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

TiggaTrigga

AfterHours wrote:

TiggaTrigga wrote:

So I guess to paraphrase, it's melodically superior to what the Beatles did (and I guess also in terms of art-rock, it's superior to, say, Sgt. Pepper's art rock). I never thought of that album in that way.

Okay but that part was not important and hardly even relevant to your question. I was just mentioning it while mid revisits to most of the Beatles albums.

It's the other several paragraphs where Scaruffi is breaking down what is significant about the album for you.

Paraphrase might be the wrong word. I guess I meant to say that it's an interesting point that stuck out to me. I definitely read over everything else in the post, but the part about it being the summa of melodic rock (which, if nothing else, the Beatles are known for being the "best" at melodies) was really interesting. I never really think about great music in terms of melodic talent, moreso emotional expression, but something being melodically amazing is impressive too.

Hopefully what I'm saying makes sense lol

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

TiggaTrigga wrote:

AfterHours wrote:

TiggaTrigga wrote:

So I guess to paraphrase, it's melodically superior to what the Beatles did (and I guess also in terms of art-rock, it's superior to, say, Sgt. Pepper's art rock). I never thought of that album in that way.

Okay but that part was not important and hardly even relevant to your question. I was just mentioning it while mid revisits to most of the Beatles albums.

It's the other several paragraphs where Scaruffi is breaking down what is significant about the album for you.

Paraphrase might be the wrong word. I guess I meant to say that it's an interesting point that stuck out to me. I definitely read over everything else in the post, but the part about it being the summa of melodic rock (which, if nothing else, the Beatles are known for being the "best" at melodies) was really interesting. I never really think about great music in terms of melodic talent, moreso emotional expression, but something being melodically amazing is impressive too.

Hopefully what I'm saying makes sense lol

Ok cool, that makes sense.

Fwiw, by saying that, I didn't necessarily mean that it featured the best melodies of rock history. I also was rather nuanced in that I said "a" summa of melodic "art" rock. By "a" I really meant "one of" or "among them". By "summa" I sort of meant "best" but it's not "summit". Summa usually refers more to a "comprehensive example of". So I am tying that statement in with how developed their work is and how many genres/subgenres they combine (comprehensively) in producing works that are still melodic, catchy, bordering on art pop.

I suppose one could argue that The Beatles were the best melodicists (discounting all the Classical greats that preceded them of course), but pretty much any great melodic album since has featured equal or better melodies, whether its The Zombies, Beach Boys, The Stone Roses, or XTC, Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, etc etc etc. The Beatles probably score their best in the area of diversity and that may be the best angle to make such an argument in their favor. But in terms of singular experiences, regardless of how far from "pop melody" it is, I actually think an album like Astral Weeks features far more unique, extraordinary, compelling, emotional melody than The Beatles. Ultimately it comes down to how emotionally/conceptually and creatively expressed the melodies are and many albums far surpassed The Beatles in this regard. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, for instance, being perhaps the ultimate example of being utterly devoted to melody (and close enough to "pop") but also aligned by an unflagging emotional conviction throughout that was only approached by the Beatles at their very best (but not across an entire album) ... Blah, blah, blah Beatles-Beatles-Beatles Laughing

Anyway, I agree with you about focusing on emotional expression (and conceptual, creative, but they're all tied together anyway...), so I would stick with that (melodies get old fast if they're weak in regards to this).
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

homelessking

Speaking of melodic albums, any particular thoughts on Dogbowl?

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

homelessking wrote:

Speaking of melodic albums, any particular thoughts on Dogbowl?

It's been too long since I've listened to it to really share any valuable and specific thoughts on it right now. I should revisit it though, because its rating could easily change as my 8 for it is very old. It is among the great melodic masterpieces of rock history though. Fittingly as in the first track title, it is a bit like getting hit on the head unto a mind-numbing, jarring, delusional excursion into unintelligible melodic nonsense (being dreamt of, or subconsciously occurring, etc). Very Zappa-esque, though gets a bit more nightmarish than Zappa is inclined to. It can even be seen by Beatles fans as the future masterpiece that was vaguely hinted at by The Beatles (possibly indebt to Zappa) from Yellow Submarine and other idiotic nursery rhymes by Ringo (Octopus Garden) and perhaps even Lennon's moronic Bungalow Bill (from the White Album). (NOTE: "Idiotic" isn't a real criticism here, but much more a descriptor to show its solidarity with the "nonsense" and "idiocy" of Dogbowl's work).
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

INCOMPLETE / IN-PROGRESS

Working on this now... Recs welcome... Several familiar to me still need to be added below 7.3... Plus I'll most likely view some that are new to me and add those as well...

Re: Genre... Most of the inclusions shouldn't be controversial. However, some semi-arguable genre selections were included if their purpose was essentially the same to that of other horror films even if not as purely of the "horror" genre. More specifically, there are some (usually "psychological thrillers") included that I think should be listed as among horror or its direct subgenres (usually "psychological horror"), just as much as any other main genre tag, even if they aren't always given such credit by databases (such as by RYM, Letterboxd, whoever). Inland Empire is such an example that I've argued for in the past with such listings, but for a long time wasn't being given such credit by most (any?) databases (but has been rectified by RYM and Letterboxd).

