Monday 22 December 2008

Another Bit of Bad Poetry

Friday 19th December:

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the town,
Shoppers were laughing as prices came down.
Labour had found financial rules to bend,
In the hopes that the likes of us would more spend.

The "Giggers" and some partners, to get in the mood,
Had arranged to meet up for jolliness and food.

The plan was to meet up at seven, restaurant Bari,
We could have guessed which of the regulars would tarry...

The food it was good, 'tho I wasn't in a hurry,
At lunchtime I'd gone out with work for a curry.
After beef for my starter, a bowl full of pasta,
My tummy was full and others ate faster.

The company was good and the bill very reasonable,
I think we all left feeling just a bit seasonal.

My wife had decided to go home on the bus,
The rest? Well, on to Fibbers for us.
When we got there the evening's show had started,
First band - The ABC Club - had already departed.

Pulled Apart By Horses were into their act.
Fast they played and shouted
their lyrics, that's a fact.
Energetic, loud, fast,
The guitar-playing was.
On stage and off stage in the middle of us.
I liked some of the music, If I was to be honest.
However, nothing for me did the rest.

After a short break in which I drank terrible beer,
The Grammatics took the stage to a bit of a cheer.
Now, this band was better by far than the first.
Not the best that we've seen but by far not the worst.

Influences? Probably more than these two.
But I thought I heard Morrisey and the great U2.

From Sweden, Emilia for them plays the cello.
It makes the music a little more mellow.

Near the end of the set, was added a new voice.
Laura Groves on backing vocals, a very good choice.
Her harmonies were both subtle and sweet,
And the songs she sang on were an extra treat.

At the end of the show we went out into the air.
Who's on at the Bath? Let's wander down there.
We queued to get in until two were let through the door.
Straight out they came. "Funk! Need we say more???!"

Onto the Punchbowl but there was no music playing.
So we stood on a corner, our goodbyes saying.

This poem isn't as long as the one I've based it on.
And it has to be said that I've got some of the scanning wrong.
Now I've run out of things to say that sound right.
So, Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Monday 15 December 2008

More Masterworks

Monday 15th December: Best laid plans of mice and men were thwarted on Friday evening when the non-appearance of a bus put a stop to me going out to see the Mojos again. Instead, cold and wet, I wandered home to curl up with my wife and a book. I've got through a few (books, not wives) since my last burst of reviews, so here's a very quick catch-up.

The Centauri Device (M. John Harrison, 1974) is yet another example of 70's SF that I just didn't get. It seems a simple enough story - John Truck, lowlife spaceship captain, is half Centauri and the last hope of defusing/activating a device found on Centaur after a long war. He is pursued across the stars by miltary groups descended from Arabs and Jews in a bid by both sides to get him to use the device for their aims.

Except, I hadn't got a clue what was going on. Harrison's style is overblown and verbose - "A Zen-master of prose" reads a quotation on the cover. Hmm, verbal diahorrea if you ask me.

Non-Stop (Brian Aldiss, 1958) was much more enjoyable. A small group of villagers set out to find "forwards" and find instead that their lives are a lie. The blurb on the back cover hints of secrets, twist and revelations and I was quite surprised to find, early on, that at least some of the characters already knew what I thought I had cleverly worked out. This didn't stop my enjoyment of this book, though as the ending was an even bigger twist than I expected.

Good action sequences, good characters and a plot that has been done a few times since this book was published. Very enjoyable ane one of the best books in the Masterworks series.

Fountains of Paradise (Arthur C. Clarke, 1978) is, in my opinion his best book and this was actually a reread (although in a new format). The science and technology of building the great space elevator is so believable that you can almost reach out and touch it. Add to that the novel's setting (a thinly disguised Ceylon), the mixture of technology and ancient religion (although Clarke frequently comes across as anti religion) and the truly believable characters and you get a very readable novel that should be held up to non-SF fans to show how good SF can be when written well.

OK, it does turn into a bit of a disaster movie derivative in it's latter stages and Clarke can't help but add in a benevolent alien intelligence but this is an excellent novel and one of my top ten of all time.

The City and the Stars (Arthur C. Clarke, 1956) starts of well as Alvin, citizen of Diaspar (the last city on a far-future Earth) dreams of leaving his home and seeing the outside (some that very few Diasparans ever dream of). Falling in with a jester, whose job it is to bring uncertainty to the controlled environment of the city, Alvin discovers a smaller settlement at the end of an old transit line and, eventually, a spaceship in which he explores the stars.

As the book went on, however, I couldn't help thinking of the two I had read earlier in the year by Olaf Stapledon. This should probably come as no surpise as the latter was the author who inspired Clarke, but I didn't like those books and, as this one became more and more similar, I found myself liking it less than when I started it. Which is a shame, really, as this is regarded as one of Clarke's finest works by most of his fans.

Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke, 1953) was Clarke's second novel and is equally as respected. Fortunately, I liked this one a bit more.

