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5/12/2005
Sheesh, I’m such a media whore this week. SW and
myself posed in the T-bird for the Loafing’s Guide to Summer issue, due out next
week. You’ll see me quoted in the AJC in an article about Star Wars sometime
soon. And the AP called to chat about corporate rock and the state of the music
industry for an article due out this weekend. Meanwhile, I’m headed down to WRFG
to try to hustle my own radio show for local music. Guess I’m burning up my 15
minutes of fame this week! To counter all the mainstream media, how about stuff
nobody else is covering? Read on!
EAR PLUGS
I’ve got a dearth of CD’s that have needed review for a while, everything from
bluegrass to porn. (If you find a publication with more variation I’d like to
see it.) So get your poison of choice and settle in.
First up, The Greencards. I get something from Dualtone about once a month.
Sometimes it’s delightful, sometimes it’s dullsville. Rarely is it anything in
between. This is one of those rare occasions, for me anyhow. The Greencards do
bluegrassy stuff, very rootsy Americana touchy feely stuff that’s so well done I
have a hard time finding fault with it. Yet it doesn’t touch me. It’d probably
grab degenerate AA by the short hairs and she’d play it to death, but unless you
know her that’s really not an effective review, is it?
The Greencards are led by pretty female voices doing music that would fit well
on the Oh Brother! soundtrack. Their press kit includes quotes from reviews,
such as “Best bluegrass I’ve heard in 20 years!”
A problem with bluegrass is the genre sort of played itself out. The best stuff
WAS done more than 20 years ago, and done well. It’s tough to have anything new
to say, at least with the sound, particularly when limiting your instrumentation
to acoustic guitar, violin and banjo. I don’t hear anything new on Weather and
Water, but it’s still a fine CD. Sometimes you don’t need anything new. An old
standard is just fine. If that sounds good to you, this CD is excellent. I’m
sure it’ll make an appearance on WRFG, 89.3 FM, during their Peach State shows,
M-F 7-9PM, where you can hear hours and hours of this type of thing.
Weather and Water comes out June 28 (why the hell I got it mid-May I have no
idea) and they’re on tour with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan beginning later this
month. Find out more at
www.thegreencards.com.
I also got a CD from Patricia Vonne, Guitars & Castanets. Looks
like she’s out of Austin, so I don’t place her in the southeast and shouldn’t
include her in an ezine about the southeast music scene, but we’re not
exclusionary around here.
From the photos on the CD cover and song titles I half expected some serious
acoustic music en español, or perhaps another Shakira. The album opens with an
upbeat tune, acoustic guitars and castanets, full of drama that sounds like
something off a movie soundtrack. So I wasn’t surprised to hear a cover of a
tune from Once Upon a Time in Mexico soundtrack. (She also made an appearance on
screen in Sin City.) The music on the CD reminds me of some of Los Lobos’ work.
Most of the songs are in English but all of them have a Tex Mex influence,
swinging from country to Latin from song to song.
Some of the tunes are a bit too slick for my tastes, though Rebel Bride made me
giggle with its coincidental title mimicking recent news coverage of Jennifer
Wilbanks. Unfortunately this and other songs sort of reminded me of various
pop-rock faux-angry women, from Laura Branigan’s Gloria to Meredith Brooks’ I’m
a Bitch. The punny Sax Maniac sounds like something The Muppets would’ve done.
The more acoustic/country tunes don’t really do much for me either. She’s got a
pretty voice with a good range and some slick production behind it, but I
listened to this CD twice and the cover tune was the only one I could remember.
She’s a striking woman in her photos, but her music didn’t stick with me.
Guitars & Castinets comes out June 28. Find out more at
www.patriciavonne.com.
Next up, Eleven Standing Still’s CD Turn to Rust. They’re an
Atlanta band currently touring around the southeast. The CD opens with some
interesting percussion but works its way into power chords and angry, growly
metal. And I thought bluegrass had been done to death? Turn to Rust makes an
honest effort. They mix quiet in with their noise so that you can actually hear
the melody, something often lost in this genre. There’s harmony in the vocals
from time to time. This could really make it big.
And yet again I’m just not grabbed. As each tune came up I could barely get to
the bridge before I’d reach for the “next track” button. This may be a matter of
taste though. I’m not a fan of Metallica and this screams Metallica. There are
other groups on commercial new rock stations that sound a lot like this too, but
I don’t listen to those stations enough to know the names. If you listen to
those stations you should definitely check this out. There’s some good vocal
work, power chords in abundance, some interesting percussion, and a sway from
quiet to loud that works well. I don’t understand how I can feel too old for
this, yet something like AC/DC or The White Stripes can make me feel young
again, but it’s true.
For more info, see www.elevenstandingstill.com
FILM FLAM
A couple of weeks ago I discovered a DVD in our mail - Alternative Worldz
Atlanta, “meet the South’s kinkiest web girls in this explicit XXX documentary –
totally laid bare!”
I thought, “Wow, free porn!”
(Wonder how many spam filters I just triggered. Wait, it gets worse…)
Then I vaguely remembered some guy saying he was going to get me a copy of
something he’d done when we next met at Fantasm, but that hadn’t happened and
I’d all but forgotten about it.
