Of Bloody Bastards and Boar Knights

 

Evening

Dixon of Dock Green
Would break the fourth wall with a
Cheery "Evening all!"

The Nightfly by Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen is not half as cool as the album cover would have you believe. He evidently spent his teenage years as a dorky kid, stuck in his room listening to fusty old jazz stations instead of that scary rock n roll and pining after unattainable girls. After a spell with yacht rockers and steam powered dildo enthusiasts Steely Dan, he put out this album that can charitably be described as easy listening. 

It was recorded and produced entirely digitally, and hence has that bland and soulless feel of the early 80s. Purely for this reason it was popular with audiophiles and cd bores who wanted to show off the quality of their hi-fi setups without caring much about the actual music. 

https://album.link/gb/i/617827654

In Rainbows by Radiohead

In 2007 Radiohead were without a contract and so decided to sidestep the record industry by releasing their music online as a ‘pay what you want’ download. This was a gamble, but it paid off in terms of getting their album out and into the hands of fans and curious bystanders as soon as possible. Reportedly most people were happy to pay the regular price or went on to buy the various physical releases that became available later on.

Aside from the novelty of the release, this was an evolution in their style - less glitchy and weird, more guitar based rock (with some nice string accompaniments), and with a noticeable personal touch to the lyrics. Thom Yorke’s vocals are still an acquired taste, but after being a relative newcomer to their albums until fairly recently I have grown to appreciate them. 

https://album.link/gb/i/1109714933

Wild Rose

Fishing for minnows

On the banks of the old stream
Where the wild rose grows

Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot

A reread for this book, after I was inspired to get it down from the shelf after reading Luther Arkwright recently. I first read this way back in 2008 and reviewed it here. It's such a dense and meandering tale that it stands revisiting and there were definitely sections that I'd completely forgotten about over the years. The artwork is as gorgeous as ever and I'm glad that I have a physical copy, given that they seem to sell for a fortune nowadays. The Kindle version for £10 looks like a bargain though and probably easier to navigate than the hefty hardback tome. 

The Worst Person in the World

 A Norwegian romantic comedy drama is probably not the genre that I would gravitate towards, but this critically acclaimed film from Joachim Trier did pull me in bit by bit. 

The story revolves around Julie, a young woman approaching her 30th birthday and unsure of what direction she wants her life to take. She starts by switching from her medical degree to psychology before deciding that what she really wants to be is a freelance photographer (and maybe a writer). She starts a relationship with Axsel, a comic artist who is fifteen years older than her and keen to start a family, an idea which fills her with horror (especially after spending a weekend with Axel's happily settled friends with children). 

While walking home from a publishing event, she gatecrashes a wedding and meets a barista called Elvind with whom she feels a connection. She starts daydreaming about him before breaking off her relationship with Axsel to be with Elvind instead. During this time she also examines her relationship with her divorced parents, seeing a pattern of broken or unhappy marriages through the years, and also has a psychedelic experience that confronts her fears of becoming a parent and aging.

I would hesitate to call this a comedy and it's not really romantic either, but it does capture something of the uncertainty that is part of moving from your twenties to your thirties when life suddenly seems all too real.