Unlimited Dream Company

It Began with Videodrome

2008-10-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

While shopping for bargain movies, Moviestop was running a sale on Halloween movies. Spooky DVDs. They had the usual (and I asked, "how many copies of Evil Dead will they rerelease?"), but their sale also extended to box sets of Mario Bava (which I received last year for Christmas) and Dario Argento (two out of four of the films being good I passed it up). My treasured find was the Criterion Edition of Videodrome, David Cronenberg's 1983 film about brain tumors, subliminal terror and horrific hallucinations. Having seen this about ten years ago, I was wanting to reexperience the film on my big TV from this pristine print. The tape I'd watched was the "uncut" video released years ago which I'd bought used from a store in Times Square that is now the TRL studio for MTV. This was a gift for my brother so I never had the chance to revisit it. He was going through his sculpting/special effects phase so the film had intrigued him.

So, here I was revisiting old school Cronenberg. I've always loved his early work because of the cold and clinical, quasi-futuristic ambiance that those older movies had. I love that they were low budget but well made (and in all the years his style has not really changed; the budgets have gotten bigger but the movies still move at the same space). The recurring leitmotifs (i.e. brain tumors, subliminal terror and horrific hallucinations) revealed that Cronenberg may actually be a frustrated science fiction writer. I've never felt his films were out and out horror (even with The Fly). There's more science and speculative themes than there are horrors. Sure, they're filled with venereal goo but it's the speculative ideas that make them more science (fact) than horror. He also prophesied corporate immorality, mad doctors and their obsessive patients (i.e. plastic surgeons and silicone obsessed augmentations; the New Flesh?) and pharmaceutical madness.
But most of all I return to his films because they remind me of the immediate alternate present of J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick. It was no wonder he was set to have directed Total Recall (but as the original "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" story). But it is strange that of all of J.G. Ballard's work he chose to direct Crash. It seems that his early films (Crimes of the Future, Shivers, Rabid and The Brood) riff on scenarios from Ballard stories: crumbling high-rise domiciles, corrupt institutes of questionable medical practices and long stretches of deserted roads like the vacuous pathways of the mind.

In the coming days, being further intrigued and realising I'd never seen Shivers, I decided to catch up with the rest: Stereo, Crimes of the Future, Shivers, Scanners and even Crash and Naked Lunch.

And yes, dammit, it makes me realize how sequential and thematically related they all are, even that they take place in the same universe. Mostly. I would say eXistenZ takes place in the same world as Videodrome; the drug company in Scanners could be the same one from Shivers and Rabid which eventually become the future corporations of Crimes of the Future; Oliver Reed's character from The Brood could be a doctor in that universe as well. But as I see it, it was probably Videodrome that broke Cronenberg of the framework he used before and paved the way (the mental landscape) for everything which followed.

About Books

2008-10-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

So I finished Chuck Palahniuk's Rant, his most satisfying book in a long time. Of course everything he writes has previously been done and possibly better by other writers, but at least this book held me for most of its pages. As usual there is no complete ending, that is to say his books often have non-endings. Some interesting ideas here and there and it's his only other book that reminds me of Fight Club. It was much better than Haunted, a terrible book filled with good short stories.
From Wikipedia:

"Rant is told in the form of an oral biography. When the story begins, the reader discovers that the main character, Buster Landru "Rant" Casey, is already deceased. Throughout the book various people discuss their memories of Buster and the world he lived in, presenting stories in an occasionally conflicting timeline."

At times it reminded me of Don Delillo and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. with more than a nod to J.G. Ballard's Crash. If you haven't read books by these authors or are intimidated by them, I would say Rant is a good place to start. Or finish.

It did inspire me to return to J.G. Ballard. Through various used-books outlets I was able to pick up a few of his books at a bargain. I love collecting old paperbacks, especially if their covers vary.

I also wait my British copy of The Atrocity Exhibition. I will try to provide more updates when there are actually interesting things to write about. But no writing here doesn't mean I'm writing. I have been writing and editing three books at the same time.

Summer '68

2008-09-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Aside from his backing vocals on "Echoes" and "Us and Them", my favorite Rick Wright (RIP) moment is the song "Summer '68" from one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums, Atom Heart Mother.

Would you like to say something before you leave

Perhaps you'd care to state exactly how you feel

We said good-bye before we said hello

I hardly even like you, I shouldn't care at all

We met just six hours ago, the music was too loud

From your bed I gained a day and lost a bloody year

And I would like to know

How do you feel, how do you feel, how do you feel?

Not a single word was said, delights still without fears

Occasionally you showed a smile but what was the need

I felt the cold far too soon - the wind of '95

My friends are lying in the sun, I wish that I was there

Tomorrow brings another town and another girl like you

Have you time before you leave to greet another man

Just you let me know

How do you feel, how do you feel, how do you feel?

Good-bye to you

Charlotte Kringles too

I've had enough for one day

Of course, Rick Wright having parted will now join Syd Barrett and play "See Emily Play" and "Remember a Day" at the Great Gig in the Sky. The saddest realization is that he passed having suffered from cancer.

He was the harmonic backbone of Pink Floyd whose gentle piano and voice was an added layer to Syd or David Gilmour vocals. The Dark Side of the Moon benefitted from his ethereal voice and thoughtful keyboard playing. Earlier songs like "Theme from More" and "Sysyphus" (from Ummagumma) pointed to everything that would follow, whether it was the low-budget orchestration in Obscured by Clouds, Dark Side or the synth themes in Wish You Were Here. And let me not forget all of the fantastic playing in the unreleased album Zabriskie Point Sessions (some of which appeared on the soundtrack record of that film), which included "The Violent Theme"; though not used in the film this song became a basis for other themes that Pink Floyd later wrote including "Us and Them".

Rick Wright, we're sorry to see you go.

This is a clip of Pink Floyd performing "Atom Heart Mother" suite back in the 70's. To me 'Floyd will always be this spacy blues band with albums like More, Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother. Anything else after Obscured By Clouds (beginning with Dark Side) is just the hits. They were good hits, but they had obviously evolved into something else...

Aside from the Usual, What I've Been Listening To or Watching

2008-09-10T15:57:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since the last update. Hopefully the other blog has been a stop-gap in between this and that. I was occupied by everything else in my life which can often equal to nothing, but also including my vacation, work, work, writing something or another, spending a modicum of time with close friends and family. It's all a whirlwind.

Lately we've been on a Ben Gazzara kick, a continuing hangover from our previous Marlon Brando/Clive Owen/Robert Mitchum/Lee Marvin hangovers. (Of course The Wild One also stars Lee Marvin so it's like two for one).

This month's kick is Ben Gazzara, known for such films as Killing of Chinese Bookie, Tales of Ordinary Madness and Roadhouse; also Buffalo 66, Capone,

and The Big Lubowski. We viewed Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Tales. Who could imagine Gazzara playing Charles Bukowski? Director Marco Ferreri, that's who...

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie was everything I would want from John Cassavetes: grit, authentic sets, hand-held work, rambling plot. Somewhere there is an attempt at a noir plot, but it comes off very anti-noir, like Gloria, but 110% better. Don't believe anything you hear about The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Just see it for yourself. It may bore you, it may make you laugh, it may make you cry, it may arouse you. It includes some of the most bizarre striptease scenes ever filmed.

So for Robert Mitchum it was Thunder Road, Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter. With Marvin it was Point Blank and Prime Cuts. For Clive Owen it was Chancer, Children of Men, Sin City and Inside Man (which is rumored to have a sequel in the works).
For Marlon Brando it was the usual: On the Waterfront, The Wild One and The Fugitive Kind (my second-favorite after On the Waterfront).

In the mail this week from Greencine: Orson Welles' Don Quixote'. Of course this will start an Orson Welles kick...

Psychedelic Faves

2008-07-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

Since the first film I ever saw, Sisters (by Brian DePalma)I have always loved psychedelic films. The swirling colors and music stimulate my brain in such a way that my mind feels relaxed. Everything shuts down and I am just a gorilla on tranquilizers drooling at all the funny colors and sounds. Having had little success with drugs, I suppose I had to turn to other stimuli to carbonate my cranial fluids. It wasn't until recently I realized films were my mescaline.

I'm thinking of films like PetuliaHead, Yellow Submarine, Performance, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Spirits of the Dead,

The Holy Mountain, Lizard in Woman's Skin, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,

...even 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Films by Mario Bava (I'm looking in the direction of Planet of the Vampires, Diabolik, Blood and Black Lace and Lisa and the Devil to name but a few; I loved Bava's film since childhood because of their colors...):

4th of July Capper

2008-07-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a work sandwich as I had to be at the office on Saturday for a few hours between being off on Friday and Sunday. Friday was exciting. Part of it spent by the pool, part of it spent watching...The Fugitive Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Joanne Woodward, with a script based on a Tennessee Williams play. There was music and relaxation as well. Some reading, some writing on what threatens to be my next novel. But after a short 30 minute nap I was woken by the sounds of Sonic Youth playing at Battery Park in Manhattan for a free concert they put on for WFMU.
I heard the loud bashing chords of "She is Not Alone" and turned over. By the time they were rocking "Bull and the Heather" I was up and awake, filled with immense excitement and a little nostalgia. Having seen the Youths only once I can attest to their ability to rock as great as they ever did, sometimes better than most contemporary bands. They threw out one great song after another. I was in awe of how many albums they touched on: Daydream Nation, Experimental, Jetset, Trash and No Star, Dirty, etc. also playing lots of songs I never thought I'd hear live.
After a dozen songs they returned two encores later, no "Expressway to Yr Skull" but a surprising "Making the Nature Scene"!

Well, wish I'd been there. But even just listening over the internet I felt transported to that little park at the south east tip of Manhattan. Not even the rain could deter the 7,000 who'd gathered. There will be another WFMU concert in August, also free. Check out the station's website for more info (Extra Golden will play; they're an American/Kenyan band who play some amazing guitar based African music-- New Yorkers, check it out!).

Contraband is Not Italian for Shit

2008-06-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Purely by coincidence we took in two Lucio Fulci films this week: Lizard in Woman's Skin and Contraband. The former being a psychedelic giallo made in 1971, very atmospheric and hallucinogenic jam packed full of lesbian loving and gory murders. It also has one of my favorite Ennio Morricone scores ever.

Lucio Fulci's Contraband is the kind of gangster film that would make newcomers to the Italian crimi genre (basically police/mafia films) runaway screaming at its ineptness and cheapness. With Fulci's films, many will attest that he's hit or miss. In his lifetime he gave us some great giallos, zombie flicks and one really terrific western (Four of the Apocalypse). Everything else was dampened by budget restrictions, poor scripts and horrendous dubbing (even by Italian film standards).

Contraband was his late entry into the Italian police genre. Although it points towards Miami Vice and other mobster/police actioners that would dominate the 80's, it falls short on many levels. First off the film itself: the cinematography is dull, apparently shot on cheap stock. The colors are faded and the look of the movie (except for the disco scenes) are gray. Skin tones look faded. Direction is sloppy (as was a Fulci trend) and the fights kind of retarded. The sound mix is terrible which does not help the ridiculous dubbing. The dubbing actors are exaggerated and can't make up their minds what kind of accents they have. The film takes place in Naples but they speak like they're from New Jersey. Huh?

Fabio Testi is a great actor capable of gaining sympathy from an audience (see Four of the Apocalypse and Revolver). But if he's suppose to be a tough gangster in Contraband, why is he such a wimp? He is very unconvincing as a gangster and seems to get his ass beat every other scene. The best part of the film for me was when the old timers (including a cameo by the director) come out of retirement to put an end to the gang that has been responsible for most of the murders in the movie. And then the movie ended. Then I was really happy. Even the outrageous gore effects (like in all Fulci movies they are the real "guts" of the movie, no pun intended) seemed put on and there for their own sake.

I would be the last person to ever trash a trashy grindhouse picture, but really, Contraband is the pits. You'd do better seeking other Italian crimi films: Almost Human, Rabid Dogs, Revolver, etc.

What I'm Listening To (This Week)

2008-06-17T06:19:00.001-07:00

Lots of great music, old and new, but mostly old. This is what has been playing in my Ipod for a while:

Nova Express, Some Rhythm With Occasional Melody (a CD of my newest songs)

Frank Zappa (various live) and Sheik Yerbouti

Plastic People of the Universe, Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned

Yohimbe Brothers, Front End Lifter

Tom Ze, Com Defeito de Fabricacao

Tar Babies (with Tortoise's Dan Bitney!), Honey Bubble

Love, Peace and Poetry: Turkish Psychedelic Music

Pentangle (first album) and Reflection

Slint, Spiderland

DNA, A Taste of DNA

Death Ambient, live bootleg

Musty Butlers, Live at the Globe (private pressing)

Bogus Pomp Reopens the Ritz

2008-06-08T05:06:00.000-07:00

I may complain a lot about the city I live in but I am blessed with the fact that Bogus Pomp, a Frank Zappa tribute band, lives and plays locally.

Last night was the inaugural reopening (of many reopenings) of the Ritz Theatre in Ybor City. This was Ybor's one-time XXX theatre; it was that way when I first came to Tampa when I was 9. Since then it's opened and closed, changed names, closed down on account of drug dealing, opened as the Rubb, closed, opened, became a pool hall and now once again (and let's not fuck it up this time) it is the Ritz once again. Beautifully painted and cleaned, it's come a long way from its heavy metal mosh pit days of the early 90's. I saw Smashing Pumpkins in this theatre (paid $8 for what was historically one of the worst bands I've ever seen, one of the worst concerts I've ever attended); years later I saw Superchunk with Man or Astroman there and then years after, Yo La Tengo.

Last night's show was not well attended. Don't know if the Bogus Pomp fanbase is mostly in St. Pete (just across the water) but there was about a third of the people that usually show up. Of course the usual faces were there, including ourselves, but it was just a scattering of folks. That's unfortunate since the band played what was one of the best "acoustic" sets I've ever heard them play. Just for the record, I've been seeing Bogus Pomp in concert since 1998. So in ten years, seeing them on average, two or three times a year, I've seen them at least 25 times which makes them the one band I have seen the most in concert.

The first set was a quiet "acoustic" set of all instrumentals of music mostly from Absolutely Free and We're Only In it for the Money. They were so wonderfully played, so passionately rendered that same as I've felt listening to orchestral work from Frank Zappa I felt the same emotion. They played one of the best versions ever of "Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich" and a great "Holiday in Berlin". They closed the first set with a tender version of "Sofa No. 2". Those who would write off Frank Zappa as a "novelty" act because of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Valley Girl" have never listened the beautiful melodies he was capable of composing. His last album, Civilization: Phase III was his best album ever.

The "electric" portion of the show was mostly instrumental. No new variations, but still great stuff: "Dog Meat", "Black Napkins", "Zoot Allures". They teased the beginning of "Let's All Move to Cleveland" (which, without the medley portion makes it a little flaccid). Jerry Outlaw dedicated "Watermelon in Easter Hay" to a friend in Japan; when that song plays, everything seems perfect in the world...

They played a truncated "The Little House I Used To In..." which went smoothly into "King Kong". David Pate, possibly the world's greatest living saxophonist, as always, got the most fan fare.

By the time the show was over almost everyone had left. Was it something they said?

"Uncle Meat Variations" from Zappaween, a couple of years ago...

The Fall

2008-06-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

There are too many movies that usually skip this town so I was fortunate when Tarsem's The Fall played at Tampa Theatre. My suggestion would be to ignore most of the reviews. Apparently, knowing how to watch a film and interpret it is not a prerequisite to being a film critic. Brains are often optional. The local birdcage liner said The Fall had images and scenes for their own sake and there was little plot to follow. That's if you're an idiot, of course. The short of the story is that a stuntman is injured while making a silent film (the film takes place around 1910) (or did he attempt suicide?) and while he sits in a hospital recuperating he recalls a fantastical faerie tale to a young immigrant girl who steals medicine for him and in return he tells the story...the lines between reality and fantasy soon blur. Oh and there is a performance of the Ketjak Monkey Chant.

This second film by Tarsem (his follow up to The Cell!) plays out in the imaginary realm of a child's mind, much in the way that Pan's Labyrinth worked. This is a subtle and quieter work than The Cell, with no big name stars to distract from its phantasmagorical substance. Like a film that Derek Jarman never made or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as filmed by Sergei Parajanov (which is the first thing that came to mind when I first saw the trailer), with gorgeous art design and stage-like characterization. The plateaus and scenery (also recalling The Arabian Nights and The Cantebury Tales by Pasolini) are exquisite and warm the eyes and warm the soul with its rich colors. The costumes and the action add to the gorgeous landscapes; this film was shot on location in several different countries: Egypt, South Africa, Romania, China among others. It is haunting but satisfying. Artistic to a fault; this is what an "art film" looks like, so beautiful to look at. Film is art, it should be beautiful.

Music of the World: What's in Your Ipod?

2008-06-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

The most interesting discoveries made in the last few years have been made while listening to music from all over the world. Best of all is tying together the similarities between ethnological songs from different countries that are nowhere near each other. For instance how music from Spain sounds like slowed down Moroccan tunes. How Klezmer can be traced to Greek music and especially how Mariachi songs move to a polka beat. How jazz came from gospel and plantation traditionals. How the blues originated in Africa and how booty bass music still retains a lot of tribal bump. Russian-Asian zither music can be heard in African kalimba music.
Music comes from inside of us, no matter what part of the world we're in. Much in the same way that our religious mythologies evolve out of our subconscious mind, the music arrives much in the same way as if by a genetic universal communication device. What is the magic that is rock music that ties in to ancient ragas? Were the Master Musicians of Jajouka magicians? Hear what's in my Ipod...

How about the primordial sounds of a 2,000 year old rock band?

Anoushka Shankar

Zakir Hussein

Music for 18 Musicians

Tortoise, Remixed:

Tinariwen BBC Folk Festival 2005

Adrian Belew Power Trio at Skipper's

2008-05-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

This concert experience began for me this past Wednesday when I was hosting Step Outside, the Strange and Beautiful music program on WMNF 88.5fm. At the last minute I was alerted that legendary guitar hero Jerry Outlaw would be coming in to talk about the Adrian Belew Power Trio show at Skipper's Smokehouse where his band would be the opener.

Being intimidated by the thought of doing an interview I felt a bit nervous. I'm glad now that it was Jerry who was my first interview. He is a very, very nice guy; intelligent, witty and an incredible musician. He is very humble about his playing and the interview went well (live) and even though I was programming, juggling CD's and answering the phones while trying to keep Jerry entertained, the program went smoothly. And what an opener his band was, playing several great originals as well as some great (GREAT!) versions of songs by Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa ("Dog Breath" and "Black Napkins") as well as a note-for-note version of "Miles Beyond" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra (off the air Jerry told me they would have played "Birds of Fire" but didn't have their violin player).
Friday night came around and as usual the ABPT put on an incredible show. Backed by Julie and Eric Slick, Adrian Belew played from a catalog of music that extends back to the early 80's when he began with King Crimson. He played a lot of new songs from his Sides albums as well as music from Lone Rhino and Op Zop Too Wah. As always, either with King Crimson or solo, he was energetic, friendly, amazing. He was discovered by Frank Zappa in the late 70's and was hired on as a "stunt guitarist" in Zappa's band at the time before he was stolen by David Bowie and then later joined the Talking Heads. From there he formed his own band that opened for League of Gentlemen where he met Robert Fripp and together they formed Discipline which immediately became a revamped version of King Crimson.

Ade played only three King Crimson songs at Skipper's: "Dinosaur" (which I always think of as a Beatles song), "Three of a Perfect Pair" (which sounds almost as good as the King Crimson Double Trio version) and "Thela Hun Ginjeet". "Neurotica" was on the list but was not played. Perhaps because the vocal pre-records were not triggering correctly. Maybe Ade is saving other Crim songs for the King Crimson 40th anniversary concerts coming up in August.
Great crowd overall. Just a few basement dwellers, too few to distract. Lots of friends to meet and greet, great local talent in the crowd and pretty, pretty girls.

Highlights included:

"Ampersand"; an amazing extended jam version of "Beat Box Guitar"; Adrian solo, playing The Beatles' "Within You, Without You"; "Thela" even with a late entry pre-record; also great were "Big Electric Cat" and "Of Bow and Drum".

Portishead: P3

2008-05-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Not the happiest of music. What were you expecting? It's Portishead. The long awaited third album, appropriately titled Third, is already lining up to be the best album of the year. Along some other great albums which have come out (NIN Ghosts, Radiohead's In Rainbows, etc.) it has already established itself as "classic". Portishead is the sort of group who can pull that off. This was a triumphant resurrection, with a delivery that would have had The Stone Roses crying in their pants.

At once mysterious, melancholic and entirely smoky and moody, Portishead has always been a futuristic band with a firm grip on a retro sound. 21st century noir, always looking back (torchsong, primitive electronics, turntable-ism, Krautrock, et al.) but pointing forward with a sound and style that is often outside of any genre.

A lot of reviews have mentioned that Third is of "our times" which is really a shame since I always consider Portishead's music a thing of the future (see previous blog entry) and I don't think that in five or ten years the album will sound dated or represent anything since it already exists in its own era. The music exists in a limbo that is neither here nor there.

It is true that some of the songs reflect contemporary themes ("Silence", "Machine Gun", "Threads") but isn't making any statement. The music is as great if not better than their two previous albums, an updated sound for the group. A brave and often uncommercial sound that's just making the kids go wild. The smart kids, at least. The adventurous and the faithful.

Their set at Coachella 2008 was one of the most anticipated performances of the year and they will soon be touring in England.

Chances of seeing them where I am currently located: zero. At least there is video footage to enjoy.

For me, "Silence" is the greatest song they've ever written and pays homage to every great Krautrock band: Kraftwerk, Faust and especially Can (its beat is reminiscent of Can's live version of "Spoon"). So far, along with Radiohead's In Rainbows, it's the one album that's been getting the most play.

Idioteque: Radiohead Report from the Front

2008-05-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

In 1998 some time, I'd stumbled onto a used copy of Radiohead's OK Computer. Having heard so much about it I sampled it at a used record store and thought how odd it was, this pop band who'd scored a hit with "Creep" had released this album filled with electronic experimentation (and some truly terrific songs). It wasn't until they released Kid A that I stood up and took notice. "Oh, they're that kind of a pop band... paving the way for the future of popular music." My thoughts on OK Computer, perhaps at the time, were that this was music of the future and I just wasn't ready to listen to it. It took several years (and Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief) for me to back track to that important album. Kid A was the equivalent of U2's Achtung Baby. Everybody everywhere says that they hated this album, even some of my beast friends, but it sold really well. It even earned Radiohead a Grammy. This was some sort of hybrid rock music filtered through drum machines, modulations and electronica. And it was terrific. And it didn't sound like Britpop. Was this the beginning of the death of Britpop? Finally and thankfully, yes! Not having considered myself a fan, I'm glad the music pissed off a lot of fans. I've heard people tell me that they love everything Radiohead did up to Kid A. I say I love that and everything after that (and really, they should have returned to the fold by now since the new album In Rainbows harkens back to everything before OK Computer). Like Achtung Baby had split the camps, so did Kid A. But the trip so far has been pretty damn terrific. Maybe those older fans left to make way for the new ones.

