Listenings - Morning Benders, B.R.M.C., MGMT, Citay

Big Echo by Morning Benders, The (2010) Atmospheric, dreamy rock tunes. For some reason, and its probably because of the cover art, it feels like surfer music at times and there's also a sixties feel to this album as well. The first song is quite beautiful - watch the video and you'll know what I mean. There's definitely something going on here I'm just not sure what it is. I have a feeling of longing for something when I finished listening to the album. Random note: Chris Chu's voice is similar to Ash's singer. 7.5/10 more info video (Excuses)

Beat the Devil's Tattoo by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (2010) This album sounds heavy, and I mean heavy in the sense that it crushes you with its heavy moody sound that can be hard to carry (listen) at times. I really wished that I loved this album more than I did but I'm somewhat disappointed. It's too long in total length and many songs are also too lengthy. There's this feeling that I've heard this stuff before with little variation now. 6.5/10 more info video (Beat the Devil's Tattoo)

Congratulations by MGMT (2010) Their first album Oracular Spectacular had some very catchy tunes. Now if you're expecting something catchy from this album forget it. It's like they decided to make an album that another kind of crowd would like. Good for them for following their ideas through and doing what they like. I commend them for going in another direction with this new album. I'm left disappointed anyways. It's a somewhat pretentious album. The last song is titled Congratulation - congratulations for listening to the whole thing without skipping any songs! 5.5/10 more info

Dream Get Together by Citay (2010) The guitar work on this album is a mix of electric guitar solos and acoustic mixed in together perfectly. There are some instrumental songs which are right at home in this work. It's like listening to one big tune separated in 8 tracks (but it's not progressive rock...) I had no idea who this band was before this album and I'm pleasantly surprised. I you need to hear some good old hard rock (!) guitar tunes, this album will be just what you need do doubt. But who needs this kind of fix!? I for one did not know that I needed it for a couple of listens at least. 7.5/10 more info

Listenings - Spoon, Gorillaz

Transference by Spoon (2010) What was good about them in their previous work, namely Ga Ga Ga and Gimme fiction, is still here and more. No bs (indie) rock and roll from this this Texas band. Even when they try writing new kind of songs (for them) like The Mystery Zone or Nobody Gets Me But You, it works great in the whole ensemble. Listen to I Saw the Light - such a great rock song. After seven albums these guys are sounding better than ever and they definitely have their own unique sound. 9/10 more info video (Written in Reverse)

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz (2010) I've never really liked Gorillaz except a couple of tracks from their two previous albums (Feel Good Inc. will forever be a great track!), too many songs don't stand out. Stylo has a good, "dancy" beat and features Mr. Bobby Womack himself (Across 110th Street). For the rest of the album though, not a lot of tracks stand out. Quite frankly it was tedious to listen to it all and Sweepstakes has got to be the most annoying song ever written! The cover's nice... 5.5/10 more info video (Stylo with Bruce Willis!)

Listenings - Frightened Rabbit, Passion Pit, Gil Scott-Heron, Slow Club, Broken Bells, Gonjasufi

I'm going to do this new thing where I'll comment quickly on an album which I've listened to once. Usually I don't like anything on the first listen... should be an interesting experiment.

	Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit (2010) Decent pop rock, I usually prefer something heavier with drums that ask for you to dance but nonetheless it's good music to play as you meander through a crowded subway in Seoul (!) Beats listening to Coldplay... 7/10 more info video
	Manners by Passion Pit (2009) Wow! I had this in my iPod for a while without actually listening to it. I've missed out on one of the best albums of 2009! Catchy beats and man are the 80s back or what! Listen to the track Little Secrets and tell me if this should be playing in clubs or not! 8.5/10 more info video
	I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron (2010) This guy has been around the music business for 40 years now! Never heard of him before. I probably would know him if I listened to R&B and rap. Never too late though! At something like 28 minutes and mostly spoken words with low key funky beats (and some acoustic guitar), I wasn't expecting anything, listened to it all and found it was very interesting. Short and lyrically charged. 7.5/10 more info video
	Yeah So by Slow Club (2010) Ok yet another duo consisting of Charles Watson on guitar and Rebecca Taylor on drums. Pretty relaxed music (warm?). Perfect for rainy days or a very relaxed evening. They are a great singing duo. Make me think of The Swell Season. I felt bored listening to this once though... 6.5/10 more info video
	Broken Bells by Broken Bells (2010) Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Love James Mercer's voice. Feels like each track is different. Nothing heavy or slow here, just the right amount of funky beat and melody! Funny how I can't really describe this album but I liked it. 8/10 more info video
	A Sufi and a Killer by Gonjasufi (2010) Wackiest thing I've listened to in a while. This album is all over the place but in a good way. Overall it sounds like really trippy hip hop with rock, punk, electronica, 60s revival of some kind, eastern music, spacy...wow! Gonjasufi's voice is almost dreamlike and rarely goes up a notch or two. He and his collaborators must have been on some heavy drugs while making this! Impossible to categorize but really fun to listen to. This will definitely bring you to a trippy place, high or not! 8.5/10 more info video (just the song Holidays with no actual video)

Recent listenings - Blood Red Shoes, Massive Attack

Fire Like This by Blood Red Shoes (2010) Pretty good follow up to their 2008 effort Box of Secrets. Drums and vocals (Steven Ansell), guitars and vocals (Laura-Mary Carter). Angsty catchy tunes! I prefer their first album but nonetheless this one has some familiar arrangements and some new beats for them as well! Love their voices and the "dancy" drumming from Ansell. 7/10 allmusic: link

