic range often had me jumping out of my seat. The movie seems to be pretty faithful to the comic and it is violent and gritty. I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book which I thought was very overrated. The movie does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the locations and the characters. As good a movie as can be expected taking into consideration the source material. I reckon that if you had not read the book you would find the whole thing quite confusing.

[Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic (2009)- Chapters 1 to 3 - DVD] – I got this for $5 from Target so I thought it was worth a try. It’s actually pretty good.

Games

[Shining Force – Sega Genesis] – A fun and at times frustrating RPG game that is similar to FF tactics. No random battles here but some very long scripted ones. The music drives everyone else in the house mad.

[ESWAT – Sega Genesis] – An incredibly difficult and frustrating side scrolling platformer. They don’t make them like this anymore. Fortunately.

Books

[Just A Pilgrim - Hardcover] – (Garth Ennis, Carlos Ezquerra) – This is an absolutely stunning graphic novel with some of the best artwork Carlos Ezquerra has ever done. I have always been a big fan of Carlos but much of his work is in black and white. The coloring in this book absolutely brings his work to life.  The story covers the tale of a maniacal Pilgrim on a crusade against evil in a post apocalyptic world. There are two novels within this hardcover and they are both excellent. The extras are stunning too. This book slams into my all time top ten list. [ISBN 1-60690-003-x]

Week Beginning 5th July 2009

Watching Daily Coverage of the Tour de France On Vs and a business trip to Alaska ate up a lot of my multimedia time over the last two weeks

Podcasts:

[X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] - The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.
 
[Around The Net] - Funny videos from around the net with Kevin and the oh so cute Olivia amongst other funny presenters. Probably one of the best free Video podcasts out there. Risky humor makes it fun.

[Sesslers Soapbox] - Video Games Industry snippets from mr Video Games himself.  I look forward to these rants and reviews. He seems to have calmed down a little bit but still makes some very good points.

Music:

[Amnesiac] - (Radiohead) - Radiohead in their second strange Electronic album. It's a good listen although some of the tracks are a bit challengiing. "Knives Out" is the only real standout track.
 
[The Bends] - (Radiohead) - Radio Head hit great form with this Album and it is my runner up favorite Album Next to "OK Computer". Fantastic Tracks such as "Fake Plastic Trees" and "My Iron Lung"

[Pablo Honey] - (Radiohead) - Good Early album that begins to show signs of greatness with the track "Creep"

[Project 42] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/42.htm

[Greatest Hits : Why Try Harder] - (FatBoy Slim) - Its amazing how many catchy tunes this guy has put out. He spans many Electronic and a couple of not so Electronic genres with up beat and danceable tunes. Good Stuff.
 
DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Let Them Eat Cake Series 1 - DVD] - I was never a big fan of French and Saunders but I really enjoyed this comedy series. "Let Them Eat Cake" is set just prior to the French revolution and has the same sort of over the top comedy made popular in Black Adder. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are inspired and in fine form. Jennifer Saunders was great in "AB Fab" and Dawn French was superb in "The Vicar of Dibley" but together I always felt they missed the mark. This series puts that to rights. 
 
[Goodnight Sweetheart Series 1 : Episodes 1 to 3 - DVD] - An intruiging and light hearted comedy about a TV repairman that finds a way to go back to 1940. Funny and well written series starring "Rodney" from "Only Fools and Horses". The first series does a great Job of establishing the plot.
 
[Saxondale Series 2 - Episodes 4 to 6 and extras] - Enjoyable second series with Steve Coogan. I reckon it is as good as the first series if not better and with some great but uncomfortable moments. Great music they even had a Gillan and Groundhogs track. Saxondale seems to polarize people and although at first I didnt think it was as good as his Alan Partridge stuff I warmed to it as the series progressed. I especially enjoyed the new annoying Neighbor character.
Games:

[Megadrive (Genesis) Collection - PS3] - A great chunk of Sega Nostalgia including nearly 40 games. For some reason it is very light on "Shootemups" but it does include the wonderful "Streets of Rage"
trilogy. There is also an extensive collection of RPG's to keep you occupied. I have been spending most of my time playing the sequel to "Shining In The Darkness" RPG "Shining Force". Primitive graphics but very playable.

Books :

Reading - [The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Black Dossier - Hardcover] - (Alan Moore). - [ISBN-13: 978-1401217105]

Week Beginning 7th June

Books: 

[Punisher MAX, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)] - (Garth Ennis, Dougie Braithwaite, Leandro Fernandez) - Collects Punisher Max Vol. 3: Mother Russia and Punisher Max Vol. 4: Up Is Down And Black Is White.  

In Mother Russia, The punisher is forced into a suicide mission deep inside Russia with the goal to retrieve a deadly retrovirus.  This story is full of the graphic violence and action the punisher series is famous for but this time with a slightly more military bent.  The artwork is pretty good and really stands out on the premium paper. Fantastic tale with many subplots and twists to keep the reader hooked.  The dialogue and level of violence are off the scale and quite a few scenes have jaw dropping politically incorrect references. I really enjoyed this story. It is probably my favorite Punisher book to date.  

Up is down and Black is White is a mafia based tale based around evil mafia mobster Nicky Cavella who finally figures out what is required to send Frank Castle over the edge (he desecrates his family's grave). The violence that ensues is even shocking for the Punisher and it is an absolute bloodfest. The language and situations are very adult orientated and some of the flashbacks to fill in the background on main characters such as Nicky Cavella are particularly shocking. Highly recommended read for adult audiences only. Artwork is not bad but nothing really special. Collects Punisher #13-24. [ISBN-13: 978-0785120223]

[100 Bullets Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call] – (Brian Azzarrello) – I picked up this book in Borders and started reading it and it seemed to be an interesting story line. This coupled with the fact that it was only $10 made me take a chance. I am glad I did as this is good book that really gets you thinking. The basic premise is that some sort of government agent approaches people who have been wronged and offers them a gun with 100 bullets that are untraceable for them to put things right. Of the three stories contained in this first book, the first is by far the best. It is a really good story of gangland Chicago from a street gangs perspective. Very well drawn and good dialogue (even if I had no idea what they were saying half the time). Because it is a Vertigo book the only down side is that it appears to be printed on toilet paper rather than the glossy stuff you get from other publishers. [ISBN-13: 978-1563896453]

Music:

[Porcupine Tree XM] - (Porcupine Tree) - This session produced for XM radio is so close to the album versions of the tracks that I cant really figure out why they bothered. It is remarkable how close they managed to recreate the originals but when things get this close they might of well just used the original tracks. Music is still great but a pointless purchase if you have the originals. Sounds like either backing tapes or a lot of overdubbing was done on some tracks. One for die hard fans only. 

[Porcupine Tree XM2] - (Porcupine Tree) - A much better session than XM1 due to the fact it has more of a live feel to it and good track choice. Excellent album suitable for hardened fans and casual alike.

[Roy Harper] – lots if different live stuff.

[Steal This Album] - (System Of A Down) - This is an album that has to be played loud, VERY LOUD. "Steal this Album" is an assualt on the senses almost unlike the output from any other band. One song can instantly change from full on heavy metal onslaught to operatic singing and the gentle chimes of a triangle and then back to full on funky heavy metal and all this within the blink of the eye. They manage to put so much variety and energy into their music that unlike other heavy bands it never becomes boring. The production is also excellent with none of the muddiness such heavy music normally has. The lyrics are also pretty funny and very inventive. This is a fantastic album if you are in the mood for it and you almost feel exhausted when it is finished.  How would I describe System of a Down ? They are like the love child of Napalm Death and the Red Hot Chile Peppers that were brought up by Led Zepelin and The Offspring. I have got to see them live.   

[Bush Various] - Listening to some Bush albums on random play. Great guitar based new rock.   

[A Matter of Life and Death] - (Iron Maiden) - I was really surprised by "A matter of Life and Death" as so often comebacks have no sparkle or the band just doesnt sound as good as they used to . For this album It sounds like Maiden have never been away but slowly eveolved to include some later musical influences. It is unmistakeably Iron Maiden but it could be also looked upon as a heavy Prog album. This is a surprise for Iron Maiden even though some of their earlier work had some prog tendencies too (Ancient mariner springs to mind). I can here some classic influences in the form of Rainbow and Dio but there are also some Tool influences lurking in there. Really good comeback album.   

[Manners] - (Passion Pit) - After listening to a live concert on NPR with this band I thought they were like "of Montreal" but with more of an eighties synth feel. I particularly liked the keyboards but not the vocals so much. This album has a different feel to the live gig in that the vocals are very much more polished and far less high pitched and in your face. The keyboards are also much less to the front and the musical mix is more balanced to all the instruments. They still have an eighties feel to them and I would still class them as electro pop. Definitely worth a listen.  

[In The Absence Of Truth] - (Isis) - I first saw this band as a support act for Tool back in 200x. I think the band really found themselves with this album and it is far more accessible than their earlier stuff. A band that is similar to Mogwai but much less instrumental and a bit heavier (they unfortunately have some guttural screaming vocals but it doesn't spoil this album). This is fantastic album and a great starter to get a taste of the band. 

Podcasts: 

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #222] - New Releases of the Week; The Pricing of Collected Editions Part 1 

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #223] - Criminal Omnibus; Rude Dude Trouble; New Releases of the Week; The Pricing of Collected Editions Part 2; 

[Sessler’s Soapbox] - Video Games Industry snippets from mr Video Games himself.  I look forward to these rants and reviews. He is getting All excited about e3 in this weeks podcast. 

[X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] - The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now. The podcasts I have been watching have been based on their rather excellent e3 coverage. 

[Versus Podcast] - Watching coverage of the 2009 Dauphine Libre 

[NPR: Live Concerts from All Things Considered]  - (Passion Pit) - Selections from Manners and more in a full concert recorded live from Washington, D.C. The band reminds me very much of "of Montreal" but with a gentler edge and less smut. The high pitched vocals put me off at first but the dreamy retro synths won me over in the end. Worth a listen if you are into retro electro pop.  

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

Week Beginning 9th May 2009

TV:

Universal sports excellent daily coverage of the Tour of Italy bike race has been eating up most of my multimedia time. 2 Hours a day of coverage to watch J

[Gimme, Gimme, Gimme - Season 1 : DVD] - Very funny British comedy series starring Kathy Burke (Harry Enfield, AB Fab etc)  and James Dreyfus (Thin Blue Line). Definitely not PC but in a non offensive way.

Week Beginning 2^nd May 2009

Games:

[Half Life 2 - Xbox 360] - When I first started playing this game again I thought the Graphics looked a little dated but I soon began to appreciate the crispness and uncluttered detail. Controls are pretty good for a console fps and the level of challenge is absolutely spot on. Some of the puzzles require some serious thought but rarely do you remain stuck for long. I always seem to be on the cusp of not having enough ammo but that just adds to the challenge. The gravity gun is very satisfying to use, especially when you decapitate a bunch of Zombies using a saw blade. Excellent game.

[Killzone 2 - PS3] - Very impressive opening credits and cut scenes that truly show off the PS3's graphical power. In game graphics are pretty good too with a high level of realism. This realism sometimes gets in the way of actually playing the game and at times it feels very cluttered and claustrophobic. I found the controls to be a bit loose and definitely not as good as "Resistance Fall of Man" which I reckon is a better game. The story is OK and the weapons pretty much run of the mill FPS stuff. I found this game to be a real challenge and decided to drop the difficulty level down a notch after playing for a few hours. Because this game has no multiple saves I had to start from the beginning on the new difficulty level and my previous progress was lost. I think this is a crappy solution on a modern game. I am enjoying playing through but I reckon this game was over hyped (at least for single player). Some Boss level type battles are very frustrating. 

Books:

[The Goon Volume 4: Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof ] - (Eric Powell) - Another classic edition to the Goon series with fantastic artwork and great stories. The level of humor is absolutely spot on and if you like the previous 3 books you will love this one. I particularly enjoyed the "Fish Canners" story.

Podcasts :

[Ricky Gervais Show - Season 3] - Should still be called The Karl Pilkington show as he truly is the star. Very funny.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The Best of Whats Left of Not Only But Also – Peter Cook and Dudley Moore – DVD] – Classic British comedy and light entertainment. At is funniest when Peter Cook “ad-libs” and Dudley tries his best not to laugh.

Week Beginning 24th April 2009

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Mills : Napolean Live ! 4 Mar 09]  : Scott was joined in the studio by Beccy's replacement Napoleon the parrot, who also took on Chappers in Oh! What's Occurring?. While Greg James joined us to play the Honesty Game. I thought the whole parrot thing was pretty lame but the show is easy on the ear.

Week Beginning 4th April 2009

Books:

[The Goon – Heaps of Ruination] – (Eric Powell) – Another classic collection of goon stories with witty dialogue and great artwork. If you enjoyed the first two books you will love this. The Hellboy Crossover story is a special treat.
 

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Quantum of Solace – Bluray] – A really good hard paced action movie with no cheesy bits. One of the best Bond films I have seen since since “Die Another day”. Good fight and chase scenes and a more realistic feel to it.
 

