Sunday, January 24, 2016

NOLA

Who doesn't wish they were back in New Orleans at this time of the year. I love reading NolaDefender for news about the city, and obviously Nola.com for general stuff, but the photoblogs GoNola and NOLA Photos are so much fun to look at, they kill you with homesickness for the city.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Moonrise

Moonrise Kingdom [2012] is such an interesting, sad film. Typically Wes Anderson is very twee and ironic, but here his whole story seems more authentic, messy, indefinable and human than his other works. This great review [by Anthony Lane, 2012] of the film at the New Yorker is a good read.

Usually the famous modern English composer Benjamin Britten [1913-1976] is associated more with modernist, loud and roaring work that takes work to like, like Eyes Wide Shut or something, but in this film, if you can get past the opening 'kid introduction record' to orchestra that he made, his music really works here. It's so moving at certain points, and even the film's dialogue seems very realistic, with people behaving like normal, everyday souls. Britten's piece 'Cuckoo' is especially heart-wrenching when they film's characters confront how painful to two main kids must be feeling [for life in general, and for the only bright spot of each other].



Saturday, January 9, 2016

20s

For all 1920's loving music fans, check out Speakeasies' Swing Band, along with the very long The Roaring Twenties Music jazz videos.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

MTL

Montreal shopping is a sport, but you can also enjoy it from home during the winter arctic freezes. A very interesting shop is St Laurent's BoutiqueUnicorn [at 5135 St. L.], which has everything and some neat jewelry, an even a cute tumblr as well. It always has great sales.

BoutiqueOlivia has an online shop, if you don't want to venture out [to Atwater's Place Alexis Nihon at 1500 Rue Atwater]. Boutique Camomille [here's their Instagram] is quintessential Italian high class elegance--with an evil eye 'blue eye' up by the top door frame as you leave, be sure to spot it! I always check in here to see what's new. It has tons of all types of demure, lovely outfits along with many accessories, so there's something for everyone, and it has gorgeous Serapian handbags [very Italian film star].

Au Kouign Amann [in the Plateau at 322 Ave. du Mont-Royal E] is worth flying to Montreal for, so be sure to stop in and get one of everything [esp. the famous almond croissant]--and a handmade fruit juice. They are literally like crack.

Manga

The best manga is timeless--either for art, story, layout or innovation. One great example is 1988's Vampire Princess Miyu [ 吸血姫 美夕] by Narumi Kakinouchi and Toshiki Hirano [which also has an anime]:

Modern music

British The Haxan Cloak's album 'Excavation' [2013] is very gothic and eerie, an excellent example of how great ambient music can be--here's a great music review of this album, the music makes you think you might actually somehow be in either Silent Hill or the afterlife [... and you were not a good person before it].

A more beat focused and faster paced gothic ambient is the excellent album 'Black Goat of the Woods' by Black Mountain Transmitter and their LP 'Playing with dead things'. An even more upbeat, ambient piece is Montrealer [Chris] d'Eon's 'Al-Qiyamah' or his album with famous Montreal composer Grimes, the 'Darkbloom' EP.

The Quebeçois [French] group Sombres Forêts' [Dark forests] 2013 album 'La mort du soleil' has a ambient and nature-based opening with a metal focus and endpoint. Dante Augustus Scarlatti's 'Black Mass XXXIII' is great as well.

American Balam Acab's album 'Wander wonder' is quite open and hopeful, partially a MYST game soundtrack and giving off a Björk 'Vespertine' vibe as well [except in the ocean caves instead of in the snow].

Montreal's Tim Hecker's album 'Haunt me do it again' is very old school 'pure' ambient.

American Sun Araw's album 'On patrol' is more grunge/punk style ambient.

Similar to M.I.A.

