The Vaccines - Come of Age

In what feels like hardly any time at all, The Vaccines are back with a new album, their highly anticipated sophomore record "Come of Age". 

The group clearly want to spell it out to the world; they mean business. Whilst album No. 1 was a slightly sarcastic nod by asking "well, what did you expect?", Come of Age is all about announcing their arrival as something serious.

Gone are the minute and a half long ode's to Danish models, the tongue-in-cheek references to "seamen". In their place are mid-tempo ballads with crisp, cleaner vocals (I Always Knew, Aftershave Ocean) and moodier, darker sounds that lurch and sway (Weirdo, Ghost Town) replacing the frantic bursts of energy that we saw on the first album.

Lead single "No Hope" kicks things off in true-Vaccines style; the line "When your young and bored and 24 and don't know who you are no more there's no hope" mirroring similar themes of growing up and reaching adulthood found on their first album. But whereas What Did You Expect was more sentimental and misty-eyed, Come of Age leaves this behind, instead, striving to live up to its title.

That's not to say this second record is completely devoid of those hip-shaking guitar riffs and pop-fuelled choruses; one my personal stand-out tracks "Bad Mood" is brilliant in its simplicity, whilst the third track "Teenage Icon" might just be my favourite track of the bands: it's almost frustratingly catchy and never lets up for the entire three minutes.

On Come of Age then, The Vaccines have managed to record an album that lives up to its name; It successfully manages to cover new ground whilst also retaining that distinctive sound popular with fans. But then again, what did we expect?

The Vaccines - Come of Age: 7.5/10

So what does everybody think? Like the new album or not? Leave me a comment below and check back again soon! In the meantime, check out the Vaccines performing "Teenage Icon" at Reading Festival last week.

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Formula 1: The Furious Five

With just nine races left to go, the stage is set for a tense showdown for the Formula One World Championship at the end of November. With arguably just 5 drivers left in the hunt, it really still is anyone's game.

Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen. Each has has their fair share of up's and down's, triumphs and tribulations. So come November 25th, who will we be crowning the 2012 F1 Champion? Who is in the best shape, and who is still has more to come?

Fernando "The Toreador" Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari)

Drivers Championship: 1st (164 points)

Alonso is in the driving seat this year

The man best placed to win this year is Spain's Fernando Alonso. The 2005 and 2006 World Champion has won three GP (Malaysia, Valencia and Germany) and has scored points in every race. 

His driving has been immaculate and he has barely put a foot (or wheel) wrong all year. Steadily racking up the points, grabbing every opportunity by the horns and effectively being a one-man team has given Alonso the large lead he has.

Looking ahead, it is looking rosy for Alonso. Scoring another win or two, keeping consistent and staying out of trouble will keep him ahead of the rest. He may not have the quickest car but his lead is large considering that he has four or five rivals all taking points off of each other. From here on in, Alonso may be planning to run with the tactic of damage limitation; it's a safe and steady strategy and worked well for Jenson Button in 2009. But with Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen all breathing down his neck, can Alonso hold off them all?

Mark "Aussie Grit" Webber (Red Bull Racing)

Drivers Championship: 2nd (124 points, 40 points behind)

Webber is best placed to challenge Alonso

Mark Webber has been a quite achiever in 2012; the determined and grizzled Australian has kept himself to himself, avoided the headlines and got down to business. 

Two solid wins in Silverstone and Monaco have allowed Webber to keep in the hunt going into the final 9 races. His form hasn't been bullet-proof however; 11th in Spain was a low-point whilst the last two races he has only collected 8 points.

Whether Mark can go all the way and close the gap on Fernando remains to be seen; two podium finishes and 5 fourth's has got him this far, but he'll need to finish on the podium every race if he wants to close that 40 points deficit. And with one of the quickest men in F1 sitting across the garage, it ain't going to be easy for Webber. But then, in Mark's case, it rarely is...

