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Revolutionary Road
(dir. Sam Mendes)
BBC Films
After ten year's of marriage, Frank Wheeler is stuck in a job he despises, while his wife April hates her role as a suburban housewife on Revolutionary Road. Together they try and get back to their dream of leaving it all behind and living a different life in France, but as their plans are put into motion they begin to question what they really want from life.
It's always tough to make an impartial analysis of a the adaption of a favourite book, and this is no exception. Many elements of the story have been dropped or re-jigged, and an awkward run through some exposition makes for a clumsy start to the film. Once the pace settles down however, the film stays relatively true to the mood and atmosphere of the original.
Both the story and the atmosphere of the film have much in common with TV's Mad Men and highlights of the film show the suit-and-tie nature of working in New York in the 50's. There's perhaps not enough of these moments to build a large-scale image of the times and the film ends up being on a smaller scale, which is almost stage like. While the casting of DiCaprio and Winselt brings and instant back-story to the young lovers, it also causes a few problems. Winslet's American accent is sometimes shaky, momentarily snapping you out of the film and while DiCaprio is cast unconvincingly young as the 20-something Frank, he also doesn't quite fit the 30-something version of the same character.
None the less, the strong, thought-provoking themes of the book are evoked well. While it may not be a flawless classic worthy of a handful of Oscars, the film has much to offer and comes well recommended.
18th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviews
Free Books, Or Google Domination Part 237
Google's book digitization project continues (more here) - and now they have an iPhone friendly site to let you read them easily while on the move.
17th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Free Police Woman
New video up for Joan As Police Woman's track Start Of My Heart, and a free download of the track too.
16th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Portable Bike Lane
Loving this light that throws up the lines of the bike line for approaching vehicles ....can't help but think of those portable holes they always had in Roadrunner.
16th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Surf's Up
Ignore the cheesy music, but check out this excellent surfing short from Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Vincent Laforet.
Awesome cinematography, shot on the Canon 5D and Red One digital cameras, which we have discussed before - and also making use of tilt-shift video.
13th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Cheeky Bento
Nice photo feature on AnnTheRed's cheeky Bento boxes over at WIRED.
13th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
King Freosote
King Creosote has a new album on the way - Flick The VS - and a new label in Domino Records. He's giving a way an mp3 from the album over at the Domino website.
13th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
A Bright Idea For WIFI
Sounds like a sure-fire recipe for a headache to me, but Wired has an article about a possible future WIFI development which will use flickering lightbulbs to transmit the data - limiting access to that data to the throw of the beam and securing places like the White House from nosey bandwidth thieves who happen to be having a muffin in a nearby coffee shop.
13th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Tell Me What You're Thinking
Nice photo set on people's thoughts over at Simon Hoegsberg's website.
12th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Career Suicide
More notes from the Joaquin Phoenix Art Project. Gawker has the low down on his bizarre Letterman appearance.
12th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Movie Maps
A website mapping movie locations. I wish I'd thought of that.
Here's another one. And another one.
12th Feb 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Inglourious Basterds
There's a ridiculous amount of buzz about for Tarantino's forthcoming Nazi-fest Inglourious Basterds (sic). People seem to have already forgotten what a turkey Death Proof was.
The jury's out on what this one will do for his Star Status, but you can make a preliminary decision for yourself by watching the trailer over at Yahoo.
11th Feb 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Life In Pictures
Google's ever-expanding consumption of the world's history continues and you can now search though the Life Magazine photo archive - which stretches from the 1750s to the present day and includes a huge range of immensely iconic images, as well as those rock star parents images we covered last month.
You can jump directly into the library here, or just add 'source:life' to any Google image search.
11th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
More Heroics
It seems that ABC like the look of ITV2's No Heroics tv show - and have commissioned a pilot for a possible US remake.
Read more over at The Hollywood Reporter, via Aint It Cool.
11th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Lamacq Daddy
Steve Lamacq seems to be growing old gracefully. I guess he'll always be in the same age range as most of the chimps, and as such will always be on a pretty similar music tip.
I've been enjoying his blog.
