Lynched!

Dilating pupils,surreal landscapes,dreamy ethereal background scores, crazy tracking shots, stories beginning in the middle of the movie and moving on either sides to form the start and the end, characters switching personalities, fractured identities and a host of other bizarre elements form the underside of a typical David Lynch movie or shall i call it a Lynchian Dreamscape. I must warn you though that if u are the type looking for a director with accepted themes and predictable screenplays you will be sorely disappointed.

David lynch rose to fame in the early 70's with movies like erazerhead and elephant man. I had never heard of lynch until i saw Blue velvet with dennis hopper playing the psychopathic criminal and isabella rosellini as the dancer. I remember liking the movie but didnt really bother too much about watching his other movies. Then along came Lost Highway, I found this flick to be so bizarre , so maddening and utterly out of sync with whatever i had seen earlier. What with bill pullman turning strangely into a completely different guy whilst in prison and leading a different life the next day as an auto mechanic. This movie just blew me away and Bill pullman shines here compared to some crappier roles in cheap horror films like "The serpent and the Rainbow". I loved the soundtrack too, NIN,David Bowie and The Smashing Pumpkins.

His other masterpiece Mullholland Drive is another work of surreal art. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that this movie is impossible to understand. That's not true. Difficult, yes...especially on first viewing, but there is method to David Lynch's madness and there is an explanation to be found for those willing to look. David Lynch spoonfeeds nothing to his audience but challenges them to explore the nightmarish inner world of Diane Selwyn for themselves and reach their own interpretations and conclusions. There are great rewards for those willing to do so.


And finally his latest movie that inspired me to write this blog for him "Inland Empire". This is one his most visually arresting works to date and was originally concieved as a TV series but ended up as a feature length film after it got rejected by the TV companies. Thier loss is surely our gain. 1 minute short of 3 straight hours of abstract, non-linear, mind opening, mind blowing darkness... Scary at times and abstract like erazerhead. Highly recommended.

David Lynch is one of the most creative and fascinating artists of our time. I am longing to do a re-run sometime of all his movies hopefully in one single sitting. By the way he also directed the Music videos for Chris Isaak's Wicked game and Michael Jacksons Dangerous .





Here is the wikipedia link for more info on this superb director :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch

GET LYNCHED!!!

The World's Fastest Indian

Ever came back late from work feeling totally sapped, turned on the TV, randomly tuned in to a movie about 15 minutes in and watched the whole damn thing way past the closing credits totally hooked while you are still in work clothes? I admit that kinda stuff dosent happen often considering the quality of movies beamed on the tele these days with the exception of one or two channels. I was pleasantly surprised by this anthony hopkins gem the other night when i randomly caught it on World Movies.

The worlds fastest indian is a great flick about Burt munro a kiwi played by anthony hopkins who has been doin up his old indian motorcycle for close to 40 years so he can race it to beat the land speed record at the bonneville salt flats at utah,USA.Never Stop Dreaming, Never Stop Living The Dream is the simple yet powerful message of the movie. When Burt's heart goes bad on him, his dreaming is threatened to come to an end. Burt is not ready to stop dreaming. He decides to mortgage his house and bring his dream to life. Even a bunch of young punk racers lend him some beer money to help him make the trip to USA. Amid loads of cheers and goodwill from the residents of the small town invercargill , Burt and his beloved indian set off on an epic journey which will make you believe in the power of Dreams again. Some moments are laugh out loud while others touch your heart and move your emotions. Anthony hopkins is brilliant as always and shines as burt munro, carrying off even the sleepier moments of the film with his sense of commitment and great acting.

I highly recommend this story of perseverance and achievement for everyone willing to spend a few hours with Burt as he pursues his dream to its satisfying and highly emotional conclusion.

IMDB Link : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412080/

Hard Rock Gems of the 70's

A few months ago i was casually browsing through amazon looking for an old deep purple album and i came across this list posted by someone which listed about 35 hard rock albums,released during the 70's which totally took me off guard. I have been kinda closely following the rock scene since the 70's and was taken aback when i realized that there were tons of these super cool bands that i hadnt even heard of or to be more precise nobody i knew had ever heard of!

