Evyione: An Ocean Fantasy, vol. 1 by Kim Young-Hee
Current Soundtrack: Sons & Daughters, "Ribbon;" My Little Airport, "Dolly & BB Will Not Wake Up Anymore"
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
AN END HAS A START
And sometimes that start is much closer to that end than anyone expected.
My friend Geoff invited me out today to see a special radio performance by the Editors. Geoff is actually the reason I got a hold of their excellent second album, titled An End Has a Start
(by no small coincidence, like the knew I needed a title to this post!). I had thought their debut record, The Back Room, was an okay selection for a melancholy mood but too placid to leave a greater impression. An End Has a Start is a much more energetic and varied effort, with catchy hooks and a warmer atmosphere. It shows the benefit of having one record under their belt and probably eons working on their musical chops out on the road.
So, an invite to a 94.7 KNRK studio session sounded like a great idea. Better yet, it was at Mississippi Studios, a wonderful smaller venue here in Portland. The room was set up by a recording engineer to go with his recording studio, and so the sound is always excellent.
As were the Editors. They came out as a duo, two guys on acoustic guitars, singer Tom Smith and guitarist Chris Urbanowicz. They played "Bones," "An End Has a Start," and "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors," and it sounded incredible. Urbanowicz's playing is super tight, and Smith's voice is gorgeous in a raw, live environment.
But they just did those three songs. That was it. It seemed like a lot of effort to get everyone there (though the room was barely 2/3 full) just to shuffle them off again.
We stuck around after for the second band, Louis XIV, who is opening for the Editors on tour. They took something like a hour to set up for their performance, which seems a bit excessive. They ended up having five guys on stage--a vocalist/guitarist, a pianist/guitarist/second vocalist, drummer, and two violin players. The violins sounded sweet, actually, but then they just played four songs, and I really didn't understand why they had to make everyone wait as they chased perfection if they weren't going to nurture it and let it simmer for a while. Their playing was proficient, but the songs did very little for me. The lead vocalist was one of those speak singers and instead of sounding cool like old Bob Dylan I was getting a whole G. Love & Special Sauce vibe. If it hadn't been for the free pizza and conversation I got in the interim, I'd have been pissed.
Current Soundtrack: The Editors, An End Has a Start
Current Mood: dismissive
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
And sometimes that start is much closer to that end than anyone expected.
My friend Geoff invited me out today to see a special radio performance by the Editors. Geoff is actually the reason I got a hold of their excellent second album, titled An End Has a Start
(by no small coincidence, like the knew I needed a title to this post!). I had thought their debut record, The Back Room, was an okay selection for a melancholy mood but too placid to leave a greater impression. An End Has a Start is a much more energetic and varied effort, with catchy hooks and a warmer atmosphere. It shows the benefit of having one record under their belt and probably eons working on their musical chops out on the road.So, an invite to a 94.7 KNRK studio session sounded like a great idea. Better yet, it was at Mississippi Studios, a wonderful smaller venue here in Portland. The room was set up by a recording engineer to go with his recording studio, and so the sound is always excellent.
As were the Editors. They came out as a duo, two guys on acoustic guitars, singer Tom Smith and guitarist Chris Urbanowicz. They played "Bones," "An End Has a Start," and "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors," and it sounded incredible. Urbanowicz's playing is super tight, and Smith's voice is gorgeous in a raw, live environment.
But they just did those three songs. That was it. It seemed like a lot of effort to get everyone there (though the room was barely 2/3 full) just to shuffle them off again.
We stuck around after for the second band, Louis XIV, who is opening for the Editors on tour. They took something like a hour to set up for their performance, which seems a bit excessive. They ended up having five guys on stage--a vocalist/guitarist, a pianist/guitarist/second vocalist, drummer, and two violin players. The violins sounded sweet, actually, but then they just played four songs, and I really didn't understand why they had to make everyone wait as they chased perfection if they weren't going to nurture it and let it simmer for a while. Their playing was proficient, but the songs did very little for me. The lead vocalist was one of those speak singers and instead of sounding cool like old Bob Dylan I was getting a whole G. Love & Special Sauce vibe. If it hadn't been for the free pizza and conversation I got in the interim, I'd have been pissed.
