Last Week (4-30/5-6) - First Journal Post
I hadn't seen this in more than ten years and was eager to catch up with it now that I know the show better, but it didn't quite hold up. The film basically plays out as a long-form commercial for Stern, but applying for love from those who would dismiss his show, with an extra slant towards attracting female listeners. However, for the Stern fan there is very little to chew on here: Stern's personal life is kept perfunctory with Alison basically a supportive non-character and the behind-the-scenes looks at the show are mostly of the Greatest Hits variety, not really exploring the show's appeal beyond shallow stereotypes (Lesbians equal ratings, etc). The WNBC stuff is admittedly still pretty damn funny though, culminating with Stern engaging in fisticuffs with Pig Vomit (a funny Giamatti, before he was relegated to playing lovable schlubs in indie film fodder).
Two strong lead performances and economic production design goes to waste in a film that is basically just a series of torture set-pieces clearly meant as provocation but I'm not sure what they were supposed to provoke (All crime is punished? Why does she get to be the punisher? At what point does the punishment exceed the crime?) and supporting torture in this case (and to this radical an extent) doesn't bode well for current political situations where torture has come to represent an alternative for due process of law. A more talented director might have been more adept at traveling this sort of terrain (look at what Polanski did with Death and the Maiden - but then he had something to say about old crimes weighing down on people), but Slade directs everything in tight close-ups that more closely resemble trashy marketing campaigns than the emotional gaze of Bergman.
Bjork's Bachelorette by Michel Gondry really clicked with me this week and I now consider it to be Gondry's finest work as a short form director. It uses several of the visual motifs that circulated through his previous work (visual feedback, things that run in loops with slight variation, etc) and marries them with some dominant narrative motifs (character's controlled by outside forces, link between human desires and nature), finding a blend that is hypnotic and beautiful - a perfect companion to the song, which is also one of the strongest in Bjork's catalog.
Why?/Islands concert at El Rey (5/5/06)
I went for Why? (whose Elephant Eye Lash was my third favorite album of last year) and they were great, but this show really came alive when The Islands took stage and played a ridiculously energetic set that culminated with an impromptu fireworks display outside of the theater on Wilshire's wonderful Miracle Mile. This was probably the most energetic concert night I have experienced since I saw Arcade Fire explode upon Spaceland in late '04. A sad epilogue though has The Islands not being paid for the gig by the venue because of their antics (or at least this has been reported by a friend who saw their next show in SF).
I rented this because Jacobson's new film Down in the Valley has been receiving some good buzz from some critics I trust in Gotham and because I don't know much about Dahmer's crimes (I was ten when he was caught, probably too interested in Ninja Turtles to care about Dahmer and his crimes). My expectations were low and this ended up being a bit better than I expected, especially in the way it concerns itself with Dahmer's relationships with his intended victims when they cross his path. More standard serial killer material does rule the material but Jacobson is able to smuggle in some interesting human touches between the more tawdry genre material. A failure, to be sure, but not without its merits.
Favorite songs of last week:
1. Secret Heart by Feist (Let it Die) Hardly a new song or new album to me but after listening to Sexsmiths original version of this song I began to warm to it more. I am typically a sucker for female singers covering male songwriters (and vice versa) because of the conflict it creates in the lyrics and questions it raises in terms of authorship.
2. Humans by Islands (Return to the Sea) My favorite song from their album at this point and one that has been receiving heavy rotation on my itunes.
3. You Have Killed Me by Morrissey (Ringleader of the Tormentors) Morrisseys best single in god, I dont know, a long time, is just fucking awesome. Visconti is me, indeed.
4. Its All Gonna Break by Broken Social Scene (S/T) This is impossible for me to listen to without screaming it at the top of my lungs, so I try to avoid listening to it in public spheres.
5. The Monitor by Bishop Allen (March EP) It looks like this group is starting to catch on so I wanted to get on record as saying that yes they are quite good and this is the best song from their most recent EP (which is sadly not at good as the two previous ones). In fact, you can download it HERE.
That is all for now. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, this is a journal entry after all.
