Video Killed The Internet Star

Christmas telly doesn’t normally interest me, apart from getting some good films on the Beeb, there’s not much worth watching as all the good series’ take a break for a few weeks to free up the slots.

But there was one thing I did take an interest in; The Gruffalo, a half hour animation based on the children’s book of the same name.  I’m not one for children’s stuff, but I thought, why not?

It was broadcast Christmas Day, and I didn’t catch it then (though I did get the last few minutes of it, albeit with running commentary/argument from the family) but thanks to good old Auntie and her iPlayer, I managed to watch it.

I’m glad I did.

It’s a whimsical tale of a mouse, voiced by James Corden (the rotund one from Gavin and Stacey and Lesbian Vampire Killers, both with his “comedic” partner Matthew Horne) who strolls through a forest looking for some food, where he encounters a fox (the veteran Tom Wilkinson, known for his roles in Batman Begins and RocknRolla among other productions), a snake (comedian and voice-over artist extraordinaire Rob Brydon, the Welsh one from Gavin & Sta….) and an owl (John Hurt, the extremely un-famous actor known for very little) and stops them from eating him by telling them of The Gruffalo (a seemingly fictional monster), and how he likes eating all of them respectively.

Things take a turn when mouse encountters a real-life Gruffalo, played by a possibly typecast Robbie Coltraine, and he is about to be eaten, when he has a cunning plan to stop this, and prove to the fox, the owl and the snake that he was telling the truth, as they had compared notes and found him to be tellign lies to stop being eaten.

This is all told by a mother squirrel, Helena Bonham Carter (Tim Burton’s missus and an accomplished thesp in her own right) to her two young children as they are hiding in their nest from a bird of prey

Visually, it’s a real treat.  Bright colours and really detailed textures, plenty of movement juxtaposed with the serenity of the forest during a bright sunny day, it looks like you could reach out and touch it, but it maintains that child-like quality of being a cartoon, though it’s more subtle than you might at first think.

But it’s also got something for us adults, as most CGI animations do, but they’re more visual than through dialogue, it’s subtle things and little bits and pieces that children might not fully get.

The animation is excellent. Done in CGI, but often looking like it’s been made out of wood, or if Aardman did a bit of straight claymation, it’s a superb look which embraces the technology with superior production values that would make Pixar quake in their big Disney boots.  I tip my Santa hat to the animators at Studio Soi in Germany, and the producers at Magic Light Pictures, wonderful job guys.

The score is brilliantly done, gives a real feeling for the atmosphere, but it’s friendly and accessible and complements the fantastic sound effects, making it all the more proessional-looking and sounding.

It is a chiefly British affair and a nice fairytale with appeal for everyone and it’s a heart-warming tale for this time of year.  I hope this feature gets at least a DVD release, because it’s so much better than the usual Christmas drivel and boring yet highly condescending kids TV.

You can catch it on iPlayer until Saturday 2nd January 2010(unless it’s repeated), and I highly suggest you do.

I have been going mental over the past few months over a new band (something I just don’t do) called Them Crooked Vultures (also known as the supergroup consisting of Joshua Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl).  Let me first say, the concept in itself, sold me tickets, and the album.

The album, self-titled as Them Crooked Vultures, is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, but at the same time, it’s not.   It’s got the same spirit, but the clothes have changed and it’s face is all battered and bruised, so it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before.  It’s been called many things, but the best way to describe it would probably be sleazy hard blues rock.

It’s got groovy, blues-infused beats and rhythms fused with good old fashioned hard rock, along with ethereal lyrics and some interesting riffs, time changes, instrument tones and all the swagger you’d expect from three of the biggest names in rock and roll.

It’s not for everyone, admittedly, as it’s somewhat of an acquired taste (in the same vein of Led Zeppelin and Queens Of The Stone Age) but it does have some things that should appeal to everyone.

The first half of the album (tracks 1 to 6) is undoubtedly the better portion of the whole affair, the second half drifting dangerously into the muddled world of confused prog, nearly all of them sounding the same and disappearing inside it’s own surreality.  But, it grows on you after a while, and you start to hear the differences between the tracks.

The singles, “New Fang” and “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” are rousing stomp fests with some serious groove, and they are sure to get the crowds bouncing and singing along, as well as the sex-fuelled “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I” and “Caligulove”.

There’s some lofty ideas being banded about (take the dissertation-inspired song title “Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up” as an example, or the just plain strange “Interlude With Ludes”), and it’s hard to believe most of this came together in the studio, with very little being used to inspire the tunes, what little was used quickly evolved into completely different beasts.

And as for the artwork… well, let’s just say it’s odd.  Done by Liam Lynch (infamous for the hit “United States Of Whatever”, and the epic movie “Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny”) with a theme of people with Vulture’s heads (obviously) set strangely around about London, as they appear to be British gangster-like.  Told you it was odd.

It’s well worth at least the one listen, but I’d suggest listening to the two singles first, just to ease you in to the madness of the whole album.  Again, it’s not for everyone, and no one will think less of you if you run cowering in fear from it; it’s proper music, experimental, yet oddly familiar, pushing the boundaries until they break and producing the Marmite-effect.

I am peespee63, and welcome to Video Killed The Internet Star, my third parallel blog, the second on tumblr.

Hello, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m something of an amateur blogger and writer with aspirations, dreams, an odd sense of humour and delusions of grandeur.

For those of you who do know me, again welcome, this one’s dedicated to music, film and books.

It’s mostly going to be opinions and reviews, and even then it’s mostly reviews, not really much for news with regards to this stuff, but I’ll post the occasional update or two.

So, take up your favourite sitting chair with your cheap bottle of plonk and delve into some of the finer things in life with me.

Oh yeah, I’m also innuendo-driven.  I do like a good double-entendre.