Notebook Letters 4.

'00s film favourites

Fave films of the '00s? The Dish, Dead Man's Shoes, Heaven, Wolf Creek, The Magdalene Sisters, Requiem, Garage and Das Experiment. PS: Thanks, Vortex and texters. Iain and Donald, Isle of Lewis

I will be lost without Vortex, having enjoyed contributing and being thrilled when my movie wittering is deemed printworthy. You have provided solace against a chill soon to be blowing into my life, and the near wasteland of British TV. t rivers, sussex

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 18th of November, 2009; 5/6.

Surprise endings suggestion

As an appropriate theme for Vortex to go out on, what about your favourite or surprise endings? Mine is the end of Planet of The Apes when Charlton Heston finds The Statue of Liberty. Rosie, Andover

I was sad to hear of the death of Edward Woodward. I loved watching The Equalizer on TV but, along with David Lynch's Eraserhead. The Wicker Man is one of my favourite cult films. RIP, Edward. Shaun, Hertford

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 18th of November, 2009; 6/6.

Top 50 albums of 2009

50) GABLE i'm OK

The Normandy trio make exotic pop that is associated with France, but so rarely achieved: playful, mysterious, full of hidden riffs. Under its primitive surface lurks smart memories.

49) DON'T MOVE! The New Pop Sound

An ironic title for an album that could have been found in a second-hand shop: tunes so classic you wonder why they haven't already been covered countless times.

48) THE DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD The Duckworth Lewis Method

A concept album about cricket should have been amusing for all of 10 seconds. Given that it's by Neil Hannon and the hidden gem that is Thomas Walsh, it's a succulent joy that bears as many plays as you want.

47) KID HARPOON Once

Trevor Horn's production got the attention, but the long-awaited debut would have been nothing without dreamy, colourful songs without it.

46) THE DRUMS Let's Go Surfing

Complete with the best whistling solo since Young Folks, the Californians marked their Faces of 2010 spot with a ridiculously catchy single. Cool? No. Puppyish adorable? Yes.

45) VV BROWN Shark In The Water

It's baffling why her career hasn't taken off, as she's one of the most subtly eccentric talents around. Keep up this standard, and she should yet be massive.

44) BLEECH The Worthing Song

The East London trio channel Kenickie's spirit with exemplary shouty pop-punk, with an insouciant attitude matched by the cheeky case of their songs.

43) MUSIC GO MUSIC Just Me

In which the previously hidden talents of Bodies of Water drop their alt-pop facades to go, well, pop- utterly irresistible Mamas And The Papas harmonies by way of The Cardigans. Their debut album should be a classic.

Teletext page 823; 19th of November, 2009.

La Roux taking music backwards

The acts that have made the best albums in the '00s are Interpol, Bloc Party, Ryan Adams, The Longcut and Phoenix. They represent music going forwards, whereas it's currently going backwards with the likes of La Roux. The Cardinal

I dislike Christmas and all its trappings but, every year, I play Here Comes Fatty Claus by Rudolph And The Gang, and I guarantee it will bring a smile to anyone's face. You'll still be singing it in January. The Reverend

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 1/7.

Knitted character welcome distraction

The appearance of The Knitted Character from TV Burp on Later Live on Tuesday proved a welcome distraction from Roger Taylor droning on about yet another Queen compilation. DJ Gordy

I'm saddened to see PS go, and best of luck to Earls with WET Records. I'll buy any 7"s they release. But please don't fill the last few weeks with Top 10 lists that are no fun. I've read it since the BSV days; many thanks for the news, reviews and debate. James Taylor

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 2/7.

Lawler a master

I'm hoping for big things from Codeine Velvet Club, whose eponymous debut album is fantastic. Jon Lawler is a master songwriter who deserves to be remembered for more than the beer-swilling hijack of Dolly Dagger. Here We Stand is my album of the decade. Ralph Wiggum

My favourite Christmas song is All i Want For Christmas Is A Beatle by Dora Bryan, even more memorable when it's warped and out of tune. Art LDN

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 4/7.

