One of my most treasured discs is Dutch percussionist Han Bennink’s album Nerve Beats. Re-released in 2000, it is the extraordinary capturing of an amazing improvised solo concert in 1973 that I wish to holy Christ I was at. (I was too young, and if I was old enough to attend concerts back then I probably would have been […]
Author Archives: lisathatcher
January
03
Breaking the Waves – Lars Von Trier and the infinite sadness. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
The key to Lars Von Triers amazing 1996 film Breaking the Waves lies in a conversation Bess (played to absolute perfection by Emily Watson) has with her husbands Doctor (played by Adrian Rawlins) when he discovers Bess is trying to solicit meaningless sex with other men to save her husband from dying. He wants to know why […]
January
02
Why I still love Queen, even after my discovery of good music.
posted by lisathatcher
I had cause to reflect on Freddy Mercury tonight. My father sent me an email begging me to turn on my television which he knows is only used for films. Not much will convince me to turn on my TV but the lure of Freddy Mercury did it. I think of myself as having a rather delayed […]
January
02
Samsara – Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson guide your meditation. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
“I think the substance of what I’m trying to say is really said in a nonverbal form. It’s a kind of spiritual quest. You could say we were all privileged invited guests to this mudball spinning in space. Life is the host. Life invited everyone here, and it didn’t ask anyone to approve the guest […]
January
01
aso – Ami Yoshida and Christof Kurzmann mirror the mirrors mirror. (music review)
posted by lisathatcher
Although I have never reviewed her on this blog before, I happen to be deeply fond of the music of Ami Yoshida. aso is one of the reasons for this fondness. I’ve had the disc here for a while now… almost a year… and I confess to digging it out regularly. However writing about this […]
January
01
The Human War – Noah Cicero and the distance of war over there. (book review)
posted by lisathatcher
“I’ve been walking the world alone.” “I walk the world alone too, but I like it that way.” In his justifiably glowing review of The Human War on The Guradians book blog, Lee Rourke wondered how The Human War would hold up eight years after its publication in 2003. Rourke writes his own review in 2007, but still questions […]
January
01
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – What’s not to love after all? (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
“In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a Hobbit Hole, and that means comfort.” — The […]
December
31
A little rest that’s over now.
posted by lisathatcher
Hello my lovely treasured readers… Well I took a sort of unscheduled break throughout December and it has been wonderful for the psyche, but also for the inspiration. As of tomorrow the posts start fresh and I have a slew of beautiful music, stunning books and exciting films to talk about. The silly season was not so silly […]
December
22
Funny Games – Haneke holds a mirror. (film review)
posted by lisathatcher
I wanted the 2007 version of Funny Games tonight. I haven’t seen the version made ten years earlier, but given the nature of the film, I’m not at all surprised he chose to remake it and wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to make it again. This is a film about us as an audience […]
December
21
Preview of This is The End – Just cause i’m a James Franco fan… oh and the end of the world thingy…
posted by lisathatcher
A little treat for those of you who don’t mind adult themes. The Mayans have predicted the world will end today. In preparation for the end of the world, stars Seth Rogen and James Franco have recorded a special introduction to the first clip from their new film THIS IS THE END. The comedy This […]
Lisa Thatcher 