Music videos that I like - Number 2

Music videos that I like - Number 1

Top 5 gigs of 2010 in no particular order

Phoenix at the Roundhouse
French indie hipsters, doing groovy indie guitar music

John Butler Trio at the Hammersmith Apollo
Australian hippy blues guitar freak plus amazing rhythm section

Powderfinger at the Brixton Academy
Farewell tour for the Australian pub-rock champions

Mumford & Sons on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Teary-eyed love-in for the Crouch End multi-instrumentalist folk monsters

The Black Keys on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Rock.  Done the right way.

Books I should have read - Number 1

'Howards End' by EM Forster

Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain

The wonders of engineering. Not the airplane, but the means by which it's suspended from the roof of the gallery.

Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain

The other thing that makes these pieces so effective is the way they create new views, the manner in which the angles and geometry of the two airplanes interact with the space around them.

Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain

I finally got around to visiting Tate Britain to check out 'Harrier and Jaguar' by Fiona Banner. It's the juxtaposition of the old and new, and the incongruity of these modern, hard-edged forms within the old and calm space of the Tate that really makes these pieces work.

Your Black Horizon

Your Black Horizon

Your Black Horizon

I should point out that I saw 'Your Black Horizon' when it was being set up. Have a look at the next three photos to get a better idea of what it was like when open. Here's a link to Olafur Eliasson's website where you can find out more about it: www.olafureliasson.net/works/your_black_horizon.html

Your Black Horizon

The 'Your Black Horizon' pavilion designed by David Adjaye and Olafur Eliasson in Lopud, Croatia.  Originally on show at the 51st Venice Biennale of Visual Arts, it was transported lock, stock and barrel to the tiny, beautiful island of Lopud on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast where I saw it in 2009.

Fever Ray at the Kentish Town Forum - 2009

Fever Ray at the Kentish Town Forum - Gig of the Year 2009.  I'm seeing her again on the 4th September at the Brixton Academy and I'm expecting nothing less than genius.  Incredible artist, incredible album, incredible live show.

Villagers at Glastonbury 2010

Villagers on The Park Stage.  For once I can say that I saw someone before they were big.

Glastonbury 2010

The obligatory shot of some Glastonbury flags.  A useful navigation tool, or at least they would be if there weren't so many of the damn things.

Glastonbury 2010

Stevie Wonder on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night.  I tell you what, this young man definitely has a future in the music industry.