Inception...again

Não tem sido fácil encontrar espaços para pensar as relações entre cinema e videojogos. Porquê? Porque cada vez que se chama a atenção para o simplismo de muitas dessas relações — será que filmar muitos corredores com grandes angulares e câmara à mão constitui, por si só, uma recriação interessante dos jogos? — surgem de todo o lado (em especial nos blogs) os discursos mais pueris a proclamar a "pureza" dos videojogos e a dignidade da "juventude" que os utiliza...

Acreditemos que, para além dos seus méritos cinematográficos, o novo filme de Christopher Nolan — Inception/A Origem — vai contribuir para limpar o ambiente e enriquecer as reflexões sobre tais temáticas. Porquê? Porque as aventuras oníricas e virtuais de Leonardo DiCaprio são também filmadas como algo que não é estranho a algumas das mais interessantes potencialidades do universo dos videojogos. A saber:

1 - a reconversão das coordenadas clássicas da percepção doespaço;

2 - a reavaliação do tempo como elemento de qualquer narrativa;

3 - a problematização da identidade humana como "coisa" que se decide, não apenas num interior mais ou menos secreto e indizível, mas também num espaço/tempo cujas coordenadas são, historicamente e simbolicamente, susceptíveis de permanente interrogação.

De forma interessante, porque culturalmente ágil, esta última hipótese relança, não apenas a força simbólica dos sonhos no pensamento da nossa existência, mas também o discurso mais revolucionário que sobre eles trabalha: a psicanálise. Freud teria um sorriso feliz face a Inception.

fonte:http://sound--vision.blogspot.com/

Roxy Music

Aviso prévio aos leitores: os Roxy Music são uma banda para levar a sério. Eles são mais, muito mais, do que a pop sintetizada de 'More Than This' ou 'Slave To Love'. Eram-no há trinta anos atrás, foram-no em Oeiras na passada semana e sê-lo-ão, se tudo correr pelo melhor, nos próximos anos. Logo de início ficou claro que este concerto não estava destinado a quem quisesse cantarolar os versos melosos que deram fama mundial aos Roxy Music. Com o palco inserido num jardim, muito verde e pitoresco, preparava-se terreno para uma noite de muito e bom rock.


Fazendo uma viagem no seu próprio tempo e passado, os Roxy Music foram resgatar os temas mais progressivos e avant-garde. 'Remake Remodel' mostrava um Phil Manzanera endiabrado na guitarra, com solos que não raras vezes roçaram o rock mais espacial dos Hawkwind. Andy Mackay, de saxofone em punho, ajudava a reforçar a viagem por vezes psicadélica. 'A Song For Europe' ou 'Ladytron' mostraram Mackay em expoente máximo, a criar texturas tão intrigantes quanto envolventes.


Bryan Ferry, esse romântico incurável, foi em Oeiras o mais puro e liberto artista. Está à vontade em terrenos férteis, mais artísticos, onde as suas palavras são quase de um poeta, profundo, complexo e nada superficial.

Os Roxy Music sentem-se tão bem neste papel mais artístico, que fogem de 'More Than This' o mais depressa que podem. O tema é tocado, a euforia sente-se, mas apenas durante os quatro minutos do tema. Quase nem damos por ele e quando acaba nem nos lembramos que foi tocado. 'Slave To Love', esse, não se ouviria.


'Editions Of You' reforçava os devaneios em que a banda vinha apostando desde o início. Com os versos em francês que lhe aumentam a carga dramática e que soavam quase fantasmagóricos e espectrais a pairar sob o recinto. Bryan Ferry e companhia mostravam o excelente momento de forma e química que atravessam.


Num alinhamento para muitos improvável e inesperado - que teve direito a intensidade agravada pelas projecções negras e introspectivas como o som que brotava dos instrumentos -, a parte final ainda valeu alguns momentos de festa aos muitos presentes.


'Jealous Guy' mostrou momentaneamente que os Roxy Music têm uma costela romântica e Bryan Ferry salpicou a música com o seu assobio descontraído. 'Love Is A Drug', 'Let's Stick Together' e 'Do The Strand' - como que para recompensar um público mais geral - foram servidos em modo rockabilly, dançável.


No final do concerto de Oeiras, ficou a sensação de que existem duas entidades nos Roxy Music. A distorção na guitarra e a voz de Bryan Ferry são os pontos comuns. Se uma parece preferir o rock mais dançável e directo, a outra prefere a intensidade, a experiência, a viagem musical.


