Ma Fleur vs The Fountain
Travelling from Birth through Life to Death and Birth again (oh, do read on...), Ma Fleur, the new album by The Cinematic Orchestra, is a concept album (stay with me here) dealing with loss and love.
And in more than one way, it's not dissimilar to Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. Not only did it deal with the same topics, but they were both met with some mixed reviews.
Which is puzzling to me. If you haven't been completely consumed by cynicism and irony over everything that tries to deal with basic human emotions, you will find both the film and the album very rewarding.
Of course there are scenes in the film that feel wrong, and yes, the opener of the album sounds like a Coldplay track (and boy, do I hate Coldplay), but on the whole, both of these are magnificent pieces of work that will stand the test of time by 2 artists that lead in their field. And in both, the last scene is the strongest one, the one that pulls it all together and makes sense of it all. In the Fountain, it's the Heaven scene ("Is everything alright?" - "Yes, everything is alright."), in Ma Fleur, the achingly beautiful Time and Space, featuring Lou Rhodes of Lamb fame on vocals.
And in more than one way, it's not dissimilar to Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. Not only did it deal with the same topics, but they were both met with some mixed reviews.
Which is puzzling to me. If you haven't been completely consumed by cynicism and irony over everything that tries to deal with basic human emotions, you will find both the film and the album very rewarding.
Of course there are scenes in the film that feel wrong, and yes, the opener of the album sounds like a Coldplay track (and boy, do I hate Coldplay), but on the whole, both of these are magnificent pieces of work that will stand the test of time by 2 artists that lead in their field. And in both, the last scene is the strongest one, the one that pulls it all together and makes sense of it all. In the Fountain, it's the Heaven scene ("Is everything alright?" - "Yes, everything is alright."), in Ma Fleur, the achingly beautiful Time and Space, featuring Lou Rhodes of Lamb fame on vocals.
posted by Jesus Beuys at 09:20
7 Comments:
I just checked out their Web site and heard "Breathe" featering Fontella Bass. The more I hear of this band the more I like. They really do have a large, cinematic scope to their sound and this seems to be a well developed, mature offering by the group. I look forward to getting the real CD and reading liner notes and all that good stuff. Wish I could be at the Big Chill to see them live. Come to the States someday!!
Marc
How adequate. Except the comparison to coldplay, that is just not true. The similarity is only on the surface (I think).
Hey, have you hi-res guys not made a website for the fountain? You always do for Aronofsky's movies, dont you?
*Gone to check that*
We did the site and also a book which is published by Rizzoli in the States.
"You always do for Aronofky's movies..." is true, but then again he only makes one every 6 years.
JB
... and yes, that Coldplay analogy is a bit strong.
A good Coldplay track? Does that work?
JB
As one who worked as a radio personality, it is tempting to make analogies but I think TCO stands quite firmly on their own two feet without comparisons to Coldplay [they're a find band, not my cup of tea, but a fine band]. I think it does a disservice to hold them up to CP even if the intention was benign. Congrats to TCO again. Looks to be a fine album.
The Fountain is the biggest piece of crap ever made. Cliche after cliche and boring to death.
Uhm, just to give me a frame of reference, what's the best film you have seen in the past 12 months, Daniel.
JB
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