Thursday, June 3rd, 2004
Together again like chocolate and cheese, the NME brings us photographic evidence of the Brett Anderson/Bernard Butler reunion, though I’d have preferred it if the pic was more paparazzi-style – Bernard covering his face while Brett winds up to clock the photog one… But seriously, the reunion of the two creative forces behind Suede (all due respect to Mat Osman and Simon Gilbert) after splitting ten years ago is news.
While both Butler solo and Suede with Fat Richard on guitar had middling success, neither was able to reach the same dizzying heights evidenced on Suede or Dog Man Star. Anderson lost his sense of romance and Butler lost his balls. My Britpop days are pretty far behind be now, but I do still love those first two records and Butler’s playing still consistently introduces my jaw to the floor so there’s still a good deal of anticipation on my part to hear what comes out of this. I’m hoping that this collaboration is coming from both of them realizing that their best work came from being driven by each other, and not from trying to cash in on the early-90s reunion fever
Wispy Britpop practicioners The Delays are at the Mod Club July 19. Tickets on sale Saturday.
The Believer interviews John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. From LHB.
I remember when I saw the first Starship Troopers movie in 1997, I walked out of the theatre thinking, “Man, I wish there was a sequel – I want more bug hunting!” Well seven years later, I have my wish. Straight to DVD, no less, and boasting a cast that makes the original one seem star-studded (whither Michael Ironside? Doogie Howser?). The original Heinlein novel was quite good, as was the Roughnecks CGI animated series though that was probably because it drew more from the original novel than the film. However, after reading some of the reviews of Hero Of The Federation and seeing the online trailer, it looks to be dire beyond words and I’m thinking I’d be better off just renting the DVDs of the television show.
Now you too can master the Rumsfeld fighting style! The hidden monkey hands attack is particularly insidious.
np – Suede / Sci-Fi Lullabies
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004
Finally, there is confirmation that Curiosa is coming to Toronto. The Cure and friends will be at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 9. From what I hear, though, you had better be prepared to pay through the nose for this one. Robert Smith has been known in the past to take the stage in hometown hockey jerseys – since this is a Summer tour and it’ll probably be hot out, do you think Fat Bob might do the same thing again but in a much better ventilated Raptors basketball jersey and shorts? I sure as hell hope not.
If you’d given up on MP3.com for dead? Think again – while it’s no longer a repository for tracks from everyone with a 4-track, dictaphone or wire recorder, it is now a pretty cool music guide (a la AMG) with loads of audio clips, links to download services where you can purchase the track and reviews. Consider the alternative/indie subgenre (duh) – you’re one click away from soundclips of their choices for key artists and key songs. Most of the choices are very obvious – no one there is trying too hard to be hip – but you would have a hard time arguing against the worthiness of their selections. A very cool way to get introduced to new stuff you may have only read about in the past. Bravo, CNet.
Gotta say – Bjork’s twist on the live album of releasing complete live versions of all her studio albums? Genius.
The makers of the Emogame get political with Bushgame, wherein you get to take on the evil overlord of the free world with He-Man, Hulk Hogan and Mr T on your side – but look out, the GOP has Voltron!
I’d think it would take some doing to make the list of 100 Worst Porn Titles (NSFW, natch). I can, however, say with the authority of someone who worked in a video store with a not-insignificant number of adult movies that some of the titles, the movie spoofs in particular, are pretty damn clever. Riding Miss Daisy, Edward Penishands and Hump Up The Volume, for example (far more spoofs here – again, NSFW!). From Michaelangelo Matos.
Well there goes my reputation as a PG blog.
Something else from my video clerk days – I remember when Glengarry Glen Ross came out on video, I read the back of the box and couldn’t imagine that a film about real estate agents could be interesting. Ah, youth. A decade later I’ve finally got around to seeing it and you know what? Real estate can be pretty damn intense. Granted, with a powerhouse cast like this one (Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin) and a David Mamet script, you could make a film about aquarium parts repairmen riveting. I find that’s the great thing about films adapted from plays – since they’re written without any sort of cinematic crutches like special effects, gunfights, car chases, etc, you’ve basically left with actors acting. Do it right, and the results are amazing (do it wrong and you’ve got a 2-hour feast of overacting…) I like to try and picture how it would have originally played out on stage, which is interesting in that I don’t really ever go see plays. Maybe I should start.
np – Pavement / Brighten The Corners
Tuesday, June 1st, 2004
To all the smokers grumbling about Toronto’s new smoking ban (effective today) and how cigarettes are ‘rock-n-roll’ and if you can’t have a smoke with your drink, you just won’t bother going out? I say to you, “Ha ha ha ha, fuck you all”. In the nicest possible way, of course. To be honest, though, I have my doubts about how well this thing will be enforced. I don’t expect to never see anyone smoking in a bar again, but if it cuts the number of smokers in a room down by any significant amount, which I think it will, it’s good enough for me.
