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Dinosaur Jr – Beyond

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Dinosaur Jr – Beyond

It’s been 20 years since Dinosaur Jr proved it was possible to reconcile punk’s embrace of noise with the grandeur and sweep of stadium rock – and in the process laid the foundations for the Pixies and Nirvana. But just as those bands were using the formula to accelerate toward superstardom, Dinosaur Jr. collapsed due to internecine squabbling. So "Beyond" is the first album by the original line-up of Dinosaur Jr (singer/guitarist J Mascis, bassist and Sebadoh/Folk Implosion man Lou Barlow, and drummer Murph) since 1988’s "Bug". And while it’s not as epochal as that, or 1987’s "You’re Living All Over Me", it is more solid, consistent and, well, competent. This may sound like the tepid praise routinely and reflexively heaped on mid-career genre exercises by rock survivors, but it’s meant with the greatest sincerity. Nor is this to suggest that Dinosaur Jr. have “matured”. Rather that in the current climate, what were once Dinosaur Jr.’s biggest weaknesses – Mascis’ too-stoned-to-get-out-of-bed whine, the emotionally stunted narrators, the Crazy Horse retreads – now seem like the group’s greatest strengths. Compared to the overly declamatory sniveling and baroque Jim Steinmanisms so prevalent these days, Mascis’ bongwater drawl has grit and something approaching, dare I say it, soul. Any suggestions of pomp and circumstance are properly confined to the rousing guitar riffs and solos. The Neil Young infatuation is still front and centre (see “Pick Me Up”), but in an age of hyper-stylized “post-punk” bands and computer-generated perfection the unwashed-flannel sloppiness sounds pretty damn good. Like all Dinosaur Jr records, "Beyond" begins with a bang (the positively anthemic “Almost Ready”). But unlike all other Dinosaur Jr records, it doesn’t let up. "Beyond" doesn’t break any new ground, but as the sound of a group of guys enjoying playing together again after two decades of enmity, and as a testament to the power of good old fashioned rock ’n’ roll, it’s as refreshing as anything you’re likely to hear all year. PETER SHAPIRO

It’s been 20 years since Dinosaur Jr proved it was possible to reconcile punk’s embrace of noise with the grandeur and sweep of stadium rock – and in the process laid the foundations for the Pixies and Nirvana. But just as those bands were using the formula to accelerate toward superstardom, Dinosaur Jr. collapsed due to internecine squabbling.

So “Beyond” is the first album by the original line-up of Dinosaur Jr (singer/guitarist J Mascis, bassist and Sebadoh/Folk Implosion man Lou Barlow, and drummer Murph) since 1988’s “Bug”. And while it’s not as epochal as that, or 1987’s “You’re Living All Over Me”, it is more solid, consistent and, well, competent.

This may sound like the tepid praise routinely and reflexively heaped on mid-career genre exercises by rock survivors, but it’s meant with the greatest sincerity. Nor is this to suggest that Dinosaur Jr. have “matured”. Rather that in the current climate, what were once Dinosaur Jr.’s biggest weaknesses – Mascis’ too-stoned-to-get-out-of-bed whine, the emotionally stunted narrators, the Crazy Horse retreads – now seem like the group’s greatest strengths. Compared to the overly declamatory sniveling and baroque Jim Steinmanisms so prevalent these days, Mascis’ bongwater drawl has grit and something approaching, dare I say it, soul.

Any suggestions of pomp and circumstance are properly confined to the rousing guitar riffs and solos. The Neil Young infatuation is still front and centre (see “Pick Me Up”), but in an age of hyper-stylized “post-punk” bands and computer-generated perfection the unwashed-flannel sloppiness sounds pretty damn good.

Like all Dinosaur Jr records, “Beyond” begins with a bang (the positively anthemic “Almost Ready”). But unlike all other Dinosaur Jr records, it doesn’t let up. “Beyond” doesn’t break any new ground, but as the sound of a group of guys enjoying playing together again after two decades of enmity, and as a testament to the power of good old fashioned rock ’n’ roll, it’s as refreshing as anything you’re likely to hear all year.

PETER SHAPIRO

Son Volt – The Search

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Son Volt – The Search

After 2005’s tentative comeback "Okemah And The Melody Of Riot", Jay Farrar’s Son Volt have discovered a new sense of ambition, even abandon, on "The Search". "The Picture", say, all ripe horns and rainy-day soul, could be a long lost Stax B-side. There are backwards effects, guitar noise and angry asides too, as Farrar curses this age of information overload. But his knack for simple, minor-key beauty is uncanny. Ballads like "Highway And Cigarettes" and "Adrenaline And Heresy" – one with pedal steel, the other doleful piano – are as quietly stunning as anything he’s done. ROB HUGHES

After 2005’s tentative comeback “Okemah And The Melody Of Riot”, Jay Farrar’s Son Volt have discovered a new sense of ambition, even abandon, on “The Search”. “The Picture”, say, all ripe horns and rainy-day soul, could be a long lost Stax B-side. There are backwards effects, guitar noise and angry asides too, as Farrar curses this age of information overload. But his knack for simple, minor-key beauty is uncanny. Ballads like “Highway And Cigarettes” and “Adrenaline And Heresy” – one with pedal steel, the other doleful piano – are as quietly stunning as anything he’s done.

ROB HUGHES

Soulsavers – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land

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Soulsavers – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land

For Rich Machin and Ian Glover, a lifetime feasting on dark mystical American music has provided a passport for further adventures into the murk. This strikingly atmospheric second album by the highly-rated remix team offers a mood palette from electro noir ("Arizona Bay") to gospel ("Revival"). Will Oldham, Josh Haden and Doves’ Jimi Goodwin are on hand to add depth, character and colour, while an extensive link up with Mark Lanegan sees him emerge as a Johnny Cash for the post digital, post nuclear age. GAVIN MARTIN

For Rich Machin and Ian Glover, a lifetime feasting on dark mystical American music has provided a passport for further adventures into the murk. This strikingly atmospheric second album by the highly-rated remix team offers a mood palette from electro noir (“Arizona Bay”) to gospel (“Revival”). Will Oldham, Josh Haden and Doves’ Jimi Goodwin are on hand to add depth, character and colour, while an extensive link up with Mark Lanegan sees him emerge as a Johnny Cash for the post digital, post nuclear age.

