John Martyn – I Liked That One

I seem to have to a habit of commenting belatedly on the deaths of musicians I admire. I was about a fortnight after the event in paying tribute to Mitch Mitchell and now I’m the best part of a week late talking about the demise of John Martyn.

Ah well, that’s how it is sometimes. Only the small-minded, petty, inadequate, and cowardly live their lives by immovable deadlines.

John Martyn was none of those things. He was a man who stared life in the face and, consequently, was capable both of exquisite tenderness and appalling self-indulgence. Good. At least he was honest.

Part of the reason for my tardiness was due to nothing more complicated than not knowing where to start. Or finish for that matter. This is a blog, after all. How do you do justice to a talent like John Martyn in this format? And then I realised that you don’t – you let the talent justify itself.

So, with that in mind, watch this.

Seriously, watch it. Don’t read any more until you have.

OK, how good was that? Every component of it is amazing. The guitar playing, the vocal performance, the lyrics – all exceptional.

And when was the last time you heard a love song that wasn’t rooted in sexual desire? (OK, maybe Tears In Heaven but l’ve always been convinced Clapton took this – a song he once covered, incidentally – as his starting point for Tears In Heaven anyway)

Right, now watch this.

It’s the same song recorded 22 years later. OK, I know he looks about 50 years older but that’s hard-living for you. Anyway, I think it’s actually better. Now I know it’s not quite comparing like for like. Where he plays solo in the earlier version, he’s accompanied by Kathy Mettea on vocals, Jerry Douglas on slide guitar (isn’t his contribution just brilliant, by the way?), and his old mate Danny Thompson on double bass in the second. But it’s the evolution of both the song and the man that make it a superior version to my mind.

How often do you see/hear a performance of a song by its author more than two decades after it was written which surpasses any recorded at the time?

Martyn’s voice is deeper, richer, and more nuanced in the later version and as a result so is the song itself. Popular musicians often makes fools of themselves with their desperate efforts to cling on to their youth. This is an object lesson in ageing perhaps not gracefully exactly (he does look a bit like a homeless person) but certainly with dignity.

And…and…and… his dance of joy at the end! That’s a man who has seen it all several times over but never lost touch with the child he once was. Perhaps that’s the secret.

Two versions of the same song, 22 years apart. In the first, a young man wise beyond his years and, in the second, an older man overcome with youthful exuberance. Every age at every stage. The best of both worlds.

I like that one.

Who Should Play BA!?!

We get a lot of bad news in these days of infinite remakes, sequels and re-hashes. Nothing is sacred anymore. So we constantly are affronted with abominations like last year’s CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Keanu Reeves’ The Day The Earth Stood Still.

But this is a bit of good news.

Ridley Scott is making the A-Team movie!!!!

The key question, of course, is who should play BA Baracus?!!?

We asked you guys on our site poll today and here’s how the voting went. It’s a close run thing.

My ‘other’ would be Michael Clarke Duncan. What do you guys think?

And The Nominees Are…

Oscar nominations day today. Here are the nominees in the major categories. You read them here first!
Click on each nominee to find out more.

BEST FILM
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

LEADING ACTOR
FRANK LANGELLA – Frost/Nixon
RICHARD JENKINS – The Visitor
SEAN PENN – Milk
BRAD PITT – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
MICKEY ROURKE – The Wrestler

LEADING ACTRESS
ANGELINA JOLIE – Changeling
ANNE HATHAWAY – Rachel Getting Married
MERYL STREEP – Doubt
KATE WINSLET – The Reader
MELISSA LEO – Frozen River

SUPPORTING ACTOR
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. – Tropic Thunder
MICHAEL SHANON – Revolutionary Road
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Doubt
HEATH LEDGER – The Dark Knight
JOSH BROLIN – Milk

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS – Doubt
PENÉLOPE CRUZ – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
TARAJI P HENSON – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
VIOLA DAVIS – Doubt
MARISA TOMEI – The Wrestler

DIRECTOR
MILK – Gus Van Sant
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
THE READER – Stephen Daldry
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WALL-E
HAPPY GO LUCKY
FROZEN RIVER
IN BRUGES
MILK

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Roth
FROST/NIXON – Peter Morgan
THE READER – David Hare
DOUBT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Simon Beaufoy

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
DEPARTURES
THE CLASS
WALTZ WITH BASHIR
REVENGE

ANIMATED FILM
BOLT
WALL•E – Andrew Stanton
KUNG FU PANDA

That’s 13 nominations for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button! The big loser is Revolutionary Road, which misses out on Best Film, Best Director for Sam Mendes and Best Actress for Kate Winslet…

Relight My Ire

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange have once again proved they are the nicest men in music – and quite possibly the world.

According to news reports, the lads have expressed their regret at not having done more for Robbie Williams when the booze and drugs started to take hold in the mid-1990s.

Gary laments "missing the signs" that his former band-mate was in trouble, while Mark has said, "I feel a bit guilty now that I wasn’t mature enough to hear his cries."

Jason even appeared to confirm the rumours of Robbie’s return to the line-up, saying, "Lets get him back as quickly as possible."

