The War On The West by Douglas Murray.

£10 for the hardcover from Amazon. Bargain.

Huddersfield were robbed.

John Moss should have retired the game before this one - reputedly the most lucrative in the world.

He gave a leg up to Forest throughout, he struggled to keep pace with the game when Huddersfield turned up the tempo in the second half and, of course, there were two stonewall penalties that should have been given.

Hope Leeds stuff Forest next season.

This and the FA Cup final were poor for the neutral.

The main problem for me is that track 1 is just too darn long for its own good. It could have several minutes cut from it with no detriment to its (considerable) impact, imo.

The only non-Rush song to which I can compare it off the top of my head is Close To The Edge, which, several years before Hemispheres, set the benchmark for side-long prog epics, and arguably on that score has never been surpassed.

Four Weddings is worth setting time aside for; it's Richard Curtis (and friends) on top form.

Titanic is a very accomplished film in many respects, but I didn't "feel" it in my bones. Can't help but to admire the craft though - no pun intended.

In the same way that pretty much every household is perceived to have in its music collection certain mandatory, iconic titles, then surely Top Gun is a film that you will almost certainly find sitting in cabinets stuffed full of DVDs and blu-rays in any given film-loving home.

Now, one the reasons I hadn't seen this up to now was that I'd simply never got round to borrowing it or buying it. But with the release of the must-see, ludicrously overdue sequel, I had to see this - and fast; so, what were my options?

Well, the film collection in my household is - apart from the entire feature filmography by David Lynch which is always kept in chronological order - a bit of a mish-mash of my stuff, and my co-habitee's stuff; was Top Gun part of her collection? Maybe I should check? Would it vindicate the theory that, chances are, any given household has it?

So I looked, and, lo and behold, I found it within about 20 seconds; a DVD probably unopened in years.

So in it went, into my 21st century Blu-ray player, and for a few moments there was a whirring and click-clacking as if it had ingested a foreign object. But once it settled down, we were ready for take off...

I think there are two essential elements to this film's success and status.  The first is obvious: Tom Cruise, here establishing his mega-stardom that of course lasts to this day. There isn't actually much he does, or even has to do, because his looks and charm are enough to carry this superficial 80s hokum.

The second factor for me is the late, lamented Tony Scott (brother of Ridley, of course), whose eye for a great shot and sense of kinetic energy often elevates this above the over-blown cheese topping that was shovelled on the script - though, in fairness, that was 80s scripts for you.

So, yes, I can completely understand why this has a special place in many people's hearts; and while - of course! - I enjoyed it, maybe if I'd actually watched it around the time of its original release I'd treasure it as much as many of my vintage seem to do?

Not to worry - there's the sequel to watch now, in IMAX.

Rating: ***

Have a good one!

I wouldn't go that far about the first and second tracks, for all their undoubted qualities. But I would about The Trees and LVS, which are faultless, top-tier Rush.

The instrumental section in The Trees is stunning.  I adore the way it sort of builds in layers, starting with one of Al's signature moves - a characteristically enchanting arpeggio - which cedes its front seat to Ged's syncopated-yet-groovy bass, which in turn allows the (superb) guitar solo to jump on top. And it's a superb example, amongst many, of Rush somehow making sections of music in odd time signatures seem so perfectly intuitive and so graceful and so natural.

Then that stop-start, call and response type section, and an incredible segue into another more rocking section, providing a fantastic release from the previous tension, all going up to make a sort of mini mid-song rhapsody that only these three guys could do.

If all that dynamism and invention is at a stratospheric level in The Trees, then it is somewhat miraculously blasted beyond the exosphere with LVS, an utterly, eternally staggering masterpiece of an instrumental.

Which brings me to what strikes me as the most astounding aspect of this album: the guys who made it where not that far into their twenties. And that just leaves me speechless.

Some of Alex's very finest guitar work is on this album; simple as that.

That scooped, sustained note around the start of the solo on Start Today is absolutely spine-tingling for me every single time; how do you make one note so astoundingly perfect?!  Its gob-smacking.

Some truly corking songs and instrumentals on this, ending on a real zinger with I Am The Spirit, which contains another utterly sublime guitar solo.

The tracks with the spoken vocals I'd agree aren't half as strong as the others, with the exception of Shut Up Shuttin' Up - this is a blast, and elevated by yet more brilliant, tasty, beautifully constructed lead playing.

Terrific stuff.

Very sad news. Wonderful player in a band I've adored since a very young age (whatever the "version").

I was disappointed to hear the other week he wouldn't be playing on the imminent tour (I've a ticket for Manchester), which I assumed was for health reasons. But I wasn't expecting this.

RIP.

On the GUP tour live video, when "The Count" is introducing The Weapon and he says, "Oooh, listen to that synthesiser!!" and THAT pattern kicks in, it's a glorious thing of beauty.

Ricky Gervais - Super Nature (Netflix).

The usual baiting schtick.

Best enjoyed realising he's a professional comedian giving an often provocative performance of stand-up comedy that is constructed of jokes.

But it seems half of those on Tw@tter are determined not to get that.

Showing at the National Science and Media Museum's IMAX theatre in Bradford, so once I've finally seen the first one (review imminent) I'll be sure to catch it there.

S6 Ep 7

Mid-season finale.

When the series is done, how about we lift the embargo on spoilers?

So much to discuss with this episode!  But all I will say is this: it delivered.

Quote from: Slim on May 24, 2022, 02:27:11 PM

Quote from: Matt2112 on May 24, 2022, 02:02:11 PMThe only issue I have (but it's really a non-issue for me) is that when logging in on a laptop I get an error message on clicking "Log in", but if I right click and select "Open in another tab", and try from there, it works properly.

That's interesting, what error message? Ta

It literally just says, "error". Every time, unless I open another tab. 🤷🏻�♂️