A Day in Middle-earth

It was about halfway through December last year when I was struck by a most excellent way to spend Boxing Day. I offered up the idea of watching all three Lord of the Rings movies to Rhones, and she was quite enthusiastic about taking the plunge. Not only would we watch all three, we would watch the extended editions. It was written.

I might caution any readers who have not yet watched the films (really?) with SPOILER ALERT!! Some plot points and stuff may come up. I'm not sure which yet, because I've just started writing it. Let's press on!

After the stress and build-up of Christmas, it was something for us both to really look forward to. When the day arrived, we got up at a fairly decent hour and readied ourselves on the couch. The Fellowship of the Ring began at around 9:40am. 

Once the screen went black and Cate Blanchett's voice ushered in the start of the film, we were transfixed. It had been so long since we watched these movies that it felt like a kind of homecoming. When you're introduced to The Shire and the hobbits, and Howard Shore's wonderful score, it's like a breath of fresh air. Similar to taking in a waterside view of a Studio Ghibli movie. There's a nice comfort to be had.

There's quite a few scenes that provide an explanation or exposition for an event or moment in all three films that were cut for the theatrical releases. It's hard to watch those now, as so much is lost. This does make for quite a gruelling viewing experience though. Check out the running times:

1. Fellowship of the Ring - 228 min (3 hr 48 min) - 50 min extra

2. The Two Towers - 235 min (3 hr 55 min) - 56 min extra

3. The Return of the King - 263 min (4 hr 23 min) - 62 min extra

So, yeah, we have three more hours to digest by watching the extended cuts. We have watched them all on separate days, but this was our first all-in-one-day attempt. I have a big soft spot for Fellowship.. as it's the one that I've watched the most often. We quote a lot from it too: "Great! We are we going?", "Nobody tosses a dwarf!", "What about second breakfast?", and of course, "You shall not pass!".

Being the first immersion into the world of Tolkien, it's so captivating. I'm quite surprised it didn't get more award nominations when it was released. I think Return.. got all the nods as a way of rewarding the whole trilogy. From the lovely green fields of Hobbiton to the fiery despair of Mordor to the breathtaking beauty of Rivendell, the first installment is a feast for the eyes, ears and soul. 

The first part ends at an excellent moment as well. Oh yes, we went old school and watched the DVDs. No streaming for us! Actually, I'm unsure if you can stream the extended editions. It would have been better to have the Blu-rays, but you do what you can. The DVDs were still very watchable. Anyway, just as the fellowship is proclaimed and Elrond announces it to be so, Pippin utters his immortal "Great! We are we going?". Perfect. Fade to black. The movie continues on disc two.

That was the perfect time to get a spot of lunch together and the feed the teenagers who were hiding in their bedrooms. You've spent two hours watching Fellowship.. and you're just over halfway, but it doesn't feel like it has been that long. The movie rockets along nicely, and once the fellowship leave Rivendell, things get really interesting.

I'm quite disappointed that I've forgotten what we had for lunch on Boxing Day, but with the meal prepared, we put in the second disc and kept watching. After it reached its conclusion, we started The Two Towers and popped a bottle of bubbly. Because, why not? It was a day of relaxing, enjoying each other's company and spending time in Middle-earth.

The Battle for Helm's Deep remains one of the best cinematic experiences of this century. The other battles in The Return of the King are a bit harder to follow, and they occur so close to each other. Helm's Deep is a fitting conclusion to the second movie, paired with Saruman's downfall at Isengard, you're left with hope that the good guys are making headway! Unlike, say, The Empire Strikes Back, which left viewers a little unsure of the future of the rebellion. The decision to merge Sam and Frodo's journey with the fates of the remaining Fellowship characters is brilliant. If you haven't read The Two Towers, the first half (Book III) deals solely with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in pursuit of the Uruk-hai (ultra evil Orcs) who have kidnapped Pippen and Merry, and the resulting plots of each character, including the resurrection of Gandalf. Book IV is just about The Ring's journey and how Sam and Frodo connect with Gollum. It is much more cinematic, I feel, than keeping the books separate. 

After The Two Towers credits began rolling, we felt it was time to get the kids some dinner and take a break from our viewing. I can't remember what that meal was now either, but we all watched Bob's Burgers (I think) while we ate. 