GAVIN MARTIN

Curse Of The Golden Flower

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Curse Of The Golden Flower

Fear and loathing in the Forbidden City! Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) returns from the wars to celebrate the Chrysanthemum Festival with the mysteriously ailing Empress Phoenix (Gong Li). Does he suspect she has been carrying on an affair with her stepson, Prince Wan (Liu Ye)? Will Wan elope with his lover, the Imperial physician's daughter? And why on earth is the Empress stitching thousands of yellow armbands? These questions, and many more, are enjoyably resolved over two hours of domestic intrigue, double-cross and ever more elaborate costume-fittings. Back when he was making a name for himself in the late 1980s/early 90s, the Chinese dubbed Zhang Yimou 'the peasant director' in recognition of earthy fare like Red Sorghum and To Live. More recently he's been riding the Crouching Tiger wave with action spectaculars like Hero. After this deliriously decadent melodrama they'll have to call him 'the mad king': there's more gold here than in Fort Knox. The palace is a gaudy bauble of lurid sapphires, opals, and jades while on this evidence the Tang Dynasty dressed for excess (Gong's corset deserves a best supporting Oscar nomination in its own right). The series of dramatic last reel reversals would make Hamlet look anti-climactic, but the actors are definitively upstaged by stunningly choreographed, color-coordinated troop maneuvers and Zhang's own obsessively florid embroidery. Ironically the highlight is virtually monochrome, a nocturnal assault by gravity-defying ninja assassins which feels like it belongs in a different film entirely. Tom Charity

Fear and loathing in the Forbidden City! Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) returns from the wars to celebrate the Chrysanthemum Festival with the mysteriously ailing Empress Phoenix (Gong Li). Does he suspect she has been carrying on an affair with her stepson, Prince Wan (Liu Ye)? Will Wan elope with his lover, the Imperial physician’s daughter? And why on earth is the Empress stitching thousands of yellow armbands? These questions, and many more, are enjoyably resolved over two hours of domestic intrigue, double-cross and ever more elaborate costume-fittings.

Back when he was making a name for himself in the late 1980s/early 90s, the Chinese dubbed Zhang Yimou ‘the peasant director’ in recognition of earthy fare like Red Sorghum and To Live. More recently he’s been riding the Crouching Tiger wave with action spectaculars like Hero. After this deliriously decadent melodrama they’ll have to call him ‘the mad king’: there’s more gold here than in Fort Knox. The palace is a gaudy bauble of lurid sapphires, opals, and jades while on this evidence the Tang Dynasty dressed for excess (Gong’s corset deserves a best supporting Oscar nomination in its own right).

The series of dramatic last reel reversals would make Hamlet look anti-climactic, but the actors are definitively upstaged by stunningly choreographed, color-coordinated troop maneuvers and Zhang’s own obsessively florid embroidery. Ironically the highlight is virtually monochrome, a nocturnal assault by gravity-defying ninja assassins which feels like it belongs in a different film entirely.

Tom Charity

Half Nelson

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Half Nelson

DIR: Ryan Fleck ST: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie Deservedly Oscar nominated last month, Ryan Gosling's mesmerising performance as an inner-city Brooklyn teacher with drug problems lends this superior indie drama a depth and gravitas way beyond its subject matter. In between wrestling with his crack addiction, Gosling's Dan Dunne crosses the line from concerned mentor to over-protective confidante when one of his 13-year-old students (Epps) stumbles across his secret. First-time director Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden know the sentimental classroom drama about good-hearted teachers inspiring troubled teens has a long and mostly wretched history. But Half Nelson, with its open-ended tone and multi-layered characters, is way too honest to settle for tear-jerking genre conventions. Punctuating the action with key traumas in US history, from the Civil Rights struggle to current events in Iraq, it's also a film with an overt but subtle political agenda. Pointedly, its liberal characters are flawed and compromised, not saintly crusaders for Truth. With its jerky-camera aesthetic and alt-rock soundtrack, mostly by Broken Social Scene, Half Nelson has many of the cosmetic hallmarks of a routine American indie-drama. But crucially, it also contains warmth, wisdom and great performances. Especially Gosling, silently speaking volumes about spiritual defeat with every heartbroken shrug and uncertain smile. Understated, smart, authentic work that lingers long after the credits fade. STEPHEN DALTON

DIR: Ryan Fleck

ST: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie

Deservedly Oscar nominated last month, Ryan Gosling’s mesmerising performance as an inner-city Brooklyn teacher with drug problems lends this superior indie drama a depth and gravitas way beyond its subject matter. In between wrestling with his crack addiction, Gosling’s Dan Dunne crosses the line from concerned mentor to over-protective confidante when one of his 13-year-old students (Epps) stumbles across his secret.

First-time director Fleck and co-writer Anna Boden know the sentimental classroom drama about good-hearted teachers inspiring troubled teens has a long and mostly wretched history. But Half Nelson, with its open-ended tone and multi-layered characters, is way too honest to settle for tear-jerking genre conventions. Punctuating the action with key traumas in US history, from the Civil Rights struggle to current events in Iraq, it’s also a film with an overt but subtle political agenda. Pointedly, its liberal characters are flawed and compromised, not saintly crusaders for Truth.

With its jerky-camera aesthetic and alt-rock soundtrack, mostly by Broken Social Scene, Half Nelson has many of the cosmetic hallmarks of a routine American indie-drama. But crucially, it also contains warmth, wisdom and great performances. Especially Gosling, silently speaking volumes about spiritual defeat with every heartbroken shrug and uncertain smile. Understated, smart, authentic work that lingers long after the credits fade.

STEPHEN DALTON

Punk Legends From the Clash And Generation X Rock Out One More Time

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As I mentioned, signing off yesterday’s blog, I was just off to an industrial estate somewhere in Acton, west London, for what had been described to me as a ‘public rehearsal’ by Carbon/Silicon, the ‘band’ formed by The Clash’s Mick Jones and Tony James, formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. I had almost cried off going, but thankfully thought better of what would have been a calamitous decision I would subsequently regretted. It turned out to be a brilliant evening. We eventually find Mick’s studio and the fabulous lock-up where he’s stored an absolute treasure trove of memorabilia. It’s part of what seems a vast complex of buildings on what recent Joe Strummer biographer and longtime Clash camp follower Chris Salewicz – one of about only 20 people gathered here – tells me is actually the largest industrial estate in Europe, although how Chris has come by this information, I am not entirely sure. Mick, as it turns out, greets us cheerily in a crowded corridor outside his studio and is soon in deep conversation with my wife about Babyshambles’ Down In Albion, possibly her favourite record, Mick’s production of which she passionately believes had been terribly maligned, a point of view Mick appears to agree with. While they are loc ked in conversation, Chris walks me into the small studio outside which everyone is milling and introduces me to Tony James, who with extraordinary recall remembers me from a Gen X interview some 30 years ago,. “This is where we’ve spent the last three years,” he tells me, with a glance around the studio, whose walls are festooned, as they say, with a colourful array of posters – prominent among them, images of The Sex Pistols and Sinatra, dean and The Rat Pack., which maybe gives a clue to how Mick and Tony now see themselves, debonair punks in handsome maturity. Tony, handing out beers, goes on to tell me that they have recorded enough material for at least three albums, and continues to talk enthusiastically about the forthcoming C/S EP, album and the live shows that clearly can’t come quickly enough for either him or Mick. It’s already hot in here and is soon sweltering as the ‘audience’ squeeze into the room, separated from the band by a mixing desk, the other side of which they’ve set up their gear, Mick to me left, Tony to his right, BAD/Dreadzone bassist Leo ‘E-Zee-Kill’ Williams to Tony’s left and former Reef drummer Dominic Greensmith behind them, a row of clocks on the wall above him that will tell him if he’s interested what time it is right now in Manila or Buenos Aries and other similarly exotic locations. Mick and Tony are wholly dapper in their suits, Mick with a colourful hankie in the breast pocket of his jacket, now self-effacingly thanking us for being where we are, and then they are speedily rocking, everything they play over the next 30 minutes sounding positively vibrant, fresh and vivacious, great tunes that recall, inevitably, The Clash (the breezy wallop of, say, “Lost in The Supermarket” or “Spanish Bombs”), BAD and a couple of moments that bring vividly to mind the early Who. They play “Magic Suitcase”, “I Loved You”, “War On Culture”, “The News” – the opening track from the soon-come EP – the terrific “What the Fuck” and, again from the EP, “Why Do Men Fight?” It’s over too soon, of course, steam coming off everyone by the end that fills the studio like dry ice at one of those Bunnymen gigs of certain legend. I then spend a happy half hour chatting variously to Mick and Tony and assorted mates and find myself impatient to see them playing again soon, which will be at Bush Hall before they go on at the Isle Of Wight Festival. See you there.

