Aurelia Butler

More stories

  • 150 Shares169 Views

    in Movies

    Rebekah Del Rio, Mournful Singer of ‘Mulholland Drive’ Fame, Dies at 57

    Rebekah Del Rio, the virtuosic singer best known for her forlorn Spanish-language rendition of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” in David Lynch’s 2001 film “Mulholland Drive,” died on June 23 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 57.Her death was confirmed by the Los Angeles County medical examiner, who said the cause was under investigation. Ms. Del Rio disclosed in 2018 that a malignant tumor in her brain had been surgically removed. In her final months, she told friends that the cancer had returned.In a career marked by misfortune and tragedy, Ms. Del Rio, a self-taught vocalist, never made it beyond the music industry’s revolving door. But her transcendent vibrato found a home in a surreal corner of Hollywood occupied by Mr. Lynch.One day in the mid-1990s, Ms. Del Rio, a young country singer, arrived at Mr. Lynch’s Los Angeles home for an introductory meeting arranged by their mutual agent, Brian Loucks. The instructions Mr. Loucks gave her were simple: Show up on time, look cute and be ready to perform “Llorando,” her a cappella version of Mr. Orbison’s “Crying.”Dressed head to toe in light blue, she sang until Mr. Lynch cut her off halfway through. He ushered her into his home recording studio, where she recorded the song in a single take.“Ding dang, Rebekah Del Rio, that was aces!” she recalled him saying.That recording would be heard in a pivotal scene in “Mulholland Drive,” at a fictional nightclub called Club Silencio. Ms. Del Rio, who is introduced as “La Llorona de Los Angeles,” emerges onstage from behind a velvet curtain wearing a dark red minidress, with smudged mascara and a crystalline teardrop under her right eye.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares179 Views

    in Music

    Justin Bieber’s Surprise Album ‘Swag,’ and 10 More New Songs

    Hear tracks by Tyla, Kassa Overall, Syd, Jay Som and others.Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.Justin Bieber, ‘Daisies’Justin Bieber has surprise-released a 21-song album, “Swag,” full of lo-fi experiments and unexpected collaborators. The singer has always been a savvy talent scout, and he concocted “Daisies” with the quick-fingered guitarist Mk.gee and the producer Dijon. “Daisies” is a bare-bones track: a lone electric guitar, drums and Bieber’s vocals, mostly using a vintage doo-wop chord progression (I-VI-IV-V) and juxtaposing vulnerability and strength. Bieber sounds needy but sure of his legitimacy: “Whatever it is,” he sings, “You know I can take it.”Syd, ‘Die for This’Syd (formerly Syd tha Kid from the band the Internet) ardently embraces the pleasures of the moment in “Die for This.” A drum machine and plush vocal harmonies buoy her through sentiments like “We can have forever tonight” and “It feels like heaven with you tonight.” She’s absolutely all in; has she convinced her partner?Tyla, ‘Is It’“Am I coming on a little strong?” Tyla teases in “Is It,” a dance-floor flirtation that’s both a come-on and an assertion of power. “Is it the idea that I like, or do I really wanna make you mine?” Tyla asks herself, then advances further. The beat is spartan — often just percussion and a few distorted bass notes — but a chorus of male voices joins her as she takes charge.Flo and Kaytranada, ‘The Mood’The British R&B trio Flo juggles a tricky situation in “The Mood”: saying no for one night, promising future sensual kicks and soothing a partner’s perhaps fragile ego. With a purring bass line and a subdued four-on-the-floor beat provided by Kaytranada’s production, they apologize, “It’s just that I ain’t in the mood tonight.” But they hasten to add, “I swear you’re the only one who does it right.” They also slyly pay homage to their R&B role models by slipping some old song titles into the lyrics.Danny L Harle featuring PinkPantheress, ‘Starlight’The hyperpop producer Danny L Harle has kept busy as a collaborator, but “Starlight” is his first song since 2021 to claim top billing, and it’s just swarming with ideas. With her piping voice run through all sorts of gizmos, PinkPantheress sings about misplaced longings: “I’ve met someone like you / They don’t love me back.” Around her, Harle’s production accelerates from wistful electronic lament to manic, pounding electro-pop, strewing countermelodies all over the place.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 163 Shares129 Views

    in Music

    “The Nine Jewelled Deer,” a New Opera, Has Nothing to Do With Antlers

    A bejeweled doe hides in the forest to protect itself. One day, the doe sees a drowning man who calls out for help. At great risk, the doe saves him. He promises not to reveal the animal’s whereabouts but — enticed by a bounty from the king — he betrays the doe, and a brutal fate is suggested.The story of “The Nine Jewelled Deer,” a new opera that premiered last Sunday at the cultural center Luma Arles, in a co-production with the Aix-en-Provence Festival, is inspired by an ancient Jataka tale of India, exploring the Buddha’s incarnations in both human and animal forms.It has had a decidedly modern rebirth. That story piqued the interest of half a dozen luminaries in the literary, visual and performing arts, including the author Lauren Groff, the painter Julie Mehretu and the director Peter Sellars, galvanizing them to join forces to produce a nonlinear, highly metaphorical adaptation. Their version explores acts of betrayal and exploitation — of the earth, and especially of women. In some cases, its creators said in interviews, it is based on their own experiences and the experiences of women they know.Sellars, known for his avant-garde and socially engaged opera and theater productions, is the sole man among the core creative team. At the heart of the production is Ganavya Doraiswamy, a New York-born musician and performer who blends improvisational jazz with Indian storytelling traditions. Sivan Eldar composed the score and serves as musical director.During the performance of “The Nine Jewelled Deer,” the singer, Ganavya Doraiswamy, onstage with bowls as part of a “kitchen orchestra,” like the one that her grandmother hosted.Theo Giacometti for The New York TimesThe sound engineering by Augustin Muller happens onstage, alongside musicians and vocalists.Theo Giacometti for The New York TimesGroff, the three-time National Book Award finalist and best-selling author, wrote the libretto with Doraiswamy and served as a kind of amanuensis, not just to the writing but to the people involved. Co-starring onstage with Doraiswamy is Aruna Sairam, a renowned ambassador of Indian vocal tradition, particularly South Indian Carnatic music, known for its devotional qualities. Mehretu, who had worked with Sellars on several operas as well — also based on ancient Buddhist stories, she said — contributed her characteristically abstract paintings that form the foundation of the production design.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares149 Views

    in Movies

    How James Gunn Modeled Superman’s Dog Krypto After His Own Pet

    For the furry sidekick, Krypto, in “Superman,” the director James Gunn found inspiration — and a physical model — in his own unruly pet.About three years ago, the director James Gunn was trying to figure out the arc of what would become his new blockbuster “Superman.” Then he adopted a dog.He named the scruffy rescue Ozu, after the Japanese filmmaker known for his serene works. At about 8 months old, Ozu the dog was not at all peaceful. After surviving a hoarding situation, Ozu was fearful of humans and intensely destructive. He chewed up furniture, shoes and even a $10,000 computer. He also ate one of Gunn’s wife’s tampons out of a wastebasket, necessitating a trip to the vet. Gunn realized that if Ozu had been superpowered, the damage would have been even worse.“It was where the movie came together for me,” he said in a video call.Gunn decided that his version of Superman would have not just a dog, but a bad dog who could fly. He wrote the opening sequence in which Superman (David Corenswet), defeated for the first time ever, calls out to the canine Krypto to help drag him to the Fortress of Solitude. Krypto — who, like Ozu, is poorly behaved — jumps all over his master, seemingly causing more pain before doing his duty.“The universe we normally see Superman living in in movies is usually this lone, serious superhero and then people and then that’s it,” Gunn said. “This Superman exists in a different sort of universe where there are flying dogs.”While Krypto has a long history in the comic books, he has never been featured in any of the live-action Superman movies.Jessica Miglio/DC and Warner Bros. But Ozu served as more than just inspiration. Gunn’s pup also became the physical model for Krypto, who is computer-generated so he can do things like soar through the sky and attack villains. Krypto is a little bigger than Ozu and has white fur instead of gray, but otherwise he’s a dead ringer.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 75 Shares99 Views

    in Movies

    Superman’s Other Secret Weakness? Journalism Ethics.

