Lulu Smyth

AI Music: The Infinite Jukebox | FT Tech Tonic Will AI music generators end music-making as we know it?

I loved working on this very fun miniseries for Tech Tonic - 'Will AI ruin music?'

Hosted by our music critic Ludo Hunter-Tilney, featuring Holly Herndon, The Velvet Sundown, Tom Furse, AND MORE

shows.acast.com/ft-tech-toni...

Beyond thrilled that Political Fix has won both ‘political podcast of the year’ AND ‘podcast of the year’ at Publisher Podcast Awards tonight!🏆

Alongside amazing FT panel you hear each week, big props to incredible team @manuelasaragosa.bsky.social @lulusmyth.bsky.social, Flo Phillips, Breen Turner

😘

This is the climax of “Hot Frosty,” a real movie that exists

In retrospect would probably swap out Christmas eve in miller's point for Holidate but ur wrong about the 2000s xx

Life and Art from FT Weekend Life and Art from FT Weekend is the twice-weekly culture podcast of the Financial Times. On Monday, we talk about life, and how to live a good one in one-on-one conversations. On Friday, we talk about...

For more 'wintertainment', here's our winter survival guide ep with Cordelia & Gris Murray Brown. Ft whiskey, 'winter goddesses', warm lighting and a heated vest controversy link.chtbl.com/lifeandart

Thanks to @cordeliajenkins.bsky.social for the commission! Would like to make it clear that she did not ask me to watch 100. In fact, no one asked me

The wonderful, horrible, madcap world of the Christmas movie Our festive viewing habits reflect Yuletide’s carnivalesque nature, a time when eccentric choices are celebrated

Over the last few months I watched 100 Christmas films, and wrote about it for the FT Mag: on.ft.com/3BBYrUR It's been a year

The wonderful, horrible, madcap world of the Christmas movie Our festive viewing habits reflect Yuletide’s carnivalesque nature, a time when eccentric choices are celebrated

Disclaimer: this was an elective lobotomy, no one asked me to watch 100. But I did write an article about it for FT Mag here: www.ft.com/content/be15...

2020s:
— The Holdovers (2023)
— Christmas Eve at Millers Point (2024)
— The Princess Switch: Switched Again (2020)

OK we’re scraping the barrel. Two final honourable mentions go to Love Hard, in which the moral of the story is ‘nice guys catfish too’, and the Lindsay Lohan canon 🫡

2010s:
— Klaus (2019)
— Carol (2015)
— Tangerine (2015)

Honourable mention: The Knight Before Christmas (2019) - again, don’t argue

2000s
— Elf (2003)
— Love Actually (2001)
— The Holiday (2004)

I will not be contested on any of these

1990s
— Muppets Christmas Carol (1992): the best xmas film of all time
— Home Alone (1991): self-explanatory
— The Nightmare before Christmas (1993): some might argue this is just a Halloween film. Those people are wrong

1980s
— Die Hard (1988): yes this is a Christmas film
— Gremlins (1984): surprisingly violent kids movie about evil furbies on drugs
— The Snowman (1982): for some reason will never be able to listen to the theme song without hearing “Christopher Walken in the air”

Honourable mentions: Christmas Lilies of the Field (1979), festive TV sequel to the Sidney Poitier classic starring Billy Dee Williams (Prince Lando). Also the Star Wars Christmas Special, which is so bad that Carrie Fisher used to play it at parties to get people to leave

1970s
—Black Christmas (1974): Olivia Hussey slasher, one for the edgelords
— Scrooge (1970): musical version starring Albert Finney, probably your dad's favourite Christmas Carol
—The Wiz (1978): Musical Wizard of Oz starring an all-black cast inc Michael Jackson & Diana Ross

1960s
—The Apartment (1960): Billy Wilder banger about an insurance clerk who lets out his apartment for affairs
—Charlie Brown’s Christmas (1965): cynical Charlie seeks to find meaning in a depressingly commercialised holiday
—Frosty the Snowman (1969): honestly bang average but weirdly memorable

1950s
—Christmas Carol (1951): starring Alastair Sim, this is the best early version by a mile
—Three Godfathers (1955): Western retelling of the three wise men, directed by John Ford
—White Christmas (1954): see It’s A Wonderful Life

NB: Anyone complaining about the omission of Holiday Inn will be blocked & reported. Terrible film

1940s:
—Christmas in Connecticut (1944): a fraudulent cookery journalist with zero domestic skills is made to look after a soldier. Iconic
—It’s A Wonderful Life (1947): I found this pretty boring but riots will start if I don’t put it in
—Meet Me in St Louis (1944): Judy Garland, self-explanatory

1930s
—Christmas Party (1931): short starring Clark Gable & Lionel Barrymore about a really annoying kid who throws a party for clout
—Night Before Christmas (1933): Disney remix of the poem, toys decorate a 🎄
—Silver Rain (1937): Russian animation about pigs & rabbits having a lovely festive time

1920s
—Big Business (1929): Laurel and Hardy play door 2 door 🎄 salesmen
—Empty Socks (1927): Disney cartoon lost until 2014. Ends with a rabbit blowing up an orphanage. Heartwarming tale <3
—Scrooge (1922): Spins on the reasonable logic that Scrooge would have been traumatised enough by one ghost

1910s:
—The Insects Christmas (1913): demented Russian animation ft dead insects hanging with Santa
—Adventure of the Wrong Santa Claus (1914): Burglar dresses up as Santa & goes on a spree, pre-war Grinch
—A Christmas Accident (1914): poor family live next to a rich asshole who just needs a teddy

1900s
—Santa Claus (1898): 1 min short ft Santa slutdropping down the chimney. First ever xmas film
—The Mistletoe Bough (1907): spooky tale about a bride who climbs into a chest of drawers, as one does
—The Christmas Angel (1905): Georges Melies tragedy. US version ending has a Nahum Tate/Lear vibe

The wonderful, horrible, madcap world of the Christmas movie Our festive viewing habits reflect Yuletide’s carnivalesque nature, a time when eccentric choices are celebrated

Disclaimer: this was an elective lobotomy, no one asked me to watch 100. But I did write an article about it for FT Mag here: www.ft.com/content/be15...

I watched over 100 Christmas films this year, from 1898-2024. Here are the best from each decade 🧵

Love Actually (2003) is a beloved Christmas classic but what many fans don’t realise is that the country it’s set in, “England”, wasn’t just made up for the film - it actually exists! It has a population of 69 million people and its chief export is gas turbines.

This episode 🥹

🎧 link.chtbl.com/lifeandart

American Psycho is a hilarious & heartwarming feminist classic. Everything about the remake so far smacks of Nolanisation

Breaking my code of silence to say this year can't get any worse