This evening I've been hunting through my iTunes finding sounds appropriate for the upcoming night in the Tams. So here are my top three tunes by Scottish indie/rock artists.
Number Three: Franz Ferdinand - The Dark of the Matinee. I was stuck between this and Do You Want To as my favourite Franz tune, but this pips it!
Number Two: K.T. Tunstall - Suddenly I See. Just listen to the bassline, infectious sound and uplifting.
Number One: Travis - Happy. From their debut album this is the Travis of the past, long gone but not forgotten. An absolutely amazing song with clever lyrics, be sure to have a listen!
Friday 23 January 2009
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Subconscious leads to California...
Maybe it is true, maybe you are actually destined to head some places in your life through subconscious decisions and influences. This thought occurred to me this morning in the shower after a discovery yesterday. I take very little notice (from an academic perspective) in environmental history and geoarchaeology outwith Europe for the simple fact, there is too much information and it is best to focus on one arena. However around two years ago, I added a book to my wish list looking at the environmental history of California. Seems strange why this was done, but for some reason it was.
The films which I watched when I was a kid were mainly set in California. My favourites included Back to the Future (fictional Hill Valley, California), Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (San Dimas, California), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1940's Los Angeles). The only exception really is The Goonies which was set in Oregon, the state above California! Can you see the recurring historical dimension here, fitting in with a recurring location? Favourite films, an interesting subject area fitting in with my academic interest in industrial development and settlement evolution. An author, based at UCLA, developed one of the main hypotheses that I'm challenging in my PhD, surely an interesting fellow and worthy of a meeting. This place seems fantastic, but surely that doesn't justify a 14-hour 'plane journey...
Then along she came...and it's off to California I go...
It just goes to show that there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be!
The films which I watched when I was a kid were mainly set in California. My favourites included Back to the Future (fictional Hill Valley, California), Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (San Dimas, California), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1940's Los Angeles). The only exception really is The Goonies which was set in Oregon, the state above California! Can you see the recurring historical dimension here, fitting in with a recurring location? Favourite films, an interesting subject area fitting in with my academic interest in industrial development and settlement evolution. An author, based at UCLA, developed one of the main hypotheses that I'm challenging in my PhD, surely an interesting fellow and worthy of a meeting. This place seems fantastic, but surely that doesn't justify a 14-hour 'plane journey...
Then along she came...and it's off to California I go...
It just goes to show that there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be!
Sunday 11 January 2009
Creative Genius!
In this era of low-grade TV, every now and again something comes along which sticks out like a sore thumb on the basis of its creative genius. The latest addition to the awesome list is an advert from Virgin Atlantic to celebrate 25 years of the airline.
It has recreated the 80's in an incredible manner. A newspaper with a headline detailing the 1984 Miners' Strike, Austin Allegro in the background (a shit car if there was ever one!), a Yuppie with braces talking on his big brick phone, 80's airport signage, brown leather suitcases, Wimpy, Our Price (bought over by Virgin in the 90's!), Big Country 12" LP, stupid big untamed hair, Asteroid playing in the arcade, Rubix Cube, those 80's shades, shoulder pads, leopard print and leggings, all portrayed in a gray light which was the 80's, with the air stewardesses resonating through in their bright red uniforms!
To top it off, a definitive 80's tune; Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax!
Another piece of genius from the Branson team, and I'm happy to be giving these people a wad of my hard-earned at the end of the month!
It has recreated the 80's in an incredible manner. A newspaper with a headline detailing the 1984 Miners' Strike, Austin Allegro in the background (a shit car if there was ever one!), a Yuppie with braces talking on his big brick phone, 80's airport signage, brown leather suitcases, Wimpy, Our Price (bought over by Virgin in the 90's!), Big Country 12" LP, stupid big untamed hair, Asteroid playing in the arcade, Rubix Cube, those 80's shades, shoulder pads, leopard print and leggings, all portrayed in a gray light which was the 80's, with the air stewardesses resonating through in their bright red uniforms!
To top it off, a definitive 80's tune; Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax!
Another piece of genius from the Branson team, and I'm happy to be giving these people a wad of my hard-earned at the end of the month!
Friday 9 January 2009
The Best Use of Opera in Films
Movie soundtracks, everyone's always going on about them. I wanted to get on that bandwagon as I love movie soundtracks, but I decided instead to take a different angle. So here's my top 3 operatic compositions which find themselves in movies:
Number 3 - Carmen Suite # 2 by Georges Bizet, as found in Trainspotting. Happens near the start of the film, seems slightly juxtaposed in the context but fits in well.
Number 2 - The Great Escape. Definitive and emotive. You hear this, it cannot be confused for anything else. With its march tempo and snares in the introduction, this is a theme which beats all other commissioned themes!
Number 1 - Clair de Lune by Debussy, as found in Ocean's 11. The sound of success and reflection in the film. If I was to only hear one piece of classical music ever again, it would have to be this song. I know very little about the genre, but I know this is fantastic!
Number 3 - Carmen Suite # 2 by Georges Bizet, as found in Trainspotting. Happens near the start of the film, seems slightly juxtaposed in the context but fits in well.
Number 2 - The Great Escape. Definitive and emotive. You hear this, it cannot be confused for anything else. With its march tempo and snares in the introduction, this is a theme which beats all other commissioned themes!
Number 1 - Clair de Lune by Debussy, as found in Ocean's 11. The sound of success and reflection in the film. If I was to only hear one piece of classical music ever again, it would have to be this song. I know very little about the genre, but I know this is fantastic!
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