As stickers go, these are a cut above the rest.  I've cataloged odd trends and themes in past blogs, but these stickers actually add quite a bit of value when they're found adhered to the original shrink wrap...





The yellow sticker above is an original promotional tool from the 60's, the green tape was added later to preserve the shrink! Below is a sticker used on pressings from the late 70's, early 80's.




The sticker below is an excellent accompaniment to the jacket design and adds a little prestige to the piece.

Amoeba Music and Phil Blankenship are proud to present some of our film favorites at Los Angeles’ last full-time revival movie theater. See movies the way they're meant to be seen - on the big screen and with an audience!

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Saturday May 3

Burnt Offerings

RARE screening of the '70s horror classic starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Bette Davis & more !

New Beverly Cinema
7165 W Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-4038
Midnight, $7

 

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May - New Beverly's 30th Anniversary!
May 3 Burnt Offerings
May 10 Smokey And The Bandit
May 24 Creature From Black Lake
May 31 Zardoz

June
June 7 Heavenly Bodies
June 21 John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
June 28 Van Damme in Sudden Death

 

At one time in my life I thought of myself as one helluva talented dumpster diver and a professional son of a bitch with an eye for detail who, in a micro-second, could spot a rare trashed treasure at a hundred paces. Since I have some history and knowledge on this subject, and since these are tough economic times when many of us need to find ways to cut corners and you may be tempted to take up the hobby of dumpster diving, I thought I’d suggest some rules of etiquette and some safety measures that novices may not have considered. Here are some tips:

#2- Never climb into a dumpster at a hospital; you don’t  mess with medical or hazardous waste. That’s a job for HAZMAT. Between sick sheets, icky crap and errant needles, it's not a good place to hang… besides, I’m pretty sure you would find nothing worthwhile. If there was any good stuff to be had, like furniture or books, it’s already been pilfered by hospital employees, that’s why they work there.

#14- Beware of dumpster lids, they’re heavier than you think and lids have a tendency to slam down suddenly and unrepentantly in windy or even slightly breezy conditions. As with many aspects of the dive, shit happens quickly, and when you least expect it. I’ve always blamed accidents on the "garbage ghost," that nasty invisible demon that lurks in many a dumpster, protecting its secrets, seeking revenge for all its stolen and landfill-destined artifacts.

#11- Wear protective clothing that covers your legs and arms. Gloves are always a good idea, if for no other reason than you won’t leave any fingerprints. Wear good shoes or boots with solid soles:  sharp objects are not a lot of fun and are inevitably hidden.

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Friday May 2

The Multinauts

 

New Beverly Cinema
7165 W Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-4038
Midnight, $7

 

 

 

MULTINAUTS WORLD PREMIERE!!!

A year in the making! The biggest Telefantasy premiere yet...

THE MULTINAUTS an all new adventure saga, set in an pangalactic
post nuke multiverse.

Episode One: Three heroes from different time periods are picked up
by a holographic spaceship and sent on a mission to rescue Falco
Quasar, a colony pilot when they are attacked by a mega corporation
and it's mutant empire.


FRIDAY MAY 2nd-MIDNIGHT--NEW BEVERLY CINEMA-
7165 Beverly Blvd LOS ANGELES, CA


Special programs for all attendees, raffle with fabulous prizes at intermission, a new pin, and just about the best party of the year.
Save the date!!

** for those who are rpg enthusiasts this show can be best described as Dungeon Majesty's STAR FRONTIERS

WE WILL ALSO BE PLAYING THE BEST OF DUNGEON MAJESTY!!

This week the New York Times ran a cool piece on their website-- a story and its accompanying image that has been posted online before including on the Gabbro B-sides site.  The image in question is the animated optical illusion (left) of the spinning woman dancer, an optical illusion that was created by Nobuyuki Kayahara -- a Japanese web-designer.  This moving woman animated image acts as a quick visual test in determining what type of person you are depending on how your brain processes the optical illusion.

Reportedly, if you see the dancer spinning in a clockwise fashion you are using more of the right (creative) side of your brain and if you see the image of the woman spinning anti-clockwise you are more of a left-brained (logical) type of person.  Of course if you look at the moving image long enough you may see it spin both directions -- meaning you are both a logical and creative type.

Check it out with your eyes and see what results you get. And for more insights on this topic read the New York Times piece and the many comments it generated.

