WU LYF 4 LYF

Yeah was gutted when he cost me

Walsh has had a horrific week so far, couldn't believe that Cristal Bonus never got going, won three first classes before as I recall so fuck knows what went wrong. Groaned when I saw him pulling up with five to jump but he was going nowhere. Another strongly backed favourite was nowhere either, Peddlers Cross at 5-2 had an awful ride, although he did seem overpriced considering his inconsistency and the length since his last run.

So today I've gone for;

1.30 - Cristal Bonus 11/2 (

Finnian's Rainbow got me out the shit, an impulse

Ladbrokes.com are offering a completely free

Very enjoyable. The 33 1/3 series are a bit hit and miss, so I was pleased to find this one was highly enjoyable, with not to much weird stuff or biographical detail about the author, just a general muse on the context, music and lyrics which helps even the die hard fan understand the record better. Which is what these books should be about.

Less a pet, more an amphibian annoyance who has housed itself in my porch all afternoon. Cute though. I brought him some water but he wasn't really interested and just stared at me. Finally had to humanely remove him to the garden after he ventured into the house.

Currently I'm all over ambient dubstep. As in, it's pretty much all I listen to at home or on the bus when I want to relax. The rolling sub bass, dreamy melodies, ethereal strings, trancey synths, distorted vocals... I just fucking love it.

Yeah it's definitely one of the most exciting and consistently quality genres in vogue at the minute. Loving the songs you posted, I was all over Phaleh last year, 'Falling' was one of my favourite tracks.

Synkro is one of the best at this type of stuff for me, really atmospheric with awesome samples (even if the craze for sampling 90s RnB has been overdone a bit lately). He has a new EP out in April as well which should be fantastic. 'Everybody Knows' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtj7IBGar3c) and 'You Don't Know' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M931ZS07h5E&feature=related) are among his better works.

Think i might check out that night you recommended next time I'm in Manchester, if I time it along with a Warehouse Project could be a fucking crazy weekend.

The dubstep that I hear that I like, tends to take after deep house more than any other genre.

A lot of ambient dubstep does share a similar aesthetic to deep house, albeit slowed down and with more breakbeat percussion than the straight 4/4.

House is having a massive resurgence at the moment, especially with the casual fashion followers. Which is a shame because I can't fucking stand house.

Yeah, it usually seems to happen following a surge in trance, as a reaction away from all the breakdowns and synths that pepper every chart song to a more groove orientated sound. Well, it did in 2000/2001 anyway following the trance boom of 99.

I love house, I've gained a much greater appreciation for it lately. Mostly deep and progressive house, but also the more commercial and funky side of things, and tribal house is just the perfect music to have on when you're writing or reading late at night, totally dark and minimal and hypnotic. It's up there with bass and future garage as the dance music I'm playing most frequently right now.

What's your favourite type of electronic music at the minute, out of interest?

HNIC 3 dropped a week or so ago and I've jsut been getting around to listen to it properly. There's a great track on there produced by Oh No, but I can't remember what it's called, otherwise I'd post that.

Hmm, been wondering whether to check it out. Mobb Deep made my favourite hip hop album of all time, plus a load of other stuff I dig a ton, yet I'm not sure either Havoc or Prodigy have released anything worth a damn for a few years now. Prodigy's solo album was inconsistent, though I did enjoy some stuff, the song at the end about his sickle cell struggle hit right in the gut which is exactly what you want from his music.

I prefer the new Burial and Four Tet track to any of Burials solo stuff this year:

 

Burial and Four Tet - Nova

Yeah, great song. Loving this, and I didn't get into their last collaborations either. Top five single of the year thus far.

Alcest's new album is still a million miles away from Souvenirs', it just doesn't grip you like that did back in 07. I'd say Les Discrets put out the better album again if i'm honest.

I've actually not heard any of their earlier stuff as I'm not into my metal at all really. Thats might be why I enjoy Le Voyage more than the more seasoned fan, feels fresher and melodically it's pretty great for such a heavy album.

I actually prefer 'Loner' off the new Burial EP. Either way, it's the best release of the year by far. it's been a poor start to the year overall musically, no classic album (you could make a case for Alcest but for me it's merely good).

I'm a little out the loop on the house and techno front at the minute though so I daresay once I catch up on that there'll be some gems, I did enjoy the new Todd Terje EP, and I think the John Talabot album will be perfect for the summer when I get to know it a bit more.

Nothing involving Arsenal is a safe bet from my experience, one team out of the three will go on a good run and one will continue to capitulate, but I wouldn't be confident saying who. Especially is Chelsea change their manager, could give them initiative and I think on paper they had a fuller squad.

