2024: My Favourite Newly Discovered Old Films

I am looking back on my favourite cultural things of 2024. You can see my last post, about my favourite new films, here, and the whole series here. Join me now as I look at the best old films I saw for the first time in that year.

Murder by Contract (Irving Lenner, 1958)

Nice low budget noir about a highly efficient contract killer who finds to his dismay that his next target is a dame. The many scenes of the hitman and his contacts hanging out and yapping away feel like they might have been an influence on Tarantino.

The Informer (Arthur Robison, 1929)

The first of at least three screen adaptations of Liam O'Flaherty's novel (others include John Ford's 1935 film and Jules Dassin's 1968 Uptight (which moves the action from Dublin to Cleveland). This sees an IRA man grass up one of his buds to the Free-Staters for tawdry reasons before being hunted down by his former comrades. Despite being filmed in Elstree Studios, the film is surprisingly evocative of olde Dublin.

The Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991)

Adapted from a William S. Burroughs novel, this is very odd fare indeed. Some scenes are very evocative of the feeling of being completely mashed out of it but having to hold it together and convince people around you that you are not feeling in any way out of the ordinary. And if you've ever found yourself hanging out with giant talking insects the film will touch a nerve. I was however a bit uncomfortable with all the shooting-wife-in-the-head content.

All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)

This sees Bette Davis playing an ageing actress who is being supplanted by Anne Baxter's Eve, who initially appears as an adoring fan before gradually revealing her true colours.

Another Man's Poison (Irving Rapper, 1951)

And in this one Bette Davis plays a rather louche crime writer who isn't averse to bumping off inconvenient men in her life. One of her British films.

Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)

An ageing news anchor has an on-air meltdown after learning that his contract is not being renewed, which then proves such a hit with viewers that the broadcaster starts wheeling him out to gibber at the audience on live TV. Although it does feature a lot of old white guys shouting about things, the real star is Faye Dunaway as a terrifyingly ambitious studio executive. It's also surprisingly funny.

Archangel (Guy Maddin, 1990)

This oddball low budget picture from the Canadian roffler is set during the Allied intervention in Archangel during the Russian Civil War, with a main character suffering from amnesia that leads to events happening over and over again for reasons. They don't make them like this anymore and probably never did.

The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949)

This is based on a novel by Ayn Rand, who is bad, so the film must be bad, right? WRONG. This is in fact a highly enjoyable film about an egomaniacal architect played by Gary Cooper who won't let anyone tell him how to design buildings, not even his clients, with the result that he spends a lot of his time earning his living doing things other architecture. He also has woman-trouble and is being persecuted by an evil journalist who appears to be some kind of communist. Because Cooper is super-swoony he is able to get away with delivering an interminable Ayn Rand speech that wins everyone over, thereby letting him build his stupid buildings, which appear to combine Le Corbusier's worst nightmares with Mies van der Rohe sleekness.

On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)

In this film about a corrupt union that is exploiting its members while being in league with the employers we have memorable lines such as "I could have been a contender" or memorable scenes such as Marlon Brando confessing to Eva Marie Saint that he unwittingly set up her brother to be killed as dockyard noises drown out his words. Or the film that teaches you why looking "like Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront" would be such a big deal. A superb film with strong performances from Brando, Saint, Karl Malden (as a priest) and the always reliable Lee Cobb as Johnny Friendly, the union boss.

In A Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)

A dark, dark film in which Humphrey Bogart excels himself as a deeply damaged man (PTSD from the war is hinted at) who finds himself under suspicion for a murder we know he didn't commit. Whether he ends up taking the rap or being exonerated is almost an irrelevance, as he is clearly going to end up killing someone or being murdered himself, regardless of the situation when the film ends.

images:

Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront (Little White Lies: Why I love Eva Marie Saint’s performance in On the Waterfront)

Humphrey Bogart ([FILMGRAB]: In a Lonely Place)

2024: My Favourite New Films

I am finally getting round to posting about my favourite things of 2024. You can see the last post in this series here or all of them here. Now I turn to my favourite new films of the year before last.

Since Yesterday: the Untold Story of Scottish Girl Bands (Blair Young & Carla J. Easton)

An enjoyable film about Scottish all-women/girl bands, of which there were not too many.

Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (David Hinton)

Directed by David Hinton but it feels Martin Scorsese is the auteur here. Not only does he narrate this film about the British film-makers, he also talks about his own relationship to their films (and to Michael Powell personally) as well as their influence on his own film-making.

