Roll Over Beethoven with Stereo Total

Stereo
Total,
Baby
Ouh!,
Kill
Rock
Stars
[5/4/10]









A new CD from Stereo Total is always cause for celebration.
The hyper-sensitive and humorless need not apply, but all oth-
ers are welcome. "Ladies Toilet," for instance, offers a bathroom
that speaks to its patrons, but it isn't gross, just funny. The la-
bel describes their lyrics as "anarchistic, lewd, poetic in an over-
wrought way, sometimes very sad and sometimes very silly."

Later, they wonder what John Waters' favorite actor-actress
might have toted about in "Divine's Handbag" (perhaps "an old
sandwich from a dirty kitchen sink"). Since they sing in English,
French, German, Japanese, and Italian, I can't always tell what
they're saying, though the titles give some indication, like "An-
dy Warhol" (not the Bowie number), and their Franco-Teu-
tonic take on electro-pop is in universally-understood effect.

If Françoise Cactus handles most of the vocals, someone else,
possibly partner Brezel Göring, steps up to the mic for "I Wan-
na Be a Mama" ("I will teach him how to kill, oh yeah, I wanna be
a mama!"), but only Cactus could do justice to the closing tracks,
the playful "Violent Love," which evokes the New York Dolls, and
"Baby Ouh," the duo's take on Serge Gainsbourg-style chanson.

I also like the theremin that decorates "Du Bist Gut Zu Vögeln"
and the chorus of whistling that permeates "Tour de France."
All told, they've issued another winner: fun, but not insub-
stantial; smart, but not pretentious. Let the party begin!

Click here for my review of Paris <-> Berlin.
 
Endnote: Stereo Total play Chop Su-
ey on 8/31. Image from Kill Rock Stars.

April 2010 Reviews

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

Amazon DVDs: Life - The Complete Series [four-disc set].

Amazon Theatricals:
Mother and Child (with
Naomi Watts and Annet-
te Bening), The Joneses
(with Demi Moore and
David Duchovny), The
Eclipse (with Ciarán
Hinds and Iben Hjejle), Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy "holds a mirror up to hipsters"), and Oceans (Jacques Per-
rin of Winged Migration and Microcosmos co-directs).

Still playing: Alice in Wonderland, Crazy Heart, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Ghost Writer, Please Give, Remember Me, and The Runaways.

SIFF: Three notes for the program guide (links to come).

Seattle Film Blog: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?,
(Lynch produces, Herzog directs, and Shannon stars) and
Mid-August Lunch (from the co-writer of Gomorrah).

Video Librarian: For Love of Liberty - The Story of Ameri-
ca's Black Patriots [two-disc set] , Hey Hey It's Esther Blue-
burger, The Jacksons - A Family Dynasty [two-disc set],
The Real Housewives of New Jersey - Season 1 [three-
disc set], Toddlers & Tiaras - Season One [two-disc
set], Beeswax, I Am Ireland/Freedom [two-disc
set], Loins of Punjab Presents [two-disc set],
Living for the Day After Tomorrow - Com-
plete Collection [two-disc set], Meshu-
ggah-Nuns!, and Summer Hours.

Endnote: Though I consider Michael Shannon
(My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done) a handsome
man, he can look pretty freaky from certain angles,
something the picture above uses to eerie advan-
tage (giving My Son co-star Udo Kier a run for
the money). Image from Sound on Sight.

Eclectic Affair: New Music from What Laura Says and Too Late for Roses

What
Laura
Says,
Bloom
Cheek,
Terp-
sikh-
ore
[6/8/10]

It isn't hard to identify the artists this Phoenix five-piece enjoys the most. I hear echoes of Harry Nilsson and 10CC on some selections, Air, Grizzly Bear, and Devendra Banhart on others. Of course, it could always be coincidental; they may simply share similar musical influences.

I find the combination of styles appealing, the multi-layered
harmonies, the atmospheric organ work, and the T. Rex-like
rhythms. On the whole, their second disc is a pretty eclectic
affair—at times, they even sound like an old funk-rock band.
Except for a misguided attempt at reggae stylings and a few
awkward lyrical passages, I rate Bloom Cheek a success.

Click here for "Training" and here for "I Suppose."

Too Late for Roses, Debut, Launchpad [6/1/10]

This Cali trio serves up modern rock with a heavy back beat. If anything, the rhythm section, Wyatt Lund (drums) and Jordan Martin (bass), is the best thing about Too Late for Roses.

Kark von Kries has a full-throated style, but he evokes too many other arena-rock guys, from Bono to Scott Stapp (he also handles flute and percussion). If the band is angling for a  major label deal, that could be to their advantage, but I prefer more distinction.

Debut, however, offers a few surprises, like the ambient "Winter Tide," which features lapping waves and seagull cries—and clocks in at 19 minutes—and the experimental "Soundtrack from 'Masks'." But I still like the rock stuff best, semi-generic vocals and all.

Endnote: For more information about What Laura Says, please click here; for Too Late for Roses, here. Image: Planetary Group.

White Noise: Part Four

I have two bookshelves. Both are so overstuffed, I've taken to storing books in the kitchen and in the hallway. This shot includes reference books (A Biographical Dictionary of Film, Film Noir Reader, Placing Movies), books I haven't started (I Put a Spell on You, King Suckerman, Union Dues), and book I haven't finished (The Collected Stories of John Cheever, Sirk on Sirk).


