Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim: new trailer

As far as upcoming blockbusters go, Iron Man 3 looks good, Star Trek Into Darkness looks great and even Man of Steel looks promising.

But they ain't got nothing on Guillermo Del Toro making a Robots vs Monsters movie starring Idris Elba, Ron Perlman and Charlie Day. I can't wait for Pacific Rim.

Savages: Silence Yourself album stream

The highly anticipated debut album from Savages, available to stream now:

 

Arrested Development 2013

It's long been the subject of rumour but we're now only one month away from the series dump (that doesn't sound right) of 15 new episodes of Arrested Development.

And after a few teaser poster releases, we've now got a whole set of character posters to enjoy.
Ordinarily the insertion of Netflix references into the character quotes might annoy me, but hell, I'm happy for Netflix to take a slice. If it wasn't for them, we might not even have 15 new episodes.

With all the original cast and crew back on board, let's hope they deliver.

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 4

Spoilers ahead.

This is happening.

We open with a close-up of Jamie Lannister's hand as it dangles lifelessly on a rope strung around its forebearer's neck. Jamie collapses from his horse, dehydrated and given to scrambling about in the mud. This is the very definition of 'being taken down a peg'. Jamie is resigned to death and won't eat, but Brienne, obviously beholden to the man after he lied to save her dignity, won't let that happen, so she likens his attitude to that of a woman, and bam!- his mojo starts to come back. Is The Biggest Loser like this scene, with worse production values, and dragged out to series length?

Then we visit with Lord Varys in his chambers, as Tyrion comes to seek counsel on the topic of revenge. He's not only come to the right place, he's come at precisely the right time too, as Varys  wrestles open a large crate that has been delivered to his quarters. Varys tells Tyrion his terrible, (incredible) back story of being a young boy sold off to a dark sorceror who slices up his genitals as a blood offering to some fiery god/demon/fetishist. Then, in the first sign that this episode will be pulling out the stops, we find out what's in the box.

The simple fact that this terrible (incredible) reveal is delivered in the first five minutes of this episode indicates that the showrunners must have something pretty great up their sleeve for the rest of this episode. In some ways in fact, it's practically a spoiler - in structure, if not in plot. A petty man might level that as a criticism against the episode...

Over at Craster's House of Love™ Sam and the rest of the ranger boys are growing uneasy after burning one of the corpses of their fallen brothers. Cranster's not being very forthcoming with provisions and the guys aren't going to take it anymore. Their mutiny involves a nifty bit of misdirection work to get ol' Lord Commander Mormont out of the tent just long enough for someone to shove a knife through Craster's jaw. And then they start killing everyone else.

Sam rushes off in moment of character development to rescue Gilly and her newborn son (shhhh!). Thank the new gods for the visual clue that was Sam's mother's thimble that Sam gifted to Gilly last season. It was the only way I became sure that this was the same girl. In any case, they scramble off into the night and some kind of terrifying freedom. Here's hoping that Gilly is a bit more robust than Sam.

Bran's dreaming of his legs and his mother as he chases the metaphor of his warg-ness. It's this episode's Jon Snow segment. He's on his way somewhere, but it's going to take him a while.

We learn about as much as we're likely to about Pod's secret talent, when Varys and Ros sit to have a discussion about Lord Baelish's secret plans for secreting Sansa away. This sets Varys in motion with a new scheme to save Sansa and upset Littlefinger because he finds him so amusing. This involves wrangling help from Olenna Tyrell and Margaery, who are, at the very least, savvy enough to curry some good favour from Kings Landing's great secret keeper. Not to mention it wouldn't hurt to have a Stark in the family if the war from the North ever makes it to town.

But what I'm most looking forward to is seeing Baelish's reaction when he discovers something has gone amiss in his carefully cultivated plans. Will he finally fly off the handle?

