Kazhes pierakstu burtnīca

Šo ierakstu es veltu Mānim, kuram radies priekšstats, ka es klausos gandrīz tikai un vienīgi sliktu mūziku.

Ēriks Kleptons un B.B.Kings vienā kopīgā albūmā - wow! Divi izcili blūzisti, katrs no savas "skolas", apvieno spēkus, lai radītu kaut ko nebijušu! Divi veci vīri izlēmuši sapurināt vecās spalvas un parādīt, ka pulveris viņu mucās vēl nav izbeidzies! Patiešām īsts brauciens kopā ar karali!

I never heard who this Grosek character was before I bought this book and I still don`t know too much about him. But there`s one thing I sure about - and it`s that "Restauration of a Dinner" is one of the best books I`ve read in quite a long time. What genre is it? Basically it`s over-the-top comedy, full of things that`s bound to make you laugh even if you`re a snobby and arrogant punk like me. There`s a detective somewhere inside it - about the weird death of Mr. Shkreta in Janka`s bath. Then there`s the mysterious writer Jiri Heller who apparantly doesn`t exist. Or does he? Then there`s Irena. Then there`s the writer himself. There are descriptions of different lands and cultures, lots of episodes that don`t have nothing in common. Until the ending you don`t know how anything relates to anything else, but in the end the picture is quite clear. And the mystery is so comical, that I don`t even know how to write about it. It`s prime genius, man, and you don`t have to be a genius to understand that. If you don`t appreciate this, you`re no friend of mine. If you don`t care - that`s ok with me. But if you`re lonely, if you have a depression - Mr. Grosek has the right cure for you, mate.

If this record were made some 30 years ago I`d have no doubt that Ozzy is a British singer. He comes from Manchester after all, doesn`t he? But nowadays mr. Osbourne is an American, he does reality TV, he cusses in the American manner and drugs have completely killed the few braincells he ever had. Probably it`s the reason for his new album with covers of brilliant songs. All songs overgo the typical Ozzy treatment and they sound as if they were just silly songs done by an old and weak drug addict. How can a man like him try to sing "In My life" or John Lennon`s "Woman" considering that Ozzy is the best example of a singer that can`t do gentle material, is a question worth asking for sure. Some of the songs work quite well - like Arthur Brown`s "Fire", others don`t. A hard rock version done by Ozzy of "All the young dudes" is a real laugh. I guess a former dark prince isn`t the most appropriate person to sing a song about crossdressing people. I can`t imagine anyone less gay than Ozzy. Not that I consider him particulary macho or anything like that - he`s too dead to be a sex god anyway. One more thing that I don`t understand is why he had to mess with "21st century scizoid man". Prog-rock and Ozzy? It`s not the most matching couple. But as a friend of mine said - the record is funny. Who cares wheter Ozzy wanted it to be?

Nu gan vienreiz es varu teikt - nē, es neklausos tikai sliktu mūziku! Lai nu kas, bet King Crimson debijas albūms ir godam pelnījis savu vietiņu laikmeta ievērojamāko mūzikas ierakstu panteonā. Patiesībā tas to būtu pelnījis pat tad,ja šajā albūmā būtu tikai tā pirmā dziesma - "21st Century Schizoid Man", kas savam žanram pietiekami nelielā laikā atklāj gandrīz visu, uz ko ir spējīgs progresīvais roks un varbūt pat vairāk. Roberta Fripa maniakālās izdarības ar ģitāru nāk no tās pašas kastes, no kuras nāca "Cream" un Džimijs Hendrikss, caur megafonu vai kaut ko tamlīdzīgu modificētā paranoju uzdzenošā Grega Leika balss uzbur visai nepatīkamu laikmeta vīziju, kamēr Īans Makdonalds ar savu fenomenālo saksofona soliņu paver gluži jaunus apvāršņus. Dziesmas gandrīz apokalptisko apmēru vēl tikai paplašina Pītera Sinfelda drausmīgo attēlu pārņemtā dzjea ar tādām rindām kā:

Uzreiz šeit vajadzētu pāris piebildes. Pirmkārt, pēc maniem kritērijiem "Gals un sākums" būtu jāsauc par Krievijas un nevis Latvijas literāro darbu, jo, kā zināms, 1912.gadā Latvija kā valsts vēl neeksistēja. Tāpat alternatīvi es varētu pieskaitīt to Šveices literatūrai, jo, kā nekā, tajā laikā Rainis un Aspazija dzīvoja Šveicē. Tomēr reāli ņemot, ir skaidrs, ka neviens krievs neuzskatīs šo darbu par savas tautas kultūras mantojuma daļa (un šveicietis - tāpat), galvenokārt tāpēc, ka viņš vienkārši par tāda eksistenci nezinās. Salīdzinājumam padomju laika latviešu filmas var uzskatīt par padomju produktu, jo tās vismaz kaut kādā mērā bija paredzētas plašākajam tirgum, kamēr "Gals un sākums" 100% ir latviešu tautai adresēts darbs.

I`m not a particular fan of mafia films. I don`t really know why but I never cared too much for "the family". I`m not particulary interested in people wearing striped suits and posh shoes who call each other either Tommy or Sonny. But "Donnie Brasco" is considered quite a cool mafia movie. And you can probably guess the reasons quite easily - after all it`s got Al Pacino and Johnny Depp sharing the time on screen. Yet I`m not a big fan Al either - he`s too much of a mafia films actor for me to be interested in his work. Johnny Depp is kinda cool, a bit too dreamy maybe but that`s ok. Anyhow Donnie Brasco (Depp) is an undercover cop in the lower levels of mafia where he gets befriended with Lefty (Pacino). Soon Donnie finds out that being in the mob ain`t that bad and he becomes addicted to it, thus almost destroying his own marriage. In the end he gets "rescued" by the cops and the bad guys get sentenced. It may be warm, heartfelt or whatever else but I still have little interest in what the mobsters do.

Pirms "Breaking and Entering" skatīšanās mani bija pārņēmusi zināma skepse filmu jautājumos. Un nebūtu te par ko brīnīties - sestdienas vakarā iecerētais filmu skatīšanās pasākums pie Bū un Daces nebūtu nosaucams par manis kā filmu piedāvātāja virsotni. Vispirms sākām skatīties brāļu Koenu "The Man Who Wasn`t There", taču publikas (maigi izsakoties) zemās intereses dēļ tai atmetām ar roku, tāpat mēs neredzējām daudz no "Breakfast on Pluto", kur pie vainas bija īru ne īpaši skaidrā angļu valoda. Līdz ar to vakars tika pavadīts televīzijas atmosfērā.

Brīdinu - šis apraksts būs ļoti īss un konspektīvs.

In here you can find all the novels about the worlds greatest detective. Three of them I had already read or seen on TV (but never in English), while the fourth one wasn`t that good. "The Valley of Fear", "The Sign of the Four", "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles".