U L ! R A M I S M

Misty Roses

2007-07-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

China Roses
photography by Amelee

A short song, Astrud Gilberto's "Misty Roses" was released in 1967. The first time I heard it, it numbed me in a trance. It is one of the most vivid, clear, yet subtle and mysterious musical tones I have ever heard. It may even be something sexual. It is a Bossa Nova track, with a gorgeous orchestral composition. The harp used in the song had such a euphoric property that ever so encouraged the trance. But curiously enough, it was her voice that gave the song such an enigmatic feel within me. I probably repeated the track more than a hundred times to understand what she was saying, and thoughts about the song arose. At first glance, it may simply be a song about her experience with roses, perhaps a desire for a particular set of them. Or on the other hand, it may be a metaphor for loving someone. If we can imagine a third hand, it may also be a link between both ideas as a kind of flashback or memory of what once was, rather, a gift from someone she once loved.

Of course, before we get into detail about Gilberto's song, it would be good to give it a listen and follow through the lyrics below.

Astrud Gilberto - Misty Roses

You look to me
Like misty roses
Too soft to touch
But too lovely
To leave alone.

If I could be
Like misty roses
I'd love you much
You're too lovely
To leave alone.

Flowers often cry
But too late to find
That their beauty has been lost
With their peace of mind.

You look to me
Like love forever
Too good to last
But too lovely
Not to try.

If I believed
In love forever
I'd forget the past
You're too lovely
Not to try.

You're too lovely
Not to try...

You look to me like misty roses...

Echo and Narcissus

painting by John William Waterhouse

The song meaning seems to begin by the second verse. I found it rather curious when Astrud proposed how she would be if she made herself into a rose:

"If I could be like misty roses, I'd love you much. You're too lovely to leave alone."

What comes to mind is the old tale of Echo & Narcissus in Ovid's Mythology, and what I believe this song is conceptually based on. The story goes that Narcissus fell obsessively in love with himself, ignoring the talkative nymph Echo, who loved him and tried getting his attention. Narcissus kept on looking at his reflection in a lake. He thought himself so beautiful that in turn his pride transformed him into the so-called narcissus flower.

From learning this, did the second verse mean that Astrud is in love with someone? That is, Astrud, in this case, is Echo? She even says, "... You're too lovely to leave alone." Astrud cannot let go of these roses, and all she could ever do is express her eternal interest for them. What is so special about these roses, which impels her to become them?

"Flowers often cry; But too late to find that their beauty has been lost, with their peace of mind."

It seems to me that this verse is describing how roses are when they are under the sprinkles of raindrops, thus the title Misty Roses. I find that if the roses were under the rain, their inner beauty is lost, because the rain has overcome the roses themselves. Yet, she also mentions "their peace of mind." In going back to the myth, is Narcissus regretting Echo's admiration for him? Astrud mentioned earlier how she would be misty roses. I am beginning to understand that if Narcissus would have known how much Echo felt for him, Narcissus would regret ignoring her.

"You look to me like love forever. Too good to last, but too lovely not to try."

These lush roses symbolize the romantic ideal of not loving someone for the rest of your life, but beyond life. Echo's love for him is "too good to last" as a special moment, and since this gave a new foundation for her love, making it eternal, it would not make sense that he's "too lovely not to try."

"If I believed in love forever, I'd forget the past. You're too lovely not to try."

Things seem to shift when Astrud gave a condition if she believed in love forever, she would forget the past. Is Echo doubting her admiration for Narcissus? Is it too late for him to be with Echo, even though he may have cried for ignoring her ("Flowers often cried..."), regrettably? Yet, Astrud does not seem to suggest in the lyric that Echo's love for him is as strong as before. And she would suppose that what Echo was really admiring was not Narcissus, but the feeling, or experience, of falling in love with someone beautiful. (You're too lovely not too try).

Thus, Astrud gorgeously ends her song with "You look to me like misty roses..." Implying the cycle of some love at first sight:

"You look to me like misty roses. Too soft to touch but too lovely to leave alone."

If the tale between Echo and Narcissus is an accurate picture of what Astrud was trying to express, we will find that this song turned out to be sadder than how we first realized it to be. It is a song about infatuation, and how much infatuation can lead to confusions of the real; That is, confusions between what it is and what is "real." This song is just so amazing at how the lyrics seemed filled with simplicity and elementary likeness, yet through analysis it has so much depth, profundity, and truth. I consider this song as one of her greatest achievements.

Ironically and personally speaking, I wanted to post something bright and happy. I was definitely not expecting to write another "sad" post like the two before this one. However, I am glad that I made this post as it is one of my favorite songs. If we read a post with comfort about love and the optional sadness it may bring, then we must be so close to the sun. Or put in another way, we might have already found it.

To add some variety or whatnot, here is a cheerful Italian song:

Peter Hamilton Orchestra - Quando Quando Quando

Enjoy your day!

My Dear Love Emily, Sweet Dreams

2007-07-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Moors
photography by Daisy Burrows

I have imagined your life to be blessed by an angel. By your human spirit, I cannot deny your purity. Your adoration for the moors, the rain, the speculations of ghouls and ghosts, and the melancholic distress of living and loving sets me into an intellectual curiosity for the rest of my days. What is right for love to prosper? What are "soulmates", between man and woman, if they are destined to perish together? If you were here, beside me, I would have eternally loved to speak to you, my dear Emily...

"Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves."

Wuthering Heights was published in 1847 and written by Emily Brontë. It is a complex tale of love, desire, and tragedy, along with twists and turns along the way. The story revolves around the history of childhood friends Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw who have fallen in love, and their relationship with two families, the Lintons and Catherine's family proper. Heathcliff was brought in to the Earnshaws as an orphan and raised by the maternal family servant Nelly, but he was a troublesome fellow. He met Catherine and have spent much of their time together running and playing in the moors. Until master Earnshaw had gotten strict upon Heathcliff, damaging his relationship with Catherine, the young boy began planning revenge on him. That's as far as I will take it. It is a sad story though.

