A Musical Interlude

Last Wednesday was a rather good day. I managed to pick up a review copy of Tom-All-Alone's (more on that next tuesday when I post my review) and I stumbled across the soundtrack to the BBC version of Sherlock on Spotify. When I tweeted that very fact I got a thank you from David Arnold.

Told you so!

As is often the way with these things I got me to thinking. What soundtracks have totally got under my skin and always illicit a positive response from me? After a bit of thought and in no sort of order whatsoever I have come up with the following list.

• Sherlock by David Arnold and Michael Price - Thoroughly modern but also captures the original Victorian setting and mood of classic Holmes as well. Evocative stuff.

• Tron Legacy by Daft Punk - I have to admit I was highly dubious when I originally heard that Daft Punk were going to be on board for this but I was one million percent wrong. Many people have said that this is the best thing about the sequel and the more I think about it the more inclined I am to agree. Huge sprawling electronica with an anthemic nod.

• The Warriors by Barry De Vorzon - There is a lot to be said for music that captures a time period accurately. The main theme is a perfect example of this. 70s through and through. Weirdly I heard this before I ever saw the film and I always thought it was bloody sinister. (No I don't know where that came from either).

• Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore - An entire trilogy of beautiful, moving themes. Makes me start to well-up every single time I think about (Yes I know I am a big softie, would you care to make something of it? You would! Then pistols at dawn it is. I demand satisfaction)

• Flash Gordon by Queen - Well, if you're gonna do cheese you best do it well. A wonderfully camp soundtrack to go along with a wonderfully camp film. 

I could go on forever, I really could, but its just started to snow so I'm going to go and watch that instead.

Till next time 

Keep it musical

Mr C

The name is Cheesecake....Pablo Cheesecake

Music is a huge part of my life. When I was young I had a bash and lets just say I didn't set the world alight with my efforts. Enthusiastic yes, talented less so. That said I still have a strong appreciation for good music done well. Irrespective of the genre, type, style as long as it is performed well it has the ability grab my attention and maintain it.

Let me try to give you an example. Earlier today I was sitting down to write a book review. I tend to chuck iTunes or Spotify on in the background as a bit of  music tends to get my old brain working. Half way through I realised that I have stopped writing and instead I'm day dreaming about being a spy. Where had this thought come from? The book I was writing about had nothing to do with spies but some how Bond had managed to sneak in there.

Before I go any further I should clarify when I talk about Bond I mean this guy. 

Sir James Bond

What do you mean 'Who is that?' Dude it's only David Niven as Sir James Bond from the 1967 version of Casino Royale. The closest thing you'll get to perfection my friend.

The music though is the key. If it is done well I am so easily distracted it is frightening. The track in question was this marvel.

This is a work of Burt-Bacharachien genius. Brashy and ballsy but also delicate. Jazzy and epic at the same time. I adore the multi-layered sound. I can't drive but this always makes me day dream about driving a sports car along a long stretch of winding road somewhere in the south of France. (I have no idea where this comes from either. It's good though isn't it).


The Return of The Curse of the Brown Trousers

A while back I wrote about my panic after buying a brown pair of trousers. After their arrival and I tried them all appeared to be well and I thought that chapter of my life was over. NOT SO. After a only a couple of weeks this happened.

Fucking Annoying

I bent over and bloody things only ripped on the arse. Weird thing is I dont even have that big an arse. If anything my arse is somewhat lacking. The good news is that fortunately Mrs Cheesecake is a dab hand with a needle and thread and she swooped in and fixed them. I'm pleased to report they haven't ripped since.

Coffee

I have a love/hate relationship with coffee. If I drink to much it gives me a headache and makes me a a bit narky. So much so that I made a decision about a year ago to stop drinking it. I have over the last couple of weeks I have start to dabble again but on a much smaller scale. Why? Because it is time to get myself down to Starbucks and get myself a redcup. The Eggnog Latte will be mine. Oh yes it will.

And Finally


I got these in the mail this week and I had to share.

Awesomeness in book form

The only question.Where to begin?

Enough of this light hearted procrastination.....onwards!

Toddle Pip

The Venerable Sir Pablo Cheesecake

Behold the Cheese

My musical tastes can only be described as eclectic. When listening to tunes on my trusty iPod styles flail wildly from the folksy goodness of Jethro Tull and Mumford & Sons to the hardcore Wagnerian anthems of Rammstein. Here is my latest hero...... one Richard Cheese.

Lets check out some of the maestro's work. First some Guns and Roses

Then some Depeche Mode

And to end some Star Wars

What great stuff. Jazzy clever covers that are incredibly well done. Richard and his band Lounge Against the Machine rock my socks. For the uninitiated I suggest you could do a lot worse than a bit of Dick at Night.

Pablo Cheesecake – 2009 - A Year in Review – Part 1

So 2009 is very nearly over. With that in mind I thought I would write a little (turns out its gonna large) blog detailing as many of my favourite things from this year. As usual, whenever I put together a list, they are in no discernable order. These are just a few things that found there way into my life in the last 12 months and how I feel about them.

Music

I make no secret about the fact  that my musical tastes are what some would call odd, I collect movie and TV soundtrack tunes for fuck sake. That aside I think this year I have found myself slightly more mainstream than normal. Lovely new web apps like Spotify and Blip FM have opened my ears to new music more than ever before. The two biggest discoveries for me this year have been Them Crooked Vultures and Alestorm.

