Pearl Jam Twenty: the love that is saved

Pearl Jam are celebrating their 20th Anniversary with the release of Pearl Jam Twenty, a documentary film tracing the history of the band through rare footage and new interviews. The film is written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and will premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10. This is how the band’s official website summarizes Pearl Jam Twenty:

The film [...] chronicles the years leading up to the band’s formation, the chaos that ensued soon-after being catapulted into superstardom, their step back from the spotlight with the instinct of self-preservation, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them—giving way to a work culture that would sustain them. The film celebrates the freedom that allows the band to make music without losing themselves, their fans, or the music lovers they’d always been.

I have appreciated Pearl Jam’s music and musicianship all these years, and their sound has the definitive quality to reflect upon most of what I see around me. Moreover, shouldn’t rock music and alternative mentality be much more than style over substance? By refusing to make videos at the height of their popularity, boycotting the giant ticket sales company Ticketmaster and suffering long term loses in terms of touring, and, most of all, by continuing  to evolve their music, rather than resting on their laurels or repeating any kind of formula, Pearl Jam have set a standard.

Last but not least, the film’s trailer uses a segment of Given To Fly, from their 1998 album Yield. It happens to be one of their very best songs – so why don’t we turn the volume up, way up:

 

He could’ve tuned in, tuned in
But he tuned out
A bad time, nothing could save him
Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out
He got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles
He made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree
The wind rose up, set him down on his knee

A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw
Delivered him wings, ‘Hey, look at me now’
Arms wide open with the sea as his floor
Oh, power, oh
He’s… flying... whole

He floated back down ’cause he wanted to share
His key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere
But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed
By faceless men, well, fuckers
He still stands

And he still gives his love, he just gives it away
The love he receives is the love that is saved
And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky
A human being that was given to fly

High… flying…
High… flying…
He’s flying…

Ever dream of Helsinki

Hakaniemi, Helsinki, 11.04.2011

When I visited Helsinki I was impressed by the popularity of rock and metal music; it was a particularly interesting aspect of the city from a cultural studies perspective, as these genres seemed to be reaching the status of a contemporary type of folk music. Janne Mäkelä of the Finnish Jazz and Pop Archive argues that many bands achieved significant recognition and commercial success at the international level, and thus affected the popular music discourse in the country; this is an example of the ways in which transnational forms of culture may have an important role in the making of national identity (Alternations: The case of international success in Finnish popular music, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 12, 367-382, 2009).

Mäkelä also discusses the question of mainstream media attention and coverage; one characteristic case was the rift in Nightwish, which developed between the lead singer Tarja Turunen and the rest of the group in 2005, and became front page news for a fortnight (p.  379). Nightwish is an example of an internationally prominent band, and Ever Dream is one of their best songs; as well as my favourite of theirs.

Ever felt away with me
Just once that all I need
Entwined in finding you one day

Ever felt away without me
My love, it lies so deep
Ever dream of me

Would you do it with me
Heal the scars and change the stars
Would you do it with me
Turn loose the heaven within

I'd take you away
Castaway on a lonely day
Bosom for a teary cheek
My song can but borrow your grace

Ever felt away with me
Just once that all I need
Entwined in finding you one day

Ever felt away without me
My love, it lies so deep
Ever dream of me

Come out, come out, wherever you are
So lost in your sea
Give in, give in, for my touch
For my taste, for my lust

Ever felt away with me
Just once that all I need
Entwined in finding you one day

Ever felt away without me
My love, it lies so deep
Ever dream of me

Your beauty cascaded on me
In this white night fantasy

Sunlight in August: Athens

Kalamaki, Athens, 24.08.20011

Only one person has seen these pictures before uploading, and I found their response very much to the point – they said that unless one actually knows where they were taken, they would probably think this is some kind of ideal beach, in some kind of ideal faraway island. This is absolutely right, because there are no ideal faraway islands here. Kalamaki is about a half hour bus ride from the centre of Athens.

Athens has been systematically looked down upon by most of its own residents, who are more than happy to abandon her in the first instance, and by all means during August. And it is precisely then that the city shows its true colors – I wouldn’t miss them for the world, and in fact I don’t. When I am in Greece in August, it is always Athens hands down. My migrant friends do not go on a holiday, the elderly people who are left behind, because apparently they don’t fit in very well with the coolest possible vacation plan, have more than interesting things to say, and the stray dogs are always pleased to see me. I know other Athenians who choose to stay as well, and sometimes it feels as if we are an informal cult.  

Moreover, isn’t one supposed to acknowledge beauty when they see it? I happen to love the sea, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I spent every summer of my childhood in a dream-like deserted beach, happy, barefoot, and swimming like a fish all day long. So, every time somebody tells me of this fabulous beach they discovered during their fabulous holiday, I am wondering if I remembered to leave the light in the living room on. The cat likes to have a light left on when I go out.

I can’t help it. I never really understood why so many people cannot see beauty even when it lies right in front of them.

  

All the way back to Helsinki for a cup of coffee

A cup of coffee may be one of these little pleasures we come across in our everyday lives, but is this a good enough reason for going all the way to Helsinki? Probably not. But then again, there is the Uschakoff building; it was built in the beginning of the nineteenth century in the heart of the city. And it happens to have an internal hall, designed in 1903 by the architects Lars Sonck and Valter Jung. This is presently called the Jugend Hall, and it hosts a spacious and friendly café under its skylight. The fresco at the rear was painted by Wilho Sjöström in 1916.

 

11.04.2011

I suppose this is what happens when people allow themselves to wander freely and rather purposelessly in a city they have never visited before, and they willingly loose themselves in its heart, rather than follow some sort of conventional sightseeing guide. Sooner or later, they end up in places such as this, which may as well be one of my favourite places in the world to sit and read, have a coffee or a salad. Is this a good enough reason for going all the way back? Probably not. But then again…

I'll guide you through the dark: Stream of Passion release Darker Days

Spare a thought for me my love
While you stare at the distance
For the spark that was born in your eyes
Lit my senses

Dream of me my dear
Press my song on your temples
Let my voice draw away all your fears
And embrace you

As the night extends over the daylight
Please remember
That for a glimpse of your smile I would give
My everything
Smiles and secrets, hopes and fears
Tears and wishes, words and dreams

Spare a thought for me my love
When you wake from your slumber
To the spark that was born in your eyes
I surrender

Imagine a band whose songs make reference to Vincent Van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night (Closer), and novels such as The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (The Mirror) and  The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Mark), as well as address the tide of change in the Arab world (The World in Ours) and the current situation in Mexico (Reborn); a band whose sound fuses elements from progressive rock, symphonic metal, classical and Latin American music, and is led by a unique female vocalist and violinist. 

Spellbinding, isn’t it? This is the case of Stream of Passion, a band which effectively defies categorization. Their recently released third album, Darker Days, is their best; and the same applies to the performance of their frontwoman, the multilingual vocalist Marcela Bovio. Marcela was previously in the progressive rock band Elfonia, and has also made notable guest appearances, such as in The Gathering's The West Pole album.

Trazos de hielo y niebla que se esconden
En las pequenas grietas de mi nombre
Luz que ilumina el alba, no me ignores
Entre suspiros llamas mas no se a donde

El invierno me encuentra delirando
Entre flores cubiertas de desencanto, miedo y llanto
Mientras el frio corre por mis manos
Mi corazon implora: "hasta cuando?"

Sing to me one more time
Turn loose the waking light
Unleash the sounds that define me
And keep me alive
And if I fall into despair
Tear down the walls and call my name
To remind me who I am.

Noches que se dilatan lentamente
Derrumbando promesas e ilusiones
Mientras la luna quema el horizonte
La voz de la memoria enmudece

Sing to me one more time
Turn loose the waking light
Unleash the sounds that define me
And keep me alive
And if I fall into despair
Tear down the walls and call my name
To let me know
That our cause
Is never lost,
Our song will forever be heard

Tear off these chains
Tell me my name

Lyrics & translation: Dark Lyrics

Jane Campion's Bright Star

  FilmAffinity

I have finally managed to see Jane Campion's film Bright Star, which addresses the relationship between Fanny Browne (Abbie Cornish) and John Keats (Ben Whishaw). The film is visually stunning and exceptionally well shot, written, and acted, as one would expect from a director as important as Jane Campion. But there is much more: the narrative portrays Fanny Browne as an independent character, and depicts her relationship with John Keats as one of equals. The two characters communicate in ways fundamentally different from those associated with their traditional gender roles, and their relationship is based on a shared understanding of creativity and self-expression. In this respect, Jane Campion insightfully treats the subject of a love affair on the basis of romanticism, rather than conventional romance; as John Keats' character puts it in the film: "I almost wish we were butterflies, and lived but three summer days. Three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain."
 

As the film states in the end, John Keats died at twenty-five, believing himself a failure, and is now acknowledged as one of the greatest Romantic poets. The film's title makes reference to the following sonnet, which was written during his relationship with Fanny Browne:

                                       Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art —
                                       Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
                                       And watching, with eternal lids apart,
                                       Like Nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
                                       The moving waters at their priestlike task
                                       Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
                                       Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
                                       Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —
                                       No — yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
                                       Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
                                       To feel for ever its soft swell and fall,
                                       Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
                                       Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
                                       And so live ever — or else swoon to death.

wallpapers-cinema

Evanescence release brand new single!!!

This is the new Evanescence single ''What You Want'', from their upcoming self-titled album out 11/10/11. One of the most anticipated album releases this year. Amy and her band are back for good, ready to rock us again...

Do what you what you want, if you have a dream for better
Do what you what you want till you don’t want it anymore
(remember who you really are)
Do what you what you want, your world’s closing in on you now
(it isn’t over)
Stand and face the unknown
(got to remember who you really are)
Every heart in my hands like a pale reflection

Hello, hello remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe we can break through

Do what you what you want, you don’t have to lay your life down
(it isn’t over)
Do what you what you want till you find what you’re looking for
(got to remember who you really are)
But every hour slipping by screams that I have failed you

Hello, hello remember me?

