Elephant

So yeah, it took a couple of days to get round to finishing my review of it - because it took me a couple of days to get around to actually finishing it. And it was every bit as disturbing as I imagined, a slightly soft ending excepted. The fact that the film's narrative was gradually revealed as showing the same timeframe over and over again, from different character's points of view, was nifty - going a long way to exploring the idea that school's a very different place depending on who you are - and did a lot to heighten the tension. So it was just a shame that, after the (invariably upsetting) gunfire, the film stopped in a place I'm not sure was the best point to end it. I'm not saying I was looking in any way for resolution or closure or anything like that, because that's not what the film was about. I just don't think it was a memorable enough image after what'd gone before.

Air, "Talkie Walkie"

Every critic in the lead-up to this album being released was going on about how disappointing its predecessor, 10,000Hz Legend, was, and about how this new album represented a return to form for the band. I was apparently alone in going "Hey! I really liked 10,000Hz Legend!" and worrying that I would find anything that wasn't as complicated, as hard to get to used to, boring in some way.

And I think those worries carried over into the first time I listened to the new album. Hell yeah, I liked it a /lot/ - all floaty and tuneful like we've come to expect - but wasn't it a bit thin somehow? A bit two-dimensional? As it turns out, yes and no. It's certainly more simple than the last album - there's no bizarre jokes for little reason at all, and certainly no female robots singing in Japanese (which is always a disappointment). But it's also more complicated than Moon Safari, and as such is a midpoint between the two. So, after five or six times through, I like it a lot. Standout tracks are Universal Traveler, Surfing on a Rocket, and Biological.

Angel, "You're Welcome"

I'm getting to like Angel a lot, which disturbs me because I said I'd never watch a show that was all complicated back-story that'd never really interested me. But despite the fact that I've never watched the show consistently for any of its previous four seasons, this episode did affect me - mainly because I think I remember half of the characters from back when they were on that other show I'm not allowed to mention. And so the death of one of them's still going to have some impact, even if I haven't watched half the backstory episodes from this series itself.

I also like Lindsey's hair.

On audio: They Might Be Giants, Birdhouse in Your Soul (5*)