Smashbomb

"Next is a documentary called Night and Fog by Alain Resnais, which is a story of then and now, of concentration camps. That had a major influence on me, again, for the poetry, if you can call it that, of the documentary, but also the way he used time, the way he used two time zones, two sets of material, to make his point, and to give the film, which obviously had some astounding, alarming images in it, but without a lot of babble, of explanation, by contrasting what it once was and what it is now. It was very moving to me, and I think that was inspirational, again, in the [Up] films I did with these children, which I’m still doing. But I could see how you could time travel in documentary, and it makes both sets of material more powerful. Of course, the film is incredibly powerful anyway. But nonetheless, he’d found a style of doing it, a way of doing it… It’s just, the power of those images, without endless babble, was, to me, a very strong lesson."

Source

Kudos

Frank Black recommended Fegmania! by Robyn Hitchcock / Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians in Music (curated)

"This is a record I had when I was a younger man and I stumbled back onto it. I love every song on it. I love his melodies. I love his surrealist point of view. He was really in love with language and melody. [sings] “My wife and my dead wife, did anyone ever see her?” He knows he’s getting your attention. He’s very entertaining. [sings] “I’m the man with the lightbulb head!” He’s got me man! He had me with the song titles alone. It has this one 80s poppy number. ['Heaven'] (sings) “She’s got heaven, heaven in her eyes.” He doesn’t sound groundbreaking lyrically up to that point. He gets to the resolve: “She’s got arms, she’s got legs, she’s got heaven.” It’s like the object of affection in the song is being dismembered. He’s not expressing his own sexual drive. He’s not saying it how Rod Stewart would say it. [At this point he unleashes a Rod Stewart howl.] Hitchcock’s poetry bubbles out of him like Lewis Carrol. It doesn’t have to make sense."

Source

Kudos

James Koppert (2698 KP) rated The Word Trove in Books

Dec 21, 2020

The Word Trove

Elisa Vorpahl | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Whimsical marmite

This tells a warm whimsical wonderous story of a word which has forgotten its meaning. Imagine if Alice had fallen into a dictionary instead of wonderland and you are about there. This will be marmite to readers, some not appreciating its magic and metaphors and others dreaming into the depths of its poetry and philosophy. It is a beautifully presented story and has been translated brilliantly to maintain meaning in a book about language. Another word, other than whimsical I would use to describe this journey is charming. From the delightful illustrations to the size and shape of the book itself, it is full of a sincere charm that will delight those who enjoy its pages. Those who won't like the book will find out almost from the first paragraph and if you don't, then put it down and pick up something else. Those that do, then allow yourself to go on its journey and think as well as smile in this wonderful and unique treasure of a novel.