The Story of Jazz

I'm seriously into Jazz now... and this documentary is a good start point. While being a rock and roll fan for some time, now I understand why Jazz will always be an important inspiration. Good jazz is about good musicianship. A good jazz musician is often a real artist, who has proficiency/creativity with their instruments and ability to compose rhythm and harmony that conveys a certain feeling or emotion, whether it's for dancing (swing), or late night drinking (mellow jazz) or tripping (free jazz). The story of Jazz itself is quite amazing. Within its golden era, between 1920s to 1950s, it has evolved itself so much, and produced so many good artists and good music. Whereas rock and roll... it's much too complicated to compare. Well, there's no need to compare anyway, good music is good music.

Great Jones Street

I was reading William S. Burroughs before I got my hands on this book. The book by Burroughs was called Exterminator! For the most parts, I did enjoy his wild imaginations. As I read on, the lack of links between stories lost my interests in finishing the book. So there I was, walking aimlessly into a bookstore in Helsinki, and found this book. The back cover mentioned something about "fame, rock star, withdraw, privacy"...

At reading the first few chapters, I knew I'd love this book... as it begins with a rock star growing tired of fame and fortune, and decided to leave the band in the middle of busy touring. Somehow after the rock star began his retreat, DeLillo got Burroughrized, wild imaginations flying everywhere, weird conversations sprouting out of nowhere... it seems as everyone is on drugs, probably DeLillo himself as well. However, I did manage to finish the book. Yes, it's kind of like parody, to music industry, to our obsessions with drugs and fame, to all the noise everyone is making (and complaining) around us. Though it's written in 1973, it couldn't be any more accurate to describe our society today... particularly here, in the cybersphere.

I Trawl The Megahertz

My favourite audiobook. I think everyone should listen to this incredible 20-mins track with hauntingly beautiful music and poetic words. It's like a lullaby, a dream, a movie script, a transitional conscious state between reality and fiction that exists only in the soundscape of "I Trawl The Megahertz".

'Your daddy loves you,' I said
'Your daddy loves you very much,
He doesn't want to live with us anymore.'
I am telling myself the story of my life

Lord you gave me nothing, then you took it all away


Repeat after me: happiness is only a habit
I'm listening to the face in the mirror
but I don't think I believe what she's telling me

And these are the footsteps you follow
The tracks of impossible love

They may help us make sense of who we are and where we came from
And, as a compassionate side effect
Teach us that nothing is ever lost

The Sacrifice (Offret)

Director/Writer: Andrei Tarkovsky
Stars: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood and Allan Edwall
Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Year: 1986 (Sweden)
IMDB

My Rating: 10/10

Like always, Andrei Tarkovsky's final film leaves me speechless... Erland Josephson, who passed away earlier this year, will always be remembered for his terrific performance in this one, as well as in other films by Ingmar Bergman.

Amores Perros

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Stars: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal and Goya Toledo
Year: 2000 (Mexico)
IMDB

My Rating: 8/10

Love's a bitch. Indeed. Unrequited love... especially.

I Make Art

(Kumu, Tallinn)

Nick Drake: The Biography

About a month ago, I somehow got bored with fiction books. I felt like reading something real, then I found this book. Perfect, biography, as real as it gets. Also, what intrigues me to read is that I don't know anything about Nick Drake, other than his three albums and the fact that he died young.

After finished reading this book, I still don't know anything about Nick Drake. Nobody really knows him. However, the author try to put all the pieces of his life together, families, friends, producers, girlfriend, acquaintance, musicians, critics... everyone contributes their thoughts about Nick Drake. So, you get the vague picture of this really tall pale man, a man with very few words, a man who plays wonderful guitar, but also a man who distant himself from everyone else... that leads to his severe depression, which more or less kills him (technically, he died of anti-depressant overdose). His whole life is a mystery, even his death is a mystery (was overdose intentional, or unintentional?). But that's what I like most. I wouldn't want to read the biography of The Rolling Stones, or U2... there's no mysteries behind their success. With Nick Drake, there's a lot of mystery behind... why he hated live performance? why was he depressed? why wasn't he successful during his time? Let these mysteries remain in the clouds of unknown, and let his sweet melodies flow into our ears.