Au revoir, to “Soul Train” creator Don Corneilus, who made his exit from this cruel world earlier this morning. While “Soul Train”‘s status as the the longest, continuously running first-run syndicated program in television history will no doubt be cited in Don’s obits, it was his star turn as independent label magnate Mo Fuzz in Bill Fishman’s 1988 comedy, “Tapeheads”, that provided a fledgling Matador Records with a genuine role model.
Though I’ve already used this space to sing the praises of Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly’s “Destroy All Movies : The Complete Guide To Punks On Film”, our extended Xmas break provided me with additional opportunities to get stuck into this impressive reference manual. There’s amazing factoids and brutal critiques on almost every page (the turgid Arye Gross college radio star vehicle, “A Matter Of Degrees” is dismissed as “the emotional trials of a guy who looks like he’s been in school longer than Archie”) and best of all, many introductions to cinematic sludge only the insane or truly obsessed would already know about.
Case in point, 1998′s kiddie film. “The Purple People Eater”, described by Connolly as “the strangest E.T. rip-off of them all” (and this is coming from a man undoubtedly familiar with “Mac & Me”). “Is this the only film based on a novelty song?” Well, that depends whether not you consider C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” a novelty song. But either way, it might be the worst film ever based on a novelty song. In addition to the cast mentioned in the above trailer, “The Purple People Eater” also features a pre-”Dougie Howser” / “Starship Troopers” Neil Patrick Harris, a pre-parental flipout Thora Birch, and inexplicably, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who might have the weirdest filmography of any professional athlete not named Todd Zeile.
Seriously. Who the fuck remembers “E.T.”? A couple of years ago, I talked the owners of a local tavern into letting me screen Mark Lester’s mindblowing “Class Of 1984″ as part of a makeshift birthday party/film festival. “Who doesn’t want to see Michael J. Fox get stabbed?” I asked, though as it turned out, attention spans amongst my friends were running low, the volume on the bar’s TV was lower, or perhaps Michael J. Fox wasn’t stabbed nearly enough times. Either way, this film remains an all-time favorite of mine, and if it couldn’t be part of a holiday tradition for me, perhaps it will become one for you.
There’s much to recommend about “Class Of 1984″ ; the ferocious, self-righteous over-acting of Perry King as concerned educator Andrew Norris ; Timothy Van Patten (son of dog-food magnate Dick, “Salami” from the equally brilliant “The White Shadow” and in more recent years, a key, behind-the-scenes contributor to “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire”) as faux-punk gangleader Stegman ; Roddy McDowell as an increasingly cynical science teacher who ultimately turns a gun on his teenage tormentors ; a musical cameo from Teenage Head, essentially giving away the film’s Toronto location. But why listen to me? If I celebrated Xmas and/or hadn’t already purchased a copy, I’d be asking Satan Santa for the newly published “Destroy All Movies!” (Fantagraphics Books), in which the amazing tome’s co-author, Zack Carlson, hails “Class Of 1984″ as “just a perfect exploitation movie.”
“Originally slapped with an X rating, it’s relentlessly seedy, overflowing with assault, suicide, racism, grimy sex, drug use and crime crime crime, all of which is perpetrated by minors! Exaggerated or not, the gang practically wrote the textbook for countless delinquent groups that would terrorize big-screen high schools through the 80′s and beyond. There’s a consistent, pervasive air of innocent helplessness and leather-clad heartlessness that makes this movie the flat-out best in its genre.”
You know the old saying, “those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it?” No? Well, it’s a pretty good saying. The above Pussy Galore bio pic by Michele O’Mara, however brings to mind the truism “history is best retold by persons who don’t give a shit about accuracy or likenesses” (OK, I made that up myself). With all due respect to meme-tastic crazes like keyboard kitties and Alexyss Tylor, I see no reason why this video shouldn’t top a million or more views by the end of the week. (thanks to Linda Wolfe for the heads-up about this astonishing video)
2 of the first documentaries ever made about music* are set to grace Austin’s silver screen later this month when Alamo Drafthouse teams up with End Of An Ear and Matador to bring you Watch Me Jumpstart and Slow Century — two films about esteemed Matador alums Guided By Voices and Pavement — as part of the Alamo’s Music Monday Series.
$2 gets you admission along with some killer food and drink specials.
And be sure to catch the bands when they come to the Casual Victi…. er…. Live Music Capital.
Guided By Voices
Thursday September 30 @ East Side Drive
w/ Times New Viking
Pavement
Tuesday September 28 @ Stubb’s Waller Creek
w/ Woven Bones
Even though we’d been convinced that all that slaving away at the myriad marketing gimmicks, “promo opportunities” and general suffering we put bands through would leave us with some very exhausted talent, it turns out that these guys just can’t stop doing thangs… read on to see what some of our beloved have been up to.
