Watching - June 2021

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Unanimous choice for our family film night (although I hadn't heard about it before about two days ago and was not really bothered either way), Disney's latest is fairly identikit, well, Disney fare. Modern, ass-kicking Disney princess? Tick. Missing parent? Of course. Cute animal sidekick? Present and correct. Huge big moral being whacked around your head? Absolutely - although in this case the moral is not just about trusting in people, but to me seems to have fairly hefty dose of warnings against isolationism and nationalism, which is a bit subversive for Disney. The animation is superb, although the characters do look a bit like Barbie, as K pointed out - their faces all seem a bit plastic and unlined - the story is involving, if predictable, and the animals cute. What else do you want? An enjoyable evening with the family, unlikely to be watched again for a while though.

Luca (2021)

The newest Pixar release on Disney+ predictably gets no complaints for pizza night, and predictably provides pleasant passing of time. It looks sumptuous, is heartwarming and sweet, and involving enough to keep us entertained. I'm a little less sure of the way it reduces Italians to stereotypes (I'm fairly certain that "Santa Gorgonzola" is not a real saint, much less one that is invoked in a crisis) and as such it seems like a very US-centric view of the country. Nevertheless, fun enough.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

I'm fairly certain we saw this in the cinema when it came out, and were not impressed enough to bother ordering it on DVD. It's good fun though, with most of the funniest moments centred around Jack Jack and his multifarious powers, and even if the plot twist can be seen coming a mile off, it still gets a bit nail-biting towards the climax. Fun stuff, watched with Z.

Reading - June 2021

Guitar Magazine (July 2021 / Issue 394)

I read somewhere that all guitar magazines feature an issue with Jimi Hendrix on the cover at least once every twelve months, in the knowledge that it will be that year's best selling issue - as good an illustration as any of the somewhat narrow world of guitar, sadly. Therefore, it strikes me as a brave move to put a woman on the cover, in this case Annie Clark of St. Vincent. I don't know her music but they say she "might well be the most important guitar player on the planet today" so I should go and listen to some. Elsewhere the Ivison Guitars Dakota model looks rather nice, although if I was plonking down that kind of cash I'd get the '59 DC, no question.

Noises Off by Michael Frayn (1982)

I saw this in the West End with my parents in the early 80s, so therefore the original production - although possibly not the original cast, since it ran for five years. C and I also saw it again more recently, although I can't remember where. It's a fantastically well-crafted play and laugh-out-loud funny on the page - and even more so on stage, of course, although sadly the few staged examples I can find on Youtube fail to do it justice, and the film version got poor reviews.

Be My Enemy by Christopher Brookmyre (2004)

I swore off Brookmyre for 2021, just to reduce the over-familiarity, but clearly didn't manage. I remember struggling to get into this book for ages but now it's one of my favourites - the combination of Jack Parlabane and Tim Vale is irresistible and the plotting and characterisation as good as ever. I'm disappointed to find that Chris Brookmyre has chosen to revive the Parlabane character as a divorced man in later books, which, based on a reading of their plots, are unremittingly depressing. I don't know why he decided to remove the humour from his novels, as without it they are just fairly standard fare.

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox (2002)

It's easy to underestimate just how famous Michael J. Fox is. Here's something I didn't know until I read it just now on Wikipedia: at its peak, the sitcom Family Ties was watched by one-third of American households every week. That's a lot of people basically tuning in to see Fox, who was the lead character, and it's easy to understand why, as he is such an engaging person in every role he plays. This comes across in his book: he's honest about his illness and honest about his failings, including the one where he hid his illness for nine years.

How To Get Rich  by Felix Dennis (2006)

An entertaining read that lifts the lid on the reality of becoming and staying seriously rich. It comes across as slightly throw-away in places (Dennis says towards the end that he wrote it in eight weeks), and in others as a bit of a diatribe against various targets, not least the kind of people who write "how to get rich" books! Nevertheless, full of truths (at least, they seem so to me) and valuable insights.

