Muse by Craig Ranapia

What's better than Fritz Lang's reconstructed and restored classic Metropolis on shiny DVD or BluRay disc (from Madmen)?  If you're in Auckland tomorrow at 8pm (Saturday, November 12) the answer is seeing the film with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra performing Godfried Huppertz's score live.

You can get a taste of it's batty Wagnerian glory here, and robo-Maria's crazy-making Ho O' Babylon coochie dance (it makes sense at the time) is all kinds of political incorrectness, but the kind of crazy they just don't do anymore. 

How many other chances do you get to support great cinema and a fine local orchestra in one go?

 

But in the fine Public Address tradition of gratuitous You Tube abuse, I asked myself this question: If music has charms to soothe the savage beast, what does it take to chill out an over-caffenated cinephile.  Here's my random selection of things that excite me in the dark.

 

1. 'The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)' from The Empire Strikes Back (1980) by John Williams.  If you were in any doubt that Darth was a bad (if wheezy) mo-fo, Williams at his most gloriously bombastic removed it.  Like a disturbingly enjoyable Force-choke to the nuts.

 

2. 'Main Title' from North By Northwest (1959) by Bernard Herrmann  With a list of credits book-ended by Citizen Kane and Taxi Driver, it would be easy to fill a top ten with cues just from Hermann's scores for Alfred Hitchcock.  Vertigo (1958) is arguably the greatest work either did, and Psycho (1960), for better and worse, the most influential.  But for my popcorn money, this relentless comic thriller of mistaken identities is the most fun.  Hermann's lets you know exactly what you're in for from the get-go.   

(It ideally needs to be seen over Saul Brass' title sequence, but all the posts on You Tube have the embedding disabled.)

 

3.  'La passerella d'addio' & 'Sarghina Rumba' from Otto e Mezzo [8 1/2] (1963) by Nino Rota  Rota is another film composer who could fill out any top ten (or 100) by himself - and there's no shortage of material to choose from in his more than 150 credited scores.  8 1/2 may be a three ting circus of Felini's fears, memories, fantasies and neuroses but Rota always makes sure you've got something to dance to.

 

 

4. 'Sunrise for Orchestra' [Suite from The Quiet Earth (1985)] and 'Saturn Rising' by John Charles. The most memorable image from Geoff Murphy's homegrown post-apocalypse was the sight of Bruno Lawrence going buggy in a camisole - and looking damn hot while doing so.  But John Charles' score is equally memorable.

And whoever decided to dilute the impact of the final image (which Charles makes all the more dreadful) by slapping it on the poster needs to be shot. Often.

 

5. 'Song For The Unification Of Europe (Julie's Version)' from Three Colors: Blue (1993) by Zbigniew Preisner.  A moving and formally intricate finale to a meditation on loss, grief and moving past it through art, or an over-rated load of pretentious foofy-tosh?  I say the former, but the Three Colors trilogy is at least worth arguing about.

 

6. 'Typewriter Tip Tip Tip' by Shankar Jaikishan & Hasrat Jaipuri from Bombay Talkie (1970)  Before 'Merchant-Ivory' became shorthand for the airless heights of 'heritage' literary cinema and cocks and frocks angst, they made this affectionate but pointed parody of Bollywood melodramas - which, in real life, are even less likely to have happy endings.  (And before you ask, no the blonde English woman is not Felicity Kendall but her sister Jennifer.   Felicity worshippers should track her debut in another Merchant-Ivory production, Shakespeare Wallah, loosely based on her family's life as jobbing actors in India.)

 

7. 'In Dreams' by Roy Orbison from Blue Velvet (1986)  While I intellectually prefer scores to soundtracks, the only rule is to make it work.  Which David Lynch does with this scene that doesn't actually have much to do with anything but still makes my flesh crawl for reasons I can't explain.   Even more disturbing or thrilling, according to taste, a 25th anniversary edition has just been released in the US with 50 minutes of long-thought-lost deleted scenes. Meep.

WARNING: CLIP CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE

 

8. 'Bathe in The River' Mt Raskil Preservation Society (ft. Hollie Smith) from No. 2 (2006)  There's a long long list of films you can only wish were as good as their soundtracks.   Toa Fraser's adaptation of his own (excellent) play didn't survive the transplant from stage to screen.  Don McGlashan's in blue-eyed Pasifika soul, sold by Hollie Smith like her life was at stake, is another beast entirely.

