HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ JAMES SMITH (FOX FOOD RECORDS)
* This Q&A with James from Fox Food Records is being re-broadcast from September 2016, but don't worry: top notch recommendations have a long shelf life.
#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?
I've been listening to a band based in Los Angeles called Hand Habits a lot lately.
They have a really cool, psychedelic sound and lead singer Meg’s vocals are beautiful. I think they are going to go on to some really big things and I can’t recommend them enough.
#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?
I’m not a big TV/film watcher I’m afraid. If I was going to watch a film I’d head to the indie section of Netflix. We recently watched a film called ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ which was actually really good. Funny, emotional and thought invoking (but not too much for a Saturday night watch).
3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE BOOK STORE (OK, PROBABLY AMAZON) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?
I mainly read poetry, although I must stress, I’m no poetry expert! I got Keaton Henson’s first collection called ‘Idiot Verse’ the other day as I’m a fan of his music (especially his Behaving alter ego) and I like his style of writing.
He comes at poetry, like his music, as a way of directly conveying his feelings, emotions and anxieties. This makes his poetry quite uncomfortable and straight to the point. It’s very sad at times but also very brave and poignant and I admire that very much. Here’s a video of one of his poems ‘Grow Old With Me’:
#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?
Again, I’m not very up on apps or gifs or the internet and stuff like that. Sorry... I'm a pretty rubbish choice for something like this.. but I did see a gif of a boy trying to shoot a ball through a basketball hoop the other day and failing miserably which cheered me up. It kind of sums up how I feel about life in general.
#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.
Not to sound too twee but I think we all just need to be nicer to each other. Look after each other, care for one another, make sure we’re all ok. Let’s start doing that more please. It will make everyone’s lives much better and more bearable.
OK folks, there you have it. Things that James thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you go start being all nice to everyone you meet… go follow Fox Food records on Twitter + Instagram + Facebook & go spend some time on their Bandcamp.