As I mentioned, signing off yesterday’s blog, I was just off to an industrial estate somewhere in Acton, west London, for what had been described to me as a ‘public rehearsal’ by Carbon/Silicon, the ‘band’ formed by The Clash’s Mick Jones and Tony James, formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. I had almost cried off going, but thankfully thought better of what would have been a calamitous decision I would subsequently regretted. It turned out to be a brilliant evening.

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Queens cock-up, Ryan Adams, Wooden Wand

John Mulvey
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First off, thanks to Red 157 for spotting the stupid error in the Queens Of The Stone Age piece I posted here yesterday. It was of course Josh Homme and not Mark Lanegan who sang the original version of "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu" on "Desert Sessions 9&10" - something I would have got right if I'd bothered to check my original review of that album. Apologies. Secondly, can I just recommend this? It's Ryan Adams performing an extended jam on "Goodnight Rose" from his forthcoming "Easy, Tiger" album. I'm far from an Adams diehard: in fact, I've found more that's irritating than admirable in his fickle, eccentric career. Nevertheless, this is great - eight and a half minutes of filigree riffing that had a few of us pondering for a minute whether it was a Grateful Dead song we hadn't heard before. And finally, I've been meaning to write properly about Wooden Wand for weeks now. If you haven't come across him before, WW is a New York guy called James Toth who looks like a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie and who has been pumping out some terrific underground rock albums for a few years now. Toth first came on the radar fronting The Vanishing Voice, one of those occasionally deranged avant-folk/improv/psych collectives (like Sunburned Hand Of The Man and Vibracathedral Orchestra, who I blogged about the other day) whose records occasionally hit some kind of free genius. Unpredictable, though, which is why it was a surprise when Toth sneaked out a solo album a year or so ago called "Harem Of The Sundrum And The Witness Figg", which had the same air as Skip Spence's "Oar". Last year's "Second Attention" really emphasised his class as a more orthodox singer-songwriter: a pretty classical set that restaged John & Beverley Martyn's "Stormbringer" for the cover, and had a strong whiff of Dylan at his most mystical about it. The new one, "James And The Quiet", is the best yet, I think. It sounds nothing like Elvis Costello's "Imperial Bedroom", contrary to Toth's claims. But it isn't quite so easy to trace his antecedents here, either. Instead, songs like "Delia" and the title track have a sort of woody, timeless quality. It's a brilliant, subtle rethink of the folk/country-rock songwriting tradition, with just a residual hint of psychedelia. Lee Ranaldo produced it, and I can't recommend it enough. Oh, and Toth also has a fierce garage jamming band called the Zodiacs who've got an album coming out on Holy Mountain, which reminds me of early, slovenly Comets On Fire. And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, there's a cool-sounding doom band he's involved with called Totem. Here's the Myspace link if you missed it last time. Enough!

First off, thanks to Red 157 for spotting the stupid error in the Queens Of The Stone Age piece I posted here yesterday. It was of course Josh Homme and not Mark Lanegan who sang the original version of “I Wanna Make It Wit Chu” on “Desert Sessions 9&10” – something I would have got right if I’d bothered to check my original review of that album. Apologies.

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Sunshine

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Sunshine

DIRECTED BY: DANNY BOYLE STARRING: CILLIAN MURPHY, CHRIS EVANS, ROSE BYRNE PLOT SUMMARY: The eight astronauts of the Icarus II are dispatched to drop a Manhattan-sized bomb to rekindle the fires of the dying sun. The closer they get to the sun, the more they bicker. When they override the advice of the ship's computer to go in search of the lost Icarus I probe, they cross a line between reality and paranoia. And not all of them will be coming home. *** Almost 40 years since the robotic cameras of NASA and the imagination of Stanley Kubrick defined the extraterrestrial universe, space presents a problem to a filmmaker. If boldly going where no man has gone before is no longer an option, what do you do? Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland have faced this kind of quandary before. Their last collaboration, 28 Days Later, re-imagined the zombie movie by placing the action in a paranoid version of contemporary Britain. The notion of the walking dead wasn't new, but the context added urgency to the project. Sunshine is sci-fi for the rave generation. It's about alienation, not aliens, and while the crew of the Icarus II is on a mission to reignite the sun, the film's focus is the trip, not the destination. The action starts with the eight astronauts of Icarus II sitting down to a Chinese meal, 55 million miles from home. The ship's payload is a bomb, with a mass equivalent to that of Manhattan, which will be dropped onto the sun, to create a star within a star. The ship's name is a clue that these astronauts are not travelling optimistically. The sense of claustrophobia is heightened by the soundtrack, a symphony of understated bleeps by John Murphy and Underworld. The cinematography by Alwin KŸchler (see also Morvern Caller) is never less than gorgeous. Needless to say, things do not go smoothly. As well as the nightmares of the ship's physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy), the crew face dilemmas that drive the tone from jeopardy - Speed on a spaceship - through psychedelic implosion, into straightforward horror. The dialogue is an ER-like racing commentary of scientific babble ("The mainframe is out of the coolant!") which is mostly convincing, though there are moments which would have embarrassed Captain Kirk, most notably a line about communing with God. The last act almost undoes the good work, but Sunshine remains memorable for moments of sublime beauty, notably the blast through a broken airlock at minus 270 degrees C ("it's gonna be cold, but we'll make it!"). As is often the case with Boyle, the sense of the metaphor is sacrificed in favour of sensation. The Trainspotting director has added the hardware of sci-fi to the fatalism of a submarine drama. It's not rocket science, but it's rarely dull. ALASTAIR McKAY Q+A CILLIAN MURPHY UNCUT: Why did you want to be in Sunshine? MURPHY: I thought it had all the elements of the classic sci-movies like Alien and Solaris. A group of people in a confined space, and the pressure of being in that confined space for a long time. Ostensibly it's about astronauts trying to re-ignite the sun, and keep the earth alive, where in fact I think it's more about religion versus science. That really appealed to me. What Alex [Garland] managed to do in the script is tick all the boxes of a potentially great blockbuster and put some interesting questions in there. It's like a rave movie. It is meant to be far-out. Like who the hell knows what it would be like to get that close to the sun? There's a line in the movie where I say space and time distort, and towards the last act of the movie, that's what Danny and his effects boys were trying to create. How did you prepare? I hung out near Geneva with a bunch of absurdly intelligent physicists. There was one guy on the movie called Brian Cox who's the professor of physics in Manchester, and I spent a lot of time with him. He used to play in bands, he was the keyboard player for D:ream. He let me ask him hundreds of idiotic questions. Then I went out to Geneva with him. I wanted to see what these guys actually think about the meaning of life, and the meaning of everything - and if you're thinking about that all the time, what does it do to you. 28 Days Later seemed to fit in with a general feeling of dread and paranoia. What's the broader context for Sunshine? The set up is: if the sun's dying, is that God's will and should scientists interfere in God's will? There's an obvious conflict there. Then there's the fundamentalism, that's happening in religion around the world - not just in the Muslim faith but also in America. It's being sold as a sci-fi adventure, but if you want to look a bit more closely you'll find some interesting themes.

DIRECTED BY: DANNY BOYLE

STARRING: CILLIAN MURPHY, CHRIS EVANS, ROSE BYRNE

PLOT SUMMARY: The eight astronauts of the Icarus II are dispatched to drop a Manhattan-sized bomb to rekindle the fires of the dying sun. The closer they get to the sun, the more they bicker. When they override the advice of the ship’s computer to go in search of the lost Icarus I probe, they cross a line between reality and paranoia. And not all of them will be coming home.

***

Almost 40 years since the robotic cameras of NASA and the imagination of Stanley Kubrick defined the extraterrestrial universe, space presents a problem to a filmmaker. If boldly going where no man has gone before is no longer an option, what do you do?

Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland have faced this kind of quandary before. Their last collaboration, 28 Days Later, re-imagined the zombie movie by placing the action in a paranoid version of contemporary Britain. The notion of the walking dead wasn’t new, but the context added urgency to the project.

Sunshine is sci-fi for the rave generation. It’s about alienation, not aliens, and while the crew of the Icarus II is on a mission to reignite the sun, the film’s focus is the trip, not the destination.

The action starts with the eight astronauts of Icarus II sitting down to a Chinese meal, 55 million miles from home. The ship’s payload is a bomb, with a mass equivalent to that of Manhattan, which will be dropped onto the sun, to create a star within a star.

The ship’s name is a clue that these astronauts are not travelling optimistically. The sense of claustrophobia is heightened by the soundtrack, a symphony of understated bleeps by John Murphy and Underworld. The cinematography by Alwin KŸchler (see also Morvern Caller) is never less than gorgeous.

Needless to say, things do not go smoothly. As well as the nightmares of the ship’s physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy), the crew face dilemmas that drive the tone from jeopardy – Speed on a spaceship – through psychedelic implosion, into straightforward horror. The dialogue is an ER-like racing commentary of scientific babble (“The mainframe is out of the coolant!”) which is mostly convincing, though there are moments which would have embarrassed Captain Kirk, most notably a line about communing with God.

The last act almost undoes the good work, but Sunshine remains memorable for moments of sublime beauty, notably the blast through a broken airlock at minus 270 degrees C (“it’s gonna be cold, but we’ll make it!”).

As is often the case with Boyle, the sense of the metaphor is sacrificed in favour of sensation. The Trainspotting director has added the hardware of sci-fi to the fatalism of a submarine drama. It’s not rocket science, but it’s rarely dull.

ALASTAIR McKAY

Q+A CILLIAN MURPHY

UNCUT: Why did you want to be in Sunshine?

MURPHY: I thought it had all the elements of the classic sci-movies like Alien and Solaris. A group of people in a confined space, and the pressure of being in that confined space for a long time. Ostensibly it’s about astronauts trying to re-ignite the sun, and keep the earth alive, where in fact I think it’s more about religion versus science. That really appealed to me. What Alex [Garland] managed to do in the script is tick all the boxes of a potentially great blockbuster and put some interesting questions in there.

It’s like a rave movie.

It is meant to be far-out. Like who the hell knows what it would be like to get that close to the sun? There’s a line in the movie where I say space and time distort, and towards the last act of the movie, that’s what Danny and his effects boys were trying to create.

How did you prepare?

I hung out near Geneva with a bunch of absurdly intelligent physicists. There was one guy on the movie called Brian Cox who’s the professor of physics in Manchester, and I spent a lot of time with him. He used to play in bands, he was the keyboard player for D:ream. He let me ask him hundreds of idiotic questions. Then I went out to Geneva with him. I wanted to see what these guys actually think about the meaning of life, and the meaning of everything – and if you’re thinking about that all the time, what does it do to you.

28 Days Later seemed to fit in with a general feeling of dread and paranoia. What’s the broader context for Sunshine?

The set up is: if the sun’s dying, is that God’s will and should scientists interfere in God’s will? There’s an obvious conflict there. Then there’s the fundamentalism, that’s happening in religion around the world – not just in the Muslim faith but also in America. It’s being sold as a sci-fi adventure, but if you want to look a bit more closely you’ll find some interesting themes.

Norah Jones Makes Acting Debut At Cannes

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Norah Jones Makes Acting Debut At Cannes

Wong Kar Wai’s first English language feature "My Blueberry Nights" will open this year’s Cannes Film Festival on May 16. Norah Jones makes her acting debut as a woman who travels across America in search of love, meeting some extraordinary characters along the way. The cast also includes British talent Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Tim Roth alongside Natalie Portman and Ed Harris. Kar Wai, whose credits include ‘In The Mood For Love’ and ‘2046’, is the first Chinese director to open the festival, which is in its 60th year. Favorites for the Palme d'Or are Gus van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and Emir Kusturica’s ‘Promise Me This.’ As in recent years, there’s a strong American presence at the festival with films by Abel Ferrara, William Friedkin, Gregg Araki and Quentin Tarantino, whose Death Proof section of the Grindhouse double feature will receive it’s European premier there. The 60th Cannes film festival runs May 16-27.

Wong Kar Wai’s first English language feature “My Blueberry Nights” will open this year’s Cannes Film Festival on May 16.

Norah Jones makes her acting debut as a woman who travels across America in search of love, meeting some extraordinary characters along the way.

The cast also includes British talent Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Tim Roth alongside Natalie Portman and Ed Harris.

Kar Wai, whose credits include ‘In The Mood For Love’ and ‘2046’, is the first Chinese director to open the festival, which is in its 60th year.

Favorites for the Palme d’Or are Gus van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and Emir Kusturica’s ‘Promise Me This.’

As in recent years, there’s a strong American presence at the festival with films by Abel Ferrara, William Friedkin, Gregg Araki and Quentin Tarantino, whose Death Proof section of the Grindhouse double feature will receive it’s European premier there.

The 60th Cannes film festival runs May 16-27.

