Currently, I'm just about to watch the last episode of the second season and am truly sad to see Chris Bauer's magnificent Frank Sobotka go, whose performance has riveted my attention throughout the second season.
So here's a chance to redress that balance and give these types of films their due. We all need cheering up every so often. As per usual with these lists, this is a personal set of choices and not something that any of you will agree with 100 per cent but it's always interesting to see how and why we differ on particular choices.
1) 'Imagine me & you' - Hilarious, heart-warming and ultimately ott ending a la Richard Curtis & co. all add up to a thoroughly enjoyable movie that is packed full of wonderful characters and performances.
2) 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the whistle-stop cafe' - So difficult to sum up this amazing movie without waffling on too long. This is a powerful movie concerned principally with the lives of three women and events that unfold in the past and present. You will laugh, you will cry, you will have your faith in humanity restored.
3) ' Volver' - Nothing cheers one up like watching Penelope Cruz...do anything. The movie is a testament to Almodovor's understanding to humanity, principally the strength and warmth of the women in this movie.
4) 'A good year' - Yeah yeah yeah, it's corny, it's a rehash of script-writer Peter Mayle's 'A year in Provence' and it's very slow- but it's Ridley Scott and it's Russell Crowe and it's the gorgeous sun-drenched countryside of Southern France. Just sit back and let yourself enjoy the wonderful old-fashioned story and visuals. A rare treat.
5) 'Once' - Irish busker meets Czech girl who misses her piano. Glorious triumph that skates on the edge of cynicism and spirit-lifting music therapy. An incredible achievement.
6) 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' - a movie that reminds us what true love is and where to find it in today's post-sentimentality society.
7) 'Notting Hill' - It's hard not to just shove all of Curtis & Grant's ouevre in here but instead I'll let this one stand for their particular brand of encapsulated British charm and bitter-sweet romances. NH is notable for a fascinating look at pairings between famous and non-famous people, Rhys Ifan's triumphant break-through and the hauntingly beautiful Elvis Costello cover of Aznavour's 'She'
8) 'Monsters Inc.' - Ahh Pixar. Good Lord, has anything ever looked as good as the movies these CGI Jedi Masters come up with? With this movie they hit the exact blance needed to blend technical wizardry with charming story and wonderful voice talents of Billy Crystal and John Goodman topping off an almost perfect animated experience.
9) 'Crash'- An odd choice on this list, I know, but one of those movies that rewards one paying close attention and also a very nice holistical approach to society and as the end approaches, one's time is well rewarded by some incredible scenes of closure.
10) 'Big' - One of THE ultimate feel-good movies. The only problem including it on here is that pretty much everyone on the face of the planet has seen it already- well, go see it again.
Part of his power is to make his scripts, characters (obviously with the incredible talents of the actors to bring them to life) and settings so natural, real and emotive. The pure love that Pedro has for Penelope Cruz's character (and indeed, the woman herself as both of them discuss in a round-table chat with the cast and director) shines through all the drama and humour of the film itself. The ever wonderful Carmen Maura once again shows herself to be a world-class acting talent as indeed do all the women in the cast.
The amusing and interesting thing is that whilst Pedro has always focused on strong female characters in his films, this movie pretty much just puts men in there as incidental mostly non-speaking characters who propel events or are footnotes to the women's stories, and manages to make this seem natural, so compelling and organic are the female driven narratives.
It's something that I find interesting when writing as well, and whilst I wouldn't equate myself with Pedro Almodovor (give me a few years yet to achieve Spanish Genius level ), I definitely understand the way that he writes the female characters and the underlying impulse to follow stories through from a female perspective and learn a lot writing said characters IF you write them 'truthfully' and allow them to be themselves and be real.
When writing guys, it's much easier to forget about making them as real as possible, from a guy's perspective, but when trying to bring a female character to life, I find myself spending a lot more time on details, background, perspective, attitude and how she thinks, feels, acts, etc.
With every character I write, I'll try to always, like I mentioned, write from truth and not just try to make a point, polemicize or use a person in a story to just express one of my view-points.
Almodovor is fascinating to watch in the round-table chat with the principal cast members and watch his interactions with the others, espeically Penelope Cruz and Carmen Maura who both make some very interesting points and discuss their relationships with Pedro and how that relationship affects and informs the dynamic of the final works.
Go watch it.
I just got back from attending the European premiere of said movie with said folks attending. Myself and my friend Natasha got to walk the red carpet amidst the jostling and pushing of tv and radio types with their cameras and ebows.
