Didn’t I tell you that Lola’s katana won’t stay in its cabinet for long? Well, it depends what one means for “long”. Five years including pandemic could be
an awfully long time. By 2023, Lola was back with the first part of Katanazo. In the 2026 follow-up, the sword was finally used to Lola’s (and my) satisfaction.
Katanazo is perhaps the darkest of Lola Vendetta comics. First introduced in Una Habitación Propia, Death, God and Pepito the dog return to provide much-needed comic relief. No spoilers but look for those QR codes!
In 1962, when she was 16, Martha Coolidge was date raped by an older student of the same high school. Recreating the circumstances of the director’s ordeal, this 1976 docudrama is, just as its name suggests, not a pretty picture. Molly Haskell wrote in 2024:
Given the rise in reported incidents of rape and the omnipresence of the subject across social media in the intervening years, you’d think Not a Pretty Picture would have lost its power to shock. It hasn’t. Coolidge’s seminal film is a fascinating window onto another time, one that we would like to think of as kinder and gentler, but alas, Not a Pretty Picture also seems horribly contemporary, shudder-inducing in its relevance...
So it is. Michele Manenti, herself a rape survivor, plays Martha at 16. Jim Carrington is scarily convincing as Curly the rapist. But there’s light too. Lot of it is provided by Martha’s best friend, Anne Mundstuk, as herself.
To me, this 1945 movie — the first cinematic adaptation of the classic novel — was not as much a mystery, let alone film noir, as a (black) comedy. According to Wikipedia, this is what René Clair wanted to make all along. Jolly good fun throughout.
The film is full of familiar faces; alas, I couldn’t recall where exactly I saw them.
ARTE France reached out to Preciado in hopes of producing a documentary focused on his work as a philosopher. Preciado rejected the idea and instead jokingly suggested that the film should be an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography in an attempt to shut down the conversation. To his surprise, ARTE France agreed and asked Preciado to make the film.
And good thing they did. The film is neither a documentary nor adaptation nor, despite the name, biography, but a process, metamorphosis, transition — like those of the film’s many intelligent, charming, and funny protagonists. And yes, it’s political. Enough said. Watch it. Enjoy it.
Some stuff that I saw in Vitoria, Santander, Torrelavega and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
9 May: «Cenizas de Oro» @ Centro Cívico Langraiz-Oka, Tres de Marzo Parkea, 1, Nanclares de la Oca / Langraiz Oka
A comedy by the amateur theatre group No Me Claves Tus Puñales. Not exactly free as €2 donation (for an NGO to be determined) was requested, but quite worth it.
15 May: Cantabria en Corto 2025 @ Filmoteca de Cantabria Mario Camus, Calle Bonifaz, 6, Santander
The programme included Relato del niño que estuvo allí by Sergio Ruiz García; Solo es cuestión de tiempo by Carlos Martínez Pérez; “Solo los muertos se quedan by Alejandro Renedo; Una playa by Juan Carlos Cabañas Soto and Luis Paredes; Instrucciones para quedarse by Caque Trueba; and Wounded Light by Abril Catalina Beascoechea.
Organised by Escuela de Arte Roberto Orallo (Puente San Miguel, Cantabria), this annual event allows the students of the school to present and market the work created during their training. The highlight was a concert of Cantabrian rock band The Haze.
24 May: Ajódar Poetry Jazz @ Sala Faro, Calle Concejal Manuel Rodríguez Costas, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The only event of the Deriva Jazz Timur and I attended. We were not impressed. Ajódar Duo, whose members did not bother to introduce themselves, played some jazz (badly) and recited some poetry (worse). On the brighter note, we have discovered a new venue in just a five-minute walk from us.
28 May: «Tiempo de Zafra» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
La Banda Sinfónica de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria featuring Domingo Luis Rodríguez Oramas “El Colorao” on timple and voices of Tania Gil and Pedro Manuel Afonso. The concert included a performance of Zafra, a work for timple and symphony orchestra composed by Laura Vega.
And exhibitions:
7—31 May: «Color, memoria y gesto» @ Sala de Exposiciones Mauro Muriedas, Calle Pedro Alonso Revuelta, 5, Torrelavega
Works by Débora Regalado and Alejandro Mesurado.
8 May — 5 July: «Wetlands» @ El Palacete del Embarcadero, Muelle de Calderón, Santander
The only record of Peter Gabriel I ever owned on vinyl was manufactured in the USSR and entitled simply «Питер Гейбриэл» (apparently, they weren’t so sure how to translate So to Russian, and the spelling «Гейбриэл» must have looked innocent back then).
I also had a curious double compilation album Greenpeace Breakthrough (1989) which included the So opener «Красный дождь» (Red Rain). I completely forgot that, in addition to Peter Gabriel (now as Питер Гэбриэл), it featured Sting, Grateful Dead (Грейтфул Дэд), Sade (Шаде) and Dire Straits (Дайер Стрейтс)!
About the same time, I first spotted Sledgehammer and Big Time music videos on 2×2, the first commercial TV channel in the USSR. Man I was impressed.
The covers of the So songs abound. I love Sledgehammer by Morgan James...
But nobody makes Peter Gabriel covers better than Gabriel himself, with a little help from his friends. My favourite So re-interpretations are Don’t Give Up as a duet with Tracy Chapman...
...and In Your Eyes with Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo and Soweto Gospel Choir.
If I had to choose one record from not-that-large Rainbow’s discography, that would be Rising. (Sorry, Difficult to Cure, my first Rainbow love.) I still remember the first time I read about this album («Радуга восходит») in the tremendously popular Soviet magazine Ровесник:
Наверное, это лучшая пластинка Ричи Блэкмора до сих пор. Не то чтобы она содержала какие-нибудь музыкальные откровения (единственное, возможно, исключение — «Старгейзер»; Блэкмор говорит, что первоначально написал ее как пьесу для виолончели). Главное достоинство диска — необыкновенная мощь и динамизм. Образно говоря, он сделан в нокаутирующем стиле, вполне достойном страшного костистого кулака, изображенного на обложке. «Мы записывали этот альбом около десяти месяцев, и у меня нет причин быть им недовольным», — сухо заметил Блэкмор по поводу успеха пластинки.
Even then I couldn’t agree with the author of this publication. What did he mean saying “not that it contained any musical revelations”? Even without Stargazer — oh blasphemy! — there are enough revelations for a dozen of rock albums.
Rising is one of those albums that are best on vinyl. Why? Because there are two sides, that’s why. The epic Stargazer is not the fifth track — it’s the first track on Side B. You can’t really listen to it properly just after Do You Close Your Eyes. You have to flip the record, and, better still, use the intermission to refill your cup/mug/glass. And then, when A Light in the Black is done, flip it back to Side A (refill the cup etc.) and listen to Tarot Woman — another epic. Also, as it is the case of In the Court of the Crimson King, the cover art it totally worth it. That fist, it has to be that big. If I ever own a turntable again, Rising and ITCOTKC will have to come with it.
So far, I didn’t hear any Rising song cover that would beat the original. Still, there are some good ones. My favourite Stargazers are that by Cincinnati Vampires featuring vocals of Melody Cristea and fantastic Kalonica Nicx on drums, and another one by Contra Bass, a kids band from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. It’s nice to see young people playing decent music.
