Word: motif
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...high before the depression. It documents the stubborn spirit of a fellow contemptuous of compromise, almost of humanity, and his rebirth in a land where each desolation dissolves in beatific smiles. It is about a solitary star, trussed in celebrity, who learns how to be a team player. This motif, of fame as a badge and as a burden, struck a chord in Annaud's lead player. "I loved," the director says, "that Brad understood what it was really about." The film, then, is the partial autobiography of its begetters: Harrer, Annaud and Pitt...
Lichtenstein became known to an enormous public as "the guy who paints comics," but in fact the comic-strip phase of his work was quite brief: it lasted from 1961 to 1965, after which he moved on to other subjects and themes. The motif caused considerable offense, to the point where LIFE magazine nominated him as the worst artist in the world. But it enabled him to play with all manner of saucy ironies and In jokes, and in any case he never copied anything; each image underwent fastidious tweaking, reshaping and restyling. "Why, Brad darling, this painting...
...musical sketch rather than the typical plot of verse-chorus-verse, and studio effects enhance her ability to create the haunting atmosphere that she does on tracks like "Box." A swirling guitar echoes distantly in the background while the bass and another guitar play a repeated two chord motif. The drums play a simple beat with a closed hi-hat and Deal's voice is laced with reverb...
Luckily this repetition rarely degenerates into boring rhythm hooks. The compositions are well orchestrated and highly structured-phrases glide deftly into one another and fall cleanly into the flow of the music. A motif will enter, then another, and the rest will build on that foundation, churning over and over until one fades out, then another, and the composition ends. Unlike a lot of techno, the transitions are never stiff or mechanical and dynamics are employed quite sensitively...
...first cut, "India," immediately reveals the unique musical direction Coltrane was pursuing. The droning, buzzing sound of the oud, a Middle Eastern lute-type instrument, is the first sound to present itself, followed by Coltrane's and bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy's repetition of a hypnotic two-note motif. In the solo section, the performance assumes the format of much of the music on this collection-dense, angular horn soloing over essentially no chord changes. Even the appreciative listener has difficulty comprehending the music upon first exposure, and judging from the scattered applause following the performance, the audience may have...