Nellie McKay - Obligatory Villagers

How can someone not love Nellie McKay? This woman has talent oozing out of every pore on her body. She can write in so many genres it's unreal. Her latest album, Obligatory Villagers, is her third studio release and the first on her own record label Hungry Mouse. The shock of the album isn't the song writing, it's the length. Her last two records have both been two-disc sets. This new album is not even 30 minutes with a surprising 9 song collection. The length is good and bad. The good is that you don't have to devote over an hour to listen to it. The bad is that you want to devote over an hour to listen to Nellie McKay! If you're unfamiliar with her work please look into it. Start with Dog Song from her first record Get Away From Me. She's one of my favorite musicians and I think she's also one of the most unique, talented, and witty writers out there. Oh, and she's vegan!

Stand out track on Obligatory Villagers:
Zombie - This song is so great, one of her best ever! Learn how to dance like a zombie.

for more info on Nellie McKay visit: nelliemckay.com

Zombi 3 is for me!

Man alive this was good. By good I mean bad, but in a good way. This is one of the better zombie movies I've seen in a long time. Zombi 3 is partly shot by Zombi 2 director Lucio Fulci so you know it's hot. Let me break down the movie into some highlights.

With a top-notch 80s soundtrack we find ourselves in the company of occasional fog and a bunch of bald zombies. There is an amazing scene in which a decapitated head flies through the air to attack someone. I love this classic scientist vs. army sub-plot. To prove they are scientists one guy says to the other, "Put these two molecules together." Here's another great quote from Zombi 3. After hearing screams in the distance one guy says, "Sounds like someone being scalped." His buddy responds, "Sure does." As if both of them know the difference between a "being scalped" scream and a normal scream. Here's the best quote of the whole film. A guy has been slowly turning into a zombie and his girlfriend asks how he's doing. He looks at her and says, "I'm feeling better Patricia, but I'm thirsty... for your blood!" Thumbs up. And yes Maria, it was filmed in the Philippines.

Sexy Eighties Ladies?

If you've seen the work of Patrick Nagel (1945-1984) you can't help but love it. His work is so simultaneously ridiculous and awesome. Nagel blends Japanese Woodblock Prints, 1920s Art Deco and a bucket of Eighties fashion. The first time I saw his work was probably when most of you did, that iconic Duran Duran cover for the album Rio. His work makes me happy because enough time has passed that his art is now "vintage" and hip. Hanging a poster of his work on my wall is just as cool as watching old episodes of Voltron and He-Man or watching Revenge of the Nerds. I really do like his work. I think that Nagel's paintings capture the Eighties like Dorothea Lange's photos captured the Depression Era. His work shows the high fashion, decadence, and pop of the thriving art world in the Eighties. Do you want to hear a strange fact about Nagel's death? That was a rhetorical question. He died at age 38 of a heart attack after exercising at a fund-raiser for the American Heart Association.

For more info visit: www.patricknagel.com

The Titanic Exhibit

Yesterday Maria and I went to The Titanic Exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science. Because of my celebrity status here in town we didn't even have to pay to get in (okay that's a lie, I got free tickets because of where I work). The exhibit has tons of artifacts that have been removed from the ship at the bottom of the ocean. There were really interesting items like hats, clothes, money, champagne bottles (with champagne still in them), plates, lamps, etc. I was and still am a geek about the Titanic. When I was kid I was totally into the disaster so I was excited to actually get to see items from the ship. I talk about the facts of the Titanic at my work so the numbers and details weren't a big surprise for me like they were for the visitors around me, but they did have a kind of game that was fun. Before you go in the staff hands you a boarding pass that tells you who you are, what you do for a living, age, and if you're first, second, or third class. The boarding passes are of real people from the Titanic and at the end of the exhibit you check the giant wall of names to see if you survived or died. Naturally I was first class, and I survived, they even had my items on display. Maria wasn't so lucky, but I would have paid someone to get her on a life boat. Girls that hot don't come around very often. Another cool part of the show was the recreated portions of the ship, first class and third class hallways, the dining room, some bedrooms. It was cool, but I would have loved to have seen a recreated Grand Staircase. All and all it was fun, I got to touch a portion of the hull, which sounds lame, but for me it was amazing.

Misconceptions about Vegans

Let's see....

*We only eat lettuce and soybeans - My brother-in-law was having a barbeque once and asked Maria and I what we eat, he then said, "I have some lettuce and water, what else can you have?"

*We're the moral judges of the universe - Sure, we'd like it if everyone was vegan, but meat eaters and hunters, stop projecting your insecurities on us. If we say nothing and you feel judged... that's called self-reflection.

*All we want to do is throw red paint on fur coats - Maybe some vegans but not all. Aggression makes a statement, but a direct attack doesn't change minds as well as respect for the others lifestyle does.

*We have no sense of humor - Q: Why did the vegan take the stairs? A: Because the elevator was out of order... Get it?

