Legs

I had to cut short my swim, just didn't have the legs today.

Best get on with this end-of-year business before the mince pies get served round at not seeing straight's place. On with the countdown...

Album #8:
Zomby - Dedication

The thing nagging away at me with this choice is that, as much as I really like the album, and believe me, I really do, it'd be even better if the tracks themselves were a bit longer. You're just getting into it and then BAM! they finish and the next one kicks in. I'm sure that this is exactly what Zomby intended, to leave his audience wanting more, demanding some more of his enticing production, that clipped, precise sound that he's been responsible for over the last few years. This is almost as if he's reached into a big virtual musical sack and picked out a dozen from the hundreds and hundreds contained therein and then had to sequence them somehow into a coherent whole. He's succeeded alright and, although it's not exactly a criticism, a little, well, 'more' might have placed him even higher up this list of mine. Sample track: Natalia's Song (and I don't know anyone who doesn't like this, even your most vehement indie-shmindie fan is a sucker for a decent tune married to a cheeky vocal sample aren't they?)

Film #8:
Tree Of Life

OK then, let's just put my movie cards on the table for starters. I'm not the world's biggest Terrence Malick fan. But then I do love 'Badlands', and 'Days Of Heaven', and that 'Thin Red Line' that everyone swears by I liked but didn't love. The one with Pocahontas and Colin Farrell, couldn't be arsed with at all, it could well be a masterpiece for all I know. So, perhaps I am a fan then and I just don't realise it or simply have a stubborn streak in me that refuses to worship at the altar of Tel (?) But that would be silly and pointless, however we do all have our quirks, some more than others (guilty!). I totally loved this one as a cinematic experience although it's far from perfect - the ending is a bit muddled and I hate Sean Penn when he mopes about looking like someone's just drowned his favourite kitten in the litter. There's also that quite frankly bonkers segment with the beginning of the universe and the CGI dinosaurs (I couldn't make this up if I tried, believe me, as WTF moments go it was one of the year's best). However, the real substance of the film (set in post-war smalltown America with Brad Pitt playing the harsh disciplinarian father and Jesica Chastain the sympathetic mother) is stunning. Brilliantly, brilliantly done, you feel like you could just watch this evocation of childhood and growing up for hours on end. The cinematography and the performances are just spot-on, beautiful in every way. Worth checking out on the biggest screen possible to take it all in. You get the impression that Malick has made the exact film that he wanted to without any interference or pressure to change bits here, alter bits there or wield to anything approaching popular opinion. He's a little bit of a visionary this man. I think I may well be a fan after all.