Current Soundtrack: The Editors, An End Has a Start
Current Mood: dismissive
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
IS THERE ANYBODY GOING TO LISTEN TO MY STORY...?
A pleasant surprise showed up today. Colleen Mondor has reviewed Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? over at Bookslut. It's a lengthy, thorough, and highly positive review, so you should read the whole thing; just to tease, though, here is a highlight:
"Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? is a look into the literary jet set, the sort of life that demands no regrets or apologies from the players who live in its limelight. It’s a unique story told in an undeniably cool way. Rich taps into a sensibility that makes one want to write enigmatic novels that grad students will endlessly argue about but likely never understand. He knows who we all want to be and shows us what that would be like. The fact that it isn’t a necessarily happy story is immaterial, it is still a true one and at its heart, a hopeful one. There is just something about Jamie S. Rich that makes him a writer to watch."
Buy the book at Amazon: Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?
Or drop me a line. I still have copies.
Current Soundtrack: Miles Davis, Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud
Current Mood: loved
A pleasant surprise showed up today. Colleen Mondor has reviewed Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? over at Bookslut. It's a lengthy, thorough, and highly positive review, so you should read the whole thing; just to tease, though, here is a highlight:
"Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? is a look into the literary jet set, the sort of life that demands no regrets or apologies from the players who live in its limelight. It’s a unique story told in an undeniably cool way. Rich taps into a sensibility that makes one want to write enigmatic novels that grad students will endlessly argue about but likely never understand. He knows who we all want to be and shows us what that would be like. The fact that it isn’t a necessarily happy story is immaterial, it is still a true one and at its heart, a hopeful one. There is just something about Jamie S. Rich that makes him a writer to watch."
Buy the book at Amazon: Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?
Or drop me a line. I still have copies.
Current Soundtrack: Miles Davis, Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud
Current Mood: loved
SHOUT TO THE TOP!
As a dirty French-loving existentialist that refuses to officially affiliate himself with any organization other than the Suede fan club, I can't vote in any primaries. But today, Super Tuesday, is the day to really put some power behind the tsunami of change that has been rolling toward these Star Spangled shores in recent weeks. So, get out there, and...
In all honesty, I've been quiet about politics for a while, because part of me wanted to give up after the last Presidential election. Given how half the country voted, I became distrustful of these streets I walk. No one I knew, except for my one token Republican friend, would openly admit to voting for George W. Bush, the Spice Girls of Presidents, top of the charts but with no out-of-the-closet supporters. These people were somewhere, hiding behind closed doors, lying in public because they knew what they did was wrong. Thus, the relief that came when people started getting angry was like tinfoil--bright and shiny and protective, but also a little nasty to bite down on.
Now, though, I am starting to come around. The swell for Barack Obama is heartening and exciting. The best part is that it's also defied everything we had been told would happen. Even the ascendancy of McCain is pleasing in its way. The media talking heads and the spin doctors all told us it would go a different way, strutting with the cocksure attitude they've developed over the last several political races wherein they convinced themselves--and, let's be honest, us--that they had the power to call it. Now, America has delivered a stinging slap that has wiped that smugness right off their faces, leaving them with nothing but their spray-on tans.
After eight years of not being listened to, America is finally telling the powers that be what they want.
Of course, it could all go wrong. I've believed in you folks before, and this time, if I'm fooled, shame on me.
Current Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera, Back to Basics disc 2; Lightspeed Champion, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge
Current Mood: suspicious
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
As a dirty French-loving existentialist that refuses to officially affiliate himself with any organization other than the Suede fan club, I can't vote in any primaries. But today, Super Tuesday, is the day to really put some power behind the tsunami of change that has been rolling toward these Star Spangled shores in recent weeks. So, get out there, and...
