#british audio

[ingravinoveritas]

Loving these cute pictures of David and Ncuti Gatwa at the Speakies tonight...

[ingravinoveritas]

It is interesting that Michael tweeted and posted on Threads about the article describing his Philip Pullman audio books as the “best fiction narration ever”. He doesn’t typically repost praise so blatantly and if surely can’t be a coincidence that it’s only a few days after G won a Speaksy that he does so…

Hi, Anon. I saw the post you mentioned (which it seems Michael also put on his Insta that is now officially public). Screenshot, for anyone who hasn't seen it:

To your point about Georgia and the Speakie, I hear what you are saying, but if we go with the idea of Michael shading Georgia, it would theoretically be just as possible that he is shading David, as David also won a Speakie Award. Again, though...both Georgia and David collected their awards for the books themselves/on behalf of their teams. Neither one of them won for their individual performances, which is what Michael is specifically being singled out for here.

(Also, while I don't know that this is necessarily the case here, Michael pseudo-beefing with Georgia is giving me flashbacks to them "fighting" over David on the night of the NTAs four years ago. Bless...)

I agree with you that Michael has not typically reposted such blatant praise in the past, and so I'm hoping that it means he's actually found some renewed confidence in himself. The Book of Dust series and recordings were such a big part of his life, too, so for that to be coming to a close has to be stirring up a lot of emotions (much in the same way that the third season of Good Omens coming out next year will certainly do the same). Knowing that what he did has made this kind of an impact clearly seems important to Michael, and hopefully hearing such positive words inspires him to keep moving forward.

Much remains to be seen, though, especially with Michael's newly public Insta. It will certainly be interesting to see what comes next...

[ingravinoveritas]

Do you have any idea when that promo for Good was filmed? David looks so ill in it, it’s hurting my heart. But the pics from the audiobook awards last night looked better? I’m hoping it was a while back and he’s improving but honestly I just way to hug him, I can’t remember the last time we saw him laughing / happy at an event

(Grouping these together for ease of answering.)

The first Anon is referring to this promo from the other day, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. To your question, Anon #1, I did try to find out when the the promo was filmed, but couldn't find much information. However, I noticed in Sharon Small's part of the video that she appears to be in a theater dressing room (the mirror with the light bulbs around it)...so my thought is that perhaps they all recorded this a few months ago, when Sharon was still doing Nye.

The other thing about David's segment of the video is that the lighting in the room he was in was very harsh, so I think that might've contributed to his appearance. Because of how the light was hitting his face, it seemed to only augment the bags under his eyes and the sunken quality of his cheeks. So even if David was just feeling a normal amount of tired, that lighting and angle made him look even more so, unfortunately.

Which then brings me to the Speakies. I agree with you, Anon #1, that David looked a lot better there, and I saw the photos of both David and Georgia and did have some thoughts. I'll put up a few pictures so we can have a visual...

There were things that I thought were quite good about their appearance at the Speakies. I think Georgia looks great, and the red jumpsuit is a very bright pop of color that works well with her hair and skin. I know Georgia also collected an award, and that is definitely an accomplishment. Both she and David accepted the awards on behalf of the teams behind Rivals and Him, respectively--though neither of them won for their individual performances--and bravo and applause for that.

But then we get to the things that were not so good, and I'm again sad to say that almost all of it was in the pictures of David and Georgia together.

The first thing I noticed was how they are not even touching in these pictures. It would make all the sense in the world for Georgia to have an arm around David or be leaning into him as she's done countless times before, but instead her arms are hanging at her sides as if she doesn't know what to do with them, and I've truly never seen her look so uncomfortable standing next to David. David's hands are shoved into his pockets as well, and though he tries to make it work for the camera, his smile seems strained and put on more than anything else.

All of this to me felt like it spoke to something larger, which is how much David and Georgia did not "match" at this event. The clothes are an external representation of this--again, not that either of them looked bad, but his blue Burberry tartan clashed considerably with the bright red of her jumpsuit, in contrast to how their outfits seemed to complement each other at various awards shows in the past. They stood side by side taking photos, but did not look as though they were "together," as there was a feeling of distance between them.

It's a difference that is especially noticeable when you look at the pictures of David with Ncuti Gatwa from that same night, or the photo of him with Louise Brealey, the other narrator of Him...

It also was noticeable that, apart from the red carpet/step and repeat photos at the start of the night, David and Georgia seemed to be nowhere near each other. We saw numerous photos of David with Ncuti, and again, it would've made sense for Georgia to be in the background somewhere, chatting to other folks. But this did not appear to be the case, nor did it seem that Georgia and David were in the background of the crowd photos, or any other photos. For whatever reason, she and David are seen in "official" photos only.

In talking of photos, the other thing that stood out to me was the "end of the night" photo that Georgia posted on Instagram. It reminded me of that same kind of photo that she posted after the Scottish BAFTAs just a few weeks ago. On the left is the photo from after the Speakies, and on the right, after the Scottish BAFTAs:

What's noticeable about these (especially the second photo) is that Georgia is clearly settled in for the night, having changed into her pajamas, but David is still in his dress clothes. In the photo on the left, he still has his coat on, which gives less of an "end of the night" vibe and more of a "stopped to take a picture and on his way out the door" vibe.

It's a big difference as well to another "end of the night" photo after the BAFTAs last year, where David is clearly in a black T-shirt/relaxed clothes alongside Georgia in a robe, and to other photos like this from several other events. Could it just be that David didn't have a chance to change clothes yet when Georgia took these photos? Absolutely. But when you start to notice a pattern, it's difficult to unsee it, and to not see other patterns as well.

So those are my thoughts on David and Georgia's appearance at the Speakies. If they had a good time, then all the more power to them, and congrats again to both on their awards. But I tend to agree with you, Anon #1, that it feels like forever since we last saw David laughing and happy at an event. I only know what I've noticed, and whether anyone agrees or disagrees with me, I just hope folks will look at these pictures and decide for themselves what they think...

[takmiblog]

英国製品　教養のある音

今までに触れなかったがアコースティックにせよ、ハーマン・カードンにせよ、マランツも同様、アメリカの製品だ。刺激的に鳴りすぎる。極言すれば、音楽ではなく音のレンジが鳴っている。それが私にあきたらなかった。英国のはそうではなく音楽がきこえる。音を銀でいぶしたような「教養のある音」とむかしは形容していたが、繊細で、ピアニッシモの時にも楽器の輪郭が一つ一つ鮮明で、フォルテになれば決してどぎつくない、全合奏音がつよく、しかもふうわり無限の空間に広がる……そんな鳴り方をしてきた。わが家ではそうだ。かいつまんでそれを、音のかたちがいいと私はいい、アコースティックにあきたらなかった。トランジスターへの不信よりは、アメリカ好みへの不信のせいかも知れない。

「トランジスター・アンプ」　五味康祐