What intrigues me most is Emily's writing. She writes as if each sentence is a lyric from a poem, and at times I have felt some rhythm. I would say that it is one of those rare novels, next to reading Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, where I would study the literature to improve myself. Her prose is seemless and the structure of the story is quite innovative. While I was reading the book I amazed myself when I realized how complex it had gotten when the narrators shifted from character to character, being "deeper and deeper" within the story, giving you a natural feel. Emily is highly descriptive to achieve her ambiance and mood. It is wonderful and delicious literature, especially reading in a rainy day, or a lonely night.

The book was published in 19th century Victorian era who some writers, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, focused on the Gothic or Dark Romantic genre. There are allusions to the supernatural such as ghosts and demons, but Emily writes in a style that is not explicit. That is, when a character encounters a strange occurrence, she lets the reader know that the character feels the encounter to be that way, and she doesn't let herself describe the experience as something concrete.

In the end, the novel is a joy of a read. I believe this is good to pick up when you are going through, perhaps, some sadness in life. There is a point when you would like to escape that certain sadness and you will end up not being yourself. You will be happy without even knowing why you are happy. The best to do is to embrace your sadness, and move on to the next phase. I was walking to my house, not too long ago, after reading by the ocean under a tent as the day rained softly throughout the afternoon, and said to myself, "I love love, but love is sad." It is that moment when I realized that I'm trying to help myself get better. Let's just hope that it won't be for too long in that neutral state of mind.

The first song is more cheerful, yet sad. The second and third songs are in Spanish but they follow similar themes. Enjoy your day!

Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
Soraya - Las Ruinas en mi Mente
Franco Simone - Rio Grande

Let's Look Out the Window

2007-06-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

Dia de Lluvia
photography by Alfon

This song inspired me to write this:
Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley Trio - A Certain Sadness

I sit here and wished it rained just to look outside. It's dark and all I see in the corners of my eyes the reflection of my hair by the light emitting in front of me. I wish it rained. I so do wish it rained. Maybe, just maybe, there's that chance that it will rain soon. Maybe in a few seconds. Maybe within the hour. But I don't know. I don't know no matter how much I want to. But all it seems I could do is wonder if tomorrow will be a new day -- Heh... we often think what will happen tomorrow will be new all over again. Yet I'm not so sure what is new anymore.

I can only imagine myself looking outside the window as the rain falls, watch the many mirrors on the lonely street, and the city lights being lonely with me. I want to smell the soil if I wish to take a walk outside my house along with my black umbrella, kicking the floor with my shoes softly. The trees will seem like they have their backs facing me, letting me think more about the ocean nearby and become ever more sensitive to the breeze.

Do I want to be happy to be oblivious? Or do I want to be sad to love again? How many times should I wonder when the rain will fall? I wish I could do this once every year or so. I think about it every night.

The rain would fall like whispers, and the raindrops serenade my happy memories; my past joys. The raindrops speak to me as they die off onto my umbrella. And the green leaves brisk each other from the soft winds as if they loved each other, and laughed together under a shining moon. The raindrops would creep to my arms and hands, to fall once again and never be remembered...

There is nothing more to say. It would be a moment of moments.

I wish it rained outside my window.

Goodnight.

Video Game Music from the 16-Bit Era

2007-05-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hybris (1987) title screen from the Commodore AMIGA

My brother always thought it would be a cool thing for me to gather music from Commodore AMIGA. The AMIGA was the most advanced computer gaming system for its time when it debuted in 1985. So, in following his suggestion, I began to do research and tried to remember the best games from my youth. It later came to me and wondered, "What if I tried to find the best, melodic, sophisticated, video game music from the main leading systems from the day AMIGA debuted to the end of the Super Nintendo in 1999?"

During October of last year I finally compiled, and mostly recorded, over 40 tracks from the major video gaming systems from 1988-1996: Commodore AMIGA, Super Nintendo, and SEGA Genesis/Megadrive. I heard these songs extensively, found some sounds to fit-in for interludes as if it was an album made by one musical group. I tried to make it as consistent as possible, in that one track "logically" follows the next, considering that the technological/musical shifts over the years got better and better.

Each song was personally hand-picked in this way as I felt that the song itself stood out, and it didn't require the gameplay to support it. It is amazing that music so old, so stereotyped as music for "big kids", would have so much complexity and sophistication. As you analyze the music, you can tell that the tracks were done by someone who had good taste, and knew what was being composed. Enjoy!

The stars next to the song are my personal favorites.

Commodore AMIGA (1985-1994)

1. Turrican (1990) - Launch (0:15)
2. Turrican (1990) - Title Screen (4:29)
3. Project X (1992) - Title Screen (Rave) (2:11)
4. Hybris (1987) - Title Screen* (2:30)
5. B.A.M. (composer, 1990) - Hack Screen (2:27)
6. Lotus 3 (1992) - Intro/Menu Screen (3:36)
7. Ork (1991) - Title Screen* (3:16)
8. The Apprentice (1990) - Options Screen* (1:17)
9. Neuronics (1992) - In-Game (5:06)
10. Bloodmoney (1989) - In-Game (1:32)
11. Megatraveller 2 (1992) - Title Screen (4:15)
12. Crystal Hammer (1988) - Title Screen* (2:41)
13. Chaos Engine (1993) - Interlude (1:40)

Super Nintendo (1990-1999)