Live Home Video 68966

Saint Walpurga supposedly, was an 8th century nun whose relics were transferred on April 30th and her name was given to the holiday. As frequently happened during Christianity's spread across Europe, this was merely an instance of Christianizing a pre-existing holiday. It was on this day that Odin died attempting to retrieve the knowledge of the runes and, ever since, the barrier between the world of the dead and the living is at its weakest. For this reason, the faithful build bonfires, play drums and (later) shoot off guns tonight to ward off evil. In some German-speaking areas, tonight is known as Hexxenacht because witches mount their broomsticks and fly from near and far to Brocken Mountain and "hold revels with their Gods."

In rural Bavaria, children sometimes play pranks-- wreaking destruction on gardens, TPing, smearing toothpaste in places unintended by the manufacturer, and writing graffiti. In the Rhineland boys bring trees hung with colored streamers to the houses of girls they like. A tree decorated only with white streamers indicates dislike for the recipient. In southern Sweden children gather greenery at twilight and adorn their homes. In Finland, they drink sparkling wine and sima (a mead) and burn strawmen imbued with ill-will and bad luck. In Estonia and  Germany, girls dress as witches and make merry.

I really wanted to spend this blog talking about the new releases from our old favorite bands Def Leppard and White Lion, but there are some other more important albums out this week that might have more people excited. Both Madonna and Portishead have some highly anticipated albums coming out today. I wanted Madonna to have to battle with Mariah Carey for the #1 album of the week, but Mariah came out a couple of weeks before Madonna, so we are left with Portishead instead to battle it out with Madonna-- a much better competitor I think.

So yes really, Def Leppard and White Lion both have albums out today. And there is a new Brett Michaels on the way as well. It has been over 20 years since White Lion released their second album Pride back in 1987. The album featured the massive song "When the Children Cry." You really could not get away from that song back then. The album did really well and I remember being obsessed with it myself. I ordered the cassette of it along with Hysteria by Def Leppard from one of those record clubs that  shipped you like 7 albums for 7 cents. Hysteria was Def Leppard's fourth album but it also came out in 1987. This was the album that really got me obsessed with Def Leppard. I was listening to the deluxe reissue version of Hysteria a couple days ago. I always forget until I listen to it, but the album is still amazing. I still have every song memorized. I am sure the album was overplayed for many and there are still many people out there scarred for life because of this album, but I really do love it. I could probably live my life without listening to White Lion again, but that one song still gets me whenever I hear it.

Just in case you were trying to remember 1987, Madonna did not release an album that year. It was the year after True Blue and we were all still in love with "Papa Don't Preach" and "Live to Tell." We had no idea of the controversy that lied ahead of us with Like A Prayer in another couple of years. I am sure there were a lot of Def Leppard fans out there that did not like Madonna, and I am sure they are still out there, but I really did love them both. I was young and really did just love myself some popular radio music. These albums made a huge impact on my life and are still somehow a part of me. It is a bit crazy to think that 20 years have passed since then, but they all have new albums out this week. I have not ventured into the new albums from White Lion or Def Leppard, and I might just skip them altogether so I can keep my memories somewhat sacred. But Madonna has been quite the busy lady since 1987-- it does really seem like her last album just came out. She seems to be always ready with a new one just when you have finished the last one. You have either worn it out or been sick of it since it came out and finally got it out of your head. I have pretended to not be a fan of Madonna a couple times over the last 20 years, but I just can't resist her or her music. She got me back then and I have not really been able to shake my love of Madonna. I have had mixed feeling about the last couple albums. I always sort of love it and like many of the songs, but I also always hope for a bit more that I get. I do respect the lady for continuing to be relevant and make albums that sound different than the last. The new album is mostly a Timbaland and Justin Timberlake album, but it is also most definitely a Madonna album. Justin Timberlake would not really exist without Madonna, so if you think about it that way, she is just using the people that she influenced to help her create a new album. I have been trying to get coworkers to place bets on what album will come out on top at Amoeba this week. Madonna will most certainly have the top album in the country this week. But I have my faith that Portishead will win the competition at Amoeba. Although based on first day sales today, the race will be much closer than I thought.

Earlier today (April 29th, 2008) Albert Hofmann, the Swiss born scientist best known for synthesizing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (aka LSD), died of a heart attack. He was 102 years old.  Two years ago in 2006, coinciding with his hundredth birthday, there was an international symposium (see clip below) -- with a good deal of publicity surrounding it at the time -- on his mind altering creation.