This is going to be a quick hit because it really doesn't deserve more.

Here is Muse's policy on Robyn Malcolm and related issues.

1) The New Zealand Herald seems to think "long-time Green Party supporter throws out organic free-rage red meat to party faithful at campaign launch" is front page election news for two days.

2) Muse thinks becoming New Zealand's leader in fatuous non-news coverage is nothing to be proud of. 

3) Democrazy is a bitch.  Actors are allowed to have political opinions - and they range from left (Ms. Malcolm) to right (Sir Michael Caine) to completely fragging batshit (Sean Penn).  Much like every other occupational group in society.  Last time I looked, New Zealand also has a free press and allows its citizens freedom of speech, assembly and association. Even the stupid ones.

4) Politicians are allowed to make complete knobs of themsleves - God knows I need the material. But I really wish Auckland City councillor Cameron Brewer would try really really hard to keep his in his pants.  (Cr. Brewer might also want to check the Human Rights Act before calling for Malcolm to be sacked from fronting a information campaign on recycling because of her political views.  We're in a recession, and court dates with large settlement cheques are not a good use of rate-payer funds.)

5)  In a functional democracy, bitching, snark and downright abuse of our employees in Wellywood -- of whatever partisan tint -- is not only a right but a responsibility.  Any election campaign that isn't "partisan" should have everyone involved dragged out of the shallow end of the gene pool and drowned in the other. 

Ms. Malcolm is not only a damn fine actress, but a citizen.  Build a bridge and get over it, really.

6)  In the great scheme of things, opinions are like arseholes -- everybody's got one, and in most cases the closer you examine them the more they stink.  It's an open question whether celebrity endorsements really work, and if you do what the Mad Butcher and Cheryl West say, more fool you.

7) If a campaign launch has really been a major political story for two days we're doomed. Die with dignity and stay off my lawn.

Now, do I really need to send Loretta round to burn your house down?  She'll do it.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT MAY OFFEND. WHICH IS KIND OF THE POINT.

If Public Address has a works outing to the 2012 Big Day Out next January, I'll be in the role of designated wowser. It involves ear plugs, a thick good book and much plaintive wailing about that hippity hoppy noise and the state of the porta-loos.

Sadly, ear-plugs and a volume of Dostoyevsky  can't quell my *cough* irritation and straight out fear at Auckland Councillor Sandra Coney's transformation into a self-appointed censor.

Controversial hip hop collective “Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All” appear to have had the Big Day Out welcome mat pulled out from under their feet, after intervention from Auckland Council, which owns Mt Smart Stadium.

 ... After he heard they would be visiting New Zealand for the annual music festival, gay Wellington man Calum Bennachie set off a chain reaction when he wrote to the Big Day Out promoters expressing his concerns and putting forward a strong case for his argument that: “lyrics such as those played by Odd Future increase the societal discourse against lgbt people, a discourse that encourages bullying and violence”.

Bennachie cc'd the email to a number of people, including the Chair of Auckland Council's Parks and Heritage Forum Sandra Coney, who quickly found s, thehe agreed with the writer.

“I approached the CEO of Regional Facilities Auckland John Brockies with Calum's concerns and my own having watched Youtube,” she says.

“After a discussion with BDO organisers this group will no longer be appearing in BDO in NZ.”

Brockie confirms this is the case and says the Council has an excellent relationship with the Big Day Out's promoters.

First, I've got to admit my considerable bemusement that GayNZ is (to coin a phrase) very comfortable with Councillor Coney managing to pull off what right-wing Deputy Mayor David Hay never managed to do in the mid-90s with the Hero Parade and associated events.

Yes, I went all the way there.  We're all good liberal, tolerant folks here at Public Address.  We know that dyke boobage on bikes, trannies and and Hi-NRG dance music won't magically turn you into a cock-smoker or a muff-diver.  And, dare I say it, having events that Cr. Hay found deeply offensive at council-owned facilities weren't "promoting the homosexual lifestyle".

