Nearly 40 years after its initial release, The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) will return to UK cinemas, in a brand new restored and remastered version. Considered by many to be a masterpiece, the picture is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed films of all time. Winner of 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the movie also currently sits at number 2 on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)’s list of the 250 greatest films of all time. Its success on this particular register, which is collated from votes by public and industry members across the globe, is a testament to the film’s timeless success, and its continued relevance.
The narrative begins in a darkened room, during the lavish wedding of Godfather, Don Vito Corleone’s daughter. From the very first beats the tension is palpable; Marlon Brando in his most iconic turn, sits in his chair stroking a cat, while a despairing father sits pleading for his daughter’s redemption. Already, the viewer is mesmerized by this enclosed world, where the possibilities of power, wealth and violence all seem to fall hand in hand.
At the same time, it is the emphasis on maintaining this intricately ‘closed world’ that allows the audience to relate to characters who are, essentially, evil. Coppola’s universe exists by its own set of rules. As such, the characters in the story aren’t delineated by violence or aggression, but by lust, greed or love, and yearning or a desire for respect. In other wards, Coppola takes Mario Puzo’s epic story as a blueprint, using it to emphasise the humanity behind the Mafia, allowing us to feel sympathy for the players.
In a recent PopMatters post, I highlighted the importance of the Glasgow music scene – and its historical relevance to the world of music. Like musical hotspots, Seattle and New York—Glasgow possesses the wet weather of one, and the greased-up urban spontaneity of the latter. As such, it should come as no surprise to find that another up and coming Glasgow-based band is rekindling the flame of the 1970s NY punk music scene in 2009.
In particular, I am referring to the quartet, known as Isosceles. A member of the Art Goes Pop music collective, Isosceles’ sound is emblematic of the collective’s moniker. Rickety guitar work is interspersed with a spattering of drums, and lead singer, Jack Valentine’s yelping vocal execution – all of which help position the band nicely between Television and The Modern Lovers.
Holcombe Waller is one of those underground artists that doesn’t seem to care about what is happening on the surface of the popular music landscape. He writes songs in his apartment in Portland, he performs (straight-forward performances, fused with a smattering of performance art), oh and he teaches a little too…an elective course at UC Berkeley, to be exact. All of which seems to be executed, and indeed achieved at the artist’s very own creative whim.
How my love affair with this man’s music began, is simple. I discovered him just over a year ago in a back issue of Butt, and from that moment, I felt compelled to ‘discover’ whether Holcombe had the artistic credos to back up his cheeky interview persona.
The quest began with a long wait, for a US import of his release,Extravagant Gesture to arrive to the UK. Once fully loaded and synced, it was only a week, before four tracks off of the album were in my Ipod’s most played list, with the layered, melodic cataclysm ‘Anthem’ taking the prized spot as the number one repeater. At that point, I started to understand why I felt so passionately about Holcombe. Somehow, he had managed to fuse Van Morrison’s lyrical delivery, with a touch of Gospel soul, and cradled that within the airy melodic landscape suited to the The Smiths.
In the UK music scene, the city of Glasgow is the stuff of legend. Considered by many to be a Mecca for discovering new talent, it possesses one of the most vibrant music scenes in the world. Texas, Primal Scream, Snow Patrol, Oasis, Simple Minds, Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Young Marble Giants, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and the eponymous, Glasvegas—are all in some way or another indebted to the city for their success.
The reasoning behind its flourishing musical environment is simple. Marred by consistently rainy weather, an industrial past that left deep class divisions, and a cultural regeneration unparalleled in Europe in the 1990s – Glasgow has all of the signature trademarks of a city like Seattle or New York. It is no wonder then that the artists who live, breathe, and play in Glasgow, are propelled by a spirited urgency.