In addition to synthesizing LSD in 1938, Hoffman, known as the "Father of LSD," was also the first to synthesize psilocybin -- the active constituent of 'magic mushrooms' in 1958.  He was also the author of several books including The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogen and  LSD: My Problem Child. Additionally he wrote in excess of a hundred scientific articles.

Born in Baden, Switzerland in 1906, Hofmann graduated from the University of Zürich with a degree in chemistry in 1929 and went to work for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel, Switzerland. This involved years of laboratory research which led him on to the study of Claviceps purpurea (ergot) and ergot alkaloids.  This led his research to spend a few years working his way through the lysergic acid derivatives. He eventually arrived at synthesizing LSD-25 in 1938.

According to sources after minimal testing, LSD-25 was set aside as Hofmann continued with other derivatives, only four years later in 1943, re-synthesizing LSD-25 because he felt he might have missed something the first time around. And on that day in April of 1943 he was the very first human to experience the effects of LSD after accidentally ingesting a tiny amount of the mind-altering drug. Although he stopped working in research several years ago, Hofmann continued to write and work as lecturer and spokesman on psychedelics right up until the time of his death.

              

                                                                                                           

San Marino is a tiny, affluent city nestled in the San Gabriel Valley which comes in at number 48 on the list of America's least-affordable places to live.  Its homes were mostly built in the second quarter of the 20th century and are in a fairly wide variety of styles-- some are actually pretty low key. Monterey Park may've been envisioned as the "Beverly Hills of East L.A." by its planners, but surely San Marino has more right to the comparison than other Easterly cities and neighborhoods. It has often, on TV and film, subbed as the West Side, East Coast or just a nice, anonymous neighborhood in such timeless, Hollywood classics as Mr & Mrs. Smith,  Monster-In-Law,  One Hour Photo, American Wedding, Men In Black II,  and television episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the Office, The West Wing and Alias. Despite the fact that in films and TV it is used to portray genteel, white neighborhoods, in reality most of the population is Chinese-American, which is why people jokingly refer to it as Chan Marino.

One of the pioneers of electronic music and co-composer of the first all electronic film score, Bebe Barron, died this past April 20th of natural cases at the age of 82. She along with her husband, Louis Barron, who passed away in 1989, composed the sound effects / soundtrack to the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet.

Charlotte May Wind (her husband nicknamed her Bebe) was born in Minneapolis in 1925. She earned a degree in music at the University of Minnesota then moved to New York, where she worked as a researcher for Time-Life. Soon after, she met and married Louis Barron in 1947. As a wedding gift the Barrons received a tape recorder and began delving into the world of musique concrete (music created by sounds other than musical instruments, often referred to as “real world” sounds). In 1948 Louis Barron was inspired by the book Cybernetics: Or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, by MIT mathematician Norbert Wiener. After studying Wiener’s equations, Louis began building electronic circuits to generate sounds. That combined with recorded tape, created a unique and otherworldly aural experience. After moving to Greenwich Village, the Barrons built a recording studio and became entrenched in New York’s burgeoning avant-garde scene. In their studio they recorded the likes of Aldous Huxley, Anais Nin, Henry Miller and Tennessee Williams reading their work; they also recorded and worked with many like-thinking composers such as John Cage, Morton Feldman, Earle Brown, and David Tudor. In addition, the Barrons scored their first soundtracks to several experimental short films by Ian Hugo, husband of Anais Nin.

You gotta love Boris. They’re one of those bands who are so consistently good at what they do that a sizable bulk of their fans will forever find themselves buying anything and everything they can get their hands on. Because of their penchant for limited releases and gorgeous packaging,  plus the usual import price tag -- ouch, Boris collectors have it pretty rough no matter how you slice it.

While we cannot blame Boris for wanting to deliver the very best of their artistic capabilities in the most aesthetically pleasing manner possible, it seems a shame that they seem to sacrifice the availability of their talents to the full scope of their fan-base. That being the case, I have to say, and please excuse the inherent perversity of the statement, God bless Southern Lord for bringing Boris accessibly and affordably to the states.

