While watching Spider-Man 3 on Sunday night, I couldn’t help but begin assembling my review in the back of my mind. And it was easy – it was going to start something like, “take two of the top-grossing blockbusters of all time, a huge dose of both critic and fan goodwill and a director who’s already publicly declared that this was going to be the final installment in the franchise and you’ve got a recipe for a directorial blank cheque with a healthy side dose of Sam Raimi drunk with power and nothing left to prove”. And then I read this interview excerpt with Raimi at Sci-Fi.com and I had to toss it all.

It seems that Raimi’s breaking the 2-villain rule of comic book adaptations, aka “the Batman & Robin rule”, wasn’t his idea at all but that of executive producer Avi Arad who essentially forced the inclusion of Venom in the film, thus pushing an already busy script over the edge and making the finished product a gloriously technicolour, head-spinning mess. The last-minute grafting of what by rights should have been a film on its own – the alien symbiote storyline is a classic and deserved better treatment than it got – onto the already in-play son of Goblin plotline and new Sandman thread ended up being a disservice to all three. Thomas Haden Church looked terrific as the Sandman but any emotional quotient his story might have had got lost in the process and just ended up super-hokey. Which isn’t to let Raimi off the hook entirely – I’m sure more than a few of the questionable ideas came from his head alone, but it’s evident that the finished product is not the film he originally wanted to make.

Ironically, and even though I stand by what I said above, I thought the Venom storyline was best executed. Not the black costume itself, per se – simply making the red-and-blue black wasn’t nearly as cool-looking as the comic book version (though that may just be the 9-year old nostlgiast in me talking) – but Eddie Brock’s motivations for becoming Venom were well-delivered. The on-screen rendering wasn’t nearly as big or menacing as it should have been and I could have done without having to look at Topher Grace’s mug all the time, but what can you do.

But to this point, it sounds like I didn’t like the film and though there were many things wrong with it – the pacing was uneven, the acting wooden, the dialogue cheesier than ever and whoever was responsible for the Emo Parker look and disco fever sequence needs to be fired, re-hired and fired again – it still managed to be exhilarating and lots of fun. The action sequences were a blast and there were still a good number of genuine and humorous character moments to offset the bad ones.

But unlike the first two, it didn’t really leave me hankering for a fourth film, at least not if this is the direction the franchise is going. Best to quit while ahead least you end up with an X-Men 3 or worse, Superman 4 on your hands to tarnish the whole franchise. Though all the principals insisted that this would be the last one, the record-breaking opening weekend will surely give them second thoughts. Maybe next time, Raimi will manage to avoid Arad’s phone calls.

Trailer: Spider-Man 3

Happy birthday to Take-Away Shows, who are celebrating their first year of filming wonderful informal performances from great artists by sharing six previously unreleased clips from The National, Jens Lekman and more. And speaking of The National, the “Mistaken For Strangers” video I promised yesterday is up now.

Video: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers” (YouTube)

Spinner is streaming the new Maximo Park album Our Earthly Pleasures, out domestically today. They’re at the Mod Club July 10.

Stream: Maximo Park / Our Earthly Pleasures

And remember the new version of “Song For The Fields” that I was moaning about last week? Spinner has got it available to download and you can stream the whole Fields record as well, or you can in theory. Doesn’t seem to be working quite right at the moment.

MP3: Fields – “Song For The Fields”
Stream: Fields / Everything Last Winter

Spin talks to Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy about the upcoming festival season, of which they’re taking part of with a show at Bonnaroo. Also check out a short trailer for the DVD portion of the Sky Blue Sky deluxe edition, out next Tuesday.

CBC interviews and the The San Francisco Chronicle pop quizzes Feist.

Paste profiles The Hold Steady.

Some show announcements – solo Stroke Albert Hammond Jr is at the Opera House on June 10, The Heartless Bastards are at the El Mocambo on June 20 and New Zealand Australian punk legends Radio Birdman will be at Lee’s Palace on July 6. And Do Make Say Think have been confirmed for the Canada Day show at Harbourfront Centre along with Final Fantasy – as always, a free show.