14. Kirby Super Star (1996) - Rude Awakening (ambient) (0:27)
15. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) - Enchanted Forest (2:14)
16. Donkey Kong Country (1994) - Underwater (2:17)
17. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) - Lava* (1:47)
18. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) - Swamp (2:37)
19. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995) - Brambles (2:09)
20. Arcus Spirits (1991)- Level 2 (1:27)
21. Kirby Super Star (1996) - Caves of Wind, Fire, and Ice (2:21)
22. Kirby Super Star (1996) - Prologue of the Sun, the Moon, and Nova* (1:47)
23. Chrono Trigger (1995)- Secret of the Forest* (4:46)

SEGA Genesis (32X) (1988-1998)

24. Gunstar Heroes (1993) - Title Screen (1:47)
25.Gunstar Heroes (1993) - Ruins* (1:07)
26. Midnight Resistance (1991) - In-Game* (2:13)
27. Kolibri (1995) - Interlude (0:20)
28. Alien Soldier (1995) - Slap-Up* (1:01)
29. Light Crusader (1995) - What Lies Ahead (ambient) (1:12)
30. Cosmic Carnage (1994) - BGM 05* (1:25)
31. Rocket Knight Adventures (1993) - Level 1 (1:09)
32. Rocket Knight Adventures (1993) - Cave (0:58)
33. Cosmic Carnage (1994) - BGM 03 (1:21)
34. Light Crusader (1995) - Grave Matters (3:03)
35. Dynamite Headdy (1994) - Fly Hard* (1:35)
36. Dynamite Headdy (1994) - Backstage Battle (1:16)
37. Dynamite Headdy (1994) - Breakdown (0:39)
38. Sonic 3D Blast (1996) - Diamond Dust Act 1* (1:12)
39. Sonic 3D Blast (1996) - Diamond Dust Act 2* (1:17)
40. SEGA Sound Team (1994) - Staff Credits (1:56)

??Sequel??

41. Blazing Star (1998)- Endless (Ending 1) (0:54)

An Electronic Artifact

2007-05-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Tchaikovsky 1812 Nutcracker Suite (1977) by Kraft and Alexander

This is probably one of the most beautiful compositions of electronica from the 1970s. The album is very rare to find. The LP runs for 40 minutes. It is a remake of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. Like many electronic musicians from this era, most of the music were remakes from great orchestral works. I don't have much to write about this, except that the music was based on the ARP 2000. It's one of those things you just have to give it a listen. It's a relic.

1812 Overture
The Nutcracker Suite Overture
March
Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy/Trepak - Russian Dance
Arabian Dance
Chinese Dance/Reed Flutes
Waltz of the Flowers

Ror-Shak

2007-05-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Deep (2007) by Ror-Shak

I was at the bookstore as a fellow curious being attempting to delve into areas no man has ever gone before. There was also a music section, and, being the great experimenter of all-time, I put on these clumsy headphones, and looked slightly to my left. A harmony of curves captured my eye. I then looked a little below to see the name, and it revved my curiosity ever more. The album cover was pretty neat. It seemed as though it was an inkblot test, or perhaps a musical synesthesia of lines. I haven't felt so relieved in hearing this album. It came to my mind of the trip-hop style of Massive Attack, and the chill-out of Thievery Corporation fused into one. Finally I had to purchase it. Oh it was a breath of fresh air indeed! It was a golden note that strung in my ear.

Ror-Shak is a group originally based in New York by Dj Stakka and Dj DB. It's no wonder there are allusions to Drum & Bass. The project, it seems, is supposed to have just a variety of singers. There are some instrumentals, but most contain a vocal artist. I should note that, at least in my copy, there is a misprint of having an extra "final track." Although the album is 56 minutes long, I have enjoyed the music.

On a side note, the name is a kind of homage to the Swiss Psychologist Hermann Rorshak, who invented the inkblot test.

You may check out some of their songs below. Have fun!

Lisa's Song feat. Lisa Shaw
Love & Pride feat. Wendy Starland

Apollo & Daphne

2007-04-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

Apollo and Daphne
sculpture by Bernini

M83 - Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun

Phoebus is lovestruck; having seen the girl,
he longs to wed her and, in longing, hopes;
but though he is the god of oracles,
he reads the future wrongly. Even as,
when grain is harvested, the stubble left
will burn, or as the hedges burn when chance
has led some traveler to bring his torch
too close, or to forget it on the road
when he went off at dawn, so Phoebus burns,
so is his heart aflame; with hope he feeds
a fruitless love. He looks at Daphne's hair
as, unadorned, it hangs down her fair neck,
and says: "Just think, if she should comb her lock!"
He sees her lips and never tired of them;
her fingers, hands, and wrists are unsurpassed;
her arms--more than half-bare-- cannot be matched;
whatever he can't see he can imagine;
he conjures it as even more inviting.
But swifter than the lightest breeze, she flees
and does not halt--not even when he pleads:
"O, daughter of Peneus, stay! Dear Daphne,
I don't pursue you as an enemy!
Wait, nymph! You flee as would the lamb before
the wolf, the deer before the lion, or
the trembling dove before the eagle; thus
all flee from hostile things, but it is love
for which I see you now! What misery!
I fear you'll stumble, fall, be scratched by brambles
and harm your faultless legs--and I'm to blame.
You're crossing trackless places. Slow your pace;
I pray you, stay your flight. I'll slow down, too.
But do consider who your lover is.
I'm not a mountain dweller, not a shepherd,
no scraggly guardian of flocks and herds.
Too rash, you don't know whom you're fleeing from;
in fact, that's why you run. I am the lord
of Delphi's land, and Claros, Tenedos,
and regal Patara. Jove is my father.
Through me, all is revealed: what's yet to be,
what was, and what now is. The harmony
of song and lyre is achieved through me.
My shaft is sure in flight; but then there's he
whose arrow aimed still more infallibly,
the one who wounded me when I was free
of any love within my heart. I am
the one who has invented medicine,
but now there is no herb to cure my passion;
my art, which helps all men, can't hear its master."