Devo (Chris Smith)

Useful documentary about the Akron band that never mentions their Subgenius links while nevertheless making them abundantly clear to anyone "in the know".

Sidonie au Japon (Élise Girard)

A rare non-depressing film starring Isabelle Huppert, in which she plays an author on a promotional tour of Japan who finds herself being haunted by her recently deceased husband except it's more about her coming to terms with her grief than a ghost story as such. Surprisingly funny.

City of Wind (Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir)

A teenage boy in Ullan Bator has to grapple with normal adolescent stuff while also being a shaman who helps people engage with the spirit world. The film leaves somewhat open whether all this shaman stuff is charlatanry, with the protagonist giving the impression he is none-too-sure either.

I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun)

Two misfits bond over love of a YA fantasy TV series that they start taking way too seriously. Schoenbrun's films are often seen as trans-allegories, and I get it, there is some gender-identity stuff going on here, but this felt more like it was about neurodivergence and obsessive fandom generally.

Crossing (Levan Akin)

A woman travels with a gormless young lad from Georgia (polyphonic singing, not banjos) to Istanbul in search of her trans niece who has moved there and disappeared.

Dune 2 (Denis Villeneuve)

They love that spice.

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (Johann Grimonprez)

As previously discussed, this is that documentary about jazz in the cultural Cold War and the shameful overthrow and murder of Patrice Lumumba, the Congo's first prime minister.

About Dry Grasses (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Another long Ceylan film about people in the Anatolian sticks, in this case about a not-particularly likeable teacher who finds himself accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female student. Film should have people from the Turkish Tourist Board signing you up for holidays as you leave the cinema.

Perfect Days (Wim Wenders)

He cleans toilets, he listens to cassettes, he gets on with life, he is reminded of past unpleasantness. Previously reviewed.

The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)

The bad thing is already happening. You can't see it but you hear it in the distance.

The Zone of Interest image source (An Táin Arts Centre)

2024: My Favourite Newly Discovered Old Songs

It's just possible there is someone out there who would like to read about old songs I heard for the first time in 2024. If so, this is for you.

My last post discussed a compilation I made of my favourite new tunes of 2024. I also made a compilation of tracks from before 2024 that I heard for the first time last year. Join me as I talk you through the tracks. Many of them are from 2023, illustrating yet again how I am often slightly behind the curve. I have also made a Spotify playlist of these tracks, but it is missing one key tune.

Peter Gabriel "No Self Control" (1980) (from the Ace Records compilation Fantastic Voyage - New Sounds For The European Canon 1977-1981)

So yeah, Peter Gabriel, he's very famous. I know some of his Genesis stuff and I remember when he had big hits with songs like "Sledgehammer" from the So album but I am not really familiar with his earlier solo material, for all that I know people like it. This track is from a compilation of music supposedly influenced by David Bowie's Berlin records. I like how edgy it sounds, with the recurring line "I don't know how to stop, I don't know how to stop" becoming quite disturbing when coupled with "You know I hate to hurt you, I hate to see your pain". Also there is the savage Phil Collins drumming.

Decisive Pink "What Where (2023)" (from Ticket To Fame)

Decisive Pink are a weirdo pop duo comprising Angel Deradoorian and Kate NV. Deradoorian was previously in Dirty Projectors and NV wasn't. They played at Le Guess Who in 2023 and I thought they might be worth seeing but couldn't get to them. That's probably all you need to know.

Broadcast "Roses Red" (from Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009)

This collection of demos was released last year but I'm including this track in my collection of not-2024 songs on the basis that it was recorded a long time ago. I still feel sad thinking about Trish Keenans' passing.

Orion Rigel Dommisse "Hewn" (2014) (from Omicron)

This track appears on an album released by that Italians Do It Better record label of that guy from Chromatics. Now, the typical non-Chromatics IDIB record is released by a female artist singing in a Europorn accent to a heavily electronic accompaniment, but this one appears to be by someone for whom English is their first language making music a bit less electronically focussed than that of her IDIB stablemates. She doesn't seem to have released very much since the album this came from but investigation reveals that she is playing gigs supporting other IDIB artists so maybe she will release something new soon.

