Songbird
Mar
31
Andrew Bird, Soldier On
Filed Under Album Picks | 8 Comments
Andrew Bird released this Soldier On EP last year and I guess it was supposed to just be a European release but they came to their senses and realized that was just silly. It has some remixes and early versions of songs from his amazing Armchair Apocrypha and it also has a special cover of Bob Dylan’s, Oh Sister (which is fantastic by the way)
I am enjoying it indeed…I didn’t however enjoy this Monday, felt like I could have really used another day off…Was it just me?
mp3:Â Sic of Elephants
mp3:Â How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On the Farm
Soldier On EP 2007/2008 (Fargo Records)
Mar
28
Rewind #2: Bound
Filed Under Film Box | 2 Comments
Pip here, back with another Rewind to fill up your Netflix queue.
Back before the Watchowski Bros. were brother and sister, they penned and directed this beautifully taut thriller. I remember one fateful day working at the Block-bleezie walking up and down the isles straightening out all of our VHS tapes. This was something I actually enjoyed doing because I was really looking for a gem I hadn’t seen or heard of before. I saw the cover of the tape and saw some sexy women with rope tied all over the place, that with the title and you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to realize the reasoning behind my renting it. At the time I was still learning all of the director’s and writer’s names, so I didn’t think much of not knowing who the Watchowskis were. I asked my fellow co-workers if they had seen it, none had. I felt that ecstacy one feels whenever they breech into the undiscovered country. That sense of pure unadulterated geek stayed with me until I finally let out a breath that I’d been holding for over an hour by the time the credits rolled. My back ached from holding the same “oh shit” position and my mind was completely blown. Am I playing up the film too much? Probably, yeah.
It seems that everyone in and around the film really brought their A-game to the table. Everyone, even the camera guys, left their blood all over the twenty four beautiful frames per second. That, alone, gets my attention. That kind of love one cannot fake. So when I say the film, as a story, is not exactly revolutionary and somewhat predictable you’ll forgive my adoration. I can imagine the pitch meeting going something like this: “Ok, so we have these two beautiful women that fall in love with each other and-” “Could there be a lesbian sex scene?” “Um, yeah, sure and so one of them is tangled up with the mob and they want to steal all of the money and-” “My cousin would make a great mobster.” “Um, yeah, sure and so the ending spirals out of control and you never know who’s going to die next!” “Sex, mob and money! We’ll make millions!”
They did not make millions, I’ll cut to the chase right there. All kidding aside, this film is very cutting edge for 1996. You can see the Watchowski style just wanting to break out of its pocket-change budget. You can see a lesbian sex scene. You can feel the tension dripping down your back, much like the sweat in the lesbian sex scene.  This thing is pure Watchowski Neo Noir. Just think The Matrix without jumping and instead of machines there are mobsters and it all takes place in an apartment building. I think if you give it a chance you’ll see exactly why a major studio trusted these two wacky brothers with The Matrix. It really is quite spectacular.
Mar
24
Breathe Owl Breathe
Filed Under Album Picks | 2 Comments
Where the hell have I been? I know it has been awhile but I have been quite sick and I haven’t had a whole lot of time to sit down and rest either. I have been running around between birthdays, shows, work and dinners…I am pooped and I am also not feeling any better because of it. So tonight I am just trying to sit back and relax with a little bit of music.
The beloved emusic turned me on to this goodness, Micah Middaugh and Bill Callahan are the duo who make up the band Breathe Owl Breathe. A mix of organic instruments a little bit of folk and a pinch of sugar just to make it unique and one of a kind. Their voices meld together and intertwine so beautifully it is really quite charming…I am in love. :-)
P.S. Their new album was just release on Earthwork Music, haven’t picked it up yet, I will certainly keep you posted.
mp3:Â Drop and Roll
mp3:Â Playing Dead
Ghost Glacier EP 2008 (emusic selects)
Available only at emusic
Mar
20
Sickie
Filed Under News & Info. | 1 Comment
I am feeling achy and painy and sorey all over and stupid In & Out ruined my order at the drive thru for the first time ever! So I am in no mood tonight, but I will return tomorrow with some good tunes and relaxation excersizes. I hope everyone else is having a better Thursday out there, see you soon!
Mar
17
EITS at The Soma
Filed Under Music Mix Up, News & Info. | 5 Comments
Saturday I went to see Explosions In The Sky play at The Soma in San Diego…Why 2 hours away in San Diego you ask? Well, EITS doesn’t seem to like playing in LA…Anyways I probably would have driven farther than 2 hours to see them play, I was really looking forward to hearing them play their new album. As some of you know their new album was one of my favorite albums of 2007, which you can find HERE.
I have never been to The Soma before and I am always a little uneasy about seeing bands I love in a strange venue…Well this place was kind of grungy but that was part also part of it’s charm as well so I rolled with it…I rolled with it until someone fucked up and called the band out before the sound guys were ready and I rolled with it until we were packed in like sardines…Which was actually a good thing because it made me happy to see so many people loving this amazing band! But it also was a serious hazard and I also didn’t like the vibe of some of the people there…But I tell you what EITS manages to sedate you with their passionate performance, they totally get into a trance like state which is infectious. The music was mind blowing to say the least and I really found it interesting to hear the growth in their music. They started the show off with some of their older stuff and they progressed into their new album and it really demonstrated the growth of the band as a whole, their direction was just so much more focused and I really think they have done something glorious…This album is gorgeous front to back, so I had to share another one of my favs.
