The success

In the program of Dimitris Papaioannou's new production, Medea 2, it says that Medea is the only successful avenger. Anybody who knows me, also knows how obsessed I am with the notion of revenge. I love Medea and I've never thought of her story that way. But it's true, Medea does the unthinkable and then leaves with her head high on the Sun's chariot, like a winner.

Papaioannou's Medea is not a winner, she leaves crushed with a look on her face that is unthinkably sad. But she is a winner, she is a winner as a piece of art. I cannot explain Papaioannou's vision to whoever has not seen it, and it is not my intention to explain anything. I just wanted to write a small post just to say that Medea 2 is a masterpiece, probably the best thing I have ever seen in my life. The man is a genius.

The porridge

It's a beautiful morning here, the sun is out and the cold is crisp, like a snowflake trapped inside your favourite ice cream flavour. When I make CD compilations for my friends I like to give them names and I have one that is called "crisp & cold", which has the song I post today.

It's not so much of a song this one, it's actually a blast from the past. I was listening to it obsessively some years ago, I think 4ish, when I was in Cam. I distinctly remember cycling to this song, going from my work (remember Hallo Kitty?) to my house and vice versa. It's awful cycling in the cold, but I didn't mind too much then, I think. What I find funny with these songs that mark an era, is the immediacy with which they bring back to you emotions and thoughts that you think are long gone. It is funny listening to the songs that marked a place in your past, listening them to a new place. And although you run the risk of them sounding out of place (and time for that matter) it's always good giving them a try.

So today what I am doing is enjoying my blast from the past: listening to old songs, making porridge, marveling at the winter sun. Σάν να μην πέρασε μιά μέρα, indeed.

The curse of the mainstream

The elitists among us ask themselves this question all the time: can I still like something that has left the underground scene and entered the mainstream or does this mean I am part of the pleb? Given that we don't like elitists, and we are not part of *that* group and we shouldn't care for their feelings and provided that the question is indeed interesting the maybe we can put it differently.

Underground things are interesting by definition for various reasons: they are "hidden gems", unappreciated by large members of the public who is most of times simplistic and looks for more banal things. The few, educated, charismatic, interesting, intellectual, artistic people from the public that really do want to find the the pulsating, new, modern interesting things look for them in the underground, where art is really happening.

There are some rare moments that an artist that is part of the hardcore underground enters the mainstream gloriously and is unconditionally embraced by the public. The question then is: how long can this ex-underground, edgy artist or whatever keep his/her edge? How long can coolness survive outside the underground and on to the mainstream?

Reading a review of Antony & the Johnsons' new album in the Observer I read the following poignant line: "(...) this might have put him in a tricky position as regards the follow-up, with the risk or either lurching too far towards the mainstream and diminishing his impact, or retreating to his more theatrical roots and potential self-indulgence." Antony's example is, I think, interesting because he came from the underground, from the weird Americana scene or whatever it's called, with his first album having him on the cover as an androgynous buddha and then was so embraced by the mainstream with his second album, wining a Mercury prize, collaborating with the priestess of successful underground-to-mainstream transition Björk and in general being universally acknowledged. Ok, he is not Britney Spears but the guy is mainstream now, much to my disappointment (because I am an elitist at heart), the guy fills the Barbican. So the question is *can* Antony and Björk and Massive Attack and whoever else is ex-underground but still not pop, can they be part of the mainstream and still be artistically important?

In Kundera an important writer ever if everyone has read the unbearable lightness of being (now a successful motion picture) or does a diamond only shine when it is in the rough, in the mud when no-one knows it? I am afraid the question is not merely one of elitism, because as my cousin put it, the system fucks you up when you enter it. The system, the entertainment industry or whatever, does not know how to market successfully the underground. It has to glitter it up, making it lose its character.

Don't get me wrong, I am still looking forward to Antony's new CD and I am sorry I'll miss his live here in Belfast. I just can't help but think that his record might have been better if there were no expectations from it (the follow-up to his Mercury prize won 'I am a bird now'). Then again, I might be wrong and mainstream-ness might be translated only to confidence.

Only time - and elitist listeners - will tell.

Brett forever (the past)

I haven't written for over a month and I had so many ideas: I wanted to write about Medea (Dimitris Papaioannou masterpiece) Australia (Baz Luhrman's epic melodrama), my time in Greece, Friends and awesome one-liners between Joey and Chandler and so much more but I didn't. Why? Because I decided to write about Brett Anderson, the love of my life, the best male singer in the universe, the inspiration of my teenage years and his new song: Back to you. Funnily enough, this is not even his song, the obscure Norwegian (!) band Pleasure wrote it. But Brett's voice, oh what a voice, makes me feel 16 again, like when I was first infatuated with Suede.

I got into Suede by a lousy translation of 'She's not dead' in Greek "Elle", can you believe that? I read the lyrics and felt something and went off and bought their first CD, Suede. The one with the two people kissing and with Animal Nitrate in it. I fell it love with Brett's songs, his lyrics, his voice and his photo in the booklet. I used to look at it for hours and dream how it would be if I met him. 5 million years later, and I've never even seen Suede or him live, what a bloody shame. But perhaps I'm saving it you know, I'm saving it for a special time in my life when I'll be desperately needing some inspiration, that's when I'll see him. He even came to Athens and I wasn't there.

But it doesn't matter, this means I will always have something to look forward to in life. Other people are looking forward to their weddings, a special trip, buying a house, I'm looking forward to seeing Brett live. He doesn't look as dazzling as when I first saw his picture when I was 16, when he was wearing lace and was oozing androgynous sensuality, now he looks broken, an ex drug-addict with a life story. But I like him more now. Or perhaps I would like him whatever he looked like.

So, Brett, "back to you" indeed.

I love you, baby

I know this is an extremely tacky post. I also know I don't care.
Who's the best player in the world? Cristiano, Cristiano, Cristiano (forever). And why is that? Because we share the same birthday, ah, ah! Only a different year, of course.
Cristiano Ronaldo - amor, I love you. Although I don't think you're very good looking, and you're certainly not classy like Figo. But you kick the ball and you kick ass, that's for sure.
What happens when you come from a country that has got nothing to show for but a couple of football players? You really like said football players.

FREE THE SHMINISTIM – ISRAEL'S YOUNG CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. The Shministim are Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories. December 18 marks the launch date of a global campaign to release them from jail.

http://december18th.org/