Archive for March 2010
Albums of the Quarter Year
Posted by: danhartland on: March 30, 2010
- In: Books | sherlock holmes
- 5 Comments
I was chatting with Anna’s brother at the weekend, and he ventured an opinion on his album of the year. I can’t remember whether it was Yeasayer or Shearwater, but it struck me that – already – 2010 is a quarter of the way done, and mutterings about albums of the year aren’t so absurd [...]
Three Walks, One Birthday
Posted by: thestoryandthetruth on: March 29, 2010
- In: life
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Anna’s mom remembers blossom in the trees 28 years ago. No sign of those in 2010, and though the sun shined on us for a walk in the Clent Hills on Sunday, there wasn’t much warmth in its rays. We didn’t mind, though, and enjoyed catching up with friends at 309m elevation. The day before, [...]
Happy Birthday, Anna!
Posted by: thestoryandthetruth on: March 27, 2010
It’s Anna’s birthday today, so the rest of our weekend is going to be spent celebrating … see you on Monday!
Deals Unsealed
Posted by: danhartland on: March 27, 2010
- In: Politics
- 2 Comments
In May last year, I wrote about the competing platforms of Tories and Labour that “Cameron’s narrative may not yet have sunk to the roots of discourse. But, barring a credible alternative, it assuredly will.” In a (slightly ropey) article by Andy Beckett in today’s G2, John Curtice is quoted as saying, “The Tories never [...]
Speaking Up: Laura Marling
Posted by: danhartland on: March 23, 2010
As much as I liked Laura Marling’s debut album, 2008′s Charlie Fink-produced Alas I Cannot Swim, I could never quite shake the impression that it was thinner than I’d like. Marling’s lyrics were interesting, but the songs themselves seemed less strong. Perhaps only ‘Ghosts’ and ‘My Manic and I’ properly burrowed into my songy sub-conscious. [...]
It’s Monday Night Already?
Posted by: thestoryandthetruth on: March 22, 2010
- In: life
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We’ve had one of those weekends – and Mondays – where it feels we haven’t stopped … but with friends, train rides, good meals and country walks, we’ve been busy in the good way. Not bad when there are other kinds of busy lurking later in the week … We popped in on the West [...]
‘Nothing Like You’: Frightened Rabbit
Posted by: danhartland on: March 16, 2010
- In: albums | music
- 7 Comments
Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight was one of the surprise joys of 2008: stirring whilst also being quite, quite miserable, its modest little package, all pencil drawings and compact size, contained an album which sprawled whilst also maintaining its focus. Its title, of course, is an unwieldy euphemism for sex, and Scott Hutchison’s lyrics [...]
Weekends Well Lived
Posted by: thestoryandthetruth on: March 15, 2010
- In: life
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A multi-item weekend: Bread-baking: A parsnip, sage, and cheddar loaf which was entirely successful. Our last attempt at anything more demanding than a plain white loaf was a tad over-salty (possibly a result of substituting feta for, er, Wensleydale), but this one was perfect, and only slightly spoiled by Dan throwing the used tea towel [...]
71 is the number of an apartment we return to regularly in Whinfell Forest, Cumbria. We like it there.
‘We’ are Anna French and Dan Hartland. The Story and the Truth is a sort of inadequate catch-all term for what goes on here: we tend to talk about novels, history, food and fashion, politics and music, but there may also be photographs of soft toys and musicians. Stick around and see.
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Words We Like
The Weird, ed. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer
An astounding work of collecting-as-art, this compendium of 800,000 weird words is easily one of the most consistent genre anthologies I have read. Heterodox yet focused, it is fated to be the canonical text of weird fiction studies for some time to come - and deservedly so. The first-rank stories here - and there are many, not a few - are not excellent weird fiction. They are simply some of the best 20th century writing available in any mode. Not without its faults - but that is, ahem, the nature of the beast. Essential.
Sounds We Like
Sonik Kicks, by Paul Weller
I haven't paid much attention to Weller - an artist who hangs heavy in my musical tutelage - since 2000's Heliocentric, an album of diverse interests which felt like a shot of crisp elegance in that year of Steps and 'N Sync. The records that followed it - particularly Illumination - were enough, however, to make those achievements a distant memory. There have been rumblings of a renaissance - 22 Dreams got great reviews - but only the sounds of Sonik Kicks have brought me back. Energetic, fierce and, best of all, creative, this sounds like a record from a much younger man. Weller has a lesson or two in him yet.
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