Black Swan, Good Hair and things to do this week

Hello,

How are you? What've you been up to lately? Have you changed your hair? I like it!

Here's some things we've been up to lately:
- Bird watching - we've got lots of little blue tits, great tits, blackbirds & robins fluttering around in our garden, along with a big fat squirrel that keeps eating all their seeds!
- Getting ready for the awesome new Fists release on Hello Thor records (details in previous post)
- Going to the auctions (it's a different world)
- Making more things on my sewing machine (tea cosies & placemats are my latest adventures)
- Practising for Jumpers for Goalposts (scroll down for more info)
- Going to Just The Tonic (only once, saw Paul Foot & thought he was really very funny)

AND...
- Watching loads of films & TV - round-up & recommends here:

Misfits - If you haven't got into this TV series yet then DO. It's funny, rude, a bit gory, endearing and exciting. About a bunch of asbo kids who get magic powers from a storm. That does it no justice. *RECOMMENDED*

Going The Distance - Anders will tell me off for adding this to my list, but I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of the romcom this strays slightly away from the usual format (by just being a bit less lame and having characters you're a bit more likely to want to be friends with) - e.g. Drew Barrymore is the main character and she's not a control freak like every other female in rom-com land. I liked it.

Black Swan - I still don't know how I feel about this film 2 weeks after seeing it and I'm still talking to people about it. That seems pretty good to me. However, I found it a bit annoying, over-blown and trashy too. It's hard to pigeonhole and hard to describe without giving anything important away. My enjoyment of it was shared 50-50 with annoyance, so this isn't a glowing recommendation from that point of view. I would however still say you should watch it, if only because it will keep you talking. *RECOMMENDED*

Beetlejuice - I am aware that I'm the last person in the world to see this film, but isn't it fun?! I love the bit where they all do a dance around the dining table and I bet that was awesome to film. Plus it has the woman in from all the Christopher Guest films. Love her.

30 Rock - We went for a marathon of the latest series at Bones' house and it was AWESOME. If you've never seen it then it's about Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) who is head writer on a SNL-type of show in America. It's also got Alec Baldwin in and he is hilarious. It's got a really high gag-rate, you care about the characters but it never tries to make you cry and Anders hearts Tina Fey. Watch it from the start, it will be a pleasure and a joy. **RECOMMENDED** (Big time!)

The Baader Meinhof film (I'm getting the name a bit wrong there) - This is often on those "films you should watch" lists, but I wasn't really feeling it that much. It's about a terrorist group in Germany in the 60's and is a bit confusing if you don't know anything about the situation (me) before you watch it. Interesting, some good performances and nice to see a mix of real-life footage and drama, but overall left me a bit cold.

Good Hair - This is the Chris Rock documentary about black hair. It's absolutely fascinating, a peek into a world I knew very little about. AND there is a hair styling contest. It's worth watching for that alone. One of the stylists entered before and her theme was "brokefront mountain" (no I don't get it either) and there was an awful video she made of her and some women dressed in cowgirl outfits with a bit of hay. It made NO sense and her entry in this documentary is even more random. A thoroughly enjoyable film, well-presented, good structure, interesting and funny in places. **RECOMMENDED**

So, that's what we've been up to.

Now on to what's coming up this week:

1 - Jumpers for Goalposts - Thursday @ Alley Cafe, FREE
This is a monthly event we run where you can come, hang out with your friends, hear a bit of music (usually just 1 band will play a few songs) and make something shit out of plasticine and pritt stick and straws. We call that part the Creative Competition and there are mega prizes involved. It's also very hard-fought and sometimes people create actual amazing things, not just rubbish penis-related puns!!

Anyway, this month we are doing something a little bit different. In place of our usual (talented) musical act YOU will be the band. Come and join in as we create an intergalactic jam session on tiny instruments. No musical talent needed (phew!), jsut enthusiasm and a willingness to have a go on a kazoo (no euphemism). We'll be playing a very exciting special TV theme tune... if we can all learn it quickly enough over the night to make our final performance a success then we will film it and share our talent with the world!

2 - Record Breakers - Saturday @ the Arts Theatre, £10 in advance
This is a huge gig organised by Denizen Records which features some of the best musical acts Nottingham has to offer, all together on one stage. Come along to see the likes of Yunioshi, Kogumaza, Dearest, Swimming, Hhymn & Fists ply their trade in this gorgeous venue. There are Late Of The Pier DJ's and apparently a world-record attempt too! You can get £10 tickets, or even get a cheap group booking deal from http://www.hellothor.com/.

what a lot of stuff. I'm tired now. See you thursday or saturday or both!

