CRIMSON SUN

A POEM By: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

I had witnessed the dawn of the Crimson Sun,
before the devil churned my soul into carnal sin.
All that´s left of my faith is now gonna burn,
just like them good old days of gambling fun.

Guess I´ll be leaving Vegas behind for good.
A Land that many have never fully understood.
I´ll hit the road towards the shores of azure!
I´m going to California were there´s joy for sure!

As soon as I hit those white sandy Venice Beaches,
I´ll quickly forget I was in such a dreadfully vicious state.
I´ll savor life again with aging bourbon & juicy peaches!
For I´m master of my destiny, and I´ll change my fate!

I really don´t care if the devil wants me to perish.
I´ll keep on roaming, for I´m a damn son-of-a-gun!
But I´ll truly miss the rays of the blistering Crimson Sun.
And in memory I´ll keep them burning feverishly.

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

SOLDIERS DIE

A POEM By: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

Politicians lie.
Bullets fly.
Soldiers die.
Mothers cry.
Survivors sigh.
Enough good-byes.
I ask: “why?”

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

MR. PIMENTEL´S TOP 40 MUST HAVE LIST OF ROCK N´ROLL PEARLS!

HI THERE FOLKS!!!

FIRST OF ALL, WELCOME TO MY "TOP 40 MUST HAVE LIST OF ROCK N´ROLL PEARLS"! I FEEL MUCH OBLIGED TO SHARING SOME OF MY TOP PICKS WITH YOU. I´D ONLY LIKE TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS PRIOR TO STARTING.

1)First: the albums presented here were listed with the intent of sharing my personal tastes.

2)Second: They´re a handy guide with some good advice for those who are pursuing an enhancement for their own music collection and are willing to expand their horizons. Since rock is a bounteous entity which embraces extensive diversity, please note that selections listed here range from a series of highly relevant subgenres such as: Folk, Fusion, Grunge, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive, Psychadelic, and Punk, all of which have helped shape the style as a whole throughout the decades.

3)Finally: The rankings should not be taken seriously. That´s because if it were possible, I would´ve ranked all of the depicted records in the #1 slot! So sit back and have a great time browsing the list! No limits, no rules! Just the sheer love for the music!

If I could be of any further assistance regarding music pick, please feel free to write me an e-mail: ferpi1977@hotmail.com

We can further discuss this list and other topics regarding music!

1) "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" - The Beatles

2) "The Dark Side Of The Moon" - Pink Floyd

3) "Stand Up" - Jethro Tull

4) "Electric Ladyland" - Jimi Hendrix

5) "Vol. IV/ZOSO"- Led Zeppelin

6) "Machine Head" - Deep Purple

7) "Octopus" - Gentle Giant

8) "Red" - King Crimson

9) "2112" - Rush

10) "Fillmore East" - The Allmans Brothers Band

11) "One More For The Road" - Lynyrd Skynyrd

12) "Let It Bleed" - Rolling Stones

13) "Hot Rats" - Frank Zappa

14) "The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust" - David Bowie

15) "Cosmo´s Factory" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

16) "Cheap Thrills" - Big Brother & The Holding Company

17) "Surrealistic Pillow" - Jefferson Airplane

18) "Abraxas" - Santana

19) "Who´s Next" - The Who

20) "Buffalo Springfield" - Buffalo Springfield

21) "4-Way Street" - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

22) "Moving Pictures" - Rush

23) "Band of Gypsys" - Jimi Hendrix

24) "Tarkus" - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

25) "The Turn Of A Friendly Card" - Alan Parson´s Project

26) "Lark´s Tongue In Aspic" - King Crimson

27) "Vol. 4" - Black Sabbath

28) "Fragile" - Yes

29) "The Doors" - The Doors

30) "Music From Big Pink" - The Band

31) "With A Little Help From My Friends" - Joe Cocker

32) "Slowhand" - Eric Clapton

33) "Rising" - Rainbow

34) "Rocket To Russia" - Ramones

35) "Ten" - Pearl Jam

36) "Combat Rock" - The Clash

37) "The Wall" - Pink Floyd

38) "Vs". - Pearl Jam

39) "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

40) "We´re An American Band" - Grand Funk Railroad

Long Live Rock N´Roll!!!!

