Bouillon Souffle - Les Fields Magnetique

I don't know why it hasn't occurred to me before this but I really should be posting my reviews from Shuffleboil here, right? I mean, if there are those of you that read this blog (all 6 of you...put me in your blogrolls, dammit!) that don't shuffle over to the boil, then you don't know what I am writing over there, hence you don't know what music to avoid or buy. And I don't know how to put mp3s on my blog (anyone want to explain that one?).
So, I'm gonna post it here as well as link it and maybe, just maybe you will consider adding shuffleboil to your daily readings. Shuffleboil! It's good for you. It's like Internet spinach!

http://shuffleboil.com/2008/01/31/review-the-magnetic-fields-distortion/

The Magnetic Fields - Distortion


“Distortion,” the new album from The Magnetic Fields, might be the most beautiful album you don’t want to hear. In a time when bands title their albums with nuance and ambiguity or proud eponymity, “Distortion” is so named because, well, it’s wall to wall distortion.

Opening with the surf sound of the almost instrumental “Three Way,” “Distortion” starts out determinedly hopeful. The wall-of-sound meets an industrial complex serves as a nice lead in, perhaps leading us in to a thematic concept album. It’s easy to get caught up in the hookiness of “California Girls,” a ‘60s girl pop ditty run through the distorted hate machine of 80’s no-wave wonders Swans. But by the third track I began to think that maybe, just maybe, Stephin Merritt was trying to take the unlistenable noise of Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music” and meld it to a Morrissey sound with a pop construction. This is Joy Division without the sunny pessimism. Experimental for the sake of experiment.

The trouble is, there are some really good songs in here. Some, like “I’ll Dream Alone,” could be so moving and heartbreaking if they weren’t mired in Merritt’s obsession with production so joyless, murky, and funereal.

There is a lot of great experimentation being done in rock right now. John Cale’s “Black Acetate” from 2005 comes to mind, as does Nick Cave’s “Grinderman” project from last year. Where those albums are trying to blur the lines between listenability and experiment they still keep one toe in convention and that allows the listener to gain something new on each play. “Distortion” is so in love with its overriding concept of noise that it actively repels the listener, leaving only the tried and true believers to embrace the bludgeoning. It’s too bad. There are some really great songs in there. Somewhere.

Seminal moments of the 21st Century

One of the reasons that Barack Obama is doing so well is that he seems to be a different kind of politician. One who doesn't get caught up in the politicing. One who, when confronted with the made up process story that he turned his back on Senator Clinton the other night, simply responded that it wasn't what it seemed. He didn't get contentious. He got believable. Like when he talked about wishing he had gone third when asked what his biggest weakness was. The other two talked about how their biggest weaknesses were that they "cared too much". He said he has a messy desk.
I think people want that. And I think the moment that we embraced transparancy might have been when Jon Stewart guested on Crossfire.
6 months later the show was gone. According to Wikipedia: When asked about the cancellations, CNN/US' incoming President, Jonathan Klein, said about Stewart’s appearance on the show, "I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day."

Here is Jon Stewart on that episode of Crossfire. Still one of my favorite moments in the history of American television.

More Blood

A friend of mine, a smart and talented film director made this point about TWBB and I agree:

"There Will Be Blood was one of the stories of the birth of what America became...the idea that Capitalism and religion are the two halves of the American soul, and this movie showed the two extremes, both Eli and Daniel are excessive in their beliefs, and how they could never co-exist."

Yep, that's about right.

Hmmm.....have YOU seen it?

March to victory? March of Death.

Daniel Day Lewis won the Saggy tonight.
I think it was richly deserved.
But his speech.....his speech.......he brought a tear to my eye. Invoking Heath ledger the way he did.
Go to There Will Be Blood.
Go see it.

Oh, yeah. There were a bunch of actors that have teensy little resumes that were included in the march of death. Make me a promise, will ya? When I die, please lobby for me to be in that rundown. It's my only wish.


And who knew that Ron Carey was 72??? He was 40 when he was in High Anxiety?????? He was my inspiration! I watched Barney Miller just to see him.


Sheesh!

First lattice pot pie

After watching "Waitress" last night I developed a hankering to back pies. Having no pie ingredients I decided to make a pot pie out of the pot roast from the weekend.
But I also decided to make a lattice top.
here is the pie.


