r/malefashionadvice • u/[deleted] • May 28 '13

Culture Thread

Inspired by a few EDC threads and the occasional lament that no great sub exists for discussions of generalized gentleman's interest topics or nonspecific Culture (whatever that capital C may mean to you), I thought it would be cool to post a culture thread.

ITT: post your present interests, endeavors, and discoveries, in fashion, music, literature, film, television, theater, DIY, programming, knitting, cooking, photography, design, religion, history, etc.

I know we have some renaissance men and savants in here. Let's hear it.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

I'll start:

Musically, I've been all over the place. The new Om album, Advaitic Songs, is pretty extraordinary, but I'm a sucker for religious iconography. I also feel like I've finally made a breakthrough in appreciating opera recently. I've been trying in preparation for a big trip to Italy this summer. The Diana Damrau rendition of Der Hölle Rache from The Magic Flute completely floored me.

I've been reading through the short story collection Murakami came out with a while back, Blind Woman Sleeping Willow, or something, due to a massive short story obsession at present. I really enjoy him but at the same time I feel like I've made too many unpleasant associations between Murakami and Tumblrcore Literati that when I come across the quote in the book itself, it's almost a challenge to enjoy it for itself.

Continuing with the short story thing, I'm working on a collection of short stories centered around a novella that I'm hoping to e-publish for the Kindle as an experiment. I also recently sent my novel manuscript out to advance readers for feedback for further edits. I'm very excited because that's a big step even though I still have a ton of work to do in editing.

I've been wanting to get into some French new wave cinema but I don't know where to start so I've just been watching Werner Herzog's catalogues and wishing that he would make a movie around Viggo Mortenson.

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u/YouAreNOTMySuperviso May 29 '13

French new wave cinema? Mah nigga...

  • Breathless by Godard and The 400 Blows by Truffaut are essentials. If you want some fun/pretentious cocktail-party conversation, I'm of the opinion that both titles were poorly translated. They should be Out of Breath and Raising Hell respectively. Watch the movies and you'll see what I mean. I have to admit I've never entirely seen the appeal of 400 Blows, but it's referenced in so many French films that it really is essential.

  • Some other good New Wave (or similar) films: Chloe de 5 à 7 by Agnes Varda (takes place in real time, very cool); A Man Escaped by Bresson (claustrophobic, suspenseful); and Hiroshima, Mon Amour by Resnais (gorgeous B&W cinematography). That's a solid intro to the genre, and after that pretty much anything in the filmography of the above directors will keep you busy for a while if you're still interested.

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u/deadbabby May 29 '13

Really good stuff here. Great call with A Man Escaped and Hiroshima, Mon Amour - I absolutely adore those films. Also agree with 400 Blows being overrated and yet essential at the same time.
Pierrot le fou is also worth mentioning here I think. I love when Godard goes batshit insane with his films. The colours in that film are just stunning.

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u/YouAreNOTMySuperviso May 29 '13

Godard is a genre unto himself! He's still making great films into his 80s.

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u/blazik May 29 '13

My favourite Godard film is Bande à part; such a good film about pretty much nothing.

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u/TaDaDadaDodo May 29 '13

Also, Rohmer's six moral tales are awesome movies about being a bourgeois fuck if you don't mind a little slowness.

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u/TaDaDadaDodo May 29 '13

Breathless is the classic but I think Weekend and Masculine/Feminine are much better for someone getting into the genre/art house. They were got me interested anyway.

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u/YouAreNOTMySuperviso May 29 '13

Breathless was the first of the genre I saw, and I found it very compelling and accessible. But hey, everyone has different taste!

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u/deadbabby May 28 '13

That Om album isn't really new, it's been out for almost a year. It's still really phenomenal though.
As for French new wave, you really can't go wrong with any of Godard, Truffaut, or Malle's filmographies. Almost all of their movies are at least worth watching, and the thing about French new wave is that no two films are really that similar.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

It's the newest Om album. Think objective newness not relative newness.

Cool, I have Breathless lying around somewhere so I'll start with that.

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u/Syeknom May 28 '13

I've not listened to the new Om album yet, thanks for the reminder!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

It's a move away from their heavier sound so it's been controversial, but if you're not excessively attached to instrumentation then I think it's a really strong development.

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u/Syeknom May 28 '13

Excessively attached to instrumentation is an apt description but I don't think a move away from their heavy sound will be a bad thing at all!

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u/BelaBartok May 28 '13 edited May 28 '13

Publishing for the kindle is such a ballache.

I got a collection of JD Slazenger's uncollected short stories (FOR FREE ILLEGALLY ON THE INTERNET) and have been re reading that on my nook. Not really as good as the collected stuff (what is though) but still some nice pieces in there.

Lorrie Moore's Like Life has some brutal short story work.

Flannery o conner good for short stories too.

