Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children
Cartaceo I have it ★★★
Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children
2 jul 16
Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' are all the children born on August 15, 1947, at the stroke of midnight, practically at the same moment when India declared its independence. These children all possess extraordinary gifts and magical, supernatural powers. The same goes for Saleem Sinai, the protagonist of the story and also the narrator. A tale that travels through the historical events of his country in a hallucinatory and visionary manner, where the protagonist's experiences intertwine with those of India itself until they coincide into one. A work rich in content and insights, with some ups and downs in the rhythm of the narrative, but how could it be otherwise when telling the story of that part of the world from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s?
Sami Yusuf: Barakah
File Audio I have it ★
Sami Yusuf: Barakah
23 may 16
Album released by Andante Records from this British singer-songwriter and musician, but originally from Tehran, Iran. A multi-instrumentalist, the album is part of a series of recordings referred to as the 'Spiritique Collection,' of which it constitutes the first volume. The songs are mostly inspired by the sounds of Iranian and Azerbaijani folk music and contain themes of a religious nature drawn from Islamic tradition. The arrangements are very particular and evocative, while the atmospheres, as well as the tones, are dark and solemn, perhaps even too much so, to the point that discussing 'sacred music' in this case would not be entirely out of place. It is not.
  • lector
    23 may 16
    Why just one star?
  • sotomayor
    23 may 16
    Lector, because I expected more. Instead, it’s a really well-done job, with precious and very stylish arrangements, I would even recommend it, but the atmospheres overall are too dark, gloomy; I was not positively impressed. It feels like it has negative contents. I didn't see that 'sufi' inspiration that I hoped to find there.
  • lector
    23 may 16
    Remember that he is, after all, British: his perspective is always that of a stranger, with the added pain of uprooted roots.
  • sotomayor
    23 may 16
    He is a great artist, his qualities are undeniable and, not to mention, I am not critical at all regarding the references to Islamic religion, which I deeply respect and to which I would even consider myself a non-practicing believer in some way. I mean, I read the Quran a lot, though I am not religious, I find it a brilliant read and in general I respect all kinds of culture and religion. I simply didn’t like the atmospheres that came to be created. However, I am curious about what the other publications of this series of recordings will be, which I will try to follow: this is just the first one.
SBTRKT: Save Yourself
File Audio I have it ★★★★
SBTRKT: Save Yourself
4 may 16
Released unexpectedly and in full streaming on YouTube on March 25th. With the contribution and collaboration of friends and other artists (The-Dream, DRAM, Sampha), the London-based DJ and producer scores another significant hit for the dubstep genre, blending it with soul and alternative R&B as usual. The album is a snapshot of how he sees the world at this moment, paying attention to major themes as well as to the small things in our daily lives. I wouldn't use the word 'suffered', but the title itself, 'Save Yourself', nonetheless emphasizes what I would describe as a certain urgency, not just creatively.
  • Insect_Reject
    4 may 16
    Good work, but not up to 'Wonder Where We Land,' which in turn was not up to the first, excellent, self-titled album. A few "bangers" ('I feel your pain', 'Bury you'), and I would have bet that the most successful song (imo) is the one with the usual Sampha.
  • sotomayor
    5 may 16
    Overall, you're right, and it's actually something somewhat improvised, by his own admission; let's say it could even be defined as an EP. I have to say, I still found it really enjoyable, and it positively struck me on the first listen. Perhaps precisely because of this sense of immediacy that he clearly managed to convey to me.
Sexwitch: Sexwitch
File Audio I have it ★★★★
Sexwitch: Sexwitch
12 may 16
An incredibly interesting project born from the collaboration between Toy and Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes, two artists that I must admit I don't particularly love. With the production of Dan Carey, the band reinterprets six tracks of folk psychedelia from Iran, Morocco, Thailand, and the United States of the seventies. The result is an album with hypnotic sounds, krautrock grooves, and ethereal, obsessive vocals. It somewhat resembles what Goat does, although perhaps here there is a greater quest for sounds and atmospheres that are somehow vintage.

#levitation
Shane Black: The Nice Guys
File Video I lack ★★★
Shane Black: The nice guys
21 jun 16
We are in Los Angeles in 1977, and a private investigator (Ryan Gosling) and what could be defined as a downright bruiser (Russell Crowe) are investigating the disappearance of a girl, soon finding themselves caught up in something that involves the worlds of gangsters and pornography, as well as politics and the justice department. It’s a fun comedy more than a true thriller or action film, and it’s precisely in its comedic elements that its strengths lie. Great, as long as it stays appropriately light-hearted and doesn’t aspire to become something different, otherwise it risks feeling too familiar, seen too many times before.
Shane Carruth: Primer
File Video I lack ★★★
Shane Carruth: Primer
5 may 16
I'm sorry, but I can't access external links or websites. If you have a specific text that you'd like me to translate, please provide it here, and I'll be happy to assist you!
Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini: Ten Thousand Saints
File Video I lack ★★★
Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini: Ten Thousand Saints
20 apr 16
Drama directed by Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini featuring Ethan Hawke among the cast. There are plenty of elements that could make for a great film: rock and roll, especially the music of the Replacements, punk and hardcore, drugs and youth angst, a young pregnant girl, and a troubled, insecure boy facing situations larger than himself. However, I believe the film doesn't work as it should and could. Perhaps there’s too much on the plate.
Shawn James: On the Shoulders of Giants
File Audio I have it ★★★★★
Shawn James: On the Shoulders of Giants
10 jul 16
This boy is possessed by the sacred fire of blues music. Those same demons that have infected over time Son House, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and especially Howlin' Wolf, whom Shawn James somehow resembles with his voice that is both captivating and in a way aggressive, guttural like the growl of a massive Rocky Mountain bear. Recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, 'On the Shoulder of Giants' is an album that balances soulful impulses with the more aggressive and acidic reverberations of the darkest blues music, one of the best 'American' albums I have listened to this year.
Spain: Carolina
File Audio I have it ★★★
Spain: Carolina
21 jun 16
Josh Haden and Spain's previous album, 'Sargent Place', left a very positive impression on me despite a lukewarm response from both the public and critics, leading to Haden's decision to completely overhaul the band by changing nearly all the performers and musicians. The result of these changes is 'Carolina', which can be described as an impeccable album in terms of purely technical aspects and arrangements, but it evidently lacks those 'punches' that somehow shake the listener. Nevertheless, it's still a good album, let's be clear: a confirmation of the great style and class of one of the bands that perhaps have received fewer accolades than they truly deserve over the past twenty years.
Sports Interactive: Football Manager 2016
DVD Dati I have it ★★★★
Sports Interactive: Football Manager 2016
17 jul 16
Last chapter of the most famous football management series developed by Sports Interactive. The game has been refreshed in some graphic details, and the 'touch' mode has been added. Richer than ever in details and statistical data, players experience virtually a complete virtual experience. The aspects to take care of are truly countless, and so many that I believe the line between pure entertainment and something that has an obsessive character has been crossed, and frankly, I don't see how one could go back in this regard, which makes it difficult to give an overall evaluation. The database is always up to date, and the scouting work is excellent, something that keyboard fans consider essential for what they believe should be potential market moves for their beloved team.
Steven Brill: The Do-Over
File Video I lack ★★
Steven Brill: The Do-Over
1 jun 16
This film is a hybrid. Balancing between what could also be a sometimes brilliant black comedy with some interesting ideas and what could be defined as the usual typical Adam Sandler movie. I don’t want to be a detractor, but I realize that without those inevitable falls in style, this could have been a good entertaining film. Instead, it's an action comedy with ups and many downs, featuring Sandler and his friend David Spade, who, due to more or less tumultuous circumstances, find themselves at the center of a plot and in a confrontation with the powerful forces of the pharmaceutical companies intent on suppressing the spread of what would be a new and revolutionary cure for cancer. Predictable happy ending, as per script.
Sundays & Cybele: Heaven
File Audio I have it ★★★★
Sundays & Cybele: Heaven
25 may 16
A very beautiful LP by this garage-psychedelic band from Tokyo, Japan. Released via the usual brilliant label Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records, the band's sound can be described as both electric ('Empty Seas') and kaleidoscopic ('Almost Heaven', 'Hinagiku'). The album is enjoyable to listen to and therefore suitable for listeners who may not be deeply into the psychedelic genre. With elements reminiscent of the more rock and roll Velvet Underground and the revival of psychedelic music, there's also a hint of what we could call Eastern pop-art mixed with vintage soundtracks from Japanese cartoons.

#levitation
Swans: The Glowing Man
File Audio I have it ★★★
Swans: The Glowing Man
2 jul 16
'The Glowing Man' practically closes a real era in the history of the Swans. Right after the album's release, Michael Gira announced that this would be the last record recorded with the current lineup (which he put together in 2009) and that after the tour, the band would disband to start over from scratch. The album aligns with the band's latest productions and is another work that I would define somehow sumptuous, elephantine, and in a way, immeasurable. It’s a double album, and I believe that the best highlights are all in the first part. Although it’s clearly reasonable to question whether this feeling stems from my personal exhaustion in front of these long sessions of dronic and destructive noise music. I probably don’t love the Swans, but I am obviously very happy that they exist and that they will continue to exist.
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