dear music

"SLEEPWALKS IN THE GARDEN OF THE DEADROOM"

finally found the folk guitar maverick Kevin Barker's own website! http://home.earthlink.net/~kb8000/frames.html

happened by chance when i surfed www.myspace.com/vetiverse, a link from the band "Vetiver" s website (www.vetiverse.com). there are discography, products and photos. products include self-taught guitar instructional videos of him playing his songs.
I knew about him from 'Comes with a Smile' (http://cwas.hinah.com/) music mag which just ceases production ( :[ ) There was an interview and a sample track in one of the later issues. His name is often mentioned together with the neo-folk movement singer-songwriters like Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, Espers and Josephine Foster. His guitar magic in Vetiver's album and in a Devendra's favourites compilation 'Golden Apples of the Sun' turns me into his fan.

here's an abstract from the 'tracknfield' site that carries his 'Ghost on First' album available in mar 2006:

"Kevin Barker (Currituck Co) doesn't hide his reverence for folk, vintage Americana and traditional bluegrass. More importantly, he doesn't hide behind it. Currituck Co harnesses John Fahey's method and Gram Parsons' melodies as well as Ron Sexsmith's blunt confessionalism and the subtle acoustic-pop musings of Elliott Smith. By employing quirky arrangements, Barker tempers the silky staccato of steel guitars and banjo plucking, updating the sounds and souls of his forebears to make sense to the kids today. You're not supposed to mess with tradition, but sometimes good stuff happens when you do.

Kevin is a regular collaborator with Devendra Banhart and touring associate of Drag City’s folk darling, Joanna Newsom. He appears on Banhart’s ‘Arthur’ magazine compilation, "Golden Apples of the Sun" and even filmed Devendra during his US tour in the summer 2004 for a future DVD release. (!!!!!!!!!!)"

cool i cant wait to get devendra and friends' dvd.

sometimes i have a feeling like i got a lot of ideas and creative juices suppressed in my chest, and i need an outlet so much, to pour it all out in an explosive manner. outlets can be in the form of painting, drawing, phototaking, exploring places, buying albums etc. these few days there's an attack again, this time i want to doodle. so i went to buy a notebook and a marker and start illustrating.

been listening to belle and sebastian's new album "the life pursuit" and im pretty hooked! a lot of poppy tunes, more catchy than "dear catastrophe waitress" in my opinion, which both i much preferred than their earlier albums. life pursuit is produced by tony hoffer, almost all tracks can each stand alone as a single. catchy tunes, drums, basses and all. their tunes are generally poppy yet one differs much from the other. i can't figure out how they do that, which chord structures or patterns they alternately extract. i can't really recall each one specifically after so many songs heard.

the first song that caught me was "the blues are still blue", then i discovered superb electric guitar effects and backing vocals on "we are the sleepyheads". "sukie in the graveyard" 's non-stop blabbering of lyrics, tight structure and its finale trumpet drives me wild. "funny little frog" and "for the price of a cup of tea" are 2 other melodiously-strong tracks. "act of the apostle II" has 2 sections in a single track: first section a sexy light jazz number with an egoistical "im a genius, a prodigy", 2nd section moves into chirpy mood. last track "mornington crescent, is a bit of an anticlimax cos it reminds me of my school, but with such nolstalgic chord progression, i should say it is a nice closure for the album.

B&S are a bunch of prolific, sarcastic, lyrically-and-verbally-witty people. they are more than just pop and candy.


www.belleandsebastian.com
sample at amazon.com

new single out in apr 3rd! Including "The Life Pursuit".


check out their band tees at their band site too!

the 2nd part of the anti-america trilogy of Lars Von Trier (who directed the previous trilogy including Dancer in the Dark) was screened at this year's spore international filmfest. Manderlay continues the theatrical setting of Dogville, and film title adopting the name of small town again. It is not as explosive and shocking as Dogville, but i felt that it is more controlled and well-paced. less shaky frames too. i felt good after the film ended with the same closing song" Young American" (by david bowie). been some time since i felt this good after watching a film. it is a film which will generate discussions for quite a while.

