tomorrow is tuesday apparently

there's not much of note coming out tomorrow on little plastic discs.

ooh, my cds are due back at the library tomorrow! i almost forgot.  it's july 1st tomorrow.  oh crap rent is due too!

while i'm on a tangent, have you seen the myspace page with travis barker? he's working with the game?  how does one make the long drawn-out transition from aquabat to gangster?

from this:

to this:

i guess blink 182 and stuff had something to do with it.  and mtv and the transplants.  etc.

ok.  it's tuesday tomorrow.

little cds:

*alkaline trio - agony & irony.  i totally dug these guys back when they were like, good.  during their days on asian man records.  then they signed to vagrant and put out the very bad album from here to infirmary.  their next one good mourning was better, but the damage was done.  i am over them.

*deltron 3030 - deltron 3030 (reissue).  sorry if i made you think the new one was out.  not yet.  patience.  we all have to have patience.  this is a reissue of the first one.  it has 3 bonus remix tracks.  apparently the original issue is out of print now?  i did not know that.  nor do i know whether these new remixes are worth it.  regardless, if you don't own this, now you must get it because it's AMAZING.

*willie nelson - stardust (30th anniv. reissue).  willie visits the classics on this classic album.  covers of standards.  this one comes with a bonus disc of more covers of classics.  yes.  i might pick this one up, as i don't have the original.

*tickle me pink - madeline.  not my thing.  BUT my sister is friends with this band.  so i was happy to see this on page 10 of the amazon new releases.  yeah fort collins!

*the white stripes - entire catalog.  it's all getting reissued tomorrow.  i guess v2 had to stop putting out old albums? or something happened?  i remember when v2 stopped putting out new stuff, but i thought they would continue pressing their old stuff.  who knows.  but these new versions don't have any bonus tracks or anything.

little dvds:

*criterion: Mishima: a life in four chapters

and Patriotism.  don't know much of anything about these.

*my blueberry nights.  wong kar wai!  i wanted to see this one, ok netflix?

*city of men

*batman - the movie.  the original 1966 version!  YES.

*aria.  a collection of 10 pieces by different directors.  this is 20 years old but i believe this is the first time the dvd has come out.  includes two of my favorite directors, robert altman and jean-luc godard.  also bruce beresford, bill bryden, derek jarman, franc roddam, nicolas roeg, ken russell, charles sturridge, and julien temple.  minimal dialog.  pieces are set to opera soundtracks.  looks awesome.  i'll get back to you.

*robert frank: the complete film works vol. 3.  amazon gives no details, but i'd love to see this.

the verve + free + official + song

why not head on over to vervedownload.com?  you can get a free! download of a new song by the verve!  remember those guys?  they're still around.

the song is called "Mover" but i haven't heard it.  i'm still waiting for my download link to come to my email.  see, you have to sign up for their mailing list to get the track.  waiting...

so let me know if the song is any good.

i can't rap...

but Jelani can!

yes, here is a free album you can download from Jelani.  get it here!

thanks to free hip hop now for alerting me to yet more free music.

tuesday

i haven't gone to bed yet so tuesday is totally "tomorrow."

music comes out on tuesdays:

*sigur ros - meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust

*be your own pet - get damaged (banned songs!)

*blondie - parallel lines (deluxe edition!)

*liz phair - exile in guyville (totally fancy deluxe edition)

*watson twins - fire songs

but more importantly this week, so do dvds:

*persepolis - i never saw this but i really really want to.

*futurama - the beast with a billion backs.  not super stoked after the first futurama movie disappointed me, but i still MUST see it because maybe it could be better this time around.

*honeydripper - i've written about this twice but i still haven't seen it.  

*in bruges - probably a good time.

AND a couple criterions:

*before the rain

*the furies

george carlin

simply brilliant.

more and more free music!

this new trend of offering music for free is really cool.  two things:

1. girl talk!  the new album feed the animals is out today and you can get it for free or for money.  your choice.  but if you choose to not pay they ask you why.  so you know, choose wisely.  if you pay $10 or more, you get the physical cd for free when it comes out.  i suggest you pay at least $5.  then you get the flac version and your conscience is clear.  to download it go to illegalart.net

2. the legendary mercury rev is releasing two albums in september, one of which is free to those that sign up for the band's mailing list.  they are not out until september 29th, but you can sign up now.  just go to mercuryrev.com.  you know, mercury rev is absolutely wonderful.  if you didn't already know that.

so that's it for that.  for more free music, click on the tag "free music."  i try to catch it all.

it's that day again

yes, monday means it's tuesday tomorrow and what a tuesday it is.

music out 6/17/08

*dennis wilson - pacific ocean blue: legacy edition.  this has been out of print forever.  but now we have it, as well as demos from the unreleased album bambu.  essential essential essential.

*diana ross - everything is everything: expanded edition. her sophomore solo album!

*wolf parade - at mount zoomer. 

*silver jews - lookout mountain, lookout sea

*reggie & the full effect - last stop: crappy town

*the war on drugs - wagonwheel blues. i wasn't a big fan of the free ep that came out awhile ago, but judge for yourself.

i don't know what else.

dvds out 6/17/08

*be kind rewind. i never saw it.  is it any good?

*joy division

*burn notice - season 1. never heard of this show.  but bruce campbell is on it? and people say it's great? what do you think?

