the wind with its arms all around me...

New blog

2008-04-18T10:56:00.000+01:00

This way, please, Ladies and Gentlemen...

Romania, pt. 3: the Village Museum, Bucharest

2006-10-14T23:45:00.000+01:00

A large portion of the third day of our journey was spent in Bucharest's Village Museum. Situated on the shores of Lake Herastrau in the northern suburbs of the city, the museum contains over 300 farm houses, churches, windmills, taverns and workshops from all over Romania; most of them in splendid condition with authentic furniture and interior decorations. A fascinating insight into the architecture, history and culture of the country and the first day of our journey that I really thoroughly enjoyed.

Ingenious design: a rotatable windwill.

A small wooden Orthodox church.

Looks like a lovely place to have a meal.

The precursor of the Ferris wheel?

A little straw-thatched farm house.

Some homey interior.

While you're there, why not take a stroll in the nearby Herastrau Park?

Romania, pt. 2: Sightseeing in Bucharest

2006-10-12T21:23:00.000+01:00

The second day of our trip to Romania was spent sightseeing in Bucharest. As it turned out, the 2-million metropolis is actually very lively by day. On the streets trams, trolley buses, vespas, orange taxis, old Dacias and new Western cars all compete in the close-packed traffic while businessmen in Italian suits, old people and teenagers press along the often narrow pavements. The difference to other huge cities I have been to is that none of this liveliness carries over into the evenings - for whatever reason, Bucharest seems almost devoid of a nightlife.

The first important stop on our tour of the city was the Piata Revolutiei. On its Western end, it is overlooked by the Royal Palace, built in the late 1920's for King Carol II. (of the Hohenzollern dynasty, the same one that ruled the German empire from 1871 to 1918). Today, it houses the National Gallery with its impressive collection of Romanian Medieval art and Old Masters, among them Peter Breughel's famous "Massacre of the Innocents".

Opposite are the former Communist Party Headquarters, a bleak concrete block that now houses several ministries of the new democratic government. Its walls are still covered with the bullet holes of the violent 1989 revolution.

Some of the buildings around the square were actually completely destroyed during the uprising - though some architect found a quite ingenious way of putting one of the ruins to new use. The ground floor of the building is occupied by a modern cafe, where we had some ridiculously huge sandwiches for lunch.

The old quarter of Bucharest might be very beautiful if only not so much of it was totally run-down. Still, it holds some marvels like the Old Court Church, completed in 1558, the oldest house of god in the city.

Right next to it are the ruins of the Old Court. The citadel was built by none other than Prince Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes, also known as Dracula. Unfortunately, it was severely damaged near the end of his reign, so that only a few blank walls and columns remain. Another wonderful thing we found in the old quarter was a traditional bakery selling fresh Strudel - again a sign of the heavy influence Germany had on Romania in the past.

Another ethnic group that has left its mark on Bucharest are the Jews. Before World War II, Romania was home to the third largest Jewish community (800,000) in Europe. During the Communist era, those Jews who had not died in the Holocaust were slowly "sold off" to Israel at $3,000 per head, so that today only about 10,000 remain.

In the evening, we dined among Bucharest's elite at the exclusive "Casa Doina", possibly the most expensive restaurant in the city - at the same price you would have to pay in a normal restaurant in London.

Romania, pt. 1: Arrival in Bucharest

2006-10-09T21:56:00.000+01:00

You might ask yourself why on earth me and my three friends decided to go on holiday in Romania. Well, there are two very simple reasons. Firstly, and very importantly for students such as ourselves, it is dirt cheap. In Romania, you can get a main course in a good restaurant for £2, you can stay in a four star hotel for £30 a night and you can go 1 km by taxi for 25p (unless they try to rip you off, but we'll come to that later). The other reason is that we just thought it would be a somewhat different and possibly more interesting experience than going to one of the typical holiday destinations.

We decided to spend the first few days of our journey in the capital, Bucharest. Courtesy of an acquaintance of one of my friends' dads, we could reside in an apartment very close to the centre during our stay. After our three hour flight with British Airways, the taxi ride into the city through the insanely chaotic Romanian traffic unfortunately brought the first major disappointment of the trip. Bucharest turned out to be remarkably ugly, being for the most part dominated by dirty, run-down concrete blocks.

The "Centru Civic", where we stayed, was a slight improvement, the architecture being a little more imaginative. It was built in the 1980's as Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu's attempt to create the "fist socialist capital". The centerpiece of the district is the Boulevardul Unirii with its many car lanes, fountains and strips of green, deliberately wider than the Champs-Elysees in Paris. At its Western end it is "crowned" by the monumental Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world (after the Pentagon).

Still, the uniform monolothic buildings along the boulevards did not exactly make a very cheerful impression on me. Especially at the Western end, the B-dul Unirii seemed nearly deserted - except perhaps for the packs of stray dogs that are almost omnipresent in Bucharest. They, too, are actually a heritage of Communist policy. For the construction of the Civic Centre, a quarter of Bucharest's old town had to be demolished, leaving the former inhabitants no choice but to put their cainines out on the streets.

Our first impression of Romanian food was more positive. The meals we had at "La Mama", probably Bucharest's most popular restaurant, were very solid and, above all, huge. To my surprise, the Romanian cuisine is actually not all that different from the German: a lot of fatty beef, pork, sausages, sauerkraut and soups. What distinguishes it is the Romanians' love of polenta and goat's cheese. Unfortunately, all restaurants we went to only offered one or two dishes without meat, and often rather boring ones, too, which proved to be a real problem for the one Vegetarian member of our group.

foobar

2006-10-08T14:34:00.000+01:00

Having used Winamp as my main audio player for years, I've finally decided to give foobar2000 a try, following recommendations from many friends. I'm very impressed, I have to say. Not only does foobar have a clean, no-nonsense interface without any memory-consuming fancy graphic skins; the audio quality is also decidedly better than Winamp's. The sound is warmer, crisper and more transparent - amazing how much of a difference you can hear especially on heavy metal tracks.

Yay.

2006-10-07T12:45:00.000+01:00

So I've finally done it. I've been to a proper nightclub in London. Popstarz namely. Dim lighting everywhere so you don't notice how seedy the venue is, hip indie music playing louder than the speakers can handle, a dancefloor covered in a slimy layer of spilled beverages, sexually explicit dance moves all around, transvestites, skinny emo kids and everyone dressed in the latest atrocities of high street fashion - I think you really have to be somewhat drunk to get any enjoyment out of that.

Yet another year

2006-10-04T16:59:00.000+01:00

Today was the first day of my third year at university - yet another year of lectures, coursework and exams. But it probably won't all be drab routine.

First of all, I am now an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, which basically means I will provide help with and mark the programming exercises of six first year students. My own studies might also prove somewhat challenging, since I have to participate in a big group project throughout the entire first term, as well as secure an internship for my compulsory industrial placement from April to September 2007. Furthermore, this is also the first year in which I can more or less freely choose which modules I want to take.

On the extracurricular side, things are looking positive for the Contemporary Music Society. 52 people signed up for our mailing list yesterday at Fresher's Fair - that's almost 70% more than last year. Some of them seemed really keen on taking part in our activities, so hopefully we will gain a few regular active members.

Wine for (almost) free

2006-10-02T10:36:00.000+01:00

Returning home after a great holiday does not have to be a depressing experience - after all, you have a lot of stories to tell and pictures to show around (which I shall do very soon). In this particular case, the return was especially pleasant. That's because I just received a delivery of five bottles of exquisite Austrian 2005 Riesling Eiswein (wine made from grapes that are picked in winter when frozen) from Britain's top luxury food store. Don't worry, I didn't spend a lot of money: due to an error on their website, the wine was sold at the smashing bargain price of £0.00 per bottle. So I only had to pay the delivery charge of £7. Pretty good value, if you ask me.

Farewell

2006-09-23T22:16:00.000+01:00

Dearest Reader,
Unfortunately, I will not be able to entertain you during the next few days - I shall explore the wild and mysterious lands of Romania with three of my staunch comrades. Should, however, the mighty hand of Providence generously grant us a safe journey, I will most certainly have many wonderous tales to report upon my return.

Shoe porn

2006-09-22T17:02:00.000+01:00

Gaziano & Girling is a brand new luxury shoe manufacturer. They've been doing bespoke shoes for a little while now, as far as I know, but their ready-to-wear range was only launched a few days ago. Despite being so new on the market, they already have a good reputation, as both of their founders are quite renowned in the bespoke business and Tony Gaziano designed some of Edward Green's ready-to-wear lasts. Since G&G's shoes are priced about the same as EG's, but look more beautiful on average imho, the company should not fare badly.

Today, G&G had a trunk show on the premises of Savile Row tailors Chittleborough & Morgan to show off their collection. Unfortunately, I had to use flash to take the following pictures, but they should still make for some decent sartorial pornography.

Bespoke samples.

The various stages of making the sole.

Essential utensils for every serious shoe owner.

From the ready-to-wear range:
The antiquing on the tan leather is stunning.

I really, really like these half-suede Oxfords.

As one can just barely make out on this photo, the three-eyelet Derby actually has a triangular toe-cap, a design I don't think I've ever seen from any other manufacturer.

And some loafers, of course.

Now I just need a lot of money...

Strange sights

2006-09-16T11:14:00.000+01:00

On a Friday evening, someone passing the Welsh Chapel in the London borough of Southwark may become witness to a peculiar sight. For always around half past six o'clock, a rather odd assortment of people will gather outside the building. They will be of all ages, most of them male, and almost all carrying a strangely shaped case or bag. After a little while of conversing amongst themselves, a person carrying a key will arrive and the group will descend into the chapel's basement.

"But what is it they do down there?", you may ask. No one knows, but it is rumoured they sit down in a circle in the midst of a large, dimly lit room. Thereupon they produce from their cases and bags frightening contraptions of metal, wood and synthetic materials and then, so the rumours go, they wrest from these contraptions noises more horrid than any sane human being dare imagine.

During their meetings, so I am told, they rarely speak. At the beginning, their master of ceremonies (who is said to be Eddie Prévost, an infamous percussionist that has been playing the music of the devil for more than 40 years), welcomes all new ones to their wicked lot. Then they proceed to make diabolical noises, two people at a time, going once around the circle (this is, I presume, to consecrate it). After this, the master of ceremonies nominates groups of three or four to further screech, growl and wail at their evil gods, while the rest listen with trance-like concentration.