Sebastian "Baby Schumi" Vettel (Red Bull Racing)

Drivers' Championship: 3rd (122 points, 42 points behind)

Vettel is looking to make it three titles
in a row

At this stage last year, it was as good as over. Sebastian had won 6 races and finished 2nd four times. Only once had he not stood on the podium, which sadly for him, was in Germany, his home race. Fast forward 12 months, and the difference couldn't be starker. Just one win (Bahrain) and two other podium finishes (2nd in Australia, 3rd in Britain) places Sebastian 3rd overall, 42 points behind Alonso. 

Whilst last year Sebastian was invincible, the model of perfection, this year we have seen a version of Vettel more akin to that of the immature and rash version we saw in 2010. A series of incidents has blighted Vettel's reputation this year; his incident (and subsequent comments) with Karthikeyan in Malaysia, his illegal over-take on Button in Germany and yelling at his engineer in Hungary haven't painted the double World Champion in the best light.* Poor luck in Valencia also cost Vettel some vital points.

Regardless, Vettel remains one of the favourites for the the World Championship; the Red Bull is one of the best cars all round and, as in 2010, Vettel has an aptitude for turning it around in the last few races. He'll be the one to beat around tracks like Monza, Marina Bay, Suzuka and Abu Dhabi. To count him out would be a mistake. 

Lewis "The Hoonigan" Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)

Drivers' Championship: 4th (117 points, 47 points behind)

Luck has not been on Hamilton's side in 2012

One of the biggest stories of 2011 was Hamilton's fall from grace; collisions in Monaco, Canada, Belgium, Singapore, Japan and India blighted his rap sheet and he ended the year a distant 5th, finishing behind team-mate Button. 

A stark contrast then, to this season; Hamilton has shown maturity and a cool head on track whilst being cheery and affable off of it. He has clinched two race wins (Canada and Hungary) whilst also racking up three podium places early on.

It has been the inconsistent nature of his McLaren car and team that have caused Hamilton's Championship charge to stumble slightly. Mishaps in the pit-lane arguably cost him victories (or podiums) in Malaysia, Bahrain, Monaco and most notably, Barcelona. Add to this the poor luck he sustained at the German Grand Prix, and Hamilton has lost somewhere in the region of 40 points so far this year.

Looking ahead, the rest of the year looks promising for McLaren. A lull in pace in Silverstone was quickly turned around by Germany, showcasing the rapidness of development at the Woking based outfit. Hamilton will no doubt contest for wins, podiums and points going into every race and will be hopeful of some misfortune on Alonso's part; like his other rivals at the this stage, Lewis really can't afford any more mishaps or retirements.

Kimi "The Iceman" Raikkonen (Lotus Renault) 

Drivers' Championship: 5th (116 points, 48 points behind)

Kimi's return to F1 has added a dash of spice to 2012

Raikkonen is the only serious title contender here yet to win a race in 2012. Whilst Lotus have had the pace to do so on many occasions (Bahrain, Canada, Valencia, Hungary), they have failed to convert that pace into that elusive win. To Raikkonen's credit, he has been quietly amassing points with regular visits to the podium; his F1 comeback has been so successful it hardly feels like he has been away. 

To discount Raikkonen as a serious contender would be foolish; only 8 points separates the Finn from second place Webber and, much like Mark, Seb and Lewis, only needs two or three strong finishes to put him right up behind Alonso.

It is only a matter of time until Lotus score that breakthrough win; the unveiling of their double DRS system at Spa is touted as the moment they'll get on par with Mclaren, Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of results. 

If history has taught us anything, it's that Raikkonen can turn it around from out of nowhere; in his Championship winning year (2007), Kimi overcame a point margin of equal magnitude to what it is now to beat Hamilton and Alonso in the final two races alone; whether he can do the same here against four rivals still remains to be seen.

So who will ultimately prevail? Leave a comment below with who you think has it in them to win the Championship! 

