Saturday, December 6, 2014

Sissi Zhong


A day in the life, Dec 5


A day in the life, Dec 5, standing outside looking inside

Ma Xiao Qian


Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009)

 
Their women having been enslaved by the local pack of lesbian vampires thanks to an ancient curse, the remaining menfolk of a rural town send two hapless young lads out onto the moors as a sacrifice.
 
Deliberately silly splatter comedy with just a touch of  eroticism; only entertaining for the small male adolescent audience it was meant for.



Sun Feifei


New Stuff: The New Yorker


(art: Bob Staake)

Who's That Girl?


Art: Zsolt Bodoni

Wang Xin Yue


Rarely Heard: Pylon - Crazy



"Despite failing to equal the commercial success or cross-cultural impact of their Athens, GA, compatriots R.E.M and the B-52s, Pylon's influence on the city's legendary music scene proved just as pronounced -- the group's propulsive, angular jangle pop sound resonated not only through the Athens creative community but throughout the American pop underground of the 1980s, and though more heard-of than actually heard, their role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable." (Allmusic.com) Unfortunately, they released only three albums, the last one in 1990.

Liliana Dominguez


A day in the life, Dec 4


A day in the life, Dec 4, window display

Ieva Laguna


From my vaults: Linda Darnell

Chloe Norgaard


New York


Robert Frank: Pedestrian Crossing Center White Line on 34th Street, NY, 1948

Margaryta Senchylo


ph: Andoni & Arantxa

Friday, December 5, 2014

First Lines: Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End


Before she flew to the launch site, Helena Lyakhov always went through the same ritual.

Aqua Parios


ph: Daniel Clavero

Rarely Heard: Original Silence - Argument Left Hanging-Rubber Cement



Original Silence is a six-piece improvisational noise/jazz/rock supergroup with members Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke, Massimo Pupillo, Paal Nilssen-Love, Terrie Ex and Mats Gustafsson. The band offers a perfect balance between structured improvisation, raw noise, and thunderous rock beats.
This title is from their second album and Pitchfork.com says: " Shooting out of the gate with scratchy guitar, gut-rocking bass, and a stuttering beat, the track at first resembles a Captain Beefheart jam, then hits shades of electric-era Miles Davis, and ends with a trail of dense electronics. Throughout, Mats Gustafsson's sax wraps the din into a ball of rhythmic noise, suggesting it's actually possible to dance to free-form improv."
Last night at the round table with my pals I mentioned I'd be presenting Original Silence today, and one remarked: "You do recognize that you've seen half of that band performing this month?" And it's true: I saw Mats Gustafsson and  Paal Nilssen-Love perform as The Thing in Wels, Austria, and just last week Terrie Ex with The Ex here in Regesnburg!

Ana Beatriz Barros


ph: Jason Lee Parry

A day in the life, Dec 3


A day in the life, Dec 3, chess

Lily Cole


ph: Signe Vilstrup

New Stuff: Combustible Edison


A gift from my pal Ralf, I still need their third album, though.


Who's That Girl?


Art: Aleksander Salij

Shu Qi


A day in the life, Dec 2


A day in the life, Dec 2, window display

Natalia Vodianova


From my vaults: Jean Darling

Kirsten Owen


ph: Robert Erdmann

New York


1905

Julie Delpy


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Jenny Knight


Rarely Heard: Scout Niblett - Nevada



"Scout Niblett is Nottingham, England's answer to all the brash, intelligent, and honest female songwriters who emerged from America during the early 21st century." (allmusic.com) And she's one of my absolute favourites. You may call her her a songwriter - in the sense that she's created her own musical world, hardly comparable to anyone else. Usually it's just her and her guitar and an occasional drummer, whereas she'll just play the drums herself. And you may call her music spartan, but it's intense, often mesmerizing - and heavy, I love her concerts. I had a hard time picking a song, since I enjoy them all, so I'll be occasionally introducing more.

Noah Steenbruggen


ph: Anouk Nitsche

A day in the life, Dec 1


A day in the life, Dec 1, Christkindlmarkt after closing time

Abla Ahmed Osman


The Movies I Watched in November

Antoine and Colette 1962  8

Big Miracle 2012  6
Chungking Express 1994  10

Fraktus - Das letzte Kapitel der Musikgeschichte 2012  7

Jonah Hex 2010  5
Jumper 2008  5
Kraftwerk - Pop Art 2013  6
La Femme Nikita 1990  7

Le marginal 1983  6
Life of Pi 2012  8

Looper 2012  5
Manhattan 1979  7

Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution 2007  5
New York, I Love You 2008  5
The Count of Monte Cristo 2002  6
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012  7

The Hurt Locker 2008  7

To Live and Die in L.A. 1985  6
X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2009  5

Luna Bijl


Concert: The Ex


The Dutch experimental rock band The Ex recently played at the Alte Mälzerei in Regensburg. I was anxious to see them live, a bit of a cult band that has existed since the late 70s. Usually a sextett, on this occasion they performed as quartet, only onewas a founding member, but the female drummer has been along with The Ex since 1984. From the beginning on it was clear that this is a very proffessional band that managed to perform their complex angular New Wave-like songs with great power and obviously nearly effortlessly. They even had good parts of the (small) audience dancing and were forced to play two encores.


Julia Maerten


New Stuff: Flying Lotus


Arguably one of the best albums of this year.


Misha Hart


ph: Karim Sadli

Concert: Taucher


The North German punk rock band Taucher played as support for The Ex at the Alte Mäzerei in Regensburg. Although there was only a small audience they did manage to thrill with their melodic and enthusiastically played songs with German lyrics.