Them Crooked Vultures self titled debut album is fan-fuckin-tastic. Take a little Foo Fighters, season liberally with some Queens of the Stone Age and add just a pinch of Led Zepplin and behold a super group is born. Every single track is a winner. There are a couple of truly exceptional tracks though. Caligulove, Gunman and Dead End Friends are all epic. This is a perfect example of musicians making music just for the hell of it. It is all fuckin great.
 
Alestorm are the kings of Scottish Pirate Metal. Now I know what your gonna say. “But Pablo that seems to be a rather niche genre isn’t it?”. Your not wrong but damn if they don’t totally own it. I should say at this point there is a good chance that I am a frustrated pirate at heart so I may be slightly biased…..Yar!!

Film

I’ve said before that I am a genre junkie and 2009 sure was a good year for genre films.  Watchmen was a garish big clusterfuck of a movie, personally I adored it. Pandorum was an unexpected gem. Star Trek was a fantastic update. District 9 was insightful, clever and thought provoking sci-fi. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was fun and looks pretty great on blu-ray.  In fact its worth mentioning that all the blu-rays I have watched so far look brilliant. Another highlight of 2009 I guess was my first exposure to blu-ray.

Thank fuck for that. I got through my movie section roundup without mentioning Avatar…aww bugger it.
Calm down Cameron you’ll get your review when I’ve seen the film. I’ve heard good things so hopefully Avatar will deliver.

My this blog is nowhere near finished but I have lost the will to type. I still haven’t mentioned books and TV.  I think I may have to split this into two and come back to the second part later. 

Till I can be arsed to write the next part.

Laters

Cheesecake Out

Pablo Cheesecake – Movie Music Maestro

For a while I have been collecting assorted musical flotsam and jetsam. I have managed to cobble together around 75 of my favourite movie tracks. iTunes loves me! There is absolutely no criteria to be part of this list. The tracks can be main themes or incidental music. Every single one is a winner in my opinion. You think this list is bad you should see the TV themes track listing it’s about four times as big.

Movie/Track Name	Artist
Austin Powers - Soul Bossa Nova	Quincy Jones
Austin Powers - What the World Needs Now	Burt Bacharach
Beverly Hills Cop - Axel F	Harold Faltermeyer
The Big Lebowski - Hotel California	Gypsy Kings
The Big Lebowski - What Condition My Condition Was In	Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Big Trouble in Little China	John Carpenter
Blade Runner	Vangelis
Born Free	Matt Monroe
Brazil	Geoff Muldaur
The Breakfast Club	Simple Minds
Buckaroo Banzai	Michael Boddicker
Carlito's Way - Oye Como Va	Various
Casino Royale (1967)	Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Casino Royale (2007)	Chris Cornell
Daredevil - Lapdance	N*E*R*D
The Deer Hunter	Various
Deliverance - Duelling Banjos	Various
Diamonds Are Forever	Shirely Bassey
Enter the Dragon	Lalo Schifrin
Enter the Dragon (Ska Cover)	Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Escape From New York	John Carpenter
ET the Extra-Terrestrial	John Williams
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Mr Blue Sky	ELO
Ferris Bueller - Museum	Various
Ferris Bueller - Oh Yeah	Yello
Flash Gordon	Queen
Fletch	Harold Faltermeyer
Get Carter	Roy Budd
Get Carter (Remix)	Various
Ghostbusters	Ray Parker Jnr
The Golden Child	Various
The Goonies	John Williams
Grease	Frankie Valli
The Great Escape	Various
Halloween	John Carpenter
Harry Potter	John Williams
Highlander	Queen
Indiana Jones	John Williams
The Italian Job - Self Preservation Society	Various
Jaws	John Williams
Jurassic Park	John Williams
Kill Bill - Battle Without Honour Or Humanity	Tomoyasu Hotei
Kill Bill - The Lonely Shepherd	Zamfir
Kill Bill - Woo Hoo	The 5,6,7,8s
Krull	London Symphony Orchestra
Lifeforce	Prague Philharmonic
Live And Let Die	Wings
The Long Good Friday	Various
The Man With The Golden Gun	Lulu
Mannequin	Starship
Monsters Inc	Randy Newman
Odeon - I Like It Like That	Pete El Conde' Rodriguez
OHMSS - We Have All the Time in the World	Louis Amstrong
Pearl and Dean (1st Version)	Various
Pearl and Dean (2nd Version)	Various
Police Academy	Various
Pulp Fiction - Misrolou	Dick Dale
Rambo (First Blood)	Various
Rocky	Various
The Saint	Orbital
Saturday Night Fever	Bee Gees
Saturday Night Fever - A Fifth of Beethoven	Bee Gees
Shaft	Issac Hayes
Spiderman	Danny Elfman
Star Wars	John Williams
Star Wars -The Imperial March	John Williams
Superman	John Williams
Together in Electric Dreams	Phil Oakey
Tristar Pictures 1980's Ident	Various
A View to a Kill	Duran Duran
Who Dares Wins	Roy Budd
XXX - Feuer Frei	Rammstein
2001 - A Space Odyssey	Various