*We'll eat animal products if nobody is looking - I love when I go out to lunch with a meat eater and they say, "oooh this is good, you should try it. I won't tell anyone."

*We're all hippies - And all aliens are robots. Sometimes they are both other times they are not.

*We're all 20-something - We just look it. That's called a healthy lifestyle.

*We're anemic - Wouldn't that be convenient for a meat eaters argument if it was true, too bad. I guess we'll have to talk about their clogged arteries instead.

Feel free to add to this list.

10 Questions with Matmos

I am so excited about this week's "10 Questions" because it's with Matmos! Matmos is the experimental electronic project of M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel. Truth be told, the idea for "10 Questions" actually started with me wanting to ask Matmos some questions that only they could answer, so here we are now, fantastic! For those of you who are not familiar with the work of Matmos here are three things you should know. 1. They're revolutionary in the world of electronic music. 2. They worked with Bjork. 3. No two albums are ever the same.



For more info on Matmos visit: www.brainwashed.com/matmos


10 Questions for Matmos

1. First off, I've wondered this for years…Why did you include a copy of the cd booklet for A Chance to Cut Is A Chance to Cure in the vinyl edition?

MCS: There is not enough space for complete liner notes on an LP sleeve and we consider the liner notes one of the integral values in owning the thing. I would have preferred to print them on an inner sleeve, but making vinyl is so expensive already that it is more expedient to just print more of the thing that you are already printing than to lay out a whole new thing and print it. I'm not a big fan of vinyl for making new albums, it may be more interesting to know (or not!), it really doesn't sound as good as a compact disc, especially for electronic music with a lot of crazy highs and lows and panning effects, etc...having taken the same pieces of music and putting them on both formats many times I feel like I should know, it's not just vague opinion. However, the, um, indefinable soul of a vinyl record is far superior...maybe it's the size (allowing for actual artwork) and/or the ritual of taking it out of the sleeve and putting it on, it's perfect length, it's intermission when you turn it over, the commitment...listening to a great record is a beautiful perfect act of art appreciation. All this is ENTIRELY missing by clicking on a list of sound files. It's like the difference between going to see a film in a theater and flipping through channels on TV...no one who MAKES art would prefer these horrible short attention span lack of commitment shit-formats. Rant rant rant.

2. Do you see your music in the same category as Dada? What I mean by this is that Dada reacted to the established ideal of "what is" and "what is not" art, you seem to be doing that with music.

Drew Daniel: I guess the historical twist in the story is that Dada started out as anti-art, a way to attack an entire bourgeois social order that had produced World War I, and it was only as it entered art history that suddenly Dada lost its fangs and became, retrospectively, an art movement. I think the moment that this happened for good was when Robert Motherwell's Dada book came out and some anarchists protested his lecture as a dry institutionalization of a once radical movement. I'm reminded also of the noise band New Blockaders, who had a record called "Even anti-art is art, that is why we reject it." I guess for Matmos I must admit that we didn't worry very much when we started out about whether or not what we were doing would count as "real music" and in fact things have gotten dangerous for us over the last few albums as we have started to encroach on musical territory. But we don't lose sleep about where we fall on the dividing line because we don't believe that there is one stable dividing line. "Musicality" is a quality you can detect in anything, and sometimes it's not an asset. There's a lot of bad music out there.

3. Have you ever sampled a line from Barbarella in one of your songs?

MCS: When we first started making music together we made a few songs with dialogue from the film, I don't think any of them ever made it to...the general public, but I do remember a song with Duran Duran shouting: "The Matmos will devour you!" at key moments. We were, uh, rave-y-er then.

Drew: There is a track we did for a compilation tribute dedicated to the Antonioni film "Blow UP"; we used a sample from "Barbarella" that interrupted our song with a voice saying "that's not what I want, THIS, THIS IS WHAT I WANT!!". It was our little tongue-in-cheek fuckup moment.

4. Did you know Zeena Parkins before Vespertine?

No. We knew *of* her, but we didn't know her. We're sure glad we do. She is an inspiration to us that one can live a quality, productive, appreciated art-life without working for the man.

5. I listened to The Civil War everyday before class for over a month, it's really amazing. What was the idea behind that record?

It started as an album about pianos, it was to be entirely made out of them. We bought a grand piano (on ebay) for a mere $800 expecting it to be a beater, a crappy piano and it turned out to be really nice, not, you know, "a fine instrument" but very nice. Our initial thought was to make sounds with it, destroy it a little, make more sounds made possible with that de-construction, take it down further, make sounds, and so on, but I just couldn't do it, it would have broken my heart. So on the way to that decision we got distracted by other instruments, I love playing steel string guitar for example, autoharp, hurdy-gurdy, recorders, we had a good song left over from "A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure" (The Struggle Against Unreality Begins) and it all started to fall together in a good, uh, old timey kind of way...we were using instruments the same way we would use non instruments, but they come with associations which we followed, the watercourse way, and that is the "idea" behind that record...?

