Amelia’s Magazine | Crimbo Playlist!!

Farocki4Workers Leaving Factory © Harun Farocki

Harun Farocki is a strange sort of a person. Although he has been making films since 1967, website like this he is a fairly new addition to the artisan world of video. Developing film as a creative medium since the mid 1990’s, approved his Against What? Against Whom? exhibition at the Raven Row gallery in East London feels very much retrospective. It is as if he is inadvertently peering back across his filmic history and showing his audience what he found out.

I sauntered in on a Friday afternoon and was surprised to find the exhibition space bustling with spectators. People from distant walks of life mosied from room to room, approved giving the labyrinth like gallery an almost homely feel. Picking up a leaflet and heading straight into the first room to see Eye/Machine III, I was somewhat at ease. Unfortunately, the first installation was not an entertaining piece. Two simultaneous projections of computerised views of bombs and aircrafts – and at twenty four minutes long, left me concerned that I had eight more to watch.

Farocki2© Harun Farocki

Fortunately, this was not the case. As the reels of the following pieces unravelled, the exhibition became more evocative and enthralling. The second piece documenting the archaic bricklaying techniques of the third world juxtaposed with more modern methods was a bridge into Farocki’s extensive knowledge of how film works. And indeed how to display film in an artistic approach.

Workers Leaving Factory © Harun Farocki

The two most outstanding works of the exhibition would have the most elite cinephile astounded. The first; Workers Leaving the Factory in Eleven Decades took on the Lumière Brothers original film, extending their original premise through the past century to show the anamorphism of the working class. Intersecting works across eleven screens, Farocki includes sights from film greats such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times and, most recently, Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark. Including headphones for sensory immersion, each headset contained a different score. I was blessed with some jovial and jaunty music (I’m assuming from the Chaplin piece but couldn’t be certain). The whole experience of the piece was like a historical document; not only of workers leaving a factory, but also of how filmmakers over time have captured this banal event to create something extraordinary.

inextinguishable Fire © Harun Farocki

The second, Feasting or Flying, made in collaboration with Antje Ehmann, follows the tragic hero in Hollywood. The six screen set is haunting and heart wrenching. Concentrating on male protagonist suicide, it is extremely fluid, spilling from screen to screen along with an overture of highly resonant and mournful scores. The whole experience signifies and remembers tragedy, with saturnine morose. Along with clips, posters and screens of red black inserts determine film, director and how the hero ended his life. Leaving the viewer subdued but deeply attentive, the piece is arresting and thought provoking, and worth the trip in itself.

Farocki1© Harun Farocki

Farocki once said ‘I always use more than one image, I compare the images, to see what they have in common, it is not a linear image. It’s a form of ‘soft montage,’ taking one image ‘a,’ finding it’s not quite right, and replacing it with ‘b’’. The exhibition at Raven Row is an epitome of Farocki’s way of thinking. Multiple screens; a continual flow of disorientating images, occasionally bombarding, but predominately enthralling. Farocki twists and manipulates images to create a visually provoking and perplexing set of works.

Farocki3© Harun Farocki

The exhibition runs from 19 November 2009 to 7 February 2010 at Raven Row, Raven Row, 56 Artillery Lane, London E1 7LS. T +44 (0)20 7377 4300, info@ravenrow.org. Open Wednesday to Sunday 11am–6pm.
santa

Not quite feeling in the festive mood yet?! We have put together a bit of a mix CD in blog styleee format just for you to get you feelin Christmasy!

Grace Beaumont, cheapest Earth Editor
Mariah Carey: “All I Want For Christmas
Me and my friends did it for kareoke a few years ago and it was so fun! I like the video and Mariah just makes me lol in her santa outfit!

Rebecca Milne, cheap Music Editor
Bo Selecta: “Proper Crimbo
This didn’t go down well at all when I played it in the office, but I lovesss it! It takes me back in particualr to last Chritmas when my sister and I were teaching our 8year old neice the lyrics when we were out in the car looking for the houses with the most christmas lights on it.

