I really liked this film. Affecting performances, likeable (but not too likeable) characters, and lots of funny, strange moments. A pretty accurate evocation of how Tokyo can appear to the newcomer. Ah, those were the days.
Monthly Archives: February 2004
Jan Garbarek Group — live in Hong Kong
I got this jazz saxophonist’s album Rites years ago, so I was glad to finally see him perform with his group. Some say his playing is evocative of vast snow-covered plains, but I think they just say that because he comes from Norway.
Most of their pieces were build from soundscapes made by the four players, with a healthy dose of the extended solos you’d expect from a jazz group. Frequently, during a solo, the other players would chat to each other or wander offstage for a few minutes. But always the flow of the piece remained unbroken.
The percussionist, Marilyn Mazur really stood out – her rack of instruments looked like a huge version of one of those baby’s toys strung across a playpen, and she did seem to have a lot of fun. She was the only one of the four to smile much, and she definitely had more zip, vim and vigour than the other three all put together.
Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section — Art Pepper
Legend has it that Art Pepper, in the midst of one of his habitual drink and drugs binges, picked up his saxophone for the first time in months and recorded this classic album with Miles Davis’s rhythm section.
Maybe not true, but a great story. Certainly his playing seems pretty sharp, but still you can imagine there was maybe the odd bottle of gin around during the recording. I’m certainly no expert, but this is an album that’s hard to dislike – good jazz standards with a mellow feel, by top players. It’s fun to listen to this and remember that the man who played this pleasant music had a lifestyle that would put Ozzie Osbourne to shame.
REMO Global Community General Store
In the ’90s Remo was the coolest shop in Sydney. They disappeared for a while, but now they’re back and on the Web. The site is fun, because the people and the products are fun. Everyone should own at least one REMO item; their T-shirts are the best in the world. Tell ’em I sent you.
Lullabye for Liquid Pig — Lisa Germano
Beautiful, yet slightly unsettling, late-night dreamy sounds. Her languid vocals and the Twin Peaksy music just surround me and make me forget about everything else.
This album goes perfectly with a quiet midnight, dim lighting, and half a bottle of red wine. It evokes the disorienting moments of calm when you return home after a long night out. I could just get lost in it.
Lisa Germano used to sing with a group called OP8. They were good; this album is great.
PCP — The Pancakes
This is a great CD. The Pancakes music is somewhat minimal, and the lyrics tend towards the bittersweet, but I just can’t get enough of these catchy hooks and fun melodies. It’s cute, but not at all too cute.
The Pancakes is a one-woman band: the music shows a great DIY ethic, mostly just voice, synths and guitar with no production trickery at all. It might be a bit lo-fi for some, but it all fits the lyrics and delivery beautifully. And the song Martin has been playing on endless repeat in my head for the last two weeks.
This CD comes with a second CD called Friendcakes, consisting of cover versions of Pancakes songs by other, even less well-known performers. I haven’t yet listened to it because I don’t want to take PCP out of my CD player…