The Beautiful South

How have we not covered The Beautiful South? I love them and I lived next door to Paul Heaton at university. Yes, I lived on Grafton St and I pretty much only wanted to live there so I could say I'd lived on Grafton St. He used to walk past our house all the time (being as how he lived next door) and we saw him down the pub. The pub where the Housemartins filmed Happy Hour.

Anyway, I love his voice and I love A Little Time which is today's song.

If you've not listened to this for years, then trust me, it still sounds magnificent. It's such a sad little song but I love that the girl gets to tell him to basically piss off. Enjoy.

 

Rewatching TV shows

Happy new year. Like everyone, I dislike this time of year. There is very little to recommend it. Post Christmas podginess, grey weather, weeks until pay day, back to work blues.

May I prescribe a viewing of some of your favourite TV shows? I've always been a fan of revisiting classic TV. When TeenBoy and I first met, LA Law was being rerun. I set up a season pass on my much-missed original TiVo and we happily watched it. He had never seen it (imagine his delight) and I thoroughly enjoyed it all over again.

Recently I have been rewatching Gilmore Girls.

This has been my commute watch and I am about to start season seven tomorrow. It's actually even better than I remember. I frequently find myself guffawing on the train. The writing is so good, it's worth revisiting in case you missed any gems. When I first discovered Gilmore Girls I watched it like a woman eating her last meal. I literally couldn't get enough of it and wanted to know what happened next. Watching it again, I can enjoy the story arcs. I am particularly enjoying Lorelei and Christopher and how the writers always had him in the background. Paris is a joyful as ever. Jess seems less annoying this time. Dean is more annoying. I tell you, it's a revelation.

TeenBoy and I have also started to rewatch Friday Night Lights.

I remain convinced there is no better depiction of small-town American life than this show. We are on about episode seven of season one so early days. Since I know how annoying Julie is going to be, I am hating her already. Tami Taylor looks about 20 years younger than she does in Nashville and crikey, Tim Riggins is well moody to begin with isn't he? I am blown away by how good an actor Scott Porter (Jason Street) is. Hart of Dixie made me forget. Landry is creeping me out now after watching Breaking Bad. And those opening credits are hypnotic. It's amazing how quickly this show draws you in. It's still one of the finest TV dramas ever made.

Speaking of Breaking Bad, I raced through that back in the summer. Believe the hype if you're not indulged, it is worth every award and accolade it received. I plan to watch it again in the future. And I am considering my fourth rewatch of The West Wing.

What shows have you rewatched and loved all over again?

All about Grease

I was just in my dressing room getting ready for my new year festivities which involves not leaving the house, obviously. Anyway, Grease blasted out and it got me thinking:

1) I've only really done one serious post about Grease on here.
2) I've not watched Grease this year.

Back in 1978, when Grease was released, there were two cassettes in my mum's car - the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and the Grease soundtrack. Life was good, it was all we needed. We listened to it all the time. Then tragedy struck, the tapes were taken to a party and never returned. I don't quite know why my mum didn't go and buy them again, we were not flush with money but times weren't desperate. She didn't and we were left without the music. Literally.

So how about I do my rundown of the Grease soundtrack in order of greatness? Why the hell not? I am going to leave out the majority of the prom songs because good as they are, they don't really count. Obviously I will include Born To Hand Jive because I am not a heathen.

In reverse order:

Hopelessly Devoted To You

Something has to come last. I am not a fan of this drippy ballad. Liv gives it her all but it's all a bit dull.

Beauty School Dropout

I want to like this more than I do and over the years it has grown on me. I love Frenchie, I love her pink hair and the bubble gum. Who doesn't love Frankie Valli? I don't know why this doesn't quite work for me but there you go.

We Go Together

This is so joyous - look at them! Nonsensical lyrics, you wonder how on earth they learned them. Also, some kick-ass dancing!

Sandy

I love Sandy because of Travolta's heartfelt singing and the dancing hotdog. We're now into songs I adore: What will they say, Monday at school. It still remains one of my favourite lyrics.

Born To Hand Jive

The greatest dancing sequence with some hand moves we can all try at home.

Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee

Total genius. I love Stockard's relish as she sings this and the lyrics are hilarious. That bedroom is still my dream bedroom.

You're The One That I Want

Still one of my favourite moments in a movie when Danny first sees sexed-up Sandy. It's just marvellous. A great intro to a song that never quite lives up to the early promise. Still, I am splitting hairs.

There Are Worse Things I Could Do

One of the saddest songs ever written. Stockard really is the star of Grease.

Greased Lightnin'

I love the way Danny jumps on to the table near the beginning, the choreography, the dream silver suits, the dirty lyrics. ALL OF IT!

Grease

One of the best openings to a movie ever. From the over blown Love Is A Many Splendored Thing to the opening notes of this. It's simply perfect.

Summer Nights

This will always be my favourite, it's fun and effortless and it has the best line ever: because he sounds like a drag. Never has one person been so wrong. Danny is not a drag!

Happy 2015 readers!