The music of Sri Lankan and English creator M.I.A. is a revelation when you hear her best pieces for the first time [like the well known 'Bad Girls']. After you hear it though, it's difficult to find anything similar, [other than the older work of 'Sleigh Bells', ie 'Crown on the ground']. While no artist is exactly the same, here are some ideas:

More ambient:
--English creator Forest Swords' album 'Engravings' [2013] is beautiful
--American Laurel Halo's work ['Logic Hour'] [2011] is very interesting
--3 hours of Nordic Ambient Music [ie. artists: Ulf Söderberg, Sephiroth, Empyrium, Tenhi]
--Music of Bali esp. at minute mark 29 and onwards [ie. song "Lüytheon" by László Hortobágyi - Gáyan Uttejak Orchestra, from album Gabevaildenor] is very unique and atmospheric

More indie [Pitchfork-ish, or Joanna Newsom-ish, for lack of a better descriptor]
--The obvious one to mention is perhaps Azealia Banks 'Broke with expensive taste'
--múm's 'Finally we are no one' album, from the experimental Icelandic group Múm
--Minimalist Balmhorea's 'Stranger' album [very instrumental and soothing]

More ancient but very rhythmic:
--Andes native music and the instrumental 'Music from the Andes Vol. 3' [Musica Andina, 2005]
--Persian folk music [ie. "Sarmast" by Shahram Nazeri & Dastan Ensemble, etc]
--Turkish Sufi music [ie Yemen Ellerinde Veysel Karani (Poem of Yunus Emre, a minstrel Sufi wandering, etc...]
--Tibetan folk music [ie. "Harvest Song" by Jhalakman etc]

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Kids

There is one thing that always seems timeless to give to kids, and it's the books/cartoon dvd [only $20] of Lowly the Worm in his neighborhood of Busytown! His flying apple car is amazing. Here's a rundown on the Xmas book in the series.

One of the first female composers

Kassia [in Gk. Κασσιανή] was a Byzantine composer [living from 805 A.D. - 865] who is widely regarded as the first famous female music scorer. She was an abbess and a poet, and composed hymns that are still used in the Orthodox Church's liturgy books. Listen to her work here. And try one of her hymns sung by the Boston Byzantine Choir here.

Also try Cappella Romana's album 'The Fall of Constantinople'. If you want to hear the Orthodox Church's sung liturgy in English, it's very interesting and odd to hear it instead of read it in translation--you can here.

Also be sure to read and listen to the work of one of the most famous female troubadours [or poet], the French Beatritz de Dia [living around 1175]. By the way, this is noted as "fl. c. 1175" by most sources even nowadays, and it comes from the Latin 'flourished [around]', or as we would say 'lived'. The 'c' is of course 'circa' or 'around'. Watch this incredible performance in Germany of her piece "A chantar", performed with ancient instrumentation and a costumed singer [!!] at the Musiktheater Dingo.

Listen to her poetry set to music here along with other medieval composers. Beatritz de Dia's poem 'A chantar m'er de so qu'eu no volria' is translated onscreen for us with the music here. Read more about her here as well, with another poem example.

SW

Okay, the new pilot Poe Dameron from Star Wars makes it worth seeing the flick, just look at him [and the lightsabers of course -- and for Luke too!] :

Friday, January 1, 2016

Music

Mai Yamane's [in J: 山根麻以] incredible cover of "House of the rising sun" [the New Orleans focused folk song recorded most famously by the band The Animals in 1964] is featured in the movie trailer for Japanese film "The World of Kanako".

Other excellent covers of the song are a minimalist one with with strong vocals by Holly Henry, and an incredible version with extensive instrumentation [violin and guitar] and great singing by Lettice Rowbotham and James Smith.

Shiina Ringo has a very interesting music video in "Kamisama, Hotokesama"--Asian music really has every style on hand, with a huge variety among countries, regions and genres. Another great piece is the Thai piece by Louis[e] Kennedy's "Poo Yai Lee", from a record of 1960's pop music in Thailand [this song sounds like a cover of Booker T & the MG's "Green Onions"].


Another great set of music of that collected by Sublime Frequencies, like the "Shadow Music of Thailand" and the "Folk and Pop Sounds of Sumatra Vol. 1".