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The Divine Comedy

created by arcterex

(thing) by slipsuss (?) (print)   ?   Sat Nov 13 1999 at 8:48:02

A 14th century epic poem written by Dante Alligheri, responsible for transforming the Christian concept of the afterlife. The work details a traveler's autobiographical journey through three levels: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

(thing) by Orange Julius (16.4 hr) (print)   ?   Sun May 21 2000 at 17:01:27

Milla Jovovich's debut album. The 1994 album features the buzukie, dulcimer, mandolin, ukulele, penny whistle, kalimba, harmonium, hurdy-gurdy, and bamboo flute, as well as more traditional instrumentation. The result is a light, ethereal sound with Milla's vocals as the centerpiece.

Track Listing:


(thing) by danlowlite (3.7 y) (print)   ?   Mon Sep 25 2000 at 6:37:52

A trip through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, as told by Dante Alighieri. This has been noded for your theological pleasure, but it's also a hell of a story.

See:
Inferno - Contents
Purgatorio - Contents
Paradiso - Contents

(thing) by Rancid_Pickle (3.7 mon) (print)   ?   Thu Oct 26 2000 at 9:29:45

Additional information about Millas The Divine Comedy album, from Colin's 'official' Milla Jovovich fan website:


When Milla was signed by SKB Records on the basis of a demo she cut at age 12, she quickly learned how much input certain producers expected from their artists: none. They presented her with some bubble-gum pop cover tunes designed to be released as singles with a five-week life span on the international dance charts; she initially complied, then balked, insisting on using her poetry for lyrics and recording her own material. The impasse was resolved in her favor; SBK eventually relenquished creative control and those embarrassing early sessions never saw the light of day.

Released in April 1994, Milla's The Divine Comedy remains one of the best kept musical secrets of the 90's. Acoustic, folky, and hard to categorize, Milla's music is similar to that of Kate Bush (who she cites as a major influence) and Sarah McLachlan. Her rich voice is coupled with seldom used instruments like the mandolin, dulcimer, and flute to create an oddly unique and airy sound. The final track, In a Glade, is a beautiful traditional Ukrainian folk song that Milla sings in her native tongue.

Chris Brenner, Milla's longtime friend and bandmate, heard Bjorn, David, & Johna playing on a street corner in Paris, and "hired" them on the spot. They toured after The Divine Comedy was released although they didn't play on the album.

Where did the name The Divine Comedy come from? Let's ask Milla . . . "When I was first working on the sketch for the album cover my mom introduced me to a young Russian artist named Alexis Steele. I looked at his sketch for the cover and I saw that struggle - all the struggle that I'm singing about. It IS the divine comedy."

I think the critics would have given The Divine Comedy rave reviews if it hadn't been a supermodel's side project. It got pretty good reviews regardless.

Two different videos were made for Gentleman Who Fell - the first version was directed by Lisa Bonet, featured Harry Dean Stanton, and was in color. Milla wasn't satisfied with the way it came out and decided to make a new video (black & white). The b&w one is basically a pastiche of Maya Deren's famous avant-garde short film Meshes of the Afternoon (1943).

Milla toured for about 6 months in 1994 following the release of The Divine Comedy.


(thing) by chromaticblue (3.6 y) (print)   ?   Sun Mar 11 2001 at 4:17:27

The Divine Comedy was begun by Dante in about 1307. Its completion took place shortly before his death. In the Divine Comedy, Dante guides us (in verse) through what he imagines as hell (Inferno), purgatory (Purgatorio), and heaven (Paradiso), in that order. In each of these three realms the poet meets with mythological, historical, and contemporary personages. These manifestations are representatives of faults or virtues in religion and society. Virgil, who to Dante is the symbol of reason, guides him through hell and purgatory. Beatrice, Dante's love, guides him through heaven.

Each text, except for the first (which has an added introduction), has a total of 33 cantos. The poem is written in "third rhyme." Because the poem was intended for Dante's contemporaries, he wrote it in Italian rather than Latin. The poem was titled "La Commedia" by Dante, but in 1555 was changed to "La Commedia Divina."

The Divine Comedy has been interpretted by scholars on four levels: literal, symbolic, moral, and mystical. It serves as a dramatization of Christian theology of this era, and the moral can be interpretted as "reaching purification and inner-peace can only be achieved through the guidance of reason and love."


