2006 - Half a year in focus

As we haven’t been around for the first half of 2006, what follows is a brief guide to the best I’ve experienced so far this year in each field of the arts.

Music:

Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
[Experimental]
Much maligned experimental trio create a concept album worthy of attention. Unlike their previous LP of noise, distortion, feedback and a bit more noise, Drum’s Not Dead has an unexpected hypnotic quality underneath the walls of percussion and falsetto wails. They even have a crack at a ‘normal’ song at the end, too! 86

Games:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, X360)
[RPG]
Yes, the battles, skill system, dialogue and story have all been dumbed down to give the series mainstream appeal, but the unexpected linearity lends the game a pace and cohesion severely lacking in Morrowind. Hundreds of side quests still exist for the determined, mind, and the depth of Oblivion is well beyond your standard GTA fare, so it should keep most purists, as well as newcomers, content. Did I mention it’s the best looking game of all time? 93

Film:

Inside Man
[Heist Thriller]
Not Spike Lee’s best but a clever, slick thriller with great performances from Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. If you don’t mind the familiar bank robbery build up in the first half hour it’s the year’s smartest mainstream release. However, with the main competition coming from the admittedly solid Wallace and Gromit it’s hardly been a fantastic year for cinema. 76

Books:

DBC Pierre – Ludmila’s Broken English
[Contemporary Fiction]
The dull shouting and screaming of the first hundred pages are rescued by Pierre’s unique use of sublime metaphors and fluid language, and from then on the main plot manifests itself terrifically. Overlook the author’s overzealous and hammy political commentary (the Siamese twin protagonists are named Blair and Gordon…) and at times this book is a joy to read; just don’t expect Vernon God Little 2. 82