not your grandmother's opera

my job kicks ass. i love my job. i'm excited by my job.

being in the arts and entertainment industry, not only do i get challenged while having a whole whack of fun in a creative environment, but i am fortunate to have the skinny on all the uber-exciting up and coming music news before most people. in some instances, at the germination/rumour mill stage.

there is a quiet revolution going on in the world of opera right now. i liken it to a pressure cooker. inextricable heat building up, steam pressurizing, the water bubbling up, reaching the boiling point and one day soon, the gasket will blow and the lid will fly across the room. quick, duck!

and so, music artists that the average fan would never think to foray into the world of opera, classical music and the orchestral scoring of films are doing just that. i applaud this growth in the development of any artist. they're taking the helm and crossing boundaries, venturing into perhaps, unfamiliar landscape and bringing with them a fresh eye, original thinking and modern innovation to an otherwise traditional and conservative art-form.

a perfect example of this is the collaboration between blur's damon albarn (LOVE him!) and artist jamie hewlett (of tank girl fame), bringing forth the successful virtual band, gorillaz. adding a third to the mix is director chen shi-zheng and together the trio conceived of the opera, monkey: journey to the west. albarn was commissioned by the city of manchester to compose the score, hewitt designed the costumes and the set and chen directed this adaptation of the famous chinese legend, "the monkey king". this opera featuring singers, acrobats and martial artists has been critically acclaimed and sold out everywhere its played.


www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com



had i not had my london/paris trip the following week, i would've hopped on a plane to catch this show at the spoleta festival in south carolina. unlucky a second time, this opera played a limited 4 day engagement at the roh in london, after i came back from my trip. *bummer* such is the timing.

musicians are also taking to scoring movie soundtracks and doing it splendidly. i remember listening to pop will eat itself in the early 90s and i was wonderfully surprised when i found out that clint mansell of pwei composed all the music on the darren aronofsky film, the fountain, a now favourite soundtrack of mine. a highly accomplished composer, mansell also scored the movies pi, smokin' aces and requiem for a dream, with that most amazing song, "lux aeterna."



then there's radiohead's enigmatic guitarist, jonny greenwood, who composed the highly charged, intimidating and sketchy soundtrack for the daniel day lewis' movie, there will be blood. i'm so looking forward to seeing him and radiohead at ubc thunderbird stadium next month.



and now i hear that my favourite band in the whole world, interpol's very own, carlos d. will be joining the ranks as an aspiring film composer. he's already written, produced and scored a short film called, golgotha, which can be viewed on his website, www.carlosdengler.com. very exciting!


(photo by mattbooy)

sidebar: i had about a dozen celebrity run-ins when i was in new york but carlos d. was my favourite, leaving me completely tongue-tied and feeling quite the teeny bopper fan. yes, he's really is that tall, yes, he's really is that stylish and yes, he's really is that charming.

other artists throwing their hats into the ring are:
01. the matrix trilogy's composer don davis' and his rio de sange, commissioned by florentine opera company
02. rufus wainwright's prima donna, commissioned by new york's metropolitan opera and debuting at the manchester international festival in 2009.

also, in an effort to be accessible and to attract younger audiences, movies we're all familiar with have been, are currently or will be performed as an opera around the world:

01. david lynch's lost highway
02. david cronenberg's the fly and scored by howard shore (of the lord of the rings trilogy fame)
03. lars von trier's dancer in the dark, which starred bjork, will debut at the royal danish theatre in 2010
04. al gore's an inconvenient truth and directed by william friedkin, of the exorcist fame, coming 2011
05. brokeback mountain at new york city opera for 2013

opera, classical music and movie soundtracks are where it's at! whether or not all these new works soar or tank is irrelevant. the fact that these maverick artists have the courage to challenge themselves and set about being a trailblazer in a new genre is applaudable in its own right. for me, they earn even more of my respect and admiration and i can't wait to see how they grow even more as artists.

so go on, expand your mind with other art forms and musical genres. get out of that comfort zone and "feel" outside the box. you won't regret it.

like audrey hepburn once said...

