Friday, June 30, 2006

I'm a consumer, baby, so why don't ya kill me


Don’t worry, if I don’t change my consumerist ways, my wife will take care of that.

But today was a bit overboard. I’m on a serious Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿) kick and ordered the DVD box set of the 14 movies his studio has released. I’m currently working on a post about his most recent film, Howl’s Moving Castle, but it’s coming along slowly.

Then I read an article in the Guardian about Nouvelle Vague and am downloading their music off ITunes as I type. Apparently, they do Bossa Nova versions of classic underground 80’s music, which sounds like my kinda thing. I haven’t lost my appreciation for the lyrics of such songs as “Too Drunk to Fuck,” but can’t really stand the guitars for long stretches like the old days. And I love Brazilian music, though I generally prefer Tropical to Bossa Nova, it’s not like that big of a difference. So I’m optimistic.

The bands covered are:

1. Joy Division
2. Depeche Mode
3. Tuxedomoon
4. The Clash
5. PiL
6. Dead Kennedys
7. Sisters of Mercy
8. XTC
9. The Cure
10. Modern English
11. The Undertones
12. Killing Joke
13. The Specials
14. Josef K.

The snotty reviewer at Amazon described it as “ironic dinner music for the new millennium.” I would never use the term “new millennium” and the music’s pretty much as ironic as it gets in it’s original form. Frankly, I’m just hoping for some good dinner music. I’ll let you know.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent review. I just love the "Guns of Brixton" version. Here's a tip: check out the Caipirinha Appreciation Society Show. This is a weekly show produced for a London radio station (Life FM) and later posted on the internet ( http://www.cas.podomatic.com ). Really, if you like Brazilian music, you'll be surprised to find how much more there is to it than what the major record companies would have you believe (Bossa Nova was the thing over 40 years ago). C.A.S. proposes to do Brazilian music "beyond the clichés": from vintage sambas to alternative blends, stuff you just don't get to hear elsewhere...
    I hope that's useful.
    If you like it, help us spread the word!
    Best wishes
    K.

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