Famous Blue Raincoats

The Rum Diary

2012-01-27T09:43:00.004+02:00

Johnny Depp is an alcoholic journalist who aspires to be a writer. He ends up drunk in Puerto Rico, working (sort of) in the local newspaper, getting in the midst of American capital invasion of the locals, and seduced by the fiancee of the most powerful American big business liaison. Among other things: In the meantime, he is arrested for blowing fire in the face of the policeman, he experiments with numerous alcoholic preparations, befriends a bunch of memorable loser journalists, and manages to escape with a conscience.
The beloved film of the year, this is, and if it isn't exactly at the level of Withnail & I, it is because Depp seems to have stuck in his Fear & Loathing in las Vegas face (both derived from Hunter Thompson's literary heritage).

But this is the film that has Bruce Robinson written all over it. An Award winning screenwriter in the early 1980s for the Killing Fields, a veteran of the industry (he was Benvoglio in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet in 1968 and he can tell many stories about these times..., and he was the lieutenat the young Isabelle Adjani falls for in Adele H), he entered directing with Withnail, a film that stuck with the ones who saw it forever. His second fable, How to get Ahead in Advertising did no good neither for him nor for his protagonist Richard Grant; his third Jennifer 8, is a brilliant thriller with a strange romance between Andy Garcia and Uma Thurman, back in 1992. And then he vanished, apart from the rare screenplays.
What is important for Robinson is his eloquence. I remember vaguely an article, don't remember by whom and where (was it the Word? was it the late Neon?), about his brilliance: the author said that if you commapre the much celebrated musings of Tarantino with a screenplay by Robinson, it was like comparing a napking to poetry, or something. An Robinson is a poet- there are too many classic moments here to mention, and this is one of the things that, upon seeing Rum Diary, makes you want to see it again, IMMEDIATELY.
Another important thing is the rest of the cast. And it is not just Aaron Ekhart and Richard Jenkins, you expect them to be brilliant in threatening/ hilarious (respectively) presence. But it is Michael Rispoli who delivers a direct from Hemingway's writings character, as Sala the photographer, recalling (at least in part) a young Peter Ustinov, and it is Giovanni Ribisi in a tragically hilarious turn as the neonazi drunkard/ drug-experimentalist journalist, and it is Amber Heard who captures the screen and Depp's fantasy at the most seducing way seen lately. A femme-fatale for the 2010s? (certainly not in the league of Kathleen Turner of the early 1980s, but definitely oozing sexuality- fulfilling the initial promise of her presence in Drive Angry). Look how she teases Depp in the following clip...

...and the sexuality we were referring to, along with some representative bits of the brilliant soundtrack.

A film to be loved and repetedly seen.
"Human beings are the only creatures on earth that claim a god and the only living thing that behaves like it hasn't got one"...

We will always have Angola... Janet McTeer is the best professional killer on screen you have seen in ages

2012-01-19T09:24:00.007+02:00

in the year's best supporting role......but not for Albert Nobbs (for which she might get an Academy Award nomination).
Instead for Cat Run, a little silly adventure (but one that does not pretend to be serious art and has lots of humour-often working/ sometimes being plainly poor, and also has beautiful Montenegro locations and Paz Vega as a callgirl that is chased by all European professional killers and the US Secretary of Defence and two akward private detectives, etc).
But there is one thing in this movie that makes it a must-see and it is Helen Bingham, the professional killer played by McTeer, the strongest similar professional seen on screen since Leon, and that was 17 years ago. McTeer plays the Gary Oldman part for the first half, and then the Jean reno part for the second half, but remains a ruthless killer throughout. And she plays the role with such charm, mixing ruthlessness with humor in a perfect way (watch the fight clip below against the Bourne triolgy veteran Karel Roden). Not just a caricature, mind- watch how she instills sentiment in her character, particularly in a small moment before visiting her...mother ("Don't tell her I am smoking").
McTeer has won a Tony award in an Ibsen play, has been nominated for an Oscar losing to Hilary Swank, but her film presence remains limited. She should follow at Judy Dench's steps, and start gracing the screen with her charisma

I've seen a million numbered doors on the horizon...Because, lights blinding, no way dividing what's yours or mine when everything's shining..

2012-01-17T19:59:00.005+02:00

Truth
The truth is that I never shook my shadow
Every day it's trying to trick me into doing battle
Calling out "faker" only get me rattled
Want to pull me back behind the fence with the cattle
Building your lenses Digging your trenches
Put me on the front line Leave me with a dumb mind
With no defenses But your defenses
If you can't stand to feel the pain then you are senseless

Since this I've grown up some Different kind of fighter
And when the darkness come let it inside you
Your darkness is shining My darkness is shining
Have faith in myself
Truth

I've seen a million numbered doors on the horizon
Now which is the future you chosen before you gone dying.
I'll tell you 'bout a secret I've been underminding
Every little lie in this world come from dividing
Say you're my lover, say you're my homie,
Tilt my chin back slit my throat take a bath in my blood get to know me
All out of my secrets All my enemies are turning into my teachers.
Because, lights blinding, no way dividing what's yours or mine when everything's shining
You darkness is shining my darkness is shining
Have faith in ourselves
Truth
Yes I'm only loving, only trying to only love
That's what I'm trying to do is only loving
Yes I'm only lonely loving feeling only loving
Till I'm feeling only loving
Ya say it ain't loving ain't loving my loving
But I'm only loving only loving only loving
Only loving the truth.
Respect to Alexander Ebert, singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, from his solo album released a few months ago. Video directed by Tao Ruspoli.

Adam Resurrected

2012-01-16T09:44:00.004+02:00

A strange psychoterapeutic communion in the midst of an Israeli desert, in the late 1950s- early 1960s. Jeff Goldblum is the celebrity patient, practically reigning the community under the lenient eyes of Dr Derek Jacobi. How did he get there? Constantly travelling to mid-world-wars Berlin, where Goldblum served as a celebrity magician, and to the Concentration Camps, where Willem Dafoe casts a lasting shadow on prisoner Goldblum, and to Goldblum's mind, a shattered mind, able of brilliance and charm (to which the chief nurse, Ayelet Zurer is not indifferent), but also able of chaos.

An oblique film, but one that, after watching, can keep you awake for the rest of the night. Difficult to get through, full of grumpy details and aching, inhuman moments, but it grabs you and does not let go, through its depiction of pain, weirdness, surrealistic evocation of the concept of being Jewish and more importantly the concept of IDENTITY. Its grumpiness and thickness of content is exaggerated by the fact that it is directed by Paul Schrader, whose existential angst and grumpiness are suited to the material (an original novel by Yoram Kaniuk).

Goldblum gives the performance of a lifetime, climaxing tragically in his final confrontation with Dafoe/ himself, Dafoe and Jacobi add respect and the appropriate peculiarity in the background, while Ayelet Zurer's dark charm, in a brave performance, might surprise those who knew her only from Munich and Angels & Demons, or those who are in line to see her next year as Superman's mom.
A must-see actually.

Ilya On Vauxhall Bridge

2012-01-11T20:22:00.005+02:00

Two years ago we were talking about Ilya, how brilliant their sound is, even better than Portishead at its best, and how Joanna's Swan voice can only be compared to Dusty's Springfield.
The new record has just been released, can be heard and downloaded here. Just listen how On Vauxhall Bridge evolves slowly in the blues for the ages...
On Vauxhall Bridge by Ilya

Is Gary Oldman the greater living actor today? Part 1

2012-01-09T19:03:00.003+02:00

Is Gary Oldman the greater living actor today? Not, because Pacino and De Niro are still alive, and yes because these two are not kicking. Not, because Daniel Day Lewis every now and then appears on the screen causing permanent damages to most of so-called actors, but yes, because Lewis is a category of his own, along with Brando and Tracy. But Oldman came back with a vengeance in this year's Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, erasing every possible memory of Sir Guinness as Smiley, and gracing the screen with just his presence (being a team player he lets the young ones shine and this may cost him, again, an academy award nomination, but imagine the film with anyone else at its centre- it wouldn't work without Oldman's gravitas.
And so we are once more talking about why Oldman will not be nominated (and what this means for Awards in general in the last 25 years:
Back to 1986: Out of nowhere (we hadn't seen his first promise in Mike Leigh's TV film Meantime outside the UK)he becomes Sid Vicious, even better he hides below the original rage a level of intelligence that belongs to Oldman and not Vicious. Of course this is an Alex Cox film, and even in the most progressive quintet of actor nominees in the history of the Academy (James Woods, Dexter Gordon), the British spot was kept for the (brilliant anyway) Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa
Enter 1987, and Oldman excels once again in more traditional fare, if the times and loves of Joe Orton can be called traditional. Prick Up Your Ears is a triumphant acting duo with Alfred Molina, but the Academy has gone traditional: Michael Douglas wins, Nicholson is in for the forgotten Ironweed, Mastroianni is remembered for some reason, William Hurt keeps getting nominated for nothing. Ok, Oldman was not the typical new star- his next moves showed:
He next moves to the universe of Nicholas Roeg, in Track 29 against Roeg's muse Theresa Russell, a psychoanalytic labyrinth that plays with its tongue in cheek- still a joy to watch after all these years...
1989 is the year of The Firm, another TV film that was the archetypal for every kitchen sink drama afterwards, along with directly discussing the roots of hooliganism- obviously Oldman is electric in every frame, playing against his then wife Lesley Manville
Even his Shakespeares are different- reuniting with Tim Roth after Meantime, 1990, in Rozencratz and Guildenstern are dead, with Tom Stoppard's sign all over it
Same year, a forgotten classic, State of Grace, uniting with the other promising bad boy, Sean Penn, alongside Robin Wright and Ed Harris, all before they had a career. Essential viewing, if only for the chance to see Oldman against Penn (one of the 1-2 that could claim the title of the greatest living actor at the moment). Essential viewing also because it is an exquisite film.
1991 sees him impersonating to the last detail Lee Harvey Oswald, but OK, there is no role, no time in Stone's Thucydidian adrenaline fuelled film
But 1992 sees him reaching his heights: In Copolla's re-imagining of Dracula as a rock opera, he re-creates a character that has been linked with cultural landmarks like Lugosi and Lee, and builds- half dose genious/ half dose eccentricity- a brilliant, rock star Dracula, scary and loveable to death as Winona can attest. Dracula divided audiences, but it still looks grandiose and epic, and Oldman's re-imagining of this role is the art of acting in its supreme form. Awards? No... Although a strong year with the likes of Downey as Chaplin and Washington as Malcolm X, it was one of the most traditional (in a bad way) years in the Academy, remembering to honour Pacino for his antiques in the dusty Scent of a Woman, Eastwood in his tired western, and being supposedly shocked by Stephen Rea's discoveries in his crying games... Time hasn't been kind for any of them. Oldman's Dracula is still a rock star ahead of our times.
There will be a part II, too many iconic moments actually follow

The new voices of Australian Melodrama: The Jezabels

2012-01-05T08:41:00.002+02:00

It took many years since the depart of the Triffids for a worthy heir to emerge, but the Jezabels, with their recently released debut album, claim the crown. A fierce lyrical sonic attack, not a weak moment from start to finish. When a friend posted Prisoner, I agreed that it was an instant classic, combining the aggressiveness of Muse with the voice of The Walkabouts. Went looking for the record and the three EPs they released in the past 2 years, and I was not let down.
This is Prisoner:

Fronted by Hayley Mary's diverse powerful voice, Heather Shannon on the piano, Nik Kaloper on drums and Samuel Lockwood on guitar, they are equally good at building bright pop moments, at discussing the Wide Open Roads of their birthplace, or at embarassing every hip indie effort around the world
And this is Long Highway, nothing so uplifting, so traveling since the Strees Had No Name...

And this is their optimistic endless summer:

Perfect Sense

2011-12-28T08:38:00.004+02:00

Ewan McGregor is a relationship-phobic chef, until he meets the equally relationship-phobic epidemiologist Eva Green. But as their romance tries to flourish, the world comes tumbling down around them: A mysterious pandemic slowly progresses: amidst bouts of extreme sentimental crises, people lose their smelling, and then they lose their taste, and then they lose their hearing, and then... the film ends in a blind desperate embrace...

A depressive elegiac little poem directed by the peculiar director of Young Adam and Hallam Foe (two interesting films that may leave you alienated but this is exactly their strength), David MacKenzie. Shot in an oblique way, its pace slowly progressing till the final darkness, assisted by Max Richter's soundscape. Not without its drawbacks: Connie Nielsen as Green's sister is underused, and the loss of senses makes you want more exploration on it, but it is the love story that matters to Mackenzie, and as a romance it is one of the most tragic, but reassuring of the sense of love (or is it despair of loneliness?), you will ever see. And it does help that Mackenzie does justice to one of the most impressive presences ever to grace the screen, Eva Green.

Passion Play, or Mickey Rourke meets an Angel in the desert

2011-12-22T09:47:00.002+02:00

Within the first 10 minutes of this overlooked film, Mickey Rourke, a beatnick trumpeteer out of hope, has been driven to the desert by one of Bill Murray's ganngsters, has his life saved by some obscure Indian ninjas!, and finds a circus in the middle of the desert, where, among other curiosities, he meets Megan Fox with wings, a real angel.

One would expect that afterwards everything would continue to be as strange and manic as this, but instead, we get an odd love story that plays like a Tom Waits song, with Rourke and Fox on the run from everybody and Bill Murray playing the quiet menacing villain. Every screen image is soaked in loving melancholia, and as the film slowly processes to its climax you believe that Fox is an angel...

Then the final scene comes along, and everything is set in its place, bringing further blues on Rourke's face, and the viewer's face...

Rourke is at his best, somewhere between Barfly and the Wrestler, there's noone better at playing this out-of-luck-could-have-been-a-contender thing. Murray underacts as usually in recent years, but it makes his villain even more threatening. Fox is a real surprise in that she manages to hold against Rourke (playing an actual role for the first time in her career); Beside them, Kelly Lynch offers brief wisdom, and Rhys Ifans offers the remaining manic moments of the film.
A small offbeat, oddball poem, not to everyone's taste, but it will be an adorable memory for some

20 for 2011: No 1: Melanie Laurent- En t'attendant

2011-12-20T08:48:00.003+02:00

Inspiring Damien Rice to contribute his finest ideas, and singing arrestingly, this was "everything that was supposed to be" and then some more... IL FAIT GRIS, climaxing in a storm of strings:

UNCOMFORTABLE, you'll hardly hear a most powerful aching ballad these days...

KISS is not the record's strongest cut, but its clip, directed by Laurent, is a breath of fresh air:

EVERYTHING YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, with the chorus that urges you to sing along:

Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here
The final list goes like this:
1. Melanie Laurent- En t'attendant
2. Sarah Slean- Land & Sea
3. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake
4. Tori Amos- Night of Hunters
5. The Pierces- You & I
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No 2: Sarah Slean- Land & Sea

2011-12-19T08:33:00.004+02:00

She remains the prime music composer of her generation, even evolving each time she enters the studio. Her warm voice allows her music to shine. A double record, slowing down on Sea where the orchestra and the piano accompany her grand music, whilst on Land she shuts up most of female alternative-pop singers-songwriters of today.

Until now:
2. Sarah Slean- Land & Sea
3. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake
4. Tori Amos- Night of Hunters
5. The Pierces- You & I
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 3: PJ Harvey- Let England Shake

2011-12-18T11:15:00.000+02:00

Because proper artists rise to the political occasions of their times and address them accordingly

Until now:
3. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake
4. Tori Amos- Night of Hunters
5. The Pierces- You & I
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 4: Tori Amos- Night of Hunters

2011-12-17T20:45:00.000+02:00

Because Erik Satie and Mussorgsky would be proud

Until now:
4. Tori Amos- Night of Hunters
5. The Pierces- You & I
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 5: The Pierces- You & I

2011-12-16T09:02:00.004+02:00

If you don't know why and need a reason, just listen and watch...

Until now:
5. The Pierces- You & I
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 6: Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know

2011-12-15T08:45:00.003+02:00

Hard to believe that she didn't stumble upon some songs leonard Cohen left out of Songs of Love and Hate and made them hers; She's that good, and Night After Night is right there (lyrically also) beside Famous Blue Raincoat. Genius.

Until now:
6. Laura Marling- A Creature I Don't Know
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 7: Signe Tollefsen- Hayes

2011-12-14T08:55:00.004+02:00

Of Dutch-American origin (she also adds UK and Norwegian roots), she possesses a voice so diverse that she can easily travel between folk and blues and can give PJ Harvey and Beth Gibbons a run for their money when covering Down by the Water and Glorybox, in another release from 2011. But in Hayes,it is her own work that shines

Until now:
7. Signe Tollefsen- Hayes
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 8: Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager

2011-12-13T09:03:00.004+02:00

BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN ANGELS SING...

Until now:
8. Irene & Francis Jacob- Je Sais Nager
9. Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Original Soundtrack
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 9: Jonathan Keevil- Bellflower Origninal Soundtrack

2011-12-12T08:51:00.004+02:00

When you see the trailer, you hear the first two seconds of Bland and you start searching like a maniac for the writer and then for the soundtrack, and it doesn't disappoint you. Out of nowhere, a brilliant thing...

Until now:
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No 10: The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats

2011-12-11T07:52:00.000+02:00

Still burning

Until now:
10. The Waterboys- An Appointment with Mr Yeats
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No11: Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow

2011-12-10T07:42:00.000+02:00

Her most inspired record in ages (since 1985...), a winter wonderland reminiscent of Craig Armstrong's masterpiece As If To Nothing, and a heartbreaking duet:

Until now:
11. Kate Bush- 50 Words for Snow
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No12: Oh Land- Oh Land

2011-12-09T09:22:00.002+02:00

Until now:
12. Oh Land- Oh Land
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No13: Ed Laurie- Cathedral

2011-12-08T09:03:00.002+02:00

Rich folk music that travels you along spaces and above borders. The man who referenced Cohen and Camus lives up to the initial promise

Until now:
13. Ed Laurie- Cathedral
14. Heather Nova- 300 Days at Sea
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No14: Heather Nova- 300 days at Sea

2011-12-07T08:46:00.002+02:00

Another Beautiful Ride

Until now:
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios
Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here

20 for 2011: No15: Guillemots- Walk The River

2011-12-06T09:08:00.002+02:00

Fyfe Dangerfield is the inspired intellectual of the indie scene. Even if it only included Vermillion, this would be worth the attention: an instant classic to rank alongside the best moments of Smiths, Manics, and New Order, in its sentiment.

Until now:
15. Guillemots- Walk The River
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No16: Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City

2011-12-05T08:44:00.005+02:00

Rich West Coast songwriting with nostalgia and intelligence up on its sleeve. Indicative of a future masterpiece to come.

Until now:
16. Liz Pappademas & the Level- Television City
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No17: Florence and the Machine- Ceremonials

2011-12-04T07:38:00.000+02:00

Loving her or hating her, one cannot deny that her record is full of inspired indies

Until now:
17. Florence & the Machine- Ceremonials
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No18: Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi

2011-12-03T07:27:00.001+02:00

Godchild of Waits and Cave- a voice to devour you

Until now:
18. Anna Calvi- Anna Calvi
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No19: Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris

2011-12-02T09:00:00.004+02:00

An American in Paris, producing a jazz soundscape for Gene Kelly to inhabit, or "like a Midnight stroll in Paris"

So far:
19. Melody Federer- An Americaine in Paris
20. Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

20 for 2011: No20- Wayne Hussey & Julianne Regan- Curios

2011-12-01T08:51:00.003+02:00

Every year Greek bloggers unite in voting their 20 favorite records of the year- counting down daily to No1. You can see what everyone is daily voting here
Starting at No20: The Mission frontman, Wayne Hussey, together with his lifetime companion, All About Eve's Julianne Regan remind that Goth is still alive and tender with a record of covers, ranging from Ray Davies and Bowie and Nick Cave to Depeche Mode and Duran Duran. Enjoyable from start to finish

Sing for the lady in white

2011-07-11T19:58:00.002+03:00

For blue is the color of our tears
It’s an ocean of us wrapped in years
I know we’ll get through tonight
If we sing for our ladies in white…

Life, life
Regardless of all the strife
It led, it led
Me down this here road to get
To you, to you
I’ve everything here to lose
So I’ve hired the moon for us

How edgy and rich in sentiment, how simply poetic, Royal Wood. No wonder his muse is Sarah Slean

Irene jacob- Communion

2011-06-10T12:54:00.005+03:00

LIKE ANGELS SINGING...

Je Sais Nager is the record released by Irene Jacob and her brother Francis, a professional musician/ songwriter with a consistent career behinf him. And this record includes Communion, in two versions: here, Francis' voice is the voice of human, and Irene's voice enters like the angelic sound from above. PERFECTION.

See also what else happens When Irene sings...

The Wolf, the Moon, and Nana Oh Land

2011-06-09T09:06:00.005+03:00

We have known that Oh Land, aka Nana Oland Fabricius, was able to create pop perfection, but in this, she exceeds herself. An instant 21st century classic which is difficult to categorize, exceeding beyond electronica or innocent Scandinavian pop, in a landscape of its own, flying on the wings of THAT crystal voice.

Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound of Luanda (1968-1976)

2011-06-02T13:23:00.003+03:00

The title says it all. As intimately classic, as addictive, as joyous, as travelling as Buena Vista
Alliace Makiadi -Passeio Por Luanda

Jovens Do Prenda - Ilha Virgem

Os Bongos- Pachanga Maria

Blackout Babies

2011-05-26T09:12:00.003+03:00

Lovable for many reasons, sound and vision-like, Nana and Linn Lavinsky come from Denmark, and their first ep,"The Bad Habits of Burned Out BOB", just released, features the help of Marc Collin (the Nouvelle Vague brain), and the voice of Violent Femme Gordon Gano, entering here at 3.20:
Blackout Babies - Ballad in plain G

The Dancer and the Thief

2011-05-16T09:31:00.003+03:00

There is poetry on film, and there is El Baile de la Victoria. The story of three lost souls seeking redemption and hope, it has to be seen to behttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif believed. With three irresistible faces: Ricardo Darin (in one of the two great performances of 2009, the other was his in El Secreto des sus Ojos), probably the greatest actor in the world right now, the unbeatable optimism of the smile of Abel Ayala, and the fragile lost soul of Miranda Bodenhofer. These three are trying to find a way out of a world, Chile, still shadowed by Pinochet and all that was left behind, their redemption being a dream, a poem, that almost comes alive. Trueba, the usually academic director, allows the poetry of Antonio Skarmetta's book (the one who also imagined il Postino) to breath and conquer, and cleverly borrows one of the most emblematic of Preisner's themes, the one written as a Requiem for his friend, Kieslowski, to let your soul travel up there with his heroes (he also uses Preisner's Damage score, the one mostly heard on the trailer, requiem is heard in the last 20 seconds). A film, a poem, that leaves you speechless for long after its end

When Melanie Laurent sings...

2011-04-28T20:45:00.002+03:00

This blog loves Melanie Laurent, the actress
But her debut in music is more than brilliant, collaborating with Damien Rice, she brings a souldful warm approach that marks the record as one of the year's best
We now love and celebrate Melanie Laurent, the singer-songwriter too...
Mélanie Laurent - En t'attendant

Damien Rice & Melanie Laurent - Everything You're Not Supposed To Be

An Americain in Paris

2011-04-12T19:36:00.003+03:00

Classic and modern at the same time,crystal voice, the bold title of her debut stands up to her reference, one could imagine Gene kelly inhabiting her musical universe

Not Even Vronsky

2011-04-06T12:54:00.002+03:00

A personal interpretation of Anna Karenina, from Natasha Luna's second collection of songs, entitled N, blinking to Fritz Lang in the record cover. Beyond intelligence and talent...

With all my roots stuck in here

2011-04-05T21:02:00.003+03:00

Life get off (of) me Stop raping me
Now it's my turn
Feel the hungry past
That swallowed all my faith and brought me here
Oh damn, yeah damn, it's fate

And where else would I be With all my roots stuck in here
And where else Would my voice sing
Without the soma I found just here
I'm so afraid to be safe

Bring all the loss Bring all the storm
I won't stop

You know you can bring all the loss And bring all the storm
'cause I won't stop No, I won't stop

The Peruvian maverick that is Natasha Luna- a modern musical philosopher, more of her in the follwing dates, this song alone deserves a single post.

When Irene sings

2011-03-22T17:51:00.005+02:00

From her new film, entitled "Rio sex comedy", directed by Jonathan Nossiter, and also starring Charlotte Rampling and Bill Pullman, with a trailer that is not that promising, but with a heavenly interlude.

Rarely has the screen been so fair (in the Kieslowski era), and so unfair (in everything else) to a magic face
Her singing is not a surprise- she has now formed a band with her brother who has been in the music scene for decades. She has also a long-standing collaboration with Vincent Delerm, like in this...

Music Video " Vincent Delerm " from Nicolas Loir on Vimeo.

...and she has also accompanied him in his Cigale performances

Vincent Delerm à la Cigale (21 nov 06) by TheOlive31

Marion Cotillard and the English Patient

2011-03-18T18:48:00.006+02:00

Marion Cotillard echoing the English patient. A brilliant soundtrack by Le Trio Joubran and Chkrrr, echoing the desert like nothing else since Marta Sebestyen's mournings over Yared's notes. Just emerged in a dvd shop shelve, critics have not been kind, but it is Martion Cotillard in the desert, deliberately nodding to Anthony Minghella, and with wonderful music. Desperately needs to be seen...

The Glorious Land

2011-02-14T18:19:00.003+02:00

How is our glorious country ploughed?
Not by iron ploughs
Our lands is ploughed by tanks and feet,
Feet
Marching
Oh, America
Oh, England
How is our glorious country sown?
Not with wheat and corn.
How is our glorious land bestowed?
What is the glorious fruit of our land?
It's fruit is deformed children.
What is the glorious fruit of our land?
Its fruit is orphaned children

From the new PJ Harvey record, Let England Shake, released today. A folk antiwar masterpiece that also serves as a state of the nation (unfortunately so fitting for Greece too)

Perfect Sense: THE cinematic poem of 2011

2011-01-28T18:35:00.003+02:00

I want to see this film now...
But I will have to wait, it only premiered in Sundance a few days ago.
But, based on the trailer, the plot, and the people in front of and behind the camera, this may be a Fountain for the 2010s:
A virus that gradually strips its victims from their senses in the background.
The story of two people who begin to fall in love as the world begins to fall apart. Eva Green (at last in a role to shine) and Ewan McGregor. The criminally underused Connie Nielsen supporting. David Mackenzie, the director, had previously done the strange, incomplete, but indicative of major talent Young Adam and Hallam Foe. Max Richter is on the score. Let us hope. And let us see it soon. Until then we will be following its whereabouts at this site (great one, we share the same background...)

At last Anna Calvi releases her debut, the first great record of 2011

2011-01-27T20:29:00.003+02:00

I heard First We Kiss as a demo sometime in 2009. Magnetic. And such a powerful presence, this protege of Eno and Cave. But there was nowhere any music of her. At last she delivers her self-titled debut. Want a rapid introduction to how good she is? Just listen and see how she makes Jezebel her own, and this is a Wayne Shanklin song held sacred by Edith Piaf devotees
Anna Calvi- Jezebel

Anna Calvi-First We Kiss

Anna Calvi- Love won't be Leaving

Like the first time you heard Patti Smith: Jonneine Zapata

2011-01-18T09:10:00.003+02:00

There are these moments, first time you heard Patti Smith, first time you heard Springsteen. Raw power. Jonneine Zapata the name, this song is not in her debut record,Cast The Demons Out, neither is her Springsteen State Trooper remake. But this is a real thing, hard to find but pure rock.
Jonneine Zapata- Love Is A Burden

And I finally saw Soul Kitchen (Films I recently loved, part 5)

2011-01-11T20:59:00.003+02:00

Akin is audacious and genious. The first half is indescribable. Bousdoukos, Bleibtreu, Unel, and Bederke are divine. No words really. First dvd I bought in ages.

And it even includes this...so accurately

Gainsbourg- Vie Héroïque (Films I recently loved, part 4)

2011-01-11T20:09:00.006+02:00

When Gainsbourg died, then president Francois Mitterand proclaimed him the Apollinaire and Baudelaire of modern France. A professional provocateur or a free spirit, according to anyone's taste, but the film raises him in a shattering (and shattered) hero status.
Joann Sfar is no film director, he is an acclaimed comic creator. He wisely chooses not to do a biography (in the atrocious manner of La Vie en Rose- Cotillard or not it was unwatchable), but a comment on Gainsbourg. A poem. And he manages in a film that grows into you and haunts you day by day. It is not Gainsbourg's life but a constant dialogue of him and his ghosts. Episodic (you may miss a wife or two), here enters Boris Vian and out he goes, here leaves Anna Mouglalis as Juliette Greco after only a few minutes (but her face in the window stays forever), here enters Laetitia Casta as a surprisingly successful Brigitte Bardot, and thankfully there stays for a long time on screen Lucy Gordon, complimenting Jane Birkin with her performance and bringing sorrow knowing that she will no longer enlighten the screen as she does here.
But the film would go nowhere without Eric Elmosnino, in a performance of a lifetime: virtually unknown out of France theatre, only second roles in forgettable French films in the past, but here he offers something magnetic and poetic. An actor's performance to be studied through times, Brando-esque one might say. And a real poem of a film that grows and grows in you (so don't disagree with me immediately after watching it, give it 2-3 days to mess your memory).

Never Let Me Go (Films I recently loved, part 3)

2011-01-11T19:22:00.004+02:00

Kazuo Ishiguro is a lucky man, because his best known works have transformed exceptionally to film (Remains of the day was the previous). Here, Mark Romanek (experienced from directing Johhny Cash's Hurt, The The, Audioslave, Sonic Youth, NIN, and...Madonna videos) takes an elegiac dystopia full of lost loves and lost lives and constructs an elegant diamond (admittedly largely assisted by his stars and Adam Kimmell's autumnal photography and Rachel Portman's snippets of melancholia). Gripping in the end, mind.
And the actors (exclammatory mark 2)!: Carey Mulligan was born to play this role with her quiet intensity. Keira Knightley is eagerly playing second fiddle,but a single Keira look can tell a thousand stories. Andrew Garfield is the real surprise; you spend the whole film wondering why these girls stuck with him, but the film's climax is all his- a great actor in the making (and then he goes and destroys his acting career by playing Spiderman, what to say...). And Sally Hawkins in a small role, with the regal Rampling along, assist in creating INTELLIGENT cinema.

The Fighter (Films I recently loved, part 2)

2011-01-11T18:57:00.004+02:00

Another film about boxing? Not really. This is a working class drama in the best tradition of the 1970s great American film-makers, based on the true story of a boxer rising from the shadows of the streets and his family influences, managing to reunite everyone around him in a strange triumph. Micky Ward is the central character for people who know their boxing.
If Million Dollar Baby was a Tom Waits song, and if The Wrestler was a late Springsteen elegy, this is early Springsteen, this is Badlands on film.
And the performances! I would never imagine that I would bet on Christian Bale to win an Oscar, but he will, deservedly (sorry Geoffrey Rush depsite all your charm...): the most accurate performance of a junkie onscreen, perhaps ever, but some rare moments that his eyes devour the screen like the early DeNiro (when he realises what he has become). And Amy Adams is another triumphant presence (it remains so surprising how easily she can move from Disney Princess to working class girl, so effortlessly and pitch-perfect). Credit also to Wahlberg who carries this film maturely (imagine how Brad Pitt would bring a hole in its center...), and credits to David Russell who, when is constrained, manages to create Lumet-like experiences (let us hope he doesn;t go back to Huckabees and monkeys...)