"i was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."

oh.my.willard.

to leave or not to leave the cinema (in the midst of watching a movie)? that is the question...

this was the topic of conversation on 2 separate occasions this week and my answer to that is...just get your good self out of watching such crappiness. et voila

as i get older, i find time an even more precious commodity and since you can't get it back ever, it should not be squandered. so yes, rather than punish yourself so that you can rest in the knowledge that you know what the end outcome of the movie is, i say, cut your losses and do something that would not make you want to bleach your eyes out and scrub your brains down because of what you were just visually assaulted with on the big screen.

yes, these are strong words but i guess it's partly my own fault. i had such high expectations that not only was i let down, but i was completely weirded out. and this coming from someone who has appreciation for the unconventional and for the eccentric.

for the longest time, i thought crispin glover was the cat's me-ow. i mean, who hasn't rooted for george mcfly to get his happy ending in "back to the future?" he also proved he's one to watch in "the river's edge" and even carried an indie/cult movie all by himself as the misfit in both "bartleby" and "willard". i do love my odd-balls and underdogs! and come on, the creepy thin man battling it out with charlie's angels in the chinatown alley? he was uber-cool! and surprisingly spry too!



so when it was announced that he would be bringing his touring slide show presentation, along with his directorial debut movie, "what is it?" to pacific cinematheque, (i missed him the first time around in new york), i could not wait. first hour was crispin glover narrating about 8 of his books, illustrated along side the slide show. i was sitting about 10 rows directly in front of him, where he was up on the stage. i sat there, amazed thinking, "wow, i can't believe that's crispin glover up there." he finished reading his somewhat convoluted books, introduced the movie and told all the fans that there would be a Q&A session and book signing afterwards.

how i feel about modern art sometimes? that i don't get it or that i just simply don't like it can be applied to this surreal movie. i can't begin to go into the many things about the movie that just perturbed me to no end. and it wasn't due to the cast of mostly downs syndrome actors. rather it was the filming itself, the eerie and tinny sound, the many occasions a snail was killed either by being smashed or salted on, the naked woman wearing an animal mask doing an unmentionable act on a over the hill naked man resting in a make-shift oyster bed, a close-up of a preying mantis being devoured by a army of red ants after it feasts on the blood of one of the protagonist and lastly an actor in blackface, injecting his face with freshly killed snail goo.

unfortunately, my awesome seat (4 seats from left aisle) turned out to be a hindrance. it prevented me from leaving the movie sooner than i would've liked. i didn't want to be rude and walk out too early or disturb the other seated fans, so i stayed for 40 excruciating minutes, before i said, okay, enough is enough. my breaking point? the fear sinking in that this may not be a short film, but may turn out to be 90 minutes in length. or more.

i say, yay for creative expression and everybody doing your own thing, but this is one crazy train i can't get on board with.

*sigh*

it seems that i've been riveted this whole time by crispin glover the actor, when he's starring in someone else's movie. i will still continue to watch his upcoming movies. he will still gets points from me for being a scene stealer. i still think he's always stylishly dressed, on and off the screen. and yes, even after the bizarreness of tonight, i still think crispin glover is the cat's whiskers.

blame it all on the mcfly...hook, line and sinker.

i guess that "i'm your density" speech got me good.

george mcfly: lorraine, my density has bought me to you.
lorraine baines: what?
george mcfly: oh, what I meant to say was...
lorraine baines: wait a minute, don't i know you from somewhere?
george mcfly: yes. yes. i'm george, george mcfly. i'm your density. i mean... your destiny.

favourites #1

everybody has something they're passionate about. besides traveling, i think the other thing that i refuse to live without is: music. i remember when i was in elementary school, i would take my mum's pocket transistor radio and fall asleep listening to it, under my pillow. i don't remember a time in my life where there hasn't been any music.

