(03.01.08) Recommends:

Citizen Journalism!

So as we previously mentioned, we saw Cat Power last night. She used to have a reputation for putting on really shitty live performances. But, as we understand it, in the last few years she's gotten things in order and now puts on completely engaging performances. Last night included. Also, owing to the fact that we have friends in Los Angeles who are as generous as they are cool, we had a spectacular view of the show.

But what was particularly notable about the night occurred before the show. We got to the Wiltern a early, because it is located in K-Town, and we never, ever pass up an opportunity to drink Hite like a native. [Even though we're silly white people from Kansas[1], it can hardly be disputed that Koreans love us and think of us as practically half-Korean. South-style, yo. Stop laughing back there; this is all more or less true.] And when we got to the venue we noticed a sign posted on the Box Office[2]. The sign was a Public Notice of Application For Ownership Change. It listed the current owner as the Wiltern Theater. And the new owner as Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events, LLP. The sign also mentioned "on-sale general eating" whatever that means. So, does anybody know, like, what this means? Is Wolfgang Puck a reformed rock star who's going through a mid-life crisis and is now getting the band back together? Is the Wiltern going to be turned into a restaurant? Is Wolfgang Puck just going to be catering the shows? (And maybe some drum solos). We're confused, but we suspect that we can find the answer through fellow bloggers. So if people know what's going on, let us know.



[1] We were sporting a Kansas t-shirt last night. And before the show, while walking from the bar to the venue, we got a "Rock Chalk!" with accompanying fist pump. Then, while in the venue, an impossibly attractive female came up to talk to us because she had graduated from KU (as any KU grad can attest, there are many impossibly attractive girls at KU, the majority of which come either from the farmlands of Kansas, or from Minnesota. Strange, but true.). We mention these stories because one of our favorite parts of living in Los Angeles is that when we wear KU garb people approach, without fail, to tell us they either went to KU or are from Kansas. It literally happens every time we wear KU stuff. Honestly, we now wear Kansas apparel way more then we ever have before because these encounters make us really happy. We realize it might be corny to talk about things like a "sense of community," but we really feel it with our fellow Kansas ex pats. We also realize that it's strange that we strongly identify with our Kansas heritage when we did, in fact, leave Kansas, and all our friends and loved ones therein, when we left for California. But just because we left Kansas does not mean that we have forgotten it, or stopped thinking about it. We want everybody back home to know this.

[2] We would show a picture of this sign, but our camera is currently being held hostage by terrorists. Actually, terrorist, singular. Thus, we do not have access to it. So we took a picture of the sign with our camera phone, but we are bad with the technology and cannot figure out how to transfer the picture from our phone to our computer. So bear with our prose description.

(12.11.07) Recommends:

I'm Not There.

The first thing to know is that we are not sophisticated viewers of movies. When we think of movies, we think of being home for the holidays and seeing one or two with the family. Think big, holiday-season, Hollywood blockbusters. So, with movies we're like a music fan who pretty much only listens to very mainstream major label releases. Now that we have properly raised our insufficiencies as a movie critic, here are some thoughts:

1. We liked this movie. It was non-linear and the director was obviously playing with the form and these are things that we appreciate. Since our experience with movies are the very conventional types, a movie like this gets us excited because we get proud of ourself for stretching our movie-consuming boundaries. People who are sophisticated movie goers, we have no idea how they are reacting to this movie. But we thought it was cool in that abstract style of many Bob Dylan songs.
2. Despite our constrained knowledge of good cinema, even we could recognize that Cate Blanchett put on an incredible performance -- it deserves the phrase "tour de force" an absurd title seemingly only used to describe movie performances -- as jittery-drug-era Dylan. I'll try to frame her performance with a music analogy. You know how some band will cover another band's song, and the cover verison casts the original in a new light, and shows us something new about the old song? Usually it shows you -- or reminds you -- just how brilliant the original song and band were, because the antecedent song was universal, could be taken and adapted to a different style and still be so strong. Think Yo La Tengo covering the Beach Boys' "Little Honda." Or Matthew Ward covering Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home." This was Blanchett's performance. You can go to youtube and watch these interviews of Dylan in that era. And when we watch we seem him seething with anger and mockery and disdain. But Blanchett adds this layer of feminine emotion and vulnerability that you don't think of watching the interviews, but now realize simply had to have been present in the original Dylan. Blanchett, at the least, will be nominated for major awards for this.
3. We feel more comfortable discussing music rather than movies. Someday, perhaps, there will be a Rhapsody of movies. But until then. We thought the two stars of the soundtrack (aside from the Dylan originals that were used; those are the stars of any soundtrack they'd ever be in) were Stephen Malkmus and Mason Jennings. It seems more or less implausible that this is a coincidence since they both share characteristics with Dylan: Malkmus the absurdly talented wordsmith (also note that one of the versions of Dylan was from Stockton, CA home of Malkmus/Pavement); Jennings, the thoughtful Minnesota songwriter.