I forgot to bet for once today, and it turned out pretty well with Celtic drawing and Sheff Utd blowing a 2-0 lead, two teams I'd have almost certainly had money on. I find the Premiership incredibly difficult to bet on at the minute, there aren't really any certainties, and where there are the odds just don't make it attractive in the least now. Man City at 1-8 to beat Bolton, when you can get a strong Huddersfield side at evens away at Bury who have lost six straight games beforehand.

My terrible list with my terrible write ups;

1. Y Tu Mama Tambien [2002]

Love coming of age films, and this is easily the best on ever made. It's about friendship really, but it's pretty groundbreaking in it's portrayal of the bond between two late teenagers from different backgrounds. Don't be fooled be thinking it's a really serious film though, it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The chemistry between Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna is brilliant to watch, must be one of the best film partnerships ever. Garcia Bernal is easily the best actor this century in my opinion, has about four classic films under his belt and they're all extremely varied roles, from a cross dresser to a Mexican street urchin.

2. Scarface [1983]

I know the elitist film buffs look down on this, but it has a cult following that increases year on year and it's easy to see why. It glamourises the life of a cartel owner, all champagne jacuzzis and sports cars, but with an underlying theme of paranoia and in the end it all of course comes crashing down for Tony Montana. That still doesn't stop him from, being on of the most magnetic film characters of all time, Pacino's best role I think (and he agrees), he becomes the character and just goes all out with it. Montana is also a gangster with morals and principles and a code, which makes him easier to root for. Special mention needs to go to the bold move to step away from the dark, smoky pictures of previous gangster films and make it in bright, sunny, outlandish colours which make it a joy to watch visually. Just goes to show how much an important, bold photographical decision can combine a good script and great acting into a classic film.

3. Central Station [1998]

I was blubbing like Gazza in the Italia 90 semis after this, I'm not ashamed to say I couldn't stop weeping for almost half an hour. No other film has had that affect on me, and such an emotional response warrants it being so high on the list, even though I've probably watched it less than the other movies in my top ten. Unique plot, fabulous acting, great filming, it doesn't get much better. If you're an action film freak you'll hate it, as it's all about the characters, dialogue and themes which is what I go for anyway. The kind of film that could only have been made in South America; like fellow classics City of God and The Motorcycle Diaries it is entrenched in that culture, and wouldn't be anywhere near as good in any other language or setting.

4. A Bronx Tale [1994]

I rate this about Goodfellas and Godfather as far as iconic gangster shit goes - the relationship between Sonny and the kid in the first half of the film makes it, Francis Capra is fucking amazing for his age, no surprise he went on to have such a long career.

5. High Society [1956]

Has two things missing from modern Hollywood; fun and glamour. The musical numbers are awesome, as you'd expect with Louis Armstrong, Sinatra and Bing Crosby involved, the story is great, the party scenes are a highlight. Funny, lighthearted and leaves you with a huge smile at the end.

6. Dazed and Confused [1993]

A 'last night at high school' film, and it's just a ton of fun. Stoners, jocks, preppy girls, cheerleader girls, humiliating initiation rituals, wild parties in the woods, young teenagers coming of age, old teenagers coming of age, joints on the football fields, amazing soundtrack. One of those endlessly entertaining films.

7. American Graffiti [1973]

The soundtrack makes it.

8. Jeux D'Enfants [2003]

Beautifully shot, it sounds wonderful, the story is almost secondary. The scene in the rain might be my favourite in cinema of all time. And a great ending.

9. Love Finds Andy Hardy [1938]

How teen films used to be - a hilarious romp, with a bit of innuendo but mostly clean fun, where the kids respect the parents, the girls swoon and the boys get into all sorts of trouble chasing after the girls. And just to show nothing changes in seventy years of teen movies, it ends at a high school prom, this time to Christmas so it kind of works as a festive movie too.

10. The Business [2005]

I know this is an awful cliche of a film, with Danny Dyer at his worst and the rest of it...but I can't count how often we watched this as fifteen/sixteen year olds when it first came out. Awesome soundtrack, a great setting in the sunshine, plenty of drugs and women and infinitely quotable - "Did somebody order a cunt? Because ones just got here", "I'll have a vodka coke - and I suppose sucking me off's out the question?". Always really takes me back to watching it in our free periods at a mate's house at College, laughing our heads out and behaving like immature teenagers. However good the Empire Top 100 films are from an objective standpoint, they often can't compete with the memories you get from a film you loved before you were a jaded pretentious elitist.

WORST FILMS EVER

1. The Royal Tennebaums

2. The Matrix

3. The Bourne Trilogy

Love in when the chase/hurdle/jump season kicks in again, always good fields leading to the national. Got a few outsiders on today that I fancy, probably shouldn't have bet really as most of the cards are too close to call but then you get better value so it works both ways.

