Endtroducing… DJ Shadow’s debut album is a piece of music from someone who is a quite clearly a fan of music. The albums composition is made almost entirely from samples, with DJ Shadow fusing different, even some may consider opposing, genres together to create something unique; on “Stem/Long Stem” the combination of violin samples, amongContinue reading “The Sound of 1996.”
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The Cinema of 1996.
Leaving Las Vegas. Ben is a Hollywood screenwriter. His wife has left and taken his son with her: “I don’t know if I started drinking cause my wife left me or my wife left me cause I started drinking”, an ambiguity that is maintained throughout. As the quote alludes, Ben is an alcoholic, waking upContinue reading “The Cinema of 1996.”
Week 6: 1996.
Yes, another week for the 90s, this time it’s 1996. The chosen films are: Leaving Las Vegas. Secrets & Lies. Thesis. Porco Rosso. Underground. And the albums: Endtroducing… – DJ Shadow. Odelay – Beck. The Score – Fugees. LONG SEASON – Fishmans. Coming Up – Suede.
The Cinema of 1972.
Dirty Harry. The first experience of 70’s cinema in this blog involves one of the iconic characters of the decade, Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callaghan, and his .44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world. Clint Eastwood embodies the role of Harry, a tough, straight-talking San Francisco detective, tasked with apprehending “Scorpio”, a serial killerContinue reading “The Cinema of 1972.”
The Sound of 1972.
Paul Simon. In his first solo album since the split of Simon & Garfunkel two years prior, Paul Simon answers any doubts on who the songwriting talent was in the duo. While Simon’s earlier work was largely folk orientated, this album sees a variety of influences from different genres, while retaining some of the essenceContinue reading “The Sound of 1972.”
1972: The News.
January: First scientific handheld calculator is introduced Rose Heilbron becomes first female judge at the Old Bailey East Pakistan is renamed Bangladesh Two New York City police officers are assassinated by members of the Black Liberation Army Bloody Sunday: British Army kills 14 unarmed nationalist civil rights demonstrators in Derry Coal miners begin a strikeContinue reading “1972: The News.”
Week 5: 1972.
After a week off to catch up with films and reviews, I’m ready to go again and we travel outside of the 1990s for only the second time. The selected films from 1972 are: Deliverance. The French Connection. Dirty Harry. A Fistful of Dynamite. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. And the albums are: PaulContinue reading “Week 5: 1972.”
Break.
Staying in 1991 for one more week to catch up with films and reviews. New year announced next Sunday.
1991: The News.
January: Operation Desert Storm begins with air strikes on Iraq by allied forces SAS patrol, Bravo Two Zero, deployed in Iraq February: The IRA launch a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation is formed The IRA explode bombs at Paddington and Victoria stations US President George H. W. BushContinue reading “1991: The News.”
The Cinema of 1991.
Miller’s Crossing. What’s the rumpus? Set in Prohibition-era America, the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing follows an emotionless gangster, Tom, as he uses his quick wit and nous to play opposing sides of the criminal underworld against each other in order to survive. Tom (Gabriel Byrne) is the chief advisor, a consigliere if you will, toContinue reading “The Cinema of 1991.”
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