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Chris
Category Archives: pictures
Cool Pic of the Day
Yeahhhhhhhhh Rock and Roll All Nite and Party Every Day!
Chris
Classic DVD Review: Wildmen In Action
Full Title: Black Lips: Wildmen In Action
Concert Location: Madrid, Spain
Year: 2007 (concert itself: May 18, 2006)
Comments: THE BLACK LIPS! Naturally, since they are my favorite band, I really dig this performance. Musically, it’s a typical (which is atypical for almost every other band) BL show: fun, wild, and great, simple, stripped down Rock N Roll! Since this video takes place pre-Vice days we see no material off Good, Bad, Not Evil (2007) and 200 Million Thousand (2009), save “O Katrina!” which was recorded (or at least written) during the bedlam of the tragedy. We hear most of the Let It Bloom era classics along with some other early, sloppy, Lips era jams as well as some other unknowns, like “Hott Pistil.” My only complaint is that there are virtually no shots of the crowd, which is usally a crazy site to be seen. The show ends with Cole whipping out his wee wee and punishing it with his guitar. They then come back for an encore of “Wildman,” which is featured as a music video documenting the euphoric abandoment and chaotic times of their 2005 tour including Cole drinking his own piss and spitting it at the camera, ohh Cole… The video looks more like a trailer for a movie that was never released as far as I know. Also featured is the timeless music video for “Fad.” Here’s the set list:
1. Born To Be A Man
2. O Katrina!
3. Boomerang
4. Sea Of Blasphemy
5. Buried Alive
6. Stranger
7. Time Of The Scab
8. Dirty Hands
9. Not A Problem
10. M.I.A
11. Hott Pistil
12. Gung Ho
13. Hipi, Hipi, Horah
14. Take Me Home (Back To Boone)
15. Ain’t Coming Back
16. Make It
17. Juvenile
18. Freak Out
Encore: Wildman (after credits, so watch for it, I missed it the first few viewings!)
Grade: A-
Here’s a live video of”Wild Man,” they used to have a video for this DVD’s trailer, but I cannot find it, so y’all will have to settle fot his vid
Chris
Classic Film Review: Small Town Ecstasy
Full Title: Small Town Ecstasy
Year: 2002
Director: Jay Blumenfield
Comments: Small Town Ecstasy is a documentary that offers us an up close and personal look at the perils of a modern suburban family: divorce and the resulting custody issues, generation gaps between kids and their parents, oh and a father that attends raves and does ecstasy with his children and other young people. Whattttttttt?! you must be thinking. But, it’s true. This man is cuckoo for E and we watch as it tears him apart from his beloved ones. His son, an experienced drug user, questions why his father is acting the way he is and why he does not feel the need to intefere with the well being of his children (i.e. them experimenting with E and other drugs). Despite what you have just read (and yes it is nauseating and uncomfortably laughable) this man in many ways is a good father and clearly loves his children, but because of his increasing drug use and resulting loss of custody, he sees them less and less. That’s one thing I dig about this doc, the fact that he has redeeming qualities; in most of such videos, the parent steals their little babies’ lemonade money and buys crack with it on their birthday or slaps them senseless in the midst of a vicious meth binge… Here, instead we see a different kind of dysfunctional family. Overall, this is a good doc, highly entertaining and fascinating, but at the same time, I always asked myself, “where is this going?” It didn’t move that much, but it was a nice slice of life, which is exactly what this kind of documentary should do. A spin on the mid-life crisis hoopla! If you want to find out what happens to the man and his family, then see the film, part one can be seen below.
P.S. All seriousness aside for a moment, wouldn’t this premise of your clean cut, forty something, dad suddenly dropping E and attending raves make for one helluva of It’s Always Sunny style sitcom?! It could be called “XTC Dad!” as Glen referred to the leading man. Producers reading, take notice, I think I have something up my sleeves!
Grade: B
Chris
Question of the Week…
For you Simpsons fans! What is the best (or worst) season of the “The Simpsons?” and why? I myself am torn between various seasons lol. For those of you that have prejudice towards yellow people, what is your favorite season from any other TV show? or favorite overall season from any show?
