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Jan. 31st, 2009 02:27 pmAntony and the Johnsons' The Crying Light is a gosh darned gorgeous album.
and one more very precious thing
Jan. 28th, 2009 09:42 amvia Coilhouse, Pants Off Men. You must watch if you have been to a goth/industrial/synthpop/EBM club in the last decade or so.
emo bear rights!
emo bear rights!
good things
Jan. 24th, 2009 01:21 pmI just came home from a seriously intense Thai-style massage. I *almost* had to tell her to back off when she was kneeling on the knots in my calves but I soldiered through and now I feel awfully good. She did great work in loosening up all the hip muscles, too. I suspect I will be sore later but better after that.
Last night I went to an annual CD swap that an extended circle of friends has been holding for many years now. It's a very nice tradition to have. Last year I did an elaborate theme for mine, but this year I just went with songs that make me happy. I titled the mix "Charms," and wrote this to accompany the track listing:
( Charms )
Today, website planning, then out dancing at Basha Cafe!
Last night I went to an annual CD swap that an extended circle of friends has been holding for many years now. It's a very nice tradition to have. Last year I did an elaborate theme for mine, but this year I just went with songs that make me happy. I titled the mix "Charms," and wrote this to accompany the track listing:
"There is something about each of these songs that has always made me feel better. They aren't all happy songs. Some of them are not happy at all. What that says about me, I don't know. But whether it's through words, tonal qualities, memories or perhaps most of all saudade, these are the songs that soothe."And here's the track listing, with annotations as to why I chose the songs:
( Charms )
Today, website planning, then out dancing at Basha Cafe!
Mick Harvey
Jan. 22nd, 2009 09:11 amMick Harvey has left the Bad Seeds, for "a variety of personal and professional reasons." That is truly the end of a era. I think Nick Cave should drop the Bad Seeds moniker for his band at this point. There's still a couple of original Seeds present, but without Mick Harvey it's really not going to be the same, even more so than after Blixa's departure.
Still waiting for the vet to call.
Still waiting for the vet to call.
Anagram site, via iterum:
Anagrams with my real name, since my LJ name doesn't turn up anything much:
A Roaring Shiner
Again Err Rhinos
Arraign Her Ions
Raga Risen Rhino <--- that would be an awesome band name, for just the right band
Aha Sinner Rigor
Sharia Erring No
Hearing An Orris
Grannie Roars Hi
Oranger An Irish <--- oranger an Irish what?
Anger Air Rhinos
Ashen Rain Rigor
Every year I participate in a mix CD swap with friends. This year's is Friday, and I think I have finished my mix. Probably I still have too many songs and will have to cut it down. Last year I was very elaborate and made a fake movie soundtrack, along with a movie synopsis. This year, it's songs that make me happy. So it's no surprise that I quite enjoy my mix :-) I'll post a track listing after the party, so as not to spoil the surprise for the person who gets it.
Tonight I am once again supposedly picking up all the Raks Spooki DVDs. We'll see.
Anagrams with my real name, since my LJ name doesn't turn up anything much:
A Roaring Shiner
Again Err Rhinos
Arraign Her Ions
Raga Risen Rhino <--- that would be an awesome band name, for just the right band
Aha Sinner Rigor
Sharia Erring No
Hearing An Orris
Grannie Roars Hi
Oranger An Irish <--- oranger an Irish what?
Anger Air Rhinos
Ashen Rain Rigor
Every year I participate in a mix CD swap with friends. This year's is Friday, and I think I have finished my mix. Probably I still have too many songs and will have to cut it down. Last year I was very elaborate and made a fake movie soundtrack, along with a movie synopsis. This year, it's songs that make me happy. So it's no surprise that I quite enjoy my mix :-) I'll post a track listing after the party, so as not to spoil the surprise for the person who gets it.
Tonight I am once again supposedly picking up all the Raks Spooki DVDs. We'll see.
I knew "five easy steps" was too good to be true in the home wireless network instructions... but finally the thing seems to be working, thanks to "John" at RCN's tech support line (more likely Ajay or Mahatma or Naveen, but whatever, he was helpful). I am regularly frustrated by RCN, and I certainly didn't enjoy the half hour hold time on the phone, but in this case I really appreciated that they helped me with a problem that was really of my own making, by introducing a new component into my system. Actually I blame Vista, which most pirate-like took over the installation process from the router's own installation software and messed up all the network settings, requiring a reset from RCN's end. When M gets home, we'll see if the laptop can connect and if I got the security settings all correct, and then hopefully all will be well that ends well.
