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Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Le Vite Degli Altri (Das Leben der Anderen)

2 sep 08

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"the bad guy who becomes good and who maybe in the sequel, if it ever happens...": it will never happen, actor Ulrich Mühe (who was from East Germany) - that is, the spy agent in the film - died a few months after the film's release, which he filmed during his illness, a bastard tumor... Anecdote: when the Berlin Wall fell, and the Stasi crumbled, former citizens of the GDR had the chance to see the secret files on them, but very few actually did, among them Mühe himself who discovered that when he was a young actor in East Berlin in the 70s, he was under constant surveillance by the Stasi through his (first) wife and four friends who were fellow actors. For this reason and others (I am half German and my grandmother was from Leipzig, a city in East Germany) it is a great film, exactly what we needed after the mush of Goodbye Lenin. A human film, without too many intellectual and sociopolitical frills (it seems that Sidney Pollack wants to make an American remake). A film that "makes sense," definitely more than the review (but you’ve improved Alessio, less convoluted, more readable... :)

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Le Vite Degli Altri (Das Leben der Anderen)

2 sep 08

Voto:

"the bad guy who becomes good and who maybe in the sequel, if it ever happens...": it will never happen, actor Ulrich Mühe (who was from East Germany) - that is, the spy agent in the film - died a few months after the film's release, which he filmed during his illness, a bastard tumor... Anecdote: when the Berlin Wall fell, and the Stasi crumbled, former citizens of the GDR had the chance to see the secret files on them, but very few actually did, among them Mühe himself who discovered that when he was a young actor in East Berlin in the 70s, he was under constant surveillance by the Stasi through his (first) wife and four friends who were fellow actors. For this reason and others (I am half German and my grandmother was from Leipzig, a city in East Germany) it is a great film, exactly what we needed after the mush of Goodbye Lenin. A human film, without too many intellectual and sociopolitical frills (it seems that Sidney Pollack wants to make an American remake). A film that "makes sense," definitely more than the review (but you’ve improved Alessio, less convoluted, more readable... :)

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Organisation

2 sep 08

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here I am, as usual, arriving too late. Review: ouch, ouch, you’ve skipped the topic here, instead of riding it gloriously as only you know how to do. // The '80s: a time when female singers and musicians were in the spotlight, both in mainstream and alternative scenes. You know, Patti, Sinéad, Siouxsie, Laurie Anderson, Cindy Lauper, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, Sade, Nina Hagen, Stevie Nicks, etc. etc., the list is endless. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it's undeniable that the '80s were a moment of grace for female talent! The revolution lies here: feminization, for good (finally, so much space for great independent artists with guts), and for bad, meaning a soft decay that cloaked the masculine side of pop-rock like a veil, not only visually, and which even attacked jazz, if I think of some scandalous fusion albums from back then stuffed with melodramatic synths! Bye.

Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man

22 aug 08

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The synth-pop-dance keyboards of the '80s created masterpieces and disasters. It depends on your perspective: many records from back then would currently be unthinkable, but at the time we all shouted miracle for some of them. In my personal opinion: not Cohen's absolute masterpiece, but damn, it's a great record! I remember that on this work Cohen also plays the keyboards (accompanied or interspersed by two other keyboardists). I also recall that notable figures played here (e.g., Vinnie Colaiuta on drums). To talk about "poor quality pre-cooked bases from some clumsy computer tinkerer" does absolutely no justice to the 11 musicians involved, including an oud player, a saxophonist, a violinist... and four sound engineers. In short, this is by no means a throwaway album as the reviewer implies. If the album doesn't please despite all this impressive lineup or due to the synthetic production typical of the era (see the "blurry" sound), then that's another story that would need to be analyzed by taking into account the context and the work as a whole. Can I say it? A useless, ignorant, and childish rant of a review.

Free Kitten Inherit

3 jul 08

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Well done, Maryg, it's a pleasure to read you, even though the album convinced me only so-so... maybe worth a re-listen, perhaps.

Free Kitten Inherit

3 jul 08

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well done maryg, it's a pleasure to read you, even if the album didn’t convince me completely... maybe worth a second listen, perhaps, who knows.

Urban Dance Squad Persona Non Grata

29 jun 08

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oh, what a beautiful page it has become... I’ll add two names to the list, which were orbiting around the scene back then but more broadly: Cypress Hill and Clawfinger. I’d also add a nice Rollins Band, but maybe not.