Kazhes pierakstu burtnīca

Once again Austrians dissapoint me. The title of the book promised that it would be a football-story, something I would find it quite easy to enjoy. Yet it proved to be misleading. Bloch is a fellow who was a football goalie once but who is a monteur nowadays and who gets sacked from his work. So he just goes arround, doing nothing in particular, nobody really cares about him anymore. He tries to make contact to people he used to know but they don`t have interest for Bloch anymore. So he strangles a woman without any reason, goes to a town near the border where nobody needs him as well. The main morale of the novel is found at the end of the book when Bloch watches a game of football and the trick for a goalie to be successful is shown - you have to remain calm and make the striker shoot the ball into your hands when he`s taking a penalty shot. Peter Handke didn`t hit the goal with me, I would rather say that he shoots like Oleg Blagonadezhdin (a Latvian playe most notorious for hitting pigeons more often than hitting the goal).

Manā pazīšanās ar Deiva Grola grupu "Foo Fighters" šis albūms gluži, kā arī tas atbilst hronoloģijai, bija otrai. Žēl tikai, ka kā pirmo es neklausījos grupas debijas ierakstu, bet pēc "Color and Shape" iznākušo "Nothing left to lose". Patiesībā es gan nezinu, kāpēc lai man tā būtu žēl, bet pareizi tas noteikti nav.

Jāņa Einfelda Cūku grāmata manā plauktā mitinās nu savus gadus 8-9 noteikti un esmu arī iepriekš to lasījis, tomēr vienmēr ir interesanti novērtēt, kā ir mainījusies mana attieksme pret to vai citu mākslas darbu.

I wonder why "Jesus H Christ" is the only record I`ve written about in this factoid. Considering myself quite a fan I don`t find this normal so this situation is going to be changed. And a brand new album from the Chumba camp is the perfect occasion to do just that. "A singalong and a scrap" is yet another record where the former punky anarchists use folk music as a weapon targetting their goals. If you didn`t know that they are a bunch of anarchists you`d never guess. You`d probably never know that the beautiful romantic "When Alexander met Emma" is a song about a couple of anarchists who wanted to asassinate the president of the US. "Fade Away" is another beautiful song, which sounds a bit like sober "Pogues" without Shane McGowan. "Bella Ciao" is done acapella without the bombastic feel of a live performance. When I heard it first I didn`t like it at all but after repeated listens I found out that what I first thought to be a failure may be an improvement after all. The opening "Laughter in a time of war" is also quite good. Heck, I like this record! And it`s not only because I like the message - I enjoy the performance even without it! This may not be a breathtaking experience, it doesn`t expand your mind and it doesn`t strike you instantely as a genius piece of music but it`s very solid and I like it, as I already said.

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:

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