music for december

Music for this month is tending back towards the mainstream, basically filling a few gaps in my collection. On the physical side, my copy of It Won't End That Way by The Twoks arrived courtesy of Xani (who I believe is doing her Masters recital in Melbourne RSN). Not bad, but I think I preferred the limited release EP No Matter What. Definitely shifting more toward the jazz school of thought than her original avant-garde stuff. And hopefully my copy of Abney Park's Aether Shanties will soon be winging it's way across the Pacific to me via fast airship. And equally hopefully it won't end up being worshipped by a Cargo Cult somewhere (although from what I have heard of it so far it is worthy of the honour). I really must take the opportunity to raid their Treasure Vault some time. On the more ethereal side (it is ethernet, after all), I've picked up the remaining two albums of The Changelings, Amphibian and Terra Firma, and two of Helium Vola's EPs, In lichter Farbe stet de Wald and Veni Veni. Basically filling holes in my collection more than for any intrinsic quality. And some of Vittrad by Swedish folk group Garmarna to finish off the month, to satisfy my now unfulfilled folk-rock addiction.

god's talking to manchester

Paradox is a quite interesting BBC series in the same vein as Flash Forward. In this case however, a solar research satellite is receiving eight cryptic pictures from the future of a crime/accident. DI Flint and her team then has about 18 hours to solve the clues and stop (or not*) the event. Unfortunately the Ministry of Defence is very interested in this happenstance, which means that not only have they hit the police originally contacted about the event over the head with the Official Secrets Act, but they are also more interested in verifying the event than actually stopping it. Even if it inconveniences the investigation and endangers the team. Meanwhile the research physicist who discovered the images and sought police help is torn between helping the team and the demands of the Ministry and his boss, and studying the science of the event. As he says, "I'm a physicist. Proof means something different to me." The fact that he is not keen on even attempting to explain high-level quantum physics to plods just exacerbates the matter, especially since this discovery has the potential to upset the physic's apple-cart and he is rather unwilling to hypothesise in advance of the science. The fact that the police can't really understand why the boffin doesn't really know what's happening just makes the tension between them greater. Like Flash Forward the subplot deals heavily with the effects of foreknowledge on belief and philosophy of free will and predestination. It will be interesting to see what comes of it. * The idea whether it is actually possible to change time is an important aspect of the story, so I'm not going to reveal whether they succeed or fail. You'll have to watch and see what happens.