Best live albums, 'Partir un jour' and Tony Todd's final bow: This week’s culture catch-up
In this week’s culture catch-up, we dive into the live albums every collector needs on vinyl, deliver our verdict on 'Partir Un Jour' - the opening film at Cannes - and bid farewell to Tony Todd in the latest Final Destination movie.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/16/best-live-albums-partir-un-jour-and-tony-todds-final-bow-this-weeks-culture-catch-up
Spark your senses, wake your wonder. Euronews Culture seeks to show creativity in action and inspire our audience to explore the world through the five senses. Start your journey through the best of Europe's arts, gastronomy, traditions and high-end craftsmanship.
In this week’s culture catch-up, we dive into the live albums every collector needs on vinyl, deliver our verdict on 'Partir Un Jour' - the opening film at Cannes - and bid farewell to Tony Todd in the latest Final Destination movie.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/16/best-live-albums-partir-un-jour-and-tony-todds-final-bow-this-weeks-culture-catch-up
Spark your senses, wake your wonder. Euronews Culture seeks to show creativity in action and inspire our audience to explore the world through the five senses. Start your journey through the best of Europe's arts, gastronomy, traditions and high-end craftsmanship.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to another edition of our Cultural Review. I'm Tecumbo Salarco and joining me is my esteemed colleague David Morricant. How are you this week?
00:09I'm alright. I'm on a gold throne. It's quite nice. I like it.
00:13It is only what you deserve. This week we're going to talk about vintage things. Talking about gold thrones and not just talking about me aging like a fine bottle of wine.
00:24We're talking about music and in particular Pink Floyd at Pompeii. Tell us about that legendary performance which is now on vinyl, breaking all records.
00:33It is and it's been released last week. I actually bought my copy of Pink Floyd. Yes, MCMLXXYII, 1972.
00:46And yeah, no, it's a fantastic album. It's the first time it's been released on vinyl.
00:51And essentially it was originally the soundtrack to the film of the same name by Adrian Matten.
00:58And it's been retooled by a prog legend, Stephen Wilson, and it essentially shows Pink Floyd on the cusp of brilliance.
01:10This is post-Sid Barrett. So they moved away from the whole psychedelic rock part and they were starting to get a bit more experimental.
01:17But this is still pre-Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, all those ones that everyone does know.
01:23And Animals, one of my personal favorites.
01:26And essentially this concert has become the stuff of legends.
01:30They performed in this empty Roman amphitheater in Pompeii.
01:34And yeah, it's just been re-released for the first time.
01:38It sounds great.
01:39And you hear essentially songs from some of their lesser-known albums, like A Saucer Full of Secret.
01:46A personal favorite of mine, Uma Guma.
01:48Especially this song called Keffel With That Axe Eugene, which just has a lot of whispering.
01:54And all of a sudden just Roger Waters just starts screaming as if somebody's just been repeatedly stabbed.
02:00And it just reminds you quite to what extent Pink Floyd, I'm going to prop it up so people can actually see it.
02:08Yeah, why not?
02:08Exactly.
02:09It just reminds you to what extent Pink Floyd were one of the greatest live acts in the world at a time.
02:17You know, we've often spoken in the past about how, you know, the record industry, the vinyl industry is like going through the roof in terms of sales across Europe.
02:26So give us, if you like, for now, some of your recommendations of other albums people should be trying to get their hands on.
02:33Live albums, you mean?
02:34Yeah, absolutely.
02:34Right, okay.
02:35Well, because I've become essentially the carrot top of journalism, I've brought props.
02:40Brilliant.
02:40So I've bought three records.
02:42I wrote a piece on Neuronews Culture about, in my mind, the top ten records, live albums that people should own.
02:50But I've selected three.
02:52These are the essential ones in my mind.
02:54There's Bill Withers live at Carnegie Hall.
02:57Now, this was recorded in 1973.
03:01And it's worth saying that I've chosen with all these picks, I'm going to give it to you.
03:05Oh, so you should.
03:06Thank you very much.
03:07That's mine, by the way.
03:08Not even my birthday.
03:08You take that home, I will key your car.
03:11But the thing is, is that the majority of the albums, all the albums I've chosen are from the 1970s.
03:18Because in my mind, that is the decade where, the golden age, shall we say, of live album recordings.
03:24So yeah, Bill Withers, at the time, this up-and-coming star, just coming on, you know, the Carnegie Hall, one of the greatest stages in the world,
03:34and owning it like an absolute seasoned pro.
03:36But the thing about this record in particular, Bill Withers live at Carnegie Hall, is the joy that emanates from this performance.
03:44You've got all the hits like Use Me and Ain't No Sunshine.
03:48But there's a communion with the audience.
03:51There's really this kind of weird sense of melancholia being mixed with joy.
03:57And it's an album that I think, in my mind, every self-respecting music fan or record owner should own.
04:04Okay, well, I should certainly keep it very, keep it very carefully.
04:09Just put it down.
04:09I'm just going to carefully put it over here.
