(no subject)
'lo all- caught you in the spotlight, loved the idea! ^ ^ Obscure books, movies, and music are definitely my thing, and I'm so glad there's a comm for discussing them. I'll lj-cut the rest of my entry, seeing as we'll probably get a jump in members and I'd rather not take up a lot of space...
Books
Anyone here read Jeff VanderMeer? I love his books. Those I've read are as follows:
-Veniss Underground
Dark fantasy of a sort. It's rather difficult to explain otherwise, so I'll give you the blurb from the back cover: 'In his debut novel, literary alchemist Jeff VanderMeer takes us on an unforgettable journey, a triumph of the imagination that reveals the magical and mysterious city of Veniss through three intertwined voices.
First Nicholas, a would-be Living Artist, seeks to escape his demons in the shadowy underground- but in doing so makes a deal with the devil himself. In her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. And finally, haunted by Nicola's sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola's lover, embarks on a mythic journey to the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city to bring his love back to light. There he will find wonders beyond imagining... and horrors greater than the heart can bear.'
-City of Saints and Madmen
More dark fantasy. This is a 'mosaic novel-' a collection of short stories and novellas that are all about a certain city, called Ambergris. These are fantastic stories deal with the lives of certain inhabitants of the city((including the strange, mushroom-like creatures called gray caps)) and all sorts of odd and mysterious goings on in Ambergris.
-Shriek: An Afterword
A novel about Duncan Shriek and his sister Janice. They are characters from the novel mentioned above. Janice narrates, though her brother interjects at times, quite unbeknownst to her... He is a historian obsessed with the gray caps and eventually disappears, leaving Janice to write about his life and sudden vanishing act. ((I'd tell more, but I'm quite afraid I'd give too much away...))
At the moment, those are the only books I'll mention- I'd love to know if anyone else out there has read/heard of these.
Movies
Only one worth mentioning here for now- Has anyone seen...
-Der Himmel über Berlin known in English as Wings of Desire
Beautiful, captivating German film. Directed by Wim Wenders. It won the prize for Best Direction at Cannes in 1987. Set in Berlin, in the late 1980s, the movie follows two angels, Damiel and Cassial, through the city as they trail and observe mortals, whose thoughts they are able to hear. Damiel finds a yong woman, a trapeze artist named Marion, and, though he is unable to interact with her, he begins to fall in love with her. A subplot follows Peter Falk, who plays himself- he has come to Berlin to film a movie, and seems to be able to sense Damiel when he is around. Damiel eventually becomes human to be with Marion.
I adore this movie, truly. It captures many moods- longing especially. I can't even describe the profound feeling of wonder that takes one over after watching it.
Musicals
An odd category, I know, but I'm fairly obsessed with Sweeney Todd, and so must add it. I'll be simply delighted if you've seen it...
-Sweeney Todd
A dark comedy, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It opened on Broadway in 1979. I'm personally a fan of the version with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in the leads, which was the original Broadway production. I think I'll summarize with the lyrics from the opening ballad:
'Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few have trod,
Did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'He kept a shop in London town,
Of fancy clients and good renown.
And what if none of their souls were saved?
They went to their maker impeccably shaved
By Sweeney,
By Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'Swing your razor wide, Sweeney!
Hold it to the skies!
Freely flows the blood of those
Who moralize!
'His needs were few, his room was bare:
A lavabo and a fancy chair,
A mug of suds and a leather strop,
An apron, a towel, a pail and a mop.
For neatness he deserves a nod,
Does Sweeney Todd,
'The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean 'e was.
Back of his smile, under his word,
Sweeney heard music that nobody heard.
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned,
Like a perfect machine 'e planned.
Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle.
'Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle.
Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean 'e was,
Like a perfect machine 'e was,
Was Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeney!
'Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
He served a dark and a vengeful god.
'What happened then - well, that's the play,
And he wouldn't want us to give it away,
Not Sweeney,
Not Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.'
And obviously, I wouldn't want to give the play away either, would I? Not at the chance of having my throat slit in the night by the demon barber. ^ ^
Anyhow, a movie has been made. Limited release in December, wide in January. Directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. Those of you who know the musical are probably wondering about the vocal capablities of these stars, and all I can say is that no one really knows what they sound like yet. Reportedly, the entire cast did their own singing. We shall see, I suppose. I'm a bit nervous, to see what they've done with it, but excited nonetheless.
I guess I'll leave it at that for now; I've been rambling quite a bit and suddenly realized how late it is. Cheers!
Books
Anyone here read Jeff VanderMeer? I love his books. Those I've read are as follows:
-Veniss Underground
Dark fantasy of a sort. It's rather difficult to explain otherwise, so I'll give you the blurb from the back cover: 'In his debut novel, literary alchemist Jeff VanderMeer takes us on an unforgettable journey, a triumph of the imagination that reveals the magical and mysterious city of Veniss through three intertwined voices.
First Nicholas, a would-be Living Artist, seeks to escape his demons in the shadowy underground- but in doing so makes a deal with the devil himself. In her fevered search for him, his twin sister, Nicola, spins her own unusual and hypnotic tale as she discovers the hidden secrets of the city. And finally, haunted by Nicola's sudden, mysterious disappearance and gripped by despair, Shadrach, Nicola's lover, embarks on a mythic journey to the nightmarish levels deep beneath the surface of the city to bring his love back to light. There he will find wonders beyond imagining... and horrors greater than the heart can bear.'
-City of Saints and Madmen
More dark fantasy. This is a 'mosaic novel-' a collection of short stories and novellas that are all about a certain city, called Ambergris. These are fantastic stories deal with the lives of certain inhabitants of the city((including the strange, mushroom-like creatures called gray caps)) and all sorts of odd and mysterious goings on in Ambergris.
-Shriek: An Afterword
A novel about Duncan Shriek and his sister Janice. They are characters from the novel mentioned above. Janice narrates, though her brother interjects at times, quite unbeknownst to her... He is a historian obsessed with the gray caps and eventually disappears, leaving Janice to write about his life and sudden vanishing act. ((I'd tell more, but I'm quite afraid I'd give too much away...))
At the moment, those are the only books I'll mention- I'd love to know if anyone else out there has read/heard of these.
Movies
Only one worth mentioning here for now- Has anyone seen...
-Der Himmel über Berlin known in English as Wings of Desire
Beautiful, captivating German film. Directed by Wim Wenders. It won the prize for Best Direction at Cannes in 1987. Set in Berlin, in the late 1980s, the movie follows two angels, Damiel and Cassial, through the city as they trail and observe mortals, whose thoughts they are able to hear. Damiel finds a yong woman, a trapeze artist named Marion, and, though he is unable to interact with her, he begins to fall in love with her. A subplot follows Peter Falk, who plays himself- he has come to Berlin to film a movie, and seems to be able to sense Damiel when he is around. Damiel eventually becomes human to be with Marion.
I adore this movie, truly. It captures many moods- longing especially. I can't even describe the profound feeling of wonder that takes one over after watching it.
Musicals
An odd category, I know, but I'm fairly obsessed with Sweeney Todd, and so must add it. I'll be simply delighted if you've seen it...
-Sweeney Todd
A dark comedy, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It opened on Broadway in 1979. I'm personally a fan of the version with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in the leads, which was the original Broadway production. I think I'll summarize with the lyrics from the opening ballad:
'Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few have trod,
Did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'He kept a shop in London town,
Of fancy clients and good renown.
And what if none of their souls were saved?
They went to their maker impeccably shaved
By Sweeney,
By Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'Swing your razor wide, Sweeney!
Hold it to the skies!
Freely flows the blood of those
Who moralize!
'His needs were few, his room was bare:
A lavabo and a fancy chair,
A mug of suds and a leather strop,
An apron, a towel, a pail and a mop.
For neatness he deserves a nod,
Does Sweeney Todd,
'The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
'Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean 'e was.
Back of his smile, under his word,
Sweeney heard music that nobody heard.
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned,
Like a perfect machine 'e planned.
Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle.
'Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle.
Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean 'e was,
Like a perfect machine 'e was,
Was Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeney!
'Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
He served a dark and a vengeful god.
'What happened then - well, that's the play,
And he wouldn't want us to give it away,
Not Sweeney,
Not Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.'
And obviously, I wouldn't want to give the play away either, would I? Not at the chance of having my throat slit in the night by the demon barber. ^ ^
Anyhow, a movie has been made. Limited release in December, wide in January. Directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. Those of you who know the musical are probably wondering about the vocal capablities of these stars, and all I can say is that no one really knows what they sound like yet. Reportedly, the entire cast did their own singing. We shall see, I suppose. I'm a bit nervous, to see what they've done with it, but excited nonetheless.
I guess I'll leave it at that for now; I've been rambling quite a bit and suddenly realized how late it is. Cheers!