Friday Pragmatism | Going backwards

I’m at my sister’s using her gear. It’s good gear, but in the past I have failed to successfully post entries and have lost them. Because of that I have chosen a subject on which I hope I can be brief.

Things moving backwards was actually a slightly different topic of discussion on Tuesday night when I had dinner with Kate, one of my dearest friends, however it does interestingly tie-in with a few more pragmatic things I’m engaging in at present.

I always love new film and music, however of late I’ve begun going backwards in my new experiences, meaning I’m sourcing older and older pieces of art. In music I’ve begun listening to the Eagles and have just started Fleetwood Mac. I’ve always rather enjoyed this stuff, but this is the first time I’m actively sitting down and listening to their albums, selecting those songs which evoke the strongest responses in me. It leads me to believe that eventually I’ll start acquiring all the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones music that I’ve loved for so long but have never really purchased. I also have some great Jazz going a little farther back with a small selection of music from Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis, so perhaps that’s due for expansion too. What’s wonderful is that at the same time that I’m getting into this old stuff, probably well leveraged by The Cardigans and Lisa Miskovksy, I’m also getting way into the Above & Beyond progressive trance material. Not all of it is great but some of the Jaytech and Dinka stuff in particular is awesome. What’s great about that is that almost all of this stuff and more from the artists is available on Beatport at exceptionally cheap prices. Beatport stands for me as the single best online music retailer; the site is slick, fast, and samples go for up to three minutes – and not just from the start either (30 second samples fro 0:00 are almost always useless), they’re usually selected from the meatiest, most choice parts of the track. Stellar.

I’ll start with film by saying the same thing; always keen for new film, particularly by the more unique indie writers and directors, but I’ve found I’ve gotten way into Ingmar Bergman. Persona blew me away and Cries and Whispers was phenomenal – in different ways to Persona but certainly outstanding. I’ve picked up almost all of the films of his that I want to watch for now, about seven in total, and they date back to 1955. Rok is also getting way into Hitchcock and the original Twilight Zone, though he always did love Hitchcock. He’s shown me some of Alfred Hitchcock presents, and while now with hindsight we may easily scoff at certain things (though I don’t), some of the things he presented and ways themes played out are truly amazing given the period they were written and filmed in.
On Ingmar Bergman, something tells me he may actually replace David Lynch as my favourite abstract director. Mulholland Dr. will always remain one of my favourite films of all time, scoring 10 where Persona only scored 9 (not a direct comparison remember), but of all of the Lynch films I’ve seen, only Mulholland Dr. has struck that note, with Inland Empire not far behind (also scored 9). So far Persona and Cries and Whispers have left a significant mark on me and I’m keen to view his other works. Some strange instinct seems to indicate I may be more satisfied with more of Bergman’s films than Lynch; only natural given that he is a source of inspiration for Lynch himself.

Other things are traveling backwards but in neutral ways that have nothing to do with morality or any sense of positivity and negativity. Slowly I believe people like Kate, Rok and Jack are beginning to understand some of the ways I experience life, and though this is not a requirement for dear companionship, it’s delightful and surprising all the same. I really have no understand of how much time I’ve got so every moment with them is a joy, even when and particularly when we don’t speak, or just spend time doing seemingly silly things. At the end of the day, silliness is a deep intimacy that I can truly only share with such people. All others experience me in lesser degrees of my character; it is right and natural and the way it should be. My writing as Vroenis continues to be rewarding, if rare. I tend to translate less, though a fair bit of it comes out here. Vroenis I sense has become a challenge for everyone, and he is now essentially insulate from everyone, sometimes even from me. Whether or not this should feel natural, it surely does, and it is embraced.