19:40 ; Sunday, 20 February 2011
MUSIC: Bright Eyes - 'The People's Key'

Completely subjective review of Bright Eyes' latest album...


"In with the new, out with the old!"

Two feelings crossed me when I got the long-awaited and possibly last album of Bright Eyes through my letter box: 1) joy - this is long-awaited! This is it! This is Bright Eyes and it'll sound amazing whatever road he takes it down... and 2) anger, for it reminded me that, despite waking up half an hour before the Scala tickets went on sale and refreshing the page every minute, the tickets still managed to be sold out after the minute it took me to type my details in. I've seen the Youtube videos. The gig was beautiful. I almost hate life.

Anyhoos, for any Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst lover out there, it'd by now be gospel that Conor changes his musical style every flip of the coin. I suppose that's now one of the reasons why I love his music so much, it's very versatile because it never bores, it never stays on one path, it never says to the world "Yeah, I'll go along with what you think." I almost wish I could tell my 14 year old self the same. Reviewing this album is going to be tough, because there's so much to say, so little ways to say it, and will grow out from the boundaries of a decent review. So... cons, pros, the best and not so good tracks, and the verdict.


cons
Almost immediately I would say that the lyrics aren't as good as his earlier works (including 'Cassadaga', but especially 'LIFTED' - which arguably contained some of his best). That's not to say that some songs don't have good lyrics, I can pick out three with lyrics I love, but in many ways it isn't the same. In the other albums I always felt there was story depicted in each song, whether about being out of love or losing someone or travelling, and it was a clear story as well. In 'The People's Key', the songs are more about abstract concepts and freedom is probably the one that sticks out the most. That's not a bad thing at all, but for me it just doesn't deliver the way Bright Eyes' lyrics usually do.

Like 'Cassadaga', 'Fevers and Mirrors' and 'LIFTED' the album starts off with someone speaking. Typical Bright Eyes. I normally don't mind this, but for some reason the speech in this album sounds really preachy - which in a lot of ways helps with what the message he's trying to convey I suppose... The only other con is that, for those who didn't fancy 'Digital Ash' and 'Cassadaga' very much, 'The People's Key' probably won't make you very satisfied either.


pros
There's really a lot to love about this album. Sure, it doesn't have the doleful, subtle sound of 'F&M', 'LIFTED' and his other previous albums, but who wants to end on a low? This is definitely a high album (you know, as in ending on one...). Okay, it's partly not what I expected, but like 'Wide Awake/Digital Ash' and 'Cassadaga', I firmly believe it's a grower. There are some incredible songs on here I can imagine belting out if there were to be any more Bright Eyes gig (fingers exponentially crossed). This album sounds like a soundtrack, forgive me for saying, but when I listen to it I align scenes of desertion, finding love, riding in cars, running down stairs (all egotistically starring myself by the way). Okay, the songs don't refer to those experiences directly, but it certainly sets the scene for them.

I love this photo!
tracks:
Listen to - "Shell Games" for some amazing, poignant lyrics. "Jejune Stars" and "Haile Selasse" for an old rock n' roll vibe. "A Machine Spiritual (In The People's Key)" and "Triple Spiral" are my favourite tracks on the album - brilliant lyrics, sing-along stuff, beautiful imagery.  "Beginner's Mind" comes very close as my third favourite ("Stay awhile, my inner child!"), I feel that it's the closest track to some of his older stuff, at least I think it would fit on any one of them.

"Firewall" and "Approximate Sunlight" did very little... at least for now (I never know what I might feel in a few years time).

the verdict:
If this really is the end of Bright Eyes, I'm fine with how they're going out. In all honesty I was dreading that this album would be a reactionary movement to 'F&M' which wouldn't have been good. Its really an album about still being lost, still finding your way, confusion, life - it's just done from a more mature perspective. Like all Bright Eyes songs, there is one matching every mood, and everyone single one on this album is classic Bright Eyes - take it or leave it.

Labels: , , , ,

0 Comments


19:17 ; Wednesday, 16 February 2011
FILM: Marie Antoinette (2006)




personal background:
I was a little hesitant about watching this film after hearing all the bad reviews, but I've always had a soft spot for Sofia Coppola films - especially if Kirsten Dunst is in them (The Virgin Suicides was and is one of my favourite films). I've read an overview book about the French Revolution, which did not focus entirely on Antoinette - except for an unfortunate mishap (and perhaps sabotage!) with some diamonds/jewels. I got the impression from the book that the Revolution, though starting out as a force for - as they say - liberty, equality and fraternity, descended rather quickly into madness, paranoia and war. Anyhoos, this is not about the Revolution per se. 

In popular culture, I suppose Marie Antoinette is always thought of as a spoiled, luxurious prima donna, but I've read many comments that she was actually relatively modest and talented. In hindsight, this film attempts to display exactly that: Antoinette was misunderstood and conveyed beauty of all forms. Of course, it is an incredibly inaccurate interpretation in a historical sense - so bear that in mind.

Myself? Well, I'm generally a movie geek who likes to watch them for entertainment (well no doubt). I prepared myself for what had been called "a long pop video" and pressed play...

pros:
As with almost all Sofia Coppola movies, you could literally pause at any moment and get a postcard scene (i.e. a picture any decent human being would want on a postcard). It was honestly beautiful, and made France and Austria seem like mystical places. The soundtrack is definitely interesting (did you know the Strokes were over a century old? The used to be "Ye Olde Strokies") - in that it indeed makes the whole film seem like a pop video - but with such fast paced action, it almost seemed... dare I say? ... appropriate. Kirsten Dunst is a good actress, and I thought the balcony scene was lovely.


cons:
Everyone has incredibly inaccurate accents! I know... I know, I said I liked films for entertainment, but there was something wrong with watching Marie Antoinette being American. With the American accent. The sound of Americanism... etc. The film was actually a myriad of accents - from French to British to American to an apparent "Swede". It was a little off-putting. In some places, the film did have lows - with Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides I'd never have pressed the pause button (unless for postcard scenes) but I found myself a little too easily distracted for my liking.


the verdict:
Inaccuracies and wrong accents aside, this film is targetted to teenagers, and if it makes them want to read more on the French Revolution/Marie Antoinette/Louis XVI then that's great! For me, I'd only recommend Marie Antoinette to those select few it was made for - it was just brilliant to see Sofia Coppola doing what she does best: creating absolutely wondrous montages of vastly beautiful landscapes and colours and costumes. 

Labels: , , , , ,

0 Comments


20:18 ; Tuesday, 15 February 2011
BOOK: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

personal background:
This book was recommended to me by my politics teacher after I had told her that I was interested in the Russian Revolution. Unfortunately it took me forever to finish as I had two other books to read for English Literature, but it's a relatively small book and I managed to finish a large portion of it in two days. I'm relatively new to the Russian Revolution, and apart from a Yesterday documentary watched almost a past life ago and my father's strange and twisting rant about oppression, I've got a somewhat poor knowledge of it.

context:
Author of the novella, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, experienced the hardship that was the gulags (labour camps) of the Soviet Union and revealed to the world the harsh imprisonment faced by proposed dissidents of Stalin and his regime. This is just one of the books he wrote and is largely autobiographical.

the verdict:
As you might assume, this novella (i.e. not long enough to be a novel!) focuses on just one day of prisoner Ivan Denisovich Shukov but, my, what a day. The brilliance of this narrative, and perhaps this is a testament to the writing ability of renowned Solzhenitsyn, is that it really does make you feel exactly what Shukov feels. He wakes up in aches, and you feel the aches - you feel the bitter, biting cold - the hunger for just another piece of bread. Shukov's day not only consists of the laborious work of building walls for buildings he'll never use rightfully, but emphasises the reliance from and of his fellow workers, the corruption of gulag hiearchy and the terrible power of the elite. One noticeable moment is when someone declares that the higher ups are going to take away another Sunday for work. Imagine, a day of rest being stubbed out because someone says so. And it's being followed - what else can they do?

From the film adaptation
For those of you who enjoy historically accurate and biting fiction (or non-fiction, in this case), One Day in the Life... is essential. It's a quick read, though you may think otherwise when you realise how incredibly arduous  the routine of a gulag prisoner really was - the events taking place seem to take place in an eternity. 

Labels: , , , ,

0 Comments

About me
1) I'm a lazy blogger

2) This blog will generally include writings on films, music, books, fashion, locations, and other worldly movements.

3) I'm short and the best thing I have learnt to combat this is sewing.

4) I'm very bad at html things. Sorry if the layout looks nothing like it should be.

Complete profile

Archives

February 2011 <3
March 2011 <3
April 2011 <3
June 2011 <3
July 2011 <3

Labels