    Writing for The Daily Planet about his heroic alter ego raises thorny issues for Clark Kent. Lois Lane has her conflicts, too.If Superman’s greatest weakness is green kryptonite, then Clark Kent’s may well be the ethics of journalism — thanks to his work as a reporter who has to cover his own heroic alter ego. It is a conflict in the character apparent since his first comic book appearance.In his 1938 debut, Superman saves a woman wrongly sentenced to death. Clark is relieved that the front-page news of her release makes no mention of the Man of Steel’s intervention. Clark also likes that his job often leads him to tips on where Superman is needed. But when he is assigned to report on the hero, he feigns enthusiasm. He tells his editor, “If I can’t find out anything about this Superman no one can!” Disingenuous much, Clark?Flash forward to modern times.In the new “Superman” film, which opens in theaters on Friday, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is surprised when Clark (David Corenswet) allows her to interview him as Superman for The Daily Planet. Her probing inquiries agitate him. She also chastises him on the ethics of reporting on himself, since he would know the questions in advance — generally a no-no in responsible journalism. But she shouldn’t judge him too harshly: She’s dating Clark and probably should recuse herself from the interview, too.It is a good moment for Lois, who does not always fare so well in comic books. In 1986, when Superman was rebooted by the writer and artist John Byrne, Lois is determined to get the scoop on the new hero. She lands an interview but too late. Clark has the exclusive, gives it to The Planet and is hired by the paper, which is when he and Lois first meet. In 1986, in a Superman reboot, Lois tries to get the scoop on the new hero — only to find Clark Kent has beaten her to the punch.John Byrne and Dick Giordano/DC“That has always been the conceit, that he gets his job by reporting on Superman and therefore proving himself to be an ace reporter,” Mark Waid, a comic book writer, said in an interview. “I personally reject that notion because I don’t understand what that proves other than he’s really good at taking advantage of the system.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 150 Shares169 Views

    in Movies

    In ‘Apocalypse in the Tropics,’ Director Petra Costa Examines Brazil’s Rightward Shift

    The director Petra Costa examines a rightward shift in her country by zeroing in on the rise of a televangelist.Here is one thing that makes Petra Costa’s new documentary, “Apocalypse in the Tropics” (in theaters and streaming Monday on Netflix), so powerful: It is very precisely not about American politics. Yet the temptation for a segment of viewers to see it as being about that will, I suspect, be insurmountable. But Costa is here to tell a bigger story.She begins with the extraordinary shift in her homeland of Brazil toward evangelical Christianity — over the past 40 years, the percentage of Brazilians identifying as evangelical has grown to 30 percent from 5 percent, by some estimates. That’s an immense, almost unprecedented change.What’s more, it’s had radical effects on that nation’s politics, leading directly to the election of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Costa wasn’t raised to be particularly religious, so she approaches the subject as something of an anthropologist who knows Brazil well. (Her parents are left-wing Brazilian activists who opposed the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1985, and her fiery 2019 film, “The Edge of Democracy,” explored both her and her country’s political past.) Instead of focusing solely on Bolsonaro and his electoral battle with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current president, Costa hones in on something else: the way the Pentecostal televangelist and celebrity Silas Malafaia has operated at the core of politics.She suggests that Malafaia, with the money and influence he wields, was extremely consequential in the rise and popularity of Bolsonaro. In other words, she argues that his media savvy, tied to capitalism and a certain strain of apocalypticism, accounts for the rightward lurch in Brazil’s politics.What she’s pointing out is how these three things — the lure of money, the lure of celebrity and the lure of power — constitute an unholy trinity, especially when held and venerated by a figure like Malafaia, who can dole them out. That has always been true. Humans love to be rich, popular and important, and a lot of the time those things can be woven into people’s religious beliefs, making those convictions even stronger.But it may be that elements of the present, like social media, internet misinformation and extinction-level threats to human life make that combination more potent than ever. That’s what “Apocalypse in the Tropics” draws out so well: This pattern in Brazil is infinitely repeatable. If you recognize it, well, it’s not because your country’s leaders are unique. It’s because while history may not repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. More

  • 75 Shares99 Views

    in Movies

    ‘Madea’s Destination Wedding’ Review: Hellur, Bahamas

    Tyler Perry returns as a series of characters, and this time, the real struggle for the family is boarding a plane.Tyler Perry reached a milestone this year: Two decades of “Madea” movies. The bigger-than-life female character Perry created for the stage has been entertaining audiences and confounding critics since the first “Madea” movie, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” hit theaters in 2005.As the title suggests, that picture leaned a little heavier into melodrama than broad comedy, despite the fact that Perry, as he would continue to do over the next two decades, played Madea as a kind of burlesque who wore outlandish dresses and substantial padding, and painted the character in broad strokes.In “Madea’s Destination Wedding,” the 13th “Madea” movie, she continues to take no prisoners when affronted. It begins with our heroine confronted by some would-be stickup kids at a service station; she douses their car with gasoline and lights it on fire as they speed away.The narrative gets more domesticated after this. Madea’s niece Tiffany (Diamond White), the daughter of her nephew Brian, is having a destination wedding in the Bahamas. Perry also plays Brian, in conventional guy clothing. Perry also plays Brian’s father, the white-haired, feckless Joe. In one scene, the three characters banter on the front stoop of a house. The sequence demonstrates Perry’s adroitness as a multicharacter performer; the dialogue is delivered with admirable timing and intonation. And his staging, shooting and editing show that he’s become an equally deft filmmaker.That said, the movie’s comedic family members yield a group workshop style of comedy that sometimes bogs down the narrative. The movie arguably has the longest plane-boarding scene in the history of cinema, followed by the longest hotel check-in scene. But if Madea speaks your movie love language, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.Madea’s Destination WeddingRated PG-13 for language and themes. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Watch on Netflix. More

  • 150 Shares199 Views

    in Music

    Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez, Hitmaker Who Seemed to Vanish, Is Dead at 83

    His “The Happy Organ” reached No. 1 in 1959, but his pop stardom was short-lived, and his death in 2022, with an anonymous burial, remains a source of mystery.It’s not that Dave “Baby” Cortez was forgotten. A keyboardist, singer and songwriter, he emerged from the thriving Detroit doo-wop scene of the 1950s to score two Top 10 hits, one of which, “The Happy Organ,” an aural Tilt-a-Whirl of an instrumental, soared to No. 1 in March 1959 and sold more than a million copies.But he rarely granted interviews, particularly after largely abandoning the business, with a trace of bitterness, in the early 1970s. The few available online biographies provide almost no details of his life beyond his recording history and chart success.Taryn Sheffield, his daughter, said in an interview that she had not heard from him since 2009. “He’s been a recluse for many, many years,” she said.At times, he appeared to serve as a church organist in Cincinnati, said Miriam Linna, a founder of Norton Records, an independent New York label that in 2011 persuaded Mr. Cortez to record his first album since 1972. At other times, he appeared to be living in the Bronx, doing who knows what.It was only in recent weeks that Ms. Linna learned that he had been dead for three years.According to city records, Mr. Cortez — whose real name was David Cortez Clowney — died on May 31, 2022, at his home on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx. He was 83. His body lies in Plot 434 on Hart Island, the potter’s field off the coast of the Bronx, where some one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves.It was an ignominious end for an artist whose career was curious enough to begin with.Mr. Cortez was born on Aug. 13, 1938, in Detroit, one of two sons of David and Lillian Mae Clowney. His father played piano and encouraged David to follow suit.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More