11th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Fly By Night
Outstanding video up from Flickr user Ettubrute (AKA James Leng), documenting a flight across the continental US. The clip was constructed using a stills camera set to take a frame approximately every 45 seconds, as the glow of towns and cities slowly pass under the plane.
Check out his Flickr page for more time-lapse and some great photos.
10th Feb 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Observe & Report
Red band trailer up for the new Seth Rogan vehicle Observe & Report. Looks a lot heavier than his usual fayre....
By the way, not to be confused with Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
10th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Political Compass
There may usually only be two serious parties to vote for in most elections, but things are clearly not black and white in politics. Stalin and Gandhi could both be descibed as left-wing, but I don't think they'd attend the same student rallies.
Check out the Political Compass and find out where you lie. My nearest neighbours on the results graph are Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama? I think I'm lying, even to myself.
Via marmot.
10th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Axl Speaks!
It's been a while (9 years!) since Axl Rose last gave an interview, but he's been speaking to Billboard for a little Q&A.
10th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Promo Promo: Antony + The Johnsons
Pretty freaky new video up for the Antony & The Johnsons single - Epilepsy Is Dancing.
Not surprisingly perhaps, it's directed by the Wackowski Brothers - with help from painters Tino Rodriguez and Virgo Paradiso.
9th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Futura Is Now
Great article on Wes Anderson's continual use of the lovely Futura font over Mark Simonson's blog. Mark also has a great Flickr set of fonts spotted out in the wild.
9th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Half Exposed
Attention camera geeks. Check out this dissected Nikon D3 camera.
9th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
J. Tillman
Vacilando Territory Blues
Bella Union
The smart money's currently on band leader Robin Pecknold to excel beyond the Fleet Foxes, but with a whopping six solo albums now under his belt, new arrival J Tillman could well turn out to be the Neil Young of the band - especially when one of his albums is already titled "Long My You Run, J Tillman" - presumably after the mildly lesser-known Neil Young / Stephen Stills album.
Admittedly, some of those 6 albums are low-key, digital only releases - and in fact this record was released some months back in digital formats. Presumably thanks to to the break out success of Fleet Foxes, it's now getting an old school release via the same folks over at Bella Union.
As the drummer, Josh Tillman's contibution to Fleet Foxes may not be too obvious, as it's fair to say they are very much a group performance - all contributing to the full and harmonious sound. However, with the heavy harmonies pushed out of the limelight here, there's a focus on the writing and delivery of a single man. Tillman shows his skills at the front of house, writing, producing and generally playing most of the instruments - in an album that is both melancholic and uplifting.
It's an inconsistent record, maintaining a very eclectic vibe - which is certainly part of the charm. The brass tinged stomp of New Imperial Grand Blues is raw and raucous, No Occasion is sparse and simple, while James Blues offers something a little different through it's delicate piano arrangement - but all are tied together by Tillman's strained vocals. However, without the deliberately sparse atmospherics and continuity of purpose that similar acts have employed (Bon Iver, guilty), the album is a little lost and lacks some of the pace and engagement of Fleet Foxes. While there is little to complain about, there's few big stand-outs - but approached on it's own terms there's plenty to enjoy.
9th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviews
Bush Map
No, not in the 'map of Tassie' sense. Check out this Google Map of George Bush's Greatest Hits.
7th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
The Veils
The Macbeth, London
February 5th, 2009
With a follow up to 2006 break-out Nux Vomica in the can and ready to drop in April, The Veils lined up a four night stint across London to road test the new material. We made it along to formerly-out-of-the-way pub The Macbeth in Hoxton in anticipation of catching an early airing of new songs from this great band.
Once the sub-par openers were out of the way, it was pretty clear that the packed-out crowd were here for one reason only - and the show kicked off at a lightening pace. With their recorded material, the emphasis is all on lyrics and vocal deliver, but live on stage the band were a different animal entirely. Dan Raishbrook's outstanding guitar work and cool-as-fuck bassist Sophia Burn really added another dimension to front man Finn Andrews booming band, as they hammered through very promising sounding new material, clearly building on the strengths of Nux Vomica. Old favorites weren't passed over though and Calliope!, Advice For Young Mothers and Not Yet (all available on their www as it happens) met with resounding approval.
