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Walk Across the Rooftops by The Blue Nile
Walk Across the Rooftops by The Blue Nile
1984 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"The Blue Nile was another sort of national treasure that I was drawn to and then thrilled to discover they were local. I can't overestimate what it meant to fall in love with bands from Scotland who enjoyed success. It just opened up windows for our minds, because there's a certain particularly being a 70s baby and London just felt so far away – success of any kind, or glamour, felt far away. Whenever a Scottish band would succeed on a national level it felt really immense. 

 What I also just loved about The Blue Nile was how evocative and sad they sounded. I loved the sorrow in their records, because up until hearing them, I'd hadn't really heard sorrow. I'd heard non-conformity, I'd heard rebelliousness with Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Clash, but I'd not heard sorrow. 

 Depression and sadness have always been a part of my language and my family all sort of thought or considered me a complete freak as a result. They just thought this whole darkness and my gloominess was an annoyance and at best, an irritant. But to me it's always been part of my interfacing with the world. Sorrow, sadness and depression – it's just existed in me and it's part of, I think, human nature. 

 When I heard Blue Nile, I was like, 'Ah, old friend, I recognise you, there you are. Somebody else feels the same as me'. I loved the sort of expansiveness of their sound. It felt very sort of like a modern Frank Sinatra to me, in a way. It's an obvious comparison but the sweeping, Nelson Riddle-esque type of sonic landscapes just really captured my imagination. 
 
 Paul Buchanan's got this ache in his voice that's, again, very unusual. You don't really hear a lot of people sound like Paul. I loved the sort of ordinariness of the lyrics too – it was very much sort of relatable, simple, and unglamorous expressions of love; I just really identified with that. 

 Pop music has always just alienated me for one reason or another – I just don't identify with it or understand it. So somebody like Paul Buchanan and the Blue Nile literally speaks my language. It's a language that isn't often used or utilised in day-to-day culture. I think we're all encouraged to hide our mental health issues, or encouraged to hide our depression, our sadness and our griefs. I believe in the expression of grief: I think it's imperative for a joyful life, and why live if you can't live joyfully? 

 To live joyfully one must express negative emotions. It's really, really important. And those people who shirk from so-called negative expression, I think, are cutting off an entire part of their own happiness and existence."

Source
  
Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1
Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1
Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman | 2015 | Children
10
9.2 (19 Ratings)
Book Rating
EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!! I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I started beyond the incredible artistry of how it was written. Which was truly incredible. For the unique layout alone, everyone should read this book. Stunning graphics aside the storyline was INCREDIBLE. I felt all the feels....anger, sadness (and yes some ugly crying), excitement.... you name it. This book had my on the edge of my seat and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Twists upon twists. I loved the characters, Kady and Ezra and all the supporting cast. I even had feels for the crazy AI AIDAN. I can’t praise this book highly enough!!! If I could give it 10 stars I would. It has easily become one of my new favorites of all time. I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on the second one!!!!
  
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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Amélie (2001) in Movies

Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)  
Amélie (2001)
Amélie (2001)
2001 | Comedy, Drama, International
The colour palette (2 more)
The humour
The romance
Where to start in one of the most perfect films ever realised? The photography and colours are an artwork enough to make this a classic. Then there is the music of Yann Tiersen, so French, so romantic, so tinged with sadness in just the right way. It is a love story. But a love story about fear and shyness; about moments of melting and regret. A film about people and their history and passion, and failures. A film about the heart beating against all odds. A nostalgic film, but a very modern one too (in 2001); a feminist film, with a powerful message against looking backward too much! We can’t help but feel every melancholy cry of Amélie’s wonderful soul as she looks for love and fears it may never appear. If your eyes are dry at the end, then you are broken.
  
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Tony Jaa recommended Furious 7 (2015) in Movies (curated)

 
Furious 7 (2015)
Furious 7 (2015)
2015 | Action, Mystery

"Ok this is indirectly a bit of self promotion because I was in the film and it was my first international film which was always a life long dream. However the movie is total non-stop adrenaline. I got to know my fellow cast members well and really enjoyed the time I spent with them. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. Seeing my new friends on screen was both exciting and satisfying. They did a great job and the movie is epic. I was terribly sad when I saw Paul Walker on screen. Paul and I had become friends during the shoot and he was a genuinely wonderful person. My sadness was tempered by the fact that this movie was a great tribute to Paul. I think when it comes to a high energy movie it will be hard to top Fast and Furious 7."

Source
  
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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated 50/50 (2011) in Movies

Sep 10, 2020  
50/50 (2011)
50/50 (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
7
8.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
After suffering for a while with back pain and night sweats, 27 year old Adam goes to the doctors and discovers he has a rare form of cancer with only a 50% chance of survival. This is a story of how he tries to come to terms with his diagnosis. There's happiness, sadness and of course struggles. It shows the reality of how having cancer can affect not only you but those around you too, including the harsh reality of a loved one walking away because they can't handle it.
The movie was enjoyable for the most part, but I do think they should have just kept it as a drama only, rather than try to make it a comedy too. Joseph Gordon Levitt did a fantastic job, but I felt seth rogens scenes needed toning down, they were too full on for this kind of movie.
  
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ClareR (5854 KP) rated Black Cake in Books

Jul 12, 2022  
Black Cake
Black Cake
Charmaine Wilkerson | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Black Cake is an absolute cracker of a book. Told in a series of flashbacks, Eleanor Bennett tells her children the story of her “real” life via a recording after her death. And she has a lot of secrets to let go of. It’s a big shock for her children Benny and Byron.

I loved the chapters on the Caribbean island - I felt transported there (or at least I wished I was!). The contrast between the island and the UK was radical, and must have been a shock for the Bennett’s - and for anyone else travelling from warmer climes!

The real story is about Benny and Byron having to relearn everything they thought they knew about their mother. Even her husband hadn’t known the whole story.

This is beautifully told, and it’s one of those books where you turn the last page with a tinge of sadness.

Highly recommended.