Wednesday, April 30, 2008

No Not The Tiny Sausage Gun!

Dude, I can't believe you'd say that after Heath Ledger died. So not cool.

It can mean whatever the hell you want it to mean.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I like the way Snrub thinks!

The Prestige sucked because if Nolan hadn't used half the cast from Batman Begins in it the The Dark Knight would've come out last summer and we'd all be talking right now about how fucking awesome a movie experience it was.

I'll kill you.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Wait a minute-

I believe I changed my opinion upon seeing Batman Begins again, apologized, and agreed that it is fucking amazing. This may also be because I have a man-crush on Christian Bale and Chris Nolan, the latter because he is a sick director the former for many more troubling reasons. Go watch The Prestige, it's fucking amazing. And if you tell me you didn't like it because you saw the twist coming I'll punch you in the face.

The Dark Night trailer played before Harold and Kumar. Seeing it in theatre is even better. My mind just about exploded. "Yeah, my pants just got shorter because I don't like what I see."
Indy 4? I still believe in the Spielberg.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

I just shit myself...

Words can't describe my excitement for this movie.

I remember leaving "Batman Beings" being blown away. "Batman: Year One" had long been my favorite comic book I'd ever read, and what I had just witnessed made me so happy. I remember heading back to William's house afterwards to have some beers and remarking that the movie "was incredible." Mike laughed at me and told me I was an idiot. Maybe you were right Mike, given that my only argument was "I can't believe I just saw a movie about Batman that made the plot of the comic somewhat plausible, and was acted, scripted and shot incredibly well." This isn't really an argument for a movie being good I guess.

But a few weeks ago I read an article in the NYT, which finally hit the nail on the head for me (which is probably why they write for the NYT and I'm an asshole). But they summed it up in one phrase: "Batman Begins was a popcorn movie done incredibly well." And in the era of Jerry Bruckheimer bullshit I couldn't really remember a popcorn movie that I truly enjoyed. Maybe the original Matrix? I guess it was an incredibly well done popcorn movie on top of the fact is was based on my favorite comic... But the fact that they actually adapted it somewhat accurately is some kind of miracle (I still think the script writing for X-Men 3 was outsourced to a guy in India named Vijay Singh). Also,

I hope they make a "Back to the Future IV" too!

Assholes.

Friday, April 25, 2008

24 Hour Party People

I just saw the movie 24 Hour Party People. It's a pseudo-true movie about the Manchester music scene from the late 70's to 90's-ish. I say pseudo-true because it's a real story, but just made more interesting. As stated in the movie "I agree with John Ford, when you have to choose between the truth and the legend, print the legend." Check out the trailer below then ad it to your netflix queue.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Blow Up Like The World Trade

I don't know if you guys saw this but we've been featured on a kick ass blog.

This shit's about to take off!

Friday, April 18, 2008

All vaguely familiar...

Remember the 80's? Well apparently DVNO does. Have fun trying to name all the spots.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Muzack

I don't know why but this video is off the hook. It might be that the backing band appears to be the bastard offspring of Michael Stipe and a troll doll.



We've been lamenting the state of music but I do think we've ignored the kick ass music that's out there now. The White Stripes and Modest Mouse? I fucking love The White Stripes and Modest Mouse! I've seen The Stripes live and this summer I'm planning to see Modest Mouse. Sure, I'll never get to see The Clash but there are some genius acts out there that make this a great time for music.

Newer bands.

The Vampire Weekend album is solid, fun stuff. "Campus" is probably my favorite song. The Foals have a good album out (with some lyrics that indicate a rivalry with Vampire Weekend). The new Raconteurs album is really good, nothing on it that jumps out as a single but really good stuff. Some people would castrate me for this comparison but it reminds me of Exile on Main Street for some reason.

I hate you all. Or do I?

Monday, April 7, 2008

How Do We Make Money?

So we've identified the problem, an alternative solution and now we need to turn these ideas into $$$!

Red Capitalism Lion Gooooo!

Would a radio station playing a mix of "good" music work? Is radio so far gone as a platform that your audience wouldn't even be aware you existed?

I read recently that a station in NYC that had been classic rock was expanding their library. They still play classic rock but now mix in new rock music believing the classic rock audience still wants to discover new artists. They've had some moderate success.

What astonishes me is the impact TV and film have on bands. A song plays during the closing credits of Grey's Anatomy and the next day they're blowing up iTunes. iPod commercials have great songs you never hear on the radio. If you need further proof, Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah topped the iTunes charts after an American Idol contestant covered it. There are people out there finding good music but it never finds its way to the mainstream unless Trojan-horsed into their living rooms.

You need to find a way to package new, great artists in a familiar context if you ever want a venue to break emerging talent.

And I refuse to italicize American Idol. I'm a god damn iconoclast.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Not only is British TV more original, but so is British music

Have you noticed that British music is generally more innovative and combines more styles than American music? Just as the BBC helps innovate TV, it helps innovate music. BBC radio plays a huge variety of styles on one channel. Anyone who has listened to the legendary late DJ John Peel knows that you can go from listening to trance to tabla drums to rock. Most BBC radio is like this, and this leads to performers getting a much larger musical background than their American counterparts.