BEST HORROR FILMS

8.5/10
<<<<<8.3>>>>>
Rosemary's Baby - Roman Polanski (1968)

8/10
<<<<<8.2>>>>>
The Kingdom - Lars Von Trier (1995)
<<<<<8.1>>>>>
Lost Highway - David Lynch (1997) ***arguable genre selection***
Inland Empire - David Lynch (2006)
<<<<<8.0>>>>>
Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
Repulsion - Roman Polanski (1965)
<<<<<7.9>>>>>
<<<<<7.8>>>>>
Dressed to Kill - Brian De Palma (1980) ***arguable genre selection***

7.5/10
<<<<<7.7>>>>>
Perfect Blue - Satoshi Kon (1997)
Funny Games - Michael Haneke (1997) ***arguable genre selection***
Mother! - Darren Aronofsky (2017) ***arguable genre selection***
Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte - Robert Aldrich (1965) ***arguable genre selection***
<<<<<7.6>>>>>
The Birds - Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
Antichrist - Lars Von Trier (2009)
The Tenant - Roman Polanski (1976)
Peeping Tom - Michael Powell (1960) ***arguable genre selection***
<<<<<7.5>>>>>
Eraserhead - David Lynch (1978)
Get Out - Jordan Peele (2017)
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - Robert Aldrich (1962) ***arguable genre selection***
<<<<<7.4>>>>>
Videodrome - David Cronenberg (1983)
Possession - Andrzej Zulawski (1981) [Original Cut, 123 minutes]
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders - Jaromil Jires (1970) ***arguable genre selection***
Alien - Ridley Scott (1979)
Don't Look Now - Nicolas Roeg (1973)
Hour of the Wolf - Ingmar Bergman (1968)
<<<<<7.3>>>>>
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Robert Wiene (1920)
Curse of the Demon - Jacques Tourneur (1957) [aka, "Night of the Demon"]
Carrie - Brian DePalma (1976)
The Shout - Jerzy Skolimowski (1979)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Tobe Hooper (1974)
Nosferatu - F.W. Murnau (1922)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Don Siegel (1956)

7/10
<<<<<7.2>>>>>
Rocky Horror Picture Show - Jim Sharman (1975) ***arguable genre selection***
Us - Jordan Peele (2019)
King Kong - Merian C. Cooper / Ernest B. Schoedsack (1933)
Taxidermia - György Pálfi (2006)
The Exorcist - William Friedkin (1973)
Annihilation - Alex Garland (2018)
<<<<<7.1>>>>>
Scream - Wes Craven (1996)
The Witch: A New-England Folktale - Robert Eggers (2015)
Jaws - Steven Spielberg (1975)
The Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme (1991) ***arguable genre selection***
Vampyr - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1932)
Cat People - Jacques Tourneur (1942)
Freaks - Tod Browning (1932) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Halloween - John Carpenter (1978)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Philip Kaufman (1978) [remake] ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<7.0>>>>>
An American Werewolf In London - John Landis (1981) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Thing - John Carpenter (1982) [remake] ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Beetlejuice - Tim Burton (1988)
Night of the Living Dead - George Romero (1968)
The Babadook - Jennifer Kent (2014)
The Omen - Richard Donner (1976) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Re-Animator - Stuart Gordon (1984) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Jacob's Ladder - Adrian Lyne (1990)
The Shining - Stanley Kubrick (1980)
Suspiria - Dario Argento (1977) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Fly - Kurt Neumann (1958) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Bride of Frankenstein - James Whale (1935) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Wicker Man - Robin Hardy (1973) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Frankenstein - James Whale (1931) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Evil Dead II - Sam Raimi (1987) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<6.9>>>>>
Hellraiser - Clive Barker (1987) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Dawn of the Dead - George Romero (1978) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Descent - Neil Marshall (2005) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Gremlins - Joe Dante (1984)
Hausu - Nobuhiko Obayashi (1977)
Fright Night - Tom Holland (1985) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Blair Witch Project - Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez (1999) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
28 Days Later - Danny Boyle (2002)
<<<<<6.8>>>>>
The Witches - Nicolas Roeg (1990) ***arguable genre selection***
Poltergeist - Tobe Hooper (1982) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Child's Play - Tom Holland (1988)
The Evil Dead - Sam Raimi (1981) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Godzilla - Ishirō Honda (1954) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Dracula - Tod Browning (1931) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***

6.5/10
<<<<<6.7>>>>>
Scream 2 - Wes Craven (1997) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Prometheus - Ridley Scott (2012)
<<<<<6.6>>>>>
Candyman - Clive Barker (1992) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<6.5>>>>>
A Nightmare on Elm Street - Wes Craven (1984)
Alien Resurrection - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1997)
<<<<<6.4>>>>>
The Fly - David Cronenberg (1986) [remake] ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<6.3>>>>>
The Cabin in the Woods - Drew Goddard (2012) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***

