7/11 – 13/11/22 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, Billion Dollars & TÁR

Posted on November 14, 2022 by observationblogger — Leave a comment
news on the march

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

Shooting “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (with Steven Spielberg & Douglas Slocombe)
Video documentary at Cinematographers on Cinematography

Raiders is my favourite Adventure movie and this fascinating documentary about its making elevates my admiration of the artistry and creative development in the whole process. This is how movies used to be made. This is an extraordinary account of cinema history.

Someone wrote in the comments:

Every aspect of this film represents a pinnacle for the craft. The writing, the acting, the directing, the costume design, the set design, the soundtrack, the sound effects, the stunts, the effects, the makeup…. And yes the cinematography…. Every aspect of this film is badass. (Watch entire documentary here)

Louis CK Stand up Comedy: If I Had a Billion Dollars
Audio comedy excerpt at Louis CK Dose

You would think the following was untrue, but Louis CK described also what happened to me:

‘My bank called me the other day, saying you don’t have enough money. And I was like, yeh, I know that. I also am of the opinion I don’t have enough money. And she said, you don’t understand, you have insufficient funds…Well yeh, that’s also a very good way of putting it. I think my funds are grossly insufficient. Thank you for calling. I thought it was my problem that I’m F&cking broke. I thought I was the only one who suffered, but apparently the bank has a serious problem with it…and it f&cks them up I’m broke. And she said you can’t have such a low amount of money. We can’t tolerate that….Well then give me some f&cking money…’ (Listen to comedy show extract here)

Cate Blanchett: Becoming a Distinguished Composer in TÁR | Apple Music
Video interview at Apple Music

This video interview is ‘Wokesville‘ amongst elites at the upper echelon even including the interviewer’s ‘I’m so woke – it’s unbelievable’ glasses. But it is Cate, and she talks about her new movie that my friend Reely Bernie reviewed here.
Australian actor Cate Blanchett sits down with Zane Lowe to reflect on her experience embodying renowned composer Lydia Tár in the film TÁR. Though she is not a musician in her real life, Cate Blanchett molds herself to fit into the role of one of the greatest living composer-conductors for the film. Cate explains how she experienced major imposter syndrome while acting as the first-ever female music director of a major German orchestra. She and Zane also discuss more broadly the impact of music and humanity’s relationship with sound. (Watch entire interview here)

news on the march the end
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Posted in Movies and TV, News

I Don’t Live Here Anymore (2021) – The War on Drugs

Posted on November 13, 2022 by observationblogger — 6 Comments

Find out by watching the video below why Jeff (Eclectic Music Lover) said ‘The War on Drugs are one of the greatest bands around today. I love their dreamy, expansive sound, and their intelligent songwriting and intricate guitar work are always exceptional‘. I just love this video which contain some of their songs from their latest album I Don’t Live Here Anymore. Today’s title track is the first song on the video below. A special shout-out also to the final song ‘Change‘ which starts at 17:22 in the performance below.

Maia Stern, the video productor at NPR Music wrote on November 1, 2021:
In their Tiny Desk (home) concert, The War On Drugs gather in their packed studio in Burbank, CA to let us in on the fun and intricate inner workings of their craft. After opening the show with “I Don’t Live Here Anymore,” which shares the same title as their new album, frontman Adam Granduciel introduces the band and asks if anybody has a capo. Suddenly a very thoughtfully crafted tiny desk with drumsticks for legs (and topped with a tiny lamp too!) slowly lowers down into the space, delivering said capo. Granduciel smiles, and the group continues with three more tracks from the new record: “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” “Old Skin,” and “Change.”

When I think about the old days, babe
You’re always on my mind
I know it ain’t like I remember
I guess my memories run wild
Like when we went to see Bob Dylan
We danced to “Desolation Row“
But I don’t live here anymore
But I got no place to go

Beating like a heart
I’m gonna walk through every doorway, I can’t stop
I need some time, I need control, I need your love
I wanna find out everything I need to know

I Don’t Live Here Anymore is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band The War on Drugs. The songs were all reimagined, rewritten and/or remixed multiple times over the course of the album’s three-year recording process. I Don’t Live Here Anymore received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic the album received an average score of 85, based on 25 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”.

