Music Choice

First thing I've seen from David Firth in ages, and its amazing.

My favourite music from last year

In no particular order, although Daisy was probably my most played album, along with Primary Colours. A couple of the bits here arent from 2009, I just happened to listen to them loads.

Brand New - Daisy (album)

And So I Watch You From Afar - Set Guitars to Kill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEKkkhJCjcM&feature=video_response

Dead Confederate - Heavy Petting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzxKh5pzTQk

Gonzales - Waves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uetgOn_tUI

No Age - You're a Target

Noah and the Whale - First Days of Spring (album)

Washed Out - Life of Leisure (EP)

Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeJPb7VbKk

Russian Circles - Geneva
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDdTpVrcNvQ

A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head (album)

New Moon OST

Miike Snow - Silvia

Julian Plenti (Paul Banks of Interpol) - Games for Days

Julian Casablancas - Out of the Blue

Jamie T - The Man's Machine

The Horrors - Primary Colours (album)

HEALTH - Die Slow

Hatcham Social - Crocodile

Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar

The Field - Yesterday and Today (album)

Eminem - 3AM

Editors - Papillion

Dan Deacon - Snookered

Burial - Fostercare

Bear in Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGS7vNLhxNA

Antlers - Hospice (album)

Worst Album:

Girls - Album - I just didnt get this album, both times i listened to it I was so bored and annoyed by it. It got 4 and 5 star reviews, so maybe im just out of touch.

Toy Horses

New Boyz - Jerk

Someone mentioned this lot being valid evidence of hip hop not being dead in an article i just read. I have a contrary opinion (they're just the cool kids v2.0) but you have to say this video is entertaining. Hiphop kids wearing skinny jeans, doing what looks like the river dance is good in my book. The bright colours, genre defying trouser selections and tiny skinny legs jumping about all make for a brilliant video. Terrible song though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv9VKKXwVxU&feature=related

Films

Being as my new camera has an HD video function, I tried making a short film this weekend in order to practice using it, and get back into editing. What came out probably won't be a masterpiece, mainly due to the fact I wrote the idea in ten minutes the night before shooting, and asked my (very patient and kind) parents to help me shoot it up on the top of Dartmoor in the freezing cold with no notice whatsoever. The things I learnt are as follows:

1. My Dad can learn lines really quickly, and is actually quite good at acting. Given he only got given his script just before shooting, he did a really good job, although he did have some somewhat inexplicable problems with the line 'hold on, dont go'.
2. Focussing is really difficult.
3. Pushing peoples generosity to breaking point in order to make a short film is only going to be exasperated further if you ask them to do it on a freezing moor.
4. Always remember that your sister is a proper trained actor (and thus your Mum has first hand experience of good acting) when asking said Mother whether your first, hopelessly lifeless attempt at acting is any good. The response is never going to be positive.
5. Dad was the star of his school plays as a boy. He played Dick Whittington! It was really weird trying to realign my perceptions of my Dad from practical, manly, down to earth bloke, to preening, squealing, drama ponce.

Anyway, hopefully it will be up on my blog (or maybe, if there is some burst of ingenuity and inspiration, my website) when iv edited it and rerecorded the dialogue somewhere where the wind isnt overpowering everything. In the meantime I thought id post up some of the short films I made with Si when we were much younger. This one is my favourite, and (topically) features another top dad performance, by Ron Ward.

Landscapes

Weird Advert

Saw this the other day on a Durex machine in a toilet. Is this really the best way to illustrate the fun that one can have whilst practicing safe sex? Its a bit terrifying. As well as the obviously hideous, leering bloke, the horror film lighting, and the bizaare look on the womans face, the advert gives off a David Lynch film type atmosphere, with these people looming over an innocent couple, mid coitus, egging them on with their strange unneccersary ice lolly. Maybe its just me.