Dark times ahead

Only four weeks left of PS? Dark times for music indeed- Christmas un-present, if you will. Jude Green

One of many things I'll miss about PS is Earls' witty vicious attacks on certain singers. I didn't always agree, but he was spot on most of the time, like calling N--Dubz "musical sewage". The one that made me laugh the most was advising Rik Waller to go away and sing: "A finger of Fudge is just enough." Classic. Disco Stu

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 5/7.

Ure production a gift

Call me unfashionable, but I still get a chill listening to the first two verses of Do They Know It's Christmas? Midge Ure's production makes it a festive classic. Nicko

There have been far too many deaths in hip hop this year, and now one of our own has passed away. Derek B wasn't as credible in early British hip hop as Gunshot or Hijack, but he'll be remembered as our first MC to make it in the mainstream. Rich Barrettt

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 5/7.

Top 10 albums of the decade

2000) The Friends of Rachel Worth The Go Betweens
2001) You Are Missing Winner The Fall
2002) Modulate Bob Mould
2003) Client Client
2004) To The 5 Boroughs Beastie Boys
2005) First Comes First The Paddingtons
2006) My Dark Places TV Personalities
2007) Men's Needs The Cribs
2008) Everything Is Borrowed The Streets
2009) Kings And Queens Jamie T

Zachary Gallagher

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of November, 2009; 6/7.

Third time lucky for Bond?

Jen- I think you should wait and see what Daniel Craig's next stab at 007 is like. The third film is usually the best for actors who played Bond more than twice. A shame for Timothy Dalton, who I believe would have cemented the role for himself. Armani, West Yorks

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of November, 2009; 1/6.

Candidate for best ending

Favourite shock ending, without spoiling it for you, Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Peter, Saxmundham

The best films I discovered through Vortex: Bad Boy Bubby, City of God, Cypher, Cube, Open Your Eyes, Dark City, Immortal, Vidocq and Taxidermin. Max, Kettering

Unlike the VHS problem, at least DVDs play on Blu-Rays. Duane, Hull

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of November, 2009; 2/6.

Film crit history 101

In Mel Brooks' History of The World, a caveman urinating on the first cave painting has been dubbed The First Art Critic. I guess we'll have to find another wall, Vortexters. Peter, Wakefield

Nina- You say Marilyn Monroe can't act, then recommend Jayne Mansfield. Now that's funny! Michael, Accrington

Hollywood's most realistic love affair was War of The Roses. James, York

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of November, 2009; 3/6.

'80s poser answered

Jason- The '80s film with Johnny B Goode being sung by the man with electric powers was Misfits of Science, a TV pilot (also starred Courteney Cox). Dave, Banbury

Best movie ending? Carrie. I know it's coming but it's so well timed, it still makes me jump every time. Bob, Slough

My favourite film ever is Blade Runner (1982) and the worst is Jaws 4 (1986). What's yours? Paul, Hailsham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of November, 2009; 4/6.

Goodbye, farewell

Just want to say I'll miss the Vortexters. My fave films are Casino, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Godfather 1-3, Child's Play 1-3, Blow and Menace 2 Society. Birdy, Portsmouth

I just saw Star Trek on Blu-Ray. It was brilliant. I was quite surprised by the relationship between Spock and Uhura. I can't wait for a sequel. L, Bromley

Alexander is great- if shown on on a full HD projector. Bill, Glenrothes

Vortex; 19th of November, 2009; 5/6.

Pleasance viewing

Rosie- Good call with Planet of The Apes. After head scratching, we agreed on Donald Pleasance's eyes/ look at the end of The Caretaker. Iain and Donald, Isle of Lewis

A sad farewell to all Vortexters. Your comments have informed, entertained and infuriated me in equal measure, and they will be missed. As for Christmas films, you cannot beat Bob Clark's A Christmas Story. Funny, charming, not too schmaltzy. Duane, Hull

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of November, 2009; 6/6.

Quotations of the week

"I'm in Nottingham, the most violent city in the UK, I'm told." Darren Hayman on Twitter, hours before he was beaten up in the town."

"Darling, I loved you when I was a baby- that Road Rage song." Dappy confuses fellow Never Mind The Buzzcocks guest Martha Wainwright for Cerys Matthews.

"I'm a million per cent confident tey could be better than Oasis." Liam Gallagher talks up his new songs.

1/6.

The week ahead in gigs

Corinne Bailey Rae returns with a one-off London gig on Monday.

La Roux also plays a one-off gig in the capital, on Wednesday, as do My Life Story.

Continuing tours include Snow Patrol, Biohazard, Basia Bulat, Cate Le Bon, Das Pop, Codeine Velvet Club, The Cave Singers, Datarock, Filthy Dukes, Espers, Lisa Hannigan, Gomez, Malcolm Middleton and Port O'Brien.

2/6.

The week ahead in TV

Vampire Weekend's video for Cousins premieres on C4 (Fri, 11:55pm).

Hockey, Counting Crows and Melody Gardot do Live From Abbey Road (C4, Sun, 12:15am), followed by Mumford And Sons and Mariachi El Bronx on 4 Play.

Friendly Fires and Codeine Velvet Club do Intros (C4, Tue, 12am). Basshunter is on NMT Buzzcocks (BBC2, Wed, 10pm). Jamie T and Daniel Merriweather do Favourites (C4, Thu, 12:20am).

3/6.

The week ahead in radio

Mumford And Sons are on Zane Lowe (Radio 1, Mon-Thu, 7pm).

The Magic Numbers and Stereophonics are on Dermot O'Leary (R2, Sat, 3pm), after Noisettes on Jonathan Ross (10am).

Spandau Ballet are in concert for Radio 2 on Saturday (10pm), while Eagles of Death Metal and Martin Fry are on Radcliffe & Maconie (Mon-Thu, 8pm). The Flaming Lips, Boo Hewerdine and The Vouch do Janice Long (Tue-Fri, 12am).

4/6.

Champs of the week

Nick Hodgson Rather than start a vanity project record label, Kaiser Chiefs' drummer can currently be seen at most of London's tiny venues looking for bands to sign to his Chewing Gum label. Finding a musician who loves new music is rarer than you might think.

Darren Hayman Get well soon to the former Hefner singer, after he suffered a fractured skull following a gig in Nottingham. By all accounts, he's one of the most laid back people in music.

5/6.

Chumps of the week

Wojtek Godsisz The former Symposium singer was carving out a steady enough solo career, so it was somewhat demeaning for him to be on Never Mind The Buzzcocks this week. Not as heartbreaking as seeing Geneva's should-have-been-a-star Andrew Montgomerie on it, mind.

slash Increasingly getting known as a dignity dodger, he roped in Fergie to sing on a new version of paradise city. Even axl doesn't deserve that insult.

6/6.

Teletext page 824; 20th of November, 2009.

Satan's Rubber Duck You know your dad is going deaf when he confuses the word "vampire" with the word "umpire". Just a slight difference there.

Fangs for that... aha ha ha... please yourself.

Ellusive Illusionist Oops, sorry, I thought this was the queue for the ice creams.

You wanna flake with that?

Green Glue I am considering chewicide. The delicious taste of Chewits is to die for! Available in all good shops.

Not true. Not in my local Argos, matey.

Zine; 11th of November, 2002; 1/8.

E-mail Address Issues

WLW, how do you know which mails are for the rest of townified Club 140 and which mails are for Zine? I agree that most Zine mails are obvious, but what about Dr Nick? Ever put a Zine letter on Angst by mistake? "Ever since my pilchard died, I've been so empty...," or vice versa?

I say Zine needs an address of its own. The last thing we need is a mix-up where Dr Nick is guest editing here.

Ammopogo

Sorta like Iambonkers. I'll work on it for you.

Zine; 11th of November, 2002; 2/8.

Talking Business

Is Zine a company? If so, are we, humble Ziners, all shareholders?

In which case, I would like to know when the AGM is and why haven't I received my dividend payment yet? When's the office party and can I get drunk? Can I have a pay rise?

Genius At Work

The AGM is at WLW Villas... in Jamaica. See you there, or not, whatever.

Zine; 11th of November, 2002; 3/8.