6. How do you decide what sounds to perform live and which ones to pre-record when you're on stage?

Drew Daniel: You have to balance the pleasure the audience will get out of seeing an object create a sound and the pleasure the audience will get out of a structure that is thoughtfully composed. Ideally we can do both at once. Your phrase "pre-recorded" seems a little misleading. A sample can be already made ahead of time but still subjected to very live and on-the-fly manipulations and processing and musical choices; it's not an "either/or" binary anymore. I might have a bank of 120 samples and eighty different patterns to play them with and 16 fader controller inputs with independent realtime parameters modulating and tweeking any of those combinations on the fly. If you add up all those variables you can see that the possible outcomes are wide. So it's not as if samplers and sequencers somehow necessarily mean that a given song isn't "live".

7. I couldn't wait to see you perform with Bjork, when I finally got the chance I was blown away (especially with the live version of It's In Our Hands - The Soft Pink Truth mix). It's one thing to collaborate on one song, but were you intimidated by working with her on a whole album?

Drew Daniel: Well, the collaboration evolved gradually. We worked on one song, then another, then another. It's like the old paradox: how many pebbles are there in a pile? Before we knew it, we were in up to our necks. It was intimidating when we got to London and saw the enormous mixing desk at Olympic and met the rest of the people involved and realized how seriously they take things, but Bjork had a lot of experience in making these kinds of collaborative programming relationships graceful and inclusive and fair.

8. Eraserhead or Naked Lunch?

MCS: I've never seen the film of Naked Lunch, I gather it doesn't have much to do with the book, or does it? Eraserhead is certainly a cinema landmark, I was not as affected by it as much as I have been his later stuff, I really enjoyed Inland Empire, I love a good long film.

Drew Daniel: As much as I love that the film of "Naked Lunch" exists, I have some problems with it. It turns Burrough's homosexuality into some kind of grief formation about the death of his wife, which is a pretty lame heterosexist reading of Burroughs in my opinion. But the straight faced "talking asshole" monologue is genius.

9. I never thought my music was the type to be covered, but someone is currently redoing an entire E.P. of mine. Considering how experimental you are, has anyone ever covered a Matmos song?

Drew Daniel: We were in Italy and an early music ensemble covered one of the songs from "The Civil War". We were totally flattered, and shocked too.

10. Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Matmos…What do you see electronic music evolving into in the future?

Drew Daniel: I think it is in a state of decadence right now, people seem content to recycle older eras of production. The serpent is eating its tail at the moment. I do love people's willingness to put up with increasingly shitty formats of reproduction, but it's sad too. I hope that something virulently unpredictable emerges from South America, Asia, or Africa, because I think that the endless Detroit/Berlin recycling shtick is getting played out.

Light Years

The other day I was having a conversation about light years. It's a pretty amazing concept when you think about it. Astronomers can look at galaxies colliding over 1 million light years away and when we all see the photos we think it's happening at that moment. Our brains are conditioned to see a photograph of a tree and assume the tree is within a hundred years old. What if the tree being photographed was there 1 million years ago and it no longer exists today but we see it in the photo? This is the case with photos from space. The photo of the galaxies colliding actually happened 1 million years ago and we are just now seeing it. What has happened since then? We won't know for another million years. This would make a great short film about seeing life on a planet 1 million light years away. The people we would see and the conversations we would hear would no longer exist but they would seem alive. Are they alive if we see them?

Goldfrapp - Supernature

I love this album so much. Supernature is Goldfrapp's third album and absolutely my favorite. Goldfrapp is a British electronic group that embodies the essence of cool. For this 2005 record the band took on a glam rock theme and nailed it with tracks like Ooh La La and Ride a White Horse (a direct throw back to Marc Bolan's Ride a White Swan). There's nothing bad about this album. The music's great, the lyrics are superficial, and the uber-sexy cover featuring singer Alison Goldfrapp is awesome. If you really want to be entertained watch the videos for this record, they're a lot of fun.

for more info on Goldfrapp visit: www.goldfrapp.co.uk

Marie Antoinette

When Sofia Coppola's latest film Marie Antoinette hit theaters in 2006 I was pretty excited. I love her films and I had high hopes for this one. The weird thing was the press surrounding Marie Antoinette at the Cannes Film Festival. People actually booed while the film was being premiered. Really? Who boos? That's as dumb as giving a play thumbs down. Anyway, I was really wanting to see why people would boo this film. The most obvious reason was that is was not true to history...so, people didn't boo Titanic or Walk the Line. I guess it's because they weren't about French History. I went to the first showing of Marie Antoinette the day it came out and absolutely loved it. It was visually amazing. The crew had free reign (pun intended) over the Palace of Versailles. The costumes, which later won an Academy Award, were so much fun to look at, especially the wig Kristen Dunst was wearing that had a little ship in it. The soundtrack was easily the best soundtrack of the year (not including original scores). There was an amazing use of Siouxsie and the Banshees Hong Kong Garden, The Cure's All Cats Are Grey and Plainsong (which was brilliant), New Order and even a handful of Bow Wow Wow. I think it was a bold step and it was ten times better the second time I watched it. I think the only down side was Kristen Dunst's acting. She did great as the young Marie Antoinette, just wanting to have fun, but as she was required to get more serious towards the end of the film her acting got more uncomfortable. Other then that, aces.

