Yum 9 - The American, Rain Machine, Bloom

I’ve been soooo busy enjoying things lately (and working on getting my manuscript into book-ready shape, and planning and plotting lots of new things to come), I haven’t really been blogging.  There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

I don’t want to leave any of the great things behind, though, so I’m going to attempt to refocus and catch up now that Labor Day is behind us and we are all about getting back to work and getting serious.

So many yummy things to report – I think I’ll start with now and work backwards…

THE AMERICAN

I loved this movie.  In league with The Limey for me, The American is an elegant reimagining of classic noir movies.  It has more in common with European noir than with American noir, and in fact – with the exception of George Clooney – is a European film.  Corbijn has dedicated his life to beauty and it shows in the stunning shotmaking.  The layers of images and colours are so deep, I was grateful to have the extra time he takes to really look at each shot.  There is almost nothing out of place in this movie; it is fantastic filmmaking.  Oddly enough, I think it needs George Clooney to succeed – I doubt audiences would watch any other actor so intently for such a long period of time.  Add this to the list of films made possible by George Clooney’s vision and star power. 

RAIN MACHINE

On a flight back from SF, this was on the Virgin playlist.  I listed to a track and then another and was like why haven’t I heard of Rain Machine????  Solo project of TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone this album is undeniably full of genius.  It is a game-changer.  It is the fulfillment of early 90’s BRC acts like Living Colour and Family Stand, the natural male extension of the confessional female singer-songwriter wave of the late 90’s, the best possible outcome of the fusion of genres,  an artist at the top of his game with a mastery of his tools, something to sing about, and the ability to see through to the next level. 

With shades of everything from the Dead to Bowie to Animal Collective to the new rise of American roots music this is a record steeped in popular music traditions pushing the boundaries of it and belonging singularly to one artist’s vision.   I wish digital downloads came with liner notes.  We needed somebody to put all this back together and I’m glad the person who did has a practically encyclopedic knowledge, unique perspective, and refined taste.

BLOOM

Maybe I’ve yummed Bloom before; I can’t remember.  But I went there again, with another friend, and tried new things and it was, as usual yummy.  We ate every scrap of food they brought us.  We even ordered the amazing aioli fries just cause we saw them on someone else’s table and we ate all of those in addition to our entrees and our salad.  The roasted beet and goat cheese salad was supreme.  It can be kind of an old standby, but this one was so delicious - maybe it was the citrus and hazelnuts and the mixture of golden and red beets.  

I finally ordered the purple potato coconut ravioli in lemongrass curry sauce.  What?  Yes.  You read that right.  Here’s a picture:

 

And yes - the insides of the ravioli are purple!