I know I talk about The Best Show on WFMU a whole lot on these pages, but even so, I really need to talk about this past week's show. For the last year or so, they've been introducing various candidates for the Newbridge Mayubinatorial Election, a once-every-decade extravaganza. The candidates all got there the same way, by amassing the requisite 37 signatures, and all made their annoucements with some sort of pancake breakfast. It's a very elaborate - and a very funny - thing.
Anyway, this week Tom Scharpling hosted the Mayubintatorial Debates, from the newly constructed Newbridge Debate Pavilion. Two thirds of the episode were taken up with Tom, Jon and Associate Producer Mike putting on a tour-de-force three-man show.
Some of the candidates:
- Hammerhead: A hardcore enthusiast who now lobbies to get more plastic into breakfast cereal and wants more violent pits at local rock shows.
- Zachary Brimstead, Esq: A 400lb barbershop singer and hates Newbridge. (You can listen to his first ever appearance, from back in 2000, here)
- Timmy von Trimble: Who is two inches tall and a white supremacist. Why?
- Marky Ramone: Drummer for the Ramones, condom salesperson, author of 'Hey Ho! Let's A Drummer's Life'. Big in Brazil.
- "Philly Boy" Roy Ziegler: Screenwriter, sandwich artist, Pencil salesman, Philadelphia Enthusiast
- Tor Halversom: Nefarious chocolatier who seems to strike fear into the heart of all the other candidates. Has a fat son.
- Bishop Pablo Fontana: The Pop Culture Pontiff. Is more likely to talk about David Gordon Green than religion.
What I'm saying is: If you haven't picked up on my many hints, you really need to start listening to the Best Show. Catch the latest archive here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Just listen to it already, you jerks.
Here's the Newbridge National Anthem, sung by Barry Dworkin, singer in America's Beatles, the Gas Station Dogs. If you've never heard their song, you need to click this at once.
[download Barry Dworkin - Newbridge is Just What You Needed] zshare link
The situation on Muffler Row
She could've married a Kennedy
There's a new song called 'Anna' from Hello Saferide over at Pitchfork today, and I strongly recommend you check it out. The guitars are beefier than we're used to and there's a neat chorus. Listen here.
Her last album, 'Introducing...' didn't blow up and get the blog love that it deserved, and nor did the 'Would You Let Me Play This EP Times a Day?' EP, which came out a couple of summers ago. I really like HS (aka Annika Norlin), her lyrics are sweet and the tunes simple, but she can raise a smile pretty easily. Her song 'The Quiz', for instance, features a pre-dating checklist for any would-be suitor, including such important considerations as "Will you talk in the middle of Seinfeld?" She has priorities straight.
The new record, 'More Modern Stories From...' will be available in September, and you'll doubtless read more about it on here. Here you can hear two older songs of hers that are great.
[download Hello Saferide - 2006]
[download Hello Saferide - If I Don't Write This Song, Someone I Love Will Die]
[Hello Saferide official / myspace]
Live vault: Clinic, Sound City 1999
No, I didn't know this feature was still around either!
A handful of songs here from Liverpool's other finest, from back in 1999. All six songs probably last about ten minutes, and this is from their "still wearing surgical masks" phase. Their newer records haven't done anything for me in a while, but this early material is killer diller.
[download Clinic - 2/4]
[download Clinic - The Second Line]
[download Clinic - CQ]
[download Clinic - Monkey on Your Back]
[download Clinic - Porno]
[download Clinic - IPC Subeditors Dictate our Youth]
I don't make music, I make change
The title of Animate Objects' album is a little misleading. See, it's called 'Riding in Fast Cars with Your Momma' and to me, that says "We're goofy and this is going to be a very fun album."
It isn't. Let's make it clear - it's still dead good, certainly. It just doesn't sound like what you might expect, given the titular yo' momma joke. Chicago's Animate Objects play stellar full-band hip hop, and it may be lazy but it's entirely appropriate to mention The Roots, whose influence seeps through pretty strongly on AO's debut. Listen to 'Beautiful' - smooth R&B voice carries the chorus and the hook, while the tough-voiced rapper takes the verses and talks about social responsibility and love.
The other major reference point is Michael Franti and Spearhead, particularly on the opening cut 'The Weight', where AO gradually unfold all the cliches you hear in a lot of hip hop and one-by-one dismiss them. 'Riding...' keeps a pretty relaxed, laid-back pace almost all the way though, so 'Get Back!' and 'El Dorado' are welcome, but rare, upbeat standouts. The album as a whole is well worth a listen, but since most of it is kept at a mid-tempo, it's hard to get too worked up about. Stick it on, have a drink and soak it in. Remember the name.
[download Animate Objects - Get Back!] yousendit link
[Animate Objects myspace / official / facebook]
[Buy 'Riding in Fast Cars With Your Momma']
First impressions of Intimacy
I guess that 'Signs', track six, was the first time on 'Intimacy', the rush-released new record from Bloc Party, where I thought "What the fuck is this?". 'Kid A' style bells, lyrics about ravens and bluebells? That said, by the time the huge strings arrive, I'm won over. I still don't like 'Mercury', though, with its shout-outs to hipster neighbourhoods and the word "retrograde". That one aside, it's a pretty solid record. 'Ares' is a jarring opener, one of their fastest songs yet. I like 'One Month Off' and 'Halo' because they sound, as promised, like first album 'Silent Alarm' songs.
'Biko' is slower but with its heart in the right place. There's a lot (a LOT) of programmed beats, which work reasonably well throughout the record. They sit nicely over the huge wall of choral voices on 'Zepherus'. I thought 'Trojan Horse' was okay, reminded me of 'Where is Home?' from the last record. Loops carry 'Better than Heaven' until it bursts into life, which is especially thrilling but does it make up for a dull first three minutes? Nearly. The last track builds nicely, sounds a lot to me like 'Always New Depths' was in mind when they did this one.
I seem to be among the minority when I say that I quite liked 'A Weekend in the City', but 'Intimacy' comes off as a pretty good album on the first listen. And considering nobody expected a new Bloc Party album a few days ago, let's be thankful and dance like bastards.
[Bloc Party myspace / official site]
[buy 'Intimacy']
He'll save the world again... again
It's been a shitty year for comedies. If the best thing so far was 'Pineapple Express' (enjoyable but disposable), that's not too hot. And, this being Are You Gene Hackman, it is always appropriate to remind you what the nadir was. So expectations weren't particularly high for 'Tropic Thunder' but with an all-star cast (including the Coog!), I expected some fun at least. And all the controversy definitely drew more attention. I was worried that that a satire on the biz, poking fun at actors and executives, might not have much widespread appeal. But when you've this many A-listers, I guess the box office wasn't hurting too much.
It was ridiculous. For a major studio film, there was so much going on. It was dumb. It was funny. There were some big laughs. There were some great lines. I enjoyed it. The Downey-as-black-man stuff was very funny but it worked as a satire, there was a good pay-off at the end. (Although the line "I don't break character until I've done the DVD commentary" was kind of great). Jay Baruchel plays sincere well, as always, which is why it's weird to see him as a tough guy in the Nick and Norah trailer. Jack Black is ok, as is Stiller. Neither is really sending up their own image too severely, unlike Downey, who as you may be aware, actually was kind of crazy. Having said that, this is the funniest thing either Black or Stiller has been in for years. (Notable exception: Extras). Danny McBride and Bill Hader are back in their second release in two weeks.
You might have heard about the celebrity cameos. Tom Cruise well-advisedly breaks his usual persona to play a studio exec who swears a whole lot. While I don't endorse unnecessary dance breaks in the middle of comedies - that's a Seltzer/Friedberg move, and you're better than that, Stiller - it was nice to hear 'Low' in a film for the second time in a few weeks. Nice to see Jason Bateman in one frame towards the end, too.
'Tropic Thunder' isn't fantastic or hilarious. But it's consistently fun, as intellectual as two boxes of umbrellas, and has some pretty gnarly explosions. And Nick Nolte's in it! It won't blow you away, but it's funny and that's all it needs to be.
Some Enchanted Hairspray
I'm sitting in Orlando. Was planning on getting on the road tomorrow to see my folks, but Tropical Storm Fay rather inconsiderately has the same projected path as my drive, so I'm house-bound for the time being.
You know that episode of Spaced where Tim and Brian have a cultural exchange? My girlfriend and I had a similar deal this past weekend. Kind of. Less of an exchange. I watched two films that she really likes, 'Enchanted' and 'Hairspray'. It was my intention that, in return, she watch 'Jerkbeast', a "classic" that I recently played for my friend Matt, who liked it enough to write about twice. She is not keen on this, however.
But anyway, I watched those two films for with her, and she live-blogged my reactions. Read these here and here.
Swap an alibi for an alibi
I'm about to leave Tallahassee after five weeks, so this is just a quick update.
There's a new Los Campesinos! track over at Pitchfork. Hooray! 'How I Taught Myself to Scream' is not going to be on their second album, but will hold us over nicely until October.
Hear it now.
More when I'm in some other town.
[Previously: AYGH? on 'Hold On Now, Youngster...]
Why so (not at all) serious?
Like his previous film 'Super Size Me', Morgan Spurlock's latest joint 'Where In the World is Osama Bin Laden?' begins with a little preamble, before Morgan walks down the street, shouts the title of the film, and then the opening credits roll.
Like 'Super Size Me', this film is carried by Spurlock's amiable personality.
Like 'Super Size Me', this film has a pretty obvious message that you don't need to sit through an hour and a half of film to figure out.
Unlike 'Super Size Me', this film is a load of balls.
Look, Morgan. You're a nice guy. One time we shared a cab at SXSW, after that Craigslist documentary. The sociological experiment stuff worked well before, and it's pretty good on your TV show. But this is a issue that's really serious. You can't say "maybe [Osama]'s a 9ft tall bionic ninja with x-ray eyes and the power of flight" immediately after showing him dancing to MC Hammer. You can't talk about how the U.S. has historically supported dictatorships and illustrate it with gaudy cartoons, over a rap music background. You can't use videogame graphics, or an animation of Bin Laden as a fast food worker. You sure can't keep referring to him as "OBL".
You can't tackle an issue as important as this and not tell me anything new.
There is some good here, though, guys: there's a training sequence at the start that's equal parts intense and paranoid. I thought it was kind of cool that the Doctor from 'Super Size Me' is still his doctor, and after freaking out in the last film, he doesn't bat an eyelid when Spurlock says "I'm going to look for Osama Bin Laden" as if it's nothing. That's about it.
Framing the film around the imminent birth of his first child is clumsy, and the shots of his wife, back home in New York don't sit well with all the (sort of) politicking. The tone was all wrong. This film was all wrong.
Keep your spazzy way of saying things
Here are some reasons why I was sure, prior to watching, that I would probably love 'Son of Rambow':
1. Jessica Stevenson Hynes is in it. You know, off Spaced and that.
2. This trailer.
3. It's written and directed by Hammer and Tongs, whose last film was not amazing, but I thought it was had some great visual moments and was panned a little more than it deserved. Besides, their music videos speak for themselves.
4. Garth Jennings, specifically, has always come off as friendly and enthusiastic, most recently when co-hosting the Adam and Joe show on 6Music.
5. Also, Adam Buxton is in this.
And now, here are some reasons why, upon watching, I did indeed love 'Son of Rambow':
1. Great '80s soundtrack. Depeche Mode and the Cure! Siouxsie!
2. They say "skill" meaning "awesome". We used to do that back in the day. For instance: around World Cup '90, we used to say "Skill-achi" in honour of the legendary forgotten Italian striker.
3. There's a lot in there that I recognized from my own school days. Particularly the forbidden mystique of the Sixth Form Common Room, although at my school it was just a square drab room and not a bitchin' disco with a doorman.
4. We too used to have French exchange students come over, although they were never as cool as Didier is here. We also had German exchanges, and as a neat contrast, they were resolutely uncool.
5. The scenes where they recreate First Blood, and make their own movie, are fantastic. Jennings' flair for visuals and ideas is still very evident, and it's super creative. Unlike 'Be Kind Rewind', though, the rest of the film is still interesting.
6. The story is pretty low-key and simple (maybe predictable?) but that's okay. It works. The religious themes are not too prominent, and even though it would be easy to do so, the film doesn't really criticize the Plymouth Brethren sect very overtly for its conservativeness. Hynes' character tells a story toward the film that frames their beliefs nicely.
7. How many great child actors do we have right now in Britain? Freddie Highmore... the kid from Millions... Tom Turgoose from 'This is England'... and now, two more.
8. The last scene made me teary-eyed. I don't mind admitting it. Leave me alone.
Highly recommended.
[Order DVD UK]
Some things for a Wednesday
List!
- Isn't this sort of tacky? Not just the "WIN A THREESOME!" gaudiness, but the typeface, the layout, the use of "dude(ette)" and the use of a pair of lips as an O. It'd still be kind of boss to win, mind. [ScarlettJohansson.com]
- As you know, R. Kelly fascinates me. So, I sincerely enjoyed and heartily recommend Josh Levin's full, ninety-minute commentary, of K's recent trial. [Slate]
- If you haven't already, have a look at some of the crap in Roland Emmerich's house. (And no, I don't mean the 10,000BC screenplay. Zing!) [NYT]
- See how good you are with film posters. Me? I got 28. [Empire]
- If there's a better news headline that this, I haven't heard it. [Guardian]
- Are you Tom's friend yet? Why not? Do it now! Get him to 5000. [Myspace]
- It's almost here! [Premier League]
Watch these enzymes react
What’s more, I saw him live at Reading one year, and his show was a shining example of why rap shows are often terrible. Too many hype-men, good songs cut off after a verse, bad sound quality, etc. It was a profound disappointment.
All that being said, the guardian’s just gone and given ‘Slime and Reason’ a five-star review. So my interest has been rekindled. I really hope he’s got it all together. Here’s a classic from an earlier record.
[download Roots Manuva - Juggle Tings Proper]
Don't judge a taco by its price
You know how everyone has a book that they read at a young age which finally made them think “Hey, reading doesn’t actually suck after all!”? Well, for me, that book was ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’. I may have only been thirteen years old, and I may not have known what half the words meant (I’m looking at you, “mescaline”), but I still was swept away in the adrenaline, the intoxication and the sheer madness of it all. From there, I graduated to ‘Hell’s Angels’ and other various essays. I still love reading Hunter S. Thompson, and like John Peel or Tony Wilson, I was genuinely sad when I heard of his death.
Anyway, last night I went to see ‘Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,’ a new documentary from Alex Gibney, whose previous work ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room’ and Oscar winner ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’, I had enjoyed considerably. And when I say “enjoyed considerably”, I mean “enjoyed as much as you can when the subject matters are white collar crime and wartime torture, respectively.” The roll-call of contributors to ‘Gonzo’ was pretty heavyweight: a former president, a former presidential candidate, a former president’s speech writer, both Thompson’s wives, his son, his editor at Rolling Stone, his illustrator, a fellow acclaimed author, and the guy that played him in the movie. You know, that guy from ‘Secret Window’.