Miles Davis "One And One" (1972) (from On the Corner)

Some years ago I spent all day in the Irish Museum of Modern Art watching the Stan Douglas video art exhibit Luanda-Kinshasa, which aimed to replicate the feel of mid-1970s Miles Davis recording some fusion record in a studio. The music in it was so great that I became keen to listen to more of the Miles Davis tunes that had inspired it so I initially picked up a copy of Bitches Brew, but it wasn't quite the same (plus my cat actively hated it). Someone mentioned however that his album On the Corner is more like what I had described Luanda-Kinshasa as sounding like, so I picked up a copy and yes it is. It is also a pretty crazy record and you can imagine all the oldschool jazzers being all "I may be broadminded but FUCK THIS SHIT".

Grauzone "Eisbär" (1981) (from the Ace Records compilation Fantastic Voyage - New Sounds For The European Canon 1977-1981)

Another track from that compilation of Berlin Bowie influenced sounds. Who among us has not wished they were a polar bear?

Model/Actriz "Slate" (2023) (from Dogsbody)

Another act I missed at Le Guess Who 2023. Someone bigged them up to me and I bought the album because I am impressionable.

Meljoann "O Supervisor" (2021) (from H.R.)

Another home-made R&B classic from the massively successful alternate universe pop star. It also has a typically bonkers home-made video that I encourage readers to check out.

The Crystal Teardrop "Nine Times Nine" (2023)

The Crystal Teardrop, neo-psych sensations and cat fanciers.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. "Crystal Sun and Silver Moon" (2023) (from Shall We Return to Outer Space?)

Everyone loves Acid Mothers Temple apart from a number of people whose unsound opinions have been registered with the proper authorities.

Not on Spotify, so follow the link to Bandcamp to hear the track.

Valentina Goncharova (feat. Alexander Aksenov) "Reincarnation II" (from Recordings 1987-1991, Vol. 2 )

An odd piece of contemporary classical adjacent music from the interesting Ukrainian label Muscut.

Natalia Beylis "Afloat In Fog And Feathers" (2023) (from Mermaids)

Natalia Beylis has become a powerhouse figure in Irish experimental music. I came into her orbit through the Hunters Moon festival, which she was involved in organising, but it is only in more recent years that I have come to appreciate what an astonishingly impressive artist she is.

Jrpjej "Quedzoque Tole Tsık’u (Altıdoquehe Dolet tsık’u yi wored)" (2023) (from Şefitse: Circassian Songs of XX Century)

Jrpjej are ethnic Circassian musicians from Russia, although I think they skipped out of there following the commencement of the unpleasantness. The album this track comes from was released on 21 May 2023, the day on which Circassians commemorate the massacres and ethnic cleansing inflicted on their kinfolk in the late 19th century, an event sometimes characterised as the Circassian Genocide.

Alasdair Roberts, Amble Skuse & David McGuinness "The Fair Flower Of Northumberland" (2018) (from What News)

"The Fair Flower of Northumberland" is one of those well known folk tunes and I have heard a good few different versions of it (including one by the Unthanks). This sees Roberts singing while McGuinness plays piano and Skuse provides mysterious electronic treatments.

Rachel Unthank & The Winterset "I Wish" (2007) (from The Bairns)

This is another olde folk tune from the early Unthanks album I mentioned in the last mailing. I think this is another song a lot of people have sung.

ØXN "The Trees They Do Grow High" (2023) (from Cyrm)

And finally we have this widely performed traditional tune, here by weird folk supergroup ØXN, with Katie Kim on lead vocals.

Cyrm image link

2024: My Favourite New Songs

Back at the start of 2025 I made a compilation of my favourite new songs of 2024. I shared it with some of my music fan buds. Now at last I am writing about it here. If you would like a copy and are not someone who is going to shop me to the copyright cops, let me know.

I created a Spotify playlist of these tunes, but some of the best ones are not to be found on that evil platform.

Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou Lalla Aicha 1 (from L´Bnat)

This is gnawa music from Morocco, which I understand to be a form of devotional music associated with the somewhat mystical Sufi strain of Islam. This lot are apparently unique in that they are all women, with gnawa music usually a male preserve. I saw them performing at Le Guess Who in Utrecht and was very taken with their call-response vocals, odd percussion, and Hamzaoui's playing of the sintir, which has a sound highly reminiscent of the Ethiopian bèguèna (as heard on Éthiopiques Vol. 11: The Harp of King David)

Mohammad Syfkhan Do You Have a Lover or Not? (from I Am Kurdish)

Syfkhan is an Irish based Kurd from Syria. He sings and plays the bouzouki to a programmed accompaniment. Not completely different to the music of Omar Souleyman (also a Syrian Kurd). While the live bouzouki forces things to be a bit less frenetic than with Souleyman, this will still have you bopping around your kitchen.

