(Soundtrack: Nina Simone “Forbidden Fruit”, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Before Today”)
So a year skips past. Quite a challenging, ultimately productive year, which we spent in Leeds, but more of that later. I didn’t update the diary page because I felt that if I was going to spend time writing it would be better to spend it writing the album. So I binged on that and then set about recording it and have now finished it. But more of that later too. Jim just sent me the finished artwork and Steve has the master so I believe we are on for an April release.
Anyway, to continue where I left off, here are our top 100 movies of 2010. I continue to hold the view that we are living in a golden age of film, when brilliant bold ambitious cinema like Inception, Buried, 127 Hours and The Social Network gets made by the major studios and are huge hits, and we also have easy access to great independent films from all over the world. It reminds me of the days in world of music when records like “Ghost Town” would get to number 1… but that is all gone now, at least for the moment. Any minute now a New Riot Grrrl band will appear and make great records and blow the cobwebs away and snuff Cowell and co out and a nation will rise and be grateful.
2011 was a year of a wide spread of great films, rather than being led by a handful of classics. We have yet to see Winter’s Bone, Rare Exports or Uncle Boon Mee, but here is our joint Top 100 as it stands:
1= Another Year – maybe Mike Leigh’s best yet; keeps making you think and change your mind long after you have seen it.
1= Mother – dazzling, twisty-turny, frightening, funny Korean thriller worthy of Tarantino
3 The Kids Are Alright – Bridie would have this at number 1, but I intervened
4 The Illusionist – I didn’t expect a new Jacques Tati movie in 2010; this is so beautiful and sad and Edinbugh looks gorgeous; and the last twenty minutes are astonishing; our favourite animation of the year
5 The Maid – really cool black comedy
6 The Social Network – appears to confirm that the people who created Facebook are every bit as loathsome as the people who use it… Fincher is one of the greats
7 The King’s Speech – top quality fodder and we have a soft spot for Colin
8 Heartbreaker – Romantic comedies do not come much better than this, plus you get Romain Duris and Vanessa doing Dirty Dancing
9 American – The Bill Hicks Story – truly inspiring!
10 A Single Man – the good egg had a good year
11 The Yes Men Save The World – Oh boy I would love to be brave enough to take on the corporate world the way these chaps do
12 Exit Through The Gift Shop – another film that gives you more the more you think about it: a great history of street art, but an even better idea for a movie
13 Please Give – lovely Woody-style latest from Nicole Holofcener
14 Inception – just great fun, not sure why the critics talked about it as though it is full of riddles, it is quite straight-forward; loved this and want to see it again
15 127 Hours – reliably brilliant Danny Boyle
16 Whip It! – Bridie adores this and I like it too!
17 Humpday – deceptively slight, but stays with you, oddly quite tender about male friendship
18 A Town Called Panic – absolute mayhem, second favourite animation of the year
19 Greenberg – Ben Stiller is so delightfully cynical; fab turn from Rhys Ifans too
20 Catfish – another that keeps you thinking long after you’ve seen it… I guess mockumentaries about the internet will remain a recurrent theme of today’s film-making
21 Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
22 Good Hair
23 Toy Story 3
24 Skeletons
25 Shutter Island
26 Buried
27 The Last Exorcism
28 Kick Ass
29 Zombieland
30 The Father Of My Children
31 Made In Dagenham
32 Hachi – A Dog’s Tale
33 The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life
34 Sherlock Holmes
35 SALT
36 Alice In Wonderland
37 Four Lions
38 Life During Wartime
39 Black Dynamite
40 Bad Lieutenant
41 The Ghost
42 The Box
43 Monsters
44 Up In The Air
45 Crazy Heart
46 Topp Twins
47 The Town
48 The Secret In Their Eyes
49 I’m Still Here
50 Splice
51 Food Inc
52 Sin Nombre
53 Unstoppable
54 Lourdes
55 Edge Of Darkness
56 Vengeance
57 Predators
58 Sly Stone – Coming Back For More
59 The Killer Inside Me
60 The Other Guys
61 The Headless Woman
62 Dogtooth
63 Cyrus
64 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
65 The End Of The Line
66 Burke And Hare
67 Get Him To The Greek
68 No Impact Man
69 It’s Complicated
70 Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll
71 How To Train Your Dragon
72 We Live In Public
73 Bunny And The Bull
74 Un Prophet
75 Twilight Eclipse
76 Jail Guitar Doors
77 I Love You Philip Morris
78 Big River Man
79 The Joneses
80 Leaving
81 Cemetary Junction
82 Law Abiding Citizen
83 Furry Vengeance
84 White Material
85 Double Take
86 Frozen
87 Hot Tub Time Machine
88 Daybreakers
89 Crazy Love
90 2012
91 The Girl In The Park
92 Crazies
93 The Girl On The Train
94 Green Zone
95 Youth In Revolt
96 The Princess And The Frog
97 Brooklyn’s Finest
98 Afterschool
99 Talk To Me
100 Defendor

Hello And welcome to 2011! I appreciate that it has been a while, about a year in fact, but we have been busy. I have written and recorded a new Shirley Lee album for release in the spring and am planning to play solo live, Andy has completed his third solo album, and we are about to start on the next Spearmint record. I asked Jim if he had any cool photos of me and this is what he sent…

Radio Interview Go here to listen to me chattering at some length a few days ago to the splendid Geoff Lokke on his U.S. radio show.

New Album The second Shirley Lee album is pencilled in for release on 25th April. It will be a double-album featuring 30 songs, and will be released on double CD, double LP and digital download. I have written, performed and produced this one myself, so unfortunately am unable to blame anyone else for the way it has come out. Jim is currently finishing the sleeve artwork.

Single The album will be preceded on 4th April by a digital single “An Old Cricketer (For John Peel)”.

Shows I intend to attempt playing some shows totally solo. If you think you have the perfect venue to host a tall, tentative man singing with an acoustic guitar very quietly then drop a line to mail@spearmint.net.

Spearmint The next album is currently a blank page (my favourite bit). Jim and I have had two long walks in the woods, and got quite excited about how we are going to approach it. Ideally we will write and record this year for release with live shows next year, but this is all subject to us coming up with something we feel is worthy!