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...

Axel Foley's theme

I am currently working on a project with someone called Axel. I don't know how anyone is meant to keep a straight face. Every meeting or call I have with him, the Foley theme goes through my mind.

It's brightening up my day.

The Good Wife

I am still watching Breaking Bad (three episodes left and my heart can't take much more) however, I need something a little more sedate for my commute to and from work. Step up The Good Wife. This is perfect, undemanding quality television. It has a fine cast, a good script and it's all very pleasing.

I almost find it too perfect. It's extremely slick, nobody raises their voice, everyone looks immaculate. Nonetheless, it's entertaining. Plus it has Grandma from Dawson's Creek in it! In fact, it has everyone in it - Big from Sex and the City, Carol from ER, Logan from Gilmore Girls and the wonderful Christine Baranski who I've liked since Cybil. Oh, and Mr Midnight Caller himself, Gary Cole. Bonus!

Enjoyment of this show relies heavily on your tolerance for courtroom scenes. I can watch these forever so I like it but it's not fast-moving. There is no sex (although it's quite sexy) and no violence so I can watch it safely on a train and not worry that my fellow commuters wonder about me.

Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells

Continuing my 70s mega-album theme, we come to Tubular Bells. Anyone who grew up in the 70s knows this album. I think it was mandatory that fathers owned it. My dad did and he used to play it in the car and I loved it. I am listening to it again for the first time in years and I am not sure it's stood the test of time in the way Dark Side Of The Moon has.

I am thoroughly enjoying listening to it again as it reminds me of a very specific period in my childhood and any music that does that is always special. But, how can I say this? It's really a dull album. I was reminded of it as I watched a documentary on Mike Oldfield. I remember imagining that Oldfield was older and heavy black rimmed glasses. A bit like Roy Orbsion if you will. I'll never forget my shock when I saw him and realised he was young and didn't wear any glasses, let alone black ones. Anyway, he really suffered making this, there are many tales of him cracking up, crying a lot and generally having a meltdown. I guess when you are doing everything with no bandmates or backing players, it's all on you.

The best bit is still the last eight minutes or so. I used to love the way he introduced the instruments. Not sure why, it sounds pretentious now in his home counties accent. "Glockenspiel!" "Bass Guitar!" "Two slightly distorted guitars!" "Mandolin!" Why were we all so entranced with this? He has a lot to thank Richard Branson and The Exorcist for.

Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon

This week I discovered my sister doesn't like Pink Floyd. W T actual F? I was amazed for two reasons: a) that I didn't know this when we rabbit on about pretty much anything to do with music, film and TV non-stop and b) that we are related. She had no idea I liked them. It's like a massive void in our sisterhood.

Now, I am no Floyd fan girl. I can't wax lyrical about Syd Barrett and every album they made. But some albums transcend everything and DSOTM is one of them. I listened to this a lot when it was obligatory to do so (early 20s) and have always returned to it. While driving across the desert last month with TeenBoy, I was on DJ duties. As previously discussed, in a Venn diagram of what we both find bearable musically, the crossover is very small. Nonetheless, I took a punt on this because any sane person likes this album and stone me if it's not the perfect driving across the desert music! I was proclaimed a DJ genius and we both had a very happy 40 or so minutes listening to the album and then an hour dissecting every song and why we liked it so much. Being married to a fellow geek has its benefits.

My favourite song is Time: "Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day." I love that line. I also adore "Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way." Poetry I tell you. The whole song is a depressing one but it's so masterfully executed, it's easy to not notice.

Basically I think Dave Gilmour is wonderful and could listen to him all day long. I don't want to be shallow but also, he was very, very cute.

Just saying.

Breaking Bad

Apologies for my absence. I've had a busy month, packing up in New York, a road trip, returning to London, flying to Nice and Madrid for work and finally back home to some normality and serious TV watching. All this jet-setting gets in the way of sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and watching some quality television. Thank goodness it's summer and I don't have a ton to catch up on.

TeenBoy and I went to New Mexico for our road trip, I spent a year there at uni and have always wanted to go back and he wanted to see the car wash from Breaking Bad. It was good enough reason to book the flight and car and hit the road. I had not viewed Breaking Bad, I wanted to but somehow it passed me by. So upon my return to West London, I decided it was time to dig in. TeenBoy is rewatching claiming it's that good.

We are on season two and I can safely say it's like nothing else I've watched. Love the Albuquerque scenery and being geeky about where I recognise. Love Jesse. Love the concept. However, the episode I watched last night was so depressing. I guess when the storyline is all about crystal meth, it's not going to be Mary Poppins but gawd. I'm hooked though, as I type this I am wondering what's going to happen next.

I fear I shall be bereft in a few short weeks when I've binged through all five seasons. It's good to be back on the sofa though, seeing the big world is exhausting!