Holy shit!

So this has been out for a day or two now, and yeah I was one of the arseholes that couldn’t wait for the good quality version so I took a quick peak at the poor quality bad boy that escaped for a few hours.

Obviously I’m stoked, it’s a fucking Batman movie. But beyond that, there is so much to be excited about. The visuals look stunning (duh, it’s Nolan)! Is that Ra’s Al Ghul doing the voice over at the beginning? Are people chanting “Mátelo! Mátelo! Bane! Bane!” (Kill him! Kill him! Bane! Bane!) while the Bat and the Lucha face off? Is Jim Gordon referencing that the presence of the Batman means that villains have to ‘up their game’ in terms of wackiness? I think this applies doubly in a post-Joker world.

No sign of Anne Hathaway in the trailer though. And I’m not convinced on what we see of Bane’s mask/venom dispenser thingy.

All in all, a great teaser trailer. It teases you perfectly. I’d be happy to not see anything else now until the flick comes out.

Fun fact: In Batman: The Animated Series, Bane was voiced by the incredible movie tough guy, Henry Silva.

So the Amazing Spiderman trailer is here.

It doesn’t look shitty at all. I have reservations based on the fact the suit looks like a dirty red tyre, restarting the franchise so soon, and some Batmanning up of the plot but the trailer shows that the movie has promise.

The first person aspect of the web swinging has some real potential although the cgi wasn’t great and the whooshy camera gave me serious Cloverfield belly.

When Andrew Garfield smiles, he looks like a drawing by Sarah. Also, they’ve youngened him up something chronic, I was expecting Jeff Conaway in Grease so I’m pleasantly surprised.

Basically, the trailer has made me think twice about this project and now I’m just a little stoked.

I’ve been a big fan of the Beastie Boys ever since I got a License To Ill cassette in my birthday stocking (it’s a long-ish story) and have been hooked forever after. So when word started getting about of their super star studded long form music video, needless to say I was damn excited.

I love long form music videos, for the most part. I can’t think of one that I haven’t enjoyed, from Jacko’s Thriller to David La Chappelle’s extended H&M commercial featuring Mary J. Blige. Even GWAR’s Phallus In Wonderland gets regular rotation on my dvd player. So, yeah, basically I was excited. And you all probably knew that, and are waiting with baited breath for my review of Nathaniel Hornblower’s (MCA aka Adam Yauch) 30 minute musical opus.

So here it is. Well first, here is the trailer.

I spent a lot of time waiting for this video, my breath was baited and my excitement was almost audible. Sure, Fight For Your Right isn’t my favourite Beastie Boys video (that honour goes, predictably, to Sabotage), but the idea that Ad Rock, MCA, and Mike D would be revisiting their roots on the new album is an exciting prospect. In all honesty, I’ve heard the new album thanks to the stream from Madison Square Gardens and it is every bit as awesome as you would expect it to be. We all know the B-Boys don’t ever work in half measures, and this video is evidence. Director Adam Yauch assembled a cast worthy of a high profile award show, featuring the likes of Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Elijah Wood, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, among others. The plot immediately follows the events of the original 1986 video for (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), showing the group, here played by Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen and Danny McBride, leaving the trashed party and venturing out in the world to find more beer and more fun but coming face to face with their future selves, played by Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black. It’s a bit of fun, don’t get me wrong, but something about the whole affair just feels a touch forced. It’s an achievement, but one that is marred by the enormity of it all. As well as McBride’s inability to lip sync with any sense of timing.

Superstar cameos aside, and ignoring the references to other pop culture phenomena (such as hit shows like Arrested Development, movies like Back To The Future, and music videos from over the years), it all feels a bit self indulgent. Which is probably something you can afford to be, if you are a Beastie Boy. The long form video is enjoyable for what it is, but feels ultimately vapid and nowhere near as funny as it ought to be. It doesn’t deserve to sit comfortably alongside extended music videos like those of Michael Jackson.

When I was a kid, all I was interested in was 2000AD. In thine eyes, Tharg was the deity that dutifully created and crafted my weekly haven of guts, gore and helmet wearing grimacing future cops. Because of my intrinsic love of all things punk rock, I was familiar with the flagrant sexuality of one Tank Girl, but if I was being honest (and I am…), I didn’t really understand the underlying message. When I was 15, someone gifted me their dog-eared stack of Deadline Magazine. I think there was about 30 issues in that pile, and it effectively changed my entire view on comics as a medium. The cover image I am stuck remembering most was Tank Girl wearing a Teenage Fanclub shirt, which I found on tankgirl.info along with a host of other Deadline covers. It’s a shame there isn’t a comprehensive list of all the strips included with those glossy covers, because although I remember the best stuff, some potential nuggets may have slipped through my net of “not quite getting it just yet”.

