music
Arena: Cool
A masterful Arena, exploring cool jazz – but rather than taking the normal route of talking heads, here the music tells the story, with occasional narration, on-screen quotes from the musicians, clips from all sorts of places, even a brief Allen Ginsberg reading. There’s also wonderful original incidental music by George Taylor. Worth watching, even [...]
Buzzcocks
Controversy? What controversy?
Simon Amstell, the cheeky-faced tousle-haired youth who chairs Never Mind the Buzzcocks recently appeared on Russell Brand’s last radio programme where he seemed to enjoy baiting the Daily Mail. Who would have guessed he’d have felt nervous after that? Despite playing at being extra careful here, he is as dry and funny as [...]
Arena – The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Phil Spector
We’d be unhappy if pop culture didn’t regularly throw up Shakespearian figures like Phil Spector, flawed and brilliant (and in Spector’s case downright dangerous). Imagine if they were all like Cliff. This really lovely Arena takes the form of an extended interview conducted by director Vikram Jayanti (the BBC’s press release says that Jayanti’s “hallmark [...]
Vladimir Ashkenazy: The Vital Juices are Russian
No question about it: the best programme classified ‘music’ on iPlayer at the moment: a lovely 1968 documentary about pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy. The young Ashkenazy’s evidently not your stereotypical classical soloist: not wild-eyed, tempestuous or mercurial and not an egomaniac, despite his international fame. He’s modest, curious, humane, passionate. The kind of person you’d like [...]
Never mind the global systemic catastrophe
Look, I probably ought to put up something about Credit Default Swaps or LIBOR or something but, honestly, I just can’t. So—by way of light relief—here’s this week’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Laugh? You’ll probably find yourself unwinding your long-term leverage or increasing your tier 1 capital. Sarcastic grammar school charmer Simon Amstell is outstanding: [...]
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