Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Gentlemen Broncos : Why Was This Made?

Ok, I get the whole story. Aspiring young writer gets ripped off by his ego-driven idol, blah, blah, blah. I also get the whole outsider thing that the director, Jared Hess has beaten to death in Napoleon Dynamite (Which I actually liked). But one can only watch so many hours of awkward misfits stumbling through life before you say... "Get your shit together, fuckers!". Gentlemen Broncos is an insult to the whole "coming of age" genre. Ghost World. Awesome. Napoleon Dynamite. Perfiectly fine. Rushmore. A must see. This film is something you set on fire and toss at kids you don't want on your lawn. The ONE exception of this film that was interesting was the performance of Jemaine Clement (from Flight of the Conchords) as the egotistical author. I'd go into further details on the plot and what not, but folks.... I've already wasted enough of your time talking about this cinematic atrocity. Fuck the people who wasted valuable resources in making this movie. May they be damned to watch this film forever.

(Though most will be able to relate to the scene where the kid throws up in disgust after watching an indie film adaptation of his work) The irony.

Organic Food Music


I'm not a big patron of organic food stores, but on occasion I'll stop in when I'm in the mood for an apple not covered in wax & pesticides. Usually within these type of stores you'll find a small section of music limited to compilations of Women In Africa, Spiritual Celtic nonsense, Native American Music, James Taylor & anything that has a pan flute as the lead instrument.

How come no Ted Nugent? Yeah, fine. A lot of people make the assumption that organic food consumers are not into meat, poultry, or anything that had eyes before it ended up on their plate, but in all seriousness, the market for organic food is a lot broader than what the general public perceives.

So with this in mind, both the food & music in these shops should not be limited to what is the stereotypical concept of an organic food eater. Toss in some meat and Metallica... early Metallica, and let those who just want good, non processed food feel welcome in your stores. No matter how many times I walk into a place like this, both the customers and employees have a bad habit of looking down their nose at me just because I have a side of beef hanging out of my shopping cart. If i can deal with and accept your African feminist music and tofu cream cheese, you can deal with a little Slayer & meat. Live & let live. (insert random Sepultura riff here)

Monday, June 28, 2010

Getting Inside of Brody Dalle : (Her Mind, You Perverts!)

Brody Dalle was one of those musicians that blew me away on first listen. Her raw vocals were akin to Courtney Love but far surpassed them. Every album by The Distillers is a gem for me. The debut was rough, but displayed a fierce punk power and intensity you can only get from an artist who lived the lifestyle. Their second release, Sing, Sing Death House, was a lot more focused. Like an enraged Courtney Love fronting Rancid. The album should be in every punk collection. Period.
    At this point I started doing some research on the band and in the back of my mind, it kinda bothered me that The Distillers sounded so much like Rancid. After some digging, but not much, I found Brody Dalle was dating Tim Armstrong from Rancid at the time. Crazy coincidence or another case of Kurt & Courtney? I didn't pay it no mind even though my brain was telling me something was wrong. So the years went by and The Distillers released Coral Fang. A much more mature album that retained all the intensity of their previous releases... but... something was... different. It was as if this maturity came out of left field. Seemed kinda odd. Went back to digging. Apparently Brody dumped Tim around this time, and hooked up with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age. Eerie coincidence or diabolical scheme?
    Coral Fang felt like a refined hybrid of Rancid & QOTSA, but again, the album was so good. I didn't pay attention to that nagging brain maggot eating at my skull. A year or so went by and The Distillers broke up. Sadness was had by all. But soon. Brody came back with a new group after becoming hitched to Josh Homme. The Spinnerette band was born. I bought my copy and slapped that record on to hear the first cut "Ghetto Love"... which set my mind maggots on explode. It sounds so much like a Queens of The Stone Age track that it hurts my brain. Even the tone of Queen of The Stone Age's 3's & 7's can be heard throughout the song.
      My conclusion is this : Brody Dalle is either a master of male manipulation, or the most absorbent  artistic sponge on the planet. Draining out the talent of her significant others like a musical succubus. This could all be in my head, but my ears say otherwise. If it's just development through osmosis, the kudos for learning and applying. If it's something else... then we have another Kurt & Courtney thing going on... and poor Dave Grohl is stuck in the middle all over again. (Grohl works with Homme on Them Crooked Vultures) Then again it could just be some honest riffing going on between husband and wife. What the hell do I know! I don't live with them!
      Regardless of my theory, all The Distillers albums are excellent and essential listening for anyone looking for various degrees of raw emotion and powerful punk. The Spinnerette debut is a little too QOTSA for me, but worth a listen. Their Ghetto Love EP has the song "Valium Knights" which is not on the debut but is worth the purchase. Still can't shake this feeling though. Any thoughts?