Ga ga for Gaga

http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20100303-terri-coulthard-profile

My first attempt at producing ... i think it went pretty well!

No distance left to run

The opening scene of this documentary on 'Brit pop' legends Blur was terrible.

The scenes that followed were captivating.

When I think 'Blur' the first image that springs to mind is not that of a rotating disco ball. It's floppy fringes, gold hooped earrings, geeky glasses, Fred Perry polo's, British summers and the 1990s. Hence my horror at the opening shot of a disco ball...what does disco have to do with Blur? By the end shot the director and producer had got their act together and the slowed down silhouette of Albarn singing to the masses in Hyde Park last year was moving to say the least.

The difference between this music documentary film and others is that this was about Blur, the lovable group of Essex boys with a passion for British music (later to be broadened to include American influences, think Beetlebum). The thing that made this documentary so captivating was the bands internal relationship, like four brothers on a money making, alcohol and narcotic fuelled rollercaoster with massive high and breath taking lows.

Watching Albarn and James was like watching the popular kids at school with their effortless style, oozing cool. James casually sucking on a cigarette throughout and Albarn swigging from a bottle of vintage red. Watching Coxon on the other hand, was like watching one of the 'weird' kids at primary school, sat in the corner on a beanbag scribbling disturbing pictures with his crayolas. His soft voice depicted a sense of vulnerability which was not really seen in the other band members. It made me want to take him home and tell him everything was going to be alright.

Other than the interviews, the most beautifully captured part of the documentary were the live concerts. On the big screen of the Rio Cinema, Dalston, each member was brought to life in splendid colour and detail. The crowds stretched for miles, all shrieking and in absolute awe. It was enough to send shivers down the spine. For any Blur fan, it was breath takingly beautiful.

"Somebody told me you people are crazy, but i don't know about that...i think you're alright"

This is possibly the most disturbing gig i've ever seen. Amazing.

White Christmas?...

What I love about British people more than anything is the fact that when it comes to our weather the grass is always greener.
All year talk has very much been focused on whether this year will be a white Christmas, as it always was when the older generation were little'uns.
About a week ago we were 'blessed' with a lovely coating of powdery, white snow and everyone was happy. How beautiful everything looked, one had never seen the northern, industrial town of Blackburn look so appealing.
However, a week in and chaos errupts.
The lovely snow we once knew has been tarnished by cars and grit, transformed into a murky slush clinging to the gutter. The snow which falls upon the old creates a cloak for the black ice which lingers beneath. Car crashes, people separated from loved ones because of cancelled transport and ruined vehicles abandoned on the roadside.
What a wonderful White Chrsitmas. Ta very much, Bing.

xoxo

It's the spaghetti junction of the US teen drama genre with more twists and turns than Blackpool's 'Big One'. Now in its third series the hit show continues to throw up shocking story lines, complete with possibly some of the most beautiful people you will ever see consecutively in just under an hour on a Wednesday evening...depending on whether or not you watch Harry Hill of course...ahem.

The basic outlay of the show creates an opportunity for us to follow the lives of 'Manhattan's elite', or in simpler terms to follow a group of bitchy rich kids in designer outfits with the edition of a cameo celebrity appearance every couple of weeks. Hilary Duff liked it so much she became a permanent fixture. The sixty minutes is crammed with as much sex, corruption and cocktails as anyone can handle watching at 8pm on a weeknight.

Sound a bit like the OC? You'd be wrong.

The clever 'twist' of the show comes in the form of a Gossip website run by the mysterious administrator Gossip Girl who narrates the show. Gossip Girl is the primary source for most of the drama in the show, although since the characters left high school and went to college she has somewhat taken a back seat.

I must however warn you that viewing the show may only serve as a reminder that you, yourself, are sat home alone watching beautiful teenagers enjoy an excessive and carefree lifestyle while you, silently weep into your microwave meal for one....Enjoy.

Dear Boris,

The so called Christmas lights on Oxford and Regents street are possibly the worst possible 'decorations' i've ever seen. The fact that half of them don't even work is bad enough but using the image of Scrooge from 'A Christmas Carol' as the main motif...how very attractive...not.

Surely London should have the most dazzling Christmas lights in the country as it is the Capital? Perhaps just keep the bendy buses and spend a little bit more money on some new light bulbs rather than on the ridiculous new london buses which we don't really even need. I mean come on, £18 a week for student travel for zones 1 and 2...worth it? I think not.

Give me Blackpool illuminations any day mate.

Yours sincerely,

Laura Collinson.

Moi je joue ♥

Don't you just wanna be in this advert?....I do.