Remixing the Remixer

Here are a couple of interesting remixes of Tarantino movies as songs:

And here's a nice montage:

Take 5ive! - Episode #1

Dion Conflict interviews author Mike White (Cashiers du Cinemart) on his book entitled "Impossibly Funky: A Cashiers Du Cinemart Collection" in the rest room of a rep cinema in Detroit, Michigan.

Uncle Leon Brings You.... Dollar Beer Day

The best commercial ever made.

Mario - The Independent Film

Victoria

Get Ready for Movies and Music at CIMMFest

Starting Thursday night (4/14), Chicago will play host to a wide range of music-related narrative films and documentaries at the Chicago International Movie and Music Festival (CIMM Fest). The films are as diverse as the musicians that they feature from industrial rockers Ministry (FIX)to the smooth jazz of Vince Guaraldi (The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi).

Devin DiMattia's Firewall of Sound tells the story of the demise of physical music media (cassettes, CDs, vinyl) and the rise of digital music. I can see Firewall of Sound being an important document of the last fifteen years some years from now. Coming out in 2011, the material is far too fresh (and still too painful). The documentary explores how insubstantial music as files can be and the loss of the communal experience of learning about and sharing music with friends.

I went into Upside Down: The Creation Records Story with an open mind only to realize that I still can't stand the loopy guitars and whiny vocals of shoe-gazing bands like Ride, Swervedriver, and Jazz Butchers. (I still think "Upside Down" by Jesus and Mary Chain sounds like the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme, "Love is All Around").

I'll be honest and say that I wasn't a huge fan of The Ballad of Mott the Hoople. It's very much a talking-head documentary that managed to keep my interest for a little over an hour but then started to drag. Maybe that's due to the typical "band trajectory" where the mighty always fall.

Likewise, FIX doesn't do the job it should; proving that Ministry has much of anything to say. The interviews with front man Al Jourgensen just make me dislike him even more (I wasn't sure that was possible). I guess if you think Ministry is talented, immature behavior is cool, and Jourgensen isn't a nob, then maybe you'll like FIX but if you're on the fence about them or don't like them... prepare to get your hate on even more.

A good ironic double feature would be FIX and Bob and the Monster to see just how heroin can fuck a person up. Seeing it glamorized in FIX does everyone a disservice.

I won't profess to be familiar with all of the films and bands that CIMM has and that's the real fun of it. Attendees can learn the tragic tale of Blaze Foley in Blaze Foley: Duct Tape Messiah or Bob Forrest from Thelonious Monster in Bob and the Monster. Even when it comes to bands with which you may be familiar, the better films still manage to pack some surprises.

An interesting game to play during the festival will be to see who the biggest documentary whores are these days. My money is either on Gibby Haynes or Jello Biafra. (They're the John Waters and Quentin Tarantino of the music world).

The two Canadian narratives I caught, Ivory Tower and Score: A Hockey Musical, really scratched an itch. Like most Canadian cinema, these were low key, quirky and humorous.

There are a number of flicks I'm excited to see at CIMMFest; Rock 'n' Roll… Of Corse!, Le Tigre On Tour, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, and Freaks in Love.

CIMMFest starts Thursday April 14 and runs until Sunday April 17.

Alice Donut - War Pigs

Really looking forward to seeing Freaks in Love - the Alice Donut documentary - at CIMM this Friday. Here's my favorite Alice Donut song. Yes, it's a cover but it's amazing.

Freaks in Love plays CIMM at Society for the Arts, 1112 North Milwaukee, Chicago on Friday, April 15 at 10pm. Buy tickets here.

Chicago International Movies & Music Festival

I'm heading out to Chicago in April for the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival. I'm going specifically for the premiere of Freaks In Love, the Alice Donut documentary co-directed by my good pal Skizz Cyzyk.

