In Music: Thievery Corporation live vs. Massive Attack live

About five years ago, I watched the band Thievery Corporation live in Cologne. Last night, I saw Massive Attack in Luxembourg. The cycle is nearly complete. All that is missing is the Future Sound of London, which I grooved to on the way back.

T.C. and M.A. have similar styles of performing. Both use a lot of live instruments, more so Thievery, and both use a lot of different (styles) of singers. But if I had to compare the two, they are completely different. Compared to Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation is like the happiest sound imaginable. Massive Attack on the other hand, seems literally (see Nicolette's performance at the end) like a sad clown. Case in point: "Splitting the Album"



While the crowd was quite energetic in this video, the Lux. crowd was (typically!) more lullabied, the band too seeming in some kind of undead trancey mood.

Let's contrast this with a video from a live performance by Thievery Corp.: "Warning Shots"



Completely different kind of energy!

Perhaps it's to do with Massive Attack being around for such a long time. A lot of hits were being played last night and while the crowd ate it up, I'm always reminded of Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer, regurgitating the same song over and over again. The clown makeup that the female singer, Nicolette, was wearing, not a smile on her face, didn't help either.



All in all a great concert, don't get me wrong. From the light show flashing messages in the background, from what drugs would be good to take right now (pcp?) or how much it costs to sponsor a nurse in Africa (2.500 per year), vs. buying a diamond iPod (39.000) or paying the Lehman CEO (somewhere in the millions). To the different styles of singing, lullabying vs. energizing, from psychedelic reggae to rock to techno. Everything was in there and it was an amazing experience.

In Films: The Country Road movie: Whispers of the Heart (1995)

This is one of the few Studio Ghibli Films I haven't seen yet and you can see elements of many of their other films in it, from 'Porco Rosso' (on the clock), to 'Castle in the Sky,' to, I'm sure, plenty more.

At the same time, it shows life in Japan in an entirely unglamorous way, a family living in cramped quarters, the school system, teenage life, etc. It reminded me of 'the Girl that leapt through time' in that respect, another anime film that is definitely worth watching.

Rating: Good

Ah yes, and expect to hear the song Country Road over and over again, except in sung Japanese. It grows on you…

In Music: 88-Keys' "The Death of Adam" and Mixtape

According to my iTunes smartlist (called 'Rate these?'), I should mark every track on their official album, "The Death of Adam," as at least three stars (That's how I remember what I like and don't on my 'pod). Actually, I can tell you exactly how that is calculated:

The tracklist:

• "Morning Wood" - Played 16 times
• "Nice Guys Finish Last" - played 18 times
• "The Friends Zone (feat. Shitake Monkey)" - played 15 times
• "Handcuff 'Em" - played 12 times
• "Stay Up! (Viagra) (feat. Kanye West)" - played 13 times
• "There's Pleasure In It" - played 11 times
• "(Awww Man) Round 2?" - played 15 times
• "Dirty Peaches (feat. J'Davey)" - played 17 times
• "Close Call (feat. Phonte)" -played 14 times
• "The Burning Bush (feat. Redman)" - played 11 times
• "Ho' Is Short For Honey (feat. Kid Cudi)" - played 11 times
• "No. I Said I LIKED You" - played 15 times
• "M.I.L.F. (feat. Bilal)" - played 9 times
• "Another Victim" - played 16 times

This is of course just statistics, which only tells you so much. Add to that that I've had it for a month, that the total album time is 45.7 minutes, and the average number of times I played this album is at around 12.8 times, that's approximately 588 minutes of playtime. Spread over a month, that's 19 minutes a day! If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

My favourite track is, according to my own rating system, "Stay Up!" (see vid. below). According to the number of plays, which is random, it's "Nice Guys Finish Last." Perhaps, I'm trying to tell myself something… o_O



Just to give you a taste, the mixtape, "Adam's Case Files," can be downloaded for free here. I haven't listened to it that much yet, but it's not bad.

Featuring Kid Cudi, Izza Kizza, Tanya Morgan, Guilty Simposn, Grafh, Mr. Bentley, Serius Jones, and more. Adam’s Case Files is the precursor to 88's first solo album release The Death Of Adam, hitting stores this October on Decon Records and executive produced by Kanye West.

