Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Hooray, hooray...we can all sleep tonight, because Damon got his hat back.

Great news for fans of quality films in Canada: Showcase is showing Kieslowski's 'Decalogue' in February! Two episodes every Tuesday...more on this soon.

Tuesday, January 30, 2001

Ken Burns' Jazz keeps getting close to telling a great story, then backs off to keep things safe without dwelling too much on the renegades. Tonight's episode of Jazz (1955-60) mentioned the Village Vanguard, the Five Spot club in the East Village, and Jackson Pollock & Willian DeKooning, but failed to mention the Beats! No mention of Kerouac's On The Road, no jazz poetry, no beginnings of the subculture that was one of the only group of folks who continued to consistently embrace jazz with all the Elvis stuff going on. Ken Burns, you're a great documentarian, but you're also either a misguided ignoramous, or just plain dumb. You belong in Squaresville, man.

mp3 pick: 'Mercury', by Lowgold...first there was Radiohead, then there was Travis, then there was Coldplay, so it was kind of inevitable someone would continue the trend. So it goes in the Circle Of Life in pop music. Lowgold are horribly unoriginal, a carbon copy of the excellent but stylistically dubious Coldplay, with some heavy (and do I mean heavy) Sebadoh-Lou Barlow influences. Same persistent, midtempo beat as Coldplay, same droopy Sensitive Guy lyrics, same combination of loud guitars and melancholy melody played by some sad-eyed Brits, blah, blah, blah...but just like Coldplay's infectious 'Yellow', 'Mercury' stays in your head, and after a couple listens you realise this song is capable of becoming a monster hit, even on our fickle shores. In the end, who cares about originality? In Lowgold's case, it doesn't matter much. This song is a beauty. (you can see the wonderfully odd, lucid video here in real video format)

Poor Damon Gough. First, Mr. Badly Drawn Boy loses his silly hat (er, toque, here in Canada) to a nasty Mancunian thief over the weekend, and now Music 365 is having a field day with the story.

Hunter Thompson has finally picked himself off his Woody Creek cabin floor, wiped the drool off his face, stumbled over bottles of Wild Turkey, plunked himself down at the keyboard, and written about his Superbowl Sunday. Yeah, it's the same old schtick, and who knows how true the piece is, but still, his writing has been rejuvenated by the gig at ESPN, and it's still fun to read despite the odd stale smell.

Monday, January 29, 2001

What's the best thing about the Monday after the Superbowl? The countless articles about how much it stunk, and there are some good ones today. Jim DeRogatis, the best rock critic on the planet, talks about how awful the halftime show was, while Ironminds has a very funny Superbowl diary. And no, I didn't watch Survivor, though the Edmonton Sun's Steve Tilley had the quote of the day regarding the idiotic show: "Last week I was wondering what they'd do with the familiar Survivor theme music for the Australian show. 'Bet they keep it the same but add didgeridoos!' I chuckled to myself. Note to CBS: That was supposed to be just a JOKE."

The game was just flat-out, poorly-played. The silly people can't figure out that in the two weeks of hype and other distractions, the players get a bit rusty, and the game, and fans, suffer as a result. Just look at both offences...they were brutal last night, only the Giants' was worse. The low point had to be when I flipped back to the halftime show and saw Britney Spears singing 'Walk This Way' with Aerosmith. I cringed in horror, and fled to another channel until the second half started.

So, for the umpteenth year (not counting last year's good game), the ads were the only reason to watch. Which is sad, really. But what the hey, they were funny. The best ones were the Bud Light blow dryer, the hilarious Bud "What Are You Doing? spot, and the e-trade ad, which, among other things, features the corpse of the Pets.com sock puppet. All three are very hilarious, and worth a look.

DNTO's Beat thing on Saturday was pretty good. It only lasted less than ten minutes, but they had some funny footage of a CBC reporter interviewing poet Joffrey Stewart about the Beat political party in 1960. The CBC was very condescending towards Stewart in the report, but he was incredibly perceptive about America at the time, and very prophetic about the future of society and politics in the coming years. It's true, the Beats saw the tumultuous Sixties coming. Also, DNTO played Ralph's great tune 'Goodbye Jack Kerouac', which was great to hear. Be sure to get Ralph's new cd...it rules.