I sang songs I didn't really know in Rock Band last night and did okay--granted I didn't set the difficulty level any higher than medium, but once I got the hang of reading the lines and also let go of using actual words if I didn't know them already, I did okay. M was very amused by my singing a Nine Inch Nails song. At which I scored a 96%, I might add. Scored 100% on Teenage Lobotomy, but that only has I think one more vocal note than the guitar line has chords, so that's not really all that impressive. Still felt good though ;-) And now I feel more confident about joining in when Rock Band breaks out at parties. I'm hopeless at the instruments but people always seem to be wanting singers.
We were thinking about going out tonight but being out four or five nights in a row has left us both drained. I think the router finished off any initiative I had left in me. So tonight it is us and the couch and the weasels and last night's Sanctuary, a show to which I seem to have become quietly addicted. It's not at all great and Amanda Tapping's accent (or lack thereof) is ridiculous but I enjoy it lots.
I sang songs I didn't really know in Rock Band last night and did okay--granted I didn't set the difficulty level any higher than medium, but once I got the hang of reading the lines and also let go of using actual words if I didn't know them already, I did okay. M was very amused by my singing a Nine Inch Nails song. At which I scored a 96%, I might add. Scored 100% on Teenage Lobotomy, but that only has I think one more vocal note than the guitar line has chords, so that's not really all that impressive. Still felt good though ;-) And now I feel more confident about joining in when Rock Band breaks out at parties. I'm hopeless at the instruments but people always seem to be wanting singers.
We were thinking about going out tonight but being out four or five nights in a row has left us both drained. I think the router finished off any initiative I had left in me. So tonight it is us and the couch and the weasels and last night's Sanctuary, a show to which I seem to have become quietly addicted. It's not at all great and Amanda Tapping's accent (or lack thereof) is ridiculous but I enjoy it lots.
great new album
Dec. 16th, 2008 10:33 amMy copy of the Hoda Sinbati album "Ala Mahlik" from Sands of Time arrived yesterday--if you like baladi music, you must get this album! Hoda's voice is amazing, gritty but sweet, and the musicians are fantastic. The booklet that goes with the album isn't ready yet, but Yasmin included a line by line translation of the lyrics, awesomely accompanied by the Arabic words so you know what is really being sung when. And the whole concept of having shorter versions of each song that can be incorporated into dance routines is excellent. To order, contact Yasmin directly.
Solo Accordion
Nov. 30th, 2008 04:01 pmI should be dancing, doing laundry, prepping vegetables for dinner, etc., but instead I do this.
meme a la redbeka_rose:
DIRECTIONS
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it makes you look.
4. Title this post what the answer to your last question is.
5. Good luck and have fun!
( the answers )
Sigh, how else can I procrastinate...
meme a la redbeka_rose:
DIRECTIONS
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it makes you look.
4. Title this post what the answer to your last question is.
5. Good luck and have fun!
( the answers )
Sigh, how else can I procrastinate...
(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2008 11:30 amI think the ending of The Shield was satisfying. If Kafka wrote gritty urban crime, that's the ending he would have written... There was a definite, and humorous, slap to the Sopranos at the very end. I imagine Vic's past will catch up with him sooner or later one dark night, and I don't imagine the FBI will care in the slightest. Poor Claudette. At least she got some measure of satisfaction. Poor Ronnie--granted it was all his own free will, but he learned that lesson about not giving scorpions rides across rivers the hard way. Poor Dutch, who I think crossed a line somehow but I'm not sure where or what it was. He'll know he did it, though. Poor Julian. Go Tina, though. And I can't say I feel particularly badly for Shane and his family, or for Corrine and her kids.
Last night when I left work the police were doing random bag searches at Kenmore Square. The brown woman wearing her scarf pulled over her head right next to me was randomly pulled over, while I was not. All in all, these bag searches do absolutely zero to make me feel safer walking the streets of my city. Quite the opposite, really.
Thinking about seeing the Damned at the Paradise on Jan. 4. Theo (formerly of the Lunachicks) and the Skyscrapers are opening, so there's an extra bonus. It's $25, I think. It would mean being out late the night before returning to work after the long holiday break (yay university job!) but the Damned do put on one hell of a show, as did the Lunachicks.
We worked more in Najmat's class last night on a tricky step from last week--it's really just (what I call) an Egyptian walk going backwards, with a little kick in between each step, but somehow reversing the direction makes things so much more complicated. Not to mention bringing it up on your toes, and the inevitable "Now add a shimmy to it!" It's a classic Mona Al Said move and I really really want to get it internalized. I can get it in fits and starts but not reliably. The key is not thinking about it, but not thinking about it is very hard. (belly dancer tech talk--to me, the Egyptian walk is the step where you push your L hip back/slightly out as you step forward with your R leg, R knee bent, bring your hips and knees to neutral with a little ab pull inwards as the L leg comes forward, then R hip goes back as L leg steps forward and L knee goes down. Hadia calls this a samba walk. I have no idea where I got my name for it.)
I'm very glad this is only a half week. I've got pies to bake tonight and two meals to eat tomorrow, what with both of our families being local. It works out well that my family typically eats late while M's typically eats early. Friday I will exercise until I keel over, and then I'll rest for a bit and get up and do it again. I foresee a day of drum solos for me!
Last night when I left work the police were doing random bag searches at Kenmore Square. The brown woman wearing her scarf pulled over her head right next to me was randomly pulled over, while I was not. All in all, these bag searches do absolutely zero to make me feel safer walking the streets of my city. Quite the opposite, really.
Thinking about seeing the Damned at the Paradise on Jan. 4. Theo (formerly of the Lunachicks) and the Skyscrapers are opening, so there's an extra bonus. It's $25, I think. It would mean being out late the night before returning to work after the long holiday break (yay university job!) but the Damned do put on one hell of a show, as did the Lunachicks.
We worked more in Najmat's class last night on a tricky step from last week--it's really just (what I call) an Egyptian walk going backwards, with a little kick in between each step, but somehow reversing the direction makes things so much more complicated. Not to mention bringing it up on your toes, and the inevitable "Now add a shimmy to it!" It's a classic Mona Al Said move and I really really want to get it internalized. I can get it in fits and starts but not reliably. The key is not thinking about it, but not thinking about it is very hard. (belly dancer tech talk--to me, the Egyptian walk is the step where you push your L hip back/slightly out as you step forward with your R leg, R knee bent, bring your hips and knees to neutral with a little ab pull inwards as the L leg comes forward, then R hip goes back as L leg steps forward and L knee goes down. Hadia calls this a samba walk. I have no idea where I got my name for it.)
I'm very glad this is only a half week. I've got pies to bake tonight and two meals to eat tomorrow, what with both of our families being local. It works out well that my family typically eats late while M's typically eats early. Friday I will exercise until I keel over, and then I'll rest for a bit and get up and do it again. I foresee a day of drum solos for me!
Let the Right One In
Nov. 24th, 2008 12:32 pmShort review: I loved it, in the way that only something very uncomfortable can be loved. It was provocative in theme and content. I really liked the way the movie built up your sympathies for certain characters, so that you cheer their actions on, only to suddenly stop and realize that you *want* the characters to do horrible, bad things, and what does that say about you? The two child actors are brilliant and beautiful in a way that I don't think American child actors would ever be allowed to be, at least not without tons of controversy. Obviously it's a bit of a stereotype in vampire films and literature to be dealing with the theme of the cusp between childhood and adulthood, but this is really something powerful on a visceral level.
( more spoilery comments )
On a side note, my dislike for most Kendall Square theatre patrons was reaffirmed. People responded to gruesome things with highly inappropriate laughter, I think because it is easier to laugh than to think about/empathize with uncomfortable things. It makes me sad for them, though it doesn't stop me from wishing they'd gone to some other movie.
This weekend I also sealed up all the windows, which made an immediate difference in the house, dealt with an RCN phone thing, went to the vet's with Ianto, made a pizza, danced, cleaned the tub, took a bath and did one of the things on my list of dance goals for 2008, which is to put together a handful of 20 minute routines to have on tap for whenever I need one. The one I did last night was very classic and full of music I love but hopefully not boring for a restaurant/party crowd who knows that kind of music. Next I'll put together a more pop oriented one appropriate for any kind of audience, and then a couple more of each. My foot injury derailed things so much for me this year, so it feels good to actually get some goals accomplished in the last months of the year. Anyway it was a very productive weekend.
Ianto's doing well. He has some kind of low grade infection and fever, so he's on amoxycillan for a week. Because he's on prednisone, which is an immunosuppressant, this kind of thing can happen frequently. Luckily he's so, so good about taking medications. This one isn't too awful. The vet also agreed with me, looking at his teeth, that he's probably much closer to 4 than 2. His incisors show the kind of wear that is characteristic of a few years' worth of chewing on cage bars :-( and his canines are getting that translucent look that older ferret canines get. But he continues to maintain very well on a low dose of prednisone and is in generally good health, so I think we'll get some good time with him. The trip to the vet's was a good bonding experience; he was actually asking to be picked up, which is new and says he sees me as safety. Yay little heartwarming weasel :-)
( more spoilery comments )
On a side note, my dislike for most Kendall Square theatre patrons was reaffirmed. People responded to gruesome things with highly inappropriate laughter, I think because it is easier to laugh than to think about/empathize with uncomfortable things. It makes me sad for them, though it doesn't stop me from wishing they'd gone to some other movie.
