Have we done this one before? Anyway, here goes:

3 Underrated Films:

The Dresser
One of my all-time favourite films. Albert Finney stars as an ageing Shakespearean Actor (based on the "great" Donald Wolfit) and Tom Courtenay as his "Dresser". Wonderfully funny and moving by turns, great acting of course and as endlessly quotable (in our house anyway) as Withnail or Tap. Was Oscar-nominated too. Almost completely forgotten today - definitely worth revisiting.

1492
Ridely Scott directs. Vangelis composes his best score. Depardieu and Weaver in the cast. Huge epic tale of Columbus and the "discovery" of America. I loved it. No-one else did.

The Godfather III
Obviously suffers in comparison to I and II but it is still a very good film. Talia Shire's character becomes a much more powerful figure and some of the supporting characters (Atobelli) really shine also. And Sofia Coppolla doesn't damage the film nearly as much as is often claimed.

3 Overrated Films

Paris Texas
Yes, it has the superb Ry Cooder score and Nastassja Kinski is in it, so it has more going for it than most films but ... so incredibly slow and uneventful. Many others love it - maybe I should give it another go.

The English Patient
Again, very slow and very very long. Kristin Scott-Thomas though..

Brazil
Tried to watch it but I always get an uncomfortable, claustrophobic feeling from it somehow. Maybe that's intentional. Can't watch it.

Any other films which are considered overrated or underrated?

The version of "God Only Knows" on Bowie's Tonight album appears to be universally despised - often considered to be the low point of arguably the weakest album in Bowie's oeuvre. I think it's pretty good though, possibly because this was my first exposure to "God Only Knows" and so I invested much of my appreciation of the song in this particular version. The original is better of course but I still retain a soft spot for the Bowie cover.

Anyone care to speak up for any other really unpopular songs? Fans of "I Just Called To Say I Love You" perhaps? "Ebony and Ivory"? "We Built This City" (actually I quite like that one too...).

A few weeks ago I played some Creedence Clearwater Revival in the car and my 4 y.o. daughter really enjoyed it, much to my delight. Since then however, on the way to nursery it's been "Put on Suzie Q, Daddy", followed by Proud Mary and Bad Moon Rising, by which time we are at the nursery. Now don't get me wrong - I love these songs (and it is a big improvement on her previous musical fixations - Mika, James Blunt, Singing Kettle) but hearing them every weekday morning for the last 3 weeks I fear that my enthusiasm for them is beginning to wane...

Any other examples of having your enjoyment of a song diminished by overexposure?

Most artists' oeuvres contain at least one album which, whilst by no means being a career low, do not appear to be anyone's favourites and tend to get overlooked somewhat. I'm thinking of the likes of: Beatles For Sale; Black and Blue; Planet Waves; Lodger etc. Just wondering if anyone cares to speak up for underpraised albums, or do they deserve to be considered as minor works only?

My own example is the Pixies' Bossanova, which I think is superior to the more feted Dolittle and Surfer Rosa. Its a much poppier affair, and all the better for it I think.

Copies of “A Christmas Carol” in my local supermarket got me thinking about the persistent appeal of this story and also how Scrooge is universally recognised as a symbol of greed and miserliness. How many other literary allusions can be made these days with confidence that almost any audience will immediately understand the meaning? Put another way, what allusions might you expect to find (without any further explanation) in a tabloid newspaper? Here’s the ones I can think of:

Scrooge
Romeo
Catch 22
Achilles Heel
Trojan Horse

A pretty short list. “Big Brother” would have been in there 10 years ago but the original allusion has long been superseded. Sadly, “Walter Mitty” would probably now fail the Tabloid Test. There must be more - are there any others you can think of?

There are plenty of examples of performers who had an excellent debut then failed to live up to their original promise. A less common career trajectory would be some weak early releases, then one great album, followed by a return to mediocrity. I'm sure there is at least one example of this but I can't think of any at the moment. Any suggestions?

The recent thread on double albums got me thinking - what would be the longest album ever? Not counting box sets or floor-sweeping collections of outtakes of course - I mean the longest set of new recordings an artist has seen fit to release as an entity. The longest in my collection I think would be Emancipation by Prince - a triple CD set with a running time of about 3 hours. Anyone know of longer sets? Also, are there any examples of very long albums (say over 2 hours or so) that can actually justify their great length?