Saturday, January 27, 2001

Britney, Britney, Britney...you pottymouth.

Friday, January 26, 2001

CBC Radio's very hip DNTO will have a small tribute to Gregory Corso and the Beats tomorrow between 3 and 4 pm.

mp3 picks: 'Livin' After Midnight', by The Donnas is a faithful, straightforward cover of the Judas Priest classic. The Donnas are nothing to get excited about, not very good at all; their can't play-can't sing act wears thin, but their covers are quite tolerable. What works much better is 'I'm Afraid Of Britney Spears', by Livebyrelease (look at the photo...they're babies!), the only good thing to ever come from 'Dude, Where's My Car'. A snippy song that makes fun of all those children's pop vocal groups, it's just a Blink 182 rip-off, but coming from four 15 year-olds from Vancouver, it sounds a heckuvalot more refreshing that a bunch of overgrown children playing the same stuff over and over, like Blink 182. Finally, remember Warlock? They were a German metal band from the 80's that were rather cheesy (their album covers looked like stuff you'd see painted on the sides of customized vans), but their little singer Doro had one of the best female voices of the era. Well, Doro is staging a bit of a North American comeback, and what I've heard isn't bad. Her cover of Billy Idol's 'White Wedding' is surprisingly good, sounding very much like Drain STH.

Ususally I enjoy reading Wall Of Sound's cd reviews. I often end up agreeing with much of what they have to say, but their write-up on The New Pornographers' Mass Romantic cd is blasphemous! How can they give one of the best albums of 2000 a lowly 58/100 grade? Ridiculous...a heinous crime, if you ask me. You can read the piece of tripe here. For a better opinion, read my own thoughts on Mass Romantic on my reviews page...click the link on the left.

Wednesday's Jazz show did not disappoint. Plenty of attention was given to Parker, Monk, Gillespie, Davis, and Brubeck, and the program clocked in at just under two hours. I wound up watching Bird Thursday night...the Charlie Parker story was still on my mind, and I hadn't seen the film on five or six years. It's a good biopic about a true genius, with tons and tons of great music.

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

Still More Corso: Today's issue of the Village Voice has a very nice tribute to Gregory Corso, written by fellow poet Patti Smith. Corso's funeral was today in New York, and turned out to be fittlingly Corso-esque, as if the dude himself had scripted it. Apparently it had everything: a nice Catholic service, tributes by Patti Smith and David Amram, and a fist fight. Crazy.

Ken Burns' Jazz is finally getting good. It was alright so far, but had spent far too much time on the twenties and thirties, important eras as they were. Now we're up to the bebop of Parker, Gillespie, and Monk, with Davis and Coltrane to follow. Hoo boy! Tonight's Episode 8, entitled 'Risk' should be the best one of the series. I can't wait to see it. Go, man, go!

Tuesday, January 23, 2001

I have to tell you about a book I just read. No, that's not right. I didn't read this book, this book literally cosumed me. Totally. Kept me up very late for four straight nights, depriving me of sleep, and generally just plain freaking me out. This thing, this hypnotic, monstrous mass of paper, House Of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski, is one nasty, creepy book. Not terrifying, just creepy, like that Nine Inch Nails song, 'Hurt'. Which is bad enough.

The dedication says it all: 'This is not for you.' A more tempting, tantalizing introduction to a book you'll never see. House Of Leaves isn't your general spooky novel...it reads more like a combination textbook and journal. Let me explain: an old blind man named Zampano dies and his curious neighbour, Johnny Truant, finds a huge manuscript called The Navidson Record. The manuscript is a thorough analysis of a cult film, a homemade documentary about a family's experience in one heckuva freakydeaky house. Truant assembles the manuscript, but as he delves deeper into the story of The Navidson Record, he becomes rather obsessed with the thing, and, thanks partly to some traumatic events he had as a kid, he gradually goes off the deep end. House Of Leaves contains the complete text of The Navidson Record, hundreds of thorough footnotes, Truant's journal (which keeps getting more and more paranoid), several appendices with photos, illustrations, letters, poetry, and other odds and ends.