Something odd has been happening to me as of late, no, I haven’t managed to achieve those 6-pack abs I have always dreamed of. Instead, I have been especially inclined to romantic music – pumping away on the treadmill, with Dolly Parton quietly playing away on my Ipod. Now before you turn your nose up at me, let me profess that I might be the victim of an especially profound ‘crush,’ which is the motivation behind my newfound fixation with all things maudlin.
To commemorate this event, I thought it would be fitting to rundown some of the most ‘moving’ songs out there…ones that will break your heart, others that will help mend it, and one or two that might just help you win the affections of that unrequited love of yours.
Please do leave your own suggestions in the comments section, and rest assured, projectile vomiting is permitted, so long as you don’t expect me to clean up the mess afterward.
Everybody Here Wants You by Jeff Buckley
There is something transcendental about this song, one of Buckley’s posthumous releases. His voice builds from a simmer and reaches towards the brink of climax, only to return to a hushed silence. His performance is intrinsic to the quiet longing over an unrequited love. Indeed, he professes, “everybody here thinks they want you,” “thinks they need you,” “but I will be waiting right here to show you,” “how our love can rise just like embers.”
Although bold lyrically, the listener is aware from Buckley’s tentative vocals that he has yet to muster the courage to tell that woman just how much he ‘wants’ her – little does he realize that he may very well have missed his chance.
Sirqus Alfon’s production, like many Fringe shows, defies categorization. Melding acrobatics, slapstick physical humour, along with hyperrealist dance tunes, and the technological lingo usually reserved for computer game aficionados, Eurotrash is a bustling and joyous feast for the senses. From the get go, the four spandex clad musicians from Sweden manage to have us enraptured by their awe inspiring spectacle. Utilizing their eccentric personalities as a starting point for drama and physical tension, these performers weave an infectious spell of unbridled insanity into the crowd.
Let us put aside for a moment, the media hoopla that has surrounded Courtney Love over the last 15 or so years, hard as that may be, and let us consider some of the bold musical splendour on display in her band, Hole’s, first label outing,Pretty on the Inside.
From the very first song, Love who leads the band with her lacerating tongue yelps, that “when she was a teenage whore”, how her mother confronted her, to which, she responded that she “wanted it” because “she was so alone”—in turn, forcing riot grrls everywhere, to question the relationship between youth, abuse, and sexual practice.
Political satire is one of those strange breeds of narrative work, which audiences often approach with a degree of caution. Luckily for us, former if.comedy winner Tom Basden has penned an accessible, humour-filled take on the genre that manages to reveal a nuanced argument about political hypocrisy, whilst also maintaining an effortless sketch show-like experience.
Programme Notes: The Godfather (2009 Re-Release)
Nearly 40 years after its initial release, The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) will return to UK cinemas, in a brand new restored and remastered version. Considered by many to be a masterpiece, the picture is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed films of all time. Winner of 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the movie also currently sits at number 2 on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)’s list of the 250 greatest films of all time. Its success on this particular register, which is collated from votes by public and industry members across the globe, is a testament to the film’s timeless success, and its continued relevance.
The narrative begins in a darkened room, during the lavish wedding of Godfather, Don Vito Corleone’s daughter. From the very first beats the tension is palpable; Marlon Brando in his most iconic turn, sits in his chair stroking a cat, while a despairing father sits pleading for his daughter’s redemption. Already, the viewer is mesmerized by this enclosed world, where the possibilities of power, wealth and violence all seem to fall hand in hand.
At the same time, it is the emphasis on maintaining this intricately ‘closed world’ that allows the audience to relate to characters who are, essentially, evil. Coppola’s universe exists by its own set of rules. As such, the characters in the story aren’t delineated by violence or aggression, but by lust, greed or love, and yearning or a desire for respect. In other wards, Coppola takes Mario Puzo’s epic story as a blueprint, using it to emphasise the humanity behind the Mafia, allowing us to feel sympathy for the players.
Read On…
Glasgow Film Theatre, 2009
No Comments » | Sunday, September 27th, 2009
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