The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: Line Out: Film

Robot Quadrotors Are Forever: Crazy James Bond Theme Rendition

Dave Segal — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:53:42 -0700

This robot-quadrotor-operated rendition of the James Bond theme popped onto YouTube in 2012, but you may have missed it. It's one of the best things ever to be uploaded onto that site. Wonder what John Barry's estate thinks of this...

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Go See The Punk Singer

Emily Nokes — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:52:30 -0700

Sophie Howarth
Kathleen Hanna in Australia, 1996

I highly recommend that you make it out to see the SIFF showing(s) of The Punk Singer—the Kathleen Hanna/Riot Grrrl movement documentary. The footage of live Bikini Kill and spoken word performances, plus interviews with everyone from Tavi Gevinson and JD Samson to Kim Gordon and Joan Jett are downright goosebumps-inducing.

While watching the screener last night, somewhere in between the reading of the Riot Grrrl manifesto that hasn't aged a day in it's importance, and the laughable/horrifying "Is Feminism Dead" Time Magazine cover from 1998 (featuring Ally McBeal), I started getting... weepy?

I got misty not because I was totally sad or bummed out by the bullshit these women were struggling with, but because I am so proud of them. Because it's 2013, and women are still struggling. My female friends, family members, and coworkers are still struggling. My "girl" band is still struggling. Every lady, girl, and person who prefers not to even fuck with gender pronouns, is STILL STRUGGLING. We might have won a few battles since then, but the lady-war rages on.

The Punk Singer shows at the Harvard Exit on May 24, 9:30pm and May 26, 1:30pm

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Yod Damn!: Stream The Source Family Soundtrack

Dave Segal — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:35:57 -0700

The Source Family documents the echt-'70s California hippie cult of the same name led by the savvy businessman/power-mad guru/charismatic dirty old man James Baker/Father Yod. It's a warts-and-all portrait of beautiful young folks looking for guidance during a tumultuous time in American history (aren't they all?), and 6'4" ex-military man Papa Yod was seemingly typecast for this role. Some of the fruits of this cult were the voluminous recordings (ca. 1973-74) of the in-mansion groups Ya Ho Wa 13, Father Yod & the Spirit of 76, and Children of the Sixth Root Race.

You can hear some of their output on the soundtrack for The Source Family, which will be released by Drag City on May 21. Some of it is primo hippy-jam sweetness, some of it sounds like outtakes from Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. For longhair, communal psych action, I prefer Amon Düül I and Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, but The Source Family is a mostly endearing time capsule of a band shaped by exceptionally peculiar circumstances.

Check out the trailer for The Source Family and the press release after the jump. (Unfortunately, the documentary just ended its run at SIFF Uptown Cinema.)

The Source Family documentary is this season's art-house go-to cinematic experience - everybody's talkin', but we can't hear a word they're saying! That's cause Drag City Films, while proud of the promotion and distribution of it's latest film, is the younger child, the baby, if you will, in the Drag City family - and since the elder child is about the records, we're hustling hard this week to get copies of The Source Family Original Soundtrack into the hands and eventually ears of a fascinated nation! In case you don't know the underground legend already or haven't seen the film yet - for the last couple decades, the cult around The Source Family cult has enjoyed the music of Ya Ho Wa 13, whose nine albums with Father were a major part of their story. Recorded during an eleven-month span during 1973 and '74, these albums continue to fascinate listeners to this day. The Original Soundtrack album pulls plums and cherries from these freakish fruit trees of The Source Family, whose album releases from the 1970s are an indication of how weird the world can be even when it isn't trying.

Some of the most awesome jams from their privately-pressed classics are represented here, along with a brace of previously unreleased song chosen to include the widest variety of Source Family members, revealing the talents of many not previously showcased. And so, in addition to Ya Ho Wa 13 members Djin, Sunflower and Octavius, we also hear the contributions of a whole host of peripheral members - as well as the omnipotent Yahowa himself, Father Yod. Their music ranges from soulful to spiritual to shamanistic, with Father fronting the band on journeys through inner and outer psychosis and bliss.

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Scrapper After-Party, Featuring Rose Windows, Kithkin, and Ephrata

Emily Nokes — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:51:01 -0700

If you've been searching for a Tuesday-night date idea for that radical whoever in your life, I've made a pretty good plan here.

Next Tuesday, as part of the SIFF-tivities, the film Scrapper will be world-premiering at SIFF Cinema Uptown in Lower Queen Anne. Director Brady Hall describes Scrapper as being: "...about a metal scrapper dude who meets this teenage runaway and they do NOT fall in love but instead are bummed out together and there's also this unhinged neighbor guy (Littlefinger from Game Of Thrones!) who gums up the situation."

Dave Segal also wrote a blurb about it in our 2013 SIFF Notes right here. Did we mention that our giant 2013 SIFF Notes guide includes words on every single dang film showing at SIFF? HERE IS THAT LINK AGAIN, READ IT ALL.

SO, see the film at 6pm, THEN (since the running time is 87 minutes), you have approximately an hour and a half to get to the Crocodile for the after-party. Stop for a taco! Get a martini!

And then seriously get over to the Crocodile for the totally-open-to-the-public of an after-party where Rose Windows, Kithkin, and Ephrata will be playing. The stars of the film (one of which is a porn star), and a bunch of other neat people will be in attendance.

If you're date is not dazzled by your fine taste, then they are not worth it, my friend.

Crocodile / Tues, May 21 / 8:30pm / $12, 21+

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Watch the Trailer for The Glamour and the Squalor, a Film About Marco Collins

Megan Seling — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:35:04 -0700

Seattle DJ Marco Collins is a huge part of why the world loves bands like Weezer, Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, and so many more—he was the first radio DJ to play dozens of these bands that went on to be huge successes. If you listened to the radio in the 90s, you heard Marco. (Full-disclosure, I had a huge crush on him all through high school, just based on his voice on the radio, and one time, while MxPx was visiting him in the studio—back in 1996 I think?—he let me talk to the band on air and I was giddy for hours.)

But Collins, who you can now hear on JetCityStream.com, has also battled drugs and addiction. The documentary The Glamour and the Squalor examines both Collins' successes and his struggles. I can't wait to see it.

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Top Four Fictional Bands Ever

Bree McKenna — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:40:11 -0700

If these bands were real, would the Carrie Nations be doing the Super Bowl Halftime show? Would the Misfits be getting into drug-addled twitter wars with Jem and the Holograms? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I've narrowed down the best fictional bands ever into a handy top four list:

4.) The Stains from Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains!
The Stains are charismatically led by Corrine "Third Degree" Burns, who declares that "every citizen should be given an electric guitar on her 16th birthday." There was a rumor that Kurt Cobain had planned for Nirvana to cover a Stains song, but Epoxies are the only band I know about who actually did one.

3.) The Misfits from Jem and the Holograms
They are more evil then Jem for sure, but their songs are so hard and catchy! Sometimes I kind of think that if Bikini Kill were Jem and the Holograms, Misfits would be Hole.

2.) The Lone Ranger's from Airheads
The Lone Rangers are a band that takes a radio station hostage until they get their demo tape played, but Steve Buscemi as a 90's hesher bassist is what really sweetens the deal on loving this band.

1.) Carrie Nations from Beyond Valley of the Dolls
Carrie Nations are the number one coolest band of weird cult film, and plus all the music is written by the fucking Strawberry Alarm Clock! "Find It" is my favorite Carrie Nations song, when the hard-partying trio are still small town rockers playing local proms and getting high in the high school parking lot.

Honorable Mentions: Paran Maum from Linda, Linda, Linda, Jesse and the Rippers from Full House, The Droids from Sweet Valley High, Citizen Dick from Singles, Josie and the Pussycats from Josie and the Pussycats and the Hot Sundaes from Saved by the Bell.

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Records Collecting Dust = Waxophile Pr0n

Dave Segal — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:20:36 -0700

If the prospect of viewing Last Shop Standing thrills you, you may also get wet thinking about another film extolling the joys of vinyl: Records Collecting Dust. Directed by Jason Blackmore and David Robles, Records Collecting Dust is purely and complexly a movie "about the music and the records that changed our lives," according to the tagline.

This work is billed as "Volume 1: The California Edition" and it presents people like David Yow, Matt Pike, Kira Roessler, Jello Biafra, John Reis, Greg Anderson, Keith Morris, V Vale, and Pat Thomas (author of Listen, Whitey!) relating exactly what the tagline says in rooms abounding with artifacts that the music industry declared dead in the '80s. As with most things, the music industry was flagrantly wrong. For a certain type of person (hi there), this sort of low-concept, high-intensity geekery is like porn. The trailer below is wonderfully elliptical and should stoke excitement in a certain type of person (hi again). The film is slated for a late summer release.

More info here and a San Diego Reader profile here.

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New Music Doc: A Band Called Death: The First Black Punk Band

Kelly O — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:05:43 -0700

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family chronicle, the story of Death is one
of brotherly love and fierce, divinely inspired expression.

I, for one, cannot wait to see this film. I sure it hope it screens in Seattle.
Trailer after the jump! Also watch the 2013 SXSW interview with Death.