Podcasts:

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #215] - Entertaining collected comics podcast. Vampire theme this week.
 

[UK] - [UK] - 1978 Progressive Rock concept album with lots of layered Synths and Eighties new romantic style vocals. Standout track is  In the Dead of Night which also has some great guitar work.
 

[Early Stages : Official Bootleg Box  Set :  1982 - 1987 : Disk 6] - (Marillion)  - Fantastic Marillion Live stuff in the Fish era. Brilliant !
 

[Early Stages : Official Bootleg Box  Set :  1982 - 1987 : Disk 5] - (Marillion) -  Probably one of the strongest discs in the box set. By the time this album was recorded they were very polished on stuff from Script and Fugazi. Fugazi is not one of my favorite albums but both Assassing and Incubus on this CD are absolutely fantastic live, especially Incubus. Highlight of the album is the preview of the soon to be released "Misplaced Childhood".  Different from the final studio release in many ways but so very very good. Timeless !
 

[Zoom Tour Live - Sound track of the DVD] - (ELO) - Jeff Lynne is on fine form on this comeback concert to promote the new album Zoom. The new Zoom stuff is pretty good but it is the old stuff that really shines. The quality is excellent and it is so much nicer to hear an ELO concert in an intimate setting rather than some vast stadium. I am really sorry I didnt get to see this tour live. I have been a huge ELO fan since the 70's and have never seen them live.
 

[Arrive Alive] - (Pallas) - Absolutely classic Pallas with standout tracks such as "Arrive Alive" and the "Ripper".  This album has the raw live energy that they seemed to lose on subsequent studio albums. A must for prog rock fans.

[In The Absence Of Truth] - (Isis) - I first saw this band as a support act for Tool back in 200x. I think the band really found themselves with this album and it is far more accessible than their earlier stuff. A band that is similar to Mogwai but much less instrumental and a bit heavier (they unfortunately have some guttural screaming vocals but it doesn't spoil this album). This is fantastic album and a great starter to get a taste of the band.

Week Beginning 29th March 2009

Books:

[Punisher MAX, Vol. 4 (Hardcover)] – (Garth Ennis - Leandro Fernandez, Lan Medina) – This hardback collects the two stories “Man of Stone” and “Widowmaker”. The quality of the paper in this collection is excellent and the images really jump off the page. “Man of Stone” is a compelling story with strong dialogue and great artwork. The main focus of the story is the punisher vs a barbaric Russian general. This is one of the best books I have read this year. The second story “Widowmaker” took me a while to get into but it had a satisfying conclusion. This was a very violent story of female revenge and featured a female punisher. Definitely not as good as “Man of Stone”. Artwork was very good.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The Good Life - Series 3 DVD- Episode 3 to 6] - Perhaps not generally accepted as the peak of British Comedy but it is harmless fun. I still enjoy watching them today. Margo has some great one liners and of course it has Felicity Kendal. Series 3 is not as good as the earlier series
 

Music:
 

[Marks Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Marks_Top_100_2009
 

[Argus "Then Again" Live] - (Wishbone Ash) - A concert organized by XM Radio where an artist replays one of their classic albums live and a few other tunes too. This one is a peach !
 

[Everything and Nothing Boxset] - (David Sylvian) - New Romantic insane lounge lizard stuff.  Good laid back electronic experimental tunes from ex Japan front man.  "Ride" is the absolute standout track. Some of the stuff is very strange indeed (e.g Pop Song) but the rest is pretty listenable
 

[That's Your Fire] - (Aloha) -  A unique sounding Indie experimental band with complicated time signatures and a freerange Jazz approach to song writing.  Xylophones feature prominently in the arrangements. This album is similar in style to the later release "Sugar" but it is a little more laid back and it doesn't give your ears quite the same work out. Great band and a great album.
 

[Live At Leeds] - (The Groundhogs) - Live recordings of the Groundhogs don't always turn out that good but this recording from 1971 is excellent. The band play stuff from Split  and Thank Christ for the Bomb and they are on top form. Excellent EP.
 

[Aenema] - (Tool) -  One of the best albums ever made and my favorite TOOL album. The production, creativity and inventiveness of this album are incredible. This album will give your HI FI the workout of its life if you crank the volume up. Particular standout tracks include Stinkfest, Eulogy, Fourty Six & Two and of course Aenema itself.
 

[Between My Ears There is Nothing but Music] - (Baby Bird) - A Good singer songwriter with some inventive writing and a variety of styles. Not just your usual guitar and man singing about the woes of the world.
 

Games:
 

[Forza Motorsport] - (XBOX360) - A Very well put together car racing game with pretty good physics, great graphics, great sound and it is fun to play. I miss some of the racing modes from Forza 1 but its vastly superior in many other ways. Challenging if you crank the realism up.
 

[Warhammer Online]  (PC) – I am still having a lot of fun with this game especially the PVP. This week I have been playing old "Piecrust" the Squig herder and getting my bottom kicked in PVP. It seems to be a bit laggy at the moment.
 

[Fallout 3] – (PS3) – When I first started playing this game I found the controls and graphics confusing. Although the post apocalyptic world is nicely rendered I found it difficult to navigate and confusing.  The voice acting is good and the strange 50’s soundtrack is perfectly suited to the landscape. I also struggled with combat to begin with. After about 4 hours of play things started to gel and I began to enjoy myself. The controls became natural and the combat scheme a great tactical experience. The more I play the more I like it. I still cant get the hang of the Quests and spend my time wandering the wasteland killing stuff and looking for ammo and stimpacks. Its a pretty hard game and draining at times. Oh for a bit of sunshine and color :-)
 

Podcasts:
 

[Roy Harper Podcast #21] - Another Great Podcast from Paul. The Roy Harper Dance remix was a bit questionable though. I really enjoyed the interview.
 

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #214] - Entertaining collected comics podcast. A very interesting interview with Chris Staros, Publisher of Top Shelf Productions.
 

[Jonathon Ross Podcast] – Very funny as usual.

Week Beginning 21^st March 2009
 

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Serenity - Bluray] – This movie was a continuation of the cancelled Space western series “Firefly”. Despite some luke warm reviews I found it to be a very enjoyable Sci-Fi romp and good deal darker than the TV series. Although this was a fairly low budget movie I thought the special effects were excellent, especially the big space battle with the reavers. It has been a while since I watched “Firefly” but I seem to remember that they were generally a goody two shoes type of crew so I thought them pulling a bank heist felt a little out of character. Video Quality on Bluray was excellent and the dynamic range of the sound had me jumping out of my seat a few times. If you enjoyed “Firefly” you should enjoy this.

[Tropic Thunder – Bluray] – Funny Platoon style dark comedy with awesome special effects and great sound. Much better than I was expecting.

[The Good Life - Series 3 DVD- Episode 1 and 2] - Perhaps not generally accepted as the peak of British Comedy but it is harmless fun. I still enjoy watching them today. Margo has some great one liners and of course it has Felicity Kendal.

[Family Guy - Season 3 - Episodes 1 and 2, 3 and 4] - So far Season 3 doesn't seem to be as good as seasons 1 and 2 but still very watchable. There is nobody safe from their sarcastic wit not even us Brits ;-).
 

[Quantum of Solace – DVD] – Actually a really good hard paced action movie with no cheesy bits. One of the best Bond films I have seen.

Books:
 

[The Goon Volume 2: My Murderous Childhood] – (Eric Powell) – The Goon is a kind of anti hero mobster set somewhere back in the 40’s or 50’s in a land infested by all sorts of Zombies and other strange creatures. It’s a comic book version of a cult B movie. The artwork is consistently excellent and the stories are funny and well written. I was especially impressed by the way the pencil drawings were used to show flash backs. Volume 2 was as good if not better than the first volume and does a great Job of filling in the back story for the characters.  A highly recommended read. (ISBN: 978-1-59307-109-7).
 

Reading [Punisher MAX, Vol. 4 (Hardcover)] – (Garth Ennis - Leandro Fernandez, Lan Medina) – This hardback collects the two stories “Man of Stone” and “Widowmaker”. The quality of the paper in this collection is excellent and the images really jump off the page. “Man of Stone” is a compelling story with strong dialogue and great artwork. The main focus of the story is the punisher vs a barbaric Russian general. This is one of the best books I have read this year.

Music:

[A collection Of Tull Tales] - (Various Artists) - This Album is a collection of Tull covers and I didn't have high hopes for it but as it featured Roy Harper I had to have a listen.  I am sorry to say that probably the weakest song on the CD is the Roy Track that seems out of place . The rest of the album is very impressive with some absolutely fantastic covers (especially Magellan).

[Impending Ascension] - (Magellan) - A prog record that is sort of like a cross between Yes, ELO and It Bites. Symphonic progressive pop/rock that is worth a listen.

[Test Of Wills] - (Magellan)- A much heavier record than "Impending Ascension" with a style that is very like Early Styx. There are also some Jethro Tull influences creeping in on this CD. Many of the tracks are a bit brash for my tastes and I didn't really enjoy listening to this album.

[Atom Heart Mother] - (Pink Floyd) - Way too wacky and psychedelic for some but this is one of my favorite Floyd albums. Strange sounds, orchestral scores, choirs and stereo panning effects abound throughout this creation. The opening track alone is worth the price of the CD. The most conventional track on the Album is probably "Fat Old Sun" which is an absolute gem.

[No Answer - Expanded Edition] - (ELO) -   A simply stunning album of Early ELO stuff and rarities. Some really strange and challenging stuff but rewarding with it.

[Marks Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Marks_Top_100_2009.
 

Podcasts:

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #212] - Entertaining collected comics podcast.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #213] - Entertaining collected comics podcast. Spider Man theme this week.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast]  - Jonathan Ross talks to Jodie Prenger about life on the West End stage playing Nancy in Oliver and comedy actor Chris O'Dowd describes life on the ocean waves as a pirate DJ in the new Richard Curtis film 'The Boat That Rocked'. Very funny show and still one of my favorite Podcasts.

[Around The Net] - Funny videos from around the net with Kevin and the oh so cute Olivia. Probably one of the best free Video podcasts out there. Risky humor makes it fun.

[Best of Chris Moyles - The Saviour Returns 13th March]  - First podcast I have heard with Chris Moyles himself. What a miserable SOB he is. Won’t be listening to any more of these.

[Scott Mills Daily] - Owls at weddings, Scott pretends to be a Spook but will anyone believe him? And What Are Those Old People On About?  Listenable.

Games:

[Warhammer Online – PC] – I am still having a lot of fun developing a Zealot Healer. Public quests and PvP are great fun.

Week Starting 2^nd March

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Randall and Hopkirk deceased – Series 2 episodes 1 and 2  - DVD] – Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer star in this comedy remake by the Fast Show’s Charlie Higson. There are a whole host of familiar British comedy faces appearing as guest stars and it is both funny and a bit macabre. The second series is keeping up the good work.

[The Brittas Empire Series 7 - Episodes 6 to 8 plus xmas special - DVD] - Classic comedy and still funny at series seven. Not many comedies can keep you laughing that long. My favorite character has to be Colin.

Music :

[Daves Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Daves_Top_100_2009.
 

[Hats Off] - (Roy Harper) - Very good "Greatest Hits" album for one of the most influential artists of my life. This album is an good introduction to Roy's studio stuff and it covers most of his musical styles. One of things listening to this album has hammered home for me is that in many cases I much prefer the live versions of Roy's stuff. This mainly applies to some of the older stuff. A better Introduction to Roy Harper may be the fantastic live Album "Unhinged" although it doesn't encompass so a wide variety of Roy.

[Atom Heart Mother] - (Pink Floyd) - A hugely entertaining and underrated Floyd Album. Orchestral, strange, demented Choirs and ladened with unusual sound effects. Might not appeal to the main stream Floyd fan but to me it is pure magic. Rock and Roll needs more brass!

Podcast:

[NPR : Tom Jones Tiny Desk Concert] - Sir Tom Jones, a full-throated legend among legends, wasn't an obvious choice for a Tiny Desk concert. When we began the series last year, the goal was to bring in quieter, more intimate artists (Laura Gibson, Vic Chestnut) who are often drowned out by the clinking glasses and chatter of the small clubs they usually play. When a publicist for Tom Jones contacted us and said the singer wanted to do a "Big Desk Concert" for us, the thought of Jones' rather substantial voice filling our office left us laughing... and dying to do it. Great Video Quality and an enjoyable unplugged Gig.

[X Play's Daily Video Podcast] -  The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.

[Around The Net] - Funny videos from around the net with Kevin and the oh so cute Olivia. Probably one of the best free Video podcasts out there. Risky humor makes it fun.

[The Roy Harper Podcast Episode 20] - Another great Podcast from Paul.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast]  - Jonathan is joined by Shane Richie who is currently being 'Minded' on Channel 5, and Maxine Peake gives us an insight into policing in the eighties via her new series 'Red Riding'. Very funny show and still one of my favorite Podcasts.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #209] - Entertaining collected comics podcast.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #210] - Entertaining collected comics podcast.

Week Starting 22nd February

Books:

Reading [Complete Robusters] – (Pat Mills) - Real Nostalgia for me. I read all these stories the first time round in Starlord and 2000AD but for some reason I don’t remember any of the specifics so it is like a first read. The photocopying isn’t of very high standard and some of the pages are a bit smudgy and blurry but the stories are good. Shame really. (ISBN: 978-1-905437-82-5).

[Suckle The Status of Basil] – (Dave Cooper) One of the weirdest books I have read in a long time. A very strange and whimsical book that is more than a little erotic. Nicely bound and presented too. For Mature Readers only. (ISBN: 1-56097-301-3)

Games:

I am a bit of an avid old school video game collector and occasionally fire up some old school retro stuff to relive past glories. This week has been a major retro week.
 

[Final Fight – Capcom] – (Arcade Game) – A 1989 side scrolling beat em up that started it all for Capcom. Similar to streets of rage.

[Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Capcom] – (Arcade Game) – A 1992 side scrolling beat em up like final fight. Great fun for a quick retro blast and one of my favorite of the genre.

[Punisher - Capcom] – (Arcade Game) – A 1993 side scrolling beat em up like Final fight, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs etc. Great Fun for a quick retro blast.

[Alien vs Predator - Capcom] – (Arcade Game) - A 1994 side scrolling beat em up like Final fight, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs etc. This one is a lot more weapon based and is pretty difficult. The screens are absolutely crawling with Aliens and you have to really mash the buttons to survive.

[Armored Warriors - Capcom] – (Arcade Game) - A 1994 side scrolling beat em up like Final fight but with big armored mechs. Fun for a quick retro blast.

[Amidar - Konami] – (Arcade Game) – A deceptively simple yet fiendishly difficult game . Gobble the dots a bit like Pac man or paint the boxes a bit like painter. It has Great music too. I first played this in a coffee shop I used to meet my mum and dad in every Thursday in my school lunch hour. 1981.

[Moon Cresta – Nichibutsu] – (Arcade Game) – One of my favorite arcade shoot em ups of all time. I still remember the first time I played this in an arcade in Blackpool. Docking the rockets is always very satisfying and the sounds are great. I had forgotten how difficult it was or I have grown old and slow. 1980.

[Nemesis – Konami] – (Arcade Game) – A difficult side scrolling shoot em up that is an evolution of Scramble. I used to spend a lot of time on this one. Very difficult especially trying to balance the power ups. 1985.

[Salamander – Konami] – (Arcade Game) – An evolution of nemesis with an easier power up system but ridiculous odds. It was almost impossible to survive if you were not heavily powered up. 1986.

[Phoenix - Amstar] – (Arcade Game) – Fiendishly difficult shoot em up that mixes elements of Space Invaders and Galaxians with its own unique shooting bits. Very Difficult. 1980.

[Metal Slug] – (Neo Geo) – One of the greatest side scrolling shooters of all time. Superb graphics and insanely difficult without using lots of continues.

Music:

[Marks Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Marks_Top_100_2009.

[Daves Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Daves_Top_100_2009.

[Andy's Top 100 2009] - http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Andys_2009_Top_100.

[Space Ritual] - (Hawkwind) - A Pretty wacky 2 cd concept album based on an early seventies tour. Some good music but I am not a great lover of the spoken word stuff. Stuff Like "Electronic number 1" doesnt really stand the test of time very well either.

[Back to Basics] - (Anvil) - I listened to this because I heard the band interviewed on Jonathon Ross and they sounded Interesting.  An old school metal album. Not bad if you are into this sort of thing but it sounds a bit Spinal Tap.

[Rainbows] - (Radiohead) - Growing on Me.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Dead Like Me - Movie - DVD] - I am a great fan of the TV series but I was a bit dissapointed with the movie. It seemed to be very slow paced and a bit awkward at times. The new Daisy didnt work for me and Rube was sorely missed. It lacked the fire that the TV series had.

[The Brittas Empire Series 7 - Episodes 1 to 5 - DVD] - Classic comedy and still funny at series seven. Not many comedies can keep you laughing that long.

[2007 British Rally Championships - DVD] -  Great production from the Duke team on this review of the 2007 British Rally Championships. A series I follow with great enthusiasm.

Podcasts:

[Jonathon Ross Podcast] - Jonathan talks to Midge Ure about the Ultravox reunion tour and comedian Michael McIntyre tells us about his own tour plans. Very funny.

[Jonathon Ross Podcast] -  Jonathan is joined by cult heavy metal band Anvil who are telling their story in a new film and comedian Rhod Gilbert gives some tips for Valentine's Day. Very Funny.

[John Cleese Podcast #16] - Funny anecdotes about going death. I dont know why the sound Quality was so appalling. Perhaps it was a part of the Joke ;-)

[Around The Net] - Funny videos from around the net with Kevin and the oh so cute Olivia. Probably one of the best free Video podcasts out there. Risky humor makes it fun.

[Sesslers Soapbox] - Video Games Industry snippets from mr Video Games himself.  I look forward to these rants and reviews. This week he gives a very favorable review to a 50 cent game (who wud of thunk it).

Week Starting 14^th February

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Clarkson – Super Car Showdown – DVD] – This DVD is my favorite Clarkson Video. It has fantastic cars, good high speed footage and some genuinely shocking crashes. Poor GT3!

[IT Crowd Series 2 Episodes 1 to 3 – DVD] – Great British alternative comedy with some pretty strange characters.

[Tin Man – Episode 1-3] – This is an enjoyable science fantasy retelling of the Wizard of OZ. The setting is refreshing, the characters easy to follow and the story is upbeat (similar in feel to Firefly). I didn't like the original Wizard of Oz but I enjoyed watching this series.

Books:

[Slaine: The Books of Invasions: Volume 3] (Pat Mills & Clint Langley) - The third volume in the stunning “Books of Invasions” series collects books 5 and 6. The standard of artwork is again fantastic and the stories are top notch too. I really enjoyed both the books. The first book “Odacon” is a very satisfying conclusion to the battle with his adversaries and ends with Slaine setting off to look for his son. Slaine finds his son working in a freak show in the second book “Carnival”. The story in this book is a bit of a departure from the other books in that it takes the form of a bit of a murder mystery. The story and artwork in this story are probably the best in the series.

[Battle Pope Volume 2 : Mayhem] - (Brian K Vaughan, Roberts, Moore, Staples) - Battle Pope is lewd, Crude and offensive. It is also pretty funny and a very entertaining read even if you are a Catholic. The artwork fits the story perfectly and the large list of characters are superbly drawn. Battle Pope is like a comedy punisher with an over active sex drive. His partner who also happens to be the son of God is a meek and mild Hippy type that is apparently hung like a grand national winner. Volume two is as good as the first Volume and that makes it a great read. If you are sensitive and easily offended please stay away but for us hardy types it's a great way to while away an hour. Extras are pretty good too. ISBN 978-1-58240-652-7.

[Battle Pope Volume 3: Pillow Talk] - (Brian K Vaughan, Roberts, Walker, Su, Moore, Staples). The third volume in the Battle Pope Series is as good as the first two volumes. It is still just as offensive and funny and the art is spot on. This volume introduces Santa and Mary as new characters to great effect. Mr. Vaughan is overdue a visit from the Spanish Inquisition I think :-).Definitely not recommended for sensitive religious types. ISBN 978-1-58240-677-0

[Battle Pope Volume 4: Mayhem] - (Brian K Vaughan, Moore, Staples) – The final book in the series follows on in the same vein with its crude and funny style. In this book Battle Pope ends up fighting with God himself which is pretty Bizarre. A very enjoyable series. ISBN 978-1-58240-751-7.
 

Podcasts:
 

[John Cleese Podcast #13] – Funny Anecdotes from Mr Cleese.

[John Cleese Podcast #14] - Great Interview with John Cleese and a Canadian Journalist. Very funny.

[John Cleese Podcast #15] – Great Interview with John Cleese and a Canadian Journalist. Very funny.

[Collected Comics Library Podcast #208] - Informative Collected Comics Podcast.
 

Video Games :

[Fable 2 – XBOX 360] – This game has gorgeous Graphics, great voice acting and natural feeling controls. It is the best RPG game I have played for years (perhaps ever). The more I play it the more I like it.

[Fallout 3 – PS3] – When I first started playing this game I found the controls and graphics confusing. Although the post apocalyptic world is nicely rendered I found it difficult to navigate and confusing.  The voice acting is good and the strange 50’s soundtrack is perfectly suited to the landscape. I also struggled with combat to begin with. After about 4 hours of play things started to gel and I began to enjoy myself. The controls became natural and the combat scheme a great tactical experience. The more I play the more I like it.

Music:

[Around the World] – (It Bites) – This is a fantastic album from this much underrated band. They were so much more than just “Calling All the Heroes”. My favorite “It Bites” Album.

[Chasing the Sun] – (Indigenous) - A good Blues Rock album.
 

[Marks Top 100 2009] – http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Marks_Top_100_2009

[Daves Top 100 2009] – http://www.zensurweb.com/booksnstuff/top100.htm#Daves_Top_100_2009

[Genesis Archives 2 – Disk 3] – (Genesis) – Not the best Period of Genesis but some pretty good tunes for an early morning drive.

[War of the Worlds] – (Jeff Wayne) – Even after all these years this is still a fantastic rock opera.

Week Starting 31st January 2009

Music:

[The Backroom] – (Editors) – This is a Great album with just a hint of Big Country.

[Wire Tap Scars] - (Sparta)  - A great Indie band that sound somewhat similar to AFI but at the same time different. This is probably my favorite album by them. They were formed from the split up of "At The Drive In". The other half of "At The Drive In" went on to form the wonderful "Mars Volta". The drum sound is excellent on this recording.

[Porcelain] - (Sparta) - A good indie album that is similar to their earlier release "Wiretap Scars" in many ways but not Quite as melodic. My favorite track on the Album is "Tensioning".

[Keyboard Wizards & Classic Tracks] - (Various)  - I am a bit of a keyboard fan and this album looked to be very intriguing. Its an unusual selection of covers (a Lot of Pink Floyd covers) and originals played by many different artists. Its a strange album with songs from Synth Pop to Prog rock to ambient electronica.  Strangely enough for an album promoting the virtues of Keyboard it is some of the guitar work that really stands out on this double album. There is some very weird ambient stuff but generally most of it is very listenable too.

[Live at The Pachyderm Studio 1998] - (Indigenous) - Awesome guitar. Close your eyes and you would swear it was SRV. I reckon Mato Nanji is a good as old Stevey and this is one heck of a gig.

Books:

*First Read [Conan, Volume 1: The Frost Giant's Daughter and Other Stories] – (Kurt Busiek, Dave Stewart, Thomas Yeates, Cary Nord) – I really enjoyed this book. The story was well written and it captured Conan perfectly. The artwork was beautifully colored and a pleasure to look at. It is done without bold inks so the images have a bit of a water color look to them. At first I found them to be a little lacking in detail but I soon warmed to the lush style. Nice biography of Howard at the end too.

*First Read [Conan, Volume 2: God in the Bowl and Other Stories] – (Kurt Busiek, Cary Nord, Thomas Yeates, Dave Stewart) – There are many Graphical novels that are quite a challenge to read. They often have confusing cluttered art work and convoluted story lines. This is not one of them. Conan, God In The Bowl is a straight forward classic adventure tale with a bit of murder mystery thrown in for good measure. The artwork is perfectly suited to the subject matter and great to look at. The character of Conan is built up nicely from the first volume and I found it difficult to put the book down once I started.

*First Read [Caliber First Canon Of Justice] – (Sam Sarkar, Garrie Gastonny) – I bought this book because I was impressed with artwork , thought the premise of the story was interesting and mainly because it was on sale for only $10 in hardcover. The story was pretty good but I found it very difficult to tell the characters apart as they all looked pretty similar. All in all a very stylish book but a bit weak on script.

*First Read [Slaine - The Books of Invasions: Moloch and Golamh v. 1 (Hardcover)] – (Pat Mills, Clint Langley) – I used to read Slaine many years ago in 2000AD but it never looked like this. The artwork in this book is very detailed, colorful and unusual. Apparently Clint uses a combination of conventional art and digital manipulation to achieve the lush and often bizarre pictures. What you end up with is a comic strip with art quality and detail that would normally only be reserved for cover art. The two stories in this book are both very enjoyable and extremely violent.  Classic Pat Mills work with grotesque characters and situations. ISBN # 978-1904265825.

Video Games:

[Warhammer Online – PC] – I am still having a lot of fun developing a Zealot Healer. Public quests and PvP are great fun.

 

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Rab C. Nesbitt Christmas Special] - Not strictly a DVD release but a friend sent me a copy of this on DVD as we don't get Rab in the US (no way he would be understood). Despite getting a bit of a slating in the British Press I really enjoyed watching this. All the Classic Rab elements are in there and the story is refreshingly modern and up to date. Rab, Mary, Jamesie and Ella are all in fine form and a sober RAB was a novel twist. I wonder if many of the reviewers were fans of the original stuff. I am a very biased reviewer as I am a huge Rab C Nesbitt fan but I think it was as good as the old stuff. I found myself laughing out loud while watching this on the train

[Black Adder Christmas Special] - Classic Black adder

[Two Ronnies Series 2 -Episode 1] - Classic British Comedy

Podcasts:

[Ricky Gervaise Podcast -Feb 2009] - Only a 10 minute long teaser but very funny as usual.

[Roy Harper Podcast - Episode 19] - Paul was getting a bit adventurous with his prisoner Jingles in this one and put out another cracking good podcast.

Week Starting 26^th January 2009

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Lost - Season 4 –Episodes 1 &2 - Bluray] – I have watched “Lost” before. My wife watches it but it never really appealed to me. Last night she started watching season 4 by playing the 8m15 long plot synopsis which was pretty insane and entertaining. It drew me in and I ended up watching two episodes. Lost is a bit confusing but I enjoyed it. I think the bluray season pass feature (it remembers where you were up to) is a fantastic idea. I reckon I will watch a few more.

[Father Ted - Series 1 Episode 1] - Fantastic comedy and this is my favorite episode.

Podcasts:

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Of Montreal] - Kevin Barnes (or "Georgie Fruit" in this case) and the cast of Of Montreal treats the KEXP airwaves to acoustic versions of the tracks from their funky glam-pop opus "Skeletal Lamping." Recorded on 11/19/08 - 5 songs: Beware Our Nubile Miscreants, "Triphallus, To Punctuate!", Touched Something's Hollow, An Eluardian Instance, For Our Elegant Caste. I Really enjoyed This Podcast and the acoustic mixes were a refreshing change.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Elliot Brood] - This Ontario trio may tackle dark themes, but their roots-flavored indie rock is inspiriting and chock-full of catchy hooks. Elliott Brood visits KEXP for a rousing live radio performance. Recorded 9-22-2008 - 4 songs: Garden River, Cadillac Dust, The Valley Town, The Bridge.  Pretty good band that are sort of Indie Bluegrass.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Lykke Li] - Swedish singer Lykke Li performs an affecting set of some of her most popular songs for KEXP at CMJ 2008. Recorded live at Gibson Showroom on 10/21/08 - 4 songs: Dance Dance Dance, I'm Good I'm Gone, Little Bit, Tonight. Pretty good podcast with some interesting arrangements. Certainly a fresh sound but the Interview portion is a bit hard work to listen too.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances Podcast - Bang Bang Eche] - NZ dance-punkers Bang Bang Eche rock the Gibson Showroom for KEXP from CMJ 2008. Recorded 10/22/08 - 5 songs: Fingers In The Till, Exchange, Four To The Floor, Time Mismanagement, Hangers. A very high energy and pretty enjoyable podcast. Cant think of anyone they remind me of. I am not usually a fan of music that is this much in your face but there was enough variety going on to keep things fun.

* First Listen [Jonathon Ross Podcast - Very funny show and still one of my favorite Podcasts.

* First Listen [Sesslers Soapbox] - Video Games Industry snippets from mr Video Games himself.

*First Listen [Collected Comics Library, hosted by Chris Marshall #205] - The only podcast solely dedicated to news, information and reviews on all sorts of comic books and collected editions including DC Comics Archives, Marvel Masterworks, Absolutes, Omnibus's, Graphic Novels and all other hardcover and softcover favorites - the CCL covers it all! An informative collected comic books podcast that I listen too to find out news of new releases and pointer towards new books to try.

Music:

[Skeletal Lamping] - (Of Montreal) - Strange and often Bizarre Indie pop with dodgy lyrics. Hard Core Bee Gees on drugs. Great Stuff :-).

[Riverside - Various Stuff on Shuffle Play].

Week Starting 17^th January 2009.
Books:

[The Darkness Compendium Volume 1 – Hardcover] – This is a hefty monster of a book (1280 pages) that is almost too heavy to read comfortably in bed. The artwork is vibrant and although I don’t normally read this type of mainstream graphic novel I was intrigued enough by the Garth Ennis connection to give it a go. There are times when the story arcs can be a little bit confusing (story probably running in parallel with Witchblade) but it is generally an easy read. Some of the double page spreads can be physically hard to read especially if you are like me and don’t want to damage the books spine. I didn’t enjoy the “Tales of the Darkness” stories as much but the preview of volume 2 was right back on form.

Music:

[Sugar] – (Aloha) – This band is very hard to categorize so I am not even going to try. Oh well….they are sort of free form Jazz experimental Indie band. Their music is complex, with strange time signatures and instruments and Is quite a challenge to listen too. It is not really brash or harsh but there is so much going on and you rarely get a comfortable feeling that you know where the songs are going next. Xylophones seem to feature prominently. I listened to this album once back in 2004 and discarded it. I found it last week while tidying up and gave it a second chance. I am glad I did as either my musical tastes have broadened or the album has improved with age. It gets better every time I listen to it.

[Rainbows] – (Radiohead) – Not a strong Radiohead album but it has a few moments.

[The Decline of British Sea Power] - (British Sea Power) - A fantastic live band with a barking mad stage show and a unique sound. A British Indy/Pop band from Cumbria in the UK (Best Place on Earth). The first album is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the stuff I really like and some I find a bit brash. "The Lonely", "Carrion", "Childhood Memories" and "Blackout" are fantastic tracks.

[Live Herald] - (Steve Hillage) - I haven't listened to this album for years but it brought back great memories. I think Steve Hilage was ahead of his time with his brand of Psychedelic space rock. Great spacey sounds and mixes especially if listened to through headphones. I reckon there wasn't a lot of studio overdubbing on this live recording. The "Dervish Riff" is very Hawkwind sounding.

[Live At The BBC] - (Steve Hilage) - I haven't listened to this Radio 1 live concert for years. Great Psychedelic space rock but not quite as good as Live Herald. Perhaps less overdubbing :-)

[No Answer - With Bonus Tracks] - (ELO) - A simply stunning album of Early ELO stuff and rarities. Some really strange and challenging stuff but rewarding with it.

Video Games:

[Warhammer Online – PC] – I am still having a lot of fun developing a green skin squig herder and a Chaos Chosen one. Public quests and PvP are great fun.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Randall and Hopkirk deceased – Series 1 episodes 5, 6 and Extras - DVD] – Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer star in this comedy remake by the Fast Show’s Charlie Higson. There are a whole host of familiar British comedy faces appearing as guest stars and it is both funny and a bit macabre. Episode 6 was a great finale to the series. The behind the scenes documentary was pretty funny too.

[Only Fools and Horses – Diamonds Are For Heather & Thicker than Water – Christmas Crackers] – Not sure what made me want to watch 3 Christmas Specials in January but funny stuff anyways.

Podcasts:

[Collected Comics Library, hosted by Chris Marshall] - The only podcast solely dedicated to news, information and reviews on all sorts of comic books and collected editions including DC Comics Archives, Marvel Masterworks, Absolutes, Omnibus's, Graphic Novels and all other hardcover and softcover favorites - the CCL covers it all! An informative collected comic books podcast that I listen too to find out news of new releases and pointer towards new books to try.

[Roy Harper Podcast – Matt Churchill Special] – A very enjoyable podcast with some great music. I never heard of matt before this but I will have to check out his stuff in the future. Great guitarist.

[Ricky Gervais Podcasts] – Extremely funny podcasts. These are very rare things indeed in that I have listened to them many times (I rarely listen to a Podcast More Than Once). I never liked the “Office” and thought Ricky was crap in “night at the museum” but he won me over big time with “Extras” and these podcasts. Highly recommended.

Week Starting 10^th January

Music:

[Effloresce] - (Oceansize) – A great album from a great band. If you like Pineapple Thief and Porcupine Tree you should really like this band. Proggy but at the same time indy sounding and at times very heavy. There are some great melodies and mood changes in the songs. Some stuff sounds a bit like Mogwai.

[Magenta] – I listened to various stuff on shuffle play while cleaning out the garage for a few hours.

[Blackfield II] – (Blackfield) – Steve Wilson side project band. A bit of a Porcupine Tree light but they have their own distinct sound. I like the first and second albums about the same. They both have some pretty catch tunes.

[Sugar] – (Aloha) – This band is very hard to categorize so I am not even going to try. Oh well….they are sort of free form Jazz experimental Indie band. Their music is complex, with strange time signatures and instruments and Is quite a challenge to listen too. It is not really brash or harsh but there is so much going on and you rarely get a comfortable feeling that you know where the songs are going next. Xylophones seem to feature prominently. I listened to this album once back in 2004 and discarded it. I found it today while tidying up and gave it a second chance. I am glad I did as either my musical tastes have broadened or the album has improved with age.

* First Listen [Ra Ra Riot EP] - (Ra Ra Riot) - A good indie POP band with a warm sound. Great vocals that are slightly reminicent of the Smiths or perhaps Dexy's midnight runners or Hot Hot Heat (If you can imagine that ..). Having a Cello as one of the instruments is a nice touch and the tracks are very upbeat. Sounds better than the live podcast on KEXP. I enjoyed the first 3 tracks the best.

* First Listen [That's Your Fire] - (Aloha) -  A unique sounding Indie experimental band with complicated time signatures and a freerange Jazz approach to song writing.  Xylophones feature prominently in the arrangements. This album is similar in style to the later release "Sugar" but it is a lttle more laid back and it doesnt give your ears quite the same work out. Great band and a great album.

* First Listen [The Great Communicator] - (Aloha) -  A unique sounding Indie experimental band with complicated time signatures and a freerange Jazz approach to song writing.  Xylophones feature prominently in the arrangements. Fantastic EP without some of the complexity in the later albums "Sugar" and "That's Your Fire" but filled with smoothly layered musical arrangements and still using some experimental time signatures. This EP also has some great early synth sounds. I think this EP is a great starting point for listening to Aloha.

[The Decline of British Sea Power] - (British Sea Power) - A fantastic live band with a barking mad stage show and a unique sound. A British Indy/Pop band from Cumbria in the UK (Best Place on Earth). The first album is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the stuff I really like and some I find a bit brash. "The Lonely", "Carrion" and "Blackout" are fantastic tracks.

[Open Season] - (British Sea Power) - A great follow up album to "the decline of British Sea Power".  Normally second albums can be a bit weak but not this one. In many ways it is a much easier album to listen to than the first. Standout tracks include "It ended on an Oily Stage", "Be Gone" and "Please Stand Up".

* First Listen  [Krankenhaus? -EP] - (British Sea Power) - Pelican is strange 60's style track but it is probably the most memorable track on the EP.  The rest of the album is ok but it might take a few more listens before I get into it.

[Catch the Spirit] - (Mostly Autumn) - Mostly Autumn are a progressive rock/folk band that are fairly similar to Magenta in that both bands have a classic sounding female vocalist and a folky sounding male vocalist.  Mostly Autum are a smoother and more commercial sounding band than Magenta. This double album is a great Introduction to the band and has some really good tracks. "Evergreen" is my favorite on the album. Some of the tracks are a little too commercial sounding for my taste.

* First Listen [Heart Full of Sky] - (Mostly Autumn) - A smooth AOR Album. Great opening track "Fading Colours" and some nice guitar on other tracks but some of the tracks are a bit too mellow and commercial for me. "Walk With a Storm" is a little trip back the their earlier Proggy folk roots and starts off a bit slow but has a great instrumental finish.

Books:

READING: [The Darkness Compendium Volume 1 – Hardcover] – This is a hefty monster of a book (1280 pages) that is almost too heavy to read comfortably in bed. The artwork is vibrant and although I don’t normally read this type of mainstream graphic novel I was intrigued enough by the Garth Ennis connection to give it a go. There are times when the story arcs can be a little bit confusing (story probably running in parallel with Witchblade) but it is generally an easy read. Some of the double page spreads can be hard to read especially if you are like me and don’t want to damage the books spine.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Get Smart – Bluray] – This movie is based upon a based on the '60s spy parody TV show “Get Smart” which I have never even heard of. It has some good action scenes, the odd funny moment and good special effects.  The movie wasn’t bad but I couldn’t emphasize with the leading character Maxwell Smart.

[Randall and Hopkirk deceased – Series 1 episodes 3 and 4- DVD] – Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer star in this comedy remake by the Fast Show’s Charlie Higson. There are a whole host of familiar British comedy faces appearing as guest stars and it is both funny and a bit macabre. Episode 3 was the funniest yet, especially the interview sketch. Episode 4 seemed to have 90% of the Fast Show cast.

Video Games:

[Warhammer Online – PC] – Things didn’t get off to a good start with this game. The first disk I got didn’t work at all. The next disk wouldn’t work on my Vista PC DVD drive but I eventually got an external DVD rom drive to recognize it.  With the game finally installed I had the usual farce of trying to find the .exe file in Vista. The only one I could find was a patch.exe and when I clicked on this things started to happen and it started to download an absolutely huge file. The best part of half a day was lost installing this game.

