Pop Quiz…

Memories from growing up in the 1980′s for me are few and far between.

I put it down to the heady combination of rock music (you could count indie, goth, punk, folk, blues and whatever else we were listening to at the time), girls being in and around your social circle (and becoming a bit more than your mate’s sister if you know what I mean?), being introduced to exotic vintages from around the globe like this or this, and of course how would we have ever found out about anything at all if it wasn’t for Channel 4′s Red triangle series?

When it came to music on TV you did have some choice. You could have The Tube on a Friday dinnertime (look at this lineup of bands that appeared on the show) which was great. Or, on the BBC you had Top of The Pops (which varied from just being shit every week, to being shit every week with the odd moment of genius), and the sometimes brilliant Old Grey Whistle Test.

Somewhere in-between those shows was “Pop Quiz”, which was on the BBC, and featured 2 teams of muso-types answering questions on yes, you got it, music, musicians, and all things rock’n'rollery. From this early episode, they were asked by that sanctimonious twat of a host Mike Read, such taxing questions as “Who’s the lead guitar player of Pink Floyd?” and “Name the members of U2″? Shit, it must have been a nightmare getting beat from anyone called Alvin Stardust.

One of the good things about the show was you got to see (and hear) contemporary musicians of the time (and times past) jibber on about music and how much they actually new about it. I’m sure most of them were half in the bag when they recorded it (Phil Lynott was a captain of one of the teams. How could possibly not have a proper rock’n'roll time?), and at least they gave it a go.  And Kim Wilde was fit…

I don’t really remember what happened to the show after Phil Lynott’s death? It may well or not have stayed on TV for a while, but like all good things it came to an end. Tonight, is also one of those nights when I get to say goodbye to something that was a huge part of the music (and bar) scene in Seoul – Stompers last show. The bar itself has been closed for a while, and maybe there was a chance of things picking back up again, but it wasn’t to be. I’ve had some great nights in that bar, but most of the exact memories are somewhat hazy. I’ve played and watched countless gigs there, good hospitality, a good crowd, a bit of a dive, and many (many) shots were the order of the day. Those were some good times.

Ask any musician who’s ever played in Itaewon if they know or have played at Stompers and the answer would more than likely be -” Dwayne! Stompers! Sure, we had a blast!”

We’ll miss that place.

 

 

Who’s Gonna Drive You Home?

I’ve been off from work for the past week or so and it’s given me a chance to catch up with a few movies that I’ve been meaning to see. It also meant that we could go to the pictures (yes, that’s what we call them in the UK) and enjoy oven-baking heat as well as catching one of the latest flicks.

The other day we were going to watch ‘Tree of Life’ from the pay-per-view option on our TV,  but the running time of two hours and twenty minutes, plus when I mentioned that the movie featured both Brad Pitt and dinosaurs but it had nothing to do with Jurassic Park the notion soon wore off. For another day.  

Instead, I put on ‘Drive’ It’s not a bad film, but after reading (and listening) to the various reviews earlier in the year I was expecting something a wee bit different to what we got. According to the trailer (have you noticed how much of the story they actually give away in trailers these days?) I thought it’d be a bit more car chasey to say the least, but instead it’s all a bit more ‘up its own arse’ if you follow?

Ryan Gosling plays a driver who has aspirations to drive racing cars professionally, but to make ends meet works part-time at a garage and is also a stunt driver for movie studios. He’s also a getaway driver for hire.

He befriends a young woman and her son who live in the same building and he finds out that her husband is soon to be released from jail. The husband is beaten up on his release from prison and the driver offers to help him do one ‘last job’.

Let’s start with the good points. A running time of less than two hours is generally a good thing. It’s very nicely shot and doesn’t over-complicate things with too many hand-held camera bouncing-all-over-the screen shots. He (the character has no name) wears driving gloves and the only other one I’ve seen do that was Alan Partridge but it’s safe to say that’s where the similarities end. Sadly.

It has a good opening set-piece to put things into perspective for the audience nice and early. The cast was pretty good without resorting to the stereotypical ‘underworld’ figures that we see all too often. It has an interesting enough story(and a twist) that doesn’t need to rely on over-the-top special effects, 3-D, or 101 cliches that they could have taken from the Hollywood ‘How To…’ book.

However, it also has some big flaws. First, the background music is a real pain in the arse. As there’s hardly any dialogue in the film the music takes on a more central role, but it hardly ever fades into the background. It was like listening to the Cocteau Twins backwards but not in a good way. It really is one of the most annoying soundtracks I can remember and if it was supposed to help us engage more with the characters, then it failed. All I wanted it to do was stop.

Moreover, after quite a decent opening set-piece, the movie then navel-gazes its way through the next thirty minutes or so. Remember, not much dialogue, so lot’s of looks, glances, suggestions etc. After a while it becomes a bit repetitive. Part of the narrative has Ryan Gosling set up to become a race car driver but his aspirations are never really explained. It leaves the character as a bit one-dimensional in my opinion.

It’s also quite a violent movie (think gangsters and hammers and you’ll get my drift) so if that’s not to your taste then you’ll have to look away once or twice. It did fit in with the story line and didn’t rely on it as an integral part of the narrative.

To sum up, I thought it was decent but nothing as awesome as it’d been hyped up to be. There are one or two excellently choreographed scenes, Gosling and Albert Brooks (as the villain of the piece) are very good, and it’ll no doubt be up for a few Oscars in the new year.