In all honesty, I've been quiet about politics for a while, because part of me wanted to give up after the last Presidential election. Given how half the country voted, I became distrustful of these streets I walk. No one I knew, except for my one token Republican friend, would openly admit to voting for George W. Bush, the Spice Girls of Presidents, top of the charts but with no out-of-the-closet supporters. These people were somewhere, hiding behind closed doors, lying in public because they knew what they did was wrong. Thus, the relief that came when people started getting angry was like tinfoil--bright and shiny and protective, but also a little nasty to bite down on.
Now, though, I am starting to come around. The swell for Barack Obama is heartening and exciting. The best part is that it's also defied everything we had been told would happen. Even the ascendancy of McCain is pleasing in its way. The media talking heads and the spin doctors all told us it would go a different way, strutting with the cocksure attitude they've developed over the last several political races wherein they convinced themselves--and, let's be honest, us--that they had the power to call it. Now, America has delivered a stinging slap that has wiped that smugness right off their faces, leaving them with nothing but their spray-on tans.
After eight years of not being listened to, America is finally telling the powers that be what they want.
Of course, it could all go wrong. I've believed in you folks before, and this time, if I'm fooled, shame on me.
Current Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera, Back to Basics
disc 2; Lightspeed Champion, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge Current Mood: suspicious
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
Sunday, February 03, 2008
ALMA MATTERS
My new favorite online comic is "The College Life" by Tally, a fellow Oregonian who I met last Fall at Stumptown.
Click through the image to my Flickr account to see a more readable version, or visit her site for the whole first semester. The link above will take you directly to the strip, but there are other comics on her site accessible through the main page.
And there are reasons why I am showing you this more than just liking how she draws and her humor. Let's just say she and I are comparing dance cards for the future.
Current Soundtrack: Cat Power, "Breathless" (Nick Cave cover, y'all!)
Current Mood: coy
My new favorite online comic is "The College Life" by Tally, a fellow Oregonian who I met last Fall at Stumptown.
Click through the image to my Flickr account to see a more readable version, or visit her site for the whole first semester. The link above will take you directly to the strip, but there are other comics on her site accessible through the main page.
And there are reasons why I am showing you this more than just liking how she draws and her humor. Let's just say she and I are comparing dance cards for the future.
Current Soundtrack: Cat Power, "Breathless" (Nick Cave cover, y'all!)
Current Mood: coy
Saturday, February 02, 2008
THE KNIFE WANTS TO SLIT ME, DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HELP ME?
From Joëlle Jones' blog...
Current Soundtrack: The Cure, "The Same Deep Water As You"
From Joëlle Jones' blog...
Current Soundtrack: The Cure, "The Same Deep Water As You"
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
MAD ABOUT THE BOY
In stores today, Madman Atomic Comics #6, edited by moi. Click the image for a preview.
And thanks to whoever bought a camera using an Amazon link from my site. Your purchase alone puts me over the $10 mark required for me to get a rebate at the end of this quarter. In case folks don't know it, any time you buy something from Amazon after clicking on one of my links, they give me a small referral fee. It buys me things and costs you nothing! :)
Current Soundtrack: Kent, Isola
Current Mood: irritated
In stores today, Madman Atomic Comics #6, edited by moi. Click the image for a preview.
And thanks to whoever bought a camera using an Amazon link from my site. Your purchase alone puts me over the $10 mark required for me to get a rebate at the end of this quarter. In case folks don't know it, any time you buy something from Amazon after clicking on one of my links, they give me a small referral fee. It buys me things and costs you nothing! :)
Current Soundtrack: Kent, Isola
Current Mood: irritated
Saturday, January 26, 2008
CLIMBER, NEW ENTRY, RE-ENTRY
THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...
* The Air I Breathe, which I recommend with reservations. The movie works 3/4 of the time, using the "everything is connected" technique to create a neat crime film before tumbling over the pretentious ledge.
* Taxi to the Dark Side, a must-see documentary that brings home the torture scandals in Iraq with chilling results.
THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...
* 2 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy's writing and directing debut. Good in spite of itself. The main characters are both interesting and annoying.
