Thursday, December 29, 2011

Oh Christmas blog...oh Christmas blog....or singing to that effect

The Christmas season is now well and truly upon us. That may confuse you as you think "upon us? surely it is over" but no dear Scrooges of blogland, Christmas is not just 25 December. It stretches until 6 January or the Feast of Epiphany in most Eastern European traditions and in fact until quite recently it also did in many Western European, British, Australian, American, etc. households too*. So grab your eggnog and your turkey leg (or vego alternative...can you get a tofu-rkey leg?), pump the Christmas tunes and join in Clare's merry Christmas cheer.

Many who know me know that I have strict rules with regards to the spreading of Christmas related cheer....the biggest being Christmas is in December so any celebrating that occurs before then is a) not Christmas kosher, b) spectacularly annoying and c) will result in a lengthy rant from me which will certainly make much use of the words "bah" and "humbug". However since it is well and truly December now I have some thoughts on the Christmas season.....

Christmas in this day and age of post-modernism secularism can be a bit of a dirty word especially since many people in our western society (whichever one you may live in) are not Christian and so the mass celebrating of Christian festival angers some. Where is the respect for Hanukkah or Ramadan which both occur around at the same time of year? Many places now prefer the term "Happy Holidays!" to "Merry Christmas!", and most people have heard at least one tale of people getting offended by nativity displays in malls. Every year controversy is spun at a rate of knots about these changes and Christian groups (especially in the US but increasingly elsewhere) declare that secular society is killing Christmas! Those on both sides who are up on their history of Christmas quickly point out that the 25 December was co-opted by the Christian church from the pagan winter festivals and that we in fact have no idea at what time of year Christ was born- that doesn't help either argument but why not throw it in for good measure, right, and whilst we're on the topic why is no-one talking about Winter Solstice? All of this aside...what can we in a secular society take from Christmas? What can be the commonality between those like me who attend a church service to commemorate the birth of Christ and those who like a day off to sit on the beach (or maybe to make a snowman depending on where you are)? Can people have a happy holidays in secular sense whilst taking of some on the themes of the Christian Christmas?

Now I'm not suggesting that we take the Christ out of Christmas...because then we'd be left with 'mas' which still sounds vaguely religious so we'd have to get rid of it too and then we'd be left with nothing and we'd all be toddling off to work on 25 December and many great Australian sporting traditions that rely on the Christmas break would have be got rid of (no Boxing Day test and no Sydney to Hobart...WHAT would we do?). I think we keep it all and if you happen not to believe in Christmas just embrace the phrase "Happy Holidays" because that we can agree on even if it sounds hopelessly mid 1990s politically correct.

More to the point, I'm wondering if there is something for all in the Christmas story. Most people (regardless of their religious persuasion or lack thereof) can agree that Jesus existed. They disagree on whether he was the son of God or a prophet or a wise man or just some nice first century Jewish guy and they disagree on whether he rose from the dead and what his death meant BUT they mostly agree that he lived. To live he had to be born (the Bible even agrees on that one) and if we take the story of his birth as recorded in the Bible at face value, leaving aside for a minute the involvement of angels, what are we left with? We are left with an unconventional, poor family pulling together in rough times. We are left with an unwed teenaged (probably no more than 15 year old) girl and her fiancee (probably a man in his 20s or maybe even his 30s) who are faced with her being pregnant before the wedding (an offence that could have lead to the stoning (in the heavy rocks chucked at your head sense) of both of them) and instead of him publicly shaming her for this pregnancy, they stay together and they marry. We are left with this unconventional couple being unable to find a decent place to have a baby and so having to go through the mess and pain of labour in the first century Middle East in a farm shed (the idea of child birth without painkillers in a stinky shed full of animals horrifies me but needs must). There is something that can be taken from this story and it sure ain't let's wait for the creepy fictional fat guy in a red suit to come down the chimney.

