Author: csabavarga

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Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying

Another record that went from zero to a hundred on my listening charts in something like a week. I had listened to it once or twice previously but it hadn’t stuck with me, and then last week it just did, a lot. At this point it has a guaranteed Top 3 spot in my year-end list.

The whole album is sprawling with musical references from so many things that I love. And it’s not just a few specific things but entire aspects of music that I’ve been getting hooked on and have been loving in practically my whole life. From the post-nu jazz of the ’00s with its artistic and electronic reinterpretations, through the big beat sounds of the likes of The Chemical Brothers or The Crystal Method, and electro-infused electronic music that I have often a hard time to put in a box other than “electronic music”, all the way to leftfield pop that is just meant to be blasting from the radio.

I rarely pinpoint single tracks because I usually like the coherent experience of a full album best. And this is an a-ma-zing album as a whole, no question about that. Still, Gimme A Reason is just a hymn, I am floored by this song. To me, this is the ultimate pop hit of this year. I don’t even remember when I put a single track on repeat for such a long time as this one. And after a hundred replays I still get goosebumps at the exact same timestamps. I can’t talk highly enough about this one, it’s an essential track.

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Martin Stürtzer – Protostar

First off, this is a great ambient record. This has been my go-to focus music for the past week the mindset it creates for me is just awesome.

On the other hand, one feeling I can’t shake off is how much of a generated music this could potentially be. I really don’t know anything about Stürtzer, his past work, and process, I just feel like music like this could exactly be the type that can be generated by AI today. I feel bad to think this, it feels like such an asshole thought to have, but this is just what the ambient genre is plagued with today. And if I look at an artist’s discography and I see several records published yearly that kind of confirms the idea; either that this is generated music or music that’s produced on a conveyor belt.

And after having these ideas at the back of my mind I’m going back to listening to the record and think: I still like it, I find it pleasant to listen to, it helps me focus and work and create stuff. So what does that mean? What if this is generated music really? Am I happy with generated music? No, I shouldn’t be. I want to value a true artist’s human output and genuine creativity. But still… What if this just works? Ahh, I don’t know. I hate the AI generated problems of our lives when it comes to art.

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Terminal Serious – Tear You Away

Post-rock goth vibes with that classic deep male voice. My only complaint is the drums, which falls in that uncanny valley of not being played live, but mimic that just too closely while not getting there. Something that sounds more like classic programmed drums would work better, or just playing the whole thing with a live band would as well, of course.

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Warfare (2025)

I didn’t like to watch this, per se, but it was a visceral experience, I have to give it that. Also interesting how straightforward the message felt to me, and then it turned out that my wife and I understood it differently. Anyways, if it has to be A24 and a war theme, I’m team Civil War all the way.

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Barbarian (2022)

After Weapons, this was a must-see, as soon as possible. And this was just OMG all over again. This is even weirder than Weapons: so strange, so much it’s own thing, hard to convey, but as someone who likes horror that’s more weird than gore or scary, I’m here for this. There’s a kinship with Heretic, but this is better.

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Weapons (2025)

This was a fantastic movie. Such atmosphere, acting, characters, also music (there’s a track on the OST called The Flight—during the movie it was goosebumps, afterwards it’s a relive). And the biggest of all: such a balancing act of horror, thriller, and some weird dark comedy, that it could so easily fall apart—and it doesn’t. It’s a masterclass in directing. Also, the villain is just… chef’s kiss.

This made me instantly look up more about Zach Cregger and jump on to watch Barbarian literally the next day.

As for the cast, two notes. First, I haven’t really seen anything with Julia Garner, but I hope to see more, she has a captivating presence. Second, I have a newfound love for Benedict Wong: despite the shit that the 3 Body Problem was, his character and acting was easily the most interesting in that one, and he just kills it in this movie as well; I’m actively seeking out movies with him now. Okay, third, Amy Madigan’s Gladys is just pure genius, it’s a phenomenal character design, I was in awe.

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Spawn (1997-1999)

So this is supposed to be the OG Spawn comic-to-screen adaptation, since it’s created by McFarlane himself. It’s unlike any animated series I’ve seen before. Not because it’s 18+ in every sense, other have done that; I’m not sure how much before, but surely since, especially lately with ones like Invincible, where gore is done for sport. But Spawn is unique as being the most direct adaptation of a comic book: visual style, characters, narrative, topics and themes that I just didn’t think would be adapted to screen.

That said, it’s also a weird thing to watch, because it’s so much a comic book that it practically didn’t work so much as a film. For example, when a scene is so abruptly resolved like going from one comic panel to another. In a comic book that’s what I expect, but on film there’s something missing.

Anyways, as a Spawn fan, this was a must-see for me, and an important miss to make up for. But I won’t be coming back to it for a rewatch—I rather reread the comic books.