Just as mankind is about to reach the stars, huge spaceships arrive over capital cities across the world. The occupants, Overlords, hide themselves from humanity for fifty years but bring about an end to war and usher in a golden age for mankind. When they do reveal themselves, they prove to be the visual equivalent of the Devil, igniting questions about their role in the development of Man. However, the Overlords themselves are only workers for the galaxy-spanning Overmind and it may just be the time for mankind to take its ultimate place in the universe.

This is quite possibly the least scientific of Clarke's novel and falls in at barely 200 pages long. It is, however, full of ideas and speculations, not least on the place the supernatural has in our lives. Images from it have appeared in the likes of Independence Day and V but that just shows, again, the Clarke was way ahead of his time.

Wednesday 10 December 2008

It's Award Time

Wednesday 10th December: With just three weeks of 2008 left it seems that it's the time to reflect back on the past year. It's this coming Sunday that the BBC will announce its Sports Personality of the Year (and the field for this year is, in my opinion, wide open thanks, in part at least, to the excellent showing during this Summer's Olympics. I just hope the award doesn't go to that car driver...) Seldom Seen of Strensall has already posted his top five gigs of the year here and very soon the TV channels will be filled with looks back.

And so I'm going to take this opportunity to announce the inaugural Dr'ids, a series of awards which will reflect the highs of my 2008. With golden envelopes at the ready, here we go...

First up and, perhaps, easiest to award is Best Film. It's just over a year now since I stopped going to the cinema regularly but I managed to see a handful of films this year. The return to York of my cinema-buddy a couple of weeks ago resulted in an unplanned visit to see the latest Bond film which, while not as tense as Casino Royale, is a worthy addition to the Bond canon. The producers may be turning the veteran spy into a version of another agent with the initials JB but it's probably true to say that the change is necessary if the franchise is going to continue. A Quantum of Solace is my film of 2008.

Best Original Gig took me a bit by surprise. I bought a ticket to see Mostly Autumn at the Grand Opera House just after the gig was announced and had been looking forward to it for months. However, it was a much older band that left me stunned at the end of their concert. I own two tracks by Uriah Heep, both on rock compilation albums, and if I were honest, I doubt I would have recognised either of them. So, I took a bit of a gamble when I went to see them at The Duchess (17/11). Not only were they excellent but they also had a superb support band in Maccara. Overall, this was an excellent gig and easily the best of the year. Honorable mentions go to Mostly Autumn (The Grand Opera House, 28/11) and Breathing Space (The Roman Bath, 22/11).

Best Covers Gig was another easy one. Way back in June we saw The Chantel McGregor Band in the Roman Bath for the first time. I was immediately in awe of the young, diminutive, barefoot guitarist as she charmed the audience with a varied set of blues and rock covers. When she returned to the Bath on the 6th of September, there was no way I was going to miss the gig. Good job as well, as it turned out to be, somehow, even better than the first time.

Most Consistently Entertaining Original Live Act is a bit of a mouthful but it's a category I have added so that Hope and Social can win an award. I first saw them when they were still Four Day Hombre and was immediately enamoured by both their music and their easy going style on stage. I saw them twice in 2008 and, up until November, they were in line for the Best Original Gig award.

Best CD Release should have been another certainty, with Mostly Autumn releasing Glass Shadows in 2008. In fact, however, my favourite album of the relatively few I bought in 2008 has changed. When I reviewed Elliot Minor's debut album I was proud to proclaim it the best of the year so far. Then I went to see them live and realised that, good as it is, it is possibly over-produced and is quite a bit different from their live sound. In fact, I am going to plump for an earlier purchase (and another debut) as I declare Panic Room's Visionary Position to be my album of 2008. Its progressive rock background mingled with Eastern promise, jazz and straightforward ballad utilises Anne-Marie Helder's voice to haunting/powerful/sentimental effect and is currently my most played CD. Apart from the two already mentioned, honourables also go to Bryan Josh's first solo album, Through These Eyes.

Best New Book is a little different from the other awards. I am so far behind in my reading that I don't think I read a single 2008-released book during the year. So, for this award only, "new" refers to new to me. This was the year that I discovered Alastair Reynolds and found that, while not quick reads, his novels were truly satisfying. It's also the year that I started (but have yet to finish due to missing pages) George Stewart's Earth Abides and really enjoyed Lady of the Forest, Jennifer Robeson's romantic retelling of the Robin Hood legend. However, for sheer readability, (almost) believability and in some ways audacity, this year's award goes to Return to Mars by Ben Bova. It definitely has its faults but Bova weaves an interesting tale which goes some way to resolve the cliffhanger left in the prequel.

And that's it. 2008 in a few lines. Not a full review. In many ways not a review at all. I doubt many people will agree with my choices and I doubt that I would agree with those of many other people. There is a slight chance things will change over the next three weeks, but I doubt it. Overall, in terms of music and books, it's been a very good year. Yes, I've seen a couple of bands I wouldn't contemplate seeing again and read a couple of books that will be boxed away when I get round to sorting the shelves out, but that is to be expected.

I do miss my almost weekly visits to the cinema but it's my choice - I'd rather go to a gig every couple of weeks with friends than sit watching most films on my own - and, eventually, the visits will pick up again.

In the meantime let's hope that 2009 continues the standard set by 2008.