Saint Dominic’s Preview (1972) – Van Morrison

Posted on February 11, 2026 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Saint Dominic’s Preview begins as a rich, piano-driven piece before gradually unfolding into a folk-rock song with strong elements of soul and jazz. It moves forward as a loose, stream-of-consciousness narrative, giving Van Morrison’s voice plenty of space to shine. The song is thick with atmosphere, built from vivid images and shifting scenes.

Van’s true voice is rooted in soul, and the song slowly drifts toward that core. It ebbs and flows, building to a powerful climax marked by near-gospel backing vocals and warm, swelling brass.

A friend of mine – someone more conversant with Van Morrison’s music than I am – recently told me Saint Dominic’s Preview was their favourite Van song. As soon as I heard it, I understood why they held it in such high regard. What still surprises me is how few views the official release has.

The following was abridged from the Wikipedia reference below:

Saint Dominic’s Preview is the title track from sixth album by the Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Rolling Stone declared it “the best-produced, most ambitious Van Morrison record yet released.” It was recorded at the Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco in April 1972, with overdubs made later on.

The song’s narrative moves from France to San Francisco, Morrison’s place of residence at the time, to Belfast, where he grew up, to New York City (“52nd Street apartment”). Morrison revealed to journalists in 1972: “I don’t think I want to go back to Belfast. I don’t miss it with all that prejudice around. We’re all the same and I think it’s terrible what’s happening. But I think I’d like to get a house in Ireland. I’d like to spend a few months there every year.”

The song remains one of his most allusive. Brian Hinton believes the lyrics in “Saint Dominic’s Preview” are “the most Dylanesque Van ever gets“, while Peter Wrench claims that “Saint Dominic’s Preview” “is, by some distance, the densest and most allusive songs on the record and one of the most striking in the Morrison canon.”

Saint Dominic’s Preview contains wide-ranging references including The Troubles (an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998), Morrison’s pre-fame career cleaning windows, Notre-Dame cathedral and the vicissitudes of the recording industry. The song also mentions Edith Piaf, Irish poet W. B. Yeats, country singer Hank Williams and the California supermarket chain Safeway.

Morrison told John Grisham:
I’d been working on this song about the scene going down in Belfast. And I wasn’t sure what I was writing but the central image seemed to be this church called St Dominic’s where people were gathering to pray or hear a mass for peace in Northern Ireland. A few weeks later I was playing at a gig in Reno, Nevada. I picked up a newspaper, and there in front of me was an announcement about a mass for peace in Belfast to be said the next day at St Dominic’s Church in San Francisco. Totally blew me out. Like I’d never even heard of a St Dominic’s Church.

[Verse 1]
Chamois cleaning all the windows
Singin’ songs about Edith Piaf’s soul
And I hear blue strains of “Ne regrette rien”
Cross the street from Cathedral Notre Dame
Meanwhile back in San Francisco
We’re trying hard to make this whole thing blend
As we sit upon this jagged
Story block with you my friend

[Pre-Chorus]
And it’s a long way to Buffalo
It’s a long way to Belfast city too
And I’m hoping the joist won’t blow the hoist
‘Cause this time they bit off more than they can chew

[Chorus]
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on (Yeah)
Saint Dominic’s preview
Saint Dominic’s preview
Saint Dominic’s preview

[Verse 2]
All the orange boxes are scattered
Against the Safeway supermarket in the rain
And everybody feels so determined
Not to feel anyone else’s pain
No one makin’ no commitments
To anybody but themselves
Talkin’ behind closed doorways
Tryin’ to get outside, get outside of empty shelves

[Pre-Chorus]
And for every cross-cuttin’ country corner, country corner
For every Hank Williams railroad train that cried
And all the chains, badges, flags and emblems
And every strain on the brain and every eye

[Chorus]
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on (Yeah)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Look at the man)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Look at the band)
Saint Dominic’s preview

[Verse 3]
All the restaurant tables are completely covered
And the record company has paid out for the wine
You got everything in the world you ever wanted
And right about now your face should wear a smile (Doin’ alright)
That’s the way it all should happen
When you’re in, when you’re in the state you’re in
Have you got your pen and notebook ready?
I think it’s about time, time for us to begin

[Pre-Chorus]
And meanwhile we’re over on a 52nd Street apartment
Socializing with the wino few
Just to be hip and get wet with the jet set
But they was flyin’ too high to see my point of view

[Chorus]
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on
As we gaze out on, as we gaze out on
Saint Dominic’s preview (Look at the man)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Look at the band)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Set their freedom marching)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Out in the street, freedom marching)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Out in the street, look at the man)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Turn around)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Turn back, come back)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Turn around and look at the man)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Said, “Hold on”)
Saint Dominic’s preview (Hey, hey)
Saint Dominic’s preview (A soul meeting)
Saint Dominic’s preview

