Masculin-FémininCarrie Akre, ...Last the Evening, Loveless [10/30/07]Nothing can keep Carrie Akre down. Back in the 1990s when the major labels were scooping up every act thathad anything to do with the Northwest, her bands Hammerbox and Goodness got sweptinto the maelstrom. As with most other non-grunge acts—seethe Posies and Harvey Danger—those relationships weren'tbuilt to last, but Akre soldiered on as a solo performer.Now Seattle claims a number of self-assured female performers, like Sera Cahoone and Laura Veirs, but Akre got there first. I don't mean to suggest that she predates Heart, but Ann and Nancy Wilson were rockers before they turned th

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From Supermodels to SkateboardsEvery once in awhile two editors will unknowingly assign the same review to different writers. But, to quote Highlander, there can only be one, and I just noticed that the Amazon editorial review for the following was penned by another contributor. Since I (also) took the time to cover it, my piece now lives here.ONE LAST THING...(Alex Steyermark, US, 2005, 93 mins.)A comedy about terminal illness is bound to be a risky proposition. Thankfully, One Last Thing... skips past thesymptoms, the diagnosis, and the tears straight to the finalwish of pot-smoking 16-year-old Dylan (Michael Angarano,also cast as a terminally ill t

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Lord, Have MercyOh oh Domino (it's all right) Roll me over, Romeo, There you go Lord, have mercy I said oh-oh, Domino. -- Van Morrison, "Domino" (1970)I meant to post this ages ago. Hey, better late than never.At least, I save everything I think I can use, even if thatuse gets pushed further into the future than intended.So, here's the key portion from Ron Rosenbaum's appreciationof Domino, one of my favorite films of 2005. It's funny, but I'mnot even a Tony Scott fan, though I liked Déjà Vu well enough.I prefer his brother, Ridley (Alien, Blade Runner), and can't waitto see American Gangster, which stars Russell Crowe (Ridley's Gladiator) and Denzel

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My GenerationCheater Pint, Dark Side of the Pint, Kinger Recordings[L]ike the Go-Go's on massive steroids.-- The Noise: Rock Around BostonIf I grow up would we still be friends?-- Cheater Pint, "If I Grow Up"I listened to this record once, and couldn't think of anything to say. So, I listened to it again. And again. Upon reflection, I think Cheater Pint's debut leaves me speechless partly because of personal taste, partly because of age—mine more than theirs.First of all, Dark Side of the Pint is punk-pop. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that I've always perceived the genre as music made by twentysomethings for twentysomethings (or younger). Nothin

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Touching From a DistanceFrom MOJO's February issue:In contrast to their dour press image,they were friendly and sociable.-- Jon Savage on Joy DivisionHe was quite different on the stage doing his jerky dancing and all that. Off-stage he was an ordinary bloke, there was no sense of foreboding and doom, not the weightof the world on his shoulders, none of that. All the things that have been attributed to him later, he wasn't.-- Pete Shelley (the Buzzcocks) on Ian CurtisFrom the All Music Guide:[N]one of the band's songs ever really ended; theyeither fell apart or collapsed, as if to bring abouta proper end to something beyond their grasp.-- Thom Jurek o

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The Lord God Made Them AllWalk in silence,Don't walk away, in silence.See the danger,Always danger,Endless talking,Life rebuilding,Don't walk away.-- "Atmosphere" (1979)In preparation for photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn's Control, here's his posthumous video for Joy Division's "Atmosphere." Click here for excerpts from Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division.And click here for a great interview withthe surviving members of Joy Division.Endnote: The titles of these posts come from the lovely hymn: All things bright and beautiful / All creatures great and small / All things wise and wonderful / The Lord God mad