Ellen Von Unwerth

Whether you know it or not, every photographer is inspired by a photographer that came before them (for you photographers out there that think your work is one of a kind, deal with it). As an Art Historian I've seen my fair share of original ideas, but for the most part someone else did it first. That's fine, because they opened up an idea that the next generation can explore. This is the case for fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth. Like many fashion photographers before her, there is an emphasis on female sexuality. Think of Man Ray, Sam Haskins, and the big man on campus Helmut Newton. The thing that ties these three men together is that they are men. Ellen Von Unwerth was a fashion model for 10 years before she began to take photos. The combination of being a model and a woman makes Von Unwerth's photos unique. I've been taking photos for years and one thing I've learned with my female models is that my idea of what looks sensual or pretty isn't always what they would do themselves. Unwerth approaches female models as women, not models. The result is something different. When I was first studying fashion photography I would come across her work and think, "That's like Helmut Newton, but there's something more." If you're into fashion photography then you know her name, but if you're not I bet you know her work. She's directed videos, done album covers, shoots for every major magazine like Vogue, Vanity Fair, Arena, Interview. Whether you like fashion or not, she's a major figure and has a style that is unmistakable.

for more info on Ellen Von Unwerth visit this fan site.

Our Stay at The Kindness Ranch (Monster Blog)

On Friday afternoon my wife Maria, my basset hound Bumblebee and I all headed up to Wyoming to meet Maria's 14 year old brother Sam. We picked him up in Wheatland and made our way Northeast to a place called The Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary somewhere in Nowhereville, USA. Throughout our car ride I made numerous comments about the similarities between our road trip and a B-horror movie. These "funny" comments would later come back to haunt me. After traveling for many miles through uncharted land and passing the token Army Base (which will come in handy if we are invaded by zombies), we arrived at the Kindness Ranch. The ranch is built on a massive amount of land in the rolling hills of Eastern Wyoming. We were greeted by the directors and pleasantly surprised that they wanted to upgrade us from a one bedroom yurt to an awesome two bedroom yurt. Yurt is an exotic word for round cabin.


Our place was so cool. It was huge. I put on Pure Disco Volume 3 just to give Sam a little culture and we realized we forgot food for dinner. We ended up eating chips and dip with juice drinks we had to thaw out by the fireplace. The yurt was great, but it had giant windows in the living room with no curtains. My city slicker persona shined as I became obsessed with the lack of privacy in the middle of nowhere. As the sun went down I was convinced there was some crazed mutant killer watching us from the hills in the distance. I tried to come up with a plan for when he busted in and tried to kill us, I came up with asking Maria and Sam to climb the ladder up to the loft and I would use the only weapon I could find, a butter knife, to fight the mutant. My fears only escalated when the front door flew open as we were sitting on the couch. Apparently it was "the wind" but I knew I had to be on guard.




We later watched The Princess Bride which made me relax. I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed mysterious red splatters on the blinds. Maria said they were "stains" from the when they were treating the wood, a likely story. After the movie we went out on the deck to look at the moon through the telescope I brought along (nerd alert). As they were looking at the moon I was trying to put out a vibe of "back off" to the mutant zombies in the hills. After that we tried to go to bed. I'm not kidding when I say that it was dead silent. I mean nothing! All of us couldn't sleep because it was too quiet, strange huh? This lack of sound also made me super freaked by every little noise. Was that a mutant coming into our living room? Is that a zombie at the window? Maybe even Ghoulies in the toilette!

Alright, the next morning I woke up and we were all still alive. The sunrise was amazing which shattered my dreams of a zombie land. We lived through the night, time to go play with animals! As we were waiting to go play with the pigs Sam took a shower. He's 14 so the shower took a small eternity. Then, out of nowhere, we heard this massive thud! We ran to the bathroom door and asked Sam if he was okay. Playing it cool, he replied, "yeah, I just fell" Maria and I went over the edge laughing at Sam's misfortune. The mental image was too funny. We were cracking jokes left and right until he came out and said, "I'm bleeding" We looked at his chin and he had a massive wound, it was clear he would need stitches! We had to cut our trip short and get him back home to the hospital so we went to play with the animals before we had to head out.
We went down to the stables and got the tour. The Kindness Ranch takes in animals that have been tested on in labs. They now have a better life. We played with 5 pigs, one was really happy and kept diving into a pile of hay, it was awesome. We then pet some miniature horses and some normal horses. Later we went to the dog yurt where there were 4 Beagles and another dog named Coyote. Later we went to the cat yurt and played with a bunch of cute kitties. Overall it was so amazing. We didn't die, we found out later that Sam needed 5 stitches, and we got to play with pigs! The Kindness Ranch is a great place to visit, so make the effort. My only advice is be careful with the horror films you watch before you visit.