I thought the presentation of the film was a little muddled, which though confusing, was in line with the Doctor’s writing, so it was appropriate. What I mean is, the story was told using archival footage, the aforementioned interviews, clips from Wayne Ewing’s films, and Johnny Depp’s readings of the great man’s works. It comes off as a little incoherent, which was probably the intention. Also, at two hours it felt rather long.
But enough gripes! It was still fun. As in, a trunk-full of drugs fun. Seeing his failed run for Sheriff of Aspen (if he’d have won, he’d have been Sheriff of Fat City) is hilarious. Watching the glee-filled vitriol with which he attacks Nixon and Muskie is great. The reverence he has for Carter is sweet. All the Hell’s Angels stuff. The Kentucky Derby. He used to type ‘The Great Gatsby’ in its entirety, over and over again, just to get more accustomed to the rhythm and mechanism of typing.
He may not have been a great guy, what with the drinking, the drugs, the infidelity, the guns, the temper, the inability to ever make a deadline – all of which are documented here. And yet, he was probably the first writer to be a celebrity as we understand it now. He was on Letterman. He was more popular than some of the politicians he was covering. He created a new style of writing. More than anything else: His best stories are far more interesting than any of my best stories. And for putting many of those good stories together, ‘Gonzo’ is well worth checking out.
On Partying.
This is something I wrote a couple of years ago, that I just found again. It's about college parties. Hope you like it.
I think there should be a new benchmark used for describing parties. Instead of saying "It was great, we had three hundred people!" or "We had seven kegs!" or "The Smiths reformed just for the night!" there ought to be some other indicator. Because parties never have fixed start and end times, it can't be something clock-related, like "How long did it take before the toilet seat fell off?" or “The final bottle of Natural Light was finished at (x) a.m.” or “Jamie and Humberto missed work the next morning because they were passed out in a broom cupboard”. Further, because party demographics vary greatly, it can't be something specific, like "Beard Ratio" (one party we stopped by on Friday had an FHC - Facial-Hair Coefficient - of 0.8. This is clearly bad), or "Number of Whoooooos! per person". And though it pains me to say this, there can be no bonus points for broken chair parts deposited in freezers.
No, what I seek is some sort of universal barometer that all parties can be measured upon.
Last night, we were at a birthday party which got broken up by the cops, as most big parties in a college town such as Tallahassee are wont to do. Nothing too outrageous about that, although I always love seeing under-21s panic at the sight of the police, running around freaking out, whilst those of us old enough to not be scared stand around, almost arrogantly, looking at Johnny Law, as if to say "Yeah, what if?".
Clearly, the arrival of the 5-0 isn't particularly noteworthy in itself. But a couple of hours prior, there was another official and unsolicited visit to the house. You see, in the back garden, there was a little firepit set up. Pretty well controlled, bricked in, not harmful to anybody. Just after midnight, we noticed some flashing lights coming down the road, and a few moments later, there were seven members of the Tallahassee Fire Department walking up to the party. Probably not because they want to drink cheap beer and talk about that time they drank cheap beer. They came up, very professional looking, and stared at the fire, which as I've said already, could only be dangerous if you were wearing nylon and had fireworks in your pockets, and were sitting on top of the fire and were also soaked in petrol. The firemen looked at each other, gave a collective shrug and walked off, no words needed to be spoken. Evidently, there had been a tip off about some wild and out-of-control fire, and it was all a big waste of their time.
The more I thought about this today, I realised that having not one but TWO emergency services coming to your party is really fuckin' cool. Now, clearly this measurement only has limited potential in terms of rating shindigs. Obviously, I'm not saying that parties should start having a room where, instead of smoking marijuana, people are recreating the popular film (and less popular novel) Fight Club, so as to necessitate the visit of an ambulance. I mean, it's for the best that ambulances DON'T show up at parties, but do you see what I mean? (Caveat: A possible exception would be the Whiskey Ambulance, but I don’t think that such a thing actually exists). I guess that Cave Rescue arriving would be pretty boss, or maybe the Wildlife Police?
The only other Emergency Service I can think of is the Coastguard, and being as we're a couple of hours from the sea, can you imagine how fucking amazing it would be to have your party broken up by those guys? That'd be the Harlem Globetrotters of all parties. If that happened at somebody's birthday, it'd be incredible but also destructive, since there'd be no way to follow that. What could you do? Even if you had a combination of elephants, strippers, fireworks, Thai food, helium, members of the original Broadway cast of 'Rent', and breakdancers, it wouldn't match "the one where the fuckin' COASTGUARD showed up!"
So, last night's party scored a 2 on my new scale of "Emergency Services in Attendance".
Beat that, party throwers of the world.
[download Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives]
Everybody get random
As a purist (read: loser), I generally like listening to albums as they were designed to be heard: in sequence, filler-and-all. I don't really know why. Recently, though I've finally come to terms with the fact that almost every album has a weak spot. A couple of weeks ago, I got a new iPod called Horseface (thanks, Stoopid) and for the first time, I made a massive playlist. Just of songs I wanted to hear. At the moment, 'untitled playlist' (it's terribly unimaginative, I know) is at about 350 songs. Cool.