So there you have it. We've seen lots of interesting movies with interesting soundtracks lately and if we're lucky this trend will continue until at least Wednesday

(07.31.07) Recommends:

Game On!

Sweet, I finally get to use a Wayne's World quote as a title to this blog! Even sweeter, the latest NY Times article on the Children's Health Insurance Program marks the story's official ascendancy to an issue that will shape the '08 Election. Check out some of these quotes:

Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, chairman of the Republican National Committee, acknowledged Tuesday that a vote against the bill would be portrayed as a vote against health care for children.

“If we allow that to be the end of the conversation, then we will probably have a very bad election cycle,” Mr. Martinez said. “A number of us on the Republican side really do believe that we need to insure every American, and the way to do that is to provide the tax credits necessary to allow people to obtain individual private health insurance policies.”

And,

Before seeing details of the bills, Mr. Bush denounced them, saying they “take incremental steps down the path to government-run health care for every American.” He said the bills would cover children from middle-income families and “crowd out” private insurance.

Republicans despair of trying to make such arguments to a public vexed by soaring health costs and the erosion of employer-sponsored coverage. But they are trying. Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said, “The Senate bill would incrementally federalize health care.”

Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, rejected that. The child health program, like Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, is “a highly successful melding of government and private sector care,” Mr. Smith said.

Dr. Mark B. McClellan, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, “The Children’s Health Insurance Program today is delivered mostly by private insurance plans, using public money.”

And,

In an interview, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a Republican who is chairman of the National Governors Association, said he did not understand how the debate had become so polarized that Mr. Bush was threatening a veto.

At a meeting of the association last week in Traverse City, Mich., Mr. Pawlenty said, “There was unanimous support for a reasonable expansion of the program.” The group has not endorsed a specific sum.

The federal government spends $5 billion a year on the program. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, said it was “absolutely essential” that Congress increase spending on children’s coverage by $50 billion over the next five years. That is 10 times the increase sought by Mr. Bush.

This story gives me confidence in the future. In about a week's time this issue has gone from something that was completely foreign to me to something that will help define Election '08 and beyond. It's paving the way to universal health insurance; just listen to what those Republic politicians are saying above. The tide is turning. The people really do run this country, and the people are ready for a change. What they say is true: when the people start to lead the leaders will start to follow.

(03.08.07) Recommends:

Concert Photography, Vol. 5.

Noise Pop Opening Night Party
f. Extra Action Marching Band, Har Mar Superstar, Tapes n Tapes.
DJ Shepard Fairey. MC David Cross.
The Mezzanine.
San Francisco, Ca.
02/27/07.

Noise Pop is San Francisco’s week long music/art/film festival. I attended this year’s opening night party.



Shepard Fairey played DJ all night. He is a graphic designer best known for his guerrilla campaign Obey Giant. Chances are you’ve seen the stickers around your hometown:



David Cross was there MCing and telling jokes. At one point an audience member doused him with a full bottle of water. He took it in stride.





The first band was the Extra Action Marching Band. They were a full-sized marching band, San Francisco-style. And by this I mean most members were either drinking beer or were mostly naked. I took no pictures because, well, if you’ve seen one of these San Francisco things – a nominally normal event, say a bike race or a road race, but with the San Francisco twist of pubic drinking/public nudity – you’ve seen them all. So just google the band if you're interested in pics.

Next was Har Mar Superstar. Who, it turns out, performs mostly naked as well. You might think this was too much San Francisco funny business for one night. And you might be right but for the fact that he is hysterical. He looks like a mix of Jon Lovitz and Ron Jeremy:



He sings in an R ‘n B style, with over-the-top lyrics about his extraordinary sexiness and awesomeness. I was stone cold sober, yet was pretty much amazed by his stage show.



Most people attempting this persona would come off as obnoxious, but Har Mar Superstar is completely endearing. If a stage show featuring near nudity, profanity, and constant references to sexual prowess could ever be described as family friendly, it would be Har Mar Superstar. He’s from Minnesota; that’s just how Midwesterners roll, I suppose.



The main attraction, at least for my money (did I mention that this evening was free, you just had to get on a "guest list" to get in), was another Minnesota product, Tapes ‘n Tapes. They were fantastic. One of the most energetic shows I’ve seen in the last three years.







The band might be named after tapes, but they have the most kick-ass rock 'n roll drummer on the planet. Seriously. I dare you to try to listen to The Loon and not play air drums as you listen.