All of us attending got a goodie bag of bits and pieces which was nice as was getting the little speech from two media women, siobhan someone and Lorraine Keane from tv3 who intro'd the director, producer, director and two stars.
The director and producer both made their little speeches about drinking guinness and Rob Schneider made a similar few lines, adding in 'You can do it' to great laughs and then doing this demented little dance around.
Adam Sandler spoke about getting to Ireland before his 'Irish' friends back home and apologised for the haircut he has in the movie.
Then we watched the movie itself which was fun, ridiculous in places but with a few very funny gags.
So a well worth trek out in the rain and a well chosen shirt and jeans ensemble for such an occasion.
In the case of Karadzic it's a particualarly shabby state of affairs as his country-men have obviously known where he's been all this time, judging by the relative ease with which they produce him, rabbit out of hat fashion, as soon as the EC Entrance board puts the squeeze on getting this dodgy git as a precursor to any furthering their wanting to join the land of cheese and Bratwurst.
Nuremberg was a farce that launched our brave new post-war world- made absolutely laughable by the notion of one side of a conflict judging the others just because they happened to win. Churchill and Truman could just as easily have been tried as 'monsters' who committed horrible crimes against humanity in Dresden and Hirsohima/Nagasaki and then be executed to send a message as the Nazis were.
From that farce came many other little 'we won so we write history' demonstrations as opposed to actual genuine war-crimes trialls. And you know why?
Yes, you guessed it. Because if there were any proper neutral authority deigned to try anyone, and remember that key word 'anyone' found sufficiently suspicious of having committed war-crimes, then ANY nation engaged in warfare would be in trouble and EVERY nation engaged in warfare would be liable to prosecution and punishment thereafter if found guilty. That would be real justice, that regardless of victory or 'loss' within the theatre of war, you would have to play by the rules and not just suddenly adopt a moral higher ground just because you can.
Does Karadzic deserve to be tried for crimes? Doubtless. But so do G W Bush, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Dick Cheney, the Taliban, Al Quaeda and many others at play in numerous conflicts raging across the world today. And in the case of Karadzic, surely those who conveniently just pulled him out of some 'mysteriously unknown' (please note sarcasm) location when it suited them should also be tried for suspected aiding and abetting his fugitive from justice status.
War- phony trials, moral posturing and fattening the pockets of already rich lawyers and judges, that's what it's good for.
Generally, the more liberal panel members will be up front and express their beliefs and argue their side, but the characters put on there for the sake of balance (which is fair enough) all try to disguise just how insidious their actual views are, as though the real uncloaked personas would be just too much for any rational people to swallow.
So it was with slimy David Quinn, well known Catholic propaganda writer and religious and social conservative on tonight's show, spouting the usual muted claptrap with regards to the same-sex adoption, marriage and overall agenda driven homosexual politics.
His constant recurring line tonight was 'the right to a child to have a mother and a father' which sounds great on the surface of it and got the man on the street nodding his head in agreement. Oh yes, sure that's got to be right; sure isn't that how things were meant to be? Ah, the gays and their constant demands. Shakes 'liberal' fist. Listen here, mr and ms gay, you got your civil partnerships so what more could you POSSIBLY want? Now feck off and be happy for the scraps we've thrown you off the 'normal' dinner table.
The truth is, that like the American conservative groups and their arguments towards a normative that would be damaged by granting 'non-normative' groups equal rights, respect and basic human needs and wants. their argument of 'the right to a mother and a father' is nothing more than phraseology. It actually doesn't make any real sense.
What is the right to have a mother and a father? Why should a child have such a right? And how does it relate to reality?
Presumably, the proponents of this 'right' mean it as relating to an ideal family situation, i.e. one with a father and a mother there to help the child develop and grow. But how is that a right or even desirable? If it's more desirable to have a father and a mother, does that mean that any father and mother are the ideal, even if they're less than perfect? That's certainly what the 'family values' mob would seem to be presenting as their so-called 'right' . No matter what type of people these parents are, they're still the proper or 'desirable' or even 'right' ones to be with the child?
The conservatives would have us believe that ANY heterosexual arrangement involving a father and mother is preferable to any non-hetero couple. So any father and mother is a better situation for a child than a single parent, no matter how loving he or she is or a gay couple, no matter how caring and thoughtful and dedicated they are. Because a child has the right to a father and a mother.
Bullshit.
A child has the right to the best possible start in life it can get. A child has the right to a loving, dedicated home. A child has the right to be protected, cared for, helped and raised to the best of the parent or guardian's ability. A child has the right to not be used as a tool in a pathetic fight against the erosion of prejudice.
