THFC - Season end; Harry and Luka/transfers

Its been long enough for me to get some perspective and ultimately I have decided that the season just gone was a successful one although at times it was highly frustrating. We got our first taste of Champions League footie and played some exciting footie which probably earned us a great deal of kudos in playing on Europe’s top stage with swagger and desire to entertain (and win) at all costs. You won’t beat actually hearing the Champs League theme ring out at the Lane.

Speaking of which the whole ground thing has been a pain this season, we desperately need a bigger capacity in order to get more fans and revenue in. I understood (from a business point of view) why we should chase the Olympic stadium but once its gone, let it go, fall back to plan B and get us a bigger ground
Too many draws, silly losses at home, points dropped against ‘lesser’ clubs have all been annoying but I think the two failures this season that have bugged me are;

1)      Limp exit from the CL, I know Crouch getting sent off didn’t help but I wish we’d just made a fight/game of it.

2)      Strikers not scoring goal – jeez how poor were they this season? On paper they were potent but in real life – oh my god it was shocking

Following season end, there was talk that Harry might go to the blue scum and I was staggered by the anti-Harry stuff that was coming out on forums etc. Harry has done wonders for us and whilst I struggle with his decisions and tactics at times, I am not a footie manager and not the manager of THFC, I am never gonna love everything he does, but look at what he has done and manage your expectations sensibly. We were always going to struggle to get top 4 again and we won’t win the league for some time….. fact
‘Fans’ on the forums etc have also been slagging off Luka as well, at the end of the day, players always move on, they are not fans and therefore don’t have the same feelings or considerations. Give the guy a break, if he moves on, lets just hope that we get good money and can buy/negotiate decent replacements.
 
Finally I couldn’t not mention #MartinJol. I still love big MJ and think he was poorly treated by THFC, Fulham at the Lane is the final game of the season and I hope to be there, hoping MJ will still be there to give him a cheer and to hope he comes back once Harry moves on. Good luck Martin but lets hope we beat Fulham every time we play them - COYS

Millennium People – JG Ballard

Millennium People – JG Ballard – ISBN – 0-00-655161-0

One of the books that have sat unread for ages, partly due to being in my parents loft for a few years!! Despite loving JG Ballard, I was surprised to see how few of his books I’ve read. I know I have got ‘Crash’ somewhere unread from about 7 or 8 years ago!!

Anyway, Millennium People, I am glad I waited almost 7 years to read this book as it is (IMHO) more relevant now than when it was published. It concerns middle England rising up to throw off the shackles of modern life to become the new poor. At the heart of it, there is the search for the murderer of the main characters ex-wife, although I must admit I kinda figured out who it was way early and couldn’t see how the main character was oblivious to it.

A good and thought-provoking read, although don’t believe all the blurb and reviewer soundbites. It isn’t shocking, radical or terrifying, but perhaps that just reflects how society has moved on in the intervening years since it was published and what is tolerable/normal in this day and age.

Psychoville

So season 2 of Psychoville has finished and I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope it is back for a third season soon. It’s a described as dark humour but this season really notched up the thriller/drama element with a compelling yet increasingly implausible plot. I have to say I liked it more than the first season because of the drama and familiarity with some of the characters, pretty much everyone from season 1 get their story ‘developed’.

As a fan of League of Gentlemen who drifted away from it after the Christmas special, Psychoville is more complex and layered for me, even down to the huge amount of additional detail on the website (and character microsites). Lots of nods to other media that you can geek out on if you spot them. Spaced was the daddy when it comes to pop culture references.

I didn’t really take to Hattie from season 2 but I enjoyed Peter from Hoyti Toyti, can’t resist saying “Hello Hoyti Toyti’s” in my best mock cheery voice. Lots of people have flagged the Tina Turner dance from Maureen this season and whilst it is great, the Silent Singer has to be my favourite. It evokes images of Aphex Twin and his ‘Come to Daddy’ video as well as being genuinely unsettling/disturbing, particularly when you first see him and in the final episode.

There are enough plot threads wrapped up and left open that its self contained and feels complete yet with room to continue the story.

Moments like David on the bench with his cold beans and the ‘can I touch your breast’ exchange are wrong yet weirdly touching and Mrs Ladybird Face’s look in response to Andrew’s Russian is an example of the detail that goes into the programme – good, good stuff

Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye of Chris Morris

Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye of Chris Morris – Lucien Randall – ISBN 978-1-84737-138-6

I love pretty much everything that Chris Morris has done and was really looking forward to this book. I imagined it would provide an insight into this private man but I finished feeling that I didn’t really know much more than I’d learnt about him previously.