Some attend these gatherings only once or twice, some attend them every week and others whenever they can without anyone learning their twisted ways. It seems all of them seek inspiration for making their demonic music and at the meetings they try hard to conceive ever new abominable sounds.

But these are all just rumours, of course. The only thing that is known for sure is that after about three hours, the group emerges again from the depths of the chapel, whereupon they wander to a nearby pub. Those who were able to overhear their conversations claim they refer to their meetings as "improvisation workshops".

P.S. An envelope containing a few photographs has just been pushed under my door. They are of poor quality and there is no note or letter accompanying them, but if they do, as I believe, show the "workshop", they would substantiate some of the rumours I have been hearing. I shall keep investigating this matter.

An event of historical proportions

2006-09-14T19:07:00.001+01:00

Today, I've been to a hairdresser for the first time in about, urm... seven years. No, don't worry, I still have my long mane. I only got the excessive fluff at the back of my neck and at the sides trimmed so I don't look like an idiot when I wear my hair in a ponytail.

A professional shoe shine

2006-09-13T16:18:00.000+01:00

Burlington Arcade is not only one home to some of the most exclusive boutiques in London, but it's also one of the few places in the city where you can sometimes encounter a shoeblack at work.

Back.

2006-09-13T16:11:00.000+01:00

Hiya. It's been a while. I know, my fault. I got a little fed up with writing for this blog. In fact, I wasn't even sure whether I wanted to continue it at all. Well, now I've decided I want to carry on. But I'm going to do things a little differently. There are going to be more photos and less reviews. And I'll try to vary the topics a bit more. Let's see how it goes - and what you think of it.

16 Blocks

2006-05-27T01:38:00.000+01:00

There's exactly one thing that's remarkable about Richard Donner's new action thriller "16 Blocks": even at the age of 51, Bruce Willis still has the coolness and charisma to make an utterly predictable, implausible and hackneyed story mildly entertaining. That the film, especially the cinematography, is solidly executed, helps, I guess.

Gary Jules: Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets

2006-05-25T22:38:00.000+01:00

One of my very first entries in this blog was about the film "Donnie Darko". Now, one of the most important scenes in that movie is accompanied by a cover version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World". Stripping it of the annoying 80's disco beat while retaining its striking lyrics ("The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had") and harmonic minimalism, pianist Michael Andrews and singer Gary Jules turn it into a stunningly beautiful ballad. When I heard it in the film, it enthused me so much I decided to buy Jules' second album "Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets", on which the cover song is included.

As it turned out, "Mad World" is actually quite untypical for the singer-songwriter. The rest of the album is guitar-based and, although still somewhat melancholic, decidedly more upbeat. That's not a bad thing, though. "Trading Snakeoil..." is a relaxed country / folk / pop album with good lyrics and catchy melodies delivered by Gary Jules' rough, charismatic voice. Occasional nods to Simon & Garfunkel, whom I love, make it all the more pleasant to me. No masterpiece, but worth a warm recommendation.

Felix Mendelssohn: The Symphonies

2006-05-23T21:33:00.000+01:00

Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony was one of the first works of classical music I got acquainted with, because it happened to be on a tape my parents had bought. However, just like Gustav Holst's "The Planets", I hadn't been listening to it in years until I finally bought a recording myself. I opted for the box set of Mendelssohn's complete symphonies on Decca, not only because it was pretty cheap, but also because it had been widely recommended.

I can indeed find no fault whatsoever with the interpretations of the Vienna Philharmonic and their conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi. The inclusion of three overtures and the curious cantata "The First Wapurgis Night", based upon a poem by Goethe, is also a great plus (The Walpurgis Night, by the way, is the night of the year when, according to legend, all witches meet for a celebration on Brocken mountain in Germany). My favourite of the five symphonies is - surprise, surprise - definitely the rather melancholic and aggressive "Scottish" 3rd, followed by the 1st. The other three seem too "Romantic" to me, lacking in real substance.

The Ugly Duckling

2006-05-21T23:06:00.000+01:00

Ashkenazy conducts Shostakovich and Sibelius

2006-05-14T17:40:00.000+01:00

Now that the three week exam ordeal is finally over, I'll hopefully have time to update my blog regularly again. Let's kick things off with a short concert review:

Yesterday evening, the Philharmonia Orchestra played two compositions each by Dmitry Shostakovich and Jean Sibelius under the baton of Russian conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. The sold-out concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall started off with Sibelius' "Pohjola's Daughter", a quite low-key symphonic tone poem. Ashkenazy conducted the beautiful, evocative score, like all other pieces on that evening, with infectious energy and humour.

Next were two of Shostakovich's concertos, the Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Cello Concerto No. 1. Although the former seemed to be more popular with most of the audience, as evidenced by the very generous applause, to me, the latter was clearly the more exciting one. Unlike the rather light-hearted Piano Concerto, it is very dark and aggressive. This shows above all in the menacing horn lines and, of course, the percussive cello soli, which were played by Steven Isserlis with great ardour and exhilarating virtuosity.

Sibelius' Seventh and last Symphony then brought the evening to a pleasant end (even if I found the work's finale tediously drawn-out). Watching the dwarfish Ashkenazy wave his arms around and communicate with orchestra and soloists in his happy, cordial manner was not only very amusing to watch, but also musically rewarding. And, just to top things off, I saw some absolutely massive fireworks on the way from the concert hall back to the underground station. Did I mention I love living in London?

Stephen Colbert destroys George Bush

2006-05-02T16:28:00.000+01:00

American comedian Stephen Colbert gave a speech at the White House Correspondent's Association Dinner in which he absolutely destroyed George W. Bush as well as the American mainstream media. You can watch it here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Classic.

Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich at the Royal Albert Hall

2006-04-27T17:46:00.000+01:00

On Sunday evening, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra treated their audience in the Royal Albert Hall to a program of late 19th and early 20th century Russian music. The first half of the concert consisted of two works I hadn't heard before, the "Romeo & Juliet" Overture by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergey Prokofiev. Although the former was certainly well-composed and featured some enjoyable melodies, I couldn't help feeling it was little more than late-Romantic fluff.

The Prokofiev Concerto seemed more interesting. Its colourful, chromatic harmonies and the way it oscillated between the gruff, the lyrical and the humorous showed considerable inventiveness. Soloist Freddy Kempf played the very difficult, often rather percussive piano parts with effortless virtuosity and a shade of affectation. I can't say the work left a great impression on me at this occasion, but it might well grow on me.

The reason I went to the concert in the first place, however, was Dmitry Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Written under pressure of the Soviet government to abandon his Avantgarde tendencies, it's one of the composer's most conventional and accessible works (and also his most popular). Yet, unlike the empty propaganda of Symphonies Nos. 11 and 12, it still has strong undertones of the dark anguish and sarcasm that is so characteristic of him. Is it possible to interpret, for example, the dance-like bars in the Allegretto as anyhing but scathing satire?

It is, as conductor Daniele Gatti proved. His Shostakovich was devoid of all bitterness and pungency and thus severely lacking dramatic tension. This style of interpretation might also be the reason the first two compositions didn't work so well for me: someone who manages to smoothen most of the edges of a Shostakovich piece would probably leave none in a work that has less of them to start with. What Gatti succeeded very well in, however, was bringing out the positive, humane aspects of the Symphony. Under his sensitive direction, the RPO explored the more lyrical passages with great warmth and emotional depth. Their highly transparent playing also left nothing to be desired. All in all, it was a concert with too many flaws to be brilliant, but enough merits to be interesting.

Sisterly Love

2006-04-22T19:46:00.000+01:00

Good ol' Germany

2006-04-20T12:17:00.000+01:00

You might have wondered why I haven't posted anything for the past few weeks. The reason is that I was in Germany over Easter to visit family and friends.

The mighty gothic cathedral of Cologne.

My trip started on the 31st of March at 3 am. Yes, you read correctly: 3 o'clock in the morning. That's the price you have to pay for booking an almost free flight. The other disadvantage is that you land on a former U.S. military airport in the middle of nowhere and the company running the shuttle bus suddenly decides they don't feel like carrying any passengers today. So you're forced to take a taxi to the next train station and go to Cologne by rail for double the bus fare.

After my arrival in Cologne, I spent most of the afternoon visiting Musuem Ludwig, a modern art museum with an excellent permanent exhibition as well as very interesting temporary ones. At the time of my visit, they showed paintings by Salvador Dali and photography from the National Portrait Gallery in London. The rest of the day, I browsed through "Saturn", the self-proclaimed "largest record store in the world" (it really is incredibly huge) and tried to resist the impulse to buy its entire contents. I also paid a visit to "2001", an independent publishing company that finances their various ambitious projects by buying in remaining stocks of books, CDs, DVDs etc. for almost nothing and reselling them in their shops and online for ridiculously low prices.

In the evening, I met with the members of the [progrock-dt] internet community living in and close to the Rhine metropolis, talked and listened to a lot of nonsense and generally enjoyed myself. The weekend was spent at my dear friend Marcus's in the hicktown of Hunsheim with a rather... interesting... jam session and, of course, further nonsensical conversations. For the first few days of the following week I returned to Cologne to visit my other good friends Sal and Petra, to eat their delicious food and, you guessed it, to have stupid conversations with them. I also paid a visit to the mildly interesting Museum for Applied Arts. On Thursday then, it was time to journey on to the back-country of Saxony-Anhalt. Perversely enough, the train ticket was more expensive than my two flight tickets taken together.

Idyllic countryside in Saxony-Anhalt.

Saxony-Anhalt is actually the part of Germany where I was born. However, the only ties I still have with the area are my grandfather and my half-uncle, both called Werner, who live there in the villages of Altenroda and Laucha. Werner jr. not only happens to be three and a half years younger than me, but is also one of my closest friends. Although we don't really have much in common, we somehow always manage to talk and fool around until the early hours of the morning. Moereover, I feel I gain some new ideas and impulses each time we meet.

Of course, I was also happy to see all my other relatives at the big family gathering at my grandfather's place; to exchange news and anecdotes, engage in political and philosophical discussions, take walks through the beautiful countryside, watch the children during the traditional egg search on Easter Sunday and more. I should also mention our trip to Europe's largest model train exhibition in Wiehe, which brought back nostalgic memories of the model train I owned as a child. Above all, however, I have to laud the impressively elaborate and well-done passion play on Good Friday in the church of Laucha, in which Werner jr. played Jesus for the third year in a row. All in all, I spent a great two and a half weeks in good ol' Germany.

