Scissor.Sisters.

On Friday night the omni-female(almost), acronym party tag team of CSS and ESG hit the Mezzanine here in San Francisco. It was really interesting to see two female bands at totally different points in their careers share the same stage and audience so seamlessly. The influenced and the influencer, the newbie and the legend. Moments after they took the stage, CSS turned the audience into an energetic, dancing mess - opening with CSS Suxxx and slamming right into Alala. Lovefoxx is quite a frontwoman with the traditional antics of stage diving, dancing amidst the crowd, and spitting flumes of beer into the air a la Karen O, but regardless of performance, there is something so endearing about her shy, Portuguese laden comments between songs (dare I say "cute"). And then ESG - who are well, ES mothafuckin' G and if you don't know, then you better axe somebody. In all seriousness though, ESG were extremely tight as they bounced through their low-key, pulsing funk classics. It was ridiculously awesome to see twenty-something year old dudes screaming "I love you" and reaching their hands to get a quick touch of the fifty-something year old women on stage. CSS are currently wrapping up their tour of the states with a NYC show for the CMJ Marathon before heading to Europe where ESG will be touring as well.

CSS - Alala

CSS - Alala (Bonde do Role Remix)

ESG - UFO

To.Here.Knows.When.

The Norwegian band 120 Days has begun to blossom into the next buzz-worthy band of the moment with positive hype popping up all over the web. A little bit shoegaze, a little bit dance-rock, their influences worn clearly on their sleeves (Depeche Mode, New Order, U2), this band's sound is really rooted in lead singer Ãdne Meisfjord's soaring, anthemic vocals. I always hear this crap about The Killers really wanting to be the next "huge arena rock band," while a band with a sound as huge as 120 Days truly deserves the designation - atmospheric, layered synth lines, pounding Kraut rock drum patterns, and early Bono-esque vocals. Recent Vice Records signees, 120 Days are currently touring in the US, Canada, and Norway. Support.

120 Days - Be Mine

120 Days - Keep on Smiling

I.Turn.My.Camera.On.

Lynn Hershman Leeson media

Deeejay Mix #1 - Simian Mobile Disco - New Rave Mix

Hidden.Place.

After being so let down by Marie Antoinette, along comes the subtle and serene meditation of a film, Old Joy. Accomplishing everything Antoinette failed at, Old Joy reads like a poignant short story - surfacing the ambiguities and anxieties that hover over everyone. Focusing on two friends, played by Daniel London and Will Oldham(of Bonnie "Prince" Billy fame), who reunite for a weekend camping trip in Oregon's Cascade Mountains, the film really gets at the delicate, unspoken bond between two seperated friends and the paramount importance of human relationships in contrast with the world at large(most specifically, here, politics). Accompanied by an orignial alt-country score by Yo La Tengo, Old Joy has a deliberate pacing and simplicity that is hard to achieve and, in turn, is one of the finest films so far this year.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy : Cursed Sleep

Yo La Tengo : The Room Got Heavy

God.Save.The.Queen.

"Without daddy's money backing up her efforts, Coppola's emaciated screenplay would still be smoldering on her hard drive as the author worked the 10-4 shift at the Starbucks on Figueroa" Pete Vondor Haar, Film Threat

Not sure if the ad hominem is necessary(however hilarious), but at any rate, Marie Antoinette, the latest from Sofia Coppola, is a cinematic disappointment on just about every level. Although cinematographer Lance Accord(all Spike Jonze videos, Lost in Translation) does his best to capture some truly magnificently framed, drawn out takes, ultimately it is the preexisting architecture of Versaille and the superb costume design that do most of the work. Haar probably is correct in pointing the finger at Coppola's under-developed script. What this film lacks most, and where its true failure lies, is in its lack of any emotion, of any yearning. To me, it seems that if a film is to succeed at being slow, methodic, and for the most part, void of dialogue, it must also contain a yearning melancholy, a yearning for the sublime (read: every Terrance Malick film). Also I'm not sure if this type of film can also have the music video montage aesthetic as well - if it can, I suppose Lost in Translation is the example. Writer/Director David Mamet said, "You have to earn your montages," yet in this film, montages would pop in and out of the film, disrupting plot lines with quick visual pleasures that simply did not work. If you're going to make a revisionist bio-pic with a new wave and post-punk soundtrack, why not take it all the way? Why not be truly experimental and modernize everything - all of the dialogue, all of the soundtrack, etc. Can't people learn that making a biopic about someone's entire life is extremely difficult (Scorcese failed) - just focus on one section - the most intense section. Watching a film about a girl who is bored is boring.

Date.With.The.Night.


"All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl" Jean-Luc Godard

“This CGI bullshit is the death knell of cinema. If I'd wanted all that computer game bullshit, I'd have stuck my dick in a Nintendo.” Quentin Tarantino

The.In.Sound.From.Way.Out

Finally got to see the much hyped Austin duo, Ghostland Observatory the other night at Cafe du Nord, and they did more than live up to all the positive press. This band absolutely killed it: a full set and two encores of thrashing lo-fi electro-pop and rock that had the cramped crowd going bonkers. Comprised of Aaron Behrens(vocals, guitar) and Thomas Turner (beats, synth, drums, vocoder), their sound drew from contemporary groups like The Rapture and Daft Punk equally as much as it did from the 70's rock aesthetic of The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith. Watching frontman Behrens is a show within itself - Mick Jagger dancing back up for early 90's Janet Jackson. I seriously have not seen such an infectiously charismatic performer in a while, not too mention that he rocks pigtails and aviators, while Mr. Turner dons a vampire cape taboot. Go see this band. Now.

Ghostland Observatory - Move With Your Lover

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City