Top 10+ Music, Movies, and Visual Art of the Week (2023)

[AfterHours]

[AfterHours]

EXPLANATION: WHAT IS THIS LOG??? Go here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...094#571094

For my criteria page, go here: http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?t=15503

To visit my Main lists, go here:
Greatest Classical Music Works: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15098
Greatest Albums (Rock & Jazz): https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15276
Greatest Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15558
Greatest Paintings: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15560
Greatest Works of Art: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=16117

Various (in progress) genre lists, listed in order of how recently I've worked on them:
Greatest Literature: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...617#691617
Best Comedy Films and Best Romantic and/or Sx Comedies: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...446#684446
Best Teen and/or Coming of Age Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...219#683219
Best Gangster and/or Hood Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...513#682513
Best Action/Adventure and (Action/Adventure) Thriller Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...108#674108
Best Editing/Structure in Film History: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...443#667443
Best Visuals (Color) / Best Visuals (Black and White): https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...231#666231
Best Horror Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...102#656102
Best Hip Hop/R & B/Soul/Funk Albums: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...323#650323
Best Animated Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...884#647884
Best Comic Book/Superhero Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...189#646189

Bsold = Newly added
Bold + Italics = Was already listed but recently upgraded/downgraded

Top 10+ Music, Movies, and Visual Art of the Week(s): 1-29-2024 - 5-12-2024
Sistine Chapel: Ceiling and The Last Judgment - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1512; 1541)
Pieta - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1499) [Sculpture]
North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock (1959)
David - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1504) [Sculpture]
Beggar's Banquet - Rolling Stones (1968)
The Magnificent Ambersons - Orson Welles (1942)
City of Lost Children - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1995)
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Stanley Kubrick (1964)
The Deposition - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1555) [Sculpture] [aka, "Bandini Pietà" or "The Lamentation over the Dead Christ"]
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)
Delicatessen - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1991)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1976)
Skylarking - XTC (1986)
Pure Heroine - Lorde (2013)

Top 10+ Albums/Movies/Visual Art for the Week(s) - Rated 2.8/10 to 6.7/10
Dune: Part Two - Denis Villeneuve (2024)

FAMILIAR FILMS - RE-RATED:
North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock (1959) 8.8/10 to 8.6/10
The Magnificent Ambersons - Orson Welles (1942) 7.7/10 to 7.6/10
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Stanley Kubrick (1964) 7.6/10 to 7.5/10
City of Lost Children - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1995) 7.1/10 to 7.3/10
Delicatessen - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1991) 7.4/10 to 7.3/10
Poor Things - Yorgos Lanthimo (2023) Not Rated to 7.3/10 ... rating tentative, could be slightly higher/lower ... need to see again to be sure

NEWLY WATCHED FILMS - RATED:
Dune: Part Two - Denis Villeneuve (2024) 5.5/10

TOP 50 WORKS OF ART OF THE YEAR (2024)
Angkor Wat - Started by Suryavarman II; Completed by Jayavarman VII (circa 1122 - 1150; Note: there are various anomalies that may suggest an earlier date of construction -- perhaps even much earlier) [Architecture]
Borobudur - Gunadharma (circa 842?) [Architecture]
Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Guernica - Pablo Picasso (1937)
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971)
Golden Gate Bridge - Joseph Strauss - San Francisco, California (1937) [Architecture]
Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway - J.M.W. Turner (1844)
St. Peter's Basilica - Principal Architects: Donato Bramante (1503 - 1514); Michelangelo Buonarroti (1546 - 1564); Carlo Maderno (1603 - 1629); Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1629 - 1676) (Building completed and opened 1626; various additions thereafter) [Architecture]
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

[DommeDamian]

Thoughts on The Wigmaker In Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg?
_________________
My Top 100 :
www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=4...amp;page=1

My music:
- www.hyperfollow.com/dommedamian

[homelessking]

Do you think there really is a Wagner-ian influence or resemblance in Foetus?

[AfterHours]

[AfterHours]

[AfterHours]

EXPLANATION: WHAT IS THIS LOG??? Go here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...094#571094

For my criteria page, go here: http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?t=15503

To visit my Main lists, go here:
Greatest Classical Music Works: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15098
Greatest Albums (Rock & Jazz): https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15276
Greatest Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15558
Greatest Paintings: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=15560
Greatest Works of Art: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...hp?t=16117

Various (in progress) genre lists, listed in order of how recently I've worked on them:
Greatest Literature: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...617#691617
Best Comedy Films and Best Romantic and/or Sx Comedies: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...446#684446
Best Teen and/or Coming of Age Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...219#683219
Best Gangster and/or Hood Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...513#682513
Best Action/Adventure and (Action/Adventure) Thriller Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...108#674108
Best Editing/Structure in Film History: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...443#667443
Best Visuals (Color) / Best Visuals (Black and White): https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...231#666231
Best Horror Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...102#656102
Best Hip Hop/R & B/Soul/Funk Albums: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...323#650323
Best Animated Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...884#647884
Best Comic Book/Superhero Films: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...189#646189