Rhones and I both showered and got into our pyjamas, and the kids returned to their rooms, he he he. I reckon the final movie of the trilogy commenced around 8pm. Now, it's a long movie at the best of times, but as I mentioned earlier, the extended edition of The Return of the King nearly hits four and a half hours! That running time could also be spent watching three 90min movies! 

Having said that, it doesn't feel like four and a half hours. Once the first disc stopped, with an awful cut revealing Sauron's army's flaming wolf battering-ram thing, I was shocked to see that we were almost up to the three hour mark! There are multiple plot lines going at once, and you get quite invested in it all. Well, I do anyway. 

We loaded in the sixth and ultimate disc and settled in for the last moments of The Lord of the Rings. It had been quite the marathon, but we had enjoyed it immensely. It was an amazing experience to watch them all in one sitting. Maybe a new tradition has been created? He he he..

I feel that this trilogy has some of the most amazing casting we've seen in modern cinema. Even down to some of the extras, or actors with minor parts, everyone is pitch perfect. It's wonderful seeing them inhabit their characters, and to wait in anticipation of our favourite scenes and moments. The trilogy is an amazing achievement in cinematic history, the likes of which we had not seen before, and probably won't see again.

★ (Blackstar)

My final Bowie blog, is fittingly, the last studio album he released in his lifetime, which came out nine years ago today on his 69th birthday. He would have turned 78, if he were still with us. Nearly a decade on, and I can still vividly remember this album coming out. Several media outlets promoted the release by posting a picture of him, dressed in a snazzy suit and hat. It would become the last known photo of Bowie before his passing.

The pic wasn't snapped on his actual birthday, but it was released the same day to publicise his new record, simply named ★, or Blackstar. I remember rushing down to JB Hi-Fi to nab a copy on CD. I'd seen the pic on the socials, and was buoyed by how good he looked. 

It was an exciting period for Bowie fans after he dropped a new single on his birthday in 2013. It had been his first new music in about a decade, and the song Where Are We Now? was promoted as being from an upcoming album release. True to his word, his first studio album since September 2003, The Next Day, landed in March that year. With artwork that doctored the original "Heroes" record, and Tony Visconti back in the producer's chair, a new era of Bowie was being ushered in; and I was there for it!

Another new single came out at the end of 2014, Sue (Or in a Season of Crime), which tied in with the release of the excellent retrospective collection Nothing Has Changed. The end of 2015 saw another fresh single, Blackstar and yes, another new album was coming in January 2016. It was quite the ride from an artist who had barely surfaced since suffering a blocked heart artery in 2004, following a collapse on stage. So much new music in a short space of time!

I avoided the Blackstar song, and video clip, because I wanted to take it all in when the album was released. So, going back to that day, I can remember ripping the plastic off the CD and playing it in the car straight away. I got a few full listens in over the following day or two. I was excited for the change in direction, with all the avant garde jazz arrangements, and seemingly cryptic lyrics. What would Bowie do next? Such a buzz!

Then the news of his death broke, only two days after his birthday on January 10th. I remember being so confused, and so saddened. We all found out that he'd been fighting cancer, and suddenly, so many lyrics on Blackstar made total sense. The video clip to Lazarus took on a new resonance as well, because as his character was trying to write lyrics and songs, it mirrored his own struggle. He wanted to get another album out before his imminent death. 

It's been a few years since I listened to this record in full, and I was interested in how I would find it, nearly ten years on from his passing. It will always be hard to disassociate this album from losing Bowie. I decided to listen to all seven tracks in full, on both CD and vinyl, in one setting. 

The eerie title track kicks things off, with a run time of nearly ten minutes, hearkening back to his excellent Station to Station album, which opened the same way. It's actually two songs joined together, but they flow in and out of each other quite effortlessly. Once the Gregorian chorus gives way to Bowie's wonderful clear vocal singing "Something happened on the day he died," you are transported into a different mood. The unsettling first few minutes have a bizarre drum pattern and its minor key adds to the tension. The second piece is classic Bowie, with the distorted, repeated line "I'm a blackstar, I'm a blackstar" punctuating his melodic couplets. The song works it way into the chants and lyrics that opened it, with a clever segue that goes back and forth a couple of times, playing with the track's timing and syncopation. 