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

AMERICAN SPLENDOR

PAUL GIAMATTI STARS AS THE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE HARVEY PEKAR, A WORKING CLASS HERO WHO BECAME A NATIONAL SENSATION DURING THE 80´S WITH HIS REALISTIC CARTOONS DEPICTING HIS OWN DAILY ROUTINE.

BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

From the streets of Cleveland, OH, emerged the legend of “AMERICAN SPLENDOR”, a comic book which faithfully depicted the ups and downs of a man who represented an entire generation of blue-collar workers in an America increasingly dominated by the yuppie ideology of the 80´s. Our hero was a former V.A Hospital file clerk named “Harvey Pekar”, a middle aged, self-loathing character who suffered from intense depressive compulsions which would constantly keep him in a state of intense negativity. Everything, from his attitudes to his dressing code, would illustrate his total lack of self-esteem. Such careless conditions would lead Harvey to undergo two failed relationships, which would end up taking a severe toll on his personal life.

As of the second rejection, Harvey starts looking at life with different eyes. It´s when he has an epiphany and decides that he will make the most out of the ordinary. Tired of the childish thematics of super-hero and animal cartoons, he decides to create a comic book in which the main character is no one but himself. He then starts to narrate his own real life experiences through his stories, using the cartoon media as his vehicle. Illustrations are crafted by underground comic artists such as the legendary Robert Crumb, a personal friend of Harvey´s which he met back in the early 60´s in Cleveland. Everything which happens to Harvey´s life has the potential to become comic book material.

As soon as the comic books hit the street they become a major sensation, and do a great deal to help Pekar´s personal life. Through his own gloomy vision of the world which sorrounded him, Pekar was able to generate a very refined form of dark humor which conquered a series of fans throughout the nation. One of these fans ended up becoming his loving wife, Joyce Brabner.

On the screen, faithfully portraying Pekar, is Paul Giamatti. His impersonation is so near perfection, that even when Pekar himself appears in the movie it is quite hard to tell who is who. Giamatti´s acting is superb. He fills Pekar´s shoes with no difficulty and feels quite comfortable in them. Giamatti demonstrates great easiness in playing the self-loathing, all-time loser type. Similarities between his character “Miles” from “SIDEWAYS” and “Harvey Pekar” are quite obvious. Both share these common personality traits, which Giamatti so authentically delivers through his acting. In a supporting role is actress Hope Davis, playing Harvey´s wife, Joyce. Both Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis, in addition to their phenomenal acting skills, are aslo very noticeable for their physical similarities to the original Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner.

Another strong point which comes to the aid of this motion picture is its cartoon-like form of narrative with shots which very much resemble a comic book. Boxes and dialogue balloons are carefully inserted in certain moments through-out the movie as to enhance the look and feel of this cartoon-driven plot. Animated drawings of Harvey himself interact with Paul Giamatti´s character, a graphic resource which adds much credibility and interest to the picture as a whole.

With an interesting solid plot and grandiose acting by Paul Giamatti, “AMERICAN SPLENDOR” is destined to become a cult classic. It is one of those movies which so brilliantly deals with the weaknesses of human character and the possibilities of turn-arounds in life. Finally, it also explores a genre which many times can become dull by the exaggerations and misconducts which are so common when exploring biographies. In this case, the theme was sharply conducted by director Robert Pulcini, who did a great job in leveling the characters´ virtues and limitations without letting one overshadow the other.

***** FIVE STARS - A CULT CLASSIC !!!!

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

THE AVOCADO AVALANCHE

PEARL JAM´s ASTOUNDING COMEBACK WITH ONE OF THE MOST AWAITED ALBUMS OF 2006 PROVES THAT THE SEATTLE BASED QUINTET HAS BEEN MASTERFUL IN THE ART OF REMAINING A RELEVANT VOICE FOR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF ROCK AFICIONADOS.

BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

It was with the first jamming power chords of their anthemic and revolutionary debut album “TEN”, back in 1991, that Pearl Jam really brushed up the rusty edges of mainstream rock´s conformism and lack of creativity of the previous decade. Now, fifteen years, more than half a dozen studio albums and over one hundred official bootlegs later, this colossal musical mammoth - bred from the fusion of Hendrix´s bluesy guitar lines and elements of 70´s classic rock - returns from a 4-year creative hiatus with an enthusiastic appetite for re-conquering its throne in the Alternative Rock circuit.

With a tempting overdose of heavily distorted guitar driven tunes, finely calibrated with a pure dose of freshly revitalized and angst-filled lyricism, “PEARL JAM”, the Seattle quintet´s 8th studio achivevement to date, also known informally among fans as the “Avocado Album”, has rapidly established itself as a promising new milestone for the band, quite nearly duplicating the “sound and feel” of the early 90´s primal grunge atmosphere.

What most fans might have realized by now with this release is that gone are the days of Vedder´s personal lament and melodrama. Instead, the plot that “PEARL JAM” so merciless and competently explores through-out most of its tracks concerns a series of unfolding events which are all direct by-products of crass post-9/11 domestic and foreign affairs policies. Ultimately, with its sharp stinging verses aimed at the Bush Administration, the album is a wake-up call for world-wide alertness. Such thesis is revealed true by the content of songs such as “World Wide Suicide”, “Life Wasted”, “Army Reserve”, and “Marker In The Sand”.

Eddie Vedder and Company evoke nostalgic glories of an era when the Seattle quintet was a fearless locomotive of youthful bliss - a time when the group´s performances were marked by its frontman´s outrageous defiance of gravity, as he leaped for the crowd through remarkable stage-dives. In addition to Vedder´s undeniable charisma and astounding vocal qualities, Pearl Jam´s reputation as a state-of-the-art musical act has also been relying on the thrusting machine-gun riffing power of guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready. The “kitchen” has always been subject to constant drummer replacements during the band´s history. However, as of the 1998 “LIVE ON TWO LEGS” tour, bassist Jeff Ament finally found a permanent drumming force in the figure of the virtuoso-percussionist Matt Cameron.

Whether “PEARL JAM” is your very first-hand experience with the band, or if you´re a seasoned die-hard fan striving along the last 15 years accompanying the band´s musical trajectory, the least you can expect is a thrilling rush of musical ecstasy provided by one of the band´s most mature and relevant accomplishments to date. Although not always as dazzling as the first three releases, “PEARL JAM” is a mandatory pick for any serious rock junkie.

***** FIVE STARS! The boys are back in business!!!

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

SYNESTHETIC LUNATIC

A POEM BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

A Synesthetic Lunatic is intensely born,
when the infamous 3 provocatively touch the tongue.
Consonants of laughter have suddenly sprung,

as a vivid patchwork of staining tones changes form.

Its asperity hazily pervades the airwaves of thought.
My senses now seem to stand aloof from their meaning.
What are these strange colors I am now listening to?
And this funny distinct odor they´re leaving behind?
I try to grab them, but they all seem to vanish away.
Wait a minute! My senses have really gone astray!
I am really thinking in disarray!
Is it all too late to reminisce today?
Will my memories irrevocably decay?
A temporary lapse of consciousness takes place.
And the colors... they have grown terribly sour.
They don´t sound, or feel or look the same.
Their puzzling effect will be felt in the following hour,
no matter how loud I may scream or shout.
They might even send me to la-la-land!
Why then have I dropped the infamous three?
Maybe because I could´nt stand my look and feel.

Perhaps distorting my senses would´ve re-shaped myself.
That´s why the Synesthetic Lunatic became real.
To free myself from self-loathing hell.

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

FROM HOT SILVER SPOON

A POEM BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

Describe me such numbing relief,
one gotten from hot silver spoon.
A thin piercing prick, and gone´s the grief?
You say the world´s at your feet
as your mind thrusts past the moon.
Rollercoaster fun, that´s quite a treat.
How´s the ride: lingering or fading soon?
Your taste has gotten quite fond of it,
and has made it a hell of a gloomy habit.
Back and forth you sting yourself more
seeking for not much but a moment´s bliss.
Ecstasy now won´t last as long as the previous hit.
It will only go on for just a little bit.
Not enough for one used to getting all out of it.
Were you about to say that it was all a dream?
That these illusions you had were all but clean?
Well they drove you to the point of no return.
Your fate subtracted the bulk of my concerns.
Not much is left now from what was left to burn.
Just the dimming flame drawn from hot silver spoon.

