#the climax of a long journey of self discovery and reinvention

[ronqueesha]

"How strange it is to be anything at all"

The ship groaned like a lumbering beast as its sails filled with wind, the decks shuddered as they struggled to make speed with the new cargo loaded inside. Gulls cawed as the largest source of food began to sail away, and dolphins playfully jumped ahead of the prow, racing each other and playing games with the wooden vessel as it cut through the water.

An elf stood on the vessel's port side, still as the pale blue sky above them. Their shock of dark red hair tousled in the wind, sometimes displaying the misshapen and bent right ear they preferred to keep hidden however possible. Their breaths were quiet and reserved, their face a mask of grimness as they tried to ignore the beauty and freedom around them. The score now deep inside the ship would earn the entire crew enough coin to last for six months, provided they didn't blow their entire share on the evening's celebrations once they got back to port. This was a GOOD day.

It SHOULD be a good day.

But it didn't feel like it.

They took in a breath as they clutched a piece of parchment in their hand. A name had been written on the crumpled paper: Ayden.

"So this is it, huh? Finally ready to say goodbye to Ayden?" A voice approached the elf from the starboard side. They looked to see who it was. Viv, she called herself. Pure-blood Riviaini going back as far as her ancestors cared to count. She even spun a tale of being distantly related to the kingdom's oldest matriarchs, but twice removed and far from being recorded in any official family trees.

The elf nodded and shut their eyes as their fist curled around the paper. They should have been celebrating with Viv and the others, not standing over the edge of the ship as if they wanted to throw themselves into the water.

Viv slumped on the rail next to the elf and gave their shoulder a nudge. "If it helps, I always thought Ayden was a bit of an asshole. You're better off saying goodbye."

"Yeah, well, he was dealing with a lot. I'm trying not to be too mad at him." the elf sighed.

All they had to do was throw the paper overboard. It was a... tradition, not quite a ritual, among the Lords of Fortune. A life of treasure hunting at sea often made deep connections between people fleeting. Death, arrested, sometimes literally lost to the depths. You rarely had a body to bury, or even belongings to remember. But someone in the past had started writing names on those lost on paper, and tossing them into the water. Symbolically letting them go, without having to go through the hassle of big funerals or haggling over inheriting their stuff.

"How long's it been?" Viv asked, her voice softening as she saw the elf's concern, and their hand tighten on the paper.

"I don't know. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday, other times, it's like he was never really here."

Viv reached out and put her hand on the elf's shoulder, and felt the tremble in their muscles. "You don't... have to. Let go like this, I mean. Nobody would think any different. You just have to say the word and it's like Ayden was never here."

"But he was. And he should know that... at least somehow, he's not totally forgotten. Creators know his family's not gonna care."

"Fuck those shit-slinging farmers." Viv barked. "From what you told me, they don't deserve a second's thought from you."

"Yeah... you're right. This isn't about them. It's about me." The elf slunk their shoulder away from Viv's encouraging support and reached their hand out. The paper wafted out of their hand. It hadn't been tied to a stone or weighed down, so it fluttered in the gentle wind before settling onto the water's surface. For the briefest moment, the paper unfurled as it took on water, and the elf saw the name Ayden one last time before it sunk to the depths.

The two of them stood for a moment longer, hearing nothing but the receding calls of the gulls and the crash of the ship on the waves.

"So..." Viv started, probably unable to handle a moment more of dreary silence. "I saw you devouring those old books for a while now. You find anything yet? Something that suits you?"

"I think... Nerio." The elf who was once called Ayden said. "It means water. In old Tevene, I mean."

Viv shrugged and gave Nerio a lopsided smile. "Not much of an upgrade. Still, I won't lie, it's a bit sad to see Ayden leave the crew."

She paused as Nerio's eyes widened and their heart spiked in their chest. But the laugh she gave next calmed them.

"But I will be happy to introduce Nerio to everyone for the first time."

[bookoftheironfist]

Iron Fist Week: Day 7/8

Netflix Iron Fist’s Contribution to the Legacy

    I will continue to post about this show for as long as this blog is around. Shou-Lao willing, maybe Netflix will realize their mistake and bring Iron Fist and Luke Cage back (here are the petitions: IF, LC). But for the moment, I wanted to briefly acknowledge my favorite ways in which this adaptation varies from the source material. As a comics nerd first and foremost, the original stories will always be my favorites-- and that goes for everything, not just Iron Fist. But all adaptations strive to improve upon and add complexity to pre-existing characters and narratives, and the showrunners made some really fascinating choices that I absolutely love. Here are few, in no particular order.   

Harold Meachum

    Harold is alive for a grand total of one issue in the comics, for as long as it takes for Danny to battle his way into Harold’s office, change his mind about killing him, and then witness a mysterious figure finish the job. Thus, I’d assumed that he would be short-lived in the show as well. I thought he might make it halfway through Season 1, at most, before getting offed. Instead, Scott Buck took him in completely the opposite direction, by turning him into a homicidally unhinged servant of the Hand who literally refuses to die. Giving Harold this horrifying supernatural twist made him a fun, shocking character with an unpredictable arc. And this unpredictability, coupled with his domineering personality and tendency toward sudden violence, made him a hugely threatening character and thus a phenomenal antagonist. 

