Advent: Dec 14th

Yes i have skipped a few days, oops. But fuck all happened in those days. I worked, i slept, i pooped. Rinse and repeat. Nothing out of the ordinary so why feign interest?

Let me take you back to March when my friend Rohan informed me that Phillip Glass was performing Koyannisqatsi live at the Barbican. This is the only time he has ever performed this in the UK. Now i have talked about this film before under the post Life in Balance. Now taking you back i used to watch this film at my mates while pretty stoned and although you don't have to, it kind of helped get into the hypnotic score and visuals that happen on screen.
So this moment that we were embarking on was a full circle that spanned nearly 10 years. Even though i had the day off i still managed to fuck up my timings and ended up getting to London later than planned. I got to Amico Bell, a really good Italian restaurant, a bit too late but met Rohan, Nicola an Elise and was given a glass of wine.
They finished their food while i had another wine and we trotted off to the Barbican. Never been there before but it was a pretty damn nice place. Will have to go back. We got in and found our seats and we were two rows from the stage. Amazing seats and within 5 mins Philip Glass came on stage and the composer shortly after and the lights dimmed. They then proceeded to show the film on the screen behind and the orchestra played the entire score live. I had a smile on my face for at least 20 minutes of the film, which only lasts 85mins, and was one of the happiest moments of this year. It was stunning to see the film i have loved for such a long time with the score played right in front of me. I need to either see more composers or more live classical music because that was something special.
After the film finished there was a standing ovation for a good 15 minutes, quite rightly so. We picked the good day as on the 15th was just a retrospective of his life and works which did sound good but we got the best deal out of those two days.

With the clapping done we milled about for a bit. Elise went home and Rohan, Nicola and Rohans friend Mel, plus myself, walked about till we found a bar. We found a smallish one and had a few beers and chatted for a bit. We then left and went to the Jugged Hare just outside the Barbican as Nicola knew some people who were having a meal, unbeknownst to us they had only just ordered. So we kinda gatecrashed their meal. Which was alright i suppose as we were all chatty and not unwanted (possibly). They did seem quite, Londonish. I mean two of them i got on with and chatted to about a few things from Japanese Whiskey to what we all saw at the Barbican. The other two i probably wouldn't socialise with. They seemed nice but no.
After a drink there we moved on as the last tubes were soon. I said my goodbye and got the tube back to Paddington. Which is where the night got shitty. Friday night, 00:45 and the next train was 1:44am. I mean what the fuck. I know not many people would probably travel back from London to Reading at that time but there are a lot of stations on the way. So 1:44am rolls around and theres tons of people waiting for a train that has 4 carriages and stops at lots of stops. When First Great Western start supplying a service that deserves my money then i will stop jumping train fairs, sitting in First Class when i don't have a ticket and generally hating the entire network.
Got home about 3am, sober and with a headache. But not even that could put a damper on the night. Phillip Glass i salute you.

Tales of a Drunkard: Year in review

Well considering i have only written one thing this year (Not counting the current Advent series) i thought a year in review would be good. Both for anyone reading and wondering what i have been up to (No one) and myself to just recap.

So in January i became the manager of the Go Kart track i worked at, spent alot of time at Sahara drinking and house parties. February was the month of snow, shit loads of it. February also bought weird dreams, lots of drinking and discovering Mixcloud.
March was a Skyrim month, which i should start playing again, that's all March had for me other than drinking at Sahara, learning about El Dorado rum and hiring staff from nights out drinking.
April, Spring. Such a time for things to come. Also fuck you April. The beginning was good, i saw my first Wall of Death at a Steam Fair and then my faithful Mongoose Crossway bike broke, broker harder than a broke broker. So i bought myself a fancy new Fixed gear bike, a Mongoose Maurice. Nice black and orange thing going on. It was also a night out with some friends for some cocktails and general drinking. All was going swimmingly. I went and got the bike on the train, came back and was a bit wobbly with a fixed gear as i had never ridden one before, managed home and back into town.

Then we started drinking. Which is where the fun began i suppose. We left and i walked my friend home then i made a stupid mistake of getting on my bike and cycling off rather than not. Worst decision i have ever made as i got about 1/4 of the way home and came off my bike. Blacked out when i hit the road and a passer by picked me up and helped me to the side. Nothing really hurt but i was bleeding from my head and cut my jeans and fucked my leg up. Oh and part of my shoulder was sticking out. Went to hospital and had a month off work, well about 6 weeks really. Couldn't walk that well for a few weeks.
My shoulder is still fucked, I'm pretty sure i tore the Coracoclavicular ligament. I might be wrong but it is that one. Common with rugby injuries and Freddie Flintoff had the same ligament damage i had, probably through drinking too!