For more information on The Kindness Ranch visit: www.kindnessranch.org

The Kindness Ranch....

We've been at The Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary. So I will combine today's "veganism" and tomorrow's "?" into one monster blog, stay tuned!!!!

10 Questions with Jesca Hoop

This weeks "10 Questions" is with Jesca Hoop, an extremely gifted singer/songwriter. Her debut album, Kismet, came out just a short time ago. It's a beautiful collection of songs that span genres with ease. She's got something that most new songwriters don't, a kind of sincerity that comes out in every song. She must have something great because Tom Waits thinks so! Hoop used to be the nanny for the children of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, Waits liked what he heard and passed on her music to the radio station that helped make her career. Kismet really is an incredible record and by far it's one of the best of 2007. So go out there and get Jesca Hoop's new album, you won't be disappointed. She's also on tour, so check the dates for your city.

for more info on Jesca Hoop visit www.jescahoop.com


10 Questions for Jesca Hoop

1. Love Is All We Have is easily one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard all year. It’s about Hurricane Katrina, how did approach writing lyrics to a heavy subject like that?

By first admitting that I could never sum it up and therefore yielding to the heart of the matter (rather than the details of the event)...which for me is to never take love and life for granted.

2. What did you think of Tom Waits performance in the 1999 comedy Mystery Men?

Everybody can use a blame thrower.

3. In your pockets, purse, bag or whatever, what are the three most interesting objects you carry around?

Pocket knife, colored pencils, most recent book...

4. I can’t believe you worked with Matt Chamberlain! He’s drummed for David Bowie, Fiona Apple, Morrissey, the list goes on and on. I haven’t worked with him yet, what is he like?

Adorable, funny, versatile, great talent.

5. When I was younger I would have coffee in the French Quarter and listen to the musicians that were set up on the corner. Listening to old Jazz musicians is so inspiring. Have you had the chance to do that in New Orleans?

Very briefly after a show at the House of Blues.

6. Havoc in Heaven and Out the Back Door caught me off guard the first time I listened to Kismet. With all the various genres you experiment with how did you arrange the song order of this album?

The same way one would play pick up sticks...throw 'em in a pile...no really, the song order was a big challenge.

7. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Christmas Eve...listening to Bing Crosby...drinking atole and reading The Night Before X-mas

8. It’s a shame you don’t have more music videos. They are a great extension of your art if done right. Why do you not have more videos?

I do actually..we made a video for the song Summertime and soon we will make one for Money.

9. Strings or Brass?

Both

10. What is the best compliment you’ve received after a performance?

Can't say for sure...I always appreciate it when a person articulates what they feel rather than using generic terms like "amazing" I also appreciate "thank you" thank you is genuine.

Is There Life on Titan?

How crazy is Saturn's largest moon Titan? It's the second largest moon in our solar system, it's actually bigger than Mercury. I just can't get over this moon, it's basically a planet and it's also the best hope for extra-terrestrial life. It's possible that the early stages of microscopic life might exist on Titan. Here are some interesting things to consider about Titan. It has mountains, valleys, volcanic activity, lakes, a sea...liquid! It has an atmosphere, it's so thick and the gravity is so low that one scientist believes you could fly on the surface with some fake wings, finally...my dream come true. It rains liquid methane, and there are sand dunes with sand storms. This is crazy, scientists believe this is the best example of what Earth looked like in it's early stages. The Huygens Probe landed on the surface of Titan in 2005 and has sent back amazing photos of the moon, the surface has portions of ice-like sand and sticky mud. If there is the possibility for life out there it's on Titan, doesn't that just blow your mind? You could look at this planet through a telescope and think, something is living out there.

For more in for of the Huygens Probe visit: ESA
Photo: ESA

Joy Division - Closer

It's amazing that Joy Division released only 2 studio albums. Their influence is unmeasurable for such a small body of work. Imagine life without New Order. As much as we love New Order, we have to realize that it was a result of Ian Curtis committing suicide. Speaking of which, that brings me to todays record, Closer. It was Joy Division's second album and was scheduled for release on May 8, 1980, but because Ian Curtis killed himself just a couple of days earlier the album wasn't released until July. I think this makes the album that much more interesting. It's always strange when an actor dies and then their last movie comes out and you have to look at them on the screen as if they are still alive. That's how Closer is for me. I know I was too young to have an emotional attachment at the time of it's release, but I developed a love for the album none-the-less. Closer is an incredible album that makes you wonder what Joy Division could have accomplished if they had been together longer. Sometimes life has those quick little muses that don't seem like much at first, but in the long run they end up becoming icons.

Standout tracks - Passover, Heart and Soul.

