GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2023 Round Up

So it’s that time of year again – mince pies, turkey and end of year round ups 🙂

My gaming article will be up in early January 2024 but for now here’s the best of the rest.

MUSIC

There was so much amazing new music this year, I really struggled to get my playlist down to 40 tracks! There is plenty of great stuff that didn’t quite make the cut – new Metallica and Sparks, as well as Nia Archives and Chxrry22. Lots of brilliant new and returning artists.

My favourites from this year were The Warning, boygenius, Noah Kahan, Chris Stapleton, Flowerovlove, Kaeto, Olivia Dean, Olivia Rodrigo, The Last Dinner Party and NewJeans.

Playlist for the year below (in alphabetical order), hope you find some new favourites in there yourself 🙂

Also, I’ll go into more detail in my gaming specific blog, but I wanted to shout out the excellent soundtrack to Goodbye Volcano High. The fictional band in the game has some brilliant songs!

My favourite gigs were The Warning at the Islington Academy and The Last Dinner Party at eartH. Two nights where I was just in awe of the action on stage – gigs like that remind you of the power of live music.

TV

It’s been a stellar year for TV, though I have to be honest the sheer volume of new programmes is becoming problematic for me in terms of time. I just can’t get to as many shows as I’d like.

Programmes I started and enjoyed were The Bear, Stranger Things S4, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Only Murders In The Building S3 and Who Is Erin Carter? I’ll no doubt return to these and finish them up at some stage!

I really liked Season 5 of The Rookie, it’s definitely become my go-to comfort watch. Good performances and an enjoyable, easy watch. I saw the first season of The Boys (finally!), which was brilliant. I also enjoyed the National Treasure Disney+ show more than I thought. We watched it as a family and had a blast!

But my favourite shows were Poker Face, The Last Of Us and Bodies. Three different vibes but equally enjoyable. The Last Of Us, having played the game, was a very pleasant surprise – game adaptations are not known for their success but they did a fantastic job here, adding a few things but mainly sticking to the plot of the first game. The acting was phenomenal and I look forward to seeing how they handle Season 2!

Bodies was also a fun, if slightly disturbing, watch. The story of four police detectives from different eras (one in 1890, one in 1941, one in 2023 and one in 2053) who all find the same exact dead body on the same street in London. If that sort of sci-fi mind bending sounds like your cup of tea then check it out! I absolutely loved Poker Face, a Columbo style show in which the main character has an innate gift – knowing when someone is lying. As she moves from town to town across the US, trying to escape her past, she encounters a new mystery each week. With a killer soundtrack and some brilliantly structured episodes, this is up there as one of my favourite shows of all time.

FILM

I saw some really impressive films this year. Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis, the story of the company that made lots of legendary album sleeves in the 70’s was a fascinating watch. I thought They Cloned Tyrone was a fun, offbeat film with a great score and soundtrack. Definitely a different take on your regular clone film. On a more UK centric trip, Polite Society, the story of teenager Ria Khan, who believes she has to save her older sister Lena, was an action film that had a lot of heart and well choreographed fight scenes.

I enjoyed The Killer, which seemed to lean heavily on the Hitman game franchise, though it was too long and the heavy handed use of The Smiths music (probably not a problem for most people, I just thought it was lazy and didn’t fit) grated a little. On the superhero front I thought Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 was a fitting send off for the team and I would 100% watch a spin off with Drax and Mantis off doing their own thing 😀 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was brilliant on the big screen, what an experience! The film’s sense of style remains unchallenged and it set up the story for a third film really well.

Nimona, from creative genius N.D Stevenson, was a wonderful film about a shape shifting demon that befriends a Knight who is sworn to kill them. When he is framed for a crime he didn’t commit who else can he turn to? Very funny and with a killer soundtrack, this was great fun. You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah was one of those family films that tugs at the heartstrings in the right way. Universal themes of young love, teenage angst and embarrassment run through it, most enjoyable. We also watched Family Switch, which only hit Netflix recently, and that was another fun watch. Essentially it’s Freaky Friday but both parents swap with their kids – silly but funny and with some good performances.

However my favourite film from 2023 was Barbie. We went as a family to watch it and I genuinely wasn’t sure what to expect. I was blown away – the music, the tongue in cheek writing, just the general idea of doing something this risky with such a huge brand. They could easily have pumped out a generic action/adventure where Barbie goes to the ‘real world’. Instead we got Barbie having an existential crisis and Ken, well he’s just Ken – as the song goes. The film holds up a mirror to some of society’s current issues – it’s not the best film I’ve ever seen, of course, but it carries an important message for young (teenage) boys and girls. And it does it in a fun way. 

BOOKS

I managed to get through quite a few books this year. One title I was reading turned into a slog to get through, just one of those I didn’t click with which sadly held me back a bit. That’s not on my favourites list but these are!

