May 30, 2008

New (all time) obsessions

I can't help but saying that I am a very conventional being. Consistency and eloquence and elegance turn me on. And they are certainly not words Deleuze would agree. After a terrible struggle with university work, I retreated into the preciousness of my shelves, possessions, things I once can't do without. Dusty, some has become my all time obsessions. nonetheless I'd love to list them down, for the sake of consistency.


HERMES EAU D'ORANGE VERTE
My favourite fagrance to date. Honestly I'm no expert in fagrance, but the sheer beauty of this smell, sweet, adventerous, energetic, fresh and elegant, even my moods get affected when I'm wearing it. I have the lust to crave it as my fagrance of a lifetime.


SLURP MAGAZINE
Ever since the editors of Daze and confused and i-D starting to become more than influential, over the top 70s close to the mass magazines are starting to emerge, playing the high-end, cool-chic, sexual, lomo outlook, all magazines with same fonts same layouts, almost blurring individual identities. BIG and WAD and CLASH stands out as something different, but still pack full of ads (like 30 out of 150 pages...?) whereas my new found SLURP, a wopping 430 pages bi-annual bible, with literally 6 ads in front. Daring full pages of stunning photography, occasionally with interesting interviews. I'm not a big fan of reading what's in those fashion mags who wants to go social or cultural, the tonality just doesn't attract me. Slurp it.


RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Never had a thought about this composer until i saw BBC's documentary about him, 'the Passion of Vaughan William' on iplayer. Making the unmissable unmissable is quite rightly put, as the next day I jumped out of the house and grabbed 2 CDs of his by the BBC Philharmonic. Symphony no.3 &6 are sheer amazing and heavy weight contemperary music, that has the same melodic and structuaral beauty as that of the Romantic Period. Lark Ascending slips into the landscape, showing you the way light penetrates treetop through shimmering string harmonies. I need to learn more about this man; and with this I also have to admit, Britain needs to be proud of how they have contributed to the contemperary music history, from Vaughan Williams to Radiohead, it didn't come easy.


PAUL AUSTER
The writer I have encountered so far, who has the closest resonance with my inter thoughts. I do not find his dragging descriptives embarassing, I don not find his emotional reflections pretentious. Everything he says seems to have a touch of reality, a sense of here. And I could not help marveling at his english writing. I'm at no point of being judgemental on writing (look at the blog and you should know why), but his precision on paragraph lengths, catch-phrases and topic sentenses simply showing a crafty wroter very aware his every moment. They do not only tie up his style, It is also a motive for the story's development, and most of all, it looks good on the printed pages. Try Invention of Solitude, a gripping auto-biograpgical portray of family relationships. I'm sure some of the pages of his manuscripts were stained with tears, it was genuine, candid, naked, and very honest. That's what an artist ought to be, I reckon.


CHRISTOPHE HONORE
It almost fee like he's there tosubstitute my emptiness for Ozon. I love both men, they're adorable, to look at and to experience. I can almost feel like falling in love with them, drowning hours over alcohol in a smoky bar, dimmly-lid and very drunk, fingering the rim of the glass and humming about love and despair. Ozon faded away, and Honore seemed to have picked it up from there, put on a Gordard-ish Nouvelle Vogue tee, and shuffling around like a brand new lover. It's true, Ozon is introverted, looking at details of relationship, lost and despair, SOUS LES SABLES, 5X2, LE TEMPS QUI RESTE. However, the grittiness of GOUTTES D'EAU SUR PIERRES BRULANTES,and the sexy 8 FEMMES seemed to have flown through Honore, LE CHANSON D'AMOUR is just about Paris and love as any french film could honestly be. Surprise to just look at Ludivine Sagnier, a little girl in 8 femmes, rebelious teenage in Swimming Pool, now a beautiful lady struggling for the omnious love of Louis Garrel. If Ozon and Honore do not flow the same blood, I just don't understand cinema.


YELLOW KNITTED TOP
This is not about Lousi Garrel turning gay, nor is it about him. It's about the yellow knitted top he wore in Le Chanson d'Amour. I'm So turned on by it, I tried to find one for myself today, unsuccessfully. The movie was shot with the greyness of 60s French film, not suprising regarding the technique the director shot the film. Characters all look like they're straight from a 60s wardrobe. Louis was wearing this knitted top with a dark purple velvet blazer. Very chic very 60s. I just LOVE it. Can't put a finger on it, but I loath retro. They're boring and unimaginative. Doing things people have done before. Shooting a movie like Gordard did 50 years ago, matching clothes people wore 50 years ago. how could we be exciting about it? Where's the identity of our generation? Camden 08 is just the brainless copier of Camden 68? But i'm still loving it, and I won't stop looking for one yellow knitted top of mine.