Beatles Across America Available For First Time

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Beatles Across America Available For First Time

An archive Beatles ITN news documentary from 1966 has been made available for video download through digital company Wippit. The 23 minute documentary was only ever aired once in the UK and featured the Beatles' controversial tour of the US in 1966, which followed the interview that Lennon gave claiming that the group were 'more popular than Jesus Christ.' The programme shows Lennon defending himself for the comments he had made five months earlier and making something of an apology. Highlights of the rare footage are the one on one interviews with the man who first brought the issue to the attention of American Christians, DJ Tommy Charles from radio station WAQI in Birmingham, Alabama and the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Robert Shelton. Shelton challenged if it was their views on civil rights and colour that really irked him most claimed that due to their ‘mopheads’ he couldn’t even identify if they were ‘white or black’. Paul Myers, CEO and founder of Wippit says, "It’s a stunning insight into the psyche of the time. The Beatles are unarguably the most popular act in music history and this engaging documentary demonstrates how culturally important they had become too.” ITN’s head of music partnerships Ross Landau said: “The Beatles across America is one of ITN’s oldest documentaries filmed for the Roving Report strand. It was only aired once and captures the band at the pinnacle and most controversial period of their career in the USA”. The Beatles Across America is available for video download in all territories except North America for £4.99 from Wippit here.

An archive Beatles ITN news documentary from 1966 has been made available for video download through digital company Wippit.

The 23 minute documentary was only ever aired once in the UK and featured the Beatles’ controversial tour of the US in 1966, which followed the interview that Lennon gave claiming that the group were ‘more popular than Jesus Christ.’

The programme shows Lennon defending himself for the comments he had made five months earlier and making something of an apology.

Highlights of the rare footage are the one on one interviews with the man who first brought the issue to the attention of American Christians, DJ Tommy Charles from radio station WAQI in Birmingham, Alabama and the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Robert Shelton.

Shelton challenged if it was their views on civil rights and colour that really irked him most claimed that due to their ‘mopheads’ he couldn’t even identify if they were ‘white or black’.

Paul Myers, CEO and founder of Wippit says, “It’s a stunning insight into the psyche of the time. The Beatles are unarguably the most popular act in music history and this engaging documentary demonstrates how culturally important they had become too.”

ITN’s head of music partnerships Ross Landau said: “The Beatles across America is one of ITN’s oldest documentaries filmed for the Roving Report strand. It was only aired once and captures the band at the pinnacle and most controversial period of their career in the USA”.

The Beatles Across America is available for video download in all territories except North America for £4.99 from Wippit here.

See Ryan Adams Perform New Album Track

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See Ryan Adams Perform New Album Track

Prolific alt.rocker Ryan Adams has made a live appearance on a US music TV show hosted by Henry Rollins. The singer performs the eight-and-a-half minute track "Goodnight Rose" from his forthcoming studio album "Easy Tiger," which is due for release on June 26. The Rollins show website also includes a short video interview with Adams. Watch the brilliant live performance by clicking here

Prolific alt.rocker Ryan Adams has made a live appearance on a US music TV show hosted by Henry Rollins.

The singer performs the eight-and-a-half minute track “Goodnight Rose” from his forthcoming studio album “Easy Tiger,” which is due for release on June 26.

The Rollins show website also includes a short video interview with Adams.

Watch the brilliant live performance by clicking here

Grinderman Release New Single After ATP

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Grinderman Release New Single After ATP

Nick Cave's new sideproject band Grindernman are to release their third single "(I Don’t Need You To) Set Me Free" on May 7. The single taken from their self-titled debut album will be available as a limitd edition one-sided 7" vinyl and as a digital download. The band who also consists of Bad Seeds members Martyn Casey, Warren Ellis and Jim Sclavunos are making their live debut at All Tomorrow's Parties next weekend, April 27-28 - where Nick Cave will also perform a headline solo show. Grinderman will also now play a lunchtime instore show at HMV Oxford Circus on May 9. Discussing the new single, Cave explains he was inspired by John Lee Hooker. He says: “I was trying to find a way into what I wanted the lyrics to be concerned with. I was listening to John Lee Hooker and I heard these lines buried deep in one of his songs: 'I went down to my baby’s house/And I sat down on the step.' And in that instant, I knew I’d found a way in, you know, to the album. That’s all you need, a way in. Lyrically, the whole album rests on those two lines.” He continues rather puzzlingly: "The protagonist in "Set Me Free" is disconnected from things whilst his ‘other’ has left him in order to engage in the world. The protagonist no longer has a “witness”, he is alone, and left to metaphorically “sit down on the step.”

Nick Cave’s new sideproject band Grindernman are to release their third single “(I Don’t Need You To) Set Me Free” on May 7.

The single taken from their self-titled debut album will be available as a limitd edition one-sided 7″ vinyl and as a digital download.

The band who also consists of Bad Seeds members Martyn Casey, Warren Ellis and Jim Sclavunos are making their live debut at All Tomorrow’s Parties next weekend, April 27-28 – where Nick Cave will also perform a headline solo show.

Grinderman will also now play a lunchtime instore show at HMV Oxford Circus on May 9.

Discussing the new single, Cave explains he was inspired by John Lee Hooker. He says: “I was trying to find a way into what I wanted the lyrics to be concerned with. I was listening to John Lee Hooker and I heard these lines buried deep in one of his songs: ‘I went down to my baby’s house/And I sat down on the step.’ And in that instant, I knew I’d found a way in, you know, to the album. That’s all you need, a way in. Lyrically, the whole album rests on those two lines.”

He continues rather puzzlingly: “The protagonist in “Set Me Free” is disconnected from things whilst his ‘other’ has left him in order to engage in the world. The protagonist no longer has a “witness”, he is alone, and left to metaphorically “sit down on the step.”

Fancy quizzing comeback kings The Jesus And Mary Chain?

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Fancy quizzing comeback kings The Jesus And Mary Chain?

With the band on the verge of playing their first live dates in nine years, Uncut is preparing to put your questions to Jim and William Reid. So if you want to know why they split in 99, whether they're still happy when it rains and if they're still big fans of leather or anything else send your questions to uncutaudiencewith@ipcmedia.com with 'Marychain' in the subject line by Tuesday (April 24). The band's confirmed reunion dates so far are: Pomona, CA Glass House (April 26) Indio, CA Coachella Festival Empire Polo Field (27) Lisbon, Portugal Super Bock Super Rock (July 4) Madrid, Spain Summercase Festival (13) Barcelona, Spain Summercase Festival (14) Hildesheim, Germany M'era Luna Festival (August 12) Argyll, Scotland Connect Festival Inveraray Castle (31) County Laois, Ireland Electric Picnic Stradbally Estate (September 1)

With the band on the verge of playing their first live dates in nine years, Uncut is preparing to put your questions to Jim and William Reid.

So if you want to know why they split in 99, whether they’re still happy when it rains and if they’re still big fans of leather or anything else send your questions to uncutaudiencewith@ipcmedia.com with ‘Marychain’ in the subject line by Tuesday (April 24).

