No Earthly Connection

by Rick Wakeman and The English Rock Ensemble

It is a great shame that, for an artist as talented and prolific as Wakeman, so few of his solo efforts are actually worth listening to. No Earthly Connection is one of these few; musically, probably his best album. Years ago, I had it on the tape (for the record, its other “side” was occupied by Criminal Record).

This Japanese paper sleeve CD looks exactly like the 1970s vinyl (although it’s way more expensive). It even has a square bit of mirror plastic that you are supposed to roll into a cylinder and look at the sleeve as shown here. Magic!

Super Bass Solo Technique

by Victor Wooten

The electric bass legend Victor Wooten definitely has super bass solo technique, but I guess you wouldn’t be able to pick much of it from this DVD. As a lesson it is next to useless if you are anywhere below advanced level. To be precise, Wooten demonstrates two techniques: double-thump slapping and two-hand tapping, both of which I hope to master one day, but I guess I can find better material on YouTube.

Musically, it’s top-notch stuff, and the backing band are amazing, especially Victor’s brother Regi who apparently is doing double-thumping on his guitar. I’d love to see more of that; however, the camera is focusing on Victor most of the time. The video was shot back in early 1990s, which explains the low-resolution picture and strange angles.

Rango

a film by Gore Verbinski

An enjoyable, if rather predictable film (that we just watched in Saffron Sreen). Johnny Depp is voicing a typical Johnny Depp character. Rango even looks a bit like Victor from Corpse Bride. My favourite scenes invariably include the four-piece Mariachi band. Especially the one where they go electric.

The Anonymous Novel. Sensing the Future Torments

by Alessandro Barbero
trenslated by Allan Cameron

Written in Italian as Romanzo russo. Fiutando i futuri supplizi and translated into English by Allan Cameron, it does read as if Bulgakov authored it. (Mind you, I am not the only one who noticed that. Look no further than the caption on the cover, which I kept ignoring until today.) Also, the book’s very appearance is that of samizdat. The action begins in Moscow on 7 November 1987. (How remarkable, I thought, I remember all too well what I was doing on that very day.) The events develop in the course of the next three years in Moscow and Baku. At one point, we follow the heroes to the Krasnaya Presnya bath house. (Insert here my memories of that place back then. No, I don’t miss those times or places. Actually I do a bit, safe in the knowledge that I am not going back. Shudder.) Authentic. (Authentic? Yes, authentic.) Gripping. Well-crafted. (Insert more clichés here.) Thoroughly recommended.

It’s time we left the Yugo-Zapadny district and went to the Lenin Library. We’ll take the underground, of course. The end of the line is right here — just a short walk away. Why not take the same carriage as Tanya. Here she is seated in a corner: a chubby, well-built girl with a bagful of textbooks and notebooks on her knees... What was that? No, you cannot sit beside her. The train is packed at this time of day; it is her good fortune that she managed to find a place. However, we can get inside her head and listen to her thoughts. This is no problem from a technical point of view, and if we don’t exploit this possibility to the full, what the hell are we doing here?

Fado Tradicional

by Mariza

I’ve never been a big fan of fado as a genre. I find its over-the-top drama and affectation incredibly annoying. And if there was a single fadista who has managed to annoy me even more than any traditional fado singer, that would be Mariza. It is true that she is constantly pushing the boundaries of fado — to the degree of complete unbearability. (I like her hair though.)

Her latest album, however, pleasantly surprised me. No strings here, thank goodness. Here she is accompanied “only” by the guitar trio (Ângelo Freire, Diogo Clemente and José Marino de Freitas: my respect), so her voice is given plenty of space. Several up-tempo songs, such as wonderful Dona Rosa, provide a welcome change from the standard “oh, this pain of mine” fare. The drama is still there but now Mariza sounds more in control of her emotions. Last but not least: at only 35 minutes, it is over before it starts feeling samey. OK I have to admit: I loved it.

Songlines places Fado Tradicional “in a class all of its own”. I wouldn’t know that — I’d have to listen for some more fado first and I am still not convinced I really want to.

Сантехник, его кот, жена и другие подробности

by Слава Сэ

Some people think that blogging is intrinsically inferior to the Big Literature™. Well. The plumber, his cat, his wife and other details is a testament to the fact that a good blog can be published as a best-selling book. On good paper. And I was thinking there was no humourous Russian literature anymore.

У Ляли в попе дырка. Это ужас. В молодости её не было. Но вчера Ляля выросла и пошла мыть попу сама. И нашла в себе ужасную новость. Раньше-то хорошо жилось с весёлой, а главное, целой попой. Форма, цвет, аромат, звучание — всё было безупречно. Персики считали этот зад лучшим среди себя и старались подражать во всём. И вдруг, в самом центре датского королевства находится дырка, тревожная, как свист в ночи. Lyalya’s bottom got a hole in it. What a horror. There was no such thing in her youth. But yesterday, Lyalya grew up and went to wash her bottom all by herself. And discovered the terrible news. Before, what a good life it was, with a cheerful and, most importantly, intact bottom. The shape, the colour, the aroma, the sound — everything was perfect. Among themselves, peaches thought this arse was the best and strived to imitate it in all things. Then, all of a sudden, bang in the middle of the State of Denmark, there was a hole, alarming as a whistle in the night.

Urban Gypsy

by Shukar Collective

What a band! With founding members named Napoleon Constantin, Tamango and Clasic, the greatness is guaranteed, don’t you think? Just wait till you hear the music. At sixty-five minutes, Urban Gypsy could be a tad long to listen in one go, but hey, there always is a pause button.