For more info on Joy Division visit www.joydiv.org

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

If you're like me you turned into a zombie in search of more zombie films after 28 Days Later came out in 2002. My search was fulfilled when I feasted on the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Now, of course every horror fanatic will say the original George A. Romero 1978 version is a classic and can't be beat, however, Zack Snyder did a pretty awesome job. Snyder has gone on to make a name for himself with the film 300, but I think it was his debut film, Dawn of the Dead, that shows true talent and not just a big budget. I read that Snyder is planning a new zombie film called Army of the Dead....YES!!!! Look, I'm not going into detail about why his version of Dawn of the Dead is so good, I'm assuming you've seen it and are just agreeing with everything I'm saying. If you haven't seen it, don't admit it, just watch it...as if your life depends on it.

movie poster from allmoviephoto.com

Giorgio de Chirico

Giorgio de Chirico was born in Volo, Greece, 1888. He studied in Athens, Munich, Paris and Italy. He developed a style of painting called Pittura Metaphisica or Metaphysical Painting. His paintings from around 1910-1930, which exemplify Metaphysical Painting, set him apart from his contemporaries. They often depicted empty towns with long shadows or bizarre mannequin-like figures (like in the work to the left, The Archaeologist, 1927). His style became incredibly influential to the Surrealist Movement, especially with artists like Max Ernst, Dali, and Yves Tanguy. In his later years de Chirico abandoned his signature style and took on a more figurative style, or even a kind of Realism. His later paintings were never praised nearly as much as his earlier work. Giorgio de Chirico left a legacy, after his death in 1978, as the painter that helped influence Surrealism, one of the most unique art movements in history.

Fine Dinning

Last night some friends came over and we had an awesome dinner. Joey is a chef that loves the challenge of making a fine vegan dinner. I can safely say he and Elizabeth out did themselves last night! It was one of the best meals I think I've ever had...champagne, tomato soup, an amazing salad, wine, pasta with oyster mushrooms and tofu. Then for dessert Maria had made fantastic lemon bars to top it all off. I put on some Franz Liszt and it was wonderful. It's interesting because at my job I have to go into the dinning room and discuss how in Victorian times dinners lasted around two hours every night. This was a time when families weren't always on the go like we are today... eat, eat, eat, faster, go!!!
I think last nights dinner, which lasted two and a half hours, was just what I needed. It was a time to talk, enjoy the flavors of great food and wine, and enjoy the absence of the fast paced world around us. It was like meditation with food and wine!

Vegansexuals

Has anybody read the new Rolling Stone? There is an article on "vegansexuals" I've never heard of this term, but apparently it means vegans only want to sleep with other vegans. What an odd thing to write about.

10 Questions with Zooey Deschanel

This weeks 10 Questions is awesome because it's with one of my favorite entertainers, Zooey Deschanel. She is the actress that got our attention in films like Almost Famous, Elf, and Failure To Launch. Her unique style and dry sense of humor make her the center of attention in every film. In addition to being talented, attractive, and funny she's also an amazing singer. We've seen hints of her voice in films like Elf and Bridge to Terabithia but we all want more. Well, we're going to get it if all goes well in 2008 because she'll be portraying Janis Joplin in the upcoming film The Gospel According to Janis.

for more info on Zooey visit http://www.fedge.net/~zdeschanel/index.html

10 Questions for Zooey Deschanel

1. How do you think your life would have unfolded had you been named Franny?

Franny happens to be one of my favorite names and it does go well with my last name.

2. You have such a beautiful voice so it comes as no surprise that everyone bugs you about releasing a record. Here’s what I think you should do. Stretch out the wait for as long a possible just to drive everyone mad, then when your like ninety release an album of Journey covers with a wispy old lady voice. What would you add to that scenario?

Thank you. I don't think my voice is that great, just different and I think that's pretty valid since most singers sound the same nowadays. I hope to still be stylish when I am 90, something tells me my voice will be better by then.


3. Let’s see…we are the same age which means that when we were graduating from high school Cher was making a comeback, Men In Black was sweeping the nation and Frank Sinatra died. How have you dealt with life since the absence of the phrase “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”?

I think the 90's were fantastic times: no ipod, no blueberry, music was better. I find myself disconnected from this decade most of the time, that's how I deal with it.

4. We all know you play the ukulele, but I read somewhere that you actually play a baritone ukulele. Is this true? If so, how do you think this makes the soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles feel?

yeah it is true. I have no idea you are gonna have to ask them lol

5. My Ukrainian friend refers to the bangs on her head as “fringe”. Have you heard this term?

The term "fringe" is mostly used in Europe. When I lived in Dublin nobody used the term "bangs", just "fringe".

6. You’re very photogenic. I know fashion photographers have a “vision” but sometimes…. Do you ever look at photos of yourself posing with the “too cool for school” look and laugh?

I try to be as natural as I can. I don't want to look fake or over the top. I think I look better in person, being photogenic isn't my best attribute.

7. Speaking of photos, if I didn’t know you were an actress and musician I’d guess you are a photographer. Do you dabble in the Fine Arts? (besides acting)

Yes I enjoy photography very much. I also enjoy drawing and I tried to paint in the past…Let's say I am better at drawing.


