transmission no language, just sound

280?

The Pixies - Idlewild - Teenage Fanclub - My Latest Novel

I've never been to Meadowbank stadium before and I have to say it's not the most auspicious place to have a gig. It's basically a rundown lower league football ground (without a team) that also does athletics. God knows how they've managed to hold two Commonweath Games there without cringing with embarrassment. It also does a nice line in swirling wind.
My Latest Novel were the wrong band for this bill. Just a bit lacking in energy and grit to fire up the imagination of the crowd. I think they might be nice on record, you never know.
Teenage Fanclub were great as usual. It's a bit worrying to see just how much they look like schoolteachers these days, but they still make a magnificent noise when they're on stage. My particular favourites, as usual, The Concept and Everything Flows.
Idlewild were good, a nice selection of older stuff, a pity the material from the latest album is so ineffectual. They've also invested in silly haircuts and the lead guitarist has bought a portfolio of rock star poses (silly bugger). They've still got a fanbase filled with rabid teenage girls with a tendency to be both drunk and abnoxious.
Pixies were mind blowing. Totally mind blowing, just great song after great song as the crowd got more mental and the mosh pit bigger until it was practically the whole crowd. I escaped to a more sane part of the crowd (I'm too old for mosh pits these days) but a friend had to get pulled out of the pit during Monkey's Gone To Heaven.
It's probably entered the top three of my favourite gigs of all time, definitely top five.

279?

Serenity

So, yeah, I saw Serenity last night as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
It's really very good. It is by no stretch of the imagination a perfect film and I don't know how it would play to someone who hasn't seen a lot of Firefly but still I enjoyed myself as much as I have at the cinema in ages.
Of course to discuss all the issues I'd want to I'd be spoiling the film entirely, so I'm just going to have to let it go.
What I would do is recommend that you go see it when it goes on general release. I know I'll be seeing it again and definitely buying it on DVD.

277?

Moon Dust

One of the continuing fascinations in my life is the Apollo moon missions. As such I'm always to keen to read something a bit different, something beyond the details of the missions. In this case, Smith sets out to interview the nine remaining moon walkers and to try and understand the impact of that experience on these men.
It's really fascinating to view these men as human beings and to participate as Smith tries to get beyond the pat responses and to get fresh insight from them.
I knew I had a favourite mission (Apollo 12) but I'd never really considered the men as individual personalities before and this really succeeds in bringing those out.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and it only misses the full A rating because it's got some annoying factual errors in there
I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in space exploration.

Rating: A-