Into my head!

Author Graham Greene's name registered in my mind when I read obituaries of RK Narayan while I was in college. My room-mate had a subscription to Frontline magazine, and they extensively covered Narayan's life and works in that issue, including a piece by N. Ram, and how Graham Greene 'discovered' Narayan.

I am a great fan of Pico Iyer's writing, having read two of his books and many articles. Also, a bit jealous of the life he leads - he still doesn't carry a mobile phone, I can't go that far but have made up my mind on not possessing  a smart phone - spends his time between Kyoto and a monastery in the west coast of US, is a friend of and have interviewed Leonard Cohen, wrote a great travel book and found a wife in the process, as someone remarked (The lady and the monk) - what more can you ask for!

Anyhow, on reading about the release of his last book - The Man within My Head, subtitled "Graham Greene, My Father and Me", I wanted to read at least a couple of  Graham Greene books. The reviews of Iyer's book stated that you really don't have to be a Greene reader to enjoy this book, as the book is more on Iyer's personal life, his relationship with his father, etc. However, I thought that I would enjoy the book more if I had some background to Greene's writing. Hence here I am with a target of finishing 3 Greene books at least - The Quiet American to start with. I am half way into the book and I am really glad that I chose to read Greene! And I can't believe that it was written in 1955!

Two random quotes from The Quiet American:

I shut my eyes and she was again the same as she used to be: she was the hiss of steam, the clink of a cup, she was a certain hour of the night and the promise of rest.

‘I’m not involved. Not involved,’ I repeated. It had been an article of my creed. The human condition being what it was, let them fight, let them love, let them murder, I would not be involved. My fellow journalists call themselves correspondents; I preferred the title of reporter. I wrote what I saw. I took no action – even an opinion is a kind of action.

Moonrise Kingdom

January issue of The Atlantic has profiled the Pythons - The Beatles of Comedy by David Free (Free is an Australian!)

Free mentions:

I concede that there are people who don’t find the parrot sketch funny at all. I know a couple of them personally. They are unmoved by the sight of John Cleese in his raincoat, wielding that stuffed parrot and saying, “It’s bleeding demised.” I know them, but I can’t help them.

Exactly my sentiments after  I watched Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom - not the comedy per se, but the whole movie as such. Its classic Wes, with classic Wes moments and a classy cast.

A song that has no end...

I haven't listened to any new releases from Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Will Oldham) for almost a year now and decided to Google on what's he up to these days.  Prolific musician that he is, it is impossible to keep up with him. There’s loads of amazing new stuff (can’t resist– amazing new SHIT!!) he has done in the last year or so.

To start with, I was stunned by his new version of “I see a darkness” on his new EP (of his own covers – Now here’s my plan [Jul 2012])

Accompanying the EP is a new book of interview: Will Oldham on Bonnie “Prince” Billy (just made a ‘recommendation’ to my local library).

 Among various other things (bunch of albums – allmusic lists three in 2012, a new perfume brand - Eau de Will Oldham, a coffee bean line[2011] etc.), for Record store day 2012 he released a special condom, to carry your most precious limited-edition Record Store Day "release”.
 

Phew. Also added to my DVD rental queue – This must be the place [2011] starring Sean Penn and Frances McDormand. Will Oldham worked with David Byrne of the Talking Heads for soundtrack and score for this movie (called themselves as The Pieces of Shit), which tells a story of an aging goth rock star.

 

Perhaps that’s enough for 2012.
Update 07/13: This must be the place is an awesome movie!!

ON AIR

In 127 hours, there is a brilliant scene in which James Franco enacts a radio show, including a phone-in. It’s done exceptionally well by Franco and is my favourite scene in the movie. But, thinking about it, it would have been easy for Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle to write that scene (in case it is not from the book the script is adapted from); because you have heard it many times on the radio, and that is the format all radio stations across the globe follow. Very few radio stations try to be different, at least in the music they play. BBC 6 Music, which plays non-mainstream music, is one such station, and much debate has happened on its planned closure (at least put on hold, as of now) - give it a listen on the BBC iplayer.


Reason for posting this – I just finished reading stand-up comedian and Radio DJ Phill Jupitus’s excellent book “Good Morning Nantwich: Adventures in breakfast radio”, an account of his days at 6 Music, hosting the breakfast show. This is perhaps the first book I have come across which celebrates the love for radio (Woody Allen’s Radio Days is an attempt in film). If you are a radio- junkie and loves music, get hold of this book! It narrates what happens in a radio studio and ultimately tells you why Phil quit 6 Music, when the station management wanted him to stick to the station playlist (of course, he must quit in such a situation, what else you can expect from the maverick DJ of an indie music station!) The book also contains a section on how to start your own radio show on the internet. The book could have been edited to make it tighter, even so it was a pleasure reading it.

Since I mentioned the movie 127 hours, it was great listening to Bill Withers’s fabulous song Lovely Day, in the movie. It was something like what radio does - surprise you with a song that you loved, but have forgotten.