Margaery and Joffrey make plans for their grand wedding as it becomes ever clearer the control she is starting to exert over him. She plays him like a poorly-bred fiddle. Cersei's onto this, but has trouble convincing her father Tywin because he's pretty sure 'she's not as smart as she thinks she is'. Which, I think, mirrors a remark Cersei made to Tyrion in the first episode? I think she told him he wasn't as clever as he thinks he is, and Tyrion countered with 'but at least that still makes me smarter than you'. A great comeback, but that line probably wouldn't have worked on Daddy.

Things get confounding here. Theon, a poor navigator as much as he is magnificent healer (he  bounds into trenches with an ease one doesn't usually find in a man with a hole through his foot), fails to realise he's been led back to his former torture chamber by the very man who helped him escape and subsequently rescued him from rapists. It's awful news, and he takes it badly (I'm a little upset myself: what is going on?!) This is episode four's sequence to make the audience finally feel sorry for a pretty despicable character before putting them through some whole new unpleasantness. Hey, at least he's still got both his hands!

Arya and Gendry get brought to the Brotherhood without Banner's very own Bat Cave, and explain their (pretty well-founded) beef with the Hound. Looks like he'll get the chance to go mano-a-mano with their leader, Dondarrion in a sword fight, but from the look on the Hound's face at the news, he may be somewhat outmatched. That's cool and all, but was I the only one hoping just a little bit that Arya was actually going to have to fight the Hound herself?

And then, we arrive at the climax. Oh, yes. Despite anticipating this development last week, I was no less thrilled when Dany raised up that whip in her hand and starting speaking in Valyrian to her newly acquired Unsullied army. This is the moment that season three bounded forward with the momentum it has been gathering these last few episodes. The army took up arms against the Astapori and after the bloodshed hailed their allegiance to their new Queen. It was one hell of a moment, and it was one hell of an ending.

Daft Punk: Get Lucky single

UPDATED with video stream (now that the audio stream is dead):



The first full-length, official version of the new Daft Punk song has finally been released. It's called Get Lucky, features Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers and it's bound to be played to death everywhere.

Record Store Day 2013

Tomorrow, Saturday 20 April, is the annual Record Store Day!

Celebrate your love of music by supporting your local record store!

One day, all around the world, record stores offer deals, specials, live music and more.

For more details and to find out where exclusive Record Store Day releases will be available, visit the website, the official facebook page and follow the twitter account.

There are special releases and reissues from, among hundreds of others; David Bowie, Phoenix, The Cure, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Billy Bragg, White Stripes, Calexico, Tame Impala, Public Enemy and more!

Listen! Phoenix! Bankrupt! Now!

Woot! Phoenix are streaming their new album Bankrupt! now!
Click here to listen via iTunes

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 3 recap

Spoilers ahead

WOAH!

It might not have been the best episode of the series, but damned if it wasn't a pretty fun one.

Sorry for the delay, those of who emailed asking where this recap was. Always nice to feel wanted, though!

There was a real sense of humour about the proceedings in episode 3, with well paced scenes that took their time and seemed to focus on surprisingly human moments in what is rapidly becoming a more fantastic Westeros.

As for that ending, well. A sudden blast to remind you that this Game of Thrones, dammit, don't even think about getting comfortable!

The episode opens with Robb Stark and his ma at Lady Stark's father's funeral, the camera glides slowly over the mourning faces as the funereal boat is sent off down the river. Then Robb's nephew Edmure tries to shoot the flaming arrow to ignite the floating pyre. He misses. Two shots, and some stifled laughter later, he's shoved out of the way by the take-charge swagger of Uncle Blackfish, who, it turns out, is such an accomplished archer that he can take a look at a fluttering flag, squint toward the rapidly diminishing boat and fire true a single flaming arrow. Then, in true hard man fashion, he turns, shoves the bow back into the boy's hands and is walking up the bank before the arrow even lands. Total bad ass. And the second extraordinary archer in as many episodes. Hopefully this leads to some amazing archer vs archer action further down the line. Or maybe there's a fetish site for that.