What can be taken from this story for all people is the idea of family. Quite the loaded term in today's political climate.... I mean what does family mean and who decides who belongs to one. Well I'm going to leave that to you, my dear blog reading types, as personally I believe family is what you make it- regardless of who your parents are, how many of them there are, what gender they are, whether your family includes children or whether it doesn't, whether there are step/half/adoptive/foster children or parents or siblings involved, whether it is one person and their pet bird or, like my family, over 20 people and many pets, whether it is just made up of friends none of whom are blood related to you....your family is your family and it is up to you what that means, and don't forget Jesus was from one of the most unconventional families you could ask for. I will not dictate what a family is but I will dictate that you use your Christmas season (i.e. until 6 January) to get in touch with them, tell them (good or bad) how your 2011 has been and wish them whatever holiday based sentiment appeals to you. Also if you know someone out there who is, for whatever reason, without a family in any sense of the word or is unavoidably separated from their family, use this holiday period to reach out to them and maybe to bring them into your extended family. Family is a hard word for a lot of people so let's be part of helping people belong in our society even if we don't use the word.

What else can we take from the Christmas story? Well Mary and Joseph weren't the richest of people...if they had been I'm sure they could have greased a few pockets and got into that inn or maybe to somewhere even more upmarket. We in western society are usually pretty dreadful at thinking of those with less than us. We are upwardly mobile types who prefer to think of people whose yards have the cliched greener grass. Maybe we can use Christmas as a reminder each year to think of the less fortunate, even if it is just once a year, and to give some of our wealth to them. Wacky notion I know but in a global sense, most of us in western society are the 1% (or maybe the 5% but you get my meaning) so maybe we should pause and think before the remaining over 90% of the planet decides to "Occupy Earth" and stops making our cheap toys and shoes for next to no wage. Most charities (both of the global thinking and local thinking variety) do drives around Christmas time- some of which are still going- so maybe look into a charity you trust this holiday season....

So that is me signing off on Christmas, I hope you and yours enjoyed this Christmas and continue to do so until 6 January. Finally I leave you with few things, the Queen's Christmas message (I may be a staunch republican but I have a soft spot for the old lady especially as in this message she declares the whole commonwealth is part of her family....may have visit and collect my inheritance), a tune off A Very She and Him Christmas (best Christmas album EVER...seriously go and buy it), and a dalek in a Christmas hat (what! Dr Who isn't part of Christmas tradition in your house! It should be!- I was going to use the Doctor but could only find Matt Smith in a santa hat and much as I like him, a dalek is more entertaining).





*Of course if you work by the calendar of western consumerism, Christmas start around 1 August and run until 25 December (exactly) so that the true holiday of capitalism, the month long orgy of post Christmas sales, can begin and end in plenty of time for Easter eggs to be in the shops on 1 February (at the very latest).

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What a year it has been....2011 pop cultural highlights

The year is coming to a close and whilst I still have a more serious end of year post and a Christmas post up my sleeve, in my extreme boredom of being off from work a week before Christmas, I thought I'd share with the denizens of blogland my top books, TV shows, films and albums for the year that was 2011 (you already know for songs as I blogged about my hottest 100 vote)....You may not care but who knows maybe one day a spot on my list will trump a Booker or an Emmy or an Oscar or an Aria...and also did I say bored....

Movies

I decided to start with films for no particular reason and I'm aware that there are still 2011 release films to come (yes I will be seeing Tin Tin and The Muppets but not until the new year so they are 2012 films for me)....


1. Midnight in Paris
Far and away my favourite film of 2011, and in fact it is now one of my favourite all time films. Woody Allen's script and direction are brilliant; Owen Wilson (whom I always love in films) is outstanding; the costuming and cinematography are masterful; and it is set in one of history's most fascinating periods and one of the world's most beautiful cities....there is no bad especially since like the character of Gil, I love Paris in the rain. This was truly a 5 star film in my books.






2. The Ides of March

George Clooney and Ryan Gosling....does more need to be said????

Actually it does because aside from the involvement of two of the most gorgeous and most talented actors working today, this film was also whip smart, brilliantly scripted and directed (both thanks to Clooney again) and included a cast of some of most outstanding actors in film today- I mean Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti and Evan Rachel Wood is pretty much a dream cast even before you add Clooney and Gosling to the mix.


