Hi, --- Nathan Holaway <jazzdecheshire78@hotmail.com> escribió:
You know...I must be one of the few who gets where Zorn is coming from.
Hmmm... Could be...
Zorn gives you little clues throughout the entire film, but...he never gives them all at once. He's like one of those wise masters in the old KungFu movies.
Do you really think that Zorn doesn't give it all away? In which sense? Have you read his liner notes? I'm pretty sure you have. Doesn't that list on "Radio" give it all away? And a piece entitled "Duras", is that so cryptic? I have always thought that Zorn, at least in terms of influences, is pretty straightforward, and influences are critical to his work, imho. Besides his secrecy about Cobra and the other game pieces, I can't think of too many mysteries about his persona, to tell you the truth. Or maybe I just care about the music.
*Zorn believes in HONESTY. He doesn't do things because they're different, he does things because they're honest. What's the difference between what Huermann did with this film and what Zorn did with the Naked City compositions? He didn't write those to be different. He wrote those because of the way he "felt" at that time. It was an honest move.
How do you know everything's an honest move? I probably think just like you, but I'd be glad to know the reasons for such an statement. So was
Huermann's. Personally, I didn't like her being in so much of the film...but...that's who SHE is, and who are we to judge her honesty, and what she "felt" needed to be in the film?
If we all thought like this, this list would be dead from the very beginning. I'll always defend the fact that non-artists (or non-publicly at least) have the same right to speak their mind about anything as artists do. This has been discussed one hundred times here, but I still get the feeling that a musician must be considered beyond the realms of the average human being, which is ridiculous. Of course, they're probably more creative than me, etc... but I think that most of the people from this list can tell the difference between a good album and a complete piece of shit even if they've never picked up a saxophone or written a Sonata for piano. What do you do when you get out of the movies? Don't you comment on what you've just seen? Do you need to know about lightning to perceive that the movie was too dark or whatever? Furthermore, nobody's questioning Heuermann's honesty or courage, but the final results themselves, and there seems to be a consensus that "Bookshelf" could have been better, to say the least.
If artists like Zorn were to EVER cater to whatever the public wanted...then they wouldn't be who they are...they would be as guilty as every other bubble-gum pop sensation a la Britney Spears. So, let's let the artists be who THEY are...not whom we want them to be.
The problem is that certain artists can't stand getting negative reviews or comments about their work, even if they're made in a constructive way (which they can be, believe me) Saying you don't like this or that album makes you an ignorant to those people's eyes, which is obviously quite irritating. Zorn's always talking about how he prefers to talk to an artist than to a journalist. That's totally respectable unless you start reading between the lines and smell the cornful air of it all.
This is a classic point to bring up in this debate about the film. Perhaps this reason alone is one of the reasons he took a liking to this film. Perhaps he didn't care as much about what all the film was saying...but how it was being presented.
Or maybe he didn't even care about that. Perhaps he thought "Man, this could sell well. There are people eager for this stuff out there" Is that possible? Remember why he still plays with the Masada Quartet every once in a while? Remember why he likes playing in Europe? I've got nothing against that, but as honesty and integrity go, let me question it.
*As one listed earlier...Zorn says...this film must go out and take a life of its own. When he writes something, Frisell would put his weird twist on it and it becomes something else. Zorn also says that parents make a similar mistake in that they raise a child to be something "they" want it to be, not let it go and make a life of its own.
If he's so convinced about that, maybe he shouldn't give advices to Heuermann to be coherent with his theoretical convictions.
So...knowing that this film makes a little more sense. Also in the film, Zorn said...you can't wait for the support of others. You have to do your work, believe in your work, find a close friend-base that believes in you and your work, have "them" for support, and say "Fuck You!"
"Fuck you" to whom? To those who don't like your work? Does he care about what the others think or not? Does he only care about what other musicians have to say maybe? (That would make sense to me)
*Fact: Claudia Huermann's film is released on Tzadik records. Fact: many people on this list have been to www.tzadik.com. Fact: Many people have either forgotten or never bothered to read the quote at the bottom of the opening page that says "what you hear on Tzadik is the artist's vision...undiluted"
Heuermann's vision was to make a movie in close collaboration with John Zorn, including in-depth interviews, live & studio footage, etc, but the composer let her down halfway through the film. That's an awful gesture from Zorn, in my opinion, particularly considering how much he "loves" artistry. Tzadik is my favorite label by far, but this time I think that the artist's vision has been more than diluted, I'd rather say amputated. Huermann's film was
undiluted...who are we to say what is acceptable or not, or what the artist's vision "should have been"?
Again, no one says what the movie should have been like. Some of us HAVE mentioned aspects of the film we don't like, as plain as that.
So...let's just chalk Huermann's film as the only current Zorn documentary, with an honest perspective from the "director's" point of view. And just knowing that whether we like ot or not...for better or worse...its honestly Huermann, and its her vision undiluted, and she has every right to say "Fuck You" to every one who doesn't accept, or enjoy her film.
Do those who have been saving money for the whole month to buy that expensive Dvd have the right to say "Fuck You" too? Best, Efrén del Valle n.p: JZ "Masada: Live in Middleheim" (Tzadik) ______________________________________________ Yahoo! lanza su nueva tecnologÃa de búsquedas ¿te atreves a comparar? http://www.viralbusquedas.yahoo.es