Ward Meachum

   Ward was another big surprise. In the comics he is a spineless, slimy minor villain, Joy’s uncle with whom she is forced to share CEO status after Harold’s death, and whose most memorable moment is being burned alive by the Super Skrull. But in the show he is a victim, twisted by a life of abuse into a fascinatingly broken person. This characterization was further enhanced by his touching sibling relationship with Joy, and his horrifying dynamic with his abusive undead father-- all made possible thanks to the smart decision to slide him down a generation. Most of what I found interesting about Ward in Season 1 died with Harold, but even in Season 2 he has a compelling arc surrounding the question of how one recovers from something like that. I was very impressed.  

Bakuto

   Bakuto is also from the comics-- in fact, he’s a Daredevil character. As in the show, he runs the South American branch of the Hand. He is brash and irreverent and a jerk, and opposes Matt Murdock’s bid to lead the Hand before quickly being killed off by Snakeroot. But in the show he is far more memorable-- an entertainingly charismatic leader who is charming one minute and threatening the next. His scheming, his manipulation of everyone around him (most notably Colleen), and the style with which he did it was great fun to watch. I’m glad Colleen got to kill him, but I’m going to miss him just the same.

Colleen’s Hand Ties

Daredevil Season 2 introduced the Hand in the way they’re usually presented in the comics: as a group of faceless, vaguely sinister ninjas. Iron Fist took this weak introduction and gave it some backbone-- both with a fantastic reinvention of Bakuto (as just mentioned), but also thanks to Colleen and her students. Colleen does have a Hand connection in the comics. Her mother worked for them as an assassin, and she briefly allied herself with them during “Shadowland”. But in the show, the situation is different. Her utter devotion to the Hand provides context for how they are able to recruit even the best people to their ranks, thus providing the group with a necessary complexity. And Colleen’s journey of losing and reinventing her identity thanks to that connection is highly compelling.  

Danny’s Rearranged Revenge Quest

I’ve written about this before, but it will always be one of my favorite aspects of this adaptation. For the sake of realism, Danny’s fun origin story hike through the Himalayas was turned into a plane trip. Thus, instead of being blatantly murdered/left to die by Harold, Wendell and Heather’s deaths seem like accidents. Harold isn’t even there. But as in the comics, Netflix Danny is still desperate for closure, and in this universe, he doesn’t have any idea how to find that closure. He doesn’t have a target on whom to enact vengeance. Thus, rather than returning to NYC and just going after Harold at the beginning of the story, as he does in the comics, his story arc turns into a journey of self-discovery, in which Danny eventually realizes that he is on a revenge quest, and comes to learn who to blame. It turns that vital plot point into the climax of the story, and it’s brilliant.  

Priya

    In the comics, Davos’s family tension is with his father-- who he eventually murders. He and Lei Kung have a fraught dynamic, born of a complex tangle of issues. But Iron Fist Season 2 did something awesome-- it gave Davos a mother. I would have loved to see more of Lei Kung, since he’s one of my favorite characters, but Priya is also fascinating. While in the comics, Lei Kung did not want Davos to become the Iron Fist, in the MCU Priya puts tremendous pressure on her son to achieve greatness. Her motivations are a mystery, but she is a powerful new character who presents a compelling new narrative surrounding Davos’s backstory. As much of a terrible person as she is, she’s really, really interesting. 

Danny and Davos’s Relationship

I’ve written about this before too. Like Ward, Davos was moved down a generation. In the comics, he was best friends with Wendell Rand, and later transferred his vendetta onto Danny. But making him younger resulted in an extremely close, emotional dynamic between Danny and Davos. They falling-out is devastating, and their effort to negotiate their shifting feelings about each other is heartbreaking. And all of this was further enhanced in Season 2 when we learned that they are actually brothers, not just very close friends. This cross-generational rivalry from the comics was transformed into an emotional rollercoaster of a plotline of siblings torn apart by shared aspirations and betrayal.  

The Brand

    There is a lot of variation in the look of the dragon brand in the comics, both due to redesigns and because it’s tricky to draw, so each artist approaches it differently. But the show’s version is my favorite. I love the little details along the body, and the gracefulness and intricacy of the design. The fact that it is asymmetrical adds motion to the image, making it extra dynamic and striking. 

[daresplaining]

MCU Danny Rand Week: Day 7

(Free Day) Flipping the Script

    The final day! We hope you all have enjoyed this week as much as we have, and thank you to @defenderspositivity for organizing this awesome kung fu party event.

    Now, let’s talk about vengeance.  

