Thursday 8 October 2009
Genius - No3
I appear to be out of step with the majority of my fellow humans on a number of issues. I’m not remotely a fan of Bruce Forsythe. I think Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s best film. For me, Alex Turner’s finest work to date has been with the Last Shadow Puppets. And, in my opinion, Elvis Presley’s career hit its heights in the early “Vegas years” in the late 1960’s and start of the 1970’s. Whilst I appreciate the importance of his formative musical years in terms of rock and roll history, from a personal point of view they don’t hold the same appeal or fascination as, for example, the footage of his residencies at The International Hotel, best seen on the ‘That’s The Way It Is’ documentary, freely available on DVD.
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Danny Baker - an appreciation
The football phone in has long been dominated by incoherent cretins murdering the English language while repeating verbatim, as if they are original thoughts, what they heard on the previous night’s Match of the Day. A situation that generally gets worse once they start taking calls. Regardless of whether you try Radio 5 or TalkSport, there is almost no respite from the almost constant ‘JT’, ‘Stevie G’ or ‘Wazza’ Big Four-inspired chat employed by the likes of the execrable DJ Spoony, Alan Green or Tim Lovejoy*, who can never hide their disappointment - or end a conversation quickly enough - when having to discuss ownership issues at Lincoln. And let us not even rake over the memory of David Mellor’s 606, with records chosen by his teenage son for added credibility.
It should be said that the standard is not uniformally bad. Gabriele Marcotti is well informed and more than prepared to challenge some of the arse gravy eminating from callers' mouths, while even Stan Collymore's reluctance to accept the clichés so easily spouted by his peers mark him out as occasionally worth a listen. Nevertheless, there is only man who is required listening: Danny Baker. The original host of 606 was also by far its best, someone who shied away from the mundanity of people phoning in to complain about today's referee in favour of asking for stories about any number of oddball topics such as the most dangerous surface played on, ways of getting into the game or (as in the example below) odd items of football clothing. Through his time with Radio 5, Radio 2, Virgin, BBC London, his various podcasts and Talk Radio he has produced hugely entertaining shows in a natural and eloquent style unmatched across the airwaves. I look back with particular fondness at his time at Talk Radio in the late 90's when, together with the superb Danny Kelly, he made often long journeys home from the match fly by.
He is now doing the Saturday morning show on Radio 5 and I'd catch him while you can, as the only other constant through his radio career has been his ability to drop himself in trouble and get fired.
*of whom no mention should be made without referencing one of the most glorious character assassinations in living history - When Saturday Comes' review of his musings on football:
Lovejoy
It should be said that the standard is not uniformally bad. Gabriele Marcotti is well informed and more than prepared to challenge some of the arse gravy eminating from callers' mouths, while even Stan Collymore's reluctance to accept the clichés so easily spouted by his peers mark him out as occasionally worth a listen. Nevertheless, there is only man who is required listening: Danny Baker. The original host of 606 was also by far its best, someone who shied away from the mundanity of people phoning in to complain about today's referee in favour of asking for stories about any number of oddball topics such as the most dangerous surface played on, ways of getting into the game or (as in the example below) odd items of football clothing. Through his time with Radio 5, Radio 2, Virgin, BBC London, his various podcasts and Talk Radio he has produced hugely entertaining shows in a natural and eloquent style unmatched across the airwaves. I look back with particular fondness at his time at Talk Radio in the late 90's when, together with the superb Danny Kelly, he made often long journeys home from the match fly by.
He is now doing the Saturday morning show on Radio 5 and I'd catch him while you can, as the only other constant through his radio career has been his ability to drop himself in trouble and get fired.
*of whom no mention should be made without referencing one of the most glorious character assassinations in living history - When Saturday Comes' review of his musings on football:
Lovejoy
Saturday 19 September 2009
Mark Eric - A Midsummer's Day Dream
As the title of the blog might suggest, the Beach Boys have long played a big role in my musical upbringing, and it goes without saying that I would be unable to provide a unbiased review of the Brian Wilson gig at the Philharmonic Hall three weeks or so ago. But it genuinely was ace. Aided by the acoustics of the venue and the superb backing band, Wilson's now cracked and scarred voice barely seemed to matter as almost all of the essential back catalogue was beautifully reproduced. My highlight - as I knew it would be before I walked in - was the almost stripped down version of 'God Only Knows', originally sung by his late brother Carl, that you would have to have been a harder man than I was to avoid shedding a tear at. As always with this kind of greatest hits tour, the selection of records is never 100% to every individual's taste and I would have been even happier with one or two fewer selections from the earliest part of the band's back catalogue and the inclusion of 'Breakaway', 'Surf's Up' or 'Heroes and Villains'. But then I'm a moaning sod at the best of times. As an emotional appeal direct to the soul, it was up there with the best gigs I've been to.