*classe tous risques.  criterion.  i don't know much about it but it features jean-paul melmondo "fresh off his star turn in Breathless."  so you know, he is awesome.  maybe this one's good too.

i know i am not helpful.

well...don't they?

After the unfortunate passing of Sydney Pollack last month, I decided to check out one of his great early works from netflix.  The film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

You know, this whole reality/humiliation show is not a new concept.  At all.

The film is about a dance marathon.  That lasts for MONTHS.  It takes place in the 30s.  Contestants sway in a gymnasium for the "entertainment" of a surprisingly large crowd.  I don't want to give away too much, but the contestants end up looking like zombies on that dance floor.  

Now let me quickly say that this film is brilliant.  Much more engaging than it sounds.  Watching the breakdown of these characters is truly astonishing.  There is a reason Sydney Pollack will be missed so, and this film is an example of something that Hollywood got SO RIGHT during its great age of the late 60s through the 70s.  

But beyond that.  Let me talk about the idea of humans as spectacle.  While watching it, I was thinking, "Sydney Pollack had such great foresight!  Like Network, this film foretells what will happen in the 21st century with shows like Fear Factor and Survivor and Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire and and and..."

So after the movie was over, I decided to do some research.  These competitions actually happened.  For thousands of hours, people would dance in an auditorium and people would watch them.  And this 1969 film was in fact based on a novel from 1935.  

This has been happening FOREVER.  As disturbing as it is that we have shows like this, where people are so obsessed with watching other people suffer, it has always been happening.  This generation may be sick, but every generation has been sick!  It's human nature and there's nothing we can do about it!

So basically, we're screwed.  That's the main lesson the film taught me.  We are doomed to thrive on humiliation forever.

carmel

it would appear that i've never written about carmel here on this blog.  what the f.

okay, long story short.  i am writing two blogs today, after all.  lead singer carmel mccourt is one of the coolest, most haunting singers i have ever heard.  probably in my top 10 singing voices of all time.

the band started in the early 80s (i believe) and had some moderate successes.  nothing i knew about for the first 20-some years of my life though.  

now, i know there are lots of bands out there that did something amazing in the past, only to be forgotten years later.  but carmel, to me, is very special.  some of the coolest music i've ever heard, and i can rarely find anything by them anywhere.  i was fortunate, recently, to find a "best of" album at a used record store.  strangely enough, it seemed to be BRAND NEW even though it was released in the late 80s.  like, never before played.  unopened.  an artifact in pristine condition.  of course i had to open it to listen to it though.

i guess my best description of their sound is jazz-soul-david lynch.  like, something you'd hear on twin peaks during an audrey scene.

ok, anyway, the reason for this post is that they have a myspace page.  and at this myspace page, you can download selections from throughout their career.  free songs that anyone in america would have a hard time tracking down.  free.  including a couple brand new recordings (both live and studio).  

click here. it will change your life.  download them all.  befriend them and put them on friend alerts so you know whenever they post new songs.  because the selection is constantly evolving.

you're welcome.

tue-morrow

hey! economy is down! support the economy! buy! buy! buy!

music out tomorrow*:

+Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be.  I am not as well-versed in her recent material as I should be, but she has one of the loveliest voices in music.

+Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III.  I still don't get what the big deal is with him.

+Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too.

+N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds

+My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

+The Charlatans - You Cross My Path.  You know, in case you wanted to pay for it instead of getting it for free.

+Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Jeremy Michael Ward - s/t. I don't know much about this one.

+Robert Pollard - Robert Pollard Is Off to Business

video out tomorrow*:

+John Adams - I was always curious about this.  And I'm a big fan of both Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

+High Noon (2 Disc Collector's Edition).  This is a great film.  This edition is fully restored from the original negatives.  Previously released versions used a not-so-great print.  Totally worth it here.

+Boondocks: Season 2

that's it.

*that which is of interest to me

change is coming.

obama is the future.  i have no doubt about that.  he has cleared a hurtle, and he is ready to bring about real  change in this country.

i am very excited tonight.

tuesday

tomorrow is tuesday! it is june! rejoice!  it hit 90 yesterday!  it really is june!  summer music and movie seasons are in full swing!  including home media!

music:

*she & him - volume one ON VINYL.  i know there was a reason i waited so long to pick up this album!  the vinyl comes with a free download of the album on digital.  suckas!

*ladytron - velocifero. electroclash-ish  yet it remains relevant in 2008.  kudos to that! ladytron is awesome.  you know that, i know that, everybody knows that.  

*the futureheads - this is not the world.  you know, i never got into them really.

*animal collective - water curses ep ON  VINYL.  i will probably get this now.

*weezer - red album.  i really want this to be great.  but after seeing the pitchfork review, i am worried again.  not that i always agree with pitchfork.  it's just discouraging is all.

*jean grae & 9th wonder - jeanius. can't go wrong.

viddy:

*weeds season 3. i still haven't watched this show but i feel like i should.  starting with season 1 of course.

*control. i smell netflix!

*the onion movie.  i really wonder if they can pull this off.  or if they did, rather.  3 years ago.  i know i have to see this.  i just hope it's good.

Inspector Owl

this is about one month old, but it still works.

Inspector Owl has a free EP.  You have to sign up for their mailing list to get it though.  But still, free music!  Just go to their website inspectorowl.com to get it.

Once upon a time I featured this band on my show.  When I produced that one show.  So you know, I approve.  Dig it.