The Ghost of Brian Wilson LingersThe Ladybug Transistor, Can't Wait Another Day, Merge RecordsIn theory, I like this New York combo as I'm a fan of baroque pop—you know, artfully-arranged popular music with brassand strings. Progenitors include the Three Bs: Burt Bacharach, the Beatles, the Beach Boys...and anything touched by the hand of Brian Wilson associate Van Dyke Parks.Featuring contributions from such esteemed guests as the Aislers Set, Architecture in Helsinki, the Clientele,and Roy Nathanson (the Jazz Passengers), The Ladybug Transistor's fifth full-length fits that description to a T.Unfortunately, I can't get past Gary Olson's somewhat woo

Read more »

Slogging at Home and a Broad Not only a great artist,but also a freedom fighter.-- Miriam Makeba on Nina Simone*****The film fest is over and I'm no longer blogging for The Stranger, so here's a follow-up to one of my posts. To see all Slog entries pertaining to the 33rd Seattle International Film Festival, please click here. Thanks to Bill for the following.Nina Simone as Soundtrack SignifierFresh Air, the Hungarian movie about the lavatory attendant, features another Nina Simone song: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" [written by Bennie Benjamin], the first third of which is played uninterrupted under a shot of the attendant's daughter laying awake at

Read more »

More and MoreWhen I'm drivin' in my car And that man comes on the radio He's tellin' me more and more About some useless information Supposed to fire my imagination I can't get no, oh no no no Hey hey hey, that's what I say.-- The Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction"Begushkin, Nightly Things, Locust Music [6/19/07]If folk and pop go together like milk chocolate and caramel, folk and goth go together like dark chocolate and chilies. Personally,I find the combination irresistible, but the contrast isn't for everyone. Then again, sweet plus sweet gets old real fast.Brooklyn one-man band Begushkin's music is folk-oriented—instruments include mandolin, accordion

Read more »

Musique AutomatiqueStereo Total, Paris < -> Berlin, Kill Rock Stars [7/22/07]***** ***** ***** *****What is described here are dark cinematic scenes including danger-ous night cruises by car. Everything has to become a bit brighter.-- Stereo Total on "Mehr Licht" ("More Light")***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****Do you like Plastic Bertrand's "Ça PlanePour Moi" or Kraftwerk's "She's a Model"?How about male-female duos, likethe Raveonettes or the Kills?How about Jean-Luc Godard's Masculin Fé-minin or Wim Wenders' Kings of the Road?How about Radio On, a British film influenced by the German New Wave (by way of the French New Wave)?How about C

Read more »

Summertime...and the Living Is EasyThese are the reviewsand other assignmentsI'm working on this month.Amazon CDs:Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Amazon DVDs: One Punk Under God (miniseries about evangelist Jay Bakker), Picket Fences - Season One [six-disc set], Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete First Season [four-disc set] (the Sweathogs go digital!), Malpertuis (horror-fantasy with Orson Welles,Michel Bouquet, and Jean-Pierre Cassel!), The Emperor's New Clothes (with Sid Caesar), and The Beauty and The Beast - The Second Season [six-disc set] (click here for the first season).Amazon Theatricals: Goya's Ghosts (Milos Forman directs Stellan Skarsgård), Deat

Read more »