At first it sounds confusing, but it really isn't. In fact, the whole storyline behind The Navidson Record is nothing more than a grade B Stephen King-ripoff plot. What makes this book astounding is its layout. This book requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader. No, this ain't exactly William Burroughs' cut-ups or anything, but this also ain't the type of book you bring to the beach. You read this while lying on your bed spellbound, the bulk of the book alomost seeming to try to suffocate you. The book is printed in three fonts: Zampano's, Truant's, and one for the anonymous editor, and the page layout really resembles a hastily-assembled manuscript. Some pages have only one word on them, some are written in code, some force you to alter your method of reading (left-right, but bottom-top instead of top-bottom), some passages have to be read in front of a mirror, some are upside down...you end up turning the heavy book this way and that so much that it starts to wear you out a little bit.

House Of Leaves sounds like it's all style and no substance, but it's very well written. The deliberately stiff prose of the manuscript, the paranoid ramblings of Truant, and even the collection of letters written by Truant's mother from an insane asylum all show that Danielewski possesses a ton of skill. He's sort of a prose version of Guy Ritchie...he practically swaggers as he throws all these stylistic loops at the reader. The story is a combination of Blair Witch Project, The Amityville Horror, and The Shining...not too original, but despite that and the gimmicks, the deft writing of Danielewski holds up. House Of Leaves is so audaciously well crafted that I'm sure it will remain stuck in my head forever. I don't know if that's a good thing...

And get this: Danielewski's sister is none other than the musician Poe, and Poe's recent album, Haunted, is partly inspired by her brother's book. The title track, '5 Minute Hallway', 'Spanish Doll', 'Hey Pretty', and 'House Of Leaves' (obviously) all come from parts of the book, and actually complement the book nicely. Salon Audio has three good excerpts that combine the story and Poe's music. Also, Poe's official website is very interesting and this site is a good companion to the book, with some helpful translated and decoded letters. You can see one of the official sites for the book here.

The first night I read the book, right when I was at the part where Truant dares the reader to not look away from the page while thinking about the silence closing all around the periphery, I heard a thump right outside my wall. Since it was three in the morning, I live on an acreage next to dense forest with no streetlights, and it was three in the morning, I was obviously petrified in a major, major way. It turned out, judging by the tracks in the snow the next day, a deer had bumped into the house. Whew.

Monday, January 22, 2001

More Corso: Someone on the Beat University list pointed out a web site that had Corso readings...I took a look at it, and was amazed. Not only does the site have readings by Corso of 'BOMB', 'I Held A Shelley Manuscript', and 'Ode To Coit Tower', but it also has about thirty readings by Allen Ginsberg, as well as readings by Robert Creely, Katchy Acker, Anne Waldman, Terry Southern, and William Burroughs. So for some great spoken word poetry, go here. You need real audio as a plug-in...the page is a bit annoying, but it works just fine.

At long last, I finally got to see Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. Sunday night. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. If you don't know the story, it's about a guy who specializes in making execution equipment (electric chairs, gallows, etc.). That alone is creepy enough, but when he's asked to collect samples from the Auschwitz site to prove there was no Holocaust (the samples were incorrectly tested, as it turned out), he so enjoys the attention given to him by Holocaust deniers that he convinces himself he's right, despite the extreme lack of evidence gathered on his part. You don't really hate the twerp, you just sit back aghast that someone could be so gullible, so starved for attention. It's an outstanding film, yet another by the brilliant Errol Morris.

HBO's Dennis Miller page has at last put up his first rant of the year. It's regarding President Dubya, and it's a classic.

The other day I mentioned the video for 'Disillusion', by Badly Drawn Boy, and how clever it was. Well, in a similar cute & clever vein, is his vid for 'Once Around The Block': a guy with braces, a girl with braces, and the inevitable problem that arises. It's excellent, and you can download the quicktime clip here.

Friday, January 19, 2001

Gregory Corso (1930-2001)

Gregory Corso, the last of the great Beat poets, passed away on Wednesday. Corso was the last living member of the core group who founded the Beat Generation. Along with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs, Corso helped change American poetry and culture forever.

Whereas Kerouac continued to develop his own genius prose writing based on the sound of jazz, Ginsberg became a countercultural icon for five decades, and Burroughs tested the limits of language and writing, Corso was more like the heckler in the wings, using his brilliant sense of humour to keep everything from getting overly serious. But not only was he the clown prince of the Beats...he was an accomplished poetic craftsman who learned from the Romantic poets...all this while in prison. When he met Kerouac and Ginsberg in 1950, Corso used the influence of the Romantics as well as the influence of his new friends to develop his own voice.

Although Corso hadn't written much in the past decade, his overall body of work, especially his output from the 1950's and 60's, ranks right up there among the best poetry of the past fifty years. 'BOMB' is one of the most overtly anti-Cold War poems to have been written in the Fifties, written as a broadside and typeset to resemble a mushroom cloud (it translates very well on the internet), it is a poem that begs to be screamed aloud; 'The Mad Yak' blends dadaist surrealism and Corso's own humour; 'I Held A Shelly Manuscript' is a great tribute to one of his biggest influences; 'Marriage' is perhaps his best-known poem, overflowing once again with his trademark humour; 'The Whole Mess...Almost' is a personal favourite of mine, a heartfelt, image-filled, and yes, hilarious 'personal inventory.' His greatest poem, though, is 'Elegaic Feelings American', his long tribute to his good friend Jack Kerouac. Written shortly after attending Kerouac's funeral, it is an awesome tribute from one great poet to another. Unfortunately, there is no online text that I can provide a link to, but if you pick up a copy of Mindfield at your local bookstore or library, I'm sure you'll agree that it's Corso's masterpiece.

Incidentally, I just recently found a 43-minute real video reading by Corso at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado circa 1987, complete with an introduction by Allen Ginsberg. You can watch it in its entirety by clicking here. Sit back and enjoy a master at work.

Well, that big Beat party up in the sky just got a whole lot wilder.

Ciao, Gregorio.

Here's an excellent Corso tribute from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Thursday, January 18, 2001

My cd reviews page has finally been updated, with two new reviews...

ESPN.com's Page 2 is the best thing to happen to online sports, er, 'journalism' in ages. Somehow, they snagged good writers, and the website possesses a snarky attitude. Their weekly power poll is a good barometer of what's good and what's downright awful in sports..Although too many people have leaped on the Ray Lewis bandwagon waaaay to fast. Isn't the guy an alleged criminal? People have really short memories when you start to win.

Wanna see a very funny short film? Moses vs. Godzilla is an hilarious parody of those old B movie trailers. Following in the footsteps of the now-immortal George Lucas In Love, the short film shows yet again that the internet is the perfect place for the subversive and satirical.

Wednesday, January 17, 2001

Jason Newsted quit Metallica today, which was quite a surprise. It's sad to see...after years of apparently vicious hazing he finally settled in as the overall Good Guy in the band (the yin to Ulrich's bombastic yang). Take a look at the documentary on the S & M dvd: it's a perfect example of how Newsted never had a bad thing to say about anything; over the years he was always saying he was just Glad To Be There. Back in 1986 I saw one of 'Newkid''s first shows, and it's amazing to realise he'd been there for fourteen years. There has to be more to the story than physical exhaustion. I'd bet he was fired. For supporting napster, maybe? Who knows...

Just watched Robert Altman's Nashville Tuesday night. I hadn't seen it in five or six years, and back then I liked the film but couldn't really get it. What was it about, anyway? After tonight's second viewing, it's obvious the movie is about everything, just life itself and the poor miserable folks trying to live it. It's a satire, a musical, a dark comedy, and a drama all rolled into one, and every seemingly perfect character has flaws like any other person, and the seemingly deplorable people show some goodness when crises arise. Nashville's a great movie (it was a huge influence on magnolia and Altman's own Short Cuts), and one that requires repeated viewings. I'll have to get the dvd sometime...the pan-and-scan version was awful. There's a terrific analysis of Nashville here.

I really couldn't care less anymore, but the disgusting trend of children's pop music appears to have topped off. Fact is, the kiddies are growing up. The clock is now at 14:57 and ticking...

