Progressive Rock

BBC 4 recently ran a program, Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements. I’ve been a sincerely devoted fan, I mean an avid collector, of progressive rock since the late eighties. In that respect I may have been born in the wrong era, but I was sure raised with this genuinely weird music: King Crimson, Yes, E.L.P. (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Genesis, Jethro Tull, Soft Machine, Egg, you name it! We skip the light fandango of Procul Harum, gather our psychedelia, our Beach Boys and Bach, Beethoven and Bartok, our Beat Boom and Weed and Jazz, and the crowd called out for more. And so it was that later, two weeks later, to be precise, that the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The late sixties were the germination period of the genre, mostly influenced by psychedelic rock (Pink Floyd, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the Nice, Tomorrow) and Jimi Hendrix.

The early seventies were the true classical era of progressive rock, when technical virtuosity combined with classical composition, when lyrics explored grand fantasy worlds, when chords revealed unheard harmonies and instruments displayed sounds never met before, when songs extended beyond ten minutes and time signatures shifted from 5/8 and 7/8 to 21 and 25, if you could keep up! This is the period of Close to the Edge and Nursery Cryme, Brain Salad Surgery and Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, and of course the ultimate prog rock send up Thick As a Brick (all ’72-73)! I really adore this kind of music, quaint and outdated as much of it will appear to unfamiliar ears. Perhaps it’s my attention-deficit disorder, my hyperactive mind, but this music engages me intellectually – and while this music may not be gratifying emotionally, prog rock gets me involved, amazes me, impresses me, and in the process transports me to wondrous worlds.

By the mid seventies things went over the top. Yes journeyed across Topographical Oceans with Tales that spanned entire album sides, four extended tracks on a double album. Genesis went all pomp and circumstance where the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Emerson, Lake & Palmer sought fame and fortune to Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends. (All 1974.) Then Queen came and brought the tune back. A Night At the Opera (1975), “Bohemian Rhapsody,” still progressive, still a lengthy three-part composition with the “opera” bit stuck in the middle, but it rocks and people all over the world can sing along with it, drunk or not. “Scaramouch, will you do the fandango?” And then Sex Pistols took a piss and brought three-minute rock back. No fills, no solos, three chords, and crap sound production. Never Mind the Bollocks (1977). “Prog” became a four letter word and it wasn’t until the mid-nineties that people here and there started whispering the term again. That’s not in the program, but it’s thanks to bands like Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Tool and Opeth that “progressive” is no longer a derogatory, dirty word. Thank heavens for small mercies!

City of Lost Children

If you’ve ever seen the movie City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus, 1995), you know that I’m talking about yet another surrealist dystopian nightmare, much like Delicatessen (which is basically by the same crew) or a Terry Gilliam film (such as Brazil or The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, as well as some odd similarities with Jellowbeard), or even a Wes Anderson flick (such as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). The main story is about mad genius Krank (“Sick”) who abducts children to steal their dreams, with the hope of reversing his accelerated aging because he himself cannot dream. And then there’s the carnival strongman (Ron Perlman), who – with the help of the streetwise orphan Miette (“Little Crumb”) – searches for his little brother who of course has been kidnapped by Krank’s henchmen. This is one of those crazy, weird, dark movies you have to be in the mood for. I thought the acting was a little lame, but the story poses interesting questions about the incredible ways coincidences and accidents add up to important events in life. Maybe you’d like to give this one a try.

Tudors 4x02

It’s the season to be merry at the Tudors’ court, and King Henry has not only invited his daughter Lady Mary, but also his recently divorced wife Anne of Cleves – all very awkward for her royal crumpet Catherine Howard (despite all the lavish presents). Lady Mary (an amazing Sarah Bolger) has grown to become a heroically stoic young woman much like her mother, Catherine of Aragon. She struggles to suffer silently all the queen’s spiteful jealousy. Queen Catherine does bond, however, with Anne (an awkward Jess Stone). The mindless chattering and cackling of the young Queen and her retinue is about as infuriating as watching Hugh Hefner’s latest girlfriends twit and tweet. Since her only education at Lambeth took place in the bedroom, it’s not surprising that she soon agrees to meet that boy Culpeper in her bedchamber. The lad had already been working his way up enjoying the loins of Lady Rochford, her majesty’s lady-in-waiting. While the king’s festering wound continues suppurating, he remains bent on provoking war somewhere, and sends a general to the North to harass James, King of Scots. Honestly, though, it’s all rather unexciting, I’m afraid...

Dexter 2x09

Let’s return now to the Miami Bay Harbor Butcher, better known as our dearly beloved Dexter. Suspecting that the serial killer is someone in law enforcement, special agent Lundy brought in FBI agents to investigate everyone in the homicide department. Sgt. Doakes found the collection of blood samples that Dexter keeps of all his victims. That relapsing psychopathic pyromaniac Lila is getting possessive and called the murderer of Dexter’s mother, just so that she could have another intimate moment with Dex... Dex himself had to leave his last victim behind to save Rita from a burglary. His last victim being that coke-dealing murderer of his mother, who recently tried to kill him. Luckily the man owned a cabin in the Everglades. To make life more complicated for him, Dex is being tailed by Feds everywhere he goes...

The bee hive at Miami Metro is humming with nervous activity. Everyone is anxious about catching the Bay Harbor Butcher ... and it seems Lundy has a suspect in his cross hairs! Late at night, Dex is brought into the office by the four Feds who have been following him. On the desk lies his own wooden box with the blood sample collection... What an incredibly smart plot twist! Since the box was found in Doakes’ car, and Doakes himself has left the country, he has become the prime suspect! So, with his twenty-four hour protective detail saving him from Doakes, Dex is finding it well-nigh impossible to depose of his last victim’s body... But he manages to slip out of his apartment and go to the cabin in the Everglades. It’s there that Doakes confronts him. They argue, they fight. Dex is able to knock him unconscious and lock him up inside the cabin. Oh, man, I hope you’re watching this show, because you’re missing out if you don’t! My goodness, it really is good!

Shameless - Series 1

A buddy of mine told me I should watch this British Chanel 4 comedy series Shameless. At first I had to get used to all the cursing, the vulgarities, the drunk talk, the stiffies, the quickies, and all the other frustrations of the British underclass. But then it dawned on me: shameless sex and drinks, that’s me! It’s about single-dad Frank Gallagher, his six kids and their friends: his daughter Fiona and her boyfriend Steve; his sons Philip and Ian; and his youngest kids crazy Carl, Debbie and Liam; and their neighbors Kevin and Veronica. Frank himself is a welfare-check (“giro”) cashing, good-for-nothing drunk, and is missing more often than not. Fiona is the bread winner in the family and responsible for raising her siblings. Her boyfriend Steve is a well-meaning middle-class whackjob of a car thief, who offers all the support Fiona needs, but she can’t seem to believe he’s for real. Ian is gay and has a relation with a married Muslim man, but is afraid to tell anyone, except this one girl who came on to him and then became his cover-up girlfriend.

Neighbor Kev asks his girlfriend of nine years, Veronica, to marry him, only because he told this girl who was pursuing him at the bar that he was getting married. Well, that, and to cash in on the money Vee’s deceased father left her. She also has a pyromaniac brother with Tourette’s syndrome. Then there’s lovely sex-starved Sheila (whose husband recently left her, and who suffers from so many phobias, she never leaves the house) and her delicious daughter Karen, who licks her spoon likes she’s having sex and who was briefly dating Lips, and then has an affair with Frank when he moved in with her mother Sheila... Quite a disturbing mother-daughter, father-son rectangulation... Shameless? Yes, certainly! Lots of hilarious comedy, profound drama, superb acting, excellent dialogue, compelling narratives. My warmest recommendation.

Extreme Metal

The Music Cricket says, “Let’s go extreme!” You know you’ll love it! For all you heavy metal maniacs I have a few suggestions, in case you haven’t been keeping up. In terms of extreme, technical metal, Nile is perhaps unsurpassable. I doubt they’ll ever be able improve on their pummeling classic Annihilation of the Wicked (2005), but after the disappointing Ithyphallic (2007), their latest effort, Those Whom the Gods Detest (2009), is a welcome return to form. Much of the lyrical inspiration comes from Egyptian mythology and to a lesser extent H. P. Lovecraft. For some misguided reason they often incorporate North African and Arabic musical instruments, per chance imagining the exotic sounds should evoke Egyptian antiquity, but who am I? Nevertheless, musically I continue to be pleasantly impressed by Nile’s sheer brutal velocity which is interspersed with more atmospheric passages.

What Nile is for Egyptian-themed technical death metal, Melechesh is for Mesopotamian-themed melodic black/death metal. The two albums I am familiar with, Sphynx (2004) and Emissaries (2006), are sure worth repeated listening. Like Nile, they incorporate Middle Eastern instruments, as well as harmonic scales and rhythmic patterns. Again, historically that makes little sense (the musical and lyrical inspiration derives from entirely different geographic, cultural and chronological backgrounds) ... but it makes for an interesting musical experience. On their own MySpace page they refer to their music as “Sumerian Thrashing Black Metal” (and parenthetically mention they are presently located in The Netherlands). Apart from the exotic elements, I can recognize some Kreator in their sound, and maybe Emperor, as far as thrash and black metal influences are concerned respectively. But I also hear some melodic metal in the vein of At the Gates, and there are progressive time changes and whirlwind riffs much like Nile.

If you appreciate your aural assault like an aerial atomic attack, you’ll absolutely adore Anaal Nathrakh (Old Irish: a'na:l naθ'raχ, “Serpent’s Breath” ... at least that’s what they say...), an industrial cyber-grindcore black metal band, replete with violent misanthropic nihilist eschatological doomsday prophecies, delivered in harsh shouts, screams, growls and grunts mixed with victorious clean singing. This is some of the best and most ominously aggressive noise I’ve ever heard! I’ve all their albums and find it difficult to pick a favorite, although Eschaton (2006) comes to mind, but their most recent In the Constellation of the Black Widow (2009) is amazing, too. Their songs have titles like “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen (The Rage of Hell Boils in My Heart),” “Blood Eagles Carved on the Backs of Innocents,” and “I Am the Wrath of Gods and the Desolation of the Earth”. Perfect music, too, for a one-night stand!

I’ve been a fan of Arsis since I first heard their earliest work. Now they’ve released their fourth full-length album, and I’m unsure what to make of it. Apart from the band’s name (it refers to the stressed syllable in poetic meter, but obviously sounds like something else), I find it difficult to take it seriously when the album is called Starve for the Devil (2010), and has song titles such as “Forced to Rock” and “Half Past Corpse O’ Clock”... C’mon, dude, you’re not Mötley Crüe! Their lyrics used to deal with loss, guilt, regret, resentment, and broken relations. Now this? I also miss the technically complex compositions. This new album is mostly lightning-fast shredding over unrelenting drum blasts, with a few melodic moments that are reminiscent of At the Gates or Arch Enemy... I’ll just go back to A Diamond for Disease (2005)...

A true favorite band of mine is called Nachtmystium (please pardon the barbaric neologism). Their latest effort, Assassins (2008), is what it would sound like if Pink Floyd went black metal. (I remember Glenn got a good laugh when I mentioned I was going to see Arsis at B.B. King’s. To which I replied that “Assassin” was a favorite word of mine.) Assassins runs the gamut from ambient to black metal, with psychedelic rock and progressive metal in between. It’s what Nachtmystium calls “black meddle” (referring to the Pink Floyd album Meddle). So, they offer rasping vocals over brutal drum blasts, shredding riffs like ritualistic troll dances on Walpurgis Night, heavy mid-tempo tunes, indulgently melodic guitar solos, atmospheric passages, and a three-part closing track that’s only metal because of the distorted guitars, but is otherwise an excellent exercise of bringing together all the various aforementioned elements! Get your hands on this one, please!

Horizon: The Human Mind

Let’s probe again into the human mind, with a recent installment of BBC Horizon, asking the question “What Makes a Genius?” Can science explain Shakespeare, Newton, Mozart, Einstein, Kasparov, The Beatles? Let’s pop open a cool brewsky and get some chips, this is going to be interesting! I thought that maybe we ought to start with defining what exactly a genius is, otherwise, you know, you’ll end up arguing over semantics... But the program failed in that respect. They use synonyms, such as “extreme talent,” “incredible intelligence,” and “uninhibited imagination.” Mostly, the program discusses intelligence, particularly with respect to mathematics. So there’s a lot of talk about how to measure intelligence, whether intelligence is genetically acquired, whether it depends on brain structure and/or brain patterns, or if it can be learned by anyone. Although interesting, ultimately much remains vague.

From watching mice in cages with manipulated genes we learn that the process of learning depends on the ability of making neurological connections that allow us to remember our experiences and implement the lesson in similar future events. Of course we all know about those ridiculous IQ tests kids have to go through these days – and how much they actually fail to predict anything. Patterns in our brain activity, however, seem to indicate a predisposition to certain talents. And then there are all those silly “Mozart for Baby Genius” CDs... That leads to unanswered questions about the importance of nurture, upbringing, the environment in which you grow up. And it’s only toward the end that we get a fascinating bit about creativity. Here we hear about our brain’s inhibitory and excitatory urges that help us include or exclude external stimuli, meaning that with a lower inhibitory and higher excitatory urge our brain processes more external stimuli which in turn increases our creativity. The show makes no mention of drugs, but I thought that’s exactly why many artists take drugs. I don’t know, should I complain? I’m a big fan of this program, but I feel that this installment was quite a disappointment.

Pan’s Labyrinth

A little while ago I finally saw Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno, 2006) by Guillermo del Torro (Blade, Hellboy), yet another dark fantasy film. I can’t say I know what to make of it... Much Ado about Nothing? It’s set during the Franquist repression in Spain at the end of the Second World War. A woman named Carmen travels with her young daughter Ofelia to her new husband, the Falangist Vidal. To escape her new life with this brutal military stepfather, and to escape the general violence in her war-torn country, Ofelia retreats into a fantasy in which she is a long-lost princess of the Underworld. A Faun in an overgrown labyrinth gives her three assignments to test if she really is the daughter of the King of the Underworld.

It’s true that the girl’s fantasy world (a reversed Platonic Cave allegory, if you will) contrasts poignantly with the horrors of the real world. Her pregnant mother grows increasingly ill. One of the servant maids who took the girl into her care turns out to be an agent of the guerrilla resistance. But other than as contrast with and escape from reality, Ofelia’s fantasy barely interacts with her real life. So the two stories mostly remain separate, neither one of them very compelling... Nor am I sure what to make of the names of the female characters: Carmen (the gypsy factory girl who seduces a soldier, only to fall in love with a bullfighter); Ofelia (Hamlet’s potential bride who met her untimely death)... How far am I to take the significance of their names? And does that mean that the girl’s fantasy is a death wish, suicidal ideation, a mortal hallucination? I can’t make sense of it all...

Tudors 4x01

The fourth and final season of The Tudors began this week. Jane Seymour died after giving King Henry VIII his much desired male heir. So he soon found himself another wife, Anne of Cleves, but thought her disagreeable, and so took up a mistress, Catherine Howard (first cousin of the king’s second wife Anne Boleyn). As soon as his never-consummated marriage with Anne is annulled he marries this young lass. (Remember that she wasn’t even 20 years old, while Henry was nearing 50!) This lovely temptress laid herself abed on petals of red roses, like a sweet crumpet with strawberry jam, whispering if his majesty wouldn’t come to bed. This childish queen frolics mindlessly around the palace, giggling and cackling, while the king develops a crazy giggle. With such a delicious piece of plump, buttery pastry dancing around court soon others crave to taste a little crumb – particularly that young royal servant Thomas Culpeper (honestly, that’s a real name), who goes about raping and killing to quench his thirst, as he puts it. Then there’s Catherine’s past about which she is very secretive (i.e., her affairs at the licentious Lambeth House, “puffing and blowing in the dark”) – the only real education she seemed to have received. Meanwhile, war with France is once more looming on the horizon. A nice start of the concluding part of King Henry’s reign, though not particularly gripping.

Dexter 2x08

So much is happening this season on Dexter! He’s been facing his demons, through his stint at Narcotics Anonymous, as if his compulsion to kill is a drug addiction. I’m almost starting to sympathize ... almost. His relation with Rita is falling to pieces while at the same time svelte Lila with the luscious lips is giving him unconditional support, not knowing she’s a pyromaniac freak who torched her own place just to keep Dexter close to her. Sgt. Doakes keeps sniffing around Dex, knowing that he’s hiding something, but just not knowing what. Deb is looking up to special agent Lundy as a surrogate father, but then has a crush on him, too, not knowing where it lead to, or what will happen after the serial killer’s case is closed. And all throughout the Miami homicide department is looking for the Bay Harbor Butcher, not knowing he’s none-other than our dearly beloved Dexter!

Lila is crashing at Dex’ place after her place burned down ... which could be fun ... except Deb’s still living there and none too happy about the British invasion. On his boys’ night out, Lila even joins Dex to the bowling alley, which is just a tad awkward. At the end of the night, Dex gets attacked by the man who killed his mother! It forces him to take matters into his own hands again and deal with this man in a way our old Dex knows so well. Right after sawing the murderer of his mother into pieces, Rita calls him because someone’s been in her house ... and only he has another key ... Well, we know it was actually psychopath Lila. Since they’re suspecting the serial killer to be somehow connected to Miami law enforcement, Lundy brought in a pack o’ suits to investigate the entire police force. Now everyone’s under suspicion... Deb and Angel are teaming up again, finding a clue that directly proves the killer is one of them. Meanwhile, though, Deb and Lundy are hooking up, which from the outside totally looks like she’s sleeping her way to the top and staying off the department’s radar. And did I mention that Doakes is inches closer and closer to finding out the darkest truth about Dexter? Man, this show is good!

Gossip Girl 3x18

Time for my weekly guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl, yay! And, oh, goodness, what a darkly dramatic episode it is this time! Despite the happy occasion of a wedding (of the Waldorf maidservant), everyone else seems to be having relationship issues! Yes, intrigue! Blair’s mother Eleanor Waldorf is incensed when she hears her husband Cyrus bought an apartment for her maidservant and her new hubby. Rufus Humphrey remains suspicious of his wife Lily, and finds out she isn’t at the spa she said she was going with her mother. Chuck and Blair hit rock bottom, he pleads her not to bail out on him, to see it through to the end, but she tells him this is the end... Eric has a hard time finding his cutie Eliot, who apparently is not gay for him ‘cause when he does show up he has a girlfriend ... unless ... wait ... yes, he’s bi! Nate and Serena are also on the rocks after he found out S has been seeing Carter behind his back (and lied about it); a situation Jenny immediately tries to use to her own advantage. We know, of course, that S continues looking for her father and for unknown reasons only Carter can help het with that. When S flies to Miami Beach, who does she find in the hotel room? Not her father ... but her mother Lily! Shocker!!!

Bob Seger

If you know his music at all, you probably know Bob Seger from his signature song “Old Time Rock & Roll.” Perhaps you are also familiar with mid-to-late-‘70s songs like “Betty Lou’s Getting’ Out Tonight,” “Night Moves,” “Nine Tonight,” “Turn the Page,” or his rendition of “Nutbush City Limits.” Let’s begin with the basics: Bob Seger is a hard rocking roots rocker hailing from Detroit who started his career in the Sixties. His debut album, Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (1968), combines rock ‘n’ roll, r&b, and hard rock with hints of experimental psychedelia (witness “White Hall”). I particularly like the stomping blues rock of “Black Eyed Girl.” The album also includes one of the earliest protest songs against the Vietnam War, the marvelous “2+2=?” (released as a single in Feb. ’68). There are also some dull acoustic ballads and country rock duds that I don’t much care for, though.

Most of Seger’s earliest albums are not available on CD, apparently because he is displeased with the result. So, it’s ironic that it’s exactly those albums I prefer... His sophomore effort, Noah (1969), still reveals some remnants of psychedelia, showcases a great title track, some supercharged stomps (“Innervenus Eyes”) and blues rockers (“Lonely Man”). There are a few nice tracks on Mongrel (1970), in the vein of Credence Clearwater Revival (like “Highway Child,” “Lucifer,” and “Teachin’ Blues”). The all-acoustic Brand New Morning (1971) leaves me cold. But then we come to the excellent Smokin’ O.P.’s, an album consisting mostly of covers (hence the pun, “smoking other people’s” cigarettes/tunes). Bo Diddley, Stephen Stills, Tim Harding, Leon Russel, Chuck Berry. Everyone who likes roots rock & roll should listen to this album!

Later, starting with Back in ’72 (1973), Seger recorded with the Alabama Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Who? The all-white session musicians who’ve worked with Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Wilson Picket, Johnnie Taylor, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, and the list goes on. J.J. Cale can also be heard on Back in ’72 (another album that has never been reissued on CD) that includes covers of “Midnight Rider” (Allman Brothers), and “I’ve been Workin’” (Van Morrison), plus the well-known originals “Rosalie” (itself covered by Thin Lizzy) and “Turn the Page.” Perhaps the most pleasant surprise in my recent acquaintance with Bob Seger’s early music was a bootleg recording I found of a radio broadcast of his live concert at Ebbet's Field in Denver, Colorado, on July 8, 1974. His next studio album, Seven (1974), still has a few good moments, but when he begins recording with the Silver Bullet Band my interest wanes. It gets too radio-friendly mainstream for me... Well, that’s what the Music Cricket thinks anyway.

Life: Reptiles & Amphibians

A week or two ago I mentioned the introductory episode of the new BBC nature documentary, Life, once more narrated by David Attenborough. The first proper episode concerns reptiles and amphibians. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the tiniest gecko walking on water without ever sinking; an inch-long pebble toad bouncing like a rubber ball off a rocky cliff when ambushed by a tarantula; a single South-African male bullfrogs digging a channel to save the entire tadpole population in the pool; a basilisk lizard skittering over the river water to avoid get caught by a buzzard; a female chameleon catching beetles with her tongue while looking for a mate in the Namib desert; thousands of male garter snakes competing over women; caimans trapped in pools of a vast Brazilian swamp. And when you’re talking about reptiles, you’re obviously going to talk about Komodo dragons – the largest reptiles in existence. Just how marvelous this show is we learn when we witness a group hunt of these dragons, felling a water buffalo with their venomous bite – a hunt never before captured on film. Need I urge you to check this out? No, I don’t.

Dark City

Dark City (1998) is another one of those noir postmodern dystopian futuristic science fiction films. It’s directed by Alex Proyas who also did The Crow and I, Robot. We get a stellar cast that includes William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connolly, Ian Richardson, and Rufus Sewell in the lead. We’re also treated with cinematic references to Metropolis, M, Nosferatu, The Twilight Zone, Blade Runner, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and even his short The Crimson Permanent Assurance, not to mention the Rocky Horror Show and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. There are literary references to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” to Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, and Frederik Pohl. With a set up like that, it’s hard to go wrong! The plot involves parasitical extraterrestrials maliciously manipulating human memories as well as the perpetually nocturnal urban landscape in an attempt at discovering the essential nature of the human soul in hopes of saving their own species. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, don’t watch it! Hahahaha!

Mad Men - recap

At a friend’s recommendation, I started watching Mad Men last year and finished three seasons (39 episodes) in just under half a year. From the beginning I’ve been impressed on so many levels. It’s historical authenticity being one of them: the sets, the costumes, the hair-styles, the mores, and the language. Then there’s the chain-smoking and hard drinking; the jazz music, beat culture and references to drugs. I adore all the contemporary consumer products and brands they incorporate – from Lucky Strikes to Pepsi Patio Diet Cola, from American Airlines to UTZ chips, from Clearasil to Playtex bras. There are the obvious Cold War references: the space race (i.e., the aeronautic program), the Vietnam War and the military draft, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Famous names, like Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe. Events such as the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 into Jamaica Bay. Local New York history, such as the rebuilding of Madison Square Garden. And in season three we start hearing more and more about the civil rights movement: the murder of African-American activist Medgar Evers; Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream”; the four black girls who were murdered by segregationists in Birmingham, Alabama, and so on. All of this makes for great, satisfying entertainment.

But none of this would matter one damn bit if it wasn’t for the characters who make the show. And the reason why Mad Men is the best drama series of the past few years, is exactly because of the captivating characters and the superb acting, the fascinating plotlines and the compelling dialogue. Over the course of three seasons we’ve been treated with such amazing stories and character development! I’m not going to try and recap the events in Don Draper’s life, his marital turmoil, or his extra-marital trials and tribulations, but they sure are part and parcel of the fascination. I don’t mean to judge him, yet at the same time want to blame him for ruining his marriage, for patronizing his wonderful wife, for boxing her up in her Connecticut bird-cage. I’ve been applauding Peggy’s spectacular rise to success at Sterling Cooper from secretary to creative writer. I’ve come to resent Pete for being such a whiny snail, but learned to respect that he’s actually good at what he does. Again, it’s the cast that makes this show, and they are formidable!

Tudors - recap

“Previously on The Tudors” ... We’ve already seen King Henry VIII of England divorce, decapitate or otherwise terminate his relationship with four of his six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves. We’ve seen him and apparently all male members of the entire court maintain affairs with various ladies-in-waiting and all sorts of other blond damsels (in or out of distress). There has been political intrigue of international scale, scandal and conspiracy at court, religious turmoil and rebellion. We’ve seen the downfall of the King’s most trusted advisors, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. There were great parts played by Maria Doyle Kennedy (Catherine of Aragon), Sam Neill (Wolsey), James Frain (Cromwell), Peter O’Toole (Pope Paul III), and Max von Sydow (Otto von Waldburg). Natalie Dormer (as Anne Boleyn) was annoying, and Joss Stone (as Anne of Cleves) even more so. But much of the series, of course, depends on what you think about Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who for no discernable reason (other than that women think him sexy) plays Henry VIII ... a thin, handsome, early-thirties actor playing a fat, ugly, forty/fifty year-old character... [!] Kinda strains the show’s credibility... Especially because one of the more repulsive aspects of Henry’s six marriages was that, as he got older, fatter, uglier and madder, his brides seemingly became younger and younger... Tomorrow the fourth and final season premiers on Showtime.

Dexter 2x07

Our friend Dexter, otherwise known as the Bay Harbor Butcher, is enjoying Lila’s company – to put it euphemistically. Rita still has to deal with her overbearing mother ... who is even interfering with the kids’ education and upbringing... Rita finally realizes, it’s not her, it’s her mother. She leaves no room for anybody else to exist. When defending herself, Rita’s mother ends up humiliating her daughter as well as the kids without even knowing it. So Rita tells her to shut the fuck up, pack up and go home. You go, girl! Deb is starting to realize that Gabe is not her man, that actually she is developing feelings for the much older Lundy. Surrogate father kind of thing. He inspires her to find peace in her chaos. She isn’t even listening to Gabe anymore. Instead of going home with Gabe, she returns to Dex’ place, where she bumps into a naked Lila, “Oh, pardon my tits,” in luscious British accent. Eventually, Deb does break up with Gabe. Then she has lunch with Lundy. They chat, she opens up to him, and they kiss. I just don’t know if I should go “aaawww” or “eeewww”...

At work, Miami Metro received a manifesto written by the Bay Harbor Butcher, which Dexter wrote to throw them off. It’s a patch-up, mix-and-match, cut-and-paste job, filled with references to send them on a wild goose chase, and stall the investigation. Everyone has their own interpretation of what kind of person the serial killer must be, and then it dawns on Lundy, that’s exactly what the Bay Harbor Butcher wants: confusion, chaos. He concludes the killer must be a law enforcer. Dex also angers Sgt. Doakes so bad, Doakes threatens him, and Dex tells him, no matter how hard he tries, he’ll always be one step ahead of him, then butts him in the head and walks right out of his office. Doakes runs after him, slams him to the floor, and starts pounding, right in front of the whole department! All Lt. LaGuerta can do is put Doakes on indefinite suspension. Wow, another great episode!

Caprica - recap

I can actually not believe there’s a mid-season break in this Caprica series ... because, honestly, I don’t feel anything has really happened... As I had seen the entire Battlestar Galactica TV series, including the miniseries, movies, and web-episodes, I thought I might as well check out Caprica. The show is about humanity’s Twelve Colonies outside the solar system before the eventual fall: before the Cylons engage in genocidal, nuclear holocaust with the sole intention of annihilating the entire human race. Against this backdrop it could be interesting to see how the original Cylon Centurions were created, what kind of world gave rise to its own destruction. However, it’s not a show I would recommend to anyone.

In Caprica (we have to get this out of the way), there are obvious references to our own contemporary society. First and foremost the act of terrorism that sets off the series: the bombing of the skyline train which killed Zoe, Ben, and Tamara, among many others. Naturally the explosion is meant to remind us of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks worldwide. When the Graystones attend the memorial service for the victims of the attack, the scene practically bleeds “ground-zero.” There’s the memorial wall at the sight of the bombing. All too familiar. We get the same fear-mongering media pundits jabbering on and on with moral indignation twenty-four hours a day about conspiracy theories and other worthless baked air just because they have time to kill ... just as we did after 9/11 ... on and on ... after you’ve been pummeled long enough with the same mind numbing nonsense you’ll believe anything they say... And then we go on with our lives, with only the bitter aftertaste of a distant sadness.

Fortunately the monotheism espoused by the shadowy “Soldiers of the One” is more reminiscent of fundamentalist Christianity than Muslim extremism, so that their actions remain more ambiguous. The audience is seduced to try and understand their actions, rather than condemn them outright. In the science-fiction universe of Carpica, this cult appears alien enough not to be a stand in for al-Qaida theocracy. It helps that headmistress Sister Clarice Willow (Polly Walker) is one of those zealots converting souls, living in polyandrous as well as polygynous polygamy, corrupting young minds with religious dogma. It also helps that her chief rival over the cult’s leadership is some rogue terrorist called Barnabas. The real problem of the show, alas, is that the dialogue is hardly compelling and is moreover delivered by a fairly poor cast. I’m rather unsure if I’ll continue watching the show when it returns later this year.

Gossip Girl 3x17

How I adore Gossip Girl! LOL! Oh, the intrigue and the scandal, the cheating and lying! What would I do without my weekly dose of melodrama? Suddenly Eric is back in the picture, Serena’s gay brother, who apparently has been, um, sightseeing in Japan? Little scheming Jenny is seeing Nate behind her stepsister Serena’s back! Serena finds out, but Nate being Nate she loves him even more for being such a dapper defender of damsels in distress. But Jenny really is trying to steal Nate and quite good at it! Dan and Vanessa, blah blah blah... They were boring when they weren’t dating. It’s not any better now that they’re together... Less is more.

Chuck, the Inglorious Basstard, grew up believing his mother had died in childbirth; then he believed he found his mother; the woman played him; and now he’s left wondering if she is his mother and why she was with Uncle Jack? That Jack keeps keeping on being the jackass that he is, luring Chuck that he can get his Empire Hotel back if only he may spend the night (just the one) with Blair. Without Chuck knowing, Blair gives in “out of love” for Chuck. (This is the kind of twisted Twilight logic kids nowadays grow up with, you know!) Yet, in the end, Chuck gets his hotel back, but Blair can’t be with him anymore... Ah, I thought she loved him through thick and thin? Girls! So fickle.

ZZ Top

I know, I know, when I say “ZZ Top,” you’re thinking about dudes in matching suits and beards and sunglasses, you’re thinking about cheesy video clips with fast cars and loose women, you’re thinking “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Legs” and “Viva Las Vegas” and maybe “Tush”... But before the commercial success of their radio friendly hard rock, ZZ Top were accomplished Texas blues rockers, in league with fellow Southerners Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshal Trucker Band. If you like your blues hard with a Spanish tinge, their first three albums are sure worth your money.

I only recently became aware I’m actually quite partial to Rio Grande Mud (1972) and Tres Hombres (1973). They may not be Southern blues jammers like The Allman Brothers Band, but then who is? “Just Got Back from Baby’s” and “Backdoor Love Affair” are hard rockin’ Southern blues tunes from their First Album (1971). “Francine” could almost have been a lick by the Stones of the Mick Taylor era. In my book, “Just Got Paid” and “Waitin’ for the Bus” are the kind of rockin’ stomps that earn ZZ Top a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with great slide guitar and blues harp respectively. “Jesus Just Left Chicago” is a true tribute to the electric blues of Muddy Waters. Even by the time of Degüello (1979) they could still come up with gems like “A Fool for Your Stockings,” with its hard thumbing bass line and razor sharp licks. Let’s not forget “La Grange,” of course, the one-chord “How howhow how” blues tune ripped straight off John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen.” And then there’s the rowdy “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers,” which Motörhead covered so well early in their career. Check ‘em out!

Horizon: Infinity

Infinity: Does it exist? Mathematically, naturally: in theory you can always continue counting – forever. You can always add one to any number, indefinitely, or multiply it by any number. To express large numbers, we can say ten raised to the power of nine for one billion (one followed by nine zeros); ten raised to the power of one hundred is called a googol (one followed by one hundred zeros), and ten raised to the power of a googol is called a googolplex (a number so large it cannot be written down). But a recent BBC Horizon installment goes beyond the possibility of numerical infinity. Its actual existence, its reality beyond mathematics. A mind boggling matter. Is infinity an invention of the human mind? Abstract nonsense, if you will. Philosophically, infinity is close to divinity. God cannot be finite, cannot be proven to exist. It’s a matter of faith. You have to believe in divinity. But does it enhance your life to believe infinity is real?

If infinity is possible, then anything is possible – even as unlikely as a monkey typing the complete works of Shakespeare. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.” (Romeo & Juliette II:2, 133-135) How unlikely is it? It’s one in 10 with nine million zeros!