Chris
Classic Film Review: Anarchism In America
Full Title: Anarchism In America
Director(s): Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher
Year: 1983
Grade: B
Comments:AIA is a good starting point for those that want to learn about Anarchsim, because (as displayed in the documentary) most people have little to no idea of what it really is. The doc does a good job of explaining to viewers that anarchism is a strong social, political, economic, and spiritual philosophy and/or movement built on individualist principles and the belief that society would be better off without the state. The filmmakers distinguish this from the narrow minded view that anarchists are just about chaos and throwing bombs, which unfortunately most folks believe. The film features various anarchsits including, Emma Goldman, returning to America after having been deported for years in rare video footage, veteran Murray Bookchin, tax resisting, “market” anarchist, Karl Hess, the Dead Kennedys (interview and performance), amongst other famous and unknown anarchists. The film also shows various implicit anarchists including American workers committed to the rugged individual ideals of America and they associate this with anarchism, or at least the filmmakers do as well as a sowing company in which the workers run the show a la Chomsky! Speaking of Noam, he is nowhere to be seen and other prominent anarchists and related groups/organizations like the trailblazing paper, Fifth Estate>. I suppose they can’t document everything, but still they focused too much on the implicit Americanism rather than the explicit characteristics; albeit a nice feature. In addition, we see footage of the Liberatarian Party and how this connects to the anti-government (or anti-state power) stance of anarchism, historical events such as the Spanish Civil War, Russian Revolution, and the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. Lastly, my only other complaint is the fact that they didn’t include any anarchists that used violence or force as a political means, justified or not. Granted, this might reenforce the negative connotations of the philosophy that naive viewers have, but at the same time, it would be nice to provide a balanced picture, considering some anarchists are violent. Overall, it was worth a watch and I would recommend it, not for those who want an in depth history of anarchism, but rather for those who are curious or unaware of it and want to learn about the philosophy/movement, at least the American aspects up to the early 1980s.
The following site has a lot of information on this documentary as well the film itself, which can also be viewed on Youtube as seen below.
http://alexpeak.com/art/films/aia/
Here are some cool quotes from the movie, which also appear on the above site.
“Almost anyone, I suppose, can call himself or herself an anarchist, if he or she believed that the society could be managed without the state. And by the state—I don’t mean the absence of any institutions, the absence of any form of social organisation—the state really refers to a professional apparatus of people who are set aside to manage society, to preempt the control of society from the people. So that would include the military, judges, politicians, representatives who are paid for the express purpose of legislating, and then an executive body that is also set aside from society. So anarchists generally believe that, whether as groups or individuals, people should directly run society,” Murray Bookchin
“My understanding of anarchism has as part of its element a connection between ends and means. To me, if one is an anarchist, then, from my point of view, one also must be nonviolent, and if one is nonviolent, one must be an anarchist—I see the linkages very clear[ly]. A person who believes in nonviolence is a person who believes that the sort of society we want to achieve is a society without violence, without wars, and without injustice; and to use wars, violence, and injustice to achieve that society is to be counterproductive,” Ed Hedaman
“Well, it’s hard to tell on the basis of the Party’s rhetoric, after all they’re running for state office, but my experience is that most people who are in the Libertarian Party have pretty decent anarchist impulses, even if they do not say they are anarchists—most of them will say they are libertarians, at any rate. And one thing that is useful is that they have a fairly well-refined analysis of why they aren’t conservative. It took the New Left to do a proper analysis on American liberals, it seems to me, and I suspect that the libertarians are doing the best analysis of American conservatives. I think that they are quite good people, and that the Party contains within it probably more people of an anarchist tendency than any other organisation in the country,” Karl Hess
Here’s Part I
Chris
Let’s Mintz Our Words!