Pedal Power 2021

 

Amazingly, another two years has (almost) passed since I last reviewed my pedals, and there are quite a few new purchases, so it's definitely time to do it again. This obviously doesn't include pedals that have come and gone in between times, including the classic pairing of the Strymon Flint and Strymon El Capistan (so at one point I did in fact own four Strymon pedals), the Source Audio Nemesis, Catalinbread Talisman and Hamstead Odyssey - all top notch pedals, but not quite right for me.

One thing that's fairly obvious when reviewing the previous three of my pedal board posts is I have been gradually drifting towards more expensive items. In 2015 I owned two that cost more than £100, with most of the selection being firmly at the cheap and cheerful end of the market. Today there are three that I paid over £200  for (two of which were secondhand) and three more that would have been over that much new. That said, all but three of these pedals are pre-owned, so in theory I am improving value for myself that way!

Anyway, here they are, in signal path order:

Bright Onion Mini Looper [1]

Still being used as a patch box and mute switch, hasn't shifted since last time.

Line 6 Expression pedal [2] and Line 6 M5

Also unmoved in over two years. The effects I use most often are an octave down, a chorus and a wah. Since collectively those would cost significantly more than this, and take up more space, it stays. Although I am tempted to get a TC Electronics Sub 'n' Up for the octave shenanigans.

Fredric Effects King of Klone [4]

The Electro-Harmonix Soul Food had been on my board for ages, but I'd been wondering about getting a "better" Klon Centaur clone, and this came up at an excellent price. It's not better than the Soul Food it replaced - or worse - but on the other hand this is two Klon circuits in one box, which sounds excellent. I should have hung on the Soul Food though, it was very good at boosting things and had its own character.

BOSS OD-200 [5]

My most recent purchase. I'd been wondering about different flavours of overdrive and this pretty much does it all. I'd tried a Hamstead Odyssey, which is a really nice pedal that has a fair amount of variety, but it had a top end fizz I couldn't dial out - although in hindsight that might have been the H&K Tubemeister amp, which has since been replaced by a Yamaha THR100H. The OD-200 digitally models a dozen drives, fifteen boosts and allows a drive and a boost to run simultaneously. Incredibly versatile, although I haven't played with it enough to know whether it's a keeper.

BOSS GE-7 (ThorpyFX modded) [6]

I had a Mooer Graphic-G which was very compact but didn't get much use the frequencies weren't quite right, and was a bit noisy. The GE-7 is the industry standard, although it's also generally considered to be improvable itself in the noise department, which is why modded versions like that by Analogman are highly sought after. I assume this has much the same updates, in this case done by Adrian Thorpe. Anyway, it's very good. I also like having a "proper" BOSS pedal on the board - it's a design classic.

Eventide Rose [7]

I love delay. My first was a Frontline FD-1200 Digital Delay which got lost ages ago, but my first in more modern times was the MXR Carbon Copy. That started my descent into a bit of a rabbit hole which has ended up here (so far). The Rose is a digital take on a bucket-brigade style delay, but with way more features. It sounds excellent - you'd expect nothing less of a company with the pedigree of Eventide, of course - but it's too new to know whether I'd use all of its capabilities. I suspect that I won't, which leaves me wondering again whether I should have just kept the Carbon Copy! (bit of a theme developing here ...) Fun to try all these things though.

Strymon DIG [8]

This has three different digital delays which do sound different, albeit only slightly. So in practice it's a bit of a one-trick pony - although in fairness, it's a hell of a trick. If I want a single delay I usually go for a more analogue sounding delay like the Brigadier or the Rose, so all this gets used for is bad Edge impressions, which is enough to keep it on the board!

Neunaber Immerse Mk II [9]

I also love reverb, although for a while I decided that whatever is in the amp is enough. However, I really missed the adjustability of a pedal. I tried the Source Audio True Spring, which sounded superb but is only spring reverb (duh) whereas I like plate reverb more. So I moved on the to Strymon Flint, which stayed until very recently and saw off the Catalinbread Talisman. It's excellent but perhaps a little dull, and I couldn't use the tremelo effectively either. So when the Immerse came up on the forum, I snapped it up. So far I'm loving it - loads of different reverb options, all of which sound luscious. Plus it has an "echo" option for when two other delays aren't enough.

Hotone Wally+ Looper [10]

I've had a looper on my board since I inadvertently acquired one in the TC Flashback X4. The BOSS RC-1 wasn't as usable as I expected and definitely muffled the tone, so on a whim I bought this, the smallest looper I could find. It's tiny (see pic) but it has eleven slots for loops and can record something like thirty minutes in each of them. Needless to say, all I use it for it recording simple chord progressions for improvising over. Worth having though, and takes up almost no space on the board. Hotone used to do a whole range of pedals this size - it's tempting to do a whole board with them and compare it!

Tech 21 Sansamp [11]

I've said a few times already that there are pedals I shouldn't have sold, and that's why I won't sell this. It's a classic, it's great at what it does and it was great value for money.

Ken Multi MCP-7 Compressor [12]

I think the only time this comes out of its box is for family photos like this! Pity, as it's a perfectly functional, if shameless, copy of a BOSS CS-2, but the M5 has three or four compressors in it that I'd use instead if that's what I wanted. Worth nothing though, so it won't be going anywhere.

BOSS LS-2 Line Selector [13]

Another utility pedal that is a tool in the box for those moments when I need to split a signal. Have to admit I haven't used it recently though.

Strymon Brigadier [14]

As mentioned above, I got the MXR Carbon Copy and loved it. But inevitably, I wondered if more controls would be better, so I sold it for the Carbon Copy Deluxe, which was a disappointment. So basically I've been looking for something that sounds like the CC, but with more control over the modulation and the feedback. I had the BOSS DM-2W (lovely but lacking modulation on the repeats), the Strymon El Capistan (tape delay not really my thing), this and the Rose above. The Brigadier sounds excellent but the mod control could be better and the oscillation is obviously digital. I suspect this is leading me back to properly analogue delay again - either another CC, or something even more expensive like a full-fat Deluxe Memory Man Deluxe (the 1100 TT is probably the best bet). 

Not pictured (but talked about last time):

• Fredric Effects Unpleasant Companion - up for sale but I might change my mind as there has only been one inquiry in over a month.
• Cry Baby Super

Watching - May 2021

Brave (2012)

Family viewing on a Saturday night, and something we probably haven't watched since we first got it. A fun story, well told and (of course) superbly animated.

Gregory's Girl (1980)

Having watched Chariots Of Fire last month, I had to get to this next, as they go together in my mind - in fact, I feel sure I saw them on a double bill once. It's on my list of favourite films, although I can't remember the last time I watched it. It's dated, obviously filmed on a budget and some of the acting's a little ropey, but it's so sweet and charming that it's easy to forget all that. At least, I find it so, but then it's so irrevocably associated with my own adolescence that I can't really judge it impartially. This is why I'm keen for B to watch it and see what he thinks! I'll persuade him eventually ...

The Lego Movie (2014)

Despite having seen this many times, there is so much detail in this film that it's easy to watch again. The animation is spectacularly clever and the script is tongue-in-cheek and witty. Sure, the ending, where the dad realises his mistake, is a touch sugary, but this is splendidly sent up by the final twist: "Now that I'm letting you come down here and play, guess who else gets to come down here and play? Your sister."

Clueless (1995)

B's Sunday afternoon choice, possibly partly because he's reading Emma, but who needs a reason? It's still one of my favourite films, a smart, funny and sweet film, given depth by its literary inheritance and its heart by some lovely performances.