References:
1. Saint Dominic’s Preview – Wikipedia

Tonight Will Be Fine (2005) – Leonard Cohen (Ft. Teddy Thompson)

Posted on February 10, 2026 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

One of my first proper forays into the life and music of Leonard Cohen was the tribute concert documentary I’m Your Man (2005), which I’ve mentioned here on many occasions. One of the first performances from the concert that made an indelible impression on me was Teddy Thompson’s rendition of Tonight Will Be Fine. I remember playing it over and over; such was its impact. I still love hearing it, and to this day I consider it one of the best cover versions of a Leonard Cohen song I’ve come across.

Teddy is not the first from his musical family to appear here. His father, Richard Thompson – whose music has long enjoyed a cult-like folk-rock following – was introduced to me by a work colleague when I was based at Creswell (kookaburra territory) on Australia’s south coast. He lent me Richard’s album Mock Tudor, and the track I really took to, just as much as today’s featured song from his son (which came later), was Cooksferry Queen. In fact, you can see Teddy playing alongside his father in that live performance.

Tonight Will Be Fine is one of the more straightforward songs in Cohen’s catalogue. Its unadorned lyrics speak of a sad and ascetic existence, gently softened by the comfort of coming together at night. I’ll include Cohen’s high-spirited, folky original – unusually upbeat for his early period – at the end of this post, below Teddy’s more sensitive Country version from I’m Your Man (please excuse the poor video and sound quality from the concert, though it does include Spanish subtitles for my local guests).

Teddy Thompson, the son of British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson, has built a solid career by blending classic pop songwriting with folk and country influences. Born in 1976, he grew up surrounded by music and began performing early, later touring with his father before striking out on his own.

[Verse 1]
Sometimes I find I get to thinking of the past
We swore to each other then our love would surely last
You kept right on loving, I went on a fast
Now I am too thin and your love is too vast

[Chorus]
But I know from your eyes
And I know from your smile
That tonight will be fine, will be fine
Will be fine, will be fine
For a while

[Verse 2]
I choose the rooms that I live in with care
The windows are small and the walls almost bare
There’s only one bed and there’s only one prayer
I listen all night for your step on the stair

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Oh sometimes I see her undressing for me
She’s the soft naked lady love meant her to be
And she’s moving her body so brave and so free
If I’ve got to remember, that’s a fine memory

[Chorus]

References:
1. Teddy Thompson – Wikipedia

Tagged with: I'm Your Man, leonard cohen, Mock Tudor, Richard Thompson, teddy thompson, tonight will be fine
Posted in Music

2/02/26 – 8/02/26 – Mavis Staples, Dostoevsky & Analogue Mind

Posted on February 9, 2026 by observationblogger — 1 Comment

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

Mavis Staples Triumphs with Double Win at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards

– Music article by Timothy Yap at Jubilee Street

To be honest, the Grammys haven’t been on my radar for a while, apart from Nathy Peluso raking it in 2024. This short Rick Beato video, Proof Music is Getting Worse, pretty much sums up why I’m so nonchalant about the whole affair. But sometimes – just sometimes – they manage to get it right.

On January 29, I presented Mavis Staples’ gorgeous title track from her 2025 album Sad and Beautiful World. Good timing because just two days later, Staples won two Grammys at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards for two other songs from the same record: Godspeed and Beautiful Strangers.

Below is Timothy’s article where I learnt about Mavis’s big night at the Grammys:

Gospel and Americana legend Mavis Staples proved once again that age is only a number, taking home two GRAMMY Awards at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, held on February 1, 2026.

Staples won Best Americana Performance for her stirring rendition of “Godspeed” and Best American Roots Performance for “Beautiful Strangers,” underscoring her enduring influence and continued excellence across roots, gospel, and Americana music.

These latest honors add to an already remarkable legacy, bringing Staples’ career total to five GRAMMY Awards, including three previous wins. The victories further cement her status as one of the most respected and beloved voices in American music.

Best known for timeless classics such as “I’ll Take You There” and “Respect Yourself” with The Staple Singers, Staples has also enjoyed a celebrated solo career with acclaimed releases like You Are Not Alone and If All I Was Was Black. Her music-rooted in faith, justice, and hope-continues to resonate across generations.

Now in her eighth decade, Staples remains a powerful reminder that passion, purpose, and authenticity do not fade with time. Her 2026 GRAMMY wins stand as a testament to a life devoted to song, service, and soul.

Congratulations, Mavis Staples, on a truly inspiring achievement.

Dostoyevski Documentary to Fall Asleep To

– Audio documentary at Mind Palace

The Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of my favourite literary figures. This is not the first time I’ve featured a documentary about his life in my News on the March segment.