These people who spout nonsense like a child's rights are not giving two shits about the child. All they're doing are what their pals in the fight against gay marriages in the US are doing. They're fighting against the legitimisation of non-traditional lifestyles because they can't handle not being able to look down on another group. They have been able to live off their self-righteous attitude that they are right and everyone else is wrong for so long that they think it's their God given inheritance.
And now all the barriers are crumbling away, the old fences of fear and ignorance slowly being eroded and they're running scared because all their old beliefs and foundations are wearing thin and now they have nothing left to hold over the 'others' in society. Gays can't marry because it would make a mockery of marriage. Gays can't have children because it would be 'wrong'. Single parents can't raise children because...well, because they can't, damnit! A woman can't do a man's job. Nor can she raise a child by herself. She just...can't,
The simple truth is that gay people are people and thus should be accorded the same respect, dignity and basic human rights as anyone else. Whether it's marriage or the rights to raise children as part of a family, it's their basic rights as human beings. That means the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else when it comes to children. You fuck up, you lose the child. Hetero, homo, single, couple.
The constant cloaking of the issue in ridiculous catch-phrases such as the 'right' quoted up above is tiresome and old.
We know what children need. It's the same thing that everyone else needs, which is the right to not be treated like a second class citizen and to be afforded the same respect, basic human rights and ability to live in a civilised equal society where we judge people by their actions and not their orientation.
So, best opening lines from movies:
1) 'I believe in America...' - The Godfather. Absolute blistering opening that sucks the viewer in. When I first saw this movie at age 14, it possessed me and held my attention like so few movies had or have since.
2) 'Is this the end? No, it's just the beginning' - Grease. As opening lines go, it's clever, tongue in cheek and sets the tone perfectly for the surprisingly adult version of the 1970's musical celebrating 1950's culture.
3) 'This never happened to the other fella' - ' On her Majesty's Secret Service' . The much under-rated George Lazenby smirks self-deprecatingly at the camera after a fantastic opening fight on the beach, setting the tone for his all too brief outing as James Bond.
4) 'You have to come back with me- back to the FUTURE !' - BTTF2. Ah, Christopher Lloyd, was there ever a better wacky movie scientist than Doc Brown? Pre-credits sequences got a new champ with this one.
5) 'Or, I could just be some thief here to rob the register...but that's the thing, you just never know' - Intermission. Colin Farrell displays an admirably nasty streak in the shocking opening to class Irish film chock full of fantastic writing and memorable lines.
I'm also thinking about putting out a collection of pieces from my livejournal over the last four years and from a few other places- taking various pieces and tying them together thematically.
It's always a bit odd doing this- as with the journal in the first place, it's something you approach with the assumption that at least a few other people beyond immediate family and friends will be interested in what you have to say. An arrogant assumption. But then again, arrogance is necessary as there will always be critics. I think that if someone is terrible at something they're doing in public, that it will always become quite obvious but if one has the talent, then ditto, it will shine through and pick up support. No matter how good someone is, there will always be naysayers, because not everyone is interested in the quality of the work on a neutral basis but many commentators, critics, onlookers will have their own reasons for attacking or wanting to see someone or something criticized.
But having said all that, anyone got any comments on my proposal for a new book? Especially those of you who have been with me on here for the long haul?
It's been changing color and shape all day, rather impressively. Two people asked me if I went to the hospital and then corrected themselves as I explained that I've been through toe injuries before and hospitals are useless for that. You may as well tell them your feelings were hurt. They basically x-ray your toes if they can't tell by feeling the pulpy swollen mass that was once a nimble agent of balance. Then they say that they can't do much for it but tape it to another toe, give you some drugs and tell you to fuck off.
I took some pics with my digital camera (is that redundant now? Should I just say 'camera' now and assume everyone knows it's digital as nobody really uses the other ones anymore?) and will put them up on tumblr tomorrow- not sure why, but something is compelling me to do so.
Oh, and I hate that smug, pretentious, useless git on the food/travel channel Andrew ZImmern! The fat bald ridiculous prick travels the world, eats horrible crap like turtle balls and says nonsense like 'Mmm, very nutty' . If you want quality food/travel shows, stick to Tony Bourdain, the master of that genre. Just like nobody does down home cooking like Paula Dean, or modern snappy quick meals for your lesbian friends like Rachel Ray (everyday) .
Every country has their veterans, their glorious dead to be remembered, so why is it that the Australian slain and permenantly maimed seem to stand out as tragically as they do? Part of it, for me at least, is that the Australians respect their veterans and honour what they went through more than a lot of countries, who like to sweep the soldiers and military issues under the carpet and out of the way once the war is over.