Bsold = Newly added
Bold + Italics = Was already listed but recently upgraded/downgraded

Top 10+ Music, Movies, and Visual Art of the Week(s): 5-13-2024 -7-7-2024
Guernica - Pablo Picasso (1937)
Angkor Wat - Started by Suryavarman II; Completed by Jayavarman VII (circa 1122 - 1150; Note: there are various anomalies that may suggest an earlier date of construction -- perhaps even much earlier) [Architecture]
Alhambra - Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar; later additions overseen by Yusuf I and Muhammad V - Granada, Spain (initial structure: 1250; several alterations thereafter through the 1600s) [Architecture]
David - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1504) [Sculpture]
Sagrada Família - Antoni Gaudí (Gaudi: 1883 - 1926, unfinished; Still under construction) [Architecture]
Pieta - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1499) [Sculpture]
Europe After The Rain II - Max Ernst (1942)
Pauline Chapel: The Conversion of Saul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1545; 1550)
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1997)
Chartres Cathedral - Master of Chartres (Anonymous French Architect) (Mostly constructed 1194-1220; Completed 1252; Various modifications and additions thereafter) [Architecture]
Borobudur - Gunadharma (circa 842?) [Architecture]
The Beethoven Frieze - Gustav Klimt (1902)
Water Lilies (Orangerie Museum) - Claude Monet (1918)
Mona Lisa - Leonardo da Vinci (1505)
Moses - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1515) [Sculpture]
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1808)
Registan Square [Architecture]
The Kiss - Gustav Klimt (1908)
Golden Gate Bridge - Joseph Strauss - San Francisco, California (1937) [Architecture]
Symphony No. 8 in G major - Antonin Dvorak (1889)
Milan Cathedral - Several Architects (Originally: 1386; several developments through 1965) [Architecture]
Fallingwater - Frank Lloyd Wright (1939) [Architecture]
St. Matthew Cycle: The Calling of St. Matthew; The Inspiration of St. Matthew; The Martyrdom of St. Matthew - Michelangelo Caravaggio (1602)
The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh (1889)
Geek the Girl - Lisa Germano (1994)
St. Peter's Basilica - Principal Architects: Donato Bramante (1503 - 1514); Michelangelo Buonarroti (1546 - 1564); Carlo Maderno (1603 - 1629); Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1629 - 1676) (Building completed and opened 1626; various additions thereafter) [Architecture]
Laurentian Library - Michelangelo Buonarroti (Begun 1525, completed posthumously, 1571; Tribune of Elci rotunda added by Pasquale Poccianti in 1841) [Architecture]
Graceland - Paul Simon (1986)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)

FAMILIAR ROCK/JAZZ ALBUMS - RE-RATED:
Geek the Girl - Lisa Germano (1994) 8.8/10 to 8.4/10

FAMILIAR PAINTINGS/VISUAL ART - RE-RATED:
St. Peter's Basilica - Principal Architects: Donato Bramante (1503 - 1514); Michelangelo Buonarroti (1546 - 1564); Carlo Maderno (1603 - 1629); Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1629 - 1676) (Building completed and opened 1626; various additions thereafter) [Architecture] 8.5/10 to 8.4/10
The Beethoven Frieze - Gustav Klimt (1902) 8.4/10 to 8.3/10
Sagrada Família - Antoni Gaudí (Gaudi: 1883 - 1926, unfinished; Still under construction as of 2022) [Architecture] 8.1/10 to 8.2/10
Chartres Cathedral - Master of Chartres (Anonymous French Architect) (Mostly constructed 1194-1220; Completed 1252; Various modifications and additions thereafter) [Architecture] 8.0/10 to 8.1/10
Pieta - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1499) [Sculpture] 7.9/10 to 8.0/10
Milan Cathedral - Several Architects (Originally: 1386; several developments through 1965) [Architecture] Not Rated to 7.7/10
Water Lilies (Orangerie Museum) - Claude Monet (1918) Not Rated to 7.7/10 ... Note: very tentative rating

FAMILIAR PAINTINGS/VISUAL ART - RE-RATED:
Not Rated to /10
Not Rated to /10
Not Rated to /10
Not Rated to /10