Though she’s on tour with the New Pornographers, as we speak, Kathryn Calder just put the finishing touches on her new solo record. On August 11 the world’ll be treated to ‘Are You My Mother?’ which features an all-star band featuring Neko, Kurt and Todd from The New Pornographers and a handful of other Canadian musical luminaries. Check File Under: Music for more info.
Mogwaiwill be releasing the pretty stunning looking live LP entitled, ‘Special Moves’to coincide with the release of their first live film ‘Burning’, which was filmed in Brooklyn during the band’s tour in support of ‘The Hawk Is Howling’ in April of 2009. Check Mogwai’s site for info on ordering the record and where you can catch screenings of ‘Burning’.
Following the release of their live-film, Dead Meadow released their second live album ‘Three Kings’ and soundtrack to aforementioned film, on the Xemu label in April.
Matmos‘ Drew Daniel and Martin Schmitt have teamed up with So Percussion on a collaboration entitled ‘Treasure State‘ — expect to have your mind twisted on July 8. Cantaloupe Records sez: “The record had a complex gestation period: at the invitation of Brett Allen, the members of Matmos and So Percussion went to the SnowGhost Studios in Whitefish, Montana– the Treasure State which gives the album its title– and collaboratively generated the bulk of the songs. San Francisco plunderphonicist Wobbly then chopped and edited the results on several tracks, and finally, with frequent interventions from Matmos’ M. C. Schmidt, “fifth” So Percussion member and producer Lawson White overdubbed extra elements, processed, and mixed the results.” There’s a handful of live dates, to boot!
Thur. March 25th, 3 Kings premiere party at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery FREE
Fri. March 26th, Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale, CA
Sat. March 27th, Great American Concert Hall, San Francisco, CA
Wed. March 21, Wow Hall, Eugene, OR
Thur. April 1st, Doug Fir, Portland, OR
Fri. April 2nd, Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
Sat. April 3rd, Studio Seven, Seattle, WA
Mon. April 5th, Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Wed. April 7th, Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO
Thur. April 8th, Riot Room, Lawrence, KS
Fri. April 9th, Slowdown, Omaha, NE
Sat. April 10th, Nuttys North, Sioux Falls, SD
Mon. April 12th, Triple Rock, Minneapolis, MN
Tue. April 13th, Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
Wed. April 14th, Annex, Madison, WI
Thur. April 15th, Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
Fri. April 16th, Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
Sat. April 17th, The Union, Athens, OH
Mon. April 19th, The Basement, Columbus, OH
Tues. April 20th, Walnut Street Schoolhouse, Ridgeway, PA
Wed. April 21st, Mohawk, Buffalo, NY
Thur. April 22nd, Lees Palace, Toronto, ON
Fri. April 23rd, Club Lampi, Montreal, QUE
Sat. April 24th Cafe Nine New Haven, CT
Sun. April 25th, Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY
Just a healthy reminder that Mission Of Burma will be making a rare Central Texas appearance this Sunday at the 4th edition of Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Festival (other participants include fellow Matadorians Shearwater, Fucked Up, Times New Viking and Harlem). The Burma documentary, “Not A Photograph”, will be shown at Austin’s Alamo Ritz Sunday night, hosted by the band, after which Peter, Roger, Clint and Bob will be hitting the following glamor towns :
Nov 10 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Nov 11 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
Nov 12 Eugene, OR Wow Hall
Nov 14 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Nov 15 Los Angeles, CA The Echoplex
On Tuesday August 4th MySpace will debut “Waiting For Something”, a short documentary about Jay Reatard.
Directed by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz, “Waiting For Something” explores in detail Jay’s personal history and his roots in Memphis music, and also gazes forward at an artistic journey not yet written.
There have been reports of a dramatic interpretation of Michael Moynahin and Dirk Soderlind’s “Lords Of Chaos” hitting the big screen someday, and perhaps adding a mainstream movie star to the mix will help with the financing. You’ve thrilled to Shane West as Darby Crash, tried to get your head around Elijah Wood as Iggy, perhaps you’re even psyched to see Jamie Foxx as Frank Sinatra. But unless you’ve been reading Metal Underground.com (or whoever they’ve been reading), you probably didn’t know that “Twilight”‘s Jackson Rathbone has been tapped to play the part of Varg Vikernes (above).
Much as I respect the opinion of those who made this casting decision, I feel compelled to protest. Who exactly does Kenneth Branagh have to fuck to get a look in?
