Listopia 2014

I like writing my yearly summary lists on the first of January- because what if something universe altering will happen late on the 31st of December? Well, nothing ever did, but I am still somehow hoping. Maybe I can organize a movie marathon this year, or listen to all the overlooked albums in one go and find a hidden gem. As things stand however, here is a totally subjective list of concerts, songs, albums and movies I loved this year.

 Anna Calvi/March/A38

 Foals/July/VOLT

  Arctic Monkeys/July/VOLT 

La Roux/August/Sziget

 Miles Kane/August/Sziget

Yasmine Hamdan/August/Sziget

Queens of the Stone Age/August/Sziget

Stromae/August/Sziget

St Vincent/October/A38

Triggerfinger/November/A38

It's been a pretty sweet year overall- I had dreamt of seeing St Vincent live at the beginning of the year, and not only did she come to the wonderful A38, but in the meantime she also released the album that would finish first on so many year end lists. (My preferences have no particular order, but let's say the top 3 is mostly accurate.) 

I dreamt of Arctic Monkeys and Foals- well they came as well, and although at first I was a bit cross about hurtling through half of Hungary all the way to Sopron, I have to say it was one of the highlights of the year. There's a particular bliss to being so dead tired waiting for the first train in Sopron station that the whole world basically melts into a lucid dream. 

And then there's the Horrors, who were supposed to come, but cancelled in the end, so I decided why not cross half the continent for them. And that was also wonderful,for I finally my eternal dilemma of London vs Paris and well, there is of course a definite plus to seeing a British band on home turf. As I already mentioned, I was however slightly traumatized by the exile of my camera- while I do agree that having people shove smart phones into each other's faces or flash the band at the worst of times is a pure nuisance, I see no point in banning enthusiasts who actually come with the proper equipment and take good pictures. The live the moment argument also fails in my case- for I see no better way of living the moment than capturing it forever.

Given the epic success of my 2014 dreams, I'll aim for Interpol, Lykke Li and Perfume Genius this time, and see what comes out of it. It's quite encouraging that Sziget already has Florence and the Machine, ALT-J and Fauve on the line up- I sense another vintage year coming our way.

Perfume Genius- Queen
St Vincent- Digital Witness
Interpol- My Desire
The Horrors- I See You
Damon Albarn- Heavy Seas of Love
Jamie T- Love is Only a Heartbeat Away
Lykke Li- No Rest for the Wicked
Elliphant feat MO- One More
Triggerfinger- By Absence of the Sun
FKA Twigs- Two Weeks

St Vincent- St Vincent
Perfume Genius- Too Bright
Interpol- El Pintor
The Horrors- Luminous
Lykke Li- I Never Learn
La Roux-Trouble in Paradise
Leonard Cohen- Popular Problems
Jamie T- Carry on the Grudge
Caribou- One Love
Damon Albarn- Everyday Robots

When it comes to the movies, try as I might to restrict the list to 10, I felt physical pain each time I attempted throwing out one of the movies, so I said, 12, why the hell not, it will be my not at all dirty dozen. 2014 proved its greatness again. Well truth be said, some of the movies do actually date back to 2013, but I will spare you the rant about Eastern European film distribution and say I included the movies that I saw in 2014 and shaped my year and yet again, maybe it's for the best like this, because I actually love all these twelve movies and the more I look at them, the more I see them uniting into a strange wholeness. 

Only Lovers Left Alive
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inside Llewyn Davis
Under the Skin
Snowpiercer
Two Days One Night
Van valami furcsa és megmagyarázhatatlan (For Some Inexplicable Reason)
Ida
A Most Wanted Man
Guardians of the Galaxy
Her
Nebraska

Best Concerts of Sziget 2014 #1: Queens of the Stone Age

It probably seems a bit lacking in imagination to go for Queens of the Stone Age for the best Sziget concert as they were of course one of the more hyped acts. Yet we can admit that, with a lot of expectations weighing down on their shoulders, their falling flat on their faces was also in the cards. Their VOLT show from the previous year felt a bit lukewarm based on the reviews we’d read (yes, yes, always check local festivals before booking your summer holidays, lesson learned) and I just could not settle scores with the fact that they’ll be actually squeezed before deadmau5. All of which did not really matter, as this turned out to be a great day for science- and for Josh Homme, who felt strangely at ease and even indulged in some good humoured banter. Unlike many major acts who seem somewhat pale at non-UK festivals, they looked and especially sounded as their hearts were in it- throwing in No One Knows early on, they still had the force to get better and stronger with each song- as the lights went out over Sziget, so did their music feel heavier and darker-would it have been an even better show if it was dark all along? The question now seems superfluous- this was day zero and you knew no headliner would quite match this intensity. And sure enough, they didn't.

Sziget 2014 Diary- Day Zero

The only plausible reason as to why Brody Dalle isn't on the main stage at a much later time slot is that she has too many of the good things, namely X chromosomes. Any man with half her guitar skills and energy would be a celebrated rock god-well, you know, her husband IS, though truth be said, his overall skills are quite alright. But Brody of course still gets to be mostly his wife, alongside the remark: oh and she is quite good. That being an understatement, for she rocks, even at 4 PM, even in a hot tent, even with a scarce-ish crowd, even if she probably knows that she'd deserve so much better. Just to make things painfully poignant, she is followed on the A38 stage by a preposterous band with the preposterous name A Day to Remember, which seems a ball raised to the net for bagging a "day to forget' pun. I have duly already forgotten them. I faintly recall them blasting free t-shirts to the audience which is,of course, the epitome of musical credibility and we all know it.

Brody Dalle

A Day to For..I mean Remember

The main stage wasn't in a much different state: there is of course nothing inherently wrong with SKA-P: they are energetic, they play ska, festival goers love themselves some ska, there are some political statements, nothing to disturb the general merriment but just enough to make us feel good about ourselves- oh boy, I did try to save the planet today as well, didn't I? They also dress like random guys from the crowd who found a few odd items in the mess of their tent and put them on. So there's nothing wrong with that- it's just that there's no substance to it, but then again, it's a festival, we need them in all shapes and sizes. And once it's over, there's no need for sadness: SKA-P are one of those bands who'll be back on Sziget happily ever after.

Nothing beats flamingos when it comes to cheering up your tent

SKA-P

SKA-P

These people are all into ska

And so are these ones

The one thing festival goers love almost as much as ska are balloons. It is of very course hard letting go of your balloon: you have to fight scores of rabid Dutch to get hold of one, you grow emotionally attached to it over the course of a quarter of an hour or so, and then you have to set it free. A Sziget exercise in bonding and liberation. Because on Sziget we can pretend we're in the real word and not get hurt.

And then comes the most baffling part of the day: why on earth, why, and why again are Queens of the Stone Age not the headliners? Not that I have anything against deadmau5, his music is exciting enough to be the soundtrack of summer nights partied away into oblivion, but it simply has nothing to do with a headline slot on the main stage. That's for stone hard rockers from the desert. Finally a band who doesn't complain of Sziget heat- they're as hot and heavy as they come. Their sound weighs down on  the crowd and takes you places. As the dark gradually sets on the island, the track listing winds into their more sinewy stuff. This will be a day to remember after all. Cast in stone.

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age

PS: Deadmau5 was okay. He has cute ears.

deadmau5

deadmau5

The crowd is all into deadmau5