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Mellow Gold by Beck
Mellow Gold by Beck
1994 | Indie, Rock, Singer-Songwriter

"The thing about Beck was that he felt like a well-kept secret for a while. I can’t actually remember how I stumbled upon him, but it was way back around the time of his second album Stereopathetic Soulmanure, that was before he had his big breakout, crossover albums. This track is from Mellow Gold, which was his third album and had ‘Loser’ on it, so other people were starting to pick up on him, finally. I couldn’t believe that nobody else had heard of this amazing talent; he was completely doing his own thing and you could tell he had real soul. The fact that this was around the time of Britpop just made him stand out all the more to me, I couldn’t stop listening to his early stuff. ’Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)’ sums up what I loved about him in those days and why I still do now. It crystallised the appeal of those records, it’s got such an amazing narrative and it was obvious that it was a true story, that he really had lived above or below that truck driver who was on weird speed or angel dust. He just encapsulates that sort of nightmarishness of having problems with the neighbours and the pitched-down vocals make it sound totally ominous. There’s such an experimental flavour to it musically and lyrically and you can hear how he would cut and paste ideas. That’s how those early albums were - every track different to the last. I love everything he’s done really and that experimental flavour has never really left him, all the way up to making a pop record with Colors. I absolutely battered his first few albums though and for a while I felt like I was the only one. The guy’s a real one-off."

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Suburbicon (2017)
Suburbicon (2017)
2017 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Suburbicon is a peaceful, idyllic, suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns -- the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge must navigate the town's dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit and violence.



I saw this trailer so many times in the run up to the Unlimited Screening. It initially intrigued me, I'm not a particular fan of Matt Damon, but I do like Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac the more I see him. Both Moore and Isaac seemed at home in this 50s setting, but Damon didn't feel very convincing.

The story had a lot of potential. Lodge wants to kill his wife who has become bitter towards him since he caused an accident that left her in a wheelchair. The plan is to stage a home invasion that leads to her death. This will leave room for her twin sister to move in and take her sister's place in the family. But when a suspicious insurance investigator comes sniffing around the case things start to fall apart. In the background of this though there is a story about the new African-American neighbours that have moved into the property behind the Lodge's. I know that this is fitting for that era, and some sort of big "distraction" was needed for a lot of things to work, but it just felt very detached from everything.

This isn't one that I'd watch again, I feel like it's going to fade into obscurity in my mind and in about ten years someone is going to ask me if I've seen it and I won't be able to remember.
  
    Shadow Cast

    Shadow Cast

    Navigation and Utilities

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    Shadow Cast is a simple but powerful app that intuitively displays the sun's position, & direction...

Next Door
Next Door
Matt Shaw | 2021 | Horror
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
82 of 250
Kindle
Next Door
Compiled by Matt Shaw

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

From the mind behind "MASTERS OF HORROR" comes a new horror anthology to keep you up at night!

Whilst Matt Shaw is busy producing, writing and directing the feature film NEXT DOOR he decided to put together a horror anthology of the same name, and with the same theme as the motion picture. None of the stories in this collection feature in the film; the two products are completely separate other than the central concept of exploring who does live NEXT DOOR to us?

Given the fact these are some of the biggest names in horror, you can bet that whomever is living next door probably won't be the friendliest of characters...

The year is 2019 and technology has come so far that we spend more time staring at our mobile devices, and screens in general, than getting to know our next door neighbour. Gone are the days of knowing everyone who lives on the same street, or in the same village. Instead we leave our houses, avoid eye-contact or give the bare minimum of grunts to those we see and go about our daily lives without a care for anyone else. No more street parties, no more kindly neighbours checking in on you, no more Christmas cards from the little old lady who lives across the street. There's only "us" and our technology.

This anthology takes a look at who lives NEXT DOOR and what secrets they may be keeping. And who knows, maybe it will serve as warning to you that, really, you should be paying attention to those living close-by. After all, Fred West was someone's neighbour once...

Featuring stories by:
Tim Lebbon
Shaun Hutson
Ryan C. Thomas
Jeremy Bates
David Moody
Guy N. Smith
Matthew Stokoe
Justin Woodward
Gary McMahon
Rich Hawkins
Jim Goforth
Matt Shaw


1. A Family-Friendly Neighbourhood by Ryan C Thomas
This was actually quite funny and sweet in a gruesome clever way. All the toys turning into little knife wielding creepy thing only to find out they are their kids souls! They just want to be together 😂

2. Final Feast by Guy N. Smith

Quick little story of the cannibal next door! I loved it!