A face espacial, progressiva e sinfónica é sem dúvida espectacular, mas mais cerebral e pode restringir os ouvintes da banda. A outra, mais festiva, pode trazer apenas mais uma banda ao mundo e perder-se entre tantas criações instantâneas, esquecendo afinal a arte que eles cunharam no rock.

DEXTER season 5 promo

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Sonho/Realidade

De que falamos quando falamos de sonho? Ao sonharmos, será que perdemos a possibilidade de conferir algum sentido às nossas palavras? Em boa verdade, será que a fala está já do lado do sonho? E as imagens?


Inception/A Origem, de Christopher Nolan é um filme sobre tudo isso -- e a impossibilidade de o dizer. "O sonho é real": eis o que, talvez, devamos tomar à letra.

Ask the indie professor: What is indie? And how does rainfall make it better?

This month we look at how gloomy Manchester indie could be linked to the expressive ritual cycles of Northwest Coast Indians. Oh, and I try and answer the question you all wanted to know ...

If your question wasn't answered this week (I was excited to see there were hundreds to go through) don't worry, I'm keeping them all in my old-fashioned spiral notebook. And if you've got a new question, please post below (or send to theindieprofessor@gmail.com).


Why is it that certain places tend to have flourishing indie scenes and others not so much. Seattle, Glasgow and Manchester, for example?


timbocrimbo


When I lived in Manchester, musicians regularly told me why their city produced so much good music (I never asked this). The answer was always the same: the rain. The basic rationale is lots of time inside; gloomy weather, and the need to self-entertain. Interestingly, there could be something to this explanation as one of the culture regions with the most complex and elaborate art and expressive ritual cycles is Northwest Coast Indians. On the Northwest Coast of Canada, the rainfall exceeds even Seattle. Here extended families, living traditionally in longhouses spend months inside with all of their relatives (or all of their in-laws) in small villages wedged between the rugged ocean and impenetrable cedar forests abutting rocky cliffs. Imagine this living situation as a form of Big Brother with all of your relatives, only it lasts forever. From this society, where expressions need to be contained, emerged a breathtakingly dynamic artistic tradition that extended to the adornment of every functional object, mortuary poles, and architectural forms representing the relationships between humans, animals, cosmology and reflexivity commentary on man's place in the world.


It never rained much when I was in Glasgow, but local musicians frequently discussed the wealth of venues and other places to play, and the support of fellow musicians. Having locations where bands can practise and make a lot of noise seems to be an alternative means to creating a fertile music scene. As Ann Powers mentioned to me over burgers, "Sam Coomes of Quasi told me that the entire Portland scene was because of basements". Portland houses have basements that are basically soundproof, providing ample free rehearsal and recording space for budding artists. Bands need places to play relatively undisturbed and having the support of fellow musicians creates a subterranean economy of reciprocity and inbreeding that seems to develop a local sound.

What's the most effective way of getting people to be quiet at gigs, especially as people who don't like music that much tend to be going to gigs more often these days?


badbeard


It's not that people who don't like music are going to more gigs, it's that you are getting older (not that there is anything wrong with that). People have always talked during shows. In venues without seats, there is a clear pattern of distribution of audience members correlated with age, interpersonal distances and talking. The youngest and most active audience members are at the front and they rarely talk during a band's set (other than the odd fan yelling out the titles of obscure B-sides). As audience members age, they move farther back in the venue where they have more space and tend to be involved in other activities that are not directly related to what is happening on stage. People also move during shows; if you don't like a band, you move back to talk and drink. When you are into it, you want to be in front where it's hot and your personal space is the limits of your body. Talking in the back is tolerated. Talking in the front is not. So if you want to get away from people talking, you just have to move up or go to a seated venue. Of course, that means being squashed up against a lot of younger music fans that can be a bit awkward for all involved. Now, if people are talking in the front, it means you are at a music industry showcase and you need to figure out how you ended up there in the first place.


This may be a dumb question, but what criteria are you using for "indie" here – musical/hairstyle, or artists who aren't signed to a major?