    We talked yesterday about 616 Danny’s standard characterization as a friendly, positive guy-- something that can make his introductory arcs a bit jarring for newer readers. That’s because this lightness is the result of a massive amount of character development, through which Danny, mostly due to his supportive friend group, heals from a period of extreme darkness. It takes a certain type of nine-year-old to react to their parents’ brutal deaths with, “I’m gonna murder the guy responsible!”, and that’s exactly what happened.        

Nu-An: “We know of your father’s fate, my son-- and the fate of your mother as well-- and our hearts grieve openly for them! To lose one’s parents is to lose the roots of heritage. Still, we shall try to make you happy here, Daniel! If there is ever anything you want, merely name it-- and it will be yours!”

Danny: “There’s only one thing I want, mister... I want revenge!!”

Marvel Premiere #16 by Len Wein, Dick Giordano, and Glynis Wein

    Young Danny in the comics is a haunted, angry person-- somewhat disturbingly-so for his age. Later writers have made sure to emphasize his love of K’un-Lun, the fact that he thinks of it as his home and has people there that he loves, and that he didn’t just spend the whole time waiting to get out. But his life, from the moment Harold Meachum drops his dad off a cliff, is guided by a desire to enact vengeance, and this is the reason that, ten years later, he is compelled to leave his home to get Harold out of his life once and for all. In the comics, Iron Fists often take time to visit Earth-- some writers have implied that it’s even expected-- so this in itself is not an issue. And as much as this choice hurts him, Danny knows that he will not be able to move forward, find happiness, or dim the pain of his trauma without completing this revenge quest. And for that, he has to leave K’un-Lun.    

Danny: “To eat of the fruit of the Tree of Immortality and dwell among the eternal people of K’un-Lun forever [...] I want to, August One-- believe me when I say that-- but I cannot! Tomorrow I am going back to civilization-- to find Harold Meachum, the man who murdered my father!”

Nu-An: “Then all the years you have spent among us have not dimmed the fires of revenge in your heart, Daniel!”

Danny: “No, Yu-Ti-- they have not!”

Marvel Premiere #16 by Len Wein, Dick Giordano, and Glynis Wein

    There’s great irony in Nu-An-- who, as Danny finds out later, is a pretty vengeful guy himself-- having these conversations with him, but that’s a topic for another post.

    Thus, Danny returns to Earth with a purpose, and bee-lines for what is now just called the Meachum building (A burning question: Why is it only Rand Enterprises in the show? What’s the story there?). He battles his way through a ridiculous gauntlet of death traps before finally reaching Harold Meachum-- a man who has been psychologically destroyed by ten years living in fear of this exact thing happening.     

Harold: “[...] I was obsessed-- with an overwhelming fear of death-- driven to the brink of insanity with gut-sick worry and tension-- paranoia-- every cancerous neurosis you can imagine. And so I spent a fortune designing those death traps and hiring assassins to stop you-- because I just couldn’t believe you would be unconquerable. But I was wrong-- wrong about you... and wrong to try and stop my death. I see now... that I deserve it.”

Caption: “Then he is silent, and you try with every fiber of your being to hate him. But you cannot. You cannot hate-- or kill-- one who is less than a corroded shell of a man. You can only pity him... Pity him... and leave him, as he left you and your mother, to die his own slow death.”

Marvel Premiere #18 by Doug Moench, Larry Hama, and P. Goldberg

    Finally, Danny’s mercy breaks through his rage. He sees Harold once more as a person, rather than the monster he has been picturing for the past decade. And he finds himself unable to kill someone who has already nearly tortured himself to death with regret. This is not the closure he needed, but it is a step that allows him, eventually, to find peace and move on with his life. 

    The Netflix show has taken this simple, straightforward plotline and done something brilliant. 

    MCU Danny’s origin story, while essentially the same (parents die, ends up in K’un-Lun, becomes Iron Fist), has been changed in one key way: the circumstances of his parents’ deaths. In the comics, Wendell Rand is compelled to try and return to K’un-Lun,where he lived for a time when he was young. He decides to take his family-- his wife Heather and nine-year-old son Danny-- and his best friend/business partner Harold on a little hike through the Himalayas. The rest of them don’t believe Wendell’s stories about a magic city in another dimension (which is... fair), but they go anyway, because... it sounds like fun? They want to be supportive? This has always been a weak part of the story. It makes perfect sense that the creative team for the Netflix show would opt for a more believable situation. In the MCU, Harold doesn’t push Wendell off a cliff and then abandon Heather and Danny to die in the mountains. They die in a plane crash. Harold is not even there. And that’s all well and good (we find the comics version more exciting, but the plane crash is ultimately more believable, so we’re fine with it) and they very easily could have made that alteration and then continued the story as it is set up in the comics. Instead, they acknowledge the fact that Harold’s absence, and the uncertainty inherent in something as seemingly accidental as a plane crash, would change everything.          

