Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Grindhouse films - Planet Terror and Death Proof
I've just watched these two films on import DVD and I'm sad that I never had the chance to see them in the cinema as the directors intended. Tarintino and Rodriguez are both big-names in their own right and together they provide a blockbuster package. Sadly the package was a bit too complicated for the average American so it tanked at the box-office and the films were seperated for DVD release and world-wide distribution.
Planet Terror is a primary-colour zombie film. It's good fun and inventive. Not too demanding intellectually but worth watching. Death Proof is a road/horror movie with a cool soundtrack.
Neither of these films is a masterpiece but they are pure entertainment. If your like rubbish films you should see them.
Planet Terror is a primary-colour zombie film. It's good fun and inventive. Not too demanding intellectually but worth watching. Death Proof is a road/horror movie with a cool soundtrack.
Neither of these films is a masterpiece but they are pure entertainment. If your like rubbish films you should see them.
Daywatch - DVD review
Daywatch is a Russian language film, the follow up to Night Watch which came out a year ot two ago. It is probably best to see Night Watch first to fully enjoy this film.
The story is about two opposing supernatural police forces in Moscow who work together to balance good and evil. It's based on a popular series of Russian novels (which I am currently reading). It has been seen as the Russian answer to the Matrix although it is not as tacky.
It's funny and weird with some big explosions and a twisty plot. I like it. You might too if you want something different.
The story is about two opposing supernatural police forces in Moscow who work together to balance good and evil. It's based on a popular series of Russian novels (which I am currently reading). It has been seen as the Russian answer to the Matrix although it is not as tacky.
It's funny and weird with some big explosions and a twisty plot. I like it. You might too if you want something different.
Jello Biafra - live at the Glasgow Arches
Jello Biafra has been a hero of mine since I was a young teenager. I started to listen to the Dead Kennedys when I was about 12 and the songs were important to me. The anti-authority, questioning attitude of this music probably helped shape who I am. I listened to his music every day for several years.
Biafra is a strong character. He is very anti-corporate and anti-government. He has done his best never to 'sell-out' in punk rock terms. Despite recent legal problems with the other Dead Kennedys he has done his best to avoid his music being used in the commercial sector.
Now he works more as a spoken word performer than as a musician. He has recently recorded albums and toured with the Melvins but for the most part he runs his record labels and does 'spoken word' stuff.
'Spoken word' is an unusual concept. It can be funny but it's not really stand up comedy. For Biafra it is more like a lecture as he details the evils of George Bush II and the military industrial complex. My mate (who I forced to attend) described the event as a 'left wing self affirmation event' enjoyed the evening, possibly even more than I. This is a tribute to Biafra's magnetic personality and natural showmanship. Sadly after 3 hours and 15 minutes I couldn't take anymore and I had to go to the pub. I am a 'sell out' but I will never vote for George Bush.
phunky
Biafra is a strong character. He is very anti-corporate and anti-government. He has done his best never to 'sell-out' in punk rock terms. Despite recent legal problems with the other Dead Kennedys he has done his best to avoid his music being used in the commercial sector.
Now he works more as a spoken word performer than as a musician. He has recently recorded albums and toured with the Melvins but for the most part he runs his record labels and does 'spoken word' stuff.
'Spoken word' is an unusual concept. It can be funny but it's not really stand up comedy. For Biafra it is more like a lecture as he details the evils of George Bush II and the military industrial complex. My mate (who I forced to attend) described the event as a 'left wing self affirmation event' enjoyed the evening, possibly even more than I. This is a tribute to Biafra's magnetic personality and natural showmanship. Sadly after 3 hours and 15 minutes I couldn't take anymore and I had to go to the pub. I am a 'sell out' but I will never vote for George Bush.
phunky
Avebury
On Wednesday we went to Avebury for something to do. Avebury is the largest surviving stone circle in the UK. It is rather impressive when you see it. The site is made up of a large ditch surrounding 3 rings of stone circles. Some of the stones are pretty big and it must have taken year to build the site.