Simianbaffin

Not a dumb question, and one that lots of people asked in one form or another. I'll try and tackle the question that takes 57 pages to answer in my book in the shortest way possible. "What is indie" is the issue that is most contested, dissected, and passionately debated by journalists and fans alike. For me, indie is found in the arguments people have. For example, no one argues about ownership in hip-hop and nobody worries about who wrote the music to decide if you are "jazz" or not. For indie, there are five major arguments. I like to think about them as teams. First is "Team Independent Label/Distribution". For people who use this definition, it doesn't matter what you sound like or your practices. You just need the label (US) or distribution (UK) of the artist to be not owned by one of the four major international record corporations. The ideal is that independent labels interfere less, are more ethical, are "small" and reflect a local scene. However, no one seems to worry about the ownership of artists' publishing companies or booking agencies. This tells you independent ownership is more about perception of autonomy rather than actual autonomy. Second is "Team Attitude". For "Team Attitude" it is about the spirit of independence, the most punk criterion. This would include artists with creative control, DIY practices, egalitarian non-conformists who value individualism. Third is "Team Aesthetics/Genre". This is the one that creates the most exasperation for purists. Here, indie would be stylish four-piece beat combos with skinny guys and skinny girls in skinny jeans wearing their everyday clothes on stage, a twee, retro, or lo-fi sound, simple songs with intelligent, nostalgic, escapist, or depressing lyrics. This team allows audience members to be indie as well. Fourth is "Team Taste". These elitists claim to recognise the most authentic and quality music, it's just that the best music is the music that they like. It's a question of "artistic merit" and it is why Mr Tomfoolery "indie kids pretend to like rap music". They are the aesthetically elect. They are also the objects of collective ire.



Finally, there is "Team Non-Mainstream" (whatever the mainstream is, I am not). The mainstream is seen as a bloated centralised authority run by corrupt bureaucrats more concerned with sales than artistic expression. Therefore, indie would be anything that is the opposite of what we perceive as mainstream: diminutive, intimate, local, personalised, modest, original, intelligent, raw, austere, and substantive. I'm not privileging any of these teams. People want you to choose a side. Yet, if you take these premises together, you'll find out that they have more in common than you might initially think.



Where is the actual landfill? Is it toxic? Is it full yet? Do the neighbours complain?


TerminalDecline



Yes, there is a landfill. It's non-toxic. It's not full, and the only people who complain don't live nearby. The indie landfill is found at your local festival. The glut of festivals in Europe (now in America as well) has meant that not only do promoters need big headlining acts, but also moderately popular bands to fill the many slots on the various stages throughout the day and night: Bands on the way up; touring stalwarts, reunited bands and groups with only a single ride on the pony.


Why is this? In the late 1980s, there were relatively few popular "destination" music festivals: the UK's Glastonbury and Reading, Denmark's Roskilde, Belgium's Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop, Netherlands' Pinkpop, and Spain's Benicassim. In 1989, Mean Fiddler took over Reading Rock selecting a radically different lineup. It gathered an entirely different festival crowd. A new style and market was seen as attracting a large young audience for live music.


Initially, with relatively few festivals, each booker could be selective regarding which bands they chose to play. So if a band were playing Reading, then Glastonbury wouldn't choose them. With success, festivals have proliferated, a trend that continues unabated in 2010s. The competition for popular bands by bookers is more marked. Promoters stopped caring if they have exclusivity for a particular artist. This has created the generic festival bill with lineups that are interchangeable and the exact same bands playing at many overlapping festivals. Destination festivals need bands to play early and mid-level slots during the daytime. There has always been a place in music for one-hit or one-album wonders. As part of indie's system of authenticity, a band needs to be able to play their music convincingly live. They cut their teeth in rubbish venues without the bells and whistles of other music styles. Indie bands' abilities to set up and play solidly live with austere production make them ideal candidates for these mid-level festival slots. As long as destination festivals are flourishing, there will be space in the landfill. But remember, your filler band may be playing my ringtone.


in:http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jul/19/ask-indie-professor

O Escritor Fantasma

Que vemos quanto tentamos ver as coisas à nossa volta? Ou ainda: a política é uma arte do real ou uma vertigem do irreal? São perguntas para reformular através do fabuloso filme de Roman Polanski, O Escritor Fantasma -- este texto foi publicado no Diário de Notícias (14 de Julho), com o título 'A arte de todas as máscaras'.

Há um novo-riquismo cinéfilo (por vezes, também jornalístico) que parece acreditar que, em cinema, o naturalismo se combate através da mera proliferação de efeitos especiais. É uma visão pueril que ignora as subtilezas da arte narrativa de grandes cineastas como Roman Polanski e a discreta genialidade de filmes como O Escritor Fantasma.

