Radiohead: Los Angeles 8/24

Truly an amazing show. Something about the music and this band in particular, with their dystopic sensibilities and desperation through post apocalyptic decay versions of humanity that really lends itself to Los Angeles. There is a disconnect here and the songs that Radiohead chose for the show fit that to a "t". Sadly, now there is the next day buyer's remorse and word comes out that tonight's show will contain more from The Bends and OK Computer.
But, let's just stay with this one.
I've read some comments where people say that the audience was lackluster. I give you that. In LA there is a very real attitude that screams, "Hey, monkeys, entertain me, I'm rich." I think that does happen. I think that's why Springsteen hates to perform here. I don't think the band gave out any more to make the audience participate any more than we already were. Look at the setlist below. It's not exactly sing-song round the campfire time with Radiohead.
Every song from In Rainbows was performed. Which is aswesome. The thing about In Rainbows is that when I listen to it I want to lay back and let the grooves and mood wash over me. Almost as though I'm listening to Jazz or Classical.
And there is a different response from Kid A, of which 1/4 of the show consisted. That album is like a rave concept album. When National Anthem (fucking sexy song, by the way) comes on, I want a glow stick. I want some E.
I thought the audience's response to Paranoid Android was fantastic. I think if there had been just one Fake Plastic Trees, or High and Dry or even Karma Police, you would have seen and heard the Hollywood Audience fill the air with their voices. It's just not the same to try to sing along to Videotape or All I Need or Morning Bell. Songs like that are meant to be washed over the crowd.
Now I am done speaking up for this audience because during one of my favorite pieces, "How to Disappear completely", a sad, desperate song that closes the show before the encore, the gaggle of hens behind me were talking, LOUDLY about dropping something that they concluded they would find when the lights came up. They weren't there because they love the band or the music, they were there because they know Creep and Karma Police. They were there for some hits and maybe they got a taste of it with There There, but I doubt it.
One thing I don't think you do during a Radiohead concert is talk during the songs. And there is a big difference between "What song is this? What album is this from" than "Oh, yeah, Gina called and was wondering if we are going to her place next weekend. I told her that we are going to drive up the coast......blah blah blah." Save that shit for Liars, the opening band. Who weren't bad but could have not been there and no one would have noticed.
All in all, it was a great show. I am glad that Beth was there and that there was so much from the only two albums that she really has ever heard. As I said, Kid A is one sexy mutherfucker. And I played In Rainbows a lot when it came out.
And she loved the show.
As did I.

The Setlist

1. 15 Step
2. There There
3. Morning Bell
4. All I Need
5. Pyramid Song
6. Nude
7. Arpeggi/Weird Fishees
8. The Gloaming
9. The National Anthem
10. Wolf at the Door
11. Faust Arp
12. Exit Music
13. Jigsaw Falling into Place
14. Idioteque
15. Climbing up the walls
16. Bodysnatchers
17. How to Disappear Completely

encore:

Videotape
Dollars and Cents
Paranoid Android
Street Spirit
Reckoner

2nd encore:

House of cards
Lucky
Everything In Its Right Place

listening Post: Van Halen - Balance

When I was about 15 or 16 my best friend in the summer vacation town of Bar Harbor was a guy named Pete. I met him while we were both prep cooks at the town's greasy spoon. Pete was a metal guy all the way. Used to listen to Pantera before anyone knew who they were. He took me to see Ozzy at the Blizzard of Oz tour stop at the Bangor State Fair, (Randy Rhodes was 5 feet from me and a little band named Def Leppard was the opener). Pete also had a pair of pants tailor painted with white stripes to emulate Eddie Van Halen's guitar. While I was immersing myself in Queen, Pete was learning to shred. I never even gave the Pasadena boys a chance.
Let's remedy that now, shall we?



