Moviesfor Music Lovers:2010EditionClick herefor the2009editionSome of these films premiered in the US in 2009, but didn't make their way to Seattle until '10, in which case I deferred to local release dates. Some missed the city altogether, in which case I caught up via DVD. Altogether, I saw around 250 films, and wrote about most of them for Amazon, Siffblog, and Video Librarian.The Tops1. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold)2. The White Ribbon / Das Weisse Band (Michael Haneke)3. The Social Network (David Fincher)4. A Prophet / Un Prophète (Jacques Audiard)5. Animal Kingdom (David Michôd)6. Carlos (Olivier Assayas)7. The King's Speech (Tom Hooper)8. Greenberg

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Songs for Swingin' Cineastes: 2010 EditionTo clear up any confusion: This isn't a list of film scores orsoundtracks. It's a list of music recommended for movie lov-ers such as myself. Some independent film fans prefer main-stream movie fare. Similarly, some indie film fans prefer main-stream music. There's nothing wrong with that dichotomy; Ijust can't relate to it (and try to avoid giving the Man mymoney whenever possible). If you share my taste in mov-ies, there's a good chance you'll share my taste in music.The Tops:1. Ty Segall - Melted (Goner)2. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here (XL Recordings)3. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be (Sub Pop)4. The Black Angel

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Best DVDs of 2010: Art House & InternationalHere's thetext I wrotefor this Am-azon list(it doesn'tappear onthe site).Since Icompiled it in October, I only included the releases that were available atthe time. Note that it's separate from my favorite films list, which con-sists exclusively of titles released in 2010, whether theatrically or on DVD. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****The finest art house DVDs offer something for mosttastes, from pointed melodramas to star-crossed loveaffairs. If laughs were in short supply, powerful per-formances and intriguing imagery ruled the day.1. THE WHITE RIBBONAfter his unnecessary E

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PartyStoreA new Dirtbombs record is always cause for celebration. Yesterday, I received word that the Motor City combo will be releasing Party Store, a Detroit techno collection, on 2/1/11.Here's the first single, "Sharevari." I can't speak for the albumas a whole, but the song and video are great--as long as you don'tmind Mick Collins' fake German accent (I can dig it). And you got-ta love his call and response with singer/guitarist Ko Melina.Below: original version as featured on The Scene. Dig those moves!Press release:Party Store is an assortment of live band interpretations of classicDetroit techno music of the '80s and early '90s. These are song

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Movie ofthe Month: Part 23I recentlyreviewedthe follow-ing film forVideo Lib-rarian, andthought the results were worth sharing.EVERYONE ELSE [***](Maren Ade, Germany, 2009, 119 mins.)A German couple watches their relationship crumble in MarenAde's carefully observed pas de deux. On holiday in the Medi-terranean, they seem happy enough as they loll about his moth-er's pool and play Willie Nelson and Herbert Grönemeyer LPs.Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr), an outspoken music publicist, andChris (Lars Eidinger), a retiring architectural student, arguelike most people, and Chris worries about a design competi-tion, but things could be worse. Early on, Gitti tell

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Stay Around a Little LongerDeerhunter, Hal-cyon Digest, 4ADWhen Atlanta's Brad-ford Cox released histhird record, Micro-castle/Weird EraCont., in 2008, Iwouldn't have thoughtof him as a 4AD artist(the double-albumappeared on Kranky-4AD). After listeningto Halcyon Digest,though, the full em-brace of the vener-able British labelmakes sense as he combines loud and soft in ways that re-call 4AD veterans like A.R. Kane and His Name Is Alive.I had never heard Cox, who also records as Atlas Sound, prior tohis last LP, but he quickly became one of my favorite artists. Theman has a lovely, lovely voice and a unique way with a melody.There's nothing quirky or d

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December ReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.AmazonDVDs:Comfortand Joy,LennoN-YC, Man in a Suitcase - Set 1 [four-disc set], and Prayers for Bobby.Amazon Theatricals: Blue Valentine (Ryan Gosling andMichelle Williams), The Company Men (Ben Affleck and Tom-my Lee Jones), Somewhere (Sofia Coppola directs StephenDorff), The Fighter (David O. Russell directs Mark Wahlberg),and How Do You Know (Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd).Still playing (or yet to open): Hereafter, Inception, Inside Job, The King's Speech, Love and Other Drugs, Never Let Me Go, and The Town.Siffblog: Claire Denis' White Material and Roger Cor-man's Cult C

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Your Body, Your Very SoulGray, Shades of..., PlushSafeRecordsPossibly the best band on the planet.-- Andy WarholFirst things first: Gray featured in Edo Bertoglio's documentaryDowntown 81, and included art-world superstar Jean-MichelBasquiat (1960-1988) and actor/director Vincent Gallo.Though the Other Music review mentions Gallo, he receives nocredit on this limited edition release, unless he was operatingunder a pseudonym. Michael Holman ("masking tape and steelball bearings"), Justin Thyme ("finessed tape loops"), and NickTaylor ("guitar with historical restraint") complete the line-up. As for Basquiat, he "played the guitar with a metal file."So,

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Ain'tThatSomeShit(Forget Don't EqualFuck)I like CeeLo, Ireally do,but I'm lessthan crazy about the radio-ready version of "Fuck You," nowretitled "Forget You." It seemed bold that the first single to mat-erialize from The Lady Killer would use "fuck" in the title and chor-us. Naturally, radio and TV weren't going to touch it, and you can'treally excise the expletive--there would be next-to-nothing left.So, I understand the impulse, but the words aren't interchange-able. They have different meanings, different syllables, and awholly different vibe. To "forget" means to put it out of yourmind, while "fuck," in this context, is angry rather than sexual.G

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SleighBeatsIt's beena fewmonthsnow since SleighBells re-leasedtheirdebut, Treats, and I'm still thinking about their use of that '80s drum sound. To their credit, it doesn't resemble a retro rehash. Rath-er, it's the beat, in isolation, that brings the neon era to mind.It isn't a drum machine or hip-hop beat, but it's so prominent and precise, it sounds quasi-synthetic; not plastic, but hardly organic.Sleigh Bells with a hyper-distorted version of their trademark beat.Here are a few of the acts that first put that beat into motion,though none sound like Sleigh Bells. Note that I was trying toavoid tracks that use obvious permutations of the Bo Diddley

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