Is the universe infinite, and if so, are there an infinite number of parallel universes, too? Is time eternal? Is it cosmologically possible for the universe to be infinite and eternal? Or, to put it differently, if space and time were finite, what’s beyond? If the universe is infinite, there would be an infinite number of planets like earth, with an infinite number of individuals just like you and me. How insignificant does that make us? And the nearest exact copy of us is only two to the power of ten to the power of 118 meters away... Naturally, when speaking about the cosmos, we end up talking about the Big Bang, about the inflation theory of the universe, and before we know it, we hear about the logical conclusion that there are infinitely many infinite universes, infinitely expanding... I hope that, like me, you feel that this isn’t making any intuitive sense. It’s baffling, but infinitely fascinating!

Jacob’s Ladder

Have you ever seen the movie Jacob’s Ladder (1990)? A friend of mine told me I should watch it. It’s one of those psychological thrillers known in French as a mindfuck. Man, what a film! You never know what’s real and what’s nightmare. We start in the Mekong Delta, 1971, and suddenly the platoon is under fire, but not from the Viet Cong. And then, suddenly, we’re on the C Train, NYC, Bergen Street, B’klyn, and Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is unable to find an exit that’s still open, he crosses the tracks, and nearly gets hit by a train, with faceless passengers inside! When he finally comes home we learn that he has a gorgeous little girlfriend called Jezebel (Alexandra Peña), he works as a postman along Nostrand Avenue. (That’s right where I lived!!!) Gradually more and more weird things are happening to Jacob. He’s seeing the most bizarre creatures, he’s hallucinating, he’s going through hell, he’s afraid he’s going paranoid, he collapses at a party, running a terrible fever. Then he wakes up from a nightmare, finding himself in bed with his wife Sarah... his eldest son Gabe is still alive ... he never went to Vietnam ... But wait, no-o-o-o-o, he didn’t wake up from a nightmare ... The nightmare is real!

Jacob is eventually approached by someone who claims to have been a chemist involved in experiments in Vietnam to increase the soldiers’ aggression by means of some type of drug called “The Ladder”. At the funeral of one of his war buddies, he learns that his surviving platoon mates suffer similar hallucinatory nightmares. They decide to file a law suit against the government. But soon his friends from Nam back out and their lawyer tells him there’s no proof they ever went to Vietnam! Things really start to get interesting when he’s coming out of the supreme court building and he’s kidnapped by guys in suits. He’s tortured ... with his girlfriend Jezebel right there! Close toward the end we see him walk up a staircase with his son Gabe... But then we see his dead body still in Vietnam... Apparently we are to understand that everything we saw before was merely a dying hallucination, a purging vision in which Jacob lets go of his earthly attachments before he ascends the eponymous Ladder to heaven... bummer... Still, I’d recommend this movie to everyone who wants to scare themselves silly. But then again, I just gave away the ending... Hmmm...

Mad Men 3x13

This is the one, the season finale of Mad Men. Things have been building up on so many levels, I haven’t been able to keep up. I’ve been catching so many episodes (like one or two an evening), that I actually finished the show mid-January! Let’s just say I didn’t want to overwhelm you... hehe. The big story that has been building up over the past several episodes is that Sterling Cooper is for sale. We’re given the impression that the London office, Puttnam Powell & Lowe, just used the company to make a profit and is now letting it go again. Only Lane Pryce knew, and his wife was ecstatic about the prospect of leaving New York, which she loathes for the smells and the noise and the criminals at every level. Meanwhile, Snailface Pete Campbell, the most despicable creature in Sterling Cooper, gets the word that Ken Cosgrove will be promoted over him. Lane Pryce explain that, while Pete has the talent of making the clients feel their needs are being met, Ken has the great gift of making the clients feel as if they have no needs at all. On his part, Don has been arguing, now that Salvatore Romano is fired, that the office runs without a head of the art department – and no commercial director – and creative can’t work without art.

Connie Hilton informs Don that Sterling Cooper’s parent company, Puttnam Powell & Lowe, is being bought by some advertisement agency called McCann Erickson. (so, not just Sterling Cooper, but PP&L, too, is being sold.) Despite all the talk that Don was like a son to him, Connie severs his business arrangements with him. Back at the office, Don proposes to Bertram Cooper that they buy their own company back from PP&L. Bert agrees as long as Roger remains on board – they need him for the Lucky Strikes account. Roger isn’t so easily convinced it would work. Lane Pryce is incensed when he finds out about the deal and no one can guarantee where his position will be. When he informs Don, Bert and Roger that they won’t be able to purchase the company, Don offers that Lane fires the three of them. Lane will be “thrown overboard,” anyway, Don explains. Bert proposes to make Lane a partner. Gosh, this is such exciting stuff! I’m rooting for them!!

Then they start formulating a strategy, they need accounts, Lucky Strike, and others for cash flow. They only have the weekend to collect their things, secure accounts, and scramble together some sort of staff. “Well, gentlemen,” Lane quips jokingly, “I suppose you’re fired.” Heehee! First off, Don orders Peggy Olsen in his office. She’s upset he assumes she’ll do whatever he says. He gets miffed and tells her he won’t beg her to join the new agency. “Beg me?” she responds irked, “you didn’t even ask me.” Later he visits her at her apartment to ask for her help – and confesses he will spend the rest of his life trying to hire her if she won’t join already. They also need a good accountant, so they offer Pete Campbell the job. He was in fact thinking about joining Duck Phillips’ company, so he needs convincing. Don admits they need his talents, to stay ahead of the curve, to keep looking forward, like Pete has with the space program, teenagers, African-Americans, and so on. The next day, the office is humming with cheerful excitement, but there’s one problem: no one knows where all the materials are... There’s only one person who can help: our svelte redhead Joan! Next day, the small staff is operating from a hotel suite, Joan picks up the phone, “Good morning, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce,” she answers. Excellent stuff. Top notch.

Dexter 2x06

Dex, Lies & Videotape. Remember? Well, Dexter’s been finding out his foster father Harry didn’t tell the truth or at least hid the truth about a great many things. In fact, it’s Harry who might have jeopardized the situation, using Laura (Dex’ mother) as an informant to catch a big shipment of cocaine, and so allowing the bloodbath that caused her death. Dex starts to question Harry’s Code, all the rules he has been living by to hide in plain side the fact that he is compelled to kill. When Sgt. Doakes hears from Deb that Dex is no junkie, it raises his suspicion again. He starts snooping around in Dex’ office, finding the audio tapes of Harry interviewing Laura. Dex tells Doakes to “back the fuck off,” then walks to Lt. LaGuerta complaining about Doakes snooping in his office and trailing him.

At work the Miami Homicide department is tracking a wannabe vigilante imitating the Bay Harbor Butcher. Amazing stuff when FBI agent Lundy has a conversation with blood analyst Dex about the method and madness of the serial killer! Good for Dexter he has no feelings, so he doesn’t show he’s nervous! What does make him anxious, though, are the security videos at the harbor where he docks his boat ... since that would show him scrubbing and cleaning ... and that would look pretty bad! He desperately wants to delete the files... So he arranges a fake fire drill to clear the office ... and erase the evidence! Problem with the would-be vigilante, though, is that if he would kill someone, it will become a case for the FBI ... and that won’t be good for Dex. So, can you guess what his solution is? Yeah, exactly, he kills him ... and leaves his remains for his colleagues to find.

Messing as usual in her daughter’s affairs, Rita’s mother asks Dexter to bring Lila over for dinner... Of course, Lila is acting her luscious self ... singing praise ... except that she talks too much ... and tells them his secret: that his mother was murdered in a brutal massacre! Later Rita overhears a voice message about Dex’ trip with Lila, when they were looking for the murder of his mother... She misunderstands that he slept with Lila... In his anger that Rita dumped him, of course, he ends up sleeping with Lila anyway (because that’s how guys are). And right after, Rita calls offering him a chance to explain ... except that now he has to confess he did in fact just sleep with Lila ... and Rita tells him to leave. So, it’s not working very well for Dex to tell the truth ... because the truth hurts.

Caprica 1x09

Damn if they didn’t jam in all the action in the mid-season break of Caprica! So far it’s all been rather ... blah ... Daniel Graystone is still racing to meet the military deadline of delivering one hundred thousand properly functioning Cylons, even though he can’t even figure out what happened to his prototype, how Zoe’s avatar got uploaded onto the meta-cognitive processing ship that he stole from the Vergis Corporation. Under pressure from his board members, he caves in to sell his sport team, to make quick money. Unable to find out more about the chip, Graystone simply wants to wipe it clean, mass produce it and have his army of robots working. But Zoe’s avatar trapped inside the U-87 prototype would be lost along the process! She’s scared to even lose this life of a ghost. Will the lab technician help her to escape?

Although he’s turned into a drug addict, Joseph Adama finally finds his daughter’s avatar in New Cap City of V-World. Too much talking later and she shoots herself in front of him ... (of course he doesn’t know she can’t die in V-World) ... right before she shoots him. Now he can finally let go and accept that she is gone. Sister Clarice is going head to head with rogue Barnabas over Caprican leadership of their monotheistic sect. Zoe’s friend Lacy is joining Barnabas’ cell so that he’ll help her ship the Cylon U-87 to Geminon (home of the Soldiers of One). Unfortunately, Lacy can’t help Zoe fast enough, so robot and all, she breaks out of her father’s laboratory. She is pursued with helicopters and road blocks, the lot. Her truck explodes! Amanda Graystone has been slowly slipping away in her depression – only confiding in Clarice, who is too busy with her trip to Geminon. Amanda walks out the house, ends up on a bridge ... and jumps off... Talk about a mid-season cliffhanger!

Gossip Girl 3x16

Oh, Gossip Girl, how I wait eagerly every week for your witty voice-overs and glorious shots of my favorite city, New York! Blair’s mother, Eleanor Waldorf, is this high-end fashion designer, right? And little Jenny used to intern for her ... but then things got iffy ... Jenny tried setting up her own fashion line ... but this Agnes byatch ruined it all... Jenny’s dad had a little talk with Eleanor ... and now Jenny can come back to work on a new teen line ... except Agnes is working there, too. Then there’s dirty Damien who still tries to use Jenny to push pills. You can’t kill roaches. Agnes tries to sabotage Jenny’s chances at Eleanor’s ... puts roofies in her drink ... and then dumps her at some bachelor party ... obviously hoping Jenny gets deflowered. Thank heavens there’s always Nate to barge in and save her!

Meanwhile, Vanessa’s insecurities run rampant now that she’s finally dating Dan. Oh, the Drama! They’ve been dating mere weeks and she’s already afraid they’re stuck in a rut... She tries role playing ... awkward ... resulting in the worst date ever. Dan just isn’t that type of guy, and she should know that. He’s a nerd at heart. He likes things to go just like they always did. No, they’re not just friends with benefits ... you know, between the sheets ... She’s his girlfriend now. That’s what’s different, that’s what makes it romantic for him. Um, boring? Anyway, little Chucky’s been played by Uncle Jack and his mother (or is she? No, she isn’t his mom. Yes, she is. Wait! No, she isn’t. Or, maybe...) ... and now Chuck’s lost his Empire Hotel. Oh, all the drama! The rich and fabulous lead such inneressing lives. Not. Still, I love Gossip Girl!