Back in 2021, I shared the documentary Biography: Dostoyevsky (1975), which offers a fairly taut and abbreviated account of his life. While the video and sound quality is somewhat dated, it remains a distinctive viewing experience and can be enjoyed on a TV or PC.

Today’s documentary, however, offers a rich listening experience – ideal if you just want to lie down and relax, or listen while out on a long walk. It also provides a more thorough examination of Dostoevsky’s life, placing key moments in his personal timeline within the broader historical and socio-political context of Russia. I have a political science major (focusing on the Bolshevik Revolution), so this was right down my alley.

There are few figures in literature whose lives were as intriguing and confronting as the novels they wrote. Apart from Dostoevsky, Ernest Hemingway is another giant whose biography is deeply intertwined with his literary output.

Hemingway’s life included a hedonistic youth in Paris, heavy drinking, big-game safaris, bullfighting, war reporting, and multiple serious accidents, including plane crashes. The list seems endless.

Dostoevsky’s life was equally eventful, but far darker and more punishing in nature. In his early adulthood he endured years of hardship as a struggling writer and political idealist. He was arrested, condemned to death, and made to wait before a firing squad, only to be spared at the last moment. He then spent years as a political prisoner in Siberia, often close to death from illness, hunger, and brutal conditions.

These ordeals profoundly shaped his worldview and philosophy, and directly influenced the depth, suffering, and moral intensity of his greatest works.

The Last Analog Mind: A Psychological Autopsy of Generation X

– Short video documentary at Soft Thesis (AI / synthetically generated)

The following comments in response to this video resonate strongly with me as a member of Generation X – those born between 1965 and 1980:

‘You were told to go out and play, and don’t come back till sunset’.

‘The torture of listening to the staid tick of the grandfather clock and only 2 boring tv channels was enough to drive you into the early daylight, seeking mischief, discovery and new friendships. It’s hard to believe now that we were left unsupervised for so many hours; playing under bridges and making our way into derelict buildings to investigate.‘.

Baby Boomers (and those before), Generation X (inc. yours truly), and the early Millennials are the first humans in history to have faced the sudden intrusion of digital technology and social media into daily life. Meanwhile, younger Millennials and Gen Z (and now Gen Alpha) have never known life without these technologies.

I can’t speak on behalf of my fellow Xers, but when I reflect on how well I managed that transformational change in my own life, it leaves me with a sense of unease and disillusionment. I’ll always be thankful for growing up before everything went digital – when music, movies, and even waiting brought us together, and life felt more shared and less chaotic. I can only feel disheartened and concerned for those who never knew life before it, which of course was absolutely no fault of their own, nor anyone except big Corp.

Video description:

Why does Generation X see the world differently? It isn’t just nostalgia – it’s psychology. In this documentary-style deep dive, we explore the “feral” childhoods of the 1970s and 80s to understand how a lack of safety regulations, benign neglect, and a “zero moderation” environment forged the last truly analog minds in history.

From the unsupervised freedom of latchkey kids to the raw physics of playground culture, we analyze how the pre-digital era created a unique form of resilience and “internal locus of control” that is becoming extinct in the modern world. This is not just a look back; it is a psychological autopsy of the bridge generation.

Tagged with: documentary, ernest hemingway, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Generation X, grammys, mavis staples, sad and beautiful world, social media
Posted in Music, News, Reflections

Insensata (Foolish) 2025 – Nathy Peluso

Posted on February 8, 2026 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Nathy at the 2025 Latin Grammys in Miami

Argentine diva and Latin Grammy–winning artist Nathy Peluso goes crazy for love in this song – so much so that it leaves her confused and dizzy. Her obsession with an absent lover makes her act foolish, unable to control herself, hence the title of today’s featured track, Insensata (Eng. senseless / foolish).

Such is his hold over her that he burns her even from a distance. She doesn’t care what others think about how crazy she is. In fact, she submits to the heartbreak left by his absence; it has become part of her identity, and she is not ashamed of it. As she declares at the end: “Crazy in love – why not? Let them talk, let them talk, let them say whatever they want about me.”

Those of you in Europe can catch Nathy live this coming week at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and Movistar Arena in Madrid. These venues are no joke and regularly host major international acts.

Peluso is one of the most versatile and innovative artists I’ve come across, and one of my favourite modern performers. She moves confidently across rap, pop, hip-hop, salsa, and ballad. What’s remarkable is that within each genre she bends and reshapes it, treating it as something flexible and often blending styles at the same time.

