Girls Rock is a documentary film chronicling an all-girls rock ‘n’ roll camp in Portland, OR. The film centers around girls ranging from ages 8 to 18 who have one week to form a band, select an instrument they may have never played, and write a song. The film features appearances from female rockers Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and The Gossip’s Beth Ditto.
audio:
“Global Warming” Blubird
video:
Girls Rock! The Movie
In case you’ve missed out, Dengue Fever are a Los Angeles based music unit who play the kind of sixties psychedelic Cambodian pop that was once stomped out by draconian powers. Consisting of Chhom Nimol, Ethan Holtzman (keyboards), Zac Holtzman (guitar), David Ralicke (horns), Senon Williams (bass) and Paul Smith (drums), Dengue Fever have seen their music featured on tv and film productions such as City of Ghosts, Must Love Dogs, Broken Flowers, True Blood, and Weeds. They have released three albums, Dengue Fever, Escape From Dragon House, Venus On Earth and are set to release their DVD/CD soundtrack to the documentary Sleepwalking Through The Mekong on April 14th. Dengue Fever will also perform the world premiere of their newly composed original score for the first cinematic adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s silent-film The Lost World at the historic Castro Theatre on Tues May 5th as part of the San Francisco Intl Film Fest.
audio:
March of the Balloon Animals
video:
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong trailer
dates:
4/17 Falls Church, VA – State Theatre
4/21 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club (with Chicha Libre)
4/22 Tallahassee, FL. – Club Downunder – Florida State University (with Chicha Libre)
4/25 Lafayette, LA – Festival International De Louisiane
4/27 Austin, TX – Mohawk (with Chicha Libre)
5/05 San Francisco, CA – Castro Theater (The Lost World original score)
7/12 Chicago, IL – Chicago Folk and Roots Festival
http://sleepwalkingthroughthemekong.com/
http://www.myspace.com/denguefevermusic
Irmin Schmidt, founder of the legendary kosmische group CAN, has composed and produced the original film score for Wim Wenders’ latest film Palermo Shooting. The score features Markus Stockhausen on trumpet, amongst others and is released as a digital-only download. The soundtrack to the movie, featuring new and unreleased songs by Grinderman, Bonnie Prince Billy, and others.
Palermo Shooting trailer:
http://www.irminschmidt.com/
http://www.myspace.com/irminschmidtandkumo
http://www.cityslang.com/
MySpace Music is premiering the new documentary from Oasis titled Dig Out Your Soul in the Streets. This short film marks the first HD debut in the history of MySpace Music. The documentary was shot by The Malloys, who have directed numerous music videos for The White Stripes and are currently filming the new Zach Braff feature film 8 Track. In the weeks leading up to the release of “Dig Out Your Soul,” the latest album from Oasis, the band traveled to New York City where they taught street musicians to play a number of their new songs, thus subtly leaking the album before its release. The Malloys followed Oasis and the street musicians throughout the process and created the 18-minute black and white. The selected street musicians, came from all parts of New York City, and have a variety of different ethnic, musical and creative backgrounds. They performed Oasis’s new songs at locations throughout the city, including MTA approved subway station platforms in Grand Central, Times Square, Penn Station and Astor Place.
Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” has been nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award in the “Best Song from a Film” category. “The Wrestler” can be heard in Darren Aronofsky’s new film of the same name, opening today in New York and Los Angeles on with wider release to follow. The song can also be found on Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming album, Working on a Dream, due in stores on January 27. “The Wrestler” can presently be purchased via iTunes at the link below.
The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is a portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home – inside the ring. Back in the late ’80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey . However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life — trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), and striking up a blossoming romance with an exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei) who is ready to start a new life. Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling.
In an interview with Uncut, Mickey Rourke stated, “I wrote Bruce a letter, because we’ve known each other over twenty years, and he knows what I used to be, or whatever. Where I went. What I’d been reduced to. I told him how I felt lucky now and didn’t have to end up being this guy, being Randy (character from The Wrestler). A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he’d written a little song, for nothing. It’s fucking beautiful, right? I was honored he took the time, because he’s a busy cat. I mean, I’m so goddam proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce’s input… ain’t nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he’ll do a song, y’know?”
