Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good... so far so good..

La Haine (1995).

For anyone who hasn't seen La Haine (Hate), it's a vérité film that basically follows the day to day wanderings of 3 young men from the decayed and unhinged Parisian projects. Vinnie Cassel recieved all sorts of plaudits back in '95 for his depiction of Vinz, and although he is fantastic, it was Kassovitz' cinematography that stole the show for me. If you selected a Hollywood director at random and gave him $50,000,000 with a remit to make a scene cooler than the one above, he'd fail.

My top 10 albums of 2009

Yeah, 2009, i just don't have the patience to do a list for the decade. I'll add in some kind of pithy description that explains my choices later.

10. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs.

9. DJ Quik & Kurupt - BlaQKout

8. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion.

7. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug.

6. MewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright.

5. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca.

4. The Horrors - Primary Colors.

3. Polvo - In Prism.


2. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm.

1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest.

By 1965 there'll be total depravity. How squalid everything will be.

La Dolce Vita (1960).

"Don't be like me. Salvation doesn't lie within four walls. I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional. Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected."

I really wish more people would seek out Fellini's work. I think there's a lot our current hierarchical and ultimately voyeuristic society could take from his material. Infidelity, suicide, murder and depression were all interwoven with scenes of fun and happiness. Why? Because that is what life is like.

I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene.

Welcome to my Silver Cloud Lounge.