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

IT WAS 40 YEARS AGO TODAY...

"IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, SGT. PEPPER TAUGHT THE BAND TO PLAY...". JUNE 1ST, 1967 - IT WAS WITH THIS CATCHY INTRODUCTION THAT THE BEATLES LAUNCHED THEIR MOST AMBITIOUS AND ORIGINAL RECORDED PROJECT TO DATE. AT THE ZENITH OF THE PSYCHADELIC WAVE, THE FAB-FOUR ESTABLISHED A REMARKABLE AND UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGH IN THE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC.

BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

In a decade marked by social and ideological unrest, characterized by events such as the civil rights movements, the mounting tensions between the Soviet and American-led blocks and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius´s statement of “Make Love, Not War”, the world would witness Rock N´Roll´s third wave of rebellion crashing on the shores of conformity. As of June 1st, 1967, with the release of the state-of-the-art “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” album, nothing would ever be the same again in this planet, or at least nothing would “sound” the same.

The truth is that the Liverpool quartet revolutionized the music industry standards in vogue at that point, with the release of a conceptual album which modified – among many other things – the simplistic format of the “single” album replacing it for a more daring experience of multiple tracks on vinyl - "Sgt. Peppers" showcased a total of 13 songs. In addition to this major leap, “Sgt. Peppers” would introduce novelties such as fancy artwork for the cover, printed lyrics of the songs on the inner sleeves, a cut-it-yourself inlay with Sgt. Pepper´s chevrons & other band related memorabilia, and of course the most recent hi-tech recording techniques available at Abbey Roads Studios.

The depiction of the Beatles as the “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” was perhaps the ground-breaking concept which raised the bar on rock and roll from being a simple rustic musical style to becoming an outstanding form of media capable of establishing complex relationships with its audience as well as influencing their behaviour. From this point on, subsequent generations of bands would make use of this peculiar style of composition. Notorious examples range from The Who´s 1969 Opera-rock “Tommy” to Pink Floyd´s landmark 1973 “The Dark Side Of The Moon”, both of which have developed their song writing on recurring themes and motifs as to establish a conceptual framework for their songs.

The “Sgt. Peppers” album also gave consistency to an on-going avalanche of high caliber albums by other rock n´roll bands which were also surfing the hazy waves of musical psychedelia in 1967 - during that year rock titans such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Velvet Underground, and The Rolling Stones all released mind-altering works.

The music of “Sgt. Peppers” was heavily synesthetic in nature. At the apogee of the psychadelic movement, songs such as “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and the homonymous “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” were crafted with the use of sound textures and motifs which could arguably be touched, seen and even if the listener was daring enough smelled. In other words, these songs were so heavily influenced by the sorrounding beatnik/hippie “flower power” aura that they were themselves an open door leading to the expansion of the senses. These interlaced sensorial experiences were achieved mainly because of the Beatles´ ingenious musical ability. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were a breed apart in the select hall of musical geniouses, and their vein for musical experimentation, together with their avant-garde vision for the development of innovative ideas were accurately captured on magnetic tape at Abbey Road.

As impressive as it may seem, the 40th anniversary of “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” only proves that the band´s ahead-of-their-time thinking was capable of producing an atemporal classic which will continue to echo throughout the coming of ages.

***** FIVE STARS - AN ATEMPORAL CLASSIC!

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.

POLITICS IN JUNGLE BOOTS

A VIETNAM WAR DEPICTION THROUGH MOVIES.

BY: Fernando de Mello Pimentel

The world we see today, thrusted by a globalized set of integrated political and commercial trading practices, is arguably very dissimilar from the bi-polarized and ideologically lugubrious background of the 20th Century´s post World War II years, also known as the “Cold War”. At a time when an imaginary line divided the globe in two geopolitical blocks – the capitalist and socialist –, the United States and the former U.S.S.R were the two major players at the chessboard in charge of the strategy for the rest of the World´s fate. Both sides designated what was known at the time as their “Spheres of Influence”, which in practical terms meant that strategic alliances with other ideologically close countries were drawn with the sole purpose of achieving world-wide domination. Such concept was clearly materialized with the construction of the Berlin Wall (1961-1989), also known as “Iron Curtain”, which literarally divided the world into zones of capitalist and communist ideologies.

