"Flaming June" by Sir Frederic Leighton

As the final essay in 2014 I would like to mention something that is very rarely described here and this is a painting. I have no idea why this blog constantly ignores art because it is a great love and inspiration for me, in the future I need to focus more on this. Several days ago some of the passengers on this current cruise mentioned a painting with a very interesting story and it intrigued me enough to search some info on Internet about, it turned out fascinating story.

"Flaming June" was painted in 1895 and represents a sleeping beauty that might have came straight from the world of classical Greece. She truly looks like one of mythical Hellenistic Goddesses caught in a dream, wrapped in a transparent dress, completely lost in a sleep. Oleander branch above her apparently symbolizes connection between sleep and death. The painting is beautiful but it seems that for some reason this kind of art fell out of fashion at certain point and it ended up unwanted and forgotten in some art gallery. Now, how can a masterpiece actually fall out fashion is a question that sounds quite paradoxical to me - could it be that world was simply overdosed in similar style of art and people had enough of it? As I understand it, that whole style called Pre-Raphaelites eventually got swept away when new artists came along and photographic attention to details (along with mythological subjects) became old hat. I happen to love mythological subjects and Pre-Raphaelites so naturally this is something completely right up my alley. Give me Avalon and long haired priestess anytime, I will worship Mother Goddess, Moon and anything pagan immediately (& gladly eat some crazy mushrooms while I'm at it). If I danced naked around Stonehenge in a previous life, I can do it again. 

Back to "Flaming June" - some seven decades later, this now-elderly lady found herself forgotten and abandoned in some gallery in Amsterdam. It was here that certain Puerto Rican politician saw it and purchased it for his own private gallery. At this point painting was considered too Victorian and old-fashion for important museums who couldn't be bothered with it, although the price for it was US $140 - so "Flaming June" ended up in Puerto Rico where she lives to this day. The couple who told me about the painting actually travelled there just to see it and once they arrived, they sat for hours in front of painting, just soaking in it. Of course I found out about it after I visited Puerto Rico, but who knows, maybe I will visit again. I visit and re-visit places around the world so often that sometimes I even don't remember where I am. But I love the story about this painting and not only its beautiful piece of art but her after-life is fascinating. I still remember how much I enjoyed London's Tate Gallery and the whole Pre-Raphaelite style appeals to me - blasphemous as this might sound, I seriously believe that some of the later artists simply wouldn't even know how to create something like this. Broad strokes and impressionism is just fine as long as its not just a end in itself - I understand that Victorian art could also be seen as contrived and deliberately delicate & decorative but I found no fault whatsoever with "Flaming June" and find her magical every time when I look at this painting. She is also very sexy, warm and erotic as well. She reminds me of work by Lawrence Alma-Tadema and all his countless mythological beauties, in fact this particular painter (previously unknown to me, Sir Frederic Leighton) have his own museum in London and I definitely have to visit that place. Its somewhere around Holland Park, which means that I probably walked around many times not knowing about it. Well, for everything there is a season, I guess. Younger me was too busy with hedonism to seriously think about art. Older, middle-aged and somewhat more attuned with myself, now I notice such things. Happy New Year to me and let's write more about art in 2015.

"Roy Orbison at the Rock House" (1961) by Roy Orbison

First chapter in a truly legendary career - Roy Orbison's "Sun Records" music might be just a prelude to greatness and step towards bigger things to come but its hard to dismiss because here is a young 25 years old rockabilly Texan emulating his idols and trying his best to catch up with the energy he admired in Elvis Presley. Though his later work is certainly more famous and yes he did hit his stride & found his voice later, this first rockabilly phase is very enjoyable for what it is - joyous music by young rocker who might still be beginner but he is great fun to listen.

Album is built around several successful singles ("Ooby Dooby" is probably best-known track here) and though those memorable high notes were still just around the corner, there is nothing wrong with this music - if anything, its charming, earnest and cheerful. Perhaps the main reason why Orbison did not immediately achieve superstardom is that there were simply so many similar guys around and Sam Phillips was way to busy with all of them to specifically groom just one single artist. As "Trying To Get To You" shows, Orbison was just fine but Presley simply had a spotlight and his later version got better attention. CD version of album brings a lot of bonus tracks and unreleased demos, the most interesting here are undubbed versions that shows that rough ideas were perhaps more energetic and to me they sound much better when uncluttered with backing vocals and echoes. 

Perhaps this is not really quintessential from the perspective of his later megastardom and music that truly catapulted him into world, but as a chapter in a rockabilly universe this is great fun. I simply love Roy Orbison and everything he did so its hard for me to be critical about him. 

"Aretha Franklin - The Queen of Soul" by Mark Bego (1989)

After suffering trough 1 204 pages of Stephen King's saga, I needed something completely different to get my mind out of his dark universe and twisted minds. So I turned my attention to well-proved genre of biographies to simply relax and read with pleasure. Oh, what a change! This book was so easy to read, so light and breezy, I actually sailed trough like swan on a swan lake, no pressure, no obligations, no countless characters whose names have to be memorised, no thousands of pages and chapters, just a pure pleasure + I love the subject and her music so it was all like a vacation.

If all seemed somehow vaguely familiar, it should be - afterwards I found out that I have actually read the first edition of this book some two decades ago   but in the meantime it was expanded, polished and new chapters were added. Whatever I found light and superficial back than, now I think its excellent - either I have changed or Mark Bego did some serious editing job so final result is definite book about Aretha Franklin, a book that covers almost every single corner and aspect of her life, at least the ones open to public. It seems that lady herself was always very reserved when it came to sharing her private life with audience and there is a long list of subjects she won't discuss with anybody - which I perfectly understand and accept. When she wrote autobiography herself, it was so vague and elusive that at the end of the day seems that other biographers like this one have far better perspective and eye for a detail - which in itself is a curiosity, it brings a question of difference between autobiography (where a person talks about his own life) and biography (where others write about it as they perceive it). Surely Mr. Bego can't possibly know more about Aretha than Aretha herself, however since she is so decidedly silent about what makes her tick, he does admirable job.

