You should be watching: The Mighty Boosh
A zookeeper who harks about being destined for better things and his partner who aspires to be world king of the mods, a shaman, a supposed dead mod hating dwarf with a protein growth on his head because he ate too much cheese, dancing polar bears and afro’s with doors in them. What do all these elements have in common, they’re all part and parcel of BBC3’s utterly bonkers comedy, The Mighty Boosh.
Written by and starring Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, it stems from the live
Surreal in the extreme, just on the cusp of defying accurate description, The Mighty Boosh takes you into a world of a bizarre zoo run (down) by Bob Fossil, where Julian Barratts kinda hapless and dour character Howard Moon usually ends up involved in bizarre adventures, such as saving the closure of the zoo by finding the “dead” mod hating dwarf in the jungle room or boxing Kangaroos. The preening Vince Noir (Fielding) struts around after him usually coming up with something mad to save the day. If you like the surreal then this is for you. It’s like David Lynch for 13 year olds constructed with some poster paints and a budget of twenty quid.. The humours in the subtlety, don’t expect the laughs to punch you in the face. Barratt’s performance is quiet, very much downplayed, perfect for his character. As for Fielding playing the quirkier of the two, he has charisma by the bucket load.
A definite do not miss when it finally airs on terrestrial.
Key Barratt and Fielding moments: Barratt: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. Fielding: Mint Royale “Blue Song” (video)
Click this link to watch the video starring Fielding -
http://www.sonymusiceurope.com/cgi-bin/multimedia/wmwax?wm.sony-aoma.global.speedera.net&wm.sony-aoma.global/video/900020000002743.wmv
Click this link to go to their official site: www.themightyboosh.co.uk
You should be listening to: Embrace.
That’s right mon amigos, it’s time to root around on your CD shelf and find that long forgotten indie gem from 1998, The Good Will Out. Stick it in the stereo and immerse yourself in some of the best lyricism this side of Bernie Taupin (albeit in a different genre). Foremost members Danny McNamara and brother Richard came onto the indie scene in the late 90’s with this blustering affair, ranging from the screeching guitar licks of One Big Family to the ghostly melancholy of tracks like Fireworks or single My Weakness Is None Of Your Business. Back then they were hailed as the Yorkshire contenders to the throne of Oasis. Somehow it never quite came off for them commercially. They did build up one of the most loyal fan bases you’ll ever come across in British music though, a base which has followed and supported them through the release of 2000’s Drawn From Memory, and 2001’s If You’ve Never Been.
Drawn From Memory was an eclectic affair spanning heart rendering brilliance I Had A Time to the downright mediocre Your Not Alone and back to fabulous again with the title track. Buy it and skip the blander stuff. It’s well worth it. Third album If You’ve Never Been, released shortly before their contract with Virgin subsidiary Hut ended, plowed for some an even lower line in banal. Fans opinions are divided, some love it, some despise it. I think tracks like Over and the quite pleasant harmonies of single Make It Last make it a sound buy if you come across it mid-price. A disappointment it may have been but one thread that runs through their career so far is Danny’s lyrics, fans worship him as modern poet of our times. Even when the musical quality of a song has been lacking you may be likely to find some glimmer of genius in the words.
So I say reacquaint yourself with these guys. They’ve spent the last couple of years signed to Independiente, very quietly making their fourth album and are due to release a single “Gravity” penned by Chris Martin out of Coldplay 2 weeks before the album in August. I heard the new material way back in December last year at some secret gigs in Leeds. It was going to take a lot to convince my sceptical mind after the disappointment of IYNB and a lengthy absence, but convince me they did. New tracks Milk and Honey, Wish Em All Away and the stupendous Someday hark back to the days of The Good Will Out and Danny’s voice has never sounded better.
Open your minds and let them fill your soul with passion.
Key Embrace songs : All You Good Good People, Retread, Fireworks, I had A Time, Drawn From Memory, Dry Kids, Love Is Back, Happy and Lost
Official site - http://www.embrace.co.uk
You should worship: Ashton Kutcher.
Why? Well not just because he’s a pretty face, which he is that. But because he’s finally proved his dramatic worth starring in and producing recent sci-fi based thriller The Butterfly Effect.
The film itself isn’t without it’s flaws such as the way it deals with the touchy subject of Paedophilia and also the way Evan Treborns (Kutcher), psychological condition is never really fully explained. Co -star Amy Smart fails to shine in her role as one of Evans lifelong friends affected by his tinkering with time, but if you can ignore these points you’ll find it an enjoyable maybe even lightly thought provoking 2 hours. There were a fair few of us who possibly doubted Kutcher’s ability to “play it straight” after previous work that included du-huh road movie Dude Where’s My Car and the irritable Just Married with ex-girlfriend Brittany Murphy. But he carries it off with a show of intelligence that I personally thought was lacking in him.
If you’ve seen his MTV series Punk’d, where he plays huge practical jokes on showbiz A listers such as Timberlake, Beyonce and Halle Berry, you’d be forgiven for thinking there wasn’t much up top, but I’ve come to the conclusion that Ashton is just quite down to earth and a fun loving boy. Little known is the fact that when he was discovered by a modelling scout in 1997 Kutcher was actually studying biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa. Now does that sound like a dufus to you?
It’s a shame that a lot of his publicity in recent months has been born out of the fact he is dating Demi Moore. You know she has like 10 kids and is 63 years old or something, but there is so much more to Ashton than that. You can see it lurking below the surface, that thing, that special aura that says, “you’re looking at a future Hollywood player”. Now wonder Demi had everything stretched to bag him. Still who can blame her, with a face and an ass like his you would wouldn’t you?
Key Ashton works: That 70’s Show. Punk’d. The Butterfly Effect
Fan Site - http://www.ashton-kutcher.net/
Izzy Brooks.
pixie@happyandlost.co.uk
Previous Essential Selections:
Jamie Callum, I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 & 2, Bill Bryson, Owen Wilson.
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