The Music Issue Vol. 3

Do you remember Back to the Future 2? Old Biff steals the time machine to give Young Biff a sports almanac with every sports score of the past/future fifty years. This causes a distortion in the space-time continuum creating an alternate 1985, a lawless Hill Valley where gambling magnate Biff Tannen reigns above all (damn, these were some great movies.) You can think of the music of French DJ Kavinsky along these same lines; a time machine (not a De Lorean but a Ferrari Testarossa), a distortion in the space-time continuum and an alternate 1985. Kavinsky’s heavy synth laden tracks have transported us back to a 1980s Miami but some catastrophic event (use your imagination) has rendered Miami’s vibrant sunshine a distant memory and has transformed South Beach’s inhabitants into zombie dance enthusiasts. Wandering the permanently moonlit streets in search of the next party, these zombies are attracted to pastel colored neon lights like a deer to a saltlick.

Fortunately Kavinsky isn't the only Frenchmen stuck in the 80s with an analog synthesizer. There's College whose Totoesque tracks evoke memories of the puffy dresses, big hair, and spiked punch at a John Hughes created high school prom. The Outrunners sound like two paranoid sci-fi geeks huddled in a basement making the soundtrack for an upcoming android invasion. The dreamy subdued synth lines from Anoraak reminds one of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and then there's Maethelvin, who sounds like Kavinsky with a soft side.

Whether these artists are simply waxing nostalgic about the coke fueled dance hall glory days of the 80s or attempting to escape the daunting shadow cast by Daft Punk’s looming presence by producing songs reminiscent of a time a decade before Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo began making music, it is irrelevant. This shit is as hot as Kelly LeBrock.

Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive:

Marla

I am currently having a love affair with this Grizzly Bear song; penned by the lead singer's aunt in the 1930s.

It's like a haunted house in Cape Cod that isn't really haunted at all. There is a small parlor where your dead aunt plays an out of tune piano (perhaps the house is haunted) and an old library, the walls lined with hundreds of books, where your dead uncle reads Poe and smokes a pipe (OK, the house is haunted.) No bother. You climb the stairs to the attic, discovering a large chest sitting next to an old rocking horse. Upon opening the chest you find vintage clothing, time-worn photographs, and antique glassware. While fidgeting through the chest you catch something in the corner of your eye; an ole' Victrola X. You walk over to examine the record player, a large stand up box with a hand crank to the side and a glorious horn protruding out just above the record. You place the needle on the record and slowly rotate the crank; delirious harmonies seep out of the machine blending seamlessly with the rustling of the leaves outside, the clapping shutters, the ringing wind chimes, your dead aunt's piano playing and the creaks made when your dead uncle walks to the kitchen to refill his drink.

It's also like:
Pinocchio getting drunk at Pleasure Island
The Wizard of Oz (at least the parts in Kansas)
The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

American Gangster

A Case of Life Imitating Art:

Sitting in the front of a movie theater has a few drawbacks; notably your view is distorted, you leave the theater with a stiff neck and you are the last one to know that a patron pulled a gun and threatened to shoot someone. Near the end of the movie, following a particularly tense scene, everybody from the 7th row and up jumps out of their seat and pour out into the lobby. My fellow 6th row and down people sat there befuddled by this choreographed exit but didn’t think much of it; some people even told those who were wondering aloud what happened to be quiet, silence is golden after all. Besides the staff walking around the theater with flashlights, things seemed to calm down. But what could have caused this mass exodus? The consensus was that someone must have had an accident. The bawdy British couple behind me went a step further by saying that it had to be some wanker “wanking off.” At this point the movie cut off and five police officers stormed the theater, two of which had their guns pulled. They immediately pointed their flashlights to the upper right hand corner of the theater and told a man sitting by himself to put his hands up. Despite this American gangster’s pleadings “I didn’t do nothing! I didn’t do nothing!” the cops grabbed his arm, viciously ripped him out of the aisle and pushed him through the door. The movie was cut short, certainly an afterthought at this point as we remained in the dark as to what had caused this very odd sequence of events. We slowly walked up the theater and saw that many people had left behind their coats and purses. Some people were returning to collect their belongings and in one case a man discovered his coat had been taken (There was looting? Jesus, What happened?) I finally found my friend, who because the theater was sold-out was sitting in one of the affected sections. He explained that there was a brief argument that quickly boiled over when one of the men threatened the other with a gun; everyone stormed out when someone said “He’s gonna shoot! He’s gonna shoot!” He said he never felt that much adrenaline (“I could have lifted a car”) and never experienced a mob mentality like that before (“old women using elbows to push their way to the exit.”) Damn, I’m sorry I missed it.

Oh, the movie was OK.
It was a little too long.
It was a little too by the numbers.
But it was still entertaining.

The Trailer Issue Vol. 2

Atonement - I shouldn't want to see this. After all, the first half of the trailer with all this star-crossed lover stuff suggests it will be quite the yawner but my God, those battle scenes look majestic.

The Savages - David Edelstein, the New York Magazine film critic, is my favorite. I routinely disagree with him but when he truly loves something, like he does with The Savages, it is nearly impossible to stay away.

Juno - A movie scribed by an ex-stripper that reunites the Bluth Boys? Sure I'll see that.

Gone Baby Gone - A movie directed by future Virginia Senator and former bad actor, Ben Affleck should be reason enough to stay away but people have some really great things to say about this including one of my coworkers: "I really liked it. I didn't think I would like it. I can't believe I liked it."

Before the Devil Knows Your Dead - I'm usually weary of heavily praised movies when they are directed by legendary filmmakers but this trailer is so dynamic that I'm regretting forgoing six dollar movie night because I didn't think there was anything good playing.

There Will Be Blood - "Blood is two hours and 45 minutes of cinematic heroin. It’s a frightening, overwhelming, punch-to-the-gut work — as strong as anything that John Huston or Stanley Kubrick ever made."

The Wire - The Wire is television heroin. It's a frightening, overwhelming, punch-to-the-gut work - It's the best show on television. Ever.