How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
4 stars
Synopsis: Sardonic journalist Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is sick and tired of being shut out of the celebrity party. Unfortunately, his magazine ‘The Post-Modern Review’ is no-budget, non-professional and going nowhere, leaving him to try and blag his way into post-awards bashes by the most ridiculous of means. When, after one particularly disastrous attempt involving a pig, Sidney is offered a job at New York’s ‘Sharps’ magazine, he eagerly accepts, hoping that his big break has arrived. Put on the celebrity gossip section, will he sink or swim? The title gives a hefty clue there, and he soon makes a name for himself as the magazine’s resident “Idiot Savant, without the Savant”.
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People takes its basis from Toby Young’s memoir of the same name and transposes it onto the basic Hollywood comedy of errors formula, with the typical “stay true to yourself” moral and predictably happy ending. It’s not a reinvention of the wheel – more a Devil Wears Prada with a British male lead. Kirsten Dunst ticks the obligatory “inevitable love interest totty” box as Sidney’s ‘Sharps’ co-worker Alison Olsen, and Danny Huston is the basic sleazy boss. It’s Pegg who takes his role to a whole new level, taking the part of the classic underdog arsehole from the memoir and adding his own loveable spin to it. By the end of the film you’ll be rooting for him despite yourself.
The Fall
It’s 10.20pm at the Point and for 15 minutes a video screen mounted behind the stage has been showing repeated slow motion videos of James Brown, moulded into Pavarotti, blended into Sadaam Hussain – or that’s what it looks like to me.
Over the top plays obnoxiously edited audio of shouting, screaming and a general cacophony of noises that wouldn’t be out of place in Abu Ghraib. Next to me stands a middle-aged truck driver nursing a half pint of bitter, he leans over and says, “I’m never quite sure whether or not to let him get away with it”, and every Fall fan knows exactly what he means. Putting up with dock hand come intellectual come seminal rock front man Mark E Smiths own brand of anti-aesthetic bullshit is a constant challenge, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures Warp
A common theme between tonight’s headliner and support act lies in their frontmen. Both bands are truly led from the front by instrumentless wordsmiths.
Though they’re backed up by bandmates that are clearly more than able, these musicians do not come close to stealing the show. However, there are great differences between the boys Eddie and Paul. Art Brut’s Argos has the crowd eating out of his hand.
Sunshine
Dir: Danny Boyle, Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Bryne, Chris Evans
The Sun is dying, and only eight intrepid astronauts can blast it back into life, where a previous mission failed. Sunshine has been billed as a splice between the Alien films and 2001: A Space Odyssey – but retains only the worst features of each.
It certainly lacks the commitment to scientific accuracy of 2001. Despite director Danny Boyle’s claim that the team went to the trouble of trying to get every calculation correct, they seem to have forgotten that the Earth actually moves. Yet perhaps griping about having to drive our Script Bus over the plotholes misses the point: it’s not about the hard science; it’s about the human stories. But they’re disappointing too.
Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Snotty Nose
Cassadaga is another beautifully constructed album from Bright Eyes. Every song is wonderfully consistent and flaunts Oberst’s maturity. He has found a balance for the musical arrangements that suit his fragile voice perfectly. Most importantly the lyrics are as poetic and thoughtfully observed as ever.
Oberst continues to tackle a diverse range of subjects, including religion, politics, love, and even invisible postmodern authors, but does so with a skilful subtlety. Cassadaga will undoubtedly allure a whole new audience for Bright Eyes, whilst keeping the older fans more than happy. Oh, and its worth buying just for the free sticker and a ‘spectral decoder’ to keep you occupied for a while.
Orange Goblin - Healing Through Fire
Purple Mushroomfish
For ten years now Orange Goblin have asserted themselves at the very top of the underground heavy rock scene, seemingly moments away from battling their way into the rock and roll mainstream and showing the world that no one does heavy music like the British.
But no. Despite tours with some of the rock greats (Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig, Monster Magnet), Goblin have never crossed that threshold into international stardom. And I’ve always wondered why. But now it’s 2007 and Goblin have launched their latest bid.
Seefeel - Quique (redux)
Eeeeeeeeeeel
Climactic Phase #3 gave me déjà vu again and again. It’s a dreamlike track, which somehow makes all normally perfectly tactile things seem hazy and imagined. While initially seeming daunting and eerie, it gradually becomes soothing and seeps into the background like a comforting smell.
If smoking yourself into a far away, self-constructed, worry-free world sounds like an ideal way to spend an evening, then this is definitely the soundtrack to do so to. The songs are long and repetitive, but they’re almost like a musical interpretation of the imagination. The soft, subtle vocals of Polyfusion are reminiscent of daydreams, trips and scenes in films when the character slips into some other dimension.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
Left-eye Lopez’s tragic demise
I have to admit, I’ve not listened to BRMC since 2002, in the days of their debut album B.R.M.C. But despite the five-year gap, I love Baby 81, their fourth album, even more than their first.
This album features their recently released single Weapon Of Choice, which is basically, bloody good. It’s an anthem with raw guitars, rasping but melodic vocals, and an adrenalin fuelled pace. The album retains the heaviness of their former selves, but it’s evident that their sound has been spiked with a wider variety of instruments. Need Some Air, is punchy and catchy, while Killing The Light takes the mood down to bluesy rock, with a dynamic chorus.
The Maccabees - Colour it In
Racist
Colour It In is a charming debut loaded with delightfully jerky heart-stopping love songs that make this young lady want to give up her much cherished singledom and get one of those boyfriend things.
With tracks such as X-Ray and First Love The Maccabees prove more than capable of creating indie-pop that makes you want to dance with glee and weep uncontrollably. At the same time. The haunting yet sensuous vocals of Orlando Weeks combined with beautifully engaging lyrics are what set this band apart from the masses of silly hair-inspired indie bands that are looding the scene.
Andrew Bird - Armchair Aprocrypha
John
Andrew Bird is one of those artists who feel like they should be far more well known than they are, his previous album The Mysterious Production of Eggs being a wonderful array of plucked violin, perfectly picked vocal melodies and a plethora of found percussion.
Armchair Apocrypha is largely more of the same but this doesn’t detract from the fact that it is a lovely collection of songs written by a singer songwriter of astounding interest and originality.
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