This weekend I also sealed up all the windows, which made an immediate difference in the house, dealt with an RCN phone thing, went to the vet's with Ianto, made a pizza, danced, cleaned the tub, took a bath and did one of the things on my list of dance goals for 2008, which is to put together a handful of 20 minute routines to have on tap for whenever I need one. The one I did last night was very classic and full of music I love but hopefully not boring for a restaurant/party crowd who knows that kind of music. Next I'll put together a more pop oriented one appropriate for any kind of audience, and then a couple more of each. My foot injury derailed things so much for me this year, so it feels good to actually get some goals accomplished in the last months of the year. Anyway it was a very productive weekend.
Ianto's doing well. He has some kind of low grade infection and fever, so he's on amoxycillan for a week. Because he's on prednisone, which is an immunosuppressant, this kind of thing can happen frequently. Luckily he's so, so good about taking medications. This one isn't too awful. The vet also agreed with me, looking at his teeth, that he's probably much closer to 4 than 2. His incisors show the kind of wear that is characteristic of a few years' worth of chewing on cage bars :-( and his canines are getting that translucent look that older ferret canines get. But he continues to maintain very well on a low dose of prednisone and is in generally good health, so I think we'll get some good time with him. The trip to the vet's was a good bonding experience; he was actually asking to be picked up, which is new and says he sees me as safety. Yay little heartwarming weasel :-)
Dissonance and Harmony
Nov. 12th, 2008 04:33 pmI have gone through an entire box of tissues in the last 20 hours. I have really had enough of this being sick. It's putting a serious cramp on my plans to do, you know, actual preparation for the Descent show :-( I did drag myself to dance class last night because I couldn't stand lying around the house any longer; I think some sweat was a good idea but I can't do it again tonight.
Watched Miles Copeland's America at a Crossroads show on Arabic music, Dissonance and Harmony: Arabic Music Goes West, last Friday. It was a very flawed production full of fascinating information and personalities. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Arabic music, with the caveat that you will find it frustrating. It started out shakily enough, with the idea that Miles and his crew were looking for Arabic musicians who had something to say to the Western world. I'm pretty sure that most Arabs residing in the Middle East, whether they are musicians or not, have something to say to the Western world. Political freedom of expression in the musicians' native countries was largely glossed over, and I'm sure Saad lied outright to Miles when he said he never discussed anything political in his songs. I thought Saad loved his donkey. Anyway, the musicians for the most part seemed like an interesting bunch and any of them could have been the subject of an hour long documentary, or a part of a collection of portraits of musicians, discussing their lives as artists in the Middle East (or driven out of the Middle East, as in the case of the Iraqi guitarist). The experience of the Lebanese musicians in the group during the Israeli invasion was briefly touched upon, but really only given token consideration.
The point of the documentary seemed to be that these Arabic musicians could collaborate with Western musicians, as though this was supposed to validate them in Western eyes in some way. It's a somewhat offensive premise in the first place, and in the second place, the documentary barely touched upon the end product of that collaboration, a concert at the Roxy in Hollywood performed by the Arabic and Western artists, so it wasn't effective in showing us what this collaboration could produce. From what I could discern, the songs produced by two days of strangers from widely disparate musical traditions were not that great (with the notable exception of the Jordanian composer Tareq Al Nassar and the Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla--I liked what they were doing), so perhaps that's one reason why little attention was paid to the end product of the process. That would have been okay if the process had been stronger, or if the exploration of the process had been stronger. The Western musicians were a pretty motley bunch as well--they looked like a random grab bag of Miles calling in favors from people. Musicians like Nile Rogers and RZA, okay, but dude from Night Train? not famous girl from Go-Go's? Seriously, that was the best he could do? Nobody exciting and fresh? It made the proceedings seem rather stale.
One amusing thread that ran throughout was the interaction between Miles and Saad. I don't know if there is genuine antipathy there or if they have that kind of joking insulting relationship, but I got a sense of no love lost between them. The scene where Saad explains to Miles that yes, Anab is about this fruit seller right here outside his house, he wrote it about this guy and it's all about his fruit, is pretty funny (for those who don't know, it's an old song, and the fruits mentioned are metaphors for female body parts that the singer admires greatly in all sizes and shapes and colors). I'm sure Saad rolls his eyes as they walk away. Once Saad arrives in the US, he sweeps into the recording booth, ignores the Western musicians, tells the Lebanese rapper to add some raps in between the verses of his Bellydance song, then sweeps back out to go play tourist for the rest of the trip. Sensible man. The brief concert clips that were shown of him looked like riotous fun, I could have watched an hour of that and been quite happy.
I'd give the show a C+, which is entirely too bad because it could have been so much better.
Watched Miles Copeland's America at a Crossroads show on Arabic music, Dissonance and Harmony: Arabic Music Goes West, last Friday. It was a very flawed production full of fascinating information and personalities. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Arabic music, with the caveat that you will find it frustrating. It started out shakily enough, with the idea that Miles and his crew were looking for Arabic musicians who had something to say to the Western world. I'm pretty sure that most Arabs residing in the Middle East, whether they are musicians or not, have something to say to the Western world. Political freedom of expression in the musicians' native countries was largely glossed over, and I'm sure Saad lied outright to Miles when he said he never discussed anything political in his songs. I thought Saad loved his donkey. Anyway, the musicians for the most part seemed like an interesting bunch and any of them could have been the subject of an hour long documentary, or a part of a collection of portraits of musicians, discussing their lives as artists in the Middle East (or driven out of the Middle East, as in the case of the Iraqi guitarist). The experience of the Lebanese musicians in the group during the Israeli invasion was briefly touched upon, but really only given token consideration.
The point of the documentary seemed to be that these Arabic musicians could collaborate with Western musicians, as though this was supposed to validate them in Western eyes in some way. It's a somewhat offensive premise in the first place, and in the second place, the documentary barely touched upon the end product of that collaboration, a concert at the Roxy in Hollywood performed by the Arabic and Western artists, so it wasn't effective in showing us what this collaboration could produce. From what I could discern, the songs produced by two days of strangers from widely disparate musical traditions were not that great (with the notable exception of the Jordanian composer Tareq Al Nassar and the Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla--I liked what they were doing), so perhaps that's one reason why little attention was paid to the end product of the process. That would have been okay if the process had been stronger, or if the exploration of the process had been stronger. The Western musicians were a pretty motley bunch as well--they looked like a random grab bag of Miles calling in favors from people. Musicians like Nile Rogers and RZA, okay, but dude from Night Train? not famous girl from Go-Go's? Seriously, that was the best he could do? Nobody exciting and fresh? It made the proceedings seem rather stale.
One amusing thread that ran throughout was the interaction between Miles and Saad. I don't know if there is genuine antipathy there or if they have that kind of joking insulting relationship, but I got a sense of no love lost between them. The scene where Saad explains to Miles that yes, Anab is about this fruit seller right here outside his house, he wrote it about this guy and it's all about his fruit, is pretty funny (for those who don't know, it's an old song, and the fruits mentioned are metaphors for female body parts that the singer admires greatly in all sizes and shapes and colors). I'm sure Saad rolls his eyes as they walk away. Once Saad arrives in the US, he sweeps into the recording booth, ignores the Western musicians, tells the Lebanese rapper to add some raps in between the verses of his Bellydance song, then sweeps back out to go play tourist for the rest of the trip. Sensible man. The brief concert clips that were shown of him looked like riotous fun, I could have watched an hour of that and been quite happy.
I'd give the show a C+, which is entirely too bad because it could have been so much better.
Hamlet move so beautiful
Nov. 7th, 2008 11:46 amWednesday night I watched the Birthday Party's Pleasure Heads Must Burn, a DVD of concert footage from 1983 and 1983, along with some bonus television appearances from that same time period. I'd somehow managed never to watch this before, shame on me. But watching it for the first time now, all these years later, had its own benefit of knowing how Nick's career would go and seeing how it all began.
First up on the DVD was a video for Nick the Stripper, in which Nick looks about 14 years old and you can't believe that big voice is emerging from that skinny little kid. I suppose he was probably 19 or 20 at the time. He matured fast, though; the next video shows the classic Nick Cave of the 1980s, huge hair and feral eyes and jutting jaw and stovepipe trousers and tall stack of bones piled six feet high, words being wrenched out of his body in his spastic angular dancing. (and if I ever needed any confirmation that my preferred aesthetic of the male body was formed in the 1980s, well, yeah. thankfully I had enough sense to keep away from the serious junkies). The power and ferocity of the Birthday Party shows are legendary, so I was expecting to see that. What I wasn't expecting was 1) how much better those songs are live and 2) how in control of his voice and body Nick Cave really was, when everything appeared completely out of his control. WRT point one, I feel like I've finally heard these songs the way they were meant to be heard. I do have some live recordings, but seeing the visual made my reaction more visceral. The studio recordings are so sterile in comparison. And point two, Nick was always singing there when he was supposed to be, even if he was buried under a sea of people after flinging himself into the crowd. Only once or twice did he lose the microphone. Even with the drugs and booze and general primordial chaos on stage, his discipline is astonishing. The rest of the band was right there with him, Rowland Howard looking cooler than cool, as if Spike of Cowboy Bebop had been a proto goth in London, Mick Harvey looking exactly like Mick Harvey, and Tracy Pew, the gay cowboy icon, pumping away at his bass--in the video to Junkyard, he pretty clearly climaxed on the floor, grinding his bass to himself. It was all lust and sex and madness driven to a seething edge again and again, with Nick the Stripper/Junkyard King/Hamlet holding the reins. Oh for a time machine...