One Day (2011)

The sign of a good book is that you don't want it to end, even while being unable to wait to find out how it ends. The film of the book is a way of extending your time in the book's world and maybe seeing it from a new perspective. In this, the film does very acceptably; seeing the characters and seeing their environment does bring the story to life in a new way. The film continues the grand tradition of British films featuring a US star to try and make it internationally appealing, which in this case is a mistake, I think. Not that Anne Hathaway isn't decent in the role, but she is too recognisable and consequently unbalances the story (look, there's Anne Hathaway pretending to be plain again!). And why did no-one spot that her "Yorkshire" accent keep disappearing (when it's there, she sounds just like Jodie Whitaker, who is also in the film). But a British actress who could actually do the accent would have been better. Still, the story survives, all the right buttons are pressed and I found it moving all over again.

Back In Time (2015)

Documentary about Back To The Future - made, of course, in the year that Marty McFly famously went to in BTTF2. Not as much about the making of as I expected, but there's reams of that on the box set. This is more about the phenomenon, the fans, the cars (lots about the cars). Mildly diverting but entertaining enough.

Reading - May 2021

Guitar Magazine (June 2021 / Issue 393)

Another month, another Les Paul on the cover - the most accurate ever, apparently! Again. While I can see the appeal of a nicely aged guitar, paying over £6,000 for something that's been artfully beaten up, which you will then be too scared to touch, has a certain irony. Elsewhere, the Macmull Stinger looks rather nice and Benson make a germanium fuzz with it's own built-in temperature regulator. Whatever next?

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis (2017)

I picked this just because it's by Michael Lewis, not because I was interested in the subject - not that it was at all clear what the subject was. I think it's a bit of a miss, unfortunately. Lewis often includes the stories of the people behind the events he is explaining but here he has reversed that and chosen to put the relationship between two men - Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman - at the centre. As a result, discussion about what they actually did is a bit more vague, and I'm left with the impression that if you cut out all the biographical details (which are not really necessary in order to understand their work), you wouldn't be left with much of a book - and neither their lives or their friendship are so interesting that it's worthwhile. Michael Lewis writes superbly but this was harder going than his other books.

David & Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell (2013)

Malcolm Gladwell is another author whose books I will pick up when I find them, just because of how well he writes. Here, he uses examples from different fields to show that what accepted wisdom deems to be disadvantageous - be it dyslexia, larger class sizes or more lenient crime laws - is not necessarily so. Full of fun facts to quote at people as well as some thought-provoking ideas, this is a really interesting book which, despite tailing off a little inconclusively (it could have done with an epilogue of sorts) is well worth reading. (also, coincidentally, Amos Tversky is mentioned in a footnote!)

Jingo by Terry Pratchett (1997)

Maybe it's because I read this at bedtimes - which means a few pages per night and stopping in rather random places - but this feels a bit disjointed and kind of Discworld-by-numbers. Corporal Carrot (still one of my favourite characters) is increasingly used as almost a super-hero, albeit one whose super power is irresistible niceness and reasonableness - but still, a bit deus ex machina. Obviously the book is about nationalism - jingoism, duh - and the stupidity thereof, and makes a decent job of satirising it, although it's all a bit fish-in-a-barrel taking the piss out of nationalism anyway.

One Day by David Nicholls (2009)

I've owned this for probably ten years but never felt like taking the plunge. Then the other day I saw it on the shelf, decided to finally try it, and two days later I'd finished it, devouring it in huge chunks in a way I haven't with a book for a while. Kind of appropriate if you know the story, which is moving, affecting and quietly dramatic (at least until the last bit which turns a bit melodramatic). That said, it irks me slightly that underneath the superb writing, the astute observations and the compelling structure, the story is actually just pure Mills & Boon: Dexter is an self-involved idiot, eventually saved by the love of Emma, who is too good for him but loves him anyway and always has. But I still couldn't read it quick enough, and then immediately went and bought the film too.

