I Forgive Rumble Racing

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Hi! I post thoughts and blurbs here, mostly media related. Some a bit more in-depth than others. I love to get lost in the sauce.

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Album Review: Lebanon Hanover - Asylum Lullabies

Intermezzos: the album

Asylum Lullabies is not a bad album, it just drags at certain points. The songs are solid, but ultimately blend together in a mesh that could be memorable if more diversity was added.

Songs such as these are not entirely strange within Darkwave or Post-Punk more generally. However, usually slower, reverb-heavy tracks work as a counterbalance to catchy singles. I see them as important intermezzos between an album's big tracks, both varieties of tracks are made better by the other's presence. As there is no balancing act, even the more memorable songs on this album are very understated. Even more distinctly melodic tracks such as Torture Rack and My Love would work better if interspliced with more classic darkwave songs like Gallowdance, Saddest Smile and Sadness is Rebellion.

Asylum Lullabies is a difficult album to rate. Lebanon Hanover has chosen a different direction, one that moves away from synth-heavy, gloomy and plucky post-punk towards experimental, atmospheric tracks. The result is ultimately a hit-or-miss record that hurts itself by having nothing to offset that different sound.

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Story Analysis: To Kill a Child (Att Döda Ett Barn)

Beforehand everything is too early

I think a lot about possible different outcomes, and the impact I-and others- have on how situations turn out. Sometimes, I have to correct myself that I acted with what information I had at any specific time. Slowly, I'm getting used to do the fact that I exist in the here and now, acting on what I know and perceive at this specific moment.

The narrator of Stig Dagerman's To Kill a Child (Att Döda Ett Barn), often repeats that "Afterwards everything is too late." The omniscient voice that tells the story sees the death of the titular child coming from a distance. The reader is informed that soon, a child will die, presumably hit because of the reckless driving of a happy man, on the way to the beach with his girlfriend. Nobody, not the driver, his lover, the child nor the child's parents sees the accident coming. Each character acts on what he or she knows. Of course, the blame falls on the driver. However, he too acted on what he knew at the time: the road was empty.

The point then, is that the driver should have acted on what could happen, instead of what he thought was happening. "Afterwards everything is too late" is a fitting conclusion to this short story, made as a persuasive statement against speeding.

As a person, all I can do is exist in the here and now, take precautions for the future else some bad thing might happen. This bad thing could, or could not take place. Not just in the context of driving a car, but also in other situations.

Yet, I also think that beforehand everything is too early. Some things you can work to prevent, while others just happen. As I get older, I start to remind myself that not everything is within my control. Not everything can be prevented. Some things just happen.

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Review: Gummo

Life outside society

Gummo conjures gut reactions from its viewers. It is an uncomfortable, sometimes disgusting watch that is not for everybody, but those who persevere find a compelling moodboard of life at society's bottom rung. The film loosely tells the narrative of two boys that hunt cats in a dishevelled neighbourhood. Perspectives shift often. Aided by the film's handheld camerawork, on-set sound recordings and use of moody licensed songs, Gummo depicts slices of life at society's bottom.

Harmony Korine's 1997 experimental drama stands out as an unorthodox attempt at capturing the lives of characters that would be ignored or ridiculed if featured in other films. Gummo depicts people who can be bizarre, ugly and hard to watch. Yet, their reality is played in a straight forward, non-judgemental way. Even if they are foul-mouthed children, animal abusers or pimps. 

As the movie has a very loose narrative, each character is shown as part of their respective world, rather than part of the movie's greater narrative. Characters are shown with little introduction and disappear from the film just as easily. This ultimately adds to the credibility of the film's setting. It appears as if the camera happens to catch specific moments in the lives of these people, rather than fully rounded arcs. 

And the lives Gummo depicts either attract or repel. More than any other movie I have seen, Gummo is either compelling or gross depending on the viewer.

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Review: Madagascar

The two faces of Madagascar

A little over twenty years ago, Madagascar came out- and my life was not changed in any significant way. For me, Madagascar came and went. I saw it once, dubbed in my native language, and did not particularly care for it. It always bewildered me that this movie, and the franchise it spawned, had such staying power. I did not engage with the sequels or spin-offs, but was reminded of it by television commercials, Netflix previews and internet memes. Madagascar was always something in the background, something other people find funny.

Last weekend I rewatched Madagascar- and I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is simple enough: spoiled, wacky zoo animals are transported and accidentally end up on Madagascar, where they engage with the equally insane wildlife. Precisely these characters give the movie its charm. Their individual personalities and quirks work well on their own and bounce equally as well off the other characters. The film is aided by snappy, funny dialogue and some great one-liners, some of which is quite risky, even for the time.

In contrast, the movie's visuals are a mixed bag of slight datedness and fast-paced animation that still holds up today. Characters move fast. Their expressions are erratic and can change within a few milliseconds if the scene calls for it. Also noteworthy are the camerawork and compositions, which make good use of other genres and media if needed. The character models and environments range from well enough for their age, to still looking quite good. The early scenes in the Manhattan zoo have a strange lifelessness due to some outdated lighting and shading, while the island's environments hold up better, with the lighting and compositions leading to some pretty breath-taking scenery, even in 2026.

The film's script also shows a duality, with the first half focussing on getting the animals to Madagascar, and the second half being about Alex the Lion's problem of being a predator surrounded by prey. While this second half works from a thematic standpoint, as Alex was the least happy about adapting to the wild, the plot takes centre-stage, side-lining the funny hijinx rooted in the characters' different personalities. Madagascar was never about serious drama and the film's attempts at it were flat and boring.

Ultimately, Madagascar wears two faces, one of which I prefer to the other. The characters are a joy to watch, brought to life through fast-faced animation and snappy dialogue. However, the second half brought the film down, just a bit. I can definitely see why the animals and dialogue had such staying power, I just wish the script had been more consistent.