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Bonjour bitches! WEEK 8! Can you believe it? I can’t!

This week’s is actually kind of….happy.

I know, I didn’t see that one coming either.

So, here’s a few really wonderful tracks to lift those mid-week blues.

Tracklisting is as follows:

1: ‘Just Another Day‘ : Oingo Boingo (Dead Man’s Party)

2: ‘Couple Day’s Off‘ : Huey Lewis & The News (Greatest Hits)

3: ‘Please‘ : Paul Hartnoll Fet Robert Smith (The Ideal Condition)

4: ‘Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)’ Metric

5: ‘Dashboard‘ : Modest Mouse (We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank)

6: ‘Peacebone‘ : Animal Collective (Strawberry Jam)

7: ‘Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing (Eyes Wide Shut Remix)‘ :  Chris Issac (B-Sides & Rarities)

8: ‘Do It Again‘ : Steely Dan (Greatest Hits)

9: ‘Cloudbusting‘ : Kate Bush (Hounds Of Love)

10: ‘You’re The One For Me Fatty’ : Morrissey (Your Arsenal)

11: ‘Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On‘ : Leonard Cohen Feat Bob Dylan & Allen Ginsberg (Death Of A Ladies Man – Produced By Phil Spector)

12: ‘1985 (Bowling For Soup Cover)‘ : Richard Thompson (1000 Years Of Popular Music)

13: ‘Dirty Blvrd‘ Lou Reed (Animal Serenade)

14 : ‘Dry Your Eyes‘ : The Band Feat Neil Diamond (The Last Waltz)

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Cold and still. These are two words that will echo through your mind when you enter the world of Tomas Alfredson, director of Let The Right One In. The imposing tower blocks engulfing the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg cast grim shadows over the bleak and unwelcoming landscape. The initial shots are handled with such precision and stylistic cinematographic skill, that the viewer’s attention is immediately grabbed, by the throat as it were.

The colours are as washed out as the expressions of the town’s inhabitants, who we are introduced to early on. The overall feel of the town is one of stagnancy and isolation. The setting (although never directly referred to in the movie) of early 1980’s Sweden is ideal for the events which unfold therein. We are introduced to 12 year old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) who is small pale and desperately alone. Living in a world comprised of his obsessions with local murders and a love for music, he shares the ghetto apartment with a distant mother who is now divorced from an indifferent father. Oskar’s school life is particularly harrowing, being the passive victim to a trio of bullies, captained by an increasingly sadistic ringleader. They taunt, torture and abuse him on a daily basis, a subject which is handled without a hint of stereotype or falsity. The scenes of torment are incredibly difficult to watch, in that they are as accurate a portrayal of peer abuse that I have witnessed for considerable time.

Oskar’s life changes forever when he encounters the deeply mysterious Eli (Lina Leandersson). Lank haired and gaunt, she appears whilst he is acting out revenge fantasies in the yard of the apartment complex. It is their growing relationship that is the central focus of the movie. It is so tender and beautiful that you cannot help but feel great empathy and pathos for them both. It becomes clearer over the course of their friendship however, that his new playmate may be closely associated with the escalating murder rate in the area.

The movie is a masterpiece in subtlety, with the violent scenes often happening off camera, or somehow obscured from view. What this achieves is the oldest rule of horror, one that has seemingly been long forgotten, that the human imagination can conjure up images far more gruesome and unsettling than can possibly be achieved by special effects. This is not to say that there is nothing in here for the gorehounds either, as several key scenes provide enough mutilation and carrion to satisfy their bloodlust.

Eli is one of the single most convincing vampires ever committed to the screen. She seems so lost within her word, but simultaneously relishing it. She gives no indication that she would like it to be any other way. There is a certain degree of ambiguity surrounding her gender, and a split second shot late in the movie hints at the possibility of hermaphroditic origin or some form of genital mutilation that coincided with her transformation.

The soundtrack is beautifully underplayed. Small touches like the effect that a vampire’s presence has on cats add to the ingenuity of the feature. The most significant thing about this film is that it removes all of the romanticized ideals that have sullied the vampire genre for far too long. Gone are the Anne Rice or Twilight versions of disgustingly beautiful immortals, living a life of decadency and thrill. Gone is the glamorization of the undead, replaced by an unyielding affliction. Whilst this does hold a charm to the remarkable Eli, for others as you will see, the prospect of an eternity of perpetual hunger is more than they can stand.

Without a doubt, this has been the most innovative and original horror film I have seen all year. The depressing postscript is that it is now in the works to be remade (in English) by Matt Reeves, director of the reprehensibly horrendous Cloverfield. This will be awful, truly awful and as with [Rec], I urge you to seek the original before its good name is tarnished forever by a hack director and dumbed down for the masses. You can also guarantee that they will cast two cocky little turds to play the lead roles as well (Dakota Fanning and some other Hollywood piglet, I would imagine). The success of the characters in LTROI is their anonymity, something that is almost completely absent from current US movies, which seem content to bombard us with a never ending deluge of vacuous and talentless actors who are more concerned with celebrity than craft.

