Requiem for a Whale Rider

Mysteries lie offshore, currents pluck at the unwary.

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Twin Troughs , perhaps. It would be easy to dismiss this record as another earnest whale song hippie fest, if it weren't for the heart swelling moments that transcend predictability -- the South Sea Island Boys Choir on "Paikea's Whale" after the whale sounds; the people of Whangara itself chanting in the throes of call-and-response intensity on "Waka in the Sky" and "Go Forward", the closing two tracks. The latter is the longest song at almost six minutes, and burbling electronic warbles are subsequently buried by those fierce deep-chested Maori war chants known as the Haka literally, "ignite the breath".

It's compelling and moving. And when it's done, we are left with the timeless roll of the ocean once more, as if the human spirit just up and left. Neither original nor especially unexpected, but who doesn't love that sound? I didn't expect to enjoy this record. There are few handholds. It's disorienting when you can't tell the sea from the sky, and everything merges like soft currents, blonde sand sifted through fingers.

Yet it manages to reach out and surprise a genuine heart murmur response despite an overall lack of texture and rhythm.

Lisa Gerrard: Whalerider

Your standard Hollywood soundtrack featuring the latest clamoring chart denizens this most definitely ain't. But you knew that when you looked at the cover. And given the right circumstances -- approximately 40 minutes of high volume languid receptivity sounds ideal -- Whalerider carries a surprisingly deep emotional payoff, as if the very weather itself suddenly got personal. This is no scene or collective. These artists have reached their limit in all directions, back into traditions and forward into uncertain futures.

Well into her 30s, silent film star Mary Pickford was the waif-iest waif in film history, and the number of convincing variations she wrung on this theme is remarkable. Richard Tognetti reflects on synergising music and film with the cello-like voice of narrator Willem Dafoe in his work for Jennifer Peedom's gorgeous documentary, Mountain. The rootsy releases of prove that Americana is and always has been experiencing a Rainbow Wave. Considering its YA audience, Markus Zusak's Bridge of Clay is a superb and accessible gateway to developing critical literacy skills.

Jean Grey and Cassandra Nova have their final showdown in a war of ideas, wherein Jean applies a different tactic to quell the conflict. Christian Rivers' directorial debut, Mortal Engines, is that lump of coal in your holiday movie stocking. Australian producer Kaz James gives the song by the electro-folk outfit a deep house makeover, turning into a guaranteed floor-filler.

Popmatters is wholly independently owned and operated. Lisa Gerrard Whalerider Label: Hollywood's Most Powerful Waif Well into her 30s, silent film star Mary Pickford was the waif-iest waif in film history, and the number of convincing variations she wrung on this theme is remarkable. The Allure of 'Mountain': The 20 Best Americana Albums of The rootsy releases of prove that Americana is and always has been experiencing a Rainbow Wave. Kaz James Remixes Tall Heights' "The Deep End" premiere Australian producer Kaz James gives the song by the electro-folk outfit a deep house makeover, turning into a guaranteed floor-filler.

The 70 Best Albums of The 20 Best Americana Albums of The Best Music of Those burdened by the guilt of a life devoted to appetite are drawn ever closer to animals that possess the innocence they crave. Drawn to animals, they feel compelled to seek the animals' approval. And how do those animals confer approval?

Silent Whale Becomes A° Dream — Requiem [Full Album]

By letting the bearer of that troubled soul ride them. As the image of Europa on the Bull shows, riding an animal is a vaguely sexual act which bespeaks approval, but also union, a fusion of two beings, which confers on the troubled rider the innocence of the ridden animal. Finding only momentary relief from guilt, those burdened with an uneasy conscience force themselves more and more intrusively on the animals whose innocence and approval they crave until an unpredictable mechanism goes off in the animal and the animal kills the human who sought its approval.

A masterful analysis and pungent cultural criticism by Dr.

Lisa Gerrard: Whalerider - PopMatters

Michael Jones, editor of Culture Wars magazine. Kindle Edition , 55 pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.


  • Requiem for a Whale Rider by E. Michael Jones.
  • Body, Soul, and MEPHISTO.
  • Occasional Desire: Essays.
  • Prométhée T02 : Blue Beam Project (French Edition).
  • The tree of life film essay on requiem.

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