Band or no band however, this is clearly Andrews' project - and a mid-set solo number wowed the crown, while another solo encore cemented him as a mesmerising poetic figure. He led the show with style and bumped Sun Gangs onto this year's 'most anticipated' list.
6th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 4 star reviews
Promo Promo: The Kills - Black Balloon
Glad to see somebody's still using Super 8.
New Kills EP Black Balloon out March 23rd.
1 – Black Balloon
2 – Crazy (cover) – iTunes session
3 – Kissy Kissy – iTunes session
4 – Sour Cherry – iTunes session
5th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
A White Antelope
It's not just J Tillman that's got a Fleet Foxes side-project on the go, front man Robin Pecknold has a myspace page up for his new project A White Antelope. Quite a weird blend of medieval imagery and chit chat stolen from Lost.
Apparently it's going to be a place for cover versions and what not, and one of the tracks up at the moment (False Knight On The Road) appears on Bella Union's recent deluxe edition of Fleet Foxes - along with all the tracks from the excellent Sun Giant EP.
4th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
John Frusciante Bonus List
The comments seem to have slowed - so as promised, here's a mini bonus-list to accompany CJ's excellent John Frusciante Cheat Sheet from a couple of weeks back.
This list is a little heavy on tracks from the excellent Shadows Collide With People - but if you're going to to start with one album that's probably the one you want....
Song To Sing When I'm Lonely
From Shadows Collide WIth People
The Past Recedes
From Curtains
Fallout
From To Record Only Water For Ten Days
Carvel
From Shadows Collide WIth People
Anne
From Curtains
Omission
From Shadows Collide WIth People
Time Tonight
From Curtains
In Relief
From Shadows Collide WIth People
Repeating
From DC EP
...and let's not forget that John has a fantastic new album, of from which many songs should make this list. For now:
Central
From The Empyrean
4th Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Adverse Weather Conditions
The UK was hit by "adverse weather conditions" today, as 8 inches of snow embarrassingly laid the nation's capital to waste like a single stone from David's catapult.
Just in case you didn't notice, it's your lucky day - as every amateur photographer was out capturing exciting images of stuff covered in snow, as the 65,000+ images at Flickr can testify. Here's my selection.
2nd Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
iPhoto '09
I've got my mitts on a copy of the latest version of iPhoto - Apple's photo management software, and I'm loving it. It's got three great new bonus features: Maps, Syncing and Faces.
Geotagging has been picking up momentum for a while now - and with more and more phones and cameras coming with built-in GPS, it's only going to get bigger. Geotagged photos are now all pulled together on a map, with the co-ordinates reverse coded to show location names, allowing you to search for places and find photos taken there. Pretty nifty. Adding locations isn't a big feature yet, but any locations added in Flickr can be synced using the next new feature.
Just when PhotoCopy had launched their excellent Flickr syncing program, Apple have added Flickr-syncing to the mothership - and it works perfectly. Any set of photos can be used to create a Flickr set, which then uploads to your chosen account. Any changes made to the set or the photos (adding tags, changing title etc) are automatically updated online, and even more impressively any changes made online are synced back to the program.
With more and more services becoming available to run sophisticated photo sites using Flickr (1, 2, 3), anyone can now manage a detailed photo site using just iPhoto.
Here's an example using the Chimp surveillance data.
Finally, iPhoto now uses facial recognition. If you saw this on CSI you would dismiss it as implausible, but it actually works incredibly well. As you first set it up, it scans through your library and marks any faces it thinks it has found. You can then click these and add a name - and as the names build up, the program quickly suggests other photos with that person in. It's right maybe 70% of the time, which makes tagging these photos super easy. You can then search your library for a name, and bingo - all the photos of one person in one place. The tagged photos work pretty much like Facebook's photo tagging, so as expected you can now upload directly to Facebook, keeping all that data in place.
I wasn't intending this to sound like a software review, but there's no denying how it's turned out. The best photo management album out there just got way better.
