Rendering 14 (Music)

The article under analysis is published in The Telegraph under the title “Laura Marling, Once I Was An Eagle, review.” It was contributed by Neil McCormick on 23 May 2013 and takes a critical view of the modern singer Laura Marling’s new album.

The author of the article is evidently in favour of Laura and her works. In his words, there is something rare and special about her, as the singer has a poetic elegance and fluid, roots musicality and a uniqueness that makes comparison gauche, a coolly cerebral quality that maintains tension between her poised singing and playing and the deep, dark depths of her fierce and sensual songs. So, the album ‘Once I Was An Eagle’ touches places other records don’t even get close to.

Then some comment on the album itself is carried. According to McCormick, the opening is quietly audacious, seven tracks morphing one into the other so that it is almost impossible to pick them apart, riding on the thrum of Marling’s open tuned guitar and slinky finger-picked motifs, subtly shaded by Ruth De Turbeville’s cello and bursts of producer Ethan John’s percussion. In view of the aforesaid, it’s also worth mentioning that Marling has a way of speak-singing that suggests preternatural wisdom, shifting with an audacious assurance from low register conversational tones to sweetly melodious high notes, weaving vocal melodies tightly around her delicate and precise guitar. This can be proved by the fact that, broken into two sections by a distorting cello interlude, the second half of the album features eight distinct songs, on which more instruments are subtly introduced. The mood gradually lightens, suggesting a journey towards self-acceptance and romantic hope, although that makes it sound twee, and there’s nothing twee about Marling. On the contrary, there is something predatory about her, a kind of exultance in female strength, so that Marling is both beast and master hunter.

Neil McCormick concludes by saying that he can’t quite pin down this album and that is one of the most appealing things about it; moreover, it is a masterpiece, despite the fact that the singer is only 23. I should say I haven’t heard anything about Laura Marling before and, despite having read such a positive review of her album, don’t feel like listening to her songs; but it’s only my conservative opinion.

Pleasure Reading: "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summary 6

1. Nothing special had happened in Maycomb by the middle of October except a few cases, when Bob Ewell tried to burgle Judge Taylor’s house and when a group of children made fun of two old ladies by hiding the women’s furniture. 2. However, a few days later Scout was invited to take part in a kind of performance about agriculture, where she had to wear a costume of pork. 3. Late in the evening, after everything was over, she went home together with her brother Jem and, somewhere in the middle of the way when there was nobody around, they heard some steps, evidently a man’s, beside them. 4. They ran, but it was too dark and Scout’s costume prevented her from moving fast, so she fell on the ground. 5. The girl felt someone trying to catch her, then heard some people fighting, one coughing badly, and saw a man running to their house with Jem on his hands. 6. After she arrived home, she learned that her brother was hurt a bit, as his hand was broken, that the man who had done an attempt to kill them was Bob Ewell, and that it was Boo, or Arthur Radley, who had saved the children. 7. Scout saw Mr. Radley to his house, and from that time she never met him again, though later she always felt grateful to him for everything he had done for their family.

Rendering 13 (Music)

The article I’m going to discuss is taken from The Guardian and is entitled “The Knife – review.” It was contributed by Dorian Lynskey on 10 May 2013 and considers the Swedish duo's new album Shaking the Habitual.

The author begins by saying that if The Knife’s current mission is to disrupt assumptions, then they’ve managed to do that, for the audience’s reactions are diverse: the people probably expected something like the new album: dense, challenging, more art than pop. However, they were mistaken, as, for example, for one of the songs, Raging Nun, a brightly clad dance troupe is revealed, banging out a chaotic rhythm on glow-in-the-dark percussion, midway between a tribal rite and the communal dance to Abba in Lukas Moodysson's movie Together; and so it proceeds. It’s evident that it isn’t the music that is confrontational, but the concept: the songs force you to question your prejudices about authenticity and live performance. It’s also necessary to note that the vocals are either mimed by different dancers or entirely disembodied, while ample spontaneity in the anarchic choreography, which often resembles a stage invasion, doesn’t present in the music.

To sum it up, the author is obviously in favour of this new group and their new album. From his point of view, The Knife are admired for warping sounds beyond identification and pitchshifting vocals to blur their gender, but one has to get used to their music, for it either leaves people buzzing with the invaluably rare delight, or in some cases provokes outraged disappointment. As for me, I’m a fan of quite another kind of music and wouldn’t be glad to visit such a concert. Yet, it’s clear that there is usually a listener for every song, and the ones of this group are certainly not an exception.

Pleasure Reading: "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summary 5

1. The judicial sitting was over and not in Tim Robinson’s favour. 2. At the same time, when the Finches got up the next morning, they found a lot of food on the table: some of the black population of Maycomb brought it to show their gratitude to Atticus for diligence. 3. However, not everything was so smooth with that case, for later Mr. Ewell met the lawyer to threaten to kill him one day, though the majority didn’t believe he would really keep his promise. 4. As for Robinson, he was sent to jail, but there was still some hope his case would be reconsidered, until several days later he made an attempt to escape from prison ad was shot to death. 5. Atticus went to visit his abandoned wife and children, but there was nothing he could do for them. 6. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout had to listen to what others thought about the events and only strengthened in their thought that most adults were completely unfair.

Pleasure Reading: "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summary 4

1. Apart from their aunt’s unwanted arrival, the children had another difficult situation to face, because it was high time for the trial concerning Tom Robinson’s case. 2. As their father was the defendant’s advocate, he was going to have a lot of trouble with the proceedings, for Robinson was a black person and everybody was ready to condemn him no matter whether he was guilty or not. 3. Once Atticus was nearly killed or at least badly injured by a group of unfriendly disposed people, but his daughter managed to move them to pity and thus saved the man. 4. Later she together with her brother and friend went to the local judicial court to see the trial itself. 5. It was evident from the beginning that the defendant was innocent, while the girl, who was said to have been raped by him, as well as her father were both lying. 6. Nevertheless, the jury returned the verdict “guilty” to Robinson, and nobody was able to do anything with that.

Pleasure Reading: "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summary 3 

1. Some more time passed, and Jem, who was now twelve and was going through his difficult adolescent period, nearly stopped being a good companion for his younger sister, for he was now very touchy and irritable. 2. As a result, he spent most of his time reading magazines and didn’t want to see anybody, so Scout had nothing to do and sat in kitchen with Calpurnia, their cook and household. 3. Once, when Atticus wasn’t at home, the old woman took the children to the church for black people with her to hear the mess. 4. At first some parishioners showed hostility to the brother and sister, but later became rather friendly. 5. Here in the church the children heard once more about Tom Robinson, whom the majority thought to be not guilty for what had happened with the white girl. 6. Having return at home, Jem and Scout were taken by surprise bu their Aunt Aleksandra’s unexpected visit. 7. It turned out that she had arrived here for a while to see about the children’s uprising, and soon the small Finches became bored with the woman’s constant cutting remarks concerning their behavior.