Bex
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New release on Hello Thor Records - Fists single - Ascending b/w Stag

As you may be aware Anders runs a record label with Nick & Tom, based in Nottingham called Hello Thor. They do gigs and stuff and put out singles by amazing bands. Their first ever signing was Fists who have released an amazing 7" and a brilliant EP so far.

21st Feb 2011 will see the release of Fists' next single Ascending b/w Stag on limited edition coloured vinyl with an individually screenprinted sleeve. It's going to be a beautiful thing.

Both Ascending and Stag have already received loads of airplay on 6 Music, Radio 1 and were selected for the 6 Music Rebel Playlist. They are great. You can read more, pre-order the vinyl, download tracks and so on here. If you'd like to support Hello Thor then please do buy from their site http://www.hellothor.com/ - no middle man costs! Oh and if you'd like to hear more from them then follow them on Twitter (@hellothor) or sign up to the mailing list on the website.

You can hear previews of the tracks on the Fists myspace and you can see them live, celebrating the release at a huge gig at the Nottingham Arts Theatre on the 19th February with loads of other amazing bands including:

Swimming
Hhymn
Dearest
Yunioshi
Kogumaza
Injured Birds

AND special guest DJs. It's being put together by a new Nottingham label Denizen Records (look for it on facebook!) and it's going to be AWESOME!

Thanks!

Bex
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p.s. there are some great photos of the band here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdadesign/sets/72157618427893224/with/3542947105/ by KDA Design

Jumpers for Goalposts, Hockley Hustle & Hello Gore!

Just wanted to post up some details about 3 gigs we've got coming up over the next couple of weeks. You can get more info on the Hello Thor website or read below.

1

Jumpers for Goalposts @ Alley Cafe - Thurs 21st Oct.

We've got Cecille Grey playing live and the craft competition will be spooooooooooky. And it's free.
More info here: http://thesecretdiaryofjumpersforgoalposts.wordpress.com/

2

Hockley Hustle @ Jam Cafe - Sun 24th Oct

We're back at the Jam Cafe again this year, because we had such fun there last year. We've got a cracking line up too. Over The Wall, Moscow Youth Cult, Escapologists, Mexican Kids At Home, Matthew Stephen Cooper, Japanese Sleepers & Make A Halo.

It's all raising money for charity - there are other great bands playing all over Hockley and Hello Thor are really pleased to be a part of it.

3

Hello Gore II: The Return @ Nottingham Contemporary - Sat 31st Oct

Hello Gore is being allowed out for a second time. It's a massive FREE party at the Cafe.Bar.Contemporary with 8 amazing bands playing live. Dress to distress and have your photo taken in the Hello Gore Photobooth. Here's the poster:


Check out Hello Thor's GIGS page for full details on everything above.

See you there!

Bex
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Stuff What Is Happening

This went out to the Hello Thor mailing list earlier, and there was such a lot of nice stuff on there I thought I'd post it up here too:

THREE BANDS PLUS CRAFT AND FOOD IN A GALLERY FOR FREE

This Saturday night (29th May), our good friends Yunioshi are launching their new 5 track EP “How to survive a robot uprising” at Nottingham Contemporary. As well as Yunioshi and their super-fun brand of electro funk, there will also be the sunshine pop of Spaceships Are Cool and the indie-folk of the brilliant Japanese Sleepers. Plus a craft competition and, no doubt, something scrumptious courtesy of the Yunioshi catering corps. Free.

TWO BANDS AND US DJING IN ANOTHER GALLERY


Then, the Saturday after (5th June) we’ll be DJing at the launch of the new single by Hhymn at the Refectory (Hooton Street, off Carlton Road, Nottingham). Also playing will be one of our own…the very wonderful We Show Up On RadaR. £3.

TEN ACE SONGS INCLUDING ONE CALLED "LEGO RULES" TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE


One of the greatest bands we have ever had the pleasure of putting on was the much-missed Death By TV - two 16-year olds from Loughborough who enjoyed drinking lemonade, jumping into each other, and making very exciting, very immature, very fun casio-punk in their bedrooms. They played a few gigs, changed their name several times and then split up to be famous, or clever, or something. We’re super happy that their entire discography is now available to download for free from http://www.methodistleisure.com/deathbytv/. Do it, you won't be sorry.

AND FINALLY

Actually, that’s about it for now. We’ll be back soon, but in the mean time, look out for Fists and We Show Up On RadaR at various festivals this summer (Summer Sundae, Y-Not, Splendour…plus more to come), and don’t forget you can buy their records from our website.

Also remember that we hold court at the Alley Café on the third Thursday of every month with Nottingham’s finest, funnest, free-est felt tips & folk night, Jumpers For Goalposts. Next month (Thurs 17th June) Japanese Sleepers are playing live. Hope to see you there.

 
Bex
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