Through Deadline, I found a whole heap of strips that would go on to be amongst my favourites, that were perhaps popular enough to pierce my sphere of consciousness, sooner or later. For example, I probably would have come to find The Flaming Carrot in time (possibly after the dogshit movie known as Mystery Men came out) and I could have conceivably arrived at Love & Rockets eventually (but who knows when?). The thing that really grabbed my freakishly hair balls was, of course, Evan Dorkin’s Milk And Cheese.

Milk And Cheese is a pant-wettingly violent and unflinchingly nutty view into the mind of Evan Dorkin. Starting life as a doodle on a napkin after a ska show at CBGBs (Dorkin is apparently a massive ska enthusiast), Milk and Cheese were wildly successful, launching Dorkin into that weird bit of space where obscure artists and writers go when they are not quite in the mainstream, but pretty damn close. If I had to choose a favourite project of Dorkin’s, it would almost definitely be Milk And Cheese. That shouldn’t discount his incredible Dork line, or his ska-band centric Hectic Planet series (known originally as Pirate Corp$, the trade paperbacks changed the name), or his Eltingville stuff, or even his work on the frankly underrated Bill And Ted’s Most Excellent Adventures (I say ‘underrated’, it was nominated for an Eisner award).

I get the impression from an interview that I watched earlier in the year on Youtube that he isn’t too happy with his place in the industry, and that he is really angry that Beasts of Burden didn’t sell better. In case you aren’t aware, Beasts of Burden was a four part miniseries based around a group of animals who deal with the supernatural. Written by Dorkin with art provided by Jill Thompson (who did all the best artwork on The Sandman, and wrote some damn great ones too, even though I am not massive on Sandman at all), Beasts of Burden really is a beautiful book that will grab you, shake you and make you re-read it until the pages are all smudgey and brown. It’s lovely, gory, sweet, violent, and adult all at the same time. It won two Eisner awards too.

Beyond that, Evan has had a few brushes with Adult Swim. He wrote for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, which was one of the foundation blocks that helped build Adult Swim (I think) and has been in talks over two shows for the channel. The first, Welcome To Eltingville (based on his own Eisner award winning comic series), a pilot was made and eventually shown but the show wasn’t picked up for whatever reasons. I’ve seen the pilot (it is available for watching on Youtube and as a bonus feature in the DVD set, Adult Swim in a Box), and it doesn’t quite gel with me. The art is great, but I think the animation maybe looks a little… primitive. Which is a horrible thing to say. But, fuck it, it’s my opinion. The second show was Tyrone’s Inferno, which regarded an obnoxious demon forced to live on Earth where he plots his revenge and lives in a trailer park. It sounds sort of similar to Slave Labor Graphics co-hort Jhonen Vasquez’s Invader Zim (which was awesome, and aired on Nickelodeon. And contained art and scripts by another SLG alum, Roman Dirge, creator of Lenore). Dorkin admits it was his own neurosis that ended Tyrone’s Inferno before it even got to the pilot stage, after he lamented the potential success or lack thereof that might have come of it while attempting to make some minor changes to the show bible (PATRONISING TIME: A show bible for those who don’t know, is a comprehensive outline of characters and plots written by a show’s creator in order to not have to micro-manage every animation cell or script meeting or bathroom break). The internet won’t even show me any concept art for the show or anything. So fuck the internet. And fuck you.

Coming out in a few weeks, is the Beasts of Burden/Hellboy crossover which I am pretty damn psyched about, I can tell you. Also Dorkin is working with Simpsons Comics, having contributed a strip to the new Treehouse of Horror, and regularly updates his blog. Which is an LJ. And I’m saying nothing derogatory about that at all. So Evan Dorkin, between you, Jamie Hewlett, and Jamie Hernandez, you completely changed my life. Mad respect for you, and never stop doing what you do best. Even if you do come off as kind of an asshole in interviews.

My Milk and Cheese tattoo is forthcoming, and I will probably post it on here when it actually happens.

0.01 – Green band? This doesn’t bode well.
0.14 – The last act?! They are finally putting it to bed? I wouldn’t count on it…
0.19 – Some dude who looks kind of like Bruno is attached to a circular saw in a store front… Okay, you got me. I’m vaguely interested.
0.28 – Oh brother, that 3D graphic looked like Duke Nukem.
0.33 – Did I miss the movie that killed Chester Bennington?! It might be time to watch some Saw movies.
0.45 – At least it is actually shot in 3D.
0.49 – This trailer is dumb, that won’t actually happen in the cinema so why bother? It kind of reminds me of that “THIS IS DVD” commercial that appeared on videos that compared the quality of VHS to DVD (on a VHS!) and made some dude go “WOOO!” Dumb advert.
0.54 – Eye-poke-o-rama! I’m pretty into it…
0.56 – “WILL YOU SURVIVE?” YES, because in the words of the original Last House On The Left tagline, “it’s only the seventh movie in a franchise of increasingly tenuous and yawn inducing traps, twists, and bit parts from reality TV winners”.
1.00 – Too much Pigface. The beauty (and the scariness) comes from only seeing it in flashes, no?
1.02 – Ohhh, so THIS is the one that kills Chester Bennington! I’m in, add me to the grosses now, Lionsgate.