* Inside the Smiths, an amateurish documentary about the rhythm section of the Smiths. Interesting for fans, maybe, but not much of a film.
In reflection, particularly thinking about that extra segment with Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke together, Rourke seems a little uncomfortable in the situation, probably because he laments the loss of his long friendship with Johnny Marr more than he cares about recognition or money. On the other hand, Joyce is clearly getting off on being in the spotlight, and I'd daresay craves it. His "aw, shucks, I just love the band" demeanor brings to mind Pelle Carlberg's song "I Touched You at the Soundcheck"--the title a reference to the Smiths song "Paint a Vulgar Picture," Morrissey's withering portrait of rock 'n' roll has-beens. "You told me you weren't the kind of dude/ telling people 'I was in the Smiths all the time"/ later I heard you for the third time/ repeating the same phrase" [forgive transcription errors]. Ouch.
If this works, you should be able to listen to Carlberg's song:
* Love*Com the Movie, another live-action adaptation of manga with more cliches than good ideas, despite a gung-ho performance by Ema Fujisawa.
* Miss Julie - Criterion Collection, an engrossing 1952 adaptation of August Strindberg. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)
* This Sporting Life - Criterion Collection, Lindsay Anderson's portrait of a footballer with more strength than sense. Richard Harris is amazing. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)
UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...
This week's review written specifically for the site is:
* Fat Girl, Catherine Breillat's divisive coming-of-age tale. I also reveal its secret connection to my novella I Was Someone Dead.
Current Soundtrack: The Blow, Poor Aim: Love Songs; various Pelle Carlberg tracks
Current Mood: lazy
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...
* The Air I Breathe, which I recommend with reservations. The movie works 3/4 of the time, using the "everything is connected" technique to create a neat crime film before tumbling over the pretentious ledge.
* Taxi to the Dark Side, a must-see documentary that brings home the torture scandals in Iraq with chilling results.
THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...
* 2 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy's writing and directing debut. Good in spite of itself. The main characters are both interesting and annoying.
* Inside the Smiths, an amateurish documentary about the rhythm section of the Smiths. Interesting for fans, maybe, but not much of a film.
In reflection, particularly thinking about that extra segment with Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke together, Rourke seems a little uncomfortable in the situation, probably because he laments the loss of his long friendship with Johnny Marr more than he cares about recognition or money. On the other hand, Joyce is clearly getting off on being in the spotlight, and I'd daresay craves it. His "aw, shucks, I just love the band" demeanor brings to mind Pelle Carlberg's song "I Touched You at the Soundcheck"--the title a reference to the Smiths song "Paint a Vulgar Picture," Morrissey's withering portrait of rock 'n' roll has-beens. "You told me you weren't the kind of dude/ telling people 'I was in the Smiths all the time"/ later I heard you for the third time/ repeating the same phrase" [forgive transcription errors]. Ouch.
If this works, you should be able to listen to Carlberg's song:
Pelle Carlberg – I touched you at the sound check
* Love*Com the Movie, another live-action adaptation of manga with more cliches than good ideas, despite a gung-ho performance by Ema Fujisawa.
* Miss Julie - Criterion Collection, an engrossing 1952 adaptation of August Strindberg. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)
* This Sporting Life - Criterion Collection, Lindsay Anderson's portrait of a footballer with more strength than sense. Richard Harris is amazing. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)
UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...
This week's review written specifically for the site is:
* Fat Girl, Catherine Breillat's divisive coming-of-age tale. I also reveal its secret connection to my novella I Was Someone Dead
. Current Soundtrack: The Blow, Poor Aim: Love Songs; various Pelle Carlberg tracks
Current Mood: lazy
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
Thursday, January 24, 2008
I WAS WASTING MY TIME LOOKING FOR LOVE
MORRISSEY WATCH:
Not long ago, I marked my worry that Morrissey's new material was rushing back into already worn grooves, and that we could already see the reinvigorated crooner settling back into blase habits. This was based on his performance of "That's How People Grow Up" on Letterman, a strange appearance that, at the time, wasn't really promoting much of anything.
