kabaddikabaddikabaddi

In the absence of much to say, apart from the chronic fatigue I am immersed in, here are ten things I currently really like:

1) Micachu and the Shapes’ debut album- a swirl and mesh of avant-garde pop, concise and tight. Just when songs sound like they might fall away, they’re brought back from the brink, flip-flopping through two or three different songs at once. Micachu’s punky lyrics and scuzzy child’s guitar whirr away at the epicentre of glitches, bleeps, boops and high-calibre electronics and grime riddims from The Shapes. Album of the year. I heard it in January but it’s been pushed back to April. Essential.
2) Jack Bauer- his dedication to his country and his album to be the best he can be all the time is truly astounding. In episode 6 this week, seconds after he’d buried an FBI agent alive, she was rescued by Bill and Chloe. Forget the scary darkies and the wetbag president- it’s all Jack all the time.
3) ‘Something to tell you’ by Hanif Kureishi- I met him last year and he revealed himself to be pompous in the face of adulation. And this book is complete wish fulfilment for a middle aged man. In the book, Jamal (clearly Hanif-a-like) is a 50 year old shagging stoner who is cool and sophisticated and able to relate to his teenage son by calling him ‘dog’ and ‘wha’gwan’. It’s not realistic and the plot is thin like slivers of ham, but the easy style and sardonic wit are all vintage Kureishi.
4) ‘The Bird Room’ by Chris Killen- he’s younger than me and has written an amazing debut book on Canongate, all filled with love, lust, technology, self-esteem dramas and a complete disregard for happy endings.
5) The Amazing Spider-man’s ‘character assassination’ arc. We’re only one issue in but we’re promised by the end, another shake-up to the status quo, reveal of Menace and who is the Spider-tracer killer? So far, we’ve been given a red herring in Vic being caught with a bag of Spider-tracers under his bed, but seeing as this is part 1 of 6, I’d say it’s misdirection.
6) Adam and Joe’s 6Music podcast- Stephen!!! Just coming!!! They’ve always been a firm favourite but recently they have been on fire, as have Answer Me This (with special guest Josie Long). But Adam and Joe’s podcast is funny, poignant and so easy to squeeze through with a massive grin on your face. Recent highlights have included the song wars about Australia; Stephen; a dissection of the Songsmith advert and Adam’s pirate radio stings.
7) My mate Dallas Boner’s new album. He’s awesome. Go gogogogo and seek him out on myspace. He is truly special.
8) Twitter- I’m just getting the hang of tweeting or twittering or twitting and it’s hugely more exciting than Facebook.
9) Bhangra Pistols- a new band coming from me and BuzzLightBrown this year, just as soon as we sit down to record. Let’s Hug It Out Bitch.
10) Kabaddi- I’m researching the sport of kabaddi for a film and am immersed in its lawlessness and insanity. Essentially, it’s a mixture of wrestling, skipping and swimming underwater. It’s patronised by burly Sikh warriors and wiry slumdogs. It’s amazing.