In the interests of full disclosure, I should admit that I worked a co-op job at a cigarette company for four months while in university. In my defense, however, I needed a job pretty bad and while they paid me a lot, I did pretty much nothing the whole time (but neither did the full-timer engineers – a lazier batch of slackers I’ve never seen). Well that’s not true – I played Freecell. A lot of Freecell. I started playing the games sequentially in order from #1, not moving on to the next game until I beat the last one. I think I was in the mid-2000s by the time the work term was over.
Chart Exclaim! finds out Polly Jean Harvey has still got the blues on Uh Huh Her, out next Tuesday. Pitchfork has a review.
The Guelph Hillside Festival takes place every year about a 1/2 hour outside Toronto and while still maintaining its strong folk roots, has become more and more eclectic in recent years. This year’s edition takes place July 23-25 and while this year’s lineup isn’t quite as stellar as some past ones, it’s still pretty strong. Some artists appearing will be Arcade Fire, Metric, The Unicorns and Oh Susanna. Tickets range from $35 for single evenings to $60 for early bird weekend passes. Exact schedule still to come.
np – Superchunk / Incidental Music 1991-1995
Monday, May 31st, 2004
It may have taken 20-odd years, but the first in-depth RPG for the Atari 2600 video game console will be coming out this June, and it will star none other than Homestar Runner. It will be comparable in size and function to early RPGs like Ultima and be released as an actual 2600 cartridge. For those without the foresight to hang onto their old Atari decks (me, I never had one. My introduction to the world of console video games was a Haminex, an Intellivision clone) it will also be available as a ROM so as to be playable through your favorite emulator. There is a demo ROM available to try out at the developer’s website here. Some screencaps here.
Oh, and if anyone missed the Homestar puppet jamming with They Might Be Giants, go to the Homestar homepage and wait till the button in the top-right rotates to ‘Puppet Jam’, then click.
Like many, I have been really anxious to see Garden State when it comes out this Summer. And now that this new trailer actually gives me some idea of what the film is about, I want to see it even more. It opens July 30.
The blogosphere is quiet today. A little too quiet. What, one long weekend and everyone just vanishes? We had our May long weekend last week and I was still here, dutifully posting. Cause I’m hardcore. And I had nothing else to do. But that’s okay, I don’t need anyone else. I can come up with interesting topics to write about without their help.
So I bought a stick of medium cheddar cheese a couple days ago, and I’m thinking I should have spent the extra $0.70 and gone with the old cheddar. I like the extra zip. Ah, hindsight.
np – The Wedding Present / Singles 1995-1997
Sunday, May 30th, 2004
Today’s Doonesbury acknowledges Memorial Day by listing the names of over 700 names of soldiers who have fallen in Iraq. Which is more recognition than the Bush administration seems willing to give them.
Al Gore gets a lot of shit for being dull beyond words, but when he decides to tear Dubya a new one, he doesn’t mess around. For this I applaud him, though I do wonder if anyone is listening or if he’s just preaching to the choir.
Interesting how I seem to be getting politicky on Sundays.
Sea Ray has expanded the Eastern leg of their Canadian tour. In addition to being at the Rivoli in Toronto Jun 27, they’ll be at Call The Office in London the 26th and at venues to be determined in Ottawa on the 29th and Montreal the 30th.
The first issue of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men came out this past week. Ostensibly the flagship title of all the X-books, its debut was decent if not overwhelming. Cassaday’s artwork is quite good though some of the characters looked a little warped at times the new costume designs are questionable. Whedon’s script has excellent dialogue as you’d expect from the guy who wrote Buffy for all those years, but it remains to be seen if he can put together a compelling storyline. I realize it’s only one issue in but he hasn’t incited the same level of excitement and anticipation that Grant Morrison did on his first issue of New X-Men a few years ago. Still, we’ll give him some time before passing judgement. And points for bringing back Kitty Pryde.
np – Wilco / May 20, 2004 @ Otto’s, DeKalb, IL
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