Victor Macarol - West Broadway, New York City. 1983
Saturday, December 20, 2014
First Lines: Joe Haldeman - The Forever War
"Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man."
Rarely Heard: Muriel Zoe - Your Place
Muriel Zie is a German singer/somgwriter who writes wonderful jazz-tinged songs. So far she has released 4 albums and has received good reviews, but not so much public attemtion yet. She's also an artist and has had several exhibitions so far.
Friday, December 19, 2014
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The Lamp Still Burns (1943)
A nurse and her colleagues face appalling working conditions in a wartime hospital.
Moderate romance with a good cast and a strong emphasis on the nurses' wartime efforts.
Halliwell (no star): "Understated wartime morale-builder, no longer very interesting."
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Rarely Heard: Kristeen Young - No Other God
I discovered New York-based singer/songwriter Kristeen Young via MySpace (when that place was still active) and was instantly intrigued reminding me a bit like a more agreesive Tori Amos (and on No Other God she sounds a bit like Kate Bush). Interestingly, like with me, she grew up in St. Louis, and one of her parents is German. Her album X is a concept album, 10 songs about the 10 Commandments, and none less than Palcebo's Brian Molko sings with her on the first song No Other God. She released her latest album, The Knife Shift, this year.
Platinum Blonde (1931)
A young woman from a very rich family impulsively marries a reporter, but each assumes the other is the one whose lifestyle must change.
Mildly entertaining comedy has its witty moments, but is a bit slow and the male lead isn't that convincing.
Halliwell*: "Limp romantic comedy with interesting performance: the film that established Jean Harlow."
Maltin***: "Snappy comedy...Despite engaging presence of Harlow and Young, it's Williams' show all the way."
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Rarely Heard: Iannis Xenakis - Jonchaies
About 30 years ago I bought an Iannis Xenakis LP that pretty much blew my mind: although the compostion was played by a classical orchestra, it sounded like industrial music and seemed to me could have been from a band like S.P.K. or Whitehouse. A friend convinced me to sell him the album, and I could get it from the same source again. But the problem was: it was no longer available. To this day I can't remember which of Xenakis' works it had been, but some day I'll find it. Wikipedia: "Xenakis pioneered the use of mathematical models in music such as applications of set theory, stochastic processes and game theory and was also an important influence on the development of electronic and computer music. He integrated music with architecture, designing music for pre-existing spaces, and designing spaces to be integrated with specific music compositions and performances."
