| Coldplay Viva la vida review |
[Jul. 13th, 2008|11:49 am] |
Disappointing |
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| Radiohead In Rainbows Review |
[Jan. 9th, 2008|02:34 pm] |
Ok I'm a little late to the party, but, I missed out the on-line release completely and today is the first time I heard of "In Rainbows" And, I got hold of it as quickly as I could. I guess all of you would've been stuffed in your beds for the past two months listening to it secretly.
As soon as I pressed play, A smile surfaced on my face, "15 step" has a very very Radiohead sound, the opener, creates an edgy, stark and minimalist sound that sets up the album. This gorgeous, guitar riff and Kid A-esque closure is followed by "Bodysnachers," a song building in complexity every second and you're wondering here is another OK Computer, they're finally going back to the terrifying, the rage that arises from everyday boredom that makes you want to scream.
You're wondering and comes out "Nude" with the same "Creep" or "Paranoid android" like controlled aggression. There is something special about the way anger is presented in the mellow sounds of "Nude." Thom Yorke's voice so ably carries it off as only he can do. You wonder where is this going? This is way too organic and laid out, way too organized a song for Radiohead to be playing.
Only to be followed by "Arpeggi," The song usese drums, base, electronica background, guitar and piano. It epitomize the fusion of all of Radioheads influences over the years to create an astonishing sound… The smile returns.
The lyrics on "All I need" are disappointing to say the least. The song is beautiful, though. What appears to be assortment of leftover sounds from a OK computer session is made into a love song of sorts, and as the songs nears end, an assortment of musical accoutrement, employing echoey bells, a fuzzy synth and Phil's crashing cymbals, a booming piano completes the raucous and jarring to almost noise.
"Jigsaw Falling Into Place" seems like it fell out of "Hail to the thief" when no one was looking. The song has a lot going for it, it builds at it progresses and has a constant beat to it. Easy to like for people who are not necessarily used to the Radiohead sound.
All in all the album that took four years to complete does cover the whole breath of the various antics that Radiohead has indulged in over the years. The album does not flow as well as "Hail to the theif," but, "Hail to the thief" was a much controlled album, this album seems like an earnest effort to look back and pick and choose from their 20 years of music creation.
The album has far less aggression and ends with a rather gloomy finale: Videotape. The musical song has very grim lyrics. In this haunting proposition a lingering piano progression is joined by background vocals of morbid howling along with military drum beat that, over time, morphs into a stuck videotape player.
My copy has a disc two with eight more songs, I leave them for another time.
In Rainbows is a much subtle record. It's almost like hearing a remix of old favorite songs. Though lyrically disappointing and it seems to lose its way in the middle with "Fraust Arp" and "Reckoner." The album succeeds in representing sheer uncomplicated beauty. |
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| No Smoking Review |
[Oct. 30th, 2007|10:35 am] |
Talking pictures are a very powerful medium. It is very rare that someone gets it just right and is able to communicate exactly what he wants to, and to communicate it effectively and entertain at the same time takes a special genius. It is extremely difficult. But, every once in a while someone is able to accomplish just that and shows the rest of us how it should be done. Anurag Kashyap has done exactly that with "No Smoking."
"No Smoking" explores the real with the fantastic, the bourgeois with the bizarre and manages to make everything so sublime that the viewer must realize where reality ends and fantasy begins. The dreaming is an important part of our lives and "No Smoking" explains the fantastic, the dreaming with wonderful symbolic elements and metaphors, which the viewer must understand.
"No smoking" is not about smoking, it about individuality and K, a person who holds it dear to him. His smoking is his way of rebel. His smoking is a symbol for his arrogance. When he surrenders to his wife's demands of quitting, he surrenders to the world, all along the film he falls and he loses his spin and becomes what everyone wants him to be. A mindless unthinking everyone.
Baba Bengali is the paladin of the spineless world we live in. When K decides to quit he has already fallen into the trap of the Baba/World, it changes him. Finally, his soul is trapped, he has quit smoking and he does not recognize the new himself. he looks at his own body in despair.
Throughout the film Anurag critiques the new India, call centers, therapy clinics, homophobia, the mindless friends and family always trying to change you. I mean he presents the item number at the end of the last scene, it's like he's pissing on the face of everyone who's making mindless crap and selling it to the popcorn munching idiots who watch it.
Not to mention that the photography is spot on, the film is a visual treat to watch, the dreamy sequences are so well done that I was having goosebumps while watching. He gets it spot on in the childhood bathroom smoking sequence, with the sepia and super 8 format. He gets the soul trapped scene just right with the cross-porcessing, The film is a crash-course in how to use cine film to the fullest. The editing is spot on, the mass smoking sequence cut to the mouse in a hole is brilliant. The comic strip talk, is not "experimental", it makes the film. It is "needed."
Lastly, to all those who are trashing the movie, Do I write a review about "Kabhi Saas Bhi Bahu Thi?", at least have the honesty and decency to not trash something you lack the education to understand. Go watch some David Lynch, David Fincher and Martin Scorsese. Go read some books outside your course curricula.
This movie is everything that Indian cinema needs, I just hope Anurag has not exhausted himself, I am hungry for more. |
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| Saigon, Church Street |
[May. 23rd, 2007|04:50 pm] |
It is no secret that I am a big fan of thai food. So, when I read about the "Thai food festival" at Siagon I had to pay them a visit. I went there on Monday night with ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) premshree and srivani.
The ambiance of place is a bit uninspiring, So was the Cantonese music that was playing, though I prefer it to the MLTR horror that one is subjected to at Magnolia. The large glass wall that lets you look at church street down below was probably the best part of the decor.
The staff pounced on me as soon as I got in because the restaurant was non-smoking, I could however smoke at the bar, which was an elevated table with four stools kept next to it, which incidentally was a part of the same hall as the restaurant. These are the kind of absurdities that make up my days and make my life so enjoyable.
I monologued about the fact that the *bar* was in the same room as my table for a few minutes and the staff agreed that it was, I however, could not smoke on my table.
The drinks menu was very disappointing, after looking at it in shock for about fifteen minutes, I ordered a beer which I later canceled, my friends settled for a dite coke and a margarita, which took about 10 minutes to arrive.
While deciding for the main course, our waiter was more than helpful, he suggested that we should order a noodle *item* [sic] and a chicken *item* [sic]. This pissed me off no end. The food better be good.
We had Tom yum hed, soup and Nuea pahd prik (Fried beef with chillies and basil) which was bloody dam good in my opinion. It wasn't as spicy as I expected it to be, but, it was pretty good.
The most disappointment thing about most Thai food places in Bangalore is the lack of sticky rice. No Thai meal is complete without the sticky rice. So, sticky rice it is that came with Kaeng phed ped (roasted duck in thai red curry) and Phad phak ruam (boiled veggies, blame Srivani for that) along with Bamee Goreng (fried noodles with chicken) steam noodles for the main course.
The food was pretty good. The sticky rice was the best I've had in bangalore, The duck had a subtle flavor and was really good. The veggies were a disappointment and the noodles were run of the mill. The margarita wasn't so bad either.
Overall the experience was good. But, it could have been much better if they had trained their staff. The bill was about 2k if you include the tip.
No dessert.
Another thing I dislike about Asian restaurants is Asian desserts, Sticky rice with mango is the perfet way to spoil a brilliant meal. So I stayed clear. |
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