Must've listened to them before but can't remember. Instrumental, near soundscapish, not really ambient, but slow and... amazing.
Ok, true, I did blog this just for the sheer title. Blame me!
(Also, the rest of the album is just as great. Good writing background music. Also also, the near off-key synth tones are amazing.)
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Parataxis
Parataxis is a literary technique, in writing or speaking, that favors short, simple sentences, with the use of coordinating rather than subordinating conjunctions[1] (from Greek for 'act of placing side by side'; from para, beside + tassein, to arrange; contrasted to syntaxis or hypotaxis).[2]
It is also used to describe a technique in poetry in which two images or fragments, usually starkly dissimilar images or fragments, are juxtaposed without a clear connection. Readers are then left to make their own connections implied by the paratactic syntax. Ezra Pound, in his adaptation of Chinese and Japanese poetry, made the stark juxtaposition of images an important part of English language poetry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parataxis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parataxis
Hodejegerne (Headhunters) (2011)
Entertaining Norwegian action thriller of a story by the famous Jo Nesbø.
Nothing extremely fancy, but well done.
One scene made me wonder why the heck Dutch acting often looks so bad. Does this look as bad to Norwegians as Dutch acting does to us? Hard to say. (To make myself absolutely clear: the acting in this film *was* good, hence I wondered.)
Nothing extremely fancy, but well done.
One scene made me wonder why the heck Dutch acting often looks so bad. Does this look as bad to Norwegians as Dutch acting does to us? Hard to say. (To make myself absolutely clear: the acting in this film *was* good, hence I wondered.)
Friday, 7 June 2013
Synecdoche, New York
Wonderful film. The usual Kaufman themes are there - uncertainty, death - but the theatre that becomes a stage for New York with actors for real people...
It's such a simple concept, and I loved it. A film well worth watching a couple of times.
It's such a simple concept, and I loved it. A film well worth watching a couple of times.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Haruki Murakami - "Norwegian Wood"
Ok, no magic realism! To be honest, yes, I had expected that. No, I had not read anything about it first. Why would I?
But the story was written wonderfully, and it did grow on me. The struggle in the book, chosing between Midori and Naoko, doesn't start until the last quarter of the book or so, which makes it a kind of silly spoiler.
The beauty of his writing is in the soft, undemanding poetic way he describes everything, including the distant character of the protagonist. You cannot feel angry at the guy for the distance he keeps between himself and the world. It is an utterly natural thing for him, and as such, makes you wonder about your own compulsions.
But the story was written wonderfully, and it did grow on me. The struggle in the book, chosing between Midori and Naoko, doesn't start until the last quarter of the book or so, which makes it a kind of silly spoiler.
The beauty of his writing is in the soft, undemanding poetic way he describes everything, including the distant character of the protagonist. You cannot feel angry at the guy for the distance he keeps between himself and the world. It is an utterly natural thing for him, and as such, makes you wonder about your own compulsions.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Nick Cave - "The Flesh Made Word"
You could call it the B-Side of his "Love Song" lecture.
A wonderful listen of how Nick Cave relates to the Bible, the word of God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3p_gzuLaVM
A wonderful listen of how Nick Cave relates to the Bible, the word of God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3p_gzuLaVM
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Hugo Claus - "De Geruchten"
Het eerste deel was verreweg het meest intrigerend. René die terugkomt, de Kap die een donkere rol speelt, een gevoel van onbehagen tegen de achtergrond van Claus' België, de verschillende personen in een klein dorpje.
Maar het verhaal van zijn zotte broer Noël die verhoord wordt, en via wiens (verwrongen, gelogen) beelden we de achtergronden achterhalen, konden me veel minder boeien.
Een enkele mooie zin:
"Ik lees die woorden af in mijn hoofd. Veel van die woorden komen boven uit de tijd dat ik in de klas van Meester Arsène zat, voor mijn ongelukkige moeder mij heeft laten met haar tandem. Ik was de slimste van de klas. Ik las toen boeken. Soms komen de woorden, de zinnen zelfs, terug uit die boeken en dikwijls herken ik wat zij willen zeggen."
Maar het verhaal van zijn zotte broer Noël die verhoord wordt, en via wiens (verwrongen, gelogen) beelden we de achtergronden achterhalen, konden me veel minder boeien.
Een enkele mooie zin:
"Ik lees die woorden af in mijn hoofd. Veel van die woorden komen boven uit de tijd dat ik in de klas van Meester Arsène zat, voor mijn ongelukkige moeder mij heeft laten met haar tandem. Ik was de slimste van de klas. Ik las toen boeken. Soms komen de woorden, de zinnen zelfs, terug uit die boeken en dikwijls herken ik wat zij willen zeggen."
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Cat Empire - "Cinema"
Couldn't listen properly to every single song, but...
- Shoulders: very ska-ish.
- The Heart is a Cannibal: yuck! Then it turns uptempo.
- Reasonably Fine: very music-al.
Monday, 27 May 2013
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Saturday, 25 May 2013
Avishai Cohen - "The ever evolving etude"
(or is it really "The ever evoling etude" ?)
It's like Philip Glass going mental. Well, more mental than him. Mental and on mescaline.
It's like Philip Glass going mental. Well, more mental than him. Mental and on mescaline.
Artie Kaplan - "Bensonhurst Blues"
Melancholy swing of yore. With banjo (mandoline?) and weird mouth-singing!
Seems a common song. Oscar Benton has an amazing version as well.
Seems a common song. Oscar Benton has an amazing version as well.
Layer Cake (2004)
It has been said Daniel Craig got his James Bond role because of this film.
It's good. It's typical British underworld-Guy-Ritchie style, including incomprehensible dialects and lightning-fast-dialogues.
It's good. It's typical British underworld-Guy-Ritchie style, including incomprehensible dialects and lightning-fast-dialogues.
Saturday words
http://feeds.feedburner.com/better_than_english
Yoisho
Yoisho is a Japanese word that has no real meaning at all – it’s what Japanese people say when they flop into a chair after a hard day at work, where others might just exhale or grunt loudly.
Ayurnamat (Inuit)
A word describing the philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed.
Bothántaíocht (Irish)
From ‘bothán’ meaning ‘hut’ or ‘cabin’, the word refers to the act of going around the neighbours’ houses, collecting gossip. ‘Bothánach’ is an adjective describing someone who does this.
Eigengrau (German)
Lit. meaning “intrinsic gray”, but also refers to the dark grey colour seen by the eyes in perfect darkness, as a result of signals from the optic nerves.
Ikigai (Japanese)
Ikigai is a Japanese word meaning “reason for being.” On the island of Okinawa, it is thought of as “a reason to get up in the morning,” a philosophy which has been linked to the longevity of the people there.
Yoisho
Yoisho is a Japanese word that has no real meaning at all – it’s what Japanese people say when they flop into a chair after a hard day at work, where others might just exhale or grunt loudly.
Ayurnamat (Inuit)
A word describing the philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed.
Bothántaíocht (Irish)
From ‘bothán’ meaning ‘hut’ or ‘cabin’, the word refers to the act of going around the neighbours’ houses, collecting gossip. ‘Bothánach’ is an adjective describing someone who does this.
Eigengrau (German)
Lit. meaning “intrinsic gray”, but also refers to the dark grey colour seen by the eyes in perfect darkness, as a result of signals from the optic nerves.
Ikigai (Japanese)
Ikigai is a Japanese word meaning “reason for being.” On the island of Okinawa, it is thought of as “a reason to get up in the morning,” a philosophy which has been linked to the longevity of the people there.
Steven Hall - "The Raw Shark Texts"
Loved this book, it blew me away. It was funny, great writing, and an amazing story to the likes of "The End of Mr Y" and "Neverwhere".
There were a few issues with the notion of conceptual fish and its conceptual world. In particular, the boat and how everything changed seemed sometimes a tad too easy... and yet it made sense on a fundamental level so deep that there are no proper words for it.
It was so good that I dread opening, nay, even picking out, a new book to read next.
Some amazing metaphores.
"The Orpheus was listing strongly now, the starboard side several feet nearer the water than the port and the mast pointing to five past the hour. It made matters worse that the winching arm was fixed to starboard and when we lowered the cage down over the side it added another minute to the ticking-away mastclock."
"I wanted to say, No, really, and explain how Ian really wasn't a getting-to-know-you type of cat or even a caual-hello kind of cat, more a sort of whirlwind made of blades."
(about his deceased-girlfriend's family)
"I know I probably won't see any of her family again. It's just too hot and too sharp and we'll only cut ourselves on each other if we try to stay in touch."
There were a few issues with the notion of conceptual fish and its conceptual world. In particular, the boat and how everything changed seemed sometimes a tad too easy... and yet it made sense on a fundamental level so deep that there are no proper words for it.
It was so good that I dread opening, nay, even picking out, a new book to read next.
Some amazing metaphores.
"The Orpheus was listing strongly now, the starboard side several feet nearer the water than the port and the mast pointing to five past the hour. It made matters worse that the winching arm was fixed to starboard and when we lowered the cage down over the side it added another minute to the ticking-away mastclock."
"I wanted to say, No, really, and explain how Ian really wasn't a getting-to-know-you type of cat or even a caual-hello kind of cat, more a sort of whirlwind made of blades."
(about his deceased-girlfriend's family)
"I know I probably won't see any of her family again. It's just too hot and too sharp and we'll only cut ourselves on each other if we try to stay in touch."
Focus Group - "The Elektrik Karousel"
http://www.emusic.com/album/focus-group/the-elektrik-karousel/14015432/?fref=202710
Crazy carnaval music. Childlike and insane psychoscapes.
Crazy carnaval music. Childlike and insane psychoscapes.
Scarlett Thomas - "Going Out"
Enjoyable enough, an easy read, but there were quite a few things that bothered me. First and foremost perhaps, it was the lack of something special, something intrinsically magical, going on. Not magic in the it's-impossible way (after all, there was a with who might or might not have been a real witch) but something intense in the words and the story.
Things were too easy, it seemed. (Why am I thinking of Nick Hornby's novel ("Falling"?) that disappointed me? Similar feeling.)
Luke's trouble with comprehending things outside his house was sometimes difficult to imagine. I told myself over and over: he's never been outside. But it is mentioned time and again how much television he watches. He would know hotel floors are all the same. That there are numbers indicating which floor you are on. Or, if you have never experienced it, is it too much, still? Can you not connect the tv images with what your own eyes see?
Things were too easy, it seemed. (Why am I thinking of Nick Hornby's novel ("Falling"?) that disappointed me? Similar feeling.)
Luke's trouble with comprehending things outside his house was sometimes difficult to imagine. I told myself over and over: he's never been outside. But it is mentioned time and again how much television he watches. He would know hotel floors are all the same. That there are numbers indicating which floor you are on. Or, if you have never experienced it, is it too much, still? Can you not connect the tv images with what your own eyes see?
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