I put Radiohead in the category of a handful of bands from the 90's that to me actually matter; that have a place along side of innovative bands like Tortoise, Wilco, Portishead and Stereolab; musicians like Beck, Goldfrapp and Air. Bands who've combined electronics with organic combo playing. I listen to Radiohead, not because they make feel-good music (they don't, really) but the music and musicians are always challenging.

The Tampa show was exceptional. For a city that usually hosts rowdy concerts with ill-mannered attendees, this was a nice and almost mellow show. You're always going to have talkers during the soft songs. It is obvious at this point that they have compromised the show because they've stopped listening to the music. Sometimes the music doesn't exist until it is given ears. This show was not as sweaty and intense as when I saw them at Bonnaroo two years ago, but then nothing can really compare to a Bonnaroo performance.

The Setlist:

all I need
there there
lucky bangers and mash (Thom Yorke drumming)
15 step
nude
pyramid song
optimistic
arpeggio
the national anthem
idioteque
you and whose army
reckoner
everything in its right place
airbag
bodysnatchers
videotape

encore

the gloaming

the tourist
just
faust arp
exit music

encore 2

the bends
house of cards

Keeping Up

2008-05-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Too many things going on at the moment to report properly. I stopped writing one book and decided to edit another. I didn't plan on touching this new (old) manuscript for some time but here I am head first into the editing process. This is the worst part about writing. If I could write it and throw it away and never have to edit it would be great.

In the past week I took in episodes of The Sopranos, the Robert Ginty film The Exterminator and most recently Walker, directed by Alex Cox.

Walker is the story of William Walker, American expat who went to Nicaragua to instill democracy and wound up becoming a dictator who eventually pushed to reinstate slavery in the region. He also had ambitions of taking over the regional countries in the area until he really fucked up and got himself executed. In the hands of Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, etc.) the film is a violent and sometimes comedic ode to American imperialism while underlining the facts yet somehow making Walker a likable character who's weak and flawed. The actors in the film are a who's-who of Cox's usual cast of players: Miguel Sandoval, Dick Rude, Joe Strummer, Sy Richardson, etc. Walker sometimes plays like a more serious version of Straight To Hell which was Cox's previous movie. The film disassembles itself by the last reel and turns into a strange parody much the way Blazing Saddles ended. There are plenty of sight gags and some inside jokes and the Joe Strummer soundtrack is one of the best of any Cox film. Mr. Strummer (RIP) also shows up uncredited as the character Faucet. I never understood why The Clash was so popular (or even considered "punk") but Strummer's solo career has always been overlooked. And he was a fun actor.

Best of all on this Criterion release are the extras, including a documentary of the making of the film which sometimes reminded me of The Burden of Dreams, the documentary about Werner Herzog's making of Fitzcarraldo. At times Walker reminds a little bit of a Herzog film, noticeably Aguire, der Zorn Gottes or Cobra Verde. Since Alex Cox has proven he can direct any genre, the film never feels historically inaccurate, however sporadically hysterical. The ensemble cast reminds me that this is very much an Alex Cox film (without whom, we'd have no Robert Rodriguez, Quinten or Alex De La Iglesia). After this film, its many poor reviews and anti-American/Reagan tone, Cox was blacklisted from Hollywood and wouldn't make another film until Highway Patrolman (which was filmed in Mexico in Spanish). In the 90's he set about making a wide range of films, all done in his own anarchistic style, experimental yet never straying from the tone he set for himself with his first film, Repo Man. His tone remains intact even when directing different genres (Death and the Compass, the surreal Three Business and one of my favorites: Revenger's Tragedy (which works as science fiction and historical recreation, strangely enough). As far as contemporaries I can only name Jim Jarmausch (who starred in Straight To Hell) for being as stubborn as Cox in his determination to make his films his own way. As far as his influences? I can think of three directors that influenced Cox: Sergio Corbucci, Sam Peckinpah and Louis Bunuel.

Next up: The Exterminator.

This film was one of those sleazy "grindhouse" pictures from the 80's that made me feel dirty and guilty after watching it recently. But it had all the great elements (cliches) of revenge movies made in the 80's. Let's see the check list:

Vietnam vet coming to New York in the early 80's
black buddy that saved him in 'Nam
working in a meat packing factory frequented by the mob
black buddy is crippled after attack by local thugs
prostitute mutilated in sleazy sex dive, rescued by hero
hero puts gangster through meat grinder
hero uses flamethrower to get revenge on gang members
this movie stars Christopher George

What more does one need for a sleazy revenge classic from the 80's? Sure, it's not Rolling Thunder nor Death Wish 2 (or 3) but it is that one movie that spawned an equally sleazy sequel starring Mario Van Peebles. Those were the days and a lot of the footage of Manhattan from that period in history shows it. I think there's a Target or a musical theatre now where this film was shot in Times Square. Although not the greatest of films, I found myself nostalgic for this time in NYC (I was living there when this film was released). I wish they still made them like this.

Chancer

2008-04-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

For weeks now we've taken in episodes of the British drama, Chancer. This was one of Clive Owen's earliest roles for British television as a rogue investor who is asked to bail out a failing car manufacturing company. It begins with his character (Stephen Crane) advising his boss to invest in this company through the advise of his girlfriend, who works in stock trading. Of course it doesn't go as he wanted (or does it?) and one complication leads to another, and layer after layer of challenges and the plot soon thickens. There are subplots involving other characters but it all ties in with the grand story. There are affairs, double- crossings, cheatings, characters left stranded and a few ironic chuckles. The dialogue between Clive Owen and his boss' character (played by Leslie Philips of the Harry Potter films) is brilliant everyone is sharp tongued, quick-witted and you don't know who is going to get conned next, you don't know what quick scheme Stephen Crane will devise to bail someone out of some situation (that he probably started or got them into in the first place).

Clive Owen looks like a teenager in this role and his charm and humor make him a favorable character. With director Mike Hodges (the original and still superior Get Carter) he made Croupier, a cruel but enjoyable extension of his Chancer character and later I'll Sleep When I'm Dead which gave him broader exposure in the states... and now he's a household name soon to be starring in Sin City 2.

I was trying to imagine Chancer remade in the U.S. as a character drama set in the 80's but it wouldn't be as good as this. The writing is amazingly "on" and the plot always leaves you guessing as to what con he's going to pull next, yet caring about whom he's stepped on to get results. It could have been a great movie but so much would have had to be cut out it would have paled. Currently available to rent from Greencine on a six disk set.

Brian Eno Special on Step Outside

2008-04-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have had only a few days to prepare for this show. I hope to highlight his collaborations, his production of albums and bands (Bowie's Heroes, Talking Heads, Devo, No New York, etc.). Nevertheless it is always an honor to honor one of my musical heroes.

Mutant Action!

2008-04-13T12:35:00.001-07:00

After many years I have finally tracked down a great looking version of the Spanish film Accion Mutante. What I expected to be a minor sci-fi cult thing turned out to be a well-thought out satire with great special effects, hilarious dialogue and gross-out violence.

Directed by second-time director Alex De La Iglesia and produced by Pedro Almodovar this movie prefigures the films of Robert Rodriguez and several of the Mexican/Spanish directors of the late 90's. It also bares resemblance to such films as City of Lost Children and Delicatessen, with a post-apocalyptic mise en scene not unlike Blade Runner or Robocop.

We begin with the leader of the Mutante group getting out of jail and joining up with his band of crippled rejects to pull another job. The plot involves the kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy baron and collect a 100,000,000 Ecus ransom. The mutant band take a spaceship to a distant planet and while en route a lot of the members die. The leader of the band is left with the kidnapped to survive on an arid and violent planet when the spaceship crash lands. Hilarity ensues. So does violence and bad taste (one of the mutants is a set of siamesse twins; one of them dies so the other must continue to drag his now-taxidermised brother along). Of course the kidnapped develops Stockholm syndrome and becomes attached to her captor which creates further complications when the ransom is eventually delivered. Not only did Accion Mutante bring those movies to mind but also Bad Taste and The Hills Have Eyes (and maybe even Ice Pirates?).

This is an exercise in bad taste, but it can be embraced as the film contains great special effects, gore, insults and humor that wouldn't be out of place in a Terry Gilliam film or a film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. At times it reminded me of the Russian film Kin-Dza-Dza. It contains the humor and satire that became De La Iglesia's MO in later films like Muertos de Risa and Crimen Ferpecto. Although I enjoy all of his films, I wish he would attempt another wild sci-fi film like this one.

The DVD is available in a Pal Region 2 DVD, available from Xploited Cinema (see link) for $28.95 and comes in with a widescreen picture, making-of doc (which includes interviews with Almodovar) and several trailers to various Spanish and American films.

Leonora Carrington and Ernst Fuchs

2008-04-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

Two incredible surrealists from the 20th century, both still living and working.

British ex-patriot Leonora Carrington (born 1917) was influenced by the art (and friendship) of Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso, now lives in Mexico where she is widely known. From her earliest work in the 30's she was familiar enough with Surrealism to apply her hand to it, apply what she'd learned to the canvas. The result were paintings that were comical (and somewhat cartoonish), haunting and personal. Like Frida Kahlo with a more fantastic but less political design. Carrington's paintings remind me of the books by Anna Kavan, with their desolate landscapes and surreal mutations. She has inspired a myriad of artists, from "low-brow" painters to film makers like Alexandro Jodorowsky and writer/artist Roland Topor.

I came across the work of Ernst Fuchs while I was reading about H.R. Giger. It is apparent that Mr. Fuchs was a great influence on the Swiss painter by the explicit corporeal designs and landscapes (Alex Grey has been influenced, respectfully almost plagiarized Fuchs work). The similarities are there, in the faces and intimacies that Giger would translate into his biomechanical paintings and structures (including the designs for the unseen Dune and Alien).

Celebrating 40 Years- King Crimson!

2008-04-07T06:45:00.001-07:00

I'm sad to say that I won't be making this show (I think). Although it's only a 12 hour drive from here, I have other plans that week...
Like seeing King Crimson in NYC at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square! Unfortunately we found out about the Nashville show too late and bought the NYC tickets first. But it's okay. By the time we see them they should have their trainwrecks recovered and hopefully they would have perfected what it is that they are perfect at. My mind wonders about the new material, if any. How will the older stuff will sound like. Will they play "Red" or "Indiscipline"? Or, now having two drummers will they dust off "B'Boom/THRAK" or "The Talking Drum/Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Part 2"?
I am desperately anticipating...but expecting nothing. It's been seven years since I last saw Crimson play. I think I predicted this. Everything is right with the universe when King Crimson reunites.

Holy Moses! R.I.P. Charlton Heston

2008-04-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it was his time to return from whence he came. Charlton Heston passed away yesterday and I want to give him an honorable mention. The first film I saw him in was not The Ten Commandments, but Earthquake. The year was 1974 and I experienced this in Sensurround-- that meant that during the quaking scenes the theatre shook and shivered as if you were experiencing it right there. My mom said the experience gave her a headache. For me, Earthquake was my favorite disaster movie after The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno (technically the second film I ever saw). Often times Earthquake is regarded with irreverent contempt. It was an overlong, bloated all-star disaster that actually won an Oscar for Best Sound. But I loved it. Still enjoy it and I could possibly write about it all day. Later in his career, Charlton Heston starred in another disaster pic, Airport '75.