Eric Boggle's timeless classic 'And the band played waltzing matilda' is one of those beautiful pieces ever written about warfare, and like the haunting violin from 'Schindler's list' and the plaintive voice of the soldier telling his story in Billy Joel's 'Goodnight Saigon' it makes us stop and lower our defenses and suddenly find ourselves hit full force with the horror and utter waste of human life for no good reason.
Australia went from being a penal colony to being something very different. I often joke that if America had been settled by convicts or Australians, that it would be a much much better place. America was settled by lunatics kicked out of the UK for being annoying religious twats and here we are hundreds of years later with a bunch of religious twats still holding influence over the USA. But Australia was founded by people who knew how to enjoy a drink and who had lived the hard life, had either been in prison or worked with the prisoners.
Australia developed like a more sane and fun version of the USA but they couldn't put their colonial history quite behind them either and thus from paradise came the call to war from the old colonial ties and thus Australia (and New Zealand too, Anzac fans!) sent their eager young men to go fight for a flag that didn't care two shits about them.
And that's when the horrible reality first came to them. When most of the soldiers never returned, and those who did were maimed or broken inside. And there was no need for it. No need. This wasn't Australia's fight, they didn't have an empire. What they did have was a commonwealth and a reminder of that tie on their flag. Like a slap in the face or cold water dashed against their reality, the anzac veterans of all the wars tell s story of men and women who saw their allegiances as something more than symbolic and took it upon themselves to risk their own lives for what they saw as their duty or their duty to 'democracy'.
And that's part of why that movie always gets to me, and that song always makes me stop and think about war and those who died in it's pursuit. There's no need, no point, no end but especially in the case of Australia, which in many ways was the new beginning in actuality that America always thought it was. None of the diggers need have died. They could have left all that behind them. But some of them just couldn't or didn't realise that the war they had gone to fight was over a long time before.
Kudos to the 'Eastenders' crew for some really interesting plotlines and structures lately. Just watched the 20.05.08 episode and it was amazingly set up with three different lunches set up for one to one thirty, drawing ninety per cent of the plots together and then one particularly nicely set-up bar scene with three dejected men sitting there crying into their pints.
And then a spectacularly clumsy ending with Jack and Sean finding out Roxy is pregnant and about to do a runner.
Ha ha .
"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to."
Pay attention mortals- I'm going to do this and then you can do it- go on, I don't care if there are seven of you but it is the kind of thing that's fun anyway.
1) 'Take me away' - Pugwash
Fantastic Irish band put the 'o' back in pop and combine their influences such as ELO, The Beatles, Beck and Radiohead with a very unique new sound that fuses all these with a wonderful modern sensibility that should keep picking them up new fans and getting the existing ones more devoted. All that plus they replied to my comments with a lovely email so gotta respect that!
2) 'Lost Without you' - Robin Thicke.
The ever so slick Mr.Thicke grew up in tv-land with his father Alan Thicke well known to any fans of 1980's American tv but amazingly, RT has managed to carve out his own career in R&B, writing monster hits for years for Usher and co. and now releasing his own stuff sung by him and the current album, 'The Evolution of Robin Thicke' is a joy to listen to. Even if you hate typical R&B, this stuff is infectiously listenable.
3) 'Better in Time' - Leona Lewis.
Combining beauty with talent, Leona manages to shed the trappings of post-tv music star far behind as she soars ever-upwards into the stars. This song is excellent to just enjoy but even more fascinating to watch with the video which shows off her everyday girl look and then suddenly zooms to full colour glamour with shockingly hot effect.
4) 'Indian Gypsy' - Ravi Prasad.
The haunting melody rides the fusion of trad Indian sounds with the bhangra-esque dancefloor chill/ambient structure. A wonderful relaxing and yet also invigorating piece that rides the 'Buddha Bar' collections with ease.
5) 'America (closing time)' - Allen Ginsberg & Tom Waits
The heart-beak obvious in the voice of Ginsberg as he nears the end of a life filled with fighting, huge hopes, massive contradictions and disappointments is underscored subtly by Tom Wait's Jazzy Blues music. Ginsberg plainitive voice creaks around the edges as it sends out barbs of wounded americana and each poetic shot across the bow reminds us how he arrived at this legendary place he inhabits.
