the princess

Last night I semi-watched probably half of a film called The Princess, with the sound turned down. It's a kind of a fantasy action film that seems to involve a lot of stabbing with long swords and either falling or dangling out of castle windows. Incredibly skilful in terms of the camerawork and the, I guess, choreography. I wikipedia'd it a little and it seems that the notion is that there are two princesses, one has been promised to some evil guy, as a bride, but she's not up for it and he decides that if he can't have the kingdom via marriage he's just going to take it over anyway. So she runs through the castle killing off all his henchpeople in terrible ways. I kind of feel sorry for the henchpeople, they're just doing their jobs, it's not personal. Anyway I suppose we're meant to be mainly interested in the princess. As mentioned there's a second princess who is also in danger and the king and queen and etc. 

I admit I had the sound turned down so I wasn't exactly fully engaged. I turned it off about half way through (I'm guessing). I don't even know why I'm mentioning it except that I'm just really enjoying having a big fat fuck off television in my living room. I am watching a lot of bad old shows just because they're big and in colour. I am also amazed by the ads. It's been so long since I watched tv ads and they're intensely novel (actually I should be careful. Watching tv ads in Warrnambool last year got me aware of the Homicide DVD series). Whether it's the shows I watch or just the way tv is now, the ads are totally for old, old, old people. Older than me. Simplicity Funerals kind of old. 

Speaking of old and ridiculous, I have found another Finnish band to love. Tamara Luonto. (When I say I found them, that's a lie. Spotify found them. Played them right after the Ninni Forever Band). They only have a single, a cassette, and a so-called single on spotify i.e. not a real single. I mean they're not Pintandwefall but that 'Made in China' single really has all the ingredients I love, the sound of it. I have no idea what it's about though. The video doesn't help - the video tells a story about a woman who gets some chinese food delivered and over a few days has a relationship with the woman who delivered it. 

In other news, I saw Wendy Hughes. 

I know she's died. It was in Homicide. 

To be honest I didn't recognise her till I saw her name in the closing credits. Of course she's completely unmistakeable. It's a very ineffectual part, only one scene I think. Not really sure what it's supposed to be for.

Here's one more interesting thing that I can't really say much more about. It's a Housing Commission publication, very handmade (roneoed except for the cover) about concrete houses. Just look at that woman. What is with her head?  

I completely do not understand that head at all. Do you? Is there some way of looking at it that makes sense? Is she wearing some kind of Chico Marx hat with a sun visor? Or does she just have a peaked skull and a huge nose (and no eyes)? 

Also isn't she kind of tiny for that house? Also, is she balancing on the point of one foot? 

pere ubu terminal tower and ninni forever band uusi yhtye

 

So I was crowing a few weeks ago about how I didn't buy a copy of Modern Dance when it was offered to me by the universe but what I didn't mention was that, spare prick that I am, I did then go and buy a copy of Terminal Tower which is the 1985 compilation of most of their non-LP material up to that point. I bought this when it came out but somehow lost track of that copy. It's a pretty great album, not least because it covers the gamut of the first iteration's trajectory from rock outliers to anything goes experimentalists (and a stab at something like pop, the first of their real 'well, this could be an insane novelty hit record like Renee and Renato or something' records). 

I'm listening to it now and realise that only one of my speakers is working, so I'm getting an interesting remix of the overall and hearing things I never realised were there before, percussion/guitar overdub bits that were obviously always part of my experience of these recordings but they're now a lot more prominent and while I am not thrilled by the prospect of fixing the speaker shizzle I'm finding it an experience right now.

My other great listen during the week has been Ninni Forever Band, specifically their album Uusi Yhtye which has some absolute standout tracks on it (the big hits are 'Söin Auringon' and 'Tää Ääni'). Ninni is Ninni Luhtasaari who is also known as Dumb Pint in, yes, sorry, Pintandwefall but here the songs are in Finnish. I am very up for that. One of the songs is called 'Foliopallo' which means 'foil ball' which is hard to resist. I know you're not interested but whatever, I'm not being paid by the word here. 

'Uusi Yhtye' means 'new band' but they had been a band for ten years by the time this came out, so lol. I see their first album is available from a Finnish vendor who can also supply me with all the Bogart Co. records I could want. It's probably time for me to put the computer away for now.