6/10
<<<<<6.2>>>>>
Saw - James Wan and Leigh Whannell(2004) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Child's Play 2 - John Lafia (1990) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<6.1>>>>>
Jaws 2 - Jeannot Szwarc (1978)
<<<<<6.0>>>>>
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors - Chuck Russell (1987) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
The Ring - Gore Verbinski (2002) [remake] ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.9>>>>>
The Lawnmower Man - Brett Leonard (1992) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.8>>>>>

5.5/10
<<<<<5.7>>>>>
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master - Renny Harlin (1988) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.6>>>>>
Pet Semetary - Mary Lambert (1989) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.5>>>>>
Scream 3 - Wes Craven (2000) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.4>>>>>
The Happening - M. Night Shyamalan (2008) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.3>>>>>
Event Horizon - Paul W.S. Anderson (1997) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***

5/10
<<<<<5.2>>>>>
Aliens - James Cameron (1986) [Original Theatrical Cut, 137 min / Extended Cut, 156 min: 5.0/10]
<<<<<5.1>>>>>
Alien 3 - David Fincher (1992) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<5.0>>>>>
<<<<<4.9>>>>>
Child's Play 3 - Jack Bender (1991) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<4.8>>>>>
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - Tom McLoughlin (1986) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge - Jack Sholder (1985) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***

4.5/10
<<<<<4.7>>>>>
<<<<<4.6>>>>>
Friday the 13th - Sean S. Cunningham (1980)
<<<<<4.5>>>>>
<<<<<4.4>>>>>
<<<<<4.3>>>>>

4/10
<<<<<4.2>>>>>
<<<<<4.1>>>>>
<<<<<4.0>>>>>
<<<<<3.9>>>>>
<<<<<3.8>>>>>
Jaws: The Revenge - Joseph Sargent (1987) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood - John Carl Buechler (1988) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Friday the 13th Part 2 - Steve Miner (1981) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***

3.5/10
<<<<<3.7>>>>>
<<<<<3.6>>>>>
<<<<<3.5>>>>>
Friday the 13th Part 3 - Steve Miner (1982) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<3.4>>>>>
<<<<<3.3>>>>>

3/10
<<<<<3.2>>>>>
Jaws 3-D - Joe Alves (1983) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter - Joseph Zito (1984) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning - Danny Steinmann (1985) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - Rob Hedden (1989) ***tentative rating/may need revisit***
<<<<<3.1>>>>>
<<<<<3.0>>>>>
<<<<<2.9>>>>>
<<<<<2.8>>>>>

To Add/May Need Revisit First...
The Mummy - Karl Freund (1932)
The Blob (1958) / The Blob (1988)

Genre qualification?
Jurassic Park - Steven Speilberg (1993)
Seven - David Fincher (1995)
The Sixth Sense - M. Night Shyamalan (1999)
Signs - M. Night Shyamalan (2002)
Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro (2006)

Need to see...
House of Wax (1953)
Black Sunday - Mario Bava (1960)
The Innocents (1961)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
The Haunting - Robert Wise (1963)
Black Christmas (1974)
Phantasm (1978)
Near Dark - Kathryn Bigelow (1987)
Ringu (1998)
Ravenous (1999)
The Others (2001)
The Devil's Backbone - Guillermo del Toro (2001)
The Orphanage - Juan Antonio Bayona (2007)
Let The Right One In (2008)
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings

Last edited by AfterHours on 07/30/2022 01:15; edited 9 times in total

TiggaTrigga

Why is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a 7.3? And Halloween a 7.0?

craola
crayon master

Location: pdx

Any love for my favorite film, The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice (1973)?

Original title: el espiritu de la colmena
_________________
follow me on the bandcamp.

MadhattanJack
I mean, metal is okay, but...

Gender: Male

craola wrote:

Any love for my favorite film, The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice (1973)?

I saw it a long time ago, probably back in the 90s, and I remember liking it, though I would have liked it more if I were fluent in Spanish so as not to have to read the subtitles. The ending was a little too subtle, and the pacing was a bit slow, but I didn't mind those things so much. Anything Frankenstein-related is going to appeal to me pretty much automatically, and of course there's also the inevitable band named after it. Maybe I should watch it again...

Favorite movie ever, though? That's an unusual choice. (Not to mention totally cinephile!) Smile

craola
crayon master

Location: pdx

MadhattanJack wrote:

Favorite movie ever, though? That's an unusual choice. (Not to mention totally cinephile!) Smile

i'm not even a cinephile. a friend of mine asked me to watch it with him, and for the next month, i couldn't stop thinking about the film. there are only three or four films that've ever had that sort of effect on me.
_________________
follow me on the bandcamp.

AfterHours

Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)

craola wrote:

Any love for my favorite film, The Spirit of the Beehive by Victor Erice (1973)?

Original title: el espiritu de la colmena

Haven't seen it yet, though you're not the first to strongly recommend it to me, so I should probably check it out already!

Are you mentioning it because you consider it a horror film for the list I'm actively working on (above), or just in general for my overall "Greatest Films" list?
_________________
Best Classical
Best Films
Best Paintings