3. Insurgents by Rich Hawkins

A story of a war ruined mind, a soldier dealing with his demons. Well written just not my normal read.

4. Mirror Image by David Moody

A couple move into a new house with an extra handy neighbour. I enjoyed this one funny how my husband is so crap at DIY too 😂😂

5. Neighbour Hood by Tim Lebbon

Omg this has to be the creepiest one so far and the whole reason I never use my attics’!!!

6. Dinner Date by Jeremy Bates

A bit slower than the others think I just got a little bored. Never accept dinner invitations before getting to know the guy no matter how hot he is! Silly girl!

7. Why Does Randolph Draw by Matthew Stokeoe

Got to be honest I didn’t finish it I just got so bored after page 5! Just wasn’t catching me.

8. Saturday Night Whiskey by Justin M.Woodward

This was really god and well put together a kids last cry for help from his dodgy uncle!

9. Sixteen by Jim Goforth

This felt so rushed even for a short story! Although it’s a good lesson of don’t get involved with swinging neighbours 😂

10. Pornography by Matt Saw

Haha she didn’t see that coming

11. Somewhere in Here by Gary McMahon

This was one creepy ass story and for one so short I’m throughly creeped out!!

12 By Darkness Hidden by Shaun Hutson

This was pretty good a urban legend type story. Villages can be super strange places.

I really enjoyed this compilation got some great new authors added to my list too.
  
Bad Billionaire
Bad Billionaire
Julie Kriss | 2018 | Erotica, Romance
7
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book Review by Cari Mayhew. Rating 7/10.

This book offers an adult romance with a dramatic backstory!

After reading the darkly gothic book The Corset, I was ready for some nice light reading – something modern with a feel good factor – and that’s exactly what I got!

The story telling is split between 2 protagonists, Olivia and bad boy Devon Wilder. They are neighbours who have eyed each other from afar. Then one day Devon offers Olivia a lift home, and it all goes on from there. Devon is deliciously dangerous next to ordinary Olivia, he’s a loner with a tendency to get into trouble.

Early in the story Devon gets caught as a getaway driver and is sent to prison, and it’s towards the end of his sentence that he’s informed that he’s come into a large inheritance. And that makes him more interesting to the crowd that used to get him into trouble.

Despite there being 2 narrators, the book is most definitely aimed at straight women, as all the adult scenes are from Olivia’s stand point.

I found the characters and story believable.

It has its differences with 50 Shades of Grey – Devon is no gentleman for a start. The tension is there but the drama takes a different route.

I chose this book for its brevity, but the problem with its book is its brevity – I’m sure the author could have thrown a few more adult scenes in there, or maybe combined some of the story from the sequel in with this book.

Unlike most first books in a series, it doesn’t end in a cliff hanger; and it turns out the next book focuses on different characters. I may read the sequel one day, but I’m not in a rush.

Admittedly a lot of book is cliché, but I found it very likable. I would recommend it, but for the target audience only.
  
40x40

ClareR (5603 KP) rated Snap Shot in Books

Oct 25, 2019  
Snap Shot
Snap Shot
Marilyn Todd | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An enjoyable Victorian mystery
Julia McAllister is a female photographer in 1895 who works for herself - which is a struggle in England at this time, as she would have had no legal rights. She pretends to her clients that she is working for a male photographer, but in reality he left her the business when he died. So, in order to make ends meet she finds work taking ‘French Style’ photos. These were risqué pornographic photos. Julia makes sure her models are comfortable with what they’re doing and that they’re well paid. She feels responsible for these young women.

When three of them are found murdered, and Julia is visited by an Inspector Collingwood asking questions because her stamp is on the back of the photos found with these women, Julia is devastated. Devastated that she is in the frame, and devastated that she has lost women who she considers to be friends. So Julia sets out to find the killer herself, because she has secrets that she doesn’t want anyone finding out.

This book is pretty jam packed with dead bodies, if I’m honest. The dead models and two unconnected men. Julia is involved with finding the perpetrators of these deaths too. So if you don’t like dead bodies, you’re going to struggle with this one! Although it’s not graphic in any way. It’s not a salacious book - the photos aren’t really described in any great detail: the making of them is just a part of the story.

I liked Julia. She is a caring character who looks after her models, her neighbours, and she even gives a home to a street urchin. I found the photography descriptions (taking photos and developing them) really interesting, and I thought the setting was really well described: the sights and sounds of a busy urban Victorian England especially. This is a very enjoyable book, and one for those who enjoy an easy reading mystery.

Many thanks to Sapere Books for sending me my copy to read and honestly review.