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All Things Wiseand WonderfulHere are more excerpts from Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division (1995). Click here for part two.The experience of being Joy Division was really, really funnyand up, and the whole thing's been coloured by Ian. But weweren't a deep, heavy band, which no one will ever see. Norecords will show that; no films, videos, or anything willever show that. We used to have a right good laugh.-- Bernard "Barney" Sumner, Joy Division/New OrderBarney and him [Ian] used to disappear and swan about like twofucking fairies. I remember going up to Barney one night, gettinghold of him (the next band were on st

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All CreaturesGreat and SmallHere's another excerptfrom Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division (1995). Clickhere for part one (Deborah and Ian get a dog). *****Sadly our dog had become a costly luxury. Owing to our lack of funds, even Candy wasn't getting proper food and her fur had begun to fall out. As Ian was away so much I was faced with the dilemma of needing to walk her at night-time and not wanting to leave Natalie alone in the house while I did this. Sometimes, my parents were able to help out, but eventually they offered to find somewhere else for Candy to live. Ian was very distressed at this suggestion, though

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Revenge of the Nerds The following comesfrom Jeanette Catsoulis'sreview of Dedication:That weird exhalation you hear at the multiplex these days is the sound of female characters settling for less than they deserve. Following on the wildly successful antifeminist heels of KnockedUp, Hollywood is falling over itself to introduce beautiful,smart young women to useless, possibly brain-damagedyoung men. Regular bathers need not apply.And here's Joe Queenan's perspective on the phenomenon:[T]he new genre of romantic comedies are not reallyupbeat, coming-of-age motion pictures about youngmale schmucks who are saved by the love of a goodwoman, but heart-rend

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September SongThese are the reviewsand other assignmentsI'm working on this month.Amazon DVDs: My NameIs Earl - Season 2 [four-disc set](click here for my review of seasonone), Boston Legal - Season Three [seven-disc set], Upright Citizen's Brigade - The Complete Second Season [two-disc set], and AFew Days in September (John Turturro stalks Juliette Binoche).Amazon Theatricals: Dedication (Justin Therouxdirects Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore), The HottestState (Ethan Hawke adapts his novel), The Hunting Party (Richard Gere and Terrence Howard), and Fierce People(Griffin Dunne directs Donald Sutherland and Diane Lane).[September is turning out to be a bu

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All Things Bright and BeautifulI've been reading Deborah Curtis's Touching From a Distance:Ian Curtis and Joy Division(1995) in preparation for Anton Corbijn's adaptation Control.Here's my favorite non-musical bit:When Ian finished work that evening,we drove up into the hills to Windyway Kennels, the local animal sanctuary. A litter of chubby Border collieswas just about ready to find new homes, and we chose a friendly but frisky female. Ian named her Candy, after the Velvet Underground song 'Candy Says,' and was so delighted with her that I wondered why we hadn’t thought of having a dog before. While I took it upon myself to housetrain Candy and teac

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Sunshine of Your LoveThe Wildbirds,Golden Daze, PRC/Universal RepublicI want the world to adore meI want the world for myself.-- Wildbirds, "It's Alright Now"Hailing from Appleton, WI, this former power-pop quartet serves up '70s rock in the vein of the Strokes and the Kings of Leon. It isn’t bad, but you've heard it before. You've seen it before, too: long hair, tight jeans, endless cigarettes. Then again, that sort of thing never goes out of style.And just when you think you've got 'em sussed, the Wildbirds throw some mellotron into the mix. At first, I thought they were going for the Sunset Strip glam-garage of Faster Pussycat and friends (they rec

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This Is EnglandBRITANNIA HOSPITAL(Lindsay Anderson,UK, 1981, 116 mins.) My film may not be perfect—maybe it has too many ideas—but it is not drily intellectual. It presents to some extent a threat. It is subversive.-- A director reflects The general consensus about Lindsay Anderson's BritanniaHospital is that it's the weakest link in the Mick Travis trilogythat began with If... (1968) and O Lucky Man! (1973).The first film, recent recipient of the Criterion treatment, followinga well received re-release, is considered the jewel in the crown. But despite the positive attention it's been attracting as of late, little mention has been made about Travis's

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