*I've said I'll give my good friend Nick Courts a mention in one of these blogs so here it is. Mr. Courts would like to add his two cents and mention how much of a tw*t he thinks Vettel is. Lovely. 

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Feature: Best Movie Trilogies

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy

Watching the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (see my review here) got me thinking; could this be the greatest movie trilogy ever? How many other trilogy's can attest to being as consistently brilliant as The Dark Knight Trilogy? There are very few stories that have consistently delivered in quality across a three-film trilogy; by the third instalment, it can often be that a franchise has run out of steam, ideas or originality. Take the original Spider-man series for example; Sam Raimi's Spidey trilogy (2002, 2004 and 2007) was great to begin with, better again in Spider-man 2 but fatally flawed in third instalment.

As it turns out, this pattern of a 'tricky threequel' is not unique to Spidey. X-Men: The Last Stand is generally seen as the weakest in the trilogy, whilst Austin Powers was feeling mighty tired by the time Goldmember rolled around. This makes it especially hard to find many truly great trilogies around, especially if the first two films were especially good. Another reason for there being so few is the increasing trend for (often) unnecessary 'fourquels'. In recent years, Indiana Jones, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Terminator and Mission: Impossible have all been added too with a fourth instalment (with varying success).

So then, what would make a trilogy stand-out as being one of the best? For me, the most important thing is consistency of quality and storytelling. A trilogy such as the Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) certainty ranks up there with the best because of this; each instalment fits into a wider story arc that completes a beginning (Fellowship), a middle (Two Towers) and an end (Return of the King).

So, after some degree of consideration, here's a bunch of five trilogies that stand out for me.

1) The Original Star Wars Trilogy (A New Hope/The Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi)

R2-D2 and C-3PO in
 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

How could it not be one of the best? Whilst the 1977 Star Wars (later retitled A New Hope) was an unexpected gem that got people intrested in sci-fi, it was really the middle entry, Empire Strikes Back that elevated this trilogy above all others.

With a gloomier tone, an upping of the stakes and the sense that our hero was in genuine peril, Empire Strikes Back set the precedence for how sequels should be done; The Avengers take note.

Whilst the final third is considered the weakest, Return of the Jedi is still a brilliant film that both stacks up by today's standards and completes the story fittingly.

The simple fact that not even a more recent Star Wars trilogy with CGI aliens, planets and dog-fights can even stack-up against the original Star Wars speaks wonders about its brilliance. Now, if only Mr. Lucas would stop tampering with it...

2) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring/The Two Towers/ The Return of the King)

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins.

Showing the world how a book adaptation should be done, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is nothing short of being a masterpiece. Perfectly paced across all three films, stunningly filmed and rich in the minute details that were poured into Tolkien's original novels, Jackson and co.'s trilogy collected a grand total of 17 Academy Awards overall.

My personal favourite is the opening third, Fellowship of the Ring, but the concluding third Return of the King is seen as the best of the three, despite it's many endings and the Academy agreed, awarding it all of the 13 Oscars it was nominated for. Not bad for a film about midgets with no shoes if you think about it. 

The pressure is now on to see if Jackson can work his same magic on Tolkien's prelude The Hobbit, the first part of which is out this December. 

3) The Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises)

The Dark Knight Rises

The most recent addition to the list, Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy has set the template for all future comic book films. With the horrendous cheese-ridden Joel Schumacher train-wrecks that were Batman Forever and Batman and Robin still relatively fresh in everyone's mind's, it is a miracle that the trilogy was ever pitched in the first place.

Gone were the garish Batsuit nipples, the dinosaur surfing, the cringe-worthy bad dialogue and Arnold Schwarzeneggar.  In it's place, real acting talent (Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Heath Ledger, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, the list goes on), a gritty and dark world soaked in realism (not neon) and intelligent script writing that evoked real-world drama like 9/11 or the GFC.

