The Wagnerites (1894) by Aubrey Beardsley.
• “Part of my problem with influence is that the concept is too univocal; most of us are impacted by many others during our lifetimes, but often in oblique ways. So many of the most interesting bits of cultural transmission happen nonlinearly, via large groups of people, and in zigzag mutations. Assigning influence can also have the unintentional effect of stripping artists of their own originality and vision.” Geeta Dayal reviewing Wagnerism by Alex Ross.
• “Buñuel stubbornly refused to have any group affiliation whatsoever. Even though critics always tried to categorize him, he never wanted to explain the hidden meanings of any of his films and often denied that there were any.” Matt Hanson on the surreal banality of Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel.
• Next month Soul Jazz release the fourth multi-disc compilation in their Deutsche Elektronische Musik series devoted to German music from the 1970s and 80s. The third collection was the weakest of the lot so I wasn’t expecting another but this one looks like it may be better.
• James Balmont chooses the five best films by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who he calls “cinema’s master of horror”. I’ve yet to see any of these so I can’t say whether the label is warranted or not.
• At Wormwoodiana: Mark Valentine in a two-part post here and here charts the emergence of an under-examined sub-genre, the metaphysical thriller.
• Power Spots: 13 artists choose favourite pieces of music by Jon Hassell. A surprising amount of interest in his first album, Vernal Equinox.
• At Spine: George Orwell’s Animal Farm receives new cover designs for its 75th anniversary.
• “Pierre Guyotat’s work is more relevant now than ever,” says Donatien Grau.
• Mix of the week: FACT mix 775 by Sarah Davachi.
• May 24th by Matthew Cardinal.
• Ry Cooder with Jon Hassell & Jim Keltner: Video Drive-By (1993) | Goose And Lucky (1993) | Totally Boxed In (1993)
I’ve heard some pretty great Ry Cooder. This stuff was painful.
Ry Cooder’s music is very varied, especially on his soundtracks. The tracks linked here are from his soundtrack album for Walter Hill’s Trespass.
I think you would like Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Of his horror films I particularly recommend Pulse and Cure.
Agree with your observation regarding the number of comments about Vernal Equinox, wonderful though it is. Makes me wonder whether most of the artists were unacquainted with the majority of Hassell’s oeuvre. I would have liked to have seen some love for City, Bluescreen, Maarifa or Last Night. Having said that, I did think Katie Gateley’s writing about Power Spot was brilliant.
Vernal Equinox was reissued in March so this may be why. People have bought that one but not explored the rest of the catalogue with any thoroughness.