    Netflix Danny is still traumatized by his parents’ deaths. He still desperately needs closure. But without a target, without someone to blame, without an embodiment of his anger that he can kill, he has no idea how to find that closure. All he knows, after fifteen years of trying desperately to cope with his trauma, is that that closure cannot be found in K’un-Lun. And so, rather than submitting himself to another fifteen years of psychological torture, stuck in a place that he loves but that cannot help him recover in the way he needs, he heads back to Earth when he has the chance, hoping to find something, anything there that will help him heal.

    But this lack of a specific goal means that he spends his entire time on Earth reacting, hitting out wildly in the hopes of finding something to make his decision to leave seem like the right one. He fights to maintain his identity when Ward and Joy try to strip him of it. He fights to get himself into Rand Enterprises, even though he doesn’t have a clue what to do there. And the instant any information arises that involves his parents, he drops everything else to chase it. He is lost and adrift, and all of this is made more effective by the fact that he, and thus the viewer, doesn’t fully understand his own motivations. One of the main mysteries of the show is, in fact, why Danny left K’un-Lun, and he doesn’t know-- or at least, he isn’t able to face his reasons yet, because they are tied to so many raw emotions that he is repressing. 

    As the Iron Fist, in a universe in which Iron Fists seem, generally, to not leave K’un-Lun (with Wu Ao-Shi as a notable exception!), Danny needs to justify his decision to abandon his post. He clearly states that most people in K’un-Lun no longer believe in the Hand, so he can't be blamed for not seeing security as an issue, but he still knows that leaving was wrong, and feels terrible about it. He can’t accept that he left because of vague trauma about his parents that he doesn’t know how to cope with. So he shields his motivations-- for himself and everyone who asks-- behind other explanations. He came to New York because he missed it. He's staying because he needs to fight the Hand on Earth. But the more time goes on, the more people question his behavior, and the deeper he sinks into his own conflicted feelings, the more obvious it becomes that this is all about his parents. And when finally, finally he is confronted with the fact that Harold was responsible for their deaths, the combination of emotions this generates-- finding a focal point for his rage, but finding it in someone he has so desperately trusted this whole time, one of the only parental figures he has left-- makes his final explosion that much more heartbreaking and extreme.        

    Instead of starting off with the revenge quest and moving forward, this rearranging of circumstances turns the revenge quest into the climax of a long, emotional battle of self-discovery-- adding power to it and leaving both long-time comics fans and new viewers guessing. It’s a brilliant move, which reinvents Danny’s origin, shifts his psychological journey in ways he’s is still recovering from post-Iron Fist Season 1, while still maintaining the spirit of the source material.   

[dillydallydance]

Let’s say I synced my year on the lunar calendar, which will give a kind of excuse for this year’s delay in publishing lists (an exercise that still tickles my rational/irrational relationship to music).

This year saw the beginning (and then a complete neglect) of dddance+microclimat office playlists. The year in music then revolved much more than usual on single songs, one-hit discoveries, music blogs, spotify+deezer recommendations, etc. A few numbers explanation: In a way the list could have been quite long, but here are the 100 most played/curious songs. Ranking mattered only for the first 75, so it starts in alphabetical order. This is a much different exercise than ranking albums: I focus on replays, songs I shared, songs that were contagious to others.

Here is the playlist in full:

via SPOTIFY

ALSO ON DEEZER HERE

Adult Jazz – Eggshell

Bess Atwell - Cobbled Streets

Cass McCombs - Opposite House

Drake - One Dance

Explosions in the Sky - Desintegration Anxiety

Flume - Smoke & Retribution (feat. Vince Staples & Kučka)

Francis and the Lights - Friends (feat. Bon Iver)

Griefjoy - Scream Structure

Her - Five Minutes

Honus Honus – Santa Monica

Justice - Safe and Sound

La Femme - Le Sphynx

Lady Gaga – Joanne

Mark Pritchard - Beautiful People (feat. Thom Yorke)

Masasolo - Really Thought She Loved Me

Midnight Faces - Heavenly Bodies

Miya Folick - I Got Drunk

Nicolas Jaar - Killing Time

Niki & the Dove - So Much it Hurts

Plants and Animals - No Worries Gonna Find Us

Two Door Cinema Club - Bad Decisions

We Are Wolves - Wicked Games

Wilco - If I Ever Was a Child

Wild Beasts - Get My Bang

Wild Nothing - Reich Pop

75. Adele - Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

Always start the list with a pretty good joke. I know this album is 2015, but this single is 2016, and I danced on that in the office, sang it in a Karaoke in Tokyo and here I am a single-only Adele fan !

