feeling listless

Backlog Before I began full time work (just eight short months ago) I spent much of my time wrestling with The Backlog. The Backlog is a pile of videos in my room recording from television which sit largely unwatched. There are things at the bottom of the pile which I recorded two christmases ago which I will get around to watching eventually. When I wasn't working it was relatively easy to polish off two or three of these tapes in a day, giving a glimpse of multi-channel television before this even happened. There are things in this pile which are being repeated ad-infinitum on UK Gold, which I recorded when they were originally on. There is no way I will ever get to the bottom. But this does mean that I'll find myself watching unusual things at unusual times for no readily apparent reason.

And so it was last night I found myself tuning into the UN Concert to celebrate the novel peace prize, a glittering occasion which had the unfortunate whiff of a Eurovision Song Contest without voting and with people you had a broad chance of having heard of. Like the Eurovision of recent years they went for the male/female presenting partnership -- but in-keeping with the occasion we have Meryl Streep (not looking at all well), and Liam 'Qui-gon' Neeson (not looking at all comfortable).

The overall highlights of the show: Neeson and Streep actually announcing the acts. Nowhere else will you hear that gruff Irish brogue whisper: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Wycliff Jean.” Then there was Streep’s in ability to say “A-ha” without it sounding like Sherlock Holmes discovering a vital clue; Morten Harket of the aforementioned group, still with the believe that tight leather pants are cool; poor old Natalie Imbruglia batting out ‘Torn’ and her new single to a largely unappreciative audience; the unappreciative audience who we suspect would have looked any less bored if Elvis had turned up, with John Lennon doing backing vocals; the high contingent of classical performers who were excellent but who you’d never heard of; Meryl again: “And here, to sing “Nessum Dorma!”, Russell Watson”; Anastacia (how can that voice come from the body?); Destiny’s Child managing to get through a live song without a catfight or a lawsuit (meow) and finally Paul McCartney. Now my Dad went to school with Paul (actually he’s a few years younger so they never met as far as my Dad can remember). Little did we know he would become a walking Metafilter for the occasion, when he began his set by telling us one of the songs was about September 11th and the other was dedicated to George. There was a certain inevitability when he ended the show with ‘Let It Be’, given an extra-powerful lift by the group accompaniment of the stars of the show. This would seem to be the only time these stars will ever share a stage again. It was almost as good as that bit in ‘Live Aid’.

Not quite.

I’ll report some more on my backlog in the coming weeks…