Doll Me Up In My Bad Luck

You know in all of the time we shared – I’ve never been so scared – doll me up in my bad luck – I’ll meet you there – I wish I had never taken this dare – I wasn’t quite prepared – doll me up in my bad luck – doll me up in my bad luck – I’ll meet you there...

Since, I’ve only watched MODERN TIMES and half-watched the STRAW DOGS remake while I made dinner and did some sketching – I don’t have much to movie blog about at the moment. I just kind of wanted to blog because I want to write – and with nothing really happening at work – I’ve got the time.

I’ve got a pad of paper, some charcoal pencils and soft pastels and have been doing some sketching. It’s something to take my mind off of stuff – and found out last night that it’s a good way to release some steam. I’ve done a couple of DVD covers – and that seems to be good inspiration for me for right now. I attempted a landscape but I ended up scribbling all over it – a good therapy session that was.

I keep thinking I should make a Top 10 movies from 2011 – but I don’t have 10 movies I want to put on a list – I’ve got about 6 – maybe I should chop it and put it up.

As for albums – my top 5 are – in order of artist:
- Wasting Light by Foo Fighters
- Mockingbird Time by The Jayhawks
- Circuital by My Morning Jacket
- I Am Very Far by Okkervil River
- Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams

This is the first time in a long while a couple of my favorite artists have had one of my favorite albums of the year – Foo’s and Adams have been coasting a lot lately. Okkervil River on the other hand is getting close to a point where they seem like they might start coasting – their album was great but not any better or worse than their previous albums.

I hauled a bunch of stuff to the resale shop – and got a fair price – then I looked in the closet and questioned why I sold some of it and kept the other. I sold an album by The Broken West – and ever since I’ve listened to it over and over – and after all that hunting I did to get it – I’m disappointed I sold it without giving it a fair chance. It’s at the top of my list to reacquire for this year.

With the new year always comes the horoscopes of what to expect – and I liked mine – it aligned with what I wanted to accomplish (be more artistic – put myself out there a bit more) – but there was one that kinda creeped me out. It was on the Huffington Post – where it aligned books with star signs – the book for my sign was Hunter Thompson’s The Rum Diary... Which just so happened to be the book literally on the top of my pile of stuff to read.

A sign I’m going in the right direction? I don’t know – but damn cool – if not a little creepy.

One last thing before I quit – I never wanted any more than I could fit into my head – and still remember every single word you said and all the shit that somehow goes along with it – still there’s one thing that comforts me since I was always caged and now I’m free...

Nevermind again...

Listening to this album 20 years after it has been released in the newly “remastered” form – really doesn’t add much to the experience honestly. It’s not like the original cut was so muddy or that the remaster was cleaned up incredibly startling so that we can hear so much more – it’s pretty much the exact same album (minus pretty much all the time between Something in the Way and Endless Nameless).

I wonder if they could have published this remaster with different takes – or analog – or whatever they’ve got back in the vaults. Something like that would have made it an easy purchase for me – rather than the hesitant purchase that it was.

I think I hear Breed cleaned up a little – but it’s not as amazing as the Butch Vig rough cut on the box set. Territorial Pissings seems to have lost a bit of power in the build up from intro to song – Kurt’s voice seems crisper – but with a song like this it’s almost better that it’s muddy and lost in the music a bit. The moan at the beginning of Lounge Act is crisp and gave me a little chill. I prefer the down and dirty fun of Pay to Play to what ended up on Nevermind as Stay Away – so this cleaned up version just makes me miss the original that much more.

The b-sides off the singles sound nice – even though I have all those songs from various sources already – the solo to Even in His Youth had me bouncing up and down like a nerd. The Smart Session tracks are nice – they are great to hear how some of the songs progressed (especially Imodium (Breed)). I love their VU cover of Here She Comes Now – one of my favorite VU songs and just a hell of a cover. The “Boombox” demos – are interesting and kind of fun – but mostly unlistenable sound quality wise.

I’m about to speak some (what many may perceive as) blasphemy – so if you are sensitive Google up some kitten pic’s and skip this paragraph:

I’m a fan of Nirvana – but I am willing to admit that Kurt’s overall songwriting capabilities were still in such a beginning stage at the point of Nevermind. Though narratively stronger than people give him credit for - he relied on several little tricks – and a few of the songs sound very similar to each other. Not to say that I’m going to bash him for being a terrible artist at this stage – because he was revolutionary musician. What I’m doing is comparing him to himself – and even though he was great – he wasn’t amazing on Nevermind considering his body of work. Kurt really blossomed into an exciting songwriter in In Utero – he took his edgy – jokey – personal shit out in that album – and I think it’s a vastly superior album to Nevermind. That being said – I still love Nevermind.

