Uma noite de neve em que se queria um filme nao hiper-dramático, nao filosofante dentro de um poço, nao demasiado em suspense, nao estúpido. Por vezes nao é fácil escolher um filme, olha este saiu de surpresa. Ao princípio até pareceria difícil tendo em conta que as minhas preferencias normalmente nao acabam em Nicolas Cage. Ainda assim mais do que valeu a pena o tempo passado. Parece que desta vez vale tudo.
"Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell are a team of con artists who con people out of their money. Nicolas Cage has obsessive complusive disorder with no personal relationship to call his own. So his psychoanalyst helps Nicolas Cage find his long-lost daughter, Angela. When she shows up, things go crazy from there"
O tom sombrio e por vezes monocórdico pode os fazer passar debaixo do radar de quem nao tem nas suas discografias, por exemplo, o gosto por Nick Cave ou Red House Painters (esteja claro que nao estou a comparar géneros ou estilos... tanto para mais que a maior parte das vezes isso nao me interessa nem me acrescenta nada). Sobretudo o segundo album desta banda entra como uma cancao de embalar pelo quarto. É a música ideal para tornar silenciosa uma festa, uma festa a um. É a voz de uma morte romantica , desencantada, que continua a nao ser capaz de se desligar dos seus velhos hábitos. Já com um trabalho sólido apresentado, merece destaque.
"iLiKETRAiNS are a post-rock band from Leeds, England.
Their songs are composed of expansive orchestral and guitar-based sounds. They are signed to Beggars Banquet Records, though their debut EP, "Progress Reform", was released on Fierce Panda Records in June, 2006. iLiKETRAiNS' first studio album, "Elegies to Lessons Learnt", was recently released through Beggars Banquet on 1 October 2007. The band also run a night at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds called Signal Failure.
On April 7th 2007, they featured on the early-hours music television programme The JD Set, which featured live performance clips and interviews. David Martin talked about how he wanted their music to have a "sense of location" and that this was lacking in music like "Godspeed and Sigur Rós".
Foi filme de tarde de sábado, filme de dores de cabeca e más disposicoes de estomago que já sao tradicao familiar. Eu apenas queria um filme para me entreter, cheguei mesmo a esquecer-me quem era o realizador. No fim de contas foi partir para uma hora e meia de sofá com as expectativas completamente razas. Isto nao quer dizer que o filme nao teria impacto de outra maneira, apenas quer dizer que assim ainda melhor terá sido. Irrelevante de uma perspectiva exterior. O facto é que estamos perante um bom filme cujo o clima de tensao subtil (estarei louco) é quase constante (sem ser necessário o recurso ao truque da sonoridade) e que quase acaba onde comeca, mas virado de pernas para o ar.
"The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon, whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill, who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova, a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna's mother Helen does not discourage her, but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself." Written by Focus Features
Foi nos finais dos anos noventa que comecei a interessar-me pelo cinema asiático. Esse interesse comecou sobretudo pelo estranho, pela diferenca, numa tentativa de encontrar filmes que ou chocassem ou fugissem a padroes. Tudo comecou um pouco por filmes de terror (um pouco o meu género fetiche desde a infancia), acabando por também ser infectado por outros géneros. No meio de tudo encontrei Ki-duk Kim. Nao vi um único filme seu que nao fosse bom. Nao vou entrar na discussao de gostos e de facto ainda me falta um ou dois pares dos seus filmes. De qualquer maneira, este continua a demonstrar uma enorme capacidade na construcao dramática sem nunca esquecer a importancia do visual como contribuinte desta. Por tudo isso, com melhores ou piores actores, no final dos seus filmes, sejam mais ou menos perfeitos, dou-me sempre por satisfeito. Este foi o último que vi.
" To save her relationship, a woman puts herself through extensive plastic surgery" Realizador: Ki-duk Kim
Encontrei-os o ano passado na altura em que mudei de casa e fui viver sozinho pela primeira vez. O mais curioso é que os teria adorado se talvez lhes tivesse dedicado mais tempo (na altura a febre musical estava posicionada noutro quadrante logo este duo ficou em solidao). Independentemente disso, agora é-lhes devido reconhecimento. Nao se trata de determinar influencias mas as ideias de criacao musical que levitam no meu quarto, por muito confusas que sejam, também tem momentos de simplicidade. Se Boards of Canada muito tem de relacionado com a sonoridade que me corre em sinapses, este duo nao ficará no último lugar da lista.
Ratatat is a New York City music duo: guitarist Mike Stroud and synthesizer driver and producer Evan E*vax Mast.
Stroud and Mast originally met as students at Skidmore College, but did not work together musically until 2001, when their project was named Cherry (later the name of the final song in their debut album). Written and recorded in the bedroom of Mast's Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment, the band's debut album "Ratatat - Ratatat" for XL Recordings was released in 2004. This album is entirely instrumental, except for excerpts of dialogue at the ends of some tracks. Ratatat has toured with bands such as Interpol, Clinic, Junior Boys, The Killers, The Faint, Daft Punk, The Shins and most recently Björk.
Ratatat have been known to remix other artists' songs, most notably on their limited 2004 release Ratatat Mixtape Vol. 1, which garnered the attention of Rolling Stone. In 2005, the band remixed a track for Swedish band and "The Knife – We Share Our Mothers Health"
In August 2006, Ratatat released a second album "Ratatat - Classics", from which the single Wildcat was taken.
Ratatat will be releasing Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2 within 2007. This album will feature 14 new remixes featuring: Bun B, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude, Young Jeezy, T.I., Beanie Sigel, Pimp C, Ludacris, Young Buck, Saigon, Juvenile, Z-ro, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West and exclusive tracks from Despot and Beans.
Not Official Video, Original Artwork by Olivier Beaudoin.
Eu sei, eu sei. Nao interessa muito. Se a intencao era ter bandas mais recentes, bandas que ainda produzem, sei lá os critérios iniciais. Neste caso específico nao me interessa. Será sempre a banda. Simplesmente, como sempre, ouvi a cancao certa de smiths no preciso momento em que o sentia. Sim, é verdade, estou a descoberto, nu.
"At the beginning of the '80s, both the British pop and independent charts were filled with synth-pop, goth-rock, and lightweight new wave. In this climate, {The Smiths}' first single, "Hand in Glove," caused a quiet revolution. With their first album and singles, {The Smiths} led rock & roll into a new era, where songs were again of the utmost importance, guitars replaced synthesizers as the prominent instrument on the pop and indie charts, and where lyrics were unabashedly personal and poetic; in short, they helped post-punk become alternative rock. In their native England, the band were superstars; each of their albums hit the Top Ten. America never warmed to their distinctly British sensibility, yet they did earn a sizable cult following across the USA. Ten years after the release of their first album, their influence is still substantial; from {The Stone Roses} to {Suede}, the Smiths were the root of nearly every significant development in British music since 1984.
At its core, {The Smiths}' music was pure guitar-based pop/rock, recalling hooks and textures from the '60s. While their music was rooted in British pop, it also borrowed significantly from the energy and independence of punk; it never sounded dated or derivative. {Morrissey}'s yearning voice and literate lyrics complimented {Johnny Marr}'s understated, textured guitar to the point where the two were inseparable. {Marr} had a skill for writing melodic hooks that sounded simple and direct, yet were a incredibly complex web of interweaving guitar lines. But {Morrissey} was the focal point of the band. Some critics accused him of being tuneless, yet he was a great vocalist, effortlessly conveying the exaggerated angst and self-depricating humor of his words with unusual, unexpected pitches and phrasing. {Morrissey}'s introspective lyrics strongly connected with disaffected youth around the world, yet they aren't adolescent; beneath his grandly dramatic vocals, there is genuine emotion, humor, melancholy, and compassion in {Morrissey}'s writing.
The songwriting team of {Morrissey} and Marr was remarkably inventive and prolific; during their brief four-year career, {The Smiths} released four proper albums, several non-LP singles and B-sides, and two singles compilations. All of their material was remarkably consistent, proving the band's mastery of pop songwriting.
{The Smiths} broke up in early fall of 1987, just before the release of their fourth and final album, "Strangeways Here We Come." "
O que tem em comum? Se um é sobretudo ambiental (Boards of Canada) e outro (¡Forward, Russia!) é muitas vezes um rock frenético, ambos sao capazes de ser desconhecidos para muitos. O primeiro já anda por aí há 3 décadas, o segundo nem sequer meia tem. É claro que o facto de passarem despercebidos só os torna mais interessantes (sobretudo quando sao bandas com a qualidade destas duas), há sempre aquele gosto mais pessoal, como se alguma vez a música fosse só nossa. Por azar sao duas bandas que até agora nunca tive a oportunidade de ver ao vivo, ou pelo menos nunca criei essa oportunidade. Boards of Canada da-nos a terra, longas paisagens, tardes de vento q.b., uma nostalgia sem razao aparente. A mim delicia-me também a capa do album aqui presente. Esta fotografia cansada faz-me lembrar a capa da minha versao de infancia de "A menina do mar". Ainda lá tenho o vinil também, o cd, as memórias. Eu também quero uma casa na falésia.
"Formed in 2004, Leeds four-piece ¡Forward, Russia! are an art-indie band consisting of Tom Woodhead (vocals, synthesizer), Rob Canning (bass), Katie Nicholls (drums, vocals) and Katie's brother Whiskas (guitar, vocals and synthesizer). Their sound is characterized by trebly guitars and abstract, cryptic lyrics. Songs are named for the order they were written in (One, Two, Three, Four, etc.). Their image is characterized by wearing identikit t-shirts, with their exclamation mark emblem emblazoned on them. In early 2005 they released a split single (" Nine") with fellow Leeds band This Et Al. This was followed up with a double A-side ("Thirteen/Fourteen") in August 2005. In January 2006 ¡Forward, Russia! released "Twelve" which reached Number 36 in the UK Charts. "Nine" was released (again) in its own right on May 1st 2006, reaching number 40 in the UK singles chart. (b/w "One"). The band self-released their debut album ("Give Me A Wall") on May 15th 2006, on guitarist Whiskas' Dance To The Radio label. ¡Forward, Russia! are a regular feature on the live circuit, playing sell-out headline tours and major support (with Editors and We Are Scientists for example).
"Boards of Canada are the duo of Michael Sandison (born July 14, 1971) and Marcus Eoin (born May 27, 1973). Based on the northern coast of Scotland, the group got its start on acclaimed experimental electronica label Skam in 1996 after recording an obscene number of tracks and pressing the best of them up as a miniscule-run 12", Twoism, an eight-track promo EP the group sent to labels in lieu of a demonstration tape. The pair's first official release appeared on Skam toward the middle of 1996, and was quickly hailed as among the label's finest releases to date. Titled Hi Scores, the EP is an engaging mix of simple, infectious three-part synth melodies, subtle hip-hop and electro references, and alternately tense and relaxing beatwork endlessly repeated in shifting combinations (à la Autechre, Bochum Welt, and Cylob). Almost a mini-LP at six tracks and nearly half an hour in length, the debut was followed in late 1996 by a series of live gigs opening for Plaid and Autechre, as well as compilation tracks for Uvm and Skam/Musik Aus Strom side project label Mask (under the name Hellinterface).
Further releases for Skam, Mask, and 4th World in-house label Ampoule were scheduled, and in 1998 Boards of Canada issued Music Has the Right to Children, a landmark for electronic listening music that was widely copied. Nearly four years later (and after the release of only a single four-track EP and the archival Peel Sessions), the duo returned with its second LP, Geogaddi. Another long wait followed, until in October 2005 Boards of Canada released The Campfire Headphase, which introduced subtle changes into the pair's sound. A six-track EP, Trans Canada Highway, appeared in May 2006."
Nao é deste ano, nao é do ano passado mas lembrei-me dele. Enquanto crescia, para além de Lisboa, Londres era a minha cidade. Agora que me escondi fora dela (e também nao me encontro em Londres) já perdi um pouco o gosto que tinha pela capital inglesa. Quando era pequeno nao gostava tanto de Paris, nao sei se pelo o cinzento se pela língua. Agora nao sei quanto gosto mas bem mais que nos velhos tempos. Sei que tenho dificuldade em lidar com pessoas de nacionalidade francesa mas se há algo que me prende sao os ambientes e o ouvir da sua língua. Lembrei-me destes pequenos doces porque sim, porque o que tem de ser tem muita forca. Há algo nas comédias dramáticas e nos filmes de terror que me fazem voltar a eles constantemente. Se alguém descobrir a ligacao que me avise.
"Stories of Love. From the City of Love. One City. 10 Millions Hearts. One Love Story. One Film. Fall in Love 18 Times"
Realizadores: (várias curtas) Olivier Assayas, Frédéric Auburtin, Emmanuel Benbihy, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet,Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alexander Payne, Bruno Podalydès, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant.
Esconde-se a noite fria entre dois copos de branco. Tem nevado nas últimas noites. Sao dias de isolamente contemplativo. Sao os corpos que se movem em silencio. Por vezes gosto de estar sozinho. Quando assim é, tenho como única parceira a música. Houve o ano passado muitas bandas que podiam e foram alvo destas noites. Hoje, quinta-feira branca, tenho este rapaz.
"Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter. Tailing from the swirling breakup of his long time band (DeYarmond Edison), he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus.
This slowly evolved into days filled with twelve-hour recording blocks, breaking only for trips on the tractor into the pines to saw and haul firewood, or for frozen sunrises high up a deer stand. All of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt that had been stock piled over the course of the past six years, was suddenly purged into the form of song. The end result is, For Emma, Forever Ago, a nine-song album comprised of what's been dubbed a striking debut by critics and fans alike. Bon Iver (pronounced: bohn eevair; French for "good winter" and spelled wrong on purpose) is a greeting, a celebration and a sentiment. It is a new statement of an artist moving on and establishing the groundwork for a lasting career. For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut of this lineage of songs. As a whole, the record is entirely cohesive throughout and remains centered around a particular aesthetic, prompted by the time and place for which it was recorded. Vernon seems to have tested his boundaries to the utmost, and in doing so has managed to break free form any pre-cursing or finished forms."
Foi por casualidade que encontrei um blog musical, do qual rapidamente perdi o rasto, que versava maioritariamente sobre bandas australianas. Foi pegar numa daquelas maravilhosas listas de Top20 (quando era mais novo pensava mais em hierarquias de qualidade mas com o tempo isso perdeu-se, ainda bem) e seguir os nomes das bandas um por um. Bem, a lista tinha mais de vinte nomes e eu nem sei bem quantos no fim gostei, definitivamente uma ou até duas maos cheias. Estas duas, entre outras das quais até já mencionei os Red Riders, merecem uma audicao.
"I Heart Hiroshima is a three piece act from Brisbane, Australia; originally formed in July of 2005 at a house party. Recently they have reshuffled their lineup to Matthew Somers (guitar/voice) Susie Patten (drums/voice) and Cameron Hawes (guitar/voice.) The band has developed a unique sound from their 'bass-less' band structure of two guitars and drums, combined with shared vocal duties from all three members. This decision to play without a bass contributes to I Heart Hiroshima's unique blend of infectious pop melodies and catchy riffs."
Bluejuice"Sporting an aggressive, party-oriented mix of rock, hip hop, electro and disco, the five member group is in its element making people dance in a retarded, unselfconscious way. Producer Jim Mashedar likened the band’s sound to “Lil’ Jon playing in a rock band”, an accurate representation of the more aggressive tracks on their debut LP, Problems. Elsewhere, expect to find downtempo hip hop, ska-tinged pop and pounding disco, all laced with the band’s winningly tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Novembro passado tive a sorte de estar no caminho desta agradável surpresa. Foi no festival internacional de cinema de Ljubljana (Liffe), numa sala repleta de ouvidos. Trata-se de uma visao do tempo que nao tarda, feita numa perspectiva cheia de humor mas sem ridicularizar o assunto. No fundo, é um orgulhoso passar dos anos, numa luta com nós próprios e da qual podemos por vezes duvidar ser capazes sair vencedores. Há esperanca para todos nós, quer já tenhamos chegado ou mesmo que ainda só avistemos a estacao ao fundo.
"Czech literature teacher Josef unwillingly goes into retirement. Instead of a peaceful family life he chooses a part-time job in a supermarket at the bottle-return counter. The exciting new world that he creates there however leaves less and less room for his wife, Eliska, and she of course has no intention of getting used to it. This love story in old age dramatises the formidable moments in life, but its humour avoids sentiment in the style of a bitter-sweet Czech comedy. EMPTIES is the last in a trilogy from director Jan Sverak and his father screenwriter/actor Zdenek Sverak. The trilogy began with the Academy Award-nominated ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (1992), exploring childhood, continued into adulthood with Academy Award-winning KOLYA, and now comes to completion with EMPTIES, a comic love story about a man facing old age."
Realizador: Jan Sverák
(Por muita pena minha, nao consegui encontrar o trailer em ingles...)
Banda que apenas descobri recentemente mas que já tem algum tempo de existencia. No fim de contas, pensando numa certa evolucao pessoal em termos de gostos musicais, esta banda acaba por representar um retorno a sonoridades que já me foram mais familiares. My Bloody Valentine nem por isso, mas já será diferente quando penso em Sonic Youth. Talvez menos rude e com uma engrenagem mais suave, nao deixa de apresentar tracos suficientes para relembrar outros tempos de discotecas mais escuras, ao mesmo tempo que deixa suficiente espaco novo para nao ser uma mera repeticao. Bons velhos tempos outra vez.
"Los Angeles noise pop trio Autolux formed in 2000. Singer/bassist Eugene Goreshter met Ex-Ednaswap drummer Carla Azar while collaborating on the score for Dario Fo's play +Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and following the addition of former Failure guitarist Greg Edwards, the group made its live debut that summer at the noted L.A. area club the Silverlake Lounge. Upon releasing the self-produced EP Demonstration in the spring of 2001, Autolux signed with producer T-Bone Burnett's fledgling DMX label and began writing material for their upcoming debut LP -- however, in May 2002 Azar fell from a stage and shattered her elbow, making a complete recovery following an experimental surgery that required the implementation of eight titanium screws. At year's end the group finally entered the studio, and while recording wrapped in early 2003, Autolux spent more than a year refining the final mix and Future Perfect did not hit retail until October 2004. Tours in support of the Secret Machines and Nine Inch Nails followed, as did an appearance on the Vincent Gallo-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival." in Star Pulse
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