Weekly Cover Shootout VI

Fuckin' Joe Cocker rocking out on The Beatles song "With a little help from my friends".
I grew up listening to "N'oubliez jamais" and "Unchain my heart" while my dad was cooking.
Never did i think of Joe Cocker as the crazy motherfucker on stage here!

In my humble opinion Cocker brings a better version of this song than the fab four. He's just so into the song and his gravelly voice is something that really adds to the magic.

Peace.

Black Swan

This monday, i took my girlfriend to see Black Swan. I didn't really know what to expect since i had only seen the trailer once and hadn't really read the storyline.

This movie, directed by Darren Aronofski, got me hooked to the screen during its 108 minutes.
I didn't even go for a quick pee-break, which is quite rare.

Although there were some moments where i really had a hard time following the story, this movie is a true tale of genius. An aspiring ballet dancer gets the part as "Swan Queen" and the pressure of the role starts weighing on her. Nina's mother was most likely a has been ballet star and didn't stop creeping me out until the end of the film.

The director is a real master of suspense and the use of music in this film is extra-ordinary.
I'm not going to unravel the whole plot here but it seems to me that the main character has some serious issues. A psychological thriller it is indeed.
Some moments are just every day life situations that scared the shit out of me because of the lighting and the music.

Go check this movie! By the way, props to the stunt double for Nathalie Portman. Top level ballet dancing.

Great night!

Weekly Cover Shootout V

So it's Tuesday and since i spent my whole weekend working i'm in dire need of a weekend.
So why wait to post this week's cover? Right.
This is Lissie performing Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness". We saw her live and it was amazing!
She'll be dropping by this summer for the Werchter Festival !
Needless to say she kicks Cudi's ass.

Enjoy.

True Grit

Last Saturday my girlfriend took me out on a date. We went to see True Grit at UGC De Brouckère.
There were very little people sharing it with us so we cracked open a beer and got out the candy.

First off, this movie is written by the Coen brothers. This means we're in for a laugh and some mean ass dialogues. The movie is about 125min long and i admit that time flies when you're watching this.
It was over before i knew it, i could have spent a whole day looking at this flick.

Every detail in this film is right. The actors, the directing, the soundscape, the songs, the light,....

The story in short is this:

- A young girl's father is shot by a lowlife crook he had helped.
He flees and justice fails to serve her. She takes matters in own hands and pays a bounty hunter to look for the bad guy. She insists on going with him. Him in this case is Jeff Bridges alias "Rooster" who is a one eyed whisky drinking badass US Marshall.
Their path is crossed by Matt Damon alias "LaBoeuf", a Texas Ranger who is very proud to be so.
Together they start a chase that will lead them far in to indian territory.

This is by far the best movie i have seen in a while. Go check this out and preferably in a cinema!

Next week i'll be taking my girlfriend to see Black Swan. Can't wait!

Weekly Cover Shootout IV

This week's cover, barely made it on time, is one that's close to my heart.
It's how i feel whenever she's not around.

"I just don't know what to do with myself" is written by Burt Bacharach and Dave Hall and is most known as performed by Dusty Springfield. The first recording was by Tommy Hunt.

The version i'm putting up here is the one The White Stripes made. As much as i like the original, this cover speaks more to me as it adds some power to the song.
The lyrics seem to come to life when Jack White slurs them out on top of a raging riff.

That's all folks!

Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby

Just finished reading Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked. This is the second Hornby i've read.
The first one being High Fidelity, both books are music related.

The main story is this : Duncan and Annie have been together for fifteen years. He is an English teacher and music love who is obsessed with Tucker Crow, an eighties singer songwriter who gave up on his career and life all together. Annie works in a museum and has been the third wheel on Duncan's Tucker cart for a long time now. Both are kind of struggling with their personality and realize they want different things in life.

From here on everything starts spiraling out of control and Tucker Crow becomes more of a main character in the book.
Hornby has a way of filling his book with musical references that will please any music fan.
His talent for describing human behavior is quite remarkable. He makes things about every day life and human behavior seem so funny and really focuses on the interaction between two individuals.

A witty and fascinating read that kept me turning pages at a fast rate.

Must read!

Filigranes Library

Today we went to a book signing at Filigranes Library. We didn't plan on going there but we were doing a favor to my girlfriend's dad who wanted his book signed.

As much as i didn't want to go at first i am so happy we did. Karma can be quite good to us sometimes.
This library is a place i would recommend to anyone who loves books. First of all this place is huge!
Every corner is crammed with books and the best thing is that you can even grab a drink in there cosy bar while checking out the books you plan on buying.
Besides the bar there are coaches strategically placed all over the shop. They have an enormous art section and a basement filled with English books as well.

They host book signings and readings more than once a week. These are completely free so you can just walk in and enjoy the author's take on his book.
I had to hold back from snatching as much books as i could carry. It's frustrating to go there with empty pockets because i could ruin myself there.

The people working there are actually happy to be working there and can advise you on anything you would want to know. Give them some references and they will happily advise you on great stuff to read.

We're going back tomorrow just to be able to get a better look at the English section.

More info can be found at http://www.filigranes.be

D.A.

Weekly Cover Shootout III

It's been a while. A week of absence due to a week of snowboarding in Avoriaz with all the loved ones.
It was awesome! A post about that will follow when the pictures are uploaded.

This week's - or the one before - shootout is done by my all time hero, Lemmy.
He adds a bit of grit to the already excellent "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent.
He said it himself and i can't agree more, they rip the original to shreds.

Rock out!