The wordless film states its position without unclarity. Scenes of the pristine earth are juxtaposed with brutal technical interventions. Yet for most of the picture’s length this opposition unwittingly disappears. With sufficient pace even human activities change into repeating patterns playing out predetermined laws. The metropolis beats like a metronome, accompanied by the daunting repetition of Glass’ brilliant score. The vision of humanity so presented leaves little to hope for, and as the Atlas rocket explodes in the last scene as a symbol for the inevitable destruction of promethean progress, indeed a container of ashes thrown from the sky, the viewer stands up to follow the crowd leaving the theatre to continue along the preset path.
» No comments.If someone thinks the reason they are making lists of records is to inform others about their discoveries, they are seriously delusional. The point, if implicit, is always to show off the distinctiveness and excellency of one’s taste, to make known that one has had the time to waste going through radio shows and musical journalism. While I may not have that much to show off in this respect, I feel like making a list of the records of the first half of 2007 that I have really enjoyed.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Some Loud Thunder
It is somewhat hard for me to relate to the widely negative press that this album received. My interpretation is that another continuation of the danceable poppy style of the first album was expected. Instead CYHSY delivers a set of songs that are, while not quite as uniformly high quality, more complex, diverse and in the end, I believe, more durable.
Cocorosie: The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn
With childish rap and melodic choruses, this record initially reminded my of the long and happily forgotten eurotechno of the nineties. But as always seems to be the case with Cocorosie, once the initial shock has been overcome, the songs turn out to be very unique and captivating.
Deerhoof: Friend Opportunity
Deerhoof was characterized somewhere as an expression of postmodernity in music, where the patterns and structures of pop music are exposed by compressing them to very short stubs and ultimately breaking against them. This is the least true for Friend Opportunity, which to a large extent consists of plain pop songs sang in a strange way, but still I feel it manages to be simultaneously experimental and very accessible, a feat that I always find enjoyable.
Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer
A second example of twisted pop structures. The first time that I really found the Elephant 6-style of experimentation works.
Deerhunter: Cryptograms
One might think that it’s not a very promising start when I band refers to its own sound as “ambient punk”, but that is just evil prejudice! Cryptograms is a diverse alternation between quasi-ambient and strange folk/rock structures.
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
I was a bit disappointed at my first encounter with the album, thinking that Arcade Fire had lost their distinctive pompous energeticness, but it was there after all hidden behind the ballads and calmer songs. I even in an Arcade Fire t-shirt in the festival past, in order to inform everyone else about my exquisite taste for music.
Cinematic Orchestra: Ma Fleur
I think the performers of down-tempo or electronic jazz face quite a challenge in coming up with something new in their production. I feel that the Cinematic Orchestra had reached the logical conclusion of jazz spiced with machines and repetition already in their past couple of albums. On Ma Fleur they take a step towards a more calmer and peaceful sound, which sort of destroys their originality, yet still proves that they are able to compose simple, beautiful songs.
Björk: Volta
Björk is pop again, what brings? It is my impression that the records after Homogenic have been rather divisive for the fans of hers, yet I have really enjoyed each one them, and Volta is no exception.