Musical Summits Past Lives, Tapestry of Webs, Suicide SqueezeA post-punk vibepermeates Tapestry of Webs: chicken-scratch guitar, dubbybass, tribal drums, atmospheric saxophone, and Jordan Blilie'salternating whispers and shouts (the press notes smartly praisethe local quartet's "roiling, skewering rhythmic sensibilities").It helps to have producer Steve Fisk (the Screaming Trees, PellMell, Pigeonhed) on board to add texture and unpredictability.I wouldn't say Past Lives don't have their own thing going on,but at times they remind me of Gang of Four, Shriekback, andthe Clash (in their quieter, spookier moments). Consider theirdebut a musical summit bet

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Smooth and WaveryVaus, The Float-ing Cele-bra-tion, Night World Denmark-born, Washington DC-based Lyn Vaus sings in a waythat comes across as smooth and wavery at the same time, whilethe depth of his baritone recalls Dinosaur Jr.'s Mike Johnson.Joined by a trio of talented players, his Floating Celebrationsounds like it could've emerged at the same time as the BevisFrond and the Screaming Trees. I could do without some of the'60s flashback lyrics, such as "I'm the rock in her roll," and"Sunshine laughing in her mind" ("Slipping Crown"), buthey, he's got an Omnichord—and he knows how to use it!Click here to download "Teraphim."Vaus - "San Francisco" (d

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The Boat That I RoeI'd never even heard of Tom-my Roe until I saw 1999's Je-sus' Son, which gives pride ofplace to "Sweet Pea." I wasvaguely familiar with "Dizzy,"but his name didn't ring anybells. It was just one of thosetunes that turned up on the ra-dio from time to time. And al-ways sounded good. For some reason, it got stuck in my headthis weekend, so I dropped by YouTube to see if I could findany videos, and discovered this duo (there are several others).Those Dr. Suess-like balloon clusters make this clip complete. The men don't know, but the little girls understand.Roe had a few hits in his day, but he's lost the name recognition ofthe Archies

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Notes from Under (the) Ground: Part TwoClick here for part oneI don't usually take notes at press screenings, because I find it easier to watch the screen—especially when subtitl-es are involved—than to watch, listen, and/or read while trying to guide my pen across paper in the dark (and I'm not about to use a lighted implement and irritate everyone around me). That said, I make an exception every once in awhile, and I've always found these chicken stratches al-most as amusing as enlightening. Here are a few examples.MADE IN USA (Northwest Film Forum, 6/09)Words and pictures. "To Nick and Samuel, who raised me to respect image and sound"..."The Morocc

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I Smell BubblegumTimes New Viking, Born Again Revisited, MatadorLet's move to California. I hear you'll have a better time.-- Times New Viking, "Move to California"Hey, they provided that header. This Cleveland trio wraps their sweet, sticky hooks inlayers of loud, crunchy feedback. It's the same trick Pavementpulled off on 1990's Perfect Sound Forever, after which they add-ed clarity to their arsenal, and yet Times New Viking neverreally evokes the Cali quintet. I've been listening for a few weeksnow, and I still can't figure out who they resemble most. That canonly be a good thing. No band exists in isolation from all others,but it's that rare outfi

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Movie of the Month: Part 14I recent-ly review-ed the fol-lowing film forVideoLibrarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.TRUCKER [***] (James Mottern, US, 2008, 90 mins.)A big rig driver changes her approach to life when her domesticsituation undergoes a dramatic shift in James Mottern's debut,Trucker. Seemingly foot loose and fancy free, Diane Ford (Mi-chelle Monaghan, Gone Baby Gone) lives in San Diego and lik-es to go out drinking and dancing with her best friend, Run-ner (Nathan Fillion, always good value), when she isn't work-ing, sleeping, or picking up strangers for one-night stands.After her ex-husband, Len(Benjamin Bratt), checks in

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Songs for Swingin' Cineastes: 2009 Edition Click here for Movies for Music LoversThe Tops:1. Sylvester & the Hot Band - TheBlue Thumb Collection (Hip-O Select)2. Thee Oh Sees - Help (In the Red)3. Death - ...For All the World to See (Drag City)4. Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do (Mad Decent/Downtown/Atlantic)5. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us (Graveface)6. Broadcast & the Focus Group -Investigate the Radio Witch Cults (Warp)7. The Inner Space - Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah Records) [reissue]8. Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics -Inspiration Information (Stone's Throw)*9. Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (In the Red)1

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January ReviewsThese arethe reviews and other pieces I'm working on this month.Amazon DVDs: Anna Karenina (with Sean Connery and Claire Bloom), The Old Curiosity Shop (with Derek Jacobi and Toby Jones), 50 Dead Men Walking (with Jim Sturgess and Ben King-sley), Soul Power (with an electrifying James Brown), Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Seventh Season [multi-disc set], and 10 Things I Hate About You - Volume One [two-disc set].Amazon Theatricals: Crazy Heart (with Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell, and Maggie Gyllenhaal).Still playing (or yet to open): Broken Embraces, Brothers, Coco before Chanel, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Invictus, Law Ab

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