what is it about certain music genres one intrinsically gravitates and latches on to? whereas my brother grew up listening to hip hop and rap, you couldn't tear me away from listening to britpop, indie and electronica. decades later, nothing's changed. i personally believe it's encoded in my dna. music is literally my addiction and i am still that girl with the earphones in her ears, from walkman, to discman to 40gb ipod.

so today begins the start of my "favourites" blogs.



one of my beyond favourite artist is richard ashcroft. despite his band, the verve's, meteoric success due to the world popular song, "bittersweet symphony", i didn't come to love him until the verve broke up. in fact, i wasn't fantatical about "bittersweet symphony", probably because it sampled so recognizably the rolling stones' "the last time". and i just don't dig on songs that sample so obviously. rather, i was more impressed with the verve's "sonnet" and "the drugs don't work".

richard ashcroft's first solo effort brought forth, what i think is a nearly flawless release, "alone with everybody". this album is one of my all-time favourites and i never tire of listening to it. buh-rill-liant. and although not surpassing his debut, his follow-ups, "human conditions" and "keys to the world" are still enjoyable. the man knows how to write music. his perfectly penned songs are inspirational and humble, especially on his first cd, which is an open ended love letter to his wife. and any man who openly and sincerely proclaims love for his wife and new born son is admirable in my books. and he goes one further by including pictures of his devotion to her in the cd liner notebook.



i've always had a weakness for sweeping orchestral strings and arrangements, jangly guitars, and layered vocals in a song, crescendoing into an epic and captivating melody and "alone" delivered that in spades. my favourites are "c'mon people", "i get my beat", "a song for the lovers", "you on my mind in my sleep" and "brave new world". his other album favourites include "science of silence", "buy it in bottles" and "man on a mission".





i count myself lucky to have scored a ticket to see him at webster hall in new york; his only solo performance in the states in 2006. i remember the energy rippling throughout the crowd, at this sold out show, was palpable. he was charismatic, riveting and intense. a total rock n' roll icon. and i can honestly say, that is one of the handful of concerts that i was mesmerized by. (the other new york gigs being: interpol, jesus and mary chain, echo and the bunnymen and placebo)

now that richard ashcroft has re-formed with the verve and released the single, "love is noise", i find that i CAN NOT get this song out of my head. total and utter euphoria. i love this song. i love this video.


The Verve - Love Is Noise (Xvid) by Innocence-1992

all that's left now is to wait patiently for the verve to come tour this side of the world.

mini-me

good lord, i hadn't set foot in a mall in years. seriously. that's how much love i have for the suburban mall. and i wouldn't go to the mall for anyone. except if that person was so flippin' cute that there was no way on earth i could ever say no. that person is of course, my 19 month niece.

to be clear, my first choice was to take her out to the park; somewhere where she could just run around, appreciating nature. but apparently, grandmom and dad trumps the aunt when it comes to hot, bright, sunny days which they did not want to expose her to for too much. so air-conditioned, fluorescent lighted, cheesy MOR top 40 adult contemporary songed, teenaged and family-filled mall on a weekend it is.

course, a child's idea of heaven is the toys 'r' us store. and as we were coming down on the escalator, we could hardly keep squirmy mcsquirm in our arms as she recognized what was looming in front of us. like a toy that's been wound up, we set her down and watched her excitedly tear down the corridor, squealing with delight and running jerkily, like only toddlers can.

once past the doors, she had to have her balloon on a stick to hold onto. not one to have her attention held for long, she ran down the aisles looking for something that she'd like to play with.

and this was where i knew this kidlet was MY niece. forsaken any dolls, blocks, light sabers or swimming noodles, all she only wanted was to climb inside a miniature car. as i put her in the car, i was beaming with an immense sense of pride. the apple does not fall far from the tree. kidlet takes after her aunt. i have a feeling she's going to take to traveling like white on rice, when she grows up.



