current aural fixations

Quasi ~~ When the Going Gets Dark
It's taken me nearly three years, but I've finally warmed up to this one. I think part of me was so incredibly blown away by Hot Shit!, that I was disappointed that this wasn't 'pt. 2'; and I think part of me was a bit turned off by the heavier reliance the band's been placing on guitars, pulling back from the keys-and-drums dynamic that makes them so wonderful. But recently something clicked, and I've been loving the shit out of this album. All of last week, it was almost the only thing I listened to on the bus (alternating with the new eels album).
They're supposedly working on a new album right now, which will hopefully mean that they'll be playing out some more. And soon.

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X ~~ More Fun in the New World
About 6 years ago, I quickly burned through a heavy X phase, picking up their first four albums in quick succession. I don't know why I stopped at four, I just did. And, over the following years, that final (for me, at least) fourth album has become a solid favorite of mine. It's been in my car for the past few weeks and has hardly left the CD player. It's a fantastic piece of music wrapped up as an overproduced punk album. But given the clarity and the production quality, it never sounds shallow or fake. It's completely gritty and balls-out once you wipe away the sheen.

Drag Me to Hell

By far, one of the best Hollywood horror films to come along in years. Like his first two Evil Dead films, Raimi deftly balances camp and humor with some pretty nice jumps and scares. It's silly, it's fun, the sight gags are hilarious....somehow, he turned a horror film into a great summer theater experience.
I think this one will live on for years to come. Seriously.

If you're a horror fan, go see this one.
If you're not a horror fan, I doubt this one will win you over: it plays off of Raimi's strengths and his beginnings as a horror director, as well as plays with a lot of the established rules for the genre. And, while it doesn't have much (if any) gore -- it's PG-13, fer chrissake -- some of the sight gags are a bit over the top and gross.

The Show That Smells

The most shocking story ever shown on the silver screen!

It's also the tale of Jimmie—a country music singer dying of tuberculosis—and Carrie, his wife, who tries to save him by selling her soul to a devil who designs haute couture clothing! Elsa is a powerful Parisian dress designer, and a vampire. She wants to make Carrie look beautiful, smell beautiful—and then she wants to eat her! Will Carrie survive as her slave? Will Jimmie be cured? Starring a host of Hollywood's brightest stars, including Coco Chanel, Lon Chaney, and The Carter Family. The Show that Smells is a thrilling tale of hillbillies, high fashion, and horror!


The latest Derek McCormack novel crossed my path today. I'm excited to read it. McCormack has always been an interesting read -- whether for his plots, or for his extremely minimalist writing style. Even though the new novel sounds like a rehash of The Haunted Hillbilly -- an earlier McCormack novel about a male vampire tailor who falls in obsessive love with Hank Williams, Sr. -- I'll still devour it. Probably this weekend.

buying the flowers myself

I'm finishing up my 8th Annual Mrs Dalloway Reading, and I still find myself falling madly in love with Richard Dalloway and feeling my heart torn out when Septimus throws himself out the window.

on the cusp

"For there seems to be a word for every concept, imaginable and many unimaginable. My favourite for years was "mallemaroking", which an early edition defined as "the carousing of drunken seamen aboard ice-bound Greenland whaling ships", which struck me as a masterly example of hairline linguistic precision."

This coming Wednesday, the 1,000,000th word is scheduled to be absorbed into the English lexicon.
The Telegraph has a pretty fun article about it all, as well as the shortlist of possible finalists. Half of them make me ashamed to speak the language...

Long Shadows and Gun-powder Eyes: Neko Case, Crystal Ballroom, 06/05/09

I'm hesitant to write any kind of review about Friday night's performance. I'm worried that it will quickly snowball into little more than repetitive hyperbole. But, it really was a great show. One that made me wish I had been able to score a ticket to the following night's performance as well.

Opener Jason Lytle was less than memorable.
I've never been much a Grandaddy fan, so I wasn't really interested in the frontman's new solo material. It was a bit boring and didn't do much for me. Thankfully, he didn't play for very long, maybe half an hour at most -- which was weird since he was headlining a bill at the Doug Fir the following night. Hopefully the people who actually paid money specifically to see him got their money's worth that night.

Neko, and her usual backing band, came on about 9pm (kinda early by Portland standards) and played for about 90 minutes, if not more. They touched on nearly every song from the new album, they even opened and closed the night with "Marais la Nuit" played over the housespeakers. Sadly, "The Next Time You Say Forever" and "Magpie to the Morning" were missing from the setlist, but hearing "Middle Cyclone," "Prison Girls," and "This Tornado Loves You" in a live setting more than made up for it. I also got to hear "Deep Red Bells" and a fleshed-out, full-band version of "Knock Loud," both of which were lovely. As for the rest of the set -- she pulled about half of Fox Confessor..., and the two original tracks that so far are exclusive to the live album. And that's about it. It would have been nice to hear something more from the earlier albums, but that's only a minor complaint; though, it had me curious as to what the setlist for Saturday night looked like.

But, all in all, it was a great night -- Joe and Martin are always fun company; and given the crowd response when Case repeatedly mentioned the "bear convention in town for the weekend", there could have been some even more fun company to be found within. Oh well...




"...did someone make a fool of me?
For, I can show'em how it's done."

ah-woooooo!

I picked up the new eels album -- Hombre Lobo -- over the weekend: a somewhat loose concept album about a lovelorn werewolf. It's good. Really good.
Sonically, it's a step forward from the wonderful Blinking Lights and Other Revelations; yet, at the same time it's a step backwards -- the new album seems to bridge the chasm that was left between Souljacker and Shootenanny!. It has the powerhouse distortion of the heavyhitting former, but also shades of the southern-fried whiteboy blues of the latter.

If you're a fan, you probably already have this one. But, if you don't, you should.
If you're not a fan, it's definitely not the best place to pick them up (that would be the aforementioned Blinking Lights...), but it would work in a pinch.

Thursday afternoon at the Portland International Rose Test Garden

Tardy to the party

I'm about 20 years late...but, I think I'm falling in love Peter Bagge, and especially Buddy Bradley.
The 'Buddy' stuff reminds me of the Pacific NW I fell in love with nearly 15 years ago, the Pacific NW I spent 10 years pining for and planning to move to. A lot has changed since the mid-90s, but my love for the area has yet to burn out.

weekend films

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
A truly fantastic film.
A wonderful late night spent with Vadim, Mike, and Jay.

And Fleur de Lethal is fabulous. If you're in Portland, I highly recommend checking out some of her upcoming events. I'll definitely be at:
6/20 -- Velvet Goldmine (at the Bagdad)
8/21 -- Purple Rain (at the Mission)

Hopefully I'll see you there.




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Truck Turner
I've never been much a fan of the blaxploitation genre, but Truck Turner has me reevaluating my stance. Caught this one at the Hollywood, along with Kevin and Mike.
Check this one out if you get the chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Unless you want snooty, high art, award winning fare.



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Until the Light Takes Us
A great (if somewhat esoteric) documentary on the beginnings of the Norwegian Black Metal scene, and how it quickly spiraled out of control as the more political and radical faction began burning down churches and killing fellow band members. While those unfamiliar with Black Metal and its sordid history could easily get lost, I thought it managed an even-handed account of the various personalities to be found within the movement. Definitely a must-see for the Black Metal fans; though, for interested parties not familiar with the movement, you might want to pair it with Lords of Chaos or True Norwegian Black Metal.
Watched this one with Kevin, Mike, and Zac.