The London Academy of Law

2006-03-30T19:20:00.000+01:00

This looks like the perfect place to study law.

Gustav Holst: The Planets

2006-03-29T09:29:00.001+01:00

Gustav Holst's "The Planets" was, along with Felix Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony and Antonin Dvorak's 9th Symphony, one of the works of classical music I discovered as a child of about 8 years. I fell in love with the varied, lively and dramatic music on the record in my father's collection almost instantly and there were times when I listened to it almost every day. However, at some point, I abandoned "The Planets" completely. There was too much else to disover and I realized that the modern British composer's suite of seven orchestral tone poems (one for each planet except the Earth and Pluto, which was not yet discovered) was maybe not quite as profound as most other famous classical works. Therefore, it took me until now to actually buy my own recording of it.

Following recommendations in many classical music magazines, I opted for the Philharmonia Orchestra's 1994 rendition, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, on Deutsche Grammophon. A good suggestion it was indeed. This disc one of the best-produced in my entire collection, sounding incredibly full, vivid and transparent. Above all, however, Gardiner's rigorously analytical interpretation rids "The Planets" of all the soundtrack schmaltz it has become associated with, allowing its colourful textures to shine with enormous clarity. The great restraint he exercises makes the frequent mood changes all the more poignant without compromising the work's sense of epic grandeur.

Holst's suite is coupled with his contemporary Percy Grainger's ballet score "The Warriors". The Australian composer himself described it as follows: "ghosts of male and female warrior types of all times and places [...] spirited together for an orgy of war-like dances, processions, and merry-makings broken, or accompanied, by amorous interludes." Indeed. The work is an eclectic mess; a carefree stream-of-consciousness of unconnected musical events that leads nowhere in particular, instead being quite contented to simply relish in its own stupendous scale and mad exuberance. Treated the same brilliant sound, interpretation and flawless playing as "The Planets", it is yet another reason to purchase this CD.

Crime Prevention

2006-03-26T15:23:00.000+01:00

One of the reasons why the Metropolitan Police has a reputation as the world's best police force is that it employs such incredibly efficient crime prevention techniques.

I don't know about you, but if I was a burglar, I'd be scared out of my mind after reading that sign!

Who wouldn't put his expensive switchblade in this nice and shiny Knife Surrender Bin? And the slogan: "Get a Life - Bin that Knife" - man, you just can't get more persuasive than that!

Hellsing

2006-03-24T15:53:00.000Z

In my last post, I mentioned "Haibane Renmei" as a good example for an anime turning Western culture upside down. Actually, I can now present an even better one: "Hellsing".

Set in a version of modern-day Britain that could only have been conceived by someone who has never actually been there, the series details a mysterious underground organisation's struggle to keep the evil monsters lurking in the island's dark corners at bay. Interestingly enough, the main weapon of the "Hellsing Agency" (which is, by the way, led by a certain "Lady Integral", who is, of course, supervised by the "Knights of the Round Table") is himself a creature of the night: an ancient vampire going by the name of "Alucard" [sic]. The first episode sees him fighting an undead vicar. During the showdown, Celes Victoria (another very British name), a young female police officer with rather large breasts, is fatally wounded and Alucard decides to turn her into one of his own kind. The rest of the series follows these two main protagonists and the rest of the agency in their efforts to destroy some artificial vampires created by high-tech implants and to keep the Vatican's paladins out of Britain.

I know this all probably sounds completely ridiculous and I can assure you: it is. But "Hellsing" is not about making sense. It's about really weird and scary people with huge guns having very long, slow fights over rock music accompaniment, interspersed with over-the-top dialogue ("In the name of God, to ones who have turned into the living dead without a will eternal night shall be granted. Amen."). It's about eroticism, stylish animation, postmodernist jokes (the first lines of the credits song are "Every time I look at you, you seem so alive") and excessive amounts of blood and saliva.

That the little meaningful plot and character development which "Hellsing" has to offer is entirely stolen from Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" doesn't really matter. Because "Hellsing" has Alucard. Looking like a mixture of an 18th century aristocrat, a grisly monster and a scarecrow and having one of the deepest voices I have ever heard, the shamelessly evil and totally insane vampire is simply one of the coolest main characters ever created. Witnessing his grotesque and vicious demeanour is enough to make the whole series an enjoyable experience.

Haibane Renmei

2006-03-18T04:08:00.000Z

One aspect that's often fun and refreshing about modern Far Eastern art is the way it takes up elements from our Western culture, rips them from their context, puts them through the grinder and then forms a new whole out of the resulting mess that has nothing whatsoever to do with the original source. A good example of this is the short anime series "Haibane Renmei". It depicts a world inhabited not only by humans, but also by beings called "haibane" who have little wings on their backs and wear halos on their heads. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? However, the haibane are not the type of angels that we are familiar with.

When teenage girl Rakka, the main protagonist, comes into the world of "Haibane Renmei", she hatches out of a giant egg, remembering nothing of any previous existence except a vague dream of herself falling from the sky. Disoriented and scared, she is taken in by the haibane community. She receives a halo freshly cast out of metal and goes through the painful and gory process of growing wings. After having recovered from this ordeal, the other haibane introduce her to the world she now lives in, which basically consists of one little town and a few stretches of beautiful countryside, all surrounded by a huge, insurmountable wall. Supervised by the mysterious "federation", the haibane pursue various jobs in the town, being rewarded with little paper slips that they can exchange for used items.

The series follows Rakka as she explores this little world with its many strange rules. She tries to figure out how it was created, the purpose of her existence in it, who she used to be previously and, most of all, what is on the other side of the wall. This story is told in a manner similar to children's books such as those by Astrid Lindgren. There are a few mild action scenes, but for the most part, "Haibane Renmei" is very slow and quiet. It focuses on dialogues and Rakka's many wondrous discoveries in the imaginative fantasy world. And like all good children's books, it is essentially a tale of growing up: finding your place, coming to terms with yourself, loneliness and friendship, running away and coming back home, learning to trust, forgiveness, overcoming loss. I can't go into more detail without giving away the plot, but let me assure you the creators explore these themes with a touching acuteness of observation, a beautiful straightforwardness and simplicity and making highly effective use of symbolism.

"Haibane Renmei" is, however, not suited for small children. Firstly, because it is rather complex thematically. Secondly, because many scenes, especially towards the end, are really quite tough and/or very sad and could frighten smaller kids or make them cry. However, children of about 12 years would probably love it, if their imagination and sense of wonder aren't yet completely ruined. As will many adults who have retained their "inner child". "Haibane Renmei" may get a little too preachy here and there, but the enjoyable aspects clearly predominate: beautiful animation by Yoshitoshi Abe ("Serial Experiments Lain"), careful and inventive storytelling and many clever stylistic subtleties. Warmly recommended.

Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in Westminster Cathedral

2006-03-16T20:35:00.000Z

The Philharmonia Orchestra, usually resident at the South Bank Centre, occasionally gives concerts of sacred music in Westminster Cathedral. The church, situated close to Victoria Station, is a quite remarkable building. Although constructed in Victorian times, it resembles an early Byzantine cathedral with its huge domes and its rather wide layout. The same goes for the interior, which consists of marble floors and pillars as well as beautiful mosaics. Unfortunately, only about half of it is finished yet, so the upper walls and ceilings still show the naked brickwork.

Despite the claims on the Philharmonia Orchestra homepage, however, the cathedral does not have great acoustics. Me and my friend had seats relatively far back and we could hardly hear a thing at last night's performance of Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah". The choir, standing elevated on a little rack, projected quite well, but the orchestra and the soloists were incredibly muted and mushy. What we could distinguish in this mess of sound was quite beautiful, but that only made the experience all the more frustrating.

Therefore, we took some of the free seats in the front after the interval. Although the sound was still quite blurred due to the huge amount of reverberation - which is, of course, to be expected in a church - the volume was now on a comfortable level and we could appreciate the melodies and textures of the work. Conductor Paul Daniel's interpretation and the performances by orchestra, choir and soloists seemed very spirited, committed and colourful and gave no reason for criticism whatsoever. I personally had goose bumps during a lot of the latter half. However, I will definitely think twice before I ever book tickets for a concert in Westminster Cathedral again, at least until I can afford the price for the front seats.

Jazz Videos on YouTube

2006-03-14T03:31:00.000Z

There are three absolutely fascinating live videos of my personal hero and idol John Coltrane on YouTube:

Miles Davis - So What (1958):From the days when Coltrane was still a sideman of Miles Davis, another jazz legend. This tune would be the first track on Davis' seminal "Kind of Blue", which is the best-selling jazz album ever.

John Coltrane Quartet with Eric Dolphy - Impressions: One of the tunes that Coltrane performed endlessly during the 60ies (I own 14 different recordings of it!). Interestingly, it has exactly the same chord progression as "So What". My guess is that Trane improvised over the changes one day, came up with the melody of "Impressions" and liked it so much he decided to substitute it for Davis' rather unimaginative tune.

John Coltrane Quartet - Naima (1965): Originally from the 1959 album "Giant Steps", this haunting ballad is another tune that Coltrane revisited frequently until the end of his life, gradually intensifying his style.

Other great stuff:

Keith Jarrett's Trio gives a classy reading of the standard "Autumn Leaves". It almost looks like Mr Jarrett is making love to his piano.

Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk (1966): Pianist Thelonious Monk was one of the pioneers of bebop (and thus of all modern jazz), an outstanding composer who wrote countless standards and a brilliant and highly unique improvisor who could say a lot with very few notes. He was also very, very eccentric. All of which is evidenced by this wonderful video.

Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island: Star pianist Hancock is joined by two of the greatest horn players in jazz, namely Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and Joe Henderson (tenor sax), for this funky set.

A way too short video of Miles Davis' classic 1965-68 quintet featuring Wayne Shorter on tenor sax and the in-fucking-credible Tony Williams on drums.

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Noonward Race. Guitar wizard John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra was arguably the first true Jazz Rock group. Unfortunately, this live version of "Noonward Race" is a bit more laid back than the studio version on their debut album, although drummer Billy Cobham still rocks out pretty hard. Keyboardist Jan Hammer wrote the Knight Rider theme a few years later, by the way.

Weather Report was another one of the important early Jazz Rock groups. All the musicians were highly creative and virtuosic, above all bass player Jaco Pastorius.
Weather Report - Elegant People (1976). Not complete, unfortunately.
Weather Report - Black Market (1978). This one is, though. However, Joe Zawinul's keyboard sounds are horrible.

This tune, played by Herbie Hancock's fusion group Head Hunters, is very appropriately named: Chameleon. There are not many musicians who could move between three completely different styles (acoustic jazz, jazz rock and hip hop) during their career and excel at all of them.

Some beautiful cuts from the master of impressionistic piano playing, Bill Evans:
Elsa (1965). Check out the grim-looking audience at the end.
Waltz for Debby (1965)
My Foolish Heart (1965)
Gloria's Step (1972)

And if you want to see some really fucked up avantgarde jazz, I recommend enfant terrible Sun Ra and his Space Arkestra:
The opening of a 1981 concert in Chicago
One of Mr Ra's infamous organ solos
Marshall Allen going completely nuts

...aaand Rahsaan Roland Kirk with "I Say a Little Prayer". Yes, he is blind. Yes, he's doing circular breathing. And yes, those are two saxophones in his mouth. No, I have no idea who the moron with the bells is.

I'm sure there are many other great videos I haven't found yet...

The Emersons play Shostakovich (pt. 2)

2006-03-12T00:58:00.000Z

Saturday evening, the Emerson String Quartet gave the last performance in its five-concert Shostakovich series. The recitals have confirmed my opinion that the Russian composer's quartets are indeed outstanding works of modern classical music. First of all, they are proof of his exceptional skill at string writing. Not only are the various playing techniques and special effects exploited to great effect, but there are passages that simply could not be written by anyone not perfectly familiar with the instruments. For instance, in the sixth quartet (iirc), the cello player is required to bow one string while plucking another at the same time.

The later quartets are also some of the most intimate pieces of music I know. When Shostakovich was forced to write empty propaganda scores by the Soviet authorities, he channelled a lot of his creative energies into his chamber music. On many of the quartets, he really laid bare his soul, pouring out streams of undiluted fear, anguish, longing, grief and brutal aggression. However, and that's what makes these works truly great, he always retained a sense of dignity and humour despite the overall pitch-black mood of the pieces.

As for the Emerson Quartet's playing that I complained about in the earlier post: it slowly improved over the course of the series. Unfortunately, their sound remained somewhat cold and clinical until the end. But while there was no thread whatsoever running through the individual parts of the quartets in the first performances, they managed to capture the overall flow of the works quite well in the last two. They were also helped by the increasingly complex and dissonant nature of the pieces that did no longer allow for polite moderation.

I am certainly grateful for the new insights that the Emerson's incredibly precise and transparent readings provided. However, this great educational value notwithstanding, I have to say the recordings by the Borodin and Éder Quartets I own are much more enjoyable to listen to. They are less mechanical and sterile, but warmer, more passionate, more human.

Discovering music the long way round

2006-03-10T01:28:00.000Z

Music can work in the strangest ways. Sometimes you listen to an album and you are not particularly impressed by it at the time, maybe you even hate it. And then a few months or years later, you suddenly feel an irresistible urge to listen to it again. So you buy at the next opportunity - and love it.

My first enounter with Bright Eyes' "Lifted" was in my days at grammar school. One of my classmates told me about this brilliant new CD she had just bought and how she couldn't stop listening to it. Intrigued, I asked her if I could borrow it. Initially, she refused, claiming she was not yet ready to share this amazing experience, that it would profane the album if anyone else were to listen to it now. Eventually, however, she did lend it to me and I put it on right after coming home that day, curious to discover what she had been raving about.

I remember being quite impressed with songwriter Connor Oberst's lyrics. They were rambling outpourings without much regard for meter or rhyme, but they combined laconic parables ("I came upon a doctor who appeared in quite poor health"), poingnant metaphors ("Your eyes must do some raining if you're ever gonna grow") and plain weirdness ("Well, I'm not a child. No, I am much younger than that.") in a way that somehow seemed heartfelt and authentic.

However, I was quite put off by the voice with which he delivered them - thin, squawking and out of key. The accompanying music didn't seem much better most of the time. It often sounded like it was recorded inside a garage, it was rather simple, borrowed heavily from other artists and featured way too many twangy country guitar sounds. For me, that was basically the end of the matter.

That is, until certain lyric lines and melodies started popping up in my mind again. I put "Lifted" on my wishlist and my uncle and aunt were so kind to give it to me for Christmas. This album is probably a perfect example of how my perception of music has changed over the last few years. I can now accept artists who primarily emphasize the lyrics and use the music only to enrich their poetry. I can now appreciate the hidden complexity of pop arrangements just like the blatant complexity of progressive rock and I can recognise the method behind apparent amateurishness and awkardness. So, after the negligible time period of just about four years, I am now finally able to fully enjoy the touching anecdotes that Connor Oberst relates to his audience on "Lifted". Music sure is one weird motherfucker.

The Emersons play Shostakovich (pt. 1)

2006-03-06T00:27:00.000Z

This week, the renowned Emerson String Quartet is giving a series of five concerts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, playing three of Dmitry Shostakovich's 15 string quartets per evening. Since I love many of the Russian composer's symphonies, I was enthused when I heard of this mammoth project last autumn and bought tickets for all the performances straight away. I used the remaining time until now to acquaint myself with the works. I purchased the box set of the Borodin Quartet's reference recordings of the first 13 quartets released on Chandos and the Éder Quartet's recording of numbers 14 and 15.

The universal praise bestowed upon the Borodins' set is entirely justified - their performances are not only self-assured and virtuosic, but also incredibly spirited. The Hungarian Éder Quartet's accounts are very solid, but can't compete with those of their Russian colleagues. Which would actually be quite a lot to ask for, as it is indeed hard to imagine how anyone could better the Borodins' interpretations.

I listened through the quartets in chronological order, revisiting all the symphonies (of which there are also 15) on the way. This was actually a brilliant idea, since I now "discovered" a few symphonies that hadn't really "clicked" with me previously, namely the 2nd, 10th and 15th. Of the quartets, the famous 8th, of course, made the greatest impression on me. There is simply no disputing these 21 minutes of sheer genius. I also greatly enjoyed the quite avantgardistic late quartets (12 to 15) that are so overflowing with the darkest anguish. There is, however, a lot to be said for the generally less complex and often charmingly light early quartets, too, which the Emersons, also following the chronological order, kicked their concert series off with on Sunday night.

It was certainly easy to hear why they are one considered of the world's leading string quartets. The flawless precision of their playing was awe-inspiring and it was evident they put a lot of thought, hard work and knowledge into their interpretation. Their renditions of Shostakovich's first three string quartets were highly transparent; the dynamics and timbres were meticulously balanced to suit the respective passages and all the details were so finely chiselled out I saw certain aspects of the compositions in a new light. But... that elusive "certain something" was missing. There was a subtle irony, a detachment, a sterility to the Emerson's playing that did not become Shostakovich's fiercely passionate music at all. I strongly hope this will change in the upcoming performances, since the later quartets would probably suffer even more from a lack of emotional commitment. Not that this would make the concerts cease to be worthwhile, but it would be very regrettable.

Let's change the subject, shall we?

2006-03-05T18:45:00.000Z

Uni has been keeping me so busy lately that I haven't even found the time up until now to write about a concert I saw last Saturday! Hopefully, I will now be able to slowly clear my blog-entry backlog. To start with, my impressions of the concert I already mentioned:

On the 24th of February, Hungarian composer and conductor Péter Eötvös guided the London Sinfonietta through a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The program started off with Olivier Messiaens' "Oiseaux exotiques", which can best be described as a highly unconventional piano concerto, the soloist being backed only by 11 wind and 7 percussion instruments. As the title ("Exotic birds") suggests, the work is largely composed of transcribed birdsong from India, China and the Americas. The melodic fragments are recited in a monophonic, hypnotically repetitive fashion, alternating between the piano and various colourful combinations of winds and percussions. The London Sinfonietta did not quite manage to get the dynamics of the different instruments just right, so the flutes were often not audible, but otherwise I could detect no flaws in the performance. "Oiseaux exotiques" is a delightfully bright and airy work and certainly sparked my interest in hearing more of Messiaen.

The next piece was, in fact, a world premiere. Young Portoguese composer Pedro Amaral (born in 1972) is a protégé of Eötvös and his own "Paraphrase" featured some of his mentor's trademarks: a heavy emphasis on percussions and alternation between bursts of dissonant noise and more introspective passages with exotic melodies. His piece was, however, not as meditative as most of Eötvös' compositions, but more jagged and aggressive. I did quite like it at the concert, but I can't say I remember much of it.

What definitely stayed with me, though, was Eötvös' own "Snatches of a Conversation". Using a heavily jazz-influenced musical language, a double-bell trumpet and a male speaker conversed with each other over the accompaniment of a small chamber ensemble. The two bells of the trumpet allowed the soloist to instantly switch back and forth between a muted and an unmuted sound, this timbral flexibility greatly adding to the expressive power of the instrument. The speaker recited fragments of a fictitious conversation revolving around an unhappy marriage. His delivery was very percussive and rhythmical and he repeated certain phrases over and over again, like "Let's change the subject, shall we?" The tone of the piece is very humorous and ironic, making "Snatches of a Conversation" more immediately enjoyable than the majority of contemporary compositions. I am sure, however, that the work would not grow stale on repeated listening, since it is also very complex and colourful.

After the interval, it was time for the grande finale: "Triangel", again written by Eötvös himself, was a choreographed percussion concerto. The percussion soloist acted as a "master of ceremony" of sorts. He was the first to enter the stage, playing a single triangle while walking slowly over towards a rack of tuned metal plates. He then proceeded to explore several such percussion instruments, namely a set of steel drums, huge gongs, a timpani and cymbal, and finally the eponymous set of amplified triangles. At the beginning of each passage, more and more members of the orchestra came on stage and accompany his virtuoso playing, which, I think, was improvised to a great extent. The stage was lighted in different colours, but only the parts of it where musicians were actually playing at the moment. The conductor himself was usually idle, only keeping the ensemble in time when the soloist moved from one "station" to another. The sounds that soloist David Hockings managed to wrest from the various instruments were quite amazing and often very beautiul, especially the haunting final passage with the triangles, accompanied by a single clarinet.

As should be quite obvious from the amount of text I have written about this concert, I enjoyed it very much and was greatly impressed by it.

21

2006-02-23T08:00:00.000Z

Now I can... urm... buy alcohol in the US! And get married without my parents' consent in Singapore! Yay! Unfortunately, though, I can no longer have sex with anyone under 16 in Germany, unless we're in a genuine loving relationship. Bollocks.

Beethoven at the Barbican

2006-02-21T23:12:00.000Z

Ludwig van Beetoven's "Missa Solemnis" ranks, without any doubt, among the great works of classical music. Taking no less than five years to complete, it is a prime example of the composer's style. It amalgamates historic and at that time modern compositional techniques into complex, colourful and dramatic music of epic grandeur. No wonder that veteran conductor Sir Colin Davis could hardly contain his enthusiasm when guiding the London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Chorus through a performance of the mass tonight in the Barbican Hall. He made energetic, sweeping gestures and moved his lips silently along with the choir, radiating an almost youthful verve. Unfortunately, however, this did not translate to the music itself.

Sir Colin's reading of the score was old-fashioned in the worst sense: so slow it seemed ponderous and so polite and polished it practically glossed over all the edges. I almost felt like attending a concert in the first half of the last century. As was usual back then, the orchestra and choir at this concert were decidedly too large, blurring the intricate details of the composition and at times even completely drowning out the soloists. Tenor Pavol Breslik was the only one of the four solo singers continuously able to project above the rest of the ensemble.

It can, however, not be denied that the LSO is a very competent orchestra, although the star of the performance, to my mind, was the London Symphony Choir. Not only was the stamina of the singers impressive, as well as the confident manner in which they moved through the demanding score, but also how they maintained such a clarity of articulation despite their large numbers.

I am certain that people who like the traditional style of interpretation were not at all disappointed by this performance, as evidenced by the many audience members giving standing ovations at the end. Me and my two friends also quite enjoyed ourselves, relishing in the grandeur of the piece, even though we couldn't help feeling that another conductor might have rendered it with greater momentum and emotional depth.

Mozart & Shostakovich at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

2006-02-18T23:04:00.000Z

2006 is the centenary of modern Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich and the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This means, of course, that there are now countless opportunities to hear music written by the two in London's concert halls; in fact, often on the same evening. Although Mozart and Shostakovich do not seem like a very obvious coupling, they harmonised quite well tonight at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra opened with the Austrian's 41st Symphony "Jupiter". Guest conductor Vladimir Jurowski's interpretation was pretty dramatic, accentuating the dissonances and featuring very pronounced contrasts in the dynamics. All this, however, without compromising delicate nuances. For example, the orchestra employed subtly jazzy rhythms in the more fluid passages and razor-sharp articulations in the more aggressive ones. I am generally not a great fan of the rather lightweight Mozart, but played like this - crisp, transparent and devoid of all schmaltzy affectation - even I can find him quite exciting.

The rendition of Shostakovich's foreboding masterpiece, the cycle of 11 songs that is the 14th Symphony, was similarly brilliant. Reduced to almost chamber ensemble size, the orchestra allowed the work's darkly colourful textures to unfold perfectly. Bass Sergei Leiferkus and soprano Tatiana Monogarova were able to really shine in this intimate context and carried the pieces with fully involved and technically flawless performances. To me, it seemed as if I was hearing the composition properly for the first time, so many fascinating details did I notice that had escaped me previously.

In other words, my ticket was 10 quid well spent and the young Vladimir Jurowski is definitely a talent to watch out for. The concert was recorded, by the way, so there might possibly be a CD release in the not-too-distant future.

Weird Words

2006-02-13T18:27:00.000Z

Do not subject my cacography to a floccinaucinihilipilificaton, you atrabilious jackanapes, or I shall subject *you* to a jaculation! My brobdignagian hands are simply not fit to writing sesquipedalian nihilartikels or to drawing hebesphenomegacoronas. And now enough of this eatoin shrdlu!

Artsfest 2006

2006-02-10T18:30:00.000Z

Every year, the Arts & Entertainments Board of Imperial College Union organises a week of cultural events: the "Artsfest". This year's festival has now drawn to a close, the array of concerts, exhibitions and dance performances being rounded off with a big finale concert in the Great Hall of Imperial College.

ICCMS has participated in two of the events this week: the Opening Concert in the Main Dining Hall on Monday and the busking in the foyer of the Sherfield Building. Apart from us, the Contraband (the second jazz big band), the Windband, two chamber music ensembles and two classical guitar solists performed at the Opening Concert. I don't think there were many people in the audience who didn't themselves play on stage at some point, but thanks to the big band and windband it was still large enough to make the proceedings feel like a proper concert. This also meant the audience was rather appreciative, in clear contrast to the busking.

When we played in the Sherfield foyer at lunchtime on Thursday, only a handful of people stopped to listen to us for a few moments, and even less donated money to the charity we were supporting with the busking. Not that I'm complaining; that's the nature of such activities. And we certainly had a lot of fun anyway, both playing music and watching the facial expressions of the passers-by that ranged from amusement to bewilderment and sheer terror.

cough

2006-02-05T20:10:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've got an evil cold.

Futurama

2006-01-30T05:53:00.000Z

Serial Experiments Lain

2006-01-23T03:28:00.000Z

"Serial Experiments Lain" is a relatively short anime series pooling together elements from a diverse range of sources in a postmodernist fashion. There are anime stereotypes such as a very shy and childish girl as main character; there are references to popular myths about secret agents, legendary hackers, alien landings and ghost stories; there is cyberpunk science-fiction alongside realistic depictions of friend and family relationships; there are religious symbolism and internet knowledge; there are coming-of-age anecdotes of frank authenticity (even including explicit mentions of masturbation) and scenes that can best be described as surrealistic nightmares. Some of these pieces fit together, albeit often in unexpected ways. Others don't and are not supposed to.

The series raises many questions, both about its own storyline and of a general philosophical nature. What is the actual difference between physical and virtual reality? Do we need god? What defines our identity? How can we communicate in a genuinely meaningful way? "Lain" certainly won't tell us, leaving us to find our own individual answers and personal interpretations of its content.

It is therefore especially annoying that the producers apparently thought it necessary to throw in a few rambling history and philosophy lectures along the way - which, I guess, sort of fits in thematically, but is really quite tedious. "Lain" is at its strongest when it doesn't explain anything but simply observes; in fact, even when it throws random sub-plots at its audience with the sole intention of perplexing them. As a general rule, explicit statements simply have no emotional resonance in a work of art.

But it's not the dialogue anyway that is the most memorable about this series. While "Lain"'s script has its moments of originality, it's the pictures that are truly visionary. On the foundation of rather outdated, simplistic and static animation, the artists have created a unique and highly imaginative visual utopia; a slow, hypnotic panorama of "Alice in Wonderland"-like surrealism, kaleidoscopic plays of colours, overexposed city landscapes, unsettling moving shadows, television noise and claustrophobic perspectives. Accompanied by a very sparse soundtrack, they manage to create a rather intense, bleak and mysterious atmosphere. It is especially impressive how strongly "Lain" emphasises little ambient details. There are endlessly repeated scenes of traffic lights, people walking along a street, teachers scribbling on blackboards, the heroine's mother eating rice and, above all, electric devices and their characteristic humming and beeping. After watching the last few episodes, I found my own attention drawn to these things in the real world.

If a series with such unorthodox aesthetics falls prey to clichés, they are, of course, all the more apparent and thus potentially more annoying than in a conventional context. It's quite irritating when the main protagonist turns into the inevitable "chosen one" character (even if it's into a rather ambivalent one), when the show serves up several "mad scientists" and we are presented with a concrete antagonist towards the end. Occasionally, the series also crosses the border between the slow-moving and the drawn-out.

These flaws, however, are probably pardonable considering the merits of this show. I have definitely not seen any other work of art commenting on the way the internet influences our lives that is so strangely intriguing and that, irrespective of its surrealistic leanings, rings so true. "Serial Experiments Lain" is certainly worth your while if you have a taste for the eccentric. And maybe I will enjoy it even more on second viewing.

Woo Jung Restaurant (St. Giles High Street)

2006-01-21T13:16:00.000Z

It's always a good sign if a foreign restaurant is frequented by citizens of its respective nation. When we went to the "Woo Jung" restaurant on St. Giles High Street close to Tottenham Court Road station yesterday, we were the only non-Koreans in the place and the food was accordingly excellent. My appetizer, pickled cucumber, was at the same time refreshing and spicy. The main course, marinated pork, was barbecued right at the table and combined nicely with my bean pancakes. Also considering the reasonable prices, "Woo Jung" is definitely worth a recommendation.

ICCMS Jam Pictures

2006-01-17T23:16:00.000Z

Andreas at the piano, concentrated.

Ben scraping the sound dampener.

Me making noise.

Guapo and others live at The Spitz

2006-01-16T21:04:00.000Z

Clive Bell plays a Shakuhachi.

Yesterday night I made my way to London's East End for a gig at The Spitz headlined by Guapo. The Spitz is a pub with a cosy little concert venue upstairs. It is situated in Spitalfields Market, a Victorian roofed market.

The warm-up act was sound artist Peter Cusacks. It would probably be inappropriate to call his performance a concert, since he did not do much else except playing back recorded sounds and occasionally adjusting the volume. The sounds themselves were quite original: amongst others, the electromagnetic waves given off by underground tracks made audible, high-precision robots assembling a Jaguar and a natural gas leak in Azerbeijan. It's not exactly the kind of thing I would put on at home, but it was interesting to listen to once.

The next act were Clive Bell and Dave Ross. The duo plays calm, meditative improvised music. Bell used various exotic flutes such as a Japanese Shakuhachi, a Thai Khene or a Cretan flute, while his partner had a go at electronic effects and a weird percussion instrument that looked vaguely like an ufo. Again, nothing that excites me enough to buy a CD, but enjoyable in a live context.

One band I would consider getting the album of once it's released (which is supposed to happen at some point this year) is Fulborn Teversham, a quartet led by Polar Bear drummer Seb Rochford featuring cheesy keyboards, a smoky tenor sax and an agressive female voice. The group plays quirky, ironic music combining influences of post-bop jazz, alternative rock and lo-fi electronica. Thanks to Rochford's amazing drumming it was also pretty hard-rocking.

But, of course, not anywhere as intense as the mighty Zeuhl trio Guapo. The first time I saw them was in Cologne in April 2005. Back then, there were only about 15 people attending the concert and even though the band tried their hardest to make the best out of the situation, it was obviously lacking in atmosphere. No such problems this time around. By the time the band entered the stage, joined by a guitarist, the venue was packed with about 200 people.

Now, the first thing that is striking about Guapo live is that they look fucking scary. Bassist David Ledden wearing a fedora and glowering grimly would make a perfect villain in a Western movie; the guitar player looked a zombie version of Elvis; keyboardist David O'Sullivan not only rocked back and forth manically the whole time, but his face was also covered in blue and red make-up in the middle of which his eyes glowed like a cat of prey; and in the background drummer Dave Smith made the most tortured grimaces. Together with the burning incense sticks distributed around the stage, this was all the visual and odorous accompaniment necessary for Guapo's dark, apocalyptic music. The group plays a mixture of heavy, atonal, polyrhythmic riffs endlessly repeated for hypnotic effect, haunting musical box tinkling and orgies of pure noise. They're extremely tight and rock like hell (in the truest sense of the word).

In fact, they were so good I stayed too long and missed the last District line train. So I had to take another tube line half of the way and a cab for the rest. A big thank you to the friendly driver who brought me nearly all the way home even though I didn't have enough cash on me.

Brokeback Mountain

2006-01-15T00:31:00.000Z

"Fishin' buddies".

There are not many films that realistically depict a homosexual relationship and even less that are also genuinely moving and entertaining. Actually, the only one I can think of is the Swedish "Fucking Åmal" (the English title, for reasons unbeknownst to me, is "Show Me Love"). So, unsurprisingly, I was put in a state of eager anticipation when I heard there would be a mainstream Hollywood picture about two gay cowboys and that these would be played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (sounds a bit like a popular gay erotic fantasy coming true). Furthermore, it would be directed by Ang Lee, who had already proven his considerable skill in such diverse but equally great films as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Sense and Sensibility" and "Eat Drink Man Woman". My anticipation was heightened even further when "Brokeback Mountain" started receiving a huge number of major film awards, breaking box office records and people even mentioned it as a promising Oscar candidate. A realistic gay film that is both commercially and artistically successful? Can it really be true?

The short answer is: Yes.

The main protagonists in "Brokeback Mountain" are not flamboyant or feminine in any way; they're just ordinary men who happen to be attracted by the same sex. However, unlike so many other gay films that fail because of their well-intended didacticism, it never gets preachy and makes a big statement out of that - it trusts the audience to be intelligent and educated enough to know homosexuality is perfectly normal and simply gets on with the story.

That is to say, with the little story there is. The two cowboys Ennis and Jack herd sheep on the eponymous Brokeback Mountain, fall in love, have sex, finish their job and move to different states, get married, have kids and reunite twice per year for a few days of undisturbed love in the wild - that's about all that ever happens over the course of two hours and fifteen minutes. In fact, the characters don't talk much, either, and when they do, they usually don't say what they mean. However, their thoughts and feelings are given away by subtle details - little gestures, words and actions that tell more about them and their relationships than long speeches ever could. "Brokeback Mountain" is a very quiet and subdued film, patiently building up an almost unbearable tension through its powerful subtext and its authentic, matter-of-fact depiction of suppressed emotion. Even in its rare humorous moments, there is a heavy note of bitterness.

At its heart, it is a portrayal of a man enslaved by his inability to communicate his feelings and to be honest with himself. It is understood that Ennis' marriage would have been troubled even if he had not been homosexual, for indeed even his relationship with Jack suffers from his inarticulateness. Although heartfelt kisses and embraces and occasional love confessions show deep passion, there is always an invisible wall between the two, a silent struggle between Jack's dreams of living together and Ennis' trying to avoid all risks. This is particularly apparent in the sex scenes: they are in no way erotic, but hurried and violent, smelling of fear and shame. "Brokeback Mountain" does not offer any neat resolution to these conflicts. In the end, Ennis is left with only regrets and missed chances, deprived of a fullfilled life by cruel reality but also by his own actions (or rather his inactivity). However, his experiences have profoundly transformed him, maybe for the better.

Another theme that is quite central to the film is the contrast between nature and civilization. It is only thanks to the isolation of Brokeback Mountain that Jack and Ennis have a chance to yield to their inner urges and it is only before the backdrop of the beautiful countryside that they experience happiness. On the other hand, their lives in the dirty, cramped towns dominated by grim moral standards are crooked and miserable. Importantly, Ang Lee also portrays both main characters as always having been outsiders, unable to fit in and please their surroundings. It is probably the film's greatest strength that it doesn't take the easy route of laying all blame on society, but also criticises its "heroes".

Unfortunately, this has led some critics to believe the movie was trying to imply homosexuals are inherently incapable of leading relationships. Although I certainly do not intend to dictate other people's opinions, I think this is a gross misinterpretation. I don't think Jack and Ennis are supposed to be gay archetypes - "Brokeback Mountain" is a study of individual characters and, as I said earlier, above simplistic didacticism. Aside from that, the film has been criticised for employing regional stereotypes. Since I've never been to Texas or Wyoming I can neither confirm nor deny this - I can only conclude that the emotional side of the film seems very realistic and unclichéd to me. Generally, I think it would be unfair to attach too much political importance to "Brokeback Mountain", not only in the negative sense, but also in the positive sense. Of course, it is a great breakthrough for gay cinema. Still, it is also just a film, pure and simple, and one would be doing it a big disservice to elevate it to the status of a holy grail like "Schindler's List".

The film Ang Lee has crafted is by no means perfect. Apart from the obvious problem of trying to condense two decades into two hours, a few of its scenes are not entirely convincing. In the beginning, for instance, there are too few hints at sexual attraction between Jack and Ennis before their relationship actually becomes physical. The end is also a bit drawn out and I'm not quite sure whether it needed to be this tragic. These flaws are, however, quite insignificant to my mind in comparison with the overall achievement that is "Brokeback Mountain".

It is a meticulously crafted film, superbly acted, beautifully shot, with tasteful musical accompaniment. It stears clear of all kitsch and schmaltz and grips you with quiet restraint, authenticity and profundity. It is a movie that will stay with you long after you have left the cinema, unfolding itself over and over again in your mind. You should most definitely go and see it.

P.S. If you're a straight male and not quite convinced yet this is for you, I recommend "The straight dude's guide to Brokeback Mountain".

P.P.S. Did I mention I find "Schindler's List" rather mediocre?

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings

2006-01-14T12:41:00.003Z

I guess it's quite telling the best actor in LotR is computer animated.

Yesterday, Udo published a short negative review of the first "Lord of the Rings" film on his weblog. Which reminds me I should mention that, during the Christmas holidays, I have re-watched the whole trilogy in the Special Extended Editions. This time around, my perception of Peter Jackson's films has changed quite significantly. Firstly, because the added scenes in the SEEs fill in many important details and make the overall plot more plausible; and secondly, because I was now able to largely ignore the fact the movies are adaptations of Tolkien's novel. Therefore, I was much less irritated by the foozled characterisations and completely unnecessary plot changes and could appreciate the fact that, taken by themselves, the films are actually relatively coherent.

This doesn't mean I now suddenly consider them the masterpieces most other people apparently do. For that, the dialogue would have to be less silly, the acting more convincing and the pacing stiffer. However, it does mean I would now place them on par with other reasonably entertaining, trivial special effects epics such as "Star Wars" and "The Matrix". Which, for people who don't have as weird a taste as me, is probably the same as bestowing the greatest honour imaginable upon LotR.

Raising Arizona

2006-01-08T20:18:00.000Z

"Raising Arizona" is not quite the best or the funniest Coen Brothers film I've seen (those titles go to "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" respectively), but it might easily be the most bizarre. Forget about pregnant police officers, weasel-wielding criminals and dubious dry cleaning investors. The Coens' 1987 comedy serves up a motorcycle bounty hunter who looks like he's taken straight out of a Sergio Leone flick, a marriage between a career criminal and a police photographer, two hysterical prison escapees and one of the most lunatic car chases in the history of film. Good stuff.

Music

2006-01-05T15:05:00.000Z

The music blasting at full volume,
Drowning out all sounds surrounding you.
Your eyes are closed, your mind breaks through
The walls of an all too familiar room.
The music is what keeps you going
Through all the pointless, dreary hours,
In spite of all this fucking crap,
Because it reminds you not all is bad,
Someone's there who knows how you feel.

The music is like a vibrant memory
Of warmth and comfort, a better place,
An octopus's garden it could have been
Where you were happy and you were safe,
Where your tears fell like piano notes
And your laugh rang like a major chord
And your wounds had time to heal.
Places and faces we'll never see,
They're blossoming in our minds,
Telling us of their lives,
Reminding us to persist.

Pipes 2

2006-01-02T13:45:00.000Z

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T13:13:00.000Z

The public New Year's fireworks in Gothenburg

Now the second big set of pleasant end-of-year rituals is over. The cooked carp dinner, the obligatory "Dinner for One" (a short, hilarious comedy program in English from 1963 which is shown every year on New Year's Eve on all public TV channels in Germany), the sparkling wine toast at midnight and, of course, the fireworks. On this note: Happy New Year! :-)

For children at least, the fascination of private fireworks lies not so much in the colourful explosions but in the excitement of lighting the crackers and then throwing them, running away or, even more excitingly, holding them steady in your hands:

Light

2005-12-30T17:26:00.000Z

Even in Gothenburg, which is in the Southern part of Sweden, the sun doesn't go up before 10 am and already goes down at 4 pm in late December. Further up north, it gets so dark in winter that people commit suicide because of Seasonal Affective Disorder. And north of the Arctic Circle, of course, there is no daylight at all for an extended period of time. It is certainly no wonder that the Swedish people get positively obsessed with light during the cold season.

One of their favorite holidays is Saint Lucy on the 13th of December, when there are light processions in all towns and schools in the country led by a young, beautiful girl, the "Lucia", dressed in a white robe and wearing a candle wreath on her head. She is followed by other girls in identical robes and boys with cone-shaped hats called "star boys". In December, there are large torches outside many shops and public buildings and nearly every window is decorated with electric candles, like so.

A few impressions from a walk around the city centre of Gothenburg:

A "light boat" on one of Gothenburg's many canals

An neon angel on a blank, ugly wall left over from a demolished building.

Christmas decorations on Avenyn, Gothenburg's broadest and most fashionable street. The large square building in the background is the art museum.

Swedish winter impressions

2005-12-29T18:13:00.000Z

Hard-working.

It's been 2 years since I last was in Sweden in winter. And now I had to painfully realize I'm not used to the climate anymore. The dry air, especially in the typical wooden house my family lives in, is giving me a sore throat, chapped lips and nosebleeds. Not to mention it's fucking cold and windy. Outside, that is. And if the kids leave the door open. The snow is nice, though. At least if you don't have to walk through a semi snow storm while you're carrying heavy shopping bags, like yours truly did today.

But I don't want to complain. There are many positive things to report as well. For instance, my aunt with her three br... erm... lovely children visiting us. And more great Christmas presents. And lots of good food so I'll be at least 5 kilos heavier when I return to London. But I didn't want to complain. Really. I just couldn't help it. Fucking German genes.

Oh, another really good thing: I watched Mel Brook's classic "Young Frankenstein". Brilliant picture. Decidedly more subtle humour than in the films he did in the 80ies and 90ies. And very stylish and atmospheric black and white cinematography. Very impressive. See? I can write a whole paragraph without complaining.

And since I just talked about "Young Frankenstein", I have to round off this post with a picture of Morty Feldman as Igor:

Pipes

2005-12-27T13:48:00.000Z

Merry Christmas

2005-12-25T23:49:00.000Z

A little (un)musical Christmas greeting

Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago

2005-12-23T04:27:00.000Z

While shopping for Christmas presents two days ago, the DVD "Jeff Buckley - Live in Chicago" caught my eye and, especially considering the low price, I just couldn't resist taking it home. I very much enjoy Buckley's brand of folk-jazz-world-rock singer/songwriter music and if anything, his songs come off even more intense live. One contributing factor is certainly his charismatic stage presence, alternating between trance-like concentration during the songs and casual coolness during the pauses. Probably more importantly, though, his vocal acrobatics are even more elaborate, ecstatic and goose bump-inducing than on the studio recordings. I don't know of any other singer in the Western world who could ornament his melodies so intricately and imaginatively; who could cry, whisper, whine, shout and growl his way through the music with such astounding technique and spiritual abandon.

"Live in Chicago" captures Buckley well. A normal 1995 tour concert in its entirety, without any flashy special effects, but with all the ups and downs, little spontaneous gestures and interesting variations of the known material. The camera work is pleasantly unobtrusive and the cuts not overly fast. Buckley's own guitar is, unfortunately, too quiet compared to the guitarist in his (solid) backing band, but that's a minor complaint.

The two things I'm really annoyed by are the same as with all of Buckley's output. Firstly, he simply couldn't rock out. His own hard rock tune "Eternal Life" and the MC5 cover "Kick Out the Jams" are just bursts of noise without any discernible riffs and on these songs, his otherwise so highly unique voice suddenly sounds very ordinary. Secondly, his mini-epics would have been much more effective if they had been contrasted with some more subtle and unpretentious pieces. Of course it is amazing to which soaring heights his voice can take a song, but after the fifth ultra-emotional climax, the effect wears off and things start getting a little tedious.

Nevertheless, Jeff Buckley was an extraordinary musician and has left us with some incredibly beautiful songs that deserve to be listened to - for example, in the versions on this DVD.

Christmas Cake Alternatives

2005-12-20T21:50:00.000Z

Bored of the same old christmas cakes every year? Try one of these...

Fun with modes

2005-12-19T04:30:00.000Z

A major scale consists of a fixed sequence of whole-tone and half-tone steps (WWHWWWH) spanning one octave. This interval sequence is laid out such that if we take C as the root note (or tonic), the major scale we get is comprised of all the white keys on the piano:

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

Now, based on this scale, we can construct 6 modes, i.e. 6 other interval sequences, out of the same pitches by simply starting on a different note. Eg. if we play a C major scale starting on D instead of C, we obtain the D dorian mode (WHWWWHW):

D - E - F - G - A - B - C - D

We can place all of these modes and the major scale in a particular order starting on the major (or ionian mode) itself such that any mode differs from the preceding one by exactly one flattened note. Eg. the mixolydian mode is obtained from the ionian mode by flattening the 7th note, the dorian from the mixolydian by flattening the 3rd, the the aeolian (or natural minor) from the dorian by flattening the 6th, the phrygian from the aeolian by flattening the 2nd, the locrian from the phrygian by flattening the 5th and the lydian from the locrian by flattening the 1st. For the sake of argument, we shall call the flattened note the respective mode's "characteristic note".

Now, the interesting thing is that this characteristic note is always the subdominant, i.e. the 4th step, of the major scale the mode is based upon. Eg. 1: G mixolydian is based upon (has the same pitches as) C major. The characteristic note of the mixolydian mode is the flattened 7th. For G mixolydian this is F - the subdominant of C. Eg. 2: C locrian is based on D major and has as characteristic note the flattened 5th, G, which is the subdominant of D.

A few things to note:

The lydian mode, the one with the flattened 1st, actually starts on the subdominant of its related major scale.
If we take the lydian and flatten the 4th note (the only one remaining), we once again arrive at a plain major scale, but technically a half-tone lower than the one we started from. One could, of course, get back to the original major scale by going through the sequence of modes described above 12 times...
Let's take the sequence of modes starting from C major. The sequence of corresponding characteristic notes is: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb.... notice something? It's the cycle of fifths clockwise.
Instead of flattening notes, we could, of course, go the other way around and sharpen notes. Then we would get the lydian from the ionian mode by sharpening the 4th note, the locrian from the lydian by sharpening the 1st and so on. The characteristic note would then be the leading note of the underlying major scale and the sequence of characteristic notes the cycle of fifths anti-clockwise.

I don't know if this is useful in any way, but I find it quite neat.

Home, sweet home

2005-12-18T00:41:00.000Z

Christmas is approaching and so yesterday, it was time for me to fly home to my family in good ol' Gothenburg. Although I took a ridiculously early flight, which meant I had to leave my London flat at 3.45 am, Stansted was packed as I had never seen it before (and I've been flying from there at this time of the year before). The queue for the security check stretched well back into the check-in area.

I guess Ryanair's ultra-cheap fares are just too tempting. In fact, they're so cheap they can't even afford people to produce grammatically correct announcement tapes for their aircrafts. Which is why passengers are always reminded that "the use of laptop computers and other battery operated equipment can be used once airborne" [sic!] and German travellers are presented with the fantastic offer: "Kaufen sie eine [Getränk], erhalten sie eine frei!". I'm not complaining, though. Without Ryanair, I'd be much more restricted travel-wise. And the environment would be better off. Ah, well...

Wolf's Rain

2005-12-15T03:42:00.000Z

These guys are wolves. No, seriously.

I just finished watching the last episode of "Wolf's Rain" and what can I say? Wow. Or maybe woof. This series is among the best anime I've ever seen. Which maybe doesn't come as too much of a surprise, as it was produced by Bones, the studio that is also responsible for the equally brilliant "Full Metal Alchemist".

The basic plot is quickly summarized. In a post-apocalyptic world where people live in cities under huge domes spread out over a desolate wasteland, wolves are thought to have been extinct for 200 years. However, a few remain, hiding their true shape and pretending to be humans (this seems to be a common element of Japanese mythology; in Isao Takahata's "Pom Poko", there are raccoons and foxes taking on a human appearance). One of them, Kiba, has set out on a quest for Paradise, which, according to legend, he can open with the help of the "Lunar Flower". On his journey, he joins forces with three other wolves with strong personalities of their own and lives through countless adventures. Sounds hackneyed? It is.

I won't pretend for a minute that "Wolf's Rain" is without flaws. The overall plot is of the usual "apocalyptic fantasy epic featuring messiah character" type and the series draws heavily on romantic / gothic clichés with all its references to the moon, flowers and wolves. Yes, the pacing is a bit awkward at times and there are a few twists and turns that are not entirely plausible. Yes, the four recap episodes in the middle are completely superfluous. But this series has so many good things going for it that it makes me forget about these shortcomings.

For one, there's the characters. Even some of the most insignificant protagonists are portrayed with a multi-faceted and believable personality. And the main characters are so "alive" you can't help sympathising and identifying with them. They all have their own dreams and hopes, their internal and external struggles, their wounds and dark secrets and are caught up in their many complex and difficult relationships. And they actually change and develop very much over the course of the 30 episodes. I especially fell in love with Hige - finally an anime character who is cheerful without being ridiculous!

Then there's the script. It may be clichéd and somewhat incoherent, but it's so packed with tension and raw emotion it had me hooked right from the start. There is such a vast spectrum of themes that are developed in the most touching ways: love, friendship, revenge, self-deception, trust, betrayal, dignity, courage, resignation, responsibility, remorse, honesty, forgiveness, growing up, the rat race, the purpose of life...

Oh, and the art - it's stunningly beautiful. The backgrounds are enormously detailed and the wolves are so vividly animated they feel absolutely real. The pictures also perfectly support the series' atmosphere and themes. They are usually rather dark and bleak with a lot of grey and deep blue colours and there are many, many "shots" of dirty city streets, snow or sand deserts and the night sky. Bones made particularly effective use of different camera angles, perfectly capturing the momentum of the wolves running across a desert plain or the confinement of a prison cell.

Just as important for the series' emotional impact as the art is certainly the music by Yoko Kanno. It is a well-chosen mixture of sweeping orchestral themes, delicate piano pieces and powerful rock anthems and always employed at just the right times. Speaking of emotional impact, I don't think I have emphasized enough yet just how moving "Wolf's Rain" is. Especially the last few episodes are so dramatic, so tragic and so beautiful they made me cry more than once.

I guess if you're allergic to romanticism and big emotions this is not for you, but otherwise "Wolf's Rain" receives my warmest recommendations.

Clouded Eyes

2005-12-13T19:41:00.000Z

Conor Oberst of indie rock band Bright Eyes is, or at least used to be, a very disturbed young man, as this bizarre interview proves.

My favorite bit:

Q How about this Arienette? How does she fit into all this?
A Well I would prefer not to talk about that in case she is listening
Q Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't realize she was a real person
A She's not... I made her up
Q Oh so she's not real
A Just as real as you or I
Q I don't think I understand
A Either do I but I will after I grow up. I mean a lot of things are really unclear for me right now
Q That's interesting... now you mentioned your depression
A No I didn't

Curriculum Vitae

2005-12-13T19:04:00.000Z

Spending a whole day writing your CV can do strange things to people. In my case, it inspired me to think about what a chav's resume might look like:

PROFILE
Yeah, basically, I'm this guy, ya no? Who can do like loadsa stuff's. and im like really gud at communicatin' and everyfink lol

EDUCATION
Well, I went to this school, mate, and then to this other school somewere else... cant remember what I done, really... lol... except they keep writing these funny sign's, y know? like crosses and snowflakes and stuff, if y no wot im talkin' about lol oh yea, but las year i had this frenchie art teacher and he taught me lotsa finks about pain. And chocolate ice cream. but it was mostly pain, I fink.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Lol mate, trying to stay away from it, ya know? thouhg me and me mates used ta help out lil' eddie when some guy needed to be tot a lesson, if y no wot i mean lol .. so he used ta give us vodka an e an stuffs.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS
i can stick a spageti string up me nose and pull it out through me mouth. no, seriously, mate.

INTERESTS
I'm really interested in like spiritual stuffs, you know?

REFEREES
lil' eddie would surely tell y lotsa gud stuff about me, but he's on holidays now if y no wot i mean lol

IQ Christmas Concert

2005-12-12T12:50:00.000Z

I am usually not a big fan of Neo-Prog, to say the least. Most bands of that type are too banal for my taste, not to mention the horribly cheesy 80's sound dominating the genre. There are exceptions, though, one of them being IQ. Although not a personal favorite, the studio albums I have heard are solidly executed and entertaining and definitely light years better than the usual kitsch. Therefore, I was pleased to accept when my friend Andreas asked me if I wanted to come along to their christmas concert in the Mean Fiddler on Saturday.

Even though the gig was not sold out, it was attended well enough to make it feel comfy. Steve Thorne, who took a break from his tour with KINO just for this event, was a good choice as support, his powerful, expressive voice and atmospheric singer/songwriter-style music being a nice appetizer for the main act.

IQ themselves entered the stage in the most ridiculous outfits imaginable - singer Peter Nicholls dressed as Santa Claus, keyboardist Martin Orford in tight leggings, guitarist Michael Holmes in a "50ies science-fiction meets Roman gladiator" costume and bass player John Jowitt in drag(!). Thanks to the silliness of their appearance and their visibly good mood, they created a party atmosphere right from the first few notes and managed to keep it up for the entire duration. The musical performance was tight and energetic (especially their new drummer Andy Edwards was great) and the sound surprisingly transparent. The whole concert was accompanied by matching video projections inspired by the songs' lyrics. For an encore, they covered the Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin" and John Jowitt made an even greater laughing stock of himself by changing into a tight Playboy speedo. In short, IQ are entirely deserving of their reputation as a great live act and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing them again.

P.S. On my way back home, I had a hard time getting out of Earl's Court station because there were literally thousands of people streaming into it. Guess which concert they came from: Rod Stewart. Yes, you read correctly: motherfucking Rod Stewart! That pathetic Frank Sinatra wannabe is playing at the Exhibition Centre four nights in a row in front of several thousands of people and a good band like IQ don't even attract one thousand! Is there no justice in this world?

Last Exile

2005-12-11T08:33:00.000Z

Cute but stupid.

It is not uncommon for series, anime or otherwise, to start out rather badly. Even the first few episodes of such a brilliant one as "Full Metal Alchemist" were quite dull. So when I was watching the beginning of "Last Exile", I thought it had to be that mysterious "weak start" syndrome it was suffering from. But somehow it just hasn't got any better since then and I find it increasingly difficult to reconcile my viewing impressions with the rave reviews the series has received almost everywhere.

It's not that "Last Exile" is without potential. The steampunk setting, for instance, is relatively original and its heavy focus on flying vessels pleasantly reminiscent of Miyazaki. The "Guild" faction, though, with its hi-tech sci-fi equipment seems quite out of place and destroys much of the atmosphere. Moreover, why the big warships have platforms with infantry on them when they can fire at each other using their huge cannons is beyond my comprehension. I guess the studio wanted to put in a reference to the meaningless slaughters of World War I, but failed to integrate it in a sensible way.

The art is, indeed, very good. The CGI effects often don't blend in too well with the 2D animation, but the pictures are detailed and fluid, and the series has its own distinctive look dominated by dark grey, green and brown colours. However, that alone is not enough to make a good series.

When it comes to characters and storytelling, "Last Exile" fails miserably. The plot is basically a string of action scenes without much in the way of a plausible thread to hold them together. The scenes themselves are neither very imaginative - one of them is a blatant remake of the podrace in "Star Wars: Episode I" - nor excitingly choreographed, being too slow-paced and predictable. But the biggest let-down of all are the characterizations. Not only are the protagonists highly stereotypical, they are also extremely one-dimensional, never even showing a hint of an internal conflict. Their personal motives are often neither explicitly nor implicitly explained, and some of their actions are simply completely unbelievable. 15 year-old orphans living all on their own, experiencing great adventures and being heroic is all very well, but "Last Exile"'s main characters constantly and of their own accord plunge head-first into the most suicidal situations they can find.

Who knows, maybe "Last Exile" gets better after the 8 episodes I have watched (although I can't believe it), but since these ones sucked so much that I can't force myself to watch any more of it, I'll probably never find out.

Yeehah!

2005-12-09T16:10:00.000Z

Another 10 weeks of Computing lectures and courseworks at Imperial College are finally over. Now I've got about four weeks to chill out until the second term starts.

So far, the course has been a lot more interesting than the in first year. I was able to relate much more of the material to my real-life experience as computer user, especially in the "Networks and Communications" and "Operating Systems" modules. Moreover, there was less spoonfeeding in the programming assignments. We weren't told exactly how to write every tiny little function, but actually had some freedom in designing or own solutions - yay! On average, the lecturers were better, too, which really helps very much - it could, in fact, be argued that it matters more who is teaching a module than what it is actually about.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

2005-12-04T21:16:00.000Z

The Major, SAC's main character. Now guess the director's gender.

Having very much enjoyed the "Ghost in the Shell" films, I was quite interested to see how the Sector 9 special ops team would fare in the accompanying TV series "Stand Alone Complex". Now, after I've watched the first gig, it's time for a short résumé.

"Stand Alone Complex" is set in an alternate universe, i.e. it has the same characters and the same basic environment (a huge city in the future) as the films, but its plot is unrelated. It retains many of the films' strong points: a complex (though clichéd) storyline, a clever script that emphasizes small gestures and details rather than the wildly exaggerated dialogue that is typical of anime, and a very serious no-nonsense attitude. The one big exception to the latter are the Tachikomas, battle robots with high-pitched, childish voices. I really don't know who the hell would give special ops robots a voice like that, but apparently all anime series have to have giggling girls in them.

Sadly though, "Stand Alone Complex" fails on the two aspects that intrigued me the most about the films. First of all, the pictures look rather dull. That's not only because they're not as lavishly detailed and animated, but also because they're lacking the imagination of the films. There is no scene which even comes close to such visionary images as the street parade in "Innocence". Secondly, I don't really like the series' shift in focus. "Stand Alone Complex" concentrates too much on the investigative work of the Sector 9 team and leaves too little room for character development, exploration of the science-fiction world and, above all, mystery. While the films left many questions unanswered and thus the possibility for different interpretations, at the end of "Stand Alone Complex", almost every issue is neatly resolved. Also, it doesn't exactly help that not even half of the episodes actually continue the main plot and most just tell unconnected little side stories.

The "Ghost in the Shell" films are sprawling cyberpunk epics; "Stand Alone Complex" is mostly a straightforward crime series. In principle, there's nothing wrong with that and it is certainly well executed, but it just doesn't involve me emotionally like the films did.

P.S. "Stand Alone Complex" wins a small originality prize for its title song which is partly sung in Russian(!).

Manic Street Preachers

2005-11-29T05:25:00.000Z

This man knows the truth. Unfortunately, he can't keep it to himself.

Fanatic Christians can be a lot of fun. The crazy American preacher who is now occasionally frequenting the entrance to Earl's Court tube station sure as hell always puts a broad ironic smile on my face when I walk past him on my way to uni. Some day, I really want to wave a mano cornuta at him and see how he reacts...

However, although Mr Crazy American's rhetoric abilities are not to be scoffed at ("You wanna rock, you wanna party, but remember, in a little while, DEATH WILL COME!") , he is, of course, just a pathetic imitation of the one and only "Sinner or Winner Guy". Patrolling Oxford Street with a huge megaphone, that man drives all the poor clothes shoppers insane with his endless rants about repenting your sins, Jesus, love and 1,578 variations of his world-famous slogan "Are you a sinner or a winner?" He even made it onto national TV (see above).

Ironically, it seems it was a past editor of Felix, the student newspaper of Imperial College, who got him his first megaphone. Now that's Providence for you.

Ninja Scroll

2005-11-27T22:05:00.000Z

Yummie!

Welcome to Ralf's Good Anime Guide, Part 2057. Today: one of the classics, the film "Ninja Scroll" from 1986.

"Ninja Scroll" is a martial arts meets fantasy film set in medieval Japan. The plot, which, of course, involves an ultra-cool young vagabond master swordfighter and a mega-evil boss risen from the dead, mostly just serves as a link between the countless action scenes. I say "mostly", because there are one or two interesting ideas like the female ninja who hates herself because no one treats her like a human being. But in general, the story and characterisations are too generic and implausible to be interesting and the main focus are clearly the well-choreographed fights against the evil demons with their imaginative magical powers. The excessive amounts of gore and naked flesh give the film a somewhat charming, gritty B-movie feel and the animation is very good considering how old it is.

All in all, "Ninja Scroll" is an entertaining action flick, but don't expect any profundity.

Donnie Darko

2005-11-27T15:44:00.000Z

Donnie Darko and his girlfriend. And a giant were-rabbit.

Sometimes I'm very grateful that Amazon has an automated recommendation service. Sure, half of the stuff it recommends may be utter crap, but, in all probability, I still wouldn't have watched Donnie Darko in a few years from now if it hadn't been on my list for ages. And boy, what a loss that would have been.

It's been quite a while since a film has managed to impress me that deeply. And it's not the cliched fantasy storyline I'm talking about - it's that strangely compelling mixture of dark mystery, teenage drama and general sillyness and the way these elements intertwine to form something greater than the sum of their parts. The film's sense of brooding menace would not make itself felt so acutely if it didn't contrast with the absurdity of the giant monster rabbit and the unashamedly immature adolescent humour. And all the conversations about god, the meaning of life and the apocalypse would not feel as profound without the atmosphere of hypocrisy, dejection and apathy the film evokes.

Apart from this highly effective merging of entirely different genres, the brilliant acting, especially by Jake Gyllenhaal and Drew Barrymore, and the spot-on use of music help make this an outstanding film. If, like me, you've missed this one so far, catch up now.

My world and welcome to it*

2005-11-27T14:03:00.000Z

//insert random "my first post, welcome everybody" bullshit

* If you know who I stole this from, I'll give you a lolly.