I hadn't seen this in more than ten years and was eager to catch up with it now that I know the show better, but it didn't quite hold up. The film basically plays out as a long-form commercial for Stern, but applying for love from those who would dismiss his show, with an extra slant towards attracting female listeners. However, for the Stern fan there is very little to chew on here: Stern's personal life is kept perfunctory with Alison basically a supportive non-character and the behind-the-scenes looks at the show are mostly of the Greatest Hits variety, not really exploring the show's appeal beyond shallow stereotypes (Lesbians equal ratings, etc). The WNBC stuff is admittedly still pretty damn funny though, culminating with Stern engaging in fisticuffs with Pig Vomit (a funny Giamatti, before he was relegated to playing lovable schlubs in indie film fodder).
Two strong lead performances and economic production design goes to waste in a film that is basically just a series of torture set-pieces clearly meant as provocation but I'm not sure what they were supposed to provoke (All crime is punished? Why does she get to be the punisher? At what point does the punishment exceed the crime?) and supporting torture in this case (and to this radical an extent) doesn't bode well for current political situations where torture has come to represent an alternative for due process of law. A more talented director might have been more adept at traveling this sort of terrain (look at what Polanski did with Death and the Maiden - but then he had something to say about old crimes weighing down on people), but Slade directs everything in tight close-ups that more closely resemble trashy marketing campaigns than the emotional gaze of Bergman.
Bjork's Bachelorette by Michel Gondry really clicked with me this week and I now consider it to be Gondry's finest work as a short form director. It uses several of the visual motifs that circulated through his previous work (visual feedback, things that run in loops with slight variation, etc) and marries them with some dominant narrative motifs (character's controlled by outside forces, link between human desires and nature), finding a blend that is hypnotic and beautiful - a perfect companion to the song, which is also one of the strongest in Bjork's catalog.
Why?/Islands concert at El Rey (5/5/06)
I went for Why? (whose Elephant Eye Lash was my third favorite album of last year) and they were great, but this show really came alive when The Islands took stage and played a ridiculously energetic set that culminated with an impromptu fireworks display outside of the theater on Wilshire's wonderful Miracle Mile. This was probably the most energetic concert night I have experienced since I saw Arcade Fire explode upon Spaceland in late '04. A sad epilogue though has The Islands not being paid for the gig by the venue because of their antics (or at least this has been reported by a friend who saw their next show in SF).
I rented this because Jacobson's new film Down in the Valley has been receiving some good buzz from some critics I trust in Gotham and because I don't know much about Dahmer's crimes (I was ten when he was caught, probably too interested in Ninja Turtles to care about Dahmer and his crimes). My expectations were low and this ended up being a bit better than I expected, especially in the way it concerns itself with Dahmer's relationships with his intended victims when they cross his path. More standard serial killer material does rule the material but Jacobson is able to smuggle in some interesting human touches between the more tawdry genre material. A failure, to be sure, but not without its merits.
Favorite songs of last week:
1. Secret Heart by Feist (Let it Die) Hardly a new song or new album to me but after listening to Sexsmiths original version of this song I began to warm to it more. I am typically a sucker for female singers covering male songwriters (and vice versa) because of the conflict it creates in the lyrics and questions it raises in terms of authorship.
2. Humans by Islands (Return to the Sea) My favorite song from their album at this point and one that has been receiving heavy rotation on my itunes.
3. You Have Killed Me by Morrissey (Ringleader of the Tormentors) Morrisseys best single in god, I dont know, a long time, is just fucking awesome. Visconti is me, indeed.
4. Its All Gonna Break by Broken Social Scene (S/T) This is impossible for me to listen to without screaming it at the top of my lungs, so I try to avoid listening to it in public spheres.
5. The Monitor by Bishop Allen (March EP) It looks like this group is starting to catch on so I wanted to get on record as saying that yes they are quite good and this is the best song from their most recent EP (which is sadly not at good as the two previous ones). In fact, you can download it HERE.
That is all for now. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, this is a journal entry after all.
While she does fuck it up in a few ways, it's the way she played (and sang...my God!) the song when I saw her last summer. And beautiful. Or, thus beautiful. One of the two.
(P.S. Thanks for the term 'short form director'. Unlike most, I don't want to think of music pieces and commercials as something else entirely.)