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Last Shop Standing DVD Due for Release on Record Store Day

Dave Segal — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:34:15 -0700

Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop—a film documentary based on a book of the same name by Graham Jones—is going to be released on DVD April 20 for Record Store Day. The movie traces the vicissitudes of recording formats and music retail in Great Britain. The country went from having 2,200 record shops in the '80s to 269 in 2009. A parade of UK musicians (Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), Billy Bragg, etc.) sing their praises of the brick-and-mortar record emporium not just as a place to purchase music but as a communal focal point where friendships (and sometimes bands) can be fostered and knowledge can be exchanged.

The whole thing probably comes across as propaganda for independent music merchants, but with the odds stacked so precipitously against them, Last Shop Standing seems like it will be more inspirational than grating—especially if you're someone who values physical musical artifacts over MP3s and other digital formats, obviously. (Or if you run or work for a record store. Obviously.)

The 50-minute documentary came out last September in Britain. You can order it here.

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The Music and Movies of the L.A. Rebellion

Kathy Fennessy — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:44:06 -0700

Elisa Huerta-Enochian
Charles Burnett and Clarence Spigner

The L.A. Rebellion, which Charles Mudede wrote about here, was an African American film movement that took place primarily in the 1970s and '80s (Mudede will also be participating in the Cinema Salon that takes place this Saturday at 6pm).

It wasn't about music, but music was a part of it. Unlike the funk-powered blaxploitation films of the era, these filmmakers turned to blues, jazz, and gospel to ground their narratives about community and work—or the lack thereof.

To describe funk as a more commercial genre wouldn't be quite fair, but the L.A. Rebellion directors weren't thinking about radio airplay, drive-ins, and soundtrack recordings in the same way. Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack, for instance, still remains better known than the 1972 drama for which he did some of his finest work (or maybe that's just me; I have the record—my Dad had the record—but I still haven't seen photographer-turned-filmmaker Gordon Parks, Jr.'s movie).

K.C. Fennessy
The two participated in the second Cinema Salon (all four are free of charge)

The L.A. Rebellion series (March 1-24) began at the Northwest Film Forum with screenings of films I'd seen before, like Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust and Charles Burnett’s My Brother’s Wedding, and films I couldn't work into my schedule, like Haile Gerima's Bush Mama, but I found time for Saturday's Cinema Salon and Billy Woodberry’s Bless Their Little Hearts, for which Burnett was in attendance (he was also at Friday's screening of My Brother's Wedding).

When an audience member asked about the music in 1984's Bless Their Little Hearts, on which he served as screenwriter and cinematographer, Burnett admitted that he didn't know the details (I heard what sounded like a Nina Simone song at one point, but didn't recognize the rest of the uncredited material).

Burnett then recounted his experience with his first film, 1977's Killer of Sheep, which was held up for 30 years due to music rights issues. For SIFFBlog, I wrote, "The use of Paul Robeson songs on the soundtrack, including 'The House I Live In' provides a link with the silent films of Oscar Micheaux." Once the film cleared those hurdles—after six years and $150,000—Milestone made it available for home-video and theatrical screenings (the DVD includes My Brother’s Wedding).

K.C. Fennessy
Looking a little like Chuck D in his DGA cap

Given the chance to do it again, Burnett says he would've cleared the rights first, except both Killer of Sheep and Bless Their Little Hearts were student films, even if their quality belies those origins. It's not too surprising that young directors in the 1970s, even two associated with UCLA's film program, wouldn't know all the ins and outs of music licensing (or have the means to pay someone to sort it out for them). One way or the other: Burnett refused to remove a single song.

At the Q&A on Saturday, Fantagraphics co-founder Gary Groth declared Killer of Sheep's living room scene, in which Stan (Henry Gayle Sanders) and his wife (Kaycee Moore from Bless Their Little Hearts and Daughters of the Dust) dance to Dinah Washington, as one of his favorites. He also praised the (more volatile) kitchen scene in Hearts, in which Moore proves she should've been a bigger star. Burnett acknowledged that he didn't know why some actors hit it big, while others didn't, concluding somewhat enigmatically, "She was an interesting woman..."

I haven't seen the other films in the series, so I can't speak to their use of music, but Larry Clark's Passing Through revolves around an ex-con saxophone player portrayed by Nathaniel Taylor (fresh off a run as as "Rollo" on Sanford and Son). The 1977 film, which screens this Friday in a new 35mm print, features a Horace Tapscott score, a performance from the Pan African People's Arkestra, and selections from Eric Dolphy, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Sun Ra.

Not to be confused with the Larry Clark who made Kids and Wassup Rockers, this Clark has another estimable music credit to his name: he helped to shoot Mel Stuart's utterly amazing Wattstax, which captured Richard Pryor, Isaac Hayes, and the Staple Singers at the height of their musical and comedic powers.

