August 2014 – Page 2

I’d owned this book for a while but it took Sculthorpe’s recent death to spur me towards it. It was always my intention to read it, but I suppose now is as fitting a time as any, given the amount of obituaries and memorials which have been printed of late.

The work is interesting, though the product of later-life reflection rather than at-the-time recollection. It definitely helps to be aware of musical form and conventions, and reading stave better than I do would bring more enjoyment from the musical excerpts printed throughout the text. It’s pleasingly broken into sections detailing either parts of Sculthorpe’s life (youth, schooling) or musical development (Bali, Japan, Kakadu) and it’s the latter which prove most interesting. The development of Sculthorpe’s language, especially in early years is interesting, as is his move to synthesise Australian and Asian ideas and music into a music of this land.

He’s described somewhere as doing for Australia what Copland did for parts of the US, something not too far from the mark, I think. But I must admit Continue reading “Review: Sun Music: Journeys And Reflections From A Composer’s Life” →

Book review: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

August 16, 2014August 15, 2019 CaptainFez1 Comment

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: A novel by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A caveat, before we begin: Murakami is one of my favourite authors. So chances are I was bound to dig this anyway. But I must confess – when I begin every new work of his, I find myself questioning whether I really like what I’m reading. Whether I understand it. I’ve read his stuff so long I feel that liking it out of the gate is almost a default setting – but I was happy to feel slightly conflicted, at least, with this new one.

I’ve yet to slog my way through IQ84 so I can’t say exactly how Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His years of Pilgrimage compares to its predecessor. But if we divide the author’s work into “weird” and “normal”, then this falls into the latter. If anything, it reminded me of a variation on some of the themes touched on in Norwegian Wood – though “love, loss and youth” is a pretty wide remit.

Some claim Murakami is a one-trick pony, but I don’t really buy it. Continue reading “Book review: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” →

Book review: A Dance with Dragons

August 15, 2014August 15, 2019 CaptainFezLeave a comment

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Five down, two more to go. Well, assuming they’re ever finished, that is. But it does feel pretty good to have reached this point – that’s a lot of dragons, noseless dwarves and creepy sex scenes to go through. But it must be testament to the strength of the story that I’m still here … and a walk-up start for six and seven when they arrive.

The same criticisms I had for A Feast for Crows apply to this one. It’s still pretty obviously half-and-a-bit-more of one text too long for publication on its own, and the absence (or much-reduced presence) of the characters who drove the previous book sometimes leaves the reader with a feeling of isolation or amnesia. It’s easy to lose track of what’s happening where when certain people don’t turn up for a thousand pages or so. Continue reading “Book review: A Dance with Dragons” →

The Last of Us (2013)

August 11, 2014 CaptainFezLeave a comment

I’ve just finished a 20-odd hour playthrough of PlayStation-exclusive The Last of Us, the survival horror game. I suppose I’m a little slow on the uptake – I’m surprised that it’s over a year since it was launched – but it’s a pretty great game. Though I must admit I’d expect nothing less from Naughty Dog, a development team whose pawprints are over a load of great games (The Uncharted series, the stupidly great Jak & Daxter games) and who have a good eye for the cinematic.

First, the game looks beautiful. Odd to say about something set in a gone-to-shit world where forehead fungi are turning people into zombies – er, sorry, the infected – but there it is. Continue reading “The Last of Us (2013)” →

Book review: A Feast for Crows

August 8, 2014August 15, 2019 CaptainFez4 Comments

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I suppose the people were right when they suggested I’d seen nothin’ yet if I thought GRRM’s penchant for waffling was excessive in the previous book. This was easily the series’ most padded work. Many times I found myself retreading ground, or having stuff explained that’d been explained in either another book in the series or in another chapter of this book.

That’s understandable, I suppose – there’s hundreds of cast and dozens of locations in the world Martin’s created – but it certainly is very obvious when you’re reading the series (as it stands) end to end. As you start to build up your own storehouse of lore and family trees, the constant hand-holding can really weary. Continue reading “Book review: A Feast for Crows” →

The buildings tumbled in on themselves

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 CaptainFezLeave a comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ic_SbGEerk

A brief post, as I’m neck-deep in deadline at present. Today’s post is what I’m currently listening to – Godspeed You Black Emperor’s F#A#∞ album. And, as happens whenever I listen after not hearing it for a long while, I’m amazed anew at how good it is. Continue reading “The buildings tumbled in on themselves” →

Book review: A Storm of Swords

August 2, 2014August 15, 2019 CaptainFez1 Comment

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The plan to read through all – well, the currently published – George R. R. Martin’s series in a row continues. Though I must admit I found this volume a little heavier going than the previous two. I can’t say why, exactly – it’s just more of the same; the writing is no more or less difficult than ever it was. But I found myself dragging my eyes’ heels (there’s a terrible image) through it.

It could have something to do with the length: locally, this is split into two books. On the Kindle it really didn’t matter, but surely to God there’s something in 1300 pages which could’ve been excised. Continue reading “Book review: A Storm of Swords” →