Paris syndrome

The eiffel tower, as seen from Montmatre, taken 15/11/11

Someone I met in Paris mentioned 'Paris syndrome' to me the other day when I was complaining about my current living situation in France. For those who are unfamiliar with it, I am living just outside of Paris, which, although close, is undeniably different from living in one of Paris' 20 arrondissements,which have easy transport links that run throughout the city. Living here in the countryside, I have experienced feelings of frustration and irritation that the sexy Parisian life-style that many Brits dream of is just outside of my grasp.

So on hearing about Paris syndrome I was pleased to learn that I may not be the only person who has had these feelings....and then I looked it up. If you haven't looked it up already, here is a little extract from the wikipedia page (granted, not always scientifically accurate, but you get the gist):

'Paris syndrome is a transient psychological disorder encountered by some people, in most cases from Japan, visiting or vacationing in Paris.'

Isn't it a  funny thought?

'Renoux [some bloke] indicates that Japanese media, magazines in particular, often depict Paris as a place where most people on the street look like stick-thin models and most women dress in high-fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, while in reality French high-fashion brands are mainly for foreign consumers, and the French population are far more overweight than the Japanese population.'

At this point, I came to the conclusion that this is not the problem I have been having.

'[It] is characterized by a number of psychiatric symptoms such as acute delusional states, hallucinations, feelings of persecution (perceptions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization, depersonalization, anxiety, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating, etc.'

Definitely not.
I would like to confirm that I have not been dizzily wondering around the countryside just outside of Paris, feeling persecuted and hallucinatory.

In fact, although living outside of Paris has not been ideal on a social front, I don't get daily encounters with so-called angry 'Parigots' and the stress which accompanies metropolitan life (instead I get the stresses that accompany rural life!). On weekends, however, I am luckier than many and I get to discover this beautiful city which slowly unveils its mysteries each time I go in. I have tried to take photos which are less predictable than the average tourist, I do not know whether I have pulled it off or not, but have a look.

Paris by night with the moon watching over the Seine

A view of Paris from the new Pavillion Amont in the musée d'Orsay

Bon journée

This first blog is rightfully going to be devoted to the subject of something very dear to me: Bon Iver.  This is of particular interest today because they have released the 'world's first' deluxe edition of the second album, the innovatively titled Bon Iver. I say 'world's first' as it is not (see Kanye West's Runaway full-length...). Bon Iver's deluxe consists of a set of beatuifully shot videos, designed to accompany the songs of their second album.

Being a die-hard fan of Bon Iver, I will generally not hear a word against them. A friend once bestowed unto them the name 'moany iver', which didn't sit right with me. Their first album, For Emma, For Ever Ago, is hard to dislike; with heartbreak seeping out each time Justin ventures into falsetto and from every perfectly formed crotchet. For me, Bon Iver had a lot to live up to; some big metaphorical shoes were being polished by its predecessor, but could they be filled?

And so, sitting in my Edinburgh kitchen one evening, I heard the first run through of Calgary on the radio. My first thought was 'christmas' - always a negative - it felt slow and user unfriendly. Being a 'user' myself, I was, dare I say it, disappointed. As with most things, however, if you water it with time, it grows. The album in full is still growing for me, and it has been a slow-grow. But with each listen, I follow a different line of the music, a different path put down by Justin & co., and I notice new spine-tingling things. Just now I heard Beth/ Rest for probably the 25th time and got goosebumps for the first.

So to the question of the day. Is the deluxe version worth anything? Justin claims that the videos were created to transport people on the subway/ underground/ metro to a place much less crowded & sweaty; in other words an Apple flavoured concoction for metropolitan i-people (redemonstrated by the fact that it can only be downloaded from itunes). I like the visuals, photography fan or not, it hard not to appreciate the i-mac mirroring effects. All digs aside, they used a nice camera and it looks good for it. However, how necessary is it really? To me it feels like 39.3 minutes of screensaver, and although I choose my screensavers because they look nice, I'm not going to sit and watch it for hours. That aside, the time-lapse flower growing in 'Towers', the bouncing/static effects in Hinnom, TX and the cool refresh of Holocene are bound to wake up any sleeping robot on their way to work.

Give the album a watch and see what you think.