P.S. I picked up their 2 x LP, which has some juicy remixes on their so as soon as I get off my lazy ass and hook up my laptop to my turntable of goodness I will share some of that…You know you’re jealous :)
mp3: The Birth And Death Of The Day
All of A sudden I Miss Everyone 2007 (Temporary Residence)
Mar
14
SXSW Pick
Filed Under Album Picks | 5 Comments
Artwork by Michelle McNeil
Yeah…I wish I was there…I admit it and hopefully I will get to go one year, which I imagine will happen someday soon. But I can still highlight some bands from SXSW week!
Meric Long and Logan Kroeber make up The Dodos who make some really awesome experimental folk rock. They hail from San Francisco, one of the coolest cities in California by far…And it leaves me wondering am I cool enough to listen to this awesome music? I wonder. ;-)
Their new album, Visiter will be released March 18th and I am looking forward to it. Enjoy!
mp3: Fools
Visiter 2008 (French Kiss)
Album available HERE
mp3: Bob
Beware Of The Maniacs 2006 (Self Released)
Album available HERE
The Dodos on myspace
Mar
13
Technical Issues
Filed Under News & Info. | 2 Comments
For someone who is a bit of a music nut I have some serious sound issues with my computer. Oh wait! I am using iTunes…No wonder. Fucking iTunes. Love the Pod hate the player. iTunes is all pissy and has decided it doesn’t want to play music tonight…Errrrrr…What a week…Stay tuned, SXSW has started and just because I am not there doesn’t mean I can’t share my picks.
Mar
10
Head Pounding
Filed Under Music Mix Up | 4 Comments
Yeah, no joke I have a really bad headache and I have had it since mid day. The first thing I did when I got home from work was just whine all the way to the shower because basically that is the only time when it doesn’t feel like a hammer is banging on my head. So tonight I must keep it short and sweet, no new music this evening but Dustin O’Halloran is perfect, gentle and beautiful.
mp3: Â Variazione Di Un Tango
Dustin O’Halloran on myspace
Piano Solos available HERE
Mar
8
Personal Update
Filed Under Music Mix Up, News & Info. | 10 Comments
A lot has been going on behind the scenes…2007 was a tough year for me work wise. After the company I was working for sold and everyone lost their jobs, I had a really hard time finding work that challenged me and kept me busy and I also had a hard time finding people I enjoyed working with! That is a big deal for me, because quite frankly I am an only child and I just don’t play well with others. Anyways I was even considering going back to school full time to finish off my BA but I just couldn’t do it financially (but that doesn’t mean I won’t be going part-time). In January I got a job working on websites in LA and I was working there for a few weeks but the traffic was killing me and I didn’t feel challenged at all and I knew I was not going to be happy there in the long run.
So I went South to the OC and I found a job working at a printing company, as an account executive doing a little bit of everything and I immediately felt I fit right in, I am happy. This is why it has also been so quiet around here, since I have been adapting to this new job but I will find the groove. :-)
In the mean time I wanted to just post a cover of Arcade Fire, done by the lovely Calexico. Enjoy! I will be back tomorrow with some new music.
mp3:Â Ocean of Noise
Intervention Single (Merge Records)
Mar
5
The Savages
Filed Under Film Box | 3 Comments
Hey look it’s Pip with another extremely late review! Oh! It’s my main man Phillip Seymour Hoffman workin’ it wit’ my main woman Laura Linney! Holy crap! Who is this old guy, he’s awesome! Yeah that was pretty much my thought process while watching The Savages. Make no mistake based on my enthusiastic overuse of exclamation points, this film is serious business. It’s about death and family, or lack thereof in this case.
Linney and Hoffman play a brother and sister family. That’s pretty much it since both of their parents basically checked out a long time ago. When I say checked out I don’t mean died, I mean checked out of their lives. Needless to say they both deal with abandonment issues. Both brother and sister are working or want to be working professionally as writers, both revolving around theater and sociology. They’re both smart, articulate and very involved in their fields of interest, just not really with reality and real social interaction. There are oblique conversations about a childhood gone terribly bad thanks to parents that should have never been parents to begin with.
When we finally do meet their father, it’s quite obvious that they have no idea how to be a family since they never have been. I found myself torn between the siblings and their father as far as where my sympathy would lie. On the one hand I can understand a father that just wasn’t there, but on the other I feel for the true loneliness you can see clearly in the father’s eyes. This is all mixed up with my deeply held personal beliefs to never allow my parents into a nursing home, or whatever they call themselves these days, made the film’s core theme complicated for me. I love stuff like that!
Hoffman is, of course, flipping brilliant especially when he cries about eggs. Linney is one of my favorite working actresses, and although I’ve heard this role compared to one she played in You Can Count on Me, I think there’s no real comparison except some similar situations. I expect brilliance from the two leads, but what I didn’t expect was the amazing father played by Philip Bosco. His performance made this film heart wrenching and funny all at the same time. Hoffman is in love with a woman that has to go back to Europe since they won’t get married. Linney is involved with a married man that’s really more in love with the idea of Linney’s character than anything. There’s poop on mirrors… it’s a mess. The ending though, once we get through it to the final shot, really will leave you with a smile that comes from inside.
In short, I hope you check this out on disc if you missed it in the theater as I highly recommend it.
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Music found on this blog is for sampling only. If you like what you hear then support the artist. Buy their music, attend a show and spread the word. If you own the rights to any of the music featured here and you would like me to remove it contact me and I will remove the link immediately.
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