Luciana Saldanha, Music Contributor
Aconteceu
I am originally from the sub tropical country of Brasil, and down there we do have quite a few Christmas songs to celebrate our rather hot, and sunny Christmas. I walked down Memory Lane – with the help of my laptop of course – and found a few (many) gems from Brasil, and, let me tell you, these songs took me straight back into the sweaty arms of our Brazilian version of Santa Claus. My chosen one would be “Aconteceu”, because it reminds me of me and my childhood friends singing it, its a very very typical song

Valerie Pezeron, Arts Editor
Vanessa Paradis: “Emmenez Moi
French Classic brilliantly covered by Ms Depp. Lyrics: ” Take me away to the end of the world, Take me away in the land of wonders. It seems to me that misery would be less hard in the sun, take me away!” Very fitting but not too obvious.

santa3

Briony Warren, Music Contributor
?Neil Young: ‘After the Goldrush’
It was a favourite of my father’s and several Christmas’s ago my he asked for us to sing it for him at a family get together. My three sisters and I practiced it and learnt a few harmonies. My uncle Frank, accompanied us on guitar. Everyone loved it and this song always reminds me of this!It’s a great song with many renditions done over the years by the likes of Thom Yorke, Tori Amos and The Flaming Lips. We also performed it at my Grandmothers funeral, however we changed the lyrics slightly because the song is actually about drug addiction.

Georgie Van Kuyk, Music Contributor
Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas
This is the ultimate Christmas song! It reminds me of school discos, wearing horrendous clothes, tinsel, and my beast friend reminded me; you had until the end of this song to find someone to dance the last slow dance with.

Colin McKean, Music Contributor
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl: ‘Fairytale of New York’
Drunkenness, disillusionment, broken dreams and promises, as well as the threat of domestic violence. What could be more festive?
or… ‘Just Like Christmas’ by Low, which seems to capture both the joy and the introspection of the festive season in pretty much equal measure.

Cari Steel, Music Contributor
Julie London: “Lonely Girl
Christmas songs always sound like they have had 10lbs of tinsel dumped on them; they are gaudy, overblown, and are the musical equivalent of the torpid state that we find ourselves in after consuming our weight in turkey and Christmas Cake. The antidote to all of this excess is listening to Julie London’s “Lonely Girl”. The mellow, delicious, breathy tones of Julie sets the scene to curl up in front of a fire, clad in nothing but big woolly socks and an oversized jumper while sipping a large brandy and letting the festive overload gently ebb away.

Rachael Oku, Fashion Editor

Have a happppppy Christmas!! xx

Categories ,Bo Selecta, ,Julie London, ,Kirsty MacColl, ,low, ,Mariah Carey, ,Neil Young, ,Rage Against The Machine, ,The Pogues, ,Vanessa Paradis

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Amelia’s Magazine | Ahoy there Amelia’s Magazine! What’s your fave Christmas song?

snowdragon-by-lorraine-nam

Illustration by Lorraine Nam

Back with post two on Christmas music. I hope post one was enlightening. Now let’s see what the chaps at Amelia’s Magazine love to listen to at Christmas time. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xx

2000 miles by Karina Yarv

Illustration by Karina Jarv

Karina Jarv – Illustrator
Of course there are always a lot of favourite Christmas songs… It’s Christmas, information pills there is a fantastic mood in the air and you want to listen to something very old and familiar to you. The same thing is with me. ONE of my favourites is ‘White Christmas’ by Bing Crosby. But to be honest my current favourite is the ‘2000 miles’ cover by 6 Day Riot. Everything is so perfect there for me: magical voice, amazing sound… Yes, the original song is great, but this sounds a little bit more personal. When I hear this song I want to put the kettle on, take a warm bath and good book with me and wait for someone…very special…’to come back’ to me someday.

Amelia Xmas

Amelia Gregory

Amelia Gregory – Our Magazine Leader
Do they know it’s Christmas? from 1984 – because it reminds me of being young. I love that all the famous pop stars of the era are featured in it, but it was still so craply done – no stylists on hand in those days. Of course it was cheesy even then but I was given a 7″ for my birthday which I still treasure.

YouTube Preview Image

And as I discovered watching the Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, it encompasses all the essential elements of a Christmas tune – obvious references to Christmas, innuendo, pathos, political context, bells and a sing-a-long chorus. An absolute classic.

Faye

Faye West

Faye West – Illustrator
So hard to choose, but it will have to be Mariah Carey‘s All I Want for Christmas (is that what it’s called?!), reminds me of being 14, in New Look shopping for a Christmas Disco outfit in 1998, the year we did a dance to Spice Girls for the Christmas assembly. I chose a gold glittery vest top with a blue velvet mini skirt as had Geri Halliwell in mind. The song makes so many of us excited. And then the fun of dancing to it in summery June in ‘Boombox’ a few years ago!

hippo-xmas-by-lorraine-nam

Illustration by Lorraine Nam

Lorraine Nam – Illustrator
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas is my favourite Christmas song. It’s funny and silly and it has a great background story to it. The little girl ends up actually getting a hippopotamus and donates it to the local zoo. 

