Coming Up

A couple of hours at your disposal? Catch up on some of these gems

Angry Boys on BBC 3:

Chris Lilley does it again. Cracking comedy.

Breaking Bad (okay, not on catch up TV, but it's too brilliant to miss out)

One Born Every Minute (C4):

Bit late on this one I'm aware but gosh it is good. A fly-on-the-wall series that really does take you on a rollercoaster of emotions as you witness a whole range of different people experience the hardships and wonders of childbirth.

Coming Up Series on C4: more fantastic short films from up-and-coming British filmmakers.

Kicked off with 'Rough Skin', directed by Cathy Brady: A beautifully crafted short written by Laura Lomas, it follows Kelly (played by one of our finest actresses, Vicky McClure) as she adjusts to life outside after a stint in prison. An understated, poignant and powerful piece.

'Home' is another stellar short film, written by D.C. Moore and directed by Baff Akoto. Johnny Harris and Lorraine Stanley are entirely believable as homeless drunks Tommy and Mary, providing an unsettling but realistic meditation on the lives of these emotionally wounded characters.

Coming Up next...'Micah' and 'Food'

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/coming-up/episode-guide/series-6

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (BBC 2)

Summer in the City

A couple of things to see in London this summer

• The Nomad's weird and wonderful film screenings: Back to the Future at Greenwich Royal Observatory, Pan's Labyrnth at Brompton Cemetery, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at the Houses of Parliament gardens.. doesn't get much cooler than that..!

http://www.whereisthenomad.com/

What they say: 'A coming together of the incredible Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise (the UK’s first social enterprise boutique cinema) and The Screen on the Green (the country’s leading supplier of mobile outdoor cinema), The Nomad promises horizons new and adventures aplenty. Having perfected the art of cinema al fresco at museums, parks, castles, cricket grounds, and heritage sites across the Southeast, we’re adding a whole host of quirky indoor locations to our line-up for 2011, as we aim to stay on the road 52 weeks of the year.'

• Folly for A Flyover

http://www.follyforaflyover.co.uk/

What they say: On the 24th June, a building will appear in the gap between the East and Westbound traffic of the A12. Folly for a Flyover will host a six week programme of cinema, performance and play, including boat tours, screenings and drop-in workshops, produced by Assemble CIC in conjunction with CREATE 2011 and The Barbican Art Gallery, with support from muf architecture/art.

• Dalston Roof Park

http://www.bootstrapcompany.co.uk/13_dalston_roof_park

What they say: This summer we are back with an even better programme of cultural events. Back by popular demand are our out door film screenings and a series of live and acoustic music events. We will also be encouraging young people from the local community to engage in the management of the garden and the growing of the allotments. This is an important focus for the project this year.

Garden Opening Times: Monday - Thursday 09:00- 23:00, Friday 09:00- 24:00, Sat 13:00- 24:00, Sunday 13:00- 22:00

Bar Opening Times: Monday - Thursday 17:00- 23:00, Friday 17:00- 24:00, Saturday 13:00- 24:00, Sunday - 13:00- 22:00

• The Clink Restaurant: a restaurant, inside a working prison!

http://www.theclinkcharity.com/

What they say: The Clink is located in Her Majesty’s Prison High Down in Sutton, Surrey. It is the first and only commercial restaurant to be built inside a working British prison to date. The Clink represents a genuine opportunity for change, offering prisoners the chance to gain food preparation, food service and cleaning qualifications as well as experience within an exciting, operational business and in-depth guidance to find full time employment within the hospitality industry upon release.

The restaurant is open for breakfast (6:30am to 9:30am) and lunch (midday to 2pm).

• Frank's Cafe and Campari Bar

http://www.frankscafe.org.uk/information.html

What they say: The popular Frank’s Cafe & Campari

Bar designed by Practice Architecture (Paloma Gormley & Lettice Drake) occupies a temporary building alongside the sculptures on the roof. For 2011 we have commissioned two new structures for the space. 2011 will see the launch of two free audience programmes - a wide-ranging Events Calendar and Education for children and young people. Bold Tendencies is part of the Cultural Learning Alliance.

• Hip Hop Karaoke at The Social

http://www.thesocial.com/calendar

http://www.hiphopkaraokelondon.blogspot.com/

What they say: Putting a fresh twist on the ancient art of karaoke, Hip-Hop Karaoke lets you get on the mic and act out your rap fantasies to the fullest, whether that includes teaming up with friends to rock through a Wu-Tang jam, giving a new gender twist to a Salt-N-Pepa standard, living the lyrical highlife like Jay-Z, celebrating summertime with Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince or acting all crazy like ODB. You can now find HHK every Thursday at The Social. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a legendary night out.

Lately..

...I have seen a few films.

Here's what I think of them.

Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010)

Okay, so I do love Requiem For a Dream, and The Wrestler definitely had an impact on me (but maybe this was more down to the performances, and the company I was in whilst watching it!), but I've always been on the fence about Aronofsky as a director. Talented, yes, but I think the sense of uneasiness he likes to instil in his films is sometimes taken too far. I do like a good dark 'psychological thriller' but there was something that had already put me off Black Swan before even seeing it. I couldn't put my finger on it - I wanted to see it, but something held me back.

Then I saw it. Some scenes are mindblowingly vivid- really quite terrifyingly real, and the cinematography throughout is particularly powerful. Cassel's acting is top class (as usual), but Portman steals the show with her performance as vulnerable dancer Nina. There were moments when I felt like I was falling down that dark hole with her.. But I didn't want to.

I wanted to appreciate the film, if not enjoy it. But the pluses I found were completely outweighed by the negatives, and the bitter taste the film left me with. Black Swan is all about duality and subtexts, but the undercurrents of tension brought about by the (un)addressed nature of Nina's anorexia, sexual confusion and disturbed mental state, in my opinion, are really quite unpleasant. A complex, interesting film - sure - but ultimately a bit pretentious and overindulgent, no? Somehow I don't think this is a film I'll be watching again in a hurry. Sorry all you Black Swan lovers.

The Hangover Part II (Phillips, 2011)

The Wolfpack are indeed back, bound for Thailand, and providing us with just as many laughs, if not more than they did in the first film. Absolutely brilliant seeing this at cinema in Thailand!

"When a monkey nibbles on a penis, it's funny in any language".

Rabbit Hole (Mitchell, 2010)

Slow, and some scene set-ups make its original form as a stage play identifiable. Its translation to screen works though. Superbly acted by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart and serves as a poignant portrayal of a couple struggling to deal with the loss of a child. A grower.

Hereafter (Eastwood, 2010): Another beautifully crafted work directed by Eastwood. Unusual topic but avoids drifting into fantasy and maintains a mesmerising realism. Thumbs up.

It's Complicated (Meyers, 2009): Rom-com through and through but it's refreshing in its focus on an older generation that the genre generally swerves away from. Couldn't stop laughing. I could bear to watch it again, which says something..

In Conversation...

Just came across this little interview I did a while back- made me chuckle a bit (some of it seems to be missing)

In Conversation with

Pippa Selby

November 2008

http://geocities.ws/aen1mpo/pippa.htm

A little background:

Pippa Selby is a young singer songwriter from

London, UK who lists her influences as wide

ranging from Elliott Smith, Antony Hegarty,

Azure Ray, Jonathan Rice, Fiona Apple to

name but a few.

I stumbled onto her myspace page after

a look through a pal’s page on myspace

and as soon as I stumbled on but gives it a

very English Twang and has a innocence

in her voice that is spellbinding.

Setting Sun of course is known for going

To support acts that few people would

be familiar with, and speaking from

a Setting Sun perspective, as soon as I

heard her music, I knew straight away

I had to approach her for a interview.

Pippa agreed and the interview

came through quickly back in response.

Thanks to Pippa for agreeing to do the

Interview.

Make sure you check out her myspace

Page which can be found here

http://www.myspace.com/pippaselby

Many thanks

Andy N

Setting Sun:

How are things and what’s going on at the

moment?

Pippa Selby:

Things are good at the moment although

very hectic. I'm doing a film degree so have

a lot of work at the moment which unfortunately

doesn't leave enough time to do much on the

music and art front! Hopefully the Christmas

break will let me focus on that side a bit

more though!

Setting Sun:

Next can you tell us a little bit about the

history of your music – what started you

off etc, etc?

Pippa Selby:

I've always learnt piano and started writing

poetry when I was about 13. A couple of

years later I got experimenting with combining

the two and ended up writing some songs so

it really started from there!

Setting Sun:

What are your influences (music wise) and

what have you being listening to recently?

Pippa Selby:

One of my biggest influences has definitely been

an incredible musician called Paul Aiden

(www.myspace.com/paulaiden)

When I met him he really motivated me to

write more and get my music out there (

until then I hadn't really played to anyone

apart from my family!).

Whenever I hear him play it always

inspires me. Apart from that Elliott Smith,

Antony Hegarty, Azure Ray, Jonathan Rice,

Fiona Apple (the list goes on!) are

probably some of my biggest influences.

Recently I've been listening to the new

Antony and the Johnsons EP a lot

(absolutely mindblowing!), Jonathan Rice,

Jenny Lewis, Stevie Wonder and

this great song by Salem Al Fakir

called 'It's only you part ii' that a friend

told me to download.

I'm always listening to a mix of old

and new stuff and always getting inspired,

especially by a lot of my friends' music!

Setting Sun:

I have being really enjoying your songs

on your myspace page, I think my

favourite is the very dark titled ‘Lying

lifeless ’ – can you tell us a little bit about this?

Pippa Selby:

Thank you, it always means so much to hear that

people are enjoying it! It is quite dark isn't it?!

In short it's about a man abusing his partner

and child and leaving them for dead. I think

it came about after reading a story in the

newspaper a couple of years ago and it

really got me thinking about the isolation in

abusive relationships. I'm hoping the next

few tunes I record will be a bit more

cheery though!

Setting Sun:
Do you play concerts / gigs? If so, how

do they compare to your recordings?
If not, do you have any idea how you’d approach it?

Pippa Selby:

I haven't really played any proper 'gigs'

unfortunately although I've played an occasional

open mic night. I'm hoping to play more

in the next couple of months though when I

get some time off.

I'd love to start playing gigs soon but

definitely have to get some practice in first

so I can be a bit more confident performing!

Setting Sun:

6. What’s next for yourself? Do you have

any more recordings / gigs planned etc?

Pippa Selby:

I've been writing some new material

lately and hope to record a few songs in

the next couple of months! Most of my

songs recorded are very rough so I really

want to get them recorded properly too as

soon as I can. Unfortunately I don't get nearly

as much time as I'd like to work on my music

though as my study takes up a lot of it!

Setting Sun:

A few slightly more light hearted questions

to finish off with, I know already you are from

London which I know already has a hot bed of

a music scene, so instead I’ll just ask you have

being to any good concerts recently yourself?

Pippa Selby:

It has been an amazing year for

good concerts for me! I have been to

quite a lot recently but the highlights

definitely have to be Paul McCartney

at the Liverpool Sound festival,

Jenny Lewis, Stevie Wonder (twice!)

and Antony and the Johnsons

with the LSO

Setting Sun:

What do you like to do when you ain’t

doing music?

Pippa Selby:

When I'm not working I love doing

my art, going to see all sorts of

shows (Comedy, Theatre.. you

name it!), watching films, and just

soaking up all the creative vibes in

London. I live in a great area where

there's always something different

going on which is great! I'm really

excited about getting some time off

from studying to be able to do a bit

more of everything!

Setting Sun:

What would you like to be doing when

you are 60?

Pippa Selby:

Relaxing somewhere exotic- that

would be nice!

Setting Sun:
Lastly, what will you be doing when

you are 60?

Pippa Selby:

I have absolutely no idea

but I'd love to find out!