The band’s latest release, entitled Smile, is nothing short of what any Boris fan would expect from the genius rock-smiths the trio have proven themselves to be. For familiarized ears it is, neatly put, every Boris album you’ve ever heard divided by your four favorite Boris songs, figuring in new collaborations with Ghost’s Michio Kurihara and Stephen O’Malley of sunn0))).  Sound redundant? Don’t be silly: Boris knows no redundancy when it comes to rocking your face off, nor any limits, for that matter.

It begins as a slow, menacing rumble, suggesting the gathering of thunder-clouds clamoring to assault your naked ears, but what follows is a rather straight cover of PYG’s "Flower Sun Rain," except that it sounds something like a watercolor interpretation of the song; it’s as if PYG’s original, decidedly heavy folk-rock song is a solid ink splotch which Boris deliberately drenches. The song bleeds its sound slowly, heart-wrenchingly, toward the alarmingly sudden gleeful sound of a little girl laughing and -- BOOM! -- just like that, we’re reminded that Boris began as a punk band. The “danger zone” triptych of "BUZZ-IN," "Laser Beam," and "Statement" seem to jive sonically with the fighter jet depicted in the cover art; the three songs writhe frantically and unpredictably as the players shred through one frenzy to the next, dredging up comparisons from G.B.H. to Venom with some ol’ fashioned, heavy “hair” metal thrown in for dirty-good measure.   Here's the video for "Statement":

Among the piles of everyday hits and misses I plow through upstairs in the vinyl vault, there's always plenty of curios.  I've put aside a handful of UK releases that caught my eye recently and decided to check out the stories behind the labels, here's a bit of briefing...


77 Records was started by Doug Dobell who ran Dobell's Jazz Record Shop in London.  He specialized in rare Trad Jazz and Blues recordings.  As far as I could tell, York Records was a short lived Decca subsidiary, with heavy Yorkshire connections, it seems that it might have been run by a "Yorkshire TV" shoppe.  Automatic Record Co. was a Warner subsidiary started by Nick Mobbs that had a few Modern Rock releases in the early 80's...







VJM specialized in 78 and unreleased rarity comps from Blues & Trad Jazz artists, I believe the organization is still around today. Topic started off as a vinyl label releasing Folk titles and still releases UK folk music on CD.

Funny how time flies by. Already it is eleven long hip-hop years since Minneapolis, Minnesota hip-hop duo Atmosphere, comprised of producer Ant and emcee Slug (L-R in photo left), responsible for putting the Twin Cities firmly on the hip-hop map, dropped their debut album, 1997's Overcast!.

Last Tuesday they dropped their fifth studio album (and finest release to date): When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold on Rhymesayers Entertainment.

As you can imagine with this brand new album just dropping, both members of Atmosphere are pretty busy, caught up in their current tour which hits LA and San Francisco next week.  They will stay that way for much of the year as they promote this new release.  But in the past few days I had the opportunity to catch up with Slug, via email, to ask him about hip-hop, the new album, the word on a future Felt (with     MURS) album, and how it feels to be going strong eleven long hip-hop years later.  Did he ever envision himself being where he is now in his career?  "Ha. Yeah. I think our expiration date was somewhere in 2002 but I'm not complaining," he replied.  "I'll keep going 'til I get fired or replaced by a younger stronger, more attractive idiot."

 "Our approach musically was different.  We wanted to find a bigger but more minimal sound for this album," he says of how When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold is unlike previous Atmosphere releases, adding that,  "Lyrically, I wanted to write about other people's problems for once."  The new 15 track album (avail in two different packaged CD versions) is rich in ever-engaging, flawed character driven, tales, many tackling the issues of parenthood, like "In Her Music Box" and "Shoulda Known."  In the latter song Slug raps:

Even in a multicultural, polyglot city like L.A. (which has the largest population of Asian-Americans (1.4 million) in the country and where the percentage of the population which is Asian-American is roughly equal to that which is black) most discussions of race appear to still be framed in the outmoded, bipolar terms of  black and white.  For example, whereas a lot of people and many organizations honor Black History Month, Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month is almost completely unrecognized except by some Asian-Americans. The centuries-long struggle and strife of blacks in America is well-documented and worth honoring- but Asians have also been subjected to legal segregation, racist violence, widespread discrimination and harassment. So why is it that the Asian-American experience is so downplayed?

