Give us back Freddie Mercury and we’ll send you Lady Gaga June 21, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities, Other Articles.Tags: Africa, alejandro, analyze, be, can't, charts, cheryl, cole, critic, cyrus, for, gaga, lady, lyrics, miley, music, parachute, pop, popular, shakira, tamed, this, time, waka
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As a devoted music lover I am always on the hunt for something new to inspire me and move me in a physical or spiritual sense. Lately though, I’m rather forced to change my hunting tactics and search for good music among older songs, namely those of the 70s, 80s and early 90s. Why go back? Why turn my back on the billion-dollar music industry, raging on various platforms, with the rapping bad boys and the semi-clothed hot chicks?
Because, quite frankly, 99% of the songs, which come out on the popular scene, can be defined only as “shit”.
Let us remember with a tear in our eye the good old times when the lyrics served to compliment the music and contribute to the overall power of the song. Ah, those were also the days when the music itself consisted of more than 6 notes and a beat…
I’ve decided to take a closer look at the lyrics of some of the most popular songs around the world in the last six months.
Shakira – Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)
"How could you miss Africa?!"
The title immediately throws me in a state of confusion and slight embarrassment. Did I miss something? Apparently, while I wasn’t listening, everybody went “Waka Waka” for Europe, Asia, North and South America, Antarctica and Australia. Shakira, thoroughly indignant at this obvious injustice, decides to right the wrong and goes “Waka Waka”, this time for Africa. She even goes further and convinces her sponsors to make this the theme song for the World Cup, rubbing it in everybody’s noses how we could have missed such a big continent.
You’re a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
And back in the saddle
Wait… If he’s such a good soldier and picks his battles, how come he’s lost? Shakira doesn’t dwell on such details, she’s a better person than that and prefers to encourage him with the equivalent of “ah, well, there’s always a next time”.
Chorus:
Tsamina mina
Zangalewa
Cuz this is Africa
Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa aa
This time for Africa
Come again? I don’t speak … wait, what’s that language? There she is again, rubbing it in our noses that not only do we suck at geography but we’re also bad with languages. Thanks, Shakira, very sensitive of you.
Cheryl Cole – Parachute
I will not comment on the vocal (dis)abilities of the gorgeous Ms Cole, but let’s have a look at what she’s singing:
Won’t tell anybody how you turn my world around
I won’t tell anyone how your voice is my favourite sound
I won’t tell anybody
Won’t tell anybody
They want to see us fall
They want to see us fall
Two things are obvious. Firstly, Cheryl has discovered that it’s indeed much simpler to repeat the same line twice, than to actually come up with something, which rhymes. You can pass this as “intensifying the idea” and there you have it – 20 seconds of music filled with 15 short words. Secondly, there’s the more serious matter. Even without being alerted by the tabloids, it is apparent to us, the concerned listeners, that all the fame and constant attention is getting to Ms Cole and we witness early signs of paranoia. It’s OK Cheryl, saying that you are attracted to someone is a harmless act all of us go through. Unless it’s your 10 year old cousin or your pet dog, it will NOT destroy your life.
Chorus:
I don’t need a parachute
Baby, if I’ve got you
Baby, if I’ve got you
I don’t need a parachute
You’re gonna catch me
You’re gonna catch if I fall
Down, down, down
Our worries are partially confirmed: Ms Cole suspects an assassination attack against her and believes it will most likely be masked as an accident, where she falls, perhaps off a building or a bridge. Classic case of paranoia, BUT there is still hope!!! She still trusts someone! We witness an interesting contradiction in this complicated state of mind: On the one hand, Cheryl doesn’t trust her lover enough to believe he’s not a complete idiot (thus, the multiple clarification that she will in fact fall DOWN, not up ), but at the same time she’s prepared to fall some 30 floors, in which case unless she has hooked up with Superman, she will most definitely need a parachute.
Lady Gaga – Alejandro
She hides true love.
En su bolsillo
She’s got a halo ’round her finger.
Around you.
You know that I love you boy.
Hot like Mexico, rejoice.
At this point I gotta choose,
nothing to loose.
Lady Gaga has done it again. So far, she has shocked us with vulgar language, obscene behaviour, all sorts of disturbing innuendos and now she has found a way to make us question our own intelligence.
First we are urged into guessing whether those are two separate story lines in her lyrics, as we have a first person and a third person constantly switching between verses. Then we try to figure out exactly what the stories are. Here we meet a dead end street as every other line has nothing to do with the previous one.
So far we know this: there’s a woman, hiding true love, with a halo around her fingers. That’s it!!! Lady Gaga gives us the answer to the long posed question of whether ET is male or female. Thank you Lady Gaga!
Then we know there’s a hot guy, and Lady Gaga has to choose. Choose between what, we are left to ask ourselves? No time for an answer, because here comes the Chorus and again it has nothing to do with the previous lyrics:
Don’t call my name.
Don’t call my name, Alejandro.
I’m not your babe.
I’m not your babe, Fernando.
Don’t wanna kiss, don’t wanna touch.
Just smoke one cigarette and hush.
Don’t call my name.
Don’t call my name, Roberto.
Well, Alejandro, Fernando and Roberto, it’s clear. Lady Gaga only invited you over to keep her company while she smokes in silence. I repeat – SILENCE. No name calling, that goes for you Alejandro, and as for Fernando and Roberto, you two can keep your hands to yourself, thank you very much. Why you would accept such a dull invite is a mystery to me, but then again Lady Gaga’s outfits are entertaining enough on their own and partially eliminate the need for her to actually speak.
Miley Cyrus – Can’t Be Tamed
For those who don’t know me, I can get a bit crazy
Have to get my way, 24 hours a day
‘Cause I’m hot like that
Every guy everywhere just gives me mad attention
Like I’m under inspection, I always get the 10s
‘Cause I’m built like that
I go through guys like money flyin’ out their hands
They try to change me but they realize they can’t
And every tomorrow is a day I never planned
If you’re gonna be my man, understand
Do you hear that, Billy Ray? Sometimes life can kick you hard in the nuts, and it never hurts more than when it comes in the form of your own daughter, boldly admitting she’s whoring around and she’s proud of it. What did you say, Billy? Oh, you sponsored the release of this single yourself? Ooooh, I get it now! You’re one smart father! Making sure no man will touch your daughter with a stick, after statements like that. Well played, well played…
Chorus:
I can’t be tamed, I can’t be saved
I can’t be blamed, I can’t, can’t
I can’t be tamed, I can’t be changed
I can’t be saved, I can’t be (can’t be)
I can’t be tamed
Billy, you really ARE one clever son of a gun! You knew there would be some romantic teenagers, who will still want to date her under the false believe that “she just needs love” and “she can change”. Well, this chorus kills the last of their hopes. And you won’t even have to defend yourself in front of Miley when she’s 30 and still single – “Well, darling, you sang it yourself…”.
***
Of course there are many more songs which I’d like to analyze, but I think those are enough to send my message across. And after I hear Timbaland or some other artist from that caste telling me it took him 3 months to produce this song, I can’t help but think: “Really ?!?! Three months?!?! For this?!”. Frankly, I think they wrote the lyrics, played around with the melody and recorded the singers before 3pm. Then everybody went shopping for the rest of the afternoon with the money you gave them for their previous “hit”.
I’m leaving you with a song by John Bon Jovi, who in my personal opinion is one of the best song and lyrics writers of the past 50 years. I won’t post the music video – this song doesn’t really need one. Enjoy!
You’re a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
And back in the saddle
If a picture is worth a 1000 words… May 18, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities.Tags: deviantart, drawings, favourite, pictures, words
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… then this post is worth 9000. Enjoy! 
Blue River Night by *MarcAdamus
Alice in Wonderland -Dodo by *michaelkutsche
Amore by *miss mosh
Continue on foot by *ChristineAmat
Embers by *BloodPromiser
Funny Bunny 2 by *closer-to-heaven
Whispers in the dark by *TrixyPixie
tangled. by *mumbojumbo89
Soul Collector by *ImaginaryRosse
PS. Would have pasted many many more, but my internet connection is ridiculous.
122MC Projects May 18, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities.Tags: 122MC, back, because, beginning, black, circle, could, death, drunk, emotion, end, flash, flashback, for, form, homeless, human, i, inch, jane, joe, life, meet, music, nails, nine, not, poem, project, smoker, stop, university, video
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This is a music video, which I made as a part of my 122MC Course – Media and Cultural Fields. It is a co-production between me and my colleague Mariya Kamarashka, whose blog you can check out here: http://mkamarashka.wordpress.com/
Let me explain the task. We were given a choice between 4 poems:
* An extract from “Burnt Norton” by T.S. Eliot
* “Winter Trees” by Sylvia Plath
*”Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson
* “Somewhere I Have Never Traveled” by E. E. Cummings
Using the poems, we had to create a music video, combining text, images and music to convey emotion.
We chose Emily Dickinson and here’s the final result:
You know how they say, that the moment before you die, your life flashes before your eyes? Well, this is the life in reverse of a fictional woman. I hope the video delivered that message clearly enough. Maybe you can tell me what you think in a comment?