Love and Other Drugs (Films I recently loved, part 1)

2011-01-11T17:51:00.004+02:00

Essentially a romantic comedy like many others, with some peripheral medical interest for me, with all the Zithromax, Viagra, Zoloft pharmaceutical marketing of the times past. Filled with average performances by familiar faces (and regarding Gyllenhaal, this is disappointing).
BUT
But the film is raised above many many other romantic comedies by her highness Anne Hathaway: her face is a screen poem, her eyes and smile transcending so many different feelings. Here she delivers a fearless performance (including some of the most natural nudity by a movie star), and one of charm and magnetism that could only be compared to Pfeiffer's early career. (Which, as anyone who knows me can attest, is a huge compliment).

True Grit

2011-01-04T12:31:00.003+02:00

True Grit is great. Much more (and closer to the book's spirit) than the original. The Coens are restrained for the first time in their life, adding just minor of their typical spices to a perfectly rhymed West story that manages to feel elegiac and light at all the right moments. Jeff Bridges is emblematic (he always is but here he offers gravity to an essentially supporting role and manages to wipe out the John Wayne-ness of his predecessor- a pity that he got his Oscar last year...), but the film is equally carried by the astonishing 14-year old Hailee Steinfeld in her debut essentially, in a performance of rare bravery, recalling the marvels that were Natalie Portman in Leon or Anna Paquin in Piano. That good. And a sure bet (now that the odds are high) for a supporting actress Oscar. Now if only the movie manages to beat the unexplainedly popular Social Network also, it would be really nice

Just watched Black Swan, and it almost blew my mind...

2010-12-21T17:57:00.009+02:00

Just watched Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky is officially a film-making God and Natalie Portman is officially of another kind of divine.
1. It is not the Fountain (of course), but it equally blows your mind.
2. Films that come to your mind while watching it: The Wrestler obviously, but that was a Springsteen ballad and this is symphonic music in its tone. Polanski's Repulsion has the same subject. The difference is that Polanski was restrained while Aronofsky is fearless in balancing in a fine line between the grand and the plainly bizarre. He manages it all the time, even when he reminds you, strangely, of the Eyes of Laura Mars
3. Aronofsky is a film-making God: this is an experience so tense, that it grabs you from the first ten minutes and never lets you go, long after the film ends. Of course it is climaxing spectacularly in the end, which means it gets unbearably tense at moments.
4. But it would not be the same without Natalie Portman. Everybody in their right mind knew her charisma since she was the little child in Leon, but this is not just a performance of a lifetime, but one that should go in the pantheon of cinema, her every moment on screen (i.e. all the time) a masterclass of the slightest looks and blinks, of the slightest spasms in her face muscles. A performance that manages to surpass the most angelic of Audrey Hepburn but also reach the most threatening of Nicholson, a performance that absorbs the screen and eats alive the otherwise lovable Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey, a performance that simlars have only been given by Daniel Day Lewis (back when he wasn't wandering bored on the screen).
5. And a small credit for Mila Kunis is also warranted: Again, everybody in their right mind knew her charisma from each silly movie that she has been in the past (even in Forgetting Sarah Marshall), but here she manages to stand up against the phenomenon that is Portman).
6. Clint Mansell's score is only supporting the grandiose of Tchaikovsky, but then, Tchaikovsky is incomparable...
7. Is it a Best Picture film for the Oscars? No, it is always a "sexually-repressed ballerina going nuts" film. But you will not find a more gripping film this year, nor such a directing excellence (again), and you will have to go many many years ago to see such a divine performance as that of Natalie Portman.

No 1 for 2010: Cibelle- Las Venus Resort Palace Hotel

2010-12-20T08:30:00.002+02:00

and here in a single song she puts to rest all the Deerhunters and Beach Houses and Caribous of this year's vote...
Cibelle is crazy, in a good manner; fearless and artful. She returned with a kind of concept record, in which she is the singer in a post-apocalyptic jungle cabaret or something like this, which definitely fits this uncontainable musical genius.
Cibelle - The Gun and the Knife

Cibelle- Sad Piano

Cibelle- Lightworks:

Discover her past, including the incredible Green Grass cover, here

No 2 for 2010: Xavier Rudd & Izintaba- Koonyum Sun

2010-12-19T08:27:00.000+02:00

Xavier Rudd has been around for some years, one foot in the Australian deserts and the Aboriginal tradition and all sorts of world music influences, the other in raw blues of power, and an aura of political consciousness floating over. His latest records is entitled Koonyum Sun. He is joined by Izintaba, a duo of South African musicians that add a further rhythmic backbone and a universal flavor to his already vigorous songs. This is probably his best record, one that makes you feel there, watching the sun rise from the pacific, somewhere in the west australian coast.
Xavier Rudd & Izintaba- Set Me Free

Xavier Rudd & Izintaba- Time To Smile:

No3 for 2010: Shearwater- The Golden Archipelago

2010-12-18T07:58:00.001+02:00

Obviously.
More here

No4 for 2010: Warpaint- The Fool

2010-12-17T10:37:00.002+02:00

Electronic folk psychedelia. Beautifully complex.

Warpaint - Bees

No5 for 2010- Jim Kerr- Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr

2010-12-16T08:44:00.004+02:00

Because 27 years after the New Gold Dream era, he continues to amaze
Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr- The Wait Parts 1&2

No 6 for 2010: Yann Tiersen- Dust Lane

2010-12-15T10:05:00.002+02:00

As written in October:
It is a pity that for many Yann Tiersen is automatically linked to the excruciating girl from Monmartre. He should be remembered for many other things, as his other soundtracks, particularly Tabarly, and the sorrowful record he made with Shannon Wright. Now his new record comes and shows all his ambition, and all his complex musical genious: You will find anything in Dust Lane; here he sounds dangerously like Anne Clark (which is good), there he builds up an intense political song with the help of Matt Elliot, then he plays in a sophisticated manner in the most bizarre lovesong ever written, entitled Fuck me. Brilliant, from the opening to the end.
Yann Tiersen - Fuck Me by antirecords

No 7 for 2010: Zory Burner- Zory Burner

2010-12-14T09:37:00.003+02:00

As written back in July:
Classically trained (with a direct contact with Moscow classical world) and it shows. In a choir for many years, she knows Byzantine music and it shows. Many folk influences (extending to some Mike Oldfield moments), but she gives all the Joanna Newsoms of this world a run for the money. Extremely talented as a composer, and in posession of a truly distinct voice. Born in Bulgaria, has now moved to London and this is her first collection of songs.
Zory Burner- More Than Any Kind Of Power: an instant classic

imagine what the first soundtrack she will compose will be like...

No 8 for 2010: Bárbara Eugênia- Journal de BAD

2010-12-13T10:09:00.006+02:00

Imagine PJ Harvey going to Brazil and adding local flavor to her passion, the you get this massive debut. Check her official page and her myspace page for more, particularly the inimitable Dor E Dor, which starts as an enchanting samba and ends up in Sonic Youth territory (check what Eugenia wears in the first video also)

Bárbara Eugênia- Dor E Dor
Dor e dor by Barbara Eugenia

Bárbara Eugênia- Agradecimento

Bárbara Eugênia- Drop the Bombs

No 9 for 2010: Emily Jane White-Ode to Sentience

2010-12-12T08:39:00.000+02:00

Her previous record was my 2009's no 9. Premium dark folk
Emily Jane White- Clipped Wings

No 10 for 2010: Sharleen Spiteri- The Movie Songbook

2010-12-11T08:34:00.000+02:00

Because it is Sharleen, because she respects her songs and breaths life and warmth into them, and because it is Sharleen....
Sharleen Spiteri - Windmills Of Your Mind

No 11 for 2010: Melpomeni- 8 Tragedies, 2 Love Songs And A Breakdown

2010-12-10T09:17:00.003+02:00

Of Greek origin- a philosophical songwriter, or "Kate Bush with a knife in her hand". More here

Melpomeni - Are We Even Now?