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams (2011)

The success of David Walliams perplexes me: after making the most egregiously unfunny sketch show ever, he moved onto children's books, which are deeply unappealing mixtures of pastiche and cliché that nevertheless seem well on their way to making him the successor to Roald Dahl and some sort of national treasure. Gangsta Granny is a good example. No cliché about old people is left unexhumed and given one last outing: apparently they fart all the time (aren't farts funny kids!) and smell of cabbage (yuck, cabbage!), but it turns out they're actually real people too (who knew?). The writing is a blunt instrument, with none of Dahl's flair or originality, and just a crass approximation of his legendary grotesquery. The only saving grace is that the story is original and engaging. (I should admit that although I'm familiar with many of Walliams' books, this is the first I've read all the way through, in this case to Z over the course of a couple of weeks. And he enjoys it, as indeed he does all of these books. Oh well.)

The Rough Guide To The Titanic by Greg Ward (2012)

I'm not sure why I keep coming back to this, but I've read it about five times now, which is a bit over-the-top, even for me. In Southampton today we saw the MV Brittania, which is huge, and it's sobering to think that over 100 years ago, the Titanic was not far off this size - about 80% of the length and half the width.

The Best of Nat King Cole

 Nat King Cole

Capitol Records - ST 21139 (c1968)

The next random selection managed to pick out one of the few "pop" records in my grandparent's collection. This was obviously a popular choice in their househould, as it showed signs of being played a fair amount - the cover is well used and the record itself, while in good condition, wasn't particularly clean (I'm fairly certain there were some bits of chocolate on it).

It's nice to have short, easily digestible songs, and while some are very much of their time ("Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer" has some particularly cringe-inducing lyrics to modern ears), they all sound pleasant. I was familiar with about half of the songs on this album - the timeless classics such as "Unforgettable" of course - but it's been nice to hear others. Tracks like "I Don't Want to be Hurt Anymore" or "Dear Lonely Hearts" sound almost country; "L-O-V-E" is as swinging as anything Sinatra has recorded (it's interesting to note that both singers worked with the same arrangers, such as Nelson Riddle).

I have a particular fondness for "Let There Be Love", as I think my parents had this on 45 and I must have been hearing it since my teens. Cole's voice is remarkably consistent across all these songs - perhaps he doesn't have the range of a Frank Sinatra, but his vocal quality is of course unique and instantly identifiable. Easy listening in the very best sense.

[side note: I'm cheating a bit again, as my record player is still playing up, so I mostly listened to this on Spotify. I'm a bit disappointed - I really wanted to be playing the actual discs - but I wanted to carry on with the listening anyway]

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

 Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Conducted by Daniel Barenboim

Deutsche Grammophon - 2741007 (1981)

My Vinyl Album of the "Week" project has looked like being decreasingly well-named of late, and partly this is because I was determined not to just skip this record, even though I have found it really hard to like. It's too long for me to be able to get a grip on, with each movement more than ten minutes long and some over twenty. Perhaps what I needed to do was listen to each movement individually rather than attempt the whole symphony each time.

I can pick out some repeated themes, but as a whole it seems to jump from this to that, without seeming to have any connection between what I shall, in my ignorance, refer to as "bits". As you'd expect, the orchestration is never less than excellent and there's undoubtedly harmonic sophistication going way over my head - but, as a whole, I found it in part too daunting and in part just too much. I couldn't concentrate for long enough to get an overall picture in my head. Clearly this is my failing - apparently this is one of the greatest symphonies of all time - but I can't say it's a piece I'll be rushing back to.

On the last side (of four) is Bruckner's Te Deum, a piece which is amuses me (entirely unoriginally, I'm sure) to think of as "tedium", although I haven't listened to it more than about twice. It has operatic singing on it which was never going to interest me anyway, and now it's time to move on to another record.

The other reason this took me so long to write up is because this record seems to either illustrate shortcomings of my record player, my setup, or possibly both, as the louder sections distort noticeable in the left hand channel, which is very distracting. It might be the record, although, remarkably, this was still sealed in its cellophane until I played it, so it can't be previous damage. I think it's mostly sorted out now - I've readjusted the tone arm multiple times - but it just reminds me how fragile and fiddly record players are. Other than the sentimental value of listening to it - which is valid - there are no other reasons I can think of to bother.