3. Jane Eyre

There are so many adaptations of Jane Eyre that it could be questioned whether another was needed and were it not for the involvement of Michael Fassbender (who it has to be said has had an outstanding year- probably slotting in second to Ryan Gosling as the actor to watch in 2012 and after) I would have dodged the film on those grounds. Thankfully it is one of the best adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel I've seen especially since it worked to make Jane in particular but also Mr Rochester a bit more homely looking (they failed with Rochester in my books but as I've been a fan of Michael Fassbender since Hex you'd have to work really hard to actually make him seem homely to me), and it included the section with the Rivers family which so often gets left out. Mia Wasikowska proves once again that she is a star on the rise with a brilliant performance as Jane- her being an Aussie also makes me feel less bad about the absence of Aussie films in my top 5 (I think the only 2011 Aussie release I saw was Wasted on the Young which I saw in July 2010 so isn't a 2011 release in my books).





4. Norwegian Wood
The foreign language part of my top 5. I loved the book on which this film was based and I was very worried that the film would not be great. This film had its flaws but it was profoundly beautiful and all in all a high quality adaptation of the text. The performances are also very touching.





5. Tucker and Dale Vs Evil
Just to end, a nod to my love of all things B grade. This film was hilarious.... that is all!


Honourable mentions- The Trip; The Tree of Life; 127 Hours; Howl; Crazy Stupid Love; Contagion; and Melancholia (esp. the first 10 minutes)

Books

I actually haven't read too many 2011 release books- only 4 (one of which was a guilty pleasure read) and I'm currently reading the 5th - so instead I give you just my top book (which is a tied spot).

You'll be Sorry when I'm Dead by Marieke Hardy


I've already blogged about my love of this book so you can look through old posts for me speiling about how much I loved it instead of me repeating it here.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides


I finished this book not long ago and it is AMAZING! I love both of Eugenides's earlier novels- The Virgin Suicides in particular. I think it will particular be a hit with people with English literature (esp. 19th literature), biology or religion degrees- two from three ticks for me and I'm quite interested in religion as well. I completely identified with the character of Madeleine and completely fell in love with the character of Mitchell. I could go on but it would be pages and pages of ranting so I'll stop there and encourage you to read it and make up your own mind.

Of course the most honourable of honourable mentions goes to Jonathan Franzen's outstanding Freedom which was barely third to the tie.

Albums


I already mentioned my top three (actually four in my Hottest 100 blog) but just for those who missed it....

1. Making Mirrors by Gotye

2. Prisoner by The Jezabels


3 (tied). Moment Bends by Architecture in Helsinki

3 (tied). Let England Shake by P. J. Harvey


5. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
The album not mentioned in my Hottest 100 list- though one of the tunes off it was.



Honourable mentions- Seeker Lover Keeper by Seeker Lover Keeper, The King is Dead by the Decemberists, This Modern Glitch by the Wombats, To the Horses by Lanie Lane, Vows by Kimbra, Last Night on Earth by Noah and the Whale, Locked by Land by Jinja Safari, and A Creature I Don't Know  by Laura Marling.


TV Shows

There were a few shows that I discovered in 2011 which were released earlier on Aussie TV (notibly Community, Rake and The Tudors) but I'll limit myself to shows that first appeared in Australia in 2011 or I discovered in 2011 despite not being on Aussie TV and it is three way tie for first place.

1 (tied). Laid
That's right two Marieke Hardy works across my favourite things in 2011. Laid was hilarious and I'm totally looking forward to the next season.


1 (tied). The Hour
Quality British drama featuring brilliant fashion and the ever brilliant and appealing Ben Whishaw.

 
1 (still tied). Bored to Death
Not surprisingly all the tied number 1s were on ABC. Bored to Death started on US TV a few years ago but we just got it here this year. Sharpily funny and I'm currently despairing that HBO has now canned it.



4. The Walking Dead
This show has yet to officially land on Australia shores (in any format though the DVDs are due in March next year- can you say YAY!) and it was originally screened in late 2010 overseas. I caught it in early 2011 and it has feature production quality and ZOMBIES so you've got to love it.

5. Downton Abbey
Just to prove I do watch me some commercial television (though this show really should have been on ABC). Good period drama with one of the best casts in years...pity you have to put up with the ads.
 
Honorary mentions- Gruen Planet, Adam Hills in Gordon St Tonight and Crownies  
Best miniseries- Not TV shows but worth a mention- The Slap and Paper Giants
Old shows still pumping out quality- True Blood, Torchwood (despite the relocate to the US), Dr Who (though there was mild wonkiness this season), Mad Men, Glee (yes I'm a Glee fan...mock me if you must), United States of Tara, QI, Offspring, Being Human (the UK version), Community and Shameless (the UK version)...and this is excluding all non strictly entertainment shows ....

