MAN OF STEEL

Even if you’ve never seen the films or read the comics, you may have absorbed the specifics of this particular story through prolonged cultural osmosis. Man of Steel is about an alien boy flung to Earth by his parents moments before they, and their entire race, are consumed by a very loud apocalypse. The boy carries with him the genetic make-up of his lost people and, under the care of a kindly Kansas couple, grows up to be extremely good at punching.

What can be done to refresh this familiar old tale? Well, lots, actually, and to its credit, Man of Steel at least has ideas about what makes the big man tick. What if that famous serene half-smile isn’t the smugness of a demigod, but the result of a lifetime of zen-like mastery of powers that would melt the brain of your average Joe? What does Superman look like before he’s figured out how to be Superman? Worthy questions, but Man of Steel spends more time exploring alien politics, setting up convoluted world-ending threats and following squadrons of tertiary characters rather than developing its leading chap.

LISTENINGS 18/07/2012

OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND BLUE

Here we go, a quick round-up of some of the music that has been floating around my brain for the last few days. It’s a relatively mellow collection of four, loosely bundled into a four heading structure with links, videos and blurbs. This’ll be a recurring round-up, though who can know what form future editions will take? Let’s begin by seeing just how much one man with a microphone, a violin and a loop machine can accomplish in seven minutes. Quite a lot, as it turns out.

OLD TV GAMESHOWS

WHO THE FUCK WANTS TO OWN A JET SKI?

Sometimes in an idle moment I find myself getting sucked into those television channels that exist in between real channels. The ones that dig through the trenches of television history looking for expired or dirt cheap rerun rights to fill the dark hours between 1am and 6am. On a night when I can’t sleep and have exhausted the BBC’s almost infinite supply of current affairs programs I sometimes find myself dipping into such a channel. They’re the grouting that hold late night schedules together, formed of a curious mixture of pure chalky nostalgia, delivered in pale colours and wonky aspect ratios.

On a quiet night you may find yourself tempted to linger on such a channel. Absolutely do not do this.