CSF - 4.5 Stars
2nd Feb 2009 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Zero Boys
Vicious Circle
Secretly Canadian
While LA, NYC and DC drew the main focus of the punk and hardcore scenes of 80's America, the Zero Boys sprouted out of Indianapolis, Indiana. With Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian re-releasing debut album Vicious Circle, the opportunity has also been taken to release History Of..., which is billed as a lost second album. The disc compiles EP Livin' In The 80's with other tracks from the time - and between them the two discs cover the entire recorded output from the bands '79-'83 period, after which they disbanded.
From the opening track, the Vicious Circle album is a pogo-tastic affair, with the title track doing away with much intro before the explosive guitar and pounding bass hammer home. Livin In The 80's provides one of the band's most memorable songs, while the sentiment of tracks like Drug Free Youth and Down The Drain is pretty clear.
Lyrically it's far from challenging - and if someone is having a "needly stuck in their brain", you can be sure they're going to be "going insane" by the end of the verse. What the lyrics do successfully though, is to transplant the aggressive sound of UK punk into a US setting - capturing a time and a place perfectly. The 'big issues' of bands like the Sex Pistols (anarchy, anti-monarchy, the usual) are translated into issues with more connection to the Repoman-loving, car fixing, skateboarding, disassociated youth of suburban Indiana. Not being able to get booze, working a nine to five and looking forward to the weekend are the hot topics here and that connection to the youth of America was a recipe for success, as the skate-punk sound exploded through the US at the start of the 80's. Bands like 7 Seconds, Youth Brigade and Black Flag developed the hardcore sound that would become such a thriving industry - creating a climate where bands like Green Day could eventually bring their punk-inspired sound into the arena-filling mainstream.
There's little notable evolution by the time we move onto the long-lost History Of album, with many of the tracks still in something of a demo form. There's actually a touch of country influence here and there which softens the sound a little - adding a nice rolling vibe to the music, making it more accessible that some of the more hardcore-leanings of a lot of the early American punk bands. The dated production let's things down a little, with some of the kick seemingly missing from the sound - where these days you would expect a solid, booming bottom end. As a document of the developing hardcore scene however, there's plenty to enjoy - and you can clearly trace the roots of many of the influential bands that evolved from this pioneering sound.
2nd Feb 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3.5 star reviewsIt's in custard Richard, custard.
Some times you have to go with the flow and run a piece on a viral email joke.
30th Jan 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Wilco en Espana
Wilco are heading over Europe for some dates in May and June ....but so far that only includes Spain and one night in Portugal. Madrid's show is at the Teatro Calderon on Friday May 26th, priced from 55 euros and up. Ouch.
29th Jan 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Promo Promo: Eugene McGuinness
Nice stop-motion promo up for Eugene McGuiness's track Fonz. Glad someone is still using the art to good effect. With a digital camera you can make an HD stop-motion promo for next to nothing.
28th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: Protest
Creative Review has a run-down of some of the latest ads doing the rounds, including a flash-mob rip off of that Thriller thing, plus another Cadbury's ad.
This one for Protest caught my eye however. I can smell the snow.
27th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
International Space Station Tour
You're going to need a slow day at the office for this one. NASA has released a tour of the ISS, originally shot for Nasa TV. The piece has now been split into 4 chunks on YouTube, the first of which you can see above. Click for parts 2, 3 and 4.
26th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Fun trailer up for the latest Michael Cera rom-tee-com - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Heartbroken teenage guitarist Nick meets cool chick Norah and they bond over a mix CD he made. Jay Baruchel also turns up as Norah's ex.
And FYI, that playlist includes: Band of Horses, Bishop Allen, Devendra Banhart, Modest Mouse and Vampire Weekend.
26th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Vedder, Grohl and Drake
Unfortunately it's not Vedder, Grohl and Drake on the same song, but Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder are among the artists set to appear on a Nick Drake covers record - as well as a short film by Heath Ledger(?).
26th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Bon Iver Hits The Charts
Bon Iver has hit the UK charts with his new single Blood Bank (review here), currently 'nestled between Pink and Rihanna in the hit parade', at number 37. That makes him Jagjaguwar's first top 40 single in the UK.....
He's also got a couple of tracks on the forthcoming Red Hot compilation, hopefully embedded below, along with a track from The Decemberists.
26th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Holy Font!
Looking to save ink? Check out this clever font that uses holes to minimise waste.