6) 'Carmelita' - Warren Zevon
'And I'm all strung out on heroin on the out-skirts of town'. Zevon, close to Jackson Browne stylistically and personally could always be depended on to produce remarkable tapestries in a sometimes Dylanesque style and more often than not, something completely his own. This song has both the beautiful Spanish guitar mixed with the sadness of the central character and the notion of this mythical Latina beauty worth trying to fight for.
7) 'Moby Dick' (live) - Led Zeppelin
Going over the zepp back catalogue this week and Moby Dick once again caught my attention. A controversial song, hated by as many as who love it- it's one of the few songs offering such a huge showcase to percussion and letting drummer John Bonham cut loose like the madman he so gloriously was. A song that fills any room it's in or transforms your dull journey into mp3 splendour- go for the rawness of the live version and not the paltry studio one.
Well. One thing that always amazes me is how these soul-sucking bastards always miss the bigger picture. Just like so many of the same crowd who call themselves Christians whilst cheating on their wives, treating others like shit and generally being a capitalist fat-ass phony prick will weigh in on this as 'destroying the sanctity of marriage', so they just won't see beyond the end of their own well-powdered noses. They just don't get it!
Oh you crazy liberal homo-loving fuck, Colin, whatever are you on about now? Are you just ranting ad nauseum for the sake of a jolly little blog post? Or what are you up to? Can you not see that marriage is between a woman and a man? It's Adam and Eve, Man, not Adam and Steve (Steve's the blonde one with the handlebar moustache and the chiffon print purse, in case of any confusion)!!
Well. Here's the thing. Opponents of SSM are claiming that mariage is sacred and that gays are silly. Silly gays, marriages are for REAL boys and girls! Well. What is marriage? And what makes it sacred? Is it the idea of marriage that makes it so sacrosanct to these people that the very idea of willy on willy sex horrifies them so much? No, not really as the idea is intact with SSM. Okay, so is it the long and noble history of preserving marriage as something amazingly successful that is making them so protective? Ummm, not so much as separation and divorce figures are insanely high across the board. Marriage's share prices are lingering at the bottom of the curve. So what is it then that has these noble warriors of marriage so incensed by?
To put it simply, they just don't want to play fair. Nor do they want to share their toys. And nor do they want to actually put a dent in their idyllic world-view of life. Marriage is for guys and gals, welfare is evil, God has a beard and isn't that Bill O'Reilly great? Most of the views I'm putting out in the last sentence are obvious cartoon encapsulations but what I'm saying is that it's so much easier and comforting to believe solid facts. Solid facts make sleep easier. Solid facts mean that your feet are on solid ground, you're doing the right thing and you're a good guy. But that's just not reality, is it? Just like all those little niggling doubts that liberals have when someone abuses the welfare system, so the conservatives get those tiny eye-twitches when they're falling asleep which is their brain asking, well, what if things are a little bit more complex and multi-faceted than we say they are?
SSM opponents aren't defending marriage. Marriage is fucked anyway. It's been fucked for a long time, and like the one-eyed whore in the back room at the cat-house behind the door marked 'Deep deep discount!', it's not getting unfucked anytime soon. At least not by straight couples. What these people are fighting against is their growing up and seeing the world as it is and as it always has been. They don't want to have to change their views on everything. They don't want to have to stop sneering 'faggot' at anyone vaguely possibly could be maybe is in any way gay. They don't want to have gayness legitimised because then who would they look down upon? What would make them special? Nothing. They would then be on a level playing field, legally with those damn sword fighting faggots and those pussy obsessed dyke types. Tcchhhhh.
And marriage is such a bad choice of arena to make this fight in. These grim-faced heterosexual conservative champions of tradition have been taking marriage around the back of their principles for centuries and giving her a quickie before church and then dumping her there when their lust is spent. Ring fingers have been exposed in the sultry heat of night-clubs ever since they were invented. Married men have made prostitution the booming business that it is today! Wife beating is practically a sport amongst some married men! But this isn't as marriage was meant to be, and this certainly isn't what has gay couples fighting so desperately for the right to be seen as a legitimate married couple under the law with the same protections and same status as regular married couples. No. They don't want marriage as it's become, but rather they want marriage because of what it SHOULD be. A union of two people in love.
Does that mean that gay couples will fare better than straight ones at this institution? I don't know, to be honest. Either do they. And most importantly, either do the placard waving red-faced William Donahue obsessive types. But one thing I do know is that at least these couples are treating marriage better than their heterosexual predecessors. They actually want to get married and stay married. They're actually fighting for the right to have a legal spouse. They actually want people to know they have a partner. And they actually want to be equal to heterosexual couples- not above, not below but just on the same line, legally.