When my wife's 87 year old Nana saw it she said, "I'm sure it'll taste fine."

Thanks, Nana.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my piss poor attempt at lattice.

Hot out of the oven.

There Will Be Blood

In 1988 or thereabouts I was summering, as I did in my youth, with my family in Bar Harbor, Maine. I was a worldly college dropout, a few credits shy of a degree in a field I would never pursue. And my brother was just getting ready to go to college. It was a strange summer, one of the last I would spend there.
My brother and I worked for my father in the stores he managed and we lived in a sparsely furnished apartment above one of those stores on Main St. That was the year my brother blasted his cd to the soundtrack of "Less than Zero" and he introduced me to the world of hip hop and Public Enemy. (It is never lost on me that the Bangles' version of "Hazy Shade of Winter" is now older than the Simon and Garfunkel version was it was originally released.)
At the time I had just finished up a year in Los Angeles after a few years milling about NYU in the Film Department. And my brother and I spent one long night drinking and watching movies. I decided to show him The Godfather. (My god. THAT movie was only 16 years old at the time. For point of reference, imagine that I sit you down and show you....Reservoir Dogs today...and it's considered OLD)
We watched it together and the next morning I had to wake him up for work.
The very first words out of his mouth upon waking that morning was some question he had about one of the characters in the movie.
It had THAT kind of effect on him.
I relate that story now because this is the effect (sort of) that There Will Be Blood has had on me.
When I saw it I was impressed and moved, I guess. I didn't know what kind of film it would be and, after that abrupt ending, I thought that it was the thinnest of all of Anderson's work.
The enxt day, when asked about it, I started to talk about what I didn't like and ended up lauding it's brilliance.
I found myself daydreaming whole segments of the movie and just yesterday, while attempting to describe it and why she wouldn't like it to my wife's 87 year old nana and my 67 year old mother at different times during the day, I found myself changing gears and describing it not just as intense filmmaking, but as art. In a class of it's own. I don't recall when a film had that effect on me.
I could go on about the art direction, which is perfect. Or the performances which chew up said art direction and spit out a burning oil well and derrick. The music by Jonny Greenwood who will be remembered as legend one day, if not already. Or Paul Anderson. The amazing Paul Anderson who knows how to wring truth from high drama and finds the chaos in between not the lines but the action.
But I won't.
I will just say, go see There Will Be Blood. See it in the theater. Make time. If you are a film fan, nut, fanatic, or just appreciate the medium for the art it can attain.
I don't think you will be disappointed.
I wasn't.
That is all.

Skeletor.

About 3 minutes too long. But I applaud the effort. Well, not that much effort. But, since he's my nephew, I figure, give him a forum.
For what, I am not sure......

MTV 1983

Got 3 hours? I've got something for you. A couple years ago VH1 celebrated the 25th anniversary of MTV by airing the FIRST DAY! Except that it really wasn't. It was cut up. Filled with a lot of videos that actually weren't part of the first day, etc.
And, where were the commercials? And music news breaks?
Well, someone uploaded 3 hours of vintage MTV from 1983 and I've embedded it here for your viewing pleasure.

I am adding mine to my ipod. Happy days!

For those that are interested, The Tubes' video for The Monkey Time shows up around 16:00 on the first half. And at 28:00 or so, the post apocalyptic, tattered but colorful, Mad Max inspired "Synchronicity ii" might be the actual reason Sting left the band.

GOPs and guns.

Liveblogging tonight's republican debate, Romney defends the 2nd amendment....:
"Whether they be for hunting or self protection or....whatever else."

What else?

I mean, and I'm being serious about this, what the fuck else?

Oh, and this is obviously a reaction to the hostility of the Democrats. But, in refusing to go for the jugular, the republicans have succeeded in avoided defining themselves.

Can McCain bring up Jack Kemp's name any more times???

Dammit, Ennis. There are better ways to quit, y'know?

I can pick, off the top of my head, at least, at LEAST a half dozen celebrities I would have preferred go this year.
Suzanne Pleshette? Loved her. She was the original MILF, but she smoked her ass off and had already been around for 3 quarters of a century.
But for choices? Pick a show on VH1 and I could go with anyone.
What about Lindsay? Paris? Britney??
I would have expected this from any of them...