No 12 for 2010: F&M- Sincerely, F&M

2010-12-09T09:17:00.003+02:00

Should be alternative stars- the Canadian duo of Rebecca and Ryan Anderson are writing passionate stories. Their past works also deserve recognition, but they are consistently great, and their lyrics are pure poetry. More of their sweet melancholia at their official site. Another brilliant Edmonton project...
F&M- The Singer Gets it Right

I want Humility I’ve learned from Dignity
I need Empathy I‘ve watched with authority
I pray for clemency From those that know me best
Kneel with me on this dirty floor Come meet me on this dirty floor
F&M- A Little Love Hymn

No13 for 2010: The The- Cineola Volume 1

2010-12-08T09:40:00.002+02:00

The The and Matt Johnson are alive and geniously kicking, writing music for obscure british indie films (in this case the film is Tony), and circulating their records independently through the official website. (That Matt Johnson is a genious and a prophet of things to come needs no explanation: just one look at the image above, Matt sang about it 23 years ago, Greece saw it yesterday).
That Matt Johnson is an emotional musical genious is shown below:
The The- The Lust for Unsung Dreams

N0 14 for 2010: Seu Jorge and Almaz

2010-12-07T09:02:00.002+02:00

More here. The Brazilian force.
Seu Jorge and Almaz- The Model (Kraftwerk revisited)

15 for 2010: Agnes Obel- Philharmonics

2010-12-06T09:25:00.003+02:00

A debut from another world, ethereal folk meets classic interludes, in the manner of John Cale (whose close watch is also covered)
Agnes Obel - Philharmonics

16 for 2010: Natalie Merchant- Leave Your Sleep

2010-12-05T10:39:00.000+02:00

The former Maniac studies all aspects of American folk music. Brave, the hoarseness and melody of her voice always there. Should be studied in musicology universities.
Natalie Merchant - The Sleepy Giant

17 for 2010: Marie Warnant- Ritournelle

2010-12-04T10:29:00.000+02:00

Pure elegance...More on a previous post

Marie Warnant - Vernis Rouge
(buy the album for the rest of her...)

18 for 2010: Gemma Ray- It's a Shame About Gemma Ray

2010-12-03T11:57:00.000+02:00

No shame avtually. Gemma is brilliant and her Sonic Youth- Komeda/Rosemary's baby lullaby mixture is genious
Gemma Ray- Rosemary's Baby vs. Drunken Butterfly

19 for 2010: David Ford- Let the Hard Times Roll

2010-12-02T08:55:00.001+02:00

David Ford has been better, but is still systematically good. And his lyrics...
David Ford- Panic

So tell me what have I become?
A middle finger to the sun?
I traded fireworks for love
and I was left with nothing,
But paper shards and empty shells,
A burst of sulphur blown to hell,
It might just be that all this
history has taught me something.

So I'm taking lessons from the past,
They won't build anything to last,
But engineered to fall apart,
The day the warranty expires,
So keep the wheels turning round,
Keep our flag pinned to the ground,
Just don't look back and don't look down,
In fact try not to look at all.

20 for 2010: Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

2010-12-01T12:00:00.002+02:00

It is that time of the year again, 93 Greek bloggers vote their best music of the year, as All Gone has initiated, counting down daily from 20 to 1. Selections from everybody can be seen here. Of course in the end Arcade Fire will win most votes (last year was worse, Animal Collective...)
No 20 for 2010- Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can
Laura is writing and singing epics of melancholia.
Laura Marling - Alpha Shallows

Nicole Atkins - Vitamin C

2010-11-15T09:51:00.003+02:00

Nicole Atkins - Vitamin C: A great cover for the classic Can tune from a talented girl that always brings something of interest in our ears.

Nicole Atkins- Maybe Tonight

Nicole Atkins- Under the Milky Way: another lovable cover

Ode to Sentience

2010-11-12T10:34:00.003+02:00

Emily Jane White, remember her dark folk from last year's best, returns with a record that is a rare trip where sound transforms to images and senses- Ode to Sentience is one of the most compact records heard lately, her best, and one that the Joni Mitchells of the world could not have made.

Emily Jane White - Requiem Waltz

Emily Jane White - The Cliff

Emily Jane White - Black Silk

And last week, Polish people were really lucky: the divine Rykarda Parasol and Emily Jane White together on stage:
Rykarda Parasol & Emily Jane White- Hannah Leah

More from Emily Jane White on her official page and her myspace page and her facebook page

Brokenhearted Boss

2010-11-04T19:40:00.002+02:00

Seriously, who can write such songs apart from Bruce? A lost outtake from 1977-78, now gloriously resurfacing in Bruce's The Promise, along with other peculiars from that before-Darkness era. But this song, really...
Bruce Springsteen- Brokenhearted

THE bright mind of Sarah Gillespie

2010-11-03T09:14:00.005+02:00

Or, where a genious political philosopher meets music, poetry, radicalism, the sounds of the whole world harmonically meeting each other: Folk music, jazz flavors, the clarino of Epirus, Greece, a nod to Libertango here and there... Brilliant.
For poetry and politics visit her official site: A bright mind indeed. In a proper universe, we should elect her to rule.

Sarah Gillespie - Call Me Stupid, Ungrateful, Vicious & Insatiable: a mourning, sardonic blues?- But suddenly, at 2.45, you are in a rural Epirus fair

Sarah Gillespie - How The Mighty Fall: pure, addictive, joyous folk, and possibly the only song to use the word "draconian", which immediately raises its bar

Sarah Gillespie - Ahmed & Dangerous : where Libertango nods are the background of a sardonic look at modern religious wars

Note: Both the latter video and the first exist because of a man called Stepan Trofimovich: through his youtube channel, where, how appropriately, along with Sarah Gillespie you find Juan Rulfo- if you don't know him, do so.

And Jim Kerr continues to write the soundtrack of my life

2010-10-20T10:21:00.005+03:00

Lostboy Aka Jim Kerr- Kill Or Cure

And Jim Kerr continues to write the soundtrack of my life...
This is an exclusive offer for fans/ members of his website. So fresh after all these years. To be heard loud.

Yann Tiersen's Dust Lane

2010-10-13T18:58:00.002+03:00

It is a pity that for many Yann Tiersen is automatically linked to the excruciating girl from Monmartre. He should be remembered for many other things, as his other soundtracks, particularly Tabarly, and the sorrowful record he made with Shannon Wright (we have posted about this before). Now his new record comes and shows all his ambition, and all his complex musical genious: You will find anything in Dust Lane: here he sounds dangerously like Anne Clark (which is good), there he builds up an intense political song with the help of Matt Elliot, then he plays in a sophisticated manner in the most bizarre lovesong ever written, entitled Fuck me. Brilliant, from the opening to the end.

Yann Tiersen - Dust Lane

Yann Tiersen- Palestine

Yann Tiersen - Fuck Me

There is an even better version of Fuck Me, in a duet with Gaelle Kerrien, that you can find and download here, if you rush...

The girl who loved the rain

2010-10-11T08:55:00.003+03:00

Incomparable lyricism, a record out of nowhere, would make Tori Amos cry of envy...
And of course she is Greek, and the record was made in Greece- after an extended career in ad jingles, and some film music for short films, this debut is a major reason to stand up and applaud. More at her official page
Marietta Fafouti - The girl who loved the rain

The Pierces cannot be loved more

2010-10-08T10:22:00.006+03:00

Back, better than ever- Pj Harvey would like this song. Listen to it twice, there is no escape then.
More on their official website and their myspace page.
The Pierces - Love You More

The Pierces - Love You More (Live Acoustic)

Impermeable Azul

2010-09-23T09:10:00.004+03:00

Christina Rosenvinge - Impermeable Azul: covering the raincoat

Don't Let Your Feet Touch Ground

2010-09-21T09:09:00.006+03:00

Ashley Michelle Koley is pop perfection. Music too intelligent to be ignored. Visuals to complement. Fresh as the early days of spring.