Today’s song Insensata is a strong example of how she plays with the Salsa form. Believe me, many Latinos are very particular about their Salsa. Traditionally, it’s rhythm-forward, groove-driven, and built on fairly consistent patterns that don’t change much from start to finish. It can feel predictable and formulaic.

Peluso, being a rebel who avoids doing things by the numbers, completely shakes this up. On Insensata, she constantly shifts the song’s dynamics, structure, and emotional tone. The genre is usually defined by a steady rhythmic progression, but here she keeps disrupting expectations – and it sounds much better for it.

I’m picky about my Salsa too, but Peluso ticks all the boxes: it’s original, adventurous, and cheeky. Another thing I love is the song’s balladic melody, which isn’t typically a hallmark of traditional Salsa but has become part of Peluso’s signature style. And of course as is basically a prerequisite for my music entries, Insensata has strong relistenability – at least to my ears. The only aspect I don’t care much for is the rather underwhelming video below.

Allow me to digress one moment – I know it can be difficult to fully connect with music sung in another language, let alone in a genre you may be unfamiliar with. So I appreciate those who step outside their comfort zone and become a little more cosmopolitan and adventurous in expanding their musical tastes. The translated lyrics are included below – time well spent, as it sharpens my Spanish.

I hope you like the song.

[Intro]
Baby, I miss you

[Verso 1]
Yo sé cómo controlarme, sé cuando debo moderarme / I know how to control myself, I know when to hold back
Pero estar así de lejos de tu cuerpo a mí me mata / But being this far from your body is killing me
Me genera confusión, me marea la pasión / It confuses me, passion makes me dizzy
No sé cómo hacer para no actuar como una insensata / I don’t know how to stop acting foolish
Necesito que me des lo que solo tú me das / I need you to give me what only you give me
Me quemas incluso en la distancia / You burn me even from a distance
Pero sabes que tu fuego no está dando su calor / But you know your fire isn’t giving off its warmth
Porque soy yo lo que te falta / Because I’m what you’re missing

[Coro]
Lo que se hace por amor no tiene ningún sentido / What’s done for love makes no sense
Y muchas veces deja herido el corazón / And often leaves the heart wounded
Pero esta es mi decisión (Mi decisión) / But this is my decision (My decision)
Extrañarte como loca si tus manos no me tocan / To miss you like crazy if your hands don’t touch me
Tu recuerdo es como un porro y me arrebata / Your memory is like a joint and it takes me away
No me importa que me digan “insensata”/ I don’t care if they call me “foolish”

[Post-Coro]
Nene, yo estoy loca por ti / Baby, I’m crazy about you

[Verso 2]
Creo que nadie en el mundo se imaginaría / I think no one in the world could imagine
Por estar a tu lado todo lo que haría / All I would do to be by your side
Me dirían exagerada / They’d call me exaggerated
Si tuviera un cuadro de Picasso, yo lo cambiaría (Cambiaría) / If I had a Picasso painting, I’d change it (I’d trade)
Por una foto tuya de las que me envías / For one of those photos of you that you send me
En la madrugada / In the early morning
Te juro que hasta con Canelo yo me enfrentaría (Ah, ah) / I swear I’d even face Canelo (Ah, ah)
Y en el segundo round yo lo noquearía / And in the second round I’d knock him out
A mano limpia / With my bare hands
Con la misma mano que te quisiera acariciar / With the same hand I want to caress you with
Pero estás tan lejos, ¡ay! /
¡Cucucucucú! / But you’re so far away, oh!

[Coro]

[Interludio]
Papi, I miss you / Daddy, I miss you
Pull up on me, pull up on me
Ah, mua /
Te extraño / I miss you
¡Rra, au!

[Outro]
No me importa que me digan / I don’t care what they say
Que lo digas tú, que lo digo yo / Whether you say it, whether I say it
No me importa que me digan / I don’t care what they say
Loca por amor, loca por amor, ¿cómo no? / Crazy in love, crazy in love, why not?
No me importa que me digan (¡Ah!) / I don’t care what they say
Que hablen, que hablen, que digan lo que quieran de mí / Let them talk, let them talk, let them say whatever they want about me
No me importa que me digan (¡Au!) / I don’t care what they say
“Insensata” / Foolish
¡Cucucucucucú!
Digan / Say
Diga, di-di— / Say
Digan / Say
Loca por amor / Crazy For Love
Digan / Say

Tagged with: insensata, malportada, Nathy peluso
Posted in Music

The Water is Wide (1975) – Bob Dylan (ft. Joan Baez)

Posted on February 7, 2026 by observationblogger — 6 Comments

I’ve always had a soft spot for this live performance of the old British folk song The Water Is Wide. It was performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez during the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue at the Boston Music Hall. There are three reasons I like it: Joan Baez’s voice, the excellent slide guitar, and the beautiful ending (mainly because of what Baez does with it). If it were just Dylan singing on his own here, without Baez’s contribution, there’s no way I would have included it in my collection.

