So Where's My Flying Electric Car?

(snap)

Age of miracles and wonders!  To all the girls I've <3'd:

"Axl Rose would like to thank:  Betal Labeis, Chris Pitman, Tommy Stinson, Brain, Buckethead, Paul Tobias, Robin Finck, Josh Freese, Ron Bumbleboot Thal, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, Sasha Volkova, Caram Costanzo and Laurie Blackstone, Eric Cardieux and family, Sean Beavan, Okee Kim, Andy Gwynn, Brian Monteath, Dave Dominguez, Jose Borges, Joe Peluso, Christian Baker, James Musshorn, Jan Petrov, Jeff Robinette, Bob Koszela, Paul Payne, Mark Gray, Xavier Albira, Dror Mohar, Erich Tabala, Sean Berman, Donald Clark, Shi Nnosuke Miyazawa, Vanessa Parr, John Beene, Al Perrotta, Mike Scielzi, Paul Saurez, John OcMahony, Greg Morgentein, Paul DeCarli, Billy Bowers, Justin Walden, Rail Jon Rogut, Isaac Abolin, Billy Howerdel, Oleg Schramm, Will Jennings, STig, Brian Doyle, Sharon Maynard, Elliot, Master D, Irving Azoff, Andy Gould, Steve Kidd, Tom Mayhue, Chris Gratton, OBG, Chuck Reed, Jimmy Iovine, Merv, John Jackson, Bert Deixler, Jeremy Mohr, Ken Hertz, Rob Shore and Bruce Seckendorff of LL Management Group of New York, Alan Gutman, Danny Hayes, Laurie Soriano, Jeff Leven, Howard Weitzman, Doug Goldstein, Donatella Versace, Dave Elliot, Daren Clair, Tony Hall, Stuart Kaplan, Paul Salinas, Scott Kessler, Andrea Gustafson, Andy Wallace, Bacha, Flor and family, Georgina and family, Gladis Appary and family and all the helpers, George Chin, Sante D'Orazio, Kid Rock, Sebastian Back & band, Ben Sherazi, John Van Eaton, Chris Whitemeyer, Hernan Villarroel, Dan Druff, Izzy Stradlin, Jimbo Barker, Jonathan Rach, Lars Ulrich & Metallica, Kimi Raikkonen, Dyan O'Connor, Amy Sacco, Scott Sartiano, Justin Murdock, Vegas, Julie, Mehmet Koruturk, Jamison, Joseph David, Kat, Tary Sirlin, Tina Casciani, Tracy, Larissa Seldon, Ricardo Lebeis and Family, Anna and Luis Lebeis, Fernando Lebeis and Cinthia Lebeis, Eduardo Lebeis, Regina Lebeis, Vanessa Santos, Michael Sanka, Michael Sutton, Mark "Mookie" DiGiacomo, Jim "Worm" Mitchell, Jean Mark Cramer, Nick Souris, RJ, Roger Veage, Peter Moll, Tim Duffy, George Elizondo, Bruce Hendrix, Joe Bishara, Joey Castillo, Ethan Merfy, Ryan Merfy, Stuart Bailey, Amy Bailey, Dave Lank, Carlos Booy, Critter, Mark Williams, Rhian Gittins, Gio Gasparetti, Yeti, Toby Francis, Andy Ebert, Hawk, Dick Cheney, Judd White, Terry "T-Bone" Gay, Jerry Burnside, Jake Mann, John "Elmo" Sheldon, Kim Brakely, Curtis Laur, Craig Le Blang, Doug Goldstein, Elwood Francis, Natalie Parkinson, Dregen, Nicke Borg, Chela Johnson, Scotty Slam, Gregg Journigan, Ronnie Schneider, Doug Miller, Ace Trump, Lennie Watson, Jason Baskin, Mike Smollens, Gina Barboni, Joe Truck, Angry Anderson & Rose Tattoo, Johnnie Allan, Page Hamilton & Helmet, Morimoto, Tina Change, Vanessa Vellucci, Mitch Rose, Bullet For My Valentine, MUCC, Avenged Sevenfold, Towers of London, Maligno, Hoobastank, Papa Roach, Weezer, Korn, Alice in Chains, Rome Reddick, Stuart White, Sabrina Okamoto, Jeff Greenberg, CKY, Mixmaster Mike, Bill Greer, Marc St. Louis, Michael Oppenheim, Karen Murphy, Monica, Cizec, Rob Shore, Eric Romano, The Suicide Girls, Kevin Quinn, Bob Daitz, Jarmo Luukkonen, Sarah Martin, Tommy Dimitriov, George Chin, Mark Weiss, Vicki Craddock, Kevin Hughes, Reid Schultederne, Matt Larsen, Orris Henry, Mike Adams, Tim Propersi, David Brown, Beth Springer, Bill Hardie, The Maloof Family, Bubbles and the Trailer Park Boys, Mickey Rourke, Curtis Laur, Debbie Woodworth, Chelsea James, Kayla James, Del James, Alex Schredl, Barbi and Maxwell Santos, Virginia and Alex, Eliane and Stan Saez, Guilherme Nune, Jose Sosa, Alma Bonilla, Miguel Isla, Mark Anthony, Dana Paola e Maria Fernanda, Barbara Van Wormer and Lesha Kirby of City National Bank Private banking and all their staff, Marshall Amplification, Gibson Guitars, The Perri Corporation, DW Drums, Marco at Vic Firth, Ernie Ball Strings, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Dorothy Weintraub & Rock On Travel, Gary Westcott, Lights/Sound/Design, Smart Art Itineraries, G5 Executive, Bernie Gilhuly and all at LL Business Management, Gersh at Drum Fetish, PRG, SHOWCO, Accurate Staging, Pyrotek, Roberts Brothers Coach Leasing, Upstaging Inc, Nocturne, Tour Supply, Shure, Apple Computers, Ferrari, Center Staging, Jimmy at Mates, SIR Studios, All Access, CLS, K2, Global Access, The Village, CAA, Rumbo, Can Am, Woodland Ranch, IGA, Cherokee, Capitol, Sunset Sound, Battery, Soundtrack, Electric Lady, Bennett House, The Townhouse, Bungalow 8, The Soho House, The Snatch, Stereo, Butter, Coco, Hard Rock Hotel, The Palms, Four Seasons, Ritz Hotel, Grand Hyatt all over the world, Trump Hotel, Mandarin Oriental in London, Gary Arnold and everyone at Best Buy.Snatch, Stereo, Butter, Coco, Hard Rock Hotel, The Palms, Four Seasons, Ritz Hotel, Grand Hyatt all over the world, Trump Hotel, Mandarin Oriental in London, Gary Arnold and everyone at Best Buy."

