Orchestrating an Acoustic Riot

The Cinematic Orchestra creates complex, vibrant music. Although their most recent effort, Ma Fleur pales in comparison to their previous stuff, this does not stop it from being great music.

They miraculously combine an at times Lynchian obscurity with a film noir, polished savoire faire. They evoke both the words "camp" and "refined" simultaneously. These are confusing descriptions, I understand, but I insist that this confusion arises inevitably from their work, which is pluralistic and vast, at times ironic, at times erotic, at times chaotic, at times meditative. Imagine Humphrey Boghart in a Michel Gandry film. CO flirts with John Coltrane funky freneticism, Miles Davis calm, classical composure, and ties it all together with the smooth drum and bass sensibility of electronica and hip hop. And the beautifully rich vocals of Fontella Bass don't hurt.

As awesomely put together as their recordings are, the CO are also a true pleasure to see perform live, as they did Sunday night at the Phoenix, here in Toronto. It was definitely the best live show I have experienced in the last year, which is saying quite bit, given that that comparison includes TV on the Radio, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, and The Arcade Fire. For me, the most notable thing about their performance was their obvious sheer delight in each other's abilities; their enjoyment of one another's capacity to excel. They looked like they were having a great time, playing old tunes together that allowed each of the very talented musicians to jump in there and have a blast.

Also interesting is that although the project is obviously guided by the 'band leader', J. Swinscoe, there seems to be absolutely no resentment, which is not always the case. Just judging from their onstage interactions, it seems to be a wonderfully collaborative environment, mutually beneficial to all the members of the group.

Photo by El Dudero

Opinions Are True

It should be noted that this isn't about anyone in particular - its about the question of when opinions become fact. And of course all kinds of other things, like shoes, and goo.

She claims her opinions are true,
and I don't know what to do.

And my fresh bouquet is now askew;
I can't find my way out of this political zoo;
I'm looking for answers, but there are not a few,
and the baddies never seem to get their due!

And she claims her opinions are true?

And in the end its a Nike shoe;
we'll see how much honour a man can accrue;
if you're looking for the wealthy, they already flew,
and the seat that you offer's all covered in goo!

I completely forgot to close the flu,
and there's hundreds of banknotes,
and they all smell like poo.
The fat bearded doctor has a bagpipe tattoo,
and this lovely fresh bouquet is breaking in two!

And she claims her opinions,
mind you not a few -
are true!

And the sky has turned green,
I see trees of blue,
and my communist cousin has fled for Peru,
and Winnie and Piglet, and
Kanga and Roo,
All stare with amazement at this murky stew.

And the answers keep coming -
they are not a few;
the judge and the jury, paralyzed by the view,
have thrown out the old, to favour the new.

But in conclusion, although all this is true,
I can relax in my hammock without feeling too blue. . .

I mean,
at least my opinions are true!

Jon Sasaki

I really really like the work of this artist, Jon Sasaki.



He has a show on right now in Toronto at Gallery TPW. I haven't been to it. But I read an article about it, and then I visited his site, which I highly recommend to you as well:

http://www.jonsasaki.com

His video work is the best, I think, but all of the stuff on the site is great! It's ironic without seeming contrived; it drifts into the uncanny without being overly serious; it's referential without being redundant.

ROM, June 2007

Back when it was first announced in 2002, my gut reaction to the ROM renovation was immediately negative. I am, however, coming around to passivity.

When I examine my own intial response, I think it can be summed up as a reaction to its "irresponsibility" as architecture, similar to the cotemporary addition to the Ontario College of Art and Design. I was responding to a feeling that the lack of civic responsiveness and respectability in the execution of these designs was a flagrant violation of the seriousness of Architecture. While by no means have I changed my mind about the lack of urban sensitivity and refined sensibility (lets face it, the crystal is gaudy, like a fat diamond ring!), I have seriously softened my demand for these things as obligations to either the architectural profession or to society. I can accept this "architecture as reaction" or this "architecture as spectacle" or this "architecture as personal expression", whatever you wish to denote it as, insofar as they represent voices in a necessary built dialogue. In other words, I can respect what the architect, Libeskind, and his team think they are doing and their vitality and energy in attempting it, whether or not I respect the final form. I am willing to admit this as a concession to plurality in the built environment.

Libeskind feels a need to break down the rectilinear and cellular structures of traditional museums. This is in keeping with a fairly noble idea of reinventing and loosening up the rigid story-lines we associate with the curation of knowledge. He wants, I believe, to architecturally represent the popular philosophic belief that our relationship to knowledge, and to truth should become more dynamic. The problem is of course that this is very difficult to accomplish through static architectonics. The crystal, while implying movement, is, or we hope is, static. The architecture then, failing in this attempt at dynamism, ends up relying upon showmanship, spectacularism, and its role as a monument to the architect - a celebration of his genius. Unfortunately this building, as civic monument, is a one liner, a joke got before its told. Let's hope then that it proves to be a useful space for displaying the ROM's impressive collection of curiousities.

Chumboots

for Jake . . . a synergetic niche

People and text

OmniTope 1

. . . and now for self indulgence maximized! Yes that's a picture of me. . .