I got in the car this morning, plugged it in (the iPod, obviously, not the car) and hit the previously-overlooked shuffle button. It starts up and it's M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes'. Not bad! I wish that the song had snuck into 'Pineapple Express' as it did in the trailer, but never mind. Hearing those gunshots will really pump you up on the way to work. Then it fades out, and there's a moment of suspense before the next one. 'Emily Kane' by Art Brut! Are you serious! 8.35am dance party! I tried really hard to avoid eye-contact with other drivers while belting "All my friends think I'm insane" at the top of my early-morning lungs. Next… 'Amazon' by M.I.A.
Wait, what?
I have about seven songs by M.I.A. in this playlist of 350. And somehow, out of the 30 or so songs I've heard or skipped through today, six of them have come up. How does that work? Also, about three songs from Robyn have been selected. Of course, I like all these songs, else they wouldn't be on the list to begin with. But there has to be more to shuffling than this, right? Isn't it supposed to be random? I was hoping for some Cursive or Hot Chip or Malky or any of the other 100+ artists on there.
My only possible explanation is this: My iPod, Horseface, is a woman. But not jsut any woman, else there'd be some Sleater-Kinney, Lucky Soul or Laura Marling getting played. But an ultra-hip, blog-savvy woman. That explains the preponderance of M.I.A. and Robyn, doesn't it? There is no other reasoning.
I'm sawdust in a sandpaper suit
As regular readers may be aware, I'm often bemoaning the lack of bands that come to my hometown of Gainesville, Florida. Plenty of bands do come, of course, but rarely are these bands from the top drawer. For once, though, there's a gig coming up that I am legitimately jazzed about. Headlining are Against Me! about whom I'll admit, I don't know anything except that they're Gainesville-based, recently signed to a major label, and are pretty popular. First on will be Future of the Left about whom I again know very little. Except that the band came out of the ashes of Mclusky, sorely missed Welsh punk badasses. I'll be looking into them, too.
Most excitingly for me, though, is the filling in the sandwich. Jersey's finest and friend of AYGH - Mr Ted Leo and (his) Pharmacists will be coming along! I've not seen the band in a few years, certainly not since 'Living with the Living' came out, so it'll be great to see them again. Also, there's a certain 'World is in the Turlet' to be played now.
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and predict this: It'll probably be a sweaty evening.
Full tour dates are on Pitchfork.
[download Mclusky - There Ain't No Ferguson]
[download Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Who Do You Love?]
Get Caught in Showtime
I got sent a few songs by The Pristines. They've got that very 80s, very indie, very jangly thing going on, which honestly, I don't care too much for. But the thing that intrigued me the most about them was that they're on a label based in sexy and glamourous Miami, but the band themselves are from... Coventry. I can't think of a more opposite city to Miami than Coventry. But good luck to them. Or, rather, him, since it's primarly one guy - Jon Hardy. Here's the most upbeat of their songs that I have, see what you think. The shoegazy/reverb-heavy/psychedelia thing has never been up my alley, but I'm sure some of you will enjoy this a lot.
[The Pristines - Who to Trust]
[The Pristines official / myspace / last.fm]
[Buy new album 'States of Mine' from Series Two Records]
He does a great Jeff Goldblum impression
For better or worse, you know what you're getting when you go and see a Judd Apatow-produced flick by now, and fortunately/unfortunately 'Pineapple Express' is no exception. There are plenty of laughs - mostly from terrific one-liners and some funny characters - a plot that really doesn't matter one bit, and some sort of resolution at the end. Like 'Knocked Up', I saw it opening night, laughed a whole lot, and then probably won't think too much about it again.
Some reviews have suggested that you have to be on drugs to find it funny, but that wasn't my experience. I actively cheered at the shout-out to my beloved Godspeed You! Black Emperor, which in reference terms is up there with "You're like David Caruso in 'Jade'" from 'The 40 Year Old Virgin'. There's a great fight scene between Rogen, Franco and the unfailingly polite Red, played by Danny McBride whose 'Foot Fist Way' left cinemas here after, like, two days, so I'm yet to see. Franco is especially great, playing the understated but supremely funny drug dealer. Seth Rogen plays the shlubby deadbeat who doesn't understand why people get frustrated with him. Sound familiar? There's a subplot about Rogen and his girlfriend, Angie, which is sorta funny but does deliver a knockout scene with Ed Begley, Jr. I was pretty happy to hear Eddie Grant's 'Electric Avenue', a song about a street in South London, over the opening credits. And apparently, Spiritualized are on the soundtrack. Oh, and there's a classy pre-credits sequence with Bill Hader, who has now been mentioned on this site twice in a few days. He must be very proud.
There's been much talk about director David Gordon Green, whose previous output is a million miles away from the Hot-Fuzz-with-marijuana that's on display here. As a huge fan of his (I LOVE 'George Washington' and 'Undertow'), I was pleased to see him having fun here. There are some pretty elaborate, spectacular action sequences, some involving cars, others involving fire. It's nice to see him getting some acclaim, and if it means more people will watch 'George Washington', then I'm delighted.
For me, it is enough that 'Pineapple Express' made me laugh a few times, even if I felt it was among the weaker films from that stable. Not as bad as 'Walk Hard', though. The penultimate, big action scene really lagged in places. The inclusion of Asian ninjas was a touch too silly for my liking. And the ending scene, in a diner, is dumb as planks. But again, I still laughed a whole bunch, which given some of the competition this summer, is a good thing.
Incidentally, speaking of the "reliability" factor of these films, let me just tell you about two of the trailers that came first. One had Michael Cera playing an adorable, soft-spoken awkward teenager, and another had Christopher Mintz-Plasse as an even more awkward, weird teen. Both films look funny, but again, it's EXACTLY what we expect of these actors.
We'll ransack the town
Guaranteed* ways for new bands to get a free pass from me:
1. Be from London.
(1a. Be from London via Wales)
2. Have a girl in the group.
(2a. Have a pretty girl in the group)
3. Rock like bastards.
Come to the front of the queue, The Joy Formidable. Their influences include Cable (!), eels and Grandaddy, and may be the only band I've written about that list Aubrey Beardsley as an influence. You can download four of their songs for free from here. My favourite is their single 'Austere', which is a big tease. It threatens to take off, bubbling under some fuzzy bass and kick drum, for a whole minute, before melting faces with a lovely wall of noise. It's under three minutes long and still has time for a big ol' noisy ending. And it's called austere, a grossly underused adjective, so there's that.
[download The Joy Formidable - Austere]
[The Joy Formidable myspace / youtube]
[Pre-order 'Austere' on 7" here and get it signed]
* Guarantee may not exist.
Chuck your boyfriend, have a sandwich
I was late to the party, I'll admit it.
I didn't watch Spaced until the second series, in 2001. But I didn't really fall in love with it until I had moved to the States. Every place I have lived since coming to America, has seen me play both series to my friends here. I've lost count of how many people I've turned on to the show. Once 'Shaun of the Dead' came out, my already-knackered Region 2 DVDs went into overdrive because of the renewed interest. So, I'm delighted that the show is finally available to buy in America.
It's probably my favourite television program of all time. I still get chills at the "getting to know you" montage at the start of the first episode. I still dance along with Tyres during his brief appearances. I'm still filled with pride when I see my streets, the streets of North London, when I see them drinking at the Monarch. I saw Coldplay there! I still coo at the sight of a pre-Office Ricky Gervais in a one-minute cameo. The scene at the end, soundtracked by 'The Staunton Lick', still makes my heart soar. And I still get annoyed when I see reviews that refer to the "fake couple" thing as if that's the central premise. (Entertainment Weekly, you did this most recently)
Not to mention all the quoting. There's a pretty strong probability that I could perform a one-man show of all fourteen episodes. Is that something to be proud of? I don't know. The nerdcore appeal strikes home – like all Spaced fans, I've had exactly those kinds of geeked-out conversations with friends about movies, books, the Manic Street Preachers, etc. Unlike other sitcoms, it never felt like an unrealistic world.
The new edition DVD set comes with some new commentaries, including American fans of the show like Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino. The ones I enjoyed the most though are from Patton Oswalt, who repeatedly says "This part of London looks so shitty!" and Bill Hader, whose Michael Bay anecdote you can hear below. And another thing: I didn't know that the part of Brian was initially written to be played by Julian Barratt. Isn't that interesting!
It's not finished.
If you've never seen Spaced and you're reading this, you'd probably enjoy it.
It's finished.
[download Lemon Jelly - The Staunton Lick]
[download Bill Hader's Michael Bay story]
[Buy the DVD already (US)]
All the blogs are about you
I went to a wedding this past weekend in Jacksonville (read about it here and here). On the drive there I listened, twice, to 'Partie Traumatic' by Black Kids. It was fitting, since they are a band from Jacksonville. The album just came out a couple of weeks ago, to pretty solid reviews in the U.K. and pretty weak reviews here in the States. You've probably seen the most notorious of these already.
After seeing them in November, I mentioned that if you expect nothing more than a good dance, you'd be golden, and that's pretty much still the case half a year later. 'Partie Traumatic' is a solid album, never amazing but never horrendous, with a few really good songs. If you're expecting anything more than a decent album from a very young band who're already considered last year's news, you'll not like this. And 'Listen to Your Body Tonight' is a bit rubbish.
But this is a band that can get people dancing, even when the song is dumb as hell and rhymes "eat some grits" with "this song is the tits", as the title track does. Even in its new and far inferior recording, 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You' still sounds ace. 'I'm Making Eyes at You' sounds a little like a more adolescent 'Love Cats', while 'Hit the Heartbrakes' rebounds nicely from a terrible knock-knock intro into a pure pop chorus.
Reggie doesn't have much to say, but his laments about women are a failsafe subject to sing about. The girls in the band provide bratty back-up shouting, most effectively on the straight-up fun album closer 'Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)'. I also like 'I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)', and danced when I heard it in Urban Outfitters the other day, particularly during its Motown-lite outro.
So, anyone that expects Black Kids to deliver a debut album that will match 'Pet Sounds' or 'All Eyez On Me' in terms of permanent cultural relevance and immediate success, will probably be disappointed. For what it is, a collection of ten songs by a band younger than me and mostly younger than my sister – it's pretty okay. There is probably something to be said about the nature of the music press, and how this band has already gone from darlings of the blogs to forgotten also-rans in the space of a few months. But I'm not nuanced or analytical to say that today.
