Messed Up Xmas?

I hate buying people presents on Xmas. Don't get me wrong, because I love to give spontaneous gifts to people (who actually deserve such an act). But it's the "forced" feeling of buying, instead of offering. You give presents to someone you barely know just so they know "see, I'm not cheap".

So today I was with a friend making all the shopping (yes, I'm on of those who buys Christmas presents the day before, at midnight), and we thought of something really cool: wouldn't it be awesome if you had the nerve to give people the most wrong and absurd present to them, based on their personality?

It would be something like offering a Holy Bible to your satanic friend. Or frozen meat to your vegetarian buddies. A playstation game to your old fashioned grandfather. And maybe a coffee machine to the 5 year old next door! But the fun part would come when you said "I really hope you like it, I spent a long time figuring out what you would want". And then see their reaction. Man, I would so love that.

There should be a day like that. Believe me, it would be the greatest way to find the real personality of your friends! Aside from all this crap,

Merry Christmas.

Safe Music

For quite some time I've wanted to have a website about... music. Good music. Music I could share with the rest of the world. If there's something I love to do is to write about the music industry, so yes, my dream job would be the one presented in the Almost Famous movie.

Two years ago I had a blog in which I used to review the albums I loved the most, and the new ones I used to get my hands on. Unfortunately it didn't last long... nobody actually read the blog (like it happens with 80% of all the blogs) and it made me lose my interest.

I'm thinking about creating a small album-review system based on RSS - it wouldn't give me the trouble to actually build a website, only writing the review itself and publishing the Feed... A lot of people use iGoogle and NetVibes now, I could learn how to develop it as a gadget and publish it.

What I'd really love though, would be having more people to write with, kinda like it happens on Indienation (google it). That way I could share my wonderful perspective of the music magical world, and learn with my fellow colleagues. I have 2 or 3 people in mind, but I'm afraid of entering in this sort of projects now... they don't usually work and people tend to forget about them in a couple of weeks.

But my desire is strong, and as soon as I have time I will release the RSS Feed Reviewing. For sure :)

Witches, buffalos and dead ones

This week's recommendations:




Witchcraft - The Alchemist (2007)

[Stoner Rock / Hard Rock / Classic Rock]

[to fans of: Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd]






Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo (2007)

[Progressive Rock / Experimental Rock / Psych Rock]

[to fans of: The Mars Volta]







...And You Will Know Us by the Trail Of Dead - Maddonna (1999)

[College Rock / Art Rock / Noise Rock / Post Hardcore]

[to fans of: At The Drive-In]

[my] (harsh) truth about CONTROL

So I finally got to see Control, the movie about Joy Division, and more specifically, Ian Curtis. For months I've been waiting for it to premiere, and to watch one of the most mysteryously dramatic stories about someone as odd as life itself. I can't say I'm disappointed, but unfortunately I can't say I'm satisfied either. I'll explain.

At the very first minute, you know you're going to get the silent treatment through the whole film. When you think about it, it makes some sense. Ian was a writer and a singer, but definitely not a speaker. You allow yourself to be embraced with a monochromatic silence, and a lack of long straight sequences that won't ever let you dissect whatever the hell was going on there. And yet, there is plenty of time for you to absorb the heat, or the cold, of that specific moment.

And there you have it. Ian Curtis is played by Sam Riley, a young man who's not a perfect match for Ian's looks, and definitely not a target hit on Ian's voice, but... he's the perfect middle term. The movie includes both music played by the original band members, and from the actors themselves, including the lead singing of Sam Riley. His effort is remarkable, but often failing miserably [his interpretation of Isolation is bloody terrible].

The story is straight forwarding. Perhaps too much. The sequences are short, silent, and they're simply too many. If Anton Corbjin's intention was to create frustration out of the lack of communication, he got way more than that. Which is good at some point, but then it just really gets you on your nerves. One hundred and twenty minutes of silence treatment can be harsh, so sometimes you're bombed with what seems to be some kind of an introspective diary, as if Curtis himself had the need to express and explain to you directly what he was going through. And honestly, it's akward. You can (could) get so much out of the facts themselves, that having someone explaining to you makes the whole plot fit together and following the same straight line.

And that, is bad.

Those who have seen 24 Hour Party People will find in Control a whole different approach. I was afraid Anton would make Ian's story into some kind of beautiful fairytale, something people could remember and tell others in a predefined order of events and emotions. And I wasn't completely wrong... the movie can be cruel, but it's not even as raw as those twenty minutes of Joy Division we get to lick in 24 Hour PP. Sean Harris may actually have been a better Ian than Riley, because he didn't call for the use of words. Riley is a closed book obviously, but only with heavy weights on top. Control represents darkness with a cherry on top.

But the main reason of my disappointment is because there could be so much more here. The characters are exactly what you would expect them to be, and you can't exactly love one of them. They don't give that much mystery, maybe except for Annik, which is gorgeous, a stunning woman who had a minor grade of importancy on the general plot... again, there could easily be so much more. It's like each character had their own string pulling them towards the very same end, and just when you think the string is about to break, it doesn't.