Let The Right One In also teaches the most important lesson of all; never invite a vampire into your house. The movie is based on a book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who took the title from a Morrissey song. It hasn’t left my thoughts since the final credits and it will be quite a while before it does.

For the official website click HERE.

I forgot to mention in my review that amongst the introductory videos that were played at the Morrissey show on Wed, this was one of them. Sparks ‘Lighten Up Morrissey’. Not only is this a fantastic video and a great track, but the fact that Morrissey chose this to be played before the show says it all. This will never fail to make me smile.

There are certain advantages to living in the bog arse of nowhere. Tonight was a vivid display of one of them. In regards to gigs, it is rare that any show in Galway cannot be described as ‘intimate’. Morrissey’s performance this evening was no exception. For some reason, the only time that you would imagine to see Morrissey in a leisure centre would have been back in the 80’s when the Smiths were touring the working men’s clubs of the UK.

Amongst the stench of chlorine and sweat, the hall was filling up early with eager fans young and old. It almost seemed like a competition for a while as to who had the oldest Smiths T Shirt, but the friendliness of the revellers was a pleasant reminder of when gigs were social accumulations of like minded people. Talking to others before the show really emphasised the commitment and love that Morrissey’s supporters possess. One guy who I was speaking to approached me to compliment my clothes, saying that it was great to see that ‘Some people still made the effort to dress up for a gig’ it transpired that he was there on his own, his ticket being a gift from his girlfriend, who whilst supporting his love for Morrissey, refused to accompany him to the show. The delightful Lady P had previously maintained a similar stance on Mozza, but tonight definitely changed her mind. It’s a shame that this guy’s good lady didn’t give herself the same chance.

The setlist was everything a long-time listener could have hoped for. Bursting onstage to ‘This Charming Man’, Morrissey seemed in fantastic form. He was quite short on banter, making up for it in the power and delivery that he put into each individual track. He did find time to get a nice dig in at HMV though: ‘Just to let you know that HMV Galway wouldn’t stock our new single. I guess the moral is that it never gets any easier.’ This brought a particular smile to my face. He played very little new material, preferring to stick to Smiths songs and favourites from ‘You Are the Quarry’.

His stage presence is still second to none. It was as if he felt more at ease with the tiny venue and the basic setup and stage. He relished the opportunity to be this close to his fans, and his accentuated gesticulation is such a joy to witness a few feet away. ‘Ask’, ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’, ‘Some Girls Are Bigger than Others’, ‘How Soon is now?’ and ‘There Is a Light That Never goes out’ were personal highlights. With ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’, ‘Let Me Kiss You’ and ‘First Of The Gang To Die’ becoming stronger assets in his arsenal than upon their initial release (can it be five years already?). ‘Throwing my arms around Paris’ is soon becoming an equally anthemic track. The band was note perfect, aside form a brief mistake with the drumming, to which Morrissey quipped: ‘Was it me that made a mistake? No? Well, then that’s all that matters then.’

In short, I converted my good lady wife with this show, she reminded me of the time, almost a decade ago, when we first moved in together. She mischievously hid all my Smiths Cd’s so I couldn’t listen to them. It was so nice to see just how much she enjoyed tonight’s performance. With so many Morrissey hater’s in the world, it would be great if some of them would just try a live show, and see if their opinion remains by the end.

It was a long time coming, but every moment of this evening’s show was masterful and highly memorable. To see such a musical giant, stripped down to the bare essentials, with raw and uncomplimentary sound only adding to the atmosphere, was a great pleasure. It’s not often such things happen. For old Smiths fans who I spoke to after the show, it was like seeing him twenty years ago. As good a compliment as I could imagine. In short, if he’s coming near your home town, Morrissey’s ‘Refusal’ Tour is one to catch.

Support was by ‘Doll and the Kicks’ who were a fantastic warm-up. At first sight, they serve as a reminder that you haven’t been in Topman for a while, but their music quickly detracts from their ultra cool image. At times they sound remarkably like ‘Siouxsie and the Banshees’ and Kate Bush and then Tori Amos and then, they just sound like themselves. A really interesting and exciting new group, who have remarkable potential. Fingers crossed for them, they have a great opportunity and here’s hoping they do well, as they deserve to.

A great show, it was such a rarity for an artist who would more likely be seen from the rafters of the gargantuan O2 Arena, or at a crowded festival. This small town comes up trumps once in a while, and it has done itself proud tonight. One of the best shows in a very long time, Morrissey is truly on top of his game right now, and you would be doing yourself a disservice by missing out.

Setlist:
This Charming Man
Billy Budd
Black Cloud
How Soon Is Now?
Irish Blood, English Heart
How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Girlfriend In A Coma
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed
When Last I Spoke To Carol
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Let Me Kiss You
The Loop
Something Is Squeezing My Skull
Seasick, Yet Still Docked
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores (Not Played)
I Keep Mine Hidden
Sorry Doesn’t Help
Ask
I’m OK By Myself
First Of The Gang To Die