clivemurray.com

Hate is a strong word. I should probably use “really strongly dislike” instead, but it wouldn’t make for a pithy post title. But I digress…

Music is, as you likely know, very important to me. If I’m not writing it or playing it, I’m usually listening to it. And in all this I try to be reasonably open-minded, even though my listening habits are usually pretty narrowly confined to the arenas of rock, classical and ambient. But… But but but…

I’m sorry about this, but there are some artists that I just hate. I really do. I’ve tried not to, I’ve tried to give them a fair go, but I just can’t do it. A few bars in and I’m either reaching for my headphones or heading for the door.

At this time that list includes:
- The Smiths/Morrissey
- Johnny fucking Cash
- Beck
- The White Stripes

There are plenty of currently trendy bands that I would put on this list if I knew their names (one I know is Vampire Weekend – more irritating than genital warts) purely because they seem to take pleasure in singing just a bit off key or pjaying just out of tune enough to make me wish I could go spontaneously deaf, but I really don’t have the stomach to research their names.

Jesus. Just thinking about some of the shit that is played on the office stereo gives me the fucking shakes.

Still. If ever I’m at a party of yours and you want to get rid of me, now you know how to do it.

–c.

I whole-heartedly agree with this review of the film “Wanted“.

I expect many people found it to be unwatchable dross, but I loved every second of it. It’s the only film I can think of in the last few years* that made me want to see if I could hide under my seat and stay in the cinema to watch it again immediately. Honestly. And the only film that’s every engendered that response in me before was when I first saw the original Matrix film, though that was on VHS in my bedroom, so in that instance I simply rewound it (remember rewinding?) and watched it again.

Wanted is brilliant fun. But if you want something that makes sense or teaches you something or gives you some deep insight into life, it’s not the one for you.

–c.
* Dark Knight included. Yes, it was great. But it didn’t make me go “Holy shit let’s watch that again!”