For that matter, I was living in Wellington in 1995 when Robert Mapplethorpe rolled into town - and the Wellington City Council owned City Gallery.  Being casually acquainted with Bennachie, I can say with some confidence he would laughed at the idea the show's more extreme images lead to a tide of watersporting well-fisted gimps with their genitalia nailed to boards presenting at A&E departments across the Wellington region.  Well, no more than usual. Wellywood is either a freaky little town or my social circle is entirely the right kind of wrong.

Let's get one thing clear: The more I find out about Odd Future the less I like.  I've had a lot to say about the casual homophobia, misogyny and general macho bullshitiness of way too much popular culture -- not only hip-hop.  (Though, as this blog post Russell pointed me to notes the landscape is a little more complex.) Anyone who lobs a f(aggot)-bomb - or "nigger" - at this bitch will be slapped. Hard. And often.

But I find straight line causation arguments that offensive language leads to criminal behaviour lik Bennachie's highly debatable, at best.  What I do not question is that it's a very dangerous precedent to let a councillor and the unelected head of a council-controlled organisation that "provides a regional approach to running and developing Auckland’s arts, culture and heritage, leisure, sport and entertainment venues" to act as de facto censors in my name. 

"So what," I hear you say.  "You're just a right-winger looking for an excuse to crap on a feminist icon.  And you're a hypocrite.  Haven't you said more than once that freedom of speech doesn't oblige anyone else to provide a platform?"

First, whatever I think of Cr. Coney she secured her seat at the Council in a free, fair and credible election. End of story. Nor is there any evidence of impropriety (or illegality) in her appointment as chairwoman of the Parks, Recreation and Heritage Forum

And, as a matter of principle, yes, I do believe venue owners are under no obligation to stage shows they find distasteful - even if I find their reasoning completely crapulous and spineless.

But here's where Coney - and culture warriors of the right -- doesn't get to have it both ways.   Whatever your ideological bent, or views on the "super city" amalgamation it's a simple reality that Auckland City - and it's rate-payers - have a lot of fingers in a hell of a lot of the region's cultural and performance infrastructure. 

RFA manages $968.3 million of major regional facilities across Auckland, including:

• Auckland Art Gallery
• Auckland City Council’s interest in Vector Arena
• Auckland Zoo
• Mt Smart Stadium
• The Edge/Aotea Centre/Town Hall/Civic
• Auckland Conventions
• Viaduct Events Centre
• Western Springs Stadium.

It also has an interest in the following facilities:

• Auckland War Memorial Museum
• Bruce Mason Centre
• Museum of Transport and Technology
• North Harbour Stadium
• North Shore Events Centre
• TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre
• The Trusts Stadium.

In addition, RFA advises Auckland Council on the levy setting and governance for:

• Stardome
• Voyager Maritime Museum
• Auckland Philharmonia
• NBR NZ Opera
• Auckland Theatre Company
• Auckland Festival
• Northern Coastguards
• Surf Lifesaving
• Watersafe
• Rescue Helicopter.

I also have to declare an interest, and note that I'm currently secretary of the Auckland Film Society (which I am not speaking on behalf of).  Like many arts organisations in Auckland, AFS has enjoyed modest but gratefully received support, both direct and indirect, from local and central government over many years.  We also currently hold screenings at The Academy, a space in the basement of the central library wich is leased from the Council.

Over the next few weeks, film societies will be locking down their programs for the 2012 season.  I'd personally like to know if the AFS needs to worry about getting a call from offended councillors.  Merata Mita's Patu! - in your face, unapologetically "biased", and with plenty of NSFW language - was one of my personal highlights of this year's season.  My local councillor, I suspect, would beg to differ.  He might also have failed to be terribly amused by this.

To use a bit of critical jargon: Widdums.  Sandra Coney and her fellow councillors are not theatrical impressarios accountable to nobody except their investors and the box office.  Public ownership means public accountability and transparency which did not happen in this case by any measure.  Nor do I accept that the quid pro quo for any kind of public support of the arts in Auckland, or the hire of council-owned venues, is giving councillors and an unelected CEO power to veto programming - and then present it to the public as a done deal.