He'd have said more, but Daphne did not halt;
afraid, she left him there, with half-done words.
But even then, the sight of her was striking.
The wind laid bare her limbs; against the nymph
it blew; her dress was fluttering; her hair
streamed in the breeze; in flight she was more fair.

But now the young god can't waste time: he's lost
his patience; his beguiling words are done;
and so--with love as spur-- he races on;
he closes in. Just as a Gallic hound
surveys the open field and sights a hare,
and both the hunter and the hunted race
more swiftly--one to catch, one to escape
(he seems about to leap on his prey's back;
he's almost sure he's won; his muzzle now
is at her heels; the other, still in doubt--
not sure if she is caught--slips from his mouth;
at the last instant, she escapes his jaws):
such were the god and girl; while he is swift
because of hope, what urges her is fear.
But love has given wings to the pursuer
he's faster--and his pace will not relent.
He's at her shoulders now; she feels his breath
upon the hair that streams down to her neck.
Exhausted, wayworn, pale, and terrified,
she sees Peneus' stream nearby; and cries:
"Help me, dear father; if the river-gods
have any power, then transform, dissolve
my gracious shape, the form that pleased too well!"
As soon as she is finished with her prayer,
a heavy numbness grips her limbs; thin bark
begins to gird her tender frame, her hair
is changed to leaves, her arms to boughs; her feet--
so keen to race before--are now held fast
by sluggish roots; the girl's head vanishes,
becoming a treetop. All that is left
of Daphne is her radiance.

And yet
Apollo loves her still; he leans against
the trunk; he feels the heart that beats beneath
the new-made bark; within his arms he clasps
the branches as if they were human limbs;
and his lips kiss the wood, but still it shrinks
from his embrace, at which he cries: "But since
you cannot be my wife, you'll be my tree.
O laurel, I shall always wear your leaves
to wreathe my hair, my lyre, and my quiver.
When Roman chieftains crown their heads with garlands
as chants of gladness greet their victory,
you will be there. And you will also be
the faithful guardian who stands beside
the portals of Augustus' house and keeps
a close watch on the Roman crown of oak leaves.
And even as my head is ever young,
and my hair ever long, may you, unshorn,
wear your leaves, too forever: never lose
that loveliness, o laurel, which is yours!"

Apollo's words were done. With new-made boughs
the laurel nodded; and she shook her crown,
as if her head had meant to show consent.

- from Metamorphoses, Part of "Apollo & Daphne" by Ovid (translated by Allen Mandelbaum)

Ingmar Bergman's Persona

2007-04-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

Persona (1966) directed by Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman was known as a pretentious director. His films often explore themes such as death, alienation, the existence of God, and psychoanalysis. One of his earliest major successes was Seventh Seal (1957), which was a venture into the game of death in man's existence. Famously, there was a scene where a medieval knight and Death himself play a game of chess as the game determines the knight's destiny throughout the film.

It is interesting to note that Persona begins with the film projector turning on and roll the film. After the introductory sequence of random photos instantly flashing by, the movie begins its story. The intro sequence is probably a continuation of the French New Wave movement in cinema, when films were about filmmaking in an avant-gaarde way. However when this film was released, the movement was already dying out. It would seem that Bergman wanted to mix some concepts of the French New Wave with his own originality.

The movie is about an actress named Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann) who turned mute after a traumatic flashback during her performance on-stage. She is taken to the hospital to be treated by a nurse, Alma (Bibi Andersson). Eventually, after many days of treatment and Ms. Vogler's silence, Alma becomes attached to her patient, and Alma takes her to spend the summer at a remote house by the shores of Sweden. Elisabet, never saying a word, listens to her new companion as she shares one of her most of personal stories. That is as far as I'll describe the film. In short, it is the relationship between a nurse and her patient.

There are many twists as the movie gets deep into their involvement with each other. There has been interpretations that the film is about lesbianism. Others say it is a kind of vampire film, where the mute emotionally attacks and seduces her sympathetic nurse. It is difficult for me to give my own interpretation for this film, since it is so open-ended. But, for starters, I do agree in a most viable interpretation that Vogler is a personification of God; the silence of God. Interestingly, the nurse's name is Alma which is Spanish for soul.

Existential thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, in his book Being and Nothingness, distinguished between two kinds of being: Being-In-Itself and Being-For-Itself. Being-In-Itself is what is shown to consciousness as things that are simply there, say, tables, rocks, cups, trees, etc., distant from consciousness. Being-For-Itself is the ego, or human consciousness, which is always in a state of desire and lack; emptiness. It seems to me that, if Bergman was a faithful modern Existentialist, I would say that Vogler is Being-In-Itself, God. Sartre added that God is defined as an essence and hence He is an object independent of human existence. Alma, on the other hand, is pure human existence. Later in the film it is clearly shown that Alma desires her patient. She even said, if I remember correctly, that she wouldn't be able to live on without Vogler. Sartre ended his book by saying that Man desires to be God since Man is always bounded by his own emptiness. To become a Being-For-Itself-In-Itself is impossible and contradictory. However in the film, Persona is based on the twist that it could be possible to be psychologically one with another person. Poetically, if Vogler is God and Alma mankind, Bergman shows that the relationship with God and Man is possible, yet God is silent all throughout.

Does the film subtly echo that God is already within us? Maybe spiritually. I have no clue. And I doubt this will ever be answered. The movie is very difficult to sit through even though the film runs for about 85 minutes. But it is intellectually engaging. It's not the kind of film to pay attention to the smallest detail, since it is pretentious in its camera movements and dialogue. It is the kind of film where you should sit and watch, walk out, have some reflections, and not go too deep about it.

Personally I enjoyed watching the film. It was hard to say such a thing right after I saw it, but if you think back a few days later you can say that it really was a unique experience. The photography, acting, editing, and special effects is excellent. If you like movies set in the tone of pure artistry this is a must see, but beware since it could feel pretty heavy at first.

To put up this song makes me laugh since it is about words that a person used to say, and along with this review Ms. Vogler became a mute. Let's consider the song a tribute for her, shall we? Have fun!

Dean & Britta - Words You Used To Say

I'm Dreaming Tangerines

2007-04-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Force Majeure (1969) by Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream is a German electronica group formed in 1967. To write a full biography on them is too extensive for this post, so I shall only focus on the album.

This album is great. If you ever like Pink Floyd or Kraftwerk, I am sure you will dig this. The music is fully instrumental, the textures and atmospheres are given with such warmth and mystery. The album's title track "Force Majeure" runs for about 18 minutes and 23 seconds, but it's worth the listen. You will hear tender sounds of isolated strings mixed in with other electronic sound ensembles, as each track flows beautifully from one to the next. The album contains two other tracks: "Cloudburst Flight" and "Through Metamorphic Rocks." During this time, most electronic albums are only to be heard in-house, and thus the music is meant to be either ambient or remakes of classical music. Jean-Michelle Jarre, Isao Tomita, Robert Gleason, and Walter (Wendy) Carlos are other composers who contributed to this style of electronica. So give this track a try, even though it is long. But I'm sure the listen will be relaxing and fill you up with curiosity along the way.

Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure

Contempt

2007-03-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Le Mépris (Contempt) (1962) directed by Jean-Luc Godard

If I had my sweetheart, that sunshine in my life, the dimple of my smile, the color of my eye, the sugar in my coffee, the apple of my tree, that song of my bluejay, the herb for my tea, thanks to her mother's fruit, and her father's vanilla twinky, I would take my darling bubblegum to watch this depressing film with me. Oh and that was a compliment for the film, for sure. You will know exactly what not to do about love after you watch this film. You will walk out of the room speechless, almost giving up on your faith towards that special little someone, out-there, to give you that perfect, symmetrical smile to change your life.

The story deals with a French playwright, Paul, who is married to the beautiful and tender Camille. Paul becomes involved with the movie industry and meets a rich American producer by the name of Prokosch. The famous movie director, Fritz Lang (as himself), was originally offered to work for the producer in hopes to create a retelling of Homer's great epic story, The Odyssey. Not too happy with Lang's interpretation, Prokosch turns to Paul and hires him to rewrite the script, offering Paul a gamble. The financially rich and perverse Prokosch begins to admire Camille, and tells Paul either to give up his wife to get paid for the job, or lose the job and keep her. Paul, knowing that he wants to keep his flat with his wife, accepts the monetary offer to literally give his wife to the sick producer, until he regrets the downfall of what was once a loving relationship.

You must have patience to sit through the film. There is a very long 45-minute sequence inside of the apartment of argument and discussion between the husband and his wife, but the camera movements are seemless. Most of the time they are trying to understand each other. I noticed when situations are warped because of that emotional bond, emotions distract that reasonable state of mind. That is, when two people are thoughtful by their emotions, they get cloudy to each other, and they leave no room for making the right choices. Paul kept on trying to let Camille express her sudden change towards him, but unfortunately she had been keeping her concerns to herself, letting her husband admit what he did wrong earlier in the day. You can feel her heartbreak, her faith crumbling down on her from one minute to the next, from pure happiness to melancholic distress.

The movie is extremely sad and depressing. You feel for the characters' pain and suffering. The dialogue is subtle but well-written and extensive. The arguments between the couple are disturbing, although not explicitly, since the viewer can feel the deterioration becoming heavier and heavier, as Paul urges her to say why she changed. When she decides to tell him, the change to revive their love was too late.

I can only sigh after writing this. Just to remember the film gets me sad to think I might be lonely for the rest of my life. Being responsible for your love to someone is difficult, and sometimes we want to escape from it because we don't want to be held responsible for whatever decision we make. Yet since we are people, there is always a second chance depending on how harmless the effects of the decision are. In Paul's case, what he did was unforgivable, yet it was also the clarity of the situation to each other that might have made the movie end on a lighter note.

To brighten up this post, here is a song by the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto.

Goodbye Sadness (Tristeza)

House of Leaves

2007-03-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

House of Leaves (2000) was written by Mark Z. Danielewski. It has been described that in the early stages of the book it began circulating from drug addicts to porn actors as a stack of loosely binded sheets. It has been considered as "One of the most ambitious, complicated, and eagerly anticipated literary debuts of the year" said Newsweek. It is an amazing novel of mystery, science-fiction, and horror all wrapped into one plot.

The story is narrated by Johnny Truant. He is a tattooist living in the dark city of Los Angeles. He tries to find an apartment with his friend Lude and they learn that an old man, named Zampanò, recently died in his home. While looking through the apartment, they discover a manuscript. The manuscript is a research essay written by Zampanò on a series of documentaries put into one film by the genius director Will Navidson called The Navidson Record. Throughout the manuscript, it details how Will Navidson and his family began to live in a house where, in a normal afternoon, found that the inside was bigger than the outside, which lead the family into relationship complications. This event filled Navidson and his group of friends with curiosity to explore the house to encounter and film many strange incidents.

The novel is a play on the academic format standards in the English language. It is highly experimental, in that you will see footnotes within footnotes, an exhaustive and invented bibliography for the most part, typographical layouts are brilliantly placed unconventionally and progressively as you immerse yourself within the story, and stories from different points of view crossing each other as one comment or complement the other.

House of Leaves is a wonderful serenade to language. From each point of view the dialects radically change , and the novel flips many times from the gritty, dirty-mouthed Truant to an academic Zampanòian writing, leaving you with the impression of movement. You must have a good amount of ADD to enjoy it since it is highly detailed in describing normal, everyday things. There are many sections that are simply adding "notes" to certain texts (even invented ones), pages devoted to four-word sentences, and extended comments about a particular idea relating inside of the plot, as well as outside of it.

I recommend this book to anyone who will enjoy the dark and twisted perils literature can bring to the reader, especially with the innovative approach to the novel that Danielewski took.

Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun

Oh, Get Up

2007-03-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Winter is ending, but the chill is still there. I want to climb out of this hole. I dedicate this to my friends and family, and others, going through the same as me. This is for you too M.

The Monkees - As We Go Along

"I can tell by your face
That you're looking to find a place
To settle your mind and reveal who you are,
And you shouldn't be shy,
For I'm not gonna try
To hurt you or heal you or steal your star.
Open your eyes,
Get up off of your chair,
There's so much to do in the sunlight,
Give up your secrets,
And let down your hair,
And sit with me here by the firelight.
Why think all about
Who's gonna win out?
We'll make up our story as we go along,
There's so little time
For us to try to rhyme,
And so many highways to travel upon.
Open your eyes,
Get up off of your chair,
There's so much to do in the sunlight,
Give up your secrets,
And let down your hair,
And sit with me here by the firelight."

It's Time You Break Free

2007-03-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Secret Art of Science by DJ DB. A good album = good songs. Until you repeat the album is when the songs transform into greatness and lets you make the move to appreciate it better. The songs posted are one of my faves. It is the most relaxing drum & bass music wanting to be heard for all ages. Where many DJ's were putting together hard sounds, DJ DB put together an ensemble of relaxing music, which was quite odd for its time in 2001.

I remember when I first got this CD from a friend in highschool. I had a group of friends who were into music, almost listening to it religiously. They could've formed a club if they wanted to, and it was almost like a Dead Poet Society. Their belief was to appreciate really good music, and take in the most of the song. They would turn off the lights, and leave the music on with all of us sitting and listening. That became a habit later on in life. When I hear a song that is meaningful to me, I repeat it more than a gazillion times to maybe get into the mind of the author, and take in every millisecond of the sound. It's crazy, but that just means that I truly appreciate the music. I recall the amazement when I saw a huge collection of burned CD's. It was literally hundreds of CD's filled with music which they searched and discovered. Sadly, they were into drugs though, and I never cared much for that.

This CD was used for one of those good times we would all hang out together. The CD itself had a baby face on its cover, which I think was the original cover, until they changed it. I remember I would call it the "Babyface CD." To this day the album just never gets old. Have fun!

Urban Visions - Pearls
E-Z Rollers - Retro [G.O.D. Mix]
Tango - Spellbound
Jonny L - This Time

Reading Rainbow

2007-03-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Remember the good old days? The days when we would sit down with the remote control, to search for cartoons? Until one day the lucky few of us would run into Reading Rainbow. I loved this show. One of the most memorable ones I can remember is the episode reading of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. There was another episode about a little Chinese girl who had a kite, which turned into a dragon... now that was COOL! Alas, every time I go to see children's books at the bookstore to sit down and think of the good times, I cannot help but think about how much I enjoyed this show, and introduced me to imagine for the first time.

Books to me felt like they were magical. To this day I have the habit of reading a book, because I feel like it tells me some kind of secret to life. Even though children's stories can seem childish, without them we would never become adults.

Reading Rainbow Theme.

Gift of the Sacred Dog by Paul Goble.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema.

Papua New Guinea Mix Anthology

2007-03-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Future Sound of London are famous for their textures achieved in their songs, leaving the listener with awe, curiously exploring the song's depth. They experimented radically in 1994 with the question of ambient electronica in their album Lifeforms. They proceeded further in their next of their great experimental works, Dead Cities in 1996. These albums showing their over-reaching range of capacities, along with Accelerator, are the trio of their best works which sprung them into the influential band that is known today.

The anthology was released as a second disk in the Deluxe Edition of The Future Sound of London's 1996 album Accelerator. Ever since the song entitled "Papua New Guinea" was originally released to the public it created a stir within the electronica realm, where most of the reviewers considered it "perfect ." Its interpretations are very broad concerning the remixes involved, as it is to no surprise the remakes are interesting.

Papua New Guinea [Album Edit]

The first mix called "Blue States Full Length Mix" is a song of wonder. It begins with a sound of surprise, or shock, until the drums kick in and mellows out the tone. Those strings and voices are breathtaking. It touches the edges of the soul, making one fall in love, and expand oneself into new horizons of paradise. I can hear this song on repeat since it is so relaxing, yet ambitious in its sense to the ear, giving one images of what is beautiful to them. It ends with the guitar and some tribal flutes for your delight.

The other mixes are very well done. The dubs are not as interesting, though, since it lacks percussion and any real originality, except for "Oil Funk Dub Mix." I thought Andrew Weatherall's mix was a bit corny for my taste, even though I can understand he wanted to give a dramatic scene with it; it picks up in the later half of the song however. Nevertheless, the rest of the tracks are worth listening, from the charming "Simian Mix", the hyped "Hybrid Full Length Mix", to the mysterious "Satoshi Tomiie Main-Path Mix."

Blue States Full Length Mix
Mellow Magic Maze Mix
Simian Mix
Oil Funk Dub Mix
Dub Child of Q Mix
Hybrid Full Length Mix
Satoshi Tomiie Main-Path
Monsoon Mix
Andrew Weatherall Full Length Mix
Dub Mix

The Birds

2007-03-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

The Birds
photography by cryptonomicon

The birds are wonderful.
Their curves express the essence of nature;
Their grace the spirit of beauty.
I am sorry for her broken wing.

Limping away, she tried and tried,
To forever reach and touch the sky.
She turned her head to seek her aid,
and I came and helped to begin her day.

I taped her wing to be at one piece.
She looked up slowly to thank me,
"You will not be forgotten."
And so I let her go - my hands filled with nothing.

And yes she flew! She flew so high,
Not her feathers but her wings and spirit flew.
My joy induced my eyes wide and smile ever wider.
Until something fell from above, to ruin my day.

Goodnight

2007-03-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

City by Night
photography by Jorge Pereira

Goodnight, goodnight bright evening star.
I am trying to sleep, yet you are far.
So please, bright star, turn off your glow,
Since there are people sleeping below.

Dreaming and wishing, thinking and hoping;
But as I hear, when will they stop snoring!
I am trying to sleep, I am trying to sleep -
What other words are there for me to rhyme?

Dingle, Dondle, and Weeble, too?
Riddle, Raddle, and Kiddle, yes?
Buzzle, Flankle, Jeelo, and Poofyloo?
Dear, hear me, my words are missing you.

I am trying to rest as I wish you well.
Our evening star turned off her light.
How much I wonder that you are swell,
As I fall to sleep wishing you a goodnight,
To have a goodnight...

The Fountain of Blood

2007-02-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

painting by Francois du Nombe

Sometimes I feel my blood is spilling out
in sobs, the way a fountain overflows.
I know I hear it, sighing as it goes,
and search my flesh, but cannot find the wound;

it turns the stones to archipelagos,
as if the city were a battleground,
slaking the thirst of every living thing
and dyeing all the world of nature red.

How often have I called for wine to drug,
if only for a day, this wasting fear -
my ears grow sharp on wine, my eyes grow clear!

In love I've sought an hour's oblivion -
but love to me is a pallet stuffed with pins
that drains away my blood for whores to drink!

- Charles Baudelaire

The title comes from Charles Baudelaire's poetry book Les Fleurs du Mal. I was given this book before I left France from a good friend of mine. Without knowing what it was, she gently said with a smile, "Keep it." leaving me without proper words. The book itself seemed magical. The paper was worn out, yellowed, dry, with the sleeves and cover page almost being torn apart only to be held together by a rubber band, and the words seemed like it jumped out of the page. It looked like an ancient artifact in papyrus, tucked away inside a locked chest and only to be read from a select few. When I opened it, the book contained grim poetry from themes such as black hearts, vampires, death, to Satan. I promised myself I would treasure the book in my library, since it was a special gift.

The world is cold. What a joy; For I am cursed!

Walter (Wendy) Carlos - Theme from A Clockwork Orange
Isao Tomita - Mussourgsky's Night on Bald Mountain
Kaleidoscope - The Murder of Lewis Tollani
Squarepusher - Rinse (137)
Aphex Twin - Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagro

"The devil's despair is the most intense despair, for the devil is sheer spirit, and therefore absolute consciousness and transparency; in the devil there is no obscurity which serve as a mitigating excuse, his despair is therefore absolute defiance." - Kierkegaard

Cover me, please?

2006-11-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of some covers with the originals. The longest cover is the Firebird Suite which is roughly 25 minutes.

Donkey Kong Country 2- Lava
Unknown Artist- Ghost of St. Helen's

Satie- Gymnopedie No.1
Pine*AM- Gymnopedie 0.1

The Postal Service- Such Great Heights
Iron & Wine's Cover

Jacques Brel- Ne Me Quitte Pas
Nina Simone's Cover

Igor Stravinsky- Suite of the Firebird
Isao Tomita's Cover

Video Game Arcade Music from 1983-2004 (Part One)

2006-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

There are many styles of music, but there is one, which is underrated and the least known. From Folk music, Classical to Electronica we have gone a long way in musical development. Although Electronica spawned many distinct styles since the 1960’s, a new kind of electronic music was emerging in the 80’s. As we look into the early 1980’s into the history and differences in 1993, this was the music found in video game arcade cabinets.

In 1983 a very addicting game came out for the arcades. This was called Gyruss, developed by Konami. The music was pretty interesting. It remade the parts of J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor with a hyped tempo and hard rock percussion. The percussions were, of course, not very sophisticated. The drums were of the same synthetic sounds as the main instruments that play throughout. We must note that the instruments are in fact the same elemental sounds but were harmonized by a main and a bass. Before 1983, scores for video games were rare and much of the length of the music was no more than 20 seconds, such as Activision’s famed Pitfall! in 1982; whereas Gyruss had a full length of 3 minutes broken up into three parts. I believe this is the earliest attempt of creating a full score for a videogame seriously. It was also the first arcade game to feature stereo sound.

Sega was becoming a leader in the arcade business during the mid-80’s. In technology they were advanced for its time. Sega’s 1985 Space Harrier is the best example of the high point of this period in technology and helped videogame music live long and prosper. There have been games that have used this technology, however it was not well developed. Atari’s Star Wars in 1983 is famous for inviting the player with Obi-Wan’s voice, “The Force will be with you. Always.” in a raspy, telephone-like voice, when you insert your coin. The breakthrough in sound when Sega developed Space Harrier was the capacity to play pre-recorded sounds, but in a much better quality. In the beginning of this game you hear a greeting voice, “Welcome to Fantasy Zone! Get Ready!” The implication of this feature to play pre-recorded audio was the key for realistic percussion sounds. After this was published a legacy of great games became involved within the circle of using pre-recorded sounds in their product. Taito’s Darius, Irem’s R-Type, Sega’s Outrun and Afterburner, and specifically Capcom’s Chase HQ, which used pre-recorded sounds extensively with many voices and sound effects, are such early examples from 1986 to 1988. Space Harrier set the standard recordings used for percussions and with a better, smooth quality of speech.

As the technology of making arcade music was being assimilated in becoming more realistic, instruments are now becoming more diverse. From 1989 to 1993, not all sounds were realistic however. Percussion audio has improved overtime and some of the main melodies for some tracks are being produced using pre-recorded audio. In 1993, Capcom’s Super Street Fighter 2 presented the first crystal clear sound system for the arcades called Qsound, developed by Qsound Labs. Qsound was a technology that enhanced the audio, giving it 3D effects with a crisp CD quality. Most notable in this game is a specific stage in Brazil. The song had a very folk approach of Brazilian style with a modern twist. For the percussion and melody it was completely pre-recorded along with synthesized strings and guitar sounds. Throughout the game, players travel to many other countries as they move on to the next level. Because of this, you can hear many different styles having the kind of tone when one would listen to a specific culture. It was a great enhancement from previous titles in quality and it is here that we see that styles in videogames are becoming much more sophisticated.