(thing) by Kalkin (2.2 wk) (print)   ?   Mon Jun 11 2001 at 15:35:15

Introduction

The Divine Comedy is a British/Irish pop group led by the charismatic Neil Hannon. The Divine Comedy was first born in 1989 after Hannon came together with John McCullagh (Vocals) and Kevin Traynor (Drums) but the lineup has changed dramatically over the years.

The Divine Comedy blend pleasant ballad-based music, with intensely clever lyrics which often provide biting social commentary. Hannon, the driving force behind The Divine Comedy, has a pessimistic and often sarcastic take on modern society, which is implicit in his music.

Collaboration's with Joby Talbot, who was the BBC's Young Composer Of The Year in 1996 proved fruitful for the band and resulted in the wonderful album Casanova providing the band's first top 20 hits, with the elegantly composed, Something For The Weekend and The Frog Princess.

The brilliance of 1998's Fin De Siecle, earned The Divine Comedy more, throughly deserved, accolades such as their first top ten album, and a top 10 hit in National Express.


The Current Lineup

The Divine Comedy consists of
Neil Hannon, guitar, songwriter, vocals
Joby Talbot, piano
Bryan Mills, bass guitar
Ivor Talbot, guitar
Stuart Bates, Hammond organist
Rob Farrer, percussion


Releases

The Divine Comedy's releases to date are:

Fanfare for the Comic Muse (1989)

08/93
LP/CD

Ignorance Is Bliss
Indian Rain
Bleak Landscape
Tailspin
The Rise And Fall
Logic Vs Emotion
Secret Garden


Liberation (1993)

08/93
LP/CD

Festive Road
Death of a Supernaturalist
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
I Was Born Yesterday
Your Daddy's Car
Europop
Timewatching
The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count
Queen of the South
Victoria Falls
3 Sisters
Europe By Train
Lucy


Promenade (1994)

03/94
CD/MC/LP

Bath
Going Downhill Fast
The Booklovers
A Seafood Song
Geronimo
Don't Look Down
When the Lights Go Out All Over Europe
The Summerhouse
Neptune's Daughter
A Drinking Song
Ten Seconds to Midnight
Tonight We Fly


Casanova (1996)

04/96
CD/MC/LP

Something For The Weekend
Becoming More Like Alfie
Middle-Class Heroes
In & Out Of Paris & London
Charge
Songs Of Love
The Frog Princess
A Woman Of The World
Through A Long & Sleepless Night
Theme From Casanova
The Dogs & The Horses


Fin de Siecle (1998)

08/98
CD/LCD/MC/LP
SETCD/CDL/MC/LP057

Generation Sex
Thrillseeker
Commuter Love
Sweden
Eric The Gardener
National Express
Life On Earth
The Certainty Of Chance
Here Comes The Flood
Sunrise


A Secret History - The Best Of The Divine Comedy (1999)

08/99
CD/LP/MC
SETCD/CDL/LP/MC100

National Express
Something For The Weekend
Everybody Knows (Except You)
Generation Sex
Becoming More Like Alfie
The Summerhouse
Your Daddy's Car
The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count
The Frog Princess
Gin Soaked Boy
Lucy
Songs Of Love
In Pursuit Of Happiness
I've Been To A Marvellous Party
The Certainty Of Chance
Too Young To Die
Tonight We Fly


Regeneration (2001)

03/01
CD/MC

Timestretched
Bad Ambassador
Perfect Lovesong
Note To Self
Lost Property
Eye Of The Needle
Love What You Do
Dumb It Down
Mastermind
Regeneration
The Beauty Regime


(thing) by arcterex (4.7 mon) (print)   ?   Thu Nov 29 2001 at 21:41:47

Reach

To reach to the stars,
angel wings flutter about,
storms brew,
goblins dance.

Hair blown by the breeze,
sifting serpentine slithers below,
capturing innocence.

Bones encircle the last mandolin,
and angels surge the heavens,
light chasing dark,
dark chasing light.

Rotting red scales,
and cragged hands grasp,
groping for white flesh,
as it ascends.

Inspired by Milla Jovovitch's album The Divine Comedy

Sept 1998, Reprinted from my own poetry webpage (with permission from me).


printable version
chaos

Inferno - Contents Divine Comedy Purgatorio - Contents Paradiso - Contents
How would you like it if they took your subculture and made it a theme night? Milla Jovovich Inferno Purgatory
Paradise Dante Promenade liberation
Generation X Nine Billion Names of God Quadrophenia Fin de siècle
sissy rock I just spent $175.00 on black silk underwear Dante Alighieri Divina Commedia
Dante's use of threes in the Inferno She ain't heavy, she's a mother A bummer of a job, after school A Secret History
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