Finally just to end with and because I've been sharing it everywhere...Best pop culture crossover moment of 2011...thank you Glee for this....


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Another year....another Hottest 100...

So voting got underway in the 2011 Triple J Hottest 100 today....For this and no other reason I share the filmclips (or in some cases someone's Youtube fake filmclip) for Clare's hottest 100 votes. These are in no particular order as I find it hard to pick which of these 10 songs is best (at a push it would be a battle between Architecture in Helsinki, Gotye and Seeker Lover Keeper)....


-Starting with the most obvious....Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra. It will be a miracle and then some if this song doesn't take out the number 1 spot by an insanely huge margin (I'd be willing to wager it will be by far the biggest margin in Hottest 100 history). The rabid popularity of this song actually quite perplexes me as it is not conventional pop and yet it appealed to a broad audience that included people with completely different tastes in music. I do think it is the best song on Making Mirrors (though the whole album is sublime and is in my books the best album of 2011) and I knew I didn't have space of Kimbra in my top 10 (Vows is also an amazing album and on my shortlist Good Intent was about number 16- I'm listening to the album as I type this actually) so this felt like giving her half a vote.


-This is Why We Fight by the Decemberists. Personally Calamity Song is actually my favourite song off The King is Dead but sadly it wasn't an option and voting for something not on the big list means it has zero chance of getting into the actual count down. I fell in love The Decemberists' crazy progressive folky vibe at Big Day Out a few years ago and think it is pity that they don't get more airplay (probably because their albums are mostly concept albums). If you haven't heard of them or listened to their stuff before I strongly recommend you check them out.


-Even Though I'm a Woman by Seeker Lover Keeper. You'll note there actually isn't a film clip for this one yet. The Seeker Lover Keeper album was so amazing that I hope Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby have time to do some more stuff together in the future- they are currently back working on solo stuff (which is still brilliant as a new Sarah Blasko album would make me very happy) and Seeker Lover Keeper is on hiatus. The melodies are just outstanding, unlike other pop acts they play their own instruments, and it is just amazing for Australia to produce such an outstanding all female supergroup. This song was my clear favourite on the album which is odd as Holly Throsby does lead vocals in it and my other album/concert highlights (Lights All My Lights, Rely On Me and their cover of Neil Finn's Sinner) have Sarah Blasko on lead vocals. I think the thing that sells me on this song as a favourite are the lyrics by Sally Seltmann which are just so honest and completely non-sappy.


- Mermaids by Jinja Safari (again no actual film clip). I first saw Jinja Safari as support for Boy and Bear (back before they were multi Aria winners and when a ticket to see them was less than $30) and as someone who is usually fashionably late for gigs in order to miss support bands I was surprised at their brilliance (their set was in my opinion better than Boy and Bear's which was still very solid). Jinja Safari's music just makes you happy- really I challenge you to listen to it and not smile. This song makes me imagine running/rolling down a grassy hill on perfect summer day and having fun. Even it had just been for the return of sitar and keytar to popular music, I will be eternally thankful to Triple J for unearthing them (that said they aren't the only unearthed art in my top 10).


-Rosebud by The Jezabels (another film clip-less song and also another unearthed band). I vaguely remember when The Jezabels first made a big splash a few years ago but I missed the boat that time around. Then a few months ago just after I changed jobs and got listen to triple j online again in the office, their new album was released and was a feature album. It is one of the best alternative/indie pop rock albums I've heard in years and is a close 2nd to Making Mirrors as my album highlight of 2011. It was hard to pick a favourite song off this album and Endless Summer will almost certainly wind up with a top 20 (if not top 10) finish, but the opening guitar riff and vocal just completely sells me on Rosebud.


- L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N by Noah & the Whale (a song with a filmclip finally). Now for something from much earlier in the year.... Still the original darlings of the London folk scene and still sounding a lot like a band from a completely different era, their March album, Last Night on Earth, proved once more (as if it needed proving) that there is nothing wrong with either of these facts. This song is just delightfully catchy and I do have a soft spot for songs that teach people how to spell.