First impressions once the game actually loaded were pretty good. The opening cinematic was absolutely stunning. Game play itself is very much like WOW but the graphics are not as pretty. I am still having a lot of fun developing a green skin squig herder. Public quests are great fun.

[Fable 2 – XBOX 360] – This game has gorgeous Graphics, great voice acting and a natural feeling controls. It is the best RPG game I have played for years (perhaps ever). The more I play it the more I like it.

Podcasts:

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - Ra Ra Riot] - An easy to listen to gig but nothing special to make it stand out from the rather crowded  Indie Pop scene. The Cello is a nice touch and the last track "Dying is Fine" is my favorite.

Week Starting 3^rd January 2008.
Music:
[Double Life] – (Nick Harper) – I think this album really captures the essence of Nick Harper. There is some fantastic guitar work and often wacky vocals. He sounds so much like his dad but at the same time he is very unique.
 

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The Dark Knight – Bluray] – Yet another batman movie with a different set of actors. For this incarnation they moved Gotham out of its dark gothic setting into somewhere like New York. It was quite refreshing to have a brighter more open color palette but I do think the Gothic rendition of Gotham was somehow more appropriate. The movie itself is very well done and keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the end. Although Bale does a pretty good job playing the Dark Knight it is Heath Ledgers portrayal of the Joker that makes this movie. Michael Kane plays a great Alfred and for a change Gary Oldman plays a good guy in the role of Commissioner Gordon. Its probably a reflection of the movies I have seen recently but the special effects are so well done you almost stop thinking of them as such. On Bluray the sound is fantastic and my poor old Yamaha RV620 amplifier overheated and gave up the will to live near the end of this long movie.

[Carry On England] – A pretty average carry on movie without some of the best actors.

[Carry on Follow That Camel] -  A pretty good carry on movie but Phil Silver is a very poor replacement for Sid James.

[Randall and Hopkirk deceased – Series 1 episodes 1 & 2- DVD] – Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer star in this pretty funny comedy remake by the Fast Show’s Charlie Higson. The first episode is pretty slow to get going but once Hopkirk is actually dead the program improves dramatically. There are a whole host of familiar British comedy faces  appearing as guest stars and it is fun to watch.

[Bottom – Series 2 Episode 1 – Digger – DVD] – Absolutely classic Bottom episode especially the Love Bureau scene at the start “Whazzo pair of Jugs”.

Books:

READING: [The Darkness Compendium Volume 1 – Hardcover] – This is a hefty monster of a book (1280 pages) that is almost too heavy to read comfortably in bed. The artwork is vibrant and although I don’t normally read this type of mainstream graphic novel I was intrigued enough by the Garth Ennis connection to give it a go. There are times when the story arcs can be a little bit confusing (story probably running in parallel with Witchblade) but it is generally an easy read. Some of the double page spreads can be hard to read especially if you are like me and don’t want to damage the books spine.

[Robohunter – Day of the Droids] – (John Wagner, Alan Grant, Ian Gibson) – This is my favorite comic story of all time.  I read it when it first appeared in 2000AD back in the 80’s and I still read it to this day. The writing is witty and well paced and the artwork top rate for a black and white comic. Every comic book fan should read this.

Video Games:

[Warhammer Online – PC] – Things didn’t get off to a good start with this game. The first disk I got didn’t work at all. The next disk wouldn’t work on my Vista PC DVD drive but I eventually got an external DVD rom drive to recognize it.  With the game finally installed I had the usual farce of trying to find the .exe file in Vista. The only one I could find was a patch.exe and when I clicked on this things started to happen and it started to download an absolutely huge file. The best part of half a day was lost installing this game.
First impressions once the game actually loaded were pretty good. The opening cinematic was absolutely stunning. Game play itself is very much like WOW but the graphics are not as pretty. I am having a lot of fun developing a green skin squig herder. Oh no not another world of Warcrack addiction ;).

Podcasts:

[Pineapple Thief – Podcast 4] – Another wacky podcast from the Pineapple Thief team. No music on this one but plenty of self depreciation.

[Ricky Gervais Podcasts] – Extremely funny podcasts. These are very rare things indeed in that I have listened to them many times (I rarely listen to a Podcast More Than Once). I never liked the “Office” and thought Ricky was crap in night at the museum but he won me over big time with “Extras” and these podcasts. Highly recommended.

[Sessler's Soapbox] - X-Play host Adam Sessler tells gives you his professional opinion on the latest news and gossip in the videogame industry. Straight-shooter Sessler tells it like it is in this weekly podcast and keeps you informed on the in's and out's of the videogame industry. Excellent Podcast.

[X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] - The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.

[Roy Harper Podcast 18] – Another fine podcast from Paul at Stormcock with some great tracks thrown in for good measure.  I really enjoyed the interview with Nick Harpers PR lady who sounded a lot like Joanna Lumley.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - School of  Seven Bells] - A strange and mystical acoustic set featuring the haunting dual harmony of the twin Deheza sisters layered with incredibly warm sounding guitar. I love the acoustic guitar work in this session. At times I am reminded of Steve Hacketts acoustic work (especially on white Elephant coat).

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - Two Gallants ] - A US folk indie band. Sort of like a Dylan/Neil Young but very melancholy, some might say depressing. Doesnt really float my boat.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - The Hold Steady] - This is an unplugged acoustic set and has a sort of Blue Grass Rock sound. The songs have gritty hard hitting vocals, great lyrics and inventive themes.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - Nada Surf] -  Remind me a little of Crowded House or perhaps Death cab for Cutie. Doesnt really capture my imagination.

* First Listen [KEXP Live Performances - Blind Pilot] - Nice laid back electric folky, bluegrassy sound with an indie bent. Catchy foot tapping tunes and an enjoyable podcast.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcast - 24] A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast - Solid Gold.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcasts - 25] - A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast  - Murder By Death, State Bird.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcasts - 26] - A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast  - Luke Doucet and the White Falcon, Fools and Horses & Aerodrone.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcasts - 27] - A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast  - Absentstar, Ghostly, Iry.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcasts - 28] - A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast  - My Brightest Diamond.

* First Listen [XM Weekly Podcasts - 30] - A great way of finding new bands. Bands worth Further Investigation from this months podcast  - Delta Spirit.

[KEXP Live Performances - Fugiya and Miyagi] - A enjoyable set played by a British band that reminds me a lot of of Stereolab. Knickerbocker is the standout track in this session.

Week Starting 27^th December

Music:

[Stormcock]- (Roy Harper) – Even though I have been a Roy fan for about 24 years I have never heard Stormcock the studio album. I am very familiar with the live versions of "The Same Old Rock", "One Man Rock and Roll Band" and "Me and My Woman" but this was the very first time I have heard the original versions. On first listen I was a little disappointed finding the vocals to be a little weak and the arrangements to be a little overdone. I still prefer the live version of "Same old Rock" from "Unhinged", "Me and my Woman" from "Live at Albert Hall" and "One Man Rock and roll Band" from various live shows but this studio album is growing on me.

First Listen * [Double Life] – (Nick Harper) – I think this album really captures the essence of Nick Harper. There is some fantastic guitar work and often wacky vocals. He sounds so much like his dad but at the same time he is very unique.

[In The Absence Of Truth] - (Isis) - I first saw this band as a support act for Tool back in 200x. I think the band really found themselves with this album and it is far more accessible than their earlier stuff. A band that is similar to Mogwai but much less instrumental and a bit heavier (they unfortunately have some guttural screaming vocals but it doesn't spoil this album). This is fantastic album and a great starter to get a taste of the band. 

[Frost] - (Milliontown EP) - A great Album with the totally amazing track "Black Light Machine". It's a shame they never released any more material although I hear rumors they may be touring in 2009. 

Video Games:

First Play* [Fable 2 – XBOX 360] – This game has gorgeous Graphics, great voice acting and a natural feeling controls. It is the best RPG game I have played for years (perhaps ever). The more I play it the more I like it.

First Play* [Fallout 3 – PS3] – When I first started playing this game I found the controls and graphics confusing. Although the post apocalyptic world is nicely rendered I found it difficult to navigate and confusing.  The voice acting is good and the strange 50's soundtrack is perfectly suited to the landscape. I also struggled with combat to begin with. After about 4 hours of play things started to gel and I began to enjoy myself. The controls became natural and the combat scheme a great tactical experience. The more I play the more I like it.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The IT Crowd ver 1.0 – Episode 3- 6] – Very funny Comedy series about some IT staff in an office. Bizarre stuff.

First Watch* - [Wanted –Bluray] – I enjoyed this movie although it was only very loosely based upon the Graphic novel. The special effects were very good and the violence was pretty extreme.  They basically stripped all the superhero/super villain aspects from the plot but kept the headshot count.

[Carry On Camping - DVD] – Another classic Carry on Movie, set in a camp site in the South of England. Great picture Quality on this DVD edition.

[Carry On Abroad - DVD] – Another Classic Carry on Movie. Great picture Quality on this DVD edition.

[Carry On Doctor – DVD] – Enjoyable Carry on romp set in a hospital. All the usual stars are present in this funny movie.

Books:

First Read * [Wanted] – (Mark Millar, J.G. Jones & Paul Mounts) – Excellent artwork and story. Wanted is a very violent book with a somewhat controversial ending. I think if you enjoy stuff like Punisher Max you will probably enjoy this although there isn't much in the way of a moral code. Extras are pretty good too.

READING: [The Darkness Compendium Volume 1 – Hardcover] – This is a hefty monster of a book that is almost too heavy to read comfortably in bed. The artwork is vibrant and although I don't normally read this type of mainstream graphic novel I was intrigued enough by the Garth Ennis connection to give it a go. I am going to be reading this one for a long while.

Podcasts:

[Stephen Fry – podgram] – Always a welcome trip to the intelligent and witty boudoir of actor Stephen Fry.

Week starting 23rd December:

Music:

[Warszawa] (Porcupine Tree) - Absolutely classic Porcupine Tree gig. This CD is highly recommended as an introduction to Porcupine Tree.

First Listen * [The Invisible Invasion] - (The Coral) - This album has a very sixties sound with a hint of darkness. Great guitar and lyrics providing retro rock goodness. Perhaps a little too sixties for some people but a pretty good listen. 

First Listen * [Goverment Commissions :BBC Sessions 1996-2003] - (Mogwai) This is a great collection of Mogwai session stuff at the BBC. The music rolls over you in warm fuzzy layers occasionally ramping up to moments of aggression. Mainly instrumental but none the worse for it.

[In The Absence Of Truth] - (Isis) - I first saw this band as a support act for Tool back in 200x. I think the band really found themselves with this album and it is far more accessible than their earlier stuff. A band that is similar to Mogwai but much less instrumental and a bit heavier (they unfortunately have some guttural screaming vocals but it doesn't spoil this album). This is fantastic album and a great starter to get a taste of the band. 

[Epoch - Eclipse 30 Year Anthology - CD 1]  - (Hawkwind) : Some good early Hawkwind stuff on here but "Hurry on Sundown" , "Masters of the Universe" and "Orgone Accumulator" are probably the most memorable.

First Listen * [Stormcock]- (Roy Harper) – Even though I have been a Roy fan for about 24 years I have never heard Stormcock the studio album. I am very familiar with the live versions of "The Same Old Rock", "One Man Rock and Roll Band" and "Me and My Woman" but this was the very first time I have heard the original versions. On first listen I was a little disappointed finding the vocals to be a little weak and the arrangements to be a little overdone. I still prefer the live version of "Same old Rock" from "Unhinged", "Me and my Woman" from "Live at Albert Hall" and "One Man Rock and roll Band" from various live shows but this studio album is growing on me.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[The IT Crowd vet 1.0 – Episode 1- 3] – Very funny Comedy series about some IT staff in an office.

First Watch* - [Ratatouille - Blu-ray] – This is an absolutely gorgeous looking movie ..ay and a very enjoyable cartoon. I love the textures on the rats and the fast paced chase and running scenes are spectacular.

[Carry On at Your Convenience - DVD] – One of my favorite Carry On movies and I still find it funny after all these years. Classic British Toilet Humor ;)

[The Two Ronnies – The Christmas Specials - DVD] – No Christmas was complete without the Two Ronnies when I was growing up. I still watch them at Christmas and still really enjoy them.

[Full Bottom – Holy - DVD boxset] – The ultimate Christmas special by the crazy Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. A very funny re-telling of the nativity with comic violence.

[Porridge – The Christmas Specials – DVD] – Two classic Christmas specials are collected on this DVD, "No Way Out" and "The Desperate Hours". They are both very funny but if I was to choose a favorite it would be "No Way Out" where Ronnie Barker is on absolute top form trying to get to spend Christmas in the prison hospital.