They want to have the same rights and recognition. They are fighting for things that are so intrinsically basic, so inanely obviously available to straight couples that it really blows the mind when you consider people are actually fighting against it. No, marriage is sacred. Well, then stop pissing about and cheating on your wife, treating her like shit, separating, divorcing and re-marrying if it's so bloody sacred. You wouldn't treat a dog like you treat marriage so don't go on and on canonizing it when someone else wants to play with it!
Same sex marriage is not an earth-shattering thing to ask for or expect. It's just evolution of our society to a point where sanity intersects reason and we can leave the ridiculous hatred behind and move to a place where we all respect each other and can move towards a more harmonious future together. It's a place where the road-blocks of hatred and prejudice have been cleared away and the sky of clarity can be seen.
Gay people don't have an agenda. Unless, by agenda you mean, Jesus, please leave us alone, stop cock-blocking our every attempt to just be allowed to live our lives without hurting anyone and be ourselves. They don't want to piss you off, annoy you, ruin your lives or otherwise get your panties in a twist. It's you doing that, people. That's your own hatred doing that. Gay couples are wanting a chance to enrich their own lives and just be more than a punchline to a joke or a comparison point to prove yourself against. They just want to come out of the shadows and stop hiding and keeping a low profile. They want to be able to openly show society that life is about a hell of a lot more than keeping one's prejudices alive.
But that's the difference, isn't it? Nobody knows where there is, any more and so we have a crowd of 'wlcomtomagonaldas' teenagers sputtering in a semi-Spanish/semi English guttural accent/lifestyle accessory which is not so much improved by the application of a drive-thru speaker giving the impression of a really shit voice of God.
And speaking of, Carlos Mencia needs to stop running annoying promo commercials for his new stupid tv show stand up 'comedy' nonsense. Personally, I'd rather watch the identity thief guys who play anusing songs and look mad for the point of the ads.
My allergy meds are making me fly- sky-high and oooooooohhh I'm nodding asleep at the KB- been feeling shitty all day
The first piece of weirdness is in it's placement. Although it was recorded after 'Let it be', it was released before it, even though it was the actual last Beatles album recorded which adds a level of artistic frisson as it was, in many ways, far beyond the messiness of LIB and was a return to form, for one last time, which was the whole purpose.
The Beatles as an entity had been crumbling for some time and for many reasons (Brian's death, John's growth as an artist and activist) had reached a crossroads with the over-ambitious recording shenanigans of 'Let it be', wherein they decided to record the process of making an album and everything that it entailed in a proto-type version of one of today's reality tv shows, except that that was actually real and therein lay the problem. They were falling apart, obviously and almost irrevocably and it was all laid bare there on the soon abandoned film project of LIB. The album itself was messy with John and Paul mainly using it as a sounding board for directions of future solo projects and the absence of George Martin as producer lending a distinctly chaotic air to a group of people and a huge pile of recordings that were not being dealt with as they were produced and not being re-recorded as they should have been to clear up mistakes and perfect various tracks into final versions.
'Let it be' almost did that to the Beatles. The bad feelings and chaos that resulted ended up with the group falling apart and it was only when pushed to the brink that they realised that this was it and that it had ended badly. None of them wanted this and so it was discussed and agreed that they would get back together for one album and do it properly, this time recruiting George Martin and agreeing to let him be in charge of putting the album together. What was amazing here is that they could all see that the end was inevitable but were able to put the fractious working atmosphere of 'Let it be' behind them and keep it together for long enough to put together a truly exceptional and remarkably structured album and send the Beatles off with a happy finale that looked at everything that they had been, where they had come from and left us with a snapshot of a band at it's creative height calling it quits and going their separate ways .
The other really fascinating thing about 'Abbey Road' is that despite the inclusion of so many fantastic and (now) classic tracks, it's not a collection of pieces but rather a single work of many different chapters or like a quilt with different pieces seamlessly stitched together to make one incredible overall work.
None of the songs on AR work even half as well when taken out of context. Like the earlier 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' abandoned theme so AR presented an ambitious idea of unity and looking at music in a different way, especially taking the idea of previous Beatles albums and using various techniques and approaches that this one could differ from them. With side one, the unity is more thematic with the songs representing how LIB could and should have been if a single strong creative producer had been in charge with Martin taking the many disparate strands and weaving them together into something remarkable. The sudden cut-off point at 7:44 minutes of 'I want you (she's so heavy)' into sudden silence is almost a cut point of the Beatles career and suddenly we're into the last run and with the beginning of side two all the way to the end, we're experiencing something different as the Beatles and Martin stitch many tiny songs together with the continuing royal and sun-like imagery abounding and creating one amazing shimmering tapestry of sound that coasts across genres and moods to reach a very definite end-point with the last lyrics on 'The End' effectively closing off an era.