Blackfish shared a tender quiet moment with his niece Catelyn as they lament the nature of the world they suddenly find themselves in. Catelyn's been pretty reflective lately, blaming herself for the bad fortune coming her family's way. This episode she seems to moving onto a different stage of grief where there might be others to blame. There are!

The Lannisters of King's landing and the rest of the ol' Hand of the King gang gather together for a cute little game of one-upmanship as everyone scampers for the best seat at Tywin's table. It's another fun scene and played dialogue-free for much of it. Then Tyrion gets a surprise promotion to Master of the Coin. For what reason, I don't know. To keep him busy? It does seem an odd choice for Tywin to hand over what seems to me to be quite a huge responsibility to someone he has such disdain for. Am I wrong? Another chance to prove himself worthy of the Lannister name perhaps? Still, good scene.

The Brotherhood don't seem like such bad guys at all with Thoros proving a fairly convivial host. The Hound doesn't get much of a look in either, as he's shoved into a paddy cart. And it's farewell, Hot Pie- maker of the best bread in the land.

I've heard criticisms of the show that it's spending too much time on things of little importance, but not having read the books I can't make that complaint. I've actually really enjoyed how the show has taken its time these last few episodes, giving the characters real moments to be, rather always having them darting with sound purpose. It's nice that the show takes the time to breathe.

Having said that, beyond the wall at Fist of the First Men Jon Snow once again gets almost nothing to do but look unperturbed. Though that spiral of dead horse parts was all kinds of awesome. The news that Mance is sending Jon and some of his colleagues to the wall is a disappointment only because it suggests that the amazing Ciarian Hinds is going to be absent until he starts the "biggest fire in the world!" (or something like that).

Still beyond the wall, Sam and the rest of the Night's Watch return to Craster's decidedly unsexy sex outpost just in time for another baby boy birth. Will Sam man up and take off with the baby boy? Was the girl giving birth the same one he had a crush on last season? I couldn't tell. They didn't share much recognition as far as I could tell.

Another oddly human moment came via Stannis and his Red Woman as she decides she needs to go off and take care of some business. In this scene Melisandre seems unusually ordinary, and all the more interesting for it. There's little, or less, talk of prophesies and true kings, and you get the sense that Stannis is suddenly becoming aware of just how alone he is. It was a brief, but bright moment in the episode.

Dany, meanwhile, is bargaining away one of her dragons in exchange for an army of the Unsullied. What the what?! Her two knights, Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan are as impressed as usual. It's a bold move on Dany's part, but her questions of her new Astapori woman servant suggests that maybe she'll unleash her new found army on the first thing in her path- the Astaporians themselves. And then get her dragon back, presumably. Here's hoping!

Theon escapes with help from his little jailhouse friend, but only seemed to ride as far as A the Appalachian mountains, where he's captured by the local backwater rapist ancestors of those in Deliverance. Miraculously, he is saved by that same little jailhouse friend who is -wait for it- another extraordinary archer! How many superhuman archers are there in Westeros? If they got themselves organised they could probably take out Kings Landing themselves. And from a distance. None of this hand to hand nonsense every seems so interested in.


In another curiously tangential sequence follows Tyrion repaying Pod's heroism at the Battle of Battlewater last season with a gift of some deluxe whorehousing. When Pod returns with the gold coins, having been given the special treatment for free! Will his secret be the subject of another seven episodes of double entrendres? Who cares as long as Peter Dinklage is making them.

And for the first time in long time  ever we might actually feel sorry for Jamie Lannister as he successfully makes up a clever lie(?) to save Brienne's dignity and then suffers for his hubris when an incensed Noah Taylor slices his hand off! Damn! And that was his incest swash-buckling hand! And so the golden rule of Westeros is proven again: it never pays to do the right thing, even when you're one of the bad guys.