Too young to be Grammy material

I was not aware of this "trivia" - it was Neil Young's first Grammy (for music), last Sunday. Not that I care much about the Grammys. But this is really laughable. Have read that Dylan also received one pretty late... for Modern Times? Not sure, and no - I’m not reaching for the Google button.

Biz piece

On my way to work today, I was reading this free business newspaper (ah, the free tube newspapers, one of the few joys of working in London, and get to know who threw their cat in the garbage) and actually smiled reading this column on Nokia's burning state:

NOKIA finally confirmed a tie-up with Microsoft on Friday, which sent a ripple of excitement through absolutely nobody. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week it will announce a new tablet. Or an Xbox phone. Or a giant laser with which it will attempt to destroy the moon. It doesn’t really mater – nobody will pay any attention anyway.


[...] The problem is, Nokia is both vast and dull. It’s like Canada. Its phones are about as exciting as the vast swathes of icy tundra; characterless and difficult to navigate.
Sure, they both have their highlights. Canada has Montreal. The camera on Nokia’s N8 is nice. But this doesn’t make up for the N900. Or Celine Dion.

Maugham

Picked up a Somerset Maugham novel after a gap of almost 5 years! Perhaps he induced in me whatever cynicism I possess, through his three famous books - Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Six Pence and The Razor’s Edge.

The book I started reading now, Cakes and Ale, another classic, is his take on the literary world. The first few pages itself put me back in the somewhat strange and, in fact, likeable world of Maugham.
For instance, the way he details the appearance of his characters:

...a fine, upstanding young man, six feet high in his stockinged feet and of an athletic build, with broad shoulders and a confident carriage. He was not handsome, but in a manly way agreeable to look at, with wide, blue, frank eyes and curly hair of a lightish brown; his nose was rather short and broad, his chin square. He looked honest, clean and healthy. He was something of an athlete.

Or his typical observations of human nature:

Hypocrisy is the most difficult and nerve-racking vice that any man can pursue; it needs an unceasing vigilance and a rare detachment of spirit. It cannot, like adultery or gluttony, be practised at spare moments; it is a whole-time job.

Happy to be reading Maugham again!

Bruce Springsteen - The Collection

This is simply the best thing money can buy at the moment! First 7 studio albums of Bruce Springsteen in a box set for less than Rs. 1000. Just placed an order, though I already have 3 of these albums (Nebraska on CD, Born to Run and Darkness on tapes.)

I often dislike the fact that many of our rock idols mature as they progress in their career, and seek out something more rewarding for them, musically, than create the same music which made them popular; many drift towards jazz or world music – like Sting, Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell.

While listening to Springsteen’s 2009 release Working on a Dream, I was struck by the realization that Springsteen is doing just the reverse. Compare his first two albums and the last two, and you’ll know why. His debut Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ and the next one The Wild, the Innocent, and the E street shuffle are more mature, jazzy and elaborate than his latest two releases, Magic and Working on a Dream which, in Springsteen’s words itself, is “pop sound”. Interesting. But I don’t mind, as long as he continues to recreate Magic.

The Limits of Control

Thoroughly disappointed by Jim Jarmusch’s highly indulgent “The Limits of Control”. The movie, in fact, tested my limits of tolerance. But the 2 hours spent was worth just for this one scene- 3 minutes of an amazing flamenco performance:
Watch it!

He who thinks that he’s bigger than the rest
Must go to the cemetery
There he will see, what the world really is:
It’s a handful of dirt.

The curious case of critics

The other day, film critic Rajeev Masand tweeted that there is no God if James Franco was not nominated in the Best actor category at the Oscars. In the review that followed, he raves about the movie and there is not a single negative point he has cited. And he gives it 4 out of 5 stars.
He writes:

The extraordinary cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak, and AR Rahman’s haunting score complement Boyle’s rich and imaginative storytelling style. And James Franco who appears in more or less every scene delivers a performance nothing short of spellbinding.

Question: Can someone please enlighten me on why he refrained from giving it 5 out of 5 if, in his opinion, the movie scores full marks in all aspects?

I have watched some reality shows on Indian television where one of the judges marks a performance 21 out of 25, while the other one marks it 23/25, without any explanation on how this score was arrived at!

The wonderful guys at the fabulous Sound Opinions, rates a record as buy it, burn it, or trash it. When I heard it the first time, I didn’t get what “burn it” meant, and on reading up:

Burn it! ...There are a few good tracks here, but not worth the full price....try a downloading service, or (cough), another method.

This is kind of, I would say, innovative and "adapting to the times".

Maybe, someday, all critics would follow a thumb rule, like Siskel and Ebert did – Up or Down? Which is it?

Gene Siskel boiled it down: "What's the first thing people ask you? Should I see this movie? They don't want a speech on the director's career. Thumbs up--yes. Thumbs down--no."

PS: I attended a session by Rajeev Masand in Bangalore in 2010 and found him to be genuine. When my brother asked him what he thinks about The Big Lebowski, he more or less admitted that he didn’t get it the first time and that he is planning to watch it again. That was an honest response!