Books:

First Read * [Hellboy Library Edition, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil (v. 1)] (Mike Minola, John Byrne)

I have always been put off trying out the Hellboy books by the rather simplistic art but I do like the movies. When a chance to purchase the library edition came up at an amazing price I decided to take the plunge. I am glad I did as once you start to read the books the art fits the story perfectly.  The art in this huge format library edition in particular looks fantastic. The first story "Seed of destruction" is a great read and it introduces many of the characters I recognize from the movies. The second part "Wake the Devil" continues on with the interesting Ragna RoK Nazi supernatural theme and hammers home the fact I was so wrong to dismiss these books in the past. Minola does a superb job of creating a sense of suspense and horror in these tales. The extras in this book are also top notch.

First Read * [Preacher Vol. 4: Ancient History] – (Garth Ennis,  Steve Pugh, Carlos Ezquerra, Richard Case.)

This book is a collection of 3 back stories covering some of the characters in the Preacher series. The first story is an absolute classic and it covers the bizarre history of the Saint of Sinners. Although the artwork does vary between artists in this tale the overall effect is very good indeed. Superb! The second tale I enjoyed less and it fills in the back story for Ar*e face. The style and content of this little tale doesn't really seem to fit in well with the rest of the Preacher series although it is still pretty violent and shocking. Ar*e face himself doesn't look as grotesque as he did in the Preacher books. The final tale covers the insane Good Old Boys Jody and T.C. in a ultra violent side story. The art work and storytelling are fantastic and these guys really deserve their own book.

[ABC WARRIORS: HELLBRINGER- ISBN905437560] - (Pat Mills – Tony Skinner – Kev Walker)

Although I was a big fan of Robusters I didn't enjoy the spin off series "ABC warriors" Quite as much. That's not to say I didnt enjoy ABC warriors but just that some of the characters were not as compelling. Hellbringer is a very colorful graphic novel but I find the artwork a bit cluttered and confusing at times. I also didn't like the way Hammerstein and Ro- Jaws were drawn. The story is OK but the highlight of the book is the short bonus story at the end.

Podcasts :

[Sessler's Soapbox] - X-Play host Adam Sessler tells gives you his professional opinion on the latest news and gossip in the videogame industry. Straight-shooter Sessler tells it like it is in this weekly podcast and keeps you informed on the in's and out's of the videogame industry. Excellent Podcast.

 [X- Play's Daily Video Podcast] - The original and best X-Play podcast. I stopped watching the TV show and just watch the podcasts now.

[Collected Comics Library, hosted by Chris Marshall] - The only podcast solely dedicated to news, information and reviews on all sorts of comic books and collected editions including DC Comics Archives, Marvel Masterworks, Absolutes, Omnibus's, Graphic Novels and all other hardcover and softcover favorites - the CCL covers it all! An informative collected comic books podcast that I listen too to find out news of new releases and pointer towards new books to try.

Week starting December 13, 2008

This weeks Update is a bit late but better late than never.

Music:

[The Blinding Darkness- Live] (Pallas) – Great Live 2cd gig with a nice rendition of the Atlantis Suite and the Ripper. They still got it.

[The Alternative] (IAMX) - Discovered this band through an XM radio podcast. Fantastic 80's style synth sound and driving beats. Chris Corner also has a great voice and the lyrics are both catchy and thought provoking. A bit like a cross between "Dirty Vegas" and "She Wants Revenge". This one is highly recommended for fans of Electronic Synth Pop. 

[Peace sells but who's Buying -Remaster] (Megadeth) - I originally bought this album on picture disk when it first came out and it was not the best quality pressing in the world but that didn't stop me listening to it allot. Revisiting it through this re-master brought home how fresh it still sounds today and what an excellent album it is.   I am not sure the remixes add anything to the original.

[Am I Evil] - (Diamond Head) - I got into Diamond Head through Tommy Vance and the Friday Rock show. The music does sound quite dated today but tracks like "Am I evil" , "Heat of the Night" and "Borrowed Time" still rock. A great nostalgia trip for me and still enjoyable after all these years. I still listen to the old Friday rock show tapes which I feel have a lot more edge to them than this studio version. I haven't blown the dust off my old Vinyl Borrowed Time LP for about 12 years but I am sure it sounded different (especially Borrowed Time). I don't recognize the last track on this album.

[Arrive Alive] - (Pallas) - Absolutely classic Pallas with standout tracks such as "Arrive Alive" and the "Ripper".  This album has the raw live energy that they seemed to lose on subsequent studio albums. A must for prog rock fans.

[The Sentinel] -(Pallas) - This is my favorite Pallas album. My favorite versions of the tracks were the BBC sessions played on the Friday Rock show. The later 1984 LP vinyl release was still really good but it was a little over produced and lost a bit of the drive those BBC session recordings had.  The much later 2004 CD release was a totally different affair bringing in much material that never made it on the LP release.  I will probably upset many fans by saying this but I think EMI were probably right to do what they did in leaving out some of this stuff. The CD is very different in feel to the old LP and some of the extra tracks don't really add to the experience. Perhaps my mind plays tricks. I need to dig out the old vinyl LP. It is growing on me with each listen.

[Effloresce] -(Oceansize) - Great album from a great band. If you like Pineapple Thief and Porcupine Tree you should really like this band. Proggy but at the same time indy sounding and at times very heavy. Great melodies and mood changes in the songs. Some stuff sounds a bit like Mogwai.

[Keyboard Wizards & Classic Tracks] - (Various)  - I am a bit of a keyboard fan and this album looked to be very intriguing. Its an unusual selection of covers (a Lot of Pink Floyd covers) and originals played by many different artists. Its a strange album with songs from Synth Pop to Prog rock to ambient electronica.  Strangely enough for an album promoting the virtues of Keyboard it is some of the guitar work that really stands out on this double album. There is some very weird ambient stuff but generally most of it is very listenable too.

[Quark Strangeness and Charm - With 9 bonus live tracks] - Fantastic Hawkwind album that was pretty hard to get hold of on CD for a while. Contains the classic triple whammy of "Spririt of the Age", "Damnation Alley" and "Fable of a failed Race". "Hassan I Sabha" is also worth a mention. The live Bonus stuff is pretty good and would have been worth buying as a CD on its own.

Books

First Read * [The Chronicles Of Wormwood – The Last Enemy] (Garth Ennis – Rob Steen)

This is a pretty good but very short addition to the chronicles of Wormwood saga. This volume deals with the popes attempts to capture Jay by using the killer eunuch.  It's in a similar vein to the first book and the story is pretty entertaining. There are some funny moments and the usual amounts of shocking scenes (the fight with the eunuch springs to mind) but it just doesn't work as well as the first book. The artwork is OK but not as good as "Jacen Burrows" work.

New-Read * [Charley's War] - (Pat Mills - Joe Colquhoun)

 I was a big reader of war comics as a child but I read "Warlord" and not "Battle" where Charley's war was first published. I am also a big fan of Pat Mills as he penned some of my all time favorite comic strips such as Ro-busters and  ABC warriors. I decided to buy this hardback version of Charley's war as Amazon.co.uk was selling them very cheaply. I particularly enjoyed the extras in the book with interviews, timelines, real history and background stories. The artwork is very faithful to the old comic book originals and as such fairly low tech but it fits the subject matter so well. The story is engaging and very though provoking especially as Pat Mills went through huge amounts of research to keep it authentic. I would even go as far as saying the book is moving in a way few comic strips can hope to achieve. Highly recommended.

First Read * [Hellboy Library Edition, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil (v. 1)] (Mike Minola, John Byrne)

[Still Reading]

Video Games:

First Play* [Resistance Fall of Man – PS3] – This game has gorgeous Graphics, believable backdrops (some of the York scenery felt familiar to me) and great fun. I really like the weapons and the 1950's alternate English theme. If I have one slight criticism it is that the difficulty level is inconsistent between levels rather than progressing as you fight your way through the scenario. One of the best games I have played this year.

[Final Fantasy Tactics] (PSP) - Fantastic time killer for long flights or train rides and a classic tactical game.

First Play* [Guitar Hero 3 – Legends of Rock –PS3] – I finally broke down and bought a guitar hero type game. Its good fun to play and pretty difficult for a first timer (especially the boss battle). Its pretty crap if I can only play 10 songs because I cant get past the boss battle which I don't find much fun.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge - The Complete Series (1998)] – (Alan Partridge). Episodes 1 to 6 and knowing me Knowing Yule. Classic Steve Coogan talk show spoof. Great stuff

[The Good Life - Series 2 DVD- Episode 7 - Going to Pot] - Perhaps not generally accepted as the peak of British Comedy but it is harmless fun. I still enjoy watching them today. Margo has some great one liners and of course it has Felicity Kendal.

Podcasts :

[Collected Comics Library, hosted by Chris Marshall] - The only podcast solely dedicated to news, information and reviews on all sorts of comic books and collected editions including DC Comics Archives, Marvel Masterworks, Absolutes, Omnibus's, Graphic Novels and all other hardcover and softcover favorites - the CCL covers it all! This is An informative collected comic books podcast that I listen too to find out news of new releases and pointer towards new books to try.

[The Devil & Me Podcast ] - Offers a voyeuristic view into the lives of Marvel comic book artist Skottie Young and his better half, singer-songwriter Casey McCauley. Strange but somehow compelling in a big brother kind of way.

Week starting December 7, 2008

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[War of The Worlds – Live On Stage] – This stage show is an amazing version of one of my all time favorite albums. Jeff Wayne did an amazing job of turning an obviously heavily studio worked Album into a seamless stage show. Justin Hayward and Russell Watson are still in fine voice after all these years. It's a shame David Essex couldn't participate as he really made the artillery man part his own and Phil Lynott is missed as the Parson.

First watch* [Dave Gormans Googlewhack Adventure] – A very enjoyable one man show that is both funny and informative.

Video Games:

[Call of Duty 4 – Modern warfare] (XBOX 360) – Played some multiplayer/Arcade action on this excellent shooter.

[Duke Nukem 3D] (XBOX 360) – A faithful translation of a PC classic. I used to play this one to death on the PC and was surprised to find it on XBOX live. It feels very dated compared to modern day shooters and It is much more difficult than I remember. I only played the free demo but it gives you a pretty long session and it was a great bit of nostalagia.

[Unreal Tournament 3 - PS3] . Great graphics and controls. I used to play Unreal Tournament to death on the PC and this version is like meeting up with an old friend. The bot AI makes for some great single person play without having to deal with all the idiots online (I am really jaded with online games).  I am surprised how easy it is to control without Keyboard and mouse.

[Final Fantasy Tactics] (PSP) - Fantastic time killer for long flights or train rides and a classic tactical game.

Books

First Read * [Steampunk: Manimatron]- (Joe Kelly) 

This is a very challenging book to read and definitely not for everyone. The art work is beautifully colored and drawn but often the way it is laid out makes it very confusing. The script is also very disjointed and hard to follow. The first few chapters gave me a headache and left me wondering if this was art for arts sake. By part 3 some of the threads of story started to make some kind of sense but it was still the sort of book you have to lock yourself away in a quiet room to have any chance of following. Does a graphic novel have to be this frustrating just so hardened comic book readers have a sense of superiority over the more casual reader ?

First Read * [Battle Pope: Genesis] – (Kirkman –Moore - Staples)

I really enjoyed this book even though it could be considered quite offensive. Just like the great religious parodies "Life of Brian" and "Dogma" it pokes a bit of fun at organized religion but does so in a light hearted slapstick way. This color version of the collected books 1 to 4  is gorgeous to look at and the drawing is excellent. The script is fun and witty and the action never lets up. If I can make one criticism it is that the book is a little short. 

First Read * [The Chronicles Of Wormwood] (Garth Ennis - Jacen Burrows)

 One of my all time favorite graphic novels is "303" which was written by "Garth Ennis" and illustrated by "Jacen Burrows". How could I not buy "Chronicles of Wormwood" when the same pair were back together. I am glad to say I was not disappointed, the artwork in Chronicles is fantastic and the story is amongst Ennis's best work. Ennis likes poking fun at religion (the Catholic Faith in particular) in several of his books but this one is probably the most extreme. It makes "The Preacher" look a bit tame and not only includes, offensive drawings, strong language and nudity but it also has blasphemous story line to seal the deal. I loved it. There is something about the laid back story telling style that keeps the whole thing light and amusing (Laugh out loud at times) rather than offensive. I am not sure what the Vatican would make of the scene with the Oz pope having a threesome with three naked nuns.

The story is based around the apocalypse and features all the parties you would expect but not as you expect to see them. The Devil is pretty much true to form and both God and his only son are a bit strange to say the least but what really makes this story special is the Wormwood himself. His unwillingness to participate in the end of mankind is the special key to why this book was such a good read. Jacen Burrows has a unique clean way of drawing that I really appreciate. I am getting to be a really big fan of his work.

Music

[Greenslade] – (Greenslade) – Classic old school prog rock with multiple lead keyboards. The keyboard, Bass and guitar sounds are a real treat for fans of old school rock music. The first album is definitely the best and although I think this it is superb I have never managed to convince my other proggy friends of its merits.