Think about American radio for a second: How many (non-college) stations can you name that, within the same hour, would play hip hop, classic rock and jazz? American radio stations are constructed such that each style of music gets further entrenched in its own style. Country fans listen to nothing but country, hip hop fans have their own station, pop has its own too. There is no cross-over. I heard something on NPR about this about a year ago and it stuck with me. The guy said that in America "white music gets whiter and black music gets blacker." While that is a generalization, it's pretty close to the truth. I can't think of many any hit American artists that blend styles. Sure, there are some, but I said hit artists.

Say what you will about the following artists (I'm sure my supporting crew could think of some better ones), but they mixed wildly different styles and came up with something more original than most American music has been able to offer. Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, The Streets, Joss Stone, M.I.A. and The Libertines have all mixed different styles will success.
If I was stuck with only one music source, I would definitely listen to the BBC. At least I wouldn't lock myself into one style.

I mean, right now on the home-page of 6 Music there are pictures of Radiohead, Dizzee Rascal, and Bob Dylan.

(For a full flavor of all the BBC channels go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/.)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

E-Brake = Winslow

I find your argument largely derivative of similar arguments William has made in the past, particularly in regards to That 70's Show. So an American blogger rips off the argument of a British blogger about American TV ripping off British TV? That's some zen shit there, my friends. I think I just heard a tree falling in a forest.

I'm assuming you don't watch enough BBC to notice the incredible short life spans of most British TV shows. Here in lies the answer to your question.

According to the internet, the BBC operates through public funding. Strictly speaking, they are not a business. When some witty Brit has a humdinger (I wish I knew some British slang) of an idea they pitch the idea and with little consideration of commercial success the best ideas are plucked out from an immense pool of talent. If picked up the show creators get busy making some TV. Ratings are certainly a concern but not from a revenue sense leaving creators with greater control. Shows rarely have a team of writers so after a one or two season burst of creativity most shows die because their creators are tired of doing them or have simply run out of ideas. The network has no economic incentive to milk the show so something new takes it's place.

This is over-simplified but demonstrates why British TV is inevitable more innovative then American. It should also be noted it's almost impossible to break into British TV if you aren't British since the BBC's mission serves the people. This partially explains America's aversion to such a system. That and a dogmatic dismissal of certain strands of socialism.

Meanwhile, American TV networks invest significantly more time and money into their shows. If someone walked into your office asking for $10 million to make a car show you'd wonder who the hell will watch it. Another guys comes in with a hit British TV show and gaudy ratings numbers to widely gesticulate at and he asks for $10 million? Well, which decision would you rather have to defend when the show fails and your job's on the line?

R.E.M., Modest Mouse and The National are touring together this summer. This is the most important thing to ever happen.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

America the Unoriginal

American television, for at least the last decade, has been one of the most unoriginal, bland sources of entertainment available. Why? Well, look at a list of everything good we’ve ripped off from the British trying to make it our own shitty US version:

- Coupling became Friends
- Pop Idol became American Idol
- The Office became…well, The Office
- And now, we’re getting Top Gear…except it will be called “Ameircan Top Gear” or “Top Gear USA” or something idiotic like that.

Yes, NBC has picked up the rights to produce a US version of one of the biggest shows on the BBC – Top Gear. Usually, I’d be stoked but I know what this means: they’ll take an excellent program and try to throw a new spin on it by setting it in America. Wow, that’s clever, taking a concept that’s already been extensively covered by one country and milking it for all it’s worth for the US market. There are no flaws to this plan.

Oh, except the one gearhead TV personality that is the most logical choice to co-host the show, Jay Leno, thinks this is a terrible idea. Why? Because, like every show I listed above, Leno feels that recycling a similar idea that’s worked great doesn’t always translate to success. Top Gear is clever and enjoyable due to it’s dry, British…I’ll say that again BRITISH sense of humor and the three friends, Hammond, May & Clarkson, that host the show.

Leno knows that a US version of Top Gear will never do the original the justice it deserves for being a truly entertaining show for both car enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts…come on NBC, is it that hard to see this logic? Do you really think you can recreate the camaraderie and humor of a clip like this? I don’t think you can:



I wish I understood why some of the largest media companies in the US who have access to so many creative minds cannot produce a single original concept. This is also a direct explanation of why they’re now making an A-Team movie and we’ve been given the rehash of Knight Rider. America, F*#! Yeah!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I'm Serial!

Since it's a list of influential 90's bands with the restriction they formed and initially released in the 90's (I don't think Nirvana technically meets these requirements, although I believe Dave Grohl didn't join until '91 so I guess you could argue that), I think Weezer deserves to be in there, particularly considering their obvious influence on a number of pop-rock outfits today. The pop-emo sound of Fall Out Boy and other bands certainly owes itself to their influence. The worst part is I don't like most of the bands they influenced.

On that note, some people would argue Sunny Day Real Estate. I wouldn't. But, I mean, someone might.

What about The Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Certainly some worthwhile material released in the '80's but "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" really saw them hit their stride and is probably what the average person first remembers.

Offspring? "Smash" still kicks ass.

Sugar Ray? Smashmouth?

Man, what a decade!

"I am Rock 'n Roll!"

How could you forget the most influential band of the '90's? Their career may have been short lived but this only intensifies the creative burst that marked their time at the top.



It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm watching Airheads.