Overall, the trailer looks like it is for one of those 4D theme park attractions where dudes through water on you and stuff, you know what I mean? But whatever, people will go to see it in their droves and then bitch about it online. To me. And I will probably do the same.

I have to admit that I really enjoy how literal the posters are…

This particular one reminds me of DJ Pauly D, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why…

One of the ska bands I really dug/secretly dig was Catch 22, particularly the earlier stuff before they got a different vocalist, and everyone left. Anyway, they split up a bunch of time ago and went off and did different things. One such thing was Streetlight Manifesto, who never really lit my fire, which is probably down to the fact that I just tend to ignore or avoid ska punk stuff that isn’t NOFX or Borders & Boundaries by Less Than Jake (holy fuck, I love that album). But anyway, I found over at Punk News that SM are doing some sort of covers album… Well yeah, they are a ska band. That’s just what they do, isn’t it? Actually, they are doing it in conjunction with three other bands that share members, I believe. I heard one of the tracks, and it is dead loads good.

I love the Radiohead original but I am not beholden to it like all those Radiohead superfan 99s. So here is the Streetlight Manifesto cover of Just, taken from the album 99 Songs Of Revolution: Volume 1. It might be worth noting that also on this release are covers of The Dead Milkmen’s Punk Rock Girl(!), Linoleum by NOFX and Such Great Heights from The Postal Service.

The video was directed by Henrik Sønniksen, in a really excellent, almost Gary Baseman-esque style. I really love it. Here is another joyful picture that I ripped off from Sønniksen’s blog:

Also take some time to watch the short he made with Benjiman Nielsen about killer vegetables, vaguely reminiscent of the fridge in Pee Wee’s Playhouse but with a much more dark turn:

I really enjoy his aesthetic, although it isn’t wholly original. Keep it up, fella! I want more.

We all hopped in the van; Leagues Apart, Jess and me trekking our way over to Derby (pronounce it Duh-by, it pisses them off), enticed by the incredible line up and the promise of road beers.

Any night involving tequila with hot tour managers, the cream of the UK punk scene and witnessing bouncer-on-chav violence can be nothing short of incredible.

Despite the gaping wound between bands and crowd, created by a four foot stage, the sound was immaculate for every band. Kicking off the night, Rooftops played a blinding last ever show. Even though I don’t like them as much as I should, I fully recognise how awesome they are/were, but for some reason it just doesn’t hit me right where it should. They are so incredibly tight, and packed full of soaring riffs, fantastic harmonies and intensely incredible drum fills, that I just feel awful for not being completely enamoured by them. I literally cannot wait to see what kind of punk rock phoenix rises from their ashes though; I imagine it will be incredible and self deprecating in equal measure.

Following on from Rooftops was Leagues Apart playing their set of anthemic punk rock smashers. I’ve seen these chaps play many a show; some good, some downright fucking atrocious. This was easily the best I have seen them, tighter than ever and bolstered by the incredible audio mixing. With a couple of songs I’m not incredibly familiar with (I can only assume that they are new-ish), they managed to blow me away in spite of the atrocious set at the Astpai gig last week. I do enjoy a well executed three pronged vocal attack, and when LA are on form they manage to destroy with hair trigger precision.

Pacer came next. I had high hopes for considering the fact they include former members of The Steal. They blew my mind. Intense and effecting melodic punk rock with lashings of hardcore influence. Imagine Dan Yemin on a steady diet of Lawrence Arms and happy thoughts, but, y’know, really REALLY fast. I mean, it’s guys from The Steal and they are releasing stuff on the dude from Bouncing Souls’ label, what more would you ever need to know? They were incredible, and I can’t wait for someone to book them near Manchester.

I have never seen Apologies, I Have None play a bad set, and tonight was no different. They play so hard, and with such a clear direction that anyone who might not know the words would be able to sing along. Their songs just seem to come from such an honest place. Since they made the switch from acoustic folk punk to incredible punk rock with a folky edge, the dynamic has shifted so dramatically. Whereas before, the lighter tracks (such as those on their Six Strings & Two Sticks release, available here for pay what you want) were sing-along gems, they are now grinding and wailing epics in which no “woah” is left unturned. They are literally in the top tier of British punk rock right now.