We are not talking about gossipy biography here - author shows a great deal of respect and affections for a lady, though he also does not shrink away from her colourful escapades. He (and in turn, we readers) is awed by her talent, perseverance, class and style. On the other hand he is also amused with all of Franklin's non-musical, highly publicised missteps in fashion, food and such. Although she is often thought of as haughty and arrogant, somewhere between the lines she comes across as likable, self-deprecating and often humorously toying with her image and status. If her sensitivity about the crown & throne & sceptre seems occasionally childish, well if you look back at her achievements they are actually glorious and unprecedented so she has all the rights to be proud of them. Contrary to what I expected, I ended up the book liking her actually even more than before. 

"Red Rose Speedway" (1973) by Paul McCartney

After truly abysmal and pointless album "Wild life" McCartney leaves rough-and-simple home-grown demo sound and turns to truly professional production where this time everything is wrapped in a shiny cellophane. To be honest, I actually liked simplicity of his solo debuts (1970 and 1971 albums) so this comes more as glitzy polish than some real artistic improvement. He always had a ear for a good melody and quirky sounds popping from everywhere - check "Big Barn Bed" that sounds like a Beach Boys homage to me - but besides now worn out and tired ballad "My Love" that was calculated step into what he knew mainstream audience expected of him (and it paid off) I don't hear anything so exciting here. 

It is a pleasant album that has interesting snippets of ideas all over but nothing truly memorable - perhaps I actually prefer earlier, raw and simple work done without all these gadgets and echoes. The final medley is the only thing I cared for here and is lovely, happy and bouncy piece of music where several extremely sunny melodies are interwoven together. The whole album baffles me a bit because I kind of find it pointless unless its a prelude to masterpiece that comes afterwards. Perhaps McCartney simply spread himself too thin on many occasions and never finalized his ideas to the perfect endings. 

"The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition" by Stephen King (1990)

In all honesty, three books by Stephen King in one year was a bit much. Previously I always thought that he was the only writer who has a gift to keep me intrigued from the very first page, but this novel - which is supposed to be his masterpiece - proved me wrong. Out of curiosity I sailed trough "Carrie" and "Salem's lot" but my God, "The Stand" was truly a never ending task where I actually had to put darn book aside several times and come back to it few months later, always feeling guilty for leaving it unfinished and for not enjoying it.

Sure I understand that sometimes its simply not the right moment and outside factors distract our attention but I don't think this was the case - its plain and simple sprawling and overlong novel (even in a first 1978 edition from which 400 pages were cut out and added back here) with way too many characters. I had to constantly check Wikipedia for help to remember who is who and than as I would put book aside, usually I would forget everything again. I plowed and plowed patiently trough this epic saga - which is apocalyptic fantasy more than horror - without really ever getting into it and was feeling frustrated about myself for not being able to feel King's alleged genius. And now I have finished it finally & thanks God & thanks to me and all my patience, it would be awhile before I put my hand on another Stephen King novel. 

What's it all about, Alfie? 

"The Stand" starts as virus escapes army base and destroys everybody on its path. This new day Plague not only erases society and politics but creates groups of survivors who are all drawn to two destinations, which prove to be kind of good and evil sides. Good side is led by 108 year old woman who had a prophetic gift and bad side is centered around Las Vegas and Randall Flagg who might be immortal evil demon with unnatural powers. Contrary to my usual expectations I did not feel magnetic power right from the very first page, in fact I did not feel this at all - I suffered trough the 1204 pages with hardly ever remembering who is who, characters were by far too many, I had to constantly look at the list, this was all pain in the ass. And it seems that every time King does not know what to do, he either simply kills off the characters or brings on some kind of explosion that would nicely do the job. I understand that this was supposed to be his own version of Tolkien and its all fine by me, obviously he has his own fantasy thing going on, however I did not feel excitement here but actual relief when novel was finally finished and hallelujah - Tom Cullen is the only character I will miss. 

"Angel with a Lariat" (1986) by k.d. lang and the Reclines

Completely zany, eccentric and even raucous country album that bursts with raw energy.

You know when people say they don't like country - well, it could be also because genre is so darn boxed in stereotypes but this is completely different and obviously it takes outsider from far North to bring some new energy into what is basically a worn-out, tired and grey pound. I have no idea how did Nashville establishment take this but to me it sounds almost revolutionary in its playfulness and irreverence. It has fiddles and all, as expected but album explodes with wink and nudge - as "Diet of Strange Places" and "Rose Garden" shows, K.D.Lang could easily switch to croon whenever she wished so though the rest of the collection is more madcap energy and it definitely appeals to everybody curious to hear different take on country. Here I must also add that its exactly this youthful energy, humor and rockabilly sound that I like the best - going all weepy ballads and heartbreak is for me just calculated step into boring direction that plays on acceptance. To come out with something as crazy as Monthy-Pithonesque "Watch Your Step Polka" means "hey world, here I am" and I enjoy it immensely. This is sound of young, enthusiastic musicians playing their asses off and having fun. 

As subsequent releases showed, Lang went the torch way and got heaps of awards for it. Which is just fine if you love ballads but spontaneity and energy here was never repeated. I am not sure does it mean improvement, because I happened to love celebratory and party music like "Tune Into My Wave" where she just explodes with energy and Presley himself would probably love this. It makes me wonder does success in country means whitewashing all the rough edges and everything that made artist interesting in the first place?

"Night Ride Home" (1991) by Joni Mitchell

Wonderful, mature and focused work of art that surprisingly came after a decade or so of experiments that basically cooled mainstream audience of this artist, who probably couldn't care less. Joni Mitchell blazed like some Biblical prophet once in early 1970s and her music was hugely influential in spite of being decidedly uncompromising. Hard-core fans followed her later but even with my best intentions I found that my attention slipped once she moved away from confessional to abstract - later music was perhaps brave and admirable statement but it didn't speak to my heart.