First Listen* [Butterfly Pinned] -(Monster In The Machine)

 Hard to categorize this excellent album but If I was to try to pigeon hole them into some genre I would call them retro pop (70's and 80's) with a very indy music sound. In reality they don't fit into any one genre. The CD is full of flowing melodies, interesting sounds and lush vocals. There is a lot of variety and inventiveness and the standout track is the amazing "Helicopter" (check it out on their myspace page). Great CD !

First Listen* [Elijah Drop Your Gun] -(Mieka Pauley)

 Absolutely gorgeous vocals and sweet acoustic guitar playing. Songs ranging from pastoral to loud and angry, some very acoustic and some bristling with top class backing arrangements. You might  sense hints of Alanis Morrisette but she is so very individual and much less commercial sounding. "All the same mistakes" is my favorite track on the album and is a good starter introduction to Mieka.

Week starting November 29th

This week I have been away in the far East working. I Had a very, very long flight so I listened to "Project 42" on the Ipod. I Managed to listen to 100 songs before the battery final gave out on the way out and the way back.

Music:

[Bob Dylan] (Blonde on Blonde) – One of my favorite Dylan albums although there a quite a few tracks I am not so keen on. Ranks up there with "Highway 61" revisited and "Desire" as Bob classics. My favorite tracks are 'I want you", Stuck inside of Mobile…", "Just like a woman" and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"

 [Elephant 6 Orchestra - Live on NPR] (Chicago's Bottom Lounge on Oct. 21, 2008.) - This is a great enjoyable indie romp with a varied selection of musical styles. Some of the stuff is a bit too far gone for me but there are some real gems in there too. Bizarre Instruments abound. It must be good for me to listen through it several times despite its enormous length. I was particularly impressed by [ELF Power] and need to check out their stuff.

DVD/Bluray/UMD:

[Family Guy, Vol. 1 - Seasons 1 & 2] – (Disk 5. Last 4 episodes of season 2) – Never scared to poke fun at anyone and everything. I really enjoy Family guys sense of humor especially little Stewie. It looks really good on the PSP so it's It's a shame UMD never took off. Great series for long plane flights if you remember not to laugh out loud.

Books

 First Read * [The Filth] (Grant Morrison) - I picked up this book because I was intrigued by the concept and very impressed by the art. This is definitely a Bizarre book, so strange that I struggled to follow it at times.  Some of the story arcs are fairly straightforward but generally speaking it is so surreal and at times confusing that it can be hard going. On the other hand the artwork is fantastic and there are glimmers of genius in some of the story. It certainly makes you think and probably needs a few reads to sink in. It contains some pretty adult themes, concepts and strong language.

Video Games:

[Call of Duty 4 – Modern warfare] (XBOX 360) – Played some multiplayer/Arcade action on this excellent shooter.

[Final Fantasy Tactics] (PSP) - Fantastic time killer for long flights and a classic tactical game.

Week starting November 22nd

How have I been spending my free time this week in the world of multimedia?

Music:

[Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span] – Various old favorites

[Hawkwind] – Various old favorites

[Tool] (Opiate) – Tool's first EP (at least easily available). Definitely a taster for what is to come. I find the live tracks to be the most enjoyable but "Part of Me" is also pretty good.

[Tool] (Undertow) – A fantastic album with two many good tracks to single out. With this album the driving bass and guitar really start to take charge and much weirdness creeps into the mix (Track 69 for instance). My favorite track on this album is "Sober" which incidentally is the track that got me into Tool (via the fantastic video). This track has one of the best rock song introductions known to man. This album definitely put Tool into the realm of Heavy prog.

[Tool] (Aenema) – One of the best albums ever made and my favorite TOOL album. The production, creativity and inventiveness of this album are incredible. This album will give your HI FI the workout of its life if you crank the volume up. Particular standout tracks include Stinkfest, Eulogy, Fourty Six & Two and of course Aenema itself.

First Listen* [Marillion] (The Early Stages Official Bootleg Box Set : 1982 to 1987 : Disk  2) - Another Great disk. There is a bit of overdone vocal echo on Garden Party at the beginning but generally the mix is great. Fish's between song introductions are as barmy as ever and provide some good insight into the growth of the band. Next up is a cracking version of 3 boats that blows away the studio example. Track 3 is a well done live version of Grendel.  Last track of the disk is Chelsea Monday and I was sat there thinking that it wasn't really working until the guitar solo kicked in then .....wow. Perhaps not the best version of one of my favorite Marillion Tracks but still very good.

 First Listen* [Marillion] (The Early Stages Official Bootleg Box Set : 1982 to 1987 : Disk  5) -  Probably one of the strongest discs in the box set. By the time this album was recorded they were very polished on stuff from Script and Fugazi. Fugazi is not one of my favorite albums but both Assassing and Incubus on this CD are absolutely fantastic live, especially Incubus. Highlight of the album is the preview of the soon to be released "Misplaced Childhood".  Different from the final studio release in many ways but so very very good. Timeless !

 First Listen* [Elf Power] (Walking with the Beggar Boys) - A nice Indy pop album that is very easy to listen too. Not a bad track on it. Standout track for me was "the cracks" as it was a bit strange and less poppy than the rest of the album. It kind of reminds me of the love child of REM and Death Cab For Cutie. 

 First Listen* [Spocks Beard] (Live) - I own quite a few Spocks Beard albums but I don't class myself as a fan. They have some great songs but there is  something about them that rubs me the wrong way. I  think that some of the lyrics are difficult for me to relate too and the Jazz influences are a bit much at times. They are obviously very talented musicians. This Live Album has a very very good sound and some wonderful musicianship but I am not so sure about all the songs. "Walking on the wind" and "Go the way" are my favorite tracks and the second CD is definitely the stronger of the two.

[Iron Maiden] (A matter of Life and Death) - I was really surprised by this album. Its a heavy Prog album and this is a surprise for Iron Maiden although some of their earlier work had some prog tendencies too (Ancient mariner springs to mind). I think there are some Rainbow, Dio and Tool influences lurking in there. I wasn't expecting an album like this and even on the first listen I found it to be very catchy. Good stuff...:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />

Books:

First Read * [500 Essential Graphic Novels] – (Gene Kannenberg, Jr) . A fantastic achievement to take in such a broad collection of comic genre's and put them all together in an interesting way. I actually read this book from cover to cover (I did skip a few books that dont interest me at all)and really enjoyed it. If I have one criticism (and this is a very small one) it is that many of the reviews dont have example art from the inside. The art in a Graphic novel is very important to me and not seeing the art might prevent me from taking a chance on a book. Great work

First Read* [Vertigo First Cut] –(Various) – The concept here is a book containing the first issue from seven series to whet your appetite. (DMZ) : Good Art and an intriguing story line. I might give this a try in the future especially if an omnibus edition gets published. (Army@Love) : Nice art work but I couldn't get into the story. A little too farfetched even for me. (Jack of Fables) : Good artwork and the promise of an interesting story line. I might check this one out further. (The Exterminators): I really enjoyed this story and was impressed by the art and the writing. Definite buy. (Scalped): A very dark and gritty Native American based gangster tale. Not bad but pretty heavy going. (Crossing Midnight): A very intriguing story line and good art. I don't really like books with kids as the heroes so I am unlikely to buy this one. (Loveless): A western tale that strangely left me cold.

First Read* [Punisher MAX, Vol. 1 – Hardcover] (Garth Ennis)- The hardcover version of this book is printed on very high quality paper and as a result of this the exploding body parts really jump off the page. The book contains two story arcs, "In the Beginning" and "Kitchen Irish". I found both stories very engaging and would find it hard to choose a favorite. The quality of illustration is very good and the violence is off the scale. I don't think I have ever seen so many brutal killings in one book. It is all done with a subtle dark sense of humor and references to real world events. The dialogue is also very well done but definitely not for children. This book is highly recommended if you can stomach the violence.

DVD/Bluray:

First Watch* [The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford- bluray]. A very long and slow paced movie. Although the subject matter was interesting I think the movie could have been a lot shorter. It's a bit like a History Channel documentary. Not an easy watch but some good character acting.

First Watch* [Sherlock Homes – Ronald Howard 20 episodes Collection] - The acting and story lines are so bad they are funny. It has such a strange charm that makes them fun to watch.  Episodes Watched - Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the shoeless Engineer, The Case of the singing violin, The case of the Royal Murder, The case of the shy ballerina.

First Watch* [Pushing Daisies Series 1 – episode 7,8 & 9 ]. We bought this DVD after finishing [Dead Like Me] in the hope it would be similarly strange. It turned out to be a very enjoyable season but not quite as good as [Dead Like Me]. The plots, sets and stories kept up with the strange factor right up until the end. I can't wait for season 2 to be released on DVD. It's just a pity they have been cancelled before season 2 was finished. Perhaps it was just a little too odd for the masses.   

Video Games:

[Dead Rising] (XBOX 360). Great graphics and some fun Zombie killing action but ultimately I find it difficult to the point of frustration. I have never get very far into this game but play It occasionally just for the Zombie killing.

[Wii Sports] (Wii) – Good fun and quite a workout (especially the tennis)

First Play* [Wii Fit] (Wii) – This is a pretty good fitness toy with some very challenging activities. Something both my wife and I can enjoy. My Wii fit age is horrible and I am way out of balance.

[Call of Duty 4 – Modern warfare] (XBOX 360) – Played some multiplayer/Arcade action on this excellent shooter.

* Stuff thats new to me this week

Week starting November 15th

How have I been spending my free time this week in the world of multimedia?

Music:

Listening to the Ipod and shuffle play a lot this week.

First Listen* [Marillion] (Happiness is the road Vol 2 : The hard Shoulder) - This is very much in the same vein as the recent albums. I think Hoggarths voice is much better suited to the crooning stuff rather than some of the brash rock stuff they have turned out in the past. This has nice easy listening tunes and beautifully layered music. Marillion are difinitely mellowing more with age and this is a very easy album to just let flow over you. No real bad tracks or anything to offend the ears. It has wonderful production and an incredible depth to the mixes especially considering the MP3 source.  Some real nice guitar solos too. Asylum Satellite 1 is my favorite track on the album (especially the last 2 minutes)

First Listen* [Marillion] (The Early Stages Official Bootleg Box Set : 1982 to 1987 : Disk 1) - Incredible to find this vintage Marillion material on CD. The CD starts of with a very ropy "Garden Party" where Fish seems to have forgotten the words and the tempo is all over the place but this is followed by an absolutely fantastic version of "The Web". The guitar solo in this version is inspired and raw. "He knows you Know" is also Quite a bit different to the studio version and has a certain raw charm to it. Track 4 "She Cameleon" was eventually released on Fugazi but it was musically nothing like this version (I never heard this version before). Track 5 is a good version of 3 boats and just like the studio version. Track 6 is a rendition of "Market Square Hero with a bit of a strange Keyboard mix. The CD finishes off with a stonking version of one of my all time favorite tracks "Forgotten Sons". Fantastic stuff.

 [IAMX] - (The Alternative) Discovered this band through an XM radio podcast. Fantastic 80's style synth sound and driving beats. Chris Corner also has a great voice and the lyrics are both catchy and thought provoking. I have been listening to this album allot this week and it really rocks. I hope my speakers can take the barrage. November has been a fantastic month for me discovering new material to listen too and this album is one of the best. A bit like a cross between Dirty Vegas and She Wants Revenge but better than both those bands. Highly recommended for fans of Electronic Synth Pop. 

First Listen*  [The Chameleons] - (Live at the Gallery Club in Manchester 1982) - Sound Quality is pretty poor on this recording (Sounds Like a bootleg with all the Bass sucked out). A good gig but it isnt as good as the excellent "Live at the Academy". Incidentally "Live at the Academy" is nearly $100 on Amazon.co.uk.

 First Listen* [Elf Power] (In A Cave) - A strange and catchy record with some really good tunes. It has a soft and relaxing Indy sound (a bit like death cab for Cutie) but with some unusual instruments thrown in to spice up the pot. I really like the vocalists style. I will probably need a few listens to get into this one. "Spiral Stairs" is the standout track of the Album.

 First Listen* [Elf Power] (Back to the Web) - A good pastoral album. Indie easy listening to relax to. "An old Familiar Scene" is the standout track. I also particularily enjoyed "Somewhere Down the River","The Spider and the Fly" and "Back to the Web" . This album doesnt seem to be quite so expiremental as (In A Cave) in the choice of instruments although it still certainly not mainstream.

 First Listen* [Puscifer] (V is for Vagina) - A very strange album from Tool front man Maynard James Keenan. I am not sure about the album but it is certainly different to (Tool) or (A Perfect Circle.). "Moma Sed" , "Rev 22:22" and "Indigo children" are growing on me. This album would be the perfect soundtrack for a Preacher Movie (Garth Ennis).