Arguing over which entry is the best is like picking which is your favourite child, limb or member of One Direction. Batman Begins is a solid start point that put Batman front and centre, The Dark Knight brought us Heath Ledger's wickedly evil and anarchistic Joker (a.k.a. the best movie villain of all time) whilst Dark Knight Rises drew the two together in a epic and brilliant finale.

4) The Toy Story Trilogy (Toy Story 1-3)

"To Infinity and Beyond!"

Getting better with each and every entry, the Toy Story trilogy is family film-making at its greatest. It's inclusion might be based on my own slight bias for the films but it is hard to deny that everyone of all ages can engage with Toy Story.

Again, like with the Dark Knight it is extremely hard to pick a favourite. The original has the, well, originality whilst the second adds some awesome Star Wars jokes with Emperor Zurg as well as Jessie and Bullseye. The third one is the saddest, the incinerator scene especially poignant.

That such a high quality of story-telling has been so consistent across all three films is simply a testament to Pixar's amazing ability to pen stories of such brilliance time after time.

My only hope is that they realise when enough is enough and don't add a fourth, completely robbing the closing scenes in No. 3 of any weight in the process.

5) The Back to the Future Trilogy (Part I - III)

Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly

Another personal favourite of mine, the Back to the Future trilogy is one that is intelligently written, endlessly quotable and cleverly, each entry has its own vibe or motif.

Part One is the set-up; Marty McFly goes back in time to 1955 in a souped-up DeLorean and accidentally prevents his parents from ever getting together. Faced with the task of setting them up again, being erased from existence and riding a bolt of lightning (not literally) back to the future, Marty has his luck stacked against him. 

Part Two sees Marty travel to the far off world of 2015 (!) only to find, upon his return to the 80's that a alternate timeline has been created, whilst in Part Three, Marty has to travel back to 1885 to rescue Doc Brown from the past.

In my mind, the final film is the weakest of the three; the format of every character relatives' being played by three or four actors is feeling the strain and horses and hoe-downs are no match for hover-boards and future fashions.



So there we have it, my top 5 movie trilogies. Leave any thoughts or comments in the box below and check back soon for more blog posts. Now make like a tree, and get out of here.

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Formula 1: The Race Is On

Does Bahrain deserve its place on the calender?

This Formula 1 season has been one of many firsts; first wins for Rosberg and Maldonado, as well as Mercedes GP, the first seven races each had different winners and the first to feature six past and present World Champions. In a few months time, Formula One arrives in Austin, Texas for the first race in the United States in five years. Not only this, but it means that this years World Championship is the first to reach 20 races in a season.

So, with the Championship stretching fit to burst across 5 continents, is there any more room for new circuits and events? We all know that scheduled for next year is the first Grand Prix around the streets of New Jersey and then the Russian city of Sochi is being scheduled for 2014. Then there have been Grand Prix's pitched in places like Greece as well as the increasing speculation of a Grand Prix in London.

Not only this but the possibility of re-adding classic events like South Africa, Mexico, Argentina and France into a season poses the question of there being any room left for new events in what is an already jam-packed calender?

All this got me thinking; where would the ultimate F1 season take us? Which circuits, out of the current crop of tracks, as well as future and proposed events would be included and which ones would get the chop? There is only one rule; that the season should not exclude 20 races. So, first off, let's deal with the certainties.

In my mind, there are four essential events the Formula One calender should always visit, regardless of monetary issues. These are, in no particular order, Monaco, Silverstone, Monza and Spa Francorchamps. All are classic circuits that separate the men from the boys and ooze motor-sporting passion, history and heritage. The reasons for the inclusion of these four are pretty obvious but I'll go ahead and list them anyway.

Firstly, Silverstone for its fast curves, changeable weather and huge crowds; the Brits really get behind their favourites on race-weekend like nowhere else. Monaco, for its risky, tight circuit that leaves no room for error and glitzy location. Spa, because it is simply the best race-track in the sport and Monza because it is the home of Ferrari, the tifosi and the legends that go with it.