"Night Ride Home" is actually my all-time favorite Joni Mitchell album.

Everything that I always loved about her - interesting lyrics, intriguing melodies, that jazzy touches, Wayne Shorter and eye for the details - had blossomed here into confident palette that works like magic for me. That cool, cold and slightly detached voice of Delphi priestess is in fact even more expressive here than in youth, I have no problems with that. And I absolutely love how she handles what are basically strange subjects, ideas and impressions, stories about other people ("Cherokee Louise") or even weaving legit poetry (W. B. Yeats, no less) into her music. 

"The Only Joy In Town" and "Two Grey Rooms" are classic Mitchell, such brilliant songs and as I am writing this, they play in the background - they are just a part of the whole incredibly strong collection that inspired me than and still do. That album originally went unnoticed by everybody except cult followers is still a mystery to me, those Grammy awards that were heaped upon her later albums really mystify me. Subsequent albums got much media hype but I have to work hard to get into them, no such problems with this one.

"Before Midnight" (2013) by Richard Linklater

Third part of beloved trilogy comes of as a cruel hangover after dizzying heights of romantic love - passion and flame are still here but they are buried under layers of daily wear and tear, obligations, children, responsibilities. Its not that main characters changed so drastically visually - which was expected - as much as they metamorphosed into older versions of their once so young and adorable selves. Somewhere deep under these dialogues and gestures I can still recognise people from "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" who at this point know each other so well that they don't even try to lie or pretend anymore, now they know where to hurt and how to make each other laugh.

Did I enjoy it? Not nearly as first two movies.

For the first time, script felt laboured and even though I laughed occasionally (Sylvia Plath moment) seeing how once sweet love can turn sour made me wonder about the point of the third part. In fact, right after watching the movie I felt seriously depressed because it kind of destroyed my dreamy cocoon notion of a feel-good story that worked like a magic earlier. Yes, dialogues are witty, actors are charming and deep down I understand this is probably very life-like for many couples but at times I felt like watching "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" and I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, it was like watching your parents argue. It is not a complete disaster because relationship obviously continues in spite of mutual irritation, there is lot of delicate touches in almost every scene and maybe I simply have to accept the idea that this is how it usually goes with people who share good and bad together. With all my heart trying to understand and like the movie, it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.

"Gli Anni Della Polydor 1963/1978" by Orietta Berti

Not unlike Cilla Black who is known to young audience only as a familiar TV presenter, Orietta Berti was once a successful pop singer with quite impressive record sales but today she is hardly remembered and even than the cloud of notoriety hovers over her music. You see, Berti had at certain point turned to children's songs and traditional Italian folk music - these recordings sold in huge quantities and almost erased anything that came before. When talking to my Italian friends, they all dismiss her as bad taste and something infantile. This didn't influence my curiosity as I kind of liked her albums with traditional folk so his CD Box with anthology of her decade on "Polydor" was something right up my alley. 

It turned out very enjoyable. Kids today would be shocked to find out that music in previous decades was actually based on voice and not on things like choreography and image. People loved the voices they heard on the radio and so talents like Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf and Frank Sinatra were nurtured despite the fact that they didn't do cartwheels on stage - they had voices instead. Orietta Berti was a chubby, cute girl-next-door with incredibly pretty voice and her success was based on it. Where others were perhaps more sophisticated or knowingly sexy, hers image was all about innocence and tenderness that comes across as genuine because who else but good catholic girl would record Soeur Sourire’s "Dominique-nique-nique" and get away with it. 

Over the five CDs collected here we follow Berti's work on "Polydor" and how she tentatively found her sound - if the start is little shaky & overtly romantic, later she got over covers and got herself original material by strong composers. At certain points there are really hits galore and everything becomes very enjoyable, it is extremely melodic Italian pop easy to listen and sing along - if Berti lacked rough edges and anguish so beloved by Italians today (everybody seems to purposely avoid sounding pretty) her weapon was naturally sensitive and melodic voice that works extremely well, give her strong refrain and she flies. First four CDs cover her singles and EP recordings, while CD five is complete LP album from 1976. with Gypsy music - it is very ambitious in scope, collecting songs from all over the world but is not very convincing because she sounds too darn pretty for this kind of music (paradox perhaps but it needs a bite). Who knows what Berti does today and how local audience remembers her, this anthology however serves well as a reminder of how it was once done. 

"Before Sunset" (2004) by Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater and his friends created something quite unique and made unforgettable piece of art that works as our collective memory. That it took so many years and troubles with finding finances to actually put this all together is mind-boggling because it seems that any old & tired flick with car crashes and explosions can get funds but this - masterpiece with adult people living real lives and dealing with tears and disappointment - had to wait forever. Maybe its even better this way, because the script got polished to perfection and it was obviously labour of love for everybody involved. We are not the only ones who took "Before Sunrise" to our hearts - actors themselves wrote their lines, along with Kim Krizan and director.

It is not and it can never be like "Before Sunrise" because that was unforgettable first love that happens only once, when hearts are still young and trembling. Characters are older now but we helplessly root for them, understanding what effect their chance meeting had on their lives and how it affected them. To accept that they are now different-but-still-same-inside is to accept that life changes all of us in the same way. If freshness and bloom of the first youth is forever gone, so be it, scars of time are unavoidable and look what we gained along the way. Again I found myself thinking about my own life and meetings with old loves, how shy, clumsy and full of reproach they were. 

Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply are fantastic - under her neuroses and his quiet resignation there is so much unsaid and sometimes I thought that we are following two lines of dialogues, what has been said out loud and what their gestures and eyes expressed. This is now the pure magic of cinema where we can't distinguish anymore between what is real and what is acting. I honestly don't remember when was the last time when I cared so much for movie characters. The ending is just perfect. 

The original Misirlou - Μισιρλού (Τέτος Δημητριάδης -1927)

"Shine" by Joni Mitchell

Contrary to enthusiastic reviews that welcomed this album like a masterpiece and brilliant return from self-exposed exile, I always had a gnawing feeling that its a trading of water and very sour worldview from artist who grew bitter and disillusioned with age. Sure, Joni Mitchell never was actually a bundle of joy and even in her gentle, young years she was always a serious, brainy girl who analyzed everything but there was an eye for details and poetry that worked as magic once. As she moved out of pop and towards cryptical lyrics/songs that perhaps signaled artistic growth, the aloofness and coldness towards general audience that might not even follow her in these experiments became more and more prominent. And I ask you, what is the point of art if it does not communicate with audience?

I made a mistake and actually purchased this album - with trepidation, as I couldn't really get my head around several of her recent releases. "The Night Ride Home" was honestly the last Mitchell album I actually loved. Than Grammy awards came along and media hype that confirmed lady in her own opinion that she always was a genius and to hell with audiences. Here she sings about genocide, suicide and state of the world that went down the drain in her opinion, not realizing that she sounds old and puritanical exactly as her mother once was. I listen and listen this album, constantly wondering what is wrong with me because I don't hear "artist at her poetic powers at a peak" but someone who doesn't enjoy life anymore and life is all gloom & doom. It always was, Joni, but the fact is that young artists find the beauty and inspiration in what they see around them while people who are inclined to get depressed will find darkness where others experience the sun. I seriously think that we are under illusion of "serious artistry" because of work done long in the past. Why else her old, classic albums sounds so darn wonderful even today and almost everything after 1980 is just afterthought? 

"Kad je Rock bio mlad" - continued

Part of CD Box "Kad je Rock bio mlad", "Beat Goes On vol.1" continues research trough old music archives and all those now forgotten EP and singles recordings once cherished by young, teenage audiences in & around 1960s Croatia. While CD 1 started with than-current generation of basically pop and "schlager" singers covering international hits without any pretensions to actually rebel against anyone, this CD covers second part of the 1960s where new young beat groups and earnest artists truly tried to establish themselves with original material.

It is a great idea as a statement that kids today are not as wild or rebellious as they think and every time has its own angry punks. Sure, this music has also to be understand in contest of its time and what kind of mainstream it confronted back than. It would be great to claim yes, these were truly original and fabulous rockers who swept everything away, but in reality its actually very mild and well-behaved. In all honesty, I don't think that these guys were so much different from any East European student groups and beat bands who emulated their international idols. The only difference between music here and on vol.1 is prominent guitar sound and appearance of more bands as opposite to single artists previously. If previous generation still nurtured idea of solo singers, mid-1960s showed explosion of competing bands formed seemingly overnight and 70% of them never went further than few EP recordings. Quick look at the list of artists actually prove my point, almost half of them left the music eventually and nobody survived in music business without compromises and dabbling in mainstream pop, festivals and all.

Listening this cute, nostalgic collection today I am trying to imagine how did it sound when these recordings were originally released - it was very probably very cool and wild as compared to mainstream and weepy "schlagers" that ruled the radio waves, but true spirit and bite can be heard only occasionally, with Karlo Metikoš, Tomi Savilj, "MI" and "Uragani", all of them doing covers. The rest is either sunny 1960s pop ("Bele Vrane", "Delfini") or clumsy first steps that show the best intentions marred by seriously banal lyrics. Only two girls emerged in this generation (Josipa Lisac, Alenka Pinterič) and they easily overshadowed guys with their charisma and voices - but being non-instrumentalists, they belong to category by themselves.

"Beat Goes On Vol.2"

Second part of vocal selection in CD Box "Kad je Rock bio mlad" (archive recordings from early Rock in Croatia) continues nostalgic walk trough late 1960s music. Its almost without exception very happy, sunny 1960s music that would perfectly fit into any "oldies" radio station playlist today, but it was rebellious and wild once. Some of these songs, once released on EP and singles recordings became classics in the meantime ("Osmijeh" by "Grupa 220"), others remind listeners that today's old farts were once vital and young artists. Like everything else in this Box, it would probably appeal to listeners who were there and danced to these groups on student dances once but I doubt that it would impress anybody else who is not somehow connected to it trough either language or geography. It is mainly of interest to listeners familiar with these artists who without exception later left their youthful anger behind and moved into pop.

"Doba Električara"

Judging by the sheer space Siniša Škarica gave to instrumentals in this CD Box (three our of six CDs) it is easy to get impression that his main idea was to release the retrospective of these now completely forgotten EP and singles, than just beefed it up with vocal selection as an afterthought. It is probably very interesting to older musicians and lovers of instrumentals, but it kind of looks overwhelming to casual listeners faced with 30+ titles by long-defunct bands. True, it is very interesting anthology of 1960s surf rock and to my knowledge this chapter has never been so fully covered as here but its still just a chapter that appeals really only to connoisseurs. So my main complain here is not the music - which is quite fun in small doses - but the huge quantity of it. Sure, its good and timeless, meticulously and obsessively researched from every corners of archives & private collections so it has historical reason to be released again, I guess. Its just that the whole concept of boxing this kind of music into CD format that holds so much of this music seems more like academic pedantry than real listening pleasure.

"Doba Električara Vol.2" 

More goodies from CD Box "Kad je Rock bio mlad" created by Croatia records director Siniša Škarica who was musician himself once and obviously feels a deep affection for this kind of music - he not only decided to put together this anthology of first rock recordings in Croatia but also published the book about it under the same title. Perhaps the focus on instrumentals seriously unbalanced project in a sense that giving half of the CD Box to exclusively instrumentals obscured anything else that could have been included, but this is his call and no point of criticizing guy who truly loved this project and unearthed music that was seriously forgotten. Anybody can quickly make a 1960s hits collection that covers biggest, schmaltziest  and the most bombastic from than current pop charts but only this man remembered obscure EP recordings by 1960s beat bands, who were actually not bad at all - except that most of them emulated "The Shadows".

"Doba Električara Vol.3"

Final CD with instrumentals from CD Box "Kad je Rock bio mlad" that serves as anthology of early rock recordings in Croatia - while half of the box focuses on vocal performances and all those earnest copies of international covers, the other half is all about instrumentals. What is sweet here is that guys compiled here played not only obvious pop covers but also recorded their own versions of either classical pieces or traditional folk songs dressed up in surf rock - very good. Some of these recordings are very hard to find indeed, as they come from private collections and we would probably never heard them if not for this compilation. Another curiosity is that most of these groups actually had very good singers who later became successful as solo artists, but here they were caught in a first bloom of youth where they were proving themselves as instrumentalists. "Zlatni dečaci", "Crveni Koralji", "Uragani" and "Delfini" were just some of groups that served as starting point for their singers. Its all about 1960s surf rock and retrospective ends in a very good note with several newly recorded tracks from current artists that perfectly continue the tradition. 

Goodbye Mrvica

Just found out that my little cat friend is not to return from his roaming around the village anymore - he was missing for some time, but his owner (my first neighbour) was not concerned as it was natural for cats to disappear occasionally, just to return all hungry and exhausted from adventures. Animals here in countryside are seen more as help around the house than as pets and it was me and my city ways that made me always a sucker with a soft spot, who is bringing animal delicacies from shop (even lagging them from town to my cottage) playing with them and enjoying them for company. I guess for locals is natural way of dealing with life, some animals they kill for food, others are to be kept around the house to either protect it or keeping the mouses away.

"Mrvica" (The tiny one) was around for almost two years now - he lived next door but was always welcome guest here and being the only cat around, he grew unto quite bossy and territorial boy who absolutely controlled his area, announced his entrance with loud meowing and demanded food right now this very moment. He had his own personality and would not play or cuddle unless he was in the mood. We got along just fine, since I was his human friend though he could be annoying sometimes, specially as dog arrived on the scene and attention had to be divided. Knowing he won't be back anymore, I really regret every single time I pushed him away and argued with him now, because he was wonderful company and I enjoyed having him around, specially as he would curl next to me as I read and purred with pleasure when I caressed him. The main oddity with this cat was how he learnt to enter the house whenever it pleased him trough half-open windows and climbed somehow inside, just to curl on my bed, where he occasionally slept during cold evenings (it never bothered me). As always, it seems that his death (from a car wheel, somewhere down on the village road) is upsetting me more than anybody else and I still expect to see him curled comfortably in my bed, every time I open the door. I am sitting now in the warm kitchen and thinking about all those times he used to purr here and sleep so comfortably - I miss him. Everything in this life is so darn brief and transitory. If Heaven is made up from our dreams and memories, he will wait for me on the other side. 

"L'immortelle - 24 of Her Original Recordings 1946-63" by Édith Piaf

Today I indulged myself with epic "sleep in" and while the autumn fog completely surrounded my house, I watched youtube duet of Charles Aznavour and his old friend until I could sing along. When these electronic duets first came along, we dismissed them as a cheating but with time we got used to them and some of them actually work just fine, this is one of them. It works wonderfully actually because visually it doesn't try to patch up old & new but shows Aznavour looking at ghost of his own memory and I am sure he did this privately many, many times. I just melted, utterly fascinated. 

At this point Édith Piaf has been away from this world longer than she had been in it - some half of century, to be precise - but my God, what a wonderful flame this little candle has left us! I can't even remember the very first time I've heard her voice, it feels like she was alway around - but where other "classic" singers fall more or less in time when they performed, there is something truly everlasting about her old recordings, they feel like a monument to France and for most of us she IS France. The place of our dreams.

I still remember one particular very late night when I was walking home trough streets of Zagreb, everybody has been listening popular radio station 101 at that time and it was usually very trendy, current hit music but that evening someone decided to end the program with "La Vie en Rose" and there was Édith, singing from every single window as I slowly walked home, now looking back some 30 years later I know it was one of the prettiest memories of my life. 

To get swept in her music one doesn't necessarily have to understand either the language nor the facts (much later in life I found about Marguerite Monnot and Damia) after all, everything in this life is so transient and brief, yesterdays tears are just past. What is fascinating about Piaf is that her music even today radiates sheer magic and class, where by all accounts this little child of the streets shouldn't be the one who knew about these things at all. Books, movies, articles and memoirs usually focus on sordid aspects of the myth that threatens to completely cover the real person buried somewhere under countless layers of these stories. Than you come to her music and discover real emotions, laughter and "joie de vivre" mixed up with drama and defiance, it opens up like the best work of art or wonderful book inviting you to come in - no matter what her life might have been and how lowly her start was, there was this absolutely fascinating spark of the universal spirit in this little body and it soared to the skies in life-affirming joy that was instantly recognised by millions who heard her and are listening even today. On some unconscious level we all understand this is all real and there is nothing artificial about Piaf who comes across as genuine sound of the heart. I heard people saying that they don't understand this or her voice was not "feminine" but it just shows their ignorance or unwillingness to open up to something that was unique even in her time. Not for nothing is she remembered, towering above absolutely everybody else who was her contemporary back than (good as they might have been) - no matter what I listen to and where life leads me, this is one of the cornerstones, pillars of my music collection and its so etched in my personality that I don't even need to have it physically with me in order to hear this sound in my dreams. Thanks to this recordings, her spirit would continue to live long after all of us flicker out. 

Tina Turner is 75 today

... and that sounds really serious but more from the perspective of us, her audience (are we all going to rust slowly?) than considering great lady herself who is ageless anyway. The thought about her age stopped me a little bit today because I was acutely aware that being her fan from that particular MTV afternoon in 1984 means I also belong to that certain, now middle-aged group. Oh well. Proud Mary keeps on turning.

What Turner did for our lives? 

Sure, she was slaying audiences for decades long before that final 1980s eruption and different generations loved and supported her long before that. Black audiences in small clubs around St.Louis loved her for being one of their own who was female James Brown. Later Phil Spector made sure her regal roar was heard well and truly by British Rock aristocracy across the Atlantic and everybody from Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger to Lulu was stunned, they were all her fans long before finally American mainstream audience accepted her. Young Bette Midler was one of those people who witnessed volcanic live concert that in her words changed her life. Janis Joplin was fan and she said it live on TV during interview with Dick Cavett. So even post-Ike years in wilderness, when chances looked slim and recording companies avoided her as a washed-up has-been were times when a lot of people passionately loved her. Check any taped concerts from that time and see for yourself - she might not had hits or records but people flocked to see her. However, MTV catapulted Tina into mid-1980s mega stardom and ever since the whole world was suddenly aware of what fans already knew, that she was super-original and vital entertainer who simply had no competitors. There is absolutely no other black girl like her who established herself in a Rock world.

Most of us who were introduced to her music back than in 1984 were simply awed with powerful voice that soared above cold synthesizers (than ultra-modern UK production) and televised performances that streamed like a lava out of our TV screens. People loved her for all kinds of reasons - men simply liked this powerful, attractive woman who commanded respect, authority and primal sex-appeal even though she wasn't actually a classical beauty, women found her impressive example of confident freedom appealing because she was middle-aged warrior queen who would not bow to anyone. Back in 1984 we didn't know anything about dark horror of Ike years but we could sense this is a bruised survivor who hammers her strength and independence instead of whining about past and suffering. That this was a 45 years, black woman in a completely teenage-oriented music industry, not some young bleached marionette but a grown-up person (there was always something so real about her, sweat and all) just made her even more interesting for us. Later she might get all the airbrush treatments that wealth could afford but we could still see that under all that cellophane she was that ballsy ol' sassy sister.

As for me personally, I could never get enough of watching her concert performances. Not sure did other people analysed this, but even when her later music turned predictable and creamy, concerts were always phenomenal and they made me excited and rejuvenated. Even now I get all thrilled just to watch any old concert although I am aware its just a show and everything has been rehearsed - the powerful connection she has with audiences cannot be rehearsed or scripted though, its pure and simple enchantment that works both ways and the more this woman gives, the more she receives back. Its really interesting to think that other performers use perhaps far more sophistication and all sorts of tricks to get across but Tina has always been accepted not as a product but as a real person. Another fascinating thing is that we all understand that behind this sassy, sexy and wild image she is basically a very sweet, decent and perhaps even old-fashioned lady who acts the role - to me she appears very well balanced human being who is part rock mama and part cute tomboy in private. I am perfectly fine with her decision to retire and she deserves it, in fact wouldn't like to see her going on forever until it became caricature - long may she live in happiness of her chosen home.

"Before Sunrise" (1995) by Richard Linklater

I came to this movie from "My Dinner with André" so it wasn't such a surprise and I knew what I expected from art-movie.
In theory I would immediately dismiss anything described as "romantic comedy" and under no circumstances would even accept to watch something created for sentimental entertainment - however this turned out to be such a nice experience that I am still surprised what an effect it had on me. For the start, even though we are absolutely aware that this is scripted and rehearsed, movie appears so life-like, real and natural that for the life of me I can't see anything artificial or contrived here. Acting is superb, both Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy completely inhabit their characters and I must say to me they are absolutely adorable as two people caught up in the beauty of young love which is so right and natural at that age. You must be seriously cynical or old to forget how it once was.

Sure, not everybody allowed themselves freedom and exuberant pleasure of being in the moment as shown here - some people simply don't know how to let go - but most of us had at least moment or two where mornings dawned and we were too excited to be tired. "Before Sunrise" has this rare gift to make us think about our own lives while watching something on the screen. Which in my opinion makes it unforgettable and great movie. This is where I caught myself standing in the middle of the room (with a plate in my hands, halfway going somewhere) glued to the screen and waiting for two actors to finally kiss. And darn it if several times I didn't find myself completely and utterly melting (scene with a poet), smiling and purring like a happy cat. Considering how many movies are just a boring cliché, this came as wonderful feel-good experience.

"Diva" (1992) by Annie Lennox

To the kids today this might not seems to exciting but I was there in 1992 and I remember the huge, massive attention this long-awaited solo debut created everywhere in media. After all, Lennox waited some 12 years to finally has her own spotlight and not unlike Tina Turner she had shed a bothersome partner to show her colours. 

It was such megalithic success (album of the year, five hit singles, best British female artist) that it perhaps overshadowed the fact that music was not so different from what she was actually doing before. As I listen to it now while writing this, I still have the same opinion from back than, that this was not completely new turn into unknown direction but well-produced, superbly polished pop album that if you don't know, you could simply call another "Eurythmics" product. Which is just fine as back catalogue was very decent and usually devoid of anything banal, perhaps Lennox had such well established music persona that it would be pointless to expect something radically different from her - she is basically a white soul singer who just happened to flourish in decade of synthesizers and successfully conquered them.

Unwittingly, Lennox also brought term "diva" back into public consciousness and it kills me to see how many people took title of this album seriously , when its so obvious she took it as a self-mocking description of slightly worn-out alter-ego. There is nothing worn-out about her singing, she sounds stunning as ever and if anything, perhaps shows more tenderness here than previously. It is still a high mark in her career and for me this was never surpassed, everything else that came later lacked enthusiasm and inspiration present here. 

"Medusa" (1995) by Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox was always a spectacular white-soul singer from the very start but her legend was cemented in 1980s during her "Eurythmics" day and I never found her solo career particularly inspired. Both she and Dave Stewart got lot of attention for their solo debuts because media was curious what they will come up and naturally focus was more on visually attractive Lennox who always knew how to use her androgynous image, though I always thought her solo music was too similar to that previously done, icy sound backed with synthesisers.

I clearly remember this album being a turning point where for the first time I started to think that Lennox was not so impeccable after all - up to that point everything she did was quite spectacular (I even convinced myself that her solo debut was not so bad) but this all-cover collection was really just trading a water. In theory I have nothing against covers and Lennox sings well as always, its just that it looks not like step forward but standing in one frozen spot, not really any artistic improvement on what she had previously done. Compare this to her covers of "The Doors", Lou Reed and The Beatles (recorded a decade ago while she was still in "Eurythmics") and its basically same thing.



Listening now, almost a decade later I enjoy it probably slightly more than during original release, it might be that either I got used to it or her music needs some more attention. However I would never call it essential.

"Phil Spector" (2013) by David Mamet

Ah, again that American obsession with celebrities and disembodiments of privileged people. Its really frightening to think that fame might be just a prelude before media starts cutting somebody to pieces. No wonder so many people turn into hermits in order to avoid the frustrated glare from down bellow, from millions of anonymous people who never achieved anything but still give themselves right to criticize and judge.

Very strange disclaimer at the beginning of the movie (claiming that this is a fiction and not based on real characters) describes the whole approach here, where things are not being said in order not to offend anybody - why making this movie at all? - and never going into real dirt and making a statement but pussyfooting around very real crime like "it doesn't really matter" so it all turns into courtroom drama about lawyers fighting and nitpicking, building the case and planning how to destroy the opponent. Some interesting points: main attorney taking his salary (a cold million) and pulling out with money just to leave his client because of "other obligations", a woman asking "How would you feel if he gets out of it and kills another woman?" Like with everything else, movie simply skips these little details and goes on about Phil Spector being weird recluse who is misunderstood because he is washed-up eccentric and delusional modern day male version of Norma Desmond. But my main objection here is, no matter what public perception there is, the fact is still that we are talking about crime. A person can wear a flowerpot on top of his head and still won't end up in court if there is no other objection. I absolutely love 1960s music that Spector created but it doesn't take away the fact that guy was known for decades as a gun weaving sadist who usually got along with everything because of his wealth.

Even if script is disappointingly and maddeningly avoiding any statement, acting is superb as we have clash of Titans.  Al Pacino bites in his role for all that's worth and no matter what he says, how he rages, pleads, charms and tries to behave, he knows what he knows and we are just left guessing. Helen Mirren as his replacement-attorney holds perfectly her own against this monumental ego and calmly tries to built up a case for defense that occasionally even make a sense. Often she has to behave like Sister Rachel in "One Flew Over The Coockoo's Nest" towards her client who is so darn irrational and we can sense her struggle in getting a job done. I must say that Mirren is so good at this that I can't possibly imagine director's first choice (Bette Midler) in this role. At the end, it probably depends how much are you familiar with subject in order to enjoy this courtroom drama.

"Moonrise Kingdom" (2012) by Wes Anderson

Completely and utterly Wes Anderson movie, which means highly recognisable visual style, quirky characters and a universe of its own. 

With time they will be remembered as influential and classics, now being current they are criticised for being outside of the box. I can't help but seeing "Amelie" in all of this, but this is my problem and it doesn't really take away from the fact that Anderson's work is highly enjoyable.

"Moonrise Kingdom" is a good, old-fashioned children's movie with some dark undertones (loss of innocence) focused on modern-day Romeo and Juliet who found each other as a comfort from outside world. But where everybody finds literary characters completely acceptable, here it brings all kinds of of reactions with viewers that actually sound very philistine to me, as "originals" were not much older. If I remember correctly, Juliet was around 14 so there you go. These kids are lonely outsiders and whatever intimacy they share, its a dreamy world full of books, music and camp fire. And earrings made from fish hooks. 

Watching this, I couldn't help but wondering has every child at least once thinking about running away from home - my little gang had extremely detailed plans about our collective escape, though of course it sounds so silly now to remember how one girl wanted to take her plastic bath tub with us in case of the rain (this gives you idea how small she must have been). Lots of grown-up actors here but they don't really matter and perhaps its a waste of big names since all the attention is on kids anyway. Again, I just love all the visual effects here and no matter how artificial, silly or cartoonish they might be, its beautiful, particularly that little isolated bay with one tent. Its a dream. 

"Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green" (1959) by Blossom Dearie

What initially seems like just another of 1950s Songbook-themed albums that Norman Granz created for Ella Fitzgerald, turned out to be completely different kind of music. The only thing they have in common is focus on one composer, but where Fitzgerald got herself a royal treatment with cinematic strings and the glitzy cellophane, this album is pure and simple jazz of nightclub variety, where singer is backed only by small trio and often simply sing along to her own piano. 

Blossom Dearie is such an unusual, unpretentious artist that her little girl voice comes as a shock - she is so darn eccentric, unique and original that I can't think of anybody else to compare her to. Perhaps Bobby Troup is the only singer who I remember doing wonders with what is basically very small, intimate voice but naturally they share only approach, not the sound. In theory, somebody cooing and whispering like Betty Boop at the age of 35 sounds terrible on the paper, but you need to hear Blossom Dearie just once to get caught up in her universe. I have always found her immensely appealing but this little flower is so modest and unassuming that it usually takes me a year or so before I remember re-visiting her music.

Recorded just at the right time when pop music was still inspired by Broadway shows, "Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green" is hypnotic and mellow like some piano music by Erik Satie. Its truly a comforting and dreamy sound one listens when alone in the evening and I even caught myself getting lost in the lyrics which are actually very sophisticated. Dearie was not a slouch when it came to songwriting herself but here she perfectly acts and inhabits lonely drifter persona created by somebody else. Just a masterpiece from the beginning to the end.

"Nostalgia" (2014) by Annie Lennox

Every time a middle-aged singer turns to American songbook repertoire, there is a public outcry about cul-de-sac and lack of original ideas (or even worse, selling out to mainstream) and to be honest, I was cynical myself upon seeing that Annie Lennox turned that route. But for the sake of old affection towards "Eurythmics" and genuine curiosity about dramatic photo cover that presented singer unadorned of make up or any frills, I decided to give it a go.

It turned into surprisingly good album - its all about pre-WW2 material, but its decidedly not a Jazz album. Just like Autumnal photo on its cover, "Nostalgia" is a serious, all-ballad collection, backed by impeccable orchestration and all is held together with wondrous voice that still amazes with its sonorous sound - Lennox was always a strangely haunting singer completely distinguished from anybody else in pop music and I dare to say that limits of the media (and its constant strive towards commercial aspects of the business) probably tired the singer long time ago. So instead of suspecting her intentions about going all Gershwin, I hear artist singing what she truly loves and enjoying being theatrical and authoritative in genre that allows it. 