Raconte-Moi Une Histoire by M83 (so filmclip less that the fake clip on Youtube isn't even properly importable here- click on link to listen/watch). This song completely took me by surprise when I heard it a few weeks ago as I'd never felt a strong desire to listen to M83's past releases. There is only one word for this song and that is "adorable". Listening to it fills me with childlike delight....


- W.O.W. by Architecture in Helsinki. I've been a fan of Architecture in Helsinki's electro/art pop for a few years (actually more than a few- I think I first saw them live before their 2nd album was released back in 2005) and I think that Moment Bends is without compare their best album yet. The whole album is the perfect mix of arty innovation and channelling of 80s electro. Everyone will be fighting to vote for Contact High but personally I think W.O.W. is better and more complex pop song- that said looking for it on Youtube did find me WAY too many World of Warcraft which was also mildly entertaining.


- The Words That Maketh Murder by P.J. Harvey. This is earliest release in my top 10 and I have to say it is mighty fine year in music when a P. J. Harvey release of the quality of Let England Shake only comes in as my tied third favourite album (tied with Moment Bends- behind Making Mirrors and Prisoner). It is one of Harvey's best albums and that is saying something as she rarely put a pinky toe, much less a foot, wrong. All of it has a quality folk vibe and it is a brilliant tribute to Harvey's homeland. There is no song on this album that I would have felt bad voting for and I actually didn't have a favourite song so I picked the one most likely to chart higher as it would be amazing to see music for grown ups go well instead of just more hideous Australian hip-hop.




- Montezuma by Fleet Foxes (back to the land of no film clips). This falls in the same box as This is Why We Fight i.e. it isn't my favourite song on Helplessness Blues but I thought it best to vote for something on the actual list- my favourite song was The Shrine/An Argument which also has my absolute favourite film clip of this year (it is awesome...you should look it up on vimeo if you haven't seen it yet). It is still a great song though- as are the rest on the album. I got into Fleet Foxes really recently based on the combo of friend and iTunes recommendations, and they are just outstanding but much like the Decemberists they don't get as much airplay as they should.


So there are Clare's Hottest 100 votes- very folky/ arty, half Aussie and half from bands I've seen live this year (I've seen Gotye, Jinja Safari, Noah & the Whale, Architecture in Helsinki and Seeker Lover Keeper - I missed The Jezabels, I'll be seeing M83 at Laneways, the Decemberists haven't toured lately, and don't even speak to me about missing out on P. J. Harvey and Fleet Foxes next January (will be away the week of P.J. Harvey's shows and was going to away for Fleet Foxes and now am not but missed out on tickets)) 

...have you lodged your vote?


If not, you may like to show some love to the following five songs which I was desperately sad to see pushed out of my top ten:


Turn Me On by The Grates (another band I saw live this year and this song goes off live)

1996 by The Wombats (again brilliant live when I saw them this year)

The Circle Married the Line by Feist (can't speak to its goodness live (I'll be seeing Feist at Laneways next year and I've not seen her live in the past) but this is live clip so baring crappy sound quality you can judge for yourself)

Oh Well That's What You Get Falling in Love with a Cowboy by Lanie Lane (another unearthed art who I've seen live but only in the sense of covering Nick Cave tunes though this indicated that she might be quite amazing performing her own stuff)- it was quite the toss up between this and What Did I Do so it completely broke my heart that I couldn't include either.

Salinas by Laura Marling (a live clip of a song I saw as a song "for the next album" when I last saw Marling live- I'll be seeing her again at Laneways)- I felt dreadful not voting for Marling as it is my fault for only buying A Creature I Don't Know about a week ago and what I've listened to just cements Marling's talent (seriously she is WAY too young to be that amazingly talented).

Monday, December 5, 2011

The remedy for a rainy "summer" Monday night

Part 1. Vegetarian biryani.....

Mine didn't look much like that but you get the idea
Part 2. A couple of episodes of Arrested Development on DVD

Part 3. Present wrapping


Part 4. The best show on TV.... The Hour!!!


Part 5. The Marriage Plot

Quote highlight- "Madeleine felt most semotics theorists had been unpopular as children, often bullied or overlooked, and so had directed their lingering rage onto literature" (My feelings exactly!)

Part 6: French Earl Grey

Part 7: Crabtree and Evelyn All Butter Lemon Biscuits

 
 Add downloading some Bon Iver, Bluejuice, The Grates and Jinja Safari, and all in all it's an awesome night.