The band’s confirmed reunion dates so far are:

Pomona, CA Glass House (April 26)

Indio, CA Coachella Festival Empire Polo Field (27)

Lisbon, Portugal Super Bock Super Rock (July 4)

Madrid, Spain Summercase Festival (13)

Barcelona, Spain Summercase Festival (14)

Hildesheim, Germany M’era Luna Festival (August 12)

Argyll, Scotland Connect Festival Inveraray Castle (31)

County Laois, Ireland Electric Picnic Stradbally Estate (September 1)

Queens Of The Stone Age and “Era Vulgaris”

John Mulvey
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I'm not sure we should be giving any more publicity to the bizarre media phenomenon that is Sharon Osbourne, but I couldn't resist starting today with this quote from her about Josh Homme. Homme, it seems, had the temerity to criticise Ozzfest. In response, Osbourne told Blender, "I hope he gets syphilis and dies. I hope his dick fuckin' falls off so his mother can eat it." Nice image, thanks for that. It strikes me, though, that the ubiquity of Osbourne is something that Homme is obliquely railing against on "Era Vulgaris" (Latin for "Common Era"), the predictably excellent new Queens Of The Stone Age album. Track Three is called "I'm Designer", and features those choppy, robotic riffs which have become Homme's trademark. "The thing that's real for us is fortune and fame," he notes, "All the rest seems like work. It's just like diamonds - in shit." He then wolf whistles, perkily. Soon, the track mutates into a kind of lush, hazy psychedelic chorus, with Homme at his softest. It's a schizophrenic trick which the Queens repeat again and again on this dense, complicated album, one which reveals its treasures in a much more insidious way than previous Queens albums. I think parts of it may sound like Devo meets "Strawberry Fields"-era Beatles, especially "I'm Designer" and the fantastic "Battery Acid". But essentially, it's a refinement - a stabilising, maybe - of Homme's intimidating talent. There's a lot I like about the last Queens album, "Lullabies To Paralyze", but in contrast to the steely purpose of Homme's other records, it feels a bit shapeless, haphazard. "Era Vulgaris" is right back on point. There are no Nick Oliveri-shaped distractions this time round, and while a bunch of passing suspects apparently help out with backing vocals - Julian Casablancas, Billy Gibbons - the line-up feels stabler. Or as stable as a restless spirit like Homme could ever make his band, I guess. Anyway, it's all shadowy, gripping modal boogie, as you'd hope. Some things here - "Into The Hollow" and "Misfit Love" - fit stylistically right between "Rated R" and "Songs For The Deaf". One of the most immediate tunes is "I Wanna Make It Wit Chu", an old Desert Sessions song originally sung by Lanegan, here slowed down by Homme to a louche piano vamp that reeks of late-'70s Stones. The other is "3's & 7's", riding a cranked riff so reminiscent of Nirvana that our Reviews Ed referred to it the other day as the Queens'"Song 2". Homme's songwriting is never quite that straightforward, though, and "Era Vulgaris" is as dense, prickly and fastidious an album as he's ever made. By "River In The Road", the errant Lanegan appears to be back in the fold, lending his apocalyptic moan to a proggish sequel to "Song For The Dead". That June gig in London with the Queens and The White Stripes should be amazing. I once saw them play together in Bologna, and also witnessed Nick Oliveri sniffing Meg White's drum stool. But that's another story entirely. . .

I’m not sure we should be giving any more publicity to the bizarre media phenomenon that is Sharon Osbourne, but I couldn’t resist starting today with this quote from her about Josh Homme. Homme, it seems, had the temerity to criticise Ozzfest. In response, Osbourne told Blender, “I hope he gets syphilis and dies. I hope his dick fuckin’ falls off so his mother can eat it.”

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Last Post For Bob (At Least For Now)

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Bob Dylan finished his UK tour on Tuesday in Birmingham, which has prompted Uncut’s resident Bob statistician Nigel Williamson to pore over the set lists of the 16 shows played so far during the latest European leg of the Never Ending Tour. “Basically,” Nigel writes in an email to me, “ there are five songs he plays every night, four he plays most nights and then 8-9 songs each night that might come from almost anywhere...he played two in Birmigham last night for the first time on the tour – ‘The Ballad Of Hollis Brown’ and ‘Workingman’s Blues No 2.” According to Nigel, Dylan has played a total of 51 songs in the 16 shows to date, and lists them according to the number of times they have featured in performance, as follows: All Along The Watchtower (16 performances) It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (16) Like A Rolling Stone (16) Summer Days (16) Thunder On The Mountain (16) Rollin' And Tumblin' (15) When The Deal Goes Down (15) Highway 61 Revisited (14) Spirit On The Water (14) Nettie Moore (11) Cat's In The Well (11) Watching The River Flow (10) Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (7) It Ain't Me, Babe (6) Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (6) A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (5) Ain't Talkin' (5) Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (5) Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (5) Tangled Up In Blue (5) The Levee's Gonna Break (5) Desolation Row (3) High Water (for Charley Patton) (3) Chimes Of Freedom (2) Country Pie (2) Girl Of The North Country (2) Honest With Me (2) I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (2) John Brown (2) Masters Of War (2) The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (2) 'Til I Fell In Love With You (2) To Ramona (2) Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (2) Visions Of Johanna (2) Ballad Of Hollis Brown Blind Willie McTell Boots of Spanish Leather House Of The Risin’ Sun I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) Lay Lady Lay Man In The Long Black Coat Not Dark Yet She Belongs To Me Simple Twist Of Fate Tears Of Rage This Wheel's On Fire Things Have Changed Under The Red Sky Workingman's Blues #2 I’m off now to see Mick Jones’ Carbon Silicon rehearsing at Mick’s studio somewhere in Acton. If I make it back, I’ll be reporting tomorrow on what it was like.

Bob Dylan finished his UK tour on Tuesday in Birmingham, which has prompted Uncut’s resident Bob statistician Nigel Williamson to pore over the set lists of the 16 shows played so far during the latest European leg of the Never Ending Tour.

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Dylan Records New Track For Poker Film

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Dylan Records New Track For Poker Film

Bob Dylan has written and recorded a brand new track entitled "Huck's Tune" for forthcoming Curtis Hanson movie about a hotshot Vegas poker player. Huck in the movie is played by Hulk actor Eric Bana, who fights a losing battle with personal problems, but changes his life through the card game. The classic Dylan track "Like A Rolling Stone" is also on the motion picture soundtrack. Other artists that feature include Ryan Adams & The Cardinals with "Let It Ride" from the "Cold Roses" album and Bruce Springsteen makes two appearances with "Lucky Old Town" and "The Fever." The full tracklisting is as follows: 1. Lucky Town - Bruce Springsteen 2. Dance Me To The End Of Love - Madeleine Peyroux 3. Choices - George Jones 4. Maybe This Time - Liza Minelli 5. The Fever - Bruce Springsteen 6. Bartender's Blues, Bonnie Raitt 7. They Ain't Got 'Em All - Kris Kristofferson 8. The Cold Hard Truth - Drew Barrymore 9. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan 10. Let It Ride - Ryan Adams 11. I Always Get Lucky With You - George Jones 12. Huck's Tune - Bob Dylan The "Lucky You" soundtrack will be released through Sony Records in the US on April 24 and in the UK on May 7.

