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 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 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 Playlist – April 2009

Well I thought it was about time I put togther some sort of playlist for you guys.

In the end I decided the best way to approach it, rather than a ‘hot new bands’ type of thing would be to put togther the stuff I’ve been listening to the last few weeks and see what you think. 😎

So this includes old and new tracks, songs you’ve probably heard and some you may not have.

I put them into one long mix to try and escape the spectre of piracy – obviously the tracks in here are for you to check out, if you like them get the album off iTunes or get yourself down to a gig.

One last thing to note is I am showcasing great music (in my opinion) in this playlist I cannot ‘mix’ and I’m not a DJ. I’ve just segued the tracks to stop people ripping them off. 😀

Enjoy!

GregHorrorShow April 09 Playlist:

1.  In For The Kill (Skream’s Let Get Ravey Mix) – LA ROUX
2.  You’ve Got The Love – FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
3.  Sentimental Heart – SHE & HIM
4.  They Say – SCARS ON BROADWAY
5.  Dull Life – YEAH YEAH YEAHS
6.  You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
7.  Tiger Moutain Peasant Song – FLEET FOXES
8.  One Day Like This – ELBOW
9.  Gasoline – THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT
10. No Pause – GIRL TALK
11. Paris Is Burning – LADYHAWKE
12. That’s The Reason – THE RAKES
13. My Turn – HOOBASTANK
14. Revival – SOULSAVERS

Here is the link to download, the mix is under 55mb and clocks in around 48 minutes:

GREGHORRORSHOW PLAYLIST – APRIL 2009

N..B. You may discover this page long after the link has expired, if you still want a copy of the mix drop me an e-mail at: greg_horror_show@yahoo.co.uk  and I’ll see if I can send it over.