I may have only been born in 1975 (32 years ago this Friday, by the way), but I’ve watched enough old VH1 specials and seen Dazed And Confused before, so I know the 70s when I hear it. And while it’s not really my thing, I still know when it’s done right and Boulder, Colorado’s Rose Hill Drive rocks like it’s 1973 and does it right. Come on, they’re from a town named after rock. We’re talking long haired, tight pants, Les Pauls at the ready and Marshall stacks turned to 11, classic power trio riff rock – the sort of thing that, even if you think you don’t like it, deep down you really do. Or at least would love to see live. Ironically, unironically, that’s your business.

Anyway, the point of this is that Rose Hill Drive are in town this Thursday, May 10, and courtesy of Against The Grain I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to the show. To enter, leave me a comment with your full name, your correct email (or reasonable approximation) and telling me why you rock. Feel free to interpret that criteria however you like. Since the show is in just a few days, this contest will wrap up tomorrow night at 7PM giving you just under a day to get your case together. And if all you can come up with “because I’m igneous”, well that’s acceptable.

And if you need some further persuasion, check out this super-enthusiastic live review at Glide or read Rolling Stone‘s declaration that they’re one of ten bands to watch. Or read these interviews at The Daily Collegian and The Times Dispatch, get to know the boys.

MP3: Rose Hill Drive – “Man On Fire”
MySpace: Rose Hill Drive

Had it really been two and a half years since Ted Leo & The Pharmacists were last in our fair city? I can’t recall his playing a show here since the December 2004 show at the Mod Club though that would coincide with the release of his last album, Shake The Sheets. It’s hard to fathom someone with Leo’s work ethic – both in the studio and on the road – taking that long a break, and yet there it is. But hey, you know what they say about absence, hearts and fungus – so when Ted finally did come back to town last Wednesday, a packed Mod Club was there to greet him.

I’d seen the name of local openers Tusks around town a fair bit but had never heard them, or at least I thought not. It turns out they have a song on the Friends In Bellwoods comp… what can I say? I’m not good with names. But either way, I was really impressed with their brief set. The four-piece did a great job of blending jazzy-math rock sounds and figures with direct, melodic pop sensibilities. The track they’ve got on their MySpace is a bit rough sounding – they’re really much smoother – but gives a good sense of what these guys are about. I dig, and look forward to hearing more.

Australian trio Love Of Diagrams had been touring with Leo for a while and reminded me of a less-angry Mission Of Burma if they had been signed to Flying Nun in the ’80s. Their take on post-punk was taut, jagged and skittery yet friendly and danceable and came across a lot better live than on record, as their latest Mosaic failed to really engage me the few times I listened. That’s less a reflection on the quality of the record, however, than the fact that it’s a sound/style that I’m just not especially interested in these days.

I say this every time I see him play live, but Ted Leo is the hardest-working man in indie rock. Besides the fact that he keeps up an insane touring regimen, year in and year out, you know that for every one of those shows he’s giving everything he’s got. Fronting his now-four piece gang of Pharmacists (Ted needs a second guitarist? Blasphemy!), Leo tore through a set of mainly the uptempo numbers in his vast catalog of songs, which admittedly describes almost all of them, but these were the FAST fast ones. The pace of the show was electric and unrelenting, leaving pretty much everyone both on stage and in front of it worn out after 90 minutes – even the young’ns (all ages show, natch).

And though he hadn’t been in town in a while, Leo’s engaging demeanor made it feel like an old friend stopping over to hang out, chat and rock the house. A shout-out to the New Jersey Nets garnered a little booing, but it was all in jest as he confessed that he didn’t really give a damn about basketball one way or another though as karmic payback, he whacked his head on the microphone on the next song (his brother Chris, however, successfully jinxed the Raptors a couple nights later by doing the same thing probably at exactly the moment Richard Jefferson intercepted that pass… but I digress). It was also a nice touch dedicating “Dirty Old Town” to Hamilton, whether or not he meant it in a complimentary sense.