No-one knows why the circles were created although a lot of theories exist. Unsurprisingly Avebury is a hippy mecca. The bookshop is a wonder to behold. Books describing a muliitude of alternative and unscientific thought are available there. Faith-healing, UFOs and paganism.
Julian Cope lives near Avebury and signed copies of his two slip-case edition scholarly works on big stones are available at the hippy book shop. My friendly chat with the shop-owner about Mr Cope resulted in her thinking that I was a stalker which was a bit uncomfortable.
We ate in the Red Lion, the local pub. The food was good and I would go back.
There is also a large white horse at Cherhill carved into the hillside outside Calne on the road ro Avebury. Worth seeing, and you don't have to pay for it.
No-one knows why the circles were created although a lot of theories exist. Unsurprisingly Avebury is a hippy mecca. The bookshop is a wonder to behold. Books describing a muliitude of alternative and unscientific thought are available there. Faith-healing, UFOs and paganism.
Julian Cope lives near Avebury and signed copies of his two slip-case edition scholarly works on big stones are available at the hippy book shop. My friendly chat with the shop-owner about Mr Cope resulted in her thinking that I was a stalker which was a bit uncomfortable.
We ate in the Red Lion, the local pub. The food was good and I would go back.
There is also a large white horse at Cherhill carved into the hillside outside Calne on the road ro Avebury. Worth seeing, and you don't have to pay for it.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
I was in the same room as Julian Cope on Monday
Currently on holiday in Bristol. Escaping the cold of Scotland for the cold of the South West. Went to a weird krautrock gig on Monday night in a bar called the Croft. Two German guys were making weird electronic pulsing music. They used to play in Neu!, Kraftwerk and Harmoni. It sounded OK but I was so tired that I couldn't focus on the bands.
The interesting thing about the night was that Julian Cope was DJing. He's a freaky guy. I read his autobiography 'head-on' a few years back. It kicked ass (the book). He was playing heavy sounding rock records most of which I had never heard before and I am unlikely to hear again. It was good shit. He was wearing some sort of German tank commander hat and he just looks like a cartoon character. He also appears to be about 6foot6 tall.
The crowd in this place was weird. Long-haired krautrock fans who all seemed to be on mind altering drugs. My female companion was one of only 5 women in the building. She found it disconcerting.
My life intersected with Julian Cope again, later in the week (to be continued....)
The interesting thing about the night was that Julian Cope was DJing. He's a freaky guy. I read his autobiography 'head-on' a few years back. It kicked ass (the book). He was playing heavy sounding rock records most of which I had never heard before and I am unlikely to hear again. It was good shit. He was wearing some sort of German tank commander hat and he just looks like a cartoon character. He also appears to be about 6foot6 tall.
The crowd in this place was weird. Long-haired krautrock fans who all seemed to be on mind altering drugs. My female companion was one of only 5 women in the building. She found it disconcerting.
My life intersected with Julian Cope again, later in the week (to be continued....)
My Bloody Valentine strike back
My Bloody Valentine are playing in Glasgow next year. I will cry if I don't get a ticket.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Arcade Fire - Live at Glasgow SECC
The Arcade Fire are a popular band. They have soundtracked many bus journeys for me over the past few years. They managed to pack the SECC tonight with a crowd that ranged in age from 12 to 70 (there was a white-haired old granny dancing in the crowd beside me. As a doctor I would guestimate her age at 68).
The support bands were ok. First support band, Whitelight, were an Arcade Fire clone but that is not a bad thing. I bought their EP which I plan to listen to. Second band Clinic were nothing special. I saw them about 10 years ago at the Barrowlands and they were shite. Today they were inoffensive. My mate is a fan but I couldn't see the attraction.
The stage set for Arcade Fire was impressive. They had a large church organ at the back of the stage and numerous video screens showing footage of preachers mixed with live stuff of the band. At different times up to 10 musicians were playing. Drums were tossed around and one member of the band seems to wish that he was a stunt man as opposed to a musician.