In this version, Dylan’s vocal performance is unlikely to change the minds of those who already criticise his voice. However, if you fast-forward about twenty years to his tender, weathered delivery of The Water Is Wide during the Time Out of Mind sessions, and imagine him bringing that same sense of heartache to the 1975 performance, it might have been a true duet masterpiece.

The following draws from the two references below:

Dylan has certainly known this song since he moved to Greenwich Village in the early sixties. Many credit Peter Seeger for its popularity, having included it on his well-known 1958 recording, American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 2. It’s been covered by pretty much everybody and it remains popular in the 21st century, although not everybody does the exact same version.

Dylan said in the Biograph liner notes that he based Lay Down Your Weary Tune on a Scottish ballad, so the inspiration definitely could have been The Water Is Wide. The two songs definitely sound similar.

I wrote that on the West Coast, at Joan Baez’s house. She had a place outside Big Sur. I had heard a Scottish ballad on an old 78 record that I was trying to really capture the feeling of, that was haunting me. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I wanted lyrics that would feel the same way.

It’s a song about lost-love or rather a love that’s grown sour. It describes the challenges of love: “Oh love is gentle, love is kind” during the novel honeymoon phase of any relationship. However, as time progresses, “love grows old, and waxes cold“. Even true love, the lyrics say, can “fade away like morning dew“.

Cecil Sharp first published the song in Folk Songs From Somerset (1906). The modern lyric for The Water Is Wide was consolidated and named by Cecil Sharp in 1906 from multiple older sources in southern England, following English lyrics with very different stories and styles but the same meter. Performers or publishers would insert, remove, and adapt verses from one piece to another: floating verses are also characteristic of hymns and blues verses.

The song Van Diemen’s Land on the album Rattle and Hum by U2 uses a variation of the melody of The Water Is Wide.

The water is wide and I can’t cross over
Neither have I wings that I could fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row my love and I.

There is a ship and it sails on the sea
Loaded deep as deep can be
But not as deep as the love I’m in
I know not if I sink or swim.

I leaned my back up against an oak
Thinkin’ it was a trusty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
Just like my own false love to me.

Oh love is gentle, love is kind
Gay as a jewel when first it’s new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like some morning dew.

The water is wide and I can’t cross over
Neither have I wings to fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row my love and I

References:
1. The Water Is Wide – The Bob Dylan Commentaries
2. The Water Is Wide (song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Bob Dylan, boston music hall, Joan Baez, pete seeger, the water is wide
Posted in Music

Marty Supreme (2025) – Josh Safdie (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on February 6, 2026 by observationblogger — 10 Comments

Marty Supreme hereby completes the trilogy of movies starring Timothée Chalamet I’ve written about so far, in this order: Dune, A Complete Unknown, and now Marty Supreme. I was looking forward to watching Marty Supreme just as much as his earlier films, and I was worried my high expectations might dull the experience. Instead, I was surprised by how much fun I had watching it.

What impressed me most – apart from everything else that works so well (inc. performances, production, and cinematography) – is how unpredictable it is. Nearly every scene (bar one) goes somewhere you don’t quite expect. It’s a total blast, and there were moments where I felt genuinely giddy, waiting to see what would happen next. And the ending is so sublime and unexpected – true to its modus operandi – yet heart-wrenching, that it makes everything that came before it make sense.

Marty Supreme is set in the 1950s and follows Jewish-American table tennis player Marty Mauser, loosely based on Marty Reisman, in his quest to become world champion. As a sports nut – and someone who represented my high school in table tennis – the subject matter instantly piqued my interest. Ironically, the one scene that felt laboured was the table tennis tournament in England. Aside from that, I was hooked, laughing out loud often, hopefully not to the annoyance of nearby viewers.

As an aside: Listen to how Chalamet sounds like early Dylan from 2:20 in this interview for the movie. It’s uncanny. As an actor he’s on that level too. Also he’s Jewish on his mother’s side.

The film is humorously dark, sometimes violent, and wildly irregular. In its chaos, I found it oddly realistic, often mirroring how life itself can feel – driven by chance, but not entirely random. Small changes can lead to wildly different outcomes, making long-term prediction impossible. Our actions clearly have consequences, and that plays out here, but exactly what those consequences will be is never certain. That uncertainty is central to Marty Supreme.

The movie is packed with confronting moments and will likely offend some viewers. It doesn’t follow, or even lean on, the familiar formulas that most films do. It’s an epic character study of a morally flawed yet insanely talented individual who will stop at nothing to get what he wants – very much in the vein of character-driven films like There Will Be Blood and Citizen Kane.

I want to single out two standout performances, aside from Timothée Chalamet. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion are excellent, especially A’zion (image inset), who plays Marty’s fiercely intelligent, emotionally complex, and strategically manipulative childhood friend and love interest. She has immense screen presence, and I found myself fully investing in her. Weirdly, she reminded me lot of seeing Amy Winehouse if she had ever acted. As for Paltrow, in her role as an aging movie star, I don’t think I’ve seen her this good since The Royal Tenenbaums.

I’ve deliberately stayed away from spoilers, because this film is best experienced knowing as little as possible. I genuinely hope Timothée Chalamet receives his first Oscar for Best Actor. He’s easily my favourite young actor working right now – there isn’t even a close second – and has been since Dune. It goes without saying, I couldn’t recommend Marty Supreme more highly. If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear what you thought.

Cheerio, and thanks for reading.

IMDB Trivia

Timothée Chalamet had been training in table tennis since 2018 to prepare for his role. He continued his training while working on other films… by traveling with a table.

Make-up artist Michael Fontaine applied pockmarks, freckles and nicks to Timothée Chalamet’s face to give him a more weathered, street appearance. The effect was so convincing that Gwyneth Paltrow thought it was real, privately suggesting to the actor that he try micro-needling to fix his acne scars.

At the beginning of the movie, during the first two rounds of the tournament, Marty competes against real-life Olympic table tennis players: American Nikhil Gowda (as Nikhil Kumar) and German Timo Boll.

Gwyneth Paltrow told Vanity Fair that when she met Timothée Chalamet, who she was going to film several sex scenes with, she joked, “Okay, great. I’m 109 years old. You’re 14.”

References:
1. Marty Supreme – Wikipedia
2. Marty Supreme – IMDB

Tagged with: Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet
Posted in Movies and TV

Opening Night (2025) – Ocie Elliott

Posted on February 5, 2026 by observationblogger — 6 Comments

I recently heard Opening Night on someone’s random Spotify playlist, and as I cosily took it in, I quickly added it to my own project. And just now as I perused Ocie’s upcoming concerts, they will be performing in Australian small scene venues which I used to frequent watching ‘the Cake‘ and other modest local Melbourne acts.
You see, Ocie Eliot isn’t a ‘she’. They are a Canadian indie folk duo of Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy from Victoria, B.C., Canada.

Opening Night is such a soothing and calming song and it contains slow melodic moments which I found so stirring and impacting. Also some of the content reminded me of a poem I wrote decades ago called Mornington in reference to a coastal town on the South-east of Melbourne. I wrote: Forget the seedy districts – I mean the beatnik cafeteria, remember? As it happens, the duo met in a chance encounter in a café which led to their collaboration, and their ultimate partnership.

Sierra and Jon have cultivated a fast-growing following by releasing a captivating series of live acoustic videos on Facebook recorded in the cozy confines of the couple’s Honda CR-V (which, Sierra explains, offers “organically well-rounded and self-contained” acoustics that lend an intimacy to their intricate harmonies).
– Ocie Elliot – The Ark

As referred to above, there is probably no a better example of that synchronicity and harmony than their singing in their car here. As the Ark article adds: The novel approach has paid off, with a million streams of their most popular tracks on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as sold-out shows.

It’s really lovely and I can see how they made great inroads, even having their song Run To You featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Ocie Elliot cited Gillian Welch, John Prine, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel as their biggest influences.

Bye in the morning
Bye at night
Bye in the evening, bye′s on my mind

Flying in airplanes
Drinking in bars
Sleeping in bedrooms that are never ours

Let the strings go, fall through the sky
Come down quick like blinds in the night

You’re feeling angry
You want to fight
You want to restore love to its former height

Dream of the future
Think of the past
Wondering how it′s all going to last

Then some opening bars start to sound
Forget our bodies and move all around

When we come back down from the highs
Say our hellos, stall our goodbyes

References:
1. Ocie Elliot – The Ark
2. Ocie Elliot – Wikipedia

Tagged with: bungalow, Jon Middleton, ocie Elliot, Opening Night, Sierra Lundy
Posted in Music

Rave on! (1958) – Buddy Holly

Posted on February 4, 2026 by observationblogger — 7 Comments

You know any song that starts with “A-weh-uh-heh-uh-ell” (a drawn-out “well”) has to be pretty darn good. There are few more jumpy and exciting starts in the rock annals than Buddy’s lead utterance into Rave On! He really put his vocal hiccups and stutters to amazing use here, as he did on so many of his other songs. Holly is instantly recognisable as the artist.

It’s been a long time since Buddy’s music has graced these pages, but he’s back – and with a real rocker. Few people wouldn’t have heard this legendary track. It has become one of Buddy’s most enduring songs decades after its release. I think some of his best singing is on this record, delivered with such giddy enthusiasm and youthful energy, which we’ll touch on a bit more later.

Whenever I hear Buddy, there’s a tinge of sadness. He was taken from us in the prime of his early adulthood and musical success, along with other burgeoning talents Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), in that 1959 plane crash – “the day the music died,” as it was most famously referred to in Don McLean’s song American Pie. Such was Buddy’s immense natural talent and songwriting prowess at such a tender age that, had he continued, it’s really hard to put a limit on how big he might have become. He was also, by all accounts, an affable young man who oozed charm.

From the moment I first heard him, I felt akin. I felt related, like he was an older brother. I even thought I resembled him. Buddy played the music that I loved – the music I grew up on: country western, rock ‘n’ roll, and rhythm and blues…He was the archetype. Everything I wasn’t and wanted to be. I saw him only but once, and that was a few days before he was gone.
– excerpt from Bob Dylan’s 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature speech

As I alluded to earlier, Holly had these idiosyncratic vocals and spontaneous sounds which showed his playful and inventive approach to music, contributing to his lasting influence on rock and roll. He uses vocal embellishments and elongated syllables (“you-ah-hoo,” “goodni-hi-ight,” “I love you-hoo”), so you could never confuse his delivery with anyone else. It was also simply great fun to listen to, because you could sense that he was having fun too.

Most of the following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:

Rave On! is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty in 1958. It was first recorded by West for Atlantic Records…Buddy Holly recorded the song later the same year, and his version became a hit, one of six of his recordings that charted in 1958.

The song charted at No. 37 in the US and No. 2 in the UK. So Rave On didn’t break into the U.S. top tier like “That’ll Be the Day” (No. 1) or “Peggy Sue” (No. 3).
Holly’s rendition of “Rave On” is ranked number 154 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

[Verse 1]
A-weh-uh-heh-uh-ell
The little things you say and do
Make me want to be with you-ah-hoo

[Chorus 1]
A-Rave on, it’s a crazy feeling and-a
I know it’s got me reeling
When you say, I love you-hoo, rave on

[Verse 2]
The way you dance a-and hold me tight
The way you kiss and say goodni-hi-ight

[Chorus 1]
A-Rave on, it’s a crazy feeling and-a
I know it’s got me reeling
When you say, I love you-hoo, rave on (du-ba-de-du-ba-de-dum)

[Chorus 2]
A-well rave on, a-it’s a crazy feeling and
I know, it’s got me reeling
I’m so glad, that you’re revealing
Your love for me
Rave on, rave on and tell me
Tell me, not to be lonely
Tell me, you love me only
Rave on to me

References:
1. Rave On Buddy Holly – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Buddy Holly, rave on!
Posted in Music

Tiny Victories (2019) – Christina Perri

Posted on February 3, 2026 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

There is no other artist I relate to more personally in her writing and music than Christina Perri. My favourite female troubadour and balladeer is back with yet another beautiful composition. Much of her music reveals itself slowly, growing stronger with each listen, and Tiny Victories is very much one of those songs. When I first heard it, I wasn’t even sure I liked it. But, as is often the case with her work, the more I listened, the deeper it went and the more it stayed with me.

What is striking about Perri’s music is that, although it often deals with grief and depression – as Tiny Victories clearly does – it somehow ends up feeling uplifting and even therapeutic. What could easily sound heavy or bleak instead offers comfort and reassurance to the listener.

Allow me to digress briefly with a personal example of how this song affected me. I was walking down a busy street near where I live, headphones on as usual. I wasn’t feeling great that morning – flat, unsettled, and just “blah.” When Tiny Victories came on, my first thought was that this was probably not what I needed in that mood. But as I kept listening, the words cut through the noise around me and slowly settled in my mind.

By the end of the song, I felt calmer and more grounded, as if something had gently reset my thinking. Lines like, “But every day that I don’t hide myself away / To me, is a tiny victory,” rang painfully true to my own life. Sometimes just showing up really is enough.

At times, Christina Perri’s music feels like a kind of car wash for the mind. It cleans things out. It feels as helpful for the listener as it must be for her to write it. That, I think, is her great gift. Even when the subject matter is dark, the message is quietly hopeful. Tiny Victories reminds us that small steps matter, and that we don’t need to demand too much of ourselves. As the Spanish saying goes, poco a poco – little by little.

As my yogi guru Nirvair Singh Khalsa once said, “It’s not the life you lead, but the courage you bring to it.” The fact that a single song can trigger this kind of reflection shows how deeply Perri’s music can reach, at least for me. Her writing is precise, honest, and emotionally sharp – at times approaching a Leonard Cohen level of craft. I just feel grateful to be let in and hear it.