But let us never forget his greatest achievements: The Ten Commandments, Touch of Evil, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes (and by that I mean Planet of the Fucking Apes!!), Omega Man, Julius Caesar, etc. Somewhere in there are several of my favorite films of all time. And some of the greatest films of all time.

Regarding Mr. Heston: I have almost gotten into bar brawls with people, defending his involvement with the NRA. I never really gave a shit what his affiliations were, I just enjoyed his films. I don't think an actor's personal life should impact how we view his art. I mean, Chuck Berry may enjoy peeing on white women, but it doesn't mean I hate his music.

I want to kneel and praise the King of Disaster Films! He has passed, thus ending the era of all the Master Actors. The era of gentlemen, heroes and holy paladins!

"I've played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses-- that's probably enough for any man."

"It's been quite a ride. I've loved every minute of it."

--Charlton Heston

Kafka Films!

2008-04-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

In this what I hope will be one of several posts where I list films influenced or based on the work of a writer. I will begin with Franz Kafka, whose work has been subconsciously influencial on a lot of science fiction and metafiction films. Next I hope to explore the influence of William S. Burroughs, Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard on films by David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, The Coen Brothers and others.

Franz Kafka, born July 1883 in Prague was one of the most influential writers of the 20th (and 21st) century. Not quite a science fiction or horror writer, but perhaps writing Magical Realism, his stories can be adapted to both of the previously mentioned genres and that other unknown, unnameable story type. His most popular books include The Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Castle. Although David Lynch has yet to direct a version of The Metamorphosis, those other two books of Kafka's have been adapted in one way or another on film, which is the topic of this blog.

In 1962 Orson Welles directed a cold, comical and almost precise adaptation of The Trial.

(It was also made into a made-for-tv film starring Kyle Maclachlan and Anthony Hopkins, currently unavailable on DVD).

The Welles version is stripped down to Kafka's basics. It comes off like a minimalist stage play, filmed in tight quarters and desolate locations. This cold monochromatic atmosphere best captures the tale of Joseph K. and his arrest and prosecution for a crime that goes unnamed. This film is a great example of low-budget, high concept movie making.

This will be a small list, not just on movies based on Kafka's work (or life in the case of Kafka) but movies influenced and embodying his writings.

Next up: Brazil. Never has there been such a blatant homage to the paranoia and neurosis of a Kafka epic. In Terry Gilliam's film we have a lead character that resembles many of Kafka's heroes, a deteriorated and corrupted society, a dysfunctional bureaucracy and a bleak ending. At least Gilliam was kind enough to give us an ending, where most Kafka novels end abruptly without a proper conclusion. In fact what Gilliam experienced during the filming of Brazil is akin to what any Kafka protagonist would suffer to see his vision through.

Dark City, from 1997, also maintains a secretive and mysterious vibe when a character wakes up one day and doesn't remember who he is and finds a trio of pursuers after him. The setting is dark and bleak, a more surreal Blade Runner. Nothing is as it seems. There is a secret society called The Strangers (could have easily been the title of a Kafka story) that wishes to understand why they cannot influence this lone man when they have control over the city and its people. In the end the lead character overthrows them and saves the "city". Before The Matrix (which in some ways shows influences of Kafka), there was Dark City.

Although David Lynch's The Grandmother and The Alphabet have a thematic relation to Kafka, I think it would be David Lynch who could ever do justice to The Metamorphosis. But since he hasn't and probably never will film it, I want to submit Eraserhead into the sweepstakes of Kafka-inspired (though not directly), best representing the surreal and sublime atmosphere of his work.

This bleak and gray film works best if experienced as a dream, even a Jungian vision; the explorations inside the wasteland that is Henry Spencer's deteriorated mind. The creature in the film, that is to say the baby in the movie, is a manifestation of inner fears and paranoia and I can imagine that had Franz Kafka lived in a different period and country, this is the kind of story he would have written. Perhaps if Kafka had had access to LSD, Eraserhead is what his version of The Metamorphosis would have been like.

La Cite des Enfants Perdus (City of Lost Children) is just bleak and dystopian enough (though beautiful) to qualify an entry into Kafka films. It has darkness, grime and suffering children to make it a distorted and surreal children's story with disturbing elements. A blighted ambience imbues this film, which at times has a sepia tone. This gives it a morose and soiled atmosphere where the characters exist. The kind of landscape that may have inspired Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, which also bears a close resemblance to this Jean-Pierre Jeunet film.

12 Monkeys is another Kafka-realized film. Directed by Terry Gilliam it descends from the line of two of his previous films, Time Bandits and Brazil, 12 Monkeys coming off as a spiritual sequel to both of those films. Bleak and dystopian, Kafka is best represented (in 12 Monkeys) by the futuristic bureaucratic society falling apart at the seams and the covert group that dictates the mission that Bruce Willis' character must complete. Along the way he sees his own death, meets some crazies, falls in love, spends time in an asylum. But as it always was with Kafka, the hero never wins and the needs of the one are drowned out by the needs of the many.

Also of interest are Kafka by Steve Sodeberg, Das Schloss by Michael Haneke (also made in 1968 by Rudolf Noelte). Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Cine! Cine! And the Greatest Blood Show on Earth!

2008-03-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

Vampire Circus is one of my favorite Hammer Studio films from the 70's. This was often broadcast on the local spook program Creature Feature. It was a great day and great weekend (even though I had church the next day) whenever this film was on. I'd call my brothers and my cousin into the room and we'd sit around my tiny black and white TV and get spooked. Ah, a great mixture of carnival, vampires, Hammer sexiness, the tiger woman (!) and revenge.

I have walked away from this forgetting that it was all about movies and music. From the looks of my calendar I take in 10-12 movies a week but I never get around to writing about them. In the past week I've watched several different kinds of films. Between my Tarot studies, work and writing a new book (and rereading Dune) I forget to maintain this thing.

Last week I watched the orig

inal The Transformers and I'm one of the few of the era that doesn't get teary-eyed nostalgic over this overhyped, extended, noisy toy commercial. It was crappy then (in the 80's) and it's crappy now. In fact, in the wake of so many great animated fil

ms and TV shows, this Transformers resurgence is just blatant catering to unknowing 80's-babies. For some reason the song "You Got the Touch" is used frequently in The Transformers (animated), a song later used to comical effect in PT Anderson's Boogie Nights.

But not all that I've seen has been like this. And even though I put down The Transformers, I did get a few chuckles out it. It was after all, Orson Welles' last film.

In the past week I have taken in Tales from Earthsea (Ghibli studios), Derailed, The Matrix (for the first time in 10 years), Quatermass and the Pit, Dust Devil, Titus and various episodes from season two of Carnivale.

Overall it's been an entertaining absorption. I'm currently undecided which DVD's to purchase from xploitedcinema: the French import of Ms. 45, Vampire Circus or Accion Mutante or Santa Sangre. These are just diversions from the real heat, the mind rotting work that I have cornered myself into. I'd be just a little bit crazy if I wasn't able to escape into film.

Praise Yahweh!

2008-03-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

Television is unnecessary. What's more entertaining than Youtube?

NIN: Ghosts

2008-03-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

It was 1990, our last week of school and we decided to have a picnic as a send-off. It was Olga, Rachel, Shanee, Mike P., Ralph, Sean, Andy, Biscuit and myself. Olga, Rachel and myself being Hispanic, the picnic was named "The Spic Picnic" which I remember really offended me. I still have the flier in my yearbook.

I think someone else came too. It wasn't Stephanie because by then she'd blown everybody off and left without a goodbye or a forwarding address. We were driving home after much sun, fun, food and one bottle of beer. Rachel was driving the big beige Lincoln her dad gave her. The one she was embarrassed to be seen in. But it made for a great taxi. Mike and Olga were still dating at the time and sat in the back seat with Ralph. I was in the front passenger side with Shanee and Rachel. They'd set it up that way because they knew how much I liked Shanee. Eighteen years later, here we are about to celebrate 16 years together.

Mike had brought several tapes with him including Peter Murphy, David Bowie and this new band called Nine Inch Nails. This last one was so noisy and industrial (little did I know, not having yet heard Einsturzen Neubauten nor Faust) that I didn't pay much attention to it. Of course, NIN's core member Trent Reznor went on to bring underground credibility and mainstream success to the band. They gave us members of Filter, Trent made Marilyn Manson a star and has had too many imitators to possibly list. NIN went on to record The Downward Spiral and The Fragile (still my favorite album of NIN). And now, 18 years later here I am trying to access the NIN website with little luck, trying to give them my money to download the new album of all instrumentals called Ghosts I-IV. I venture that the website may crash soon from too many hits.

Reasons why this is an interesting investment to me:

a) in an alternate reality, this is what a new King Crimson album would sound like.

b) Adrian Belew of King Crimson, plays on several of the songs.

c) in an alternate reality, this is was David Bowie's Low would sound like if recorded in 2008.

d) pretty great instrumentals; better than anything else that's out there at the moment in this genre of music.

You can even try the first nine tracks for free.

R.I.P., sci-fi dude...

2008-03-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

The man who wrote "The Sentinel" and 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Childhood's End has finally begun his ascension to that outer other. He'd spent most of his life writing about extraterrestrial visitors and journey's into the mysteries of space and has now exited this plane of existence to meet with the great monolithic slab in the sky.
Arthur C. Clarke, though never a favorite of mine as a sci-fi writer, did turn me on to a lot of great concepts and ideas:
a) apes worshiping a humming black slab of unknown that always seems to appear in one of my books or stories
b) that Jupiter could possibly become a new star in our solar system.
c) the ridiculous concept of RAMA.

Ideas. Things that I will never be able to get out of my head. Like Ray Bradbury he was the last of the great sci-fi theorists of the 20th-21st century.
Ground Control to Mr. Clarke: have a swell trip.

" I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do. "--HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Crimson Fever

2008-03-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

It has been confirmed that King Crimson will regroup in August and play several dates in Chicago, Texas and New York. And thus the journey appears in the horizon. Tickets must be bought soon. As they become available travel plans will have to begin. And New York tickets sell fast.

This is the newest version of Crimson. It will have Tony Levin back in the fold and will be augmented with the addition of new drummer Gavin Harrison, originally from British prog outfit Porcupine Tree. This is some excitement. This is also terrifying. Any year that Crimson unites is a year where strong forces are at work. It means there will be travel but it will all be worth it. I can already feel the nervousness I get right before they are about to go on. Like minutes before I was ready to hear them go on and play "Dangerous Curves" for the first time in 2001.

Trey Gunn left the band in 2003 and with Bill Brufford gone since 1997 they have worked as a quartet through their tours, 2000-2003. Five years and a few projects (not ProjeKcts) later, here we have the latest incarnation of the Crimson King. This will be the first time since '97 that they will feature a second drummer and not since 1972 have they acted as a quintet with a second drummer (Jamie Muir).

The many faces of Crimson throughout the years:

And welcome Gavin Harrison.

That sounds really strange, welcoming a new member after all of these years. But the band has always been in a constant flux of change and progression. As Bill Brufford once put it: "Crimson is something you take off the shelf, use it and then put it back for a later time."

Sometimes you add something to it to make it a little better.

Thundarr Thighs

2008-03-13T05:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we attended Megacon in Orlando. This was our 11th year going. Some years have been great, others so-so. Sometimes weather has been an obstacle. Others, traffic. This year, there was a bit of a traffic problem. They switched venues without really mentioning it but it was at least closer to the old venue. It was a better location, the hall was easier to get to and from. It wasn't too far a walk from the parking lot. But the overall experience was friendly, funny, nostalgic. They have a soft-sword group duel where kids will challenge adults to a free-for-all showdown. Lots of costumes, lots of funny inside jokes. The kids enjoy hugging each other now, offering free hugs at every turn. Better than when I was their age and everyone wanted to pulverize everyone else.

The first thing we did was buy art and comics from small indie artists. This is my favorite part of Megacon because I get to meet hardworking artists trying to get exposure. Some are just above mediocre others are really great and have some great ideas. Sometimes this art is worth something, most times it is only worth what value I give it. I bought a sketch of Catwoman for $2. I thought of my brother who should one day get a table and sell sketches.

My other favorite part is the people in costumes, lots of cute girls dressed like our favorite comic book and TV character.

Like Tank Girl:

My other favorite part was buying limited edition figures of Thundarr the Barbarian. Thundarr was a favorite action adventure cartoon of mine when I was younger. It was the highlight of my Saturday morning cartoon viewing. A strange mythical adventure that took place in a post-apocalyptic future, revolving around the three main characters of Thundarr (the said Barbarian), Princess Ariel, a sorcerer; lastly Ookla the Mok, a sort of hybrid of Chewbaca and sasquatch (from the TV show).

It was also a favorite of my companion when she was growing up. It's one of many commonality that bonded us from the start. We also acquired an illegitimate collection of the show on DVD, since it has yet to be released like other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Though the second generation episodes look a tad blurred on our 42" TV, the show manages to still impress and entertain the way it did back in the day. Still an exciting show.

Buck Rogers and Wilma were there too.

So were the X-Men, The Joker and Batman with his family....

Check out the miniature Wonder Woman in between Nightcrawler and Beast. Jugganaut was there too...I thought I used to work with him?

Good Enough For Now

2008-03-03T05:33:00.000-08:00

I have been tuning in to the WFMU annual fund raiser for over a week now. This isn't like the fund raisers I'm used to in my little radio station. These guys make it exciting and funny, not a stressful begathon. Yesterday Yo La Tengo was in their studios in Jersey City, taking requests for pledges for about four hours. Once a hundred dollar pledge was made you were able to request any song for them to play. They ran through a strange songbook which included "Jessie's Girl", "I Can't Explain", The Velvet Underground's "Run Run Run", "Paint It, Black", "White Rabbit" and they ended with a hilarious medley of "Chantilly Lace/MacArthur Park/Afternoon Delight". If any band could successfully and hilariously combine those songs, it was these three from Hoboken, NJ:

In other music news, surprisingly, I turned on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and Wilco was the musical guest. I do believe this was the first time they've been on the show and the band was terrific playing "Hated It Here" and "Walken". During the latter, Jeff Tweedy was sporting a pretty nifty Nudie Suit.
Apparently this ruffled the feathers of a few fans who were denied one of three concerts they were playing as the band had to reschedule for a later date to accommodate their TV appearance. But rest assured you can now remove Wilco from the list of bands and performers that have never played SNL. Iggy Pop anyone?

What I Bought, What I Watched

2008-02-27T15:22:00.000-08:00

I am getting so lazy as a writer and it clearly shows on this blah-ug. I struggled with severe writer's block for two days trying to create an eight-page intro to the new novel I am working on. Finally the words arrived today and when I finished I realized I was going to have to write it all over again, this time in a different setting. Same story, different stage. When writing fiction I have to dig around for the actors in my head and "get into character". Then I get to change locations. It's cheaper than making movies.

Last night after work I used my 50% off coupon at Movie Stop and for about $13 I bought The Big Lebowski and (to my surprise found) Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

This would be my first time viewing this movie on TV. I have twice seen this film but only at a revival house. And I thought for years I could maintain a record of seeing it only in theaters before seeing it at home. Well, it's great to have it, in case I need to watch it for inspiration or if I want to study the amazing opening crane shot. Having reviewed the opening this morning it still doesn't compare to the big screen, even watching it on my 42" flatscreen.

In its entirety I watched David Cronenberg's eXistenZ. This I haven't watched since it originally played in the theater a decade ago. Seeing it again I realized how much the story and concept owed to Philip K. Dick, so much so that the name of the fast food place they get their lunch from is called Perky Pat's (named after a hallucinogenic cynosure in the book The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch). Also, it is certainly a distant relative of Cronenberg's Videodrome and works much better than Naked Lunch because of its lower budget and original story, also written by Cronenberg. I also consider this a superior film to The Matrix. Less is more, in this case. Similar ideas appear in both films but the setpieces in eXistenZ are kept to a minimum. The factory where they build game pods out of animal parts is truly gruesome, possibly one of the most disgusting scenes in any movie (I would dare say it's on par to almost anything in Sweet Movie). It reminds me of my paranoid fevered dreams.

Also on the screen today was Orson Welles' The Trial. I had to watch an old public-domain tape I've had for about ten years. Eventually I will track down the remastered DVD and rejoice, since Welles stuck very close to the original source material for this low-budget, minimalist film. This movie demands another revisit. It deserves a new cult. I can't believe how much of it reminds me of Brazil. A few more viewings by me will determine whether this was Welles' best film.

He seemed to think so.

In Your Face, Juno

2008-02-25T07:03:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was a sympathetic nomination. Maybe it was popularity that got it nominated. It was inevitable that this "little" movie was destined to make a "cross-over". But I don't believe for a moment that it was ever destined to be just an obscure film. There was all sorts of hype behind it and all the kids loved it for its collection of Kimya Dawson songs on the soundtrack. They somehow related to this 16-year old who believes she speaks like an adult but is forced to make a very grown-up decision about an unwanted pregnancy.
It had identical, pretentiously blunt dialog and icky sentimentality that caused me to truly dislike Jason Reitman's previous effort Thank You for Smoking.

It would have been a hell of an upset if this movie had won the Best Picture Oscar over the four other stronger efforts. And that's also how I feel about the Oscar having been given to its screenwriter over the other movies nominated. How does Juno even compare? It barely surpasses the line of being an afterschool special. The pickings were slim, but doesn't mean there wasn't a superior product to choose over it.

Not that Juno was an awful movie. I really wanted to enjoy it. I thought some of the characters had authenticity and were slightly likable. Certainly the actors gave it a go, unfortunately working with a very flimsy script (a flimsy, Oscar winning script). This movie feels almost as if it was aimed at kids. Jason Bateman is completely unconvincing as a former frontman for a rock band from the early 90's. The conversations with his character and Juno weigh the film down with unnecessary references that the writer seemed to sprinkle all over the film to maintain some sort of hipster cred. The dialogue immediately dated the film with some references that even seem out of time. Not an awful movie, but a highly overrated one.

I'm glad to say that it was No Country for Old Men that went home a champion, having taken awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Director(s), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. Based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, it will definitely get millions to start reading his books. Now, many can be exposed to the greatest living writer in America.

R.I.P. Roy Scheider

2008-02-21T18:37:00.001-08:00

In all the commotion of the last week (editing, rewriting manuscripts, etc.) I overlooked the sad news that Roy Scheider had passed away. Aside from Steve McQueen he was one of the first screen actors I ever recognized and was a favorite for many years (having seen Jaws three times during its theatrical run at the age of 4 when I lived in Puerto Rico). I got to thinking that there wasn't a sour movie in his filmography; never any film of his that I didn't enjoy or any character he played who I didn't like (he even portrayed Dr. Benway in David Cronenberg's version of Naked Lunch!!).

What's your favorite Roy Scheider film? Not only is Jaws one of my all time favorite films, but I very much enjoyed him in The French Connection and its quasi sequel (with a better car chase) The Seven Ups; Marathon Man, Jaws 2 (hell, why not? I loved Jaws 2!), Sorcerer, The Jazz Singer, Blue Thunder, episodes of Laws & Order and so forth...

I guess he was sort of the John Wayne for my age bracket. Tough guy but with a heart. Martin Brody is one of the most lovable fathers ever portrayed in a movie. The scene in Jaws when Sean Brody mirrors all of his father's motion still gets a laugh from me, and I've seen the movie at least 30-50 times.

Although Jaws is a favorite and very high on my list, my favorite Roy Scheider movie is... The Seven Ups.

Who's That Knocking at My Door?

2008-02-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

We recently took in Martin Scorsese's first full-length film, Who's That Knocking at My Door? Originally conceived in 1965 under several different names, it was released in 1969, won a few awards (Chicago Film Fest) and opened the door for this iconic director to have greater opportunities. A truncated version of the film is known as I Call First. Scorsese had to gather funds over the years to complete this shorter version of the film and when it was completed it received distribution. Following his documentary Street Scenes in 1970, Roger Corman hired him to direct his first studio feature Boxcar Bertha, starring David Carridine.
The rest, of course, is history. What I gathered from Who's That Knocking, supports the belief I've always had that Marti's best pictures are the smaller, personal, gritty films based around the same stock of characters he's always had. The guys in Who's That Knocking? can easily be transplanted to films like Mean Street who in turn are like the characters in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed.

Scorsese is an incredibly ambitious director, going beyond the small and gritty limitations of those who inspired him. Sam Fuller and John Cassavetes are the directors he reminds me of most. They were certainly influential to him. The difference is, of course, Scorsese's epic vision surpassed these directors. Not always, but he sometimes lost himself when making huge films as Kundun, The Age of Innocence, The Aviator, etc. I could never imagine Cassavetes directing something like The Age of Innocence.
Looking at Who's That Knocking? is looking at the roots of his best characters; his personality. All that he absorbed growing up in New York, all the thugs he knew and the violence he'd seen. Who's That Knocking? starts out with a brawling fight scene that would not be out of place in Goodfellas or Casino. As stated above, it points the way to all the great violence and humor that would show up in his later films. The character of J.R. is often discussing films with the girl he is in love with (Zina Bathune) which leaves the movie open for Scorsese to make other (more subtle) film references. I am reminded of Bergman in the sex scene (I am also reminded of Swedish sex films and Performance, which Scorsese wouldn't have seen at this point). The scenes at the Staten Island Ferry terminal and in the car remind me of Godard. Some of the overlapping editing and camera work remind me of French New Wave, etc.

The scene when Harvey Keitel is in bed was later was echoed (albeit with a higher budget) in Mean Streets.

Unlike Brian DePalma (a contemporary of Scorsese's who went on to independently pave his own career while systematically destroying it) Who's That Knocking at My Door? was the beginning Scorsese needed to break into the mainstream and helped to shape a career that has given us 40 years of great films.

The Naked Kiss

2008-02-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

A former prostitute goes to a small town to redeem herself from her past and encounters a town of people who seem innocent on the outside but harbor some serious dysfunctional traits. Such is this great and sometimes campy film by Sam Fuller, The Naked Kiss from 1964. This was Fuller's follow up to Shock Corridor. There's a scene where the lead character Kelly (played by Constance Towers) gets off the bus and the local movie theatre marquee is showing Shock Corridor. The second she is off the bus, offering her wares (in this case bottles of Angel Foam champagne) she runs into the head of the local police, played by Anthony Eisley (he of television and Al Adamson's Frankenstein Vs. Dracula). There are episodes showing Kelly becoming a nurse because she can't children of her own. She's done turning tricks but when she refuses to go to the local brothel when Eisley's character orders her there, she sets off an avalanche of events that culminates with her being arrested and charged for murder.

This was an unconventional film for the period. It begins with Kelly beating the shit out of her pimp and removing her wig, exposing her bald pate.

There are flashbacks, unsettling imagery of children in peril, and more bitch slapping than was available that year in all the films made. It is a brutal, campy, beautiful and sometimes corny but all the while brilliant film. Kelly is a strong character that refuses to return to her previous life and doesn't put up with anyone's shit.

Double crossed, jailed but eventually redeemed, she leaves town at the end, looking for hope in her new destiny.

Hell is Chrome

2008-02-13T05:49:00.001-08:00

Lately, I can only stomach the music of Fred Frith and have had patience for little else. Except maybe Thelonious Monk. And Wilco. And The Mars Volta. I've gone several days without really listening to much music and that's not always good for the soul.

I'm intrigued by the new Mars Volta album. Though I have enjoyed their records since De-loused in the Comatorium, once you've heard one album, you've heard them all. Not such a bad thing because the same can be said about a lot of bands that they borrow from: Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Santana (that's a bit of an exaggeration: King Crimson's In the Wake of Poseidon sounds nothing like Red). But in January The Mars Volta released The Bedlam in Goliath, their newest "concept" album with all sorts of multi-media ephemera attached to it, B-sides and a drive you plug into your computer with lots of extras. Great concept. I missed out on it on account of me looking for a new job. This band is coming to town soon but my new schedule may conflict with that date.

It's not a real goodbye from your previous job until you've cashed out your 401k. I imagine there's some sort of virtual "fuck you" available somewhere, I just can't access it.
I'm enjoying Wilco right now. Last night we listened to Sky Blue Sky which was the best album of 2007. There is still something subtle and haunted about A Ghost is Born that I always return to. Listening to "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" makes everything okay. What a release.

"he sun will rise, we'll climb into cars
The future has a valley and a shortcut around
Who will wear the crown of drowning award
Hold a private light on a Michigan shore
You fool me with a kiss of kidsmoke
From a microscopic home It's good to be alone I'll be in my bed
You can be the stone
That raises from the dead
And carries us all home
There's no blood on my hands
I just do as I am told"

Wilco, "Spiders (Kidsmoke)"

Cop and 1/2

2008-02-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

On TV this afternoon they showed Cop and 1/2. This is the one where Burt Reynolds teams up with an under privileged black kid and together they bust up the bad guys, motorboat chase and all thrown in. Not only was it filmed in Tampa, Florida but the end title song was sung by Joey (Gimme a Break, Blossom, etc.) Lawrence. Filmed in Tampa and end title song by Joey Lawrence. What's your recipe for a blockbuster movie?

Also watched the original Get Carter, still among the best British crime films ever made. Right up there with The Long Good Friday, Performance, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, etc. The soundtrack by Roy Budd still amazes me as to how ahead of its time it was (title track was covered years later by Stereolab). There is a bonus extra on the DVD showing him performing the title theme. Sounds like all the backing was previously recorded and was filmed overdubbing piano and harpsichord, played in tandem. To that he also overdubbed Rhodes piano. That made up for the fact that chapters 11-13 showed excessive pixeling, damaged done by the sun (this was a used DVD).

Also, there's this curiosity I found on YouTube:

It's an alien invasion movie (Gremloids) starring Paula Poundstone and Chris Elliot.

Again, what's your recipe for a blockbuster movie?

Persistence of Dali- Spellbound!

2008-02-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

There are only two museums in the entire world that maintain most of the artwork of Salvador Dali. One is in Spain, the other is just about forty miles away from where I live. Last night was the opening of a new exhibit at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. My close and personal friend is the curator of education and his wife is in charge of PR and marketing. They were kind enough to put us on the guest list so we dolled ourselves up to mingle with the discreet and bourgeoisie.

This new exhibit reminded me of Dali and Commercialism, a show they had a few years back. The museum was converted into a multimedia haven, showing films, commercials; displays of Dali's books and perfumes and other ephemera were shown as well. Dali and Film is similar but it focuses solely on his involvement with film as well as the legacy of his influence. Each room had a different theme and showed a different film. In the reception hall they showed a Dali documentary. The bourgeois crowd was a bit noisy, and anyway they were there to be seen (scene?) so we left to the main gallery after speaking with some great people. One guy remembered me from the radio show (happens every five years).

We caught some of the newer paintings, including The Persistence of Memory (this painting normally lives in MoMA in NYC; I've never seen it!). In one of the smaller galleries they showed Destino which I'd seen in their previous show. My companion had never seen her so it was a joy to watch it with her.

This little seven minute film was to have been the first collaboration between Disney and Dali. I believe the backing was pulled so only the storyboard sketches survived. It wasn't until 2004 that the film was produced and completed, available only at museum showings.

Destino would have fit perfectly within Fantasia, but would have probably usurped all other animation.
We caught Un Chien Andelou, which seems to play everywhere all the time. Best of all they showed a loop of the dream sequence from Spellbound and had the actual backdrop of the film pulled up on the wall! This was a canvas mural which has to be seen to be experienced! They had two other pieces of art from that movie and you can actually read the camera instructions on the surface of the eyeball painting.

My companion had never watched L'age d'or so we sat in the gallery and watched the entire film while people came and went. This film was the second collaboration between Dali and Spanish director Louis Bunuel (the first being, of course, Un Chien Andelou).

I love the ending and it packs one of the greatest punchlines in cinema history. Watching L'age d'or in its entirety I thought of two later Bunuel films which were prefigured here: The Exterminating Angel and The Milky Way.
Although I didn't qualify for the free champagne, seeing the existing backdrop to a Hitchcock movie was sublime and intoxicating enough.
Other upcoming events at the museum include film lectures by John Waters.
For more information, check out the Salvador Dali Museum website.

I Just Watched the World's Most Expensive Sword and Sandal Epic

2008-02-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

So sometimes I fall behind in watching new movies. I run from hype like its a rabid dog. I've skipped through most of the films of the 80's & 90's and I'm sure I haven't missed much. Yesterday we decided to watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator ,
eight years after its release. My closest friends told me at the time of its epic scope and incredible fight sequences and they certainly built it up for me but I guess I had no interest then (what the hell was I watching then?). To me Ridley Scott's films have to be big and disastrous; actors should walk off the set, sets should catch on fire (as in Legend), the studio should take it away from him and recut it. As far as I know the filming of Gladiator went smoothly. Maybe that's why I didn't see it the first time.
I was excited to finally get around to watching it and was surprised halfway through it when I realized, this was just an adventure film all dolled up like a Cecil B. DeMille epic! But that was okay. That meant there would be nothing too deep or distracting from the swordplay. This was a big blockbuster film, after all, aimed at the masses that ate up shit like Braveheart and The Patriot. Although I have not sat all the way through Braveheart I was going to sit through this one if just for the fact that Ridley Scott directed. I wear my director biases like a T-shirt. But alas there was some drama and tragedy but overall it was a long but adventurous sword and sandal film. Possibly the best one ever made since, oh, I don't know...Ben Hur?
Best of all, I got to watch Olive Reed in his last role, hamming it up one last time, but hamming it up with great dignity. According to legend, once the film shooting wrapped up he went drinking with the crew, outdrank everyone and died after having won an arm wrestling match. What a way to go! Brilliant.
Also in the film, for a brief moment, was David Hemmings. For one moment these two film greats share the screen and it made me wonder why they'd never been in a film together before (though they may have been in a film together before this, but I am not aware of it).
So eight years after the fact, here I am giving my brief impression. This was the 155min. version of Gladiator that I saw, not the "extended" 177min. one. Gulp. That seems a bit long. I thought 155min. was sufficient. Not too much, but just enough.
I would say that the first sword and sandal film I ever saw was The Ten Commandments. This played in a theater in 1976 in Puerto Rico where I was living and watched it with my parents and grandmother. I was all of four years old, but very impressed. Alas, I fell asleep after Moses turned his staff into a snake.
Observations:

Not swords or spears through the anus. After all, this was NOT Caligula. Pity.
Impressive violence: the catapult scene at the beginning was tops. The action could have been a little tighter. But it was better than the average floppy-sword fight scene of past movies. More blood was needed. Fuck it, go for NC-17 rating.
The score was at times reminiscent of Holst's "Mars". Still being plundered since 1916!
The fire in the forest and ashes which fell like snow was impressive. Dramatic for its own sake, but impressive.
Could Monty Python have bettered this? Yes.
Accents? Everybody was white. I was hard pressed to believe there were real Romans in this picture with the exception of Joaquin Phoenix, who can pretty much cast type for about five or six ethnicities. That's hard to do.
Ridley Scott's films should be controversial as stated above. But then again perhaps that's best left to Terry Gilliam.

So, there it is. My review of Gladiator. Maybe when I'm all caught up on films I have not seen I will get around writing more impressions.

Coup de Torchon

2008-02-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

Transposing the action from the American South to Senegal West Africa, Coup de Torchon, a film by Bertrand Tavenier gives a new interpretation to the Jim Thompson book Pop.1280. This violent film is at times hilarious and though I have not read this Thompson book, it contained significant themes which had carried over from his novels. The film lets you feel the heat, sweat and dust of this African country. The colors are muted pastels and according to director Tavenier, at the beginning of the day the colors were vibrant during the shoot and by the end of the day the haze of the dust and heat would dull and fade them out. In the case of Coup de Torchon, the "formula" for noir was followed precisely, even though the story took place in West Africa. You had the heat, the antihero, the cheating wife, the scrappy mistress, the villains and the betrayed locals. The conflict and intensity of racial tension was perfectly placed within the colonial context.
This film was released in 1981 to some minor criticism and controversy. Dealing with colonialism and the racism it wrought, Coup de Torchon was not apologetic, nor was redemption attempted with any sort of liberal speech making. It presented the facts of history as they were, which made for a solid and often sordid plot. It was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar and was nominated for several Cesar awards (the French equivalent) and won for best film by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics and Best Foreign Film in Italy.

It starred Philipe Noiret (La Grande Buffet, The Old Gun) and Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher). Of all Jim Thompson adaptations, this one brings dignity to this gothic tale of greed, violence and prejudice.

Robert Rodriguez: Comic Book Auteur?

2008-01-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

Having to wait two weeks to start my new job has given me the opportunity to view a lot of DVD's at home. This morning I revisited Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the action packed quasi-western directed by Robert Rodriguez. I wasn't impressed the first time I viewed it because I felt it had too many characters and too many plot elements (for this sort of action film). I felt the Mariachi character (previously seen in El Mariachi and its sequel Desperado) took a backseat in all of this to make way for characters played by Ruben Blades, Johnny Depp, Willem Defoe and Mickey Rourke. It's ambitious story arch was certainly more than your standard mariachi-for-hire plot. So when I first saw it in a theater I considered it was just a throwaway time-waster to showcase all these actors. Since Desperado, Robert Rodriguez has picked up the baton that John Woo dropped when he moved to mainstream Hollywood movies. I dare say these Mariachi movies are capable of delivering the same sort of action as in John Woo movies like A Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard-Boiled.

The plot to Once Upon a Time in Mexico cushions out the mindblowing action scenes in what is otherwise a shoot 'em up cartoon. With its bright red, green and gold colors, its sweaty close ups and Sergio Leone hommages, this film leaves the viewer with little room to catch their breath. It is a dazzling film in a long line of great action films directed by self-made independent director Rodriguez (independent with a big studio backing him, natch, he's not Jim Jarmausch after all). It is part of a collection of action films taking place within a hyperkinetic universe all its own; films like From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Desperado, Sin City and most recently, Planet Terror.
I remember reading the comic book Body Count by Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Simon Bisley (Lobo, Judge Dredd, etc.) about eleven years ago and for the first time in a long time I was reminded of this incredible book while watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico. And then it hit me that Robert Rodriguez is progressively becoming more and more of a comic book-styled film director. Having given us cartoon family fare such as Spy Kids and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, adding to that his brilliant adaptation of Sin City, he's already created a universe of pulp comic cinema. Not like Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City) or Bryan Singer (X-men), who obscured their superheroes in shadows while they boil with emotion and inner-turmoil. Rodriguez highlights action and adventure. Slowly his films are becoming comic book panels, exploding with a cornucopia of bright colors and cartoon action. So I write this because I was reminded so much of Body Count that I had to revisit the comic and post some pictures of contrast and comparisons.

Simon Bisley
Salma Hayek in From Dusk Til Dawn

Cover of Body Count
Did I mention that Body Count was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book done in the style of John Woo's Hard Boiled?

Thank You Tim Lucas

2008-01-30T05:15:00.000-08:00

Tim Lucas, editor extraordinare of Video Watchdog was my inspiration for this blog. For years I have subscribed to his magazine and though I've never considered myself an essayist or review scribe, it at least made me want to write down my notes on film and the like. For years Video Watchdog has maintained consistent film reviews and essays on great lost films and interviews with forgotten artists. They also maintain a meticulous archive of film details and notes on DVD releases, always recommending the best version of a film to buy, be it an American DVD or an overseas version. And did I mention they worship Mario Bava and that the Bava book is one of the greatest film tomes ever written?

This is a copy of the latest issue:

Also, Lucas wrote this great review about Cloverfield, a film I will probably be defending for years to come. Much like the way I stood up for Napoleon Dynamite.
Check out this article. It's a great read.

Godzilla vs. Cloverfield (Or Godzilla vs. Yer Mom)

2008-01-27T10:33:00.001-08:00

A lot of people have voiced their indifference to Cloverfield. Well, I'm going to tell you that if you missed the symbolism and what the monster really was, you should pack yer bags and never watch a monster movie ever again.

(Did you ever really think Godzilla was about a giant lizard stomping Tokyo? It was about nuclear annihilation, man! That monster isn't really there! That monster is your worst fear manifested into a building crushing, fire breathing juggernaut! Do I have to spell it out?)

In other film related rants, I did watch There Will Be Blood, a long rambling character study starring Daniel Day-Lewis in his most challenging and possibly greatest role. I can understand why it will compete with No Country for Old Men for best picture of the year. There Will Be Blood has touches of a Cormac McCarthy drama, with apocalyptic characters battling their wills and their superstitions of god, while spending a lifetime trying destroy each other. There was oil, there was blood. And some amazing acting.

DVD Selections on Clearance

2008-01-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

The local video store ran a sale on DVDs. I went in looking for Straw Dogs and not only came out with that, but I also found:

I really enjoy movie posters and alternative posters from other countries or of retitled films.

This is the French poster for The Brood.
I love the title Chromosome 3 because it invokes some of the psychological and scientific aspects of this horrific film.

American DVD cover (and the version I bought).

But most dramatic and my personal favorite is this:

The Three Stigmata

2008-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

J.G. Ballard, R.I.P. to be? Yes, perhaps. The 77 year old English writer was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. I imagine that prepares you for the big change. He is currently finishing up work on another book. Ballard has been called the William S. Burroughs of England and is in the tier of writers who have influenced me and my writing. Those writers include Ray Bradbury, William S. Burroughs and Cormac McCarthy. Certainly he has already given us a dozen or more great books; focused and without catagory; intense, erotic, violent and thought-provoking.

When it comes to new writers his style is often copied but never as intelligent, obsessive or given to bizzare medical and psychological abstraction (i.e. The Atrocity Exhibition, a book that is possibly stranger than Naked Lunch and certainly prefigured Ballard's own Crash).

Don Delillo and Chuck Palahnuik have nothing on Ballard.

High Praise But Only "Cult" Status Or: The Oscars, Part 2

2008-01-23T06:01:00.001-08:00

Werner Herzog, the last of the great German New Wave directors is often neglected by the Oscars. Last year (or I should say 2006) he gave us Rescue Dawn starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. I was watching Zahn in thinking, this guy's a sure thing for at least one Oscar nod. His performance was subtle and heartbreakingly morose. I hadn't experienced such pathos in a character in a very long time (and in terms of a Herzog film, not since The Enigma of Kasper Hauser).

I don't know how his portrayal of a starved Vietnam War POW who withers away during an escape, eventually meeting his fate in a hellish Laosian jungle, was overlooked. Even Christian Bale's cheerful portrayal of Dieter Dengler (who successfully escapes the POW camp) was snubbed. Once again, his performance was forgotten, not only for Rescue Dawn but for his portrayal of Jack Rollins (nee, Bob Dylan) in I'm Not There. And though Herzog is often showered with critical exaltation, it is never an Oscar nod. Maybe when he is 98 years old they will give him a lifetime achievement award (the way they did Kurosawa though he was 87 or 88). Although he is still making movies and documentaries, and is very much a contemporary director, his films continue to garner at best, a "cult" following.

Recommended films:

Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972)

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

Woyzeck (1979)

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) (the documentary on which Rescue Dawn was based)

Grizzly Man (2005)

(really, I can go on and on...)

Tired of Netflix? Try Greencine. They have an incredible collection of indie, foreign and cult films (including a lot of Herzog titles).

Did I mention the fucking Oscar Nominations?

2008-01-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

I am always grateful that the Oscars nominate little known films because it always leads to wider theatrical distribution or an early stateside DVD release. Two things that remain constant with the Oscars (while I'm on the topic constants):

While David Cronenberg will always be appreciated in France, England and his native Canada, he will always be screwed over come Oscar time. His previous A History of Violence was on every top 10 list in 2005. This year his newest film Eastern Promises manages to get a single nomination (and very well deserved) for Viggo Mortensen. Nothing more. There was no mention of Howard Shore's subtle but majestic score; no mention of cinematography, editing or even a nod to often-shoe-in Naomi Watts. Original screenplay? Nope. Anyway, I waste my hand with all of this.
The Oscars really despise someone like Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, Safe, etc.). He directed the YEAR'S BEST FILM (I'm Not There) and created a most original masterwork of Bob Dylan's life (based on the life and personalities of Bob Dylan!). I don't understand how a film this beautiful (different film types, hallucinagenic effects, bold imaginative visuals, David Cross as Allen Ginsberg and GREAT music) completely misses the boat when it comes time to honor great films. I suppose Haynes will have to wait for England or France to award him with the recognition he truly deserves.

On the plus side, the SECOND BEST FILM OF THE YEAR, No Country for Old Men, is nominated several times, including best picture. But since There Will Be Blood is also running against it, they may give it to another film altogether. Or if they give it to There Will Be Blood (deservedly so, I imagine) we may get a film that will win everything (like Lord of the Rings, parts 432 thru 757).
Who will win best supporting actor? Not Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, but Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild. Why? Because he will probably die this year.
Those are the rules.

R.I.P. Heath Ledger

2008-01-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

For me 2007 was devastating in several ways, mostly because it was full of unexpected change. The constant we can always rely on as we age, as life progresses, is that our lives are subject to change.
Financially, for myself, my company downsized and eliminated my job. Family wise, my uncle passed away, downsizing our family. Professionally, a dedicated coworker and business partner died. He went to the hospital complaining of stomach pains and the doctors found he had a hole in his stomach that was slowly filling with blood. A week later he died.
There is certainly no change in life like death.
Having said that, I'd like to commemorate Heath Ledger, actor. He was found dead today in his New York apartment, gone, gone, gone too early in his life. Too big of a talent, too beautiful of a man and such a waste.
This coming summer he will be seen in the new Batman film The Dark Knight playing The Joker.

Cloverfield

2008-01-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

This post will try to encapsulate my reaction after taking in the new film Cloverfield. This is a reactionary piece of film making, a response to our fear that we are never safe from unknown threat. This is the first great response to the devastation that fell upon New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, yet it has nothing to do with terrorists (well, while there are no such characters in the film, we can clearly see that this is what is meant).

In order for a horror film to work it has to instill panic, otherwise it's just a monster ride through a carnival spookshow. What Cloverfield manages is, is not only to grab you by the throat and take you on a devastating hellride, but it plants seeds of fear into your conscious mind. What you don't see is what you fear most. I'm glad the threat is never explained. It is shown and best of all the audience must decide what it is and where it came from by the clues that are suggested through bits of scattered dialogue.
The secret to this film's success is that it sets up the unlikely premise, strands the characters and then puts you in their shoes as they try to:
A) realize what it is that is attacking
B) discover their escape plan
C) throw off their rescue attempt with several turns of unexpected events.

But most frighteningly of all is the depiction of a ruined New York and how I would escape this devastation. Seeing the Brooklyn Bridge crumble under the wrath of the unknown beast, I immediately thought: they can't rebuild that. My mother lives just above Central Park in NYC and my most reactionary response was: I hope she knows to take the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey. I wasn't so much frightened for the characters in the film but all of NYC. Most of my family lives there. The sense of extinction is a devastating one when I consider it.
I know that this movie isn't about a monster wrecking havoc in a big city. This movie is about how people responded, what they felt, what they saw on Sept. 11, 2001. Again, I thought of my mother sitting on a park bench just west of the Brooklyn Bridge on that day and her not knowing what had transpired, and wondering to herself (as she later explained) where that big cloud was coming from. It stands to remind a movie audience that no one would be ready for something like that, no one was ready for something like that.
This goes back to what I said in my manifesto that films should leave a mark on you in any way that it can. With this film, I believe the makers achieved what they set out to do.

"This movie was so low-budget. It looks like it was filmed on a camcorder."
--theater patron's comment while I waited to use the restroom.

Two Records from the 80’s Uncovered

2008-01-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

Deceit by This Heat

Proposing an alternative: where This Heat, Wire and Joy Division replace previously established groups of the “punk movement”, the “punk movement” being neither “punk” nor a “movement”. “Punk” was what people wanted to listen to other than disco and prog rock in the late seventies. This Heat, Wire and Joy Division were an alternative to the alternative. That’s why it’s taken thirty years for a listening audience to catch up with them.
This Heat was a band from Brixton, England, established sometime in 1975, progenies from a line of progressive rock circles. Drummer Charles Hayward had previously been in Daevid Allen’s Gong, and Quiet Sun with Phil Manzanera. This Heat set out to record and play live, inspired by everything which had come before them, with a mission to sound like The Who. They eventually complied songs for their first, self-titled album, played locally and fell into obscurity.

Deceit was the second and last record from This Heat. Aside from an EP, single and first album, their discography was miniscule. It has now been established that their sound was ahead of its time (some of it still is), sounding like some garage attempt at Harry Partch’s gamelan music and post-prog experimentalism. All three members—including Charles Bullen and the late Gareth Williams—played a variety of instruments but all had a hand at tape manipulation. This was a tool for them, both on record and live shows.
Deceit was released in 1981 and contained influences of “punk” (more attitude than “sound”), world music and rock. A lot of songs contained strange looped percussion, slowed down tapes, musique concrete and other experimental techniques. But if ever there was an album motivated by the fear of nuclear annihilation, it was Deceit. The band members were of the belief that it would all be over soon under a shower of nuclear warheads and that this would be their last recording. This album was recorded in the cold and cavernous Cold Storage studio (once a meat factory) and reflects some of the paranoia of its time.
This music points to the future, including Charles Hayward’s next band, The Camberwell Now. Having first heard Deceit as a bootleg back in 2000, I was aware of other bands who had been influenced it: Isotope 217, Tortoise (John McIntire was once asked what he considered a rock band, answering “This Heat”), Trans Am, Don Caballero, Mogwai and several other “post-rock” bands (groups who play rock instruments whose sound defies categorization).
Deceit spoke of deceit by policy makers and the failure of the Marxist dream. The lyrics of “Independence” recite the words written in the Declaration of Independence. “S.P.Q.R.” establishes a proclamation for manifest destiny:

“We are all Romans unconscious collective, we are all Romans we live to regret it…we organise via property as power, slavehood and freedom imperial purple pax romana!”