And as a final wonderful moment, the irrepressible The Hold Steady performed the closing title song in a move so wildly anachronistic as be pitch perfect. They can sing and murder while they sing.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, Charlee-eee

I've never been much of a Peanuts fan, but its influence is so pervasive I feel I'm pretty much across it as cultural phenomenon.
I am, however, a huge fan of Louis C.K. and his TV show, Louie.
As a result of these two facts, this clever little video ranks as 'pretty good':

Tunes!

The National have released another song Don't Swallow The Cap from their upcoming album. Employing the usual excitable anxiety we've come to expect from the band, this cut wouldn't have been out of place on their last record.

Counterpoint: Pusha T's new track, Numbers on the Boards is launched on Kayne West's website and via Soundcloud. A bare-bones track, which puts Pusha's vocal dexterity front and centre.




The Knife's second single A Tooth For An Eye from their just-released epic new album, Shaking the Habitual. A great new song from the innovative artists. Stream the song, or check out the video below.

The Chameleons

Why have I never come across The Chameleons before?

When people compare Interpol to Joy Division, they're making a superficial comparison. Comparing Interpol to The Chameleons would be far more appropriate superficial comparison. 

Releasing three albums in the early to mid 80s, this Manchester post-punk group disbanded after the death of their manager in 1987. They reunited in the early 2000s for three years and another three releases before once again dissolving. In their short time(s) together they released an extraordinarily underestimated catalogue of work (I'm still working through their first releases- and they're stunning). It surprises me that they're not better known than they are.

Indeed, if these albums were released by a new band today, the hype would be huge.

Have a listen to a few choice cuts below and see what you think.

 

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 2 Recap

Spoilers ahead!

Man, I shouldn't have wasted time worrying the story was spiralling out of control last week- this week gave us introductions to at least eight new characters! And once again, despite what many would accuse of being a leisurely pace, this episode barely took a breathe in its momentum forward.

We find out that Little Lord Bran's still making slow progress to the Wall, with Hodor, Rickon and Osha (how is it that I never knew this character's name?) providing support both literal and defensive. Bran's still having his animal dreams and we get an answer as to why. He's a warg, of course. Another supernatural element to annoy all those viewers who were suckered in by the politics, handsome production design and loads of sex and are gradually losing enthusiasm because of the appearance of  smoke demons, zombie armies and actual dragons. Ah, well.

A warg is a person with the gift of second sight, and who can view the world through the eyes of animals. Bran is a warg, this new kid Jojen Reed, (the freakish kid with the inky shark eyes from Love Actually) is a warg and Gareth from the original UK version of The Office is a warg. And Jon Snow got to see a warg. That's basically all he did this episode : look at a warg and act all unperturbed by the vision of 'dead crows' at the Fist of the First Men.

Theon's also back on the scene, and his fall has been as swift as his rise, with us finding him strapped to a cross undergoing his very own Spanish inquisition. Which he (like everyone else) would never expect! Especially since the last moment he was conscious he was giving a rousing speech to his not-so-loyal-as-it-turns-out troops in the courtyard of a besieged Winterfell. Then another ex-The Office actor knocked him out with a blow to the head. Now he's woken up to knives under the fingernails and screws through the feet. It's sure put my bad morning into prospective.

The Kingslayer Jamie and Brienne are still perfecting their very own version of a Crosby & Hope road movie, complete with clever word play, fisticuffs and pratfalls. Actually scratch that, it's more like a medieval Midnight Run (my spin-off pitch: Night's Watch Run), with the straight-talking, resourceful bounty hunter constantly being hamstrung by her wise-cracking, difficult prisoner. And now they're in all sorts of trouble because House Bolton's man-at-arms' Locke (played by Noah Taylo! Where'd he come from?!) got tipped off an 'innocent man' that Brienne let go earlier in the episode. Doing the honourable thing never pays off in Game of Thrones.