And this second video is the other project me and Mariya did for 122MC. Here’s the initial instructions we were given:
We had to produce a 3-minute video with the following plot: Man and woman meet; woman kills men BUT there’s a witness!
So me and Mariya sat down and decided that instead of shooting the obviously implied murder, we would twist it around a little bit. The man would be a homeless person, a drunk. The woman would actually be Death. And the witness will be… well, simply someone standing nearby, smoking a cigarette for example. As you will see, we played a bit with the film, referencing “Meet Joe Black”, both in the title and in the plot, where Death has taken a human form.
From then on the work began. I have to mention that this is the first film ever that I’ve directed and shot. I even learned to work the camera on the spot. The work proved to be tricky, involved a lot of imagination, just as much patience, but in the end it was so much fun! My conviction that this is what i want to do for the rest of my life grew stronger with every hour, spent on shooting and editing this.
I have to give credit to Nikolay Tsenovski, whose incredible on-the-spot acting more or less made the film what it is. Honestly, when I was asking him to help us with the project I knew he was talented, but not That talented! Some people actually stopped on the street and asked us whether he was really drunk or simply acting and applauded when they heard it was the second.
If you haven’t scrolled down to see the video already, here it is and I hope you enjoy it.
Again, any comments are more than welcome.
Echoes of the Rainbow May 4, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Reviews, Cabinet of Curiosities, Other Articles.Tags: review, film, drama, comedy, director, of, 2010, the, Kwan, hong, kong, far, east, festival, Sui, yuet, san, tau, echoes, rainbow, winner, awards, alex, law, Sandra, Ng, Yue, Simon, Yam, Evelyn, Choi, Buzz, Chung, Aarif, Lee, 12, udine, 歲月神偷, 岁月神偷
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Synopsis:
Mr Law, a shoe-maker, and Mrs Law, a witty sales-woman, live with their two children in Hong Kong in the 60s. Their little son, Big Ears, is a mischievous eight-year-old, who adores his older brother Desmond, a star pupil and sports champion. The idyllic life they’re leading is disturbed when their house gets destroyed in a hurricane and Desmond is diagnosed with leukemia, the temporary treatment of which the family can barely afford.
Review:
2010 may still be in its first quarter but it’s already certain that Echoes of the Rainbow will remain as one of the highlights of this year’s East Asian cinema. Its touching story, wonderful soundtrack and superb acting have already been praised worldwide, winning four of this year’s Hong Kong film awards (“Best Actor”, “Best New Performer”, Best Screenplay” and “Best Song”) and making Echoes the first Hong Kong film to win a Crystal Bear at the 60th Berlin Film Festival.
Director Alex Law has put together a successful mix of familiar faces and fresh blood. The cast features ex-comedian Sandra Ng Kwan Yue as a witty, bargain-master Ms Law; Simon Yam, also starring in the other favourite in this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards “Bodyguards and Assassins” and the Aarif Lee Chi Ting, making a promising film debut.
Big Ears
One of the first things, which grab the viewer, is the perspective in which the story is told – through the naïve eyes of an eight-year-old boy. His charmingly childish and mischievous behavior and the situations it creates bring a fresh and light-hearted humour to the story. The first half of the film creates a romantic world, where the family is not rich, but hard-working and happy; where the little boy looks up to his straight-A athlete brother Desmond and the two of them are very close. Comic scenes with little Big Ears, stealing a glow-in-the-dark figurine and wearing an aquarium on his head are tangled with endearing moments of brotherly love and wise thoughts shared out loud.
Desmond
The overly-stressed image of the “perfect son”, however, very quickly gives away the dramatic events, surrounding him, which follow. The “good times”, as they’re called in the film, touch on some issues like the relevance of social class to relationships and the common perception that the man has to be richer and more successful, or at least equal in that sense to the woman. But the film really starts to deliver its messages in the second part, after the introduction of Desmond’s illness.
All-the-more straightening the dramatic impact is the song “I wanna be free”, Desmond’s favourite, which is repeated a number of times in the film and becomes a symbol both for his young love and his dreams of what seemed like a promising future.
The audience is well used to drama, but what sets this film a little aside is the perspective of the narrative. Director Alex Law leads the viewer through every aspect of the tragedy – from poverty to the impact it has on every individual character – through the eyes of a child, who doesn’t really understand what’s happening. Although in no way original, this method is more than successful, making half of the audience of the “Far East Film Festival” screening dig for tissues.
“Seven 2 One” May 4, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities, Other Articles, Reviews.Tags: 2, 2009, Chan, Chau, Cheng, Chim, Chor, Chow, Chrissie, Chui, chut, danny, east, Elanne, 關人7事, far, festival, film, ho, hong, kiu, kong, Kwan, Kwong, Leo, movie, One, Pak, pang, review, seven, si, Terence, thriller, to, yan, Yung, 关人7事
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Synopsis:
The film starts with a robbery at a convenience store, which goes terribly wrong as a man is stabbed with a knife. From then on the narrative develops as a flashback, showing different story lines, which eventually interlace to reach the situation, revealed at the beginning of the film. Waitress Ling and her long-term boyfriend are faced with difficult decisions in order to deal with his gambling addiction. A girl is ending her homosexual relationship by introducing her new boyfriend, a loan collector, to her ex-lover. The cashier girl at the supermarket hates her boss, who molests her. Two brothers, one a successful policeman and the other a good-for-nothing, who dates the cashier girl, fall out. Piece by piece, the narrative connects all of them to show how the smallest of decisions we make can greatly influence many people.
Review:
Although the film premiered in Hong Kong in November last year, it only had its’ European premiere on the 28 April 2010, so if you haven’t heard anything about Danny Pang’s latest film “Seven 2 One”, the title may confuse you a bit. Is it a film about a fight where seven people attack one? In a metaphorical sense it is – 7 people’s actions inadvertently lead to one man’s death. Or does the title refer to betting odds in a match? Yes, at the bottom of the story lies a gambling problem.
“Seven 2 One” builds its narrative in a way, which many will associate with films such as the classic “Pulp Fiction” or the more recent “Vantage Point”, with even the official poster resembling that of the latter. Although the formula “start with ending then follow different storylines from the beginning, until reaching the end again” is familiar to the dedicated film viewer, it still manages to intrigue and achieve its initial goal to entertain.
Shot with a hand-held camera, the film steps away from the glossy thrillers and moves the audience with a sense of realism. Fast visual hints, flashbacks and thrown words play on the viewer’s watchfulness and make the audience peel the eyes to the screen for the relatively modest hour-and-fifteen minutes. It’s an old and tested trick, but Danny Pang still makes it work.
Contributing to the aesthetics is the female cast choice. Starring as a waitress struggling to teach her boyfriend out of a gambling habit and a supermarket cashier, molested by her boss, we find respectively pop singer Elanne Kwog and model Chrissie Chaw. Both manage to bring to the screen rather satisfying performances, hinting the issue of perception of beautiful women as commodities.
The soundtrack is something that leaves an impression. The music is good but when it comes to its usage – more can be desired. Strong music in scenes that don’t really need it rather interfere with the created atmosphere and crudely pull the viewer out of the narrative world, making him wonder what it is all about.
Right until the very end the film follows the audience’s expectations, delivering the anticipated message and a satisfying explanation of the occurred events. It brings about the interesting perspective that all of the fatality in the situation was caused by love, attraction and the difficult situations these put us in sometimes.
The real treat and the strongest moment actually come after the first closing credits have appeared. A minute-long “edit of events” gives a taste of “would have been” situations and thus finally succeeds in leaving a lasting impression and strongly making its point – if only people have made a few less ignorant decisions, none of the tragic events would have happened.
Although “Seven 2 One” is in no way original, it’s still a worth-while experience, as it makes up for its flaws with an intriguing plot, good acting, expert editing and eye-pleasing cast.
Amelia – La La La Human Steps February 17, 2010
Posted by Elena in 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities, Reviews.Tags: amelia, art, ballet, contemporary, dance, edouard, fast, female, film, human, la, lock, media, movement, performance, rapid, representation, steps
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A few weeks back I discovered something. It’s one of those things, which one comes across very rarely that astonish him and excite him and make him think about them and come back to watch/listen/read them over and over again. One of the things, which cause a short-term obsession.
It has happened to me with articles, with quotes, with music, with films, even with clothes. This time it happened to me with a breath-taking collaboration of most forms of art – with the short dance film “Amelia” by the Canadian ballet “La La La Human Steps”, choreographed by Edouard Lock.
Have a look at what I’m talking about…
The entire film is about 25 min. long and as you can see some small parts are missing. The reason is as simple as they come : it is just not uploaded as a whole clip to YouTube and I assume this has to do with copy rights. Nevertheless, the posted extracts are in order of appearance in the actual film and give a fairly clear idea of what the entire product is about.
There are many things, which fascinated me about this film. The first and most obvious one is the skill of the performers. The speed and accuracy of each movement is truly impressive. (Side note: At one point during the performance of the second woman I forgot to blink!) No more than 2-3 inches up, down or sideways and a hand would’ve taken an ear or brutally hit the entire head.
One look at the figures of the female dancers is enough to show you just how much work and sacrifices lie behind this performance. Steel muscles allow poses, jumps and twirls of the most complicated nature appear effortless. Starting at 5.50 from the first video is a section, which almost made me applaud. Nothing moves. Not a shiver. At 5.54 you can see for a second how a muscle on her right leg twitches. And that’s all. Not even a blink. Until she turns her eyes.
Which takes me to the next positive achievements of the film. The producer and the operator have done a truly fine job, capturing every moment and doing so from a series of perspectives, which allow the audience to enjoy not only the speed but also the figures and shadow play. Furthermore, a lot of weight is put on the sensual, the emotional, the beautiful. This is achieved through close-ups on the female dancer and through the background music itself, implying that there is some kind of story behind these dances.
The choice of dancers to the particular musical pieces is not random. Nor is the order, in which they appear in the film. The most slender and feminine one is performing the first dance. The opening credits and the beginning of her dance introduce to the viewer the precision and speed, with which the movements are performed. But only seconds after the start of the dance there is a pause, a still moment, accompanied by a close-up, where the viewer is encouraged to admire her delicate features and eyes, presenting her almost like a doll.
Further on, the dance itself encourages this implied perception. The movements are sudden, rapid and the presence of the male dancer mainly to support and direct her gives the impression that she is a puppet and he is the puppet master. Later in the same dance the woman’s hair is set loose, the camera follows her features closely, circles around her body and focuses on her eyes, again going for the feminine and gentle look, implied to the audience. Listen to the music. “I am searching for my man” say the lyrics, again putting the woman in focus as frail, delicate, in need of that male support.
This sharply contrasts to the second part of the performance. The woman is no longer presented as purely feminine. Her hair is short and deliberately sleeked. The music is no longer gentle, but rather rapid. There are no lyrics. She is the leading figure in the dance and even the parts where the male dancer supports her twirls give the impression that actually She is leading him. Again there are moments where the femininity is implied, but the whole act presents a different kind of woman – the strong and rather independent woman.
In this part for the first time we have a separate dance performance by the male dancer. The accent is nevertheless still on the woman ( thus again implying she is the strong figure) : he is in the shadows, while the light shines on her, he is only a close-up silhouette while she is shown clearly and in full.
The third part of the performance the female dancer is new and takes up a new role – it could be that of the protective wife or that of a mother. The position in which she starts the dance (standing behind the sitting man with hands on his shoulders) suggest her care and power over him. Her dance is again fast, but her hand movements are rather gentle. This time the male and female dancers dance together, presented by light and camera frame as equals. Sometimes their movements are synchronized, but most of the time they are different, perhaps implying the usual difference in opinions and points of view between the man and the caring woman. This time the male dancer often dances standing while the woman dancer is sitting or lying down, leading the audience more to the suggestion that the woman dancer represents the wife rather than the mother.
The final part of the film shows a dance only by the male dancers. Perhaps it comes as a bit of a surprise to see that it’s actually four of them. Up to this point the accent was placed mainly on the female dancer and the viewer doesn’t notice the man that much. It is my personal believe that this final part represents male friendship. It is only one element of the dance I can’t quite figure out and that’s the final figure the man form. It could be a star, a flower, a cross or perhaps something else?
I will do further research on the matter and will post here the answer if I find it.
Things Worth Seeing November 3, 2009
Posted by Elena in 100 MC, 101 MC, Cabinet of Curiosities.Tags: ballet, classical, concert, dance, music, new year, vienna
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I’m on the personal opinion that everything is worth seing, even just to say how crappy it was. Nevertheless, I decided to share some of the things which caught my attention and touched me in some way. I’m not going to do this just in this post but in many following ones. So here goes:
The surreal atmosphere and the music are captivating! I’m always so happy when I find something worthwhile purely by accident. This one was sent to me by a friend. Tx B!
My father works in the National Opera of BG and I grew up listening to classical music and watching opera and ballet. I found this incredible performance and I was stunned by the professionalism on behalf of both dancers and orchestra and the beautiful costumes! This music reminds me of home and I can’t help but smile.
Here’s another one, I guess I’m in a “classical” mood this evening haha. 
I swear my tastes are more variable than that. But you’ll see in later posts. 
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did, but if you didn’t – well, I won’t torment you with more classical music at least for some time
Be happy!
Ellie