According to polls, 23% of Americans are uncomfortable voting for an Asian-American to be President of the United States. This is in contrast to 15% compared with an African-American candidate and 14% compared with a woman candidate. A lot of Asians are suspected and viewed of holding allegiances to Asia, and not the U.S. which plays into the "perpetual foreigner" syndrome. True, many Asians are more recent immigrants than the white or black population but even Asians born in America often speak, in my experience,  of "Americans" only in the third person. Last year, coming up with movies to showcase for APA Heritage Month resulted in the suggestion of Chinese Kung Fu movies the distinction between Asians in Asia and Asians in America remains a lot harder than distinguishing African-Americans from Africans or white people from Europeans partly because America loves Asian movies and Korean dramas seem to show at all hours of the day, but Hollywood almost never casts Asian-Americans in anything and, to date, there have only been three TV shows to focus on Asian-Americans.

I was planning on doing this last week, but better late than never.  Here's some video and musical accompaniment to my Texas post:

Benevolent sovereign:



Fort Worth was significant for something:



The definitive version of "Dead Flowers":



My favorite Billy Joe Shaver tune:

Last week at Footsie's was so fun I'm doing it again. This week we will be joined by DJ Kazue (The Standard//Soul People) She is one solid DJ, Deep Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop. I will counter with some African Funk, Cumbia and great Latin Funk I found this week. Together we will produce some great sounds for a Sunday evening. Come by, have a drink and show some love. Starts @ 9:30!

If you are a gigantic music fan, you've probably already listened to and absorbed Jimi Hendrix' music to the point where you might think you never ever need to hear it again.  I know the feeling-- when I was in high school Jimi was one of the primary artists I listened to, over and over and over again to the point of oblivion.

So to you, the jaded, I say, hold up!  Just when you think you've seen and heard everything (and maybe you have, but this was new to me...), here comes the fairly recent reissue of the 1973 documentary Jimi Hendrix, which was directed by Joe Boyd, John Head III and Gary Weis.  I read about it in Joe Boyd's White Bicycles, and finally got my hands on a copy of the movie. 

Producer extraordinaire Joe Boyd was heartbroken by the bumps that came along with putting together this film.  One thing he was dead on about, and what really makes this film compelling above all others about Hendrix, is that the interviews were conducted only 3 years after Hendrix' death, and both his contradictory and brilliant presence and the awe he inspired in his fellow musicians is extremely palpable.  Heck, you can see it written all over Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend's still-freaked-out faces! 


Roadies and managers are also interviewed, folks I had never seen in other documentaries.  Their memories are fresh:  a roadie recalls having to stand behind the amps and hold them up while Jimi humped and flailed away on the front of the Marshall stack; a manager remembers landing in London in 1970 to a pack of paparazzi and moving aside, only to have his arm firmly grabbed by still-shy Jimi, who didn't want to be left alone with the press.

This past Saturday was that special holiday -- Record Store Day.  Amoebites at both the San Francisco and Hollywood stores turned in full reports, so read on to check them out!  SF is up first, then Hollywood:

To celebrate the momentous occasion of Record Store Day here at the San Francisco Amoeba, we had DJs all day, super stuffed swag bags to give to customers, extra special day-only limited edition 10" and 7" from artists like Steve Malkmus and Vampire Weekend, and we also had Mr. Alternative Tentacles, Jello Biafra, sitting at our Information Counter.

The day started off with a bang, with customers flocking to the limited vinyl-only product that artists had created just for Record Store Day.  We quickly sold out of the Steve Malkmus and the Jicks, Built To Spill, Death Cab For Cutie and REM limited edition 7"s.  Other popular items included the Vampire Weekend, Breeders and Teenagers 7"s. 

At 1pm the DJ sets kicked off with  DJ Vinnie Esparza, who brought the party jams.  Balloons and even more crowds soon followed.

The most exciting part of the day though, was when Jello Biafra stopped by to man our Info Counter.  The visit quickly turned into a hero-worshipping signing line, and Jello was kind enough to stick around to accomodate each and every fan who came to see him, signing their records and taking photos with them.  Apparently he recommended a lot of Prog rock, like Magma! He also recommended Triclops to a lot of people.  Triclops is playing an instore here at Amoeba SF on April 25-- this Friday! Superfan and Record Store Day DJ V. Vale even scored a mini interview with Jello!  To see his review of his experience and the day, go here.  For larger versions of the pictures you see here plus more, go here.