Margaery's schemes start taking root after she and her Grandmother Lady Olenna quiz Sansa about Joffrey's true nature while enjoying some lemon cake. This could prove to be the most dangerous afternoon tea ever! While there's no doubt about the Tyrell's motivations for bringing Sansa into their confidence, it's hard to imagine a situation where Sansa's life won't be extinguished out by a crossbow-wielding Margaery when Joffrey decides he needs a little... release.

Lady Stark got a nice confessional monologue on the way to her father's funeral where we really come to understand her reasons for letting the Kingslayer go. It appears as though poor ol' Catelyn blames herself for all the tragedies that have befallen her family ever since she wished death upon the baby Jon Snow. That's a heavy weight to carry around, and provides a nice solemn moment around which so much turmoil revolves.

Samwise is his usual mopey self, barely trudging along with his brothers back towards the Wall. (He's not really living up to his namesake Samwise Gamgee's reputation for long walks, is he?) The fact that he's not already dead suggests he's got a great heroic moment in him. We're into the third season now, I wonder how far off it is?

And the great Arya is finally back with us, getting lost in the forest with Gendry and Hot Pie and encountering the likable rogues that are the Brotherhood Without Banners. Plus another two great characters introduced, the smooth talking Thoros of Myr and his stunning archer Anguy who gets a memorable and, let's face it, hopefully prophetic scene where he fires an arrow into the sky that lands exactly where he wants it to: six feet away. When an archer stops talking: move.

Also:

• Tyrion seems to have been moved to a nicer room, this one gets some natural light.
• Lady Olenna's keen thoughts on Renly: "Gallant, yes, and charming, and very clean. He knew how to dress and smile and somehow this gave him the notion he was fit to be king." Which in the world of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is precisely what identifies a king: "He hasn't got shit all over him".
• Ha! Gendry gives Arya a hard time for not simply wishing her three deaths upon the people who really deserve it. 
• Nice to see the Hound back in action. Even if he may have just made life very difficult for Arya and the gang.
• Latest piece of beyond-the-wall trivia: "Everyone hates the Cave People".

The National: Demons single

The first single from the upcoming new album from The National, Trouble Will Find Me.

Ostensibly it still sounds like The National (that Berningertone™is of course, unmistakeable) but the production suggests something new for the band. Things are mixed with a warm reverb that envelopes everything, most immediately recalling the sound of Bon Iver's Bon Iver, Bon Iver record from 2011.

Have a listen/watch:

Only God Forgives: Red band trailer

Something worth looking forward to.

Two years on from the resonant Drive, the red band trailer for Nicholas Winding Refn's new film with Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives has just been released, and it looks suitably stunning:

It's somewhat more picturesque, but just as striking as the teaser poster from a few months back. Ouch:

Wilco at Sydney Opera House 02.04.13

One of the finest bands in the world performed in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House last night, when Wilco played a brilliant set of tracks from their back catalogue (I think the only albums that didn't get a look in were A.M. and Wilco (The Album)).

On stage promptly at 9:30pm - a late start for an Opera House performance - a feeling seemingly felt by the band as they poured onto stage, picked up their instruments and went straight into a perfect-from-note-one rendition of One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley), (my personal pick for best song of 2012). It's a rare thing these days that sets should begin with a perfectly modulated mix (my review for Wild Nothing also noted this occurrence) but the mixing desk pulled it off - a 12 minute song that slowly builds in volume and instrumental layers in a repeating musical cycle - and it all sounded crystal clear. No mean feat for a band of six players and multiple instruments. This pristine sound went a long to make up for the only thing wrong with the show- an absurdly short 90 minute allotted set time. Who in their right mind booked Wilco, a band with eight albums, and famed for their two hour-plus shows to play a precisely ninety minute set? Major misstep, Opera House!