So i began checkin them out one full length album at a time and boy did i have a revelation!! Almost every album that i listened to had a unique flavour, great music and some surprisingly good lyrics. Here are some of my faves if you like hard rock with pounding basslines,Blistering guitar riffs, insane acoustic passages and ethereal vocals. i am sure you wont be disappointed.

Buffalo-Volcanic Rock

The introduction to 'Sunrise (Come My Way)' confirms that the band have come a long way since their debut album. Fantastic guitar lines shooting over a blues-rock riff that just totally cooks. 'Shylock' is another great out and out rocker with an even heavier riff. Faster than Black Sabbath, and heavier than Led Zeppelin these two tracks are guaranteed to blow away any self respecting early 70s hard rock fan. The real surprise on the album though are the two slow bluesy tracks with big solos - 'Freedom' and 'The Prophet'. Considering they take up a major chunk of the album themselves (over sixteen minutes) it could easily have ended in tears for a band of less quality. However the two track never outstay their welcome and should convince even the biggest sceptic

Flower Travellin Band - Satori (Japan)

Satori is a conceptual hard rock-psych album driven by Hideki Ishima's furious guitar licks which erupt and explode over the harmonic heart beat of the drums and bass and Yamanaka's banshee-like vocal style which was turning him into an occidental Iggy Pop or Ozzy Osbourne while the band itself was rapidly becoming Japan's answer to Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Satori is a huge album in every way. From power chords to Eastern-tinged North African six string freak-outs and crashing tom-toms, the band flexes its collective muscle from start to finish.

Check them out sometime!

Some thoughts on Lycantrophy

I remember reading this compilation of ghost stories by various british writiers who travelled India during the British Raj during the summer of 1997. One of the stories titled 'Panther People' by K.A Kincaid, a colonel during the Raj and a celebrated folklorist sparked my interest in Lycantrophy. Kincaid's story dealt with his visit to a certain hilly region in northern india where he encountered villagers who spoke in hushed tones about certain mystic people living in the mountains who had the ability to transform themselves into panthers and other wild beasts at the rise of the full moon.

Lycantrophes (Greek- Lycan means wolf and Trophe - change) commonly known as werewolves are mystical beings with the ability to shapehift into wolves or wolf life like beasts. Different regions of the world have local lores about different mystical beings which share common attributes of the werewolf. One way to lycantrophe is to be bitten by a werewolf,once bitten the victim begins the process of transformation. The simplest way is supposed to involve taking off all your clothes and wearing a belt made of wolfskin. Symptoms before transformation include restlessness and highly agitated nerves. During the transformation the victim undergoes severe muscular contractions and convulsions before retreating to the nearest wood where the complete transformation occurs.

Apparently one of the most popular way of killing one of these things is to shoot it with a silver bullet. well, with the rising prices and job cuts i am not so sure silver bullets will get fashionable anytime soon. maybe making it listen to the new britney spears album should do just as well.

I am more interested in the indian folklore surrounding the werewolf. Indian culture is rife with tales of were-men,fox-women,panther people and all sorts of man-beast combinations. The Indian wild dog (dhole) which is found in most of the forested and hilly areas of the country is regarded with much superstition by many of the natives and rumours are abound with sightings of wild dog-man beasts in the remote reaches of the country. Recently i heard about 3 men suspected of being werewolves who were killed by an angry mob in west bengal.

I have also heard many similar tales about people covered with fur and walking on hind legs walking the forests at night in the western ghat region of western india. I am sure its all a well fabricated old-wives tale to prevent children from playing close to the woods. True or not..still great entertainment to discuss them around any campfire.

My First Post

Top of the morning y'all!

Thank you for visitin my blog. Psychobabblerabble is the place to be if you trip like i do! My name it means nothin and my fortune is less but nevertheless my indulgences are plenty like unicorns in wilderness. i begin my modest journey in the blogosphere with this simple post. Interests include discovering new music, off beat movies, philosophy, occult and tons of other stuff. I have a neverending thirst for useless knowledge of all kinds and ceaselessly pursue these ends. Hope you have a grand time here. I am sure i will : P