Mix #11

Another mix so soon, why yes! I'm on smoko! (This joke will become apparent once you listen)

Mix #11

Some top tunes:

Shannon & The Clams getting the attention they deserve with their new Dan Auerbach produced record. 

After singing her last album in Welsh, Gwenno has now done an album in Cornish - check out the debut if you're unfamiliar (she used to be in The Pipettes!). 

Lawrence of Belgravia is back. Plus an oldie from him.

I might have a biased interest in any song that mentions the word 'ether' (cause it's like they're calling my name youknow), but this Alela Diane one is particularly lovely. About motherhood.

Lankum - goosebumps, take me to Ireland already. 

I didn't include Aldous Harding on a playlist last year, it took me a while to work out whether I liked her or not as there are some interesting vocals happening.

We'll miss you MES, see ya mate.

The Internet channeling Aaliyah in a way most people haven't been able to. 

New things (to me) - Peggy Gou, Amen Dunes, Berntholer (think I heard this in a film), Lucrecia Dalt (Julia Holter recommended) and Khruangbin.

Returns from Janelle Monae, Stephen Malkmus, Parquet Courts, David Byrne, Polica, Ezra Furman, Jack White. 

                        Gary Greenberg

Other enjoyments from the last month...

Lady Bird, as you might expect, is an utter joy. I can't wait to see it in the cinema and I gotta send that dollar to Greta Gerwig. When everyone was getting excited about the letter she wrote to Justin Timberlake, my takeaway from that interview, was that her crew wore nametags. A brilliant way to make a environment welcoming and unintimating plus a way to slightly reduce the power of the director. Something for Hollywood to think about. 

Derry Girls - a great new series available to watch on All4. Finally started (& finished) season 2 of Search Party as well (also on All4). 

Wild Beasts final ever show at Hammersmith Apollo. Check out their Domino Documents, Last Night All My Dreams Came True.

Rita, Sue & Bob Too at The Royal Court - after the play got cancelled, they decided to put it back on and had more talks going on so there was a Q&A afterwards with Clio Barnard (who made The Arbor about Andrea Dunbar - watch if you haven't), Adelle Stripe (wrote a book about Andrea) and the play's director Kate Wasserberg. I thought the play was brilliant, and may now seek out the film. 

On another Clio Barnard tip, her new film Dark River is as we've come to expect from her: powerful, moving and brilliant work. 

PANCAKE DAY PANCAKE DAY PANCAKE DAY

Watching 'I Know Where I'm Going' at the BFI, I'd not seen this Powell and Pressburger before - made me romanticize sleeper trains (again) and get excited for a trip to the Scottish highland islands next summer (yes 2019!).

Hookworms live at Rough Trade East, don't miss their London show in March - nearly sold out. 

Having booked tickets in 2016, I saw Hamilton last week. A brilliant idea excellently executed but took me a little while to engage with it. Perhaps like when it takes you a little to readjust to Shakespeare speak. 

Sustenance

Recently, I've found that I cook less. Since moving in with my boyfriend, he generally handles the dinner, it's not something to complain about but I have missed cooking. 

Last night, I decided I would cook something completely new each week - it's very easy to fall into the trap of making the same dinners when you're tired after work but it tends to get a little boring. Obviously when you have people around for dinner, you tend to push the boat out, but that doesn't happen every week and I want to cook more for myself - without sounding like I'm been selfish.  

So yesterday, I made a bean 'cake', served with sour cream and broccoli. I use the term cake lightly, as whilst in the pan, the ingredients looked cake like but when I tried to serve it up, it crumbled. Still tasty though: spring onions, yellow pepper, borlotti beans, black eye beans, breadcrumbs, mayo, coriander, basil and seasoning. 

Other happenings, over the weekend, I started to watch Top of The Lake (5 hours of it!), a BBC4 drama with Elisabeth Moss and Peter Mullen. I'm enjoying it, almost like Twin Peaks without the surrealness - more of the underlying criminality/twisted nature of small town elders. 

I also went to see Frances Ha, written by Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig and starring Gerwig as the lead. I loved it, Gerwig is so endearing and it was great to see a film about girls not about boys. The film's crux isn't whether Frances will find the one! Shock horror! This is one of my favourite of her expressions: 00.51.

People will probably call it a post-Girls thing but as much as I enjoy Girls, Hannah (Lena Dunham) is a self obsessed d*ck, she's a girl you'd probably would only want as a party friend cause you can't rely on her for anything. Frances is genuinely nice and whilst she makes her mistakes, they aren't done maliciously. 

Had quite a lazy weekend then. 

Oh and last night we saw Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, very enjoyable.