Category Archives: Video

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Classic Film Review: The Devil and Daniel Johnston

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Full Title: The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Director: Jeff Feuerzeig
Year: 2005
Comments:
Before I go any further, I must warn you if you are planning on watching this documentary, then you will be possessed by the Devil… Did you hear me?! I said the DEVIL. SAYTUNNN!!! Now, if you think I should be locked up in the looney bin before I harm others and myself, then you are probably right, but this is not about me (The Devil and Chris DeCarlo will hit theaters in years to come) this is about the one and only Daniel Johnston. In this gentle, affectionate, film we see how Dan is an enthusiastic, earnest, artist, in spite or because of his various mental and/or social problems. Initially, he is simply a slacker, eshewing work and school for his art, much to the chagrin of his family; his parents in particular are objects of his animostity. Alas, as he grows older his mental capacity deteriates (hence his obsession with the Devil) and he is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder causing him to be in and out of mental institutions and a serious threat to himself and those around him. I’ll stop here before I give away anything else, unless of course you know Dan’s bio… What I really like about this documentary is the fact that it stays personal via old home movies, tape recorded interviews, animation (coming straight outta Dan’s drawings, literally!), and of course interviews with his family, friends, and collaborators. The doc never strays off into a Michael Moore performance art sorta thang or a hidden agenda drenched picture. The agenda is clear: Daniel Johnston, love him or hate him, was and still is an incredible, gifted man with more passion in his art than most other artists one cares to name. Overall, this is a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from sad, humorous, fascinating, disturbing, entertaining, and ultimately touching- fans and non-fans unlike should see one of the finest documentaries of the last ten years.

P.S. excuse the “rollercoaster of emotions” cliche, but since Dan worked at an amusement park, I think it fits.

Grade: A-

Black Lips, Entertainment, Music, pictures, Video

Online Press – Black Lips Rocks Off Cruise 8/2

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Here are some articles and things that I’ve found relating to this wonderful event:

My (Paul’s) Photos: LINK

Video of “Short Fuse”: LINK – Displays the craziness that was the crowd: crowd surfers, bumping into band members, useless “stage” guard, etc, etc. Also, you can hear the bass and guitar get cut out to the point where it’s basically Joe drumming and singing for a minute or so.

Metromix Photos: LINK – 109 photos that do a great job at capturing the actual show and the personalities on the boat. 

CMJ: LINK – Great recap of the show. It does allege that the Lips played “Veni Vidi Vici,” but I could almost swear they didn’t.

If you have any pics or write-ups or videos or anything relating to this event, then comment away!

Entertainment, Music, Video

Vintage Footage: The Recoys @ Mid East Upstairs

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I’m glad I found this! Before the Walkmen became the Walkmen there was this band, The Recoys, based out of nowhere other than…Boston, Massachusetts! They only lasted three years –> 1996 to 1999. Well, here they are playing at the Middle East in Cambridge! As you can tell by listening to them for no longer than two minutes, they played faster garage (punk). For instance, Hamilton Leithauser is singing in a style that would be foreign in comparison to his later work (minus “Tenleytown” off 2006’s A Hundred Miles Off). And also he hasn’t aged in thirteen years. He’s probably in his early twenties at the time of this performance, but he hasn’t changed at all.

Art, CD Review, Classic CD Review, Entertainment, Films, Music, pictures, Punk, Video

Classic Album Review: Beat Happening

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Artist: Beat Happening
Full Title: Beat Happening
Year: 1985
Label: K
Track List
1) Our Secret– 8/9
2) What’s Important– 9
3) Down At the Sea– 9
4) I Love You- 8
5) Fourteen- 8
6) Run Down the Stairs– 9
7) Bad Seeds (Live)- 5
8) In My Memory-8/9
9) Honey Pot- 8
10) The Fall- 7/8
11) Youth- 8
12) Don’t Mix the Colors- 8
13) Foggy Eyes- 8
14) Bad Seeds– 9
15) I Let Him Get to Me- 8
16) I Spy– 9
17) Run Down the Stairs– 9
18) Christmas- 7/8
19) Fourteen- 8
20) Let’s Kiss– 9
21) 1, 2, 3- 7
22) In Love With You Thing- 7/8
23) Look Around- 8
24) Untitled- Ungraded

Comments: This is the unflinching, incredible debut from the seminal “twee pop” group Beat Happening. You can call it twee, lo-fi, noise, etc. but ultimately it is Punk Rock- at its finest. In this record, BH, known for their amateur quality/attitude, are at their most primitive; the production is about as lo-fi as it gets before it becomes simply rubbish. On this LP, most songs are astonishingly decent pop tunes, with passion taking the front seat over musicianship. One can hear a lot of 60s surf rock influence as well as the outsider feel of The Shaggs and Half Japanese. Lyrically, most numbers are innocent in nature- “Down at the Sea,” ” Run Down the Stairs,” etc. There are also more than a fair share of love ballads- “Our Secret,” “I Love You,” “Honey Pot,” and the classic “Let’s Kiss.” Admittedly, not every track is good and some do suffer from the lack of “quality” recording and perhaps would have sounded better with a finer studio. My two favorite tracks are definitely “Bad Seeds” ( the guitar riff reminds me of the music in the James Bond Films; a very bad ass song!) and “I Spy.” All in all, this is a pretty nice debut from Beat Happening and it certainly is amongst the annals of “YOU CAN DO IT TOO!” records.

Grade: B+

“Bad Seeds” with clips from Over the Edge (1979)