At some point, Ian Curtis [Sam] tells Annik that "some things about Joy Division are not meant to be beautiful". This is exactly what Anton should have paid more attention to, because in the end, it's all just a somewhat comprehensive story which doesn't really leave you wondering around thinking "what the hell happened after all?". You're pushed, they give you a puzzle of a thousand pieces and for two hours, they mount the first 950 pieces for you. The beautiful thing about Ian and the late 70's/early 80's Joy Division story is the fact that you simply cannot understand it. It's a back and forth of events, and fortunately this roleplay is pretty well expressed throughout the whole movie.

But the moments do sink in, eventually, and wether they're forced or not, the truth is they hit you. You miss the caption as a whole, but you know it's there. Still, I would rather have a shorter approach 24HPP style, because in this particular case, distancy only means you're getting closer. And if you don't get it, even better.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but the rush just is not one of my side-effects right now. Not even with the unfair "Atmosphere" being played just when Deborah finds Ian hanging, which would hit me like a damn frisbee if it wasn't so unfortunately predictable. But the [lack of] words is there, and they're burnt on wood. Timeless, eternal, just like they were then. But only now the world actually gets them. Unfortunately, the film also misses this final consideration.

Among a whole lot of things which made Joy Division so freakin' good.

Out of Control

Those idiots!

I've been waiting for Control to premiere for quite some months now, and it was scheduled for Novemeber 15th. And it did premiere that day... on only 3 fuckin' movie rooms in the entire country! Two in Lisbon, one in Porto. What a nerve, they keep releasing awful movies all the time, everywhere, for a long time, and when it comes to something not so much known for the masses, they just throw it at the corner. I hate the way the portuguese movie industry works, this is not the first time something like this happens.

Hopefuly I'm going to watch it next week, if it's still there.

Even More Deliveries

Yes, it's another delivery week! One more week has passed, LOTS of new albums, lots of good music. This blog is turning into a music only thingy... that will change eventually. Not now though! So let's get to business.

My week started with two albums from The Replacements, an alternative rock/punk/post-punk band from the 80's who began to rock my world a little bit more. They sound a lot like bands like The Libertines, like some kind of free punk with a lot of an indie scene mixed up. Their 1984 album, "Let It Be", is absolutely delicious. Which pushed me to "Tim", from 1985, and altough not as good, it's still highly recommended!

Still on an 80's mood, I got "Once In a Lifetime" from Talking Heads. And this was more of a revival scene, as I really wanted to hear Psycho Killer again. Still rockin', still making me know why the 80's were so damn good!

Again with the 80's mood, I decided to finally give it a try, to "Yes". And altough "90125" is a good album with the so well known "Owner Of a Lonely Heart", there's still somethig missing... and it doesn't really fulfill my expectations.

On a different mood, I discovered Riverside. They present themselves as a progressive rock / progressive metal band and... well, I'm glad they do, because that's exactly what they are. I'm not a really big fan of metal / hardcore melodies, (no, I don't like "Tool") but Riverside has somehow managed to capture my attention. They remind me of what a hardcore version of Pink Floyd would be, and that's enough to make me happy! "Out Of Myself", "Rapid Eye Movement", and "Second Life Syndrome" are the albums I own right now. The first one is highly recommended.

I also finally gave it a try to Wire, a somewhat soft-punk band from the 70's/80's. They really remind me of "Wipers", with some "Buzzcocks" influence. "154" and "Pink Flag" and the most know albums, and the two I'm currently listening to. The new wave tendency is quite clear, making it very pleaseant to hear anytime!

And I bought "One For The Road: Live!" from Ocean Colour Scene just an hour ago. Why? Well, I sorta like the band, and it costed 1,5€! And I definitely prefer these guys live... good old fashioned rock.

I also got a few more, but I'll leave them for next week. Or tomorrow... depends how bored I will be :)

Deliveries: part II

My god, I can only update this at weekends! College is being quite time consuming, I barely have time for myself, so the blog doesn't really have a word in this. The sad thing is, during the week I have a lot of ideas and cool stuff I want to share here in this blog, but I always forget them...

Well, first things first. The band that's going to introduce the The Cure concert has been announced! They are 65daysofstatic, a nice post-rock band from England which has been raising a big legion of fans for the last couple of years. I only listened to a full album of them yesterday, and I enjoyed it. Yes, they seem somewhat of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor rip off, but still they sound pretty good. And post-rock bands are always wonderful to be seen live, so I'm looking forward to it.

As for new albums, I've been listening to "No Fighting In The War Room", from Harrisons... but it's disappointing. I'll probably even delete it soon. "Dying To Say This To You" from The Sounds has a few good songs, including the so much acclaimed single "Painted By Numbers", and it's recommended for the grrrlriot new-aged fans. I'm currently trying to get albums from Meat Puppets, Yes, and The Replacements, three bands I listened to some tracks during this week and loved them. Can't wait to get the full business!