Classic Film Reviw: Gummo
Full Title: Gummo
Director: Harmony Korine (first timer)
Year: 1997
Grade: A
Comments: Chilling. Distubring. Haunting. These are some of the words that best describe Korine’s cult masterpiece. In more simple terms, however, FUCKED UP! describes it more accurately. Truly fucked up. Not strange. Not weird. Not bizarre. FUCKED UP. To be blunt, if you were trying to be polite and didn’t want to curse, so instead you replaced it with “screwed up,” I do not think you would be getting the picture across or doing the film justice for that matter. So, why is it so FUCKED UP? now, that I have mentioned it 500 times. Well, Korine does not present us with a story or a plot in any linear or normal sense. But, rather he takes us on a journey to a town “we would never want to call home,” as the tagline states (I may be paraphrasing) through documentary style, vivid, eerie shots of peculiar (to say the least) images and characters living their day to day lives. The characters are residents of a small, tornado struck town in Ohio, and their activities include killing (sometimes beating) cats and selling their remains, burglarizing, wrestling with chairs, amongst other antisocial behavior. And yes, that was not a joke about the chair wrestling! It is humorous in its odd nature, but at its heart, highly disturbng and really sad. These characters are bored and simply have nothing else to do, but wait to die or be the subject matter of a Steve Albini creation. Korine said he wanted to make a completely different kind of film, with shots coming from any (or every) direction and he did just that, so kudos to him. Gummo may not be the kind of movie you sit back and stuff popcorn down your throat and play over and over again for the giggles, but rather a totally unique experience worth at least one voyeursistic endeavour for those that can handle a completely (for the final time!) FUCKED UP film and want to challenge their psyche to something new; it’s nothing like I have ever seen before.
Here’s the trailer-
Fun Fact!: It was this trailer that specifically got me into Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” as it is the only song by her that I like.
Chris
Concert Review: Harlem, Tulsa, Girlfriends, DJ Carbo @ Great Scott (4/25/10)
Artists: Harlem, Tulsa, Girfriends, DJ Carbo
Location: Great Scott, Allston, MA (not Austin, Texas as my French Professuer thought I said lol)
Date: Sunday, April 25, 2010
Act I: Girlfriends: For starters, they were a notable opening band, a treat I as a fairly common concertgoer am not always acustom to. The songs were modestly catchy, meaing they didn’t hit you a la Box Elders, but they had an inviting aura, which kept me paying attention and possibly will make me check out their music further, a rare feat for opening acts, for me at least. The guitartist displayed some sweet showmanship: playing guitar with his teeth and behind his back. As a whole they rocked out and delivered a rather energetic performance.
Glen: Girlfriends are pretty special. About two or three songs deep into their set, I became convinced that they are awesome. Their flavor of power-pop/garage rock/punk was simply catchy and fun. It was nice to see the guitarist/vocalist rock out and play with a kind of passion that seems to be lacking from most openers. If I was forced to compare them to some bands I’d go with Blue Album era Weezer and The Ponys. They have a shit ton of local and national dates booked up through August. If you like this kind of music, do some reading up, yo.
Act II: Tulsa – I don’t have much to say here. About two songs in, I was mentally through with them. I just couldn’t wait for the singer to say, “this is our last one tonight.” They’re talented musicians and all, but their songs don’t come through to me. It’s more of a case of individal parts, rather than a sum. It’s the sum that matters to my ears. That’s what makes a memorable band. In other words, they bored me.
Glen: Tulsa, guys. You had me going for a little while. A little while! It’s kind of hard to describe your sound; all I know is that I was feeling all fast-paced and shit until you came on. Buzzkill, kind of. Listening to you after the fact (aka right now on MySpace), I actually dig y’all. That said, your set was draggy and maybe you shouldn’t have played that extra fan request at the end. Just saying. Random pairing I guess?