Don't flatter yourself, I couldn't really give a shit.

If you really weren't bothered you wouldn't reply. There are surely more productive ways of 'filling time' than doling out uninventive personal insults. What a waste of a life if that's what you do to pad out the hours in your day.

I've read the thread, I'd just be interested in some thoughts on the action genre as a whole, which seems to be generally thought of amongst film fans to be formulaic and low brow. I found it interesting that films that are often slated on places like IMDB are given so much love in this poll (even when they're praised on such sites it's usually qualified by 'I know this is rubbish but...' type critiques).

'Spastic' eh, what a pleasant and reasonable person you are. To be fair, I love the fact I make your blood boil. Long may it continue.

Another reason why Abbey Road is awesome on vinyl is the side two medley, it just works perfectly in that format, in addition to sounding fucking great. Listening to the songs as individual MP3s just can't be the same, who wants to hear Golden Slumbers with the glorious lift up into Carry That Weight?

I'm shocked there's not more romance films set on a petrol station forecourt in the top 10 myself.

How original.

Surprised at the popularity of action films so high up the list, I don't know anyone who likes them really, except for teenage boys. Are the votes based on nostalgia (as the dates of the films suggests) or have these films got artistic qualities that I've been missing?

Not as good as the book, which I came across after really enjoying The Slap by the same author. I liked some aspects of it, especially the depiction of the conflict of ideology between first generation Greek immigrants to Australia and their children. But overall the second half wasn't particularly satisfactory. It wasn't even 'push the envelope' explicit as it's meant to be. The sets were a bit dreary as well. The lead actor was good. 6/10 or something.

I like The Godfather, but there are far better gangster films for me with stronger characters and more engaging arcs. You can't really argue with the mood or cinematography though.

As for Godfather II, I honestly thought it would have been better if they'd made it into two separate films, with the Sicily plot in one and the US present day plot in another. For me, the two separate scenarios weren't connected enough to justify putting them together as a single entity.

^^^

That's another one I must get round to making, makes me hungry just reading about it even though on paper it's just some ordinary stuff thrown together. I'll probably use macaroni instead of spaghetti though as it's easier to eat, unless you think the spaghetti is crucial to the experience?

I love that garlic flavoured philadelphia stuff they used to do, is that still available? Would give the dish a nice edge.

Cheers mate, not too big on lumpy soups but I'll definitely give it a try. Bet it's really good for you as well. That's what I love about making soups, such a simple, easy way of getting loads of healthy shit, and the stock makes sure it always tastes good too.

I've been getting into cooking a bit lately, mostly inspired by a desire to health up and get back the killer abs after the usual festive period binge. I'm a compulsive eater as well, and can easily shove down one or even two tubes of Pringles in one setting, so I've found cooking is a good way to cut down on my urges, eating later to stop hunger pangs late at night.

I'm still doing pretty simple stuff at the moment, and things that I can dip into when I'm hungry. Made a beautiful beansprout, red pepper and herb salad the other day that I've been picking at ever since, with a few cashews sprinkled over the top for a treat. Also a bit of a soup obsessive now, love pea and mint and anything with chilli. Tomato, red pepper and red chilli is a personal favourite. The only problem is that I always fancy having bread with it, lathered in butter and not in small quantities. I've tried to stick to a slice of seeded wholemeal loaf.

Anyone got any good healthy salad/soup recipes to recommend for this time of the year?

--Oh, and as a sidenote I'm sure things like crisps and sweets and highly addictive physically. The first two weeks I cut them out were terrible, I couldn't believe how much I craved a good solid bag of Kettle Chips or a bag of tangfastics. As the time has moved on, I no longer feel desperately in need, so I'm presuming I've flushed the dependency out of my system.

You're an idiot.

What a nicely phrased, constructive criticism.

Cheers for the other responses guys, I'll check them out.

Why do you have to be such hard work all the time? Just watch good films.

It's not being hard work, it's just liking specific things. I've seen enough sci-fi to know that I don't like the genre in general (with very occasional exceptions). It's better to state the fact and avoid people giving me recommendations of stuff I won't enjoy.

Is Bradley Pitt generally considered to be a great actor, then? I've never really paid much attention to his films, sort of just assumed he was a pretty face. What do people recommend as an introduction to his work? (Bearing in mind I'm not particularly into action films/sci-fi/westerns/war films...know it's pretty dumb to write off so many genres but there you go, I have exceptions to the rule...ideally I like something with strong characters and dialogue and I can cope with a featureless plot).