[Verse 1]
Some days, I Iook in the mirror and I think
The meanest things, all the meanest things
Some days, I’m holding my self-worth up
By a string, a string
But every day that I don’t hide myself away
To me, is a tiny victory

[Verse 2]
Some days, it feels like a wrecking ball swinging
Through my ribcage, my ribcage
Some nights I’m just a million broken pieces singin’
On a stage
I’m a little more broken open, but a little more free
And that’s a tiny victory

[Chorus]
And if battles can win a war
I can keep picking my sword up off the floor
And learn to treasure these
Tiny victories, tiny victories

[Verse 3]
Some days, givin’ up on myself looks so
So easy to do, it’s so easy to do
The struggle is slow, I’m barely movin’ the needle
And the cracks may be few, but there’s light coming through

[Chorus]
And if battles can win a war
I can keep picking my sword up off the floor
And learn to treasure these
Tiny victories, tiny victories
Tiny victories, tiny victories

[Outro]
Every day that I don’t hide myself away
Every day that I don’t hide myself away
To me, is a tiny victory

Tagged with: Christina perri, tiny victories
Posted in Music

That Don’t Impress Me Much (1998) – Shania Twain

Posted on February 3, 2026 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

How this song wasn’t in my collection from the very beginning is anyone’s guess. What surprised me most when I revisited it after a long break was just how unfiltered and country the original studio recording sounds on its own. For a moment, I even wondered if I was listening to an early or rough version rather than the original release I knew from the video.

I think that confusion comes from the video itself, which leans heavily into a pop aesthetic and is often linked to the period when the Canadian singer Shania Twain crossed further into mainstream territory. That commercial gloss which comes through the video, enabled the song to reach audiences beyond traditional country fans – and clearly, it worked. Yet when you strip all the veneer away and simply listen to the song, it remains rooted in the upbeat, classic country style that first defined Shania’s career. It could have also been the dance version which I got confused by.

That Don’t Impress Me Much is arguably Shania’s most recognisable song, or at least one of them. Early on, I probably didn’t give it the respect it deserved, partly because of its flashy presentation and how relentlessly it dominated the airwaves for a time. But listening to it again years later, it’s clear that time has been kind to it. The lyrics are sharp, humorous, and direct, and the music is authentic, lively country that is effortlessly catchy. I really like the moments of amusement throughout the song, which are one of the signature qualities of Twain’s music (ie Man! I Feel Like a Women, Don’t Be Stupid & Any Man of Mine). It’s genuinely cute and charming, yet bold at the same time.

The following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:

That Don’t Impress Me Much was released as the 7th single from Shania’s 3rd studio album Come On Over. The song was written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Twain. It became her third biggest single on the Billboard peaking at No. 7 and remains one of Twain’s biggest hits worldwide reaching No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in Australia and top 10 in a whole host of other countries.

In 2017, during a listening party for her fifth studio album Now, Twain revealed the reason behind using Brad Pitt’s name instead of other suitable male celebrities saying that after she heard about the scandal between Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow and the subsequent leaking of Pitt’s naked photo in Playgirl magazine, she was left unimpressed by all the fuss as she found it was normal to see naked people.

[Intro]
Ow
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah

[Verse 1]
I’ve known a few guys who thought they were pretty smart
But you’ve got being right down to an art
You think you’re a genius, you drive me up the wall
You’re a regular original, a know-it-all

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh-oh, you think you’re special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re a rocket scientist

[Chorus]
That don’t impress me much
So you got the brains, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong—yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah

[Verse 2]
I never knew a guy who carried a mirror in his pocket
And a comb up his sleeve—just in case
And all that extra hold gel in your hair oughta lock it
’Cause heaven forbid it should fall outta place

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh-oh, you think you’re special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt

[Chorus]
That don’t impress me much (Oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the looks, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong—yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much
Yeah

[Verse 3]
You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine
You make me take off my shoes before you let me get in
I can’t believe you kiss your car good night
Now, come on, baby, tell me, you must be joking, right?

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh-oh, you think you’re something special
Oh-oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’ve got a car

[Chorus]
That don’t impress me much (Oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the moves, but have you got the touch?
Now, don’t get me wrong—yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much (That don’t impress me)
Oh, oh no, you think you’re cool, but have you got the touch?
Now, now, don’t get me wrong—yeah, I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm on the long, cold, lonely night
That don’t impress me much
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah

[Outro]
Okay, so what do you think, you’re Elvis or something?
Whatever
That don’t impress me

References:
1. That Don’t Impress Me Much – Wikipedia

Tagged with: come on over, Shania Twain, That Don't Impress Me Much
Posted in Music

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