One of the complaints leveled against Leo’s latest Living With The Living (alliteration!) is that it’s more of the same from him – the same could be said for his live show, though I see it more as praise than criticism. What some bands wouldn’t give to be able to maintain a level of quality as consistent as he has over the course of this decade. Alls I know is that if you were to tell me that the next time Ted comes through town, he’ll put on a show equal to this one – no better and no worse – all I’d want to know is where to get in line.

Update: Thanks to Dave for pointing out that Ted was in town just last Fall opening up the two nights at Massey Hall for Death Cab and for also completely undermining the foundation of my post. Awesome.

Leo talks to Glide about politics, art and taking a little time off before making the last record and about preaching to the converted to The Boston Herald.

Photos: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Love Of Diagrams, Tusks @ The Mod Club – May 2, 2007
MP3: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – “Bomb Repeat Bomb (1954)”
MP3: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – “The Sons Of Cain”
MP3: Love Of Diagrams – “Pace Or The Patience”
MP3: Love Of Diagrams – “No Way Out”
Video: Love Of Diagrams – “No Way Out” (MOV)
MySpace: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
MySpace: Love Of Diagrams

Some new media making the rounds: The first video from The National’s Boxer, out May 22, went up Friday at the US-only MTV but is supposed to be available today on YouTube – I will update the link below when it is. And note that all the live preview clips from the A Skin, A Night film are now up at the Boxer minisite. They’re at the Opera House on June 5.

Video: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers” (YouTube)

The second video from Low’s Drums & Guns. Alan Sparhawk talks to Gigwise about the inspiration a trip to Africa had on the new record. They’re at Massey Hall on June 30 opening for Wilco.

Video: Low – “Belarus” (YouTube)

And there’s also more MP3s available from the new Midnight Movies album Lion The Girl – the first is maybe the hardest rocking moment on the album, the other a remix by James Iha of the first single. Both worth hearing.

MP3: Midnight Movies – “Coral Den”
MP3: Midnight Movies – “Patient Eye” (James Iha remix)

There first four parts of Reaching For The Lasers, the mini-documentary on the recording of the new Voxtrot album are up at YouTube. All eight should be there by the time the record comes out May 22.

Pitchfork interviews Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Next Tuesday is Sky Blue Sky day! Bet it rains.

Son Volt’s Jay Farrar talks to The Houston Chronicle.

Head over to AOL.ca Sessions to check out a studio session with Feist. The San Francisco Chronicle and Canada.com have interviews with Ms Leslie.

Former Edson frontman Pelle Carlberg brings his Swede-pop to the Supermarket in Kensington on May 29.

NME announces that New Order has split up. Poor Phil Cunningham, who joined with their now-final album Waiting For The Siren’s Call – unemployed again.

Drowned In Sound asks Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon why they’ve decided to do the Daydream Nation concerts. Answer? “The money!”

The Seattle Times talks to Decemberist Chris Funk.

The Silversun Pickups/Sea Wolf show at the Phoenix this coming Thursday may already be sold out but if you still want to go… well, there’s scalpers. I don’t have passes to give away this time around but I do have the third-best thing – a pair of prize packs consisting of the SSPU’s new album Carnavas, Sea Wolf’s debut EP Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low and a lovely silkscreened poster by local artists Alice Phieu and Adam Swinbourne (all courtesy of Against The Grain).

To enter, send me an email at contests AT chromewaves.net (I think the email is working now) with “I want the SSPU stuff” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Note that winners will have to pick up their prizes at the front bar of The Horseshoe by May 16, so make sure that works for you. As for the contest, it will run until midnight May 9.

I’m going to assume you’ve at least heard some SSPU before since, well, they’ve just sold out a 1000-capacity club – but if you’ve not heard Sea Wolf, check out the MP3s below and their Daytrotter session and interview from last week. It’s good stuff.