74. Rihanna - Work (feat. Drake)

73. Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker

72. Larry Gus - At Your Desk

71. Moby & The Void Pacific Choir - Are You Lost In The World Like Me

70. Childish Gambino - Redbone

69. Car Seat Headrest - Fill in the Blank

68. Suuns – Translate

67. Radiation City – Separate

66. Preoccupations – Anxiety

65. Massive Attack - Voodoo in My Blood (feat. Young Fathers)

64. Bat For Lashes - Sunday Love

63. Animal Collective - Golden Gal

62. Islands - The Joke

61. James Blake - I Hope My Life

60. Kendrick Lamar - untitled 06 | 06.30.2014

59. The Avalanches – If I Was a Folkstar

58. Yeasayer - Gerson's Whistle

57. Peter Bjorn and John - Breakin' Point

56. Palace Winter - Positron

55. Prism Tats - Death or Fame

54. Deakin - JUST AM

53. Funeral Suits - Tree Of Life 

52. Los Porcos - Do You Wanna Live?

51. Dinner - Turn Me On

50. Bibio – Petals

49. Local Natives - Past Lives

48. Izzy Bizu - Someone That Loves You

47. LUH – I&I

46. The Kills - Doing It To Death

45. Blood Orange - “Best to You” (ft. Empress Of)

44. Cullen Omori - Synthetic Romance

43. Metronomy - Back Together

42. Methyl Ethel - Idée Fixe

41. PJ Harvey - The Wheel

40. Father John Misty - Real Love Baby

39. Mind Enterprises – Girlfriend

38 Devendra Banhart - Middle Names

37. Money - You Look Like a Sad Painting on Both Sides of the Sky

36. James Supercave - Virtually a Girl

35. Christine and the Queens - It

34. Beyonce - Formation

33. Austra - Future Politics

32. The Palms - Push Off

31. Michael Kiwuanuka - Love & Hate

30. Porches - Be Apart

29. The Weeknd - Starboy (feat. Daft Punk)

28. Globelamp - Controversial/Confrontational

27.The 1975 - Somebody Else

26. The XX - On Hold

25. Yoko Ono - Soul Got Out of the Box (feat. Portugal. The Man)

24. Anohni - Drone Bomb Me

23. Kanye West – FML

22. Júníus Meyvant - Color Decay

21. Operators - Cold Light

20. David Bowie - Blackstar

19. Julien Doré - Le Lac

18. Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles (feat. Gucci Mane)

17. Jarryd James - Do You Remember (feat. Raury)

16. Andrew Bird - Left Hand Shake (feat. Fiona Apple)

15. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam - In a Black Out

14. Georgia - Move Systems

13. Empress Of - Woman Is a Word

12. Beck – Wow

11. The Last Shadow Puppets – Aviation

10. Glass Animals - Life Itself

Glass Animals discuss How to be a Human Being with sass and swag, tackling the ridicule of some scenes of “life itself”, with a sense of derision felt equally in lyrics, synths and guitars. You can bounce your ass off as he admits “I can't get a job so I live with my mum / I take her money but not quite enough / I make my own fun in grandmama's basement / Said I look mad, she said I look wasted”.

09. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Hot Coals

This band involves quite a bunch of people, but rarely do they connect as much as they do on "Hot Coals", a jazzy, expansive number that breezes through a tickled intro, sexy and lively arrangements, percussive transitions, a piano-horns climax and a quiet landing that revolves around one of Alex Ebert’s rare displays of seriousness and humility (he’s usually quite annoying). The line "Stay the fuck in my heart" is aggressive, while the massive build-up is softly supporting it. The song is in full possession of the band’s collective skills.

08. Damien Jurado - Exit 353

Visions Of Us On the Land marks the end of a prolific album trilogy. Jurado’s voice is unique: tearful and brittle on acoustic songs. It’s also interrogative and existential, when he tackles the grandeur of of a spiritual journey, as on “Exit 353”. “You were with me all along / I let go and you held strong” is a transcendent contrast to the final part of the song where he acknowledges, in a loop, “I was alone there / I was alone then”. His state of grace, on the land, in the country, or within himself, becomes ours in a true grasp of communal beauty.

07. Loney Dear – Hulls   +    SOHN – Rennen

I don’t know how to characterize Loney Dear’s music, especially as I discovered him with “Airport Surroundings”, a song quite at odd with the rest of his catalogue. But this guy can haunt with all sorts of minimalism (hear the early “Harm” and “Distant”). ‘Hulls’ does that in a ferocious way, disturbing with piercing pulses and sharp words about estrangement. It climaxes subtly, sharing in part the tortured violence of not being loved back.

“Rennen” from Sohn picks up the same mood as with his previous album, Tremors. It’s isolated (this time literally, as Christopher Taylor secluded himself in Northern California to record his new album). It’s icy, nocturnal and pretty damn soothing. As the rest of the album again shows him to be clumsy in motives and styles, his voice is self-assured of its beauty, and emerges as one of the most pristine foreground to the kind electronic anxieties he puts forward.

