1. Dream School by Blake Nelson. The sequel to seminal grunge-era novel Girl, it takes up where Girl finished - with protaganist Andrea Marr on the plane to college. Whereas I loved and related to Girl on a visceral level, Dream School was a nice story, well told, but failed to connect with me.
2. The House Bunny. I probably should have realised how awful this would be - the title alone is a major clue - but I had such high hopes for a film that features three of my favourite comic actresses: Anna Faris (famous for the Scary Movie franchise but most amazing in her scene-stealing cameos in Lost In Translation and Brokeback Mountain), Emma Stone (Easy A, The Help) and Kat Dennings (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist). It was entertaining enough - Faris is such a great actress she even makes dross like this funny - but laced with misogyny and conflicting messages about the value of beauty vs. brains.
3. Valencia by Michelle Tea. I bought my copy of this in a store on Valencia Street in The Mission district of San Francisco, which is just perfect as the book is set in and around that very area (hence the title). Not quite finished it yet but so far I am loving the travails of lovelorn lesbian Michelle (all similarities to the author entirely non-coincidental) as she drinks, drugs, works and fucks her way around the city.
1. Hold On by Alabama Shakes. I can't quite articulate the extent to which I'm obsessed with this song at the moment. The single version is amazing, but this live performance (on the Conan O'Brien show in the States) is superlative; genuinely the most exciting four minutes of music I've seen in a while. Her voice, her hair, her blouse, her guitar... frontwoman Brittany is my new girl crush.
2. Wolf Hand by Pulled Apart By Horses. Just for the final 40 seconds or so, where he wails like a man possessed. Sounds like the best of 90s grunge, so not a surprise that I like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment