HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ TEMPERTWIG
* Providing the A's to the 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Q's today is Tempertwig — a late 90s / early 00s project from the south London Parker brothers (who you might know better from the Nosferatu D2 and The Superman Revenge Squad Band projects that followed later) that just got time-travelled to 2019 with an anthology release by Audio Antihero Records and Randy Sadage Records, which you can grab on Bandcamp now.
#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”?
ADAM PARKER: My current musical obsession is "Minds & Machines" by "The Mechanist" - they're an unsigned Metalcore band from Leeds, who are currently recording their debut album. They tick all the right boxes for me in terms of melody, heaviness, complicated songs and an awesome drummer.
BEN PARKER: I'm frequently playing a song Yèkèrmo Sèw by Mulatu Astatke these days. There's a warmth and simplicity to it that I really like.
#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)?
AP: This would have to be "Rick & Morty" - i finished the 3rd series a while back, and am eagerly awaiting the next one to start. It's just pure sillyness in bitesized 20 minute episodes.
BP: Watch the original "the taking of Pelham 123" for some unreconstructed 70s New York. Or just watch through some episodes of Columbo from the 70s.
#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)?
AP: I normally default to Pratchett when it comes to books (who i've been reading and re-reading since forever), but a standout book for me is "Speaker for the Dead" by "Orson Scott Card" - it centres on the central character Ender, and the first alien colony/planet discovered since he regretfully annihilated the previous one. Though I'd recommend reading the first book in the series "Ender's Game" to get the backstory (the film misses out a lot of the main plot).
BP: I really enjoyed Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist. A very odd book by the man that wrote let the right one in that is like a celebration of music before turning into a bloodbath.
#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?
AP: There aren't too many websites that i rely on (i'm not a fan of social media, and the way it's taken over everyone's lives), but if eBay were to suddenly disappear, i can't imagine many things worse - it's so convenient, and i couldn't even go back to regular shopping because all the decent shops have closed down in the wake of eBay’s rise to power.
BP: I look at the Guardian website quite a lot throughout the day, although these days it's pretty depressing reading about the news.
#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.
AP: This isn't an easy one to answer, as there's plenty of things i could and should be doing but don't... But i guess just making time for hobbies and things you enjoy doing is a big one - it's so easy to think you don't have time for something, but if you shoehorn it in, and dedicate some time for it, you can get more done than you realise.
BP: I think creating stuff is always pretty rewarding, be it a song or some writing or anything. I need to do more these days to be honest.
OK folks, there you have it. Things that the Parker brothers of Tempertwig think you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go find yourself a creative hobby to start doing, make sure to give a listen to ‘Comfort Blanket’ from the freshly unearthed anthology…
… and if you like what you hear go check out / grab the whole thing over on Bandcamp (and then go have a poke around the Audio Antihero back catalogue, where you’ll find some more Parker projects alongside a bunch more HI54 regulars).