2014 RIP

Way too many this year, especially of the 'too young' variety.

Mike Nichols. He made The Graduate and Working Girl. Enough said.

Harold Ramis. Who you gonna call?

Shirley Temple. Had a drink named after her. Respect.

Richard Attenborough. Darlings!

Bob Hoskins. Uniquely British.

Casey Kasem. "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."

Joan Rivers. There can be no replacement. "If God had wanted us to bend over, he'd have put diamonds on the floor."

Lauren Bacall. Hollywood legend.

Mickey Rooney. I was actually surprised he was still alive. RIP Mickey.

Phillips Seymour Hoffman. Tragic.

Richard Kiel. A generation grew up afraid of his teeth.

Robin Williams. Another shocking death. Love him or never forgive Mrs Doubtfire. The choice is yours.

Alicia Rhett. She played India in Gone with the Wind. Therefore, noteworthy.

Sid Caesar. Coach Calhoun in Grease.

 James Garner. Another Hollywood legend.

Many of these really had great innings but the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman truly is a tragedy. What a waste of a tremendous talent. RIP.

Elf

I've just completed my annual Elf viewing.

This scene always makes me laugh like a drain. I love Buddy. I feel suitably Christmassy now. Apologies for the lack of posts this year, I've been very busy with work and decorating our new house. I hope to have more time in 2015 for blogging.

Happy Christmas to you all. I'll be back with my RIP list before we reach 2015.

Kylie Minogue: Abbey Rd sessions

As previously discussed, I like Kylie and have enormous goodwill towards her. However, I haven't listened to her for years. Today I went to my local coffee shop to get my lunchtime sandwich and music was playing, it was familiar yet not. It took me a while to realise it was Kylie. I asked the owner who told me it was the Abbey Rd sessions. Seeing as I am completely out of the loop on music these days, I'd not heard of this album. He raved about it (it turns out we have similar musical taste, they were playing Abba the other weekend) and I just listened to some of it on iTunes.

It's fab and I highly recommend it. He is going to give me a copy of his CD so I think it could be my soundtrack for the next month until I get throughly sick of it.

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald is now the Guardian's agony aunt.  I can't think of anything more perfect. Fill your boots.

The Secret Of My Success

I can't believe I've not blogged about this yet. I adore this film, it's one of my favourites from the 80s. Last night I watched it again and I still love it! Michael J Fox looks about 14 in it but he's so good. He's a great actor, I am thoroughly enjoying him in The Good Wife at the moment.

Brantley comes to New York from Kansas determined to make a success of himself. Cue big scary city montages. He has a job lined up but the company goes under before he can begin so he asks his uncle for a job who puts him in the mailroom. This is the days before emails so much of the mail is internal memos. The depiction of corporate life is totally hilarious and not always intentionally. Anyway, our hero reads a memo or two, manages to work out a genius plan, pretends to be a hot young executive - Carlton Whitfield - and leads a double life. This requires him to change into suits in the elevator and run around the building a lot.

It's wafer thin but it's charming because of MJF and Margaret Whitton who plays Vera, his aunt. She is perfect. She should have had a great career because she steals the show in this.

The weakness is Helen Slater, aka the woman who cannot act at all. She gives Andie MacDowall a run for her money. She is terrible and it is no surprise that she did not have a wonderful career. In fact, a quick search tells me she was in The Young and the Restless.

I love the New York setting, the evilness of his uncle, Howard and the pure 80sness of it all. It's marvellous and well worth 90 minutes of your time if you've not seen it.

48 Hours

Nope, I'd never seen this either. Bolstered by my Trading Places success, I settled down happily to watch it.

I am not going to sugarcoat my thoughts; it's not very good at all. It has some entertaining early turns from actors like the guy who plays Mike in Breaking Bad and the guy who was Alex's dad in Grey's Anatomy and Samantha's boyfriend in Sex and the City. That was fun. But the film itself is boring. Eddie Murphy is great of course and the scene where he is singing Roxanne in the prison is brilliant, a fab introduction of a character. Nick Nolte - I am not a fan, he's a dull actor and I've always thought so. The fistfight is tedious. The racial jokes are pretty offensive watched now. It's boring. I won't be watching Another 48 Hours that's for sure.

Trading Places

I am having something of an Eddie Murphy moment. Last week TeenBoy and I settled down to watch Trading Places since it was on Tivo and we felt like some comedy. I have a confession to make, I have never watched this film all the way through. I've seen snippets of course but somehow this passed me by. I don't know how since it has Jamie Lee Curtis in it and she is one of my favourite actresses.

Better late than never and it's a total hoot. Once you get over how young they all look that is, especially Dan Ackroyd. What a cast! Denholm Elliot is wonderful. James Belushi turns up in the train scene, this scene was stupid, sorry but it was. But I love James Belushi. Also, it has the principal from The Breakfast Club in it! Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy are both stellar, playing with lives for the fun of it. All in all, it was a perfect couple of hours and it made me want to go and do some exercise as Jamie Lee Curtis's body is unbelievable. I say want to, I didn't of course...