This shot includes books I've read (Cruel Shoes, Gone with the Wind, How the Irish Became White, In the Cut, Monty, Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story, Mystery Train, Please Kill Me, The Ice Storm, and White Noise). Plus, an assortment of nail polish and fragrances. I don't keep every book I read, so these are all titles that made some sort of an impression. Those that don't, go away (I sell or pass them on). The spine is hard to read, but the oldest is by A. A. Milne: The House at Pooh Corner.

Click here for Part Three: The
Complete Book Club List

Images courtesy Kodak one-time use camera.

White Noise: The Complete Book Club List, Part Three

Here are the titles book club has tackled since 2007. For a history of the club, please click here. For part one of the list (2000-04), click here; for part two (2005-06), click here.*

* The third link is currently inoperable; I'm hoping to find a way to retrieve it.

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007

02/07: Peter Carey - True History of the Kelly Gang
[Winner of the Man Booker Prize]
05/07: Martin Amis - Money: A Suicide Note
07/07: Mike Davis - Dead Cities [I swear I'll finish this...someday]
09/07: Cormac McCarthy - The Road
[Nice lead-in to No Country for Old Men]
11/07: John Nathan - Mish-
ima and/or Legs McNeil & Jennifer Osborne - The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry [I read both]

2008 2008 2008 2008

02/08: Jonathan Lethem - The Fortress of Solitude
05/08: Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker
07/08: Max Brooks - World War Z:
An Oral History of the Zombie War*
09/08: Rose McCauley - The Towers of Trebizond
11/08: Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections

* Soon to be a major motion picture.

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009

1/09: Herman Melville - Billy Budd and Other Stories
5/09: Jack Black - You Can't Win [I loved this]
7/09: Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith - Pride and Prejudice
and Zombies and George MacDonald Fraser - Flashman: A Novel
11/09: Willa Cather - The Song of the
Lark and Amitav Ghosh - Sea of Poppies
12/09: Jean-Dominique Bauby - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010

3/10: Zachary Lazar - Sway
4/10: Lord Auch (Georges Bataille) - Story of the Eye
and the Invisible Committee - The Coming Insurrection
7/10: Joshua Gamson - The Fabulous Sylvester: the
Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco
9/10: Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood
12/10: Charles Burns - Black Hole

2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011

5/11: Jennifer Egan - A Visit from the Good Squad
7/11: Kate Buford - Burt Lancaster: An American Life
10/11: John Fowles - The French Lieutenant's Woman
12/11: Samuel R. Delany - Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand

More to come...and suggestions are always welcome.

Endnote: Images from The Voice (Jonathan Lethem)
and the BBC (Martin Amis and Christopher Hitchens).

Beware the CD Reviews of March: Wetdog, Etc.

Wetdog, "Frauhaus!," Captured Tracks

From "Lower Leg," the first song off their second album, you might think London's Wetdog are trying to pick up where Switzerland's Kleenex/LiLiPUT left off in 1983. On that track, in which tribal rhythms meet call-and-response vocals, you can also hear the Slits and the Raincoats (and on their MySpace Page, I spotted a picture of Ari Up, indicating that they're either fans, former bill-mates, or both). As compelling as those reference points may be, you could always listen to the original artists to scratch the same post-punk itch.

  

Fortunately, Wetdog reveals their own unique personality as this tinny 14-track disc continues to spin—not that "Lower Leg" isn't a completely persuasive song (it is!). The more you listen, the harder their rickety ruckus becomes to describe. On some numbers, they make a noirish noise; on others, they're all sunshine and sweet harmonies. 

On "Snapper," they come on like a lounge band in space. Short on years, long on ideas, the trio appears to be trying things out; seeing what sticks and what doesn't, which means that "Frauhaus!" isn't as cohesive as the Vivian Girls debut, another reference point, but it's just as appealing for those who like girl-group sounds with extra kick.    

All Leather, When I Grow Up, I Wanna Fuck Like a Girl, Dim Mak  

More irony, more distortion, more annoying tones.--band press notes  

From the title, you'd expect loud and irritating. On their follow-up to Hung like a Horse—yes, that was fun to type— All Leather delivers volume and attitude, but it's hard to tell what they're going on about. Songs include "I Do it with My Prick Out" and "Babe, Does This Band Make My Butt Look Big," but as in the works of Locust and early Ministry, the noise rolls right over the vocals. It does little for me, but your mileage may vary. If anything, they're less irritating than expected...for what that's worth.   

The River Raid, In a Forest, Sunset/Above the Sky 

On the successor to their self-titled debut, this three-guitar Brazilian quartet offers generic modern rock that's virtually indistinguishable from the UK/US variant (especially Oasis). That doesn't make it bad—but I've heard it before. So have you. Click here to play "Alright."   

Endnote: For more info about Wetdog, who play SXSW on 3/18, please click here or here; for All Leather, here or here (the River Raid also play this year's fest). Wetdog image from batteryinmycamera.

Proper Procedure According to Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-
Heron's I'm
New Here
comes with
the follow-
ing advice.
I've done
my best
to repro-
duce the original formatting, except for the white text-on-black background (it's the first thing you see when you open the CD).


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


There is a proper procedure for taking advantage of any investment.
Music, for example. Buying music is an investment.
To get the maximum you must


LISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.


Not in your car or on a portable player through a headset.
Take it home.
Get rid of all distractions (even her or him).
Turn off your cell phone.
Turn off everything that rings or beeps or rattles or whistles.
Make yourself comfortable.
Play your CD.
LISTEN all the way through.
Think about what you got.
Think about who would appreciate this investment.
Decide if there is someone to share this with.
Turn it on again.
Enjoy yourself.


Gil Scott-Heron


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

Click here for my review of I'm New Here.



Endnote: Image from Elbows Music Blog Aggregator.