Grokgazer; Opera Imaginaire

Grok Gazer is basically an extended screen saver of fractals and other pattern-oriented imagery set to the blandest music Todd Rundgren is capable of making (it's hard to believe that this is the same musical madman who produced the wonderfully deranged 1972 double-LP Something/Anything?). Without hallucinogenic drugs, few will stick around...especially when the second five minutes turns out to be just like the first, and so on.Opera Imaginaire, on the other hand, is--to my knowledge--the first partially computer-animated opera music video compilation in the world. I thought, if nothing else, this would be an excellent opportunity to introduce my 12-year-old son Chris to a topic that I myself have almost zero interest in: namely, opera. He was particularly captivated by the second piece, an excerpt from Verdi's Rigoletto which featured an endless series of classic female nudes cavorting across the screen. The third piece, a superb music video set to Bizet's Carmen, features an impressive dancing cards sequence cooler than the one in Disney's Alice in Wonderland, but the rest of the music videos vary widely in quality. Other musical selections include highlights from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, Puccini's Madame Butterfly, and Verdi's La Traviata. Opera buffs are sure to get a kick out of this--others will probably be bored after the flashy opening third of the program. Recommended. (R. Pitman)