avocado rabbit

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Member Since: 2/18/2008
Total Mixes: 79
Total Feedback: 1171

Orpheus - after a film by Jean Cocteau

Side A
Artist Song
Steve Hackett  The Pool of Memory and the Pool of Forgetfullness 
Andy Partridge & Peter Blegvad  Brown-Out On Olympus 
The Herd  From The Underworld 
Ash  Orpheus 
Rufus Wainwright  Greek Song 
Sleepythief  Eurydice 
The Smiths  This Cha ming Man 
The Make-Up  Hey! Orpheus! 
Therion  Gothic Kabbalah 
The Crnxshadows  Eurydice (Don't Follow) 
Of Montreal  Plastis Wafers 
Anais Mitchell  Hades and Persephone 
Peter Murphy  Indigo Eyes 
Side B
ArtistSongBuy
The Incredible String Band  Blues for the Muse 
Rufus Wainwright  Go Or Go Ahead 
Grant Lee Buffalo  Orpheus 
Kurt Elling  Body and Soul 
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds  The Lyre of Orpheus 
The Wallflowers  Nearly Beloved 
David Sylvain  When Poets Dreamed of Angels 
Focus  Gift of Life 
Orpheus  I Can't Find The Time To Tell You 
Andy Partridge & Peter Blegvad  Eurydice (after Rilke) 
Steve Hackett  Return to the Realm of Eternal Renewal 

Comment:

Orpheus (French: OrphTe) is a 1949 French film directed by Jean Cocteau and starring Jean Marais. This film is the central part of Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, which consists of The Blood of a Poet (1930), Orpheus (1949) and Testament of Orpheus (1960).

Set in contemporary Paris, the movie is a variation of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus. At the CafT des PoFtes a brawl is staged by acolytes of the Princess and the young poet CFgeste, the rival of Orpheus the poet, is ki lled. CFgeste is taken to the car of the princess by her associates, and Orpheus is asked to accompany them as a witness. They drive to a chateau (the landscape through the car windows are presented in negative) acompanied by abstract poetry on the radio. This takes the form of seemingly meaningless messages which are like those broadcast to the French Resistance from London during the Occupation.

Herein lies the "message" Cocteau strove to deliver in the aftermath of WWII. Many of the scenes in the film had their equivalent in the German occupation. The underworld is represented by buildings in France which remained in ruins after the war, and Orpheus's trial in the underworld is presented in the manner of an inquest held by officials of the German occupation attempting to discover members of the French resistance. At the very en d of the film, the Princess and Heurtebise are prisoners, brought forward to face the tribunal, ominously elevated on a pedestal above them.

Many critics have hailed Orpheus as one of the greatest films in the history of the cinema, and it is certainly the best of the trilogy. It stands up almost 60 years later as a very intriguing blen d of myth and fact.

And we have a quiz with a free copy of the mix, tracked in full sound wav files with artwork. In the film the cha racters pass into the world of death and back to life many times. How is this accomplished?

There is a second quiz for another mixer to win a copy. Please answer only one quiz so two people may have the opportunity to win. What single from 1983 used a still from the film as its cover jacket?

And to those who wish to download the two discs of music and artwork, it all can be found in the zip file. There are two songs from both Steve Hackett and the duo of Partridge and Blegvad, and they come from albums based on the Orpheus myth. Wainwright has also written a handful of songs on the theme.

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Feedback:

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Funky Ratchet
Date: 1/31/2009
I love that back cover, Dean. Really like those Grant Lee Buffalo and Nick Cave tracks too. I remember the story of the Greek myth but haven't seen the movie. This mix is certainly a compelling argument to seek it out.
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Mixxer
Date: 1/31/2009
Haven't see the film, but I blv the Brazilian film "Black Orpheus" is based on the same myth, but relocated to Rio.
Outstanding job putting it to music, Avocado.
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Mesh
Date: 1/31/2009
Haven't had the pleasure of seeing the film, but I suspect, based on your description (and mix) that I'd like it. And I'll blindly guess "This Ch@rming Man" for quiz #2.
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infinity_girl
Date: 1/31/2009
Looks good, though I'm not familiar with a few of the artists on here. I saw the film years ago and it left quite an impression on me. It's now one of my favorite Cocteau films.
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avocado rabbit
Date: 1/31/2009
Even the blind mixer finds a quiz answer now and then, Mesh:) Congratulations.
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jessesamuel
Date: 1/31/2009
Oh, man! Somebody beat me to the answer to quiz #2. It's a great cover - Jean Marais had sublime hair. What a fantastic job, avocado - and I haven't even listened to it yet.
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Mr. Mirage
Date: 2/1/2009
Eagerly anticipating the dl to finish. CANNOT wait!!
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MarkSmith
Date: 2/2/2009
damn impressive, as the film itself is
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doowad
Date: 2/3/2009
Thanks for this, Dean, a real masterpiece.
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Darth Pazuzu
Date: 2/4/2009
This looks pretty classy. Once again, a very interesting concept. I like how you use Steve Hackett and Andy Partridge & Peter Blegvad to booken-d the piece.