Recommended: Morvern Callar

14598-large.jpgI recently discovered (through The Onion AV Club’s New Cult Canon series) Lynne Ramsay’s film Morvern Callar. Samantha Morton plays the title character, a young Scottish woman whose humdrum life is overturned by her boyfriend’s suicide. Following her initial paralysis and avoidance, Callar places her name on his unpublished manuscript and sends it off to a publisher. Collecting his assets, she sets out on an impromptu holiday to Spain. The film’s soundtrack—featuring music by Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Broadcast, Ween, Can, Stereolab and the Velvet Underground—punctuates her existential journey of clubbing, random impulsiveness and quiet confusion. By the end, Callar seems to find solace from her soul-searching and inherited success.

Indie Classics sale on iTunes

Snap up some classic albums by indie artists for only $7.99 each. My picks of the litter:

Recommended: recent acquisitions

animamina.jpg atari-ska.jpg detrola.jpg lovers-prayers.jpg karen-ann.jpg the-peacocks.jpg remixes.jpg rise.jpg some-people.jpg resume.jpg a-field.jpg piano-dust.jpg

  1. Amina – AnimaminA EP (iTunes, Amazon) and Kurr (iTunes, Amazon)
  2. Dubmood – Atari-Ska L-Attack (Internet Archive)
  3. His Name is Alive – Detrola (iTunes, Amazon) and Xmmer (iTunes, Amazon)
  4. Ida – Lovers Prayers (iTunes, Amazon)
  5. Keren Ann – Keren Ann (iTunes, Amazon)
  6. Miles Davis – The Peacocks (Amazon)
  7. Miss Kittin – Batbox (iTunes, Amazon)
  8. Pole – Steingarten Remixes (iTunes, Amazon)
  9. Ras Amerlock – Farther East (Internet Archive)
  10. Samantha James – Rise (iTunes, Amazon)
  11. Sia – Some People Have Real Problems (iTunes, Amazon)
  12. Various – The Dub Club Night (Amazon)
  13. Various – New (dub) Excursion (iTunes)
  14. Various – Resume (iTunes, Amazon)
  15. Vector Lovers – A Field EP (iTunes) and Piano Dust (iTunes)

Currently reading: Looking for Jake

Looking for Jake cover I am about halfway through China Mieville’s Looking for Jake: Stories. I enjoyed his novels Perdido Street Station, The Scar and Iron Council, and this compilation presents 14 short fictions which combine elements of fantasy, horror and sci-fi. To me, Mieville’s writing style is reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges, H.P. Lovecraft, Samuel R. Delany, Kelly Link and Shelley Jackson.