With the release of "Grow Up" as a single imminent, and the Greatest Hits that will carry it and other newbie "All You Need is Me" following shortly after, it's time to reassess. Of course, these tracks have already leaked all over the internet, and I have placed my ear to the railroad tracks to hear these early rumblings.
On first blush, Christopher (who seemingly ceased functioning last September) asked me what I thought, and I said I was nonplussed. Since then, I have had my quality headphone time, and I will say now that I am at least sonically impressed. There is some great noise going on in both tracks. That big chunky bass in "All You Need is Me" in particular will rattle your skull, and both songs carry frontal-assault guitar riffs that suggest that even if Moz were to fall back on a pillow and massage his derriere, his band is going to keep the hammer down. Likewise, semi-protege Kristeen Young's industrial drill warbling at the start of "Grow Up" is like a clarion call, or perhaps a gauntlet being thrown down to the BBC, whom Moz has criticized for not playing previous singles. Some fans have complained, but I say this is the banshee from "November Spawned a Monster" returning for vengeance. "Do you have the guts to give me a spin?"
There is no way around how similar these two tracks sound to one another. They also have share lyrical concerns, focusing on the nostalgia of youth and the selfishness of oncoming death, which seems to be Morrissey's primary concern since the last album. "All You Need is Me" has the added social commentary on the current celebrity obsessed culture, our man amusingly declaring his own importance while smacking us across the face for going along with it when there is so much more going on around us.
In rethinking these songs today, I realized that I must contextualize them as part of a greater tradition in the Smiths/Morrissey legacy. Both in his old band and throughout his solo career, he has always released one-off singles as vinyl save-the-date cards for whatever more realized work was around the corner. Granted, most of those 45s have gone on to become classics, but let's not forget that "Shakespeare's Sister" was much maligned on its release, causing the Smiths to think the record buying public had lost all sense of taste in much the same way Pete Townshend felt they had when they failed to properly celebrate "I Can See For Miles." History may prove me wrong.
Then again, I still fear the Morrissey curse of threes: good album followed by better album followed by mediocre. Viva Hate begat Bona Drag begat Kill Uncle, Your Arsenal begat Vauxhall and I begat Southpaw Grammar, You are the Quarry begat Ringleader of the Tormentors begat...???
Current Soundtrack: the songs in question; Strangeways, Here We Come
Current Mood: meditative
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
MORRISSEY WATCH:
Not long ago, I marked my worry that Morrissey's new material was rushing back into already worn grooves, and that we could already see the reinvigorated crooner settling back into blase habits. This was based on his performance of "That's How People Grow Up" on Letterman, a strange appearance that, at the time, wasn't really promoting much of anything.
With the release of "Grow Up"
as a single imminent, and the Greatest Hits that will carry it and other newbie "All You Need is Me" following shortly after, it's time to reassess. Of course, these tracks have already leaked all over the internet, and I have placed my ear to the railroad tracks to hear these early rumblings. On first blush, Christopher (who seemingly ceased functioning last September) asked me what I thought, and I said I was nonplussed. Since then, I have had my quality headphone time, and I will say now that I am at least sonically impressed. There is some great noise going on in both tracks. That big chunky bass in "All You Need is Me" in particular will rattle your skull, and both songs carry frontal-assault guitar riffs that suggest that even if Moz were to fall back on a pillow and massage his derriere, his band is going to keep the hammer down. Likewise, semi-protege Kristeen Young's industrial drill warbling at the start of "Grow Up" is like a clarion call, or perhaps a gauntlet being thrown down to the BBC, whom Moz has criticized for not playing previous singles. Some fans have complained, but I say this is the banshee from "November Spawned a Monster" returning for vengeance. "Do you have the guts to give me a spin?"
