I re-watched my favorite film of 2003, Lost In Translation, on DVD last night. I was curious how it would hold up in a second viewing and the answer is ‘pretty well’. It seemed a lot shorter than when I saw it in the theatre – somehow, the slow pacing seemed a lot more pronounced on the big screen. I did a double take when the DVD reached the Santori commercial shoot and the time counter on the player hadn’t even hit the 10-minute mark. I was also better able to appreciate the depth and nuance of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson’s perfomances – they were both truly marvelous. While the DVD doesn’t have a director’s commentary, the making of featurette and interview with Murray and Coppola do a pretty good job of giving you and idea of what it was like behind the scenes. The deleted scenes are nice too, particularly Anna Farris’ extended airhead press conference for Midnight Velocity. If the film does well at the Oscars, I expect there’ll be another DVD release before two long with all the real goodies.

As a follow-up to the little Pavement SM vs SS debate last week, I went and got some Preston School Of Industry mp3s and you know what? I like it. It sounds more raucous like old-school Pavement, and not all laid-back and languid like Stephen Malkmus’ solo stuff. I’m now looking forward to the PSOI show at the ‘Shoe April 1.

FYI – I’ve now ‘affiliated’ my site with Truthflies.com, an online music dealer out of New York City associated with Jenyk.com, home of some great concert photography. They carry a small but very choice selection of CDs at pretty good prices and $5 shipping for any size order anywhere in the world? You can’t beat that with a stick. Periodically they offer promotions or deals on new releases that I might pass on the word about, mostly depending on my personal interest level in the promo. What’s in it for you? Maybe you’ll find something you’re looking for at a good price. What’s in it for me? Hookers and blow, my friends. Hookers and blow.

On a semi-related site news note, I’ve finally redone my links page to actually reflect some of the more well-travelled locales in my bookmarks. They’re even categorized. Who says I don’t do anything for you?

Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees? Words. Cannot. Describe. How much I HATE. The American League East. They really can’t. Someone move my Jays into the NL already.

Have you seen the commercial for an ‘erectile dysfunction’ drug called Cialis? There’s nothing remarkable about the spot itself, but check out this warning tacked onto the list of side effects.. “Erections lasting more than four hours require immediate medial attention”. I think that’s pretty good advice whether you’re on the medication or not. Or find yourself a hooker.

Hrmm, that’s a lot of hooker references for one post.

np – Calexico / Feast Of Wire

The Toronto Star‘s Ben Rayner investigates Canada’s growing ‘coolness’ on the international stage, and wonders about the backlash. And on a related note, I just watched the episode of The West Wing where Donna discovers that she is now a Canadian and they play our national anthem at a state dinner. Really rather absurd, but funny. The ‘shrooms make Aaron Sorkin dig Canada.

Carl Wilson of The Globe & Mail wrote this piece about The Music Gallery, Wavelength and the need for a ‘third place’ hangout in this town.

Cheers to Clay, heading out on a two week tour of the UK with Beneath Augusta alongside A Northern Chorus. If you’re in the UK near one of these dates/places, drop by and check out some Canadian talent. After all – we’re cool right now.

Retrocrush brings you the 50 coolest monkeys of all time. Pleased to see my man Curious George place at a heat-seeking #2. Link from Dirty Monkey Bugspray Fun, who surely rank somewhere from 51-60, along with my pirate monkey robot and Code Monkey t-shirts.

LHB brings you some live videos of Wilco live on Jools Holland.

Congratulations to Stereogum on the occasion of his engagement. On Valentine’s Day no less! Awwwww.

I haven’t mentioned much about my friend in the hospital lately, mainly because there’s been little to report. His body has been stitching itself up over the past three weeks but he’s remained comatose for the duration. On Thursday, however, there was a breakthrough as he began communicating with his hands – one or two fingers for yes or no, giving the thumbs up to friends and flipping his dad the bird. They also moved him out of the ICU into his own room, which I imagine is a much more positive environment. I went down to visit yesteday and while he drifting in and out of sleep while I was there, when told I had stopped by, he turned and looked at me, reached out for my hand and gave me a thumbs up. I can’t explain how good that felt. There’s obviously still so much about his condition that I don’t know or understand, but what I do know is that yesterday, he recognized me and said hello.

Happy Valentine’s day to those of you so inclined to celebrate.

In advance of their first new studio album in 16 years, Rykodisc is releasing Accomplished: The Best Of Mission Of Burma on March 16. I’m sure the good people at Ryko are working their asses of putting this together, and that it’s pure coincidence that the comp features the exact same tracklisting and artwork as the promo-only Catalog Sampler disc they released back in 97 when they reissued Mission Of Burma’s back catalog. I’m not complaining, I just find it amusing. The new disc, ONoffON comes out on Matador May 4.

Calla and The Cooper Temple Clause gloom up Lee’s Palace March 13.

Here’s a sign that I’ve got too many mp3s I haven’t listened to on my computer – Burned By The Sun posted this link to downloads of the second half of Uncle Tupelo’s last-ever live show from May 1, 1994 in St Louis (circulating as the bootleg Not Forever, Just For Now). I was all excited but disappointed that the first disc mp3s had already been taken offline, and was going to post a public plea to anyone who had disc one to find it in their hearts to let me have em. Turns out I already had them. From last summer. No idea if I ever listened to them, though. So no begging from me. No sir. Dignity retained.

