Video Librarian:Babylon Berlin - Season Four[three-Blu-ray set], The Day of the Locust [Blu-ray],Bernadette Lafont, And God Created the Free Woman, and Matt & Mara.
Unassigned:Apple Seed[Blu-ray], Barbarella[Blu-ray set], The Bat[Blu-ray], Blood Money: $10,000 Blood Money, Find a Place to Die, Vengeance is Mine, and Matalo![Blu-ray set], Borsalino[Blu-ray], The Cat and the Canary: Special Edition[Blu-ray], Fighting Back[Blu-ray], Full Body Massage[Blu-ray], Horrible History: Marco Polo, The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion, and Four Riders[Blu-ray set], The Iron-Fisted Monk [Blu-ray], Kill Butterfly Kill[Blu-ray], Last House on the Left[Blu-ray/UHD set], The Last Starfighter[Blu-ray], Lion-Girl[Blu-ray], Long Arm of the Law: Parts I and II [Blu-ray set], My Love Affair with Marriage[Blu-ray], New Fist of Fury [Blu-ray], The Only Way[Blu-ray], The Postman Fights Back[Blu-ray], The Prodigal Son[Blu-ray], Running on Karma[Blu-ray], Savage Guns: Four Classic Westerns: El Puro, Four of the Apocalypse, I Want Him Dead, Wrath of the Wind[Blu-ray set], Suburra[Blu-ray], Super Spies and Secret Lies: The Golden Buddha, Angel with the Iron Fists, and The Singing Thief[Blu-ray set], The Sword[Blu-ray], Taxi Hunter [Blu-ray], The Warriors[Blu-ray/UHD set], Waterworld[Blu-ray/UHD set], Witness[Blu-ray/UHD set], Wrong Reasons[Blu-ray].
Image of Leslie Ann Warren in Choose Me from the IMDb.
A shorter list than usual. I heard a lot of good stuff this year, but I watched so many movies, it didn't leave a lot of time for music. It probably doesn't help that I'm still listening to podcasts in the mornings before work rather than new music, which was my method for years (blame the pandemic, which upended the ways I do some things). Also, I didn't compile a list of reissues, because I didn't listen to enough to make it worthwhile, though I included two, Broadcast and Margo Guryan, in my top 10. And much like last year, I only went to one concert: Air performing Moon Safari. Totally worth the exorbitant price, especially since they played other material during the three encores. That said, I'm sorry I missed Meshell Ndegeocello at Jazz Alley. No guarantees, but I'll try to do better next time.
This is the same top 10 I submitted to the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Rip-Off Poll and Uproxx polls, plus five songs (see below), two album covers: Broadcast and Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom, and three videos: Sade's "Young Lion" (Sophie Muller), Tierra Whack's "Shower Song" (Alex Da Corte), and Floating Points' "Key103" (Akiko Nakayama).
This year, for the first time, I served on the screening committee for Cucalorus, the independent film festival based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and caught 40 films I might not have seen otherwise, or even known about. A few of them, like the B&W Mexican film Dead Man's Switch, appear in the list below, even if they didn't play in Seattle, though most of the films I've listed did make it to area theaters.
Anna Kendrick's Woman of the Hour and Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge, which premiered on Netflix, are notable exceptions. Despite the streamer's minimal promotion, both appear to have reached a lot of viewers, and not just those previously familiar with their work. At the very least: Rebel Ridge made a breakout star out of Aaron Pierre.
Of the films I wrote about, Ethan Coen's Drive-Away Dolls was by far the most-read review. Nearly 900 people clicked the link, though I have no idea why. To date, my 2020 Pop Con paper on Charlotte Gainsbourg remains my most popular post with nearly 17,000 impressions.
Links lead to Letterboxd, Seattle Film Blog, Rock & Roll Globe, and Video Librarian.
