Black Man's Pinch

There are plenty of reasons that you need Black Man's Pinch.

For one thing, they're a talented bunch, in terms of both writing and performance.

For another, they're explosive live, and really know how to push an audience's buttons.

But mostly, you need Black Man's Pinch because they're refreshingly honest. But not in the way you might expect. They avoid, for example, that one form of 'honesty' - the self-pitying songwriting-as-confessional popular with a great many bands.

No, Black Man's Pinch are honest on an altogether more base level: they are honest about their music.

They are acutely aware that the genre of music they play - hard rock - is little more than masturbation veiled with music. They understand that there's a reason people often refer to guitar solos as 'wanky'. And so, instead of singing random macho lyrics about nothing, rather than trying to make their music sound respectable, they launch cheerfully into songs about nothing more complicated than simple, unadulterated sex.

How, where, and with who or what forms the twist in each song, but the theme is always the same - and the music benefits greatly from it. Instead of simply fellating their guitars on stage, Black Man's Pinch engage in an entire orgy of aural pleasure, taking the whole crowd on an exhilerating ride.

Energetic? Yes.

Funny? Always.

Entertaining? Definitely.

Crude? Of course! But so are many of the greatest things in life.

Sadly their music isn't yet available to purchase online, but you have a listen to some of their music at their MySpace page.

Yes, they really are good enough that it's worth going to MySpace for.

Enjoy.

Alec

Alec? Alec? Who the **** is Alec?

Apologies for the bad pun (those of you who don't get the reference, just be glad you missed the amazing European pop music of the 90's), but I imagine most of you won't have had an idea what I mean when I talk about Alec. Well, ignoring those of you clever enough to move your eyes a few degrees to the right and note that I appear to be recommending a book titled "Alec - The King Canute Crowd". Which I am. That and the other books in the Alec series (I show The King Canute Crowd because that's really where you should start).

But why? What's it about? What's the hook, where's the twist? Well, that's just it. There isn't one. Because while Alec has something to tell, it's not a story in a traditional sense. Hell, if you go into The King Canute Crowd and try to read it as a single tale you'll just wind up confused. What Alec offers is a slice-of-life, semi-autobiographical series of mini-tales, told without ever giving reference to time or 'progress' besides the filling-out of the characters as they go through life.

And as a slice-of-life work, there's no moral to the stories, no greater purpose to anything other than simple, beautiful, anecdotal storytelling that shows life in all its grim beauty. And as for the art... oh, wait, sorry, did I not say? The Alec books - they're comics. As in, tales told through a combination of images and words. I know. This mortifies you. Comics are childish, after all. I mean, who else would enjoy stories told with a combination of imagery and verbiage? Aside from those weirdos who watch films, of course.

Oh.

But most comics are for kids, right? To be honest, in the English language especially, that's probably right. Well, assuming you count teenagers within that bracket. And, to be frank, most comics are mediocre, nothing more than pulp fiction. But then, so are most books and films. You just have to learn to ignore the fodder and go right to the cream of the crop - and this is most definitely amongst la crème de la crème. So don't let your preconceptions guide you with this one - you'll find no spandex here. Just give it a go, and see what can be done through the medium of sequential art.

Anyway, where was I? Of course, the art. Well, it's rough. As Eddie Campbell admits in the introduction, the quality of the art varies wildly according to his level of commitment at the time of drawing, but this just adds a more personal touch to a book that succeeds entirely because of how close you feel to the author. Each scratch of ink has its own character, and the rough approach to illustration makes for a beautiful piece of work.

And I'm not the only fan. I feel like I should just copy one of the many excellent reviews about the books, but that would be cheating. If you need more convincing than I can give, there's a short one at artbomb.net which should show you exactly why you need Alec.

So git already!

Banlieue 13

Banlieue 13, aka District 13 for us Brits, or District B13 for the inhabitants of the US, is an action film.

That may be enough to put you off it. It's normally be enough to put me off a film, that's for sure. But fortunately, having heard an impressive amount of praise directed its way, I thought I'd give it a chance.

And boy was it worth it. Written by Luc Besson, the film stars David Belle in a role that highlights his position as co-inventor of parkour, similar to freerunning. Playing an inhabitant of the titular 13th Banlieue (District) of Paris, an area so rough that it has (in the fictional near-future setting of the film) been walled off from the rest of France. The storyline itself is hardly oscar-worthy, a basic tale of revenge and heroism, but it's easy to forgive when the film gets the action so very, very right.

From start to finish the film is packed with intense action-scenes, the best of which use Belle's parkour skills to the full, with him leaping from building to building, up stairwells, over walls and even, in a scene reminiscent of the AT-AT felling in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, over and around an otherwise unassailable man. With the vast majority of the scenes filmed without wires or CG, it leads to an incredibly raw and exciting experience.

And that's all you need ask of it. The film doesn't take any real risks (apart from the physical type), but as an unchallenging piece of entertainment it's absolutely successful. It's one of the most 'fun' films I've had the pleasure of watching, even though it was filmed in a much more serious vein than most action-adventure films, with relatively few gags. The fun comes simply from the sheer exuberence of the action scenes, and at a brisk 85 minutes the film never risks outstaying its welcome.

Great to chill out in front of, either alone or with friends, it's an excellent film. And, luckily for the non-Francophones, it's due out on DVD in the UK this October.

Check it out!