America´s role at the time was to secure the deployment of capitalist economical aid, political influence and military support to other areas of the world in detriment of Soviet communist regime expansion, and vice-versa. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the wars of Korea (1950-1953), Vietnam (1959-1975) and the Soviet-Afghan (1979-1989) and the constant and widespread fear of nuclear annihilation - at the verge of a massive arms race - were all under the spotlight of world foreign affair policies promoted by both parties. The Vietnam War was perhaps one of the most intriguing outcomes of this conflicted era. It has been increasingly depicted in countless hollywood productions and television series ever since the mid 70´s.

Debuting in 1978, in this sphere of cinematographic story telling, is Michael Cimino´s epic “The Deer Hunter”, which describes the friendship of 3 Pennsylvania steel workers of Rusyn ancestry. As strong and realistic as this tale is, perhaps no other film is as psychological and nerve-wrecking as Francis Ford Coppola´s “Apocalypse Now”, with its intense narrative about an american special forces elite soldier having gone totally insane in the jungles of south asia and having decided to take matters by his own hands and methods. This 1979 motion picture has stirred up audiences around the globe by portraying the horrors of war and its tormenting effects on both civilians and military personnel. Embracing all of this chaotic nature is the fictional Nung River, which metaphorically stands for Colonel Kurtz´s gradual but irreversible psychological navigation towards a derranging stream of consciousness which undeniably led him to cross over to the dark side of mental sanity.

While “The Deer Hunter” was a film about friendship ties dilacerated by mental breakdown caused by imprisonment in Vietnamese P.O.W camps and the unbearable hardships of coming home, and “Apocalypse Now” was a harshly psychological metaphor for military desertion and misconduction of War, Oliver Stone´s 1986 auto-biographical “Platoon” is the definite account on the sheer loss of innocence every young enlisted man underwent during his tour of duty. In the movie, Stone explores the 25th Infantry Division´s Bravo Company Platoon as a microcosm which emblematizes the Pentagon´s controversial and misleading military policy to restrain communist expansion in southeast asia.

Political and ideological clashes erupt between the outfit´s two main leaders – Staff Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias – triggering a polarizing conflict within the platoon which precipitates the decay of morale. The inoperative Lieutenant Wolfe is incapable of controlling the ongoing joust within his group. His total lack of authority over the platoon is accurately portrayed throughout the movie and is somehow Stone´s testimony on America´s incompetence in directing the war.

Politics is a recurring theme in “Platoon” which uncompromisingly displays the military´s unquenchable thirst for power. While Sergeant Barnes is the personification of the ambitious quest for unlimited power, Sergeant O´Neil represents a submissive class of ‘boot-licking” scoundrels who will give unconditional support to their superior officers in exchange of personal benefits. On the extreme opposite end lies Sergeant Elias, a hippie humanist who cares for his fellow men as if they were his own blood. Elias is an authentic crusader who has been in country long enough - at least three complete tours – to become completely acquainted to the devastating sub-products of war and thus form a solid contrary opinion about it – traces of pacifism can actually be inferred by his non-violent behaviour and clear pursuit of escapism. His natural leadership skills spontaneously blossom as he constantly finds himself supporting and coaching rookies who have just been freshly shipped into the combat zone. On the other hand, Sergeant Barnes gains similar respect from his men by casting terror among both foes and friendlies – which pretty much builds his reputation on being feared. Although morally distinct in character, both leaders are equally sharp on combat skills and military tactics.

In addition to the testimonial nature of the film, “Platoon” is also renowned for its scenes of graphic and verbal violence which have been warmly captured by Stone while in duty. “Platoon” is arguably one of the most authentic and visceral movies to depict the tragedies and misfortunes of an entire generation of Americans living during the cold-war era. It also realistically depicts the crude “Politics in Jungle Boots” of a nation struggling to find its role in a Post-World War II nazi-fascist free world.

All Rights Reserved - 2007 FPimentel Poems & Publishing Co.