This is River Phoenix sucky. What's going to make this worse is when we all find out that he overdosed on prescription meds for pneumonia. This has the potential of being the least sexy Hollywood death during my tenure.

Dammit. This guy was the only reason I was gonna see the new Batman. It's gonna be so hard to watch now, thinking the whole time, "woah, nice perf, dead guy.".

And pity poor Terry Gilliam. This guy cant catch a break. His Don Quixote can't ride a horse because of his illness, then Tideland is accompanied by a disclaimer that we should all start thinking like little girls to understand the mystery of his film, then one of his leads dies mid filming.

Maybe this was the omen we should have been watching for:

The teaster ad for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

Crap.
Suzanne Pleshette.
Heath Ledger.
Watch out, Brit.....

Movily tagged

Okay. I got tagged for a meme and I am honored because I didn't think anyone actually read this blog. Thanks to Bemis over at Cinevistaramascope, easily one of the best and most thought out movie blogs I have ever read. I would hasten to add that, after Pauline Kael, Bemis is actually becoming my favorite reviewer.

Here is the meme:

1. Pick a single person past or present who works in the film industry you would like to have dinner with. And tell us why you chose this person.

2. Set the table for your dinner. What would you eat? Would it be in a home or at a restaurant? And what would you wear? Feel free to elaborate on the details.

3. List five thoughtful questions you would ask this person during dinner.

4. When all is said and done, select six bloggers to pass this Meme along to.

5. Link back to Lazy Eye Theatre, so people know the mastermind behind this Meme.


At this point in time I would have to say Paul Thomas Anderson.


I don't know that there is as interesting and fresh and wholly visual moviemaker working today. While I didn't love There Will Be Blood

and am not the biggest fan of Punch Drunk Love (my hatred of all things Sandler notwithstanding) I am one of the few out there that is a fanatic for Magnolia

and would drop everything to catch a half hour of Boogie Nights even though I own it and could see it whenever I want. (Hard Eight we will leave out for the moment).
I have seen Paul interviewed, watched documentaries about him and his style and I just think what a great dinner guest he would be.
It would be a difficult dinner, though. I don't know that many people that are as enamored of his work as I am and I am not the best at hosting. I find holding my end of a dinner conversation to be tedious at times and appreciate some other voices and minds to pick up my slack.
So, in this perfect dinner with Paul T. Anderson I invite just a handful of people that I think would make the conversation interesting and they know who they are.
I would cook. I would like to have him over. Have a cigar on my porch. He would enjoy my dog, I think. And I would make something simple but tasty. I would open with a thick and hearty vegetable soup. One that is almost a meal unto itself. And we would have cheese from the Vella cheese factory in Sonoma flown in. Perhaps some wheat crackers and Fig Compote. I have a splendid recipe for Mojito Chicken with a mint glaze, and I am a master at mashed potatoes of late. Buttery and creamy but not too fattening, with whole roasted garlic pieces. The side dish would be roasted asparagus wrapped in bacon with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Dessert would be home made 5k bars, my take on a canadian dessert called Nanaimo Bars. (Look em up). With coffee. Dinner would be served with an inexpensive but fantastic vintage 2003 Cabernet that we picked up in wine country.
Comfort is key. After all, this is PT Anderson. Known smoker. I imagine the house would be filled with tobacco smoke. So, the clothes should be extremely comfortable.
I agree with Bemis. Five questions are ridiculous. I would not want to pick his brain about the movies he has made. I don't need to. I've seen them, they explain themselves. I would talk to him about music, he being a lover of Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, jon Brion and, apparently, Radiohead. I would want to engage him in coversation about how music informs storytelling and the importance of song.
I would want to talk to him about the great films and filmmakers that have influenced him because it is obvious that there are many and from that there should be a wellspring of anecdotes, vitriol and conversation.
I think that would be enough to keep us up til all hours.

Six bloggers, eh? I don't know that there are six that read my blog. But here ya go.
Splotchy.
samuraifrog
Kamandi
Lee
Becca
Kristen

Linkback: http://lazyeyetheatre.blogspot.com/