Did you enjoy your kitten pictures?

When you think about this album – you really must place it in the context of the time in which it came out – because it’s been forever imitated ever since it was released.

My favorite song on Nevermind is Breed – I love the play on the words throughout the song (we can plant a house we can build a tree) – the fact that it’s a hard song but he’s playing the role and telling the story from the woman’s perspective. The other reason is because I used to be a singer in a horrible little garage band – and this is one of the songs we finally were able to really nail once we got a great drummer.

With all that’s been said about this album – I think my bullshit hasn’t really added to the conversation – but it’s still my bullshit and I like to share. I would get the album if you really want it – I would ask for it as a gift if you kinda want it but don’t want to part with the scratch – if you love the original and don’t feel that you need another copy – I wouldn’t blame you.

I don't know what this is...

BUT I LOVE IT!!!

Southern Train to Doomsday

The time has come for a less generic title to my movie blog – ‘Southern Train to Doomsday’ is a good start – but I’m going to work on it until I get it right. The best would be ‘Doomsday in the Matinee’ – but I’m following a blog that starts with a D and ends with a Matinee – and I don’t want to step on an old friend's toes.

The new title reflects both a lyric in one of my favorite songs of all time and of course the patron saint of my movie blog; Saul.

I’ve got some ideas for blogging fun – but building up the energy to get them down isn’t happening. I’ve got a folder filled with half entries and my recent movie watching has been less than inspiring. I’ve had a few posts scheduled – but I’ve been pushing them back – but it’s time they are released.

Sorry about the Scott Lucas & the Married Men spam on Monday Muzak last week – but you can expect at least one more of those Monday Muzak spam days. Music is an important part of my life – and should probably take more of a prominent role in this blog than Monday tracks.

Well, hope you’re all having a good Thursday... Or Friday – depending on where you are and when you read this.

Ennio Marricone "The Ecstasy of Gold"

Under the Great Northern Light [2010]

One could take this as a concert video – or as a documentary – I guess it kind of depends on how you want to look at it. It’s not really doing a ton of documenting behind the scenes of The White Stripes – more like documenting a unique tour.

Instead of your usual tour of major cities only - The White Stripes set out on a tour of Canada (a country they admit to just having tacked on to most tours) in order to hit every territory and province – with many spontaneous local spots in between.

If you like The White Stripes music – or are a beginner to them and are interested in finding out more – you will probably enjoy the film. There’s no major revelations here – no new understanding to them as a band – they kind of help perpetuate their own myths (they are siblings and not a former couple) about themselves and help answer a few questions you might have.

Jack hogs most of the interviews because Meg is quiet and doesn’t have much to say. I liked how Meg needed subtitles because she was so quiet – except for when she sung ‘In the Cold Cold Night’. They claim each set is spontaneous – and done on the cusp without a set-list. They talk inspiration – work ethic – and about challenging themselves constantly to keep things fresh.

Jack hates the fact that people believe that they are the most carefully planned out band – that everything is all premeditated – even though he freely admits certain aspects about them are very premeditated. He claims it’s the music that’s not planned and just flows through them – like any good rock god would claim. He says his favorite quote about them is something about how they are “simultaneously the most fake band in the world and the most real”.

Along the tour – they hit several small – smaller and smallest venues that a big band like the Stripes wouldn’t probably ever hit. We’re talking a pool hall – a rec center – a bowling alley – a fishing boat – a flour mill – a bus – a town square – and even a stop at an Indian Cultural Center. It’s interesting and entertaining that they’d plan doing something like that on the cuff – make a rumor on the net – and people show up in droves with just minutes head notice.

Most of the film is them playing music – so obviously, if you can’t stand their music – this isn’t a film for you. At the time 2007’s Icky Thump was their latest release – but it does not feel like a promotional video for that album – which is nice.

The entire film shifts between black and white and color. There’s no real climax – unless you want to count the 10-year anniversary concert – which feels like more of the same – so if it was meant to feel like a conclusion of the story – they should’ve held back on some of the concert footage in the beginning and middle.

It took me a while to warm up to their music – but I find their entire tone, influences and ability to create characters in their music appealing – and much more interesting than most things out there. Since this film is more of a concert film – and I like their music – I’m not really going to give it a rating – because there was nothing I really didn’t like.

[directed by Emmett Malloy]

Meiko Kaji

The beautiful star of the Scorpion pinky violence films - Meiko Kaji - sings "Jeans Blues"

Enjoy!

In a Franco state of mind...

Accompanying a slideshow of the gorgeous Soledad Miranda - we get a track from one of my favorite Jesus Franco films Vampyros Lesbos.

Monday Movie Muzak

What recent movie features this track by DeVotchKa?