The Crippled Corner

[Meho Krljic]

Heh, pošteno i emotivno, ali siguran sam, bez efekta. Potencijalni 'dobici' uvek će zasenjivati potencijalne gubitke, jelte...

[crippled_avenger]

Ja se plašim da je naš problem u tome što su naši političari ubeđeni kako će im najveći domet u karijeri ako uspeju da uvuku zemlju u najmediokritetskije od svih mogućih rešenja.

Posebno apsurdno je što se sve stranke u političkom spektru, izuzev Radikala slažu sa ulaskom u NATO, iako, zapravo, u najmanju ruku, svaka bi trebalo da ima ozbiljan problem sa tim, ne samo zbog objektivnih razloga nego i zbog stragha da će suprotna stranka imati više koristi od toga.

Tipa, LDP se zalaže za NATO iako se u perspektivi verovatno neće desiti vlada koja će im više odgovarati od ove i NATO samo može davati legitimitet ovakvoj koaliciji.

I suprotno.

[Meho Krljic]

Hm.. pa, ne znam, ja sve posmatram iz jedne krajnje ekstremne idealističke pozicije: ja bih ukinuo i vojsku jer se pokazala kao beskorisna proteklu deceniju i kusur, tako da je za mene ulazak u NATO čista apstrakcija.

[crippled_avenger]

Pa da, to je i jedan od mojih argumenata.

Armija nije ispunila nijednu od dužnosti koje je imala, i meni se čini da ako nam uzmu Kosovo, neće biti ni potrebe za vojskom, a narečena saradnja sa NATO bi se verovatno samo ogledala u tome da se troše ogromne pare na američko naoružanje i da se naša a vojska šalje u njihove ratove.

Dakle, potpuno se slažem sa tobom, iako nisam idealista. Vojska nažalost nije opravdala svoje postojanje, a zašto ne reći, izuzev u Prvom svetskom ratu, srpska istorija nas uči da nijedan rat nismo dobili pomoću konvencionalne armije već pomoću raznih oblika gerilskog organizovanja.

Otud je i JNA imala pravilnu postavku da u slučaju sukoba sa nadmoćnim neprijateljem ona služi samo za usporavanje protivnika i organizaciju gerilskog otpora.

Današnja srpska vojska nema apsolutno nikakvu doktrinu a naročito ne tako inteligentnu kao JNA pa je u tom smislu potpuno neupotrebljiva. I zato je treba ukinuti.

[Meho Krljic]

Pa, ni ja sebe ne smatram idealistom, ali mislim da je u odnosu na verovatnost bliske istorije, ideja o ukidanju vojske puka maštarija, pa zato ja to tako...

[milan]

Dosta o politici!!! Muka mi je!!!

daj, sta si novo gledao Kriple?

[Meho Krljic]

Reče čovek koji režira političke emisije for a living.    Što samo ti da se zabavljaš?

[crippled_avenger]

Pa, ni ja sebe ne smatram idealistom, ali mislim da je u odnosu na verovatnost bliske istorije, ideja o ukidanju vojske puka maštarija, pa zato ja to tako...

Crna Gora je ukinula vojsku... Nije to nerealno.

[crippled_avenger]

Juče sam se počastio reprizama dva važna filma.

ANIMAL HOUSE Johna Landisa, courtesy of mrkoye,  i OLD SCHOOL Todda Philipsa, courtesy of Ginger, su bili sjajan diptih na temu razvoja frat komedije, i njene evolucije, a konačno i neka vrsta zaokružene priče.

Upravo kontekst double billa mi je omogućio da istinski uživam u OLD SCHOOLu koga sam generalno smatrao precenjenim. U suštini, OLD SCHOOL je toliko oslonjen na tradiciju frat komedije, i toliko proističe iz ANIMAL HOUSEa, da ga je jako teško u potpunosti percipirati u okolnostima paušalne posvećenosti žanru.

I naravno, glavni, konceptualni nedostatak tog filma je u tome što ne funkcioniše u punoj meri samostalno.

Pošto su nastali pod producentskom kapom Ivana Reitmana, ANIMAL HOUSE i OLD SCHOOL stoje kao GRLOM U JAGODE i JAGODE U GRLU, pa ih u tom smislu i preporučuje najpre kao double bill.

[crippled_avenger]

http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2007/06/72-device.html

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam INTACTO Juna Carlos Fresnadilla, courtesy of Ginger.

Moram priznati da me je film pre svega rastužio pošto sam se setio koliko smo se moji drugovi i ja 1999. ložili da u Srbiji pravimo filmove po uzoru na novi španski žanrovski film, likove poput Amenabara i Gila, a u međuvremenu su stvar otišle toliko u kurac da mi je potrebno da pogledam film ne bih li se setio na šta sam se ložio.

Za koju godinu ću se verovatno jedva sećati i šta sam završio i sa čim sam diplomirao.

INTACTO je film iz 2001. godine i ne predstavlja baš vrhunac tog pravca. Reč je o mešavini kockarskog noira i latinskog magijskog realizma.

Koncept koji Fresnadillo prdstavlja je ingniozan, bazira se na ideji da postoje ljudi koji mogu drugima da kradu sreću, međutinm, negde od prve trećine filma, Fresnadillo ne zna tačno šta da radi sa tom idejom, i film poprima prilično rutinske obrise.

Međutim, reč je o zanimljivom i superiorno koncipiranom komadu, prilično pristojne tehničke egzekucije koje uglavnom uspeva da drži pažnju, ali ipak nije onoliko pametan koliko misli da jeste. Fresnadillo j posle ovoga otišao u Holivud i snimio 28 WEEKS LATER.

Tako prolaze dobri dečaci.

* * 1/2 / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam ROMASANTU Paco Plaze, courtesy of Kunac.

Paco Plaza mi je privukao pažnju sa svojom pričom u PELICULAS PARA NO DORMIR i oduševio me je svojom old school Hollywood-ready egzekucijom kakva se retko sreće kod Evropljana. Njegova TV epizoda je izgledala kao američki bioskopski film iz 80ih, što se mene tiče, najbolje dekade.

Dočim, njegov theatrical film ROMASANTA mnogo više liči na neki TV rad. No, prilično soldian američki TV rad da se razumemo.