The work of many artists in the last half century has shown either direct or indirect influence by the Beach Boys, and many have attempted to emulate both the subject matter and sonic majesty of the records. Originally many, such as the likes of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, were British acts seemingly trying to cash in on the new found popularity among the public for early Beach Boys records. This has continued to the present day, with some acts - as with the recent Explorers Club alb
um - at times almost displaying their love of the music to almost cloying, pastiche levels. The album closest to evoking the spirit of the Beach Boys stuff I hold dearest is Mark Eric's 'A Midsummer's Day Dream'. Mark Eric Malmborg was an occasional model and actor who in 1968 wrote a number of songs, intending to have them covered by others. At some point he changed his mind, recorded them himself and produced an LP that to this ear holds its roots in the Beach Boys' 1965 'The Beach Boys Today!' and 1966 'Pet Sounds' albums. Not only is this evident in the warm harmonies and beautiful orchestration, but in the subject matter which - through such tracks as 'Build Your Own Dream', 'Where Do the Girls of the Summer Go' and 'Don't Cry Over Me' carry a consistent themes of longing, thwarted love, frustration and of teenage change so frequently found in Wilson's early efforts. The album died at the time of its June 1969 release as the world's attention turned to Woodstock and the more aggressive anti-Vietnam recordings of the time, but in recent years has been reissued and developed a cult following.
http://www.myspace.com/markericmusic
The work of many artists in the last half century has shown either direct or indirect influence by the Beach Boys, and many have attempted to emulate both the subject matter and sonic majesty of the records. Originally many, such as the likes of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, were British acts seemingly trying to cash in on the new found popularity among the public for early Beach Boys records. This has continued to the present day, with some acts - as with the recent Explorers Club alb
um - at times almost displaying their love of the music to almost cloying, pastiche levels. The album closest to evoking the spirit of the Beach Boys stuff I hold dearest is Mark Eric's 'A Midsummer's Day Dream'. Mark Eric Malmborg was an occasional model and actor who in 1968 wrote a number of songs, intending to have them covered by others. At some point he changed his mind, recorded them himself and produced an LP that to this ear holds its roots in the Beach Boys' 1965 'The Beach Boys Today!' and 1966 'Pet Sounds' albums. Not only is this evident in the warm harmonies and beautiful orchestration, but in the subject matter which - through such tracks as 'Build Your Own Dream', 'Where Do the Girls of the Summer Go' and 'Don't Cry Over Me' carry a consistent themes of longing, thwarted love, frustration and of teenage change so frequently found in Wilson's early efforts. The album died at the time of its June 1969 release as the world's attention turned to Woodstock and the more aggressive anti-Vietnam recordings of the time, but in recent years has been reissued and developed a cult following.http://www.myspace.com/markericmusic
Monday 14 September 2009
5 Great Everton Night Games
As a book ‘Fever Pitch’ is much maligned, although I would argue it is a very good piece of literature held responsible for the reams of inferior versions it inspired. Nonetheless, one of the most evocative pieces that was carried forward into the film version was the moment that Nick Hornby arrived at the top of the stand stairs and saw the incredible green turf for the first time. For me it was whilst on a family holiday to Scotland that I was treated to a trip to Tynecastle with my dad to watch Hearts entertain Rangers. The programme I still have from the game and my childish scrawl informs me that Hearts won on their way to eventual final day heartache in the league as Celtic stole the title on goal difference, but all I remember from my first professional match was the wall of noise and colour.
In the years following this first taste of live football, I have developed a particular keenness for the night game. I have no idea why, save for the possible explanation that often they seem particularly appear to retain some of the magic I first experienced at Tynecastle – floodlights make the pitch more colourful (especially against the backdrop of a black night sky), and the crowd regularly appear to be noisier and more prepared to try and influence the result, possibly to work out the stresses of a day’s work.
Although Everton’s most famous night match is probably the Cup Winners’ Cup Semi Final second leg against Bayern Munich, I have limited my list to the games attended in person. I have no doubt that many other games from this period would be equally as deserving, but these five immediately spring to mind:
EVERTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (20.4.05)
With the side wobbling badly in their attempts to stay in the final Champions League place following the departure of Thomas Gravesen in January, the last team that David Moyes’ men needed to be playing was a Manchester United side that had already comfortably progressed through an FA Cup game between the clubs two months previously that had marked Wayne Rooney’s first return to his boyhood club. However, a rare start for an ageing Duncan Ferguson was the catalyst for an Everton display that made up in intensity what it lacked in finesse. In front of a bear pit Goodison atmosphere, a nervy, scrappy game turned on a second half Mikel Arteta free kick. Ferguson, recreating the iconic goal scored in a game against the same opponents a decade earlier, belied his advancing years to beat a dazed and bullied Rio Ferdinand to the ball and bury it past Tim Howard. As Ferguson celebrated, the only thing creaking more than his body were the stands, which shook with an explosion of joy and relief. From there on, cherries were piled on the cake as first Gary Neville, inexplicably and petulantly kicking the ball at the crowd, and then Paul Scholes, for an ugly hack at Kevin Kilbane, were sent off. As evenings go, it could barely have gone better.
EVERTON 2-0 FIORENTINA (12.3.08)
After the frustrating 2-0 reverse in Florence a week earlier, a quick start was needed from a side missing the threat of Tim Cahill and Andy Johnson's bundled effort after a quarter of an hour provided just the boost required by both team and fans. What had not been banked on however was that goalkeeper Sebastian Frey would provide a one-man blockade to goal. Aided by a healthy dose of good fortune and the assistance of post and bar, Frey repelled eveything bar the Mikel Arteta cracker that took the roof off the ground and the game into extra time. Two tired sides could not muster a goal during that period and Yakubu and Jagielka's misses during the shoot out sent the Italians through to somehow get beaten by a deeply average Rangers side in the next round. Despite the eventual outcome it is a game that will live in the memory for the sheer ferocity of the backing given to the side, which was somehow not rewarded on the pitch.
EVERTON 1-0 LIVERPOOL (4.2.09)
As early birthday presents go it was a bit special. An Everton side looking out on its feet after a series of games in quick succession against the Premier League's Monsters of Rock was buoyed by first injury to Steven Gerrard and then the dismissal of Lucas and pushed, prompted by Mikel Arteta and Jack Rodwell, through extra time against a Liverpool side time wasting as if their lives depended on it. With the match slowly petering out to the grim inevitability of a Liverpool penalty shoot-out victory, the lesser-spotted Andy van der Meyde's cross fell to the feet of Dan Gosling who seemed to take an age to work the ball out of his feet before clipping it with the aid of a delicious, slight deflection past Reina and into the Park End net. Bedlam. Whilst on my back, three rows ahead of where I had been thirty seconds earlier, I missed a comedy dust up between van der Meyde and the prematurely-balding Liverpool keeper. It mattered not. Despite their new-found speed at getting the ball back into play, Liverpool could not muster an equaliser and Everton progressed to the future rounds where equally dramatic victories awaited.
EVERTON 3-1 SPURS (9.4.04)
An evening Good Friday fixture in front of a Goodison crowd in such good voice that there was suspicion that cold drinks may have been taken by a significant number of the 38,000-odd present. With Everton's season having been wildly inconsistent and disppointing following the previous season's 7th placed finish, this match represented one of the few highs. With James McFadden enjoying a rare start up front, the Blues came out quickly and put the game to bed by half time. A David Unsworth header, a free kick from the Scottish Roberto Carlos, Gary Naysmith, and Joseph Yobo's short range rebound prod home after a Gravesen shot ensured that Stephen Carr's second half consolation strike was exactly that. In true Everton style that proved to be the last win of the season as the last six games saw just two points gained and a 17th place finish.
BLACKBURN 1-2 EVERTON (10.3.99)
Arriving at the ground as part of the traditionally strong away support at Ewood Park with both Blackburn and ourselves mired in relgation trouble, it was 'disappointing', to use a word we were hearing more often than we should have around that time, when the side announced contained six centre backs with a central midfield pairing of David Unsworth and David Weir. The lottery-like nature of the selection was still being digested when the perenially-relegated Ashley Ward was converting a cross at the back post to put us in even more trouble. This was though, the (correctly) much derided Ibrahima Bakayoko's finest hour. Converting a far post header from a fifteenth minute corner, he then raced onto Don Hutchison's through ball just after the hour to put the Blues 2-1 up. Despite Blackburn throwing the kitchen sink at the Everton goal through the remainder of the game, a defence brilliantly marshalled by the eccentric Marco Materazzi, and backed by Thomas Myhre, just about held firm.