Whatever the ins and outs of Williams’ departure from the band back in 1995, it’s clear he was a liability. As it turned out, the public wouldn’t accept a four-man Take That (how ironic that seems now), so Robbie’s meltdown cost them all dearly – particularly Donald and Orange, whose chances of solo success seemed slim at best and proved to be just that.

Now I am far from unsympathetic to Robbie’s plight at the time. But my God, didn’t he milk it for 10 whole years after he straightened himself out? And didn’t he just love putting the boot in when his solo career took off and those of his former band-mates faltered?

Perhaps the others could have done more to help him but I think enduring a decade’s worth of snide comments, childish gloating about his solo success, and even personal abuse in his lyrics ("I met the other guys / one seemed like a c*ck" from his song The ’90s is a fairly unambiguous reference to Gary Barlow) is more than enough penance for their negligence.

I personally don’t think they owe Robbie anything. What do you reckon?

Oh, and by the way, MSN Music will be the first place (including their official site) you’ll be able to see the video for TT’s new single, Up All Night, on Tuesday 27th of January.

Harry 7 Underway!

Potter starlet Emma Watson updated her official website with this yesterday. They’re already underway with Part VII!!

"On Monday I go in for test shoots for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1). I am quite excited to be back actually. I don’t think I have seen Dan since the summer since he left for NY and Rupert since Autumn. I think I have a couple of costume fittings and a hair appointment to make my hair a bit browner. Not sure whether we have a couple rehearsals as well.
Excited to see if they have cast anyone yet…"

There’s a November 19, 2010 release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, followed by a May 2011 release of Part II.

For me, it just highlights the ridiculousness of The Half-Blood Prince being held back until next summer. They’ll have nearly finished this one by the time it comes out. The whole franchise is out of sync…!

A Brit Predictable Really

I’ve just got back in from the Brits 2009 nominations ceremony at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm. I say ceremony, it was more like being in the studio audience for an ITV2 programme. In fact, thinking about it, that’s exactly what it was.

Anyway, I was invited because I am on the voting panel this year. That’s not quite as grand as it sounds. There are somewhere in the region of 1000 of us, from record shop owners to student union ents managers (no disrespect to either), but it nonetheless felt pretty exciting to be part of a process I’ve observed avidly since the bad old days when Phil Collins winning Best British Male was a foregone conclusion.

Not exciting enough not to be late though. Hey, I was watching the Obama inauguration speech and I reasoned that any future children I might have will be more likely to ask where I was when that was happening than when Scouting For Girls were nominated for British Breakthrough Act.

I must be getting old.

So, for those of you who care about such things, here are the nominations in full:

British Male Solo Artist
Ian Brown
James Morrison
Paul Weller
The Streets
Will Young

British Female Solo Artist
Adele
Beth Rowley
Duffy
Estelle
M.I.A.

British Group
Coldplay
Elbow
Girls Aloud
Radiohead
Take That

British Single
Adele – Chasing Pavements
Alexandra Burke – Hallelujah
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris – Dance Wiv Me
Duffy – Mercy
Estelle ft. Kanye West: American Boy
Girls Aloud – The Promise
Leona Lewis – Better In Time
Scouting For Girls – Heartbeat
The X Factor Finalists – Hero

British Album
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Duffy – Rockferry
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Ting Tings – We Started Nothing

British Breakthrough Act
Adele
Duffy
The Last Shadow Puppets
Scouting For Girls
Ting Tings

British Live Act
Coldplay
Elbow
Iron Maiden
Scouting For Girls
The Verve

International Male Solo Artist
Beck
Neil Diamond
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Seasick Steve

International Female Solo Artist
Beyoncé
Gabriella Cilmi
Katy Perry
Pink
Santogold

International Group
AC/DC
Fleet Foxes
The Killers
Kings of Leon
MGMT

International Album
AC/DC – Black Ice
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
The Killers – Day & Age
Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

British Producer of the Year
Bernard Butler
Brian Eno
Steve Mac

Critics’ Choice Award
Florence and the Machine

Outstanding Contribution to Music
Pet Shop Boys

So basically Duffy and Coldplay lead the way with four nominations each. I’d make Duffy favourite to convert all four of hers to gongs next month. No surprises there, you might think.

But then, as Florence And The Machine were being announced as recipients of this year’s Critics’ Choice award (one of two that are given in advance), I remembered that when Adele won it last year, Duffy was barely on the radar.

Critics, eh? What do they know?