It would be an exaggeration to claim most of my non-Matador related posts for the Matablog are culled from that awesome treasure trove of metallic press releases, Blabbermouth.net. Just as it would be the height of hyperbole to say I visit said site 5, 6, maybe 7 times a day. Even so, the ‘Mouth provides a daily glimpse into an alternate musical universal where somewhere on this planet (quite possibly in Eastern Europe), news of Rudy Sarzo’s advances in digital animation are eagerly absorbed.
Today, Blabbermouth informs us that L.A. Guns vocalist* Phil Lewis has the lead role in “Witchmaster General”, a motion picture hopefully described as a “supernatural thriller”.
Lewis plays Dr. Gorgon, a charming but sinister witchdoctor who uses his evil powers — as well as his close personal relationship with Satan — to run a sort of “murder-for-hire” business. A tough-as-nails cop (Martino) and the county coroner (Bud Stafford of “Grave Danger”) are hot on his trail, but are no match for the power he possesses or the evil he unleashes upon them.
“The film is a nice mix of great old-fashioned haunted house horror and all the sex, violence, and dark humor we’ve come to expect these days,” says filmmaker Jim Haggerty of his fourth feature film. “It’s kind of like an old Vincent Price movie on acid.”
As a longtime fan of L.A. GUNS, Haggerty is extremely delighted to have the opportunity to work with one of his musical heroes. “I have always been such a fan of Phil in L.A. GUNS,” he says. “He was — and really still is — such an exciting performer with such great charisma and talent on top of an amazing voice. He really was the right man for the job and it was an honor and a pleasure to work with him on this — I’m already writing the sequel!”
(* – I should stress that neither I nor Matador Records is taking sides in the dispute over the ownership of the L.A. Guns name. Los Angeles has the greatest copyright / entertainment attorneys in the world and we fully believe in letting them do what they do best).
When’s the last time you went to your local multiplex and every film on offer had a score by Yo La Tengo? Such an occasion will occur this Monday, April 6 when roughly the same time Austin’s Alamo Ritz theatre screens Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland”, an adjoining room will be showing Emily Hubley’s “The Toe Tactic” at 7pm.
“The Toe Tactic” is Hubley’s first full-length feature combines animation and live action, and includes performances from David Cross, Eli Wallach, Andrea Martin and Marion Seides…along with the previously mentioned Yo La Tengo music. Later that evening, the Ritz will present “Hubley Films”, a collection of Faith & John Hubley‘s animated works, as curated by Emily Hubley.
There’s a screening of “The Toe Tactic” on Sunday, as well.
There’s some prominent Dead Meadow and Bardo Pond participation amongst other faves in John Srebalus and Jessica Hundle’s documentary “Such Hawks, Such Hounds”, playing tonight at 10:15 as part of the Alamo’s Music Mondays series. And hopefully hitting your town before long.
In addition, Lou can be seen being interviewed and performing alongside Elvis Costello on the latter’s new Sundance Channel chat program, “Spectacle“. The episode in question premies Wednesday, December 10 at 9pm eastern.
“Zidane : A Twenty-First Century Portrait”, the feature length documentary by Douglas Gordon and Philppe Parreno, is being shown from tomorrow through October 30 at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. As lovers of between-Matador-releases are well aware, Mogwai provided the original soundtrack for this stunning visual work.
In 2006, the Frenchman Zinédine Zidane, the most gifted—and certainly the most enigmatic—of recent soccer players, received a suitably unusual tribute. “Zidane: A Twenty-first Century Portrait,” screening at Anthology Film Archives and at BAM Oct. 24-30, is a documentary directed by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno and filmed by the great Darius Khondji. It focusses on Zidane alone during a match in April, 2005, between his club at the time, Real Madrid, and Villarreal. There is no commentary, no buildup, nothing about his career or his Algerian background. We are granted only fleeting opportunities to observe the patterns of the game; most of the movie tracks its man in solitude as he bides his time and bursts into activity. Even when he is ejected near the end, for his role in a brawl, we barely see the incident—all of which will be exasperating, to filmgoers and soccer fans alike. Allow yourself to submit to the film’s design, however, to the scuffling roar of its recorded sound and the pulse of its music, and, like a session of hypnotherapy, it may just work its magic. – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
….is apparently not available in men’s sizes. Though this doesn’t address the imbalance of unequal pay for equal work….it might be the single worst thing about being a man other than sharing a gender with Adam Carolla. (Maria Forde.net)
…and it’s not “The Dark Knight”, “Hancock” or even “Space Chimps”. Instead, much like the rest of you, I’m breathlessly awaiting the release of Chain Gang‘s long-awaited “Mondo Manhattan”. There’s every chance I’ll be writing these same words 12 months from now, but there’s worse things than watching this trailer, or basking in Ricky Luanda’s spirited narration.