Freaks in Love (USA)

4/15/11 10:00 PM
Society For Arts: 1112 N. Milwaukee Ave
This is 25 years in the world of underground rock, as seen through the eyes of freakshow psych-punk band Alice Donut. From the glory days of CBGB to grinding nationwide tours in beat-up vans to the big time (sort of) opening for Blind Melon, Alice Donut lived indie music. We know the story of the bands that went international, led by Nirvana, but Freaks in Love is the story of the rest of the scene. Featuring Jello Biafra and the Meat Puppets.
In person: Directors Skizz Cyzyk and David Koslowski, along with members of Alice Donut
World Premiere
Director: Skizz Cyzyk & David Koslowski
Documentary: 100 min.

ME! by Alvin Ecarma

Alvin Ecarma's "ME!" -- an incredible short film wherein Ecarma (director of LETHAL FORCE) channels the ecstasy of GHETTO FREAKS. This is the original version, well loved by all.

Santa Sangre Comes to Detroit!

I'm incredibly excited that Detroit's Burton Theater will be playing Alejandro Jodorowsky's fantastic film Santa Sangre. It's playing three times a day on the weekend of February 25. Be sure to check out this remarkable movie.

Happy Presidents' Day!

This Is How Michael Caine Speaks

They Say Spain is Pretty

I'm heading to Spain tonight on a plane. Perhaps you can see the red tail lights.

Tarantino's Mix Tapes Get Award

From today's Hollywood Reporter:

Quentin Tarantino will be honored with the first ever Critics' Choice Music+Film Award.

The inaugraual(sic) award was created to honor a single filmmaker who inspires moviegoers with cinematic storytelling, but also heightened the impact of film through the use of source and soundtrack music.

Tarantino was cited for his mix of music and film in Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2, and Inglourious Basterds.

And that's all HR had to say. There was no examination of how ludicrous this news is. While I'm a big fan of the soundtracks for Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Tarantino lost me when it came to Jackie Brown with the opening sequence (a visual lift from The Graduate) set to the title track of Across 110th Street. Since then he's just been absolutely shameless with his use of other films' music in his own movies.

The Graduate

Plus

Across 110th Street

Equals

Jackie Brown

Or

When Jackie Met Benjamin

You can call Tarantino one of the most environmentally-friendly filmmakers of our age due to his visual and audible recycling. You can say that it's wonderful he's throwing a spotlight on older films via his "sampling" of soundtrack music from older films. Or, you can say that he's a lazy filmmaker who doesn't employ a composer to score his film but just leaves the "temp track" on his movies. The real shame is that there are people I've talked to -- people who claim that they're film fans -- that have no idea that "that great song in Inglourious Basterds" was from another film.

The Big Gundown

Even the tune most-associated with Kill Bill, Tomoyasu Hotei's "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" was the theme to, you guessed it, Battle without Honor or Humanity.

Battle without Honor or Humanity

Kill Bill Trailer

So, I'm a little taken aback by Tarantino getting acknowledged for his inspiring use of soundtrack music. If anything, it seems a little uninspired.

Twisted Nerve

Kill Bill

Now, now... I know I shouldn't get so bent out of shape. I mean, Quentin Tarantino does so much to give back to the film community. After he rifles through all of these films, biting his favorite bits, including songs, he does a great job of getting them put out on deluxe DVDs via his illustrious company Rolling Thunder, right? I mean, look at that lovingly restored version of The Grand Duel, the controversial The Losers disc, and that deluxe box set for Twisted Nerve and, of course, the movie his company was named for -- Rolling Thunder -- has been flying off the shelves since it had the huge DVD and revival house screenings it enjoyed... Oh, wait....

Rolling Thunder released just a handful of films before it closed up shop. It never released Rolling Thunder, its namesake, nor did it release (m)any of the films that, eh-hem, inspired Tarantino. Instead, it became just another ill-conceived vanity project that lived for a while in the VHS age and never translated to DVD.

And, what's worse, he continues to get lauded for his so-called contributions to the movie and music world. Critics' Choice is even making up an award for him, the Music+Film Award. Let's not talk about how music's been used through the ages -- even repurposed -- to work with film.