The triumphant optimisim of many of the songs is fascinating, especially as the reassuring 'Here comes the sun' seems to be telling the fans as well as George himself that it'll all be ok after the Beatles and that life will go on and to look towards the future. 'Because' , with it's stunning harmonies and orchestration is another hopefuly look ahead with the Beatles and Martin musing on where life will take them next. As this flows into the patch-work pieces, we know that whilst the Beatles are moving on, the world of music has been irrevocably changed forever and that these last few pieces celebrating this legacy together are not a cause for sadness but rather a chance to celebrate with them in enjoying where popular music has gone and the part that the Beatles themselves played in such changes. MacCartney's 'granny music' as Lennon once deemed Paul's foray's into 1920's structures and tunes would prove to be a direction that he would explore alongside his more 'rocking' pieces with solo work and wings in the future. Harrison would continue to concoct progressive rock pieces of guitar beauty and perfect production whilst Ringo would go on to enjoy pure rock and roll with country tinged pop providing him with a few nice juicy hits in the early 1970's.
John Lennon would do whatever he wanted, whenever and with whomever. His experimentations in music didn't always make for the prettiest sounding songs but the genius of John was that he could pull out crowd pleasers at any time as well as doing his more activist/psychological/avant garde pieces. Never satisfied with the same thing, John would continue to go back and forth from hardcore full-on teddy boy rock, deep south grungy blues right through to production drenched harmony perfect songs like 'Imagine', 'Woman' and 'Watching the Wheels go round'.
If you haven't listened to Abbey Road in a long time or somehow never listened to it then it's time that you did. Give it a try and see what you think- and let me know.
1) you must come up with fourteen new names for a musical group/band
2) you must name at least two albums for each group
3) you must name the type of music each band does
4) you must name five songs from each band
okay
the bands first:
1) 'Detritus Junction' (whiskey-town alt.country meets high-pitched bono from the nineties)
(albums: 'Catch the first train' , 'Shoot the bad guys down')
2) 'Horrible Intent' (punky neat short songs- basic dark material stuff)
(albums: 'The Y-Chromosome Trap', 'Sticky assholes' )
3) 'Rape Camp' ( think versatility of foo fighters mixed with piano of ben folds)
(albums: 'Songs from a summit' , 'Beauty in all things')
4) 'Snow Shoes' (Elecronica remix trickery- some rap techniques)
(albums: 'Elton John Robots vol iv', 'Tales of a pirate tranny')
5) 'A meeting of miners' (electro camp pop- mika,JT,electric six)
(albums: 'Malleable pop concept' , 'Happy Modern kids')
6) 'Something else' (r&b stripped down)
(Albums: 'Up is all that's left', 'Her name was Katherine')
7) 'Screams of boys' (loud bluesy rock)
(Albums: 'Naming Dogs' , 'Shattered at Birth')
8)'Lemon Meringue Eye' (obscure half-finished FOB style indie pop)
(albums: 'If I had a budgie, I would let it go', 'Symphonies at night, written really quickly')
9) 'Over her Shoulder' (girls singing about female perspectives)
(Albums: '(Don't) Make me laugh' , 'Suffer the little children')
10) 'Boys for the Forest' (american blur)
('Peacocks and Poppinjays' , ' A perfect Resolution')
11) Little Red Riding Ho (pop meets soul)
(albums: 'Looking for a wolf', 'What my Grandma warned me against')
12) 'OZymandius,king of kings' (glorious heavy pearl jam/nirvana style)
(albums: 'Plymouth Rock', 'Unfinished Tarnish')
13) 'English-Town' (folk songs)
(albums: 'A sack full of secrets' , 'The Mountain and other stories from long ago')
14)'Instant Initiation' (german style prog rock)
('Upon Joining the navy' , 'Three Cds about nothing' )
So yeah, it appears that I've suddenly developed a taste for the R&B tinged pop that's around. The more or less death knell of rap that so many excellent indie-rock tinged bands sounded has played into R&B's smooth-talking hands with people tired of the braggadaccio of tired commercial hip-hop and rap that had ruled for so long now jumping corpse-ship and landing on new laid-back grooves.