The music continues when author, musician, and A&R guy Pat Thomas (Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975) returns to Seattle for the final Cinema Salon on March 23 at 6pm. Pat is a friend who always has something of interest to say, and in this case, he'll be exploring the connections between the Black Power movement and the L.A. Rebellion. He's also been living in L.A. for he past year while working on a new book project. Pat will be joined by Black Panther member Ron Johnson and Seattle University professor Gary Perry.

Nathaniel Taylor and 87-year-old Clarence Muse in Passing Through

For more information about the series, please see the NWFF website.

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The Asshole Glory of Ginger Baker

Kathy Fennessy — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 12:03:16 -0800

Animator Jacob Ribicoff/Snag Films

Beware of Mr. Baker
(Jay Bulger, 2012, US, 92 mins.)

Instead of a hagiography filled with kind words from old chums, Jay Bulger's Beware of Mr. Baker revels in opportunities to present drummer Ginger Baker in all his asshole glory.

It's a disrespectful, attention-getting approach that suits its cantankerous subject like one of his old sheepskin coats. According to an IMDb user who caught the film at a London screening, the "fractious Q&A...ended with shouting, swearing, recriminations all round, and Jay Bulger seemingly storming off stage."

Unfortunately, Bulger films himself as if he were part of the profile—no wonder Baker, who now lives in South Africa, smacked him in the face with his cane in the opening sequence. When you've got a larger-than-life subject at your disposal, get the fuck out of the way. Let him narrate, let his friends and enemies narrate, or drop the narration altogether (the better documentaries don't need it).

About Bond, Baker says, "He was a fat guy" (everyone was fat compared to Baker).

After that unsteady start, Bulger rights the ship by stepping aside and letting the 73-year-old musician tell the story in his own nicotine-stained drawl, starting with his childhood in war-torn Britain. The minute he heard Max Roach, he says, he found something "I could relate to." When he wasn't getting into brawls, he was tapping out rhythms on his desk until he found his way to a drum kit, and that was the beginning of that. Alongside the archival material, Bulger adds expressive, painterly animation to bring the past to life. It's a wise move, since the semi-abstract look of the art aligns with Baker's interest in jazz and African music.

By 20, he was a husband, a father, a heroin addict, and the percussive anchor in a series of increasingly popular bands, including Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and the Graham Bond Organization. At this point, other speakers enter the fray, like singer-bassist Jack Bruce and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. While Baker praises Bruce as a "fucking brilliant player"—until he switched from stand-up bass to bass guitar—he dismisses Mick Jagger as a "stupid little cunt."

Femi Kuti appears in the film to talk about Baker's association with his father.

From there, Baker talks about Cream, the power trio he formed with Bruce and Eric Clapton. The band made a significant impression on Neil Peart (Rush), Bill Ward (Black Sabbath), and Stewart Copeland (the Police), who are all effusive in their praise. Baker sums up their appeal succinctly: "We were fucking good."

Alas, the tension between him and Bruce, who amassed more writing royalties, would eventually reach a breaking point, after which he and Clapton segued to Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. Though that outfit had an even shorter run, Baker calls Clapton "the best friend I've got on this planet."

Bulger concludes by documenting Baker's drum battles with Elvin Jones and Art Blakey, his work with Fela Kuti, and his obsession with polo ponies, who appear to have received more attention than any of his wives and children. Yet there's something strangely endearing about the man. Though he insults Bulger throughout the film with pithy lines, like "For fuck's sake" and "Don't try to be an intellectual dickhead," his bone-deep respect for the drums always shines through.

Dave Segal liked it, too.

Stag Films
From British brawler to South African smoker

Beware of Mr. Baker, which premiered in Seattle at SIFF '12, plays the Grand Illusion through Mar 7. Vivendi Entertainment releases the DVD on May 14.

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"Bitter Buddha" Eddie Pepitone at NWFF

Kathy Fennessy — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:27:12 -0800

K.C. Fennessy
Feinartz and Pepitone

There are few comedians who make me laugh—for that reason, I don't normally think of myself as a comedy fan—but Eddie Pepitone has the magic touch. Steve Feinartz's new documentary about the man, The Bitter Buddha, screened at the Northwest Film Forum for one night only on Saturday with the director and star in attendance for the Q&A afterwards (on Wednesday, Pepitone had performed at Chop Suey).

If you're interested in the work of the New York-born, Los Angeles-based comic—and cat lover!—it's a must-see, though fans of alternative comedy in general are likely to find it of interest since speakers include Patton Oswalt, Jen Kirkman, Zach Galifianakis, Mark Maron, Sarah Silverman, Dana Gould, B.J. Novak, and Matt Oswalt, creator of the great Puddin' Strip web series, in which Pepitone plays a splenetic office drone.

