2015: How was it for you? - Ed Power
1. Keaton Henson, National Concert Hall
An all-too-rare live performance from the notoriously shy English folkie and minimalist composer. Keaton trembled like a nervous stick insect throughout — but the music was sublime.
2. Philip Glass, National Concert Hall
Glass, assisted by Timo Andres and Maki Namekawa, recreated his 20 piano ‘Études’, flourishes of minimalism that stayed with you long after the event.
3. Despacio at Electric Picnic
James Murphy’s state of the art soundsystem in a tent did not disappoint, with the LCD Soundsystem man laying down irresistible groove after irresistible groove.
Annie Clark, aka St Vincent. She has become somewhat of a public figure with her latest album, but unlike many carried towards the spotlight, remains grounded and self-aware.
Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan.
The concluding half of Kaplan’s compelling biography of Sinatra, tracking his ’50s comeback and arrival as a defining cultural force of the late 20th century. All of Sinatra’s complexity is captured in a book that paints the crooner as a bona fide genius — hard to like, impossible not to admire.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
I have huge issues with the film — like everything JJ Abrams does, it is essentially a remix of other people’s ideas. Nonetheless, it captures the swagger and verve of the original trilogy. You stagger out of the cinema feeling as if you have temporarily been transported to a galaxy far, far away.
Hannibal, Season Three
Brian Fuller’s gorgeously bonkers riff on the Thomas Harris novel was a grand guignol feast for the senses, a fever dream beamed to your living room. As the eponymous gentleman-cannibal, Mads Mikkelsen, was compulsively chilling, delivering his lines with nary a wink. Anthony Hopkins in the same role in Silence Of The Lambs is an eye-rolling pantomime dame by comparison.
The board game Kingdom Death: Monster. It costs €400 including shipping and you have to glue the pieces together. But the pain is worth it. Designer Adam Poots has crafted a beguiling mash-up of HP Lovecraft, HR Giger and Clive Barker, marrying top-notch production with compelling gameplay.
The second season of True Detective — so awful it retrospectively tarnished memories of year one. The dialogue was lugubrious to the point of parody and Vince Vaughn had the carriage of someone recently embalmed. Only Colin Farrell, wonderful as a haunted lush, walked away with reputation enhanced.
The sixth series of Game Of Thrones. Having caught up with George RR Martin’s novels, the next season of GoT will forge genuinely new territory and thus promises to be a fascinating watch for show and book fans alike.
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