In TV-Shows: The rules of 'The Prisoner'

• Rule 1: You do not escape from the village
• Rule 2: No. 2 is in charge
• Rule 3: In the village, you are just a number
• Rule 4: The red phone is in charge of No. 2
• Rule 5: If you run, the white ball will probably get you
• Rule 6: If you don't get mindf*cked every single day, something is probably wrong
• Rule 7: No. 2 is replaceable
• Rule 8: Appearances can deceive, especially those of your fellow prisoners
• Rule 9: If you reveal your secret, you will be retired
• Rule 10: Everything is possible, but most improbable things are probably attempts to mindf*ck you.
• Rule 11: You do not escape from the village

My favourite episode of 'The Prisoner' is the one called "Many happy returns," in which No. 6 find the village to be completely deserted and escapes. The show, which was made in 1967 and only had 17 episodes, is a classic and has inspired plenty of other science fiction, including 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Gallactica,' as well as countless of other shows and movies, some of them probably presenting you with the main character waking up to a deserted environment. Every episode presents you with a new opportunity to see No. 6 being tricked into revealing his information, as well as, originally, a new No. 2 to worry about. Every No. 2 has a different personality and maner or dealing with No. 6, and each of them is, equally originally, introduced towards the end of the 3 min. long introduction to the 45 min. show. Slightly different from 'Lost,' it's most apparent cousin, where the intro takes… a second?

The attraction of the show is three-fold, I think. Most obviously, its lead character (and creator), Patrick McGoohan, is a charming hero. Second, it is a battle between human nature and "the system." And third, that, like in 'Lost,' nothing is actually revealed of the plot (or the point), which makes you want to see the next episode and the next.

In Film: 'Cinema Paradiso'

Strange, how time flies. I've had this film lying around since 2006, and somehow put off watching it until today, a day spent lying in bed, slightly feverish, and watching film after film. This method appears quite effective, together with eating a lot, I'm sure I'll be well tomorrow.



So 'Cinema Paradiso' is several things, but most of all the story of a boy called Salvatore, growing up in a village. He falls in love with cinema and becomes one of those person's in the back, rolling the film for everyone. It's the kind of job, if you ever worked in a cinema, that everyone there dreams of doing. His father is lost in the war, but he is semi-adopted by Alfredo, the original projectionist, who teaches him the craft. And things ensue from there.

Some great conversations in the film, such as when Alfredo tells him about how places change after you come back from a break.

Living here day after day...
you think it's the center of the world.
You believe nothing will ever change.
Then you leave for a year or two.
When you come back, everything's changed.
The thread's broken.
What you came to find isn't there.
What was yours is gone.
You have to go away for a long time...
many years...
before you can come back and find your people.
The land where you were born.
But not now. It's not possible.

And a great romance, with a moment which is definitely inspired by all the classic romances in the world. But, I'll leave you to find out about it…

In Music: The last track of 'Six Feet Under'

The last track of the show was a beautiful piece of ambiance while the final scenes of the show were shown. So sad! I wrote before how I wondered whether this show, which is about death, desensitised you from the death-experience. I think that it does the opposite, that you become more sensitive to it, but that ignoring it is worse—you have this constant shadow hanging over you, especially when you get older. I didn't realise that Alan Ball, who also wrote and directed 'American Beauty,' had done the same for this show. A marvellous piece of art and I feel privileged to have been allowed to see it (as I feel with many of HBO's shows).

Enjoy the track!

In TV-Shows: Thoughts on "Six feet under"

My first thought about this show was, what is people's fascination with death? Then I realised that we are all fascinated with death, which should make anything to do with that topic an instant blockbuster. Of course, the latest show on this topic, "Pushing Daisies," was just cancelled, so even death can't save your show all the time.

There are three big themes to "Six feet under." The first is clearly death. The second is homosexuality. The third is the insanity of the Fisher family, the main focus on this show. The Fisher family runs an undertaking business and one of the members is gay, which is the way that all relates.

Let's start with death. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about that part. Every episode starts with a death (with the exception of one or three). Some deaths are normal (i.e. of old age), some deaths are odd, some deaths are horrible, some are comical. I'd like to say that watching this show desensitises you to death, but I luckily haven't been in the position to test that out yet. What I can say is that you get the feeling that death is something rather natural and that we all cope with it somehow.