Bob Dylan has written and recorded a brand new track entitled “Huck’s Tune” for forthcoming Curtis Hanson movie about a hotshot Vegas poker player.

Huck in the movie is played by Hulk actor Eric Bana, who fights a losing battle with personal problems, but changes his life through the card game.

The classic Dylan track “Like A Rolling Stone” is also on the motion picture soundtrack.

Other artists that feature include Ryan Adams & The Cardinals with “Let It Ride” from the “Cold Roses” album and Bruce Springsteen makes two appearances with “Lucky Old Town” and “The Fever.”

The full tracklisting is as follows:

1. Lucky Town – Bruce Springsteen

2. Dance Me To The End Of Love – Madeleine Peyroux

3. Choices – George Jones

4. Maybe This Time – Liza Minelli

5. The Fever – Bruce Springsteen

6. Bartender’s Blues, Bonnie Raitt

7. They Ain’t Got ‘Em All – Kris Kristofferson

8. The Cold Hard Truth – Drew Barrymore

9. Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan

10. Let It Ride – Ryan Adams

11. I Always Get Lucky With You – George Jones

12. Huck’s Tune – Bob Dylan

The “Lucky You” soundtrack will be released through Sony Records in the US on April 24 and in the UK on May 7.

Travis Gear Up To Play First Coachella

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Travis Gear Up To Play First Coachella

Scottish indie band Travis have expressed their excitement at sharing the stage with some of the greatest bands around at the Californian music festival Coachella festival when they play there for there for first time next Saturday, April 28. Speaking to Uncut.co.uk, band bassist Dougie said: “It will be nice to be on stage with people like Arcade Fire. We are very excited. We have not played there before and its brilliant playing at festivals with a different setting. It will be really special to play in the middle of the desert.” Travis will be playing a mixture of old and new songs from their forthcoming album "The Boy With No Name". Frontman Fran said: “We will do a nice mix. Festivals are great as you don’t have to do the one and a half hour full on set, so it will be very short and sweet.” With a stellar line-up for this year's festival, including the newly reformed groups Jesus & Mary Chain, Crowded House and Rage Against The Machine, the band are excited at the prospect at seeing as many of the bands as possible. Dougie is especially excited at the prospect of seeing The Good, The Bad and the Queen. He said: "I am delighted that I will see Paul Simonon playing the bass! He's my hero." The three-day festival starts on April 27, and artists playing in the 100° heat include: Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Rufus Wainwright, Happy Mondays, The Lemonheads, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs and Klaxons.

Scottish indie band Travis have expressed their excitement at sharing the stage with some of the greatest bands around at the Californian music festival Coachella festival when they play there for there for first time next Saturday, April 28.

Speaking to Uncut.co.uk, band bassist Dougie said: “It will be nice to be on stage with people like Arcade Fire. We are very excited. We have not played there before and its brilliant playing at festivals with a different setting. It will be really special to play in the middle of the desert.”

Travis will be playing a mixture of old and new songs from their forthcoming album “The Boy With No Name”. Frontman Fran said: “We will do a nice mix. Festivals are great as you don’t have to do the one and a half hour full on set, so it will be very short and sweet.”

With a stellar line-up for this year’s festival, including the newly reformed groups Jesus & Mary Chain, Crowded House and Rage Against The Machine, the band are excited at the prospect at seeing as many of the bands as possible.

Dougie is especially excited at the prospect of seeing The Good, The Bad and the Queen. He said: “I am delighted that I will see Paul Simonon playing the bass! He’s my hero.”

The three-day festival starts on April 27, and artists playing in the 100° heat include: Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Rufus Wainwright, Happy Mondays, The Lemonheads, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs and Klaxons.

Is this the end for Spider-Man..? Or: Why the world really doesn’t need Web 3.0.

Michael Bonner
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Coming from the same creative team behind the first two Spider-Man movies -- headed by director Sam Raimi -- the big question hanging over part 3 is: what the hell went wrong? Spider-Man 3 seems to have been willed into existence by the combined efforts of marketing departments, merchandise divisions and third-party licencees. The result is soulless and witless, a sequel too far. Demurring to Netiquette, be warned there are spoilers ahead. The motor here is the precarious three-way relationship between Peter Parker (Tobey Maquire), Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and New York City. Peter has the annoying habit of dashing off to save NYC from all manner of pesky superbaddies the minute M-J comes round for a cup of tea and cuddle. Peter's former best pal is Harry Osborne (James Franco), who believes Spiderman killed his pa (at the end of the first movie, continuity buffs). Harry dons pa's Green Goblin disguise and sets out for revenge, planning to destroy Peter and M-J's relationship and steal her for himself before killing Peter. Meanwhile, a slimy cosmic symbiote inhabits Peter, amplifying his anger and badness, apparently turning him into a member of Panic! At The Disco in the process. Elsewhere, crook-on-the-lam Flint Marko (Thomas Hayden Church) gets zapped at the local particle research facility and becomes a creature made entirely of sand. Topher Grace plays an unscrupulous photographer with eyes on Peter's job at the Daily Bugle, and Bryce Dallas Howard looks fantastic as a shameless plot device to make Peter realise how much he rilly, rilly loves M-J. Theresa Russell turns up for, ooh, three minutes and acts everyone off screen. OK, so what's wrong here? Plenty. Frankly, I'm fatigued by comic book adaptations. The skies have been gridlocked with caped heroes flying hither and thither, speeding to save major American cities -- real and imagined -- from cackling hoardes of genetically mutated ne'er-do-wells. In the last few years, we've had movie versions of (deep breath) Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, V For Vendetta and Hellblazer. Soon come: FF2, Iron Man and fresh installments of the Batman, Hulk and Superman franchises. The multiplexes are at saturation point with four-colour freaks and weirdoes punching each other through buildings and saving hapless extras from death by taxi cabs hurled randomly across streets. The problem is that all these movies conform to roughly the same plot. To wit: saving city/planet/loved ones from evil person. At one point during Spider-Man 3, as a snarling newspaper boss rages at a mild, mannered cub employee who hides a secret identity as a superhero, I thought I'd slipped through the Fourth Wall and into a Superman film -- such is the woefully limited genetic pool on offer here that characters and storylines replicate themselves like pernicious rogue DNA. According to the remorseless, two-dimensional logic of the superhero genre -- where More Is Good -- it follows that one pitched battle between hero and villain must then be followed by an even bigger one. So it is that for Spider-Man 3, the film climaxes with a WWF-style smackdown between Spider-Man, Green Goblin, Sandman and Venom (that's the alien slime, folks). Do we need 4 baddies in a movie?, I whine. Why can't we just have Spider-Man facing down Green Goblin, thus resolving a narrative arc begun in the first film in a clean and satisfying way? Why clutter it with more supervillains? Because, say Marvel/Sony's mechandise divisions (in a voice I imagine to sound chillingly like the HAL computer in 2001), we can sell more action figures in Burger King! I slam my head repeatedly against the nearest wall and cry openly for all of our children, even those as yet unborn. Of course, I blame Sam Raimi. In fact, I blame Sam Raimi, Christopher Nolan, Bryan Singer, Ang Lee and a whole other bunch talented folks who've squandered their brilliant talents on making the superhero genre respectable these last few years. Damn you -- why can't you just go and originate your own movies! Or go and make a movie based on a comic book with zero awareness in the outside world -- like American Splendor or A History Of Violence. They were good movies, right..? There's nothing in Spider-Man 3 to suggest Sam Raimi directed it. It feels like a movie made by committee, driven by a financial imperative. A quick skim round Google tells me that the first movie took $807m in global ticket sales; the sequel took $783m. And that's without the revenue from DVD and ancillary rights. Who can blame Marvel and Sony from wanting to make even more money? They're businesses, after all! Making money is their job! Lots of money! Ah, but they set the bar pretty high by getting Raimi involved. If they'd given it to a journeyman hack like, say, Brett Ratner, then I wouldn't bat an eyelid if the film was a disaster -- in fact, I'd be disappointed it it wasn't -- there's nothing I like more than having my prejudices confirmed. But Raimi can do much better than this. He appears to have been totally emasculated by the financial needs of these two large megacorporations. Now, if only there was a superhero on hand to save Sam Raimi... Spider-Man 3 opens in the UK on May 4