actually, anything that can make her move made her face light up; more than any of the stuffed animals, rubber balls or candies that she got from those coin operated machines. the act of putting in a quarter and twisting the knob and having the booty slide out under the slot was more fun than the goodies itself. instant gratification. along with a touch of ADD.

but the real joy was the kiddies ride and moving carousel just outside the door, which had her begging to be put on the ride. and like automatons, us adults stood there, feeding these 2 minute rides the $2 charge, just to keep this little 'un happy. luckily, my brother otherwise known as my niece's personal bank machine (for she knows exactly which pocket to hit up for loonies, toonies and quarters) carries change for such occasions.

i had such joy watching her play, that i would've broken all the bills i had on me into loose change just so i could live vicariously through her for the day and bring flooding back the memories of my own childhood. to live in the moment without regretting the past or worrying about the future, now that is worth more than any currency on the planet.

lust for life

on the recommendations of peggy and chris, i watched "into the wild" the other night. the movie is based on the non-fiction book by jon krakauer and is produced, written and directed by sean penn.

emile hirsch is amazing in the role as chris mccandless, who is severely disillusioned by modern society and walks away from it all. he gives up all life's trappings, cuts off all contact with his family and goes off to pursue adventures, penniless and without any id. he feels the answer to his happiness lies in being alone, fending for himself and living off the land in the wilderness of alaska. throughout his 2 1/2 year journey, he meets an array of eccentric characters, but nobody can sway him from his mission and no one can hold his attention nor affections for long.



to say that this movie is powerful is an understatement. a movie about action and consequence, it's beautifully acted, wonderfully shot and powerfully scored. i'm so not a pearl jam or eddie veddar fan, but i loved veddar's songs in here.

a couple of days later, "into the wild" and the story of the real chris mccandless is still resonating within me.

now there were parts of the movie that i really enjoyed, namely idealism, freedom, the open road, meeting people and having new experiences. but here's where the road forks. whereas mccandless desired absolute freedom, forsaking all material objects and familial ties, i could never ever walk away from the people who loves me and have shaped me. to want to be in complete isolation from human contact is an unfathomable concept to me and something i can't and don't want any part of. i don't need a journey of self-discovery to know this. freedom is a love of mine because on the other end of the scale, it is balanced with the knowledge that there is someone i belong to. and after having "escapades", i can come back and share these adventures with family or friends. i may go off on my own for a bit but it is not in my nature to shun people.

and as chris' journey unfolds in the movie, i think he learned this lesson in the end, when he writes, "happiness only real when shared."

it doesn't matter if after watching this movie, you see him as a revered hero or as a young man with some major issues. because as with any complex human being, he's both. we're all paradoxes and that's what makes this movie so identifiable.

this movie reminded me of a time after high school when i was obsessed with the beat poets and writers. i devoured bios of jack kerouac and allen ginsberg and stories from the lesser known beats, gregory corso and lawrence ferlinghetti. but my favourite beat bio is carolyn cassady's "off the road: my years with cassady, kerouac and ginsberg".

although kerouac was the cause celebre of the beat generation, i found kerouac's best friend, neal cassady much more fascinating. and it wasn't because i share the same birthdate as him. in fact, it turns out that i share the same birthdate with the 2 larger than life males i was obsessed with growing up. (the other one being the original rebel, james dean) and i didn't know of this until after i started collecting their biographies. purely coincidental and a bonus surprise. to say it happened not one time, but twice, must mean there is something about them i share an affinity for or identify with. kindred spirits. strange. but then again, things like this happen to me. all the time.

known as the holy goof, cassady was the real life inspiration for the character of dean moriarty in "on the road" and was the catalyst between many of the beats; although he, himself, was not a writer. cassady's life was colourful, to say the least. possessing a hustler's instinct, he stole 500 cars to go joy-riding by the time he was 21. just for the sheer hell of it. he was a member of the infamous merry pranksters, driving cross-country, in a psychedelic painted school bus, to be later chronicled in the book, "the electric kool-aid acid test." he was an avid user of hallucinogenic drugs. cassady became increasingly more nomadic in his later years, jumping train cars to travel between america and mexico. cassady was found in a coma along a railroad track and died just days before his 42nd birthday.

