Author Archives: lisathatcher

The Corrections: Jonathan Franzen – Post Modern Characterization as promised.

posted by

The Madness of an autumn prairie cold front coming through.  You could feel it: something terrible was going to happen. The sun low in the sky, a minor light, a cooling star. Gust after gust of disorder.  Trees restless, temperatures falling, the whole northern religion of things coming to an end. NO children in the […]

»»

Sharon Van Etten: Getting on the bandwagon like a Tramp.

posted by

I’ve got a soft spot for Sharon Van Etten. I’m a bit of a fan of these back seat rocker chicks with their soul pumping guitars and their independence. Sharon adds to this a kick ass voice and the kind of folk-sy thing I like (which is hard to find for me) which is true […]

»»

Last Year at Marienbad – One of the great art works of 20th Century.

posted by

You will notice by the title of this post that I am not one of those who think Last Year at Marienbad is the perfect modernist example of the morality tale the emperors new clothes. In defining myself by what I am not, I am letting you know, in part, what you are in for […]

»»

Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas – god bless the man who will not rest.

posted by

Ok!  I’m a HUGE Leonard Cohen Fan. But I have to confess to being a little disappointed with the last few albums. I think there is a return to something from the old days here. With songs like Anyhow and Darkness and Going Home I hear the seeds of that old Leonard – the poet wrapped up […]

»»

Creel Pone #3 : Journey through sound

posted by

This article is a continuation from the previous Creel Pone review. At the heart of my current journey through the most interesting music in the world, is the Creel Pone label. I have almost 100 downloads that I work my way through patiently, properly absorbing each and every one. The result is a breathtaking immersion into […]

»»

Paris vu Par: Godard gathers up his friends to show us Paris.

posted by

With all my cinematic meanderings my inner boomerang (it’s an Aussie thing) will always bring me back to my beloved French New Wave.  Despite my passion for Bergman and my adoration of the Czech New Wave, Godard ‘does it for me’ in every conceivable way.  He is the right balance of all things a film […]

»»

Gavin Bryars: “The Sinking of the Titanic” and “Jesus Blood Never Failed me yet” – Pure beauty.

posted by

There are several versions of the extraordinary work of Gavin Bryars Sinking of the titanic. The latest (as far as I can see) came out in 2008, and I ‘only’ have the 1976 copy that is settled in with Jesus Blood Never Failed Me as track two.  I have to get my hands on a copy of the […]

»»

Le Corbeau: The Raven – Clouzot teaches us the power of gossip

posted by

Le Corbeau (The Raven) is a 1943 French film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. The film was notable for causing serious trouble to its director after World War II because it had been produced by Continental Films, a German production company established in France in the early months of the war, and because the film had been perceived by the underground and the communist press as […]

»»

Kevin Drumm – Sheer Hellish Miasma:

posted by

It’s been hot this week in Sydney. Not that dry-grill heat we get when our front yards independently combust and we have to fight fires. It’s that filthy wet heat – it was 34 degrees close to midnight on Monday night here – that shuts everything down. Computers stop working, sweat runs in drips off […]

»»

Loves of a Blonde: Miloš Forman knows it’s difficult to be ‘normal’

posted by

What happened yesterday Doesn’t happen often That you meet a girl As beautiful as a dream And I love her so much (Of yeah yeah yeah) And I love her so much (Oh Yeah yeah yeah) My love for her was so great It turned me into a hooligan Loves of a Blonde (Czech: Lásky jedné plavovlásky) […]

»»