Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts

Bjork: Inside Bjork (2003) Review

Bjork: Inside Bjork (2003)
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Bjork: Inside Bjork (2003) ReviewSent to music school at the age of 5, and at the age of 11 released her first album. But, she felt funny about it, 'cause it wasn't her work. Then she got involved in punk. Shows GREAT video of Einar Orn in Purrkur Pillnikk and Bjork in Tappi Tikkarass, and shows her book Um Urnat! And clips from the Kukl video "Anna"! Then the Sugarcubes, one of the first people they talk to is Beck, who discusses hearing Birthday for the first time.. the video for "Birthday" is shown.
Then Bjork moves on to her solo career, looking for new challenges. She collaborates with Graham Massey, on songs she had written since childhood. It shows an adorable clip of her singing "The Anchor Song" accompanying herself on an old pedal organ, in a little church. With gorgeous sights of Iceland.
She explains the mood of each album: Debut is like a polite new-comer, and Post is like a wide eyed girl consumed by the city and the city is consuming her. She talks about the story of Isobel, called Isobel, because of the ISO-lation. Elton John says: "A lot of people who aren't that musical, say "oh it's a lot of rubbish, it's noise", but it's not, it's extremely clever. And it's far more sophisticated then most things that are out there, by a hundred thousand times." (Agreed!)
According to Bjork, Homogenic is about a person put in an impossible situation, with a lot of pressure. She'd work 16 hours a day, rarely with a day off. Homogenic is like a warrior, not one with weapons, but one with love. Homogenic was like a "blue period" for her. She discusses Joga, like a national anthem with patriotic strings. She collected actual volcanic beats, for the song.
RZA dicusses Norse mythology with surprising insight. About how Iceland is filled with such fascinating mythology, about the different deities. And how Bjork is kind of a "warrior princess" :-)
Bjork discusses that she thought she was at first an atheist, but then she matured and realized she did have a religion, nature. She discusses her love hate relationship with classical music.

Then onto Dancer in The Dark. Just seeing and hearing the clips made me choke up. That movie is so sad. She's not a trained actor, she worked by instinct. And Sean Penn point's out "If someones preserves their instinct from a young age, training becomes an inhibitor"
And of course, it discusses the swan dress, and Elton John expresses his wrath about the critisism it got, AGREED!
Bjork: "The girl in Dancer in the Dark, was very introverted and kind of heard of all these noises in her head, like a locked universe". And Vespertine is about an internal world, what happens under her skin. Shows the videos for Pagan Poetry Cocoon..and Bjork discusses Icelandic passion.
Then the film tells about how she has now left Europe and settled in New York, and shows her working on a computer with her microbeats. And she discusses Matmos. And Matmos talk about their interesting collaboration with her, and shows them on the Vespertine tour. Lastly shows her singing Generous Palmstroke.
She says when people were asking what kind of music she did, she said "some kind of modern folk music".:-)
Throughout when they talk to her, she's so sweet and funny. Often making jokes. She has a cute laugh..
I was kind of disappointed they didn't talk to Einar Orn, but oh well. Certainly can't complain!
I was absolutely bursting, It made me love her even more. She's my favorite artist and no one on earth can equal her, she's unparalleled. She's genuine, uncorrupted and uncliched. Great item for the curious or a necessity for the obsessed (like me). Good price too. Money well spent. Buy it!Bjork: Inside Bjork (2003) Overview

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Ray Charles Live - In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony (1981) Review

Ray Charles Live - In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony (1981)
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Ray Charles Live - In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony (1981) ReviewAfter reading the reviews and looking at the song list, I had high hopes for this disc. The picture quality was good and Ray's energy as he bounced onto the staged was also promising. However, from the very first song, the recording is a disappointment. In the first song, the audio mix is so far off that you can't even hear his piano. This is eventually corrected, but throughout the performance we all felt that it was a bit hollow - lots of surface flash, but none of the true depth of soul for which Ray Charles is legendary.Ray Charles Live - In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony (1981) OverviewThis DVD was recorded on January 27, 1981 in Edmonton, Alberta at Jubilee Auditorium. It captures Ray Charles at his finest as a live performer, and includes performances of classics "Hit The Road Jack", "Georgia On My Mind", "And Take These Chains From My Heart", mixed in both stereo and Dolby Surround 5.1.Track Listing:1. Riding Thumb2. Busted3. Georgia On My Mind4. Oh, What A Beautiful Morning5. Some Enchanted Evening6. Hit The Road Jack7. I Can't Stop Loving You8. Take These Chains From My Heart9. I Can See Clearly Now10. What'd I Say11. America The Beautiful12. Long Gone Lonesome13. Steel Guitar Rag14. Let's Fall In Love

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O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams (2007) Review

O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams (2007)
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O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams (2007) ReviewWhen a British friend asked what I knew of classic British composer, R. Vaughan Williams, I blinked. That would be ... nothing. Although, as it turned out, when he speedily sent me a two-and-a-half-hour video to educate me, I did know more than nothing. I just didn't know that I knew. But as the documentary unfolded, my ear picked up a string of symphonies and a few sweeter melodies that I had known quite well. Only, shame on me, without giving due credit.
So this is R. Vaughan Williams. With gorgeous scenery that made me want to book a ticket to the United Kingdom, but now, as backdrop, a kind of mix of biography and history and imagined perception (the composer's) unfolded. This is the place and time that formed the musician that created the music. Indeed, to know and see all of this enriches understanding and appreciation of the music. Williams is often called a composer of folk melodies with a classical slant, but the documentary, interspersing soaring orchestras with crashing waves--the Sea Symphonies were easily my favorite--and gruesome war scenes and interview snippets with doddering, elderly British ladies, speaking of the composer's bushy eyebrows and tormented marriage (he loved his wife, but soon after marriage, her failing health became a primary issue), proves the point most eloquently that Williams is far more than folk tune composer. He is a composer on a grand scale. He has written scores for movies in his time, music that climbs mountains and builds suspense and melts into romance. He has composed symphonies that are complex and gorgeous. He can write the sweet melody that resonates in your mind all day long, but he can also write the sweep of crashing symphony that shakes the listener to the core ... as only powerful music can.
The video is long and highly detailed, but a visual treat as well as informative. I now know not only the music, but the man and the history behind it. The British are welcome here.
O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams (2007) OverviewProduced by the multi-award winning director Tony Palmer, this is the first ever full-length film biography on Ralph Vaughan Williams. This film features interviews with many of those who knew and worked with him, including the Gloucester Cathedral Choir conducted by Andrew Nethsingha, archive performances by Boult and Barbirolli, newly discovered interviews with Vaughan Williams himself, specially recorded extracts from "The Symphonies," "Job," "The Lark Ascending" and "The Tallis Fantasia" as well as contributions from Harrison Birtwistle, John Adams, Richard Thompson, Mark Anthony Turnage, Barbara Dickson, Michael Tippett & Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys.

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Janis: The Way She Was (1974) Review

Janis: The Way She Was  (1974)
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Janis: The Way She Was (1974) ReviewThis 1974 documentary contains some of Janis Joplin's best performances as well as some great spontaneous interviews. It has her incredible performance of Ball and Chain at Monterey ('67), some Cheap Thrills studio sessions ('68), Woodstock ('69), and Calgary ('70). She blows away the audience on Dick Cavett with Move Over and breaks down during the High School reunion interviews. Where she came from in Port Arthur, TX is such a contrast to who she was. And who she was was the incarnation of the Spirit of the 1960s counter-culture.
We get 2 great performances of Piece of My Heart, one of Tell Mama, Try, and Summertime both live and in studio. If you really get into this you might, just might, see God in Janis. She seeps sexuality in her performances, and reveals substantial depth of insight and intellect when interviewed. Even as we are in the midst of our 21st century Brittany Spears culture, we can go back to this and know there was once an unflinching soaring eagle in free flight.
Janis: The Way She Was (1974) Overview

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Balanchine (2004) Review

Balanchine (2004)
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Balanchine (2004) ReviewThis dvd, originally seen on PBS, is a great tribute to the Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine, who founded the New York City Ballet and is often creditted with bringing classical ballet to the United States. This documentary focuses almost exclusively on his professional and artistic life, and this is right and proper. There are books, as well as several documentaries ("Dancing for Mr. B," "Elusive Muse") which focus on Balanchine's complicated personal life. Here, we can just look at his great artistic creations.
There;s archival footage of so many great ballerinas and ballet dancers that were Mr. B's inspiration. Tanaquiel le Clercq (who judging from the footage may have been the most beautiful ballerina to ever step onstage), Diana Adams, Maria Tallchief, Edward Villela, Allegra Kent, Suzanne Farrell, Peter Martins, Patricia McBride ... None of the dancers are interviewed, perhaps because of time constraints. But just the footage of the dancing was enough to keep me happy. I was struck by Mr. B's diversity -- there are many clips of his ballets, and it's a testament to Mr. B's genius that I was always upset when the clips ended, because I wanted to see more.
There are also several interviews with Mr. B. His soft, gentle voice and almost childlike enthusiasm are infectious. Particularly amusing are the clips of him and Igor Stravinsky, the composer whose music whom Mr. B set so many of his best ballets (Rubies, Apollo, Agon et al.) Mr. B talks about his love of cats and cooking. So even though the documentary focuses squarely on the artistic, these interviews with Mr. B humanize him. Read the various memoirs and autobiographies for Mr. B's darker, more complex side: he was famously possessive of his ballerinas, and did not think they should have families or even personal lives apart from him. This video focuses purely on Balanchine as a creative artist.
Recently, more extensive dvd's have been released of Mr. B's complete ballets. But this documentary is still a must-see, a wonderful tribute to one of the 20th century's most prolific and remarkable artists.Balanchine (2004) Overview

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Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story (2001) Review

Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story (2001)
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Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story (2001) ReviewIt starts out really good then peters out midway on. Why is it that whenever Bob is about to go in depth about a particular subject, the filmmakers cut to him performing? How could they not address the Wailers break up? I mean they literally ignore it. Isn't the break up as significant as them getting together in the first place? Did Marley's music regress, progress or stagnate after Bunny and Peter left? How did Bob feel about Bunny and Tosh leaving? And what happened to Bunny anyway? You see him early on and then you don't see him again. Since he's the only one alive of the three, doesn't his opinion have more weight than most. All I'm saying is the audience would have gotten an even better understanding of Marley with more Bunny and more Tosh.Rebel Music - The Bob Marley Story (2001) OverviewTells the fascinating and heart-wrenching story of legendary reggae superstar bob marley the musician the poet the prophet. Bob marley was a symbol of human rights who through his music decried the injustices of all people and fought for social equality with zealous determination.Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music)Release Date: 06/26/2001Run time: 89 minutesRating: NrDirector: Jeremy Marr

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Lennon NYC (2010) Review

Lennon NYC (2010)
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Lennon NYC (2010) ReviewOf all the important musicians in the last century, it's pretty easy to see that John Lennon stands out for his influence on music, pop culture, and society in general. Lennon himself - his music and activism - along with their effects on the world, have been well documented in countless short and feature-length documentaries. Now American Masters - "an ongoing series of award-winning primetime specials examining the lives, works, and creative processes of our most outstanding cultural artists" - takes on the subject of John Lennon and his time in New York City. The series has featured Andy Warhol, Charlie Chaplin, and Paul Simon, among others.
This Lennon profile is special in that it's not a documentary about his entire life, but as the title suggests, focuses on his time in New York City with Yoko Ono, using numerous interviews with friends and bandmates along with never before-released in-studio recordings of Lennon. This is a documentary that assumes you already know quite a bit about Lennon and know why his time in New York is important and then goes on to both explain why this is true and give you a behind the scenes look at his life at this time. Without glossing over any of the rough patches (including the hiatus John and Yoko took and his subsequent time in Los Angeles), writer and director Michael Epstein gives audiences a true portrait of the legendary musician and activist as seen through the eyes of those around him (including Yoko Ono) and captured in in-studio recording sessions.
The film is thoroughly engaging, though not always structurally clear. Epstein begins with the story of Lennon as an immigrant, looking to make New York City his home though the United States government (the Nixon administration to be more specific) is seeking to get him deported for his various activist causes. This is an intriguing theme, and we're privy to many of those around him discussing being followed and the FBI keeping records on them, but this storyline builds quickly and then goes on the backburner for over an hour before reappearing briefly at the very end. It's an incredible part of Lennon's story and well presented, but Epstein plays up Lennon's immigration status so much in the opening that I always felt like I was waiting for that piece of the story to come back into play. The best parts of the film are the clips of Lennon in the studio and those around him discussing his studio style. Listening to Lennon in the studio is even more fascinating than you might suspect.
The portion of the film (near the end) that deals with John's time after mending ties with Yoko, the birth of his son Sean, and the work on his last album is especially touching. As with any Lennon documentary, the ending left me wishing that there was a documentary about some alternate universe where Lennon was still alive so that the ending didn't have to be so sad.Lennon NYC (2010) OverviewLENNONYC is the story of one of the most famous and influential artists of the Twentieth Century, and how he found redemption not in the public adoration he craved as a youth, but in the quiet and simple pleasures of fatherhood. And, though he wasn't a typical immigrant, his story is certainly an immigrant's tale. Lennon came to New York City in 1971, seeking what every other immigrant who has washed up on its shores has sought: freedom-the freedom to be himself and not 'Beatle John,' the freedom to love without the overwhelming public scorn he and Yoko had suffered in London, and, simply, the freedom to live a normal life. LENNONYC tells this story with never before-released in-studio recordings, concert film only recently transferred to HD, and a trove of Lennon/Ono compositions-some in versions previously unheard. It also contains interviews with those closest to Lennon during this period in his life-friend and photographer, Bob Gruen; musical collaborator and drummer, Jim Keltner; May Pang, Lennon's companion during his 'lost weekend;'rock superstar, Elton John; and Jack Douglas, the producer of Double Fantasy. LENNONYC also contains one of the most powerful and emotionally direct interviews Yoko Ono has ever given. No film about John Lennon has ever covered this story with the same breadth and depth as LENNONYC. As the public turns its attention to what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday and the 30th anniversary of his murder LENNONYC uniquely commemorates the life of one of the most important and influential artists of the Twentieth Century-someone whose life and work is as powerful and relevant today as it has ever been

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