04:10Carefully put it down.
04:12You've got one of my favourite records in your hands.
04:14Very, very, very, very carefully.
04:16Tell me more about your next pick.
04:18Right, well, this one's near and dear because you know how much I love this artist.
04:22Because I mention him, I think, on a daily basis at Euronews.
04:26Almost.
04:26It's Tom Waits.
04:28Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner from 1975.
04:32Now, the thing is about this record, it's his third.
04:35And there's a debate as to whether this is actually a live album or not.
04:41Because the thing is, it's recorded in a studio.
04:44He rented a studio for two nights, rearranged the tables and everything like that, invited record executives, friends and other members of the music industry, and essentially performed it live.
04:58So you get audience participation, you get laughter, you get the feel.
05:02This is genuinely an album that captures the mood of being in a 1970s jazz club, where you can almost kind of feel and smell the hash browns and the coffee and the cigarettes coming from the diner next door kind of thing.
05:19A diner much like the one there is on the album cover.
05:22I'm going to give you that.
05:23Well, thank you.
05:24I was just thinking health and safety wouldn't allow many of those things.
05:27Well, exactly.
05:28But the thing is, it feels like you're essentially with this record privy to a jam session.
05:34And it is anything but an improvised jam session, because he's joined by these very seasoned jazz musicians.
05:41But the thing is, is that I can't think of any live record that plunges you, transports you so deeply into a time and place.
05:52And it's one of those albums that really benefits from being listened to from start to finish without any skips.
05:56Because, again, much like the Pink Floyd, it may be an unconventional live album, because for Pink Floyd, there was no live audience.
06:06They recorded live, but there was no one there in the amphitheater with them.
06:10Here, yes, it may be a live experiment as opposed to a straight live album, because it's a curated audience.
06:18But it's wonderful, and it's wonderful in the way Tom Waits is this kind of showman.
06:23I mean, he's this jive-talking, whiskey-soaked troubadour.
06:27You know, he opens the set by just saying, a good inebriated evening to you all.
06:34You know, what's the lowdown, Brown?
06:35Give me the scoop, Betty Boop kind of thing.
06:37And it really speaks to a time.
06:40And, again, that is an absolute must-own, in my opinion.
06:44Well, tell us more about your next choice.
06:46Well, this is my third and final choice, and I actually omitted to put this in my list, in my article.
06:54Why?
06:54Well, because I wanted to kind of decade-hop.
06:57I didn't want it to be only the 70s.
06:59I wanted to, you know, in my article, there's a little bit of Aretha Franklin, obviously some cash in there,
07:06Nirvana, Daft Punk as well, moving forward.
07:09But considering we're talking about the 70s, there's one that I really, really love by Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick, called A Man and a Woman.
07:18Now, it is the most sinfully boring title that there is, but it says what it, you know, does on the tin.
07:24And it's an incredible album.
07:26It's these two R&B soul icons coming together and doing this duet.
07:35And it's fantastic.
07:37There's loads of medleys of Baccarat songs, and it's a very sensual album.
07:44This is a little bit sexy, Tokes.
07:47Oh, I've got to.
07:48Oh, you've never asked.
07:50Well, after all these years, that it should happen here with cameras rolling.
07:55But, yeah, there's, I mean, I just don't know what to do with myself, kind of merge with Walk On By, which, as you know, is one of my favorite songs of all time.
08:03There's, you know, Say A Little Prayer with By The Time I Get To Phoenix.
08:08It's just, it really works, and it's a tribute to just saying if you put the right two people together, magic can happen.
08:16And that is, again, one of my favorite live albums.
08:19David, sadly, we're not at Cannes this year, but you have had the opportunity to see the film which was shown at the opening ceremony.
08:29What did you make of it?
08:30Yeah, as you say, we're sadly not in Cannes, but I did get to see a film called Partir un Jour, Leave One Day.
08:38Which is the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival this year.
08:41It's this French film, a debut film by Amélie Bonin.
08:45And it's worth noting, before I get into the film, that this is the first time that the Cannes Film Festival has actually opened with a debut film.
08:53So, you know, quite impressive.
08:55Significant?
08:57Significant in the sense that it's fantastic that it's not only a female filmmaker, but, you know, maybe diversifying a little bit.
09:04And, let's face facts, like any festival-goer knows, the opening gala film is never a great one.
09:12And so I was really rooting for this.
09:15And, sadly, that pattern continues.
09:19Now, this isn't a complete disaster.
09:21But, I mean, let me first of all tell you about it.
09:23It follows a character called Cécile, which is played by a singer called Juliette Armanet, who's excellent in this film, it's worth saying.
09:31And she's just won a Top Chef competition.
09:36Yeah, she's very well-known in France.
09:37She is, Juliette Armanet.
09:39She's fantastic.
09:40And in the film, so she wins Top Chef, and she's about to open a restaurant in Paris, this very fancy restaurant.
09:46And she's dating her co-worker.
09:49And because her father has taken ill, she goes back home to the family roadside restaurant.