As for the video industry, I discovered one marvellous piece of stop-motion art, which was even about to get into the Oscar Nonimees! Unfortunately, and I still don't know why, it was rejected. It's funny, bloody, both beautiful and ugly, and it's a somewhat different approach to this kind of art. Highly recommended, it plays for less that 10 minutes and you can watch it here:



As for cinema, I watched the new Planet Terror, which is... amazing! In a very stupid way. The movie managed to compile all of the greatest action movies clichés and punchlines, and mix them with a really rotten kind of horror. A pure bloodfeast, but quite hilarious at the same time. I had a great time watching it, but you really need to be open minded about the whole concept. The role Tarantino played is small but freaking delicious!
I also wached The Messengers... which is the worst horror (horror? where?) movie I've seen in a long time.
The Devil's Rejects is another Rob Zombie movie - and the guy really knows how to build some characters. The plot is weak, but it works well enough to get your attention through all of it.

And for the first time, technology news! My laptop is an authentic oven nowadays, I can almost fry an egg on the top of that thing. On a regular basis, my processor's temperature gets about 79ºC, sometimes almost 90ºC during intense use. So I decided to give a try to Cooler Master Infinite, a very light base support for the laptop... and guess what, 18ºC less! Talk about keeping the technology fresh, it really works. And it's so light, I can carry it around with my laptop as well. It's relatively cheap and it works greatly, not to mention it's really pretty.

I guess that's it for the week.
And I'm listening to Velvet Underground!

Deliveries

Ahhh, the music era is coming back up again. Unfortunately the money is not, so I spent the last three hours just drooling at a dozen cds I had in hand I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to buy... but I'm a good boy, and I didn't.

And speaking of music, the new album from She Wants Revenge finally came out! This Is Forever was released only a few days ago, and still already managed to capture my attention. Don't be fooled, this is no debut album like the first one, I don't really think anyone would disagree about that. But it does not mean that This Is Forever can't be a good album - it is, the erotic darkwave premiss can still be heard and felt at the tip of your tongue and raise your body hairs like a television full of electrical static. And that's basically the whole contract... because SWR won't get much further away from that. So it seems like a deja-vu, and you will find nothing really new and refreshing about this new release. The sound and the taste remain the same, which is good, if you didn't get tired of the 2005's debut album.
The track "She Will Always Be a Broken Girl" seems to me like they did some cheating; it resembles a lot like the 2005 track "These Things"... with different beat and lyrics. Maybe they were getting out of their traditional recipee.

Another sensation of the week is the new Babyshambles album, Shotter's Nation. And much like the previous Down In Albion, it's hard not to enjoy it, but it's somewhat difficult to love it. That just might be a general problem with this kind of danceable-post-punk-indie-rock hippie sensation of nowadays; it feels right anytime, anywhere. But you simply don't miss it very often, even though you know you'll shake your booty to it whenever it starts playing. Shotter's Nation presents itself as what you expect it to be, 100% free of complications and confusing feelings attached. It will make us content, tap our fingers in the table, and listen more than once in a day, just because it feels right.

But the true sensation of the week, and probably for the whole month, is In Rainbows, the new "album" from Radiohead. I called it "album" since it's not an official commercial release, at least not in the traditional way we are used to. (yes, you may get it for free online, after a few days of waiting in queue). The very first track from this new release just feels like Radiohead, one would recognize it anywhere, anytime. I must admit I'm somewhat tired of the Radiohead feeling, well, the Thom Yorke feeling actually, so I didn't take this as good news to me. But as I kept listening to the album I found myself enjoying it quite a lot, the same way I enjoy listening to [what I call] emotionally neutral albums which you know it's safe to listen to. And unlike Hail To The Thief, you can safely tag this as the old and delicious alternative rock they made us so afraid to use. Far from being a complicated album, it has a very natural feeling attached and you slowly start to get caught in the middle of the whole processing.
No, it's not an Ok Computer, especially because this is not the 90's anymore... so In Rainbows feels like a Chocolate Cornetto on a rather cold Autumn afternoon. Personally, I've had it with Cornetto's. But I must admit that if I had never tried one, I think I would start to eat them more often from now on. It's just not the right time.

And I already got my ticket to The Cure :)

A Cura

Fuck yeah! The Cure are coming to Portugal next year! And I'm gonna be one of those banging in the first row I assure you \m/. I haven't been this excited since the latest Depeche Mode concert, back in 2006. And The Cure are even returning with a new album - if it's ever so good as the latest, Bloodflowers, it should certainly be more than welcome.

These last few days have been great. Everything in place, everything in order. Nothing but good news and well spent days & nights. I only wished I had more time to listen to music though... but oh well, you can't have it all I guess.