He was a whiz with the cricket bat, but he never used to talk like that

[alexsarll]

Krod Mandoon's biggest problem is that if you have five lead characters, defining three of them by the key trait 'incompetent' and two by 'slutty', and then relying on gender and race to differentiate further...well, it looks rather lazy, doesn't it? Still, it's being held together admirably by Matt Lucas (a shocking reminder that, before Little Britain got run into the ground, he used to be really funny) and the Thick Of It alumni - even if it looks like we won't be seeing that much of Supermac from here on in.
Mitchell & Webb, on the other hand, was more consistent than ever - they've clearly got into the hang of writing for TV, not adapting from radio. I especially liked the doorbell replacement. And why has it taken this long for any comics to address the trees that smell of come?

Managed to brave the rather ineffectual strike and get down to London Bridge fine on Wednesday night. The first band on were so generically young person's indie that it's not even worth naming and shaming them, but Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer would have justified a considerably more difficult journey. I had faintly feared that the thoroughly-English-chap-does-rap schtick might not sustain a whole gig's worth of interest, but as with Goldie Lookin' Chain, it works because as well as being funny, he's good. Could probably have made it as a 'proper' rapper if, like his old prep school chum Timothy, he were a little less concerned with 'keeping it real'.
Hadn't realised that headliners the Arndales were friends-of-friends, but they were pretty good too; I suspect the Fall might be an influence, but to me they sounded quite reminiscent of Delicatessen, and to the resident young person's ears, the Horrors. Good stage set-up, too - the keyboardist, who looks a bit like the T1000, sits centre stage, not singing but occasionally miming drinks orders to obliging fans.

Went to a party full of babies yesterday. I concluded that my main problem with babies isn't the things themselves - even if a fair proportion do have the cold, dead eyes of a killer. It's the parents. I mean, if I was out walking and I found a herd of wild babies, I probably wouldn't have a problem. But when I'm around the owners, I'm terrified that every hayfever sneeze is going to be taken as evidence that I'm about to infect the little ones with swine flu. OK, these were all nice, calm parents so that didn't happen. But then one of them headbutts my knee and another one starts trying to burrow under my legs and I'm thinking, this doesn't look good, even considering we are in Haringey. Too, too stressful.

Comments

[exliontamer.livejournal.com]

For some reason the phrase "a herd of wild babies" is making me breathless with laughter.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I initially mistook that spacehopper for a happy fried egg.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

Weren't they the divisive words in the Derek Bentley case?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

No, they were 'your mum'.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

"Then the accused shouted, "Your Mum!", your Honour"

"Hang the swine"

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

'Your honour' ought to work like 'your mum', but somehow doesn't.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

Your honour does work like your mum, I heard.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you just managed to use the word "honour" in a sentence about Barry's mum, without a negative.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

I implied that he's easy and his mum is a prostitute - that's gotta count for something!

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I believe that would get you two white pegs in classic board game Mastermind, yes.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

For 'classic' read 'really dull once you've got the knack'. Much like your mum.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Yeah I guess it is just pushing different coloured things in and out of the same few holes over and over again and seeing what happens. I bet your mum's the World Champion.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

'astral'

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The worst thing is not that I went there, but that I then clicked through to another page of it.

[xandratheblue.livejournal.com]

With Mr B, I thought the "Oh, I'm doing a silly dance!" thing was a bit too much and didn't get as good a response as his rhymes, but he is a genuinely good rapper which is faintly worrying.

The Arndales: Yes, they did sound a *bit* like The Horrors, with their use of keyboard, but I did notice the fall feeling as well. "Resident Young Person" makes me sound like I'm your foreign affairs reporter or somesuch...

To satiate my curiosity - is the band Delicatessen named after the movie of the same name?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I think they might have been, although my acquaintance with the film is patchy as I was trying to fend off a stalker the one time I watched it.

You are a foreign affairs correspondent, from the mythical Land of Youth!

[hoshuteki.livejournal.com]

Embarrassingly I haven't seen the Arndales play, despite sharing a beer with one just yesterday.

However, I have been distracted by the thought of the nice, calm parents headbutting your knee et al. These people shouldn't be allowed to have children, ect ect.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes, OK the sentence structure there was a little muddled, but that's because I'm still suffering post-traumatic stress.

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

Krod Mandoon was more than lazy. See my status on facebook for a running commentary. It's always terribly worrying when Airhead likes anything.

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

Also was supermac the gay one who looks like you will in about 10 years? (too cruel? ;)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes. Did you not recognise him as Supermac from Ashes to Ashes? I wouldn't entirely mind looking like him, in Thick of It he was always fairly hopeless but since then he has generally been pretty distinguished. Albeit corrupt and then gay.

I saw your FB thing, I think you just have Ilford issues with Maguire. Although why did he feel compelled to do a bad US accent? And will you at least concede that Matt Lucas had his moments?

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

I said on thread that Matt Lucas was very good even though he was playing himself.

Also re supermac I think I have caught lack of face recognisation off of nicky, do you think that is possible?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

So you did. And oh dear.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Very! Clever!

We had hours of fun at work once trying to sort out the The issue. Everyone - including them - still seems to say The Gossip. But then, people also say The Pet Shop Boys, and they never had one. Do the band themselves keep that one consistent? I can't recall. Anyway, bands with variable 'The's there, marvellous.