Greetings from a converted wool store somewhere in Kent, where we are taking a very much needed break from all the stuff and the things. An increasing number of you are, in the face of spiking travel costs and the ongoing nightmare of getting through customs, cottoning onto something we realised a long time ago — the UK is a pretty nice place to go for a holiday. C and I are easily pleased—a few castles and gardens, maybe a trip to the seaside, some good food and drink, and we’re sorted. Splash out on a holiday rental and you can set your own agenda, come and go as you please. Why make life hard for yourselves? You’re supposed to be on holiday, after all.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you holiday, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
In The Moon Of Red Ponies by James Lee Burke. A pleasing discovery on the small bookshelf here at the wool store, from one of America’s most under-rated writers. Distinct Cape Fear vibes as a vicious rodeo clown, newly and wrongly released from prison, tracks down the lawyer who sent him down. Burke’s eye for detail and mordant sense of humour make everything he writes worth the look. I’m pleased I found this. A holiday read with a bit of bite.
Rob is watching…
Ride Or Die. An eye-rolling cliche of a plot (skilled and deadly assassin has to reveal their secret to a loved one and coincidentally bring them along for one last mission) is utterly transformed by the two MCs and a focus on society’s erasure of Women Of A Certain Age. It helps that the assassin and her best pal are played by Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, who bring the roles completely to life. This is propulsive, hilarious and quietly touching all at once. Solid action comedy which hopefully will help to spark More Of This Sort Of Thing. (Cf. Riot Women, I guess, which has the same kind of energy).
Rob is listening…
To Massive Attack, touring again and they’ve somehow talked the reclusive Lis Fraser into joining them on stage. Scenes ensue.
‘Teardrop on the fire/fear the summer’ is starting to sound a bit too presient for me right now in the face of this heat.
Rob is eating…
Lots of barbecue. I’ll be talking about this in depth soon, because what the world needs now is one more middle-aged white bloke rambling on about smoke rings and maintaining temp for eight hours.
You’ll be begging me to go back to Ninth Art wibble.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Based on the appearances of Erling and Hannah in this newsletter over the past fortnight, I appear to be developing a thing for dangerous blonde giants. Sorry you had to hear that, but we’re all friends here, judgement free zone, right?
Look, I’m not the one to talk about the state of modern music, as my choice of tunes for the Outro make abundantly clear. But, according to music writer Joe Muggs, there is an argument for optimism. There’s a lot of great stuff out there. You just need to know where to look and, more importantly, who to talk to.
I was distressed beyond reason to hear Sam Neill has passed. He was always one of the good ones. Apart from the funny stories on chat shows and his charming interactions with sheep on the socials, it seems he was a solid inspiration for a whole generation of scientists. And they say acting is just reading out loud.
There are 41 venues on the planet where you can see The Odyssey as director Christoper Nolan intended it—on a very big screen using a 70mm print. Three of those are in the UK. The southern hemisphere has just one, in Melbourne, Australia. Not surprising then that some fans are booking very long road trips to see the movie.
Film-making is a precarious business, and the chances of your passion project making it to the big screen are frighteningly miniscule. Here’s an eye-opening tale from documentarian Adam Bhala Lough on one project which went south for reasons that, even now, no-one can properly explain.
This is quite geeky, I won’t lie, and a lot of the charm in this piece depends on your tolerance for dewy-eyed elegies to old software and work stations. It’s worth remembering, the T-1000 shots in Terminator 2 sent a shockwave through an industry which was still running on practical effects, model work and multiple film-exposure trickery. The Avatar films started here.
Another oral history of a classic moment in film history—how the ‘bend-and-snap’ moment in Legally Blonde came to be. C and I only saw it recently and, outdated gender politics aside, it still holds together. I mean, there’s a new prequel series up on the streamings telling the early adventures of Elle right now!
Napalm Death do a Tiny Desk concert. I am delighted.
Grace Dent, everyone’s favourite party auntie, is giving out great advice on Threads and Insta. She is always hilarious, frequently wise and never unopinionated. Put a bit of Grace in your life, you won’t regret it.
One last long bit from Alec Worley on lessons learned from twenty years of freelance writing. Honestly, if I had a proper writing room I’d print this out and stick it on the walls so it’s constantly in eyesight.
In conclusion.
Once, we believed Max Headroom was the way artificial intellegence would look and behave.
I miss those days.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 