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

mp3 pick: 'Interlaken', by Alpinestars...a swanky combination of breakbeat music and early 80's nostalgia, sort of like listening to Fatboy Slim while playing Gorf on the Vic 20. I really liked Alpinestars' other single, '77 Sunset Strip', but this one is even better. Great stuff. You can download it for free here.

ESPN's NHL power rankings are out.

Here's a good cartoon about Dubya...I still can't believe that guy will be the President. It also tuns out that Bush has a lot in common with Ricky Martin.

Radiohead won't release Amnesiac until June now. Drat.

Right before Christmas music365.co.uk had a list of their ten favourite vids of 2000, and I finally remembered to look for it again tonight, so here it is. It's a good group of clips, especially Coldplay and Badly Drawn Boy; the latter is the funniest clip I've seen this past year. I'm not a big fan of music videos whatsoever (these days it's a big novelty to see bands I like on the teevy what with all the children's vocal groups polluting the earth), but when you get the odd good one, it's always worth watching.

Monday, January 15, 2001

In the mood for some good gonzo sportswriting? Well, the MMQB and The Good Doctor are at it again today. And shame on Sports Jones. For such a good sports website, they still treat hockey like a curiosity. Their Lemieux article starts off well, then sinks to the we-don't-get-fighting mentality. At least ESPN treats hockey like a real sport...

On the subject of yesterday's NFL debacle, you call those football games? On what is traditionally the best football day of the year, where something wild happens in either the AFC or NFC championship, one game was a massacre to end all massacres, the other was a defensive snoozer. And all those fake blimps Global kept trying to dupe us Canadians with...do they think we're idiots? Luckily, we have an sdtv channel, so that'll enable me to watch the Stuporbowl and catch the ads, which are usually the only reason to watch.

I finally watched Coven tonight on my American Movie dvd, and you know, it wasn't all that bad. It looked alright for the most part, and there were some continuity errors (such is the problem when parts of the movie are filmed three years after others), but the whole thing, despite its tackiness, is sincere. I'll watch anything Mark Borchardt makes before anything with, say, Adam Sandler in it.

Speaking of Sandler, he's apparently slated to be in Paul Thomas Anderson's new project. The Horror! Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia...this? Well, maybe PTA can get the dude to stop yelling and stop speaking in those idiotic voices he uses.

Sunday, January 14, 2001

Some ultra-cool products guaranteed to ease the pain of everyday living, if only for a few seconds:

Who the heck is Senor Mysterioso, and why is he just standing there acting all calm in his flourescent suit?

Out of all the figures that Todd McFarlane has put out, the Alice Cooper one is by far the best. Very realistic, with a cool guillotine and lots of stage props. Now I have the sudden urge to play 'The Ballad Of Dwight Fry'...

And if you don't already own Mass Romantic, by The New Pornographers, grab a copy immediately. 'Letter From An Occupant' is as good a song you'll ever hear, period.

Saturday, January 13, 2001

mp3 pick: 'Fight Fire With Fire', by Apocalyptica...out of the Metallica tunes the string quartet has covered, this is one of the best. I can't listen to this song now without thinking of lovable Wisconsin burnout Mike Schank. He can play the song blindfolded, you know.

Last night I dug Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! again. Although it peters out at the end, it's still one of the coolest movies in history. The first twenty minutes alone should be enshrined in an indie film hall of fame...yeah, filming the girls (er, wymyn) in rocking cars to simulate driving is cheesy, but the editing during the drag race is hyperkinetic, and the fight scene is a classic. The most awesome neckbreaking shot ever. Crrrack!

Y'ever notice that WWF behemoth Chyna is a total ripoff of Tura Satana? Tura's Varla would win a one-on-one any day...

The best line in the movie? Although Varla has the most time on-screen, Billie has some plum lines. To wit: "I'm of legal age for whiskey, voting and loving. Now the next election is two years away, and my lovelife ain't getting much better, so how about some of that one-hundred-percent!"

I'll write about Russ Meyer's magnum opus, BVD, sometime soon...maybe even SuperVIXENS...

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