A Sad Day For Jazz Lovers

It's been one of those days where nothing much happens, when everything gets swallowed up with chores and work and flagellating yourself on a treadmill just to lose a few stone here and there. Oh, and I've said it before, and I'll say it again, working out is never a good idea while watching someone as odious as George W. Bush talks about world events like a kid who hasn't done his homework, and then being pressured by teachers to explain what he knows about a subject and relying on repetition of a single word over and over again as if that gets him off the hook. His brand of idiotic belligerence and barely concealed hysteria made me do three kilometers more than I expected, and I spent the rest of the day in an exhausted and miserable fugue state.

Anyway, the one thing that did happen today was not welcome at all. One of the music world's most innovative composers, Swedish jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson, died today in a tragic diving accident, at the age of 44. I was recently introduced to his music by a colleague, and was beginning to grow enormously fond of his work, which was jazz if played by very aggressive avant-garde hipsters. That sounds like I'm making fun of his work, but I'm definitely not. The album I've spent the most time with, EST plays Monk, is exhilarating stuff, using not only Svensson's piano to adapt Thelonious Monk's uniquely percussive keyboards, but also attacking Monk's work with the double bass and drums of Esbjörn Svensson Trio cohorts Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström. It's a strange way to rework those classic Monk tunes, but it works beautifully.

I'm sad I've only just learned of his talent, just as he has passed on, but for now I can enjoy what he has left us. Here is a Last FM page with some Esbjörn Svensson Trio tunes, and here is a live performance of Dodge The Dodo from the album From Gagarin's Point of View.



My condolences to his family, friends, and fellow musicians.

Pop Culture Will Fight Itself (2)

Who would win this head-to-head match? Tron...


...or Jericho "Action" Jackson?


Tron lives inside a crazy and beautiful computer world designed by the incredible Moebius and the equally incredible Syd Mead.


Action Jackson comes from Detroit.


Tron gets around on a Light Cycle that does wicked 90 degree turns.


Action Jackson is such an incredible athlete he can chase a cab, leap onto it, hold on while being shot at and, after falling off, leap over it as it attempts to run him over.


Tron is accompanied by a very beautiful and dynamic soundtrack written by synth ace Wendy Carlos, with extra songs by Journey.


Action Jackson doesn't go anywhere without a funky and exciting soundtrack by Michael Kamen and Jazz God Herbie Hancock (seriously, have you heard Headhunters?), with the odd Pointer Sisters song thrown in for good measure.


Tron fights with a glowing frisbee that will de-rez any enemies.


Action Jackson uses his mighty fists, which are especially powerful when used with some taunting.


Tron's nemesis is the dastardly security program Sark, played by super-evil David Warner, here seen playing a game of Pac Man.


Action Jackson's nemesis is car-builder Peter Dellaplane, played by the normally likeable Craig T. Nelson, who uses karate to even the odds against our hero, plus the odd bit of bondage. Don't worry, Jackson kicks his ass later!


When Tron takes Sark down, this is the send-off dialogue:

Sark: You certainly are persistant, Tron.
Tron: I'm also better than you!

When Action Jackson is about to kick Dellaplane's ass after being kicked through a car window (a car that is sitting in Dellaplane's bedroom; long story), Jackson's send-off line is:

NOW YOU PISSED ME OFF!

Tron was played by Bruce Boxleitner. He's pretty bad in this, though he does better than in Babylon 5, where I struggled to take him seriously (though there were far far worse actors on that frustrating show). It's also kinda weird that the lead in the movie Tron isn't Boxleitner, but Jeff Bridges, who plays a hacker who meets Tron inside a computer. I guess if you're making a sci-fi version of The Wizard of Oz, the marketing department is probably going to sniff at the name Kevin.

Action Jackson is played by Carl Weathers, who is awesome in the Rocky movies and Predator, and his appearance on Arrested Development became one of the defining images in our current TV Golden Age. We will be forever grateful.


So, who will win this impossible fight? You decide!!!

SPECIAL BONUS POLL!

Who is your favourite new character on Lost?

EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS POLL!

Who is your least favourite character (i.e. your nominee for Show Gupta) on wacky sci-fi comedy Torchwood?