through a glass darkly

i started watching films by ingmar bergman back in college with an interest that i think was probably only because of the pseudo-intellectual-cool factor. he is THE director to watch for any young college student a notion that they really appreciate movie-making, is he not? but now that i've seen a handful, and a couple over again (years later), i think i'm beginning to understand just how powerful they are. but as always, they hurt. they are stark, they are excruciating- difficult to watch- possibly because of the bleak but honest spiritual content, possibly because i know their visual beauty is something totally lost and forgotten in movies these days. (maybe simply because they were made in a time period with clothing styles and mannerisms that will never exist again.)
amy and i watched Through A Glass Darkly together last night, and this one sunk in. bergman was the son of a pastor, had a lot of spiritual baggage, and it's obvious, of course. it's about a girl with a schizophrenic disorder, a father who sacrificies his family's well being for the success of his writing career, and a protestant God who seems to be missing. one of the most striking moments to me was a scene in which the main character, having "seen God", describes Him as a horrible stone-faced spider coming through a doorwary and trying to forcibly "enter" her. the movie ends on a slight upswing though, subtly stating that God is somehow love, and where there is love there is God, so God is all around us- but remains largely unresolved and realistic. The idea that our Love for others is God's protection of them is ummm...amazing.
The music in TAGD was very minimal, and mostly cello suites by Bach- meant to give a warm, but isolated feel (according to the movie's commentary). Bergman modeled his use of small casts during this period of his filmmaking after the chamber quartets he had become interested in at the time. They were meant to play off of one another as instruments would in smaller musical ensembles. I loved this feel, and might be why i prefer his later, simpler movies to ones like the Seventh Seal, etc. it's no wonder my music composition prof in college swore that bergman's films had changed his life when they first came out.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:12-13

je t'aime

i saw this movie last night. i love paris, so it undoubtedly follows that i'd enjoy it. but really, this is a sweet little movie, and i great idea for a project. it's made up of several shorts all by different directors, and none fall short, i think. one thing i noticed was a really quiet "whirring" noise played very softly throughout the whole film, stringing it all together subconsciously. it made me smile when i noticed it. proves that some of the best directors agree that there is function and psychology in something so almost inaudible, in ambient noise. anyway, take your wives, girlfriends, or parents to go see this one.

audiozue

i've been looking for an itunes related widget for my blog since i started it, and finally came across audiozue today, which i was pretty excited about. however, i've just embedded the code, and, after playing a couple songs, so far all three tracks have incorrect album artwork. worse than that, my first track, with artwork that should look like this

displays some hokey country singer looking guy's ugly mug, and i don't wanna see it. my second try got the band right (wrong album) but doesn't have any existing link in itunes.
is this thing worth the hour i've put into figuring out and embedding it, or will it just get all my music wrong all the time? i might just have to go with the plainest looking tracklist, and save my obsessive compulsive heart from breaking.

the day myspace went krautrock

has anybody else noticed that every music track on myspace sounds like a bunch of buzzy-techno noise, like the soundtrack to a 1960s sci fi movie?
is it my computer? or me, have i finally snapped?

refresh me

i feel a return to simplicity, to seeking a gentle goodness (which is strong, not weak). i want my life to be quiet mornings, music, my dog, my bike, my girl, and my Lord. and looking around for where else i can help others. and then enjoying the fruit in keeping such simple values.

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..."
- isaiah 30:15

half a review: belong, octobger language

i've been listening to this all morning and last night, and, well it's good. but as much as i love ambient music and am simultaneously confused by the raving reviews tim hecker and belong and the likes have been getting (mostly due to the fact i thought noone was paying attention to this kind of music)---- i have a couple things to say for myself.
there is ambient music, which, i think, really produces something subtle and environmental, like "music for airports". and then there is ambient music as a culmination of a genre, like maybe this "belong" fellow. (the music is very good, don't get me wrong- and i'll get to that later). the thing i love about ambient music is that you are given to listen to nothing so specific that you grow to hate it in 2 weeks of repetitive play. in fact, ambient music only gets better the more you play it. if there are any nuances not heard the first second or third time around, you will discover them eventually if you keep listening.
like i was saying about culminating- i think this might be happening with this type of music, which is an exciting and also a scary thing- because i wouldn't want it to get lost in a sudden wave of arty trendiness.
one trend i've noticed is that young people making ambient music today tend to include alot of trebly, brash, distortion noise into the mix. normally, i love this sort of texture- but usually in a "rock" environment. when i put on an "ambient" record, i don't want it to grate on me. this kind of music isn't for those who wish to "show off" their skills. the world today is full of distortion pedals, laptops, and endless synth combinations- i know distortion is radical for the occasional bliss-out landscape, but really- why every song? there is something about this electronic noise/tone/texture that distances me, makes me feel cold. i don't know why, but i think it's indicativce of the inherent quality of a particularly trebly white noise.

one note, in an ambient piece, holds more importance than a hundred elsewhere. id say my ambient albums with the most repeated plays are those which are soft, warm, and oozy. not post-eno punk rock.
anyway, Belong is very good- however, next time, please give me something warmer, softer, more emotional and reminiscent of maybe an airport, if you need to.