To have it all and still want more.
Such a good band.
This has been the week of cute dogs. Went to see The Artist on Monday at the Barbican (beautiful happy film in a beautiful happy building) and spent the rest of the time listening to this song from American band Real Estate.
Eventually get round to checking out the promo & lo and behold it's also full of cute dogs.
Barking.
I remember when I was a kid and I used to think that life before my parents were born was in black and white because all the photos were.
These colour photos from around the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of the First World War are absolutely stunning and cover everything I love and hate about America, then and now.
So hard to pick a favourite one but I've gone for the one above. Incredibly sense of fear and uncertainty in the young lads face. And I quite like the shirt.
The new Wes Anderson film looks so much fun.
Here's the blurb:
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.
Amazing, right?
Will be touch to better my favourite Wes Anderson film, the 13 minute Hotel Chevalier.
Having decided to make London my home, I'm extremely keen to visit all the restaurants, museums, and other attractions I've read about but never been geographically close enough to visit.
Honest Burger is just one of these places. Located in Brixton Market just five minutes from the tube, it serves a simple menu of burgers in Unit 12 - a small space full of bare wooden tables and white tiles, with bench seating outside. There's no booking policy so expect a wait - we left a name and number and headed round the corner for a drink before being seated inside.
After a slightly awkward moment where I sat Heineken in hand to be informed that the bring-your-own-booze policy was no longer in place, we were away.
I love burgers, and when at home I'm making them at home I'm more than like to pack my mince with condiments, herbs, and spices to create a meatball like taste. At Honest Burgers, there's none of that. Just 35-day aged beef from the ginger pig, hand-formed and seasoned top and bottom with salt and pepper.
I plumped for the honest buger. Priced at £8.50, it arrives with caramelised onions, bacon, mature cheddar cheese, lettuce, and pickles. Each individual element of the burger not only stands up for itself against the quality of the pattie, but also enhances the flavour. An absolute treat.
My personal preference is for a harder bun to contrast the soft filling, but despite the soft nature, the whole thing stayed together as I went about it.
Amazingly for London, the price also includes triple-cooked chips. Seasoned with rosemary salt and what I think was a hint of lemon they are worth the visit alone. I finished mine and then everybody elses.
Honest Burger is one of those places you want to take all of your friends too, and tell everyone about, and yet you also want to keep it your own little secret spot.
It seems you can't have your burger and eat it.
After a late night conversationin the pub, it was decided that I would spend a day on work experience with some friends at Pinewood Studios.
For those not in the know, Pinewood is where most of the great big-budget British films have been shot such as the James Bond franchise and Harry Potter films.
The studios themselves actually aren't that exciting, more akin to a building site on a massive industrial estate. What strikes you is the history. And then there's the gigantic outdoor blue screen...
It was simply ridiculously exciting to be on the same ground where the new James Bond is set. The magic of cinema is such that you don't realise that what you're seeing on screen wasn't actually shot on location, but instead created at great expense by a dedicated team of art directors and carpenters in one of several huge aircraft hanger-type buildings.
The closest I got to seeing Daniel Craig was the above sign, but I did see director Sam Mendez's carparking spac, complete with badly-parked vehicle.
The only disappoint aspecting of the day was the above pasties: poor crimp & lack of D-shape.
I also got the chance to use a Red camera, price circa £80,000 and hope to be able to show you what I shot in the near future.
I've followed Clock Opera for a while now, particularly their remixes, and if I was of the tipping nature, they'd be a pretty good bet for mainstream recognition in 2012.
Here's the video for Once and For All, in the version it is to appear in their debut album released later this year on Moshi Moshi.
It features a really nice love story between a couple of pensioners based in London. For a music promo, the acting on show from the male lead, who I think I recognise from Football Factory, is really quite brilliant.
Enjoy!
Not a vintage year for new music but these are my favourite albums released in 2011. I'm not saying they're the best, just the ones I've enjoyed the most.
Honourable mentions to The Horrors, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Jay-Z and Kanye West, Feist, and Wilco.
10. Drake 'Take Care'
Great production and refreshing lyrics.
Release date: November 15th
9. Ghostpoet 'Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam'
Mecury nominated London rapper.
Release date: 7th February
8. Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom'
Long time fan.
Release date: October 6th
7. Little Dragon 'Ritual Union'
So happy my brother dragged me to see them at Glastonbury.
Release date: July 21st
6. James Vincent McMorrow 'Early In The Morning'
Amazing voice and great songs from this Irish songwriter.
Release date: 27th January
5. Bon Iver 'Bon Iver'
Justin Vernon follows up one of my favourite albums ever with this stunning collection.
Release date: June 21st
4. Blood Orange 'Coastal Grooves'
Supercool grooves from Dev Hynes.
Release date: August 8th
3. Wild Beasts 'Smother'
Wild Beasts just get better and better.
Release date: May 9th
2. The Antlers 'Burst Apart'
Just beautiful emotional songs.
Release date: May 10th
1. SBTRKT 'SBTRKT'
Genuinely different to anything that has been made before. Six months on and still cannot stop listening.
Release date: June 27th
Gotta be one of the most hotly anticipated albums of 2012.