Those Bafta Noms In Full…

Why do they have to read them out at 7.30 am??? BEST FILM

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin
• FROST/NIXON – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
• MILK – Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
• THE READER – Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• HUNGER – Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch, Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
• IN BRUGES – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
• MAMMA MIA! – Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson
• MAN ON WIRE – Simon Chinn, James Marsh
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD

for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film

• SIMON CHINN (Producer) – Man On Wire
• JUDY CRAYMER (Producer) – Mamma Mia!
• GARTH JENNINGS (Writer) – Son of Rambow
• STEVE McQUEEN (Director/Writer) – Hunger
• SOLON PAPADOPOULOS, ROY BOULTER (Producers) – Of Time And The City

DIRECTOR

• CHANGELING – Clint Eastwood
• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
• FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
• THE READER – Stephen Daldry
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• BURN AFTER READING – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• CHANGELING – J. Michael Straczynski
• I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Philippe Claudel
• IN BRUGES – Martin McDonagh
• MILK – Dustin Lance Black

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Roth
• FROST/NIXON – Peter Morgan
• THE READER – David Hare
• REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Justin Haythe
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Simon Beaufoy

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – Bernard Eichinger, Uli Edel
• GOMORRAH – Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
• I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel
• PERSEPOLIS – Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
• WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahl Ieli, Ari Folman

ANIMATED FILM

• PERSEPOLIS – Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parannaud
• WALL•E – Andrew Stanton
• WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Ari Folman

LEADING ACTOR

• FRANK LANGELLA – Frost/Nixon
• DEV PATEL – Slumdog Millionaire
• SEAN PENN – Milk
• BRAD PITT – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• MICKEY ROURKE – The Wrestler

LEADING ACTRESS

• ANGELINA JOLIE – Changeling
• KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I’ve Loved You So Long
• MERYL STREEP – Doubt
• KATE WINSLET – The Reader
• KATE WINSLET – Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• ROBERT DOWNEY JR. – Tropic Thunder
• BRENDAN GLEESON – In Bruges
• PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Doubt
• HEATH LEDGER – The Dark Knight
• BRAD PITT – Burn After Reading

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• AMY ADAMS – Doubt
• PENÉLOPE CRUZ – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• FREIDA PINTO – Slumdog Millionaire
• TILDA SWINTON – Burn After Reading
• MARISA TOMEI – The Wrestler

MUSIC

• THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Alexandre Desplat
• THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
• MAMMA MIA! – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
• SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – A. R. Rahman
• WALL•E – Thomas Newman

Globes And Going Forward

Big success for Slumdog Millionaire, Kate Winslet and Mickey Rourke at yesterday’s Globes.

Four wins for Slumdog (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Score and a win at The Critics’ Choice Awards) make it the new favourite for the Oscar. Previously the commonly beheld favourite was Revolutionary Road. Now all we need is to convince the world that it isn’t a Bollywood film as some people have mistakenly dubbed it.

I’m happy that Slumdog is the new top dog. If it wins the big prize in February it’ll be a victory for fun, fast-paced filmmaking. I saw Revolutionary Road last week, and I very much enjoyed it. But, from weepy violin soundtrack to big-name emotional breakdown scenes, it is so much an Oscar film that I hope it doesn’t win. I watched it with my other half and I very much enjoyed. But her response was, "Well I wouldn’t choose to see it." And I can absolutely understand where she was coming from. It’s very much the same as I felt about Million Dollar Baby.

But (but!) Kate Winslet was magnificent. I have so much respect for this amazing actress. The look on her face as her marriage to Leo DiCaprio collapses in Revolutionary Road is just incredibly convincing. It’s the kind of performance in which you know that the actor suffered with the character. She drove the entire film and I am absolutely convinced that she’ll get the Oscar. She is the most favourite of all the favourites, which is bad luck for Ange Jolie and Changeling – but the winner is clear.

I’m still awestruck by The Wrestler and I hope Mickey Rourke goes on to pick up an Oscar too. It’s the Best Film as well as far as I’m concerned, but the chances of it winning that at the Oscars seem pretty slim. Here’s my review – go see it!

It was 50 Years Ago Today…

…that Berry Gordy created the record label which was responsible for much of the last century’s finest soul, pop, and R&B records: Motown.

Not only that, in doing so, he contributed more than perhaps anyone to the racial integration of popular music.

I am not going to try to compete with Tom Townshend’s appraisal of the legendary label here. He nails the essence of Motown’s appeal in far more detail than I could possibly manage in a blog entry.

What I will say, though, is that reading his article made me revisit the tracks he specifically discusses, despite the fact I knew them very well anyway, which is surely the sign of good music journalism.

They are all fabulous, of course, but I felt I just had to say a word about I Want You Back by the Jackson Five. From the joyous descending piano sweep at the start to the insanely infectious staccato guitar riff to what may be the most melodic bass-line in music history to the pre-pubescent Jacko’s impassioned vocals which somehow manage to convey both yearning AND joy, it’s as close to the perfect pop song as I’ve ever heard.

I thought I knew all this anyway but listening really is believing. Ahhh… they don’t make ’em like that any more.

Slumdog Dancefloor

Thanks to ents manager Steve for sending me this this morning.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of Slumdog Millionaire – Danny Boyle’s oscar-tipped Mumbai-set drama last week and it really lived up to the hype. Such a simple idea to structure a film around a game show. It sounds sketchy and even a tad cheap at first. But the execution, as hinted at by this alternative version, is outstanding…

If you only see two films in January, make it this and Mickey Rourke’s The Wrestler, which I’ve reviewed here.

This will be the last blog entry before Christmas and the new year as I’m away from tomorrow. So I wish everyone a happy seasonal period and I’ll see you all on the other side…