I opened this post with Jeff’s quote about The War on Drugs and I’m going to let him close it out:

‘The War on Drugs are without question one of the finest bands making music today. I first learned about them at the end of 2014 when I saw this album on every year-end list, and their song “Red Eyes” on multiple best songs of 2014 lists. I was instantly blown away by their gorgeous music, and have been a big fan ever since. I think my favorite song of theirs is “Pain” from ‘A Deeper Understanding. I get a big lump in my throat every time I hear it, awestruck that someone is capable of writing such stunning and impactful music.’

Reference:
1. I Don’t Live Here Anymore – Wikipedia

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Islands in the Stream (Live in Las Vegas 1997) – Bee Gees

Posted on November 12, 2022 by observationblogger — 11 Comments
Bee Gees – Islands In The Stream (Live in Las Vegas, 1997 – One Night Only)

People may be more familiar with the mega-hit version by Dolly Parton and Kenny Roger’s of this song, but I have always had a penchant for this one by the Bee Gees in Las Vegas. They wrote the original song and the harmonies are fantastic. This is one of the most played live concert-dvds in our household. The Bee Gees wrote a lot of songs which became hits for other artists including the following:

  • “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” Al Green (1972)
  • “Grease,” Frankie Valli (1978)
  • “Emotion,” Samantha Sang (1978)
  • “Hold On to My Love,” Jimmy Ruffin (1980)
  • “Woman in Love,” Barbra Streisand (1980)
  • “Heartbreaker,” Dionne Warwick (1982)
  • “Chain Reaction” Diana Ross, and
  • “Islands in the Stream,” Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (1983)

Baby, when I met you, there was peace unknown
I set out to get you with a fine-tooth comb
I was soft inside
There was something going on

You do something to me that I can’t explain
Hold me closer and I feel no pain
Every beat of my heart
We got something going on

Islands in the Stream is named after an Ernest Hemingway novel and was released in August 1983 as the first single from Kenny Rogers’s album Eyes That See in the Dark. The song was originally written for Diana Ross in an R&B style but later reworked for the duet by Rogers and Parton. The song reached number one on the Billboard chart in the United States (knocking Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” out of No. 1), giving both Rogers and Parton their second pop number-one hit (after Rogers’s “Lady” in 1980 and Parton’s “9 to 5” in 1981).

Reference:
1. Islands in the Stream (song) – Wikipedia

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Isn’t it Time (1977) – The Babys

Posted on November 11, 2022 by observationblogger — 13 Comments

Isn’t It Time is an iconic 70’s track and always evokes fond memories whenever I hear it. It peaked at #1 in my home country, Australia and #13 on the Billboard Charts. It was performed by the English group The Babys in 1977 and was released on their album Broken Heart. It contains a distinctive piano introduction performed by Michael Corby which moves into an opening vocal performance by lead singer John Waite. The Babys were best known for today’s featured song and Every Time I Think of You.

Falling in love was the last thing I had on my mind
Holding you is a warmth that I thought I could never find

(Sitting here all alone) Just trying to decide
(Whether to go all alone) Or stay by your side
(Then I stop myself because) I know I could cry
I just can’t find the answers
To the questions that keep going through my mind
Hey, babe
Isn’t it time?

Isn’t It Time was not written by members of the group but by bass guitarist Jack Conrad along with Ray Kennedy. The lyrics were motivated by Ray Kennedy’s love for a French woman whom he knew during the writing of the song.  The song was first aired on the ABC program American Bandstand – 7 December 1977.
I agree with Max at Powerpop who wrote:

‘What I liked about The Baby’s was the voice of John Waite. He would later turn solo after the Babys broke up to have a few hits of his own. I never got to see them live but friends told me they were better live than on their records‘.

Reference:
1. Isn’t It Time (The Babys Song) – Wikipedia

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Introduction (The Journey of a Fool) 1979 – Mike Batt

Posted on November 10, 2022 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

Journey of a Fool is the instrumental introduction track of the record Tarot Suite by Mike Batt (with the London Symphony Orchestra). This is the second song to appear here from one of my most cherished records. I wrote about how underrated it is in my first post – Imbecile. That post remains one of the most viewed on my blog since there is hardly any information online about this immense production.

It’s hard to believe that this is now 40+ years old. No other album was played as often in our house during my youth than this one. A popular radio station in Sydney called Triple M played part of this song as their theme music in the 80’s. A lot more information about this album and comments from admirers can be found in that first post.

Tarot Suite was inspired by the 22 major arcana trump cards of the tarot deck. If the listener wants to make sense of the concept of this album, the insert provides a handy description and explanation of the various cards and how they relate to the music. This album is driven by the creative orchestral (London Symphony Orchestra) arrangements and songwriting of Batt. To his credit, Batt is not inhibited by allowing electric guitars and other instruments to assume a dominant role in his music rather than his own keyboard playing, which is utilized more for texture and mood purposes.

Reference:
1. Tarot Suite – Just for the Record

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Into My Arms (1997) – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Posted on November 9, 2022 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

Nick Cave’s delivery and lyric in this song are magnificent. It is one of my favourite songs of his although there are many. Into My Arms was released as the first single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ tenth studio album The Boatman’s Call in 1997. In Cave’s lecture “The Secret Life of the Love Song” to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, he counts the song among those he is most proud of having written.

And I don’t believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that’s true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
Oh, to each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk like Christ in grace and love
And guide you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord

The song was also nominated for Single of the Year at the 1997 ARIA Awards, and came No. 18 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of that year. According to Songfacts: Cave wrote this piano-based love song whilst in rehab. He explained to Mojo magazine March 2009: “In the first couple of days when you haven’t slept, you’re withdrawing from drugs, you’re sick. You try and make the best of a bad situation.”

Regarding the song’s official music video, Nick Cave praised the video as well-produced, but said he considered it a poor fit with the song as the video’s depressing imagery overrode the melancholic optimism Cave had intended the song to convey. I have forwarded below a version with Spanish subtitles.

Reference:
1. Into My Arms – Wikipedia
2. Into My Arms – Songfacts

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Special Edition Post – Can We Trust Social – Emotional Learning (SEL)? James Lindsay

Posted on November 8, 2022 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

This is the latest of James Lindsay’s podcasts about the infiltration / penetration of Post Modernism and Neo- Communism into western education systems (and more-over culture and Governments) by the United Nations and other leading organizations / multinationals in recent times.

The reason for this post is to see Lindsay go out on a limb from 50:00 minutes in this video. From 53:00 onwards I consider it to be the best unintentional stand-up material I have heard in quite a while, and I laughed my backside off. To read the sh/te from these f/ckers trying to groom kids and society, made my blood boil. At least Lindsay was able to let off steam too. There is another part in this where they have converted Einstein’s E=MC² into a SEL acronym to push their agenda. Now that’s scary stuff.

The problem is No one…. nearly no one is paying attention to what is happening. It’s mindboggling. It’s either people agree with this, or they have no ‘balls’ in the Goodfellas sense of that term.

‘I’m sure that was NOT a gigantic circle-jerk’

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Inside Out (1990) – Traveling Wilburys

Posted on November 8, 2022 by observationblogger — 4 Comments

I think Inside Out is one of the 2 most congenial efforts by the Traveling Wilburys from their 2 albums. It might not reach the heights of Orbison’s solo contribution of You’re Not Alone or Dylan’s Tweeter and the Monkey Man, but as a group this and Handle Me With Care are their best collaborative songs for mine. The song is playful, humorous and expertly written and delivered. These songs appeal to a wide audience base because they incorporate so many genres of music and are appealing to even the most novice afficionado (ie a younger music audience).

Look out your window
That grass ain’t green
It’s kinda yellow
See what I mean?

Look up your chimney
The sky ain’t blue
It’s kinda yellow
You know it’s true

It’s so hard to figure what it’s all about

When your outside’s in (Inside out)

Inside Out was written by all 4 members of the band and was the first they worked on for the Vol 3. Traveling Wilburys record. The song was issued as a promotional single in the United States, where it peaked at number 16 on Billboard‘s chart. Following the death of Roy Orbison in December 1988, the group gathered at a private house they dubbed “Camp Wilbury“, in Bel Air, Los Angeles. George Harrison recalled that he, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan had the musical part of the song finished “within an hour” of starting work. He said this encouraged him to realise that the band would be able to continue as before, despite the loss of Orbison.

Bob or Tom came up with the idea: “Look out your window, the grass ain’t green …” and I said, “It’s kinda yellow …” then somebody else said, “See what I mean?” So then we got the next bit: “Look up your chimney, the sky ain’t blue, it’s kinda yellow …” 

I’m not normally a fan of how ‘bridges‘ sound in songs, but George hit the ball out of the park in this song. Just spectacular music.

Reference:
1. Inside Out (Traveling Wilburys song)

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31/10 – 6/11/22 – Fiona Hill on Russia & Perpetual Cultural Revolution

Posted on November 7, 2022 by observationblogger — 2 Comments
news on the march

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

Fiona Hill: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump | Lex Fridman Podcast #335
Video podcast interview at Lex Fridmen

Fiona Hill is a presidential advisor and foreign policy expert specializing in Russia. Some of the topics in this fascinating discussion include: How she started from humble beginnings, what the Soviet Union was like before it collapsed, advice to Lex Fridman for interview with Vladimir Putin, Why Putin invaded Ukraine, and is Putin Good or Bad for Russia. (Watch entire interview here)

Paulo Freire’s Perpetual Cultural Revolution – James Lindsay
Audio podcast at New Discourses

This episode of the New Discourses Podcast continues a long miniseries exploring Paulo Freire’s landmark 1985 book The Politics of Education: Culture, Power, and Liberation. In this episode, James takes up the seventh chapter of The Politics of Education, wherein Freire outlines the need for and process of “conscientization.” That is, in this chapter, Freire makes it clear that the neo-Marxist consciousness-raising process is what education is actually about. Join him to understand that for Freire, education is about becoming a Marxist and a radical explicitly in the mold of revolutionary guerrillas like Che Guevara. (Listen to audio presentation here)

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Innocent When You Dream (1987) – Tom Waits

Posted on November 6, 2022 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

Innocent When You Dream is the second song here from Tom Wait’s 10th studio album Franks Wild Years. If anyone wanted to find out what an imaginative composer Tom Waits is, in style presentation and substance, then look no further than this song. I like what someone said about this song at songmeanings: ‘this song will be playing while my friends & family inebriate themselves around my casket.’

Running through the graveyard
We laughed my friends and I
We swore we’d be together
Until the day we died
Until the day we died

It’s such a sad old feeling
The fields are soft and green
It’s memories that I’m stealing
But you’re innocent when you dream
When you dream
You’re innocent when you dream

Apart from the polyphony minstrel performance, the lyrics really struck me. It seems to be about dying alone with regret. The song was used as the soundtrack to the closing sequence, Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story, in the 1995 film, Smoke.

Barry Pomeroy at his web site wrote about Waits 80’s transition in music:

The piano-playing hard-drinking and smoking Waits of The Heart of Saturday Night and Nighthawks at the Diner settled down into the much stranger magician and carnival roustabout of the eighties. Drawing upon three-penny opera, vaudeville, classic blues and industrial music, Waits began to experiment with non-traditional instruments, bagpipes, marimba, pump organs, and odd percussive “instruments” such as brake drums, a damaged Chamberlin, and a Stroh violin.

Reference:
1. Innocent When You Dream (song) – Wikipedia
2. Innocent When You Dream: Narrative in Tom Waits’ Songs – Barry Pomeroy

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