Heligoland by Massive Attack (2010) Took them 7 years to come out with a new album. Well it's here and it sounds like it's 2003 again. It's not a bad thing but I was wondering how all this time did not make them change a bit their sound or try something new. In the end though, it's electronic trip-hop at its best. A very moody and atmospheric record with some great beats. Feels like one track with different moods. I think it's great music to play in the background while relaxing or reading a book! 7.5/10 allmusic: link

Recent viewings - Goemon, President's Last Bang, Fish Story

	Goemon by Kazuaki Kiriya (2009) Japan This movie is from the same guy that directed Casshern which was, as I recall, a pretty average movie but with a unique presentation (lots of CG) and one hell of a crazy fight scene! Basically he did the same kind of movie here with a big difference: this time the story is much more interesting (in comparison to Casshern's long and winded story). Goemon is basically a Japanese Robin Hood and of course he's an awesome fighter! It's his story intertwined with  Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Hattori Hanzo. The fight scenes in this movie are incredible and like his previous work the look of the movie is unique. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. And yeah the soldiers at the end really really look like stormtroopers! 7/10 imdb: link
	President's Last Bang, The by Im-Sang-soo (2005) Korea Historical drama, with some humor, about the last moments of S.Korean dictator Park Chung-hee who was killed by his own staff during a late dinner party. Even if I'm not well versed in Korean history, this movie was interesting for it's very dark sense of humor and historical sense. I loved seeing how characters reacted to this sudden event and how the perpetrators played it cool until the end. They all knew they'd get caught but they were convinced that their action was for the greater cause, which arguably it was. Park Chung-hee was S. Korea's dictator from 1961 to 1979. Interesting quote from the assassin (Kim Jae-Kyu) who was subsequently hanged after trial: "I shot the heart of Yusin Constitution like a beast. I did that for democracy of this country. Nothing more nothing less." 7/10 imdb: link
	Fish Story by Yoshihiro Nakamura (2009) Japan Incredibly absurd story spanning a couple of generations with a band, behind a song called Fish Story, as common thread. Basically a comet will hit earth in the present time and a record shop owner plays the Fish Story album. The story is so crazy you have to just see it! One of the weirdest movies I've seen in a while; but weird in a good way! There are some slow moments (like in all Japanese movies it seems these days) but it's quite entertaining. 8/10 imdb: link

Recent readings - Curious Incident, Beat the Reaper

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003) We follow Christopher a seemingly 15 year-old autistic boy (it's never actually mentioned in the novel if he's autistic or not). He discovers the dead body of a dog and he wants to investigate how this happened. His parents are divorced and he's a maths genius. The story in itself is not that fascinating; it's how this boy handles and lives through it that is genius. The story is pretty much told through his point of view and it makes us see the world differently in ways we are not accustomed to.

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (2009) Randomly bought at Kyobo bookstore in Seoul and read it in 2 days! Fast-paced, vulgar, filled with crazy situations and unforgettable quotes. It's basically about Peter Brown, a doctor and ex-mafia hitman. He's telling us in flashbacks about his past life while in the present he's working on 48 hours shift as a doctor (on drugs to stay awake!). It's like reading a Tarantino script. Apparently if you like the tv show House you would love this book - but I haven't seen this show so I'm just quoting critics for this one! Quotes that I have to share: 1) p.110: Calling a tongue piercing "cosmetic" is a bit of a stretch, since you don't get one because it makes you look better. You get one because you're so desperate for affection that you're willing to gruesomely harm yourself to advertise how well you suck dick. 2)p.189: [During a hitman mission with a first-timer] [...] I started to feel a bit embarrassed. Like I had some office job that sounded glamorous but really wasn't, and now my kid had come to visit and I had to show him how Daddy waits all day and night in the mud and then sneaks into people's houses to shoot them in the head.

Recent readings - Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami - what a discovery! He was probably read a lot in Asia and before coming here I had no idea who this man was. I've read two novels recently and both were page turners. His descriptions of things are so vivid, there's suspense, sex, science-fiction, sheep men, Johnny Walker and so much more weird yet interesting elements. Also very interesting is how he always mentions music in his books; if you're familiar with the songs (classical or pop) it adds an element to the reading. There is symbolism to be found that is for once not annoying to me. It's pop literature at its best - and you don't need to be Japanese to appreciate it either!

	Kafka on the Shore (2002) Kafka, 15 years old, leaves his father's place to find his mother and sister. Nakata, whom we follow in the even chapters, is an old man that talks to cats and sets himself a mission to find lost cats. Both souls will somehow connect / converge as the novel progresses and we are not sure if any of it is real. Surprisingly enough, it's those moments of unreality that makes the novel so interesting. We are constantly wondering what the message is (if any!) while being entertained.
	Dance Dance Dance (1988) A commercial writer, a sheep man, a one-armed poet, a thirteen year old girl with the gift of clairvoyance, lots of sex and murder as well! Really a novel about alienation, finding love and human connection. Enjoyed it and I felt that Murakami had fun writing it too!
	Norwegian Wood (1987) Toru Watanabe hears the song Norwegian Wood (Beatles song by the way) and reminisce about the 60s and his university days. He befriended two girls, both very different from each other. One, Naoko, ends up in a sanatorium following the suicide of one of their close friend, while the other, Midori, is this girl that has no inhibitions whatsoever! A novel about finding love and the meaning of it, about alienation and sticking to your principles. There are many references to music and literature in this novel. I often felt the need to either find the song and listen to it (and believe me there are many) and also learn about some books that I've never read (like The Great Gatsby).