Plaza uspeva da vrlo precizno, ispriča jednu relativno arhaičnu priču o likantropiji, vešto balansirajući između rekonstrukcije i stilizacije, ne uspevajući da reši osnovni problem projekta a to je što je sve to uglavnom već viđeno.

Međutim, tako sigurnom egzekucijom, Plaza uspeva da dosegne nivo evropskog proizvoda koji može da ostvari crosover i komunicira sa internacionalnim tržištem.

Moj favorit Julian Sands je mogao biti još više iskorišćen, ipak je on jedan od jačih živih weirdoa britanskog glumišta.

U svakom slučaju, ROMASANTA je vrlo pristojan rad, od koga je Plaza znatno odmakao kasnije.

* * 1/2 / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam ZAVET Emira Kusturice, courtesy of Bjela.

Već sam Mehu poslao poruku, a to i ovom oprilikom mogu da potvrdim da ZAVET ponajviše liči na Mehov intervju sa Radošem Bajićem i koncept serije LEPO SELO LEPO GORI A BABA SE ČEŠLJA NOŽEM.

Meni lično je ZAVET najzanimljiviji Kustin film pošto izgleda kao mešavina BORATa i INSPECTOR GADGETa sa određenom dozom nasilnosti čiji je stilski reprezent recimo Jan Kounen. Sad, naravno, morate imati na umu da je sve ovo jako rudimentarno realizovano, i da je to sve ipak Kusta, ali sa druge strane, ovo zaista jeste neka vrsta bizarnog naivnog rollercoaster filma, nešto kao TRUE LIES za Bosance, i upravo ta oslonjenost na američke žanrovske idiome u spoju su freakshowom daje film neki naročit bizaran kvalitet.

ZAVET je s druge strane snažan auralni šok, slike i zvuci koje nam ruža nisu za svaki stomak, i potpuno mi je jasno zašto je strana kritika otpisala ZAVET kao primer Kustine dekadencije. Međutim, meni je sada tek kad je postao tako dekadentan, Kusta postao zanimljiv.

Ovo je film u kome dečak od dvanaest godina klještima štroji Mikija Manojlovića, u kome Ljiljana Blagojević u sub-AMERICAN PIE ključu igra MILF fetiš, u kome Stribora Kusturicu koriste kao balvan koji se ruši zid bordela, gde ima scena u kojoj Stribor pregrize cev pištolja insertiranog u suta a zatim čoveku čiji je pištolj pregrisao gura ručnu bombu u usta i detonira ga, film u kome čoveka nabiju na vulkanizersku cev za punjenje guma, pune ga kiseonikom dok se ne naduje i ne počne da divlje leti po radnji.

ZAVET otud balansira između Kounena, Miikea i Abdulaha Sidrana, i za mene predstavlja daleko najzanimljiviji Emirov film i jedno od intrigantnijih gledalačkih iskustava u ovoj sezoni.

* * * / * * * *

[Meho Krljic]

Holy shit!!! Po ovakvom opisu deluje kao da je Kusturica konačno shvatio da su nadrealistički momenti njegovih filmova suviše pretenciozni i rešio da ih dopuni kempi mirisom. S druge strane, plašim se da to i dalje deluje krajnje pretenciozno, makar se i trudilo da bude žovijalno i treši... Videćemo za par decenija kada ga pogledam...

[zakk]

[angel011]

Mene ovaj opis ZAVET-a podseća pomalo na Dom za vešanje.

[crippled_avenger]

Ne, uopšte nije tako tako lirski i pretenciozan kao DOM ZA VEŠANJE, ovo je više kao Kustin WALLACE & GROMIT protiv DOBERMANNa.

[angel011]

To već zvuči znatno zanimljivije.

[crippled_avenger]

Film je beskrajno zanimljiv i jako bizaran, ali imaj na umu ja sam ljubitelj filmova sa greškom.

[crippled_avenger]

Meni je na Nazi Festivalu posle gledanja novog Kusturice, osim iznenađenja zbog samog filma, bilo zanimljivo i nešto drugo.

Prisustvovao sam tome kako patrijarsi hejta za Kusturicu tapšu kada se on pojavi na sceni, verovatno ne zato što im se dopao film, nego zato što rade na Festivalu.

I to bi sve negde bilo OK, u krajnjoj liniji, domaćini su mu. Međutim, u trenutku kada vidiš da mu oni, koji su ga najstrašnije pljvali i napadali, tapšu, a da su sada svi zajedno na istom zadatku, onda shvatiš dve stvari.

Prvo, shvatiš da nažalost elita koja je stvorila neke paradigme, neke predrasude (otaku može da posvedoči o neprijatnostima koje je imala pošto je pisala teorijski rad o Kustinim filmovima na FDU) nije uspela da artikuliše ništa drugo, nego su čak spali na to da budu Kustini administratori u periodu njegove dekadencije.

A zatim, i shvatiš svu besmislenost, pa čak i opasnost od stvaranja tih nekih masovnih stavova o nekome, o čemu smo najbolje mogli da svedočimo nedavno kada je Trotačka na Filmskom Forumu pričao potpune gluposti o Kusti, iako ga nije gledao. Ipak, sve njegove teze su bile neka vrsta parafraze onoga što je bilo, na neki način, etablirano u razgovorima i kolektivnom nesvesnom koncentričnih krugova koji su pratili napise beogradske filmske elite.

Otud se na kraju postavlja pitanje, a što su uopšte oni pa gnerisali sav taj hejt kada su samo na kraju spali na to da mu budu lakeji, kada nisu stvorili ništa svoje, i kada na kraju njihova priča biva reinterpretirana na najpogrešniji mogući način.

U tom smislu, ova projekcija me je naučila kako sve akcije u budućnosti treba bazirati isključivo na pozitivnim postavkama, a frustracije treba koristiti kao gorivo a ne kao izvor inspiracije.

[Meho Krljic]

Heh, vidiš da si imao i neke koristi od svega ovoga...

[lilit]

U tom smislu, ova projekcija me je naučila kako sve akcije u budućnosti treba bazirati isključivo na pozitivnim postavkama, a frustracije treba koristiti kao gorivo a ne kao izvor inspiracije.

Lepa recenica.

[mac]

... imaj na umu ja sam ljubitelj filmova sa greškom.