Van Halen - Balance - 1995 (buy it)


Hmmm....
This is a weird thing. Lots, I mean LOTS of people hate this album. I don't.
It's a strange piece but it's also terrific in many respects. "Not enough" sounds like the band's "Innuendo". It smells of Queen, it reeks of Swan Song. Then again, there's also, "Can't Stop Loving You" which sounds like the theme to "Beverly Hills, 90210", I shit you not.
This is a thicker album than VH has made. Maybe the thickest since Fair Warning. Wolfgang's dad is reigned in like a budweiser stallion and we are better for it. This is the triumph of "band" over "Van Halen". And there's a lot to love here.
The first Eddie solo, "Strung Out" is the weirdest thing the band has put on record in a while and I would stand it next to Eruption on almost any day. It helps that it was originally recorded in 83 BEFORE the band's super-duper status.
"Amsterdam" rocks with a thump instead of a thud, as so much of VH's offering have in the past. Even if it is all about partying...so what?
Balance is the best thing Van Halen has done since 5150. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it's the fact that it's Hagar's last with the album that makes it so. I can see a world where he got comfortable and exerted his influence resulting in this album. The power play would piss of Eddie and Alex (the indignant twins) and they would boot him out.
Sounds right to me.
This isn't a Van Halen record. It's a Montrose record. A Hagar album. And it's good.

Update: I wrote this as the album was closing, as the last track "Feelin'" began. I had to get back in here to mention that this song is the heir apparent to Queen. Forget Paul Rogers and all that new crap. Sammy Hagar go it right in 95 and that song is the shit.
That is all.

Grade A
A Side: Amsterdam & Can't Stop Loving You & Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do
BlindSide: All the Instrumentals. Big Fat Money, Aftershock, Not Enough
DownSide: The cover. I mean, just look at that. Blech!

listening Post: Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

When I was about 15 or 16 my best friend in the summer vacation town of Bar Harbor was a guy named Pete. I met him while we were both prep cooks at the town's greasy spoon. Pete was a metal guy all the way. Used to listen to Pantera before anyone knew who they were. He took me to see Ozzy at the Blizzard of Oz tour stop at the Bangor State Fair, (Randy Rhodes was 5 feet from me and a little band named Def Leppard was the opener). Pete also had a pair of pants tailor painted with white stripes to emulate Eddie Van Halen's guitar. While I was immersing myself in Queen, Pete was learning to shred. I never even gave the Pasadena boys a chance.
Let's remedy that now, shall we?



Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - 1991 (Buy it)

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge? Get it? The album says "Fuck", Bevis. He he he....yikes. These are grown men.
They sing about Poundcake. Which, I think, is more about pounding someone's cake than Sara Lee. Or maybe it's Sara Lee's Poundcake. Or maybe they want to have sex with dough....I don't know. I don't care.
This sucks.
It's lifeless. It's boring. It sounds like 3rd rate Judas Priest at times. Which is like a notch below Ratt.
There is no there here.
This is one really obnoxious record that sounds, much of the time, like Fingers Bertinelli didn't even listen to the backing section and just asked what key the songs were in and sent some leads over.
The melodies are empty headed and lunk sounding.
The single was good, the rest, not so much.
Van Halen, more and more, are really all about the alchemy of VH, VH, Anthony and Roth. After that, they are pretty much useless.

Grade D
A Side: Right Now
BlindSide: Nothing. I really didn't like this at all.
Downside: The weird talky prog of Pleasure Dome

Snapshot: Vancouver

Walking up Howe toward the movie theater on Burrard I pass the Vancouver Art Gallery where the big Winter Olympic Countdown digital clock is.
There is also this.
I don't know what it is but I should have been listening to Pink Floyd, methinks.
Here is a closer shot.

Update: Pic is coming. Having trouble uploading from the hotel....don't worry.
UpUpdate:

DoubleUpdate: From John "Canadian artist Jeff Ladouceur’s massive inflatable sculpture Floater will span the columns of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Georgia Street façade. Created to coincide with the current exhibition KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comic + Video Games + Art, the large-scale installation of a cartoon-like body intertwined in the Gallery’s pillars, draws on the artist’s celebrated work as an illustrator"

Balloon Art at its best.