Anyway, yeah, I liked it. Sound quality is surprisingly good, film quality is appropriately grainy. Highly recommended to anyone who likes this sort of music and hasn't seen it before, to newer fans of Nick Cave for the history of it all and to anyone who remembers vinyl and wants some nostalgia with bite.
(side note: I'm not saying it's a bad song, but I still don't understand what Release the Bats is doing in the company of their other songs. It really sticks out oddly. The vampire imagery frankly pales next to the plain old human derangement of the other songs.)
First up on the DVD was a video for Nick the Stripper, in which Nick looks about 14 years old and you can't believe that big voice is emerging from that skinny little kid. I suppose he was probably 19 or 20 at the time. He matured fast, though; the next video shows the classic Nick Cave of the 1980s, huge hair and feral eyes and jutting jaw and stovepipe trousers and tall stack of bones piled six feet high, words being wrenched out of his body in his spastic angular dancing. (and if I ever needed any confirmation that my preferred aesthetic of the male body was formed in the 1980s, well, yeah. thankfully I had enough sense to keep away from the serious junkies). The power and ferocity of the Birthday Party shows are legendary, so I was expecting to see that. What I wasn't expecting was 1) how much better those songs are live and 2) how in control of his voice and body Nick Cave really was, when everything appeared completely out of his control. WRT point one, I feel like I've finally heard these songs the way they were meant to be heard. I do have some live recordings, but seeing the visual made my reaction more visceral. The studio recordings are so sterile in comparison. And point two, Nick was always singing there when he was supposed to be, even if he was buried under a sea of people after flinging himself into the crowd. Only once or twice did he lose the microphone. Even with the drugs and booze and general primordial chaos on stage, his discipline is astonishing. The rest of the band was right there with him, Rowland Howard looking cooler than cool, as if Spike of Cowboy Bebop had been a proto goth in London, Mick Harvey looking exactly like Mick Harvey, and Tracy Pew, the gay cowboy icon, pumping away at his bass--in the video to Junkyard, he pretty clearly climaxed on the floor, grinding his bass to himself. It was all lust and sex and madness driven to a seething edge again and again, with Nick the Stripper/Junkyard King/Hamlet holding the reins. Oh for a time machine...
Anyway, yeah, I liked it. Sound quality is surprisingly good, film quality is appropriately grainy. Highly recommended to anyone who likes this sort of music and hasn't seen it before, to newer fans of Nick Cave for the history of it all and to anyone who remembers vinyl and wants some nostalgia with bite.
(side note: I'm not saying it's a bad song, but I still don't understand what Release the Bats is doing in the company of their other songs. It really sticks out oddly. The vampire imagery frankly pales next to the plain old human derangement of the other songs.)
Too bad The Wire's done
Nov. 6th, 2008 01:21 pmbecause they could have added this to their collection of theme songs:
Blaqstarr and MIA. Seriously, gave me chills.
Also, if you are not yet done feeling the emotional rush from Tuesday, check out today's Ill Doctrine video. Now I'm chilled *and* choked up!
Blaqstarr and MIA. Seriously, gave me chills.
Also, if you are not yet done feeling the emotional rush from Tuesday, check out today's Ill Doctrine video. Now I'm chilled *and* choked up!
giggles wiggles frills furbelows
Sep. 28th, 2008 02:25 pmCasualty Menagerie was enormously entertaining last night. We arrived just in time to secure two of the last couple of chairs in the room, despite extreme challenges finding nearby parking. We used to do shows in Inman Square all the time and so should have known but somehow one always forgets to factor in parking. It was a wonderfully cohesive show with Jojo the Burlesque Poetess providing commentary and flow throughout, with bands and comedians and singers and readings and burlesque and belly dance and general mayhem and mystery and mischieviousness.