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Including members from The Fleshies, Lower Forty-Eight, BottIes & Skulls and Victim's Family, Triclops! has released its first full-length album on Alternative Tentacles, entitled Out of Africa.  I thought there might be some implicit comment on Isaak Dinesen's classic novel, but after listening I can't be quite sure.  If the reference is there, it's layered in the pound for pound sonic boom and San Francisco punk infusion that makes up their compositional prog/metal-ish sound.  Described as "Jane's Addiction jamming with Primus," it is a sound you must hear to believe.

You can hear Triclops! tonight at their free instore at Amoeba San Francisco!  Click here for details.


Anyway, back to the record: at first listen you might not notice the intricacies of sound; spanning from volatile to formal to dynamic explorations, Triclops! offer you a cross section of ever-sprawling musical genres such as Experimental, Metal, Punk and modern Prog.  When it's all said and done, Triclops! make you feel like a party to whatever is happening on the Dali meets Disney cover painting by Lee Harvey Roswell. 

ANZAC Day - Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and Samoa



Armed Forces Day - North Korea



Children's Day - Iceland



Flag Day - The Faroe Islands, Swaziland



Red Hat Society Day - Red Hatters



Freedom Day - Portugal

Robigalia - Rome

 

Liberation of Nazism - Italy

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A quick glance at this week's Hip-Hop Top Five charts (all below) from the Berkeley, San Francisco, & Hollywood Amoeba Music locations (thanks respectively to Tunde, Luis, & Marques Newson) further proves what I've been feeling all along this year: that hip-hop is in one of the most exciting and healthiest states that it's been in for a minute. To my ears, nearly every new hip-hop full-length release dropping these days is quality shit. Sure, there's a few lemons here and there, but mostly new 2008 hip-hop is more likely to be on hit than sound like shit.

Another glance at these new rap charts also reveals that hip-hop has arrived at perhaps its most richly diverse stage in its 30 plus years.  It's as if in 2008 hip-hop has all grown up, multiplied, and gone forth and conquered the world (of music) with a wide range of sounds all qualifying as hip-hop today.  From the stripped down, style of Minneapolis' Atmosphere, to the bouncy hip-hop of the Bay Area's Lyrics Born (pictured above) with its funk foundation, to the trippy sounding Danger Mouse-produced new Gnarls Barkley, to the straight-up hard turntable hip-hop beats and cuts of DJ Quest, to the twisted soulful, ten-track, mostly instrumental,  grooves of the new one from the late J-Dilla -- a hell of a lot of musical territory is being covered under the hip-hop umbrella of '08.

HIP-HOP TOP FIVE @ AMOEBA MUSIC BERKELEY

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Niñas Mal tells the story of a spoiled fresa named Adela whose single father is running for political office. As far as self-centered Adela is concerned, daddy never makes enough time for her, so she continually rebels... meaning she gets tattoos, body piercings and probably listens to punk. She's seen as a detriment to her father's political career so he sends her off to a prestigious boarding school which promises to turn her into a model daughter. Of course, Adela has other ideas; she butts heads with her suffering teacher and tries to disrupt the experience for everyone.

Niñas Mal is basically almost identical to any American tween movie except that there' s more teen sex and gratuitous nudity. Poor-little-rich-girl Adela is a completely superficial rebel-- extremely obnoxious and unconcerned with anyone but the conventionally hunky gardener at her school. Her classmates are broadly drawn stereotypes-- the bitch, the lesbian, the braniac and the ditz.  She thinks she's got it all figured out but... you know where it's going. 

Of course, Adela's pranks and obnoxiousness never amount to an actual rejection of her privileged status, they're merely bratty.  Her father remains her suffering safety net.  If you've seen teen novelas like Rebelde or Clase 406 where being punk is merely another brand of conformity that involves hair-dye, then you know what to expect from this film.  Fight for what you believe in, kids.  Parents just don't understand.  Basically the message of the film amounts to nothing more than empty slogans and false sympathy designed to appeal to a young, eager, self-important and undiscriminating audience. The film is a harmless nothingness redecorated to appeal to children who don't know any better or care. If you're not part of the PG-13 set, it's best to skip this one.