Purchase Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler”
video:
The Wrestler trailer
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thewrestler
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/
The Flaming Lips have finally released their long-awaited film debut, Christmas On Mars: A Fantastical Film Freak-out Featuring the Flaming Lips available from Warner Bros. Records. Christmas On Mars is the directorial debut of Wayne Coyne, lead singer and front man for The Flaming Lips. Coyne co-directed with George Salisbury, an audiovisual technician who works with the band. Coyne constructed much of the set – representing Mars – in his Oklahoma City backyard.
video:
Christmas On Mars
Be Here To Love Me chronicles the life of Townes Van Zandt with a simple unpredictability that mimics the way the artist lived his short life. Directed by Margaret Brown, this haunting and lyrical film combines emotional interviews with Van Zandt’s immediate family and such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Guy Clark with rare footage of Van Zandt at home and on the stage.
watch Be Here To Love Me
video:
If I Needed You
Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp is the first feature documentary about Sacred Harp singing. Shape note singing has survived over 200 years in the rural deep south where in old country churches a 160 year old shape note hymnal which has preserved these songs. The film offers a glimpse into the lives of this ‘Lost Tonal Tribe’ whose history is a story. The filmmakers, Matt and Erica Hinton spent 7 years documenting this yet largely unknown art form. The soundtrack will be released on October 14th.
Acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights features evocative images, with the scenery often telling its own story and setting the mood perfectly. Check out the links below for a clip of Wong Kar Wai’s scouting trip to find each of the locations used in the movie – grand architecture gives way to seedy casinos, which in turn dissolve into wide open plains and classic diners, all set to “The Story” a new song from Norah Jones written exclusively for the movie’s soundtrack. Norah Jones will appear on Letterman on April 2nd to chat about her experiences making the movie and perform “The Story” from the soundtrack.
audio:
The Story.asxThe Story.mov
I caught Anton Corbijn’s biopic Control, a couple of weeks ago while on sojourn in the city. Corbijn is famous for shooting such icons as Johnny Cash, U2, R.E.M., and Joy Division in magnificently strange and stark frame. Control takes Corbijn’s aesthetic and lends itself to this marvelously shot black & white print, which runs alongside a script that seeks to tell a no frills story of Ian’s overall struggle with his life during the Joy Division period. Compared to the emotional agony of Deborah Curtis’s “Touching From A Distance,” Control takes stoicism to a high and gives a look at Ian’s life as if you were viewing from opposite a thick wall of glass where the visuals are clear, but the true emotions have been disconnected. All in all, this is a film about Ian Curtis, and not the band Joy Division, but the actors do a great job of impersonating the band’s look, sound, and attitude. I enjoyed the film, but I am a long time fan of the band and that may make me biased. Although, throughout Control whenever there was a band scene I was reminded of just how amazing Joy Division was with respect to four guys, not just one, who made the most of their somewhat limited abilities and created a unique and treasured sound which still reverberates. Not to mention, the rest of the band went on to form New Order, who were no slouches either. Curtis was an iconic front man, but death has a way of overshadowing reality in the rock world, and almost always gives improper weight and description to an artist, because the finality of it all does much to cement a myth. While no one has suggested Ian Curtis died for punk rock, fans of the singer will surely want to role around in this beautiful film… …at least for one viewing.
http://momentum.control.substance001.com/
http://www.corbijn.co.uk/
In 1994 KISS was at a low in terms of popularity and all but sentenced to obsolescence. Some ten years removed from their makeup, the band hadn’t quite figured out that despite having some good music, the painted faces and costumes did hordes for their mystique, which had elevated the band to epic status in the past. While the classic KISS was only a memory, some crazed fans kept the halcyon days alive by staging KISS conventions, and creating some fairly lavish tribute bands like “Strutter,” “Hotter Than Hell,” and “Dressed To Kill,” going out of their way to try to approximate the classic KISS era. In fact, the extent some of these guys go to in order the recreate the look and feel of the band on stage is down right maniacal. Gene and Paul started making the occasional appearance at the conventions, then they took over and began staging official KISS events, which were very expensive, though fans fell in line to pay. KISS had finally got the message that the make-up and original line up were the magic, and decided to capitalize, and do a reunion with the original line up and classic look. Later, the band would become obsessed with getting all their old costumes and memorabilia, much to the disappointment of the fans.
It is engaging to observe the hurt and let down of the fans who watched a band they had literally propped up over the years, regain their popularity and then proceed to come across as selfish and unappreciative. We see Gene and Paul being represented initially as guys who have inspired the American dream, making anything seem possible. One fan, Bill Baker had an Ace tribute band, and became good friends with the starman himself prior to him being invited back for the reunion. Ace never talked to Bill again after he started getting the KISS paycheck, and this was after being pretty close during many of the off years. By the end, the reality becomes clear that you can be the biggest fan in the world, but it still doesn’t make you any closer to the band. KISS Loves You shows just that reality in this well thought out documentary that will appeal to KISS fans, but you don’t have to be one to enjoy this film.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – of the bands Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, The Dirty Three and Grinderman – release the soundtrack to the film “The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford” on Mute February 5th, 2008. February 5, 2008 also sees the film released on DVD.