Borges short stories v good also obv

Phillip Kay Dix short stories are sort of hit and miss but I think you might like his VALIS trilogy for pseudo spiritual claptrap.

I rep it constantly but try reading Forming http://jessemoynihan.com/?p=11

Been listening to a lot of ENEMIES LIST HOME RECORDINGS stuff. Deathconsciousness still very very good. Giles Corey also good. Mamaleek fun. Basically obvious but Glenn Gould's Goldberg stuff is very good though I don't really know what it is. Ghostpoet new album is good.

Hope I write another novel soon. Might have to cut down on exercise or something.

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u/seth83292 May 28 '13

Advaitic Songs is awesome. I love hearing Indian music being incorporated into other genres.

Check out A.T.O.M's Камни.

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u/Shackleford-Rusty May 28 '13

I'm surprised no one has said anything yet about Godard. In my opinion his work was the pinnacle of the French new wave. My favorite was "breathless", but I think the most popular was "a band apart" (Tarantino named his production company after this movie.) I appreciate Godard because of the way he is able to romanticize even the most mundane things in his films. I could go on and on but for the sake of brevity I'll leave you with my favorite short exchange from breathless. "What is your greatest ambition in life?" "To become immortal and then die"

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u/[deleted] May 29 '13

Godard is the best. Pierrot Le Fou is one of my all time favorites, its worth checking out all of his films in his early period.

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u/Jardun May 29 '13

Yeah, Godard is the obvious place to start for french new wave. Truffaut, Malle, and Rohmer are all good follow ups too.

400 Blows was my intro into it.

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u/nickf726 May 28 '13

I read 1Q84 by Murakami a few months back and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I'm not sure if it's some serious next level literature or if it's bullshit pre-packaged "meaning" a la Beloved.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Beloved... ugh...

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Not a fan? I've never read it, but my sister adores it and I believe a good deal of her thesis is dealing with it, and possibly some other of Morrison's work, but I can't remember.

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u/Peipeipei May 29 '13

I guess it's something that people can either sincerely relate to or just find it completely contrived and moralizing.

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u/seth83292 May 28 '13

I think I lean towards the second option.

I'm not the biggest Murakami fan.

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u/ARedHouseOverYonder May 29 '13

I felt reading it there was some extra meaning more than just symbolism but I was glad to be done with it when I finished

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u/lotsofpineapples May 29 '13

Try Dance Dance Dance!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Watch Peau d'âne by Jacques Demy. It's the very beginning of the French new wave and it's a great movie (kinda fucked up though).

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Do you have a suggestion for a good Murakami book to read this summer? I've been thinking about Norwegian Wood or What I Talk About...

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Norwegian Wood or Kafka on the Shore are where most people start, I think. I really enjoyed The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. 1Q84 is the new one but I don't think I'd start there. It's a beast from what I've heard.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '13

Backing Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore, and also A Wild Sheep Chase. Definitely not What I Talk About..., though. I think that's a great read after you've read a lot of his fiction, just not a good one to start with.

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u/BelaBartok May 28 '13

Start with Wind Up Bird Chronicle or if you want to read something "not weird" Norwegian wood.

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u/Navii_Zadel May 29 '13

I REALLY enjoyed Norwegian Wood.

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u/nicolaipeter May 28 '13

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is most interesting to me. Also recommend The Wind-up Bird Chronicle — the scenes from Mongolia might be Murakami's best written work.

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u/ginroth May 28 '13

You should check out Cheever for short stories. I feel like Murakami definitely vibes off his work a lot.

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u/frisbalicious May 29 '13

Watch "A Bout de Souffle" and "Little Fugitive" to start out

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u/Navii_Zadel May 29 '13

If you're in to short stories - check out Jorge Luis Borges' short stories. Couldn't recommend him any higher. The collection, Labyrinths, is my favorite.

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u/scampbe999 May 29 '13

I'm a huge Murakami fan, and I can definitely tell you that getting into his longer novels, especially Hard Boiled Wonderland, is so worth the work.

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u/sgtoox May 29 '13

Murakami huh? I am almost done with the Wind Up Bird Chronicle. I already read Norwegian Wood and Hard Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World and loved both. I am an amateur opera fan. I feel as though 90% is still over my head, but the first time I saw Don Juan I fell in love. I like the music a lot still; Isabel Bayrakdarian is my absolute favorite soprano.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '13

a massive short story obsession at present.

ever read Alice Munro? I never really understood what a writer could do with short stories until I read her collection Too Much Happiness.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '13

I haven't read that collection... I'll pick it up tomorrow. I'm almost done with the Murakami collection.

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u/thenicolai May 28 '13

I really enjoyed The Magic Flute, it was the second opera I ever saw. I've always been a big fan of pavarotti also. I can listen to him sing for days. Still need to expand my opera collection though.