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November 18, 2006

Roots and Crowns

Filed under: Alternative, Music, Rock — josercaldera @ 5:18 pm


I can say enough of this album by indie rock band Califone. Roots & Crowns is their last album, and it is so good!. It is an album to relax and enjoy, it is not quite your usual rock album, and most definetly not your indie rock album either. It reminds me a bit Galaxie 500 album On Fire. Interesting and so good to sit down in the couch and just listen (not that I can do that very often given the two kids).

As I’ve learned by now this band has put out several records, and apparently a bit darker and different than this one. I am gonna have now to listen to their previous albums and see if they are any good.

Hope you get a chance to listen to them…

This review at pitchfork can give you an idea.

November 16, 2006

Discos Viejos - Old Albums

Filed under: Alternative, Electronica, Music, Pop, Rock Latino — josercaldera @ 11:43 pm

english version

Regeneration - Divine Comedy

Siempre es una agradable sorpresa cuando encuentras un disco que tenias tiempo que no escuchabas y todavia te gusta mucho, o de repente incluso te gusta mas que la vez que lo escuchaste. Desafortunadamente eso no pasa tan frecuente como escuchar un disco que te gustaba y cuando lo escuchas de nuevo es terriblemente malo, y piensas “que carajo pense yo cuando decia que me gustaba ese disco”. Y claro, luego estan los casos pateticos de discos que no solo ahora no te gustan, pero que te da verguenza mostrar.

En estos dias, revisando discos viejos, me encontre con el primer disco de Cerati fuera de Soda Stereo que hizo con Melero: Colores Santos. El disco es realmente increible. No estoy muy seguro de que ano es y aun cuando uno puede reconocer Soda Stereo casi en cada cancion, es un tremendo disco. Desde la primera cancion “Vuelta por el Universo” hasta la ultima “Colores Santos” el dijo se deja mas que colar, las letras son interesantes, y la musica muy buena. Es incluso, desde mi punto de vista, mas interesante como disco que Bocanada, el cual todavia considero muy buen disco (aunque quiza deberia escucharlo de nuevo).

En mi emocion por reencontrarme con un disco viejo, luego busque algun otro, que no hubiera escuchado en bastante tiempo, pero que aun recordara ser muy bueno. Encontre el disco Regeneration de un grupo irlandes llamado “Divine Comedy“. Mi experiencia fue bastante contraria, tanto asi que en cada cancion me preguntaba porque tenia yo buenos recuerdos de este grupo. El disco sin temor a equivocarme al menos por ahora… :) … es realmente malo, las canciones son no solo aburridas, sino que las letras son terribles. Estaba tan perplejo con la baja calidad del disco que me obligue a escucharlo todo, no solo una sino dos veces a ver si entendia porque me habia gustado. Me di cuenta que de esa agrupacion tenia otro disco, que todavia no he encontrado, mi unica respuesta puede ser que me gusto el otro disco y luego compre otro del mismo grupo y fue tan malo que nunca compre otro mas… esa es mi esperanza…

Como decia en mi introduccion tambien estan los discos que es avergonzante decir que en algun momento uno los compro. Por ejemplo, por alguna razon todavia conservo, no uno sino dos discos de Celine Dion, terrible, merezco toda una cantidad de improperios. Gracias a Dios en un momento de mi vida ya me deshize de otras cosas que son aun mas embarazosas, que no me atrevo ni a mencionar en publico… quiza un dia bajo el efecto del alcohol me atreva a hacer esas confesiones en este forum… ;)

Old Albums

It is always great to back to your old albums and find those that you liked but have not heard in a long time. Especially if you like them again, in some instances you even like them more. Unfortunately finding ones that you don’t like now happens more frequently, and you wonder “what the hell was I thinking”. And of course, and then there are the pathetic cases of those that you actually feel embarassed about owning.

Few days ago, I was going over my old albums, and I found the first Cerati album outside Soda Stereo. One that he put together with Melero called Colores Santos (something like “Saint COlors” or “Heavenly Colors”). The album is fenomenal. I am not quite sure of the year it was put out. Despite You can tell the influence of Soda Stereo in almost every song, the album is just great. From the first song “Vuelta por el Universo” (something like “Around the Universe”) till the last one “Colores Santos” the album is good. Lyrics are really good and the music is awesome. From my point of view is even better than Bocanada (which is probably his most famous album outside Soda Stereo). Which reminds me that I should also give Bocanada a new listen.

I was quite excited so I kept digging old albums and I found Regeneration by an irish band called “Divine Comedy“. I am still puzzled at what the hell was I thinking when I thought I liked it. The songs are not only boring, but the lyrics are a joke, and the music is nothing particularly riveting. I was so curious to find a reason for me remembering liking it, that I listened to it, not once but twice. That was, believe me, enough. I realize that I actually own another record by the same band. I am hoping that that one is actually good, and maybe that is what I remember. Perhaps, then I bought this one as a follow up and realize that it was terrible and I stop listening to the band. I am hopeful that is what happened.

Now, as I was saying in my introduction, there also those albums that you are embarassed to admit that you acquire them. For example, I still have, not one but two Celine Dion albums, horrific, I should be reminded of that every time I try to impose my musical taste on anybody. As I say when I am reminded by Vanessa: “it made me stronger”.

November 14, 2006

The Sadhu

Filed under: Comics, Movies — anupcs @ 7:03 pm

The Sadhu by Virgin Comics

Virgin Comics is the brainchild of Richard Branson, Deepak Chopra and Shekhar Kapur (of “Elizabeth” fame). One of their ultra sleek comic book characters is “The Sadhu” penned by Chopra’s son, whose name Batman fans would be happy to know, is Gotham. According to Variety, Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is set to star in the movie based on the comic.

This is an interesting blend of the East and the West.

During my formative years, I had subscriptions to “Amar Chitra Katha,” “The Phantom,” “Tarzan,” and had collected the entire Asterix and Tintin sets of comics. I did not have easy access to Marvel Comics in those days but I still managed to get myself a few. My interest in comic books have been kick-started again due to the constant persuasions of fellow blogger josecaldera. He has been trumpeting all sorts of Adult (I don’t mean X-rated) comic series such as “Buddha” and “The Last Man.” I have to admit, I am slowly getting hooked again. I am yet to check out any of the Virgin Comics material. The premise here is to “tap into The vast library of [Indian] mythology and re-invent the rich indigenous narratives of Asia in a unique, compelling, and entertaining way.” The graphics are definitely a significant improvement over the Amar Chitra Katha comics.

November 11, 2006

Kiri Kiri Kiri

Filed under: Foreign, Horror, Movies — josercaldera @ 4:32 pm

Audition

It’s  been a while since I’ve gone twisting in my chair while watching a movie. While watching “100 scariest movies”, a Bravo TV show in Halloween, we spotted in position 11 a japanese movie called Audition. I watched it last night, and man oh man, if you are a horror lover this is a must see. It has nothing to do with the movies like Ringu, Ju-on (The Grudge), or the eye, which now we are used to from the japanese crowd.  This one is truly a horror flick.

The first three quarts of the movie are the build up for the last 20 min or so. You’ll believe that nothing much is happening, and that the movie is slow and boring, which is actually pretty true, but hang on in there. It is the right start for such strong finish. The first part is designed to create a mood of slowness, loneliness, and allow you to care abouth the characters. But when you get to the last part, grab your seat, because as we say in Venezuela: “lo que viene es joropo”, meaning that what you paid for is coming, painful watching of characters suffering. The words “kiri kiri kiri” which translates “deeper deeper deeper” will have a whole different meaning from now on.

This is by far one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in my life. I never thought something good would have come from one of those Best 100 shows.

enjoy, oh and if I were you I wouldn’t eat while watching that last part.

November 4, 2006

A dark cover bossanova - Nouvelle Vague

Filed under: Alternative, Goth, Music, World — josercaldera @ 12:12 am

The first time I heard Nouvelle Vague it was playing on a Borders bookstore. The chilled style was quite appealing at least given the mood I was in at the time. It’s definitely an interesting band, most songs I recognized, as apparently all their songs are covers from other bands in a modern Bossa Nova beat with a dark/goth gloom to it. Their first album, which carries the same name of the band it is by far better than their new album: Bande a Part. Especially because there is nothing that new in the new album. I mean the album is ok to listen to but the style gets old and the arrangement are quite dull to my taste. Great background music though for a dinner gathering.

I was lucky to acquire the french version of the first album which has more songs than the american version. In fact, you can’t get that copy in major distributors anymore like Amazon. Thanks to the used market I got ahold of a copy.

In the first album track 3: “In a Manner of Speaking” the voice and the lyrics are great. It reminds me a bit MONO’s singer with some Suzanne Vega in it. The background music and the arrangements of “Guns of Brixton” are good, but not sure if they do justice to the original Clash song. Unfortunately the next song: “This is not a love song” abuses the same arrangements with not much to offer. But then you get something bit more exciting: “Too drunk to fuck” which does fit nicely and it is a fun song to listen to, at least for a little bit. Bridging nicely into “Marian”. You can skip the next two tracks: “Making plans for Nigel” and “Forest”, they are nice but you won’t miss anything new. Then you get a cool MUCH slower version of Modern English’s “I melt with you”, quite different, but it works great. Ah! and you can end in the couch after partying friday (for those of you that have no small children) listening to “Friday Night Saturday morning”, or in Saturday morning during the hang over, and recap your night - unfortunately NOT a great song.

On the second album, the cover of Billy Idol’s Dancing with Myself and New Order’s Blue Monday are pretty good, and the gothesqu-ier version of Bauhaus’ already gothic Bella Lugosi’s Dead is excellent.

At the very least interesting to listen to…

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Versiones Goticas en bossa nova - Nouvelle Vague

La primera vez que escuche Nouvelle Vague estaba en una tienda Borders. El estilo en bossanova todo chill me parecio de lo mejor. La mayoria de las canciones las reconocia, y es que todas las canciones de ambos discos son versiones de bandas famosas, en un ritmo bossanova, con un acento gotico. Interesante!. Su primer album homonino al nombre del grupo es bastante mejor que el segundo disco Bande a Part, especialmente porque ofrece muy pocas cosas nuevas y es un poco aburrido. El disco se deja colar, pero los arreglos no son tan buenos como en el primer disco, y no son tan diferentes.

Aun cuando el primer disco no se encuentra facilmente, tuve el chance de comprar la version francesa importada. La cual aparentemente es mejor porque trae un par de canciones mas que la version que se consigue en USA.

En el primer album, las voces y las letras de la cancion numero 3: “In a manner of speaking” son muy buenas. Me recuerda un poco a la vocalista de MONO mezclada con Suzanne Vega. Los arreglos y la musica de fondo en “Guns of Brixton” son buenos, pero quiza no tan buena como la cancion original de The Clash, desafortunadamente la proxima cancion abusa de los mismos arreglos. Luego “Too drunk to fuck” queda muy bien en el disco. Los proximos tracks no son tan interesantes, hasta la version de Modern English de “I melt with you”. Y poder terminar con “Friday Night Saturday Morning” despues del raton el sabado en la manana.

En el segundo album, la version de Billy Idol “Dancing with myself” y de New Order “Blue Monday” son muy buenas, y por alli casi al final una version aun mas gotica de Bella Lugosi’s dead original de Bauhaus es quiza la mejor del disco.

Dos discos interesantes para escuchar.

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