I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe
Hello, hello remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe

There’s still time
Close your eyes
Only love will guide you home
Tear down the walls and free your soul
Till we crash we’re forever spiraling down, down, down, down

Hello, hello, it’s only me
Infecting everything you love
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe
Hello, hello remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to learn forgiveness
Hello, hello remember me?
I’m everything you can’t control
Somewhere beyond the pain there must be a way to believe we can break through

And you said you would find me even in death

Source

Τori Amos will be releasing her twelfth album this September through Deutsche Grammophon, which perhaps is the most significant classical label. As Τori Amos explains, the new album is "a 21st century song cycle inspired by classical music themes spanning over 400 years."

Until then, I would like to return to 2002 and the album Scarlet's Walk, as it includes one of her best songs. I can't see New York is particularly evocative and inevitably haunted by its reference to 9/11 – at the same time, it is an insightful track focusing on human emotion and experience, and its aesthetic quality continues to flourish every single time I listen to it...

From here
No lines are drawn
From here
No lands are owned
Thirteen thousand and holding
Swallowed in the purring of her engines
Tracking the beacon here
Is there a signal there
On the other side
On the other side
What do you mean, side of what things

And you said
And you did
And you said you would find me here

And you said that you would find me even in death
And you said
And you said you'd find me

But I can't see New York
As I'm circling down

Through white cloud, I’m falling out and

I know his lips are warm

But I can't seem to find my way out
My way out
I can't see New York
As I'm circling down

Through white cloud, falling out and

I know his lips are warm
But I can't seem to find my way out
My way out of this hunting ground

From here
Crystal meth in metres of millions
In the end
All we have soul blueprint
Did we get lost in it
Do we conduct a search for this
From the other side
From the other side
What do they mean, side of what things

And you said
And you did
And you said you would find me here

And you said that you would find me even in death
And you said
And you said you'd find me

But I can't see New York
As I'm circling down
Through white cloud, I’m falling out and

I know his lips are warm
But I can't seem to find my way out
My way out
I can't see New York
As I'm circling down
Through white cloud, I’m falling out and
I know your lips are warm
But I can't seem to find my way out
My way out of your hunting ground

You again
It's you again
I can't see, I can't see New York

I can't see, I can't see New York
From the other side

I hum from the other side

 

Skies, #2

Athens, 05.12.2010

Sylvie Guillem: dancing beyond the limits

 

   Two    

Choreography: Russell Maliphant

'I do, I suppose, tend to infringe rules and traditions.'

Over here and out on a limb, L. Jennings, The Independent, 21.o3.1993 

Sylvie Guillem is widely acclaimed as the most significant contemporary dancer, as well as one of the best dancers of all time.  As an  unconventional and uncompromising artist, she is constantly evolving and experimenting with the limits of her art, as well as with her own limits, having characteristically moved from ballet to contemporary dance. Sylvie Guillem is, I think above all, a model of naturalness. Her technique is developed to such an extent that it is no longer visible; it is totally absorbed by the artistic content it conveys, with the result being a complete lack of formalism. In this respect, she is the most significant contemporary dancer because her sophisticated performance is carried out as naturally as one breathes. As she puts it at the beginning of her film Evidentia, "movement is life"; and perhaps this is the reason why her approach to dance is able to express unique emotions.

“I think dance is suffering because you still have a lot of ghettoes,” she said. “You’re either a classical dancer, or you’re a contemporary dancer and all that goes with it. I don’t like this veneration for one technique.”

A Diva Ballerina’s Long Leap, D. Solway, The New York Times, 08.10.2006

“To be a ballerina at the Paris Opéra was not my dream,” she says. “I was not born into a family that went to the opera or ballet. I didn't even know it existed.”

Raising the barre: prima ballerina Sylvie Guillem, R. Millard, The Times, 28.03.2008

She was, in many respects, ballet's first feminist. She puts some of her revolutionary spirit down to the fact that she never had childhood dreams of pink tulle. She was a gymnast first, a 'garçon manqué' as she says, a tomboy with cropped hair, awkward and angular.

Sylvie Guillem, T. Adams, The Observer, 09.03.2008

I can tell you that the people who come to see me, they are not all rich people. I mean they are every night at the stage door, every night they find a ticket even if it is not easy. It is true that the seat prices could be lower, and I agree they should bring them down. But people should stop thinking that it is for elitists.

Sylvie Guillem on Ballet and Dance, B. Marriott, ballet.magazine, April 1999

The reason these choreographers want to work with her lies in what Ek calls her 'distinctive voice’. He thinks it arises from a contradiction: 'Her body has a fragile structure. It’s not only all flashing or knife-sharp. There is also this quality of vulnerability, and that’s very important. It is what makes the thrill about it.’ Forsythe emphasises something different: 'I am completely mesmerised by the intelligence of her art. Everything she has done becomes part of her. She makes knowing natural. It’s what she does: she knows how to dance. She has always been trying to find out what she could do.’

Sylvie Guillem interview: raising the barre, S. Crompton, The Telegraph, 03.07.2011

Sacred Monsters

Choreography: Akram Khan

Wet Woman

Choreography: Mats Ek

Push     

Choreography: Russell Maliphant