But despite the short set time, the band, as always, proved themselves an exemplary live act. With commanding virtuosity out front with Nels Cline's intricate guitar heroics, Jeff Tweedy's candid vocals, his and Patrick Sansone's complementary guitars and Mikael Jorgensen's piano and effects, there was  something new to discover in every arrangement. But it's the unsung genius of the rhythm section - Glenn Kotche's astounding, innovative drumming and percussion, combined with John Stirrat's unyielding bass playing - that produces the fuel that powers the whole engine. They have a stunning alchemy that is really something to behold.

It was clear the band were wanting to play as much as possible, only chatting to the audience for a few brief minutes throughout the show (because they didn't 'have enough fucking time'), mostly about the cost of the Opera House, how it looked better on the outside than the inside and the 'abominable' condition of the stage floor. Plenty of people enjoyed the jokey patter, but you could tell some of the punters became a little uneasy that an international guest would dare make a joke about our Opera House: We can make fun of it, not these foreigners! They should feel honoured to be here! Tweedy picked up on this vibe and obviously felt he had to back track a little. I apologise on behalf of everyone Jeff, you shouldn't have to put up with those people.

It was a killer setlist, featuring a good mixture of their experimental tracks like Poor Places, Art of Almost and At Least That's What You Said along with more traditional material such as I Might and Whole Love and their great Woody Guthrie composition One by One.

When we approached the end of their allotted time, Tweedy asked if the audience preferred another song immediately or wanted to engage in the charade of the band leaving the stage and coming back for an encore. We opted for a Shot in the Arm. But an extra half hour wouldn't have gone astray.


You can live stream Wilco's second Opera House performance tonight from 9:30pm via the Sydney Opera House Youtube channel.

Game of Thrones Season 3: Episode 1 Recap

Spoilers ahead.

And it's back!

Now featuring: Eunuch soldiers! Giants! Flying dragons! The King beyond the wall! And a little bloody gratitude.

Plus the realisation that this show could really spiral out of control with storylines. Half of the original lead characters didn't even get a look in during this first episode!

Clearly an effort to set up plot lines and character arcs for the new season, this first episode may seem to run a little slow, but I admire the decision to take things at a pace at the beginning. So much is already happening in the big scheme of things that such a drifting approach to the new developments is a keen way to go. You can see the opening stitches for threads that will run through the rest of the season/s. Aside from a frightening moment with a zombie in the opening moments and a sudden attempt on Daenerys' life by a warlock (you may be done with with the warlocks, but the warlocks aren't done with you), the episode unfolds with a steady, intriguing casualness. So many things unfold so simply:

• Sam didn't release the ravens. Uh oh.
• The dragons are getting big. The Dothraki don't sail so good.
• Slave soldiers with no balls can take a nipple slicing in their stride and are available for hire!
• The Red woman is burning men alive.
• Stathis looks like he's being led down the garden path to employing some seriously black magic the next time he enters battle.
• The King beyond the wall is just hanging out with some bros in a tent. It's hard to spot him in a group of three, but it turns out it's the awesome Ciarin Hinds! This show's actor pedigree just got even better.
• Joffrey is as swarmy as ever and still squeals to mummy any chance he gets.
• Margaery is smart enough to start rallying support from the swarms of citizens who might constitute a loyal army for when she decides to take the Iron Throne for herself.
• Tyrion makes an honest attempt to get out of this whole running-the-world business by appealing to his father for a little gratitude. But getting rebuked yet again may set him on a path to some long term family betrayal.
• And oh yeah, there are giants. There's one, wandering by with a pylon.
• No sign of Jamie, Brienne, Theon, Bran or Arya yet. 

The downside to this breeziness and all of the plotlines is that the context gets its face sliced in half and left in a dank cell that no one wants to visit. Too bad if you don't remember what Baelish's current scheme is, where Harrenhaal is located and why everybody's dead, or who Barristan Selmy, one of the greatest soldiers in Westeros is when he's not stabbing fluorescent scorpions. Game of Thrones has got a lot of story to tell- it's not going to slow down just so you can refresh your memory - that's what the internet is for. Thank the new gods!