Now that the recession has reached "Stage Two" (for those not in the economical know, that roughly translates to "really bad"), overdrafts are still recovering from a festive pillaging, and actually HAVING money will now place you as a prime suspect on the Met's new "Too Much Bling, Give Us A Ring" campaign, please join me as I give a big old twos to the credit crunch and provide my list of top 10 recession-flouting wonders, all of which are culturally sound AND financially viable (£5 or under). That's right, January ain't too bad after all (and I have, sensitively, left off all ingestible products for the new-year-resolutioners amongst you).
1. No Country for Old Men, £3.98, amazon.co.uk Based on the book by Cormac McCarthy, this film won four Oscars (that's less than £1 per award), and is directed by the consistently brilliant Coen brothers. On this premise, expect eerie existentialist leanings, attractive yet frightening men, mixed in with the odd scene of ultra violence.
2. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, £2.50, amazon.co.uk. Scott Fitzgerald set out to create "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple, intricately patterned" with this piece, and what do you know, he succeeded. Money, greed, ambition and love are recurrent themes, and it's set around the time just before the first big recession, so it's also spookily relevant.
More ideas after the jump...
3. Generation X - Perfect Hits, £3.99, play.com If you think you're a crust punk, you're a phony unless you own this.
4. You Shall Know Our Velocity, Dave Eggers. £5.99 amazon.co.uk I know I said £5 and under, but this extra 99p's expenditure will be entirely worth your while. Eggers is the man responsible for the McSweeney's Quarterly series, as well as the proprietor of the best pirate-merchandise shop I've ever had the joy of experiencing (and in the back of which Eggers runs writers' workshops for the youth of San Francisco). The opening line reads "I was talking to Hand, one of my two best friends, the one still alive, and we were planning to leave." Expect good things.
5. Triple rose ring - £5.00, asos.com This is a pretty little ring from ASOS. I think it's meant to look like those Lola Rose rings, only this one's a lot more affordable.
6. The Carpenters - Carpenters, £2.99, play.com This record has that awesome "Superstar" song on it that Sonic Youth covered on their split 7" with Redd Kross (you know, the Carpenters covers one). It's a worthy purchase on this basis alone, despite the fact the rest of the songs are pretty kicking, too.
7. Nails Inc Nail Polish, £3.50, asos.com This usually £10 a pop nail polish is going for £3.50 on the ASOS website, in a lovely mustard yellow shade. Beware when you buy - it is ONLY the mustard yellow (Brick Lane) shade which is £3.50.
8. The Woodsman, £2.00, play.com A rehabilitated paedophile gets put to work on a wood-chipping yard. The only problem is that it's located directly opposite an elementary school. UH OH.
9. Checked footless tights, £4, asos.com So you can't afford a new outfit, all's not lost. If you wear these tights, no one will be looking at your old, fraying dress anyway!
10. Flights to Oslo, Bremen, Dublin, La Rochelle, and Parma all for £1 . If the rest of these offerings don't raise your cheer level high enough, then how about a holiday? Flights to basically everywhere in Europe are going from £1 on Ryan Air right now. Why not try Oslo, where the men have cheekbones higher than kites, or Dublin, for a visit to Bono's house?