“Badgers? We don’t need no stinking badgers.”

Finally got my first 2004 release yesterday – Centro-Matic’s Flashes And Cables EP. It’s good stuff, haven’t watched the videos yet. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of ‘enhanced’ CDs I own that I’ve actually watched. I should make a point of pulling all of them off my shelf and just having a big-ass video marathon.

np – Centro-Matic / Flashes And Cables

Rick from Over Anything knows a guy who knows a guy who says Wilco will be starting a tour to support their still-unreleased new album on April 21 in Columbia, Missouri. Presumably this will lead up to their Coachella show May 1, so it’ll probably just be west of the Mississippi. The band is currently in the UK mastering the album at Abbey Road. Tenative release date is June 8.

Update: Direct from the band – the new album will be called A Ghost Is Born, tracklisting as follows:

At least that’s what you said

Hell is Chrome

Spiders (kidsmoke)

Muzzle of Bees

Hummingbird

Handshake drugs

Company in my back

I’m a wheel

Wishful thinking

Late greats

Theologians

Less than you think

I’ve got about half this material in live format, and unless they went nutty in production, can say that this album will be a little more ‘up’ than YHF, harkening back to Being There a bit. Or I could be talking out of my ass, we’ll never know. Tour dates coming soon.

The Posies have stopped pretending they’ve broken up and will be releasing a new studio album in the late summer on Rykodisc.

While I’ve been scared off from the Rainer Maria show April 1 (ahh! Emo kids!), the upcoming release of a live DVD and CD will make up for that some. The DVD features a complete live show from the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina last year, while the CD is a collection of live tracks collected over the past four years. Anyone In Love With You (Already Knows) comes out March 9, full details and tracklisting here.

Of Montreal have jumped from the sinking Kindercore ship to sign with Polyvinyl. Satanic Panic in the Attic comes out April 6. The Polyvinyl website has a sample track, “Disconnect The Dots”, available to download on their website.

Rotate This has been declared Matador Records’ Store Of The Month.

Canadian file-traders who thought they were exempt from the witchhunts south of the border are going to be paid a visit by the CIRA. That’s ‘Canadian Recording Industry Association’ – our own little RIAA. The lawsuits aren’t on the scale of the RIAA – they’re talking about 20 high-volume individuals. That sound you hear is Derek screaming in horror and seeking asylum in Croatia.

Dear God, someone brought in a box of Krispy Kremes. Soooo gross.

np – various artists / The Amos House Collection Volume 3

I picked up the DVD of Just An American Boy a couple nights ago and sat down to watch it last night. It’s a documentary of sorts that follows Steve Earle on tour through 2002 and 2003, in the wake of the release of his album Jerusalem which featured “John Walker’s Blues”, a song which told the tale of American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh from Lindh’s point of view. The controversy that followed Earle over that song, which had certain factions in the US declaring him un-American, unpatriotic and other nice adjectives, actually doesn’t figure into the film much at all – there are a few soundbites and media clips, but it’s not the primary theme. In fact, there’s not really a primary theme – lots of different aspects of Earle’s life are featured, but none particularly in-depth. His work with anti-death penalty activists, his work as a playwright, his time as a drug addict and convict (funniest moment was him chastising one of the Dukes for speeding – “You do not want to get stopped in Nashville with me in the car”), and his musical roots.

The concert footage is decent if a bit rudimentary – often times, it’s just two handheld side-of-stage digital cameras edited together. The performances are very good, though. Surprisingly, the political content seems incidental – you get a much better feel for what’s on the man’s mind from the companion double live CDs. The monologues hang together a lot better. And you get to see Earle eat. A lot. It’s worth noting that after seeing himself onscreen, Earle went on the Atkins diet and lost 55 lbs to bring his girth down to a svelte 165. Important? Of course not, but it’s worth noting that he’s currently unrecognizable compared to the man you see in the film. Shaved, too. All in all, I was a little disappointed. I had hoped for more meat, more substance. Poe doesn’t make much effort to steer the content of the film or debate any points, he’s more of a fly on the wall. The music is great, obviously, but I was expecting more documentary and less concert video. Earle certainly has a lot to say, it’d be nice if someone asked him.

Billboard talks to Sarah Harmer on the occasion of the release of All Of Our Names, her second proper solo record, out March 9.

In addition to opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Opera House February 27, TV On The Radio play their own show at the Horseshoe April 14.

The Constantines and NYC’s Seattle’s Pretty Girls Make Graves play the Phoenix March 31. Tickets $13.50. There’s gonna be a lot of jumping around at this show, yessirree.

Paul Westerberg is soliciting opinions from the faithful about how he should tour his next record, Folker. Band? Solo? With whom as support? What songs? First person to suggest Chris Mars and Tom Stinson as a backing band will get a swift boot to the head. Either way – hooray for being part of the process. From Hold My Life.

Hey Conan – why’d you have to do your walking tour of Toronto on the snowiest day of the year? So much for any trickle-down jump in tourism dollars. Hell, after seeing that I don’t want to be here anymore. Nice bit with the mud wrestling towers, though. And no, I did not stay up for Nickelback.

np – Pavement / Wowee Zowee