Played this month's Cover CD on the drive to work today - every single song has its merits and there are 7 or 8 standout tracks, the pick of the bunch on first listen being the song by Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts. Would just like to express by appreciation to the Word staffers, since being somewhat "time poor" these days (3 young children + 1 on the way) these CDs provide my only real opportunity to hear some decent new music (Later... is my other source but it can be a bit patchy). Of the 15 acts featured on this month's CD, 11 were completely new to me and would otherwise have almost certainly remain completely unheard by these ears. Thanks again chaps.

Just read an article which mentioned The Mekons, which reminded me of their album called "The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen", with a chimp sitting at a typewriter on the cover. Excellent stuff.

Other favourite album titles and covers?

Been thinking a bit recently about the extent to which external factors (weather, time of day etc) influence musical appreciation and how certain types of music are particularly suitable (or unsuitable) for specific conditions. As usual, these are very much personal responses but here are some of my more unexpected findings:

- Dub reggae is just the job for very late-night driving

- I've been a fan of The Fall for most of the last 30 years but I've always found it near-impossible to even think about listening to them when its hot outside.

- Strangest of all, although I normally can't stand it, a bit of Thrash Metal can sometimes sound good first thing in the morning. Quite invigorating (for about 30 seconds anyway). A bit like a cold shower I suppose.

Any other suggestions for unexpectedly good/bad situations for types of music?

Songs which make you smile, cheer you up a bit, make you feel the world is a slightly better place after hearing them. Here are my 3 suggestions - a bit poppy, a bit mainstream but they work for me:

I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Mmm Bop - Hanson
Hot Love - T. Rex

Its obviously quite a personal thing (many may disagree with the Hanson selection I guess). Interested to hear other feelgood song suggestions...

Four band members, four singers, four songwriters: sharing the lead vocals and song credits pretty much equally. All equally good. No obvious band leader.

10cc

Any other examples of such in-band egalitarianism?

Reading through recent threads, it is clear that the Word readership is a broad church, with examples of praise (and criticism) being given to pretty much all artists, from all genres. There is however one band which seems to unite Word readers in universal disapproval:

Coldplay

I don't think I've seen a single word of defence for Coldplay on this site (they've come in for a bit of a shoeing on some recent threads in fact). Personally I'm neither up nor down about them but I'm not sure why they seem to be disliked so much. Is it largely due to their general popularity/ubiquity? Is anyone willing to come out in their favour?

On the other side of the coin, a few acts seem impervious to criticism on this site - Richard Thompson; Nick Lowe. Anyone want to disagree with this consensus of praise (I don't!)?

Watching the re-runs of The Sopranos on More4 the other night, I noticed something which I missed the first time round:

In the hospital scene, Ralphie approaches a consultant and says "Please allow me to introduce myself". ["Hullo?" I thought...]

In a later scene (at the Bing or something), Ralphie is heard to say "Pleased to meet you". ["Hmm.." I'm thinking]

THE CLINCHER: Ralphie visits Father Phil to give his confession, who then says "Were you there when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain?" [!!!]

So its official - Ralphie is the Devil incarnate. And, brilliantly, this is the first episode that we actually feel some sympathy towards him!

Marvellous stuff. And in every episode there are about a dozen moments of brilliance like this. Are there any other serious challengers to its status as Greatest TV Drama Ever?

Occurred to me the other day that I don't think I've ever witnessed a real live drum solo. This may be due to my gig-going starting a bit after their heyday, or it may just be that the performers I've seen over the years tended not to go in for that sort of thing. (Incidentally, I obviously don't include "let's meet the band" 15 second showcases as "drum solos"; nor does 45 minutes of Evelyn Glennie bashing and tinkling various bits of percussion really count either). Anyway, I'd be interested to know:

1. Is anyone out there still regularly doing drum solos? If not, when did they (ie the drum solos) actually die out?

2. Were they ever any good, musically speaking? Or was it all about the experience and "being there"?

3. What's the longest drum solo anyone's experienced? Anything over 10 minutes would be impressively daunting...