Review of 2011

Ben 's 6th Annual Review of the year

2011

2011 was the year that:

The office game of hide from your co-worker went to new extremes:

I ate the world's 2nd hottest chilli and regretted it about 5 seconds later:

Lucas, Erika, Clare and myself had a nice wee trip to a cabin in Inverness:

My awesome drunk dancing to Journey's 'Any Way You Want it; created a bit of a fanbase in Banshee Labyrinth until that crazy woman came on the stage and ruined it:

I was a white Somalian pirate for Halloween:

Tom Simpson finally shat instead of getting off the pot.

I made a very hard decision. Mental health or money? I chose mental health.

(ask me about this one in person)

Gemma and Neil Ferguson became the proud parents of Alaina on 2nd August.

I edited a music video for up and coming Glasgow band 'Bear Arms'.

Good Times:

Clare and Ben's holiday to Majorca - March 2011

In the 10 years we've been going out with each other, Clare and I had never enjoyed a holiday together alone. We had gone to Gambia in 2007 with Clare's folks. So we got enough money together to go on an awesome one week trip to Majorca. It was exactly what we needed and we visited every corner of the island. First time driving on the opposite of the road, great practice for the states next year. Fun was had by all.

Thorpe Park - May 2011

Since one of my best mates and all round good guy Stewart Ritchie moved to London a few years ago, I've only ever gone down to see him and his wife Holly for somewhere to crash for going to london gigs. This year Clare and I made the effort to go and see them without an ulterior motive. Over the few days we visited Thorpe park. For someone who's usually a jesse for going on rides i did not bad, though for the five minutes we were on one of the high-up-swingy rides I did just keep repeating variations of "Oh no! Ohhhh no!". Best part was the water guns you could soak folk with that were on the water rides. Ritchie was using one, I said jokingly, "I wonder if you can turn them round and soak people on dry land too?". Ritchie without thinking turned it around and immediately hit a 4 year old kid and his mum in the face with the water canon. (The water gun not his winky).

Road Trip across Europe with work - April/May 2011

Not long after returning from Majorca, my boss approached me and my colleague Mark to take a trip to Wroclaw, Poland and do some filming and on return bring a college vehicle back to Scotland. It was pretty easy to say "hell yes!" to that one. We stayed 5 days in Wroclaw which is just beautiful, the trip coincided with the guitar festival (more on that later). We drove home via Berlin (awesome) and Amsterdam (disappointing) where we got the ferry to Newcastle.

Booking USA - November 2011

For the past year or so Clare and myself have been saving for a huge road trip of the west coast of America, taking in LA, San Diego (attending Comic-con and Vans Warped tour whilst there), Las Vegas, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon and San Francisco. In November we finally booked the flights after talking about it for 18 months for going in June/July 2012. Just gotta hope we get Comic-con tickets in March, it will take all my ticket buying skills to get tickets for that bad boy.

The Wedding of Stewart and Holly Ritchie - August 2011

Probably best and drunkest day of the year. Very honoured and privileged to be chosen as best man. Still can't watch the speech, I'm abit pissed off I forgot most of my speech. One of the highlights was getting pished, going outside for air but it was absolutely pissing down so jumped into the wedding band's van whilst they were loading and ended up chatting with them for 10 minutes... about what I have no memory.

West Memphis 3 freed - August 2011

A day I never thought would come, even if the details of their release is a bit messed up.

Bad Times:

T in the Park jail - July 2011

The T in the Park lineup this year was a bit pants. However the combination of Weezer and Foo Fighters on the Sunday had me interested in a day ticket. On the Sunday morning I scoured ebay for a cheap ticket. I found one cheapish in Livingston. I negotiated to meet them and called Mark who also wanted to go, he came and picked me up to take me to Livingston. By the time he was on his way. They e-mailed to let me know it wasn't a ticket but a camping weekend wristband that had been taken off and sown back together... oh. They insisted that it would be fine and that the same method had worked for their daughter. We went got the wristbands and camping tickets and went to T. We had to enter via the campsite entrance as it was camping wristbands we had. They scanned the ticket, the wee machine made a weird noise like when you get a guess wrong on Family Fortunes.

Go to jail, Don't pass go and don't see 2 great bands. Mark and me were sequestered in what would be best described as a pen, surrounded completely by high fences. We were told to wait and someone 'would deal with us'. If we left our tickets would be taken off us.

We waited about 90 minutes in the pissing rain. (like super heavy rain) I remember looking at Mark whilst the rain stouted off him and he had a 'why the fuck did I listen to this guy' look on his face.

