scaryblog

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 20/02/83 :  Business As Usual - Men At Work I liked the singles from this, but never checked out the album - I think I felt they weren't taking things seriously, so why should I take them seriously?  Which seems a bit mad with hindsight, but there you go - I'm not saying everything I've ever done has made sense. Either way, I'm quite looking forward to listening to it. And yeah, it's generally fine without really straying too far from the format of the singles.  I must admit I found my attention wandering towards the end of the album, but I wouldn't declare any of it to be terrible.   "Down Under" still sounds pretty fresh - I obviously prefer this version to the updated one, but it's nice to see it getting a second life (as I type this, it's at #90 after a 29 week run).  I'd also say that on th is album (unlike on the new version of "Down Under"), Colin Hay's voice is s...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 27/02/83 :  Quick Step And Side Kick - The Thompson Twins I've got a lot of time for this album - yes, it's VERY 80s, but I think it gets overlooked in the pantheon of 80s classics (and how often do you get to use the word "pantheon" these days?).  I remember it being a strong collection of tracks, but I have to admit to not having listened to it in years, so I could be wearing my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses - let's find out, shall we? Nope, I stand by my memories - it's really pretty good.  It's got a "fuller" sound than I remember and sounded pretty good over headphones.  The singles are the ones that everyone knows but the other tracks stack up pretty well against them - I particularly like "Judy Do" and "Tears".  I totally appreciate that you need to have a soft spot for the 80s to enjoy this - but I do, so I did.  So if you do as well but this has passed you by, t...

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's   Top 51 Movies of 2021 #13 :  No Time To Die The long-awaited 25th outing for Ian Fleming’s superspy James Bond has Daniel Craig saying goodbye to 007 in a weird and self-aware epic with audacious surprises up its sleeve. Bond films wouldn't normally make this kind of list, but I have heard good things about this one - I was meaning to watch it, but had never got round to it.  I generally like a Bond film but have a somewhat strange relationship with Daniel Craig as Bond - I like him as an actor and think he makes a good Bond, but I've only really liked Skyfall out of his films.  Yes, all the others have good bits in them (even Quantum Of Solace) but as whole films I found they've left me cold. And well, this certainly didn't leave me cold but I agree with The Guardian that it's a weird one.  And very, very self-aware - but more on this later.  The first thing we really want to know from a Bond film is "are the action s...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 06/03/83 :  Thunder And Lightning - Thin Lizzy I was never particularly in to Thin Lizzy, but I always felt they seemed somewhat underappreciated when compared with a load of groups in this area who basically just churned out any old shite and it was lapped up.  So I was interested to see what was going on here... ...and yeah, it's OK.  But only OK, I'd say.  The skills are there, particularly on the old gee-tar (which I assumed was Phil, but it turns out he was on bass) - but the songs aren't particularly memorable.  And when I say not particularly memorable, I couldn't tell you anything about any of them.  So it's not one I'll be rushing back to and certainly not one I or the lovely Mrs Reed have ever owned - 11.5/44. We're at #4 with a new entry this week on their first week out of an 8 week run, which is the shortest run we've seen this year (although they did manage another 3 weeks a fortnight...

  Continuing my trip up The Guardian's   Top 51 Films of 2021 #14 :   Дорогие товарищи! ( Dear Comrades!) Andrei Konchalovsky’s stunning re-creation of a Soviet-era massacre, in which Red Army soldiers and KGB snipers opened fire on strikers, is a rage-filled triumph. Hmmm - a black-and-white film recreating a Soviet massacre from 1962 which I've never heard of.  And it's two hours long, you say?!?  Count me in!  It's all sounding very Guardian, isn't it - but let's try not to be too judge-y about it.  Not until I've seen it anyway. The film follows Lyudmila a local party worker who lives with her daughter and her father in a town where a worker's strike happens - and let's say the authorities don't deal with it subtly.  In the course of all this, her daughter disappears and, in the process of trying to find her, some reconsideration of her previously held beliefs has to take place. All of which doesn't sound particularly fascinating, but I a...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 13/03/83 :  Dazzle Ships - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Surprisingly, this is one that somehow slipped through the net back in the day - I liked the singles but never investigated it any further, so was interested to listen to it. And hmmm - it falls into two camps.  There's the stuff with a tune which is actually pretty good and then there's the stuff with the voices and beeps which is also actually pretty good.  However, I'm not convinced that too many people who bought it for the former will have particularly enjoyed the latter - it's all very BBC Radiophonic Workshop.  But personally, I quite like the mix of tunes and quirk - even if it's not particularly memorable tunes and quirk.  It's also certainly not tunes and quirk I or Mrs Reed have ever owned - 11.5/43.  I do  like the album cover though - particularly because I'm so smart I know what  dazzle ships  refers to. We're at...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts tbc :  Ghost In The Machine - The Police When I reviewed (and was somewhat disappointed in) Synchronicity , Mr Stanniland expressed first surprise that I'd never listened to their previous album and then disgust that I couldn't possibly listen to it because a) it was against the rules and b) I was too busy with Rod Stewart and Cliff Richard albums to find time to listen something I might actually like.  But it's his birthday today, so let's chuck the rulebook out the window!  I'm expecting to like this - but I was expecting to like Synchronicity, and look where that got us? However, I'm pleased to say I did like it - this is what I think most of Synchonicity should have sounded like. They've lessened their reggae influences and popped/funked things up and I think it works quite well.  They've definitely gone for a strong opening - "Spirits In The Material World", "Every Little Thin...