Particular highlights for me were a couple doing balance/contortion work who I'd not seen before--they did something like tango contortion fusion in a way that worked so effectively, merging the push and pull of tango with the push and pull of modern dance-ish counterbalance. I think they still need to work a bit on the dance and emotional content to make it even better, but I could see loads of potential there. Most of the modern day circus performers I've seen do their tricks to music, but the music is backdrop. To me, incorporating the music makes it art. Not that being a dancer makes me biased or anything. I loved Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, though I never would have thought they could all fit on the Lily Pad's stage. Spitcurl's Sarah Palin burlesque brought down the house, and I think that burlesque as political commentary is an exciting avenue for her to pursue. I really enjoyed Vermillion Lies, who were so adorable in that CocoRosie Michelle Shocked kind of way. I would make a point of seeing them again, should the opportunity arise. And finally Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys rode all the energy of the night into a powerful performance, enhanced by live cello and violin. Everything ended in a manic big huge dance to all the musicians still in the house playing along to ENSMB's cover of Sexy Back, sung of course as Circus Back.
I just finished listening to the Casualty Menagerie EP, and want to compliment the Army of Broken Toys and Lainey of the Steamy Bohemians on the excellent production work. It captures the best things about seeing them live, cleaned up without becoming lifeless. These are some achingly beautiful songs.
I was feeling very low energy by the end of the night, too tired to join in the dancing, which I figured was just because it was a long show, but this morning I am indubitably ill, stuffy head, achey stomach, sore everything. I have two hours of studio time scheduled that I *have* to use because I need the prep, but spinning with isis wings is going to be challenging. Maybe I can spin all the illness out of me. Then dinner with a bunch of my family, which I am looking forward to, I just hope I have any energy left by then. By chance I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow; if she'll give me drugs, I'll take them because I just can't get sick now.
Particular highlights for me were a couple doing balance/contortion work who I'd not seen before--they did something like tango contortion fusion in a way that worked so effectively, merging the push and pull of tango with the push and pull of modern dance-ish counterbalance. I think they still need to work a bit on the dance and emotional content to make it even better, but I could see loads of potential there. Most of the modern day circus performers I've seen do their tricks to music, but the music is backdrop. To me, incorporating the music makes it art. Not that being a dancer makes me biased or anything. I loved Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, though I never would have thought they could all fit on the Lily Pad's stage. Spitcurl's Sarah Palin burlesque brought down the house, and I think that burlesque as political commentary is an exciting avenue for her to pursue. I really enjoyed Vermillion Lies, who were so adorable in that CocoRosie Michelle Shocked kind of way. I would make a point of seeing them again, should the opportunity arise. And finally Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys rode all the energy of the night into a powerful performance, enhanced by live cello and violin. Everything ended in a manic big huge dance to all the musicians still in the house playing along to ENSMB's cover of Sexy Back, sung of course as Circus Back.
I just finished listening to the Casualty Menagerie EP, and want to compliment the Army of Broken Toys and Lainey of the Steamy Bohemians on the excellent production work. It captures the best things about seeing them live, cleaned up without becoming lifeless. These are some achingly beautiful songs.
I was feeling very low energy by the end of the night, too tired to join in the dancing, which I figured was just because it was a long show, but this morning I am indubitably ill, stuffy head, achey stomach, sore everything. I have two hours of studio time scheduled that I *have* to use because I need the prep, but spinning with isis wings is going to be challenging. Maybe I can spin all the illness out of me. Then dinner with a bunch of my family, which I am looking forward to, I just hope I have any energy left by then. By chance I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow; if she'll give me drugs, I'll take them because I just can't get sick now.
adorable Feist
Jul. 18th, 2008 11:50 amFeist does the 1-2-3-4 song on Sesame Street, with monsters and penguins and chickens:
belated thanks to atalanta...
Jun. 10th, 2008 02:21 pm...for recommending Santogold some time back--her album just became available at emusic.com, I remembered you mentioning her, I downloaded it, and loved it! A couple of the songs definitely have that M.I.A. sound (especially Creator, which is currently in some beer commercial) but really the album is very diverse. Influences I hear strongly would be Siouxsie, the Clash, a bit of Daniel Ash type guitar work, Depeche Mode, some singer-songwriter a la Michelle Shocked or Tracy Chapman, plenty of reggae and other world influences, a little splash of industrial in a hip hop kind of way. It's quite the mishmash but it all works. (she also reminds me a bit of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amadea vocally speaking) I definitely recommend her album!
In unrelated news, I ordered a royal blue holo on purple metallic meleya dress from L. Rose. It will be glorious!
amadea vocally speaking) I definitely recommend her album!In unrelated news, I ordered a royal blue holo on purple metallic meleya dress from L. Rose. It will be glorious!
Journey of Desire
May. 8th, 2008 10:55 amMy hair is orange again, yay!
