Posts by Russell Brown
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Field Theory: In closing, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
The most cringy moment for me was the use of Bowie’s “Fashion” during the fashion section. Ugh.
And they couldn't even let that stand on its own without a bloody medley intro.
-
Field Theory: In closing, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
Gary Barlow, who this week has been privately dealing with a family tragedy, was incredible. That performance almost made up for all the previous quibbles.
Yes. That and, as you say, the Spice Girls. They did what they were there to do.
-
Speaker: Selling the Dream: The Art of…, in reply to Peter Alsop,
There is also a difference in my mind between display in context, a book about the period, versus a tea towel or t-shirt now, which is not a form of reproduction i can personally condone for any of these posters (accepting however that there is a role for some reproduction of art, as done in galleries throughout the world).
Teatowels and shirts sem inappropriate but it seems odd to me to completely lock away works produced as commercial art.
Dare i also say it though, amongst the appropriate debate of cultural appropriateness, what a skilled piece of design!
That's it for me too. It has its own worth. And it's not as if it's a golliwog. It's beautiful.
-
Speaker: Selling the Dream: The Art of…, in reply to Peter Alsop,
Thx for the thoughtful comments re the Chief, lets not forget he has a name, Topia Peehi Turoa. Ive gone full circle dwelling on this through the day for the sort of reasons Russell went into. It is what it is, from a period, right or wrong. We can look back at it and see some good things about it – well i can – and some not so good things.
Ah, sorry, didn't connect the name with the image we're talking about it. Man, he has quite a biography.
And yeah, I've been pondering it today and I still think that these works have an identity of their own. How long do we have to wait till it's okay to appreciate that poster for what it is?
That said, we've been patient about clearing rights for Barry Barclay's 1970s Tangata Whenua series for NZ On Screen. The second episode is still in the works while everyone's approval is sought and that's fine.
-
Hard News: Living with the psychopath, in reply to Rowan Shedden,
I went into her flat to help her, whereupon she showed me the weapon – drawing it from under the bedclothes ….
Jaysus! I can't quite understand why it was such a weird place. But it really was.
-
Field Theory: In closing, in reply to Hadyn Green,
See I didn’t really mind the closing ceremony (beyond the poor sound). It’s meant to be a “just play your hits” kind of event. The idea is it’s meant to be a sing-along for the athletes to get out and have fun, rather than the opening which is meant to be symbolic and shit.
Sure. But why didn't Annie Lennox sing 'Sweet Dreams Are Made of This' and why was George Michael allowed to do his grim new song that no one knows the words to? Why wasn't he forced to share a stage with Andrew Ridgely?
Kim Davis set his own benchmark when he said the show would be the DJ after the wedding -- but he turned out to be a rubbish DJ. Did he really think Jessie J would be an adequate stand-in for Freddie Mercury? If they were going to do 'Another One Bites the Dust', why did no one have the sense to get a rapper in? Did no one point out to Brian May that no one wanted to hear him noodling on the guitar for ages? Why didn't they play 'We Are the Champions'?
And why in god's name did they throw away 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as a wholly inappropriate segue intro to 'Imagine'? That should have been the centrepiece to a visual spectacular, incorporating the original, much-loved video.
What was with all the fucking medleys? Where were Motorhead and Soul II Soul? Why have the Kaiser Chiefs cover a Who song when the Who were going to play half an hour later? I actually thought Ed Sheeran did an okay job of 'Wish You Were Here', but the attempt to recreate the album cover was ghastly. And how did the director manage to miss the key shot as John Lennon's face was assembled out of blocks? (You could tell the crowd could see it for a lot longer than we could.)
There were various other fuckups -- miscalculating the time for the athletes to enter the stadium so badly that all the songs had to be played twice, the Who's backing track unexpectedly restarting after they'd finished.
And the sound was abysmal. The opening ceremony sounded amazing on our home theatre system -- but this morning I had to put my ear next to the subwoofer to hear anything from it at all. When they played a little snippet of the Beatles' 'A Day in the Life', the vocals were coming from the rear speakers. WTF?
I really thought it was a production shambles, programmed by someone who just had no feel for music.
-
Hard News: Living with the psychopath, in reply to Gareth Ward,
I haven’t been following this particularly well, but I assume this is parole release – if so, how long does he have left on his sentence/under parole? Even if he gets recalled the issue is going to be when that sentence comes to an end…
Ah, found it. He will be subject to an Extended Supervision Order for 10 years after his parole expires in 2015.
-
Hard News: Living with the psychopath, in reply to Lilith __,
Is it naive to ask if preventive detention was considered?
That would have to have happened at sentencing and iirc wasn't available at that time on the offences of which he was convicted.
-
I don't think anyone expected the way the games would become such a showcase for the best of British aspirations -- it turned out that Danny Boyle's opening ceremony was perfectly pitched for what followed. It set out what Britons want to feel about themselves.
The slightly humdrum closing ceremony really only underlined how extraordinary Boyle's great expression to open the party had been.
-
Speaker: Selling the Dream: The Art of…, in reply to Hebe,
I must elaborate: the chiefs and their heads, portraits, images of taonga all are off my list of poster-appropriate.
Having started this by posting that image, I feel I have to disagree. I think it’s a resonant image, although I’d like to know more about it.
These things exist and have existed for a long time. They are what they are, I think.
Edit: The original is a silkscreen print produced by the Tourism Department some time between 1935 and 1940. The craft is beautiful.
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 765 766 767 768 769 … 2279 Older→ First