Não que haja aqui uma técnica banal. Bem pelo contrário: repare-se apenas no assombramento que percorre as cores das imagens de Pawel Edelman (director de fotografia polaco que já trabalhara com o cineasta em O Pianista e Oliver Twist, respectivamente em 2002 e 2005). Acontece que Polanski se cola aos elementos mais físicos da realidade para ir instalando a sensação discreta, mas inquietante, de que nada funciona, a impostura reina, tudo é máscara. Talvez se possa dizer que Polanski é o mais céptico dos realistas: nos seus filmes, os seres humanos inventam artifícios e disfarces para lidar com os monstros que os habitam. Resta lembrar que O Escritor Fantasma filma os bastidores da política...

Terminou o "pesadelo" de Polanski

Cineasta reage dizendo um "enorme obrigado" a quem o apoiou. Washington expressa "decepção" e garante que continuará a tentar que seja castigado por abuso sexual de uma menor

A Suíça pôs ontem fim à recente saga legal de Roman Polanski, recusando extraditá-lo para os Estados Unidos, onde foi condenado em 1978 por "relações sexuais ilegais" com uma menor de 13 anos. Polanski "é agora um homem livre", depois de ter estado quase dez meses sob prisão domiciliária no seu chalet nos Alpes suíços.

A decisão põe um ponto final no mais recente - e dramático - desenvolvimento de um caso com mais de 30 anos. Polanski tinha sido detido em Setembro do ano passado em Zurique, ao abrigo de um mandado de captura internacional emitido em 2005. Foi depois colocado sob detenção domiciliária, enquanto as autoridades suíças avaliavam o pedido de extradição dos EUA, que querem que cumpra pena por uma acusação de 1978. 

A ministra suíça da Justiça, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, anunciou ontem em conferência de imprensa que Polanski estava agora livre. "Ele pode ir para a França ou a Polónia, qualquer país onde não seja preso" - ambos os países não extraditam os seus cidadãos. "Os Estados Unidos não poderão recorrer da decisão da Suíça", explicou a ministra. Widmer-Schlumpf sublinhou que não estava em causa uma avaliação da culpa, mas que havia uma falha no pedido de extradição dos EUA, e considerou ainda que "interesses nacionais" haviam sido tidos em conta na decisão.

Roman Polanski reagiu com uma declaração lida pelo seu advogado, dizendo "um enorme obrigado" aos seus apoiantes - a sua detenção gerou uma onda de indignação em Hollywood e no establishment político e cultural em França. A sua mulher, a actriz Emmanuelle Seigner, tinha falado do "fim do pesadelo" e disse que esperava poder recomeçar "a vida normal" com o marido e os dois filhos. 

Os EUA deram conta da sua "decepção" e garantiram que vão continuar a tentar que o realizador seja extraditado para cumprir pena de prisão.

Especialistas legais norte-americanos não concordam se esta decisão será o final do filme: o advogado Robert Ruelando defendeu, em declarações à estação norte-americana Fox News, que "chegará uma altura em que o Ministério Público da Califórnia terá de decidir se quer continuar com algo que está a ter tanto esforço e custo" - ainda mais quando outros países que poderiam extraditar o realizador podem ser dissuadidos após esta decisão da Suíça. 

"Polanski ainda é um homem marcado", disse por seu lado Robert Mintz, que trabalhou no Ministério Público e é hoje sócio da firma McCarther & English, à agência Reuters. "Mesmo tendo conseguido escapar a este pedido de extradição, isso não quer dizer necessariamente que não haja outros países que decidam seguir o pedido das autoridades norte-americanas."

Polanski tem vivido em França e nunca voltou aos Estados Unidos desde 1978 - não foi, por exemplo, receber o Óscar de melhor realizador pelo filme "O Pianista", em 2003. 

As reacções à libertação de Polanski foram sobretudo de regozijo: o escritor e filósofo francês Bernard-Henri Lévy tinha sido o primeiro a fazer circular uma petição pela libertação de Polanski e foi ontem um dos primeiros a reagir, dizendo estar "louco de alegria". O ministro francês dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Bernard Kouchner, congratulou-se pela libertação de Polanski, assim como o ministro da Cultura, Frédéric Mitterrand. 

No entanto, algumas vozes expressaram desalento: a líder de uma associação norte-americana de crianças vítimas de abusos, Barbara Blaine, criticou ao Los Angeles Times a decisão que deixa sair em impunidade um homem que "cometeu um crime sexual hediondo contra uma menina".

'60s anti-war rocker Tuli Kupferberg dies in NYC

Tuli Kupferberg, a founding member of the underground rock group and staple of 1960s anti-war protests, the Fugs, has died.

Kupferberg, who had suffered strokes in the past year, died Monday in a Manhattan hospital, said his friend and bandmate Ed Sanders. He was 86.

"I think he will be remembered as a unique American songwriter," Sanders told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his home in Woodstock, N.Y. "Tuli had an uncanny ability to shape nuanced lyrics."

Sanders, who is writing a new memoir about the Fugs, said he visited his friend in the hospital on Thursday. Although Kupferberg was clearly ailing, he leaned into his ear and sang him the lyrics to a Fugs classic, "Morning, Morning," Sanders said.

"And then I said, `goodbye,'" he said.

Kupferberg's contributions were recognized in January when Lou Reed, Sonic Youth and others appeared at a benefit concert in Brooklyn to help pay for some of his medical expenses. He was too ill by then to attend the show, but recorded a 10-second video message, according to the New York Times, thanking the audience.

"Now go out there and have some fun," he said. "It may be later than you think."

The Fugs were formed by Sanders and Kupferberg, who were neighbors on Manhattan's Lower East Side in early 1965, according to the band's website. Their name, a substitute for a common expletive, was inspired by Norman Mailer, who used it in his classic, "Naked and the Dead."

The band ran in the same circles as Andy Warhol, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and other icons of the 1960s. It often performed at peace protests.

Kupferberg once referred to the band as "the U.S.O. of the left," according to the Times.

The group disbanded in 1969, but reformed several times since. It performed for a time on the Reprise label, which was owned by Frank Sinatra, who had final approval on album releases.

Sanders notes many of the songs Kupferberg wrote tended to be on the ribald side. "He wrote satirical, erotic songs," Sanders said, rattling off titles such as "Morning, Morning," "The Garden is Open" and "Kill for Peace."

Kupferberg, who also was a poet, produced cartoons for the Village Voice and had a longtime television program on the Manhattan public access cable channel, Sanders said. He posted some recent performances, which he called "preverbs," on YouTube, including, "Backward Jewish Soldiers (Hug your Gentile brothers)," which was his adaptation of the classic, "Onward Christian Soldiers."

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Topp; three children and three grandchildren.

Portishead com álbum à vista

Os Portishead prometeram que vão começar a trabalhar no sucessor de "Third" o mais brevemente possível.

Em entrevista à BBC, Geoff Barrow, o homem forte da composição dos Portishead, revelou que o grupo acabou de assinar com uma grande editora, com a etiqueta a prometer dar-lhes toda a liberdade necessária: «vamos voltar a trabalhar com pessoas em quem confiamos. A melhor editora do mundo. Eles disseram que podemos fazer o que quisermos. Pelos vistos vendemos discos suficientes para os deixar felizes», comentou Barrow, dando a entender que o trio assinou com a norte-americana Universal Music, a editora-mãe da Go Beat e da Island, as etiquetas com as quais os Portishead editaram anteriormente.

Barrow continua a assegurar aos fãs de que o grupo não vai voltar a demorar mais de dez anos para lançar novos álbuns, tal como aconteceu entre "Portishead" (1997) e "Third" (2008): «estarei a escrever para os Portishead entre Julho e Agosto. Quero lançar um novo disco. Espero que este fique pronto mais rápido, já que estamos mais velhos e sábios».

Quanto à direcção musical do novo álbum, Barrow dá como exemplo o tom mais electro do single 'Chase the Tear', lançado no passado mês de Dezembro pelo trio.

Na mesma entrevista, o músico inglês também deixou algumas palavras mais amargas para o público e os media britânicos: «o "Third" portou-se bem, mas tivemos pouco apoio no Reino Unido, porque não representamos uma boa parte da paisagem demográfica do país. Mas actuámos no Festival de Coachella [nos Estados Unidos] e foi espectacular».

Só porque tenho um fascínio pela Route 66

A

Route 66 foi estendida a Cascais graças à estreia exemplar de Chris Isaak em palcos nacionais. Não foram vistas panquecas de frutos silvestres, nem cherry colas em nenhuma ementa; a estrada não era infindável, e não tinha a meio-caminho hamburguerias com aquelas jukeboxes; não havia quiosques de venda de bolacha americana; e a gentinha não vestia aquelas camisas havaianas tão vivas. Havia Chris Isaak e a encarnação do velho imaginário americano em todos os segundos das duas horas de concerto no Parque Marechal Carmona.



Com uma popa de cabelo à Elvis (ainda impecável), um fato de lantejoulas à Elvis, abanões de ancas à Elvis, colocação de voz à Elvis, Chris Isaak desafiou a sua aparência mostrando ser algo mais do que apenas uma sombra pálida do seu mestre ou que um cromo de um rock quase pacóvio. Apesar da discrição, Isaak é muito mais que isso. Ele e o seu quinteto trouxeram uma bagagem musical do tamanho da América. Dava para tudo. Tocaram baladas ao melhor estilo oldies ('You Don't Cry Like I Do' é o melhor exemplo); apresentaram ora um rock mastigado de country, ora um rock avermelhado pelos acordes do diabo; picaram no blues mais puro; e ainda fizeram um número de gospel.


A interpretação de 'Wicked Game', perfumada por aqueles acordes de guitarra surf-music em slow motion, expôs a elasticidade da voz enorme de Chris Isaak; o possuído 'Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing' atraiu miúdas giras ao palco; e, já num encore que contou com os obrigatórios 'Blue Hotel' e 'San Francisco Days', a versão de '(Oh) Pretty Woman' de Roy Orbinson assentou que nem uma luva naquele alinhamento. Depois, veio o desalinhamento, nas jams comemorativas do final da digressão europeia (este era o último concerto). E aí ficou ainda mais transparente a maleabilidade e qualidade instrumental de Chris Isaak e dos seus comparsas que tocaram no céu quando fecharam o concerto com a interpretação da canção de embalo 'Forever Blue' que a fantástica noite estrelada pedia.



Na memória, fica também um momento especialmente meigo quando Chris Isaak, no seu percurso completo pela plateia, canta o clássico 'Love Me Tender' para cada membro feminino da assistência com uma atenção igualitária, sem atender a desigualdades de idade ou de beleza... Um gesto de cavalheirismo numa noite em que Elvis voltou a não morrer graças a Chris Isaak.

The Beatles - Happy Birthday

Thank you guys!

Roger Waters homenageia vítimas de guerra em «The Wall»

Roger Water está a convidar todos os que perderam um familiar numa guerra a partilharem histórias e fotografias.


O material recolhido será utilizado numa homenagem que o músico está a prepara para o espectáculo «The Wall», com dupla passagem pelo Pavilhão Atlântico em Março do próximo ano. Numa mensagem que pode ser lida no seu site oficial, Waters assume querer relembrar soldados e civis que perderam a vida na sequência de conflitos armados.

Entre os homenageados estará o seu pai que perdeu a vida durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial. «Faço este pedido porque acredito que muitas destas trágicas mortes podiam ser evitadas», escreve.

«Sinto-me solidário com todas as famílias das vítimas e revoltado com os que estão no poder porque são também responsáveis por estas mortes. Por favor, juntem-se a mim para honrar e protestar contra as suas mortes».

A digressão que comemora os 30 anos do lendário álbum dos Pink Floyd passa por Lisboa a 21 e 22 de Março de 2011. Em apenas um mês, venderam-se 20 mil bilhetes para estes espectáculos, sendo que a primeira data esgotou em três semanas.

Curtas e Longas em Vila do Conde

Começa hoje a 18ª edição do festival de curtas metragens de Vila do Conde, com programação que se estende ao longo dos próximos dias, encerrando a 11 de Julho. Com várias secções (naturalmente integrando uma competitiva, onde este ano são 18 as curtas portuguesas a concurso), o festival aposta uma vez mais na diversificação de propostas. Hoje, a noite de abertura no Teatro Municipal de Vila do Conde inclui, pelas 21.30 a projecção dos filmes Un Homme, un Vrai de Arnaud e Jean-Marie Larrieu e, às 23.45, a primeira passagem nacional de Nowhere Boy (na imagem), a primeira longa-metragem de Sam Taylor Wood, filme que foca a vida de John Lennon por alturas do momento em que forma os Quarrymen e conhece Paul McCartney, sendo que central à narrativa é, mais que a música, o triângulo familiar entre John, a sua mãe e Tia Mimi (com quem viveu desde muito cedo).

Mais informação sobre o festival aqui.

Wavves – King of the Beach (2010)

2009 was a big year for Nathan Williams. In March, he released his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Wavvves. Throughout the rest of the year, Williams made headlines, whether it was from his on-stage antics, collaborations (see Zach Hill, etc.) or his now-infamous scuffle with Jared Swilley of the Black Lips. In November, Williams joined forces with the Jay Reatard’s former rhythm section. At this point, when it seems like Williams’ reputation has already eclipsed his young musical career, he has returned with a third full-length album, entitled King of the Beach, that serves as a furious, rambunctious tour-de-force of what Wavves does best. The main difference between last year’s Wavvves and the recent King of the Beach is the level of fidelity. Last year, Williams’ sound was intentionally gritty, underscored and bleary. In 2010, Wavves still successfully express their beach-oriented style, only this time with lyrics that are delivered with more clarity.

Of the album’s twelve tracks, eleven of them clock in under four minutes, which is perfect for Wavves’ sound. The opening song, “King of the Beach”, doesn’t attempt to do any ‘opening’ or ‘introduction’, instead opting to jump straight into infectious, well-structured garage punk. This type of energy is held throughout an album heavily influenced by late-’60s pop that sounds like it has hit the bong one too many times and acquired prophetic knowledge of Pavement and No Age. To clarify, this is all excellent. The inclusion of a standard rhythm section has apparently given Williams time to structure his songs with greater care, even though they only play with him on two of the twelve tracks. They’re still as loud as Wavves, just more polished and tight.

“When Will You Come” brings a welcome break from the constant energy before getting back into full swing with the album’s first single, the incredibly enjoyable “Post-Acid.” This track sums up a lot of Williams’ feelings with lines like “Misery, will you comfort me…Understand what you understand, in my time of need that you’ll understand, that I’m just having fun..with yoooouuuu.” Much akin to Girls’ Album last year, King of the Beach is about having fun. Williams gets meta-fictional in “Take on the World” as he sings that “I still hate my music; it’s all the same” and “I hate myself, man; but who’s to blame? I guess I’m just fucked up…” Without skipping a beat, Williams and company make a central topic very relevant, which is the normal internal struggles facing many recent bands that get lumped into the ‘lo-fi’, ‘beach’ or ‘shitgaze’ categories. What makes Wavves stand out is that they have proven they can stand above the mass of bullshit that comes with every new label or ‘sub-genre.’ With underground music blogs making bands famous before they even release an EP, it is hard to distinguish the truly talented from the mere mediocre. Fortunately, King of the Beach is one of those albums that is wholly compelling. There is no false hype or mislabeled sub-genre here.

Moving into the second half of the album, “Convertible Ballroom” is a funky, electronic-infused dance number that does a good job in keeping the energy high while treading new water and retaining thematic relevance. Next is “Green Eyes”, a song that sounds more like 2009′s Wavvves than any other track on the album, albeit with background jangles that give it a more lighthearted tone. Both of these tracks are excellent examples of Williams’ versatility on this album. While earlier work was very dark and similar-sounding, King of the Beach does an excellent job of showing the various facets of Wavves’ sound. Even the lo-fi “Mickey Mouse” is overlaid with a jammy snare beat, the likes of which were barely seen on last year’s effort. Arguably the most “out-there” song on the entire album is the last, and longest track, “Baby Say Goodbye.” With a style not unlike that of Of Montreal’s 2006 album, The Sunlandic Twins, the track opens with an extended psychedelic whistling montage that leads into a synth-backed bubbly groove that still has Williams’ signature rambling, but with a more sunny and pop-inspired tone. And while Wavves is a totally different beast than the Elephant 6 Collective members, they obviously present their similar tendencies from time to time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wavvves last year. In this time of good bands slumping into either a rut (see Vivian Girls) or experimenting far too much (see MGMT), Williams and his new band have found an excellent middle ground that does not veer too far from the formula that worked, but also doesn’t rely purely on past successes to keep up their popularity. By jumping from experimentation to nostalgia and back again, Wavves has brilliantly crafted a follow-up that can match and possibly eclipse the success of last year’s effort. I’m confident that some fans and critics will denounce the raise in fidelity as a band cashing in on success, but I see it more as opportunity being seized and taken advantage of in order to make a more cohesive album that will not only satiate long-time fans, but also bring in new listeners that may have been turned off by the darkness and haziness that Wavves built their success upon.

King of the Beach is out digitally on July 1st through iTunes, July 13th through all other digital outlets, and physically by Fat Possum Records on August 3rd.

8.0/10.0

RIYL: Best Coast, No Age, Times New Viking, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Women, Washed Out, High Times, Crocodiles, Ducktails, Sic Alps, Japanther, Woods, HEALTH, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Ponytail, Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls
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First Aid Kit

“Fame has so many bad sides,” say the girls of new Sweden obsession First Aid Kit. “Fame is a very complex thing and our view on it is double. Fame is crucial to be able to make a living as a musician, which is our primary goal. However, we strive to get our music known, not us as people.” Even if fame wasn’t the primary objective, Klara & Johanna Söderberg, only 17 and 19, have been hit hard with it. First Aid Kit had its start in 2008, when the band decided to record a cover of Fleet Foxes ballad “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”. Receiving a massive amount of attention in their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, the music industry took First Aid Kit under its belt and, within a short amount of time, their first EP, Drunken Trees, was released under Rabid Records. Later in the year, UK label Wichita Records (The Cribs, Bloc Party) released the EP, sparking the worldwide folk phenomenon we now know as First Aid Kit.

