The Black Donnellys

I just watched the pilot again , after watching the whole series in a couple of days only very recently. This is one of the best things I have ever seen on TV and it is a great great great shame that it was cancelled. This is so good it holds its own with 'Mean Streets' and 'State of Grace' The acting , writing and direction put it in a league with the classics of the gangster genre.

Gangsters

'Gangsters' is possibly the most daring and innovative series ever on the BBC. As as 10 and 12 year old it left a huge impact on me. As it was never repeated after it aired in 1975 and 1977 and never released on video I had to wait of 30 years to see it again. 'Gangsters' lived up to my memories. This is a very bizarre and unique series that has been unjustly overlooked in cultural history. Beware though, if you do watch this series it has a very shocking ending, which is actually quite upsetting if you get involved with the characters. Phillip Martin, the creator/writer didn't want to write a third series and finished the second in a way that would have made it near impossible to make a third. The script is one of the best in television history. 'Gangsters' is still groundbreaking and the BBC hasn't ever really come this close to the edge in a television series since.

Jean-Pierre Melville

I saw 'L'Armee des ombres' again after twenty years recently. It was as I remembered,one of the best films with a wartime setting, one of the world's great films. If I was asked to choose a favourite film director Melville is the one I would pick. His finest masterpiece was his next and penultimate film 'le Cercle Rouge'

While thinking about films set in the Second World War, I can't resist starting a list and the next in list of my favourites would be ' Soldier of Orange', 'Black Book', 'The Train' and 'Castle Keep'

Some films and TV

some things I've watched recently and will watch again because they were so good are:

Southland Tales
An eternal piece


Wild palms
Homicide Season 6

The Walkabouts

I found a gig by the Walkabouts from 2005 (Tilburg, August 28). I love this band. The power and emotion of their music finds few equals in the world today.If you haven’t heard them before you should hear this. Next to Jefferson Airplane I can’t think of a band who use female and male vocals together so brilliantly.
You’ll find the gig here:

http://www.archive.org


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LJpjcYqGjhw

The above link is a video of my favourite songs by this great band

‘the light will stay on’is a song I’ve loved since it was released and last night was the first time I saw the video.

elephants listening

The elephants were there listening. They heard the words, they heard the hands on the guitar, they heard the voice. You may soon hear what the elephants heard

The pre 'Blue River' electric recordings of Eric Andersen

I heard 'Blue River' for the first time in the early 80s and it instantly became a record that would always stay in the canon of great albums for me regardless of what else I heard and has remained there ever since. When I lived in Massachusetts in 1989, I became a big fan of Eric Andersen's earlier music, which I heard for the first time sitting in my flat in Worcester. My introduction was the Vanguard ‘best of’ double album compilation. This was the year that 'Ghosts upon the road' came out and I was lucky enough to see Anderson play the title song at a very small folk venue near Boston that year. There are few other concert that come close in my memory. Recently I have heard all of vanguard albums in their entirety for the first time and have been transported into a land inhabited by only the great singer songwriters. The compilation below is the one I have made for Emily.

Tin Can Alley Part 1
16 year grudge
(sitting) on the dock of the bay
hey babe, have you been cheating
champion at keeping them rolling
honey
thirsty boots
we were (foolish like the flowers)
blind fiddler
it’s comin’and it won’t be long
what is it like to be free
so hard to fall
close the door lightly
think about it
violets of dawn
my land is a good land
Tin Can Alley Part 2