When you think Mambo, you probably think of shit like Australian Jesus and the artist who created it, Reg Mombassa. Yet, its only today that I learned that that isn’t actually his real name. Which is Chris O’Doherty.
Anyway, I caught this short flick, Golden Sandals, about the man himself on my Qantas flight and was happy to learn that this crazy dude had so much behind the funny pictures. He quips poker faced about his childhood and how his mom and dad’s constant building of houses affected him and his distorted sense of suburbia and humanity.
My favorite scene was when he describes the idea behind Australian Jesus, which is a sort of reaction toward Aussie culture and not so much of a theological statement. Another scene where he sketches after revisiting one of his childhood homes is also breathtaking, in how he forms an idea and fills it up about houses with legs and progress progress progress. All that mashed in with an apocalyptic future where American jets might bomb the shit out of everything.
Cool guy.
I finally caught Control, the film by Anton Corbijn and only because Qantas were good enough to have it on their in flight entertainment system. My previous efforts to catch the film were largely foiled by the location of the cinema where it was showing in Sydney being out of the way with regards to my location, my inability to find anyone to watch it with and also procrastination. Which means I procrastinated and never caught the film on the big screen so I settled for a tiny one instead. I did try to download it but the great Australian internet connection told me to fuck off.
Anyway, its a beautiful film. I just love the contrast, the black and white, the relation to the characters, their distance, their proximity, their emotional state… I also love the graphic insight into one of my favorite bands and the coloring of their story. Stuff like Tony Wilson signing a contract in his blood or Hooky mentioning how he hated the word cocks in The Buzzcocks.
Yet, nothing detracts from the tragedy that is the heart of one of the greatest rock’n'roll stories of all time and the pure depression that results from it. Watching the film gave me a chance to fully visualize what had till then been simply words on a page. I felt like I had my heart wrenched from my ribcage as I watched the inevitable ending. Its just so fucking sad and yet you also realise how Ian Curtis was always going to be like that and at the end of the day, he left a wonderful legacy.
RIP Ian.
Filed under: Film
Finally, a good movie. After countless inane, rubbish and not even stylish “action” movies that I end up catching, I finally watched a good movie. It pays to have some company who have some semblance of taste.
Death At A Funeral was something I had little clue about. Then again, I have little clue about much anything at all. Still! My point is, I had zero expectations. Previously, I knew I was gonna catch crappy movies but I still had certain predilections so this time round, I really wasn’t expecting much at all. Which helps a ton, because you know when you don’t expect anything and you get something and you’re like wow or oh yeah. Like when your girlfriend decides to give you something something. Or when you open a xmas present and its cash. That kind of feeling.
The first inkling that DAAF was gonna be good was when a name flashed across the title credits. “Ewen Bremner”. AKA Spud from Trainspotting. The second bit was the opening scene, which was absurd but hilarious. What was to ensue for the next 1.5 hours was to be a chaotic centrifuge of coincidences and finally, clarity.
Basically, this guy’s dad dies and at the funeral, all manner of tomfoolery happens involving drugs, an incontinent old man, a horny Spud, an obsessive compulsive and a dwarf. The characters develop really well despite the short screen time. Probably because the film is pretty obvious in leading you onto certain aspects of each member of the cast. I mentioned Bremner but his character is just a sideshow, which you’d expect anyway. The rest are a mostly British cast save for Peter Dinklage, the dwarf actor who played the supervillain in Underdog. (I mentioned watching shite beforehand.)
For the life of me, I also couldn’t remember what director Frank Oz did before this, though his name struck a faint chord in the quiet of the cinema. *checks wikipedia* He did Stepford Wives, which I loved but the really interesting bit is that he’s motherfucking Yoda. How did I forget that? Geez, I muz be gettin’ ooooold. He is also Miss Piggy, Grover, Bert and Cookie Monster. And motherfucking yoda.
Death is a good film for a dark comedy. Its not high art. It doesn’t provoke or inspire but its highly entertaining. Whilst the subject matter might be a little crass, its all done with a certain panache and style. You never feel like the jokes and situations are stupid. As my mate and I have concluded, its just a very well written slapstick with a sinister bend.
