FoeWeel !!! ???

Two Lids, 2011.

Welcome back campers. Here are some tidy sensory blips for the benefit of your imagination, and future generations. I seem to be finding new music more and more through movies and TV these days, so here are some of those selections.

Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar – The theme song, for the now cancelled HBO show How To Make it In America otherwise known as the Vice Magazine show.

Hoagy Carmichael – Stardust – From the movie and trailer for Mike Mills’ Beginners. One of the better films of the year. This song also fit perfectly with my wedding this year.

Nina Simone – If I Should Lose You – I got this track from a bar scene in the AMC show The Killing. A bleak murder mystery that takes place in rainy Seattle which adds to the overall misery and suffering that every character seems to wear like a noose.

Bon Iver – Michicant - A somewhat more light-hearted? second release, and a great album if not for the John Hughes inspired last track.

Shigeto – Look At All The Smiling Faces - A nice soundtrack for the cold weather that has arrived with rain nowhere to be felt.

The Middle East – Blood – First heard from It’s Kind Of A Funny Story, and more recently in the somewhat surprisingly good Crazy, Stupid Love. The band is from Australia, and comes recommended by the FDA and Consumer Reports.

Bye.

Oil Vinegar, San Francisco 2010

From the worldwide headquarters of a seemingly lost distraction into our psyche, we bring another edition of what we have encountered to move us, either physically or, for the most part exhaustively into said positive nether world.  May seems to be the month of events– tUnE-yArDs killed, destroyed, pillaged the village of the tenderLOIN here in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall proving once again that she is one of the best live acts for the malnourished youth of the future. TV on the Radio are scheduled to play an intimate show here on Monday which was delayed from last weekend after the death of their bassist Gerard Smith (RIP). Their new album, Nine Types of Light was dismissed by me after listening to it on my computer’s speakers, but after giving it another try on headphones, it was a different and thankfully, better listen. Although not as hella, hecka, POP-POP tight as their other releases. James Blake is bringing his ambien filled dubsteppy-ness to SF in a few weeks. The Dodos have a Tony the Tiger Grrreat new album No Color with their unique rhythm offerings will be among the redwoods at the Stern Grove festival where they will be opening for hipster dream girl Neko Case. It should be a sea of Texas shirts and Ray Ban wayfarers. Great. Also, down the line the Archers of Loaf will be here in September, if they don’t break up once again.

Timber Timbre is playing at the Swedish American Hall in SF on June 10th. His bluesy folk offerings should not be missed.

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tUnE-yArDs – Powa – A slinky funked-up track that would fit nicely on her first album. Beyonce wish she could do this.

TV On The Radio – Will Do – The most melodic of offerings from their latest release. The most interesting rock band in music today.

Dodos – Hunting Season – Tribal rhythms, yearning. Call and response. All of their tracks have such interesting drum parts.

Beck – Feel Good Time - The original version from William Orbit, but made popular by Pink. Party song for the Scientologists.

Bibio – Light Sleep – I picture Welcome Back Kotter, and the everlasting WahWah pedal.

Timer Timbre – Under Your Spell – A beautiful and simple bluesy number from his 2007 release Medicinals.

Duncan Street, San Francisco 2010

It seems that as I get older, I am going to less shows, and with further commitments sometimes disguised as responsibility, I have to be more select on which bands/DJ’s will further damage my already social security ready hearing.

Last year, I did get to check out St Vincent, Hauschka, Jamie Lidell, Rocco DeLuca, Thom Yorke, LCD Soundsystem, Dan Bell, Arcade Fire, Best Coast, Greg Dulli and The Books.

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My top choices for films that I saw last year were:
-Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (2009) – A companion piece to the great 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.

-Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman (2008) – A great artist making art out of other people’s art, or possibly making their art better, or at least seem better.

-Caché (Hidden) (2005) – You will either love this movie, or absolutely hate it. Nothing is revealed, and the movie leaves it up to you to draw any conclusion, and probably have more questions.

-Kick-Ass (2010) – One of the best action movies, whether comic book related or not !!!

-Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma In) (2008) – A vampire movie, yes, but the best overall movie I saw in 2010. This one is the original, although I hear the remake is good as well.

-The Social Network (2010) – Fincher’s style combined with Sorkin’s verbal assault.

-Black Swan (2010) – It’s a disturbing movie, more so than 127 hours. It will make you squirm, just like he did in Requiem for a Dream.

-Mother (2010) – From the director of the great Memories of Murder, comes a story of the overbearing Korean mother trying to save her kid from murder charges.

-Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) – A farce, most likely, but a well-done prank-u-mentary. It is all about the hype and association, sometimes more so than the actual content of art, or said product. I believe MBW is a collaboration of Banksy and Fairey, and they are laughing all the way to the bank with the MBW crap people are buying.

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For last years, best-of, I made a list, but I am disregarding it. Here are some selections to help you with the Eleven…..

James Blake – Lindesfarne II – A full-length album after a great series of EP’s, and this sparse, yet moving record shows Blake using his voice more and creating more space. The warmest use of a vocoder.

Benoît Pioulard – Tie – I had the chance to check Pioulard out at Amnesia here in San Francisco a few months back, and like James Blake, he uses a lot of electronic experimentation with his vocals.

Bill Withers – Lovely Day – I think I heard this one from the movie, 127 Hours. It reminds me of the show Welcome Back Kotter. Such a great 70′s song.

Kangding Ray – Pruitt Igoe (Alva Noto Remodel) – From the Raster Noton released EP of the same name, an Alva Noto remix of an abstract genius.

A group of fans in Prague got together to shoot a Radiohead concert from August 23, 2009. The band provided the audio masters. Download here.

Grant Lee Buffalo has reformed and they are touring again. Each of their four releases are great albums and they put on a great show, so go check out this dynamic band, and remember to bring your earplugs because those acoustic instruments amped are quite loud.

We went to see Arcade Fire last weekend and it was a bit of a disappointment. Their act didn’t translate well to a bigger venue, and many of their newer midtempo songs lulled the audience to sleep.

If you are/were, or trying to be a Soul Coughing band, check out this great blog, The Unheard Music for a megapost on rarities from this unique band.

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Greg Dulli – The Killer - A live rendition from his Twilight Singers repertoire. I can’t wait to see him perform solo next month.  From his venture with the Afghan Whigs to the Twilight Singers and now, The Gutter Twins with Mark Lanegan, Dulli continues his soul wrenching  delivery.

The Books Ft. Jose Gonzalez – Cello Song – A Nick Drake classic that opened up the movie The Blind Side? From the incredible Dark Was The Night compilation. Gonzalez, in a way, is very similar to Drake in their soft tonal delivery with the perfect sonic backing provided by The Books.

Best Coast – When I’m With You – A great pop band which I get confused with Beach House. The guitar fuzz may confuse your sunny eyewear choices, but there should be no doubt of the tap in your toe.

James Blake – I Only Know (What I Know Now) – Hyped as the next big thing in Dubstep. His compositions have always had that Hall & Oates Human Touch, but I think this masterpiece creates a new shine and path to see the worthiness of Blake.

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