http://www.manderlaythefilm.com/

http://www.dogvillemovie.com/

watched this film called Blue Velvet at arts house last fri, as part of the BIZARRE.
the film was directed in 1986 by the critically acclaimed director david lynch, starring isabella rosellini and dennis hopper(who won best supporting actor).
it was a wierd film of cut-off ear, kidnapping, S/M, psychosexual perversions and cliche literal candle flames and lion roars which signify the 'heat'. even wierder when the innocent girl in the film said "it's a strange world isn't it?" for at least 3 times.
cant help but burst into laughter with my friend after the show. it was a cult classic at the time, but when viewed now, with the costumes, sponge-like fringes and tacky dialogues, it was quite entertaining. like what my friend said, it was cheesy. nevertheless, we enjoyed it and that Blue Velvet song kept playing in my mind.

Blue Velvet
Vogue Music c/o The Welk Music Group (BMI)
She wore blue velvet ( with a distince 't' sound)
Bluer than velvet was the night
Softer than satin was the light
From the stars

She wore blue velvet
Bluer than velvet were her eyes
Warmer than May her tender sighs
Love was ours

Ours a love I held tightly
Feeling the rapture grow
Like a flame burning brightly
But when she left, gone was the glow of

Blue velvet
But in my heart there'll always be
Precious and warm, a memory
Through the years
And I still can see blue velvet
Through my tears

http://www.lynchnet.com/bv/

have juz finished this book by london journalist mick brown. he is a free-thinker, and with an inquisitive and skeptical journalist's mind, he set off for a spiritual adventure and discovery. on his odyssey, he met Sai Baba and witnessed the mysterious vibhuti which appeared on his portraits and things he had touched; London's Mr Creme, and his belief of the coming of Maitreya(all paths lead to the Maitreya); Dalai Lama and his reincarnations; Mother Meera and Madame Blavatsky, the Masters and Krishnamurti; the crosses of lights which were obvious reflections of street lamps, yet faithfully considered as signs of God.

the author is pretty much like me who's skeptical and non-committal. i agreed with him that strong faith is a mysterious force that makes everything plausible and in place. he finds it not so easy to turn to a man on a cross, nor to a man who wears afro hair and produces vibhuti. but the understated, quiet and meditative way of the buddhism seems more settling for him. he concluded that he believes in the Creation, that ultimately it is love that conquers all and binds all.

i agree.

martin parr's photos mesmerize you subtly like a cat's purr.

riceball recently had a 20% discount on photo artbooks for members. got my hand on this book of wonderful collection of photos taken by british photographer martin parr (curated by val williams). his photos reveal the conservativeness, idiosyncracies and consumerism of the british society, often in a humourous and bold way. he became a member of the magnum photos in 1994.

now a man in his 50s, he was academically very poor, not paying attention to books. however he did pretty good in art, and it helped that his grandfather was a member of the then prestigious photography society.

as a child, when on birdwatching trips at the sewage plants with his father, he observed the people in their environment with great curiosity. expressionless couples in restaurants, queer looking birds and humans, close-ups on food and faces. he does best putting together a series of photos which show the common absurdity of individuals in the same setting.










very inspiring.
http://www.nmpft.org.uk/martinparr/home.asp
www.martinparr.com

in 1972, he even came up with a boardgame of couple matching called Love Cubes, using his photos:
play it http://www.nmpft.org.uk/martinparr/game.asp

the annual photography event organised by NUS is here.

Workshops:
20 may, sat
Canon Digital Media Hub

Session 1 12-2pm : Darren Soh Developing a Vision in Photography
Session 2 3-5pm : Cedric Lim It's a Wrap
Session 3 5.30-6.30pm : John Cosgrove (complimentary) Integrating Tablet into Digital Workflow

$4 per session (Public)

Seminar:
3 June, sat
12-5.30pm
Suntec Theatre Level 2

Eddie Sung Rock Concert Photography
Geoff Ang Fashion Photography
Stefen Chow Extreme Photography

$12 (Public)

Competition:
Theme: Behind the Seen
Due 21 May

more details http://montage.sg

buy the tix now! heard they not selling at door this time.

will be joining the competition as well as bringing students to the workshops and seminars.