 Add in other important and classic events like the Spanish (Valencia or Barcelona to alternate), French (Paul Ricard), Hungary (Hungaroring) and German (preferably Nurburgring) Grand Prix's and we have 8 races in Europe. 12 spaces left to fill.

Events outside of Europe are obviously essential in creating what is truly a 'World' Championship. Again, there are certain tracks that are a given. Montreal. Suzuka. Albert Park. Interlagos. So that's one a piece for North America, Asia, Oceania and South America. 8 spaces left to fill. We're running out of places.

An event that stands out is the Singapore Grand Prix. An immensely challenging circuit in tough conditions, the Marina Bay circuit has the street-like nature of Monaco with the humidity of Malaysia and the glitz of Abu Dhabi. So add it to the list of events. Couple that with the Malaysia Grand Prix, a race that rarely fails to disappoint, and we have just 6 spaces left.

The United States Grand Prix in Texas is a great upcoming venture for Formula 1. The States is a market that F1 needs to tap back into and there are certainly no shortage of motorsport fans there. In my mind, F1 should never have left behind Indianapolis, but Austin is shaping up to be something special. As for New Jersey, I don't agree any country should have two races a year so it'll either have to move aside or alternate with Austin.

I'm not so sure on Grand Prix racing in Russia but, given the growing fanbase around Vitaly Petrov, I see no reason why it should miss out. Add it to the list. 4 spots left.

In recent years, F1 has expanded into huge markets such as China and India. Both have been hugely successful and popular; we have had some cracking Chinese Grand Prix's (2006, 2009-2012) and the Indian Grand Prix last year was a big success. It is important for the sport to forge audiences in the Far East so add China and India to the other 5 Asian races (Japan, Singapore, UAE, Russia and Malaysia). 2 left to go.

At this point, it is easier to look at which circuits I would discount rather than those I would include. So for starters, I would dump Bahrain. I can't recall one single Bahrain Grand Prix that has had me shouting at the television and jumping up and down. More likely, I was reaching for the pillows and my nightcap. Abu Dhabi does an okay job of filling the "Middle Eastern" round of the season so do we really need two? Not really. Sorry Bahrain; time to bite the dust. Add Abu Dhabi to the list. 1 spot left to go.

For me, an event I always enjoyed immensely was Turkey. A stellar circuit with a mixture corners and elevation changes, Istanbul Park gave us some classic races, 2010 most notably. This aside however, the race itself was always a commercial failure and poor ticket sales left empty grandstands for the most part. So scratch that from the list.

Another obvious one to omit is Korea. 2010 and 2011 have not been enough to convince me that Korea is a valid place to host a Grand Prix and the empty grandstands on race day imply that the Koreans have not been convinced either. A track that is dull, grey and lifeless, the Yeongam circuit is hardly Spa or even Sepang for that matter. Scratch it.

With one space left then, where else could F1 go? Does Mexico get to make a come-back? What about South Africa? For me, Mexico would be a brilliant venue, with fans pouring in to see young gun Sergio Perez make his mark. Either that, or Argentina, home of the great Juan Manuel Fangio would be a good country to see return.

So there we have it, 20 races, one ultimate F1 season. What do you think? Do you think I missed anywhere? Let me know what you think in the comments! I've included the full list of tracks (and preferred order below)

1. Australia (Albert Park)
2. Singapore (Marina Bay)
3. Malaysia (Sepang)
4. China (Shanghai)
5. Spain (Valencia/Barcelona alternating)
6. Monaco (Monte Carlo)
7. Canada (Montreal)
8. United States (Austin/New Jersey alternating)
9. France (Paul Ricard)
10. Britain (Silverstone)
11. Germany (Nurburgring/Hockenheim alternating)
12. Belgium (Spa)
13. Italy (Monza)
14. Hungary (Hungaroring)
15. Russia (Sochi)
16. Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
17. India (Buddh)
18. Japan (Suzuka)
19. Mexico/Argentina (new track)
20. Brazil (Interlagos)

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