Mohammad Syfkhan is not on Spotify. This track is a total banger so I urge you to check it out on Bandcamp.

Deradoorian Digital Gravestone

I get it, it sounds a bit like Can's "Mother Sky". Angel Deradoorian used to be in the Dirty Projectors but left them at around the time people stopped being interesting in that band. She releases music on her own but also as half of Digital Pink. I think this is a taster for a forthcoming album and the lyrics might reference the Armenian Genocide, a horrendous event occurring around the time of the First World War (Deradoorian is herself of Armenian background).

Throwing Muses Drugstore Drastic

Fucking hell are Throwing Muses still going? This is another taster for an approaching album and I would be surprised at how strong this sounds if their last album (2000's Sun Racket) had not been a complete belter.

The Crystal Teardrop Running Out Of Time

Psych revivalists, but good.

Jane Weaver Love In Constant Spectacle (from Love in Constant Spectacle)

Title track from the divine Jane's wonderful recent album.

Maria Somerville Projections

I heard this on the radio and thought "I'd buy that piece of engaging neo-shoegaze for a dollar." Apparently Irish artist Somerville has been around for a while and released at least one mini-album but people are excitedly looking forward to the new album for which this is another taster.

Mary & The Pigeons Charcoal Wings (from Like Water)

In Stoneybatter there is this guy who feeds pigeons in front of his house, which has led to a division of opinions. The pigeons are generally in favour of his generosity, as are members of the rodent community, but quite a few human residents of the local area are hostile. Mary Barnecutt however is on team pigeon; hence the name of her band. She sings and plays cello, usually in combination with some other musicians, and is an intriguing and compelling performer.

Fears 4th of the 1st (from Affinity)

Mopetronica from London-based Irish artist whose real name is Constance Keane. I was unaware of her existence until a friend included one of her tracks on a previous end of year compilation.

Meljoann Bye

The poptastic sounds of Meljoann mean that she is very famous in an alternate universe. She makes her own videos and you can see the one for this song here.

Party Dozen Coup De Gronk (from the compilation TRL 2024)

I do not know anything about these people other than that they appeared on the compilation album TRL 2024, which I somehow ended up acquiring.

Morah Den Ise Edo (from the compilation Enough!)

Another track from a compilation, this time a fundraiser for Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah's Children's Fund, which attempts to bring medical aid to children in Gaza and also Lebanon. I can find no information whatsoever about Morah online, but you can read more about the Children's Fund here.

Also not on Spotify.

Ex-Easter Island Head Easter (from Norther)

A clearly gamelan influenced track from another band I saw at Le Guess Who.

NCH Gamelan Orchestra Lancaran Degung (from Kyai Jati Roso)

This is from the advanced National Concert Hall gamelan group, which plays music from the Javanese gamelan tradition.

Sanggar Sidakaria Gabor Dance (from Palegongan)

Let's edge it up with a recording of some more gamelan… only this time from Bali, where they have their own separate gamelan tradition. You have to imagine this and the previous track fighting each other.

Not on Spotify.

Loula Yorke Falling apart together (from Volta)

Because I am very impressionable I bought a copy of the Volta album when someone I know posted on social media about how a friend had released a record. This is the kind of oldschool analogue synth stuff Momma used to make.

Cormorant Tree Oh Terror Of The Countryside (from Moonish)

You know the way all Indian actors have Khan as their surname but claim not to be related to each other? In Ireland it is like that with women making oddball electronic music except they are called Keane and not Khan. Here we have a track from Cormorant Tree Oh, the trading name of Mary Keane, who makes music that uses electronics a bit but also various acoustic instruments as well as her voice. I think she is such an amazing artist that I was almost loth to include a track by her on this compilation for fear that some of my less house-trained buds would respond with a "what's this shite?" comment about her tune.

Souterrains Dead & Gone (from Souterrains)

This ties in with an art project about climate change and stuff. Here we have what is meant to be a tune made by someone in the future as they travel across the chain of islands and swamps that sit where Ireland used to be.

Not on Spotify.

Ian Lynch Máirseáil Chrapchosach (from All You Need Is Death OST)

Maybe you have seen the film All You Need Is Death in which case you will know what this is like. If not it I can reveal that it is droney folky possibly electronic music.

The Unthanks Dear Companions (from In Winter)

This combines Becky Unthanks' lyrics to a traditional American tune. This is one I know from singing it at Unthanks singing weekends and (spoiler) it does go a bit singing weekend towards the end.