“We had really great childhoods. We felt safe and loved and there’s not much more you can ask for,” the girls explain, reflecting on their beginnings in Sweden. “We have such a wonderful family, that’s the truth. We’ve always lived very close to nature. Our parents used to force us out on long walks through the forests,” they laugh. “There was always music around. It was an overall creative environment. Our parents were always encouraging us, whether we were singing, painting or writing stories.” The girls started playing music and writing songs in 2007 and “were discovered through Myspace,” say First Aid Kit on their breakthrough. “About a month after we put up our demos, various people in the Swedish music industry wrote us. I think the fact that I added about 200 people every day for a month might have helped.”

The Big Black & the Blue is First Aid Kit’s harmony-infested debut album. The full-length release, which came out in March 2010, features 11 brilliant original pieces, including “Josefin” and “Sailor Song.” “It’s very spontaneous,” the girls say regarding their songwriting process. “We can’t predict when a new song will pop up and we can’t force one out. There is no set song writing procedure. Sometimes Klara writes songs entirely on her own and sometimes we finish off songs together,” pipes in Johanna. “We never seek inspiration if we find it hard to write something, we can’t force anything out. We let the inspiration come to us. What we are inspired by is other music, films, books our friends and family – the world around us.”

Listening to First Aid Kit is like reading a chapter of a treasured novel. The music is very visual, conjuring up countless soft images. “Our lyrics are both autobiographical and fictional,” they say. “It always starts with us wanting to get some kind of emotion, mood, through to the listener. This mood or emotion could arrive either from other music or from our own experiences.” The songs, while very diverse, all have the same underlying spell of harmony and folklore. “Joanna Newsom, Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons,” Johanna and Klara say when asked about their folk influences. They continue with, “Bright Eyes of course, Carter Family, Vashti Bunyan, Karen Dalton, Louvin Brothers, Townes Van Zandt, Simon and Garfunkel… there are so many musicians and we would like to thank them all so much for the beauty they’ve created, but that list would be a little too long.”

Johanna and Klara Söderberg have to make sure to maintain a healthy balance between their lives as young adults and their lives as musicians. Though it may sound easy, it is not as simple as it seems, especially since the girls have just begun a worldwide tour. First Aid Kit explains a typical day in the life: “Wake up, get in car, breakfast at fast food chain on the road (or at hotel), arrive at venue, sound check, dinner (sushi or Indian food,) show, sell merchandise, sleep at hotel.” As you could imagine, their days are as filled amply with beautiful music. “Fionn Regan’s “Put a Penny in the Slot” is high up in our iTunes playlist. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Kathy’s Song” is as well.” Though they maintain a busy schedule, there are no regrets. “We will promise to sing and play our hearts out. There will be some bad jokes and a great deal of harmonizing,” they say when asked why fans should attend their upcoming shows. Johanna and Klara are particularly delighted regarding this summer, when they will travel to play their music in the US. “In the US some people see us as exotic and interesting because we are Swedish and that phenomenon definitively does not exist at home,” Johanna notices about how the US has perceived their music. “Our lyrics are in English so it’s possible that an English speaker receives it differently. We try not to think about how we are being received; it only gets in the way of your true potential as a musician.”

So with a massive following and an album full of gorgeous tunes, First Aid Kit continue their journey through the musical world. What should we expect next from these first-rate folk lords? “Next is a bunch of festival shows, more touring and working on new material. We are really excited about doing another album, though there is a long way to go until we’re there.” As their MySpace tagline states; “We aim for the hearts, not the charts!” So open your hearts up to First Aid Kit, and they promise to deliver sweet melodies that will make you love them after the first listen.

Related artists: Laura Marling, Taken by Trees, Fleet Foxes, Marissa Nadler, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, The Tallest Man on Earth, Slow Club, Hello Saferide, jj, Basia Bulat, Fleet Foxes, Jenny Wilson, Fionn Regan, Anna Järvinen, Laura Veirs, Frida Hyvönen, Sambassadeur, El Perro del Mar, Håkan Hellström, The Leisure Society

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