Headliners, Off with Their Heads were fantastic too, despite the fact that there was about a third of the people there tonight as there was at Santiago’s last year (you can read about that on my old endlessXbummer blog, if you feel so inclined). Ryan somehow manages to prance about in a vest (not a tank top, Jenny), talking about his “titties”, while still managing to eek out some of the most wrought emotion to hit punk rock in years. I don’t think there will ever be a point where I am not in love with this band. They didn’t play Call The Cops (even though I requested it a thousand times, if your drummer won’t learn the best songs I might have to say that he isn’t a keeper) or Die Young, but they did play a couple of tracks off of Hospitals, which I would probably say is my favourite, if not the categorical “best”, Off With Their Heads full length. A fitting end to a cracking line up, just an absolutely amazing show!

As we were loading out the Leagues Apart gear, there were lots of pretty girls and dudes in checked shirts (even more than inside the gig!). One dude got hoyed out by a bouncer, presumably for being completely wasted and inappropriate for life, and decided his best chance was to call the bouncers out until someone cracked him one on the jaw so hard he stayed lead on the ground for a clean 15, maybe even 20, minutes. Actually, just long enough for the 5-0 to arrive and do nothing of note except tell us to reverse. It all reminded me of being in Burnley, I managed to just about avoid the pangs of homesickness.

And now, it’s gone 5:30 and all the road beers, show beers, road back beers, and flat beers have taken their toll. I’m gonna stick on the Pacer 10” and fall the fuck asleep. I would go ahead and assume you are reading a heavily edited version of this because I am so beyond tired and drunk that this is probably all gibberish.

Big props to Derby DIY Collective for putting on a fucking ace line up. My first experience of Durrby was definitely a pleasant one. I even liked when I nipped out to the cash machine, I got to hear a bit of Sultan’s Of Swing by Dire Straits. Awesome.

Now, bed.

So anyway, Tim Kasher has had a couple of other bands along the way, not least Commander Venus. Who I freaking love with all my heart, even after the Bright Eyes fixation moved on. But I just got wind of an actual Tim Kasher solo record, which is exciting me no end despite the fact it was announced in August and I somehow managed to miss it until literally just now.

The album is called The Game Of Monogamy, which sounds like classic Kasher to me. Some people might think that he may be milking his divorce a little bit, what with Cursive’s Domestica and The Good Life’s Album Of The Year, as well as countless other releases, predicated on that particular event. Hell, I might go as far as to say he writes as many songs about his divorce as he does about writing songs. Either way, I am excited for this album!

The Game Of Monogamy lands in stores on October 5th, but if you pre-order through the Saddle Creek site, you can here it streamed on September 13th, and get an mp3 download on the 21st! I’ve already pre-ordered.

I stole the track listing from Pitchfork:

01 Monogamy Overture
02 A Grown Man
03 I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here
04 Strays
05 Cold Love
06 Surprise, Surprise
07 There Must Be Something I’ve Lost
08 Bad, Bad Dreams
09 No Fireworks
10 The Prodigal Husband
11 Monogamy

According to the write up on the Saddle Creek site, the album is “the score to our sexual plight” and seems to be a fictionalised, although self-reflective) account of a character going through some emotional times. Apparently, it doesn’t sound like Cursive or The Good Life, which is interesting. Kasher has roped in members of Minus The Bear, Cursive and Glacier National Symphony for extra instrumentation.

You can download Cold Love from the Saddle Creek site (I can’t get the fucking thing to embed).

And you can hear the, frankly, soul wrecking A Grown Man live here on youtube (which has been there for almost two years, that makes me feel a bit sick):

Isn’t that first song just so intense, heartbreaking and facemeltingly honest. Tim Kasher has amazed me again, just when I think he has run out of real emotion (and starts to focus on the emotions of fiction) he pulls something like this out. I freaking can’t wait for this album to land.

Oh, PS: I listened to Mama, I’m Swollen as I was writing this and I have realised that with a few more listens I will be fully in love.

Pubertina is the story of a young girl and her ascent into womanhood. Beautifully animated in a variety of styles, As a twenty five year old male, I have never once bled from my vagina, yet I still find this incredibly relatable. We have all been lost at some point, struggling to understand our own bodies and the emotions that go with it. Pubertina captures that perfectly, through a childlike innocence.
Emily has really set herself apart from the current crop of animating talent. She is also wonderfully personable on her blog and incredibly cute (for example, see here). Her love of the toons of yore and her clear modernist tendencies show her as a star in the making. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
Also, check out her sweet pipes! She sounds kind of like Kevin Blechdom on The Pubertina Song, which is never ever a bad thing. There is more of her singing, pianoing and other instrumenting on her blog, which I linked up there, remember? You should probably check it out, it’s full of great drawings and musings and pictures of her (ack!) boooy-friieeend (ptooie!).

Emily Brundige, this bud’s for you.

Here is the short film, I hope Emily doesn’t mind me posting it here.

(Youtube video as I couldn’t get the damn Vimeo thing to embed, the bastard)