New acquisition. 🙂
One book: Mundiales - A South American History of the World Cup by Mark Biram/Tim Vickery.
I received this book for my birthday. It is a history of every single world cup from the perspective of South American teams. I usually support SA sides at the world cup, and I've enjoyed Vickery's journalism on SA football, so I'm looking forward to reading this.
I thought that I might stop writing essays altogether and solely write novels/stories, since some people don't find them as interesting. However, I have had vague ideas for essays swirling through my head these past years, so I thought that I'd write Volume Three. I have not even started work on the first one, but I have created the cover as well as the table of contents.
1. Jimmy Carter and Deontology
2. 1815-1848 and 1945-2022: Peace and Social Discontent
3. Crumb and The Red Shoes: Art as Redemption
4. The Sublime in the Cinema of Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Herzog and Malick
5. Totalitarianism in The Trial
6. Social Isolation in Notes from the Underground and Nausea
7. Political Exile in the Creative Arts
8. Emancipation of the Slaves: The Messenian Helots and the Slaves of St. Domingue
New acquisitions. 🙂
Two records: Ice Cream for Crow by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band and The Other Side of Dudley Moore by The Dudley Moore Trio.
This is Captain Beefheart's last album before he retired from music. I'd seen it at a record store for about three months, but its £30 price tag put me off buying it, since it's a relatively minor part of his discography. However, I decided to buy it, since I've always enjoyed this album, even if it's not his best. It does have some filler on it, but it also has some very inspired moments. I also own most of his discography on vinyl after buying this (minus Mirror Man, Strictly Personal and the two 1974 releases).
Derek and Clive has brought endless joy to me for a long time. Dudley Moore was a member of this obscene duo alongside Peter Cook. Moore, who came from a disadvantaged background, studied music at Oxford. Although he was classically trained, he enjoyed playing jazz and this is a jazz album. Indeed, he initially wanted to be a musician, but he drifted into comedy after appearing on Beyond the Fringe. He subsequently scaled some lofty heights by becoming a Hollywood superstar. Anyway, I'm glad that I encountered this record.
New acquisitions. 🙂
Six CDs: Daughters of the Lonesome Isle by John Cage/Margaret Leng Ten, The Art of the Theremin by Clara Rockmore, Four Classic Albums by Dexter Gordon, Original Album Series by Jean-Luc Ponty, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division and Closer by Joy Division.
New acquisition. 🙂
One book: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue by Vida T. Johnson and Graham Petrie
I really wanted to read a biography about Andrei Tarkovsky. I searched online, but it seems that this book doesn't exist. I was mainly interested in reading about how he made his films in the Soviet Union. He often clashed with the authorities because his films were often incommensurable with Soviet aesthetics. They were perceived as being too personal and 'bourgeois' and their opaque dreamlike visuals did not conform to socialist realist propaganda. Their slow pace was perceived as elitist and not as approachable for the masses. His Orthodox Christian faith was also an affront to materialist Soviet dogma. Indeed, his films are very mystical, which displeased the Soviet authorities.
Anyway, I really wanted to read a biography which detailed how he made each of his films and how he clashed with Soviet censors. I found this book which, whilst containing some biographical information, is mainly comprised of film criticism. Academic film/literary criticism can be a bit dry and boring, but I'll read this anyway. Hopefully someone will write a nice biography about him one day.
