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Ya took mah woman. And I'm a-gonna keel yah, fer a-takin' mah whoa-man. But first, I'm a-gonna sing yah a song and we is-uh gonna have couple uh drinks. And howsabout mah man Billy Byrd's gee-tar? Whooooooooo-eeeeeeeee!
Did you see the PBS documentary on Warhol this week? First part was really good. Second part was uneven: factory part was good, went into too much detail about Solanos shooting and then just brushed aside last 15 or so years of his life. This short extract from an early interview with him neatly sums up something about him and about the whole process of self-description. Interesting how journalists in the 1960s didn't really know how to talk to people like Warhol or Dylan or the Beatles. Have journalists gotten more hip or have hipsters gotten less so?
Gary Giddens writes in today's NY Times (in a review of the second volume of Simon Callow's biography of Orson Welles):
"For here is the crux of the Welles conundrum, boiled down to one question: Which is the more impressive feat? A gifted young man is given a film studio, its technicians and almost unlimited funds to make any movie he desires, and he comes up with “Citizen Kane.” A mature, experienced, stubbornly individual artist in middle age, working with little more than rent money and spit, makes “Chimes at Midnight.” The first film revolutionized cinema, yet merely hints at the sublimity of the later work. The question implies — as does “Hello Americans” — that the Welles debate has shifted ground. It used to center on the cause of his decline: Was the fault in Welles, the stars, the system? Now the decline itself is in question."
Exactly. One of the reason Welles is so highly regarded by his fans is that he was not courting perfection, he was endlessly curious, even restless. Anyone who sees his later works like "F for Fake" knows his brilliance and creativity never waned. He may never have created another film as formally "perfect" or as perfectly entertaining or astounding as Kane (though we'll never know since "Ambersons" was so mutilated), but his later projects (no matter what state they are left in) are always fascinating.
An Automat just opened in St. Mark's Place in NYC! I will never leave this wonderful city!
From NY Times: "One look at Bamn's hot-pink color scheme and it's obvious this is not an old Horn & Hardart Automat, though this new spot at 37 St. Marks Place (Second Avenue) also serves its food via coin-fed machines. The menu is totally modern, with roast pork buns; Japanese-seasoned beef sliders; pizza dumplings; and Hawaiian musubi, a kind of open-face beef sandwich, all $1 to $3.
The owners, Robert Kwak, David Leong and Nobu X, actually took their inspiration from updated Automats they visited in Amsterdam. They hired Kevin Reilly , the chef at the Water Club, to fine-tune the food and create 39 sauces for thick-cut Belgian fries.
Their compact spot is open around the clock, and has a small counter where the fries and swirls of soft-serve green tea ice cream are dispensed."
Video for lovely Dylan song "When the Deal Goes Down" off his new album "Modern Times."
Who's your favorite movie villain? Wile E. Coyote. Although, technically he is not a villain because he never succeeds at harming anyone but himself.
Many Released Recently (But Not All); Suitable for Afternoon Listening or During Transport in Flat Territory; May Be Used To Lull Baby or Small Animal to Sleep; Avoid If Allergic to La La La-ing, or Love Songs That Whisper in Your Ear; Do Not Re-Distribute
1. "I Me You I'm Your" Jim Noir Tower Of Love
2005 debut album by Manchester-born Noir, who plays all the instruments on the CD and often wears a bowler hat. Infectious pop psychedelia with dreamy double-tracked vocals and slow, slow fade out.
2. "Rise Up With Fists!!!" Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat
("You can't change things/We're all stuck in our ways") Single from Rilo Kiley lead singer (and former child star) Jenny Lewis, featuring backup vocals by Chandra and Leigh Watson, identical twins who released a CD of their own, Southern Manners
this year--both CDs released by Conor Oberst's Team Love label. The video for this lovely Memphis Sound pastiche lampoons "Hee Haw" and features a cameo by Sara Silverman.
3."Isolation" Matthew Sweet Girlfriend
Cover of John Lennon song from the rare "Good Friend" CD which accompanies the recent reissue of Sweet's 1991 indie classic.
4. "The Simple Story" Feist with Jane Birkin Open Season (Remixes And Collabs)
'60s chanteuse Birkin duets with Canadian Leslie Feist. From a collection of Feist collaborations and remixes of songs from her much-acclaimed 2004 Let It Die.
5. "Ever Fallen in Love" Nouvelle Vague Band A Part
From their second album of bossa nova-ish covers of new wave songs. First recorded by Manchester UK's The Buzzcocks in 1978 and a later hit for the Fine Young Cannibals.
6. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" Camera Obscura Let's Get Out of This Country
Glasgow, Scotland band's first single from their third album (released this year) refers to Lloyd Cole's 1984 hit "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?"
7. "Oceanside" The Decemberists 5 Songs
From 2001 debut release by Portland, Oregon band, whose name alludes to the Russian Decembrist Revolt. (Note: CD actually has 6 songs, not 5.)
8. "Nearer Than Heaven" Delays Faded Seaside Glamour
Southampton, UK band's 2004 singles features astonishing vocal by Greg Gilbert. ("You are nearer than heaven/I get the feeling I get nearer by the day/I've seen the people go forever descending/It's when we're all inside/That summer's on the Way")
9. "Poor Side Of Town" Eels Eels with Strings: Live At Town Hall
From a 2005 live performance at New York's Town Hall. Mark Oliver Everett covers the 1966 Johnny Rivers #1 hit. (Unfortunately not included on the DVD recording of the concert, though the DVD includes songs not on the CD.)
10. "Everyday Is A Holiday (With You)" Esthero (featuring Sean Lennon) Wikked Lil' Grrrls
From her second album (released in 2005, seven years after her acclaimed debut) Canadian Esthero (born Jen-Bea Englishman) co-wrote this with Sean Lennon. First released on the soundtrack to 2003's "Down With Love" (but not used in the film.) Beautiful orchestration and delicious multi-tracked vocals.
11. "Please Please Please" Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine
("I'm so tired of crying/You'd think I was a siren!") You may have heard that Sony shelved her third album for three years ("Give us something familiar/Something similar/To what we know already") and that it went on to chart higher than her previous two. And that it went Gold* even though early versions had been leaked on the internet for two years? (Explain that RIAA!) "My method is uncertain/It's a mess, but it is working!" Ha! But did you know that Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is obsessively afraid of insects and won't perform outdoors? That she reveres Peter Falk and Columbo? Note use of theremin late in song. *Admittedly it didn't go 3X Platinum like her first--but that one was hyped with unproblematic fervor.
12. "Mon Ami la Rose" Françoise Hardy The Vogue Years
"Ou bien si peu de chose/C'est mon amie la rose/Qui l'a dit hier matin" A classic.
13. "I Never Knew You From The Sun" The Innocence Mission Befriended
14. "G.P.T." Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright
Daughter of Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, and sister to Rufus Wainwright.
15. "GLADD" Nellie McKay Pretty Little Head
From her unreleased CD.
16. "Everybody is a Star" The Pastels The Last Great Wilderness
The British press coined the phrase "shambling" to refer to bands like The Pastels.
17. "Fortress" Pinback Summer In Abandon
18. "Summerland" Sugarplum Fairies Country International Records
19. "Good Hearted Man" Tift Merritt Tambourine
Any country song that mentions subway trains is less provincial than usual so it's no surprise that Merritt is from Chapel Hill, NC. (Hey I used to live there!)
20. "Here Before" Vashti Bunyan Lookaftering
("Once I had a child/he was wilder than moonlight/he could do it all/like he'd been here before") A direct descendant of author John Bunyan, London-born Vashti has only released two albums. The first, 1970's Just Another Diamond Day had poor sales and a critical reception so mean-spirited that she retreated to the country to raise her children and didn't return to music until 35 years later, inspired by her recent devotees Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom to release 2005's Lookaftering. Instruments/sounds heard on this song: guitar, glockenspiel, backwards glock, wine glasses, harmonium. A lovely two minute lullaby.
I used to regret that youtube has become the de facto online video standard because they apparently encode submitted videos at a low quality in order to save on bandwidth. (Flash Video can look stunning, if the source video is good and you encode at high quality.) But I love youtube now because I'm able to find rare concert footage, music videos and TV appearances by some of my favorite musical artists. Mazzy Star, for example, has no commercial collection of their videos or any concerts on DVD. (Some bootleg collections pop up on eBay from time to time, and the video for "Fade into You" is for sale on iTunes.) So it was a great surprise to find this performance (July 1994) by them on UK's Jools Holland show.
Recent Comments
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arctic lizard idiot said:
uuun nice to starte into! read more
on Mirror Sculpture in Front of Rockefeller Center -
pixelpath said:
I got about $1,200 in credit card charges for the following items from a Mr. Wile E. Coyote:2 - 300lb... read more
on QotD: Best. Villain. Ever.
on New Dylan Video with Scarlett Johansson