As we feverishly prepare for the 8/19 release of Jennifer O’Connor’s ‘Here With Me’ LP/CD, we’re pleased to announce that along with upcoming dates supporting Jamie Lidell and Son Ambulance, Jennifer is playing with Wilco on the following evenings :
Sun 8/10 Wilmington, DE 7pm The Grand Opera House
Wed 8/13 Brooklyn, NY Doors 5pm McCarren Park Pool
In addition, “Hopeful” from Jennifer’s fantastic 2nd album, ‘The Color & The Light”, is featured in the upcoming motion picture, “The Strangers”, starring Liv Tyler and loads of freakish people wearing masks and wielding knives. The movie opens May 30, “only in theatres” as they like to say in the TV commericals.
The folks at Pitchfork.tv are screening the recent Mission of Burma documentary “Not A Photograph: The Mission of Burma Story” this week. The film features a laundry list of epic indie talking heads, classic clips and some incredible performances from M.O.B.’s initial 2002 reunion shows. If there is a better way to start your Saturday than with images of Burma killing it across 2 decades, an always excited Mike Watt, or a 5-guitar mega jam of “All World Cowboy Romance” we don’t know it.
See the whole thing HERE
Also, the Mission of Burma CD bundle is on sale for one final week HERE
Unless there’s a new James Toback film waiting in the wings, we might not read a piece of film criticism this year as scathing as the review handed out to “10,000 B.C.” by the Baltimore Sun’s Michael Scragow :
10,000 B.C. may take place in the moviemakers’ fanciful vision of life 10,000 years before Christ, but after you see it, the “B.C.” seems to stand for “Before Cinema.” It’s as if all the digital tools of new millennial filmmaking fell into the hands of men who had less storytelling sense than a campfire bard or a cave painter.
The director, Roland Emmerich, has made such pop hits as Independence Day, but he co-wrote this one with the film’s composer, Harald Kloser, instead of his usual partners, and from beginning to end it’s a succession of bad notes. It follows the rise of a prehistoric hero, named D’Leh (sounds like “delay”), who grows up in a tribe of woolly mammoth hunters, and is stigmatized because his master-hunter father appeared to have abandoned his people in hard times.
The new holder of the White Spear, Tic’Tic (Cliff Curtis), tries to squelch that tale, but can’t stop teen bullies from sneering at D’Leh as the son of a coward. I don’t think there’s ever been an epic with more unfortunate names for its heroes. Unless you’re enthralled by the sight of mammoth herds and fearsome prehistoric emus and a spear-toothed tiger that responds to human kindness, all given that real yet unreal CGI glow, you hear the clock Tic’Ticing in your head and pray for a conclusion without delay or D’Leh.
While Jim DeRogatis will probably hit the roof tonight if “Juno” pulls an Oscar upset, a recent online poll from Pearl & Dean of some 3000 cinephiles resulted in the following list of “films that should have won an Academy Award but never did.”
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. The Sixth Sense
3. Fight Club
4. Blade Runner
5= It’s a Wonderful Life
5= The Great Escape
7= Taxi Driver
7= Psycho
9. Singin’ in the Rain
10. Dr Strangelove
The BBC site didn’t reveal what came in 11th place, but there had to be at least a couple of votes for another neglected classic.
It doesn’t seem particularly constructive for the maker of the above celluloid masterpiece to try and harass and intimidate a person who has merely opined the film in question sucks.
Then again, depending on the reviews for Times New Viking’s ‘Rip It Off’, we’re not necessarily above doing the same thing.
Producer/musician/songwriter extraordinaire Wyclef Jean was quizzed by New York Magazine’s Sara Cardace this week about his influences (thanks to Ira for the link). Let’s just say he demonstrated greater candor than the majority of the Matador roster would’ve under similar circumstances.
Do you have a favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Black Orpheus. Do me a favor, okay? Please go see that. It’s very cinematic and raw. I think what makes a great movie is when you can feel the culture and the sun and the people and the vibe inside the lens. Another movie I love is Once Upon a Time in America. I fell in love with that movie because of the score. You can imagine—I’m a kid supposed to be watching the movie, and instead I’m listening to the score.
And guilty pleasures?
I’m a great porn collector. The best porn ever is Sweetest Taboo.You ever seen it? That’s a good one. I probably have over 5,000 pornos.
Really?! Where do you keep them all?
In my basement. I collected them through the years. I don’t lie about anything; I think if someone has a porn collection, they have a porn collection. I know people who say they don’t have a porn collection, but when they get up in hotels they run them bills wild! They might want to call me and I could rent them a few.
Whether or not Wyclef can be considered an heir to Ralph Whittington‘s former throne as “King Of Porn” remains to be seen. But the next time a prominent musician is asked about a guilty pleasure and feels compelled to answer “Project Runway”, rest assured, the ante has been raised.
Dead Meadow shot by 