The rest (alphabetical):7 Keys, All Happy Families, Anxious., Babygirl, Band on the Run, Banel & Adama, Bastion, Ben and Suzanne, a Reunion in 4 Parts, The Black Sea, Boca Chica, Bound, Brats, Breakup Season, The Brutalist, Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg, Challengers, Chaperone, Christmas Eve in Miller's Point, Coma, Close Your Eyes,A Complete Unknown, The Dead Don't Hurt, Emilia Pérez, Faye, Fish War, Friend Divorce, Future Date, Heretic, The Heirloom, His Three Daughters, Hit Man, I Am: Celine Dion, It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This,Lisa Frankenstein, Longlegs, Lone Wolves, Maria, Mother, Couch, My Old Ass, Nosferatu, Not If I See You First, The People's Joker, Linda Perry: Let It Die Here, Not Not Jazz, The Piano Lesson, Problemista, Queer, Sebastian, Sometimes I Think About Dying, Thelma, Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light, The Veteran, Where in the Hell, and Will & Harper.
Missed or haven’t seen yet:Alien: Romulus, All We Imagine as Light, All You Need Is Death, Close Your Eyes, A Different Man, Dune: Part 2, The End, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Green Border, I'm Still Here, In a Violent Nature, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, Kneecap, Look Into My Eyes, Memoir of a Snail, Oddity, The Outrun, The Room Next Door, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Wicked, and The Wild Robot.
2023 films:The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, Dream Scenario, Maestro, Nyad, Pamela, a Love Story, Radical Wolfe, The Sales Girl, Sisi & I, Slide, The Stones and Brian Jones, and Youth (Spring).
At least six of these films would've been contenders if they had counted for this year, but I saw most of them at Cucalorus before they had distribution, or before their deals had been announced--Familiar Touch was acquired by Music Box prior to its Cucalorus premiere. I was thrilled to moderate the Q&As for three of them, and I also got to chat with Color Book filmmaker David Fortune, who impressed me on every level. Here's hoping these films make it to town. I know for sure that one of the directors has submitted their film to SIFF for the 2025 festival. FWIW, I counted Scala!!! as a 2023 film last year, but 2024 would've made more sense if I was going by Seattle distribution dates.
Pre-2023 films:Another Country, The Blackcoat's Daughter, Blood Relatives, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, Broken Mirrors, Candy, Carlito's Way, Caveat, Cemetery Man, Cockfighter, The Comfort of Strangers, Condo Painting, Creepshow, D-Day: The Finished Film, The Day of the Locust, The Dead Mother, Demon Pond, Demon Seed, Demons, Despair, TheDesperate Hours, The Devil's Rain, The Devil's Sisters, Divine Intervention, Dragon Superman / Dragon Ghost Flying Knight, The Entity, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Eve's Bayou, Fanny: The Right to Rock, Frankenhooker, Frankenstein: The True Story, Glen and Randa, Green Fish, Gretel & Hansel, The Guest, Hawk Jones, Hester Street, The Hidden, High Crime, Hollywood 90028, Hugo, Human Desire, Hustle, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Impulse, In the Radiant City, July Rhapsody, Le Combat dans L'ile, The Last Island, The Last Picture Show, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Looker, Lourdes, Loving, Messiah of Evil, Mortal Thoughts, Mud, Nam June Paik: The Moon Is the Oldest TV, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge, Nightmares Come at Night, Oasis, Paris, 13th District, La Piscine, Please Baby Please, Poetry, The Primevals, Querelle, Re-Animator, Red Sun, Saint Maud, Screamplay, Stage Fright, Stella Maris, Strange M. Victor, Stranger by the Lake, The Strangler, Sunday, The Swiss Conspiracy, Tchoupitoulas, Vampire Circus, The Velvet Vampire, Victims of Sin, The Wedding Party, Willy/Milly, You Are Not Alone, and Young Soul Rebels.
Short films:And I Will Rise, If Only To Hold You Down, Saint Frankenstein, and all 14 shorts on theScala!!! Blu-ray set.
TV:Babylon Berlin S4, The Bear S3, Brokenwood Mysteries S1-2, Call the Midwife S13, Cobra S3, The Crown S6, D.I. Ray S2, Feud: Capote and the Swans (mostly for Gus Van Sant), Funny Woman S1, George & Tammy, Grantchester S9, Guilt S3, The Good Place S3, Hotel Portofino S3, Law & Order S22, Law & Order: SVU S24, Miss Scarlet (and the Duke) S3-5, MaryLand, Moonflower Murders, Mr. Bates vs the Post Office, The New Look, Nolly, NYPD Blue S1-5, Professor T S3, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Ridley Road, Sex Education S4,Slow Horses S4, Tokyo Vice S2, True Detective (S4): Night Country, Twin Peaks: The Return, Unforgotten S5, Us, and Van der Walk S4.
Books: Gillian Gaar's Queen & A Night at the Opera: 50 Years, Kathleen Hanna's Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk, David Milch's Life's Work, Keith Richards' Life (research for Anita Pallenberg documentary review), Julie Salamon's The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of A Hollywood Fiasco, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (research for a Crypticon panel on Frankenstein adaptations), and Colson Whitehead's Nickel Boys (preparation for the new film).
Images from Variety (Demi Moore in The Substance), Indiewire (Julianne Nicholson in Janet Planet), Lab111 (The Beast poster), The Hollywood Reporter (Luther Vandross / Sony Music Archives / Photographer Guzman), Rotten Tomatoes (Barbara Hershey in The Entity), and NPR (Gary Oldman in Slow Horses).
We Heart Music: contributor Vu mentions my All Music Guide biography in this 2007 post about All Girl Summer Fun Band.
Video Librarian: Rami Younis & Sarah Ema Friedland'sLyd.
Note: I started writing about the new Severin Films Cemetery Man Blu-ray in August, but didn't wrap up my review before the end of the month. It will appear in September--I just have too much to say!
These are the reviews and other projects I'm working on this month.
MUBI/Grand Illusion Cinema: Moderator for an interview with filmmakers Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross and the cast of Gasoline Rainbow.Full details here.
Video Librarian: Hugo[Blu-ray/UHD set] and Lee Chang-dong's Poetry. Ongoing: Apple Seed[Blu-ray], Barbarella[Blu-ray set], Blood Money: $10,000 Blood Money, Find a Place to Die, Vengeance is Mine, and Matalo![Blu-ray set], Borsalino[Blu-ray], Cemetery Man [Blu-ray], The Day of the Locust[Blu-ray], The Dead Mother [Blu-ray], Deathdream[Blu-ray], Fighting Back[Blu-ray], Full Body Massage[Blu-ray], The Iron-Fisted Monk [Blu-ray], Kill Butterfly Kill[Blu-ray], Last House on the Left[Blu-ray/UHD set], The Last Starfighter[Blu-ray], Lion-Girl[Blu-ray], Long Arm of the Law: Parts I and II [Blu-ray set], Messiah of Evil [Blu-ray], New Fist of Fury [Blu-ray], The Only Way[Blu-ray], The Postman Fights Back[Blu-ray], The Prodigal Son[Blu-ray], Savage Guns: Four Classic Westerns: El Puro, Four of the Apocalypse, I Want Him Dead, Wrath of the Wind[Blu-ray set], Suburra[Blu-ray], Taxi Hunter[Blu-ray], The Warriors[Blu-ray/UHD set], Waterworld[Blu-ray/UHD set], Weird Science[Blu-ray], Witness[Blu-ray/UHD set], and Wrong Reasons[Blu-ray].
Here is a revived version of a Line Out post about the Walkabouts (these posts were purged from the internet after The Stranger pulled the plug on their music blog).
I was a freshman in college when I met singer Carla Torgerson, who was a senior at the time. I had just arrived in Walla Walla, WA from Anchorage, AK. In the 1980s, Whitman was 50% Greek, so I decided to check out the sorority scene. I can’t speak for other schools, but for the most part, I liked what I found.
When it came to Kappa Kappa Gamma, I remember talking to Carla during Rush, and thinking, "Man, this woman is the coolest." Suffice to say, she wasn’t your stereotypical sorority girl. I got the distinct impression that it was okay to listen to punk rock, to major in studio art, and to wear whatever the hell you wanted.
That was encouraging, and so I did all those things—and pledged KKG (other Kappas, non-Whitman division, include designer Kate Spade, broadcast journalist Jane Pauley, and entertainment reporter Nancy O'Dell...who fits the sorority template to a T).
But I didn’t hang out with Carla. Most of my friends were freshmen. A couple of years later, she returned from Seattle to play a gig as a member of the Walkabouts, which featured two other Whitman alums,* her boyfriend, Chris Eckman (vocals, guitar), and his brother, Grant (drums). It was Oktoberfest. Someone stole a keg, and we set up a makeshift club in the spacious art studios, where Chris Peters and I spent most of our time. Peters went on to provide the wood-cut print that adorns their full-length debut, See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens (though I hung up my brushes a long time ago, Chris still paints from time to time).
I don’t remember anything else about that night, just that Carla had gone on to do something interesting with her life—exactly what I would've expected, based on that initial encounter. I ended up moving to Seattle a few years later, at which point the Walkabouts had become one of the city’s premiere musical outfits, along with Room Nine, Pure Joy, and a few others who were starting to gain national exposure though fanzines and region-friendly publications, like Option.
*Others include Adam West (Batman) and Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team). I don't know whether ex-Walkabout Curt Eckman went to Whitman.
Popllama
When the Seattle Scene blew up, the Walkabouts, against all odds, didn’t wind up as roadkill, though there was never anything particularly grunge-like about their roots-oriented sound. That was the beauty of Sub Pop 200, which combined tracks from acoustic artists like Terry Lee Hale with rock & rollers like Soundgarden.
The label would go on to sign the group, but they never hit it big nationwide, despite consistently positive reviews and a devoted fanbase. Instead, they became more popular in Europe, much like California's Thin White Rope and Oregon's Dead Moon (now Pierced Arrows). Don’t ask me why Americans weren’t more enthusiastic about these West Coast stalwarts; I have no idea.
Sub Pop
Illustration by Charles Burns
Like every band I’ve mentioned, the Walkabouts have experienced their ups and downs, but they’ve beaten the odds yet again, releasing a new record in 2011 and prepping for a European tour this year.
I wouldn't have seen that coming in 1982 when Carla was just an aspiring musician like so many others, who play out for a few years and then pack it in when they find a more stable career path. On the contrary, Carla has issued a solo album, Saint Stranger, and several Chris & Carla releases with Chris Eckman, though they're no longer romantically involved.
But we were never friends or even acquaintances, and I didn’t run into her again until she showed up at a friend’s Christmas party a couple of years ago. We had a lovely chat, just like that first time. She’s still the same attentive and engaging woman she ever was. And I don’t know much more about her than that, but that’s enough, and I look forward to seeing her group when they play Seattle tomorrow night. I’ll be with my friend, Chris. Maybe we’ll sneak in another stolen keg or two.
Glitterhouse
The Walkabouts play the High Dive (513 N. 36th) on Tues., January 10th, with Terri Tarantula (Walkabouts' drummer Terri Moeller) and Disinterested (Matt Brown from Trespassers William). $10 presale, $12 at the door. Purchase tickets here.
Every year, I listen to less new music, but I still listen to a lot. I've never wanted to become one of those former music writers/disc jockeys/music retail workers who stops listening to new music altogether. I'll never be that old. Music trends come and go, people age, they have kids (in some cases), their jobs take over their lives, they gravitate to other things instead. I get it, but I can't relate.
It has become more challenging for me to keep up, but that's on me. It's not on music, aging, or ever-changing technologies. It's largely that I've become more easily distracted--a tendency exacerbated by social media--and I listen to more podcasts (time I used to spend listening to new music), but I still listen to and write about music, both new and old. I just spend more time watching, reading, and writing about film.
I definitely see fewer shows, though, to the extent that I saw exactly one this year: the Gories at Freakout Festival. They were great, of course. Sometimes, that's all you need; one really good show, rather than dozens of mediocre ones. Granted, I'm sure I missed a lot of good shows I didn't even know about. With fewer sources for local listings--and fewer show-going companions--that's bound to happen.
Top 10
1. Meshell Ndegeocello - The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note)
2. En Attendant Ana - Principia (Trouble in Mind)
3. Sleaford Mods - UK Grim (Rough Trade)
4. Wreckless Eric - Leisureland (Tapete Records)
5. Meg Baird - Furling (Drag City)
6. Lewsberg - Out and About (12XU)
7. The Necks - Travel (Northern Spy)
8. Kate NV - Wow (RVNG Intl.)
9. André 3000 - New Blue Sun (Epic)
10. Nia Archives - Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall EP
(Hijinx/Island)
Note: A show I missed: Meshell Ndegeocello. I only found out about it afterward. For what it's worth, I've seen her in person at the Pop Conference, but I've never seen her play live.