Sandra Coney and John Brockies need to front up - and I'll be inviting them to do so here, and will not tolerate any twatcockery in response - and answer the following questions:

• What was the nature of the "discussion with BDO organisers," and did it involve any threat, explicit or implied, to rip up the BDO's contract to hire Mount Smart Stadium?
• Was there any consultation with the Mayor, the other members of the PRHF or the full Council before entering into the "discussion"?
• Was any advice sought on the legal issues involved, and if so will it be made public?
• Is there any clear, objective policy on when such "discussions" will be initiated, and how they will be conducted. Or is it just about what's pissing off councillors, and well-connected lobbyists with e-mail, at any given moment?
• Has there been other cases of councillors asking the RFA CEO to have a quiet word with facilities users to drop programming they deem offensive?

I think every rate-payer in the Auckland region -- and arts organisation considering whether to stage difficult, confrontation and downright offensive (to me) work -- needs to know.

I'm also tempted to ask the former editor of Broadsheet whether she'll mark the 40th anniversary of Germaine Greer's arrest for describing anti-abortion arguments as "bullshit" in a speech at the Auckland Town Hall. Perhaps we can hook up for a coffee after Greer's  Readers and Writers session at the Wellington one next year -- assuming nobody's delicate sensibilities are pre-emptively bruised.

ETA: Thanks to Boganette via Twitter, for drawing my attention to DomPost music blogger Simon Sweetman's different take.  Much to argue with, and I will, but worth reading.

ETA2: If you were ever stupid enough to believe teh gayz are a Borg like hive-mind, over at GayNZ Christopher 'BipolarBear' Banks and Michael 'Gay Blade" Stevens take different positions and Craig Young asks "what the hell is 'hate speech' anyway and do Odd Future fit the bill?" 

And because Muse doesn't discriminate on the basis of gender, Lesbotron and The Hand Mirror would like a few words too.

As part of my un-Chartered non-committment to public service bloggage, I'll post links to the Arts, Culture and Heritage policies released by National and Labour today. (Links to PDF format documents)

I think there's a drinking game in here somewhere -- to be developed over time and as circumstances allow -- but both documents appear to have been written by Sir Humphrey Appleby over a long, liquid lunch. (National's effort is short enough to fit on the back of a cocktail napkin.)  There's nothing in either that would make a pointy-headed arty-farty elitist come out in hives on principle, but nor would any credible arts administrator dare submit a funding application or business plan quite so full of platitudinous waffle and light on hard committments of time or money.

No matter where your political compass points, Labour arts spokeswoman Steve Chadwick and Art Minister Chris Finlayson aren't Parliamentary oxygen thieves.  I just wish, at first glance, they were fronting policies as substantive as they are.

(with profuse apologies to Wallace Stevens)

 

                             I

Among snowy Styrofoam wadding,

The only moving thing

Was the eye over the assembly instructions.

 

                             II

I was of three minds,

None of which

Can make sense of this gibberish.

 

                             III

The mind whirled in a pool of flop sweat.

It was a small part of the pantomime.

 

                             IV

A man and a screwdriver

Are one.

A man and a screwdriver and a flesh wound

Are one.

 

                             V

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of indecisions

Or the beauty of irritations,

Rod A in the right bracket B

Or the wrong one.

 

                             VI

Translucent washers filled the floor

With barbaric glass.

The shadow of 24 hex bolts

Crossed them, to and fro.

The mood

Traced in the snarling

An indecipherable curse.

 

                             VII

O thin men of AVEC Home Storage,

Who do you imagine enjoys this?

Do you not see how fingers

Are thumbs, become two left feet,

Of the fools about you?

 

                             VIII

I know noble aspects

Of lucent, inescapable domesticity;

But I know, too,

That tradesmen are involved

In what I know.

 

                             IX

When Step 7 flew out of sight,

It marked the edge

Of one of many tea breaks.

 

                             X

At the sight of the spare bits

(I’m sure that’s not right),

Even the bawds of euphony

Would blush at the swearing.

 

                             XI

I took another cig break

For self-reproach.

Once, a fear pierced me,

In that one mistook

The shadow of a missing page

For Step 8.

 

                             XII

It is not collapsing.

Nobody is dying.

 

                             XIII

It can be Sunday afternoon all day

Every day dodging

All the things to do, you know.

The damn thing sits

In the corner. Mocking.