Fingers crossed after yesterday's dire second half showing that Thursday night's game with AEK is similarly memorable.
In the years following this first taste of live football, I have developed a particular keenness for the night game. I have no idea why, save for the possible explanation that often they seem particularly appear to retain some of the magic I first experienced at Tynecastle – floodlights make the pitch more colourful (especially against the backdrop of a black night sky), and the crowd regularly appear to be noisier and more prepared to try and influence the result, possibly to work out the stresses of a day’s work.
Although Everton’s most famous night match is probably the Cup Winners’ Cup Semi Final second leg against Bayern Munich, I have limited my list to the games attended in person. I have no doubt that many other games from this period would be equally as deserving, but these five immediately spring to mind:
EVERTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (20.4.05)
With the side wobbling badly in their attempts to stay in the final Champions League place following the departure of Thomas Gravesen in January, the last team that David Moyes’ men needed to be playing was a Manchester United side that had already comfortably progressed through an FA Cup game between the clubs two months previously that had marked Wayne Rooney’s first return to his boyhood club. However, a rare start for an ageing Duncan Ferguson was the catalyst for an Everton display that made up in intensity what it lacked in finesse. In front of a bear pit Goodison atmosphere, a nervy, scrappy game turned on a second half Mikel Arteta free kick. Ferguson, recreating the iconic goal scored in a game against the same opponents a decade earlier, belied his advancing years to beat a dazed and bullied Rio Ferdinand to the ball and bury it past Tim Howard. As Ferguson celebrated, the only thing creaking more than his body were the stands, which shook with an explosion of joy and relief. From there on, cherries were piled on the cake as first Gary Neville, inexplicably and petulantly kicking the ball at the crowd, and then Paul Scholes, for an ugly hack at Kevin Kilbane, were sent off. As evenings go, it could barely have gone better.
EVERTON 2-0 FIORENTINA (12.3.08)
After the frustrating 2-0 reverse in Florence a week earlier, a quick start was needed from a side missing the threat of Tim Cahill and Andy Johnson's bundled effort after a quarter of an hour provided just the boost required by both team and fans. What had not been banked on however was that goalkeeper Sebastian Frey would provide a one-man blockade to goal. Aided by a healthy dose of good fortune and the assistance of post and bar, Frey repelled eveything bar the Mikel Arteta cracker that took the roof off the ground and the game into extra time. Two tired sides could not muster a goal during that period and Yakubu and Jagielka's misses during the shoot out sent the Italians through to somehow get beaten by a deeply average Rangers side in the next round. Despite the eventual outcome it is a game that will live in the memory for the sheer ferocity of the backing given to the side, which was somehow not rewarded on the pitch.
EVERTON 1-0 LIVERPOOL (4.2.09)
As early birthday presents go it was a bit special. An Everton side looking out on its feet after a series of games in quick succession against the Premier League's Monsters of Rock was buoyed by first injury to Steven Gerrard and then the dismissal of Lucas and pushed, prompted by Mikel Arteta and Jack Rodwell, through extra time against a Liverpool side time wasting as if their lives depended on it. With the match slowly petering out to the grim inevitability of a Liverpool penalty shoot-out victory, the lesser-spotted Andy van der Meyde's cross fell to the feet of Dan Gosling who seemed to take an age to work the ball out of his feet before clipping it with the aid of a delicious, slight deflection past Reina and into the Park End net. Bedlam. Whilst on my back, three rows ahead of where I had been thirty seconds earlier, I missed a comedy dust up between van der Meyde and the prematurely-balding Liverpool keeper. It mattered not. Despite their new-found speed at getting the ball back into play, Liverpool could not muster an equaliser and Everton progressed to the future rounds where equally dramatic victories awaited.
EVERTON 3-1 SPURS (9.4.04)
An evening Good Friday fixture in front of a Goodison crowd in such good voice that there was suspicion that cold drinks may have been taken by a significant number of the 38,000-odd present. With Everton's season having been wildly inconsistent and disppointing following the previous season's 7th placed finish, this match represented one of the few highs. With James McFadden enjoying a rare start up front, the Blues came out quickly and put the game to bed by half time. A David Unsworth header, a free kick from the Scottish Roberto Carlos, Gary Naysmith, and Joseph Yobo's short range rebound prod home after a Gravesen shot ensured that Stephen Carr's second half consolation strike was exactly that. In true Everton style that proved to be the last win of the season as the last six games saw just two points gained and a 17th place finish.
