Oh no, not me, we never lost control

This article in the NME got me thinking about cover versions. Some of these truly are terrible, although I haven't been able to face the Take That one. It also reminded me of when I was much younger, I bought Paul Young's album No Parlez and on that was a cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart. I was blissfully unaware of the original at that point, never mind any of the surrounding story, so didn't quite understand when I would read people lambasting it. Of course, once I did hear it, I understood. A song of such bitterness and regret just doesn't sound right being crooned.

So, I started thinking about good covers or ones which might even be better than the original.

My starter for ten? Nirvana's version of Bowie's Man Who Sold The World. Now I like the original well enough, but I prefer the version without the washboard and slightly ghostly vocals (to be honest, I think I even prefer the Lulu version, with Bowie on backing vocals). Nirvana's version is rawer, but infinitely superior. The classic performance is from their MTV Unplugged appearance, where Kurt gets the words wrong, and Krist Novoselic looks superbly goofy.

When they did it live on stage, it was that bit faster, that bit rawer and Kurt yelled the guitar part at the end as well as playing it.



Utterly awesome.

Boys living next door Are never what they seem

This week's film for my dad was What Just Happened. He likes Robert de Niro as an actor, although normally in tougher roles than this one. But it seemed to get the thumbs up, but perhaps not over enthusiastically so. He found it "a mildly amusing look at Hollywood, but there's not much else I can say about it. It was mildly funny. Not worth a guffaw. There were some people who were guffawing away, but I think that's just for patter and to make it seem like they were getting a message that no-one else was. And D is quite perceptive and he couldn't see what those folk were guffawing about either".

Guffaw really is an underrated word, don't you think?

Shake your hair girl with your ponytail

Film reviews from father and daughter this time

Firstly, father. His most recent sojourns to the cinema have been to see Burn After Reading and Body of Lies. Since I've seen Burn After Reading too, we were actually able to have a bit of of a discussion about it (rather than me just saying "Why did you go and see that?"). And he enjoyed it. Thought it was funny, than John Malkovich was particularly good in it, thought begrudgingly that George and Brad were quite good, but that the guys playing the CIA agents (or whoever they were) were the best. I did have to warn him beforehand that the film was improbable, but that that was the point. He got it - he's a smart guy, my dad.

Body of Lies also met with his approval. Well-acted and enjoyable, although he was somewhat bemused the Leonardo di Caprio's character was able to travel in and out of various Middle Eastern countries undetected, when he looked so much like a Westerner.

He's taken to phoning me up to check what films are on at his local cinema, so I can warn him which ones he should avoid. He's still amazed that Mamma Mia is on.

So, my turn. I unexpectedly watched Flashbacks of a Fool, starring Daniel Craig, earlier this evening. The film is about a washed up English actor, living in Hollywood, and we see his the last few weeks of his life in England through a flashback. I'm not going to say any more about the plot, as that's lazy. It was really superb - the cast were great (lots of really good British actors, including an Archers actress), it was beautifully shot, there were some apposite injections of humour, and it used music brilliantly to set the mood. It could so easily have picked the easy road at the end (and perhaps a less well-made film would have), resulting in an unsatisfactory ending. But it didn't and it made for a rather moving film.

It's Christmas time and there's no need to be afraid

While channel flicking, I happened upon the new Glasvegas video. It's for Please Come Home and is from their mini Christmas album. Needless to say, it rocks the big one, and I think that Last Christmas may have some serious competition for "best Christmas song ever".

Bring on the album.

Hey Joe! I got the news tonight

I was in Liverpool recently and took the chance to walk down past the Cavern Club. I didn't go in, but spent some time looking at the outside. It gave me a real tingle, imagining what it must have been like to have been there in the 1960s, being in the midst of all that was happening. Every generation has their version, but this must have been like witnessing something unique. It had never really been done before.

They have a wall of fame outside the Cavern now, with bricks of artists that have played there, past and present (I didn't notice the Beatles one, but I suppose it must be there). Interestingly two of the bricks have been removed, and replaced with one of Liverpool's own, as you can see from the pictures.

Leaving aside whether or not they should have been removed, it seemed to miss the point slightly by putting up a plaque explaining it.

Those rosey days are few

As I walked into the pub tonight, the Jam's Town Called Malice began to play. And of course, I couldn't help but walk in time to the music, as I walked over to my friends.

Everyone should have an entrance song. A few songs later, Girls On Film came on. To be honest, this would have been even cooler.

Another ringer with the slick trigger finger

I've been to see Quantum of Solace at long last. I'm a big Bond fan and had heard mixed things about it, so was keen to see for myself.

And I did enjoy it, for the most part. But the plot did seem a little thin. Or was I just not concentrating? I did find some of the dialogue a little hard to pick up. I'd already been warned that the first 10 minutes of the film might be a little hard to pick up, unless I'd seen Casino Royale recently (I hadn't, but I could just about remember what happened, although I didn't realise until much later on that the action took place quite so soon after the end of Casino Royale. And car chases? Well, I have never found them terribly exciting.

I do, however, think that Daniel Craig is a good Bond. Much had already been written about how he is back to the Bond of the books. This is true, but I think this does Timothy Dalton a huge disservice. The film kept me engaged, but it wasn't vintage. I didn't get lost in it, but wasn't sure why not. When I was talking with a couple of friends about it (both also huge Bond fans), they made a couple of very pertinent points which led me to the conclusion that maybe it just didn't seem like a Bond film. It didn't have lots of the familiar elements. There is no real romance to speak of (well, not in the classic Bond way), no casino scenes, not gadgets (I don't find this especially vexing). One even went so far as to say "What I wouldn't have given for a raised eyebrow". Well, I wouldn't go that far.

Is this what is boils down to? I'm not sure. Bond films have to adapt, so they can compete with the likes of the Bourne franchise. Audiences seem to like bigger and better. And it is in this that it loses a little of the magic; a little of what makes Bond great. It is perhaps telling that my favourite Bond film is From Russia With Love. What will be particularly interesting is the next one. As far as I know they have pretty much exhausted the Ian Fleming back catalogue (save a few of the short stories) and of course, Sebastian Faulks has recently published Devil May Care, which is set in the 1960s.

Would they dare?