Simply music

I haven't been posting lately. Haven't really been busy just, well, doing other stuff.
I promise I will pick up the rest of the Van Halen listening post. It's just that.....man it was like listening to the same album over and over again.
Plus my musical obsessive disorder has been co-opted by Simplify Media.
The idea that I can listen to someone else's record collection anywhere I have wi-fi or internet access is too tasty.
Currently I just have one "friend". Someone I met through facebook who has the same software. (It's free!)
Through this person I was able to hear the first Bright Eyes release (genius. Wait, he was 19 when he recorded this? Fuck me.)
Neon Horse - scuzzy 80s influenced Oingo Boingo wannabes.
Me Without Him - Perfect dark companion to The Builders and the Butchers and anything from Sub Pop circa 1995
&
Conor Oberst last album. Alt country. Not my cuppa tea.

Simplify Media. The bestest!

My favorite meal, Jerk!

Today we had some friends over to break in the deck. Two couples, one that Beth met in improv class who have a 1 year old and another that was my friend across the hall freshman year at NYU that I reconnected through Facebook. They have an adorable 4 year old daughter named Molly.
It was a perfect afternoon. And I made a meal that has become my absolute favorite of the year.
Believe it or not, it was Aaron McCargo's signature meal for his pilot presentation on the Next Food Network Star. We didn't like Aaron, we think he's a terrible host and can barely speak, but his recipes are to die for.
His was a Jerk Rib Eye, I changed it to chicken and the only thing I altered was Molasses instead of honey because I don't have any honey. Doesn't make a difference.
Make this dish and your family will love you forever. It's amazing and delicious and frighteningly easy.

Jerk chicken with Honey Plantains on Collared Greens

1 (12-ounce) rib-eye steak (I used a bunch of boneless skinless breasts)
Jerk seasoning, recipe follows
Plantains, recipe follows
Collard Greens, recipe follows
Preheat grill or grill pan on high heat.
Rub jerk seasoning on steak. Place steak in a plastic bag to marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator. After marinating for 1 hour, remove steak from refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes. Grill steak for 12 minutes (6 minutes on each side). Remove from grill with tongs and let rest for 8 to 12 minutes. Serve with plantains and collard greens.

Jerk seasoning:
1 tablespoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients with 2 tablespoons of canola oil.

Plantains:
Canola oil
1 ripe plantain
4 ounces butter
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh scallions
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Preheat a medium frying pan and coat with canola oil. Slice plantains on bias, then saute until brown. Mix in butter and scallions. Then remove from the heat. Stir in honey and parsley with a large spoon.

Collard greens:
12 ounces fresh collard greens, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely diced onion
Crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Wash collard greens thoroughly. In a medium stock pot, place collards in hot water for 3 minutes, remove and drain.
In a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, then add onions and crushed red pepper, saute. Then add collards and chicken stock to saute pan. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally for 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

enjoy!

Time Magazine makes a funny.

From the article on the closing of Bennigan's:

"[Bennigan's] signature sandwich, the Monte Cristo, was a surgeon general's worst nightmare: 'A Delicious combination of ham and turkey, plus Swiss and American cheese on wheat bread. Lightly batter and friend until golden. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with red raspberry preserves for dipping.' You have to wonder: Why wheat bread?"

But damn they're heart attack good.

Hey, pal. Got 3 minutes?

If you do then I have a treat for you.
One of my favorite albums of last year was Against Me!'s New Wave. I reviewed it and extolled the virtues of it for Shuffleboil.
Not since the Replacements has there been a video so minimalist in nature and fantastic to watch.

Enjoy it. I did.