Granted there is quite a bit on his childhood, early life and early career but the interviews with people who know and work with him are largely presented as sound bites and often are culled from other sources. I knew from the blurb that there wasn’t to be too much from Morris himself although the author did get his approval to approach the people in the Morris-sphere.

It focuses on his work up to the Brass Eye special and ultimately was a good read for Morris fans but will probably leave you a bit unfulfilled.

Ed Sheeran

From the first really big impact on my listening tastes, (although prior to the Beatles, I did like quite a bit of ABBA’s stuff) to a recent find.

The last couple of month’s have seen me scouring the internet for Ed Sheeran (www.edsheeran.com), I am a bit of a Johnny come lately on Ed but everywhere you look he is tipped as an up and coming artist and one of the next big things. His first single comes (the A Team) out in June and his UK tour is selling out fast.

I am not going to try and categorise his music as he blends many styles but he is a singer/songwriter and he has a great vocal and lyrical style. I particularly like the tracks ‘I don’t need you’ and ‘The A Team’ as well as his version of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’. He has used the Internet, (You Tube, streaming performances and fan word of mouth/forum chat) in promotion of his career to date. A Google search should also lead you to a number of collaborations and freestyling Ed has done which give you an appreciation of his diversity.

It doesn’t hurt that he is a fellow ginger too – check him out.

Touching from a Distance

Touching from a Distance - Deborah Curtis - ISBN 0-571-17445-0

 Last night I finished reading the above biography of Ian Curtis (Joy Division lead singer) who committed suicide on 18 May 1980. Odd that I should read and finish his book on the eve of the 31st anniversary of his death. That I've read it at all marks a bit of a milestone...

I originally bought the book shortly after its release but promptly lent it to an acquaintance (I think it was one of the shop assistants at the comics shop in Brighton where I used to get my comics from). Anyway I never got the book back and then some years later bought a second copy which remained unread on my book shelf for some time.

Ian Curtis was somewhat of an icon/enigma/idol to my teen/early twenties self and I put off reading it because I didn't want to cloud the idolised version I had of Ian (a man I obviously never knew but whose music had a big impact on my life).


Then last week I watched 'Control' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/) via a rental from Lovefilm (www.lovefilm.com) which is based on the book and I finally decided it was time to read the book. Having read the book the film is a disappointment, I love the 'authenticity' of the band and the live music but there are big gaps in the portrayal of aspects of Ian's character that ultimately leave the viewer none the wider to the troubled circumstances behind one of the most influential post-punk bands.

Anyway, the book portrays Ian as a troubled and controlling person who seemed unwilling to accept responsibility for his actions and who was obviously ill. It also paints a person who seemed destined (by his own design) to die young. Ultimately it is a sad/bleak story of a self destructive personality and puts into stark contrast the mysticism that surrounds the idolised version of Ian.

I was left wanting a different perspective of events, that is not to say the as his wife Deborah appears to have an agenda but the bands view of things and their roles in covering for Ian would be interesting as well as what happened to Deborah and Natalie (Ian's daughter).

A brilliant insight into Ian Curtis and Joy Division which speaks from the perspective of reality rather than the idolised view that the legend of Ian and the band presents.

Soundtrack to my life

I've always loved music and ever since I had disposable income I have spent a healthy chunk of it buying music or paying to see it played live. I figured I would stat a series of blog entries about some of the great music that has been with me through out my life, maybe it meant something to me at some point, maybe it is linked to a particular memory or maybe I just love listening to it....

The Beatles

From my early teens I can remember going up to Burgess Hill market on a Saturday morning and buying Beatles Vinyl from a grumpy man (my retrospective memory has him down as an Oscar Lomax (Psychoville) clone, although he was probably nothing like it). I knew all the lyrics from the Beatles tunes and read countless books about them. I can still vividly remember waking up to my (green display, white casing) digital alarm clock for School and hearing John Lennon had been shot.

I can't really remember which one but a Beatles Single, EP or Album would have been my first ever record buy. It could well have been Rubber Soul, great album some classic songs on their, 'Michelle' with its french lyrics and 'Norwegian Wood' and 'Nowhere Man'.

I still have all the original Beatles Vinyl (all second hand of course) and whilst I don't really listen to The Beatles that much any more, they were a big part of my early teen life. I found numerous other late 50's and 60's joy as a result; Elvis, Gene Vincent, Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Byrds and on and on.

There are too many great songs to pick a favourite but 'Hey Jude', 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away' or 'A Day In The Life' have got to be up there.

Finally, I think it was my first exposure to conspiracy theories with the whole Paul is dead thing and I loved checking out all the 'clues'.