Dit stukje schreef ik op 16 augustus, na het zien van live beelden op facebook. Pukkelpop was weer volop op dreef om de krantenkoppen te halen, niet met een dodelijk onweer maar met een ongeziene reeks polonaises, knoppendraaiers en - godbetert- Willy Sommers. Mauro had de gekooide leeuw losgelaten en plots smolten Pukkelpop en Rimpelrock samen tot één gigantisch volksfeest. Allemaal goed en wel, ware het niet dat oude Pukkelrotten hun schoenzolen stonden op te vreten omdat de hele boel nu meer op een platte kermisfuif leek dan op een alternatief rock festival.

Volgens de commentaren leek Pukkelpop ineens veel meer op een live versie van de hele Soundcloud rap scene waar volgekribbelde schoolbankkoppen kwamen zaniken over drugs, bitches en kontgaatjes. Nu ja, die trend is al jaren bezig. Ooit voorspelde Jim Morrison dat mensen meer zullen gaan geven om DJ's dan om bands, en kijk, voor een doorgesnoven junk had Jim wel Nostradamische eigenschappen. Duizenden mensen in Kiewit wierpen zichzelf in de polonaise, ongetwijfeld aangestuurd door dé tophit van het jaar, 'Kind Van De Duivel'. 

Dat ik dat een meedogenloos zeiknummer vind, weet iedereen al. En dat ik heel het DJ gebeuren op festivals jammer vind, weten de meesten ook al. Allee ja, zelfs in de metal scene is het zover. Goe Vur In Den Otto headlinet meer festivals dan de gemiddelde metalband tegenwoordig, en waarom ook niet? Zo heb je lekker alle goede nummers en hoef je niet een half uur naar album-only rommel te luisteren. Je weet wel, die tussendoortjes tussen 'Enter Sandman' en 'Nothing Else Matters'. 

Wat ik vooral jammer vond was het feit dat een 100% Belgisch exportproduct als AmenRa het moest doen met een halfvolle marquee en met mensen die zichzelf interessant stonden te maken tijdens de rustige passages. "Kan de muziek wat stiller? Wij proberen hier een gesprek te voeren", dat soort slachtafval. Ik heb die ook gezien tijdens Massive Attack op Cactus festival, luid tetterend over de reis naar Mallorca en de strenge veiligheidsnormen die op vliegvelden gelden. Het respect is weg, zo simpel is het. Ooit stonden mensen vooraan het speeksel van Dave Grohl op te vangen, nu staan ze liedjes over Congo te zingen. 

Daarnet kreeg ik een vriendelijk mailtje van DJ Zinobe, een house DJ die me een beetje enerveerde op de meest recente editie van Willrock. Ik had er een stevige facebook-post aan gespendeerd waarna de DJ vroeg wat er mis was aan zijn set. Al snel drong het tot me door dat ik hier door mijn eigen mand aan het vallen was. Ik vertelde hem dat hij teveel intros gebruikte en dat hij best een nummer enkele minuten kon laten knallen. Een DJ moet het publiek uit de bol laten gaan en pas dan zijn technische kunsten tonen, net zoals een rockband best enkele snedige riffs uit hun mouw kan toveren en pas dan progressive begint te Dream Theater pingelen.

Maar plots besefte ik dat DJ Zinobe eigenlijk zowat hetzelfde deed als ik enkele tientallen jaren geleden. Hij probeerde. Hij wil DJ worden, net zoals ik een bekende gitarist wilde worden. En kijk, Zino speelt festivals en dancings plat en ik zit in mijn zetel commentaar te geven op zijn kunsten. Ik las mijn comment opnieuw. Eigenlijk was het een soort chauvinistisch verdedigen van mijn eigen winkel, eentje die gespecialiseerd is in alles wat Zino niet doet: rock, metal, ambient, jazz... 