8. It never fails that when someone listens to my music they feel the need to tell me who they think I sound like. As long as I like their comparison I’m flattered, but I can see how some people might get offended by that. You must get the Parker Posey thing all the time because of your style and dry humor. Who else do you get compared to and how do you feel about it?

I always get compared with my sister, people think we are the same person all the time. I guess it's because our last name is so unusual. I don't mind it at all.

9. How burnt out are you with discussing the movie Elf?

It was a fun movie to make. I needed to pay the bills lol.

10. My wife and I are obsessed with Dion’s voice. I could see you singing Ruby Baby, are you a Dion fan?

Celine Dion? she is a good singer but her music is not what I usually like.

*Bonus Question (a 10 Questions first)
Is it safe to assume you sing your heart out to Sweet Child O’ Mine?

That's one of my fav songs.

Comet Hale-Bopp

Who remembers Comet Hale-Bopp? Wasn't that crazy? It was one of the brightest comets ever seen and was in the sky forever (well a year and a half). It was pretty amazing, but kind of freaky. I remember seeing Halley's Comet back in 1986. It's next appearance is in 2061 so as long as I don't die or go blind I get to see it twice in my life time, not everyone can say that. Halley's Comet got me thinking about Hale-Bopp. Remember the mass suicide of Heaven's Gate? What was that all about, what-ev's. Well I wondered when the next time was that I'd get to see Hale-Bopp and I have some sad news. Unless I find that Holy Grail I've been trying so hard to find (damn Indiana Jones for leaving it behind!) I'm not going to get to see it again. The next time it will be seen is the year 4377, so that's a ways off. To bad.

The Cure - The Head on the Door

The Head on the Door was The Cure's 6th album and by far one of their best ever. This has always been one of my favorite records because I think this was The Cure's strongest line-up. They are known for going through members like Spinal Tap went through drummers, but this was their golden line-up. The Head on the Door featured Robert Smith on vocals and guitar, Simon Gallup on bass, Lol Tolhurst shifted to keyboards, Boris Williams on drums and Porl Thompson on guitar. So this record welcomed Simon back after a short leave, Boris for the first time and Porl coming back as well. The shift of Lol to keyboards I think gave the band an overall boost of new sound. Even though previous albums like Seventeen Seconds and Pornography are amazing The Head on the Door displays a group of guys that finally found a groove. This line-up got them through the next couple albums like Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and Disintegration (although Lol didn't really contribute to that record) which I think is the The Cure at their best. Top of the line song writing, great videos, diverse songs, melodic compositions and an overall "style" that we now recognize as uniquely The Cure.
Stand out tracks on The Head on the Door:
In Between Days
Six Different Ways
Close To Me
Sinking

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

With Tim Burton about to release his latest film Sweeney Todd, I thought it would be fun to look back on his very first full length film Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Long before Burton had carved out a chunk of pop culture with films like Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands, the quirky director made a full length film about Pee-wee Herman, the guy I was obsessed with as a child (and young adult). Pee-wee's Big Adventure is one of those films we all know and love, unless you're one of those alien-zombies from the Peru meteorite. The story follows Pee-wee as he tries to find his stolen bike. Along the way he meets strange people, does the "tequila" dance in a biker bar and even disrupts a Twisted Sister video. Oh Pee-wee, how wonderful he was. I'm sure you all want to put the movie on right now and do a bad impression of his laugh. Well, in honor of Paul Reubens fantastic character, the Secret Word of the day is..."Lollygag". You all know what to do.

Bonus 10 Questions with Katya Belaia for Art day

I thought I'd do something special for Monday's Art day. I decided to do a "10 Questions" with the artist. Today's artist is Katya Belaia. She is a Ukrainian born painter now living in England. She graduated from Goldsmith's College in London and is currently working on her Master's at Courtauld Institute of Art. The first time I looked at her paintings I was very impressed, Katya has a very strong mixture of technical ability and creativity. She joined The Iandi Art Movement earlier this year which made us all very happy. She has incredible talent that sets her apart from most contemporary artists which is great for all you art collectors, get her work while you can still afford it!
for more info on Katya Belaia visit www.iandiart.com/katyabelaia



10 Questions with Katya Belaia

1. What's your earliest childhood memory?

Sitting in the bath tub with the cartoons on tv and wishing!!! oh wishing to god I could get out of there! I thought bedtime baths were a land of evil empire!

2. Tennis or Cricket?

Tennis with scones (scones for balls!)

3. How would you describe your accent?

Like someone talking with a muffin in their mouth! mmmm... muffin..!

4. What is your favorite painting that you've made?

The Croatian commission - cupcake town - after Croatian primitivist painter Rabuzin, because it made me look outside my own box and i tumbled into total darkness and came out on the other side with a cupcake!

5. Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper?

Why Watson?! Sherlock of course!