There is no way around how similar these two tracks sound to one another. They also have share lyrical concerns, focusing on the nostalgia of youth and the selfishness of oncoming death, which seems to be Morrissey's primary concern since the last album
. "All You Need is Me" has the added social commentary on the current celebrity obsessed culture, our man amusingly declaring his own importance while smacking us across the face for going along with it when there is so much more going on around us.In rethinking these songs today, I realized that I must contextualize them as part of a greater tradition in the Smiths/Morrissey legacy. Both in his old band and throughout his solo career, he has always released one-off singles as vinyl save-the-date cards for whatever more realized work was around the corner. Granted, most of those 45s have gone on to become classics, but let's not forget that "Shakespeare's Sister" was much maligned on its release, causing the Smiths to think the record buying public had lost all sense of taste in much the same way Pete Townshend felt they had when they failed to properly celebrate "I Can See For Miles." History may prove me wrong.
Then again, I still fear the Morrissey curse of threes: good album followed by better album followed by mediocre. Viva Hate begat Bona Drag begat Kill Uncle, Your Arsenal begat Vauxhall and I begat Southpaw Grammar, You are the Quarry begat Ringleader of the Tormentors begat...???
Current Soundtrack: the songs in question; Strangeways, Here We Come
Current Mood: meditative
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2008 Jamie S. Rich
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ONCE I WANTED TO BE THE GREATEST...
I had the opportunity come along to see Wong Kar-Wai's first English language film, My Blueberry Nights, and despite knowing it was of some dubious origin, I took it. In one way, I worried this would ruin the ultimate experience, but then I remembered that I had first seen 2046 dubbed into Mandarin for the Chinese mainland, and that had not hurt my love of that film in the long run, so with that in mind, there was nothing to bolster my resistance.
I will reserve my full judgment until such a time as I can see the movie in its intended glory (it appears that it will start a limited run in the U.S. next month), but I will say now that I do like it. I think in the long run, when the full history of Wong Kar-Wai is written, it will likely be a stop-gap falling somewhere in the middle of his ultimate canon, but I can't say I would totally fault him for playing it somewhat safe for his transition movie.
Because the first thing that will strike you about My Blueberry Nights is how very Wong Kar-Wai it is--and that comes off as very strange for the first half hour or so. If you had played it for me and told me that some Hollywood studio had tried to remake Chungking Express and Fallen Angels as one feature, I'd have believed you. The tell-tale signs and obsessions are all there: cafes and bars, waitresses and cops, jukeboxes and video tapes, the persistence of memory, broken hearts, being stuck on one song just like you'd be stuck on one relationship. It's just this time it's recognizable "name" actors (Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, David Staithairn) speaking in my language. He even lifts a pop singer who hadn't formally acted before up to a starring role. Norah Jones is actually pretty good as the dream-adled ingenue. Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power, is even noteworthy in her one scene, playing the appropriately named Katya, the woman who has Jude Law's Jeremy in such an in-between state.
Once I settled in, somewhere around Memphis on the route Elizabeth (Jones) has put herself on, taking a journey toward forgetting, I really started to enjoy the movie. It's got the youthful hopefulness that was missing from 2046, the curse of ill-fated love affairs having been lifted. While my own journey makes me wish Kar-Wai had kept going for that, I don't mind him returning to his Greatest Hits. It's kind of like seeing your favorite band go off the brink and making their dark epic, only to come back bigger and brighter and poppier than ever. After all, Suede made Coming Up after Dog Man Star, after they had lost an important collaborator and had been counted out. In those terms, My Blueberry Nights is actually more like the bright wake-up call of A New Morning than it is a glitter rock masterpiece, but that ain't something to malign.
Yeah, I know that analogy made sense to only five people out there, but whatever. Put it this way: My Blueberry Nights is meant to sound fresh and easy, but it's also meant to be familiar and accessible. One can only guess what comes after, but there are worse things an artist can do than to go back to try to find the source of what makes him tick and cast it in a new light.
In all honesty, I kind of want to start the film over from the beginning and watch it again. I'm almost betting that by and large folks are going to call me crazy (I haven't read any reviews, but I've heard some vague flutters), but what the hell, I've been crazy before.