Kubrick
And what about Stanley Kubrick and his use of classical music for films like A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey? In the case of 2001, Kubrick had a full score done for his film with the intention of utilizing several classical pieces regardless. While these pieces may have been used in the past (I won't make any claims to knowing in "The Blue Danube" had never made an appearance in a movie before 1968), Kubrick's visuals and the content of his story recontextualized these songs to give them additional meaning. Though some may think that Elvis is about to go on stage when they hear "Also Sprach Zarathustra", the piece was given this new life as Elvis's theme music due to 2001.

The same can be said about A Clockwork Orange with the additional facet that the music here was given a new life via the machinations of composer Wendy Carlos Williams. "Ode to Joy" and other classical pieces are given new life via Williams's use of electronic music to reinterpret the classic pieces into a dystopian future. And, let's not forget Alex (Malcolm McDowell) recasting "Singing in the Rain" as his song of happiness as he commits atrocious acts. If Tarantino had made A Clockwork Orange he'd have set the action against Motown recordings and had Alex sing "Tears of a Clown".

Scorsese
There are so many songs that I can't hear without picturing the images that went with them in various films; when I hear "Layla" by Eric Clapton I can only think of the montage from Goodfellas. Or, to continue with Goodfellas, whenever I hear "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream I think of the slow push in on Robert DeNiro as contemplates his situation. All of the acting going on in his face while that music just brings out the darkness in his heart.

Goodfellas

Now, I'll completely agree with the way that Tarantino worked with '70s songs in Reservoir Dogs (I can't hear Stealers Wheel without picturing Mr. Blond doing a little boogie to it before he goes to work on Marvin Nash with a razor blade. Or hear "Little Green Bag" without picturing the cast walking in slow-mo during the opening credits. (Reservoir Dogs wasn't mentioned in the above Hollywood Reporter quote). And his use of surf music as "modern day spaghetti western music" worked wonderfully in Pulp Fiction. But, since then, it's been downhill with his pilfering of other films' soundtracks for his own. And, for that, he gets lauded and an award from his peers. Shameful.

Special bonus track:

Favorite Videos of 2010

Who knows how long these will remain on YouTube (kind of hate that about that website) but, for now, here are my favorite videos of the year -- at least, they were all posted this year.

The Jennifers - Well-Intentioned World

Star Trek: Tik Tok

Nicolas Cage Loses His Shit

Signing in the Rain - Dubstep

Be Super Safe at the Office

Right Wing Radio Duck

Terry Crews Old Spice Commercials

Super Mario Beat Box

MC Chris's Twin Peaks Tribute

160 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger Quotes

Full Metal Feelgood Movie

Star Wars Episode 2 Review - Part 1

Know Your Meme: Magnets

Toy Story/Fight Club Mashup

The Jennifers' "Well-Intentioned World"

This is a great music video done by my pal Skizz:

Impossibly Funky Book Release Party in Detroit!

I'm just getting back from the Burton Theater in downtown Detroit where I locked in details of the Impossibly Funky book release party!

I've put the word out on Facebook and am hoping to get the word out to more folks. Feel free to spread the word as it's an open event! Here are all the pertinent details:

What	Impossibly Funky Book Release / Film Screening
Where	Burton Theater, Detroit
When	2PM-4:30PM, October 24, 2010
Who	Anyone who can make it!
How Much	$7 US

This will be the first time since the '70s that Black Shampoo has played in Detroit! There will also be a set of previews and short films including Who Do You Think You're Fooling? since it plays such big part in the book.

C'mon out for a good time!

We Control The Vertical - We Control The Horizontal

"It was much funnier than Cats. I want to see it again and again."

Impossibly Funky - The Book Trailer

Knocked something off my To Do list - a promo video for the Cashiers du Cinemart book. Enjoy!

Oh, and please don't forget that the book is available for pre-order with lots of other goodies at http://impossiblefunky.com/preorder

Also, big thanks to the folks who have been re-tweeting my frequent shills and blogging about the book such as Schlockmania and Forces of Geek. Much appreciated!

A Musical Dilemma

I have a serious question. Is it just me or does Ke$ha sound like the Lady Tigra from L'Trimm?

Comparison:

Versus

And here's something just for fun: