Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Marilyn: The Last Sessions

"I belonged to the Public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else." - Marilyn MonroeJust when you think TV is dead as a medium, killed by the twin imperatives of cutting costs and maximizing profits, a drama or documentary comes along to make you think again. This month it was 'Marilyn: The Last Sessions' screened on More 4. The sessions in question where not conducted in a photographic or recording studio; they were psychotheraputic encounters.I knew relatively little of the Marilyn myth before the programme (apart from that mushy Elton John song) and was impressed by its approach and production values. It painted a picture of a woman who blamed herself and never knew how to grow up. In the shadow of her absent...

Friday, March 4, 2011

Phonographic moments at the movies

Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.netIs it just me, or is everyone else noticing a frequent use in contemporary cinema of the act of placing vinyl records on players to signify a passion for music listening? The latest example of this (after the likes of Tarantino's Deathproof, Lynch's Inland Empire and other films) appears in the basic but well-crafted remake action flick The Mechanic, where Jason Stratham plays an emotionally remote hit man (who else?) called Arthur Bishop with a penchant for Schubert's 'Trio Number 2 in E-flat Major.' So precious is Bishop about his vinyl collection that he boobie traps his phonograph in an attempt to murder a rookie upstart who acquires his property. When the music plays, jets of (CGI) flame roar across Bishop's...

In Media Res: Popular Music

I like the on-the-fly nature of this particular scholarly outlet. Recently they did a week on Pop music. The themes were:Monday February 7, 2011 – Ted Friedman (Georgia State University) presents: Tickling the Ivory TowersTuesday February 8, 2011 – Gavin Edwards (Rolling Stone) presents: Words, Words, WordsWednesday February 9, 2011 – James Hannaham (Pratt Institute) presents: Hide Your Kids! Hide Your Wife! Hide Your Husband!Thursday February 10, 2011 – Marc Weidenbaum (Disquiet.com) presents: "…Or Other Visual Media"Friday February 11, 2011 – Ivan Kreilkamp (Indiana University) presents: Free and Freer: Wikileaks and ViCKi LE...

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