 First Listen* [Puscifer] (V is for Viagra) - An even stranger remix album than "V is for Vagina". Even harder to get into ;)

[Frost] (Milliontown EP) - A pretty good Album with the totally amazing track [Black Light Machine]. Track 4 reminds me of "Our Friends Electric" for some reason and I am not sure why. Black light is the outstanding track of this album and it is an excellent fusion of Heavy Prog and Elecro Pop. The final track has some really good moments too. It's a shame they never released any more material although I hear rumors they may be touring in 2009. 

[Nick Harper] (Miracles for Beginners) - This is actually the first studio stuff of Nicks I have listened to. I have seen him play with his dad many times and I have always been in awe of his guitar playing. The only time I have seen his solo stuff was when he was both touring and playing support for Squeeze. I remember the Squeeze gig was excellent but I can't recall what Nicks solo set was like. This album portrays nicely his guitar prowess  and I have to say I really enjoyed it on the first listen. I can't listen to Nick without thinking of Roy, he really is a chip off the old block.

[Elephant 6 Orchestra - Live on NPR] (Chicago's Bottom Lounge on Oct. 21, 2008.) - This is a great enjoyable indie romp with a varied selection of musical styles. Some of the stuff is a bit too far gone for me but there are some real gems in there too. Bizarre Instruments abound. It must be good for me to listen through it several times despite its enormous length. I was particularly impressed by [ELF Power] and need to check out their stuff.

DVD/Bluray:

First Watch* [Pushing Daisies Series 1 – episode 6 ]. We bought this DVD after finishing [Dead Like Me] in the hope it would be similarly strange. It is turning out to be a pretty good series but not as good as [Dead Like Me] .  The narration and the 50's B movie inspired sets are the best bit for me. 

First Watch* [Hellboy 2  – bluray]- A huge disappointment. They went down that dreaded comic book path and camped the whole thing up. Special effects were amazing and the monsters were very well done but the dialogue was not up to snuff :-(

First Watch* [Sherlock Homes – Ronald Howard 20 episodes Collection] - The acting and story lines are so bad they are funny. It has such a strange charm that makes them fun to watch.  Episodes Watched - Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Texas Cowgirl, Sherlock Holmes: The Case Of The laughing Mummy. Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the reluctant carpenter

Video Games:

[Unreal Tournament 3 - PS3] . Great graphics and controls. I used to play Unreal Tournament to death on the PC and this version is like meeting up with an old friend. The bot AI makes for some great single person play without having to deal with all the idiots online (I am really jaded with online games).  I am surprised how easy it is to control without Keyboard and mouse.

Books:

First Read* [The Boys Vol 3 : Good For the Soul] (Garth Ennis) – I really enjoyed the first two books in this series so I had high hopes for part 3. It is nearly a year since I read part 2 so when I started reading this book I found myself a little confused with the storyline and characters. This is a really good book and has some very funny (not politically correct) moments. It is as good as the first two books but took a while to get going. Ennis takes a very risky storyline in this issue (think 911) but manages to pull it off with some excellent political satire. This book does a good job of fleshing out Wee Hughie and explaining the superhero back story.

First Read* [Preacher Vol. 3: Proud Americans – Garth Ennis] - Yet Another fantastic addition to the preacher series that is showing absolutely no sign of losing momentum. This may very well be the best book in the series yet. The art is good and the story is very well written although there does seem to be some erosion in the level of detail in the pictures as the series goes on. I had a great deal of difficulty putting this book down once I started. It has to be noted that the quality of paper in this version isn't as good as the previous two. This is for mature readers only.

* = Stuff that is new to me this week

Week starting November  8th

How have I been spending my free time this week in the world of multimedia?

Music :

Random Play on the ipod when travelling on the train listening to [PROJECT 42]

 [Marillion] – (Script For A Jesters tear re-master with Bonus CD) – I haven't listened to this for ages.  It was always one of my favorite albums and I was surprised how fresh it still sounds today. Not a bad track on the album and an absolute rock classic. Brilliant stuff.

[Doves ] – (Lost Cities) – Not as good as the first album but still a great listen. 

[Echo and the Bunnymen] – (The very best of) –  I only really began to explore this band after seeing them live. This album is a good introduction.

[Horslips ] (The tain) – Not as accessible as the pivotal "Book of Invasions Album" but even after all these years it still gets my feet tapping. Probably only appeal to hardcore electric folk fans but a shame for other people to miss out on this gem.

[Frost] (Milliontown EP) - A great Album with the totally amazing track [Black Light Machine]. Its a shame they never released any more material although I hear rumors they may be touring in 2009. 

 [Genesis] (Genesis Live) -  Digging back very deep into the past for this one. Its amazing how heavy tracks like the Knife and the musical box were. The guitar solo at the end of the Knife is way more aggressive than you expect from Genesis. Steve Hackett leaving the band should have been lamented just as much as Gabriel.

 [IAMX] - (The Alternative) Discovered this band through an XM radio podcast. Fantastic 80's style synth sound and driving beats. Chris Corner also has a great voice and the lyrics are both catchy and thought provoking. I have been listening to this album allot this week and it really rocks. I hope my speakers can take the barrage. November has been a fantastic month for me discovering new material to listen too and this album is one of the best. A bit like a cross between Dirty Vegas and She Wants Revenge but better than both those bands. Highly recommended for fans of Electronic Synth Pop.  

 [Hawkwind] (The Best of Hawkwind friends and relations) - An enjoyable romp through some old Hawkwind stuff. I am a huge hawkwind fan and feel they never got the respect they deserved  due to the rather poor nature of their commercial success "Silver Machine". They are a really heavy band at times. Some of the stuff on this album is a bit strange but generally its very enjoyable for a Hawkwind fan.  I have been after a copy of the track "Rajh Neesh" for about 20 years ! 

 [Galahad] (Year Zero) + (Following Ghosts) + (Nothing is Written) - I had a bit of a Galahad session on a long car journey this week . I like Galahad but I am not so sure they have stood the test of time too well. I find that there are only a few tracks on each album that still really do anything for me. Nothing is Written is still my favorite Galahad album although the transition onto record lost some of the spontaneity the original Friday rock show sessions had. I have these on tape somewhere........

 [Nick Harper] (Miracles for Beginners) - This is actually the first studio stuff of Nicks I have listened to. I have seen him play with his dad many times and I have always been in awe of his guitar playing. The only time I have seen his solo stuff was when he was both touring and playing support for Squeeze. I remember the Squeeze gig was excellent but I cant recall what Nicks solo set was like. This album portrays nicely his guitar prowess  and I have to say I really enjoyed it on the first listen. I cant listen to Nick without thinking of Roy, he really is a chip off the old block.

 [Dio] (The Very Beast of Dio) - I think RJ Dio is one of the best heavy rock vocalists of all time. I particularly enjoyed his stint in Rainbow where I reckon he did some of his best work. This album contains my favorite Dio tracks, Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark, Dream Evil and the last in line. I saw him live a few years back and he was still fantastic.

 [Iron Maiden] (A matter of Life and Death) - I was really surprised by this album. Its a heavy Prog album and this is a surprise for Iron Maiden although some of their earlier work had some prog tendencies too (Ancient mariner springs to mind). I think there are some Rainbow, Dio and Tool influences lurking in there. I wasn't expecting an album like this and even on the first listen I found it to be very catchy. Good stuff.

 [Ian Gillan] -(Gillan's Inn Deluxe Tour Edition) - A great fresh look at the Gillan back catalog with lots of guest artists. I think a lot of these tracks sound better than the originals.  The version of when a blind man cries with Jeff Healey is superb.

[Roy Harper Pod cast 16] – I don't know how Paul manages to keep up these excellent podcasts but this one does not disappoint. A little interview heavy and I missed hearing a few rare Roy tracks that he normally throws in.

Movies:

[The incredible Hulk – bluray]- Another fantastic comic book movie. Wow

TV:

[Pushing Daisies Series 1 - ep 4 to 5]. Still enjoying this season.

[The Mighty Boosh – The Hitcher]. Rewatched my favorite Boosh Episode for the umpteenth time. Great stuff. The hitcher is my favorite Boosh Character too.

Video Games:

[Unreal Tournament 3 - PS3] . Still playing this one a lot.

Books:

[The Complete Nemesis the Warlock Volume 1]( Pat Mills) – A very enjoyable piece of nostalgia for me. The print is little small at times but a good read none the less. Finally finished.

[Pride and Joy] (Garth Ennis, John Higgins) – A great Garth Ennis novel with a more serious tone than his usual stuff.  The art work fits the story perfectly and it is the first book I have read that has been illustrated by John Higgins. Highly recommended.

[The Preacher – Vol 1 : Gone To Texas] (Garth Ennis , Steve Dillon)– A truly epic comic book and not for the easily offended. One of Garth Ennis's finest works. Read for the second Time

[The Preacher - Vol 2 : Until the end of the World] (Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon) – Fantastic story and great artwork.  Another one of Garth Ennis's finest works and IMHO better than the first. Read for the second Time

How have I been spending my free time this week in the world of multimedia?

Music :

I have been doing a lot of long drives this week so I have been listening to lots and lots

[Of Montreal] Live in Washington (NPR Live concert Podcast from All things Considered). [Of Montreal] are a bizarre yet strangely compelling band. I have been listening to this excellent podcast a lot this week.

[Pallas]  Blinding darkness Live CD.

[Fujia and Miyagi]  (live @CMJ) Podcast.  This podcast was a nice surprise discovery from KEXP. This band warrants further listening.

[Ra Ra Riot] (NPR Live concert Podcast from All things Considered). Not bad but nothing special.

[Porcupine Tree] Fear of a blank planet and various stuff on shuffle play. Great stuff for long car journeys if you can really crank the volume up.

[Gallahad] Nothing is written. Classic prog that I haven't listened to for a while.

[Tool] 10,000 maniacs. Probably their weakest album (I am a huge TOOL fan) but late at night played really loud in the car and it comes into its own

[Greenslade] Greenslade Live.  More classic prog keyboardy  goodness.  Glad I blew the dust of this one.

Movies:

[Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull].  I actually really enjoyed the movie though it was not as good as I was hoping for. They seem to have just followed the old formula. I have to say there were three things in the movie I thought really did suck and those were the Gophers, the Monkeys and the refrigerator.  If I want to see that sort of crap I rent a Disney movie (well perhaps not for the refrigerator which was just plain ridiculous).

[Iron Man]. Wow this was actually a really good comic book movie. I enjoyed the X-Men Movies, Hellboy and the first two Spiderman movies  but generally comic book translations are poorly executed. This movie had amazing special effects, good adult story and it didn't camp things up.  

[Hellboy – Bluray]. I bought one of my favorite Movies ..ay. Wow it is stunning in full 1080p. I hope Hellboy 2 is as good.

TV:

[Pushing Daisies Series 1 - ep 1 to 3]. We bought this DVD after finishing [Dead Like Me] in the hope it would be similarly strange. It is turning out to be a pretty good series but not as good as [Dead Like Me] .  The narration and the 50's B movie inspired sets are the best bit for me. 

[Titty Bang Bang Series 1] – I am not quite sure what to make of this. There are some quite funny ideas and the makeup and costumes are amazing (think Little Britain with women pretending to be men) but it seems they have only got a couple of ideas and they play them with only slight variations each week.  It is not as funny or as inventive as Little Britain and the Fast show.  The Bare arsed quilt club was probably the only bit that had me laugh out loud when I first saw it.  It was interesting enough for me to watch all seven episodes over two evenings and I would watch it again. Duck and chips.

Video Games:

We got a Wii this week so I have been farting around with [Wii sports] and [Wii play]. Considering how simple it is and how crappy the graphics are it is very addictive.

[Spore] Still playing this one on the laptop. I love the fact that I can just dip into it for an hour, conquer a few planets and then go off and do something else. Its not perfect but  it is addictive

[Unreal Tournament 3 - PS3] . Great graphics and controls. I used to play Unreal Tournament to death on the PC and this version is like meeting up with an old friend. The bot AI makes for some great single person play without having to deal with all the idiots online (I am really jaded with online games).  I am surprised how easy it is to control without Keyboard and mouse.

Books:

[The Complete Nemesis the Warlock Volume 1]( Pat Mills) - This one really takes me back to early 2000AD. The smaller print format can make some of the complex drawings difficult to view. They certainly seem more cluttered than I remember first time round but my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

[Make Love] (Bruce Campbell) – Ok this isn't exactly highbrow stuff but it's a relaxing read when you are soaking in the bath and raises the odd chuckle. Hail to the King baby

Music:

[Of Montreal] Live in Washington(NPR Live concert Podcast from All things Considered). A bizarre yet strangely compelling band. Definitely would like to see them live.

[Marillion] Marbles Live. Not a bad live album with some nicely twiddly bits

[XM Weekly Podcasts] A great way of finding new bands

Books :

[Pat Mills] The Complete Nemesis the Warlock Volume 1 - This one really takes me back and is as good as I remember it to be.

Video Games :

Spore on the PC

TV and Video :

[Saxondale Season 1 - DVD] (Steve Coogan) : Not mr Coogan's best work but enjoyable none the less. Some classic one liners.

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