[download Black Kids - I've Underestimated My Charm (Again) (EP Version)]
[Black Kids official / myspace]
[Buy 'Partie Traumatic' UK / US]
This ain't High School Musical!
It's hard to write about Step Up 2: The Streets. On the one hand: yes, it's a completely generic, predictable, poorly acted and worse written tale of Andie, a girl from the streets getting into a fancy school, becoming an outcast there because all the suits don't recognize her genius, getting kicked out of her street crew for deserting them, and ultimately smiles all around. It's pretty poor. One Hispanic girl throws in an "Ay dios mio!" when we first see her, just to prove that, y'know, she isn't Hungarian. Andie's guardian is trying to look after her, but is painted as the bad guy for looking after Andie and trying to keep her out of trouble. (Incidentally, she is played by Kima from The Wire – Baltimore what what). You'll notice it's her guardian and not her mum. That's because the mum died of cancer, of course. The characters are entirely rigid in their "bad guy" or "good guy" roles. There's the usual gut-wrenching decision to be made: should Andie stay in her crew and exist solely to win dance competitions in an abandoned warehouse and almost get arrested; or should she try and get an education? It's a tricky choice.
But the thing is: We KNOW this. I didn't watch the movie expecting to see a novel new plot arc that wasn't already in Flashdance or Fame or the first Step Up – though I've only seen one of those three films. You KNOW the characters are going to be ultra-broad stereotypes. You KNOW the ending before it's even started. You KNOW that everyone's going to learn something about acceptance. But you watch it exclusively for the dancing. And some of that was intense. Most of it wasn't, though. Bonus points for using a dead fish as part of a dance routine – that needs to happen more often. And there were some pretty nifty moves (tricks? steps?) on a trampoline. But for the most part, it wasn't all that hot. The music was top-notch: I don't listen to the radio too much, so I'm not sick of that Flo-Rida jam just yet. There was some comic-relief from a character named Moose, who was funny despite apparently only being directed to "do exactly what the nerdy character is supposed to do in films and nothing else". But the dance numbers weren't nearly as eye-popping enough to make me tune out the terribleness of the rest of the movie. Beyond watching it as a drinking game – drink every time someone says "The Streets", three drinks in the first two minutes – there is no reason for anyone that's past the age of majority to go anywhere near this.
There's a well-argued piece about the film here , calling it "the single most racist movie that will be released by any major American studio in the first 10 years of the twenty-first century." Definitely worth a read. 
To me, to you. Bitch.
Finally, the question "What if a beloved, if entirely corny, kids' TV personality covered a contemporary rap classic?" is answered. I give you Barry Chuckle, from the Chuckle Brothers, covering '99 Problems'. Of course, American readers won't get as much joy/confusion out of this clip, but I think you'll still enjoy it. Wait, which one is "enjoy"?
Me and Hanson: We'll go dancing
At the moment, there's a lot of talk in the U.S. about endorsements. Not just who's endorsing Obama or McCain, but on the radio yesterday, I heard about which Union is supporting which candidate for Circuit Court Judge. It's on all levels.
So, to that end, here's my big revelation. The Mercury Music Prize shortlist was announced today, and it's my pleasure to announce that the nominee that gets my support is... Laura Marling. She'd be a worthy winner, tough on crime and lenient on foreign policy. Also, 'The Captain and Hourglass' is fuckin' awesome.
You could have predicted that, obviously. (I also like BSP and Elbow, though)
Here's a song that's not on her album, though. A live Kimya Dawson cover, complete with fluffed lyrics, laughter, and Nick Valensi shout out.
[download Laura Marling - 5 Years (live)]
Let's put a smile on that face
Have you guys heard about this new Batman flick? Apparently, (at the time of writing this) it's the greatest film ever made. Take it from me - I think it might be a sleeper hit, remember where you heard the name first. It's a shame that here in the States, it opened against box-office juggernauts Mamma Mia! and Space Chimps - both of which I kind of want to see - but good luck to this Nolan guy all the same.
Anyway, I saw The Dark Knight, at an almost full 10am screening and though I was reluctant to write about it, here are some thoughts. Reluctant just because, well, there's no dearth of opinion about it floating around, so who needs another?
- The first scene, which you can actually watch on its own for free, is really great.
- Not just because I'm a big fan of people getting hit by buses for comedic effect.
- William Fichtner. I see his face everywhere.
- Wait, was that Colin McFarlane? From Black Books and The Fast Show? Brilliant!
- Nice to see, at the beginning, that "Honest" Abraham Lincoln was one of the Batman suspects.
- Yes, yes, Heath was great, but for me the star of the show was Aaron Eckhart. Dude killed it. Makes up for the god-awful 'Bill' and 'Black Dahlia'.
- The Batman voice is so silly sounding.
- Scarecrow is in it for like two minutes, and I could've done without him.
- The last line in the film is super corny.
- The stunt stuff in Hong Kong is awesome, the shot of the 18ft truck doing a pirouette even more so.
- I'm now even more eager to become a lawyer.
- That accountant was a jerk.
- There were loads of trailers: I can remember Watchmen, Terminator 4, Body of Lies, The Mummy 3, and Burn After Reading.