A, pa sad su neke stvari mnogo jasnije! Zar to ne dovodi u pitanje tvoje zvanje kritičara? Mislim, kritičar sa specijalnim ukusom... jel to neka avangarda?

[crippled_avenger]

mac, ja kad sam bio kritičar, tada sam procenjivao filmove na jedan sasvim drugi, i vrlo profesionalan način, u kome sam prevazilazio lične preference, ali sada kao umirovljenik, mogu da se prepustim svojim slabostima.

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam THE CONTRACTOR Josepha Rusnaka, courtesy of Ginger.

THE CONTRACTOR je DTV film sa Wesley Snipesom koji je režirao jedan reditelj u koga su se mnogi kleli, Joseph Rusnak, čovek koji je u inače odličnoj sezoni 1999. imao zapažen film 13th FLOOR.

Međutim, očigledno Rusnaka život nije mazio, i evo sada radi sa Wesleyem.

Wesley je ovaj projekat doduše radio u prestižnijim okolnostima. Uz njega tu glume Charles Dance i Lena Headey, i za film nije očigledno da je sniman u nekoj od članica Lagera.

Štaviše, CONTRACTORov problem je u tome što previše liči na na LEON i BOURNE filmove i ne uspeva da tu derivativnost nadoknadi nekom lucidnošću na planu akcije niti nekom posebnom svežinom.

Međutim, Wesley je u odličnoj formi a Rusnak mu daje neku prilično sofisticiranu formu unutar DTV univerzuma. Štaviše, Wesley je u boljoj formi od mnogih aktuelnih theatrical akcionih heroja.

Stoga, CONTRACTOR je prilično osveženje u Wesleyevim DTV danima, mada nije dovoljno dobar da bi opravdao Rusnakov nedostatak vatrenosti i ziheraški postavljene scene. Naprosto, rusnak se trudio da drži što viši nivo u filmu koji je ipak šupalj za ikakve sofisticirane i svedene zahvate, i samim tim možda to najprekaljenijim ljubiteljima akcije može postati dosadno.

No, Wesley je u formi, film je dostojanstven i to je ono što ja najvažnije.

* * 1/2 / * * * *

[crippled_avenger]

Pogledao sam HADERSFILD Ivana Živkovića.

Film je nesnosan. Ne znam kako se ovo moglo dopasti Ghoulu da bi izguralo dvojku pošto je reč o dostojnom nasledniku NORMALNIH LJUDI.

HADERSFILD u najboljoj tradiciji NORMALNIH LJUDI, filmski krajnje nepismeno pokušava da zabeleži pozorišnu predstavu bez ikakve formalne invencije na bilo kom polju.

Fotografija Vladana Pavića je bazirana na mešavinama svetlosti i tame, licima koja su pola u mraku, pola u senci, i čini se da HADERSFILD ne bi mnogo odmakao od nivoa Olegovog SUTRA UJUTRU da nije te advertajzing estetike koja se provlači kroz fotku. Pavićeva kamera se ne cima kao Čolakovićeva u SUTRA UJUTRU, ali ne mogu reći da se iza njegove slike krije neki ozbiljan koncept izuzev da sve bude spakovano kao artikulisan film, čija čistoća čini da sve ode malo u pravcu fetišizacije socijale.

Međutim, Živkovićevo kadriranje je kardinalno. On uspeva da pogreši u situaciji kada tekst, toliko teatralan, ne nudi pravo na grešku. Živković krajnje nemarno hendluje smene planova i vrlo često ničim izazvano iz razmene krupnih kontraplanova ode u neki širi plan, potpuno neobjašnjivo i bez opravdanja, sugerišući da junake neko posmatra, samo ne znam ko.

U sceni u parku, recimo, Živković toliko nasilno ode u širi plan da mi se čini kao da je u širem planu odradio prilično intimnu deonicu razgovora za koju nema razloga da bude tako slikana.

Od Živkovićevih nemotivisanih širokih planova, u filmu ophrvanom krupnim, naročito se ističe potpuno ničim izazvano snimanje dveju devojaka iz daljine, pored škole, u kome one ne kažu aposlutno ništa važno za film i ta scena je pored heavy handed režije i za sam zaplet poptuno redundantna.

Široki plan nam uskraćuje i mogućnost da shvatimo šta je devojčica "bacila niz rijeku" sa mosta. Ja pretpostavljam da je to video traka sa seksom svojih roditelja, no možda Ghoul i Žika Kišobranac imaju neku drugu teoriju?

Zatim, fleševi sa likom neke devojke u masi ljudi? Je li to Šušljikova izh+gubljena ljubav? Ko je ta osoba? Uašto se ona javlja u fleševima?

Kako možemo da imamo scenu sna na kraju filma kada prethodno nismo uspostavili oniričku atmosferu? Kako može ta scena sna da vodi u besramni, neuračunljivi hepiend a da se za autora i dalje kaže da ima ukusa, i da mu se odmah ne oduzme diploma FDU?

Ipak, to sve je zaobilaženje oko glavnog problema ovog filma a to je gluma. Šušljik, Glogovac i Ćetković su troglavi auralni udar na civilizovanog čoveka, nesaglediva tortura za svakoga ko shvata da je ključ filmske glume underplay.

Propraćeni tekstom koji je teatralan, scenama koje su pune jasno postavljenih dramaturških skela koje nisu uklonjene posle izrade teksta, ovi velikani najmračnijih godina naše kinematografije su konačno odlučili da nam se najebu majke.

U vlastitoj produkciji su konačno snimili film u kome mogu da urade sve ono što nisu uspeli u KROJAČEVOJ TAJNI, KLOPCI i ZONI ZAMFIROVOJ, HADERSFILD je njihov HOT FUZZ, uloga po kojoj žele da ostanu upamćeni, neznajući da bi većinu njihovih najradije zaboravili.

Film o tranziciji su snimili ljudi koje ne znaju apsolutno ništa. Formalno neznanje je ispraćeno piotpuno ličnom ispraznošću. Živković i Pavić su se zaustavili na pokušaju da svemu daju neku vrstu zanatske ekspertize koja za ovu vrstu soula nije važna, a tekst i glumci su uspeli da razotkriju svoju ispraznost čak i onima koji najbenevolentnije žele da se poprave da ih zanimaju "problemi tranzicije".

