Stranger Than Paradise

I Miss 'NY. Big Reunion November 12th!



Back when I was a teenager and on to university I used to listen to this Toronto radio station constantly and it's responsible for introducing me to some of the most important music ever (matched only by Brave New Waves). Well good news for Spirit of Radio fans, they're having a reunion in November! Click here to check out this excellent tribute site to one one of the best radio stations ever (now a total joke sadly). My cousin, Craig "Lobster Boy" Venn from Toronto radio station Q107, even got his radio start here at this station in Brampton. Ontario. There are some airchecks at the site including the most beautiful voice on radio ever Ms. Dani Elwell's last ever Alternative Bedtime Hour. Lots of other treats for the nostalgic. They even have that Toast song by The Streetband! Ah the memories. Anyone who hears "C-F-N-Y" said in a robotic voice will start to weep when they consider how f**ked radio is now. The Marsden plea to save CFNY is incredibly saddening when you consider the state of radio today and how much we lost. He could never have done this today. Radio will never EVER be the same as this was. I miss you CFNY.

We'll miss you Elliott. I stumbled my way through your song below today
on my guitar. I hope you don't mind. Such a terrible loss. Rest in peace.

For lyrics, check out: http://www.sweetadeline.net/lxo.html

Artist: Elliott Smith
Song: Waltz #2 (XO)
Album: XO

I added a Cm to the beginning of the 3rd line of the verses.
And a D7 to the end of the 4th line of the verses as well.

As the title implies, this song is played in waltz (three count) time.
MAIN RIFF/CHORUS:
Gm / A# / Eb / A# / Eb / A# / F / A#

PLAY MAIN RIFF TWICE

VERSE 1:
Gm                   A#
First the mic than a h...

Eb     C       F
Singing Cathy's C...

Cm                              Gm
That's the...........married to now

A                       D7
That's the girl..

Gm               A#
Eb     C       F
Cm                              Gm
A                       D7
 
CHORUS
Gm        A#    Eb       A#
I'm never gonna know you now,
    Eb        A#       F  A#
But I'm gonna love you anyhow

VERSE 2

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
C              A#               Gm   F   A#
Here today and expected to stay on & on & on
C           Eb         strum Eb...
I'm tired, I'm tired.

VERSE 3

CHORUS X 3

Still Here!



Here are the general review notes that I made to talk about Lost In Translation for my Tuesday review on Totally Radio's The Daily Show with Claire Kember. Be sure to check out totallyradio every Tuesday for reviews by Brent Bonet or yours truly about movies, concerts or other things that we are grooving on.

Lost in Translation directed by Sofia Coppola is a wonderful movie. After directing the also excellent Virgin Suicides (adapted from the book by Jeffrey Eugenides), Coppola decided this time to direct and write the film herself. It is an excellent portrayal of two people who make a personal connection that never blooms into a romance but could in other circumstances. It’s a kind of philosophical romantic movie for the mind in some respects.

The film is generally bittersweet. We see Bob Harris (Bill Murray), an American has-been actor who has agreed to go to Tokyo to do a whiskey commercial for 2 million dollars. He feels that he should be doing films and theatre and not whoring himself out for commercials. But here he is. Charlotte (played by expertly by Scarlett Johansson) is the young wife of a rock-star type photographer who accompanies him to Tokyo and then rarely spends any time with him as he’s constantly busy at photo shoots and doesn’t notice her missing him. Her days are filled with insomnia, watching tv, looking out the window, spending time in her hotel room alone and feeling very much a prisoner in this chaotic metropolis of Tokyo. These two foreigners suffer feelings of culture shock and boredom. They end up meeting and spending the majority of the movie discussing their lives and filling their crushing moments of boredom with enlightening conversation and kinship. As they don’t know each other well they seem to feel free to express their deepest thoughts to each other in a very intimate and honest way. They drink together, go to Karioke and try to open up to each other in this strange place. We see the reverse of that in their own relationships as Bob can’t talk honestly with his wife over the phone and Charlotte pretends to be happy when speaking with her photographer husband. It would seem that we can be franker and more honest with strangers because there’s nothing to lose. We have no past with them so we don’t pretend. Coppola uses this notion to great effect throughout the film.

Bill Murray has never been finer. He plays the role with an honesty and nuance that should garner him an Oscar nomination if there’s any justice in Hollywood. He is at the top of his career in this film matched only by his character in Rushmore a few years back. There’s even a scene where we see him playing a role on Saturday Night Live and we realize how far away from the typical goofy Bill Murray type he is in this film. Johannsen (last seen largely in Ghost World) has grown incredibly as an actress in leaps and bounds with this film and it’s exciting to see a talent develop in this way. She plays the sad but beautiful Charlotte with a subtlety and grace that is rare in Hollywood actresses and I think she’ll have a long and rewarding career. Charlotte is melancholy, intelligent and yet still vulnerable and Johannson’s casting just seems to fit perfectly in the film. Sofia Coppola as well has grown as a director since Virgin Suicides. She directs the film with a lot of restraint and a tone that is quite low-key. Indeed this film often feels more European in a lot of respects. It is subtle, quiet and there are often some beautiful and contemplative shots that make this film an exception to your typical American blockbuster. Hollywood should be getting behind more of these kind of films. This bucking of the Hollywood trend resonates even more in the film when we see the Bob and Charlotte characters contrasted with an empty-headed and self-satisfied Hollywood actress hocking her latest action flick. What’s also interesting is that I think that the film is also very Japanese in some respects mirroring some of the delicacy and quietness of directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda and Shohei Imamura. Like those directors there is no real resolution to the film as well, just a look at a certain moment in time as part of the flow of a complete life.

Both Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) and Brian Reitzell (Redd Kross, Air) demonstrate that they are consumate soundtrack artists who greatly understand the nuances of this film. However people looking to hear more My Bloody Valentine or Redd Kross songs should look elsewhere. The music frames the film generally but doesn’t intrude. Like the rest of the film subtley is the key here. It is very much an accompaniment to the wonderful imagery and works well within the context of the film.

As a whole I think Lost In Translation is a wonderful film that stays with you and makes you think and it’s some of the best work that Murray, Johansson and Coppola have done so far.