Classic Film Review: Slacker
Full Title: Slacker
Director: Richard Linklater
Year: 1991
Fun Facts: “The average movie has 500-1,000 cuts in it. This movie only has 163. And almost a third of them come from the last five minutes during the super 8 film scene.” and “Was the movie that directly inspired Kevin Smith to become a filmmaker; inspired the movie Clerks. (1994).”- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102943/trivia
Comments:
I’m not one to jump on this or that marketing ruse, but in this rare instance, the so called “Generation X” phenomenon of the early 90s seems pretty damn accurate in Slacker, the 1991 debut of the gifted writer/director, Richard Linklater. From start to finish, this entire flick is simply scene after scene of random, anti-climatic, yet infinitely fascinating (at least to me) conversations from lazy, twenty-something layabouts in the city of Austin, Texas (Linklater’s hometown). To most folks this film is probably tedious or simply too boring. There are no sequences of action or really drama of any kind. The film basically offers the viewer a slice of everyay Austin life for these quirky, colorful characters. The scenes have no connection to one another (in the narrative sense) and no character appears more than once, at least to my memory. In many ways each scene is its own short film that one could view on its own or as a collective with the other scenes. All of these little stories are tied together under the overall theme of apathy and reluctance to get one’s shit straight, so to speak. Because this film is unorthodox in this manner, it will surely turn off most viewers. For dialouge based film junkies like me, I find it to be a unique and intriguing movie. Characters that stand out to me specifically include an aging, kind hearted anarchist that sports a framed phot of Leon Czolgosz on his wall, a enthusiastic Kennedy Assasination theorist, a fierce “anti-artist,” amongst other characters. Honestly, I can’t say much bad about this film; it is what it is and for me, I seriously do not find it even a tad bit boring, but then again, I suppose Linklater could have thrown in a thing or two to grab everyone’s attention. On the other hand, his laidback filmmaking (in this picture) and/or storytelling stands as an astonishing reflection of the lifestyles of the people he is depicting.
Grade: A-
Kurt’s Top 50
A list of Kurt Cobain’s top 50 favorite albums:
50. Raping a Slave – Swans
49. Mazzy Star – Mazzy Star
48. Over the Edge – Wipers
47. Youth of America – Wipers
46. Is This Real? – Wipers
45. The Man Who Sold the World – David Bowie
44. Beach Party – Marine Girls
43. Takes a Nation of Millions – Public Enemy
42. Flowers of Romance – Pil
41. The Record – Fear
40. Damaged – Black Flag
39. Locust Abortion Technician – Butthole Surfers
38. We are those who Ache Amorous Love – Half Japanese
37. Meet the Beatles – Beatles
36. Generic Flipper – Flipper
35. Yip Jump Music – Daniel Johnston
34. Superfuzz Bigmuff – Mudhoney
33. Last Sessions Vol 1 – Leadbelly
32. Tales of Terror – Tales of Terror
31. Jamboree – Beat Happening
30. Rites of Spring – Rites of Spring
29. Void/Faith EP – Void/Faith
28. Combat Rock – Clash
27. Typical Girls – Slits
26. Burning Farm Cassette – Shonen Knife
25. Green – R.E.M.
24. What is This? – Punk Comp California
23. Rocks – Aerosmith
22. Colossal Youth – Young Marble Giants
21. Raincoats LP – Raincoats
20. Anything by: – Kleenex
19. Know Your Product – The Saints
18. Get the Knack – The Knack
17. Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth
16. Dry – P.J. Harvey
15. It’s only Right and Natural – Frogs
14. Nevermind the Bollocks – Sex Pistols
13. Entertainment – Gang of Four
12. Rock for Light – Bad Brains
11. My War – Black Flag
10. Pee Pee the Sailor – Butthole Surfers
09. 1st EP – Saccharin Trust
08. 1st EP – Scratch Acid
07. Millions of Dead Cops – M.D.C.
06. Land Shark – Fang
05. Philosophy of the World – Shaggs
04. Sun Of A Gun – the Vaselines
03. POD – The Breeders
02. Surfer Rosa – Pixies
01. Raw Power – Iggy & The Stooges
Retrieved from “http://nirvana.wikia.com/wiki/Kurt_Cobain%27s_Top_50_Albums”
Paradise Rock Club Renovations
The deal with the Paradise is that they shifted the stage, knocked down some of the walls that separated the hallway leading to the real entrance, and made the green rooms more band-friendly. At any rate, the place is bigger (capacity-wise) and less awkward.
Check out all 22 photos at The Phoenix site: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/107186-photos-renovations-at-the-paradise/#TOPCONTENT
Choice Reatard Quotes
– “You fucking fags hated Blood Visions when it dropped ! so stop acting all “OG”! get the fuck over it!”
– “Hey dont bring me into this you fucking jar head”
– “Officer Brad I havent played epiphones in years you big dumb indian get your facts straight before you start mouthing off fat boy.. I got 4 gibson flying v’s and 3 epiphones which I retired years ago..I just get sick of you bragging about your shit gear or how you where on the cover of MMR all the time get over it man .. Your music sucks !!!”