Let's continue with homosexuality. There are a lot of gay scenes in this show, as one of the characters comes out of the closet and tries to live a normal life. I think he succeeds, and through it you develop a better understanding of the battle (both in the gay person's head and in his environment) and feel good when that battle is won.

Let's finish with the insanity. I've thought a lot about it and I think that situations in the show end up becoming insane, because people constantly play off other people. E.g. in an effort to become closer to another man, a woman joins a cult, and insanity follows. Or, because one man finds out he's dying, but keeps it from his girlfriend, she feels alienated and starts sleeping around, which creates more tension. There's some seriously "fucked up shit" (a phrase often used in the show), that's happening, but it can all be explained by reacting to the actions of another person. It kind of feels like no one has control over their own choices, which is a semi-true parody of real life and explains why not everything is nice and logical or orderly.

Kick-ass drama. If you can get past the death-part, it can be enjoyed by all I think.

In Film: Why "Frost / Nixon" was made at this time

Why? Read this article.

About 31 min. into the film.

Frost: Well what is it that you want to achieve
Reston: I'd like to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had.
Frost: Of course, we'll be asking difficult questions.
Reston: Difficult questions… the man lost 21 thousand Americans and a million Indochinese during his administration. He only escaped jail because of Ford's pardon.
Frost: Yes, but equally going after him in some knee-jerk way, assuming he's a terrible guy, wouldn't that only create more sympathy for him, than anything else?
Reston: You know, uhm, right now I submit it's impossible to feel anything close to sympathy for Richard Nixon. He devalued the presidency (emphasis mine) and he left the country that elected him in trauma. The American people need a conviction, pure and simple. The integrity of our political system, of democracy as an idea entirely depends on it. And if in years to come, people look back and say it was in this interview that Richard Nixon exhounorated himself, that would be the worst crime of all.
… (actual silence)

You see a little bit of that conversation in the trailer as well.

To me, this film was one of the best of 2008, and yet Nixon was never convicted, so was it a victory for democracy?

In Film: Appaloosa

I've never been into Westerns, and this film isn't changing my mind about it. Growing up with John Wayne, aka the most boring actor in the world to me, there's just something about this genre that puts me off. I'm not sure if it is the idea of crossing long dusty environments, the rather too formal women's clothing, or the accent. I just don't know.

That's not to say that there haven't been great Westerns! "The good, the bad, and the ugly" for one, or any other Sergio Leone flick for that matter. But looking at the IMDB top 50, those are pretty much the ones that stand out, quality wise, with as an honourable mention "Tombstone," for Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holiday alone.

Therefore, I can't speak as highly of "Appaloosa" as I would like, though I do think that had some interesting angles to it, such as the legal aspects of society, which did play a strong part, the power-play between men and men and men and women and how both dealt with it, as well as the finding of meaning in a career, a personal struggle that I observed in several characters.

Most memorable moment for me was a conversation that Ed Harris, as Virgil Cole, has with Viggo Mortensen, as Everett Hitch:

Cole: Everett, we've been together now a while, can't exactly say how long, but long. Ain't anybody I'd rather do this work with. As good as anybody I've seen, except maybe the Shelton boys, I mean. The reason you ain't as good as the Sheltons or me, ain't got nothing to with steady, with fast, or fortuitous. The reason the above named folks are better than you is because you got feelings.
Hitch: Well hell Virgil, everybody's got feelings.
Cole: Feelings get you killed.
Hitch: You got feelings about Ally don't you?
Cole: I care about Ally in town and I care when I get her back. But right now there's something running, and we're trying to catch it.

In retrospect, it's a strange movie, this one, one that I'll have to see again in a few years and reform my opinion about. Ed Harris is incidentally also the co-screenwriter and director of this film.

In Film: The King of Kong

Continuing my documentary trail, The King of Kong is either the saddest or the coolest movie, you ever did see. Cool, if you like games / the 80s and 90s scene / games / mullets. Sad, if your world is just that or you realise that their world is just that.

I think that this film had very little to do with the game of Donkey Kong, which may have been for the better, but more to do with ego. There's nothing wrong with ego, it can bring you to great heights but it can also turn you blind / make you proud / make you high. I didn't have sympathy with any of the characters in the film, not Billy Mitchell, who reveals himself quite boorishly here, not Steve Wiebe, who is made out to be the martyr, until you realise that we are talking about Donkey Kong.

That said, it was a good laugh, all the way through.