I really enjoyed the languid pace of A Month in The Country by J.L Carr and I finally got around to reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen which was good. I also read A Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins for Halloween, which definitely gave me some spooky vibes for late October!

In terms of factual stuff I loved the Chris Blackwell autobiography – hearing first hand about the origins of the legendary Island record label… just brilliant. I also enjoyed Appetite For Self Destruction by Steve Knopper, which tells the story of the music industry’s struggle to move to digital – an excellent read if you’re a music industry nerd like me!

I didn’t get to many graphic novels this year but two that really stood out were Revival, the story of people coming back from the dead in a small US town, and Critical Role: The Legend Of Vox Machina (Volume 3). The latter continues the origin story of the characters from the online show of the same name. With a wonderful art style and some interesting back story, I’d recommend for fans of the show.

Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima was recommended to me by a friend a while back but I finally got to it and it was a fantastic read. A forbidden romance in Japan in the early 1900’s, it is the first in the series so I look forward to checking the other entries out. Another recommendation, this time from my mum, was Diary Of A Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith, which turned out to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. The tale of a clerk who has ideas above his station, it’s told in the style of a diary and I have not laughed this hard at a book for years.

But my favourite book of 2023 was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – the story of three friends who form a game company and hit the big time. As their friendship begins to unravel can they keep their personal and professional lives on track? A phenomenal read.

So there you go – another year finished and favourites catalogued.

As always let me know what I’ve missed or your recommend over on Twitter or Threads – both @greghorrorshow

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2022 Round Up

Well, 2022 was a hell of a year for content – books, TV, film… there was so much to experience! My gaming round up will follow separately but for now here’s a look back at last year, with some recommendations for stuff to check out 🙂

Music-wise there were lots of new, and returning, artists that I spent a lot of time listening to in 2022.

There’s a playlist embedded below but there was great new music from Hope Tala and Blackpink. Albums by The Warning and Carly Rae Jepsen got plenty of spins. And I really enjoyed the Halsey and Taylor Swift albums. However, I think my favourite of 2022 was the S.G. Goodman album – a lovely slice of Americana Folk.

I was also listening to plenty of older stuff and shout out to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Russian Doll Season 2 for having stellar soundtracks!

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In terms of TV it was another year of high quality shows and interesting programmes. Sometimes it was hard to know where to watch, with so many new services – I’m not subscribed to all of them at this stage, I don’t think it’s necessary at this point.

There were some shows I started but never finished, though I’m sure I’ll go back to most of them. Jamie Dornan vehicle The Tourist was good fun, a dark dramedy about a man with amnesia who uncovers his murky past. Peacemaker was a superhero show with a twist, in that John Cena’s character was not what you’d traditionally call a hero. It also had a great rock soundtrack. I enjoyed what I saw of Arcane, despite not having played the game it’s based on, League Of Legends.

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She Hulk has been great fun and something different, though it can feel a bit CGI heavy at times. Stranger Things continues to be enjoyable, even into season 4 and I started Carole & Tuesday, the animated story of two strangers who meet and form a band. I’ve only seen one episode of both Dragon Age: Absolution and The Old Man, starting Jeff Bridges, but look forward to seeing more soon.

In terms of shows I finished, I really enjoyed Hawkeye, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow and the latest season of The Rookie. Reacher was an impressive version of the books I loved, the music in the show was also pretty great. Hopefully season 2 can remain at that high level. I thought Korean zombie show All Of Us Are Dead was brilliant, great characters and a good twist on the usual Zombie formula.

Netflix’s Wednesday was a really nicely done detective story, with the eldest Addams child in the starring role. Looking forward to see what they do with it next. Ms. Marvel was a super fun, female fronted superhero show – again the music choices were superb and the story was left on a cliffhanger for a future season. I ended up playing Cyberpunk 2077 (the game) alongside watching the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. Super violent and generally disturbing (like the game), this was a brilliant watch and helped immerse you further into the world of the game.

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But my absolute favourite shows this year were both second seasons – Russian Doll and Only Murders in the Building. Sometimes returning shows can struggle to recreate that magic of the first season. These two shows took different approaches – Only Murders… continued with another murder that incriminated the main cast. Was it as good as the first season? No, but it kept me guessing right until the end and was still one of the best things on TV. The performances from Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez were all brilliant. Russian Doll decided to take an alternative route by being completely different from the first season but set within the same world and with the same characters. It was weird, funny and hard to stop watching. Also best TV soundtrack of the year, hands down!

Film-wise, as usual, there were a lot of family friendly movies on my list for 2022. I loved Encanto, Turning Red and Minions: Rise Of Gru. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds, were also fun. I actually enjoyed the film version of Uncharted, with Tom Holland and Mark Walhberg, a lot more than I thought I would. Hopefully we get a sequel!

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Being The Ricardos was an interesting look at the story of Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. Two of the more impactful films I saw were the documentary My Mind and Me with Selena Gomez and The Swimmers, which is based on the true story of two refugee sisters, one of which goes on to swim for the refugee team at the Olympics

I also thought Enola Holmes 2 was a blast and that Dan Trachtenberg did a really good job with Prey – a story set in the Predator universe. That was one of the better films I saw in 2022. Getting into the Christmas spirit, I saw Violent Night on the big screen which was a brilliantly over the top mix of Die Hard and a grown up Home Alone! David Harbour was great as a grumpy Santa who gets caught up in a Christmas heist.

But my favourite film of the year was definitely Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. A real treat at the cinema (it was only on for a week!) with the way it was shot and such captivating performances. Obviously if you weren’t a fan of the first film there won’t be much here for you but I thought it was amazing. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc rides a roller coaster of twists and surprises as the mystery unravels – I didn’t see the twists coming, the film was a lot of fun (and is available now on Netflix).

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For books, I have to admit it took me a while to get through a few of these this year. In terms of factual titles I really enjoyed Two Beats Ahead by Panay & Handrix, a book about the creative process of writing music, and Press Reset by Jason Schreier, a fascinating look behind the scenes in the chaotic and unstable world of making computer games. I also really liked Kae Tempest’s book on creativity ‘On Connection‘.

I thoroughly loved the entire Paper Girls series of graphic novels so it was bitter sweet to finish off the final volume in 2022. I also finished the current run of Bitter Root, which was great and another volume of the Critical Role: Vox Machina comics.

I was a bit disappointed in both Rabbits by Terry Miles and The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, though by the end of the latter I think I’d be at least willing to give the next in the series a try. Rabbits, while at times an entertaining read, just didn’t really engage me.

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I got stuck into a few modern classics as well, The Mask Of Dimitros by Eric Ambler was great – as to be expected from Ambler, a brilliant writer. Seize The Day by Saul Bellow was a touch depressing, the story of a failed actor in dire financial straits. Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver Seat‘ sees Lise setting out on the holiday of a lifetime but almost immediately you can feel the pressure building to something terrible. ‘Territory Of Light‘ by Yuko Tsushima was the sad tale of a young, divorced woman bringing up her two year old daughter alone in Tokyo. Well written and I found it interesting to see a story from this point of view.

My favourite book of this year though was V.E Schwab’s ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue‘. I literally couldn’t put it down and it’s a book that filled me with equal parts happiness and despair. The story of a girl who makes a deal with a devil and ends up not aging but being forgotten by everyone who sees her. Just absolutely brilliant.

So there you go, another year done and lots to look forward to for 2023!

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2021 Round Up

As another year passes, I wanted to take a look back at some of the highlights that graced the screen and written page. Gaming will soon but for now, here’s a round up of everything else from 2021…

As usual I’ve included a Spotify playlist of some of my favourite songs and artists from last year, which you can find below. There were lots of great tracks released in 2021, probably my favourite two albums were Clairo ‘Sling’ and Pom Pom Squad‘s ‘Death Of Cheerleader’.

TV-wise it’s safe to say 2021 was a stellar year with some great shows. As the streaming wars ramped up, consumers suddenly had various platforms making very high quality TV. WandaVision was a huge highlight, I thought it was brilliantly made and excellently paced. Lupin was another show I was impressed by, the tale of a deceptive criminal trying to clear his father’s name was engrossing and smart. I can’t mention deception without talking about Deception, a light drama show in which a famous magician teams up with the FBI to solve outlandish crimes – great fun!

The final season of Agents Of Shield was a good way to end the show, likewise with iZombie. I enjoyed The Nevers, right up until the last episode which felt like too much of a bait and switch for my liking. This Time with Alan Partridge didn’t disappoint as usual and The Rookie continued it’s good run with an enjoyable third season. One of the most impressive shows was the highly talked about Squid Game, unbelievably tense but truly a fantastic watch. But the best thing I watched this year was definitely Only Murders In The Building. The trio of Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short were excellent and the Serial vibes were present throughout. A very strong premise and wonderful performances meant it was a must watch.

In terms of books I was lucky to get to read a lot in 2021. I thoroughly enjoyed Bill Flanagan’s Fifty In Reverse, a time travel marvel based around music. I’d been waiting a while to read both Take Fountain – Adam Novak and Watt O’Hugh The Third – Steven S. Drachman but unfortunately both ended up being a little bit disappointing, if I’m honest. Another book I wasn’t taken with was Timescape by Gregory Benford, a sci-fi tale of a world in ruin and scientists trying to send a message to the past – it just never really got going enough to keep my interest.

Cause For Alarm by Eric Ambler was a good read and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, a fantasy tale, also kept my attention. Summer by Edith Wharton was a great look at an older time, although tinged with sadness and Early Riser by Jasper Fforde was a surreal but fun story where humankind hibernated through winter.

In terms of factual books I found The Mixer by Michael Cox fascinating, a really great look at how the Premier League has developed tactically. Becoming by Michelle Obama gave a good insight into the life of a First Lady and all the responsibilities that come as part of the package and Be Water My Friend by Shannon Lee shared the wisdom of Bruce Lee’s philosophy work.

But the best book I read in 2021, without a doubt, was Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. Told from the point of view of a hench worker for a villain this tale of revenge and mid level management shouldn’t be missed!

I saw some great films in 2021, my favourites were One Night In Miami (the story of a legendary night that Muhammed Ali, Sam Cooke, Malcolm X and Jim Brown shared in the 1960’s), Sound Of Metal (a film about a drummer who loses his hearing), Promising Young Woman (a biting look at sexism and toxic masculinity) and Mitchells Vs The Machines (a fun, family friendly film about a family that save the world).

I also enjoyed The US Vs Billie Holiday, a sad story about the treatment of a music legend. Keeping with music the documentary about Sparks, The Sparks Brothers, was fascinating – if a little long. I was disappointed with Cherry, the Tom Holland drug addiction film but thought Black Judas and The Messiah was great and The Mauritian, while enthralling, was a very tough watch.

On to more child friendly fare and Wolf Walkers was a lovely animated film, Yes Day was a fun romp based on true events and Pixar’s Soul was a life affirming film that sparks some interesting conversations about death for younger audience members.

So that’s it for the non-gaming side of life in 2021 – as the pandemic continues I’m hoping for a return soon to cinema and gigs but for now I’ll be watching the small screen!

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2020 Round Up

I’m kicking off my round up of the year that was 2020 with a look at all things non-gaming, the gaming round up will land early in the new year!

I was lucky enough to use some of my extra time at home from not commuting to plough through lots of books, mainly over the summer months. In terms of fiction I particularly enjoyed Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a wonderful time travel story, Call For The Dead by John le Carre, an old school mystery thriller and Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, a touching tale of loss and grief. The second Black Prism book, The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks was also a novel I enjoyed – coming in at over 700 pages meant it was a hefty read though!

On the graphic novel front I really liked the 4th instalment of Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, The Last Of Us: American Dreams by Druckmann/Hicks and Vox Machina: Origins by Mercer/Colville. However my absolute highlight was Paper Girls (Vol. 2 & 3), which might be one of my favourite graphic novel series ever. The story continues as the four paper girls meet future selves and travel through time – I imagine it won’t be long until this gets made into a TV show.

I read a lot of factual books as well in 2020. Spotify Teardown was an interesting, if dry, look at what makes the streaming giant tick and I really liked Ed Catmull’s Creativity Inc, a look inside how Pixar works and the best ways to work in a creative environment. Rockonomics by Alan Krueger was a brilliant look at the music industry and everything in it while my favourite book this year, EMI: Selling The Pig by Eamonn Forde, focuses solely on the troubled times of the legendary record label EMI before it was acquired a few years back. Fascinating stuff for music buffs.

As usual I have a playlist of some of my favourite tracks from the year, embedded below:

In terms of big artists it was hard to avoid Dua Lipa or Billie Eilish during 2020, with both delivering a great run of singles. Blackpink continued their dominance of the pop scene with tracks that included duets with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez. Taylor Swift dropped two excellent albums within months of each other to remind everyone why she is one of the biggest, and best, pop stars in the world.

It was brilliant to see Haim back with another superb album and very early in the year The Big Moon released a fantastic album after some really great singles last year. Celeste was everywhere and for good reason, she is an amazing artist with a wonderful voice and we also saw a new album from Disclosure that had a host of bangers on, along with some brilliant vocal guests.

I discovered some awesome new artists in 2020 – Baby Rose, Gracey, Bree Runway and Tiana Blake all had a big impact and Chelsea Cutler‘s debut album was a huge highlight during a tough year. However my album of the year goes to Kelly Lee Owens for ‘Inner Song.’ What an amazing collection of songs, On, Melt!, Re-Wild – I could probably just list them all as high points. It sounds familiar but fresh, a most enjoyable listen!

I didn’t see a huge amount of new films this year, as we spent a lot of time as a family rewatching old classics (Bill & Ted, Sister Act, The Goonies etc.), but I loved The Go-Go’s and Motown Records documentaries. Both were brilliant looks at legendary performers and the Motown one was packed with stories about famous songs and artists. A great watch. One film that really had an impact was the excellent Rocks, the story of a young girl and her brother surviving in London after their mother leaves them alone. Trolls 2, Onward, Jumanji 2 and Spies In Disguise were all fun kids films and for the festive season we found some new holiday classics in the shape of Christmas Chronicles 2, Noelle and Jingle Jangle. My film of the year though was one that I actually didn’t have high expectations for – Enola Holmes came highly recommended via Netflix and ended up being a really smart, well written film that all the family enjoyed.

There was so much new TV arriving during the year that I feel bad about the amount of programmes I started but didn’t get through the season – I really liked The Comey Rule, The Mandolorian, The Pale Horse, The Queen’s Gambit and Devs but never made it all the way through. I’m sure I’ll return to them at some stage. We enjoyed Glitch Techs and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers with the kids but it was the Netflix trinity of She Ra, Carmen Sandiego and Kipo & The Age Of Wonderbeasts that really got the majority of family view time. All three of those are excellent, which work on various levels for both the adults and the kids.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow and Umbrella Academy provided some much needed superhero escapism, while The Inbetween and Evil brought the scares. Evil has been great so far and while The Inbetween isn’t up to that standard it does have my favourite scenery chewer Paul Blackthorne (Laurel!) so it’s not all bad. I really enjoyed Small Axe: Mangrove, an important show and a difficult watch but much needed during these times.

Blood and Treasure was continent hopping nonsense but good fun and Stumptown showed us the life of a struggling P.I, unfortunately the show was renewed but then cancelled due to the pandemic. I enjoyed Miss Scarlet & The Duke, a sort of historical Murder She Wrote with a new crime each week. The Rookie was back again and delivered some tense thrills and lots of warm hearted fun. Looking forward to seeing where they take things in the next season.

My favourite show of the year though, was Blindspot. Something I could sit and watch with a smile on my face and just enjoy. Is it a ridiculous premise? Even more so as time has gone on but the writing is fun and it’s fast paced with enough action and laughs to sustain every episode. And that’s exactly what I needed during this year. (Also can we get some sort of a Patterson/Rich DotCom spin off please?!)

So there we go, a weird and wild year in the rear view – hopefully better times ahead in 2021.

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2019 Round Up

2019 was a big year for music, with the continued explosion of streaming and further disruption to how we discover and consume music. As time goes on I think curation, especially from friends, will have a strong focus – without guidance there is simply too much music being released to process. My favourite gigs from the year were Sophie and The Giants (Camden Assembly) and Carly Rae Jepsen (XOYO), both delivering fantastic sets and the chance to see a huge pop artist like Carly Rae Jepsen in a smaller venue was pretty awesome.

I have a playlist of the year’s music, which I’ll embed below, but in amongst that I’d love to highlight a few favourites – Michael Kiwanuka delivered, for me, the album of the year along with excellent LP’s for Lewis Capaldi and Sam Fender. Fieh got their debut album out the door, most definitely worth a spin. Billie Eilish was everywhere but for good reason and The Big Moon continue to develop into a really strong band – looking forward to their album shortly. If you need pop then look no further than the immense trio of Halsey, Julia Michaels and Sigrid. Julia Michaels is one of the most underrated pop stars of the last few years, in my opinion. On a slightly more indie focus I’d also recommend checking out Palace and Liz Lawrence’s latest efforts – beautiful. And a quick shout out to the game Forgotton Anne, whose soundtrack was absolutely stunning.

 

Highlights from the year’s films for me were Zombieland 2 (more of the same but still enjoyable), Eternal Beauty (a tough watch but very rewarding) and The Aeronauts (a well made and interesting story of exploration and adventure). However my favourites were Frozen II, somehow just as good if not better than the first, and Knives Out, a stunning murder mystery that is excellently written and delivered with aplomb.

Books-wise I read a few great titles this year – 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, Heartburn by Nora Ephron and The Psychology Of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas were all really enjoyable. On the graphic novel front Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson was cool but the stand out for me was Paper Girls (Vol 1) by Brian K. Vaughan. Brilliant and I look forward to reading the next volume that I got for Christmas 😊 I’m still making my way through the lengthy tome that is Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley but it is a fantastic look back at the history of pop music. My book of the year though is Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler, a thriller set on a boat as the protagonist attempts to stay alive for the duration of the voyage. I found it really gripping and would heartily recommend.

On the TV front it was a good year for returning shows – Barry, The Good Place and Stranger Things all came back with enjoyable seasons. Matt Berry is always a joy and Year Of The Rabbit, his Victorian cop show was great fun. Temple was intense but mostly thrilling and I really enjoyed Giri/Haji. For some light relief I found The Rookie to be a good slice of easy watching fun. Nathan Fillion continues his run as the good hearted, but out of his depth, leading man. Initially both Carmen Sandiego and She-Ra were intended to be shows to watch with the kids but I found myself enjoying them just as much, if not more! The animation on both are excellent and there are some interesting character arcs developing in both. Watchmen is brutal but brilliant, a different take on the universe which lays to rest concerns that the show couldn’t be made for TV. By, mainly, steering away directly from the comic the creators delivered a dark look at vigilante justice. My show of the year though came early in 2019 with Netflix’s Russian Doll. What a concept, what a story, what a soundtrack. The acting all round was great and Natasha Lyonne was amazing in the title role. It also didn’t outstay it’s welcome, a most refreshing change of pace from some of the bloated shows hitting our streaming services.

So there you go, a little look at the stuff I’ve been enjoying over the last twelve months. Gaming round up to follow!

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The Everything Else of 2018

I’ve decided to mix things up a little bit with my end of year round ups, for a start I’m moving away from the ‘award’ format itself but also I’ll be splitting things in a more simple way. One round-up for games and another for ‘Everything Else’.

So without further ado, let’s get into The Everything Else of 2018!

Musically it’s been a phenomenal year – full of big beats, guitars and wonderful pop. My Spotify round-up playlist is embedded below but some highlights were: Jade Bird, who continues her rise as one of the UK’s most under-rated female singer/songwriters, Billie Eilish, who delivers material well beyond what you’d expect from a 16-year-old, Sigrid, who is currently one of the best pop stars out there, Greta Van Fleet, who are on a mission to bring fun guitar music back, Robyn, who returns with another stunning single, Bobby Sessions, who brings a sense of levity and some political musings to proceedings and Carly Rae Jepsen, back again with a huge slice of pop goodness in ‘Party For One’.

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I managed to do quite a bit of reading last year, a mix of fiction, fact and some great graphic novels. Of course the Overwatch graphic novel series continued with some really fun moments that help to flesh out the back story of the world and characters. The first volume of Lumberjanes was super fun, a nice collection of characters, it’s all about a group of girls at a summer scout camp. Everything is not as it seems though as strange creatures and otherworldly events transpire.

My favourite graphic novel this year though was Reborn from Mark Millar. Telling the story of Bonnie Black, an elderly lady who passes away on a stroke ward and suddenly finds herself in a new, younger body in a weird place called Adystria. Not only is this world some sort of limbo, it looks like she is the chosen one – here to save the world. It’s a standard fantasy set up but the art is lovely and its a clever idea. Word in the Summer was that Netflix have optioned Reborn as a TV series/film, should be an interesting watch!

In terms of factual books, I thoroughly enjoyed Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier – a fascinating look behind the scenes on some of the industries biggest and most interesting titles. If you’re into games, this is definitely worth your time. But it’s hard to look past the epic tome that is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s a big read but this look at how the world has been shaped by Humans is in equal measure spellbinding and horrifying.

Once I got past the heavy cockney accents in Gaie Sebold’s Shanghai Sparrow I found it be a really great read and look forward to exploring more titles in the series soon. I managed a double-header of Lee Child books in 2018; Night School and The Midnight Line, both of which I thought were good. It’s nice to see Child has diversified slightly from his well-worn (if enjoyable) formula to mix things up a bit. Another double was parts 2 (Authority) and 3 (Acceptance) in Jeff VanderMeer’s fantastically creepy trilogy that had started with Annihilation. I loved these and would recommend to anyone looking for something a little bit different. Probably my favourite books of the year, despite their unsettling nature.

I also stepped up my reading of some classics: Old Man and The Sea – Ernest Hemingway, The Trial – Franz Kafka, Chess – Stefan Zweig, Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton and Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Gabriel García Márquez. These were all great (they are classics for a reason!) but for me Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton was my favourite. I also really liked Chess and The Trial but the ending of Kafka’s story was just too much of a let down for me personally.

On the TV front it was another great year. I enjoyed Erased, a Japanese show about time travel but wasn’t sure about A Discovery of Witches, which I just struggled to get into. There were plenty of shows that continued to be a good watch – Jessica Jones, iZombie, Legends Of Tomorrow and Blindspot all veered between the sublime and the ridiculous but kept me entertained. While I enjoyed Legion it definitely felt like a hard watch at times, the confusion from the first season continued but this season was even darker than the last. I caught up on seasons 3 through 5 of Marvel’s Agents Of Shield which, while still enjoyable, has got weaker as time goes on. The flip to space lost me but (as usual!) it is the time travel stuff that keeps me on board.

My favourites from the year though were The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, The Bodyguard, Glow, The Good Place, Howard’s End and Dark. Sabrina had the right amount of camp and scares for me, The Bodyguard was intense and full of twists, Glow was depressing and hilarious in equal measure, The Good Place continued to be a highlight, Howard’s End was a completely unexpected delight and Dark was a German language sci-fi show that crossed genres in different and strange ways.

Film-wise I saw lots of interesting things this year. I loved the book so was really excited for the film version of Annihilation. While it was definitely a visual spectacle I really felt that perhaps Netflix might’ve been better to do the whole trilogy as a TV series. The Aftermath was a brilliant film, with great performances from Keira Knightly and Alexander Skarsgard. I thought Lean On Pete, the story of a young kid who gets into horse training but can’t let his horse go, was heartwarming. The London set musical Been So Long was a vivid, vibrant look at life in the capital. Meanwhile, Blue Iguana was a crime thriller with a more grounded trip to London.

I was also fortunate enough to see a couple of films that will be out in 2019 but were screened at festivals in 2018. Driven, the true story of DeLorean creator John DeLorean and Wild Rose, the fictional story of a country singer from Glasgow who dreams of visiting Nashville. I thought both of these were great but I did work on them music-wise so take that as you will 🙂

I loved Bohemian Rhapsody, it was a really uplifting look at one of the world’s biggest bands. Just before Christmas I saw The Grinch, which I thought was a fun festive film and The Christmas Chronicles, in which Kurt Russell delivered the Santa I never knew I needed! I really loved this and suspect it will become an annual viewing experience in my house. My absolute favourites of this year though were The Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2, both of which I thought had some great writing, music and (of course) visuals.

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So there you have it – 2018 in a (large) nutshell. As always feel free to comment or reach out on socials to let me know what your highlights have been from this year and what I missed but should check out.

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GregHorrorShow: The Music Of 2017

2017 was the year that the general public fully embraced streaming and it was fascinating to see changes in attitudes towards the charts and what constitutes a ‘hit’.

There was plenty of amazing music released through the year, here is a Spotify playlist with some favourites in there:

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I listened to a huge amount of pop throughout the year, I enjoyed new stuff by Carly Rae Jepsen, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. I loved the Lorde album and Green Light was a brilliant single. Charli XCX dropped Pop2 a week ago and I’m still digging into that, it’s great. Also shout out to Shawn Mendes for the earworm that is ‘Nothing Holdin’ Me Back‘. Add to that standout singles from Sigrid and Selena Gomez and it’s been a hell of year for great pop songs.

The Haim sisters returned with a set of killer singles and a fantastic album, along with the ever awesome Jessie Ware whose album is great. Sam Smith delivered his second album and he didn’t disappoint. Pray being a particular highlight for me.

On the OST front I loved the music in Baby Driver and on the game front Ruiner was amazing and Garoad had me hooked on a soundtrack for a game I haven’t even played yet!

On the hip hop front Logic‘s album is one of the best I’ve heard in ages, complimented nicely by DAMN by Kendrick Lamar, which is also brilliant.

Benjamin Clementine‘s album was a challenging listen but it’s growing on me and Mr Jukes‘ album was a very pleasant surprise. Greta Van Fleet kept the rock flowing, Sampha won the Mercury Music Prize and it was nice to see Liz Lawrence return with new material.

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GregHorrorShow: The Music Of 2016

As someone who is fortunate enough to work in the music industry, it’s easy to forget that for a lot of people mainstream radio is the main way to consume music. That is changing with the arrival of streaming services that offer new and exciting ways to discover new music, and old music of course. I always like to try and highlight some of the lesser known bands I’ve discovered through the year while showcasing great tunes from different genres in general. And so my playlist for 2017 is bigger than some previous years. Strap yourselves in and enjoy some great new tunes!

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During my working day I’m exposed to a ton of great, fresh music but there were also some returning established artists that had good stuff out too. I wasn’t a huge fan of the new Britney Spears album but ‘Clumsy’ was a good cut, I really liked ‘Hurts’ by Emeli Sande and the return of A Tribe Called Quest was most welcome. Ryan Adam’s new single ‘Do You Still Love Me’ is fantastic and I also thought the latest Primal Scream track is the best thing they’ve done in a while. I really liked Lady Gaga’s ‘Perfect Illusion’ as well, a great single to return with.

The best band I saw live this year was Vaults and their album (finally) dropped late this year – it’s definitely well worth a listen. I feel like, for me at least, 2017 has been much more about tracks as opposed to albums but there were some great ones to check out. Savages, Polica and Michael Kiwanuka all delivered amazing albums but I found myself listening to more and more playlists rather than fully fledged albums.

In among all the other regular tracks I’ve included a handful of tracks to highlight my favourite game music from the year. It has been an amazing year for game scores – I’d definitely recommend checking out Spotify’s game section to find some more releases from this year.

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BEST ALBUM

It had to be ‘Love And Hate’ by Michael Kiwanuka. This album is ridiculously good, possibly the best I’ve heard in years. ‘Cold Little Heart’ is a 10 minute epic that kicks things off but this album is a great experience. Sit down, relax and enjoy!

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BEST SONG

I almost gave this to Toothless for ‘Sisyphus’ which is my current jam but I can’t look beyond Sigma for this, which is a surprise to me as I haven’t been a huge work of their previous tracks. Teaming with Birdy for ‘Find Me’ they have a track that ticks a lot of ‘pop’ boxes. And I played this on a loop more than I’d care to admit.

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So there you have it, another year down and with the music industry remaining in growth it should be exciting times ahead!

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GregHorrorShow: The Music Of 2015

It’s been a pretty fantastic year for music in 2015. Returning artists like Adele, Justin Bieber, Florence + The Machine and Ellie Goulding saw huge success and the further rise of streaming took an interesting turn as Apple finally joined the fray.

I have put together a playlist on Spotify of my recommended tracks for the year, give it a click below to listen.

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I saw a lot of new bands this year and while I really enjoyed Clean Cut Kid, Aurora and Solomon Grey, the best new band I saw live in 2015 was Slaves at the Scala. It was a brilliant gig with a friendly, upbeat vibe. Overall though the best thing I saw live was Health, which, with a combined audio/visual performance, really was something special.

I really liked what we’ve heard so far from Jack Garrett and I found the Oh Wonder album to be a wonderful listen. Halsey stepped into Lorde‘s shoes and delivered a really great album, for me it lacks a little of the punch of Lorde’s stuff but Castle is a superb track.

Disclosure returned with a brilliant album and, after an extended absence, so did The Chemical Brothers. It’s a really cool album with lots of great featured artists on vocals. As well as being stunning live, I loved the Health album this year – it’s definitely worth checking out.

Tame Impala came back with a chilled out bang and Kendrick Lemar continued his hot streak of releases with ‘To Pump A Butterfly’. Another returning band was Sleater-Kinney, whose album I enjoyed.

Robyn returned with ‘Love Is Free’ which was one of my favourite songs and, of course, The Weeknd‘s ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ was huge. There were also great songs from Petite Meller, Kagoule, Charli XCX and Duke Dumont, among others.

You can check all these tracks out on the playlist above, if you haven’t already.

And so to wrap things up I’ll move onto the awards…

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BEST ALBUM

It’s no secret to anyone who follows me on social media that I love Chvrches. I thought their previous album was brilliant and I wasn’t sure how they would follow it up. Thankfully ‘Every Open Eye‘ didn’t disappoint. Retaining their trademark sound but varying it enough to sound fresh, Chvrches delivered my album of the year.

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BEST SONG

I had to think long on this one as there have been so many great tracks this year but the one I returned to over and over again was ‘Stonefist’ by Health. It’s an assault on the ears in the best possible way, a clarion call that keeps you hooked until the end.

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What you have you guys been listening to? Let me know of any albums I’ve missed or that you think are worth checking out!

GregHorrorShow – The Music Of 2014

2014 has been a really good year for music, with breakout albums from the likes of Sam Smith, Banks and Hozier. There have also been some great albums from returning artists and even a very interesting film soundtrack collaboration.

Like last year I’ve popped my recommended tracks onto a Spotify playlist that you can check out here:

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I really liked Katy B‘s original album from back in 2010 so I was excited to hear the follow up ‘Little Red’. Keeping a similar vibe to her previous material, I thought this was a good listen. Maybe not as good as her debut but a solid ‘difficult second album.’ From an initial listen (albeit while working) I didn’t click with Beck‘s ‘Morning Phase’ album until a second listen cemented it as being up there with the best of the year.

The Phantogram album is fantastic, with stand out tracks like ‘Fall In Love’ and ‘Black Out Days’ throughout. I was also lucky enough to see them play an in-store gig at Rough Trade which was awesome. St. Vincent delivered a great album and I’ve been told I must check her out live soon because her shows are astounding. I really enjoyed the Dan Croll album, which has some good, laid back, pop tracks.

I think my favourite band this year has been Broods, who released their album ‘Evergreen’ a few weeks ago. I love their sound and they are great live. The stand out track for me is ‘Bridges’ but it’s a very good album overall. Jessie Ware returned with her second album which is among the best released this year. Tracks like ‘Tough Love’ and ‘Pieces’ cement Jessie as one of the UK’s best artists at the moment. Another returning artist was Lana Del Rey who dropped Ultraviolence in the summer. While I didn’t think it was as strong as her debut album it was a good listen and tracks like Brooklyn Baby and West Coast were highlights.

Hozier kind of came out nowhere to become one of the biggest artists of the year, his album is great with, of course, ‘Take Me To Church’ being the stand out track. Sam Smith has one of the best vocal performances I’ve heard in the last few years – like Adele or Florence Welch. Backed up by some fantastic tracks, he’s only just getting started! I’ve listened to the Banks album plenty of times and it’s just a really strong collection of tracks. I was fortunate enough to see her live earlier in the year at Koko and she was excellent in the flesh.

On the live front I was lucky enough to check out lots of gigs this year. Aside from Banks and Broods, who I mentioned earlier, the highlights for me were Irish duo Hudson Taylor, Lorde – who was amazing at Shepherds Bush Empire, Ella Eyre, Hawk House and Hozier.

Azealia Banks finally dropped her long overdue album ‘Broke With Expensive Taste’ and while there were plenty of people lining up to watch it crash and burn, she actually delivered a really good, solid album. Would definitely recommend. Royal Blood make a hell of a lot of noise for just two people and I thought their album was brilliant. I’ve always liked The Roots and their new album ‘And Then You Shoot Your Cousin’ is up there for me as some of their best stuff. A great listen from start to finish.

Other albums I enjoyed this year came from Vaults, Death From Above 1979 and Ben Howard. Another good listen was the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One, curated by Lorde it had some great artists involved with some cool tracks as well.

I’m sure there are plenty of artists and albums I’ve missed in this round up but shout out in the comments if there’s anything great you’ve been listening to this year.

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