Amoeba san francisco Staff
Shona
Amoeba San Francisco
Sho 'nuff
Trapped By A Thing Called Love (LP)
Denise LaSalle
Recent repress of the Queen of Soul Blues' classic 1972 album on Westbound.
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Heartache in Room 14 (LP)
The Altons
Sweet soul harmonies with some rock and latin flavors. Swoony songs about love and heartbreak in English and Spanish
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Bloom
Durand Bernarr
Range- both vocally and stylistically, with a contemporary sensibility. Hoping this will be available as a physical release by the time this goes live.
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The Heart, The Mind, The Soul
Tank & The Bangas
Poetry with a jazz-y groove. Love from NOLA
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john.t
Amoeba San Francisco
Demon Pond (BLU)
Criterion
Masahiro Shinoda of Pale Flower and Double Suicide fame, finally gets some more love from Criterion. This film from 1979 involves a lone traveler who stumbles upon a drought-stricken village, falls for a mysterious woman and becomes embroiled in all sorts of otherworldly shenanigans. I personally love studio shot Japanese films of this type, as the sets add a whole level of artificiality that really sets them apart from other film cultures. Excellent synth score featuring "Switched on Bach" style classical pieces as well as more adventurous sounds.
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Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories (BLU)
Radiance
Radiance, the UK boutique label, is luckily for those of us in the States, is increasingly releasing their titles across the pond. And fortunately this triple feature of 60s era Japanese ghost stories is one of those releases. A must for fans of Kwaidan!
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Hundreds of Beavers (BLU)
Cartuna via OCN
The joke may go on a bit long, but my goodness... this is one of the most creative endeavors I've seen in years, and I never really stopped laughing. Chock full of old-timey slapstick and visual puns. I can't see anyone not enjoying this. Fun for the whole family.
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The Seventh Curse (BLU)
Vinegar Syndrome
I am a sucker for a good Hong Kong black magic movie, and this is one of the crazier ones. It's really got everything from Kung Fu to xenomorph looking creatures, to demon fetuses, to Chow Yun Fat, to body horror bodily explosions. Fun!
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Smiley Face (BLU)
Dark Star Pictures via OCN
Gregg Araki of Doom Generation fame made this absolutely hilarious stoner comedy in 2007 starring the ever hilarious Anna Faris. She has the funniest facial expressions. What a comedy treasure. About time this got a blu-ray.
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Underworld Beauty (BLU)
Radiance
One of the best early Seijun Suzuki films. It has Noir vibes and Jean Pierre Melville vibes. I'd been hoping for a blu-ray of this for ages as the old DVD wasn't so hot.
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Chinese Odyssey Parts 1 & 2 (1995) (BLU)
Shout Factory
Steven Chow has now made at least 4 "Journey to the West" related movies. These are his first two with everyone's favorite Monkey King and I love them. Nowhere near as famous as Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, but luckily Chow is getting all sorts of his earlier films released stateside.
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The Tenant
Vinegar Syndrome
I was more than happy with the Shout Factory Blu-ray, but The Tenant is one of my favorite films and definitely my Favorite Polanski, and it never hurts to get a swanky upgrade. Chock full of creepy menace and occasional levity. Polanski, Isabelle Adjani and Shelly Winters!
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Paper Moon (BLU)
Criterion
It is absolutely insane that this wasn't on Blu-ray in America till now. One of the greatest comedies of the 70s. Ryan O'Neal and his real life daughter Tatum knock it out of the park. Plus an early Madeline Kahn role! The blu-ray (let alone the 4K that also came out) looks amazing. Lovely black and white cinematography by László Kovács.
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The Invisible Road (Original Recordings (1985-1990) (LP)
Sussan Deyhim & Richard
Sussan Deyhim is a Persian vocalist and Richard Horowitz was an avant-garde composer (though he did the soundtrack to the 1999 film Any Given Sunday for example though I've never seen nor heard it). Together they made several albums of which their 1986 Crammed Discs classic Desert Equations is a personal favorite. One of the best albums of "4th World" music sans Jon Hassell. Imagine my surprise when this comp of unreleased tracks from the same time period as that aforementioned disc. Vinyl only though.
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Night Palace (LP)
Mount Eerie
Phil Elvrum of the Microphones is back with a vengeance. His first album in ages to come close to the masterpiece that is "The Glow Pt. 2".
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Sei Note In Logica (1979) (LP)
Robert Cacciapaglia
Quite the discovery for me. I love Philip Glass and Steve Reich, and this is like a slightly busier version of those 2 composers. Chock full of wordless vocals (i think) and mallet instruments like a music for 18 musicians; but with synths and string arrangements ebbing and flowing. Lovely stuff.
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Hjirok (LP)
Hjirok
Iranian Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedy and Mouse On Mars' Andi Toma combined a variety of sounds collected during their joint travels to Iraqi Kurdistan with processed recordings of Sufi drum rhythms and setar melodies. A forceful and dubby soundscape that blends perfectly with Hani's unconventional vocal techniques. Great stuff!
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CRUZ
Amoeba San Francisco
Remember to enjoy your life. Please.
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Kazuki Omori
Godzilla vs. Biollante was the first Godzilla film I ever watched and it was a big part of my childhood. It's certainly in my top 5 favorite Godzilla movies list and my favorite of the Heisei Era (1984-1995). Biollante is the strangest and most complex kaiju in the entire Godzilla franchise in my opinion. I think it's wonderful that Criterion decided to put it out and I wonder if they will put out other Heisei era Godzilla films in the near future. Now you don't have spend $300 on that one out of print Blu-Ray. Darn, I should've sold my copy! Nah, I'm just kidding. Never! I need every edition out there! I love this movie and I love Godzilla. Thank you.
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Twin Peaks: From Z to A (BLU)
Mark Frost & David Lynch
R.I.P David Lynch!
All the pieces of the Twin Peaks mystery in one package. Yes, only the pilot episode and episode 8 are in 4k. It's the coolest,weirdest show in television history as you know. Do yourself a favor and buy this set.
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