Okay, maybe not Dick Cheney.  But Borges!  And butter!

*

Local H - Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio Cover, Live at Black Cat, D.C., 11-19-08)(mp3)(full show at archive.org)

Local H, Webster Hall, 11/22/08:

Don't mean to get you coming-and-going, so quickly:  Jeez they sounded good up there.  It's just nice to see them on a decent-sized stage, even if Webster's bass-heavy system muddied the sound (when Electric Six' drummer joined the group on "White Belt Boys" - is there any band out there that's just two drummers and a singer/guitarist? - the balance bottomed out).  The "Wolf Like Me" cover has become a scorcher (stick with that mp3 long enough to get used to Lucas' rasp and you'll be rewarded with a nice little lick and a lot of frenzy), "Michelle (Again)" and "Fine and Good" (!!  Next, I'm gonna wish me up a pony or some medical benefits or something...) came back-to-back, and if extended songs like "Buffalo Trace" and "Fuck Yeah, That Wide" take up valuable real estate in a short set, they earned their space.  (A call for "President Forever" was met with the news that the tune's been retired.  "But we'll still sing songs about people who voted for him," Lucas said in way of introduction to "BMW Man.")

The band (myspace) has been inching away from outright aggro- stuff; there's anguish and velocity on Twelve Angry Months, but nothing designed to create a mosh pit.  Touring with Electric Six (myspace) has given them an excuse to drop mainstay chuggers like "High Fivin' MF," "Fritz' Corner," "All-Right (Oh Yeah)"and "Heavy Metal Bakesale" - I'm sure those'll still be used to goose a room when they headline - but they're not shying from confrontation.  (Always nice to see one of these.)

Local H - Fuck Yeah, That Wide (Live at Southpaw, Brooklyn 6-15-05)(mp3) (full show at archive.org)(buy original version)

Thursday night in Philly the band filled its whole slot with three ten-minute-plus songs - yikes - and most sets on this tour have ended with "Fuck Yeah," an ad nauseum contemplation of matters of money and soul built around a phrase borrowed from Primal Scream.  Perhaps because on some level it's a straight up dance track, just a beat and an occasionally reasserted riff, it might seem like a natural transition to the dancier top of the bill, an easy invitation to that band's fans.  But a lot of this song is nothing more than Scott Lucas' insistence that it go on, the music cuts out and there's nothing left but a guy on stage ordering people to clap and bark along with him.  It's the unfunny joke Letterman tells until you laugh, it's the soundtrack to Stockholm Syndrome.  I've been amused, tolerated, learned to love it.  Saturday evening Lucas ripped the mic from the stand, stormed out on one of Webster's stage extensions, demanded the room come to order like he was calling a vote in a single-party system; guitar slung to the side, he banged his hands and howled who had what until he hit quorum.  Then he dropped (to his knees? on his back? who was holding the mic?) out of sight and dug back into the riff, sending all Ayes in the room rolling.

This is how Scott Lucas courts converts, screaming them into submission.

That recording (crank it) from a sparsely attended Southpaw show a few years back is a favorite of mine, the way a few folks loosed by late night drink and enthusiasm start punching out their "Money!s" and "Soul!s" in all the wrong places.  I quote it often:  "C'mon, Fuckface, have a good time."  Try and use that at least three times over your long holiday weekend.

Have yourself a happy one of those.

*

I'm generally aghast at folks who leave before giving the main act a chance to shake its thang - you paid to get in, why not stick around and see what you'll get - but I cut out of Electric Six' set right after "Rock and Roll Evacuation."  They were tight and their fans were fun, but after hearing my favorite band play, anything else was doomed to anticlimax.  Head over to Fluxblog for second-half fanboyishness.

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Voting is underway for the Whateverth Annual Stereogum Gummy Awards, where you can choose your favorite three albums and 2,000 favorite YouTube timedestroyers of 2008.  They also have a slot for "Best Music Blog," and if you're not otherwise inclined, I think it would do us all some good if you were to go and paste in the phrase "There is no such thing as a Best Music Blog."

*

"There's only two types of people in the world:  The ones who entertain and the ones who serve."  That worldview is set to expire come January, so hurry:  The new Britney album is streaming on imeem.  (It's not as good as the last one.)  "Blur" is not a Local H cover.  I really wish it were.

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Recently rewatched Criterion-favorite Seijun Suzuki's goofyfuck musical Princess Raccoon (Operetta Tanuki Goten) - which somehow got a genuine Region 1 DVD release - and, though overlong, it's still a hoot.  The film, about a banished prince who falls in love with the title character (according to Japanese folklore tanuki, or raccoon dogs, are magical shape-shifters; this one pleasingly shapes itself into Zhang Ziyi), eschews all consistency (and often, coherency) in favor of whim.  Suzuki embraces obvious effects, theatrical staging, and anachronistic music (there is rap, there's a big Meatloafian rock ballad, etc.), replacing suspension of disbelief with celebration of possibility.  It works because the central question at the heart isn't "What Will Happen?" but "Why Not?"

The subject and genre more obviously play to those tendencies than the director's gangster films (and you could argue that's what made those gangster pics so special), and I'd assumed the story itself was traditional.  But I hadn't realized when I first saw it that there's a direct precedent for Suzuki's movies, a trio of 1950s musicals staring Enka superstar Misora Hibari (who is digitally resurrected in the Suzuki flick).

I really wish that I could insert this clip; who disables embedding?  Sheesh.  But in there you can see a tanuki playing his stomach as a drum, as they do in Suzuki's film.  That's traditional, too... though originally mythical raccoon dogs pounded on their oversized testicles.  From Wikipedia: 

A common schoolyard song in Japan... makes explicit reference to the tanuki's anatomy... Roughly translated, [it] means "Tan-tan-tanuki's testicles, there isn't even any wind but still go swing-swing-swing."  It... is sung to the melody of an American Baptist hymn called "Shall We Gather At The River?"

A few years ago, after enjoying psychoauteur Takashi Miike's kid film, The Great Yokai War, I rented an old 1968 Yokai movie called Spook Warfare (Yôkai daisensô).  The earlier movie was annoying and dull, but a lot of what I most enjoyed about Miike's flick - the bizarre character design, mostly - was already being used there and had come, obviously, from older cultural sources.

And I guess that's pretty exciting.  I'm a fan of both filmmakers (and Miike may owe as much in style to Suzuki as he does in substance to Lynch) and their abilities to ignore the demands of logic.  There's so little to be surprised by these days and I'm very conscious that, along with their other talents, the directors' inherent WTFness is a huge draw.  That some of it is inherited WTFness ultimately compounds interest.  Suzuki and Miike may be innately fucked-up, but it's nice to be reminded that so are musicals, and kids' flicks, and the Japanese.  I guess it's nice to know there can still be strangeness between cultures in 2008.

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"...though Net­flix has a good deal of demographic information about its users, the company does not currently use it much to generate movie recommendations; merely knowing who people are, paradoxically, isn't very predictive of their movie tastes."

tags: local h  seijun suzuki  takashi miike  chinese democracy  guns n roses  

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