"Brothers of the Head", directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe

Movie, 2005

Gritty film about the rise of a pub/punk rock band fronted by Siamese twins. The film pulls off the trick of being sympathetic, critical and non-exploitative, partly through using narratives - most prominently the mockumentary mix of interviews and Ken Russell's fictional cinematic take. The story is, however, tried and tested. Sex, drugs and rock and roll are reeled out and held for criticisms and critiques. As cliches, they're used to reflect on the plight of the twins, but they're cliches all the same; ironically, the interest in the film is in the voyeuristic view of the twins. Not a bad film, though not great. 

"The Forensic Records Society", by Magnus Mills

Novel, 2017

A book, like others by the author, in which a scene is set - quite an odd, quirky but essentially familiar, humdrum scene - and then nothing really seems to happen in quite brisk, glorious fashion. The establishment, growth and fall of different shades of seven inch vinyl appreciation and their nuances and power struggles within and between give this novel more of an allegorical feel than some of its predecessors. This is glorious stuff indeed; easy, odd, perplexing in places and, for all its inbuilt mundanity, hugely entertaining.

"Head", directed Bob Rafelson

Movie, 1968

A patchy film; the acting is patchy (though far from disastrous), the set pieces patch -running from goofy-smart satire to psychedelic nonsense - and most notably the music, which is never outright bad, ranges from the slightly dull to the ridiculously good. To say this is a product of its time is an understatement. Head presents viewers with a disjointed watch which can feel like an ordeal at times. Good fun though, with some wonderful ideas mixed in with all the arch and daft concepts which miss as much as they hit.

Trailer

"The Big Midweek" by Stephen Hanley and Olivia Piekowski

Non-fiction, 2014

Sardonic, celebratory account of Stephen Hanley's two decades playing bass guitar for The Fall. It would have been quite easy for Hanley to have ranted, although in his balanced descriptions, band members are brought to life and what feel like balanced recollections are made. Highs comfortably balance the lows with a claustrophobic inevitability setting in from the early 1990s, at around the time Brix Smith then Martin Bramah left the band. Excellent writing; compulsive Fall fan reading.