Monday, September 26, 2005

Power Animals, French Karaoke, and getting Keanu off the drugs


I guess I haven't posted yet on Thumbsucker and I totally have to. So I went to see the premiere at the opening night of Resfest at the Metreon. If you haven't seen this movie yet I highly recommend it. This is the first feature by graphic designer turned music video director Mike Mills. He really does an excellent job of capturing suburbia and adolescence, but not in your typical coming of age story kind of way. The film rests heavily on newcomer Lou Pucci who plays the teenage lead and is fantastic , some are saying the next Johnny Depp. I also have to admit I loved Keanu Reeves as the new age ,wolf painting loving orthodontist. I usually hate him in movies but he was actually really great and his comic delivery was hilarious, he stole many of the scenes he was in.

Ok so here's the good stuff. After the screening they had a Q and A with Mike Mills and he was super cute and excited about the film. So this one chick in the front row raises her hand and begins to ask her question, but she is not really miked so we can't really make out what she is saying. Then we begin to piece it together apparently she is asking Mike Mills if he has Keanu Reeves' contact information or email because she is trying to get in contact with him and urge him off drugs and alcohol. She goes on a crazy ass tirade about how she has been sober for 4 years and how her parents went to some temple in Mexico where they claim to see the Virgin Mary. Ok, so Mike Mills in kinda nodding and everyone in the audience is whispering "what the fuck is this girl talking about?". Then she goes off and starts yelling about how Mike Mills should be ashamed of the movie as it glorifies drug use of teenagers. Then people start to boo her and she is asked to leave. It was quite bizarre, I actually thought ok maybe they planned this like this is part of act. This may have been possible in a Spike Jonze Q and A, but sadly Mike Mills and the Resfest staff was pretty taken a back by her and it def was not planned.

Anyways, onto music. Lately, I have not been able to get the following songs out of my head:

1. Stellastar* "Sweet Troubled Soul"- I just love his voice so much I could listen to it all day, I also love the line " I want to see your reflection in my bedroom stereo" I don't really know why but I love it all. It's no "My Coco" but great in its own right.

2. Natasha Bedingfield " These Words" - Ok so I know this is technically really poppy but I love this song. I guess I just love that she name checks Keates and dances with Boomboxes in the video. She totally reminds me of Sophie Ellis Baxter and there was definitely an entire summer in Europe when me and my friends were obsessed with "Murder on the Dance Floor".

3. Tralala "The Girls Say" they kinda sounds like a mix between Dance Hall Crashers and a 60s girl group and this song is damn catchy.

4. Franz Ferdinand- "Do You Want To" so yes this song was recently featured in the carnival episode of the OC but come on that just just can't ruin a track that contains the line " Your famous friend yeah I blew him before you" as sung by a stylish young Scottish lad.

5. Eagles of Death Metal- " Speak in Tongues" I hear thay have a new CD coming out soon which is great news. This song makes me want to be a go go dancer just so I could shake my ass in fringe to it.

Also I caught Nouvelle Vague at Bimbo's on Saturday and it was a great show. In addition to the tracks on their CD they covered The Cramps "Human Fly", Bauhaus' "Bella Lugosi's Dead", and The Buzzcocks. Some highlights included "Just Can't Get Enough" complete with cheesey hand moves, PIL's "This is Not a Love Song", and The Sex Pistols' "Too Drunk to Fuck".

Monday, September 19, 2005

Ktocity watches TV

So today I came across two things on TV which gave me the exact opposite reactions of one another. Let me explain, the first is the show "Mad Money" on CNBC. Now I really doubt any of my friends have seen this show but if you have the host Jim Cramer is perhaps the most terrifying person on the face of the earth. Pretty much he screams at the top of his lungs about stocks for an hour, talks like an old frat guy, and throws papers around his fake desk. If hell exists my hell would def be just me and Jim Cramer in a small windowless office where he just screams about stocks at me all day for the rest of eternity. Better start being good now.

Ok now the second thing I saw on TV today which made me sublimely happy would be "Clueless". Why do teen movies today not get it? Clueless is still a really funny movie, and I must say the soundtrack definitely brings me back to '95. Lest we forget the cheesey goodness of The Muffs covering "Kids in America", Coolio, Jill Sobule, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Clueless and Empire Records may be my two most seen movies ever, just because when I was 15 every single time me and my friends had nothing to do, someone would put on one of these two movies. Plus you get to see Britney Murphy in all her chunky, gawky glory before she got all coked out and ana.

Also tonight my TV orgy will be complete as I fully intend to watch the season premiere of Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential. I heart Gob. However, in real life he is married to SNL's and Upright Citizen's Brigade's Amy Poehler. I wish I was a dude so I could be Gob for Halloween.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

New Changes to the Site and Tiki Art Two

I'd first off like to thank Bust magazine for making me a part of their "Girl Wide Web" I one of their Culture Vultures for Music. Also you will see I changed the look of the site and now haloscan does all my comments, so you don't need to be a member of Blogger to comment, so comment away! This Friday I will be checking out the opening of Tiki Art Two at the Shooting Gallery on 839 Larkin Opening Night Reception from 7-11:



No plans for shows until Nouvelle Vague at Bimbo's on the 24th. It doesn't get any better than French chicks covering 80s songs. I am going to try to bring my camera to take some pics of the show. Also Resfest SF has a great lineup of films, such as the SF premiere of Thumbsucker the first feature by graphic artist Mike Mills. There is also a Beck video retrospective on Saturday the 24th. Click here for the full lineup. I love the ads for Thumbsucker they are a series of drawings which you can view on the films site Here is one of my favs:

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Jenny Lewis, TVOTR, Entourage, and Ipod tourettes

So yeah been super busy/ stressed with work lately and have not been able to update this thing. ok so some music things first off that I have been meaning to post. Click here to download the new TV on the Radio single they wrote for the victims of Hurricane Katrina "Dry Drunk Emperor". Also Jenny Lewis's solo work for her upcoming album "Rabbit Fur Coat" has been surfacing online. There is no girl I would rather be more the Jenny Lewis, she has the most beautiful voice and she dresses like a cowgirl. Click Here to download "Rabbit Fur Coat" I too used to have a white rabbit fur coat and muffler when I was little, but my mom was not a raging alchy.

So I am a little late in the game regarding Entourage, but I just recently watched all of the first season on DVD and love it. I am certain how I feel about this show is how guys feel about liking Sex In The City. I know that it is supposed to be making fun of LA, but at the same time it is so LA itself. Also there is a def lack of good female characters aside from Ari's assistant and even she isn't that great. But goddamn do I love Jeremy Piven he is freakin hilarious.

One other thing before I leave to have dinner with Joe and hopefully get crazy drunk in the Haight at Vince's party. So lately I have noticed that my iPod is obsessed with certain songs. Everytime I put it on shuffle it seems intent of playing Blondie's "Rip Her to Shreds" which is awesome because it is perhaps one of the best, most punk rock Blondie songs ever and if I had a band I would totally cover it. Also my Ipod really likes to play totally inappropriate shit when I am riding the bus at 5:30 AM to go to work, such as The Icarus Line or Blood Brothers. Although I love to jump around in my living room to "Burn Piano Island Burn" , at 5:30 AM it makes me want to simultaneous puke and scream which I am sure would completely freak out the 80 yr old Asian woman sitting next to me on the 1 California.

Also my Ipod loves to really embarrass me. Like when a cute guy comes and sits down next to me and I go to skip ahead to a new song, he looks over to see what I am listening to and my iPod just loves to throw out some Ani Difranco, DMB, or any assorted nerdy musical songs I have on it. Come on Ipod! I know I'm not single but I would still like to impress the bus hottie with my cool tatse in music. Why can't you throw up some Sufjan Stevens, Bloc Party remixes, or Pulp at least give me something to start up a convo or at least get a congratulatory nod in my direction.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Louis XIV Free Concert and RIP Ty

From Fusion Flash Concerts:

Flash Alert! LOUIS XIV is coming to Justin Herman Plaza in SAN FRANCISCO on SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 at 5PM.
This San Diego band hit the international scene in 2004 with their quirky punk feel, sexy lyrics, and irresistible angst. Jason Hill, Brian Karscig, Mark Maigaard, and Jimmy Armbrust released their introductory EP, Illegal Tender, in January 2005, featuring the edgy Finding Out True Love is Blind.


In case you were unaware, Justin Herman Plaza is at the end of the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Plaza. Also it is right in front of my work at the One Market Building. I am really happy to see that this San Diego band has made it so big and I can't wait to go to this free show although it will pry be a mad house. Anyone wanting to meet up give me a call.

Also on sadderer note, I wanted to say RIP to my family dog Typhoon who died yesterday, he had cancer in his mouth and was suffering a great deal, so my parents decided to put him to sleep. It was a very hard decision and my whole family is very upset. Here is a pic of me and Ty Ty from June, I will miss him a lot: