The Quicker Picker Upper: PRE's Epic Fits

PRE, Epic Fits,
Skin Graft [9/18/07]

Akiko only wears underwear on stage. When she comes
on at first, she seems a little vulnerable in her minimal clothing...but then she starts singing and explodes.
-- Rock On London

If it's on Skin Graft Records, you know it's going to be loud. That's the rule. I've listened to a few of their records now, and this London outfit are a perfect fit. Lots of yelling, sub-metallic guitar mangling, rumbling bass, and pounding drums—works for me.

That said, I have no idea what Akiko "Keeks" Matsuura is yelling about, or whether it's even in English (though a few words seem to be...). John Webb and Kevin Hendrick are also credited with vocals, but they only add a few exclamations here and there. The quintet is rounded out by Rick Bennett on drums and Matt Warburton on bass—yep, two bass players (rumble, rumble).

That said, the song titles are in English. They include "Drool...," "Fudging on Our Folks," and "Scenes from a 1963 Los Angles Love-in." And those are just the first three. There are 14 short tracks altogether, including a Half Japanese cover ("Ride Ride Ride").

The grand total: 20 minutes and some change. And there you
have it. I was drinking my morning coffee while listening to this CD, but Epic Fits would've woken me up just fine all by itself.



Endnote: According to the press notes, "Epic Fits is available in three editions. Two are CDs from Skin Graft Records: a standard jewel case and an individually numbered 'first edition' packaged with a fold-out poster sleeve and encased in an embossed metal box. The gatefold vinyl LP is available from Lovepump United."

Incidentally, last week I watched the movie Without Limits about Steve Prefontaine (a blond Billy Crudup). In no way did this album remind of the Oregon runner, except for one thing. His nickname was "Pre." For more information about PRE, please see their MySpace Page (from which I swiped the band portrait above).

Fifteen Minutes With Steve Buscemi

An Interview About Interview: Part Two 

For part one, please click here

In June, I spoke with the actor/director [right, with Michael Pitt in Delirious] for The Stranger. 

It was the last day of my assignment as Seattle International Film Festival contributor, so I quickly transcribed half the interview, and posted the results to Slog. Here is the rest of our short conversation.

*****

Do you see them [characters] in any way as extensions
of your personality? That they represent something that's a part of you anyway—a certain cynicism, or...

[I was referring to Pierre in Interview and Les in Delirious.]

I don't know. I mean, I always just try and put as much of
myself into any character I play, and that's the fun of acting.
I think we all have a range of emotions and different facets
of our personality that maybe we don't always express or
[that we] try to suppress, but it's in there. I think it's in all
of us, and the beauty of acting is that you get to tap into that.

And then walk away.

Yeah.

Is there any part that was hard to get away from? Something about the character—even if it's positive, although I suppose that would indicate it's negative.

Not about the character... A few years ago, I did a film called The Grey Zone. Just the nature of the material, and reading about that whole time [the Holocaust]. That stayed with me for weeks after we stopped filming. It was a really upsetting film to work on.

I'm glad I saw that. It's hard to watch, but—I mean
this as a compliment—it wasn't as hard as I thought
it would be. I was concerned that it would be more
than I could take. So, I think he got that balance right.

Tim Blake Nelson, yeah. [smiles]

So, if I understand correctly, because your film... [is related] in terms of the production, have you actually met with Stanley Tucci and Bob Balaban to talk about their [Theo Van Gogh] films, though they're separate projects? 

Stanley and I are good friends, and he just started shooting his film, Blind Date. But I haven't talked to him since he just got back, and then he went to Toronto to work on another film. Each one was really—the director could do whatever they wanted. There was no consensus. The interesting thing is that all three films were supposed to be shot one after the other using the same crew, but the week before Stanley was about to shoot—because he was supposed to go first—the financer didn't come up with the money, so then it was every man for himself. Since then, Bob Balaban has dropped out, so they're hoping John Turturro will do it.

In the [Interview] credits you mention Robert Altman.

I worked with him a couple of times. Kansas City—I got
to do that film right before I did Trees Lounge. It was a
wonderful thing to have happen. And then Tanner.

What did you like about his work, whether
as an actor in one of his films, or in general?

I like his attitude—he fights hard to make the films he wants to make. He said to me he doesn't care whether they're successful—
he wants them to be successful—but on his terms. He told me this when I met him though Kansas City. Then he corrected himself, and said, "On our terms," so he immediately included me.

That's nice.

And that's what he does. He makes everybody working on
the film feel they're an important part in contributing. And he
gives the actors a lot of responsibility, and the crew, and he's able
to keep his uniqueness. All the best directors I've worked with have a definite style of their own, that they really know how to work well with people, and use their talents to help them.

When Trees Lounge came out, you elicited a lot of comparisons to Cassavetes. Was that just a coincidence, or is he someone you like as well? And you've gotten
that less, I've noticed, as you're developing more of
your own—I don't know if I would say style, but I find people comparing your work less to other directors.

I talked about that in the [Trees Lounge] production
notes. I remember talking about that, and it was put
into the production notes, and I think journalists see
that, and so that's what they talk about. I'm curious if I
had never mentioned it, would I still get the comparisons.

That's a good question, because you did also say—
I've read interviews where you said there's a lot of autobiographical stuff in there. And that's you, not Cassavetes. He had his own biography to draw from.

[And with that, our 15 minutes were up.]

Endnote: Interview and Delirious are playing in limited release. Delirious image from indieWIRE (they hated it; I found it amusing).

My Gun Is Long: On Mike Hodges' Pulp

PULP
(Mike Hodges, UK, 1972, 91 minutes)

"What kind of a bird is that?"
"It's a Maltese Falcon."
--Mourners in Pulp

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

As a fan of 1971's Get Carter and 1998's Croupier, I should have
heard about Pulp before this year rolled around. I hadn't.

Just as 2003's I'll Sleep When I'm Dead was Hodges second
go-round with Clive Owen, Pulp was his second go-round with
Michael Caine. Though both pale in comparison to their prede-
cessors, strong performances bind the crime-laden quartet.

Pulp landed on my radar when I came across a review claiming
the UK band name took their name and style from the celluloid
obscurity. By style, I'm thinking of their tidy logo and Jarvis
Cocker's National Health-like specs (designer frames as nerdy
knockoffs), but I can't recall whether the writer went into much
detail, since I lost track of the original piece. That said, custom-
er reviews on Amazon.co.uk and the IMDb make similar claims.

In any case, I don't doubt that the film might have made an impression on the Sheffield lad, although the word "pulp" has a variety of connotations, and I couldn't find a concrete connection. Also, the All Music Guide notes that the group's original moniker was Arabicus Pulp. Cocker formed the band in 1978—when he was a mere 15 years old—and dropped "Arabicus" the following year.

According to their bio, he studied film at St. Martin's College in
London, and almost pursued a filmmaking career until his mu-
sic caught fire in the early-1990s. This year, he released his solo
debut. On the cover, he's even dressed like the Oscar-winning
actor, except his suit is dark where Caine's Pulp outfit is light.

In his Amazon review, Jeff Shannon compares Pulp to 1953's
Beat the Devil, in which John Huston and Humphrey Bogart blow
off some steam after the sturm und drang of The Maltese Falcon
and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The analogy makes sense—
Pulp even features Robert Sacchi, "The Man With Bogart's Face."

Hodges' steam-blower opens with a steno pool transcribing
Caine's gangster fiction, AKA pulp. The sound design ping-pongs
between the voice in their headset—Caine's, naturally—and the
machine-gun ratatat of a roomful of typists clattering away.

Before the credits commence, Hodges cuts to Caine wearing a
corduroy suit and Nat Health specs (purple-tinted, in this case).
We aren't in Carter country anymore. Micky King has pseudo-
hippy hair, and appears less tightly-wound than Jack Carter.

Throughout the credit se-
quence—Mickey Rooney,
Lionel Stander, and Lizabeth
Scott are among the sup-
porting players—King tries
in vain to hail a cab. Then we
get a shot of his coastal sur-
roundings. We're definitely
not in Merry Old anymore.

"That's how it all began," he
narrates. "That bizarre adventure, which put five people in the cemetery, and ruled me out as a customer for laxatives." Turns out
he's a London funeral director, who abandoned his wife and kids
due to "a burning creative urge" to be a continental scribe.

King adds, "The writer's life would be ideal, but for the writing—
that's a problem I would have to overcome." (I hear ya, brother.)

Five minutes in, and he has emerged as the blueprint for Owen's
acid-tongued character in Croupier, the similarly unreliable nar-
rator of his own life story. Basic perimeters established, King gets
a gig ghostwriting Preston Gilbert's memoirs. En route to meet
Rooney's Gilbert, a Jimmy Cagney-cum-George Raft figure, the
bodies start to pile up. It's a classic film noir scenario—the new
hire who walks into a world of death—but with dirtier dialogue.

One body later, King meets Gilbert's girlfriend, Liz (Nadia Cassi-
ni, dubbed), who enters clad in the silver screen's shortest shorts
next to Chloë Sevigny's pair in Palmetto. Rooney also flaunts his
sex appeal—as it were—in the scene where he poses before a mir-
ror in tighty-whiteys. That's his introspective moment. The rest
of the time, he overacts wildly, but it fits his part as a retired Hol-
lywood star gone seedy in Malta, while Caine is his usual excel-
lent self. Gravel-voiced Stander, as Gilbert's right-hand man,
and husky Scott, as Gilbert's ex-wife, also offer good value.

When someone murders one of these hangers-on, all become sus-
pects, and King makes like one of his fictional dicks to solve the
case. Near as he can tell, the first hit was intended for him. Since
everyone was seated at the dinner table when the second took
place, it's possible one of them hired the killer priest. Then three
more bodies hit the floor, and the film is over. Gee, that was fast.

In any event, nothing about it reminded me of the band Pulp,
other than a few stylistic details. In the careers of Michaels
Caine and Hodges, Pulp serves as a bridge between the violent
intensity of Get Carter and the wicked fun of Croupier—there's
also a whiff of The Long Goodbye and Sexy Beast—but fans of
the Britpop combo will have to look pretty hard to find anything
that might have influenced them in this irreverent crime caper.

Random facts: My Gun Is Long is the title of one of King's
pulp novels (as "Guy Strange"), the soundtrack was composed
by Beatles producer George Martin, Jarvis Cocker's "Running
the World" appears in the movie Children of Men with Michael
Caine...and Clive Owen, and the Pulp DVD is completely devoid
of extras. Thanks, MGM, for the nice price. Otherwise: boo! Imag-
es from The Best Blog Ever and The BBC. The Caine photo is one
of my all-time favorites. The photographer: David Bailey, natch.

From Tennessee to Texas: Slider Pines' Self-Released Album Road, Avenue, Railroad

Slider Pines,
Road, Avenue, Railroad,
Wire to Ear Records [9/25/07]

To me, Memphis is a strange mix of strip malls, lame tourist traps, unsung talent, and racial unease. In my mind, it's a weird town.
--Joey Shanks, Slider Pines

From the press notes, I couldn't tell whether this trio (Shanks, Bill Spellman, and Andy Lester) was based in Dallas or Memphis, but they do sound vaguely Southern. It's not that the music is vague—it's fairly hard-rocking stuff—just that the Southern thing is subtle rather than pronounced, i.e. more Big Star than Muscle Shoals,
to keep those Deep South analogies going. (The band's MySpace
Page indicates that Texas is their current stomping ground.)

I don't know if Slider Pines have ever been compared to Big
Star, but other writers have namechecked the Black Crowes, the Pernice Brothers, the Shins, and the Hold Steady. On my first listen, I heard only the Pernice Brothers—guitarist Shanks sings like Joe Pernice—but on my second pass through Road, Avenue, Railroad, I could hear the Shins, too, though I still don't hear the Black Crowes or the Hold Steady. Your mileage, as ever, may vary.

Until their latest, I was a big Shins fan, but now they're starting to bore me, and I've never been crazy about any of the acts mentioned above—Big Star aside. Still, I like this record. Pretty straight-forward for my tastes, but there's this appealing retro 1970s thing going on. If anything, it’s more Cheap Trick than Big Star, but they're in the same ballpark.

Some groups do what's already been done, and come across
as completely redundant. Others trod the same well-worn
paths, yet still manage to create something compelling. It's
a fine line, of course, and this is all thoroughly subjective.

While I recently took the Selfish Gene to task for their lack of originality, Slider Pines are hardly more cutting edge. Arguably, they're even more predictable. There's just a greater degree of confidence going on here—less self-consciousness, less of a desire to impress. I like that, and I like Road, Avenue, Railroad.

Endnote: For more information, please see the official Slider
Pines website. Band image from their site, Big Star from the AMG.

Shake It Up, Baby: New Music from Goodnight Loving, Birds & Batteries, and the Selfish Gene

Goodnight Loving,
Crooked Lake, Dusty Medical Records [9/18/07]

This Milwaukee quintet offers up lo-fi garagey sounds with country trimmings. I found it instantly appealing. Their last record, Cemetery Trails, was produced by Greg Cartwright of the Oblivians, Reining Sound, and the Detroit Cobras.

If the recording were crisper and cleaner, I probably wouldn't like it as much. There's something charming about all that glorious fuzz, the byproduct of a secluded Wisconsin recording session.

According to the press notes, "Multiple listenings will expose rustic auditory atmospherics such as thunder and chirping
birds, all caught on tape live at the cabin." Plus, the songs
are catchy in a 1960s kind of way. CMJ cites the Feelies,
Uncle Tupelo, and the Violent Femmes in their description
of the band's first full-length. I'll buy that. I have no idea
if Goodnight Loving were influenced by any of those
artists, but they can stand proudly beside them.

Crooked Lake is saturated with harmonica, and a Beatlesque approach to rhythm, i.e. it sounds as if Paul's on the bass and Ringo's on the drums—circa the Cavern Club. Twist and shout!

Birds & Batteries, I'll Never Sleep Again,
self-released [10/09/07]

Just as Nature vs. Nature featured a Neil Young cover ("Albuquerque"), so too does Michael Sempert's follow-up. I'll Never Sleep Again opens with a lugubrious "Heart of Gold."

My first thought was ugh, but it grew on me after awhile. This version may not be light on its feet, but Young's original lyrics never suggested...bouyancy in the first place. Still, it might have made more sense as the closing track. Opening an album with something loud and sluggish isn't necessarily the best way to go.

The rest of this San Francisco singer/programmer's sophomore record, which features nine musicians this time around—approximately half are permanent—is more melodic, but still slow-moving and introspective. Julie Thomasson's Rhodes playing certainly contributes to that effect.

If you can imagine a cross between Steely Dan, Low, and Kelley Polar, you're halfway there. It isn't my thing, for the most part,
but it's an improvement over Sempert's sleepy predecessor.

The Selfish Gene, The Grand Masquerade,
Ruff Road Records [09/25/07]

Neither terrible nor great, The Grand Masquerade occupies that middle ground between the two extremes.

This Madison, WI quartet knows what they're doing, and they do it well, but
I've heard it all before. Maybe that's
more my problem than theirs...

Interestingly, Spin compares the Selfish Gene to ELO and Spoon, two bands that have almost nothing in common. Well, I like both, and I don't mind these guys, but their sound isn't sufficiently distinctive, and I could do without lyrics like, "It's a carnival full of carnivores" from "Bad About It." I've heard worse, and I've heard better. Passing grade—but just barely.

Endnote: Birds & Batteries play Seattle's Comet Tavern on Aug 14. Please click the links for more information about Goodnight Loving and the Selfish Gene. (Click here for a description of the 1976 tome from which the latter act takes its name.) Images from Goodnight Loving, Dusty Medical Records, and Birds & Batteries.

August 2007 Reviews

These are the reviews
and other assignments
I'm working on this month.

Amazon CDs: Colbie Caillat - Coco.

Amazon DVDs: Pet Shop Boys - Cubism In Concert, Small Town
Gay Bar, Demetri Martin - Person,
and The Naked Brothers Band - Battle of the Bands.

Resonance Film: The current issue features an interview with Stephen Kijak (30 Century Man), a DVD review of Radio On, and a review of Paul Drummond - Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson 
and the 13th Floor Elevators, the Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound.

Seattle Sound: The current issue features an interview with
John Sayles and a sidebar on the Honeydripper All-Star Band.

Seattle Film Blog: Lights in the Dusk, Bamako, This Is Gary McFarland, Godard's Pierrot le Fou, You're Gonna Miss Me (because I can't get enough Roky...), the full text of the John Sayles transcript,
and an interview with John Scheinfeld concludes. Also, updat-
ed versions of an interview with Michel Gondry, Le Petit Lieu-
tenant, Danielson: A Family Movie, El Aura, Matthew Barney-
No Restraint, Tonite Let's All Make Love in London, The Fall,
Malfunkshun, Mysterious Skin, 4, Frozen, Murderball, Boats
out of Watermelon Rinds, The Dying Gaul, The Aristocrats.

Steadycam: The current is-
sue features my 2006 Top 30.

"Autumn Leaves" is a much-recorded popular song. Originally a 1945 French song, "Les feuilles mortes" (literally "The Dead Leaves"), with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert, English lyrics were written in 1949 by the American songwriter Johnny Mercer. It has become a pop standard and a jazz standard in both languages, and as an instrumental. "Les feuilles mortes" was introduced by Yves Montand in 1946 for the film Les Portes de la Nuit.--Wikipedia entry on "Autumn Leaves"

Endnote: This August marks my least profitable month ever as a freelancer (plus I got a root canal). Yves Montand image from Wikipedia and Susan Ogilvie painting from Scott Milo Gallery.

Knockin' Around the Net...with Google

Every few months, I check Google to see where my reviews and other pieces are ending up. Here are some of the more interesting results.

American Shopper - 
The Movie:
Link to my Stranger review

Tom Cruise - Free Falling:
Amazon review of The Outsiders - The Complete Novel

The Evening Class:
Link to my Seattle Film Blog review of
Two or Three Things I Know About Her

Hot Splice, the NWFF Blog:
Link to my Seattle Film Blog review of
Two or Three Things I Know About Her

[I'm dubbed a "buzz kill," but in context, it's true!]

The Huffington Post:
Link to my Seattle Film Blog interview with John Scheinfeld

Mess Up the Mess:
Link to my blog review of their CD

["Kathy Fennessy likes our album."]

Picture This! Entertainment:
Reference to my Stranger
review of Eternal Summer

Portland Jewish Cinematheque:
Amazon review of Dirty Dancing

Windows Media:
AMG review of Keren Ann - La Biographie de Luka Philipsen

YouTube - Girl Trouble ("My Hometown"):
Excerpt from my AMG bio on the band

Note: Keren Ann and Eternal Summer pics from Google Images.