Očigledno je reč o klasičnom primeru eksploatacije tuđe nesreće koji možda i ima neku kontemplativnost u pozorištu, mada kontemplacija je uvek gledaočeva a ne autorova, a na filmu pokazuje svoju nisku hranljivost.

Potpuno je suluda ta pobednička atmosfera koja je stvorena oko filma i koja još uvek traje čak i posle prikazivanja posle koga bi ljudima trebalo da bude jasno o kakvom je smeću reč.

* 1/2  / * * * *

[---]

Široki plan nam uskraćuje i mogućnost da shvatimo šta je devojčica "bacila niz rijeku" sa mosta. Ja pretpostavljam da je to video traka sa seksom svojih roditelja, no možda Ghoul i Žika Kišobranac imaju neku drugu teoriju?

pa, pošto je u šušljikovom stanu povraćala i uopšte izgledala kao trudna, mislim da je otišla kod ginekologa da abortira, i da je dobila abortirani zametak u tegli, i onda ga simbolički bacila s mosta, čime je reditelj hteo da kaže kako u srbiji nema budućnosti i neće je ni biti.
eto, ja mislim da je to.

[Ghoul]

pa, pošto je u šušljikovom stanu povraćala i uopšte izgledala kao trudna, mislim da je otišla kod ginekologa da abortira, i da je dobila abortirani zametak u tegli, i onda ga simbolički bacila s mosta, čime je reditelj hteo da kaže kako u srbiji nema budućnosti i neće je ni biti.
eto, ja mislim da je to.

nije ti loša teorija, žiko, ali pada na jednom ključnom momentu: imajući u vidu ranije ispoljenu suptilnost u tretmanu temat'ke, režiser bi na tom mestu – da je stvarno abortusni otpadak u tegli u pitanju – svakako pustio pjesmu 'bacila je sve niz rijeku', što on NIJE učinio.

znači, VHS traka, ipak.

(inače, meni su super bili ti HORROR flashevi sa tom creepy ženom koja se, usred mase prolaznika, osvrće ka posmatraču! baš onako, hideo nakata momenat! kao: 'zla ženo! zbog tebe sam sjeban ovako kako jesam!')

[crippled_avenger]

"When I saw The Matrix at a local theatre in Slovenia, I had the unique opportunity of sitting close to the ideal spectator of the film - namely, to an idiot. A man in the late 20ies at my right was so immersed in the film that he all the time disturbed other spectators with loud exclamations, like "My God, wow, so there is no reality!"..." -Slavoj Zizek

[drf]

Dobra opaska o liberalnom kapitalizmu.

[crippled_avenger]

@drf

U emsiiji?

[crippled_avenger]

'The Once and Future Curator'

Interview with Eyejammie Gallery Owner and Curator, Bill Adler, by Bret Dougherty,

"Adler." When Bill Adler answers the phone, that's all you hear.

When you hear the greeting, it makes you feel like your call had better be good, because it's keeping "Adler" from his craft, which is educating the masses about the wonders of hip-hop culture through his current role of running his photo gallery, Eyejammie Fine Arts, in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

Adler's craft has evolved from a number of careers, and it seems that each stop along his path has been surrounded by music with soul. When he was young, the Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding emanating from Detroit AM radio galvanized his musical tastes, and the sounds of rhythm and blues became the foundation for his love of music and the culture surrounding it.

After spending radical times in Ann Arbor, he DJed at Boston's WBCN, where he was soon fired from the station for playing a Joe Tex record that wasn't cleared for airplay. After that incident, Adler learned quickly that he had more freedom as a writer than as a DJ, and he began writing for the Boston Herald as the pop music critic. His next step was moving to New York City in 1980 to work for the New York Daily News, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and People as a freelance music critic.

By 1984, Adler had witnessed the booming growth of hip-hop through a young club-show promoter who was setting up parties around New York City. That young promoter was Russell Simmons. When the magnetic Simmons approached Adler with an invitation to join the fledging Def Jam Recordings and Rush Artist Management as a publicist, Adler dove into the pool of hip-hop headfirst. Between 1984 and 1990, he would be part of a whirlwind of success at Def Jam that would pump out music from hip-hop legends such as Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, 3rd Bass, and Slick Rick to the masses.

After working at Island Records, founding his own PR firm, and creating a record label, Adler co-curated the hip-hop exhibit at Paul Allen's Seattle Experience Music Project in 2000. His success with the exhibit inspired him to turn his personal office into the Eyejammie Fine Arts Gallery. Eyejammie became not only Adler's personal headquarters for publishing, writing, and curating photo exhibits, but also a creative enclave displaying his love and his respect for hip-hop's photographers and their images capturing the rise of hip-hop over the previous thirty years. Now Adler has not only created a gallery to display rare photo exhibits, he has also created a place that successfully displays hip-hop history.

Ernie Paniccioli, who exhibited Urban Blight at Eyejammie this past summer, explains the importance of Eyejammie and the respect that Adler holds in the hip-hop community. "When you're showing photos, there are a lot of cuckoo gallery owners who are dictators, and they don't get involved in the process. With Bill, he loves and respects what he's curating, because he knows hip-hop, which is crucial. Because as figures like Biggie and Pun get more mythical, there will be no photos of them. At least, no photographs of true hip-hop... What you're going to see are A&R fantasies and guys with gold teeth that know how to talk the game, but not the art. Bill not only respects those real art images, but he knows how to make it happen to show them. The guy is a straight-up professional."

Looking into the future, if the hip-hop community decides to have a full-fledged hall of fame, it will need a curator who not only has seen the rise of hip-hop, but who also knows the material needed to support the exhibits. As the insightful visionary Ricky Powell, who this summer released a book published by Adler and Eyejammie called Frozade Moments, snaps, "Bill's been around so long, he's the Bob Cousy of rap. He needs to lose the set shot, though."

At the age of fifty-three, Adler's chance of adding a Mark Price–like jumper to his repertoire may be slim. However, he did add another line to his bio by writing and co-producing a five-part documentary series called And You Don't Stop, 30 Years of Hip-Hop that aired on VH-1 this past October. I sat down with Adler at his favorite haunt, Cabo Rojo on 10th Avenue, where he is fondly known as "Guillo" or "Papi." Over the shrilling sounds of steaming espresso machines and chives being chopped, Adler explains his love for "urban culture," his career path, the current state of hip-hop, curating, and the future for the Eyejammie gallery.