06. Radiohead Burn the Witch – Daydreaming - Decks Dark - Present Tense

I always use the stupid first-grade imagery of music that makes you float, but if a band truly has the power to challenge gravity’s configuration, Radiohead reshuffle again the palpable arrangements of upright rock/electronic music, with guitar, bass, synth and drum sounds all muddled to uplift Yorke’s newfound transparency. It’s not to say that the band settled on a desirable balance between clarity and ambiguity, but a few, scarce moments of contrast bring the most rewarding seconds on the album: as “Identikit” is set afloat by Ed’s back vocals (and that choir!), Jonny conflicts the tones up and down with one of his crudest electric solo (see also the final of “Decks Dark”, with raw bass and guitar lines framing an highlight on the album). It’s Jonny too that, bringing magnificent string orchestrations, makes the record sound pastoral and idyllic even in its gloomiest moments. The contrasts are truly atmospheric, and serve as a support to a clear theme of “lightness”, persistent in the lyrics (am I really writing about Radiohead and lightness?). “Present Tense” offers such mutation in the singer’s cynicism, in a way that one can actually believe him when he sings “Don’t get heavy / Keep it light and / Keep it moving”, backed with some of the loveliest and charming music ever penned by the band (choir vs. echoed vocals vs. old-fashioned continental fingerpicking). Such words ultimately make me the most liberated too, as if I’ve watched old cousin struggle for more than 20 years, reaching a point where he embraces enlightenment: “With my spirit light / Totally alive / Totally released”.

05. M83 – Solitude

The retro-looking music of M83 always toyed with a form of adolescent, dream-like purity. It’s lovely when it’s innocent and doesn’t make sense. The whole world discovered that it could also be exhilarating with 2011’s “Midnight City”, or saturated with immature happiness on Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. M83 gives the music for those who want to feel small and silly in a big world. But this year’s Junk also proved that the cool-irony gets clumsy when that vintage obsession is overblown. Yet, “Solitude” is all that: it’s excessive and immoderate. It’s superb, grandiose, melodramatic, and lavish. And to the credit of Gonzales, it’s also immensely skilled and savvy.      

04. The Tallest Man on Earth – Rivers

A sweeter voice, less Dylan, evermore Matsson. Fingerpicking magic. The song is delicate and poignant. The bareness of its first half is slowly lifted by soft horns and subtle piano notes. This guy is steadily good.  

03. Whitney - No Woman

At the moment when I feel that indie music has not many ways left to re-characterize itself (indie is a ‘character’, right?), two former Smith Westerns guys come out with the perfect indie-folk song, making that indie thing as relevant as ever. And they do so without reinventing a single ingredient: a vacillating falsetto, inexpensive Em-A-G chords known for bringing down cynicism in an instant, a mythic-american narrative of isolation and drifting the land looking for a sense of purpose. It’s solitude without pathos (thanks to those horns). It’s sad and beautiful. It’s humble and hopeful. It knocks you down in less than 4 minutes, simple, competent and candid. I shared this song the most this year, usually with the same immediate response: “yeah, I’m hooked too”.

02. Frank Ocean - Pink + White

The fact that I’m not so passionate about R&B or soul music kept me unreasonably distant from Frank Ocean. It trickles down also (shamefully) as an involuntary estrangement with some of the most relevant black voices elevating the contemporary cultural discourse. I mean, I can go to sleep to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and wake up to Kendrick’s “Alright”, but I missed out on the latest of D’Angelo, Miguel, and yes, Solange and Beyonce. “Channel Orange” is revered on every sides of the universe, but it surprisingly never gave me the thrills. I read of how much of a talented singer-songwriter he is, and can’t deny any of the praises thrown at his relevance and his voice. But a few blogposts from him also hinted at a profound humanity, which kept me curious to whatever he (seldom) chooses to sing about. And here I am in 2016, finally joining the collective applauses, abusing of his ineffable empathy, worshiping the true beauty of his sensibility. Compared to the previous album, the R&B tag isn’t that obvious, probably due to the album’s deliberate minimalism. He dissolves any need for labels, cuts instead his flesh open, and makes his bowels sing along some of the most creative melodies of the year. It’s raw yet meticulous, comforting yet secretive, avant-garde yet immediately rewarding. Blond ended up as one of the albums I replayed the most this year. The combination “White Ferrari” and “Seigfried” are so well crafted in introspection and intimacy, it’s like you can hear him bleed (also, thanks Jonny Greenwood). I’m guilty of choosing also the duo of “Ivy” and “Pink+White” in particular, especially as the latest is the most immediately likable song here. But damn, how willingly am I grooving along the pristine voice, breezing with the chill and sensuous summer melody. It’s 2016’s song for walk-grooving on bass and piano tempos, set adrift on dreamlike lyrics and imageries. This is smooth smooth smooth. I’m glad I’m now fully onboard with this Ocean guy.

