Film
After seven years of ignoring this stupid page of our
website, I decided to add film to the music section.
We both enjoy films. As in music, our tastes are
very broad and eclectic. Rather than blather on and
on about films, I'll just say that Hollywood films tend to
irritate and repel us. The bigger the blockbuster,
the less likely we are to see it, especially if the film
generates promotional toys included with fast food
meals. Clearly, the fact that we don't have children
has had a deep effect on the sort of films we watch and
don't watch. For example, we have seen every David
Lynch film, but have missed such animated "gems"
as Shrek, Looking for Nemo, not to mention E.T. and the
ridiculous drama about the Emperor Penguins... Nor do we
enjoy Tom Hanks, or Adam Sandler, or any of the
unmemorable white demigods that parade across the covers
of brain-rotting pseudo journalism at the grocery store
check out and every waiting room coffee table. If
you're on Netflix, and want to go look at my reviews and
such, click
here. We watch quite a few movies with
subtitles, and seek out interesting dramas and
documentaries from independent studios.
Music
Music is an important part of our lives.
Not only do we listen to a lot of music, but we both play.
Darren plays guitar and Sandy plays hand drums. We
have a band with a friend, and we play our own homespun
music. The sound is a bit difficult to describe because
it is so eclectic.
Perhaps the best way to explain the music is to list
some of our favorite music and influences.
When we listen to the stereo for background music, we
tend to listen to Classical music and 19th C. music.
It's almost always chamber music--trios, quartets, quintets,
sonatas, etc. We do listen to some opera.
Our favorite composers are Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms,
Schoenberg, etc.
For rock and progressive music, we particularly like:
Lareena McKennit, Legendary Pink Dots (though we don't
subscribe to their vegan philosophy), David Bowie, Beatles,
Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Cocteau Twins, Massive Attack,
Stereolab, Komeda, Fugazi, XTC, PJ Harvey, Swans, Dead
Can Dance, and many others. In general, we don't
like classic rock & roll--especially the radio stations
that continually recycle mediocre music by Pink Floyd
(yuck to everything after Dark Side of the Moon!!) The
Who, Eric Clapton, etc. We also dislike quite a
bit the Grateful Dead. We aren't particularly nostalgic
about music, unless it's really good and interesting.
The "monster truck" aesthetic of classic rock
is annoying.
We also enjoy listening to older latin music and some
lounge: Tito Puente, Xavier Cugat, Portuguese Fado music,
and so forth. We also like the celtic-arabic
music such as what is found in Spain--La Musgaña, Radio
Tarifa, and Lareena McKennit (yes, her music is more Spanish
than Irish).
For meditative music, we listen to ambient and electronic
music: TAGC, Controlled Bleeding, a produce, Jorge Reyes,
Hafler Trio, Brian Eno, Lustmord, and just about anything
like that.
Below are some links to on-line radio and some of the
weirder music we like. If you haven't heard of these
bands, you ought to check some out. |