What ignited your passion for 'urban culture'?

My story is simultaneously unique and very typical. I predate hip-hop. I predate so-called "urban street" culture, and I've had a strong affection for Black music ever since I came into consciousness.

I grew up in Detroit in the '60s when radio wasn't stratified. Radio then was super, super cool. In '64, back-to-back you would hear not only the Beatles and all the great Motown acts, but Aretha, Wilson Pickett, and Slim Harpo's "Baby Scratch My Back."

By the time I was 18 I understood that rock & roll was, by and large, black music. By the time 1979 rolled around, and after my time at WBCN, I began working as a music critic at the Boston Herald, which was run by Hearst Publishing but operated in the shadows of the Boston Globe. At that time, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang and "Christmas Rap" by Kurtis Blow came out. Some people thought of those early raps as alien and hard to fathom, but they seemed pretty obviously to me to be in the African American tradition and they were an awful lot of fun. So I dug them.

When I moved to New York City in the summer of 1980, I began working as a freelance writer for the New York Daily News. The good thing as a freelancer was that I had the freedom to choose my own assignments. At the time, Kurt had "The Breaks" out and I convinced the editors to do a story on Kurt. I talked with Kurt a bit, and he told me about a guy named Russell Simmons, who I had heard a lot about around the shows. It was in the full flush of the Sugar Hill era, and I stayed up with the scene.

By '84, I had been following the scene for five years. I could see that it was more than a fad, and Russell invited me to work with him. By the summer of '84, I was in the middle of a whirlwind. I had the feeling that working at Rush Artist Management and Def Jam Recordings was like working at Motown or Stax in the early to mid-'60s. The '80s was a time of tremendous creative ferment and tremendous commercial success...and I naturally felt a gravitational pull to hip-hop because it was exciting.

Hip-hop is not all of my love. I'm too old just to be hip-hop. Yet I feel branded by hip-hop culture. I've done other things, but I keep coming back.

And what keeps drawing you back to hip-hop?

A sense of family more than anything else...It's been real personal for me. I was the oldest of three brothers, and starting with Russell and Run, I understood that sense of family with the development of other artists.

After four years of free-lancing in New York and working here and there, I really hadn't found a community until that time. I was a hippie in the '60's in Ann Arbor, who was part of the rainbow community. Working within the community gave me a sense of belonging, and I learned from them that sharing values, sharing ways, and seeing what grows out of that is special. Working with Russ gave me those types of feelings. I really felt welcomed, and it was very seductive.

The great thing about hip-hop is that it's the same way...It's not unique. Beginning with Bambaataa, from the very start, he was very welcoming with what he did. Look at the Zulu Nation. On the surface, with the African Zulu style surrounding him, if you're a white kid, you're going to be real scared off...You may say. 'There's no place there for me to go.' But Bam is a "One-Worlder", he's really kind of a devotee of George Clinton and Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove." The "Zulu Nation" has taken that philosophy, and practiced it all over the world.

When you hire Bambaataa, he'll bring his show and his record collection, and all sorts of people, with no one really from the Bronx. They will come to his party. They will be welcomed, and they will recognize everyone as their brethren. That's what I always felt and feel about hip-hop. It brings a sense of community, and what it really is about is...love. That's what really hip-hop is about, and it's hard to let that go.

Is that what made you trust the movement that Russ and Rick had at Def Jam?

First of all, please understand that I was there before Rick. I started working with Russ during the summer of '84 and Def Jam Recordings started in the fall of '84. So, much respect to Rick, but I was Russ's guy... And Russ in many ways is a lot like Bambaataa. He's very charming, funny, seductive, warm, intelligent, profane, and spiritual. Now he doesn't go out at night...as much.

But from the time he was seventeen until he turned forty, Russell went out every night. He promoted a ton of parties. What was unique were his efforts to create parties without ethnic or racial borders.

He first got the bug when he was going to CCNY [City College of New York] in Harlem, but he was a Queens kid. When he started throwing shows in downtown Manhattan, he got a downtown crowd, a mixed crowd, a much more cosmopolitan crowd with a more peaceful consciousness. And the result was that a slightly more peaceful vibe came to define the whole hip-hop scene.

By 1981, you had this rock band playing out of CBGB called Blondie who meets Fab 5 Freddy. Freddy takes them uptown and introduces them to the hip-hop community. The members of Blondie are musicians, and they start hearing and enjoying rap records...even though they're not Black. Big fucking deal. They make a novelty record called "Rapture" that goes to number one on the pop charts. In '82, the Clash comes to town, and Grandmaster Flash opens up for them. By '84, a band of Jewish punk rockers from New York starts making rap records.

The Beastie Boys weren't trying to be Black. They were the Beastie Boys before they started making rap records. That's what's intrinsically great about hip-hop. There are no borders. It is universally and internally cool. Period.

What do you think has changed about hip-hop?

It's much more accepted, and it's much more liberated. Take the worst racists in the world, and they love this music. What I think has changed about hip-hop is that this African-American medium is not considered "soul music." Marketwise, it's at the top of it's summit. There are cover versions by white artists. Hip-hop records are more fully funded than rock records. It's eased racial tensions in countries. Certainly, this country is a much more liberated country because of hip-hop.

Thinking about the movement in hip-hop's change, Chuck D mentioned on his campus tour in Chapel Hill, NC that he thought rap made a big shift when KRS-One appeared with a rifle on 'By Any Means Necessary' and with NWA. What do you think are some major points where hip-hop made a shift?

First of all, it's very typical of the modest Mr. Chuck D to downplay his own contributions and give props to someone else. The emergence of Public Enemy and, in particular, of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, was a huge turning point in hip-hop. PE was on a mission to make all of hip-hop less party-oriented and more reflective of the problems facing Black youth. And they succeeded. They single-handedly turned the entire culture around. And then NWA came along a year later and turned the culture in yet another direction.