It's a big highlight of the album, and arguably, its best one. The accompanying clip features many disturbing images and callbacks to older Bowie songs, Space Oddity in particular. The sight of Bowie gyrating with his eyes bandaged, save for two small holes is almost as iconic as that of his clown in the Ashes to Ashes video or his patch-wearing rock pirate in Rebel Rebel. Seeing him dressed like a priest or some religious official, clutching a book (or bible) with the Blackstar on its cover is also quite stirring. I'm sure the more you watch the video, the more you will find in it. I haven't watched it for years.

The second track is the B-side of the aforementioned Sue single, 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore. Whereas the initial releases of both songs favoured jazzier arrangements, the re-recorded versions on this record are almost industrial in feel, with thumping bass and booming drums. The single version of Sue is longer and feels more narrative than the one of this album, and I prefer both of those versions to the two tracks here. I'm not sure of why Bowie felt the need to re-record them. Maybe it was to give the album a more cohesive feel. Of the two tracks, I much prefer Sue, in either incarnation. As the narrator struggles with providing for the titular Sue, things descend into a dark tale of murder and madness. Quite unlike anything else in Bowie's canon, particularly in its original form.

Blackstar's second single and third track is Lazarus, a downbeat, but somehow hopeful elegiac song that gave us more hints than we realised. The opening lines are arguably the most poignant:

"Look up here, I'm in heaven/

I've got scars that can't be seen/

I've got drama, can't be stolen/

Everybody knows me now"

Far out. Right in the feels. It's quite a haunting brass line that repeats throughout the track. It's almost like a lullaby, but with a hint of menace or fear. Who knows how Bowie was really coming to terms with his mortality, but to use his death for his art is truly an amazing feat. Of all the moments on this album that say goodbye to his fans, this is probably the most poignant. However, there is a puzzling lyric about "looking for your ass" though. Not sure what that's about. As Bowie sings he'll be free like a bluebird, you can only assume he's singing about leaving this life. The title refers to the biblical character who rose from the dead four days after he passed away, when his tomb was visited by Jesus. This miracle was one of the reasons that led to Jesus' eventual crucifixion. Not sure how Bowie's narrative fits in with those events, but the interpretations are endless.  

The fifth track on the record is another favourite of mine, Girl Loves Me. Using some of the Nadsat vernacular popularised in Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange novel, and the 1971 movie, this track's lyrics are almost nonsensical. It doesn't stop the song being relatable, particularly the repeated line "Where the fuck did Monday go?". Again, there's a menace or some sort of malevolence permeating the mood of the track, and the Nasdat terms just add to that: 

"Devotchka watch her garbles/
Spatchko at the rozz-shop/
Split a ded from his deng deng/

Viddy viddy at the cheena"

Yeah, not sure what's being sung about here, but I like it. He he he... the next song Dollar Days, is one of the weaker tracks here, for mine. It's a softer feel in tone and emotion, and expresses Bowie's struggle with what time he has left. Bizarrely, even though it isn't as melancholic or dark as other tracks on this album, it feels more depressing than any of them. 

I think the record's final track, I Can't Give Everything Away, is a goodbye, but also a tale of celebrity expectations. As social media continued to make it easier to interact with famous people, the demands for those interactions increased. It wasn't enough to snap a selfie or wave hello anymore. People wanted to know the celebrity and have a conversation, possibly even become friends in extreme cases. Bowie addresses this nicely within a verse:

"Seeing more and feeling less/

Saying no but meaning yes/

That is all I ever meant/

That's the message that I sent"

There's only so much you can give to the public. You have to keep something for yourself. I love hearing Bowie's son Duncan Jones talk about how much of a dag he was at home, and away from the stage. He would goof around like any other dad and regularly had his head in a book. That was his private side; it was only for a select few.

If that harmonica line sounds familiar, it's because it was lifted from Low's closing track of its first side, A New Life in a New Town. That could be taken as another hint to what Bowie was facing as he recorded this album. It's a tough listen at times, but it's such a different offering from the man. I think it's unlike anything he's released, from an album point of view. It has moments of echoing older records, but it's something quite extraordinary. I give it 4/5, me. It's up there with the best.

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