26th Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
More Frusciante
We've been getting some love from the John Frusciante community this week - which has led me back to this excellent Frusciante career overview at Indie Paws (Part 1, part 2).
Readers are also coming in from the Chili Peppers discussion boards, as well as fan site Invisible Movement, who I notice now host the unobtainable internet only album From The Sound Inside that Frusciante released for free in 2001 (way before In Rainbows, people). They also have the demo and acoustic versions of Shadow Collide With People.
All good of course ...but don't hope for anything better than you may already have.
23rd Jan 2009 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Cadence Mix
HHG favourite Cadence Weapon has a new release up on a pay-what-you-like basis, a la In Rainbows. It's a mix tape of exclusive tracks, remixes and collaborations.
1. Roll With The Winners (Prod. Hervé & A-Trak ft. Cadence Weapon)
2. The Cansecos "Rise Up" (Cadence Weapon Mix)
3. Pretty Girls Make Raves (Prod. Stuffa, Mapei and Sinden)
4. Mini T.V.'s (Chad Vangaalen Cover, Live ft. Final Fantasy)
5. Sailboats Are White "SAW" (Cadence Weapon Hi-Speed Edit)
6. Sally Shapiro "He Keeps Me Alive" (Cadence Weapon Mix)
7. Bad Graffiti (Prod. Murge)
8. Roland Pemberton III "Rupture Vers Le Haut"
9. The Morning After (Prod. C-Sekshun)
10. RJD2 "Sweet Piece" (Cadence Weapon Ladykiller Remix)
11. Kennedy Curse
12. Kid Sister "Damn Girl" (Cadence Weapon Remix)
13. Shout Out Out Out Out "Coming Home" ("We Do Acid" Demo)
14. Busdriver "Sun Shower" (Cadence Weapon's Raleigh Remix)
15. Junior Bloomsday "Your Perfect Gene" (ft. Cadence Weapon)
16. The Wet Secrets "The Chinball Wizard (Cadence Weapon Samir-themed Remix)
17. House Music Medley (bird Peterson, A1 Bassline, The Cansecos)
18. Super Extra Bonus Party "Radar" (Demo)
19. Roots Manuva "Buff Nuff" (Cadence Weapon Tuff Mix)
20. The D.B. Buxton Revue "Sex With My Ex" (Cadence Weapon's No Sex Mix)
Head over to his site to check it out. Great cover art too (above).
23rd Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Bon Iver
Blood Bank
Jagjaguwar
Hot on the heels of the masses of praise heaped on debut For Emma, Forever Ago goes this four track EP from Justin Vernon, alias Bon Iver. While Skinny Love may have become a breakout track, For Emma, Forever Ago was essentially a concept album, consistent in tone and deeply entrenched in the atmosphere of it's conception - out in the woods of Wisconsin. These additional tracks expand on that idea, but outside of the context of the complete album they seem a little lost, and with the exception of atmospheric lead track Blood Bank, none really come close to that stand alone success of Skinny Love.
That might be explained by the fact that Blood Bank was a left-over from the For Emma sessions, while the other three are post-breakthough recordings. Unless of course, there was a vocoder stashed away in that log cabin, as Vernon bravely (but unsuccessfully) attempts to reclaim the instrument from Cher on Woods.
Beach Baby is pleasant enough, while Babys repetitive multi-tracked piano gets a litlle much - but who's complaining? Any suggestion that For Emma was far from a one-off is more than welcome, as anticipation already starts to build for a follow-up proper.
23rd Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Read more 3 star reviews
Promo Promo: Animal Collective
Time for a bit of nature watching with Animal Collective. Check out the promo for their track My Girls - from the highly rated Merriweather Post Pavilion album.
22nd Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Bed News: The Back Up
Looking for a new bed? You might want to consider the Back Up. Protection Within Reach.
22nd Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Take Two
Don't worry - everything's above board now. After fluffing his lines on the big day, Barack Obama has been sword in successfully at a second attempt.
22nd Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet
Best Maps of 2008
Google Maps Mania has a nice round-up of the best Google Maps of 2008 - including a nice narrative story-telling map (21 Steps) and a virtual skydive.
21st Jan 2009 - Add Comment - Tweet