Martin from Principal Colour Amelia’s Book Publisher
Amelia has been working with Principal Colour since 2004. They have a close relationship, enabling her to do lots of new, experimental things when printing covers – like the pearlescent cover in the latest book, Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration available now here. Martin says his fave Christmas song is: Without doubt it has to be “merry xmas everybody” by slade, when I was young it was what Christmas was about and then when a bit older in the pubs was the sing along of choice (and apparently I used to look a bit like Noddy Holder – don’t know if that’s a compliment or not to be honest).

Matt Bramford Christmas Grump

Matt Bramford

Matt BramfordAmelia’s Magazine Fashion Editor
Mine is Jona Lewie’s Stop The Cavalry because it’s so silly and I get to do my infamous fawn dance.

slow club by karolina burdon

Illustration by Karolina Burdon

Hannah

Hannah Bullivant

Hannah Bullivant – Writer Contributor – craft extraordinaire
Ok my favourite christmas song is It’s Christmas and You’re Boring Me by Slow Club, because its beautiful…even though i feel the opposite about my mister, I just love it.

Rob photo

Robert Harris

Robert Harris – Writer Contributor
I love Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. It’s got a lovely lilting, folky melody – it’s actually based on an old folk standard called Stewball. It’s a protest song about the Vietnam War, which makes it 100 times more meaningful than anything by Slade, and it’s one of the few credible Christmas songs. Well, until Yoko Ono starts singing…

Elvis-Christmas-Album-by-Mina-Bach

Illustration by Mina Bach

Mina Bach – Illustrator
The Elvis Christmas Album is an absolute MUST at Christmas for me!

jess_upperstreet

Jessica Furseth

Jessica Furseth – Writer Contributor
My favourite Christmas song is probably ‘Silent night’. It reminds me of what Christmas was like when I was a kid, when it was sort of magic. Where I grew up there weren’t really any Christmas-themed pop songs, so I don’t really like those as they don’t hold any significance for me. So yes, I like the old-fashioned songs.

Wham illustration by Avril Kelly

Illustration by Avril Kelly

Avril Kelly – Illustrator
Wham! Last Christmas. It is the ultimate cheesefest of Christmas songs, I hear it every Christmas in the car on the way to visit family and friends. Everyone always sings along loudly and rather terribly, it has to be said. It’s fun and cheesy and just I love it.

Abby Wright

Abby Wright – Illustrator
Well this is a hard question, I love Christmas songs, especially those I can sing or dance to. In particular I love Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie, Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Band Aid’s Do They Know it’s Christmas. My favourite ever though would have to be Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade. It makes me so happy, and it’s a song that i’m guaranteed to dance to and get a sore throat singing to! It’s fun, cheerful and just what Christmas should be. I hope one year soon we will have an actual Christmas song for Christmas number one again!

Jingle Bell Rock by Chloe Cook

Illustration by Chloe Cook

Chloe Cook – Illustrator
Jingle Bell Rock by Billy Idol. I’ve chosen this song because I absolutely L-O-V-E Billy Idol, and I also love Christmas, so it’s putting my two favourite things together. Also I just think that it’s quite a funny thing that such a massively known punk rocker has done a cutesy little Christmas song, and I think more people should listen to it!!

Daria Hlazatova – Illustrator
I know what you’ll say about my favourite Christmas song being “Jingle bells rock” by Bobby Helms – “cheeky!” Well, I first heard it as a child in “Home Alone: Lost in NYC” and loved it. Since then it became associated with this city until finally some years later I found myself in NYC at Christmas completely alone. I remember hearing this song when passing Macy’s and being hit by a wave of nostalgia. Cheeky dreams come true at Christmas, I thought! Hope your Christmas is a happy one!

Helen Martin

Me – Helen Matin

Helen Martin – Writer Contributor
Christmas TV by Slow Club is my favourite Christmas song. It makes me happy. Tender, honest, true and full of yearning. Gorgeous.

Categories ,6 Day Riot, ,Abby Wright, ,Amelia Gregory, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,Avril Kelly, ,band aid, ,Bobby Helms, ,books, ,Chloe Cook, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Editor, ,Elvis, ,fashion, ,Faye West, ,Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, ,George Michael, ,Geri Halliwell, ,Hannah Bullivant, ,Helen Martin, ,Jessica Furseth, ,John Lennon, ,Jona Lewie, ,Karina Jarv, ,Karolina Burdon, ,Lorraine Nam, ,Macy’s, ,Mariah Carey, ,Matt Bramford, ,Mina Bach., ,New Look, ,new york, ,principal colour, ,publishing, ,Robert Harris, ,slade, ,Slow Club, ,Spice Girls, ,Wham!, ,Yoko Ono

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