We have actually heard Lennox in this type of music long ago on Cole Porter's tribute ("Every Time We Say Goodbye") so its surprising that it took her decades to get here. Perhaps she overdosed a bit on Billie Holiday (four songs associated with her!) and at the times her intense approach leans more towards Gospel, but than we get something like "You Belong To Me" that truly amazes with beauty and she sounds like modern-day incarnation of Jo Stafford, which is a high praise indeed since original was so perfect. For an artists that is pushing 60 in pop arena it actually looks like a perfectly dignified and natural step, just give it a listen. Kids probably won't care but "Eurythmics" fans are now all older and we will enjoy it. This is almost unplugged Annie Lennox without any electronic gadgets or synthesizers, its a pure singing for the joy of it.

"Hello Like Before" (2014) by Shirley Bassey

For a while it looked like Welsh bigger-than-life music legend might seriously update her sound and trough collaborations with new generation of hipsters even became seriously relevant again. As her new album shows, Bassey is either comfortable at where she is at this point of her life (still performing sold-out concerts, still selling her back catalogue re-recorded and re-packaged in various disguises) or can't be bothered with expanding far out of her comfort zone. So its back to the ballads, back to the covers and easy-listening repertoire that she did for decades.

Its not so much fault of singer herself who does what she always did, gives her best as usual and blasts the roof with that authoritative operatic voice as much with her advisers or managers who couldn't find anything that has not been done before. Another "Goldfinger"? "I'm Still Here"? Even when things get lively like in "We Got Music" I couldn't help but think about her early 1970s pop albums when she already did this kind of thing, covering "Spinning Wheel". The duet with current young kid ("Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend") is cute but its just a gimmick to promote Christmas sales. The rest is basically Bassey belting with big band, which means heroic survivor's statement from still powerhouse veteran but it signals we can't expect any surprises from her.

The Babadook (2014) by Jennifer Kent

Horror movie was never one of my favourite genres - besides childish pleasure I get from classic pre-WW2 fantasies like "Dracula", "Frankestein" and "The Wolf Man" (too familiar to be really scary) and certain 1950s B movies (again, simply fun) what I saw as growing up was continuous saga of blood, guts and fingers spilling all over the place in disturbing and sick variations. Its interesting why some people turn to Horror as entertainment because as exciting as it might be, it desperately needs new ideas or else it turns into worn-out cliché dangerously leaning towards parody.

Perhaps I have simply seen too many movies in my lifetime so Horror genre rarely thrills me with something original. The only instances when I was genuinely amused were without exception stories where evil was unseen and unknown - the very moment I see "the monster" on the screen I am left unmoved and 9 times out of 10 I would even feel compassion for it. Occasionally, like in "The Others" I was genuinely interested in story because it was weaved so well, again around unknown psychological danger. "The Babadook" belongs to that category simply because it circles around clichés and tries to sidestep what we have all seen so many times.

Australian director Jennifer Kent toys with atmosphere similar to the one in "The Others" while adding her own twist to it. Its "us" against the world, familiar things that turn into demonic and crippling fear coming from our own living spaces. Very simple in cast that counts only handful of characters, the movie focuses only on single mother and her little son who are slowly sliding down into danger that lurks somewhere from inside this house. Avoiding the simplicity that would result from simply pointing at one focus of demonic possession, Kent plays around with it, suggesting all kinds of explanations and ideas, cleverly keeping our attention all the way trough. What personally I found most interesting is the relationship between parent and the child used in Horror context, which was rarely if ever been so well used like here. Actors are absolutely brilliant, though in retrospective I am not so happy in using little Noah Wiseman for this kind of movie, because I wouldn't like my own child to be exposed to such disturbing things in such tender age. Call me over-sensitive but I am very protective towards what we are putting in kid's heads while they are still growing up and soaking everything in. We are dealing with all sorts of taboos here.

Kad je Rock bio mlad Vol.1

This was part of 1995 CD box created by Siniša Škarica who obviously took a quite big and serious task to dust off old archive recordings and re-release anthology of very beginnings of Rock in Ex Yu, at least those released by Zagreb's "Jugoton" which was pre-eminent recording company back in the day. Judging by the state of Croatian pop music today, we went backwards quite a few steps in the meantime and the music I hear today is so simplistic and banal that it comes as a relief to hear that several decades ago we actually had artists who were genuinely enthusiastic about what they did.

"Estrada susreće Rock'n'roll" (Show business meets Rock'n' Roll) covers a decade between 1956 and 1965 and its full of sweetly innocent goodies recorded by artists who were without exception all very young and playful, either twisting the night away or emulating Italian rockers who in turn imitated American singers. In a strange turn of events, lacking access to US original recordings they listened Italian singers like Adriano Celentano and Mina and created their own versions of  Rock, which they later even performed on tours in Soviet Union and therefore brought Rock there in a Trojan horse. 

I seriously doubt that singers like Ivo Robić, 4 M, Marjana Deržaj or Lola Novaković ever considered themselves as Rock performers - they were part of current generation of family entertainment and simply covered anything that moved, be it Paul Anka, The Platters or Bill Haley but these singles brought new kind of music to our homes and since we didn't know originals, this is where we learned from. In fact, its wonderful to hear these old tracks from Arsen Dedić, Gabi Novak, Dragan Toković, Zdenka Vučković, Duo Hani (young Zdenka Kovačicek!) and Zafir Hadžimanov (all senior citizens today) as they once were in first bloom of the youth. Even Tereza Kesovija twisted once! However, the "real" Rock comes in the second part of CD where around 1962 artists like Bijele Strijele, Karlo Metikoš and Crveni Koralji finally stepped out of this glitzy, TV entertainment crowd and broke some serious ice with their recordings that no matter how clumsy they might appear today. These were venerable grandfathers of everything that came later.