I am still catching up with all the releases from the last couple of weeks, but there is really only one release to worry yourself about this week -- the full length debut from Flight of the Conchords. I know there are still some of you out there who have not yet seen the television show, but you really have no excuse. The 12 episode first season came out on DVD in November, so you have had plenty of time to watch it. Put it on your Netflix, go rent it from your favorite video store, or just go buy it. It really is that good that you might find yourself wanting to watch it over and over again. They released an EP of music from the show a couple of months ago on Sub Pop. But the full album Flight of the Conchords just came out this week.  The album is packaged beautifully. I really appreciate when bands actually spend some time figuring out how they want the LP and CD to look. The artsy cartoonish drawings are perfect for this album, and the cartoon images of Bret and Jemaine look exactly like them. When you open up the CD they actually pop up at you, sort of like a pop up book. You also get a poster folded up in the inside of the CD. It is always nice to get a sort of unexpected surprise once you open up the album. The illustrations are by Tyler Stout and the art direction is by Jeff Kleinsmith and Dusty Summers. I seriously would not normally care to find out who did the artwork but I really am in love with the look of this album.

I have come to the realization that you may not really "get" this album unless you have seen the show, but maybe I am wrong. It is possible that millions of people will pick up the album and just appreciate the songs for what they are, or just treat it like buying a comedy album without actually ever seeing the comedian perform live. I listened to their original BBC radio series yesterday. Before the show was ever filmed they did this radio show. It is still hilarious and is done like an old radio show with a narrator. Some of the same sketches were also used in the TV show that followed.  Just in case you are still confused, the show is about two musicians from New Zealand who are in a band called Flight of the Conchords. They move to New York to try to make it in the music world. Their music is sometimes a bit folky but they cover all sorts of music from electro to hip hop. They have one crazy fan who comes to all their shows, but not very many more. They have a horrible part time manager who has no idea how to manage a band. Each episode usually contains two music videos.

Amoeba Music and Phil Blankenship are proud to present some of our film favorites at Los Angeles’ last full-time revival movie theater. See movies the way they're meant to be seen - on the big screen and with an audience!

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Saturday April 26

Joe Dante's
Werewolf Masterpiece

The Howling

New Beverly Cinema
7165 W Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-4038
Midnight, $7

Special Guests To Be Announced!

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May - New Beverly's 30th Anniversary!
Friday May 2 The Multinauts
From the creators of Dungeon Majesty, Telefantasy Studios presents THE MULTINAUTS an all new adventure saga set in an intergalactic post nuke universe. www.dungeonmajesty.com
May 3 Burnt Offerings
May 10 Smokey And The Bandit
May 24 Creature From Black Lake
May 31 Zardoz

June
June 7 Heavenly Bodies
June 21 John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
June 28 Van Damme in Sudden Death

Washington DC hip-hop organization Words Beats & Life (WBL) are preparing to present their third annual Bum Rush the Boards hip-hop chess tournament. 

The competition, which is open to players of all ages and skill levels, is happening on May 17th in DC. There will also be chess classes for newbies plus classes in how to DJ, emcee, b-boy/b-girl, and a how-to create graffiti art class.

Inspired in part by the Wu Tang Clan and other hip-hop artists and fans' keen interest in the stimulating board game of chess, and taking its name from Public Enemy's classic album Yo! Bum Rush the Show, Bum Rush the Boards, was created to promote the idea of strategic struggle within the hip-hop generation.   The event's organizers say their hope is to "harness the power of hip-hop culture and the science of chess to open the minds of a generation to a host of new options the world has available to them."

Last year in San Jose, a gathering of martial arts, chess, and hip-hop enthusiasts convened for a free hip hop chess exhibition/ grudge match -- also geared for all ages. That event had similar positive goals of wanting to teach hip-hop generation youth the mental benefits of the age old game of chess. The NorCal event, organized by the the International Hip Hop Chess Federation's Leo Libiran and Adisa Banjoko (pictured left), featured on the boards that day Banjoko, DJ QBert, Casual, Davey D, and Boots Riley of The Coup, among others.

So here we have another batch of LP's with artwork in the "Modern Rock" style of the early 80's.  Kicking it off with a Paul Butterfield Back to the Future cover and into Lucifer's Friend/Uriah Heep golden throat John Lawton's 1981 make-over Heartbeat...

This film was taken from two different short films shot over a hundred years ago along the identically same route in both 1905 and a year later in 1906 by an unknown cameraman, who captured the silent footage from a streetcar going straight down San Francisco's Market Street towards the Ferry Building. This short piece (one of many that utilize the public domain footage) edits together San Francisco both before and after the big earthquake of 1906.  Footage from the Prelinger Archives, edited by Matt Lake.

Today, April 23rd, is the date most associated with William Shakespeare since it was on April 23rd 1616 when the great English bard died and it was also on this date, April 23rd, that most literary historians guesstimate that he was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. You see, records prove that he was baptized on April 26th of that year - typically then two or three days after a child's birth -- so the agreed upon guessed date of Shakespeare's birth date is April 23rd -- also the date celebrated in Britain as St. George's Day.

William Shakespeare was a most prolific writer, who penned thirty eight plays, including the likes of Hamlet and Macbeth, four times that number of sonnets, plus numerous poems, including two long narrative works or poetry.  In fact, he was so prolific that there has oft been speculation that he didn't even author all of his own work -- but personally I suspect that those rumors were perpetuated by jealous playa haters of the time. (remember they spread the same rumors about Bob Dylan).  But more importantly, William Shakespeare, whose work has been translated into virtually every living language around the world, has also had his plays performed more times than any other playwright in history.

For more on Shakespeare online there are countless sites meticulously dedicated to the man's work including the AbsoluteShakespeare.com  and PlayShakespeare.com, which has a lot of great information and links, with each and every Shakespeare play detailed and including forum discussions linked to each. There are also approximately 250 versions of Shakespeare's plays that were made into movies over the last eighty years -- a number of which are on DVD and available at Amoeba Music (ask if you cannot find) including the modernized setting, 1996 Baz Luhrman directed William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet starring a very young looking Claire Danes and Leonardo Di Caprio (see clip below of Act III, Scene I):

Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs was in acoustic Bay Area band The Finches for years.  She recently made the move to Los Angeles and, as a result, broke up the band.  Her new project is called PALMS and it's a new day for Carolyn-- PALMS includes electric guitar!  PALMS will be performing May 10 at Echo Curio in Los Angeles with the Bay Area's own The Mantles and Colossal Yes.  Here, Carolyn chats about her new band and also about some of the music that has made an impression on her over the years.

ME:  So your old and beloved project, The Finches, has come to a close.  Tell me about that and about the development of your new band, PALMS.  Is your new band sonically similar to The Finches or is this a whole new thing? 

Carolyn:  Yar, the two bands must sound awfully similar to a lot of folks -- this weekend I played a show in LA and a new friend from England asked me if I ever listened to The Finches. That's only natural -- I'm still writing the songs, but playing electric guitar now.

Also, I'm recording the songs myself, so there's more time to mess about.  I'm thinking of adding oboe to a few of the new ones.  So far all the PALMS shows have been solo, but I've been playing a bit with my friend Katy Davidson (who was Dear Nora) on bass, and still looking for a drummer (or two). It's a much darker sound than the old acoustic pop; I think it needs a few more musicians to weight it down, and electricity to give it friction.

   

Engage any former Bay Area resident in conversation for long enough and odds are that in short time the talk will turn to what they miss most about living in the unique and special place that is the Bay Area region of Northern California.  And one of the things that most folks who used to live in the Bay Area seem to miss most is the easy access to so many breathtakingly beautiful, scenic, peaceful places - all within a relatively close distance and time from San Francisco and the East Bay.

These numerous scenic getaway destinations include the recommended spectacular and dramatic Sonoma coastline, specifically the State-owned, public-access Sonoma Coast State Beaches that stretch for many miles north of Bodega Bay alongside Highway 1. 
This recommended day trip from the Bay (about an hour and a half drive north from SF if traffic is light) offers a breathtaking rugged Pacific coastline dotted with beautiful beaches and great trails (of all lengths) that are wonderful to hike along -- and all open to public access. 

This stretch of NorCal coastline is ideal for beach-combing, tidepool exploration, sea lion and bird observing, whale watching (January through May), reading, writing, painting, taking pictures, or (for idle fun) trying to find faces embedded in patterns in the numerous dramatic rock formations (like the face in the rock left), or simply relaxing and meditating while listening to the soothing sounds of the crashing ocean waves. Note that swimming is not advised since the ocean is very rough with rogue waves aplenty.

This time of the year is one the best times to go since in the summer months fog tends to stick around a lot longer every day.  If possible make the trip on a weekday and avoid weekends, when most folks seem to make the day trip from the Bay.  One recent week I made the trip on a weekday, arriving early in the morning, to find entire beaches (including Shell Beach which is a little bit of a hike down to it) deserted of other human life. Sure, a few hikers will show up here and there but you are likely to find a peaceful refuge nearly all to yourself.