The set was a good mix of both albums with a few oddities thrown in. My personal favourite was the organ-driven version of Kiss Off, one of my favourite Violent Femmes tunes. I hope to find a proper recorded version of that somewhere.
I left the SECC happy. It would have been nice if it was louder but it was ok. I can't wait to hear new music by the Arcade Fire.
The support bands were ok. First support band, Whitelight, were an Arcade Fire clone but that is not a bad thing. I bought their EP which I plan to listen to. Second band Clinic were nothing special. I saw them about 10 years ago at the Barrowlands and they were shite. Today they were inoffensive. My mate is a fan but I couldn't see the attraction.
The stage set for Arcade Fire was impressive. They had a large church organ at the back of the stage and numerous video screens showing footage of preachers mixed with live stuff of the band. At different times up to 10 musicians were playing. Drums were tossed around and one member of the band seems to wish that he was a stunt man as opposed to a musician.
The set was a good mix of both albums with a few oddities thrown in. My personal favourite was the organ-driven version of Kiss Off, one of my favourite Violent Femmes tunes. I hope to find a proper recorded version of that somewhere.
I left the SECC happy. It would have been nice if it was louder but it was ok. I can't wait to hear new music by the Arcade Fire.
The Boredoms - live at the Glasgow Arches
The Boredoms have been going since 1986. They are one of the most famous noise rock bands in Japan. The Flaming lips played tribute to them on their 'yoshimi battles the pink robots' album. They started out as a hardcore noise punk band before evolving into something a bit more experimantal. I own a couple of the CDs and I think 'vision creation newsun' is probably as good a place to start as any.
Back to the point. When I saw that the Boredoms were playing in Glasgow I ran out to buy tickets.
The support act was another underground noise rock legend; Michael Gira, former frontman of The Swans. He was playing some acoustic songs which were intense but otherwise unexciting. Nick Cave does it better.
I didn't know what to expect from the Boredoms tonight. You never can really. I couldn't see the stage too well at the start but some I believe that some non-musical machine was used to create noise. Sparks flew and weird humming noises were heard. After that there was a drumming frenzy which sounded rather good.
They had a strange percussion instrument on stage. It looked like the fret-boards from several guitars stuck to a central pick up. This was played by one member of the band hitting each fret-board with a drum stick. I suspect that each guitar neck was tuned to a different open chord allowing music to be made. I loved this idea.
They played for about 90 minutes. Bits of it sounded like tribal dance music and bits of it sounded like guitar based noise rock. Some bits just sounded like a Japanese guy with dreadlocks screaming but overall it was fun and I'm glad that I was there. I won't forget the experience and I think I would like to repeat it.
phunk
Back to the point. When I saw that the Boredoms were playing in Glasgow I ran out to buy tickets.
The support act was another underground noise rock legend; Michael Gira, former frontman of The Swans. He was playing some acoustic songs which were intense but otherwise unexciting. Nick Cave does it better.
I didn't know what to expect from the Boredoms tonight. You never can really. I couldn't see the stage too well at the start but some I believe that some non-musical machine was used to create noise. Sparks flew and weird humming noises were heard. After that there was a drumming frenzy which sounded rather good.
They had a strange percussion instrument on stage. It looked like the fret-boards from several guitars stuck to a central pick up. This was played by one member of the band hitting each fret-board with a drum stick. I suspect that each guitar neck was tuned to a different open chord allowing music to be made. I loved this idea.
They played for about 90 minutes. Bits of it sounded like tribal dance music and bits of it sounded like guitar based noise rock. Some bits just sounded like a Japanese guy with dreadlocks screaming but overall it was fun and I'm glad that I was there. I won't forget the experience and I think I would like to repeat it.
phunk
Saturday, October 13, 2007
More songwriting
Just did a bit more songwriting today. More rocky than usual. I played bass and wrote the words/did the singing. We just basically jammed the tune out over a drum machine. The song is called 'you can't gargle sand' and comes from an offensive joke. It will appear on myspace on the 'drphunk and the remnants of punani' page if we finish it soon.
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