09:56And there she will bump into an old flame called Raphael, and who knows where it goes from there.
10:04So, basically, it's this very familiar rom-com construction, hype, career woman in the big city, going back to a small town and rekindling with those really earnest values.
10:18And, oh, maybe there is still a spark.
10:20And the thing is, it does this, but as a semi-musical.
10:27It's a bit strange, because at first, all the actors are singing themselves, but it essentially starts off with them at one point singing a Stromae song.
10:38Then it goes quite deep into the 90s with Celine Dion, Axel Red, and this song, Partir un jour, hence the title, by the band To Be Free, which were essentially the Gaelic equivalent of Take That.
10:53They were atrocious.
10:55But the song is very well-utilized in this film.
10:59The problem is, it doesn't really commit to the bit.
11:01It feels more like a half-assed karaoke than it does a proper musical, unlike films like On Conneit la Chanson, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les Chansons d'Amour, as a more recent one.
11:15Here, it just feels gimmicky.
11:17And there aren't that many songs.
11:19And what you're left with is something that's kind of bland.
11:24There's not much that happens with the cooking subplot, the family subplot we've seen a thousand times before.
11:31In its defense, there is a love triangle that is hinted at, but not quite kind of, you know, embraced, which is good, because we're dealing more with female agency rather than, oh, will it be him or will it be the other one?
11:47But the problem is, is it does nothing with that female agency.
11:50So, it is a disappointing film, unfortunately, but it is, I will say, not a film that you can really get mad at.
11:57And there is a really cute dog in this film called Buku's, after Paul Buku's.
12:02After Paul Buku's, the famous chef.
12:04Exactly.
12:05So, if that's not worth going to and spending a few hours of your time this week, what are you recommending?
12:11Well, it will come as no surprise to you, because I'm a big horror fan.
12:16Yeah, Final Destination, Bloodlines.
12:18Do you like your horror?
12:20Yeah, I do love my horror, and in this case, it's, well, I don't know, I mean, have you seen many Final Destination films?
12:26I've seen the first one a long time ago, but I didn't make it through to the end.
12:31I think it was one of those nights when it was like, I was looking for a rom-com.
12:34Okay. Well, the whole series, essentially, is based on this spec script for the X-Files, originally.
12:42And, you know, throughout the six films, because Bloodlines is the sixth film,
12:47it follows these kind of nose-bleedingly annoying teenagers getting bludgeoned in the most creative of ways,
12:54but also just originally having to cheat death, because they had a premonition.
12:58And here, what's interesting about Bloodlines is it kind of really embraces this hallowed trope within the horror genre,
13:05which is intergenerational trauma, the things that are passed on, whether you like it or not.
13:11And this is what happens. The title, Bloodlines, should tell you plenty.
13:15And, on the whole, this is good.
13:18This is a more goofy, maybe, and definitely more self-aware installment,
13:23because, essentially, by this point, everyone knows about it.
13:28And speaking of deaths and creative deaths, which this has plenty of,
13:32our colleague Amber did a whole top ten of the best Final Destination lists,
13:38and you can look forward to her review,
13:40considering I've given up my weekly review spot to her,
13:45because she's as much a horror fan as I am.
13:47So, yeah, no, there's plenty to enjoy about Final Destination Bloodlines.
13:51As per every installment, a lot of creative kills, and I'm always very impressed.
13:55You know, I kind of picture myself in the writer's room thinking,
13:58how do they come up with some of these?
13:59Because they transform the most mundane daily events into absolute death traps.
14:04But the thing is, is that while Bloodlines does run out of steam towards the end,
14:09there's no doubt about that.
14:11One of the real reasons to go see it, in my mind,
14:14is to see Tony Todd for the last time on the big screen
14:17as William Bloodworth, he sadly left us.
14:21And, yeah, no, what a figure in horror as well.
14:24I mean, Candyman and all of that.
14:26Candyman I've seen.
14:27Yeah, fantastic film.
14:29One of my favourites.
14:30So, yeah, so no, Bloodlines, definitely worth seeing.
14:33Again, not extraordinary, but for fans of the franchise,
14:36they will definitely get what they paid for.
14:38And certainly it taught me a very valuable lesson, this film.
14:42If you have nipple piercings, do not go in an MRI machine.
14:48I'll leave it at that.
14:50I think you know what's going to happen to the nipple piercings.
14:52I'm moving very uncomfortably here in my seats.
14:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:55Sphincters tighten because, oh.
14:58But, yeah.
15:00So that is, I'd recommend that people go see Bloodlines,
15:04if they have the stomach for it,
15:06sadly rather than Partir Un Jour,
15:08which, as much as I love musicals and romantic comedies,
15:11just didn't do it for me.
15:13Okay, well, David, thank you very much for those reviews.
15:16Thanks for joining me this week,
15:18and thank you, too, for joining us for Cultural Review.
15:20We'll be back next week with more on what's on our cultural radar.
15:23We'll be back next week with more on our cultural radar.