– “I was making better punk rock than you guys when I was fucking 13”
– “Just leave me the fuck outta your nerd world and stop pretending to know shit..”
– “I got nothing against your wife dude I know about as much about her as you know about music (which is just about nothing)”
– “Im the fucking oprah of punk . Btw if Im fucking fat then what the fuck is Officer Brad x ? the fucking marshmallow man ?”
– “The whole idea that struggle makes you legit is bullshit keep lying to yourself so you feel better about being lazy”
– “I have worked hard as hell playing music, touring endlessly and putting out more records than I can count but do I deserve the “hype”more than the next guy? I would say no.”
– “Comparing some dudes with apple garage band or a 4 track to flat out genius level innovators of recorded pop music should be a crime.”
– “Man I never really knew I was singing in a British accent till someone pointed it out later ? I always seem to sing different from band to band don’t really know why it really just comes out that way and is for sure not premeditated.”
Mark Sultan – ‘Calloused Hands’ + News
Mark just posted a slew of things on his newly re-designed website:
1. His new song “Calloused Hands,” which is reminiscent of the greatness of $. Speaking of that…
2. $ should be out on vinyl in record stores sometime in September.
3. There’s a Vimeo video for “Status,” which keeps getting banned from YouTube.
4. An explanation about the last days of The King Khan & BBQ Show. A couple of months back, I posted what Mark briefly clarified, but he details what exactly transpired.
5. The Jumbo Lions. An evolution of The King Khan & BBQ Show, or in Mark’s words: “A new, hyper-surrealist, psychedelic, rock’n’roll mindfuck…”
And finally:
BBQ is playing October 17 in Boston at the Homegrown Fest. The huh? Exactly. Apparently it’s a 21+ festival that takes place at a venue called Church. It’s a one off a thing, I gather.
No Age Return To Boston!!!
It’s been a year and a half. It feels longer, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel that long.
At any rate, I haven’t seen No Age since April 2, 2009. That’s far too long. They’ve got a new album coming out September 28. Get at that. Everything In Between is the title.
Most importantly, Dean, Randy, and the other dude are in town on November 16. They’ll be at the Middle East Downstairs, a choice venue. It is my favorite place to see a show after all and has vegan goodies for the dudes. It’s all ages gig, too! It’s a Tuesday night.
Woo!
Song of the Day- FUCK SCHOOL!
I figure as school is coming around the corner this is the perfect song for you kiddies.
High Praise for High Art
This is somewhat of a Question of the Week sorta… Ok, so can anyone think of a band or an artist that has consistently put out high quality, evolving music for decades? For my money, Sonic Youth probably beats them all. In fact, I have often proclaimed them to be the most “successful” band of all time, but that’s a whole other story. Certainly some SY albums are stronger than others, but overall, they have an initimidating discography consisting of nearly thirty years worth of material. Very, very few bands can boast such a claim. So, what do others think? What other artists do you feel should be mentioned? Do they rank higher than SY and Why? You know where the comment section is. Peace.
The Simpsons!
Classic Review: Locust Abortion Technician
Artist: Butthole Surfers
Full Title: Locust Abortion Technician
Year: 1987
Label: Touch and Go/Latin Buggerveil
Tracks:
1) Sweat Loaf– 9
2) Graveyard- 8
3) Pitsburg to Lebanon- 7/8
4) Weber- 5
5) Hay- 7/8
6) Human Cannonball- 8
7) U.S.S.A.- 8
8) The O-Men-7
9) Kuntz– 9
10) Graveyard- 8
11) 22 Going on 23- 8/9
Comments: Early Butthole Surfers equals Music made for, by, and of heavy psychedelic drug use and Locust Abortion Technician is no exception. This is the pinnacle of the Buttholes’ highly experimental music. They dabble in Punk, Heavy Metal, Noise Rock, and definitely psychedlia. Without a doubt this is the group’s best offering up until then and since. I really dig the humor and chaos of “Sweat Loaf,” it is certainly a fantastic opener and really sets you up for what is to come. “Kuntz,” a remixing of an old Thai song and “22 Going On 23,” a disturbing/awkwardly amusing recount of a sexual assault case and its effects on the victim, round out my favorite tracks on this record. Overall, this is the kind of album that should be heard for its experimentation and the overall sound collage, oh and yeah, also for you and your pals to giggle and say “WTF?!!!” Turn it up at loud volumes, blast it as high as you can and freak out the whole neighborhood! In short, I feel like this serves better as a handbook for those who want to make experimental music, rather than an album you listen to again and again. With that being said, it is quite listenable and worthy of praise for it’s somewhat brave and unquestionably unique style. Basically, the Buttholes entered the studio and fumbled around with what they had (which was limited), took tons of acid (amongst other substances I can imagine) and ultimately created a really cool, trippy experience for all of us music lovers.
Grade: B
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 