Ash Koley- Don't Let your Feet Touch Ground

There are no mistakes Up in our secret place
We're not just getting by Everything is fine
Don't let your feet touch ground And don't look Down It is so good there are two videos for it, and both are small works of art
Ash Koley- Don't Let your Feet Touch Ground

Ash Koley is the band comprised of two people: Ash Koley and Phil Deschambault. "Phil concedes his name isn't as catchy, and Ash is narcissistic enough to agree to have the band named after herself". They released four EPs since their inception: White, Black, Red and Blue. More at the official page and their myspace page. Also go at their youtube channel to see their Bathroom series...

Ash Koley - Balance

Ash Koley- Go

Ash Koley- Getaway Car

Ash Koley- Leave The Rest For Dead

Ash Koley- Bugs

Ash Koley- Downtime Up

Ash Koley- Bathroom Series/ Trampoline

You Can Always Long For May

2010-09-17T10:50:00.001+03:00

Sophie Zelmani- You Can Always Long For May

From Zelmani's latest, entitled I'm The Rain. No more words actually needed...

Dr. Fritz Fassbender, Romy and Ursula...

2010-09-08T09:21:00.008+03:00

Clive Donner, who died yesterday, was not a director to particularly remember, apart from one of the first transitions of Harold Pinter to screen (The Caretaker in 1963), and his directing a timeless classic: What's new Pussycat? in 1965.
Peter O'Toole, at his prime. Peter Sellers at his most manic as Dr. Fritz Fassbender. The first screenplay and film appearance of Woody Allen at his funniest. And the women. Romy Schneider, Ursula Andress, Paula Prentiss, and Capucine. Absurdly funny, perhaps the funniest film ever made, and a treat for the eyes. Even if one can support that this is Allen's film, Clive Donner may rest in peace knowing his name will always be remembered for this

Of a lifetime

2010-09-06T19:07:00.002+03:00

Crippled Black Phoenix return with "I, Vigilante". See more on them in our previous post about them and their Endtime Ballads. This time they cover a great song from 1975, when Journey were still a rock group (then they got famous etc...). Brilliant original and brilliant cover

The mist is slowly lifting
The sound of life misplaced your mind
You're sitting, spellbound thru out time
I hope that you remember what you find
Singin' more of a lifetime
You put it down-all that I'm thinking
but take a long and distant search, when all is right
you take for granted
You can't look down but you're no worse.
Singin' more of a lifetime
The countless visions that are drifting
The silver dreams you hate to lose.
There's no harm. We've all been waiting.
well keep your faith. Do what you choose.
Singin' more of a lifetime

Crippled Black Phoenix- Of a Lifetime

Journey- Of a Lifetime

Allies and Angels

2010-09-03T08:37:00.008+03:00

Sarah Eden Davis possesses the voice and the scenic presence that demand your attention. Somewhere between Tori Amos and Alanis Morrisette (the latter at her good moments). Find more at her myspace page. Has released a full record, Floodlight, and more recently an EP, Allies and Angels, full of poweful wide vocals. Just look and hear her.
Sarah Eden Davis- Ally

Sarah Eden Davis- Thick

Sarah Eden Davis- Angelica's Kitchen

Sarah Eden Davis- Tattoo

Bohemian Wedding Prayer

2010-09-02T09:56:00.002+03:00

Shannon McNally, a voice honoring the blues, and a songwriting talent often bordering Springsteen. More at her official page and her myspace page

Shannon McNally- Bohemian Wedding Prayer Song

Shannon McNally- Geronimo

Shannon McNally- Pale Moon

Shannon McNally - Down And Dirty

Adored in the Summertime

2010-08-19T09:09:00.008+03:00

Lana Mir- An Ukrainian in New York. Soon releasing a debut record. Released an EP.
Her Stone Roses cover makes you feel a special thing- just like walking on empty streets early on a Sunday morning hearing the Velvet Underground's song. That good a feeling.
Lana Mir- I wanna be adored

Lana Mir- Summertime

Visit her at her myspace page and wait for the record release for more ethereal sounds of her Astrud Gilberto-like charm

Anik Jean welcomes Robert Smith and David Bowie (and shows them one thing or two)

2010-08-17T17:44:00.007+03:00

Anik Jean is a natural force- a rock queen that can give the best moments of PJ Harvey a run for their money, a film star waiting to happen, but above all a performer that conquers the eye, the ear, and the spirit in equal parts.
Third record released this year for this French-Canadian storm, it reveals her inspirations (by covering in Bowie mode the eternal Wild is the Wind), and welcomes the best thing Robert Smith of the Cure has done in the last 20 years
Anik Jean & Robert Smith- J'aurai tout essayé

Anik Jean- Oh mon chéri: from her second record, entitled Le ciel saigne le martyre

Anik Jean- Junkie de Toi: from her debut- the film stardom waiting to happen...

Anik Jean- Je Sais: from the self-titled new record

Anik Jean- Haine: also from her debut, not so much for the song, but for the clip

More on her official page and her myspace page

SPECTRA*Paris

2010-08-03T11:10:00.008+03:00

¿Cómo volver del destierro
recobrando lo perdido?
¿Cómo volver a confiar
y despertar del olvido?

¿Cómo volver a empezar
desandando los caminos?
¿Cómo vencer la matriz
y liberar mi destino?
(Punto Omega wrote it, Elena Fossi added the passion)

The all-female group of Elena Fossi, SPECTRA*Paris have released two records, their titles accuratley describing their essence: Dead Models Society, their debut, and Licence to Kill, their recently released followup with song titles like A Clockwork London. Movies, parts of glam and goth and electronica, and sensuality. Obviously the looks draw one immediately, she is a film star waiting to happen, but her goth rock electronica is really worth discovering. Otherwise give me no feminist points.

SPECTRA*Paris- Mad World : to support my musical point, here she offers the best version of the Tears for Fears song, a lot better than the Darko one...

SPECTRA*Paris- Falsos Suenos: with irrelevant images, so as to focus on the song. And what a song.

SPECTRA*Paris- Size Zero: and how often do you hear a song as mature as this...

SPECTRA*Paris- Spectra Murder Show and when they rock, you even forget the looks...

SPECTRA*Paris- Carrie Satan: listen without watching to appreciate- men can skip right to watching

SPECTRA*Paris- A Clockwork London

More on their official page and their myspace page. Her previous group, Kirlian Camera, deserve a post of their own.

Solartopia

2010-07-30T08:45:00.003+03:00

Don't you know we're gonna have a solartopia all over God's green world
Pete Seeger- Solartopia (with Dar Williams, David Benz, and the Rivertown Kids)
Pete Seeger is 91.Ninety-one. RESPECT.

well we multiplied, we needed more
the rich got rich, the poor got sore
the fuel got scarce, the price jumped high
and so they gave nuclear power a try
but the nuclear plants were built in haste
with too many risks and no place for waste...
...NOW WE'RE FIGHTING WARS OVER OIL AND GAS
NO MATTER WHO WINS IT WILL NOT LAST
THE EARTH IS SCARRED...

Melpomeni's 8 Tragedies, 2 Love Songs and a Breakdown

2010-07-29T09:02:00.004+03:00

Melpomeni Kermanidou, as the name shows, is of Greek origin, although coming from and studying music in Australia. She joined Mediaeval Baebes, a female collectiva of ethereal folk some years ago, but now she offers her first solo record- and what a record. Think of "Kate Bush with a knife in her hand" as she accurately sets it. Think Nick Cave at his most mature (late 80s early 90s). Think of Patti Smith's poetic spirit. Think of the best Diamanda Galas without the hysteria: and it is not surprising that her name is the one of the muse of tragedy (and that she cites Friedrich Nietzsche's Birth Of Tragedy as a key inspiration), neither that she shares with Galas the Greek heritage. Think of Rykarda Parasol with less gloom. Think of Scott Walker at his best. Think of heartbreaks, soul travels, songs of love and despair, think of of one of the most impressive debuts you are likely to hear.
Melpomeni- Are We Even Now: truly represenative of the record's spirit

Melpomeni- I Need A Man

And a Mediaeval Baebes song where she takes the lead in vocals
Mediaeval Baebes- Miracle

Find more about her at her myspace page

Seu Jorge and Almaz

2010-07-27T20:54:00.002+03:00

If you don't know who Seu Jorge is, you are reading the wrong blog. Even then, find about him later on in this post. The Brazilian force unites his musical talent with Almaz, three other great Brazilian musicians, including Antonio Pinto, composer of eclectic soundtracks of the last decade, drummer Pupillo and guitarist Lucio Maia. And they produce a record that is a sonic soundscape that breaks right into the body and soul. Covering a wide array of songs, spanning native tradition up to Kraftwerk to Michael Jackson (we could do without the latter), they create a truly remarkable experience.
Seu Jorge and Almaz- The Model

Seu Jorge and Almaz - Everybody Loves the Sunshine

Then, they go on to remake some of the most beautiful Brazilian classics ever heard. They do Juizo Final, which was already heard by Seu Jorge, among others perfectly suitable at the finale of one of the greatest films of the 21st century, Linha de Passe. Here in an older version, you can hear it, along with the rest of the record in whole here
Nelson Cavaquinho- Juizo Final

They also do the other classic, by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes, Tempo de Amor

Seu Jorge and Almaz- Juizo Final/ Cirandar/ Erarre Humanum Est: snippets here...

Ok, for the ones who don;t know who Seu Jorge is:
Seu Jorge- Rock and Roll Suicide

Not enough?
Seu Jorge and Ana Carolina- E Isso Ai: the Blower's Daughter in a proper fashion

PepTides of Ingmar Bergman, Blue Oyster Cult, Cyd Charisse, Daniel Day Lewis and Juliette Binoche, Brigitte Bardot, and....

2010-07-26T12:31:00.005+03:00

The PepTides are a Canadian collective with one eye on retro-pop and the other on cinema. A lot of atmosphere. They just released two records. One, a more convenient one, so to speak, is entitled North Hero and includes covers of Blue Oyster Cult and John Lennon among others. The second one is called For Those Who Hate Human Interaction, and includes more than 20 songs entitled For Those Who Hate.... Their official page offers free downloading of numerous of the new songs and links to the real joy of the PepTides:
The real art is in the videoclips accompanying the songs.

The PepTides- For Those Who Hate The Human Race perfectly re-choreographing the Bandwagon's Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire classic

The PepTides- Don't Fear The Reaper meeting The Seventh Seal... in an all too obvious but nevertheless inspired choice...

The PepTides- For Those Who Hate Each Other: a touch of Brigitte Bardot dancing...

The PepTides- Far Away From The Maddening Crowd the Unbearable Lightness of Being....

The PepTides- For Those Who Hate Falling Tragically Madly in Love Hiroshima Mon Amour

The PepTides- For Those Who Hate Their Name: Persona

The PepTides- For Those Who Hate This World and Harriet Andersson in Summer with Monika, Ingmar Bergman's first masterpiece,1952

Don't Bang The Drum

2010-07-23T12:07:00.003+03:00

The perfection of Mike Scott and The Waterboys...

Don't Bang The Drum (piano demo) by mickpuck

When Ye Go Away (live with Sharon Shannon) by mickpuck

Sheryl Crow in Memphis

2010-07-20T09:15:00.003+03:00

Sheryl Crow is one of those artists that I hold dear, no matter what they do through the times. A proper rock girl, despite her forays of recent years in pop/ celebrity stardom. But Crow was the female musician to be compared with in the last decade and more: without the melodrama of Tori Amos for example, or without the need to provoke as Alanis Morisette, without the pretentions of numerous stars of the past years- I think only the Wilson sisters did it equally well in the past. A voice born to sing rock, a political conscience that cannot be doubted, and a sexuality that is infused in the music when needed, instead of ignored.
Her last record, released today, is a return to her roots, Memphis; she grew up in the area. A lot of horns then. A return to form better. Her best record in a decade, despite the strange mixture of her rock heart and her celebrity status (Keith Richards is here, but also Justin Timberlake and a Jackson cover!- but there is the natural force that is called Citizen Cope also). But this is a rich record:
Sheryl Crow- Our Love is Fading : An archetypal Memphis sound here

Sheryl Crow- Sign Your Name: the one you know, from 20 years ago, well done- supposedly features the untalented young man but fortunately you cannot hear a lot of him

And she also welcomes Citizen Cope to sing together this blues-soaked anthem of him:
Citizen Cope- Sideways

So Sheryl is back on form- if it makes you happy, and she still knows how to rock
Sheryl Crow- Led Zeppelin's Rock n Roll: performed live just three months ago

And an old favourite, particularly for the great finale starting at 5.00
Sheryl Crow - Am I Getting Through?

There's never been a time as f**ked up as this...(με την ευκαιρία του Συμποσίου της Σύμης)

2010-07-15T09:20:00.003+03:00

There's never been a time as f**ked up as this
I didn't f**k it up, you probably didn't f**k it up
but they, whoever they are, they f**ked it up
Now it's f**ked up
I can't unf**k it up, you probably can't unf**k it up
and if we are counting on them to unf**k it up, then we're all f**ked
Katie Goodman- I Didn't F**k It Up

Katie Goodman is an improvisation Da Vinci. Words are too few to describe her. Her words are always better: THE WORLD'S A MESS BUT I AM BUSY
Katie Goodman- Apathy

Giulia Y Los Tellarini

2010-07-14T08:44:00.003+03:00

IF YOU ARE NEAR THESSALONIKI ON JULY 25, DON'T MISS THEM AT THE SANI FESTIVAL- OTHERS ARE HEADLINING, BUT GIULIA Y LOS TELLARINI ARE THE REAL JOY OF THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL....
"The tale of Giulia y Los Tellarini is one filled with coincidence and driven by the whims of destiny. It was destiny that brought Italian singer, Giulia Tellarini, with an accordion in her hands, to MaikMaier studio in Barcelona where she met Maik Alemany, Jens Neumaier and Alejandro Mazzoni. Immediately falling in love with her voice, these three musicians began with Giulia a project that was to draw on musical landscapes from all over the world: Mediterranean warmth, suggestive /chanson, /Latin tremendismo/, Mexican tragedy and jazzy elegance. Following these musical paths, and with the help of various friends and fellow musicians, they created the songs on “Eusebio”, an album that is persuasive, wonderful and overwhelming" Not my words, but they are pretty accurate...
Giulia y Los Tellarini- Tramontana

"And just who is Eusebio? Eusebi is retired by trade, but an artist at heart. An endearing elderly resident of the neighbourhood of Gracia, in Barcelona, he can easily be found in the cafés and squares of the area, drawing portraits of all those who are willing to offer themselves as subjects".
Giulia y Los Tellarini - Buenos Aires

Giulia y Los Tellarini- Barcelona: this one was their ticket to further recognition, included in the soundtrack of Woody Allen's Spanish travelogue...

Here on a live performance you can hear both Mil Llorares and Barcelona once more, and discover their finesse and style.

Giulia y Los Tellarini- Ay mi Nina

Further listening and info at their myspace page

Zory Burner

2010-07-02T12:42:00.003+03:00

Classically trained (with a direct contact with Moscow classical world) and it shows. In a choir for many years, she knows Byzantine music and it shows. Many folk influences (extending to some Mike Oldfield moments), but she gives all the Joanna Newsoms of this world a run for the money. Extremely talented as a composer, and in posession of a truly distinct voice. Born in Bulgaria, has now moved to London and this is her first collection of songs.
Zory Burner- More Than Any Kind Of Power: an instant classic

Zory Burner- Crying

A lot more about her at her official page. A bright future awaits- imagine what the first soundtrack she will compose will be like...

Vampires have a great music taste, say Emily and Florence

2010-07-01T09:09:00.006+03:00

Can't understand this vampire mania going around, but at least they have good soundtracks. The new one, Eclipse, has a new great Metric song (and an excuse for having Emily Haines in this blog is always welcome, if they excluded the vampires from the clip and leave only Emily...)
Metric - All Yours

but there is also a great Florence (of & the Machine) song there- I try to dislike Florence but I cannot...
Florence & the Machine- Heavy in Your Arms