01. Bon Iver - 33 "GOD"

What the fuck is this guy singing about? “Holocene” was arguably one of the prettiest songs of the last decade, but there is this line about “laying waste on Halloween” that makes it surprisingly mundane. The whole ‘mood’ of such songs aligns with the Divine, yet any attempt to dissect it (maybe no one should) shows rather a collection of references to everyday places and times. It is an undeniable signature of Justin Vernon that whichever mediums he works with (may it be the resonance of elementary guitar chords, the cold echoes of autotune, or stretched electronic pulses), human-scale alienations will dominate, and will be collected into a transcendent ‘mood’. And for me Vernon is exactly that: not much of a skilled musician, but a skilled collector, a curator. Fragments of sounds and words are built in such a universal and relatable image-space; vaporous lines draw contours of quotidian episodes; passages are momentarily crafted between memories and estrangements. He gives order to what are merely fleeting impressions of the world. In “33, ‘GOD’”, when Vernon juggles aptly from sacred allusions (“I could go forward in the light”) to everyday realisms (“Well I better fold my clothes”), his questions, struggles and uncertainties briefly take shape as an engaging and responsive ghost figure. The most enduring appeal of Vernon is to do so without veering into overconsciousness, without sounding like a self-professed guru of ‘crystal healing’ bullshit (or in the case of this song, “bird shit”). Like most, I breastfeed shamelessly on the allusive accessibility of the opening piano line, or the immediacy of words like “I’d be happy as hell if you stayed for tea”. But later these tangible trajectories quickly dissolve in foreground/background disorienting dialogues. Vernon’s vision traces a mythical path in such conflicting suggestions, a path that varies with each listening, and probably will vary with the next albums to come. His voice, as always, will remain the only trustable, guiding structure.

In only 10 years, Vernon positioned himself as that father figure, for me and the music industry. Has it been only 3 albums? He gave voice to many with his own festival in Eau Claire, and assured his presence through numerous collaborations of all scales (from Kanye to this year’s Francis and the Light). Bon Iver were once revered as an easy folk band, but it appears ‘logical’ and ‘in line’ with this ascension that “22, A Million” is their most experimental and obscure record. It’s quite claustrophobic in fact compared even to the cabin made “C Em Am Em” sing-along progressions. This voluntary opacity isn’t a surprise also for bands struggling with 2nd or 3rd albums, panicked with stardom (or grammys). The result is too often a naive form of conceptual obscurantism, a way to shout something like: “People give me credits, but I’m not obvious. I’m genuine. I’m fucked up. I’m a dark creator.” To be honest, it is slightly the case here: the album’s cryptic visuals and song titles are mysterious (or fucked-up) for about 2 minutes, but perdure as uninteresting, unnecessary packaging gimmicks. Still, the album, and “33, ‘GOD’�� in particular, ranks on the good side of the catchy-experimental trend, as Vernon got us accustomed to use his pervasive vulnerability as the code-cracking tool to float over the opacity of his text. It is an intimate, subtle, relationship, and here again his trademark voice will succeed to draw you as close as always.

LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE PLAYLIST HERE

via SPOTIFY

ALSO ON DEEZER HERE

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[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2016 - Best Film

Thanks in part to a competition with a friend, I saw 79 new releases in 2016, more films than I have seen from any other year in history. While this large grouping certainly ran the gamut in quality, there were a lot of films that I greatly enjoyed. However, only a handful can receive top remarks, so these are my picks for the absolute best of a solid year for movies. Here are The Aarons for Best Film:

#10: Captain America: Civil War

The Marvel Studios films are consistently some of the most entertaining action blockbusters currently being released, and the Captain America movies have routinely stood out as the best of the pack. Civil War once again succeeds thanks to the diligent directing of the Russo Brothers, who return from the magnificent Winter Soldier, its fantastic ensemble cast, and some relevant, thought-provoking themes that are treated with surprising nuance. While the highlight of the film may be its high-octane airport brawl, a pure delight for comic book fans, Civil War also expertly builds on the now long-standing history of the MCU to deliver a powerful climax, grounded less in special effects and more in meaningful character dynamics. Plus, the film introduces two exciting new heroes into the MCU fold, including the best live-action Spider-Man to date, all adding up to make Civil War the top blockbuster of the year.

#9: Moana

As mentioned in my initial review, Moana feels like the perfect culmination of a long gestating reinvention of the Disney Princess archetype. While the film has the requisite animal sidekicks (including the hilarious Heihei), Moana has no love interest in her story, which makes her journey of self-discovery all the more impactful. The film also features absolutely gorgeous animation that uses a wide variety of vibrant colors, has a killer soundtrack of top-notch Disney tracks from composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, and contains a fantastic voice cast, comprised of both veteran actors, like the immensely likable Dwayne Johnson and Jermaine Clement, and newcomers like Auli’i Cravalho, who certainly leaves an impression. A surprisingly inspiring movie, Moana is probably the best of the recent string of great films from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

#8: Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings was largely ignored at the box office, which is a real shame consider just how much care clearly went into making it, and how amazing the final product is. The meticulously crafted stop-motion animation is a non-stop parade of awe-inspiring visual spectacle, including some extremely impressive scale in the action scenes. While Kubo could arguably deserve a spot on this list for its animation alone, its true strength comes from its moving story that, although being a children’s tale, doesn’t shy away from dark elements or exploring heavy themes like grief. The all-star voice cast is also great, specifically Matthew McConaughey as Beetle and Rooney Mara as both of the deeply unnerving Sisters. 