/10 to /10
/10 to /10
/10 to /10

TOP 50 WORKS OF ART OF THE YEAR (2024)
Sistine Chapel: Ceiling and The Last Judgment - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1512; 1541)
Angkor Wat - Started by Suryavarman II; Completed by Jayavarman VII (circa 1122 - 1150; Note: there are various anomalies that may suggest an earlier date of construction -- perhaps even much earlier) [Architecture]
Borobudur - Gunadharma (circa 842?) [Architecture]
Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Guernica - Pablo Picasso (1937)
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971)
Golden Gate Bridge - Joseph Strauss - San Francisco, California (1937) [Architecture]
Pieta - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1499) [Sculpture]
North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock (1959)
David - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1504) [Sculpture]
Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway - J.M.W. Turner (1844)
St. Peter's Basilica - Principal Architects: Donato Bramante (1503 - 1514); Michelangelo Buonarroti (1546 - 1564); Carlo Maderno (1603 - 1629); Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1629 - 1676) (Building completed and opened 1626; various additions thereafter) [Architecture]
Beggar's Banquet - Rolling Stones (1968)
The Magnificent Ambersons - Orson Welles (1942)
City of Lost Children - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1995)
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Stanley Kubrick (1964)
The Deposition - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1555) [Sculpture] [aka, "Bandini Pietà" or "The Lamentation over the Dead Christ"]
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)
Delicatessen - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1991)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1976)
Skylarking - XTC (1986)
Pure Heroine - Lorde (2013)
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

[AfterHours]

Some brief analysis and points about Angkor Wat:

Largest religious structure in the world

Angkor Wat is a unique combination of the temple mountain (the standard design for the empire's state temples) and the later plan of concentric galleries, most of which were originally derived from religious beliefs of Hinduism. The construction of Angkor Wat suggests that there was a celestial significance with certain features of the temple. This is observed in the temple's east–west orientation, and lines of sight from terraces within the temple that show specific towers to be at the precise location of the solstice at sunrise. The Angkor Wat temple's main tower aligns with the morning sun of the spring equinox. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods according to Hindu mythology: the central quincunx of towers symbolise the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat symbolise the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level.

Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led scholars including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès to hypothesize that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple. Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction—prasavya in Hindu terminology—as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. (Wiki)

It is a masterpiece of (apparent) simplicity and harmony on an (extremely) grand scale that yet becomes increasingly complex and "cacophonous" (on an overwhelming scale) the closer one gets and the deeper one traverses or looks.

One one hand the main layout and overall design of it is not especially complex: very symmetrical, in increasing gradation through its squared echelons and perimeter/cornered and central towers.

Yet as one gets closer to these they overwhelm with their strange design, splitting and to the sides and re-forming in unusual geometric formations to reach their peaks. They also become increasingly "cacophonous" (while retaining, a now more "noisy" harmony, a bringing together of unusual complexity).

The corridors also, from the distance, apparently simply rectangular cooridors. Yet as one nears or goes through them, they are overtaken by endless false doors.

As well, the exterior of each section of this monumental work. At first, seemingly "simple" central or symmetrically located stairways lead one into and up to the next echelon. Yet even these are visually blurred, confused, merged, by walls that are also gradation or step-like "ledges"/"stairways".

Furthermore, in one of the most monumental artistic achievements in human history, virtually ever external surface is (or once was) sculpted or carved with designs or stories or characters or messages. So then again, from a distance these are "blocks" or "parts" of a structure. Up close they are intricate, overwhelming in their detail and symbology and complexity of message, literally covering the entire structure (or once did, many have been ruined by later attempts to change the meaning of the temple from "Hindu" to "Buddhist"; but many still remain left to express this).

Also, as one makes ones way through the whole structure (meaning from the same ground levels its originators were privy to) it is precisely structured so that each echelon is only discover-able (emerges to the eye) after the fact of traversing the last. So, again, the whole work unfolds in greater complexity and mystery precisely as one traverses it.

There is much more to be said, but these are some interesting expressive points about it that may not be obvious to the casual viewer so perhaps are helpful to get one into what makes it such a masterpiece (but I haven't even mentioned many of its anomalies and mysteries, or the moat or the complex agricultural system it seems to have powered in its day through the "electricity" of sunlight beaming down into it, or or or...).
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

[AfterHours]

Just added the above to a page on Angkor Wat to my "Greatest Paintings" list (includes Architecture/Sculpure, at least for the time being). I also found some write ups on it by Scaruffi that I added.

Here: https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...270#703270
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

[TiggaTrigga]

Not sure if you're familiar with the different mixes of In Utero, but the Steve Albini (the album's producer) mix was discovered not too long ago and it's essentially the superior mix, as it captures the rawness from the band. https://youtu.be/JTZd7ovPhhQ?si=Q1VCB8w...amp;t=1143 . Originally the record label "polished" it to make it more commercial and is the official, released version from 1993. I believe they only polished the singles, though.

But that's still enough to trivialize the full vision and scope of the album like Nirvana/Albini truly intended. Think Blade Runner theatrical release vs. the Director's/Final Cut.

Here's Heart-Shaped Box from the Albini mix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9pwGlgQz2E