what started as devil-may-care and reckless adventures for non-conformists chris mccandless and neal cassady (and james dean) would ultimately culminate into sad and tragic loss. it got me wondering that one has to have something stable that you can and want to come back to after one's visits up in the stratosphere; for this is the thing that would keep you sane. but because of them pushing the envelope to the extreme, they leave behind a legacy that will continue to make such an indelible mark on us mere mortals; empowering us with their courage to live life to the fullest. and at the same time, learning from them that we are more than ourselves in this life; we are responsible for and responsible to other people.


addendum: i just googled chris mccandless' bio and like cassady, dean and me, he's also an aquarius. like attracts like. whoa.

little miss elusive

i love those children's "mr" and "little miss" books by roger hargreaves.

i even gave them away as "just for no reason" gifts to friends whom i thought the title fit them to a tee. little miss scatterbrain, little miss tiny, little miss chatterbox, little miss trouble, mr tall and mr grumpy - you know who you are!

i was little miss busy. everyone thought so and truth be told, i knew i was.

what is little miss busy's story?

"Little Miss Busy is always busy. When she's not cleaning the house, she's shopping, and when she's not shopping she's gardening, and when she's not gardening she's cooking. She never stops! One day she gets sick, and the doctor tells her to do nothing and rest, but that makes her unhappy. Other characters stop by to suggest cures, but none work. Finally, Mr. Nonsense suggests she take a vacation. Little Miss Busy likes the idea because she could do lots of planning and packing."

i'm multi-tasker extraordinaire - expertly adept at juggling the many balls and plates and flaming torches and keeping them all in the air. pursuing my myriad kicky and offbeat fancies while circulating amongst friends in wonderland. work, school, social time, one on one time, alone time...throw it at me. all of it. all at once, even. what would derail some people and send them to the funny farm just makes me thrive more.

that is why i have a passion for learning and traveling. what else could engage and stimulate me mentally, emotionally, spiritually and creatively? i've come back from my trip whereupon i was going non-stop from morning until late night, day after day. so much to see in london and paris, so much to do and so much to experience. and now that i got back, it 's all feel like it's come to an abrupt stop and that's kind of jarring for me. stagnation is indeed an enemy of mine.

but worse yet, i've been feeling rather, little miss elusive.

not to be misunderstood, this new moniker doesn't pertain to me being elusive to others. au contraire, i'm always reachable and ever ready to go. i love getting together with friends, regardless if it's getting a call at the ungodly hour of 4 in the morning or finding my way to them even if they're located in shangri-la. (cabin fever, leading to stir-crazyness is also another enemy of mine)

nope, it feels that despite all my enviable adventures in traveling of late, i'm the one who's missing something/one fierce. this pervasive and unshakeable feeling has nothing to do with work life or family life. all that is great and fine as it is. it is also, not the post vacation blues.

rather, it's the wanting and wishing to be around the person that would always brings out the lopsided and goofy smile to your face.

there sits within me this void that waits to be filled. this unbearable and morose feeling going way beyond waiting anxiously or rather, angst-sely.

and so, as i wait, i can only sit on my imaginary ledge, head tilted to the right, biting on my lower lip, swinging my legs and trying to enjoy the view.

waiting.

for what's the use of racking up "air miles" worth of life's adventures if you don't have someone to share it with?

happy canada day!

i think i'm finally over the jetlag. but woke up today after 5 hours of sleep. so not me. we'll see if this trend continues.

pictures and flickr weblink are now posted.

here's a great summer road-tripping video from goldfrapp called 'caravan girl'. i love this video because:

01. it appeals to my skate betty when i was younger
02. i'll always be up for road-tripping


Goldfrapp - caravan girl clip by chicethautaine