Against Me "New Wave"

More Batshit

Another college friend weighs in with some thoughts. She is a noted poet and teacher now and had a lot of vitriol for the incessant music playing throughout the flick in lieu of actual scenework.
I appreciated this statement in response to my statement that the film is more a series of scenes that barely connect and are held together by the music:

"this is the bullshit myth of "postmodernism": that the narrative structure can be dished out in discrete pieces. that is a total misunderstanding of structure; it's cynical and very lazy."

Zactly.

Am I taking Bat-crazy pills?

Jesus I don't know where to start.
I'm not that great at getting my thoughts down, at least not as good as wandering the streets of NY and shouting to the heavens.

The Dark Knight.

This is NOT a great movie.
I don't care what anyone says. I don't care that 300 million dollars worth of people have flocked to this piece of crap. It's bad and deep down, you all know it.

First off: Really? Wall to wall music?!?!? Loud enough to drown out the mumblespeak? Why? Perhaps its because your plot has so many holes and the editing is so poor that you need to cover it up with false melodrama????

Worst Batman cowl in history.

Action sequences so dark and convoluted that nothing makes sense and it's impossible to rally behind the heroes.

I'm not going to go into it here. It's all too exhausting. But i want to bring up one part of the film that illustrates my point. Some of you might think that I am being petty. I am not. I am right.
Okay.

I call this the Lorne Michaels/Titanic factor.

In the early 70s Lorne made a change in a sketch between dress and show. It was a date sketch and the suitor brought flowers to the girl. "Make it candy" he said. Why?
Because flowers create an anxiety in the audience. What will she do with them? She has to put them in water otherwise they will die. Since the flowers aren't the thrust of the scene, make it candy and there is no anxiety.
In other words: Take care of your audience.

Titanic: Roger Ebert pointed this out a decade ago. The scene on the boat in present time when the crew member is showing old Rose the computer images of what happened to to ship, the holds over flowing and so forth. Remember that? You know why it's there? Because later, when that shit was happening to our heroes, we already know exactly what is going on and don't need someone to explain it. We're taken care of.
I bring this up (and here is the petty part) because...SPOILER ALERT

What the fuck happened between the Joker and the cop in the holding cell? I NEED to see something. It isn't enough for the joker to just have overpowered a 20 year veteran with nothing on him but his shirtsleeves. In fact, the way he would have done it would say a helluva lot about the Joker and who he is. Instead, he's just walking out with the lummox at gunpoint.
Please. This isn't taking care of an audience. It's taking an audience for granted. And it's bad, bad, film making.
UPDATE: Okay. I guess the neck cracking moment is a sign of what is about to come. But I still think it's a really clumsy moment and a cheap exclusion.

Maybe we are inured to poor storytelling. Maybe videogames have made it so that we just accept action sequences with no build up and take set pieces for brilliance. I wish not.
I miss The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3
I miss The French Connection
I miss Die Hard
I miss Die Hard 2
I miss Lethal Weapon
I miss good action films. Period. Where the action was generated by reason and logic and the emotion was something we clung to.
I miss Michael Keaton. The reason he was the best Batman? Not because i am an old fart. But because he brought sanity to his myopic crazy. He understood the duality of his character. He was tortured. He wasn't a martyr or self righteous. He was in pain. I could relate to that.
Tim Burton got that, too. There has to be sex in your violence. There has to be humor in your pathos. Otherwise it's so fucking heavy you want to leave.
Heath Ledger got that. he found the humor in the pathos, the sex in the violence.
he was the only one.

Batman: The Dark Knight is everything that Iron Man wasn't. Which is not to say it's good. Quite the opposite. Iron Man was an achievement on a scale that Batman could not reach. It never pandered to it's audience but it took care of us. It engaged us even when it was silly and outrageous. And it took it's beyond-comprehension technology and made us believe and understand it.
Batman does not do this. The sonar phone pseudo-colossus device? Too fucking confusing and ridiculous for words.

Oh, and the plot about turning Gotham into chaos? Wasn't that last movie as well? Jeez!

This is a bad bad bad movie.

You know I'm right.