It's actually bitterly cold in Portland, so much so that my heater is turning itself on, the temperature is dropping below whatever temperature comes immediately after "Off." So, it was nice to snuggle up with the cat and watch a movie from under the covers. I'm actually feeling a little achey, meaning the cold I've been staving off for weeks might be making ground. I also twisted my ankle or something, my left foot hurts to bend or put weight on. I'm a wreck. So, that too could speak to the warm feeling I am having for the film. Wong Kar-Wai=comfort food.
Here is one of several trailers out there. I'll warn you, they somehow make the movie look far more ordinary than it is. You'd be forgiven for thinking this a generic Hollywood film of no great import.
Current Soundtrack: My Blueberry Nights soundtrack
Current Mood: aches & pains
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
I had the opportunity come along to see Wong Kar-Wai's first English language film, My Blueberry Nights, and despite knowing it was of some dubious origin, I took it. In one way, I worried this would ruin the ultimate experience, but then I remembered that I had first seen 2046
dubbed into Mandarin for the Chinese mainland, and that had not hurt my love of that film in the long run, so with that in mind, there was nothing to bolster my resistance.I will reserve my full judgment until such a time as I can see the movie in its intended glory (it appears that it will start a limited run in the U.S. next month), but I will say now that I do like it. I think in the long run, when the full history of Wong Kar-Wai is written, it will likely be a stop-gap falling somewhere in the middle of his ultimate canon, but I can't say I would totally fault him for playing it somewhat safe for his transition movie.
Because the first thing that will strike you about My Blueberry Nights is how very Wong Kar-Wai it is--and that comes off as very strange for the first half hour or so. If you had played it for me and told me that some Hollywood studio had tried to remake Chungking Express
and Fallen Angels as one feature, I'd have believed you. The tell-tale signs and obsessions are all there: cafes and bars, waitresses and cops, jukeboxes and video tapes, the persistence of memory, broken hearts, being stuck on one song just like you'd be stuck on one relationship. It's just this time it's recognizable "name" actors (Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, David Staithairn) speaking in my language. He even lifts a pop singer who hadn't formally acted before up to a starring role. Norah Jones is actually pretty good as the dream-adled ingenue. Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power, is even noteworthy in her one scene, playing the appropriately named Katya, the woman who has Jude Law's Jeremy in such an in-between state. Once I settled in, somewhere around Memphis on the route Elizabeth (Jones) has put herself on, taking a journey toward forgetting, I really started to enjoy the movie. It's got the youthful hopefulness that was missing from 2046, the curse of ill-fated love affairs having been lifted. While my own journey makes me wish Kar-Wai had kept going for that, I don't mind him returning to his Greatest Hits. It's kind of like seeing your favorite band go off the brink and making their dark epic, only to come back bigger and brighter and poppier than ever. After all, Suede made Coming Up
after Dog Man Star, after they had lost an important collaborator and had been counted out. In those terms, My Blueberry Nights is actually more like the bright wake-up call of A New Morning than it is a glitter rock masterpiece, but that ain't something to malign. Yeah, I know that analogy made sense to only five people out there, but whatever. Put it this way: My Blueberry Nights is meant to sound fresh and easy, but it's also meant to be familiar and accessible. One can only guess what comes after, but there are worse things an artist can do than to go back to try to find the source of what makes him tick and cast it in a new light.
In all honesty, I kind of want to start the film over from the beginning and watch it again. I'm almost betting that by and large folks are going to call me crazy (I haven't read any reviews, but I've heard some vague flutters), but what the hell, I've been crazy before.
It's actually bitterly cold in Portland, so much so that my heater is turning itself on, the temperature is dropping below whatever temperature comes immediately after "Off." So, it was nice to snuggle up with the cat and watch a movie from under the covers. I'm actually feeling a little achey, meaning the cold I've been staving off for weeks might be making ground. I also twisted my ankle or something, my left foot hurts to bend or put weight on. I'm a wreck. So, that too could speak to the warm feeling I am having for the film. Wong Kar-Wai=comfort food.
