Persepolis
2007, Sony Picture Classics
Written/Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
I have a bit of a thing for French/Iranian far-left cartoon women, so this movie was kind of my territory. If you don’t know, Persepolis is a beautifully hand-drawn film based on an autobiographic graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi. It has a few flaws, but it’s very entertaining–assuming you can get past its blatant socialist message.
Bill O’Reilly: Still Racist
The writers of Owl and Bear vs. Bill O’Reilly: our latest theme?
If you haven’t heard, Bill O’Reilly recently caught some flak for making a vaguely-racist comment about Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle. Someone called into his radio show and made comments indicating that she had an anger problem. O’Reilly insisted that they had to look into the facts more and, “I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels.”
Please Preserve Ledger’s Dignity.
In case I ever become famous and die under mysterious and/or sketchy circumstances, I have already instructed several close friends to release a statement to the press informing them officially that I suffered a heart attack while sodomizing an underage male prostitute. I’m not gay, nor do I have an affinity for sodomy with minors, nor do I have a weak heart; the idea is to horrify people so totally that they cut out any idle, empty, and meaningless speculation about my (hypothetical) death.
Frog Eyes – Tears of the Valedictorian
2007, Absolutely Kosher
This new record from Frog Eyes sounds a bit like Arcade Fire, especially the layered sound and vocal style. The difference is that this is a little less homogeneous, and a little less organized.
Radiohead – In Rainbows
2007, Self-Released, TBD Records, XL Recordings
Alright, so the dust has finally cleared from the hype surrounding In Rainbows, Radiohead‘s groundbreaking new album.
Although it was more than excellent that the innovative release method used by the (at the time unsigned) band dealt the first of (hopefully) many blows to the (hopefully) dying record industry, the unorthodox method pretty much overshadowed In Rainbows‘ actual music, and will probably do the same for future generations. If you’re reading this site, chances are you’re already aware of what exactly Radiohead did differently with the release of this album, so we’ll focus on the music.
Flight of the Conchords – The Distant Future EP
Flight of the Conchords is some hilarious stuff; one might call them a “funny Tenacious D.”
Pink Floyd – Piper At The Gates of Dawn 40th Anniversary Special Edition (Three Disc Version)
Seems like a phishing scheme: packaging the same mastering of an album twice in the same package?
Granted, the first disc is in mono, the second in stereo, but it still seems phishy.
Review: Bob Dylan & Elvis Costello; Saturday, October 20, 2007; Bloomington, IL
Cross item number fourteen of my list of things to do before I die: I have seen Bob Dylan (number fifteen, touch Dylan, is still unaccomplished).
Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
This is easily my favorite Iron & Wine album to date. No question. Unlike Sam Beam’s previous effort, Our Endless Numbered Days, every single song is completely solid, and no less than four are absolutely stellar. No question, I enjoy Beam’s past work a good deal. But, in my opinion, previous Iron & Wine albums have been inconsistent and hit-or-miss.
Review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals; October 4, 2007 at Foellinger Auditorium; Chicago, IL
There are three separate and distinct Ryan Adams stage personas: the folk guitarist of his early solo years, the front-man for a band that sounds suspiciously like the Grateful Dead, and bad alternative country heartthrob. At Foellinger Auditorium last Thursday, we got a taste of the last two, with a side bonus of the pissy wannabe-rock star Ryan Adams that started showing up a few weeks back. It’s a shame, though, because a solo acoustic show in the very intimate Foellinger could’ve been great.
Pink Floyd – Piper At The Gates Of Dawn 40th Anniversary Special Edition
What can I say? It’s early Pink Floyd, how could it be bad?
Devendra Banhart – Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
2007, XL Recordings
Photo by zabzoog
Devendra Banhart is criticized for the repetitive nature of many of his songs. This record is not like that at all, however, as the songs genre-hop more then Beck’s last LP.
Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground – Live From The Pretty Parlor
Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground made an interesting choice, to release a debut album as a live album, claiming on tape that you are doing it as a “free sort of thing over the internet,” and then releasing it as a two-disc CD/DVD package.
Beck – Timebomb
Ugh. I’m not the biggest fan of Beck‘s so-called hip-hop side (I can’t stand most of Odelay and don’t care much for Midnight Vultures), but I can at least appreciate his ironic and insightful lyrics.
Review: Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival; July 28, 2007; Bridgeview, IL
There are three undeniable truths I learned from the 13 straight hours of electric guitar at the Crossroads Guitar Festival:
Nick Drake – Family Tree
2007, Tsunami Label Group
Yet another posthumous release by Nick Drake suffers from poor sound (and song) quality. In addition, several songs feature Drake’s mother and sister, which goes along with the title but detracts from the fact that it’s a Nick Drake album.
The Simpsons Movie
2007, 20th Century Fox
I’ve been waiting 10 years for a Simpsons Movie, and it’s finally arrived. Is it perfect? No. But it’s more than sufficient. I saw a midnight showing last Friday morning, and I was impressed.
Pitchfork Music Festival 2007 (I)
Let’s get this out of the way: fuck the Chicago Tribune. They messed up a lot of indie fans this past weekend by printing completely wrong directions to the Pitchfork Music Festival. Despite having lived in the Chicago area for nearly eight years and being with two people who attended the festival last year, I still managed to take the Green Line L train all the way to the end of the line (as per the directions), nearly five miles south of Union Park. A long string of expletives and one forty minute bus ride later, we had missed nearly all of Slint, the first act of the first night. It’s a shame, too, as they sounded pretty damn good.
Review: The Police; July 5, 2007 at Wrigley Field; Chicago
Although I can’t say that I care much for The Police‘s brand of pseudo-white-reggae, I have to say that they can put on one Hell of a show.
Joanna Newsom – Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band (EP)
This EP of two re-recorded numbers and one new rollicking folk song will tide Ys fans over for her next record and maybe bridge the gap between Joanna Newsom‘s folk style and more contemporary music.
Voxtrot – Voxtrot
Most Indie bands are keen to put a record out as soon as they’ve been publicly acknowledged, and the result is often a garbled mess of poorly-rehearsed and selected nonsense.
Mystery of Two – Arrows Are All You Know
This Indie-punk act is far less annoying than some of the shit bands that unfortunately receive air play these days.
Review: Wilco; June 15, 2007 at Murat Theater; Indianapolis
photo by The Evil Angel
If you like Wilco‘s music even a little, you need to see them before Jeff Tweedy retires. They combine seemingly boundless enthusiasm for playing with impeccable style and great talent.
Review: Arcade Fire; May 19, 2007 at Chicago Theater
photo by littlepretty
As my two friends and I walked from Union Station to the Chicago Theater on Saturday, I observed to them that the diversity of people in Chicago had lessened to almost nothing as we got closer to the Arcade Fire show; the wide variety of the larger population had narrowed to only include the easily-excited “scene” kids gathered outside.
