Elsewhere, 2/8

The Host

If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get your butt on over the official website for The Host, the box-office breaking monster movie from South Korea. I saw the movie at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and it truly rocks in a most righteous way (my review over at Twitch).

I realize I’ve probably written more than my fair share about the music of July Skies, but then I listen to something like Where The Days Go, and I want to write some more. But this time, I’ll just redirect you to this interview with Antony Harding from November 2006: “I dearly hope The Weather Clock will offer an opportunity to escape these modern times, to shut the eyes for a short while and to recall or picture a Britain that is lost, or never really happened.”

Why rock critics need to re-read Lester Bangs — and Pope John Paul II: “Despite the beauty and power of much popular music, the critics have become a cross between Holden Caulfield and a taxidermist. They talk about themselves, then set to work labeling the genres, subgenres and sub-subgenres the work involves — all without broaching any broader themes.”

Wired on the political aspects of Pan’s Labyrinth (contains spoilers): “What’s satisfying about this film is its insistence that true resistance to despotism must always be political. Ofelia’s fantasies are more than merely escapist because they allow her to find political allies.” It’s definitely an interesting article, but I think that focusing only on a political reading misses much of the film’s true power, and I don’t agree at all with the writer’s conclusions concerning the fantasy aspects (as do a lot of the commenters).

Add two more records to the “Must Buy” list: Feist’s The Reminder and Calla’s Strength In Numbers.

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