6. What do you hope to accomplish as an artist?

To know what id like to accomplish – must be a nice feeling..

7. You're a great photographer, why don't you take more photos?

Because so many other people have fantastic cameras and make fantastic fotos that I get inspired by! I always secretly wait for people to take pictures of me, and when they do I get so self conscious, I die of awkwardness!

8. What’s you favorite Madonna look?

Pointy bazookas!

9. What artists inspire you the most?

I look around my room and I only have a painting by my little cousin on the wall.. is that some indication?

10. How many languages do you pretend to speak?

Is it for a CV? How drunk am I? I think more languages than I speak and I see more than I think and speak together. I can speak one whilst think another and see a third. It’s true.

Madonna Personality Test

For today's blog I've decided to act on a theory I have. Madonna has changed a lot over the years and everyone knows her music so she is the perfect person to use for a personality test. Here is the idea, I provide a list of all her official studio records and you choose your favorite. I believe the album you choose can determine some deep truth about your soul and it's place in the universe. You see my friends, The Madonna Personality Test will bring unity to all living creatures and make this world a better place. The beauty of it is that it's self-reflective. You decide the album and you unlock the truth of your soul then you can share your findings. So with that said I'll start. My favorite Madonna record is True Blue, this means I'm awesome.

Here are your choices:
Madonna - 1983
Like A Virgin - 1984
True Blue - 1986
Like A Prayer - 1989
Erotica - 1992
Bedtime Stories - 1994
Ray Of Light - 1998
Music - 2000
American Life - 2003
Confessions On A Dance Floor - 2005

Vegan Baking

Vegan baking is not always easy, but if you want a little help check out this book "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It's the real deal. It's everything and more. Very detailed and awesome!

10 Questions with Steven Severin

I am very excited to announce this weeks 10 Questions is with Steven Severin! Steven has had a ton of influence on me as a musician over the years. He is best known as a founding member of one of the greatest bands on Earth, Siouxsie and the Banshees. He played bass and co-wrote for the group from the beginning to the end of their 20 year run. His style is unmistakable. He also was a member of another one of my all time favorite bands, The Glove. Since Siouxsie and the Banshees broke up Steven Severin has continued his very successful career as a film composer. I could go on and on....
for more information visit stevenseverin.com
photo by Kris DeWitte

10 Questions for Steven Severin

1. Have you ever met Philip Glass?

No and I have no desire to. I prefer to keep people I admire at arms length. I'm fundamentally very shy until I've had a couple of bloody marys :)

2. One of my favorite records of all time is Blue Sunshine by The Glove, did you ever consider another album with Robert Smith and Jeanette Landray?

Robert and I discussed "Glove 2" last year when we remastered the original album and the extra disc. Robert was "not allowed" to sing on Blue Sunshine ~ that's why we asked Landray. If "Glove 2" happens it would be just the 2 of us as God/The Devil intended.

3. Chopin or Liszt?

Neither....Bartok, Ligeti, Beethoven, Debussy.

4. What is your favorite Siouxsie and the Banshees record?

I have favourite bits of all of them ~ but as a total 'experience' it would have to be Dreamhouse.

5. I noticed you enjoy the work of The Brothers Quay, but I did not see one of my favorite directors, Jan Svankmajer. What do you think of his work?

I haven't seen that much of his...from the little I have, I think I prefer the Quays.

6. While we’re on the subject, which Surrealist do you identify with the most, Max Ernst, Andre Breton or Hans Bellmer? Why?

I don't know whether identify is the right word here...I like them all for different reasons. I think I'd have to say Ernst probably because he used words and images together quite often....Duchamp had all the great 'ideas' ~ I'm big on "ideas" and Dali for his subversive showmanship.....which reminds me...We tried to make a video for The Glove's Like An Animal (never happened) and I tried to get hold of a couple of stuffed llamas to set on fire...in honour of Dali...all the taxidermy shops I tried quite rightly told me to "sod off" :)

7. One word that describes how you felt after the final episode of Twin Peaks?

I'll let you know....I followed it religiously until Bob was revealed then I went on tour somewhere so I haven't seen the final few episodes yet...I have a Spanish Box Set of DVD waiting for me.....

8. I would say you and Peter Hook (of Joy Division and New Order) have the greatest bass lines ever. Do you think you influenced each other?

Chicken & egg, egg & chicken

9. I know it was the 80s, but did you ever tease Budgie about his hair?

And the headbands, and the spandex and the colour schemes....it all fell on deaf ears of course.....thank God he was at the back.

10. What is your favorite character on Lost?

Hurley is an old friend of my wife's but my favourite I think is John Locke...the donor flashback was one of the most harrowing things I've ever seen on mainstream TV. We haven't started to watch season 3 yet so I've no idea what's going on...and Hurley won't tell us!

Another Earth?

Space.com reports that scientists have found what seems to be an Earth forming 424 light years away. Dust is forming around a star called HD 113766. They say the dust belt is made up of all the particles neede