Start as you mean to go on

Fuck me. It's 2008. How the hell did that happen? Ten years ago I was being an introspective teenager, obsessing over guys that didn't want me, being geeky about music and films, and generally *just* managing to navigate my way through the world with the few smarts and little wit I possessed.

How times change eh?

Except, I do feel like they have a bit. Don't get me wrong, all the above is still present and correct but it's all a little more refined now. I'm not quite as gauche, not nearly as naive, probably still quite self-centered but perhaps not as much as in years gone by... all in all I'm creeping ever slowly towards being a well rounded, sort of ok, human being. Ye gads.

However, this was due in large part thanks to 2007, for me, being all about introspection and getting my head together. Although that wasn't always a barrel of laughs (do laughs really come in barrels? Seems an odd place to keep a sound) it was important work. So much so that now, on the metaphorical life 'to do' list, I don't feel like I'm cheating too much putting a big tick in the 'done' column on the 'get head sorted out' row. But, what now? I think I've pretty much exhausted the existentialism route for the time being. If nothing else, going around like the non-obscenely foreheaded Dawson Leary is really tiring. So much so that you often forget to factor in that thing that, I believe the kids today refer to as 'fun'. So 2008 is going to be about fun. I want to get into scrapes and japes, make mistakes and something else that rhymes with those words, safe in knowledge that I'm going to be ok in the end. All that I've learned about how awesome I am can finally be put into practise. No more mooning over the cads that can't step up and treat me how I deserve to be treated, no more beating myself up for being such a tool whenever I come into contact with other people (the fact I walked away from my work Christmas do without any embarrassment over my behaviour - despite the fact I was fairly tipsy - can probably be classified as a low-grade miracle. I'm getting the Vatican in to double check on this as we speak) Yeah. I'm in a good place at the start of 2008. This is a weird experience for me so forgive me if I come across as a little smug. I exist much more comfortably within the confines of thinking I'm rubbish, it's going to take a while for me to get used to this new positivity. In fact, if I have any resolution at all it's to create a persona that can be positive and not come across as a twat. My gut tells me such a thing is not possible.

Now, I'm not really one for 'best ofs'. For one thing I have no real sense of time so remembering when this or that was released is really not all that viable where I am concerned. I also like to discover things in my own time and not just because a bunch of hipsters with asymmetric haircuts are telling me what I should like so the last few drops of pop culture I imbibed in 2007 were not exactly current but they were full of mind-nutrition and inspiration and I think that's probably more important.

Last book I read in 2007 - 'Girlfriend in a coma' by Douglas Coupland
I'm going through a bit of a Coupland obsession at present having come to him, despite awareness of his existence, more than a little late. This is a novel that's not just an achingly beautiful portrait of love and loss but raises itself above the usual odes to such things by also being a morality tale; a bible chapter for the disillusioned society we find ourselves existing in if you will. It's an audacious move for a writer, to tell the audience how badly they're fucking up, but it works. It asks questions that are normally never asked and make points about culture that we tend to just ignore on a day-to-day basis. I found it extremely inspiring and, like most great works of art, it made me feel connected to the world at large in a way I normally don't.

Last film - I'm Not There
I'm not a Dylan obsessive, hell I'm not even really what one would consider a Dylan fan. 'He's alright, I suppose' has always been my eloquent summation of the man. However, I loved this. This is not so much a film but rather feels like taking a walk around an art gallery and seeing an exhibition of paintings and installations done by someone who'd been listening to, and was inspired by, Bob Dylan's creative output and personal history. There was no cohesive structure, no explanation for why one set piece bled into another and no real commentary to help with the whats, whys and wherefores. Everything was just laid out in front of us leaving the audience to their own devices in lacing it all with meaning and interpretation. The intertextuality would keep the average muso and film buff happy for a whole week (particularly anyone into their pretentious film makers like Goddard and Fellini). I think I would have got even more out of it were I actually a Dylan lover myself as it was obviously jam-packed full of obscure Robert Zimmerman allusions and citations; most of which I suspect passed me by. The covers were also quite astonishing, my favourites being 'Ballad of a Thin Man', 'Goin' to Acapulco' (I couldn't find the actual clip from the movie which is still haunting me even now), and 'Pressing On' sung by Stephen Malkmus, Jim James, and John Doe of X respectively (three loves of mine as it is). It was confusing, and weird, and really made you think about much more than just Bob Dylan. I'm also probably not the first blogger to say this, but Cate Blanchett rocked the fucking casbah (although I might be the first to term it in those words exactly).

Last record - 'Phenomenon' by LL Cool J
This just fucking rocks. I listen to it all the time but still, great album to get ready to for my last night of the year.

First book of 2008 - jPod by Douglas Coupland
I told you I was obsessed. I have three other books on the go but I suspect this will be the one I finish first. It's good. Must. Read. More. Coupland.

First film of 2008 - TBC
I very nearly sat through Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo this afternoon before I realised that may not be the best way to start my year of movie geekiness. However, although the following may not yet be out, these three in particular have got me all of a quiver:

Juno
I think Micheal Cera is now old enough for me to be honest about my crush on him.


Be Kind, Rewind
The thought of this film causes me to make this noise 'YEEE'. And that's happy.


Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Marshall! Veronica! Russell! Awesome!


Plus, the usual suspects; Cloverfield, The Dark Knight, and of course, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2.

First album of 2008 - 'Different Light' by The Bangles
On vinyl - the way God intended. I really want to expand my vinyl collection this year. At present it's modest and I want it to be obscene. I do thank little baby Jesus for the Oxfam Vinyl shop in Southampton. I even managed to pick up 'Boomania' by Betty Boo the other day - what price for greatness I hear you cry? A mere one pound and 99 bloomin' pence. Get in.