Ik dacht, "ik ben een vakidioot" en "ik heb geen idee waar de hedendaagse muziekbeleving eigenlijk om draait". Maar de reactie van Zino op mijn bericht verbaasde mij nog meer. In een wereld vol haat, wantrouwen en galspuwerij koos Zino ervoor om eerlijke feedback te vragen, zichzelf vriendelijk voor te stellen en mijn tip mee te nemen naar volgende optredens. Daar zat ik dan, de eeuwig positieve muziekreviewer, verbijsterd door een jonge gast die eigenlijk gewoon liefst zijn eigen pad wil bewandelen.

Ben ik jaloers? Zijn alle analoge muzikanten jaloers op het succes van DJ's? Misschien wel. Anderzijds ben ik iemand die liever met zijn eigen werk op het podium staat dan dat van andere mensen, maar ook dat blijkt gewoon de mening van een enkeling. Er zijn tegenwoordig zelfs coverbandfestivals, waar je naar imitaties van Guns 'N Roses, Queen or Pink Floyd kan gaan kijken. Het origineel doet er steeds minder toe. Dus neen, ik ben niet jaloers, alleen een beetje melancholisch.

En hoe kan het eigenlijk ook anders? Wij, oude rotten in het vak, weten dat muziek alles kan overstijgen, zèlfs de mensen die de muziek maken. De technologie staat bijna ver genoeg om de mens uit de muziek te halen. Er bestaan schijnbaar al 100% door artificiële intelligentie gemaakte tracks, gebaseerd op de maat, tonen en timbre van wereldberoemde tophits. Muziek heeft ons niet nodig, andersom wel. Dio is dood maar tourt nog steeds, leg dat maar eens uit aan de gemiddelde festivalneanderthaler. Nu goed, wellicht zal die neanderthaler er gewoon doorheen lullen, zijn bakkes enkel dichthoudend tijdens het nemen ener selfie.

Ik denk dat we het best gewoon kunnen aanvaarden. Zoals ik ooit droomde op om het podium van Rock Werchter te staan, zo droomt Zino over Tomorrowland. Eerlijk? Ik gun het hem. Ik ga niet kijken want het geheel zal mijn rockhart genadeloos irriteren maar ik zal hem wel horen vanop mijn terras. Hopelijk stuurt hij me dan nog een bericht met een foto van duizenden uitzinnige fans, wild dansend op zijn intros en op die paar knallende minuten die ik hem heb aangeraden. Ook dan zal ik niet jaloers zijn, ook niet als hij plots een megahit scoort. Zino is een toffe pee, een hard werkende muzikale technicus en een mens met dromen, meer moet dat eigenlijk niet zijn.


​Serge

Craig Sheffer is a formidable example of a terrific and exceedingly talented actor, that never had his breakthrough in the movie industry, although he has somewhat managed to have a stable career, which is something that – especially in the extremely competitive field of work that is the motion picture industry – definitely is quite an achievement. Sheffer has had major roles in movies, being the lead in some very interesting and peculiar films, but he was never able to become the star that, given his amazing talent, credibility and superb dedication to the profession, he certainly deserved to be. 

Well, first of all, life is not always fair. We all – or, at least, most of us – have a great amount of talents, but this fact doesn’t mean people will recognize our potentialities or even the amazing results we are able to achieve. Everybody are busy with their own lives, and people doesn’t have the obligation of recognizing our capabilities. Unfortunately, this was the case for Craig Sheffer, that never managed to capture the attention of great studio executives, nor had someone willing to give him a major opportunity.    

Craig Sheffer, unfortunately, from the beginning of his career, has fallen into a sordid loophole of very low budget movies, and was never able to break into the mainstream. He was buried into the blank space of B-movies, made for television films, and independent low budget flicks that nobody ever saw, and never managed to get out of this sordid limbo, like the vast majority of his work colleagues in the American movie industry.  

In 1984, he starred in Voyage of the Rock Aliens, a rock musical movie, that Sheffer himself probably is willing to forget. In 1990, he achieved a moderate degree of notoriety after starring as the main character in the movie Nightbreed, an adaption of a literary work by British author Clive Barker, that also directed the film. 

The only great big budget production of Sheffer’s career – on which he had a relevant role – was the 1992 movie A River Runs Through It, directed by Robert Redford. On this movie, Sheffer played real life character Norman Maclean, a celebrated American writer, whose eponymous literary narrative – published in the book A River Runs Through It and Other Stories – was the inspiration for the movie. On this film, Sheffer has worked with a then yet to become famous Brad Pitt, whose character was Paul Maclean, Norman Maclean’s brother. A then unknown Joseph Gordon-Levitt – which was also destined to become a notable actor – also appears, as a younger version of Norman Maclean.

A River Runs Through It was the only performance of Sheffer in a major motion picture. In 1993, Sheffer starred in the B-movie Fire on the Amazon, on which he divided the screen with Sandra Bullock, that also would become a celebrated and notorious actress. 

My favorite Craig Sheffer movie was, undoubtedly, Hellraiser: Inferno, released in 2000. On it, Sheffer plays a bright, methodic and highly intelligent, but also deceitful, corrupt and immoral Denver police detective named Joseph Thorne. Another adaptation of a work by Clive Barker, I saw this movie several times – and in my opinion –, this was one of the most incredible films that I ever saw. 

The plot concerns the discovery of a bizarre puzzle box by the main character, in a ritualistic crime scene investigation. After also discovering a finger, the detective finds himself on the trail of a deranged criminal mastermind, known only as the Engineer. Thorne then undertakes a massive investigation into the underworld, in an obsessed pursue to capture the Engineer, to stop his depraved, hostile and sadistic crime spree, but also seeking to do something good, in a desperate attempt to redeem himself for his evil deeds, as his troubled conscience begins to be a significant burden on him, a natural consequence for all his past malevolent deeds, contraventions and wrongdoings, like being a bad husband, an absent father for his little daughter, and an immorally indulgent police officer.  

As he succeeds in his journey, he begins to find more and more fingers, only to suffer from macabre hallucinatory delusions, and then being forced to confront the fact that he is being tormented by an extraordinary and exceedingly hostile supernatural entity, which is later revealed to be Pinhead, played by actor Doug Bradley. The movie also stars Nicholas Turturro as Tony Nenonen, the police partner of Joseph Thorne, and James Remar as a psychiatrist who at first seems willing to help Thorne, but then reveals himself an ambiguous and dual character. For me, this was definitely the most intriguing and pervasive character Sheffer has ever played, and the most amazing film of his career.

Nevertheless, Sheffer is undoubtedly best remembered today as Keith Scott, the cool and light-hearted uncle of Lucas – Chad Michael Murray’s character –, on The WB hit show One Three Hill. On this series, Sheffer played a very serene, comprehensive and sensible individual, who constantly antagonizes with his brother Dan, Lucas biological father, played by Paul Johansson. 

Lucas is constantly rejected and humiliated by his father, who shows unconditional preference for his other son, Nathan, played by James Lafferty. Nathan is Lucas’ half-brother, but he also displays towards Lucas the same amount of despise his father does. By virtue of this troubled familial relationships, Keith always tries to support Lucas, offering him the kind and gentle support his father never wanted to show him. Keith also had a crush on Karen, Lucas’ mother, played by Moira Kelly, but his love was never reciprocated.

Throughout the years, the relationships of the characters severely changed. Lucas and Nathan eventually became best friends – bonded not only by their consanguineous connection, by also by their mutual love of college basketball – and Nathan eventually married Hailey, Lucas’ best friend, played by actress Bethany Joy Lenz. Eventually, Lucas also reconciled with his father, and the two became close.

The series was a very emotional and beautiful one. Although I was never an ardent enthusiast, it was a very good show, and I watched several episodes along the years, when was broadcast by Fox Television Network, here in my country.  

Sheffer was a regular on the series throughout the seasons from 2003 to 2007, and then was removed from the show, when his character was killed. He made special guest appearances in the 2012 season.  

Another films of his career that may be interesting to mention was 1999 Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying, 2000 Without Malice, on which he co-starred with the late Corey Haim, and 2004 Berseker, on which he co-starred with his One Three Hill colleague Paul Johansson. In 2008, he had a very small role as Kenneth, the cruel and abusive husband of Della Myers – Kim Basinger’s character – in the thriller While She Was Out. 

In 2012, he starred in the movie The Mark, alongside Eric Roberts. He reprised the role in a sequel, 2013 The Mark 2: Redemption. His last work to date was 2016 Code of Honor, on which he shared the screen with action film star Steven Segal. 

Throughout his career, Sheffer has worked with several notable actors and actresses that already were – or would become later – famous, while his talent, on the contrary, was never properly appreciated nor recognized in the movie and television industries. Like I wrote above, he managed to have a stable career, but he never achieved the level of fame and recognition he certainly deserved, that would be satisfactorily proportional to his talent, dedication and creativity. 

The main reason behind this problem was the fact that rarely he was offered something relevant outside the zone of low budget B-movies or television films. When this was the case, it was usually small roles. Never able to break outside the marginal niche of work upon which he became confined, Sheffer remained doomed to take whatever roles were offered to him, never having the opportunity to display his marvelous acting skills in a wide, more elegant, sophisticated and consistent scale. Unfortunately, he remained relegated to works situated in the sidewalk corners of the industry, and thus, became permanently ignored by major studios executives. ​


​Wagner

Raizō Ichikawa was one of the most famous and talented Japanese actors of all time. Despite having died very young – at 37 years old –,  he was an exceedingly prolific actor. In a career that has spanned only fifteen years, beginning in 1954 and lasting until his death, in 1969, Ichikawa appeared in 158 films. A versatile and amazingly profound actor, Ichikawa left an enormous legacy, that can also be noted in the perception and tenderness of the Japanese audiences towards him. 

Born in 1931, Ichikawa had a somewhat turbulent youth, that drove him distant of his biological family. He was first adopted by a distant relative, and then by an aristocratic theater enthusiast, with connections that would help Ichikawa to launch his career, after he was already drove to theater acting. For this reason, his legal name changed several times during the course of his youth.  

From a young age determined to become an actor, in late 1946, only fifteen years old, Raizō Ichikawa made his debut in kabuki theatre. Learning and perfecting his acting skills with easiness – despite his young age – he rapidly became a consecrated actor, recognized by the vividness, grace and intensity of his style, impressing everyone who went to see his performances. Thus, in the beginning of the fifties, he endured a successful transition to film, that would definitely establish his reputation across Japan as one of the most talented actors of his generation.  In 1954, Ichikawa made his film debut. 

Like everything in his life – especially related to his acting career – Ichikawa rapidly became an established icon in the Japanese motion picture industry, making one film after another.  By the end of the decade, he was practically a national celebrity. He could do as much as fourteen movies in a single year, and in his brief life, participated in a total of 158 films. He remained working in a very constant and rigid schedule, until cancer would provoke his untimely demise, at the age of thirty-seven years old.

In 1968, Ichikawa begin suffering severe health problems, and then consulted a doctor. The exams soon demonstrated that he had rectal cancer, but the doctor, his friends, family and closest associates decided not to tell him about the disease. He had to perform surgery, but apparently, it was too late for him to be cured. Doctors advised his family members that the cancer would eventually return. Having always suffered from precarious health, the disease could have been properly treated when Ichikawa consulted a doctor for the same problem several years earlier, but was misdiagnosed. 

As his physical condition deteriorated, soon he wasn’t able to do films properly, and in the movies he was still cast, doubles had to be used for elaborate or more intricate scenes. In the beginning of 1969, after a second surgery, he was too weak and excessively debilitated to do anything. His health had practically vanished. After learning that a substitute actor was cast in a movie for a role he desperately wanted to portray, he became too disappointed, and apparently became apathetic towards work prospects. He died some months later. A promising and brilliant career – that was, indeed, very fruitful and prolific – was cut short at the dawn of its rise.   

 Nonetheless, Ichikawa managed to leave behind a wonderful legacy, that consolidated his reputation as one of the most formidable, versatile and significant actors of his generation. He made the skill of acting to appear spontaneous – somewhat easy to execute –, because it was natural for him, despite the fact that all of his characters were profound and intense. 

On Young Boy Takechi, Ichikawa plays a young naval officer that abandons his position, to assume the leadership of a Yakuza ring after his father – the actual leader –, dies. On a lustful man, Ichikawa plays a very eccentric womanizer, that thinks that his “mission” in the world is to make women happy. 

A splendid talent that was lost too soon, fortunately, the actor had enough time to consolidate and leave behind a consistent and robust legacy, that not only is filled with some marvelous movies, but also have his deeply graceful and vivacious interpretations of exceedingly peculiar and dense characters, that engraves in a very colorful scenario the poetic beauty of Japanese cinema.   

 
Wagner

Siberia is a drama film, starring Keanu Reeves, released in mid-July. On this movie, Reeves plays Lucas Hill, an illegal dealer of diamonds, that goes to Russia, to make business with a dangerous, sinister and very unscrupulous mobster – named Boris Volkov – played by Pavel Lychnikov. On the small community of Mirny, where he first goes, Lucas falls in love with a bar owner, Katya, played by Ana Ularu. They begin an illicit affair, and soon Lucas is entangled in a very complicated dilemma, upon which he has to choose between the white-collar life he is living, and the sincerity of his love for Katya. But things goes terribly wrong – as his situation runs an unexpected turn for the worst – and Lucas learns in the hardest way possible that the Russian mob is a very treacherous, aggressive, cruel and hostile organization. 

Although the premise seems nice at first, the movie is viciously suffocated at the vicinities of its own predictabilities. Despite the fatalist ending, that is surprising – but somewhat faltered and empty – the movie can be considered good entertainment, but does not go too much beyond this evaluation. At the end of it all, the movie becomes more worthy by its unusual, but conspicuous, singularities: there are several very ardent, passionate and hot sex scenes in the movie, between Lucas and Katya, the two main characters, which is uncommon for a Keanu Reeves movie. Here we also have the opportunity of seeing Reeves playing a criminal – a more subtle category of criminal, its true – which is also very unusual for the Canadian actor. He normally plays the hero, the good guy or the virtuous cop, and is rare seeing him going out of his comfort zone.    

Like I wrote above, the movie is valid as a piece of entertainment. It’s not a bad movie, but you will not get too much from it either. Lucas Hill is an ordinary character – an illegal diamond dealer –, that goes to Russia to do business. But on his way through it, he has to deal with some unexpected obstacles. As he underestimates the fury and the atrocities that the Russian mob is willing to commit to anyone that doesn’t do business in their way, he is destined to suffer the consequences of his relapse behavior, misdemeanor and wrongdoings. 

You can see where these situations will lead the main character. He enters into a spiral of problems, and doesn’t manage to get out of it. And the movie gets stuck on it. Really, there is not too much to analyze here. If you like a reasonable movie that is mere entertainment, maybe Siberia will satisfy you. Your expectations cannot be high, as there is absolutely nothing in this movie that is extravagant or extraordinary. But you will, somewhat, have a good time. To see Keanu Reeves play a morally obtuse character – that has a very questionable occupation for a living, and even being married, has an extramarital affair – it is, to a certain extent, an interesting experience. If you like Keanu Reeves, of course.   

The period of biggest stardom and blockbusters for Reeves is long past, but he has somewhat managed to stay relevant in Hollywood, which is quite an achievement, being able to appear viable as a lead for the motion picture industry. He has done some reasonably decent movies lately, but nothing that could be labeled as excellent or fantastic – his last great movie was 2008 Street Kings, exactly ten years ago. His last blockbuster was the critically deceitful 2013 movie 47 Ronin, that had a monumental budget of U$D 175 million, and was a box office disaster, that incurred in a financial loss of 152 million U$D. 

Siberia is a good drama. On an overall analysis, it’s a waste of time, but has some frivolous, ordinary qualities. Since there are a lot of movies severely worst, the option is not entirely bad. But don’t expect too much from it. In the end, it is just another flick to be added to the ever-increasing insipid Keanu Reeves filmography – that is filled with good and even great movies, but this is not the case here. Reasonably decent at best, Siberia is definitely watchable, but you will probably forget about this movie five minutes after it is finished.           


Wagner