- I guess what I'm saying is... go and see it.
Renovation
So check it out... we had a facelift.
At the moment, it looks great but some of the links are screwy.
But I'm working on it.
What do you guys think?
You were working for the Government
Every day, I walk to and from my place of work and think of the lyric "On the lam from the law / On the steps of the Capitol". This is mostly because I work at the Capitol, and to get to it involves steps. Explaining it definitely takes away some of the magic.
New job is keeping me busy too much to listen to new music and write about it. Maybe over the weekend. Also, from my desk at the new workplace I have a perfect view of this poster.
[download The Decemberists - The Bagman's Gambit]
Mistaken for Strangers, and Disorganized
Today I moved to Tallahassee, a different town than the one I usually live in, to start a six week job. I'm looking forward to that, but here's a funny story from my drive up here. Despite being pretty meticulous about packing all the things I'll need for a month and a half - alarm clock radio, tie rack plus ties, John Adams on DVD - of course I forgot something at home.
I got on the road, filled up with petrol, stuck 'Boxer' on, and skipped 'Fake Empire' - not because I don't love it, just because it's not a hot-rockin' song to drive to - and heard the lyric "Showered and blue blazered". Yup, my suit was still hanging in my cupboard at home. Now, if it were something else, like shoes or a towel, I wouldn't be too fussed. But a suit isn't something that I can just buy when I get there, or borrow from someone else. Plus I'll be working at a fancy-pants place, so I couldn't just say ahhh forget it.
Luckily, I was still in Gainesville, so I could turn back and pick it up. But I just think it's funny that, had it not been for The National, I'd have been far more screwed. God bless that band!
Riot, disorder, set the banks on fire
Due to a friend's bachelor party and law school exams, I won't be posting here for a few days. Yes, I wish the two weren't so close together but as you guys know, I'm prone to throwing caution to the wind.
In my absence, go to these two new interblog things and tell them I sent you.
1. LSD and Lollipops: FOT Beth, who's largely responsible for my ye-ye affliction, has finally set up her own shop, and it's essential reading.
2. Kramer vs. Predator: Gainesville, Florida's very own Matt writes about films, but with the cool detachment of someone who could only be a friend of mine. In post number one, look out for the phrase "neck sex".
American readers, enjoy your three day weekend. Here's a song that's patriotic.
[download Hope of the States - George Washington]
(YSI link, sorry. Those Hot Chip files DESTROYED all my bandwidth)
The summer's worst movie
Based on all the buzz, I had low hopes for The Love Guru, and yet I knew I'd end up watching it. There's something about horrific comedies that always pique my interest, far more than bad dramas, horror movies, etc. Why else am I always drawn to the shitfests thrown up by Friedberg and Seltzer? But even with such a high tolerance for absolute bilge, there wasn't much to look forward to when it came to Mike Myers' big comeback flick. I think the guy on Slate's podcast articulated it best when he said "Myers might just be slightly mentally retarded".
So here's the bad news. I laughed during 'The Love Guru'. Twice. Admittedly, that's an absolutely horrendous return for a major studio comedy, but in all honesty two laughs (chuckles, really) was still far more than I expected. There was a bar-fight scene that was funny. And something about Morgan Freeman's voice. That's about all I can remember.
So here's the really bad not-really-news. The film is fucking terrible. I like John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Romany Malco and Omid Djalili but now I just feel bad for them. (Truthfully, I don't even remember Omid being in it). At one point, I was seriously considering the following quandry:
Justin Timberlake singing 'Because You Loved Me', while Mike Myers gets violently attacked by a rooster. Is that funny?
It isn't.
I talked about 'Wanted' being written for 14 year old boys over the weekend, and this one sets the bar even lower. Penis, fart and midget jokes? The ten year olds must've been loving this. But then, I thought - one of the big recurring themes here is the main guru's struggle to be as famous as Deepak Chopra. Is that not a pretty obscure reference, given that nobody aged over fourteen will find this film funny? Even Mariska Hargitay, whose name is used as a stupid mantra... Are middle schoolers going to know who she is? The primary lesson that impressionable youth can take from this film: Indian people are dumb as hell. Thanks!
Timberlake's character is entirely superfluous, Jessica Alba looks great but is incredibly dull and somehow finds the Guru hilarious when everyone watching thinks he's insufferable, and Sir Ben Kingsley just lost all the credibility he's EVER accumulated. All of it. I know - House of Sand and Fog, Schindler's List, Bugsy, Sexy Beast, Gandhi of course. All that goodwill is lost with a violent crosseyed man pissing into a bucket and then spraying it onto people. Done.
Even the dream-team of Colbert and Gaffigan, the two guys who could redeem this craporama, are given such awful material to work with that I quickly lost interest. They play commentators with very much the same dynamic (only less funny) as Gary Cole and Jason Bateman in 'Dodgeball'.
Worst thing: Lazy jokes making fun of Spears, Hilton and Lohan. Great. OR: "Your agent, Richard Pants is here" "Oh, you mean Dick Pants?" (Accompanied by wink and mass-retching). OR: the musical numbers. OR: Elephants humping. I could go on.
Best thing: Director has the same last name as the guy responsible for the year's best film. They're probably not related.