Yeah, Michael Jackson's pre-freak boy upcoming release of the 25th anniversary of 'Thriller' is a must-have with a bunch of remixes and re-imaginings of the original classic tracks along with four skid-vids of said original tracks. MJ back before he was scary! The only scary thing back then was how talented the skinny young black kid in his sexual prime was, popping out hits left, right and centre. Listen, watch and weep for that weird old white woman who bears the same name but certainly not the same imagination or depth of creativity as this young man.
Listening to the really very excellent Kelis collection 'Hits'. I am amazed at how popular she for someone this talented. Usually anyone this big is at least vaguely compromised or iffy ( Hi R Kelly) but she manages to pull off everything she tries and in particular restores my faith in the modern R&B ballad with the beautiful 'Lil' Star' which is wonderfully understated and utterly catchy.
Ditto the ridiculously talented and pervy R Kelly who I can't help liking as a performer and singer but wouldn't trust the dodgy git as far as I could throw him and all his bling. 'Flirt' is a return to classic 'bump & grind' and '...I can fly' form with RK shouting out his boasts in a beautiful rhythm and fighting against seemingly nobody else in his claim to the throne of R & B. Fair enough, just keep producing good shit and you can claim whatever you want.
The product of some UK music discovery pop idol type effort or other is the utterly unforgettable Ms Leona Lewis. As gifted musically as she is stunningly beautiful, Leona manages to make the range of songs presented on her debut sound both lived in and fresh. She convinces us that she is this girl going through all of this great sounding melodrama. 'Bleeding Love' is already a classic, but discover the rest of this girl's range and treat yourself to a cd that you will be keeping around for a long time.
Yeah, I'm still listening to wide range of stuff but those ones above really caught my attention the last couple of days. With my ADD, being able to listen all the way through to more than a couple of songs by the same person is an achievement so I'm psyched at finding all this new stuff that isn't crap.
http://thecolin1.tumblr.com
as I find it bloody handy to use and am v happy with the style on it as well
My last ramble on there is about the ending of the Dark Tower series of books and my interpretation of it. Go look, laugh and argue with me.
Listening to Cat Stevens aka Yusf Islam. Very talented man and very interesting to listen to now when he talks about his life and his beliefs. He's not the bitter, twisted lunatic the media loves to portray but a really generous warm funny guy who has done a lot for children and education. I'm not a huge fan of Islam but he is definitely one of the positive proponents of the faith and a wlaking example of how to get it right.
I'm terribly disappointed by Hillary and Bill. I thought they were better than the cheap shots and tacky methods they've used in the last few weeks to try to derail Obama. It certainly paid off in Texas and Ohio but in the process they disgusted a lot of people like me who really doesn't want to see the same old mud-slinging again. Come on, Clintons, leave that crap in the past. Originally I wasn't impressed at all by Mr Obama but he's conducted himself very well and speaks more and more like a presidential worthy candidate all the time. I would still be happy to see HIllary win but more and more I'm leaning towards Obama as the preferential Democratic choice to beat the GOP with.
Spoke with Mona O'Moore the other day in TCD; about a few things but mainly about her recent appearance on RTE's 'Questions and Answers' - like the same thing with the interviews I've done for Sub-City Radio, it's just weird when I know people in the news or on tv or being talked about. It's odd actually knowing someone in that situation as opposed to talking about people like Brad Pitt or Britney Spears as if we know them. It makes me think I'd handle fame well- get me Mocha Orange Frappacino and make it snappy, bitch!
Gotta get at least a few stories editing finished tomorrow. Er, Today. I see coffee and lots of it in my immediate hours ahead. All I'm missing is a crumpled pack of cigarettes to be kept in my rolled up 1960's style sleeve.
Need to get some new tats done. Maybe Chad style like the arm loops or symbols, maybe Colin Farrell style with the celtic shit around the arm. MAybe a Calvin and Hobbes? Nice b&w scene on my back? or a pic of both of them smiling on my arm? That could be cute.
K- gonna get some sleep now
miss me at your peril
Whatever happens to cause the massive event, I am assuming small groups of survivors spread out. Next Assumption would have to be a number of groups converging on an acceptable location, shall we say a city near the sea like Los Angeles or San Francisco.
So we have a group of at last a couple of hundred people with more expected to arrive. We have bodies on the streets, power outages, chaos.
First thing is to get, like Stephen King's 'The Stand' shows, though without a mystical religious figure like Mother Abigail, a committee established to start getting society back together and the fundamentals working. Which of course begs the question of what are the fundamentals and what do people prioritise. What is important.
First priority is to get rid of immediate hazards to public health.
To re-establish power and running water.
To set up a provisional judiciary and police force.
To ensure lines of supplies of food, fuel, etc. are re-established.
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