K.C. Fennessy
Poster from Pepitone's last Seattle engagement

That said, if you're enthusiastic about higher-profile performers, like Whitney Cummings or Parks and Recreation's Aziz Ansari, be forewarned that he has a few words about those two, but that didn't stop him from appearing on NBC's Whitney, one of Pepitone's many contradictions (a guy's gotta feed his cat).

K.C. Fennessy
Pepitone cracks up Feinartz

A former production assistant (Dancing with the Stars, Gangland, etc.), Feinartz may not have much formal filmmaking experience, but The Bitter Buddha is well constructed, and he doesn't stint on—or overemphasize—Pepitone's struggles with substance abuse. If he's kicked his addictions to alcohol and tobacco, food remains another matter, though he's been giving the vegan thing a try. I also found the encounters with his hard-to-please, traffic-fearing father rather moving. If that relationship has fueled his comedy, which revolves around frustration and insecurity, Eddie also craves his approval, and at the end: he actually gets some.

K.C. Fennessy
Pepitone does his De Niro impression

I identified with his situation more than I would've expected. I have no aspirations towards stand-up comedy or TV acting—Pepitone says he would also like to get back into play-writing—but I know what it's like to feel as if everybody in your orbit is doing better than you personally, professionally, and/or financially (and I don't even live in L.A.). That kind of thinking can drive you crazy or provide a bottomless well of material. Pepitone is the living embodiment of both scenarios.

The Bitter Buddha is available on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video.

Trainspotter alert: ex-Stranger staffer Lindy West—or her double—makes a couple of appearances.

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Rodriguez Doc Searching for Sugar Man Wins Oscar

Dave Segal — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:05:51 -0800

Malik Bendjelloul's Searching for Sugar Man, the soul-stirring depiction of the life of once-overlooked Detroit troubadour Sixto Rodriguez, won an Oscar last night for best documentary. In light of this achievement, it seems like a good time to link to an interview I conducted with the director and his charming subject back in August 2012.

Kudos to Rodriguez, Bendjelloul, and Light in the Attic Records, the Seattle label whose reissues did much to raise Rodriguez's profile in the '00s.

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Press Release of the Week: TLC Biopic Set to Start Filming in Atlanta!!!

Anna Minard — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:22:19 -0800

Hello, my dearest '90s babies. Have you been chasing waterfalls lately? (Fun fact: I thought it was "Jason Waterfalls" for a while. I kind of miss good ol' Jason.)

Well, sometimes you get a press release that makes you want to sing, and you just hafta post it almost in full:

(Atlanta, GA) The much anticipated biopic “Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC Story,” on Grammy-winning girl group TLC, is set to begin production in March 2013 in Atlanta, GA. Atlanta is the birthplace for the group that rose to unprecedented fame in the 1990’s as one of the world’s most talented, celebrated and highest-selling female groups of all time. Through very public and high-profile success, turmoil and tragedy, TLC left an indelible stamp of female empowerment that changed the face of the music industry forever. The group was also recognized internationally as pioneers in advocacy for Sex and HIV education.

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins have signed on as consultants and executive producers for the full-length TV movie... “We were pleased to learn that production would take place here in Atlanta because it keeps everything true to form... We really want fans to experience our story in an authentic way,” says Chilli. “There is so much to our story that hasn’t been told until this movie, it really has to be done the right way,” T-Boz adds. “Fans will be able to really understand the dynamic of the group and why that formula has not been able to be duplicated.

It's for VH1, and apparently they've cast T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli as Drew Sidora, Lil Mama, and KeKe Palmer, respectively. The director is Charles Stone III, director of Drumline. I'm withholding any judgment until Emily and I take our cross-country road trip to try and secure walk-on roles as fans. (We already dress the part, they can't say no.)

***This concludes your weekly '90s girl group news update***

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The Latest From Disney and Pixar: Jawbreaker: The Movie

Megan Seling — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:20:14 -0800

A genius named Jeff Hong posted this to the Jawbreaker Facebook page, and HOLY SHIT IT'S SO GREAT! He nailed the characteristics of the Jawbreaker fellas, in goofy Pixar style, and now my heart is sad that it's not an actual thing that's actually happening because I would absolutely watch this movie.

Jeff Hong, you're great. (This "Awwbreaker" cover is pretty great, too.)

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang @ Re-Bar

Kelly O — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:15:05 -0800

Are you a private dick? A dangerous dame? Maybe a handsome guy-spy?! Or maybe you just play one on TV. Well, tonight is YOUR night! It all starts at 8 pm, with a set by Adé, music by KEXP's DJ El Toro, and video accompanyment by those handsome sick geniuses of Collide-O-Scope. "Dress to kill," as they say...

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One Night Only: Dave Grohl Directed Documentary About Sound City Studio

Kelly O — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:10:10 -0800

Hey music nerds! Who's heard of the recording studio, Sound City, that was located, and open from 1969 to 2011 in Van Nuys, California? A gazillion albums were recorded there including Nirvana's Nevermind.

Sound City: Through interviews with legendary musicians
and producers who worked at America’s greatest recording studio, Sound City, and the spontaneous writing and recording of new music, we observe the human element of making music and the lost art
of analog recording.

Interviews include: Frank Black, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Josh Homme, Barry Manilow, Stevie Nicks, Krist Novoselic, Stephen Pearcy, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Rick Rubin, Pat Smear, Rick Springfield, Lars Ulrich, Butch Vig, and more.

Watch the trailer after the jump. Tickets here, for the 7 pm and 10 pm showings, tonight, at Cinerama.com.

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Everybody Needs a 303 Documentary

Dave Segal — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:18:39 -0800

This 20-minute documentary, Bassline Baseline, about the Roland TB-303 bassline-generating synthesizer has been around since 2005, but you may have missed it, as I did. It’s an informative, breezy look at the invention, history, and utility of this crucial piece of gear in electronic/dance music (hiphop, electro, acid house, Big Beat, minimal techno, etc.). If you were ever going to use the annoying word "game-changer," you'd be justified in dropping it in regard to the TB-303.

Also, you gotta love (or hate) how the film’s narrator/director, Nate Harrison (who let me crash at his pad in Manhattan a long time ago; respect!), expresses way less emotion than the 303 itself.

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Bloody Amazing: Andy Votel's Top 15 Horror-Film Soundtracks

Dave Segal — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:46:07 -0800

This survey of the top horror-film soundtracks by DJ/Finders Keepers Records boss Andy Votel first surfaced in November, but there’s something timeless to it, so I’m linking to it for your damned, bloody benefit.

As with all Votel endeavors, he’s dug deep for the sublime and obscure goods and done a bang-up job explaining the circumstances behind the tracks and why they succeed at generating the desired effects; Votel’s writing and researching chops are as acute and incisive as his selecting abilities. Go read the whole thing, listen to the clips, and be scared shirtless here.

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New Year's Greetings from Michel Gondry

Kathy Fennessy — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:50:39 -0800

StudioCanal
Still from Mood Indigo

French director Michel Gondry (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep), who spends much of his time in the US these days, has been playing drums for about as long as he's been making films. In the animated short below, he does both, i.e. directs the action and plays the drums.

I think I prefer the song to the film.

Haircut Mouse from Michel Gondry on Vimeo.

For his next film, Mood Indigo, Gondry adapted author-musician Boris Vian's 1947 novel, Froth on the Daydream (L'écume des Jours). It stars Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou, and StudioCanal plans to release it in April. IMDb description: "A woman suffers from an unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lungs."

H/t: Adrian Martin.

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New Funhouse Film: A Documentary About Love and Loss In a Community

Kelly O — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:06:37 -0800

I sorely regret, along with The Funhouse, what's happening to our city. Kudos, and a great big personal thank you, to every single one of the folks working on this Funhouse documentary. A must see:

~~Documentary~~ Trailer features interviews with Brian Foss, Mark Ostler, Eric Bruckbauer, Jimmy Berg, Helen Halloran, Jonathan Zwickel, Jeff Albertson, Tony Fantozzi, Cody Creel and Bill Cerise-Bullock. "Dig Your Grave" included with permission from The Pharmacy. Photographs by Keith Johnson. Directed by Ryan Worsley, and produced by Debbie Porter.

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Shoegaze Doc Beautiful Noise Has a Kickstarter

Dave Segal — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:59:30 -0800

We sometimes grumble about Kickstarter on this blog, but once in a while project comes along that we can support with at least 3/4 of our heart. Case in point is Eric Green's Beautiful Noise, a documentary about the importance of the late-'80s/early-'90s shoegaze movement on rock, focusing mainly on Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins. Musicians, label owners, and journalists interviewed include Kevin Shields, Jim Reid, Robin Guthrie, Bobby Gillespie, Simon Raymonde, Alan Moulder, Ivo Watts-Russell, Alan McGee, and Sonic Boom. Other bands profiled include Ride, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Lush, Curve, Swervedriver, Medicine, Pale Saints, Seefeel, AR Kane, Telescopes, Boo Radleys, Cranes, Catherine Wheel, and Flying Saucer Attack. These people created a lot of exciting and innovative music, and its impact is being heard in current Seattle groups like Jetman Jet Team, Golden Gardens, Vibragun, Tokyoidaho, and This Blinding Light. As a bonus, the score is by the always-fascinating Brad Laner of Medicine semi-fame.