I splurged a little and ordered the DVD "Journey of Desire: A Foreign Dancer in Cairo," the story of Yasmina of Cairo, how she went from being an English country girl riding show horses to being a celebrated belly dancer, how she ended up in Cairo, what it takes to be a foreign dancer there, what Egyptians--ranging from agents to costumers to musicians to other dancers--think of foreign dancers, etc., etc., etc. It's shot documentary style, sometimes featuring voiceover by Yasmina and sometimes featuring direct interviews. There are several wonderful dance videos--the rooftop baladi I'd posted a while back is on there, as is a hilarious 80s inspired sha'bi dance scene with a group of mechanics in a garage and some more classic performances. She's an inspirational dancer; during her assaya I actually forgot I was watching a movie and was surprised when people started talking again. And the documentary portions are very rich and dense with information--as the Gilded Serpent reviewer noted, it will take a while to synthesize all the information. At any rate, it's a warm and wonderful portrait of a passionate artist and adventurous soul and I deeply enjoyed it both as a dancer and as an anthropologist. The link I gave above to Yasmina's site has a lot more information about the making of it and some of the obstacles one faces in trying to make a documentary in Egypt.
I would offer to host a viewing, but silly me assumed that region free also meant NTSC, when in fact it is PAL. Fortunately my computer can play PAL format, but my DVD player can't. If I can figure out how to hook up the computer to the television, I'll host something, otherwise, if anybody who has a device that can play PAL DVDs on their television would like to invite me over and host a viewing, I'd be totally amenable to that :)
I also ordered one of her CDs, Aheb Masr!, and it is utterly brilliant. I can barely sit still on the train while listening to it and am very inspired. And bless her, she includes translations of all the songs that have lyrics. There's a sha'bi piece (Adaweya style, not modern pop style) that I think I might do for the Oasis on the Water show at the end of June; I think it would be pretty accessible to the general public.
Side note: after watching the DVD, I have a much better sense of what it means when a CD is presented as being "by" a particular belly dancer. I always thought that was just sort of branding, or a way of boosting sales, but really dancers manage their own orchestras and the music on those albums is intimately connected to the dancer who is on the cover. It's amazing, the range of things one has to do to be a professional dancer over there. It's not just a matter of dancing.
Huh, Yasmina operates a B&B for dancers in Cairo... Now that looks like the way to do it! Dream, dream, dream...
I splurged a little and ordered the DVD "Journey of Desire: A Foreign Dancer in Cairo," the story of Yasmina of Cairo, how she went from being an English country girl riding show horses to being a celebrated belly dancer, how she ended up in Cairo, what it takes to be a foreign dancer there, what Egyptians--ranging from agents to costumers to musicians to other dancers--think of foreign dancers, etc., etc., etc. It's shot documentary style, sometimes featuring voiceover by Yasmina and sometimes featuring direct interviews. There are several wonderful dance videos--the rooftop baladi I'd posted a while back is on there, as is a hilarious 80s inspired sha'bi dance scene with a group of mechanics in a garage and some more classic performances. She's an inspirational dancer; during her assaya I actually forgot I was watching a movie and was surprised when people started talking again. And the documentary portions are very rich and dense with information--as the Gilded Serpent reviewer noted, it will take a while to synthesize all the information. At any rate, it's a warm and wonderful portrait of a passionate artist and adventurous soul and I deeply enjoyed it both as a dancer and as an anthropologist. The link I gave above to Yasmina's site has a lot more information about the making of it and some of the obstacles one faces in trying to make a documentary in Egypt.
I would offer to host a viewing, but silly me assumed that region free also meant NTSC, when in fact it is PAL. Fortunately my computer can play PAL format, but my DVD player can't. If I can figure out how to hook up the computer to the television, I'll host something, otherwise, if anybody who has a device that can play PAL DVDs on their television would like to invite me over and host a viewing, I'd be totally amenable to that :)
I also ordered one of her CDs, Aheb Masr!, and it is utterly brilliant. I can barely sit still on the train while listening to it and am very inspired. And bless her, she includes translations of all the songs that have lyrics. There's a sha'bi piece (Adaweya style, not modern pop style) that I think I might do for the Oasis on the Water show at the end of June; I think it would be pretty accessible to the general public.
Side note: after watching the DVD, I have a much better sense of what it means when a CD is presented as being "by" a particular belly dancer. I always thought that was just sort of branding, or a way of boosting sales, but really dancers manage their own orchestras and the music on those albums is intimately connected to the dancer who is on the cover. It's amazing, the range of things one has to do to be a professional dancer over there. It's not just a matter of dancing.
Huh, Yasmina operates a B&B for dancers in Cairo... Now that looks like the way to do it! Dream, dream, dream...