Act III: Harlem: I can see why they named their album Hippies. Looking and behaving like mellow, “yeah dude,” hippies, really enthusiastic to put on a show. They must have taken giggle juice before the show, because they were lit up with laughter and smirks, snickering the entire performance. It was amusing as a crowd member. Their joy came through in their energetic, astonishingly fast (not of the Jay variety, but pretty damn quick) performance. Unfortunately this energy didn’t seap into the audience, whom were really boring fucks! I mean I was rocking out and pogoing and what have you, and a few others were too, but most just stood and stared. Alas, the trio didn’t seem as into the show as one may have hoped and their set was under 30 minutes, if I’m not mistaken. I appreciated their humor about the situation. They constantly amused themselves and the audience with their lighthearted demeanor. I really dug the way the members switched back and forth from drums to guitar, something I rarely see live unless it’s just for fun, which of course all of this is, but these dudes were playing some of their best material, not just random strummings lol. In mellow, hippie fashion, they asked each other on stage which songs they would play, without having a big Congressional hearing about it either. So, one could find humor in it, without getting impatient with the artists. I must say they have a great pop sensability and I hear a lot of the Kinks in their music. Maybe it’s just me… Most of their songs sound the same or very similar and I DO NOT mean that in mean manner lol. It’s a great sound and it works like a charm. If it was AC/DC’s sound I can only deal with that for a few tunes, but not Harlem, it works everytime for me. In other senses, their numbers are not all the “same,” but I really dig that big ass drum beat, the jangely, garagey guitars, and the poppy, sing along vocals. But, I digress… Anyway, they played many of my favorites from their recent LP: “Friendly Ghost,” “Be Your Baby,” “Gay Human Bones,” “Torture,” and others. FG and GHB were wise openers and closers, respectively. I wish they played other Hippies tracks like “Poolside” and “Pissed,” but what are you going to do? My other complaint was the length. I expected them to play wayyyy longer, oh well, if the crowd was more engaging than perhaps we would have seen/heard more jams. They came back for what I call a “reluctanct encore” and then goodnight.
Glen: So it’s pretty known. Hippies is currently the best long-player (out of about fifty) I’ve heard in the Year 2010 and that’s that. You probably know Harlem’s deal: they got a huge ass bass drum leftover from the Middle Ages AND Michael Coomers and Curtis O’Mara alternate between drums and guitar. That’s that. It was a pleasurable concert experience for me having them bang out ditties in Jay Reatard 25 minute fashion. I also noticed that most songs were way more sped up live than on record like the opener “Friendly Ghost.” “Beautiful and Very Smart” was touching, as was the encore “Caroline” — both of these off the band’s 2008 LP goodie Free Drugs;-)
Set Included (no particular order, save the first one):
1. “Friendly Ghost”
2. “Torture”
3. “Number One”
4. “Be Your Baby”
5. “Gay Human Bones”
6. “Tila And I”
7. “South of France”
8. “Caroline”
9. “Beautiful and Very Smart”
10. “Someday Soon”
Final Grade:
Chris: (B+)- I enjoyed myself and was stunned at how great Harlem sounded, but I just needed more! Overall, a good show.
Glen: (A-) —–> A great show, but I wouldn’t say a top one.
Chris and Glen
Chris On…
The “Fall of the Roman Empire.”: I saw one documentary on the history of Rock and Roll in which Pete Townshend was asked about the music of the 70s and he commented that it was the “Fall of the Roman Empire.” My interpretation is that he was saying that Rock and Roll was the equivalent of the Roman Empire in its own way and that by the 70s it had completely plummeted. It began in the 50s as rebellious, black music with strong black roots that crossed over into white america and broke down the color barrier, to an extent. It was something that belonged to kids and not their parents. This continued in the 60s as the music progressed and expanded, which I won’t get into here. Much of popular music matured, sonically and lyrically, with artists developing a social consciousness and often expressing such sentiments through their songs. I suppose one could point to Woodstock, being the pinacle of this era. The early 70s served simultaneously as the leftover of the 60s as well as the precursor for what would come next. By this time Rock was losing its soul, slowly becoming a big business game. Technically, it had corporate backing most of the time since it’s creation, but the word “corporate” began to come up in association with Rock music more and more. Cameron Crowe’s film, Almost Famous (2000) takes place in 1973 and nicely chronicles these final days of the orignal empire of Rock and Roll, as it was dying. Then it was recessitated via Punk and what have you, but that’s a whole other story…
More Chris ONs a comin….
Chris
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 