Being an artist is hard work, there will always be those who ridicule the creative, offering such assured words that it’s not the done thing, that it is not a real job, that there is something of the wastrel in those that offer parts of their soul to the world through the efforts of expression. The hard work, the pressure of such enlightened perspective, pays off when something you mentally give birth too becomes fact, when it becomes as true as a memory held dear.
Jones, Happy Blue. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It is arguably the vulnerability of the heart, the moment of exposure in the defenceless feelings that hit us when we are most frail, most delicate, that have the potential to bring out the very best in us; either we dig deep into reserves that we had no idea existed or we allow Time to beat us, we allow sentiment to become glory, idealistic and tangible but instead an offering that those we grieve for would see as insubstantial.
The Crack Is Always There.
The crack is always there,
no matter how busy I keep myself,
the yawn in the fabric
of the walls leers at me,
sneers with contempt;
it has no need to beckon me closer
for it knows I will eventually succumb
because I am always curious
of just how dark the scene is.
I could scream in the darkness
for no one truly hears
above the muffled, stifled gag
as the words catch me
in the back of the throat,
so instead I hide myself away,
The Journey Continues: Fellside At 40, Various Artists. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The music business may be seen to be dying but that does not mean that music is an art form that is on its knees, taking everything into account, it is arguably in a rude state of health and never it seems has Folk been so popular away from its original inspiring inception.
One such label who has had a more than a hand in the continued growth of artists is Fellside and at 40 years old, the lover of such fine music can but wish a happy birthday, blow out the candles of sincere gratitude and revel in some of the finest music made over the last 10 years since the label released the triple compilation album Landmarks.
Endeavour: Coda. Television Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser, Sean Rigby, Dakota Blue Richards, Pearl Appleby, Jack Bannon, James Bradshaw, Robbie Carpenter, Samantha Colley, Mark heap, Jerome Hogg, Conor Lovett, Harry McEntire, Tom McKay, Tom Mothersdale, Caroline O’ Neil, Abigail Thaw, Sarah Vickers, Jimmy Walker, Bronson Webb.
It is the final dance that must come to any series, the peek behind the curtain to what must take place next, and as Endeavour reaches the end of its third series, the situation for the young Morse reaches a crossroads, his mentor is failing to grasp how life must change, his old tutor is embroiled in a scandal and as always the young Detective only sees what he has got when it is far too late. The Coda is the final appreciation in a dance that has to change.
Still Open All Hours, Series Two. Television Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: David Jason, James Baxter, Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole, Maggie Ollerenshaw, Brigit Forsyth, Kulvinder Ghir, Tim Healy, Johnny Vegas, Nina Wadia, Sally Lindsay, Emily Fleeshman, Misha Timmins, Geoffrey Whitehead, Gareth Hale, Duggie Brown, Des Yankson, Jo Martin, Jemma Churchill.
There is always room for the gentle comedy, it is a peculiar but loving trait that suits the British viewer well and seems to never cross borders or international timelines unless packaged just right and then it becomes an export boom, and yet for whatever reason and thankfully it has to be said, the programme never gets replicated. For there really can only be one Granville at the helm of only one Arkwright’s and there is only one place in which Still Open All Hours can be so loved.
Fearing.
I am afraid,
not of life or of opening
myself up, perhaps even to ridicule,
God knows I’ve experienced
enough of that, more than I care for,
probably less than I deserve;
I’m not scared of that for
if you’re not terrified of death
how can you truly feel alive?
I am troubled,
by all that I am,
the insanity in the letters,
the voices whispering gently
that this word not that word,
not any word
but them all, is to be captured,
Megadeth, Dystopia. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Utopia sells…but who’s buying? Nobody really, for all the beauty that resides in a perfect world of equal opportunities, of pain free existence and each nation, each person, doing all they can to protect and savour the planet, Dystopia is a much keener collector of souls than its well preserved shrink wrapped cousin, Dystopia never runs out of places in which to revel or play with the destruction available.
The Fifth Wave, Film Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Gabriela Lopez, Bailey Anne Borders, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Zackery Arthur, Dave Maldonado, Paul Ryden, Charmin Lee, Parker Wierling, Tony Revolori, Terry Serpico, Derek Roberts, Maria Bello, Cade Cannon Ball, Alex MacNicoll, Nadij Jeter, Maika Monroe, Flynn McHugh, Alex Roe, Matthew Zuk.
There are some films that offer so much on paper that once seen you cannot understand how it was possible to be regarded as such a let-down as a cinematic experience. Such is the twisted fate of The Fifth Wave, such is the divine introspection available to all when viewing something that arguably would have worked better as a television special spread over three nights.
I Trust In My Eyes.
I trust my eyes as much
as I trust my soul
and I will trust my soul
until the end; I will trust
it, for whilst it may lead
me astray from time to time,
it will not do it with malice
or feverish gold digging intent.
My eyes may be failing,
however I see the feminine in you,
the beauty of compassion,
of searching for the answer
in a realm which once you despised
and acted the Tomboy
for the boys to admire,