Runners-up
11. Anohni - My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross
(Secretly Canadian)
12. Melenas - Ahora (Trouble in Mind)
13. FACS - Still Life in Decay (Trouble in Mind)
14. Lorelle Meets the Obsolete - Remezcla EP (Sonic Cathedral)
15. Rocket 808 - House of Jackpots (12XU)
16. Barbara Manning - Charm of Yesterday…Convenience of
Tomorrow (Ba Da Bing)
17. Jamila Woods - Water Made Us (Jagjaguwar)
18. Fay Victor - Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful (Northern Spy)
19. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World (Matador)
20. Everything but the Girl - Fuse (Buzzin' Fly/Virgin)
21. Guided by Voices - Welshpool (GBV Inc.)
22. Various Artists - I Killed The Monster: The Songs of Daniel
Johnston (Shimmy Disc)
23. Martin Frawley - The Wannabe (Trouble in Mind)
24. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good (EMI/Universal)
25. Lupo Cittá - Lupo Cittá (12XU)
26. Irreversible Entanglements - Protect Your Light (Impulse!/Verve)
27. Lankum - False Lankum (Rough Trade)
28.Gina Birch - I Play My Bass Loud (Third Man)
29. Matthew Shipp - The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp (Mahakala Music)
30.Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
(Domino)
31. Janelle Monáe - The Age of Pleasure
(Wondaland/Bad Boy/Atlantic)
32. Various Artists - Synthetic Bird Song (Mappa)
33. Be Your Own Pet - Mommy (Third Man)
34. Olivia Rodrigo - Guts (Geffen)
35. Wimps - City Lights (Youth Riot)
36. Immaterial Possession - Siren's Tunnel (Fire)
37. Kerry Charles - I Think of You (Grind Select)
38. Best Fern - Earth Then Air (Backwards Music)
39. Joel Styzens - Resonance (Relax Your Ears)
40. Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada (Ghostly International)
41. Doom Flower -
Limestone Ritual
(Record Label)
42. PJ Harvey -
I Inside the Old World Dying (Partisan)
43. Omar Ahmad - Inheritance (AKP Recordings)
44. DJ Shadow - Action Adventure (Reconstruction/Mass Appeal)
45. Cloudland Canyon -
Cloudland Canyon (Medical Records)
46. Field of Fear - Lost (Whited Sepulchre)
47. Gabriel Birnbaum - Entitled Nightwater |
All the Dead Do is Dream (Western Vinyl)
48. Joel Styzens - Resonance (self-released)
Songs
1. SZA - "Kill Bill"
2. Little Simz - "Gorilla"
3. Melenas - "Bang"
4. Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, and Jacknife Lee - "Los Angeles"
5. M83 - "Oceans Niagara"
6. Janelle Monáe - "Float"
7. Everything But the Girl - "Nothing Left to Lose"
8. DJ Shadow - "Nobody Speak" feat. Run the Jewels
9. Caroline Polacheck - "Welcome to My Island"
10. Allison Russell - "Springtime"
Reissues & Collections
1. Mike Cooper - Life and Death in Paradise + Milan:
Live Acoustic 2018 (Paradise of Bachelors)
2. Sonic Youth - Live in Brooklyn 2011 (Goofin'/Silver Current)
3. Lady Lamb - In the Mammoth Nothing of the Night
[box set] (Ba Da Bing)
4. Peggy Lee - I'm a Woman: 60th Anniversary Expanded Edition
(Capitol/UME)
5. Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra - Nancy & Lee Again
(Light in the Attic)
Endnote: For Rock and Roll Globe, I wrote about two 2023 albums, six 1973 albums, and one 2023 music documentary. You can find all nine here. Images: Charlie Gross / The Guardian (Meshell Ndegeocello), Dusted (En Attendant Ana), and RE:VIVE (Lankum).
I write about popular music and film and the relationship between the two. I'm Irish on one side, Italian on the other—British on both. I was born in Connecticut (Far From Heaven), raised in Alaska (Northern Exposure), and I've lived in Seattle, WA (Trouble in Mind) since 1988.