BLACKBURN 1-2 EVERTON (10.3.99)
Arriving at the ground as part of the traditionally strong away support at Ewood Park with both Blackburn and ourselves mired in relgation trouble, it was 'disappointing', to use a word we were hearing more often than we should have around that time, when the side announced contained six centre backs with a central midfield pairing of David Unsworth and David Weir. The lottery-like nature of the selection was still being digested when the perenially-relegated Ashley Ward was converting a cross at the back post to put us in even more trouble. This was though, the (correctly) much derided Ibrahima Bakayoko's finest hour. Converting a far post header from a fifteenth minute corner, he then raced onto Don Hutchison's through ball just after the hour to put the Blues 2-1 up. Despite Blackburn throwing the kitchen sink at the Everton goal through the remainder of the game, a defence brilliantly marshalled by the eccentric Marco Materazzi, and backed by Thomas Myhre, just about held firm.
Fingers crossed after yesterday's dire second half showing that Thursday night's game with AEK is similarly memorable.
Monday 3 August 2009
Homicide: Life on the Street (Series One)
The first and obvious thing to say is that as reviews go this is a touch late. First appearing on NBC in 1993 and running for seven series, the show was well established in the US but a victim of Channel Four's Rafa-esque rotation and resting in the schedules over here. Nonetheless, as with Shack when I arrived at HMS Fable and worked backwards, the end of the Wire led me to look to 
what went before it to inspire it. Having loved the David Simon book on which 'Homicide' was based*, and discovering the DVD (which confusingly seems to actually comprise Seasons One and Two) available for just over a tenner, would it be one option to fill the Bunk-sized void caused by the end of the Wire?
Some similarities emerge immediately. The gallows humour of the detectives in the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit as they go about their work and their depression at the seemingly unsolvable problem of drug-led poverty in the city have clear parallels in Simon's later creation. Certain devices - the whiteboard with victims in red or white depending on whether the crime has been solved or not and the occasional use of the photocopier as lie detector for the more simple of offenders - are more than familiar. Some of the themes that came to be fully examined in The Wire; the short-term philosophy of the upper ranks, the ability of the media to affect policing strategy and the pressure from the local government to deliver 'more for less' are also introduced. It is far more of a standard procedural police affair than the novel-like Wire, but this should not be taken as a criticism, as it is still streets ahead of the equivalents we are force-fed in the UK. It's not perfect, aside from the running theme of the murder of a little girl there is a feeling that the investigation will always be wrapped up within the episode. Regardless, the likes of Yaphet Kotto (Al Giardello) and Andre Braugher (Frank Pembleton) are very watchable and the writing is for the most part as sharp as many of the different US series that have followed it.
While later seasons apparently started to become more sensationalist and graphic in order to chase ratings, this DVD is more than worth a look in its own right as a rounded piece of entertainment, as well as being recommended for anyone interested in the provenance of the best series ever made.
*anyone enjoying the book should try and get hold of a copy of Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit by Miles Corwin, which is written in a similarly entertaining manner.
what went before it to inspire it. Having loved the David Simon book on which 'Homicide' was based*, and discovering the DVD (which confusingly seems to actually comprise Seasons One and Two) available for just over a tenner, would it be one option to fill the Bunk-sized void caused by the end of the Wire? Some similarities emerge immediately. The gallows humour of the detectives in the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit as they go about their work and their depression at the seemingly unsolvable problem of drug-led poverty in the city have clear parallels in Simon's later creation. Certain devices - the whiteboard with victims in red or white depending on whether the crime has been solved or not and the occasional use of the photocopier as lie detector for the more simple of offenders - are more than familiar. Some of the themes that came to be fully examined in The Wire; the short-term philosophy of the upper ranks, the ability of the media to affect policing strategy and the pressure from the local government to deliver 'more for less' are also introduced. It is far more of a standard procedural police affair than the novel-like Wire, but this should not be taken as a criticism, as it is still streets ahead of the equivalents we are force-fed in the UK. It's not perfect, aside from the running theme of the murder of a little girl there is a feeling that the investigation will always be wrapped up within the episode. Regardless, the likes of Yaphet Kotto (Al Giardello) and Andre Braugher (Frank Pembleton) are very watchable and the writing is for the most part as sharp as many of the different US series that have followed it.
While later seasons apparently started to become more sensationalist and graphic in order to chase ratings, this DVD is more than worth a look in its own right as a rounded piece of entertainment, as well as being recommended for anyone interested in the provenance of the best series ever made.
*anyone enjoying the book should try and get hold of a copy of Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit by Miles Corwin, which is written in a similarly entertaining manner.
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