The following of video game music history are shown. We have observed that in 1982, in contrast with 1993, are obviously the technological advances. Pre-recorded audio is used extensively for a variety of situations such as voice, percussion, and even melody. The future of this technology is that video games will be utterly revolutionized and break off into many branches of style with complete pre-recordings. Scores will now have no less than 30 minutes of soundtrack. And the sophistication of synthetic sounds will be used often. Furthermore, there is an authenticity in newer games since 1993. In old games the plot or content of the game corresponds to the music. On the other hand, newer games since 1993 have an identity since music styles are becoming ever more varied. The beauty of video game music is not only its technological advancement, but of its limitations as well. When one hears the music from a certain era and when knowing that it was given limitations, there is always a possibility to produce an aesthetically new sound, gaining admiration for its effort.

You can listen to the highlight songs.

Gyruss

Space Harrier- Main

Super Street Fighter 2- Blanka's Stage in Brazil

John Williams' Superman

2006-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

Superman: The Movie was released in the USA in 1978 featuring the late Christopher Reeve as our protagonist. Although most claim that the movie itself was a decent production, the score gained much popularity due to its prestigious and authentic way of presenting the great, epic, and romantic hero. John Williams, the brilliant composer, is well-known for creating memorable film scores such as Jaws, Starwars, and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial.

As I was listening to the score, I realized Williams had such a particular way in expressing certain themes throughout the film. A mysterious track, namely "The Planet Krypton", evoke a kind of an abyss deep in the universe where a least known civilization inhabit, yet he still retains the thematical birthmark of our great hero Superman. He describes this birthmark in subtle touches of strong but very minimal notes, very much like an imagined prelude to Superman's main theme.

"A Trip to Earth" is one of the most curious of all the tracks in the film. It begins with a mimick of a winged insect twisting and turning randomly in flight. As it develops, there is an introduction of trumpets which sweep the seconds in long and swerving notes as Kal-el is being transported in his spaceship. It is possible that the swerving nature of the track was to express the child travelling across unknown spaces in the galaxy where anything can happen. If one would put themselves lying down on a bed with wheels and being rolled around the building, I suppose it would be a dizzying experience after all.

The love song "Love Theme from Superman" is filled with lush and happiness. If you listen closely there are some sounds where you can parallel that to a little bird drying itself at a fountain. There are many beautiful sections of harmony, which is a great feeling when one feels when they are in love. Notably, there is a segment where the high notes are contrasting the lower note violins. I suspect this contrast was to represent the relationship between the feminine and the masculine in musical terms. It was a perfect combination to include this while having Superman's flight sequence. It was a great representation of harmony of love within the freedom of flight, where we often feel weightlessness as we delve into new dimensions of happiness.

Superman's mystical home on Earth and for tranquility is called "Fortress of Solitude." It is touched with bells representing the blinding glitter emitting from the crystals. As Kal-el walks about throughout his home, the track expresses the knowledge kept of his past as it is discovered in the present. Kal-el for the first time in his life, has found how it would be back at Krypton at last. It is here at the very end of the track, at the very last seconds, that we finally hear Superman's theme since the opening. In this sequence, this marks the crucial point when Kal-el understood what his destiny lies for him as Superman.

I hope you have found my observations interesting. I wish I could write more but there are too many tracks to write about, haha, but nevertheless I hope you will like the tracks. You may listen to the score listed below if you like.

Theme from Superman
The Planet Krypton
Destruction of Krypton
The Trip to Earth
Growing Up
Love Theme from Superman
Leaving Home
The Fortress of Solitude
Flying Sequence + Can You Read My Mind /Margot Kidder
Super Rescues
Lex Luthor's Lair
Superfeats
The March of the Villains
Chasing Rockets
Turning Back the World
End Title

Chrome Children

2006-11-10T12:29:00.001-08:00

Peanut Butter Wolf’s

"Chrome Mix"

Chrome Mix

pretty much i dig this mix. PBW mixed half of the songs from Chrome Children with random tracks. it's 21 minutes long but the listen is well worth it. Chrome Children features music from Madvillain, J Dilla, Madlib, and others. after touring Japan and Europe the Chrome Children (PBW, Madlib, J. Rocc, Percee P.) Tour is close to its end. a few more shows and it's back to los angeles to finish it off at El Rey Theater on the 17th.

here's the track listing:

Quasimoto - Greenery from "Further Adventures of Lord Quas"
Guilty Simpson - Clap Your Hands from "Chrome Children"
Madvillain - Meat Grinder (Madlib Remix) unreleasedPercee P - Rappers Flee unreleased
Madlib - Take it Back from "Chrome Children"
Georgia Anne Muldrow - Melanin from "Olesi: Fragments of an Earth"
Georgia Anne Muldrow - Because from "Olesi: Fragments of an Earth"
Jaylib - No $ No Toke (aka Blaze Up) from "Chrome Children"
Koushik - None in Mind from "Chrome Children"
Aloe Blacc - Long Time Coming from "Shine Through"
MED - All I Know from "Chrome Children"
Roc C - Dont Stop from "All Questions Answered"
Oh No - Oh Zone from "Chrome Children"
Quasimoto - Hydrant Game (Jaylib Rmx) unreleased
Diamond D - An Untitled Percee P Joint unreleased
Jaylib - The Ruckus unreleasedDudley Perkins - That's the Way it's Gonna Be from "Expressions"