“Sleep” emphasizes complacency:

“You are now in a deep sleep
In store promises endless possibilities a life of ease
A life cocooned in a routine of food stimulus and response
Softness is a thing called comfort doesn't cost much to keep in touch
We never forget you have a choice
Possibilities in store
A taste of Paradise
Success on a plate for you
Endless Promises
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Go to sleep you are now in a deep sleep…”

The clear and loud mix is up front and amazing. And it was recorded in a meat storage warehouse! (Even in its bootleg form it was a great mix). Those bells on “Sleep” and the low chorus reach deep into you upon listening.
Guitar and keyboards were often mixed lower in the recording. Percussion was prevalent and the forefront sound for this band (much like Tortoise). Drums were usually a mix of live and studio takes (as in “Makeshift”), layered on top or against tape loops of water drums, pipes, slowed down percussion and strange gongs. If ever there was a blueprint for a makeshift garage prog band, This Heat’s Deceit was it. Without assigning itself to a category this music arrives from a future past, having been buried in an avalanche of new decade superfluity.

Cheap at Half Price by Fred Frith

In 1979 former Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith moved to New York City, immediately attaching himself to the burgeoning avant-garde scene. This group of musical elitists (some would say) consisted of Tom Cora, Zeena Parkins, Ikue Mori (of downtown no-wave unit DNA), Curlew and many more. In the period between 1974-1980 Frith had explored Eastern European folk and dance music, scrutinizing the complexities of different rhythm structures. He appeared to mix all of this gathered experience and information into his fifth solo record, Cheap at Half Price. In his years after Henry Cow dissolved he played with The Residents, formed Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Maher (who was later replaced by Charles Hayward); he’d recorded with Samla Mammas Manna and worked on several solo projects. Among his many solo records and collaborative output, this record had the structure of a pop album, proper. Well, a pop album that was mostly recorded in his apartment, with most instruments played by Frith, recorded on a portable 4-track. Cheap at Half Price collects tiny pop and avant-garde gems and finds Frith doing all the singing (where applicable).

Somewhere in here Ronald Reagan makes a cameo.

With its unconventional momentum you get pop music that is sometimes tumultuous and chaotic yet beautifully rendered. The album explodes with many kitschy ideas in its myriad musical styles. Aside from avant-rock and experimentalism (found sounds notwithstanding), you hear ska, polka, reggae, Prague rock (sic) and The Beatles. Although more accessible than any of his solo work up to that point in his career, Cheap at Half Price highlights Frith’s ceaseless exploration of the strange and beautiful.
Frith often cut a hilarious character (sitting barefooted on stage, playing guitar with dried beans and wires, etc.) and it shows on this record.

His sense of humor surfaces in every song even though this is a very personal and VERY political album. It explodes with the joy of an artist playing alone, playing to himself, but a small individual living with the fear of the “wise” and their “lies…lies”. At times its ragged pop songs come off as like Paul McCartney’s first album filtered through the avant-garage.

Listening to this album not only sends me reeling back towards a sweaty, gritty New York of 1983, but it puts me at the center of the fear and paranoia of this decade, as described in the Deceit review. It makes me imagine Frith hunched over his guitar playing and mixing this album while the world’s consensus was that it was all going to wash away in a blast of nuclear oblivion.

Expectation is the prediction that history will repeat itself, exactly, precisely.

2008-01-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

"Expectation is the prediction that history will repeat itself, exactly, precisely." -Robert Fripp

I write this as I find that I am repeating a lot of my fiction ideas. I think with my fictional writing I have reached the point where I am writing the same story over and over. The same characters seem to appear when I didn't invite them. And they all break off into the same path ending with the same results. But since my stories all take place in different universes, it is safe to say, that they will never cross paths and point and say, "Hey, I've been in this scenario before. How does it end?"
But they are all walking inside my mind occasionally encountering one another and duking it out for my attention.

Coming soon: two reviews of two key records of the 80's: Fred Frith's Cheap At Half Price and This Heat Deceit. Of course at the time they came out I was listening to Grandmaster Flash and Run-DMC, but in retrospect, listening to these albums absolutely remind me of being alive and being afraid in 1980's America. They inspire a kind of joyful paranoia.
Also, by popular demand, a review of Red Dawn, a film I have never seen.

Airport Book Shop (Peter Greenaway)

2008-01-14T17:58:00.001-08:00

JG Ballard- Crash!

2008-01-14T17:57:00.001-08:00

Instant Makeover

2008-01-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

I was out of my element in previous postings. I am out of my element now. This is what I do with boredom. There is an immense rush of energy to write which has possessed me as of late, but with little or no original ideas, there is this...

Videos to follow.

The title has changed and perhaps the mission at hand too. I have taken in several films by Peter Greenaway and perhaps he is better heard in interview for a better grasp of his ideas. Exposure to this has rearranged some thoughts and ideas. Add a recent viewing of an early film of Crash starring JG Ballard (not the Cronenberg film) and you can get the idea.
Note that blog name change and perhaps even direction. I feel that I am in a better place now. In terms of blogs, at least.

We Begin With Films of the 80's

2008-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

This post was inspired by my friend Dave who recently gave me a DVD copy of License to Drive and Mischief ("this one you have to see because Kelly Preston is naked in it!") which had me considering the movies of that era. I wanted to address the myth that all 80's movies were teen sex romps, The Breakfast Club and Freddy Krueger sequels.

Nostalgia for all things 80's has become a current trend among twentysomething's. The children of the 80's have grown up and are now looking back, reflecting on movies, music and styles that were popular during this "plastic decade". Adoration for John Hughes' films and TV shows of the era are all the rage. Trendy clothing boutiques now specialize in jelly shoes, studded belts and leggings. Anyone in a who's-who in a circle of hipsters sports a Pat Benetar-do (although even that's become passe' now, like it's so 2004!).
I remember the 80's and it wasn't Molly Ringwald, Flock of Seagulls and Madonna rolling around in a wedding dress. The way the 60's are often misrepresented in a montage of U.S. troops in Vietnam, hippies at Woodstock and footage of a rallying Nixon (all to the tune of "All Along the Watchtower"), the 80's have now taken on this mythical representation by way of popular culture nostalgia.
I remember the 80's as a particularly mad period. The decade got off with a bang--literally, as the shot that killed John Lennon set things off with a cynical and avarice tone. I remember becoming a teenager and moving out of New York. I remember the culture shock I felt and the aftereffect of displacement. When asked, I always associate the 80's with the Cold War (does anyone remember the paranoia instigated by great TV films such as World War III and The Day After?). The 80's was Reagan and Reaganomics. It was poverty for the lower classes. It was an excess of Rocky movies. It was bad clothing, pollution, Iran-Contra, greed, android Republican politicians. But if the best that anyone can recall is Punky Brewster and Breakfast Club, let's at least celebrate what I think to be essential films of that decade. (Later I will recount the great and forgotten music of those years, and it wasn't Simple Minds or even The Art of Noise...)

This blog may just become an obsessive list. I find that to be poor journalism but then again, I've always thought of myself as a poor journalist.
Let's begin with the basic premise of films from the eighties. You had war movies (First Blood, Uncommon Valor, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, et al.); everybody was in some sort of post-'Nam war flick (even David Carradine (P.O.W. anyone?)). You had horror and slasher films (Nightmare on Elm St. parts 1 thru 256, and any other garbage by Wes Craven and Joel Schumacher, et al.). 90% of fantasy films were crap. There were two Star Wars movies, three Indiana Jones movies, a James Bond movie with Grace Jones, two Rocky movies and no less than three Missing in Action films starring Chuck Norris. I would require an additional blog just to list the movies starring the so-called Brat Pack, an yet another blog to illustrate a family of all of their common films.

Kirk Cameron was a commodity. He also helped to finish off Dudley Moore's career.

The 80's may have been plastic-coated and smothered in hairspray but the consensus seemed to be as naive as it was for white America in the 50's. Then again, I wasn't alive in the 50's so I can't fully support that statement. I do know that history does repeat itself. Looking back at the 80's is like looking at a time where everything was superficial and it was okay because the 80's were the future; the idea that there was a bomb looming overhead, but everything was F-I-N-E. We'd made it out of the 70's and we were going to be rich because the peanut farmer was out of the office and a movie star had replaced him...

Every girl wanted to grow up to be Molly Ringwald. (How come none of them wanted to be Sigourney Weaver?)

The following is my list of greatest films of the 80's. Try if you might to see if you spot a John Hughes film. You'll be surprised. (Because you won't find one). The list represents films which I found to be exemplary of the true culture of the time, artistic merit and historic significance. Films of the the first half of the decade were more "Everything is great!"; the second half was a more "Oh shit, we fucked this up, didn't we?"

The 80's gave us films that broke the mold and set the standard for other films which followed. Almost all film making could have ceased, seeing as some directors and their innovative films closed the deal on a lot of ideas. Ideas that previous filmmakers were reaching for but couldn't quite make it. Some directors were never able to dignify their careers with their follow-up films.

The list goes:

Blade Runner
Repo Man
Ran
Full Metal Jacket
Raging Bull
Brazil
Do the Right Thing
The Thing
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Akira

To that, add:

Basket Case
Laputa: Island in the Sky
A Zed and Two Noughts
Santa Sangre
Blue Velvet
The Killer
Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior)
Bad Lieutenant
A Christmas Story
Beat Street
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Aliens
Robocop
Stop Making Sense
The Abyss

And what's this? Fellini made four films in the 80's? Two of which I believe to be commendable output for his later work:

Citta delle Donna
E La Nave Va
Ginger e Fred
Intervista

(At best Woody Allen gave us Stardust Memories)

Next I will discuss the themes of some of these films and their historical significance.

The Burden of Dreams Manifesto

2008-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

A film is to be absorbed, not merely observed. The experience of watching a movie, "taking in a film" is stimulus to each of the senses. A film is heard, a film is smelled; it reaches out, touches you and most of all it is to be taken through the eyes. A movie, like great literature, will open your mind to ideas. To leave its trace, a film should make you cry, it should sicken you, it should make you laugh, entertain, change. It should scar. Leave its impression for as long as you can remember. A film is a collage of moving pictures that attempts a semblance of narrative.

I've never understood individuals who get up and leave a movie before it ends. This is not what this blog is about.

This blog is dedicated to :

Werner Herzog
Federico Fellini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Alexandro Jodorowsky
Kenneth Anger
Jean-Luc Godard
Akira Kurosawa
Mario Bava
Louis Bunuel
Georges Melies

This blog was inspired by individuals requesting my ramblings on film and because the suggestions I make are too many to take in all at once during conversation. Here it is, here they are: ramblings, delusional critiques and moments of ridiculous statements.
This was also inspired by Guillermo Del Toro and his love for film and the many inspired interviews he's given over the past years and months.
To enjoy film one must love the medium unconditionally. All one has to give film is eyes and intelligence and the rest happens on its own. One takes from it what one brings to it.

This blog is dedicated to the artful, the psychotronic, the exploitive, the terrible, the strange, the beautiful and sometimes the despised. There will be music critiques, there will be film reviews. There will sometimes be nothing. This is written while the writer's block passes.