Chuck and PE were determined to make a change themselves. They were very self-consciously revolutionary in cultural terms. Chuck and PE said 'We love hip-hop...We worship at the shrine of Run-DMC.' Chuck will tell you to this day that Run-DMC is his favorite group without a doubt. But the bias against the black community within America particularly against young African-Americans was so severe at that point, that music had to reflect those realities. Their music couldn't just be party music. There were songs like "The Message" and "It's Like That" that were great party records, but they said this music needs to be a soundtrack for other churches for black pride and black empowerment.

Was that Def-Jam's influence at the time, or was that solely Chuck and PE?

Chuck was who he was; Def Jam never imposed anything. In fact, it was Rick who wanted to sign Public Enemy, not Russ, and it wasn't because Rick felt any "Black solidarity" with them. He liked Chuck's voice. He liked their rebellious attitude, which was an eternal rock attitude.

Russell's feeling was "If you preach, you're going to clear the dance floor. Don't preach." Russ was going to help the group in any way that we at Def Jam could in terms of artist development, but he was never going to impose our ideas or feelings about America on the group.

In that movement's sense, do you think politically charged music will come back?

I think there's politically charged music around now. It's not as popular as it once was, but hip-hop has never been monolithic enough that it can't change. If it were, it would be just the same music that never evolved, and it would have been go-go music. If it had been all about producers running it, the music would have been disco music.

Russ's legacy was that he always thought about music in terms of artists not records. You didn't go to the record store in the mid-'80s to buy a PE record, and think "Oh well, I have my rap record for the week." You could love Whodini and not care about PE, or you could love them for different reasons, and you still could get an album. Even today, you could find variations of hip-hop that you can't find in other music.

PE were the so called "Black Panthers of Rap", but they were not only great because they had a superb political message. The music was dope...dope...DOPE! They might have won people over if they were making party music because their beats were so great. And I say that from the point of view of someone, who loves the convergence of music and politics...I don't need it, but I love it.

People look back retrospectively, and say "Where are the days of PE"? What's missing today is rap groups with PE's consciousness and Hank Shocklee and the Bomb Squad making the beats for them. That's rare..rare..very rare. But if you're looking for it, you can look to Mos Def and Talib Kweli. You can look to the Roots. You can look to the Beastie Boys. All of these groups still have major careers. If you find yourself jonesing for a music political agenda, you can find it.

Touching on the pulse of hip-hop, in October 2000, when talking about the 'Together Forever Tour' stop in Seattle of '87, you told The Seattle Times. "Rap music is and will be no better than the society from that which it springs. If America is greedy, so is it's music. If America is violent, so will be it's music. America is getting the rap music it deserves right now, when the smoke clears, people will realize that this is exciting, wildly inventive, astonishly beautiful music." Is it still?

That's good... I said all of that? Well, I still believe those things, as far as America getting the rap it deserves. I think there was a time in the '60s, when Dr. King and Malcolm X were around, when the African American community set the moral tone in America. Unsurprisingly, the music that came out of that time reflected those politics and reflected that moral leadership. Since the deliberate murder during the '60s of America's Black champions of Civil Rights, I think the Black community has lacked a moral compass, and as a community, they're stuck in the same muck as they rest of us.

But when you look at the current Administration and society today, it's all about materialism and profit. So it's no surprise that American popular culture today reflects those values.


Does that have an effect on hip-hop, and what can be done to preserve it's integrity?

That's good... I said all of that? Well, I still believe those things, as far as America getting the rap it deserves. I think there was a time in the '60s, when Dr. King and Malcolm X were around, when the African American community set the moral tone in America.

Unsurprisingly, the music that came out of that time reflected those politics and reflected that moral leadership. Since the deliberate murder during the '60s of America's Black champions of Civil Rights, I think the Black community has lacked a moral compass, and as a community, they're stuck in the same muck as they rest of us.

But when you look at the current Administration and society today, it's all about materialism and profit. So it's no surprise that American popular culture today reflects those values.

Does that have an effect on hip-hop? And what can be done to preserve its integrity?

Of course, it has an effect on hip-hop.

But there are things that can be done. Look at what Russ has done with the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. He's becoming a force in the marketplace of ideas by trying to get young people to vote. You could he is trying to spoon-feed young Black kids to vote. It's great as far as it goes, but it's unfortunate that Russ can't also produce a candidate for them, because a kid from that movement has to wonder, "What does John Kerry have for me...here in East St. Louis?"

But Russ is doing what he can to ignite political consciousness, and what he does is very cool and low-key. Russ has come a long way. As I said, back in his early days he was scared of preaching. But through this organization he's able to reach people in a more general and diverse way. He doesn't do it through Def Jam. He doesn't do it through the RIAA. He doesn't say, "No more 'bitch-ho' records," or "No more 'pimp-ho' records." If he did, he would not only be compromising his ideals, he could kiss his support in the music business good-bye.

Do I wish that hip-hop was more politically engaging? Yes. Do I wish there were records capable of removing Bush from office, records with the political impact of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911? Hell yes. But they haven't surfaced yet.

So much for preserving the integrity of hip-hop. Regarding the preservation of the culture's history, I think the day is coming when we will see a hip-hop museum.


And that leads to my next question, do you think that your gallery could lead that effort?

When I look at my so-called career, it seems like I've always done work that I wanted to do and enjoy doing because I believed in the social and cultural value of it, because that's what engages me.

So with that in mind, by the late '90s I had worked at a big record label. I had done some consulting, and I had some ideas for big companies like Def Jam Books or a hip-hop version of Corbis, the online photo agency. But I couldn't get them off the ground. But what I did have was an enduring interest in hip-hop history, a love for hip-hop photography, a lot of great relationships with photographers. And I discovered that my neighborhood had been transformed around me into the center of the New York City art world.

So it came to me that without unlimited resources, I could still refurbish my office, call it a gallery, and start putting on shows—and that this work would be a way of continuing, in a different arena, all the work I've done during the last twenty-five years.

I'm a cultural worker. I'm an arts worker. I'm a historian, and I'm devoted to it. And I believe these artifacts, these photos, have both historical value and aesthetic value. So running a gallery to expose this work and to create market value for this work is respectable work for me, and that's why I do it.

Looking at the Sun Studio and the Stax Museums in Memphis, the Chess Recording Studio Museum in Chicago, and the hip-hop exhibit that you consulted for the Experience Music Project in Seattle, is that a direction where you could see Eyejammie head?

You know what I think? Plant a seed and you don't know what's going to grow. Whether or not I have a hand in it, will there be a wonderful hip-hop museum someday? Absolutely. Could Eyejammie be the start of a hip-hop museum? It could.

I also think it would be a great idea to assemble a huge database of hip-hop journalism and photos into a research library along the lines of Rutgers's Institute of Jazz Studies. Call it the Institute of Hip-Hop Studies. I started pulling together a research library of my own in the forms of books, photos, press releases, articles, that kind of stuff, starting in the '70s. Because as a working journalist at that time—and it's very prosaic and very utilitarian to say this—if Bobby Blue Bland came into town and I wanted to do an article on him in the Boston Herald, I'm fucked up. If I wanted research or some record resources to get some background on him, forget it. But if I somehow managed to find a one-page bio on where and when he was born, along with a photo of him, I'm holding onto it all. I want it for myself. Now it's thirty years later, and I've been building up my research library ever since.

Going to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville was a real turning point in my little life. When I was a kid, I couldn't take country music. But eventually I grew up and acquired a real taste for it: George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells...that stuff is just dope—dope!

So when I went to Nashville about eight years ago, I went straight to the Hall of Fame. It was really remarkable. Their institution is comprised of two parts. One part is open to the public. You can see beautiful exhibits on great artists, television spots, Elvis's gold Cadillac, whatever. There's no shame in their game, not stuffy at all.

Then you have a second section, which you can go to by appointment only. That's the Frist Library and Archive Room. A place open to legitimate researchers by appointment only, where they have every country record, every photo, every book, every film, et cetera, et cetera. To see those things together was so inspiring to me. That's what hip-hop needs.

Could my gallery grow into that? I don't know. Could I run something like that? I believe I could. The model is the Country Music Hall of Fame.


What would it take to get that going? Country music has it, the NFL has it.

You know what it needs. Money, money, money. And you need someone with more commitment than Paul Allen, because Paul Allen is basically withdrawing his commitment to the Experience Music Project. He's putting his commitment into science-fiction like the eternal twelve-year-old that he is. Apparently, he's unhappy that the museum is not making money. It's not-for-profit! You don't do it to make money, Paul! You've made your money. This is giving back!

What are the next movements for Eyejammie?

What's amazing to me is that we're moving on works that I would never have counted on at Eyejammie. Right now, we're working to put on a show for the 25th Anniversary of VP Records. They came to me to put on a show, and I believe it's a good fit with what we're doing because dancehall reggae and hip-hop are first cousins, so I said "Let's do it"! It's going to be a great show, and I wouldn't have thought of it on my own.

There's a local painter named Jackson Brown, who grew up in the Southeast. He has a lot of ability with painted oils. He conceived a show, which he can create his ode to hip-hop on large canvasses. I never did a painting show, but he came to me to see if I would be open to an exhibit. So, I said "Let's do it"! The first Eyejammie book, a postcard book of Ricky Powell's photos, has been released, and I would love to do more of that kind of stuff.

The important thing is that I want to do work that I want to do, which I've been lucky to do for most of my life. If I could snap my fingers and have a job as a director of a future hall-of-fame, and I could know that I was going to be there for twenty years until I was retired. I would be real happy...But writing the books, running the gallery, producing the exhibits, these are the fun things to do. And it's doing what I love to do.

BD

[drf]

@drf

U emsiiji?

Ja, ja... Zalomio sam taj deo.
Nisu ti dali da dođeš do TF kao 1)vrhunskog izraza postmoderne i 2) srpske imperijalne muzike.

[crippled_avenger]

Nadam se da si video deo u kome kažem da EXIT treba podržati državnim novcem jedino ukoliko bi se preselio u Kosovsku Mitrovicu?

To je deo koji je bio upućen svim pravim Srbima.

[Nyarlathotep]

Exit ne bi trebalo podrzati drzavnim novcem... nikako, nikada.

[drf]

Nadam se da si video deo u kome kažem da EXIT treba podržati državnim novcem jedino ukoliko bi se preselio u Kosovsku Mitrovicu?

To je deo koji je bio upućen svim pravim Srbima.

E, jesam! To je bilo dobro i lepo je da iko javno izgovori takvu stvar. Ideja je genijalna i državno-ekonomski ispravna.

[Meho Krljic]

Meni je koleginica jutros prejzovala Kriplovo učešće u emisiji do neba. Jedino je malo začudilo koliko si pozitivno pričao o SPS-u, hehehe.

[crippled_avenger]

Meni je koleginica jutros prejzovala Kriplovo učešće u emisiji do neba. Jedino je malo začudilo koliko si pozitivno pričao o SPS-u, hehehe.

Hvala, hvala. Nisam pozitivno pričao o SPSu, daleko od toga, ali takođe nisam pristao na Bakarecove simplifikacije naših odnosa i stanja gde je sad sve za vreme Tita i Slobe bilo tamnica naroda & kulture a sada je sve progresivno, što je najdalje moguće od istine. Plus neki moji stavovi o radničkim pravima su appealovali Ivici.

U stvari, sinoć sam najviše bio u duelu sa Bakarecom, koji je tamo došao sa nekom ultramalograđanskom pričom koja mi se smučila.

[Meho Krljic]

Bakarec je i inače prilično mutan lik (ona njegova poema o Luni Lu me je uverila da je nenormalan), ali jebiga, čovek je dao bubreg sasvim nepoznatom detetu na poklon, za to masiv rispekt.

Imaš snimak emisije? Rado bih to pogledao.

[crippled_avenger]

Inače, Meho, sinoć sam te quoteovao, to jest Radoša iz intervjua kako Javni servis ispunjava želje, hirove i perverzije naroda.

Imam snimak. Poneću na sledeći summit. Ipak, ne očekuj previše.  

[Meho Krljic]

Inače, Meho, sinoć sam te quoteovao, to jest Radoša iz intervjua kako Javni servis ispunjava želje, hirove i perverzije naroda.

Imam snimak. Poneću na sledeći summit. Ipak, ne očekuj previše.  

Ma, ne očekujem previše, ali ipak, Ivica, Nebojša, Raka i ti na jednom mestu, pa to je maltene free-imrov sitkom right there!!!

[---]

i naravno, srce starog folkera u meni je zaigralo kad sam video da su avenger i raka marić na jednoj, a dačić i bakarec na drugoj strani studija  

meni je super bila crippleova opaska o bijelom dugmetu, kad je bakarec rekao kako se, eto, bijelo dugme "obnovilo" zbog para, i da se ništa nije čulo bo je dugme htelo samo da odsvira te koncerte zbog para, na šta cripp kaže "a ranije su svirali iz ljubavi".

[David]

a o kojoj se to emisiji radi?
da nije neka iz B92-serijala?
da vidim o cemu se radi kada objave transkripte...

unaprijed zahvalan na odg.

[Meho Krljic]

a o kojoj se to emisiji radi?
da nije neka iz B92-serijala?
da vidim o cemu se radi kada objave transkripte...

unaprijed zahvalan na odg.

Srećom, ne, u pitanju je TV Pink.

[crippled_avenger]

i naravno, srce starog folkera u meni je zaigralo kad sam video da su avenger i raka marić na jednoj, a dačić i bakarec na drugoj strani studija  

Raka je fenomenalan lik. On je bio daleko najsimpatičniji od svih njih tamo. Iza žešće ruralne fasade se krije vrlo inteligentan tip i mislim da se on namerno pravi da je gluplji nego što jeste.

Zato sam na kraju emisije i rekao da mi je drago da smo na jednoj strani Raka i ja, ljudi "iza scene" a da su na drugoj "zvezde", političari koji su nažalost popularniji od većine pevača.

[Plissken]

Kriple, super ti je bio nastup. Imas posebne cestitke od moje mame.

[Джон Рейнольдс]

Moram da se pridružim čestitkama. Moja porodica je gledala Kripla i na momente je navijanje bilo kao da gledamo Partizan - ja skačem i vičem, a žena, dete i pas se skrivaju po ćoškovima. Kad već spomenuh ženu, ona je baš juče citirajući Kripla utrljala u beton jednu butikašicu iz Exit-team ekipe. Izjava je bila u stilu da su Exit i Guča turističke destinacije gde stranci mogu da dođu da se ponašaju kao svinje za male pare.

Kripl je definitivno sjajan lik ali sam isto tako svestan da njegovih nastupa neće biti mnogo jer je u opštem medijskom sivilu teško zamislivo da će se neko okuražiti da pozove čoveka koji sa lakoćom, podsmehom i argumentovano razbija popularne PC mantre i razobličuje medijske svete krave. Jednostavno, ljudi ne žele da čuju istinu, pogotovo ako im to ruši nerealno viđenje sebe i svog miljea.

Što se Bakareca tiče, mislim da je on dao kožu, a ne bubreg, što naravno ne umanjuje njegov gest. Ipak, čovek je možda tek treći DSS-ovski ešalon, što o njemu dovoljno govori. Pored sveg mlaćenja prazne slame, ipak mu je highlight bio osvrt na VIP-modu stvorenu za srpsku kvazi-elitu. Kripl je naravno bio šlag na torti jer je spomenuo da mnogi ozbiljni ljudi iz javnog života odlaze u fan-pitove, ali to paparacima nije interesantno, jasno definišući ko je ko i ko je šta.

Sve u svemu, emisija je bila sjajna, najpre zbog toga što je svako od učesnika jasno pokazao pravo lice, uključujući i retardiranu voditeljku.

[crippled_avenger]

Hvala na čestitkama.

Mislim da je najznačajnije za taj nastup u emisiji to što je bio pred dosta vlikim brojem gledalaca, a retko se masovnijem gledalištu nude složenija gledišta.

No, da se vratimo onome što je osnovno gradivo ovog topika. Moj seksualni život.

Šalim se.

Pogledao sam FREE JIMMY Christophera Nielsena, courtesy of Ginger.

Mislim da je ovo film kome je zagarantovan status u cult kolekcijama. Ponovo je reč o nordijskoj adult-oriented animaciji, s tim što je ovog puta reč o norvešno-britanskoj ko-produkciji tako da je za britansko tržište urađena ambiciozna britanska verziju za koju je scenario adaptirao Simon Pegg, a glasove su uz njega dali i likovi poput Jim Broadbenta i Woody Harrelsona.

Animacija je kompjuterska i uglavnom je prilično bezveze mada ima i jako dobrih i fino urađenih scena. Ono što se ističe kao poseban problem je zapravo to što veći deo filma zapravo ne opravdava potrebu za animacijom i uglavnom sve to se moglo uraditi u klasičnom igranom filmu. I to čak ne ni u nekom skupom igranom filmu.

To naravno podrazumeva obilje scena koje je razotkrivaju slabosti animacije, čak i u ozbiljnijim produkcijama, tu pre svega mislim na brojne dijaloške scene.

Priča o grupi probisveta kojima pobegne slon u čije su meso ušili par kila heroina, radikalnim eko teroristima i laponskoj mafiji koja ih juri je zaista na tarantinovsko-kaurismakijevskoj teritoriji, i to kažem u najboljem smislu. I možda tu najpre animacija devalvira celu stvar pošto bi te scene da su snimljene kao live action bile mnogo bolje.

Kada je reč o scenama koje su bazirane na akciji, karakterima životinja, i sl. onda tu animacija dolazi do punog izražaja i Nielsen je dobro koristi.

Međutim, pošto je ceo attitude filma jako dobar, i sve je vrlo edgy i gory, film je u principu dovoljno zanimljiv da se prevaziđu svi nedostaci koje sam naveo.

U dijalozima se oseća Peggov stav, i kao i uvek kod njega, na smenu su sadržajni i smešni. Problem je amo u tome što engleski scenario nije dovoljno smeštne u skandinavski kontekst tako da sve izgleda kao film koji se dešava u Skandinaviji a likovi kao da to izbegavaju da nam priznaju.

* * 1/2 / * * * *

[DušMan]

Ako moze da se nakaci taj snimak negde na net, bilo bi super.
Jel' moze?

[crippled_avenger]

Harry Knowles se oženio, moglo bi se reći da mlada baš i nije nešto. Ako je takvu oženio najuspešniji filmski geek na svetu, čemu mi da se nadamo?