The guy eventually arrived. He was a ticketmaster employee. Fuck that. We knew he wouldn't hear us out. We skirted around him whilst he dealt with someone else with our crappy wristbands and tickets in hand. We walked back to the car with our heads held down. Luckily Mark managed to talk the women into refunding us for our tickets. Though I almost blew it on the way to Livingston by texting 'Hi Trash, will be there in 15 minutes'. My iphone autocorrected Trish.

Back home I watched the highlights on TV, everyone looked drenched so I wasn't too fussed in the end.

Harry diagnosed with serious heart defect

Harry (2 years old in January 2012), the puppy my folks kept from the 7 pups Sam and Molly had was diagnosed with a heart murmur earlier in the year. Later he was examined further. Its something to do with the pipe that pumps blood to his heart is leaking so not all the blood gets to his heart. Its something I'm trying not to think about just now but hes been given 5 months to live its something that will hit me hard in the months to come.

Clare's car - June/July 2011

Since my car was making a loads screeching noise (later found out that it was just a piece of bent metal under the chasis) I took Clare's Rover 25 (I know I should of seen this coming) to see Korn in Glasgow. After the gig, the car wouldn't open with the clicker. Once inside the car make quite an odd noise, a clicking like a bomb was about to go off. The car wouldn't start and I knew it was probably something to do with electronics.

The AA guys arrived, but after 2 hours (in the rain) we had no idea what it was. We could only get the car towed 10 miles so took it to the Halfords auto care nearby. Big mistake. The just kept the car for a week without really doing anything about it and kept mumbling something about it being the head gasket being a problem.

So £80 down the drain already.

I phoned a tow company to get it back to Edinburgh. They insisted they knew what the problem was so they took it to their garage. They didn't know the problem. Another £400 down. My dad and I ended up towing it ourselves back to Edinburgh ourselves to give to the Rover 'specialist' who I always suspected was full of shit insisted he knew the problem and would fix it for £200. It ended up being another £500 and 3 weeks until it was fixed. It was the ICU which I tried telling the first guys.

That Korn gig was the most expensive gig I've ever been to and it wasn't even that good.

Alexisonfire split up - August 2011

A great and promising band split up. :(

Japan Tsunami and earthquake - March 2011

This was quite hard hitting despite being a world away. I though the Japanese dealt with it extraordinarily well. If it had happened to the UK I can imagine everyone screaming the end of days and with the Daily Mail going on about how Tsunamis give you cancer.

London Riots - August 2011

A bunch of retards decided to burn buildings and ruin lives to steal rice.

Goals for 2011 and how I did:

• Begin filming or at least complete all preparations for filming new short film 'The Balance'. - Almost finished casting and hope to have a location sorted soon - 3/5

• Become a bit fitter, having a better diet. - mmm, not fitter at all, diet has improved slightly. 2/5

• Save a lot more. Bye gigs, blu-rays and video games! - Miraculously managed to escape my overdraft, pay off about £700 off my credit card, save £1200 for USA holiday and still be able to buy a few gig tickets (but not as many as yesteryears), blu-rays and video games - Win! 5/5
• Stop chewing the inside of my face. Seriously, this has become a major problem. - Stopped for a month but it came back with a vengeance, almost chewed half my face off! - 1/1

Goals for 2012:

• Have the time of my life on a 24 day trip of Western America taking in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and visiting the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Vans Warped Tour and the San Diego International Comic Con.
• Film long gestating short film 'The Balance' with a large and experienced cast and crew.
• Attend Liam and Nic's wedding and not make an arse of myself.
• Participate in a 48 hour film challenge.
• Do something crazy to prove I'm still young.
• New car.

Film of 2011

2011 was a cracking year for films. People have been complaining about the lack of original ideas in movies, too many remakes etc. This is absolutely true but you just got to look in the right places to still see inspiring brilliant filmaking. It hasn't been without its dissapointments. After waiting all year to see Kevin Smith's return to 'cult' filmaking with 'Red State' and following the story of its production and wacky release it was quite a letdown to find it was a bit of a mess without any real characters you could care for and a terrible, though quite funny ending.

At the end of last year I would of predicted Black Swan to top my list and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped. Yet despite my hatred of remakes (especially of beloved classic films) True Grit proved to be an original beater with the Coen Brothers delivering the type of film you just don't see anymore. Same goes for 'The Artist'. Best comedy of the year is the simply brilliant 'The Guard' with Brendan Gleeson fast becoming my favourite actor. Please check it out when it hits DVD/Blu-ray next year if you haven't seen it.

I skipped Transformers: Dark of the Moon altogether after seeing the trainwreck that was the 2nd one but the worst film of the year that I saw, Battle Los Angeles was just terrible, I wish I could recall why it was so bad as it was completely forgettable. I usually stick up for Zach Snyder (especially Watchmen) but his passion project 'Sucker Punch' just fell flat on it's face. A plotless nonsensical mess that tried to promote girl power. Putting your protagonist in a tiny skirt and pointing a camera at their arse does not achieve this.

My Favourite Ten Films of 2011

10 - 127 Hours (Dir: Danny Boyle)

09 - The King's Speech (Dir: Tom Hooper)

08 - Kill List (Dir: Ben Wheatley)

07 - Tree of Life (Dir: Terrence Malick)

06 - Super 8 (Dir: JJ Abrams)

05 - The Guard (Dir: Joe Michael McDonagh)

04 - Drive (Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn)

03 - Black Swan (Dir: Darren Aronoffsky)

02 - The Artist (Dir: Michel Hazanavicius)

01 - True Grit (Dir: Coen Brothers)

*At this moment of time I have not yet seen David Fincher's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Released 26th Dec) which I expect may make an entry in my top 10.

Honourable Mention:

Pearl Jam Twenty (Dir: Cameron Crowe)

(Absolutely fantastic documentary about a fantastic band, but I can only recommend it if you are a fan of the band)

Other notables:

50/50, Barney's Version, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Thor, Captain America, X-Men: First Class, Source Code, Win Win, Cedar Rapids, Bridesmaids, 13 Assassins, Hugo, The Fighter, Animal Kingdom, Hanna., Arrietty

Worst:

Battle Los Angeles (Dir: Jonathan Liebsman) & Sucker Punch (Dir: Zach Snyder)

Disappointing:

Red State, Cowboys and Aliens, Paul, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Perfect Sense, The Beaver, Cars 2

Surprisingly good:

Stupid Crazy Love

Overatted film of the year:

Attack the Block

Underatted film of the year:

Tucker and Dale Vs Evil

Not seen yet but intend to:

Senna, Melancholia, Tyrannosaur, Sleeping Beauty, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Skin I Live In, TT: Closer to the Edge

Most anticipated films of 2011 and how they turned out:

Black Swan - 9/10
Tree of Life -8/10
Super 8 - 8/10
Source Code - 7/10
X-Men: The First Class 7/10
Arriety - 7/10
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 8/10
Cowboys and Aliens - 5/10
Scream 4 - 6/10
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher) - Not seen yet.

True Grit - 10/10

127 Hours - 8/10

Films I can't wait for in 2012:

10 - The Amazing Spider-man (Dir: Marc Webb)

09 - The Innkeepers (Dir: Ti West)

08 - The Cabin in the Woods (Dir: Drew Goddard)

07 - The Brave (Dir: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman)

06 - Skyfall (Dir: Sam Mendes)

05 - Django Unchained (Dir: Quentin Tarantino)

04 - The Avengers (Dir: Joss Whedon)

03 - Prometheus (Dir: Ridley Scott)

02 - The Dark Knight Rises (Dir: Christopher Nolan)

01 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Dir: Peter Jackson)

Music of 2011

Not the best year for music, but some great releases all the same. The Sounds released their 4th album, their poppiest offering yet that took a while to grow on me but surprisingly loving it now. Seriously have a listen to it, you won't believe that Ben Thompson likes this kind of music.

Brian Fallon (Gaslight Anthem) teamed with his longterm roadie to make a mellower album than what Gaslight would be able to offer and succeeds brilliantly with Horrible Crowes' 'Elsie'. Same goes for Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio) with his solo offering wiping the floor with Matt Skiba's 2010 solo album.

Mogwai released their best album yet in my opinion with the brilliantly titled 'Hardcore Will Never Die Bt You Will' which from the very first track gives the most uplifting listen of the year. It so good, its actually better than Explosions in the Sky's latest who are usually my favourite of the 2 instrumental bands.

There could only be one album of the year, and I knew it as soon as I heard it back in April is Foo Fighters 'Wasting Light'. Their most consistent confident release yet right from the blistering opener 'Bridge Burning'. Everything about the album rocks, the raw lyrics, the decision to record in old style analogue. I don't think the band will ever release a better record but then I said that about 'The Colour and the Shape'.

My Favourite Ten Albums of 2011:

10 - The Sounds - Something to Die For

09 - Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride

08 - The Horrible Crowes - Elisa

07 - Dan Andriano and the Emergency Room - Hurrican Season

06 - Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

05 - Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will

04 - Thrice - Major / Minor

03 - Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

02 - Twin Atlantic - Free

01 - Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Honourable mention:

Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra

(Because some albums are just too awesome to be in a top ten)

Other notables:

Machine Head - Enter the Locust

Crosses EP

Dave Hause - Resolutions

Red Hot Chilli Pepper - I'm With You

Skindred - Union Black

Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist

Ramn Djawadi - Game of Thrones soundtrack

Megadeath - Th1rt3en

Times of Grace - Hymn of a Broken Man

Blink 182 - Neighbourhoods

Four Year Strong - In Some Way, Shape or Form

Taking Back Sunday - S/T

Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys

Alkaline Trio - Damnesia

Pearl Jam - PJ20 Official Soundtrack

City and Colour - Little Hell

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo official soundtrack - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Dissapointments:

Rival Schools - Pedals

Rise Against - Endgame,

In Flames - Sounds of a Playground Fading

Worst:

Metallica & Lou Reed - Lulu

Korn - The Path of Totality

Albums I was looking forward to in 2011 and how they turned out:

01 - Rage Against the Machine - This is never happening, I need to stop kidding myself...
02 - Thrice - 9/10
03 - Explosions in the Sky - 8/10
04 - Manchester Orchestra - 9/10
05 - Glassjaw EP - 8/10
06 - Death Cab for Cutie 8/10
07 - Foo Fighters - 10/10
08 - Alkaline Trio acoustic album 7/10
09 - Mogwai - 9/10
10 - Rival Schools - 6/10

Albums I can't wait for in 2012:

10 - Crosses

09 - Killswitch Engage

08 - Slash

07 - Say Anything

06 - Coheed and Cambria

05 - The Gaslight Anthem

04 - Biffy Clyro

03 - Frightened Rabbit

02 - Pearl Jam

01 - Brand New

Best gigs I attended in 2011:

(None of the videos do the gigs justice)

05 - Jimmy Eat World- August 25th, Corn Exchange, Edinburgh

04 - Frightened Rabbit - November 15th, Secret Gig at Nice N' Sleazys, Glasgow

03 - Manchester Orchestra - October 3rd, Glasgow ABC

02 - Explosions in the Sky - May 15ht, Picturehouse, Edinburgh

01 - The Revival Tour - September 30th, Glasgow ABC

Favourite song of the year:

Not necessarily the best song of the year, but it takes me right back to the weekend of 6th/7th August. Good friend and all round monobrowed midget Stewart Ritchie was getting married to Holly Couzens on the Saturday.

It was a great day, possibly the best of the year due to much drunkenness, seeing old friends and my awesome best man speech, followed by lunch the next day with best mates Tom Simpson and Sarah Robertson who decided to finally go out with each other after 2 years of cockteasing.

Despite all this the weekend had a tint of melancholia, mostly because it pissed down the whole weekend, the fact that life was moving way too fast with such a milestones as mates getting married. The night of the wedding a guy threatened suicide by being perched on the ledge of Perth bridge for a good couple of hours. Such a huge contrast, emerging from a wedding where fun was being had to a wet night outside and a guy about to kill himself. This song was in my head the whole weekend and even contains the lines 'I climbed up on to a ledge. Though I had no plans of jumping.' This song is a time machine that takes me right me back to that day and hits me hard every time I hear it.

Television of 2011

5 - The Walking Dead

4 - Boardwalk Empire

3 - Community

2 - Game of Thrones

1 - Breaking Bad

Video Games of 2011

Top 5 games

5 -Portal 2 (ps3 & x-box 360)

4 - Ico/Shadow of the Collossus HD collection (Ps3)

3 - Uncharted 3 (Ps3)

2 - Batman: Arkham Asylum (Ps3/X-box 360)

1 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Ps3/X-box 360)

2012

I really hope 2012 is as immense as it promises to be. Things I'm looking forward to in 2012:

• The tenth anniversary of Clare and me on 15th March.
• Seeing my favourite bands live Brand New (for the 10th & 11th time) and Pearl Jam ( for 3rd time).
• Aforementioned road trip in the States coming only 2 days after seeing Pearl Jam in Manchester.
• Filming new short film 'The Balance'.
• The wedding of Nicola Crawford and Liam McGourty and the stag party.
• Kerry MacGregor gets to have a proper birthday. (she was born on 29th February).

Conclusion:

Highlight of 2011:

In Wroclaw town square, Poland. Huge guitar festival, thousands attempting to break a most guitars played at once record. Me with a camera filming it all on top of a rickety wheely bin.

^Me standing on the wheely bin.

That was 2011. 2012 will be the year of Ben. I can't wait.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Hugs, kisses and painted toe nails,

Ben

xxxxx