Read about Beautiful Noise—which was started eight years ago—and donate money to the cause here.

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ON TOUR: The Everything Is Terrible Holiday Special

Kelly O — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:31:09 -0800

This isn't technically a music event, but it is something you should witness.
YOU WILL LAUGH. And since it's at Central Cinema, YOU CAN DRINK!

December 12/13 @ Central Cinema @ 7 pm (BUY!) and 9:30 pm (BUY!)

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Stones Throw Documentary

Kathy Fennessy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:43:25 -0800

Gatling Pictures

Maybe I'm a cynic—strike that, I know I am—but it seems a little early for a Stones Throw documentary, since Peanut Butter Wolf's passion project hasn't reached the legal drinking age yet, but what the hell: I love his 16-year-old, groove-heavy LA label, so I wish director Jeff Broadway all the best.

So far, the confirmed artists include Aloe Blacc, Anika, Chrome Canyon, Talib Kweli, Questlove (the Roots), Geoff Barrow (Portishead, BEAK>), and Earl Sweatshirt (Odd Future).

Stones Throw recording artist Madlib will be writing and recording the score for the profile, titled Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton, so it should, at the very least, sound good. The label will also be making a two-disc DVD/CD collector's edition box set available. To throw some coin their way, visit the Kickstarter here (the set goes for $50, which is a pretty good deal, considering you're also helping to cover post-production costs).

Check out the teaser trailer below. It's definitely got me excited to see more.

For more information, they've also got an official site and a Facebook page.

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Big Star and the Ballad of the Rock Doc

Kathy Fennessy — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:44:31 -0800

Ardent Studios

Unlike most people I know, I don't tend to get excited when I see that a documentary on a favorite band or artist is in the works. Since my editors send me most every music-oriented video with a distribution deal, I've seen it all, including an untold number of made-for-DVD documentaries.

If most are watchable, few cross the line into greatness (and this year, Searching for Sugar Man is the one to beat). Part of the problem is that most directors assume the Wikipedia approach will suffice, and for some viewers, it might, but once you've seen the same story lines enough times—rags to riches; rise, fall, and redemption, etc.—it gets pretty old, so it helps if the filmmaker has a strong visual or narrative sense. If I just want to hear the music or look at the pictures, I can do that on my own.

Consequently, some of the best docs I've seen lately concerned acts with whom I wasn't familiar, like the Kashmere Stage Band (Thunder Soul) or Marian Anderson (Last Fast Ride). Their makers found a way to capture my interest.

Granted, it's sometimes simply about latching on to an inherently dramatic story, and getting out of the way, which is to say: putting one's directorial ego aside, and prioritizing the artist's perspective or intentions, whether you agree with them or not. The filmmakers who try to put a happy face on a tragic tale, for instance, or who leave out crucial information, do their subjects—and their viewers—a disservice. I'd rather decide for myself what to think about their protagonist, and I certainly don't need to like a musician to appreciate their artistry or impact.

All of which is to say that I'm keeping my expectations in check for the new Big Star documentary, which premiered in New York this weekend (after a world premiere in London). I love the band, but the trailer makes it look like a standard biographical portrait. I'm still looking forward to it, and I'm glad Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori got the chance to speak with Alex Chilton* before his passing, but it would be hard to top the Memphis outfit's three amazing albums—assuming you count Third/Sisters Lovers as a group effort and not a Chilton solo project.

Check out the trailer below. Gotta say I'm a little psyched to see some Lester Bangs footage in there. As much as I enjoyed Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance as Bangs in Almost Famous, I think it's fair to say the two look almost nothing alike (but then, he didn't look much like Truman Capote either).

* In looking through the production notes, I found that Chilton, who passed away in 2010, declined to be filmed or interviewed, so I guess the following clip comes from the archives.

For those who put stock in such things, the reviews so far have been pretty good. No Seattle date yet, but you can find more info about the film here.

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On I'M NOW: The Story of Mudhoney

Grant Brissey — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:44:17 -0800

"Any time you're playing music for yourself instead of the crowd, you're fucked," says a late-day Mark Arm at the offset of I'M NOW: The Story of Mudhoney. Not a promising harbinger. And in the minutes that follow, the new Mudhoney documentary threatens to become one of those quote-a-thon lovefests, the worst kind of band documentary there is. Let's call it Henry Rollinsitus™, mainly because that dude appears in every single one of those things since the Dawn of Those Things.

Thankfully, pretty quickly, we get to some real history and insight—Mark Arm, whose mother was an opera singer and whose family moved to Seattle from an army base in Germany when he was four—on discovering rock: "It was sort of forbidden in my household, so that was another attraction to it. My parents had a Volkswagen Bug, and the great thing about Volkswagen Bugs in those days is that you could just go into them and turn on the radio and it would work. So I would listen to Top 40 radio stations at the time and hope to hear the more rockin' songs."

Or his first band: "Mr. Epp had been kind of an imaginary band in high school, named after a math teacher, the full name of the band was Mr. Epp and the Calculations. At some point it turned into a real band and we actually bought instruments, and we would just get feedback and think we were Jimi Hendrix. You know, like the part in live Jimi Hendrix records, between the songs [laughs].

And what follows is a rich history of the band—and, by proxy, Sub Pop—through both of their early arcs: The hand-to-mouth of the label's early existence, and how Nevermind and the subsequent sales of Bleach saved them, as did Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge in its time; how Arm and Steve Turner linked up with Jeff Ament for Green River: "We didn't really know Jeff Ament that well at the time, but we'd seen him play in Deranged Diction who we thought were cool, and he jumped really high and played through distortion, [which] seemed really important to us at the time," says Arm. "So Steve went on this mission to get to know Jeff by getting a job at the same espresso place." Then how a disagreement over whether or not Jane's Addiction were any good spurned the splitting of ways that created Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone.

This is all within the first 30 minutes. Director/producer Ryan Short commits a deft effort at catching telling quotes and anecdotes, and rightly packs I'M NOW full of them, alongside tons of old footage and a well-rounded cast of interviewees, who, most importantly, all have a well-rounded variety of things to say. Highly recommended.

I'M NOW: The Story of Mudhoney ships December 11 and is available for stream rental now, right here.

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Watch Mudhoney Do "If I Think" Live in Berlin in 1988

Dave Segal — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:57:02 -0800

Vice magazine's Noisey site is premiering a clip of Mudhoney playing "If I Think" one of their best and most poignant songs, a performance that can be found on the DVD Mudhoney: Live in Berlin 1988. One of Mudhoney's earliest tunes, "If I Think" contains the classic line "I'm so sick of what I need," which is as succinct a bit of pop existentialism as you'll ever hear from a hard-rock band. This rendering of it is full of young-Americans-in-Europe-for-the-first-time hunger and ferocity—qualities that haven't diminished very much for Mudhoney over the ensuing 24 years.

Released Nov. 13, Mudhoney: Live in Berlin 1988 contains over 40 minutes of concert footage and also includes an exclusive interview with Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm.

You can pre-order the DVD here.

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A Hella Creepy Mix That Spotlights the Madness of John Carpenter

Dave Segal — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:16:03 -0700

Via Burning Ambulance

Just in time for Hallo—oh, wait. Um, well, better late than never, here’s a mix of intensely harrowing music by horror/sci-fi-flick auteur John Carpenter, who wrote his own scores, often in tandem with the superb library-music composer Alan Howarth. With impeccable timing, the Death Waltz label reissued in mid October the soundtracks to Halloween II and Halloween III that Carpenter created along with Howarth; their score for They Live is due out on Death Waltz in December. Think of this mix as getting an early jump on Halloween 2013. Yeah.

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Watch a Deleted Scene from the Mudhoney Doc I'm Now

Dave Segal — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:04:08 -0700

Want to watch a clip of a deleted scene from the rock-solid documentary on Seattle legends Mudhoney, I'm Now? Sure you do. It focuses on Mudhoney appearances in film (Black Sheep with Chris Farley—classic) and television (a pilot for a never-aired sitcom starring Rosanna Arquette, who plays a mother who can't figure out which bassist from this one band is the father of her child; don't understand why this failed).

You can rent I'm Now here.

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The Good News And Bad News: New Respect for Antony, More Disrespect For Kurt

Kelly O — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:15:46 -0700

Good news! A new music documentary featuring Antony and the Johnsons:

US PREMIERE - Friday, Oct. 26th, IFC Center, NYC. The indelible music of Antony and the Johnsons has won the admiration of Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, and others. TURNING captures the band in concert collaborating with the filmmaker Charles Atlas (THE LEGEND OF LEIGH BOWERY), celebrating 13 women taking the stage who, like Antony himself, are not easily categorized personas. Whether they are androgynous, transgender, covered in makeup or bare skinned, what is important is that all have stories to tell about the hard-won struggle to be themselves, expressed with the transcendent power of Antony's music. Their stories combine with Antony's mesmerizingly emotional songs to create a powerful journey of struggle and hope.

TURNING / Charles Atlas

Bad news! "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is gonna be a CBS sitcom. YUCK! WHY? Uh, grave-roller...

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