Published by Seamus March 28th, 2007
in movies.
So much has been written about DA Pennebaker’s seminal 1967 documentary, Don’t Look Back, it’s nearly impossible for someone, especially this someone who wasn’t even alive when Bob Dylan was really stirring things up, to write something that hasn’t already been said. Fortunately for me, earlier this past month the film was lovingly remastered and re-released on DVD so there’s all sorts of new stuff to talk about.
The two-disc 1965 Tour Deluxe Edition includes not only the remastered film, but also commentary by the filmmaker and Dylan’s road manager, Bob Neuwirth, plus five additional audio tracks and the original companion book edited by the director to coincide with the film’s release. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also an alternate version of the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video and a flip-book taken from the video. But wait! There’s more! There’s also a new Pennebaker documentary called Bob Dylan 65 Revisited.
Needless to say it’s pretty spectacular.
For the younger folks unfamiliar with Dylan’s earlier work, you may recognize “Subterranean Homesick Blues” as the video that INXS shamelessly ripped off for their video for “Mediate.”
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Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the movie, when Dylan has a little fun with Time magazine writer, Horace Judson.
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For you indie fans out there, here’s a track to get you further in the mood.
Buy the 1965 Tour Deluxe Edition of Don’t Look Back
from the Public Radio Music Source.
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Published by Seamus March 27th, 2007
in music.
Things have gone a bit differently for Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar since Uncle Tupelo split in 1994. While both artists have found critical success since the break, Tweedy with Wilco (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born) and Farrar with Son Volt (Trace), only Tweedy has truly found popular success (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sold over 500,000 copies and A Ghost Is Born won two Grammys).
Despite Farrar’s recent distaste for the term alt-country he has remained true to his roots during the course of his career. His current effort, Son Volt’s The Search, returns to the early brilliance of Trace but adds new layers of sound (notably keyboards and horns) to Farrar’s pointed lyrics about the current American malaise.
Probably one of my favorites of the Year of the Pig thus far (along with Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible - review coming soon, I’m enjoying it too much).
Buy The Search from the Public Radio Music Source.
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Published by Seamus March 20th, 2007
in music.
Trent Reznor is many things. And apparently one of those things is an ingenious viral marketer. The newest studio album from Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero, isn’t due until April 17th (this year’s Tax Day!), but Trent’s been hypin’ it for weeks.According to Wikipedia:
On February 12, 2007, fans found that a new NIN tour T-shirt contained highlighted letters that spell out the words “I am trying to believe.” It was discovered that iamtryingtobelieve.com was registered as a website, and soon several related websites were found in the IP range, all describing a dystopian vision of the world fifteen years in the future. Many events reported on these websites take place in the year “0000″.
Additional promotional efforts have included the placement of USB drives which contained images, and mp3 files of music and static. Spectrogram analysis of the static uncovered phone numbers and additional images which have led fans to more websites and more clues.
Reznor’s promotional efforts for an album that he has said “could be about the end of the world, and [marks] a ’shift in direction’ in that it doesn’t sound like With Teeth,” can best be described as the LOST Experience for industrial rock fans. On top of that, Trent is apparently in talks to turn his yet to be released album into a movie.
Will it all be worth it? I guess we’ll find out four weeks from today.
In the meantime, here are the three tracks that have been leaked.
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Published by Seamus March 15th, 2007
in tv.
Anyone else find the woman’s laughter in this Quiznos ad somewhat unsettling?
“It’s not lacking any meat and that’s what real women need.”
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Apparently it’s not sex but freakishly awkward laughter that sells sandwiches.
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Published by Seamus March 14th, 2007
in music.
Before I ever listened to Five Foot Nine, their height-referenced name made me think of this scene from the classic Chevy Chase comedy, Fletch. Fletch is dreaming that he is the Los Angeles Lakers’ 6th Man.
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Now 5′9″ - a far cry from 6′5″ (6′9″ with the afro) - is said to be the average height of adult human males. But I gotta tell ya, Chicago’s Five Foot Nine is hardly average.
On paper they sound kinda like that band you had in college - guy/girl vocals… handclaps… cellos (?!?) - but on their self-titled debut CD they are anything but. This group of veteran musicians combines elements of Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea-era Poi Dog Pondering with Lulu-like Trip Shakespeare and dashes of Natalie Merchant and Neko Case thrown in to create enjoyable folk-driven pop.
Buy Five Foot Nine from 
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