Essential September

Essential viewing this September:
- Steven Soderbergh's two films about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara didn't last long in the theatres, but might even be better off served as a double bill DVD, because you'll want to stay fresh throughout both as there is much to appreciate. Quite surprisingly, it works perfect as a history lesson as well as a solid piece of cinematic entertainment. Where Part I shows Guevara addressing the UN accompanied by flashbacks of his battles against Cuban dictatorship, Part II moves more slowly, just like the man himself, through the Bolivian jungle. The result is a wonderful journey. More poetic than political, more moving than lecturing and with a towering performance from Benicio del Toro.
- This September sees two classics return to American television screens. First up is Curb Your Enthusiasm. Having reached season seven it is still razor sharp, deliciously politically incorrect and with more laugh out loud moments than any other comedy series at the moment. Larry David is slowly becoming this decade's savior of American comedy.
- The other pleasant return comes from David Duchovny and Californication. The new season has just kicked off stateside and the first two episodes show it has remained fresh into its now third year. Nicely set up with a new turn of events, the writing is phenomenal and features the best dialogue around. With the main characters now firmly settled in, it allows for even more outrageous spectacle. And Duchovny is using anything available to him in seeing to that his Hank Moody is loudly casting a shadow over Fox Mulder on his way to becoming the leading man's new signature creation.

Essential listening this September:
- Pearl Jam end their three year silence with Backspacer. The new album comes as a nice surprise after some rather anonymous releases. Still proud to sport the sound of Seattle grunge, there are also more low-key and tuned down performances among the eleven tracks on the record. A straightforward and stripped down old rock album, which is always welcome on my stereo.
- After the break-up with her band The Licks, Juliette Lewis is now out on her own. But not to worry, she has found help in the competent hands of The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez Lopez and proves in fact that she still knows best. The result is a mixture of tracks, some fast some slow, but the overall impression is that there is more heart on display here than on her previous two albums. Filled with energy, anger and pain Lewis is a breath of fresh air among other glossy and company shaped artists. As she screms in the albums title track Terra Incognita "You gotta love what you live and give what you love before you get it back."
- Danish Baby Woodrose has almost become a veteran in the circles of scandinavian rock music. Their sixth album, simply titled Baby Woodrose is a return to the psychedelic tunes of their last outing "Chasing Rainbows", but there is also plenty of classic style rock tracks. Their sound has grown unique over the years and it is a joy to observe these self chosen outcasts who are more than happy to play in their own corner of the sandbox. To be played loud and in good company.

Mirror Discovery

The other morning I knocked my foot into the doorstep on my way to the bathroom. Overwhelmed with pain, I bit my teeth together in order to stop myself from waking the neighbours with the worst pieces of profanity they would have ever heard. That’s when it happened. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw something quite disturbing. As I was clinching my teeth together, a small number of peculiar lines were coming out in my skin on both sides of my face, just out of the corners of my eyes. I had never noticed them before. They also seemed to appear just as strong when I smiled. It was truly strange.
Later I asked a friend what he thought they might be. Rather uninterested he replied; “They’re wrinkles.” Still confused, I returned home and got out an old dusted down dictionary. “Wrinkles... wrinkles... wrinkles” I whispered to myself while anxiously flipping the pages. And there it was... "Wrinkles; a small furrow or crease in the skin, esp. of the face, as from aging or frowning.” Both intrigued and uneasy I remember what I had seen in the mirror. It happened when I was frowning, sure. But also when I smiled or simply clinched my teeth...

I had a birthday last week.

"No Sleep"

drawn to the light and
killed by the heat
drowning in excess with
expectations to meet
another language
i can not understand
smoke too thick to find the
talent beneath the ground

broken politics and
years of more negotiating
wake up to this dear
a temporary way of living
fear is on the right side
someone drive the getaway car
if ready to listen
to a stringless guitar

it can only cover so much
your electric rain
all is for nothing and
not all is to gain
fight to keep all the
salted wounds tended
there is no need to know
just how it all ended

no sleep 'til morning
no sleep tonight

Interview With A Navaho

A few years ago while attending the European Film College in Denmark, a large group of students were assigned to work on a project that would become a one hour TV programme. The show would be aired on Danish television and the topic of the show was the idea of "time". The title was "It's About Time" and it would feature sketches, musical segments and panel discussions on the topic of "time". A committee was established to decide and select what was to be screened on the show.
After learning from somewhere a fascinating fact about how the Navaho Indian tribes do not believe in the idea of time, a friend and I pitched an idea to the committee about one of these Indians going on an American talkshow.
For some reason it was not selected to be part of the programme.