So that was my April, it was spent on the sofa, watching TV, my laptop broke and i got shit all money from work. My bike was fucked but that was easily repaired. I was in that range where i didn't need surgery if it wasn't totally necessary. I spent most of April just hanging out and drinking, as walking into town wasn't too bad in a sling.

May brought 2ManyDjs, Real Ale festival and Simon Amstell. All in all was a good month of nights out. And that was May done really all while having lots of painkillers and a sling.
June was my birthday. Not the whole month, I'm not greedy like the queen having multiple birthdays, just the beginning of June. The 6th for future reference. I got some handlebars and a brake lever from a mate which is good as i fucked mine up when i fell off. Saw Promethues, not all that, realised that letting friends ride your bikes will end up with broken bikes (Thanks Lee and Ed).

Then that's it really. The rest of the year has been so-so. I got a cool Icarus tattoo on my left arm, half a sleeve, and got a Zombie hand holding a NES controller on my right bicep. I have been out drinking alot, i went to Bruges and met some cool people. Met up with some of them in London and spent a day and night having fun. I went to the Paralympics and spent some time in Hyde Park watching the Olympics on the big screens.
I went to Rumfest for the first time and was amazed by so many Rums, i was the best man to my friends wedding which was a very good day and night and honoured to be part of their day. Although i didn't get to go to any festivals this year i did get to go see Ugly Duckling, Frank Turner and coming up this Friday is Phillip Glass which i'm looking so forward to.

That's about it for the year, fun, exciting, sad, expensive, broken and regretful. 

There is only less than a month left, but not sure where it will go. Christmas is looming and New Years soon, hoping both will be great.
Hmm i didn't really do much this year.

Life In Balance: Music and Film

 

So the post before kind of delved into how i feel about music and film, and what it does to both the cinema goer and the film itself.
One film combines both of these two beautifully and is called Koyaanisqatsi. It is am experimental film from 1982 that combines slow motion footage with time lapse stills to bring a Life Out of Balance, which is what Koyaanisqatsi means when translated (well thereabouts).
 
It won numerous awards, one of which was the Francis Ford Coppola endorsement and he is now credited as executive producer. The visual elements go from amazement, to haunting, to puzzlement. And the soundtrack from Phillip Glass compliments it brilliantly. The soundtrack is nearly as long as the film, film is 86mins and music is 76, but sometimes you don't know its there. It transitions the different segments of the film as it moves from the early stages showing the environment and humanity through the progression of war, atomic age, right up to the 'micro-ship' age at the end. All culminating in the final scene showing the ultimate price of technology and the progression of man. NB: Its not the challenger disaster which happened 4 years after.

Some of you might recognise some of the music from the first public trailer of GTA IV, or the scene from Watchmen where Dr Manhattan talks about his origins. Koyaanisqatsi has also appeared in parody on the Simpons where an Itchy and Scratchy show entitled Koyaanis-Scratchy: Death Out of Balance was shown. Madonnas 'Ray of Light' video also resembles the feel of Koyaanisqatsi.

The soundtrack was so popular that the Phillip Glass Ensemble toured while playing the music live over the film, pretty much like War of The Worlds, if you have ever seen that on its tour.

Koyaanisqatsi was the first in the 'Qatsi' trilogy which shows Life out of Balance. Powaqqatsi was the second and shows the Life in Transition, primarily third world countries and losing the fight of holding onto their traditions in the face of industrialization. The third is Naqoyqatsi which means Life at War and shows the  'transition from a natural environment to a technology-based industrial environment'.

All three films are cheap to pick up if you want to see what I'm talking about. Those less inclined to purchase them can view the film below courtesy of Google.

Admittedly i used to watch this stoned and concentrated more, as you cant really have a busy mind when watching it. Not that I'm suggesting you get stoned and watch it, just pay attention, don't discount it for being some arty film you wont get, people interpret what they see in different ways. Watch it, think about it, discuss it.

Music and Movies

To me the arts are a complicated thing. You have paintings for example, which some people just sit and stare trying to figure out the meaning. Maybe there isn't a meaning, maybe the artist just drew what popped into their head.
The same with photos. When someone takes a picture why does it have to convey the emotions the photographer was feeling or trying to capture. Why can't it be about capturing a moment in time before it flutters away never to be captured again.

Music in film and television is vital. It tells the audience whats happening. It reminds me of the Shifty eye dog episode of The Simpsons. Dramatic music makes him look sinister, though changing the music behind it would change it to a jovial nature or whimsical. How do you know he wasn't checking for traffic before he crossed the road?

Aside from music leading the narrative, i like when the soundtrack is part of the movie in more than a 'background noise' way. Films where the music and whats happening on screen are intertwined are brilliant. Recently there has been Inception, Tron: Legacy and Social Network that have all amazing soundtracks which i love listening to but are part of the film too.

Some films have also given me new bands to listen to. Wristcutters: A Love Story introduced me to Gogol Bordello, a band which i now love. Garden State introduced me to The Shins and Stir of Echoes introduced me to Rolling Stones via Paint it Black, the soundtrack to Juno, to me, was amazing. It determined the pace of the film, showed the same emotions as the characters.

As well as soundtracks having good bands, music that is made specifically to the film are detrimental to a good film. Who here cant hum the Superman Theme? Or the theme to Star Wars. John Williams and Danny Elfman played some of the best ones of my childhood. Which is why i suppose that Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman sound the same :)

Classic soundtrack overtures like the ones in Shawshank redemption, Gladiator, and even Star Trek are also brilliant to have in a film. To me a film that has stagnant score behind it, or music that doesn't fit anything that happens on screen is a flop.

This is the overlying music from JJ Abrams Star Trek.

Its the theme that plays over pretty much anything dramatic that happens in the film. Its haunting in a way but i love it.
Speaking of haunting music and the correlation between film and music, that will be addressed in my next post.
But i will leave you with my first love of music in movies/trailers and the one that got me more into what happens in film other than actors speaking.

This is a trailer for the 2007 film Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) Its a brilliantly visual film, great story but this trailer is what did it for me. Lots of WTF moments happening at once and when the yellow bus enters the screen, that music that kicks in was it. The band are called M83 and that track made me search them out straight away. Give the film a watch and also the bands album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.

Edge of Darkness

Here we go again.
Edge of Darkness stars Mel Gibson as a bereived dad trying to find out what happened to cause his daughter to get killed. Now i'm not a massive fan of Mel Gibson. I liked Lethal Weapon and What Women Want was a good chick flick. I massivly enjoyed both Payback and Ransom which i hold as some of the best films i have seen. And from the trailer this film looked just like it. "Rejoice" i hear you say.

The start is a little long, then some action, then some pondering and Mel Gibson looking old yet good for his age.

Eventually the action picks up, and with a few mumblings from Ray Winston the larger picture is formed, Mel Gibson gets even more pissed off. And more bad guys die. It's enjoyable and its the first film to make me physically jump in a cinema since.... well i don't think a film has ever made me jump. So kudos for that.

I'd give it a 6/10 only because the ending was all nicey nicey.

Book of Eli: Review

Now this will be a new avenue for me. In my sober daze i have found myself on i have coherent thoughts, which put towards a film, culminate in a review.

Just got back from Book of Eli which i saw with a friend, and well here goes...

A couple of friends have seen it and said things like "Well i wouldn't really pay to see that" or "utterly pointless".. Anyway. From the very beginning it is what you would imagine a post-apocalyptic dystopia to be. Raiders, bleached sky, no water and more importantly no hope. Denzel Washington, as with most roles, brings his A game. Putting everything into Eli. A man on a mission, even if your unsure of what his mission is. Walking the wasteland with his book on his back unleashing justice, of sorts, on those who come into his way.


Fight scenes were quick and decent to watch "You put your hand on me again and your not getting it back" was brilliant. The other characters just set the story really. From Gary Oldmans 'Carnegie' and Mila Klunis 'Solara'. Two of the best characters are the old couple, with the brilliant Micheal Gambon.

The whole undertone surrounding Eli's book is religion. Which as stated in the film is how people understood the war to have started, and as a result went around burning all the books. Leaving Eli with his only copy and his quest to take this to the West coast of the USA. There is a twist to the story, and its a good one but will leave you with a 'WTF' moment or two as you replay parts of the movie over in your head trying to get around what you've just learnt, and how it could come to be that Eli is and does what he does, but its all a matter of faith ;)

Really good film with a superb soundtrack which works well with the post-apocalyptic world in which it's set in.

I'd give it a 7/10. Only because i was thinking 'Fallout, this is kind of like a Fallout film'... shame.