Well, the heatwave finally seems to have broken, so we’re hurtling back towards weather that’s rather more doing-stuff friendly. Most importantly, I won’t be a useless bundle of perspiring misery for much longer, I dearly hope.
Everybody wins.
I may even plug in an electric guitar later, so a “proper” Jim’s Analogue Noise Bunker post could very well be on the way!
It’s been a strange couple of weeks, filled with internal and external dramas. I won’t tire you with further talk of my internal issues, but, externally, I believe a provocative tenant in my building is, at long last, being moved along, which may improve the morale of the entire street in general. Perhaps even the estate. But that’s a story for another day.
I’ve managed to stay off the booze for a couple of weeks, even though life keeps prodding me to sink back into alcoholic oblivion, so here are some of the things I’ve been passing the time with of late.
MY LIFE AS A DOG
I said quite a bit about this film in my last Framed to Perfection post, so I won’t whittle on too much here. Needless to say, I’ve just finished watching it and sat there in stunned silence at how much emotion I felt by the end. Not bad really, considering I don’t speak a lick of Swedish. The penultimate shot of the boy and his trans-girl (at least I believe that to be the character’s orientation) buddy snoozing on the sofa together brought tears to my eyes. What a lovely film. For some reason, I’d picked up signals over the years that it had quite a nasty tone to it. Goodness knows where I got that idea from, as nothing could be further from the truth. I just wish somebody had shoved a copy into my hands years ago and said: “Just shut up and watch it”. It’s one of those experiences. So, yeah, just shut up and watch it.
FRAMED TO PERFECTION
Speaking of which! I hope you’re all enjoying this new series of mine, which is less about the pretty screenshots and, like these digests, more about me mouthing off about something I’m in the middle of watching. Only without resorting to a formal review. As melodramatic as it sounds, I do find long-form reviews quite emotionally draining, so it’s nice just to have my say without laboriously crafting the narrative of a standard critique. I’ve just recaptured the last few shots I posted, as my tweaking with the lighting and colours on my phone did not translate to being posted on a website at all. I suppose there was a false sense of authorship to me fucking around like that, but I’ve put a stop to it now. So, yes, please go back and take a look at those reposts, especially if you were horrified first time around. Still, these posts are getting far more views than my lengthier rambles, so at least someone’s being entertained. Job done!
STORY CORNER
I still need to fix the damage caused to some of my stories that alcoholism has done, so you will notice the odd chapter has vanished by being reverted back into private draft format. It’s just a matter of having.a sober final proof read, rather than my old drunken ones. You may have also noticed (with the aid of me literally spelling it out) that I pretty much completely rewrote the fourth chapter of my coming-of-age tale, the original of which even I could barely understand. Plus I gave away a few plot points far too early for my liking. I’m hoping to get the complete version of my long-short story Phantasm by Footlight out sooner rather than later too, but I need to be in the right emotional place for its traumatic conclusion. Sigh. I’m really not looking forward to that one! My science fiction story also needs some reconsideration, as the core sci-fi concept isn’t really strong enough for my liking. I want all my stories to just be rambling soap operas really, but a little more substance here and there would be nice.
GAMERA
There’s the odd MST3K episode during which I’m all like: “Hey, this film actually looks pretty good!”, so a desire builds within me to watch it or them without Joel and company riffing over the top. The Gamera film series is a case in point. I think they’re basically Godzilla rip-offs, only with a giant flying turtle. Fair enough. However, from what I can tell from the poor quality prints screened by MST3K and the prints’ horrendous English dubbing, the filmmaking is right up my alley! So, yeah, I’m hoping the next Framed to Perfection post you’ll get will be from a Gamera epic or two. I was shocked to my very core to find a UK Blu-ray boxset release available, so I just had to get my grubby little hands on a copy straight away. Stay tuned!
BUBBLEGUM CRISIS
I bought the first disc of this anime series about 20-years-ago and haven’t watched it since. So, in the spirit of my attempting to move away from the usual sitcom boxsets I watch around the clock and hopefully inspire new thoughts and creative urges in my tiny mind, I thought I’d load this one back up! Right, here’s where I risk offending people, but fuck it, nobody reads these anyway. Yes, so if Sailor Moon is perfect for effeminate gay men who love giggling and clapping along to its screeching blonde fuckwit, then Bubblegum Crisis would surely appeal to more discerning lipstick lesbians and their hoodie-wearing pixie counterparts. There, I said it. Bubblegum Crisis is about… erm… something. That’s for sure. I think the futuristic combat suit-wearing protagonists fight post-apocalyptic mutants, or maybe just regular criminals in general. There are hints of an apocalypse during the opening title sequence, but life seems pretty normal once you get to the show proper. Hmmm. Still, it’s filled with wonderful 80s angular coolness and just a hint of tasteful underwear on show, so there’s no horrifying and exploitative tentacle face-rape for those not of that disposition to be concerned about. Well, not yet, at least. I also like some of the RoboCop sfx and references to Blade Runner, so it keeps maintaining my interest. Onwards!
FANNY AND ALEXANDER
I’m taking a brief sabbatical from the dreaded 5-hour television cut of Ingmar Bergman’s semi-autobiographical “masterpiece”. My use of quotation marks there isn’t meant to belittle the work, by the way. I’m literally just quoting professional critics. My own unprofessional feelings are still out on the subject. I think I just needed to take a break because the b.s. problems of privileged white people living in sickening opulence started to get on my teabags, a bit like how I sometimes feel about Modern Family. I’ll return soon enough though, I’m sure.
OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY
A band from Ohio that has a similar sound to the state’s very own Guided by Voices, although this one doesn’t use lo-fi as an aesthetic quite so much. I think it’s just an accident. I’ve only listened to their debut album thus far, but I’m already in love. It’s perfect indie rock goodness. Basically, it’s the sort of band I wish I’d found myself in when I was younger. I guess I still could, but the outlook isn’t great. Who knows what’s ahead with Outrageous Cherry, sonically-speaking, so maybe they get bigger and dumber and less interesting, but I have high hopes that they keep up their modest antics. We shall see.
Urgh, somebody’s just been knocking at my door, but I’m not expecting anyone. I’m a bit creeped out by it. They were quite persistent. It took me by their third round of knocks to finally get some clothes pulled on, so I wasn’t able to answer anyway.
Why won’t people just leave me alone?!
Anyway, it’s totally thrown my headspace, so I don’t think I’ll be able to type anymore. I’ll just read through this and get it posted asap.
Do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
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