Coming from the same creative team behind the first two Spider-Man movies — headed by director Sam Raimi — the big question hanging over part 3 is: what the hell went wrong? Spider-Man 3 seems to have been willed into existence by the combined efforts of marketing departments, merchandise divisions and third-party licencees. The result is soulless and witless, a sequel too far.

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Bunnymen To Play Cambridge Secret Garden Party

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Bunnymen To Play Cambridge Secret Garden Party

The first acts have been confirmed for the fifth annual Secret Garden Party near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Echo & The Bunnymen, Rilo Kiley, Little Barrie, Prince Buster and The Noisettes are part of the eclectic line-up. This year's bash sees expansion in capacity to 6,000 and a fourth day, so the colourful festival runs from July 26 - 29. As the only non-branded non-corporate festival in the UK - the lovingly crafted festival has added a brand new main stage, more diverse stages and activities - as well as having a complete landscape redesign. The party's theme this year is 'Brave New World' and organisers are looking for 'Gardners' to get involved - if you're willing to spend your weekend dressed up as a bear or milkmaid or other such new world garb, you'll get a reduced price ticket. Adult tickets are £110 for the full 4 days, U12s go free, Get Involved pledge tickets are £60. More information and online booking is available from the SGP website here The artists confirmed so far are: Das Pop The Noisettes New Young Pony Club Drive By Argument Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Little Barrie Echo and the Bunnymen The New York Fund Fujiya & Miyagi Of Montreal Rinocerose Sunshine Underground Horsebox Radio LXMBRG Moonbabies Rilo Kiley Prince Buster I’m From Barcelona Terry Reid Hafdis Huld Rock Kills Kid Ali Love Passenger Goose Wall of Sound South Central Keren Ann Isobel Campbell

The first acts have been confirmed for the fifth annual Secret Garden Party near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.

Echo & The Bunnymen, Rilo Kiley, Little Barrie, Prince Buster and The Noisettes are part of the eclectic line-up.

This year’s bash sees expansion in capacity to 6,000 and a fourth day, so the colourful festival runs from July 26 – 29.

As the only non-branded non-corporate festival in the UK – the lovingly crafted festival has added a brand new main stage, more diverse stages and activities – as well as having a complete landscape redesign.

The party’s theme this year is ‘Brave New World’ and organisers are looking for ‘Gardners’ to get involved – if you’re willing to spend your weekend dressed up as a bear or milkmaid or other such new world garb, you’ll get a reduced price ticket.

Adult tickets are £110 for the full 4 days, U12s go free, Get Involved pledge tickets are £60.

More information and online booking is available from the SGP website here

The artists confirmed so far are:

Das Pop

The Noisettes

New Young Pony Club

Drive By Argument

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis

Little Barrie

Echo and the Bunnymen

The New York Fund

Fujiya & Miyagi

Of Montreal

Rinocerose

Sunshine Underground

Horsebox

Radio LXMBRG

Moonbabies

Rilo Kiley

Prince Buster

I’m From Barcelona

Terry Reid

Hafdis Huld

Rock Kills Kid

Ali Love

Passenger

Goose

Wall of Sound

South Central

Keren Ann

Isobel Campbell

Colleen’s Les Ondes Silencieuses. Also: Killers bashing

John Mulvey
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I've just been reading through your comments again. Thanks for all of them: I really like it when Wild Mercury Sound starts to resemble a sort of forum, when we can swap tips and enthusiasms and also, of course, pick on Killers fans. Particularly taken with Lauren's eloquent post, not least because of the nice things she says about Uncut. "You are tripping if you think the Killers are more likely to make an impact on the hearts and minds of people than the Arctic Monkeys are," she writes in response to a post by Mitch. "Sorry, but yr way offbeam. Alex Turner is clearly a rare class of songwriter. Killers are just drab. Dude had to grow facial hair as a gimmick... that is only the first lame thing about them. PS: there are tons of splendid bands around at the moment, but they ain't going to come up and clobber you with their 'I am a classic band' hammer. you are obviously an Uncut reader... Pick a reviewer you trust and buy an album they recommend. you might surprise yourself..." Hopefully, this blog can provide that kind of service (Good to see Tanel picked up on the Linda Perhacs reissue, by the way; I've probably played that album as much as any other over the past couple of years). Right now, anyway, the new album by Colleen is playing, and I can't think of another record in my pile at the moment that wields the "'I am a classic band' hammer" more subtly. Colleen is, in fact, a Parisian woman called Cecile Schott, whose previous albums have generally fixated on highly intimate electronica, with sampled music boxes and a delicate, meticulously detailed atmosphere that's quite close to some of Bjork's "Vespertine". Her new album, "Les Ondes Silencieuses", sustains that mood, but uses different tools to achieve it. Essentially, it's chamber music, with Schott creating a kind of baroque ambience with a classical acoustic guitar, a clarinet, a spinet, a few ringing glasses and, most prominently, a viola da gamba. The last instrument has a fantastic woody sound, like a particularly reverberant cello, and it contributes to an atmosphere that's refined, meditative and genuinely lovely. Just the thing after a long day of meetings, I think. Try some: "Blue Sands" and "Sea Of Tranquility" are both playing at Colleen's Myspace.

I’ve just been reading through your comments again. Thanks for all of them: I really like it when Wild Mercury Sound starts to resemble a sort of forum, when we can swap tips and enthusiasms and also, of course, pick on Killers fans. Particularly taken with Lauren’s eloquent post, not least because of the nice things she says about Uncut. “You are tripping if you think the Killers are more likely to make an impact on the hearts and minds of people than the Arctic Monkeys are,” she writes in response to a post by Mitch.

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