MP3: Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkles”
MP3: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf”
MP3: Sea Wolf – “The Garden That You Planted”
Video: Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye” (YouTube)
Video: Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkles” (YouTube)
Video: Sea Wolf – “You’re A Wolf” (YouTube)
MySpace: Silversun Pickups
MySpace: Sea Wolf

My new desktop wallpaper. Courtesy of my brother.

Time is at a premium this weekend, full of Over The Top-ing and whatnot, so I’m just clearing out a pile of random links and will likely be mostly absent from posting (though I do have a couple contests to get out there). I hope to have my Ted Leo review for Wednesday night’s show up for Monday but in the meantime, check out eye‘s review of the show – pretty spot on.

The Riverfront Times talks to the whole of Son Volt – not just Jay! – about the dynamic of being in Son Volt. They also offer outtakes from the interview and have dug up some old old video from an Uncle Tupelo appearance on some anonymous cable access TV show. I’m sure this made the rounds a little while back, it looks way familiar, but it’s worth revisiting if just to see Jeff and Jay still with the baby fat on them. Also check out this video at Amazon.com of Wilco playing “Seeds” in their loft in Chicago. I assume that’s taken from the DVD portion of the Sky Blue Sky deluxe edition, out May 15. Nels Cline talks to NME about the vibe of the album while Stereogum excerpts an interview with Jeff Tweedy from Spin about festivals and the odds of an Uncle Tupelo reunion. Oh, and those freaky vinyl Wilco figures are now available to pre-order.

The Paramus Post talks to The Shins’ James Mercer.

NME reports that the Blur reunion may actually be happening, though Pitchfork has one of Graham Coxon’s people being non-commital to the topic (though not denying it either). Of course, it’s also worth noting that the news comes from the only member of Blur who’s not busy with solo projects or running (and losing) for public office so he would be keen on a reunion.

PopMatters talks to the boys of Field Music, who have announced they’re going on hiatus. Sometime.

Inside Bay Area has words with the otherwise wordless Explosions In The Sky.

NOW and eye talk to the boys of Peter Bjorn & John, playing a sold-out show at the Phoenix this Sunday night.

MTV and Dose converse with Feist.

Metric gives NME a progress report on their new record. Their old record, Grow Up And Blow Away, is still supposed to be coming out this Summer and they’re playing both V Fests – Vancouver later this month and Toronto in September. Emily Haines is also playing a solo show at Harbourfront Centre on July 25, as part of the release of a new book and EP, What Is Free To A Good Home?. Details on that here.

Paper has an interview with Cat Power and a terrific quote from Chinese film director Wong Kar-Wai – “If Charles Bukowski and Jane Birkin had a child, it would be Cat Power”. I like that. Cat Power is at the Phoenix on July 10.

The Arizona Daily Star interviews Drive-By Trucker Patterson Hood.

Express speaks (very) briefly to The National’s Matt Berninger about the tone of their new album Boxer, out May 22. They’re at the Opera House on June 5.

Also out that day is the debut full-length from Voxtrot. They’re featured in this week’s Spinner 3×3 and are at Sneaky Dee’s on June 8. If that show’s not completely sold out yet, it will be very very soon so if you were planning on going, get a ticket. No dawdling.

Some show announcements – London’s The Horrors, who were supposed to be opening for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on their Summer tour but now aren’t, have their own show at the Mod Club on June 11 (tickets $16.50), K Records’ Mirah is at Lee’s Palace July 13 (tickets $13.50), Jenn Grant, presumably hanging around town after NxNE, has a show at the Horseshoe on June 15 and In-Flight Safety and The Besnard Lakes are at the Horseshoe on June 22. I know some people who will hurt me if I don’t (finally) get around to seeing the Besnard Lakes live, so I’m a-gonna be there. Tickets for that are $10. The Lakes put together a guest list for Pitchfork.

Update: Site back up! Well THAT was excruciating. Fingers crossed it’s resolved now.