#7: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

It was clear that Taika Waititi was a director to watch after last year’s What We Do In The Shadows, which was number nine on my list of best films for The Aarons last year, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople just cemented his status as a comedic genius. With an unexpectedly hilarious performance from Sam Neil, who shares immense chemistry with his partner-in-crime played by the amusing Julian Dennison, Hunt for the Wilderpeople delivers plenty of hearty laughs through its dry wit. The film also look incredible, having been shot on location in the beautiful New Zealand wilderness, and is bolstered by some unexpected emotional heft. 

#6: Moonlight

Moonlight is one of the most elegantly poetic films ever made. The performances of the lead actors (Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert) who portray main character Chiron at three different points in his life, are incredible when taken on their own, but, when woven together into a singular image of this man, form something profoundly magical. All the elements of film are in top form here, from the stunning cinematography, to the beautiful score, to the outstanding supporting performances by Mahershala Ali and Naomi Harris. Moonlight’s deeply moving, powerfully human story was exactly the kind of story that 2016 needed more of.

#5: Everybody Wants Some!!

Richard Linklater is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors of all time, and Everybody Wants Some!! is another excellent entry in his impressive filmography. The film’s talented young ensemble cast, including Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, and Tyler Hoechlin, all have fantastic chemistry with one another, which helps make Everybody Wants Some!! the most irresistibly charming film of the year. The movie perfectly captures its 80s aesthetic, but what truly makes Everybody Wants Some!! one of the best films of the year is the empathetic touch of Linklater’s writing/directing. Linklater completely rescues the kind of “sports jock” humor that has grown increasingly off-putting in recent years, transforming it into a hilarious and deeply affecting movie experience.

#4: The Lobster

After hearing about The Lobster’s absurd premise, which revolves around a society where people are transformed into animals if they do not find a romantic partner in time, I knew that it would be unmissable. However, I didn’t realize just how profound the film would be, using its bizarre world to take a hilarious, poignant, and occasionally uncomfortable look at the state of modern relationships. The film boasts an impressive cast, including phenomenal work from Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and the always reliable John C. Reilly, and, while it may not be to everyone’s liking, the film’s dark humor provides some of the funniest moments of the year.

#3: Arrival 

In a year where a lot of blockbusters disappointed, Arrival delivered one of the most thrilling and fascinating movie experiences through its low-key nature, which shunned action in favor of thought-provoking themes and a powerful humanitarian message. Reminiscent of The Day The Earth Stood Still, Arrival’s exploration of the importance of communication and value of nonviolence was especially timely in 2016, and the film’s visuals are a cavalcade of breathtaking moments. Fantastic performances, a beautiful score, Denis Villenueve’s mesmerizing directing, and a story which enthralls the audience with a sense of discovery also contribute to making Arrival exemplary sci-fi and one of 2016′s best films. 

#2: La La Land

Damien Chazelle’s absolutely stunning ode to classic film musicals was in a very close race for my number one spot, and, since I did not see it until very recently, may in fact move up to #1 if I’m given time to mull it over some more. Certainly the most technically impressive film this year, La La Land delights with multiple perfectly executed dance numbers, including an already iconic opening scene, as well as its set of catchy, dynamic songs. Co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone once again demonstrate their tremendous talent and chemistry with one another, sweeping the audience off their feet, right into the film’s magical, dream-like L.A. setting. A tribute to all the artists who risk everything to pursue their dreams, La La Land is a powerfully inspiring film for aspiring young talent, and its gorgeous cinematography and lovably retro set-design transforms the film into pure movie magic. La La Land is an impressive and endlessly enjoyable film that is sure to become as iconic as the classic films it emulates.

AND THE BEST FILM OF 2016 IS…

#1: The Witch

In my initial review for The Witch, I said it was not an instant horror classic. I was wrong, and I realized that when I discovered that the film’s downright petrifying ending was still seared into my brain months after I had seen the picture. The Witch is one of the most deeply unsettling movies I have ever seen. It burrows under your skin through its haunting re-imagining of a supernatural colonial history for America, where one must be ever vigilant of every animal or person’s ability to be a conduit for the Devil, and failure to do so bodes unspeakable consequences. The film is overflowing with a chilling atmosphere, due to Robert Eggers’ expert directing, which quickly transforms the woods into a claustrophobic and seemingly malevolent setting, and is rich in tension, through both the heated conflicts of the paranoid family and the film’s portrayal of an overwhelming, insuperable struggle between man and nature. Anya Taylor-Joy makes an immediate impression in her debut role, and the film perfectly captures the 17th century setting through the archaic language of its script and its magnificent costume design. The Witch, much like last year’s It Follows, is a delightfully disconcerting film experience, whose themes paint it as a twisted morality tale that will rattle the viewer to their core. Thanks to its masterful film-making, copious thematic depth, chilling score, adept acting, and the insurmountable dread conjured up by its atmosphere, The Witch is my favorite movie of the year, and one that I’m sure will continue to haunt me for a long time yet.