Here is one of several trailers out there. I'll warn you, they somehow make the movie look far more ordinary than it is. You'd be forgiven for thinking this a generic Hollywood film of no great import.
Current Soundtrack: My Blueberry Nights soundtrack
Current Mood: aches & pains
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
IN MEMORIAM: HEATH LEDGER, 1979-2008
Though the interviewer here is asinine, I think what Heath Ledger says in this clip is a fitting way to remember him. It only saddens me more to think about what he still had to offer as an artist as his life progressed. My heart goes out to his young daughter.
The New York times story.
Though the interviewer here is asinine, I think what Heath Ledger says in this clip is a fitting way to remember him. It only saddens me more to think about what he still had to offer as an artist as his life progressed. My heart goes out to his young daughter.
The New York times story.
Friday, January 18, 2008
TODAY'S WORKLOAD...
Current Soundtrack: The Warlocks, Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
Dear Waltz vol. 1 by Yun Ji-Un
Current Soundtrack: The Warlocks, Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
THE ONLY RHYME THAT BITES
If the monster from Cloverfield mated with the girl from Teeth, the result might be...
Oh, Sheela-Na-Gig! You exhibitionist!
THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...
* Cassandra's Dream, another solid morality play from Woody Allen.
* Cloverfield, the most hyped movie of the last six months is the most boring movie of the new year. Don't believe the hype, Confessors, this one is laaaame.
Plastorm is on this, too, as his review will attest. It was a moment of relief at the end of the screening when we looked at one another and realized we weren't alone in our pain.
* Honey & Clover, an average live-action adaptation of the Chica Umino manga.
* Teeth, another loser, a horror movie with satiric designs that veers a little too close to what it professes to hate.
THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...
* Johnny Suede, the darkly comic indie hit of 1992 marks the starring-role debut of Brad Pitt, but a is a pomaded souffle that has fallen flat with age.
* Postwar Kurosawa - Eclipse Series 7, bringing five of the Japanese master's early style-defining movies together to show his artistic growth after WWII.
Postwar Kurosawa is also up at Criterion Confessions. This is one of those weeks where I'm taking a pass on a blog-exclusive new review, letting the cross-posting bolster the content. Given the size of the Eclipse set, and also that I have two of the Criterion discs due for release this coming Tuesday also in my review pile--and those reviews are likely to go up this weekend--there is a slew of fresh content about to happen.
Toshiro Mifune will tame them all.
Current Soundtrack: The Colbert Report 1/16/2008; Morrissey, Greatest Hits
Current Mood: blank
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
If the monster from Cloverfield mated with the girl from Teeth, the result might be...
Oh, Sheela-Na-Gig! You exhibitionist!
THIS WEEK IN THEATRES...
* Cassandra's Dream, another solid morality play from Woody Allen.
* Cloverfield, the most hyped movie of the last six months is the most boring movie of the new year. Don't believe the hype, Confessors, this one is laaaame.
Plastorm is on this, too, as his review will attest. It was a moment of relief at the end of the screening when we looked at one another and realized we weren't alone in our pain.
* Honey & Clover, an average live-action adaptation of the Chica Umino manga.
* Teeth, another loser, a horror movie with satiric designs that veers a little too close to what it professes to hate.
THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...
* Johnny Suede, the darkly comic indie hit of 1992 marks the starring-role debut of Brad Pitt, but a is a pomaded souffle that has fallen flat with age.
* Postwar Kurosawa - Eclipse Series 7, bringing five of the Japanese master's early style-defining movies together to show his artistic growth after WWII.
Postwar Kurosawa is also up at Criterion Confessions. This is one of those weeks where I'm taking a pass on a blog-exclusive new review, letting the cross-posting bolster the content. Given the size of the Eclipse set, and also that I have two of the Criterion discs due for release this coming Tuesday also in my review pile--and those reviews are likely to go up this weekend--there is a slew of fresh content about to happen.
Toshiro Mifune will tame them all.
Current Soundtrack: The Colbert Report 1/16/2008; Morrissey, Greatest Hits
Current Mood: blank
e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon
All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich
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