The best bit about the film is how everything falls together perfectly, with references, foreshadowing and precursors all over to point you towards the predictable but perfect climax. There’s also no over-sentimentality even after the happy-ish resolution. Its a trainwreck of a funeral and you’re invited to watch and laugh at the misery. Muahahaha!
Lupe’s an interesting guy. I mean, he comes off like a Hypebeasty guy that’s in tune with the currency of today with a good flow to his music and easy on the ears beats. I’ve just gotten round to listening to his latest album, The Cool, which I admit that I enjoy quite immensely in spits and spats.
Ok one track is particularly irritating, Dumb It Down, which has a really lame and clearly caucasoid male attempting to “rap”. I do understand that its supposed to represent the typical record company exec but I seriously can’t stand hearing it for the life of me. A couple tracks should do pretty well in the pop scene though, Superstar for instance. The album overall is at least on par with Food & Liquor in my opinion. One which is clearly blinkered by the heavy influences that come through easily.
Yet there’s a sense of apprehension, perhaps abetted by my relative lack of knowledge with regards to hip-hop but also some of the content as well. I think the track Gold Watch sums it up when he namedrops all the stuff he loves, some of which I do too. Monocle, Headporter, Junya Watanabe, Street Fighter 2, Singapore, Moleskin… There’s some stuff I would never touch with a ten foot pole but generally his taste is on point. This is all in comparison to your average rapper with the proverbial “gold watch and my gold chain…”, although I’m not quite sure how comparing one form of materialism to another is worthwhile other than to boast about your worldliness and supposed good taste.
Even then, I can’t say I would be anywhere close to upset by anything I’ve mentioned thus far. In fact, the only beef I have with the album and probably the itch I feel like scratching until it bleeds is the fact that he also collaborated with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, who produced the track Little Weapon. Thankfully, Stump spares us by not involving his voice in the production although I swear some of the shit sounds kinda like him or is that just my prejudice speaking?
UNKLE and FOB on the same album? I thought that shit only happened on charity save the world albums that don’t save the world. Granted UNKLE’s not as poignant as in their heyday but still, fucking FOB? Fresh off the boat mayne!
Yes I am holier than thou. Ooh, how many more crappy finishes for that wonderful acronym d’you think I can find today pray tell? Fucking oblivious bollocks… Foolish obsolete bin-dippers… Fornicatory orifice busboys… Feebly ovulating blimps… Fellatio or bust… Fuck off bitches…
Ok maybe he did it whilst he was high/sleepy… He had crap tons of cash dangled in his face by some suit… Or maybe his Fenoms were held up for ransom… Or maybe he wanted more cred with emo tween girls… He was caught pants down at the tranny expo… He lost in a twinkie eating competition against the Stump…
Everyone makes mistakes but when you fall asleep while driving and end up on the opposite direction on the freeway, you don’t get a second chance. At least Kanye had Chris Martin, which is only similar to gouging your eyeball out with a blowtorch. Patrick Stump on your record is like castration with a razor beaked cuckoo clock chirping away gently on the hour mark with a tiny little chomp over the course of eternity.
If you listen to Fall Out Boy, I apologize for my awfully vicious tirade but please, spare the rest of humanity and refrain from procreation.
Filed under: Music
I said I was incessant earlier! Anyway, I searched for Radiohead covers on youtube and found some gems.
KT Tunstall – Fake Plastic Trees. KT is just way too cute not to post.
Bela Fleck & Chris Thile – Morning Bell. Radiohead X Bluegrass? At one point, it just sounds like Korsakov’s Flight Of The Bumblebee.
John Frusciante – You And Whose Army? John keeps it real and does it well.
Beck – Creep. Super played out but Beck’s version is short and sweet and funny because he tries and shifts down for the falsetto bit.
Mark Ronson Feat. Alec Greenwald – Just. I have to say that graffiti cartoons are completely irrelevant to this song but its got a funky trumpet solo bit. This comes off the tribute LP Exit Music which also features Herbert, RJD2 and Cinematic Orchestra amongst others.
Brad Mehldau – Exit Music. This is almost as beautiful as the original and works quite well too, very dramatic.
The Darkness – Street Spirit. Omg! Radiohead X Camp Metal. LOL!
Easy Star All-Stars – Let Down. Radiodread is actually a song by song reggae-fication of OKC they released. LOL! Also check out their Pink Floyd cover LP, Dub Side Of The Moon!
Christopher O’Riley – Everything In Its Right Place. The classical pianist made a cover LP entitled True Love Waits. I imagine this playing on TVs in electronic retail showrooms that don’t make any money and wondering why.
Levi Weaver – Idioteque. I like this one. He captures the original spirit of the song well but its distinctly different from the original. Kinda sounds like Battles X Radiohead and folked up.
Dustveil – Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. I have scant idea about these Muscovites but they lay it down with da flutes n violin violins on this version!
John Mayer – Kid A. John Mayer’s strumming style is evident as is his sleepy singing.
So what have I learned from this exercise? Well firstly, Radiohead’s audience is incredibly varied and notable. Secondly, a ton of people cover Creep. Thirdly, there’s a lot of shit covers that aren’t even funny. Believe you me, those I’ve posted are the worthwhile ones. The others I will not speak of ever again. I also didn’t bother sifting through the 9210321538 DIY homestyle acoustic covers which tend to be incredibly sappy and half the time is spent excusing their crappiness and then either delivering a bland performance or butchering it entirely.
Filed under: Music
Here’s The Headmaster Ritual by The Smiths.
Filed under: Music
Ok, this one I’m not surprised by given that I always knew Thom and Björk had good vibes and respect for each other since whenever. That culminated in one of the few songs that brought a tear to my eye, “I’ve Seen It All”; a duet featuring my fave male and female vocalists of all time.
I’m rediscovering why RH made me send out a bajillion emails detailing inane trivia about the band back in ‘97 to my friends. They hated me for the incessant buggering but appreciated the fact that I introduced them to one of the best, possibly the bestest band in the world ever even if they don’t think so. Thanks to the wonders of the intehnets, we can now marvel at this cover of Unravel off Homogenic and you can sample a taste of my incessant buggering too.
Filed under: Music
My favorite band playing my favorite song. More accurately, Radiohead with a cover of New Order’s Ceremony. I’m still in awe.
Oh by the way, “In Awe”, that’s the title of the New Order/Joy Division cover album by Radiohead set for release on the 30th of February 2008. You read it here first.
A friend of mine whipped out her Leica C-Lux 2 and I was really taken by how it looked from the front. The controls behind though, looked like a typical Panasonic/Casio compact digicam. Awful and convoluted.
Still, it piqued my interest enough to peek at the Leica website and there, I found the far more respectable M8 and more interestingly, a build your own camera service. Available only to the analog M7 and the fully automatic, battery-less MP, you get 9 steps to customize your own camera from the top finish, leatherette, controls, viewfinders etc. I felt like I was in Nike iD but vintagey.
You can get bespoke anything online nowadays!
Peep my lizard leather, silver chromed, next level MP with M7 rewind, unengraved for maximum photo snob exclusivity.
As usual, I’m always on the late train when it comes to following fads, be they in music or fashion. This one is no exception only I missed two in tandem.
Pete Doherty was a name I vaguely recalled in some tabloid or something crappy. I remember the story was about Kate Moss on holiday and finding her boyfriend screwing some other chick instead of her blah blah blah. Might’ve got everything wrong, don’t take my word for it.
Anyway, that never had any effect on me at all. At the time I had no idea who the fuck Pete Doherty was and I am certainly not of the bony persuasion thank you very much. Then I recalled more information stuffed in my face by some “media” outlet telling me more about this rock star and his lifestyle.
Fast forward to a few weeks back and I magically waved my mouse and woosh! appeared The Libertines self titled LP on my iTunes. I have to say, this shite is actually quite engaging. The music for itself, sort of harks back to Oasis almost. Its not super classic by any stretch but its quite good, old school-ish British rock ‘n’ roll.
Then I learn of Pete Doherty’s close friendship with Hedi Slimane and it all fell together when I saw this pic.
So, trendwhore that I am, I promptly bought myself a goddamn trilby and yes, I hum Babyshambles songs now when I strut down Sydney’s streets, with as much rock star menace as I can muster.