I flipped over the cover and a bunch of familiar faces jumped out at me from the
back cover, several long time degenerates in various states of undress, as well
as other folks I knew from Fantasm in various states of sexual interaction.
It’s a collection of interviews, most of which I skipped through, about what
various “alternative” types around town are into, sexually speaking. Most of the
folks are tattooed and/or pierced, and there’s healthy doses of vinyl and
leather and other fetish attire. I skimmed past the interview portions for the
most part to get to the more hard-core action, of which there is a fair amount.
Some light bondage, some girl-on-girl action, some pin-up style posing,
bodypainting, toys, and even a little straight sex, all shot fairly well. I
think the documentary format works well. It’s always the plot and acting that
are the weakest part of any porn anyhow.
There’s a bonus DVD that features stuff that was left on the cutting room floor
on the feature DVD, a few more interviews and behind the scenes footage that’s
pretty much a waste of time. But the feature film is worth checking out,
particularly if you’re into the pierced goth girls gettin’ it on, or want to see
some of the ladies you’ve lusted after around Atlanta gettin’ nekkid.
Speaking of porn stars, we caught Paris Hilton in House of Wax at the drive in
this week. I had low expectations from this film, as I do with any remake. But
I’m happy to say my expectations were exceeded. Paris plays a shallow, annoying
twit so she doesn’t really have to do any acting. Fortunately she only has a few
lines before she gets a pipe run through her head (not a fatal injury to Paris,
I’d argue) and is barely on screen, compared to the hype her name has brought
the film. (Christ, the woman is a walking corporate icon for any product that
can license her name.)
But most of the other characters are equally annoying. 90 seconds into the film
we were already anxious for the killing to begin. Fortunately the film gets
going in a hurry with little unnecessary backstory or side plots getting in the
way. My only complaint is the lack of T&A. You get a few seconds of bony Paris
dancing in her underwear, and Elisha Cuthbert spends most of the film in a
bone-dry tank top, but I expect some bouncing boobs or some skinny dipping in my
R-rated slasher films, dammit!
In the end, most of the annoying youth are butchered in satisfactorily humorous
ways and the slasher(s) are brought to justice in satisfactorily ironic ways.
It’s interesting to see that an 80’s style slasher film can still hold up after
the 90’s humorous ironic versions a la Scream. Sure, it’s predictable, empty
calories. But it’s nice to eat junk film once in a while.
Then Wednesday I slipped into a preview screening of Lipstick & Dynamite. It’s
sort of a foul-mouthed Ladies’ Wrestling version of League of Their Own,
documentary style. Director Ruth Leitman "shines a spotlight on the forgotten
first ladies of the ring," including Gladys 'Killem' Gillem, Ida May Martinez,
Penny Banner, and The Fabulous Moolah. The PR I got from the theater said, "Each
woman reflects on her own remarkable life with fond and bitter memories,
reconciling a wild, flamboyant youth with the reality of getting older and
fading away.” But I think these ladies are just as flamboyant in their old age.
These women still hold grudges from their wrestling days, and it shows. Often
they talk about their former opponents as if they’re about to step into the ring
again.
There’s plenty of archival footage to show them in their prime, and lots of
interesting tales about how they got into the business, but the modern day women
they’ve become are equally as fascinating. Killem Gillem is the old Southern
woman you wish was your grandmother, “I’ve been happy. I’ve slept with a man on
the ground with a bottle of whiskey, and he loved me, not because I was a lion
tamer but because of who I am.”
Leitman has an eye for capturing characters, particularly women who’ve led
challenging lives, and the film doesn’t stop charming the audience for a moment,
even with villainess The Fabulous Moolah who doesn’t know when to quit the
business. Leitman is in town for the opening this Friday, along with a couple of
the ladies, and local roller derby girls Atlanta Rollergirls, so see
www.LandmarkTheatres.com for show times and check it out.
MORE EAR PLUGS
After the movie, I headed over to the Earl for the Rollergirl Riot, a benefit to
support Atlanta’s roller derby team. I missed opening act Untied States (no
that’s not a typo,) but The Liverhearts were on stage doing noisy, sorta
repetitive almost math-rock kinda stuff, plenty of energy and talent there,
guitar-heavy with few vocals, good stuff that's worth checking out.
Meanwhile, the room was packed with blistering-hot girls and the trendy East
Atlanta Villagers that pursue them. For $5 you could get your picture with the
Rollergirl of your choice. For $1 you could bend over a stool and get spanked by
one (or two, or three), or for $5 you got to be the one holding the paddle (or
flog, or crop.)
Luigi was next on stage, doing music that sounds very familiar to anyone who
heard Ultrababyfat back when they were still around. Michelle was half of the
female lead of that group and Luigi sounds a lot like her former band.
Michelle’s voice doesn’t have the soft tone of her former bandmate, Shonali.
Frankly, Michelle sounds a bit strained and flat, but the songs are interesting
and she always sounds earnest, which is more important that having a great set
of pipes (Christina Aguilera.)
In between acts the Rollergirls were raffling off prizes, from Space Ghost DVD’s
to sectional cushions designed for varying sexual positions.
Unfortunately I couldn’t stick around for the final act, Bang! Bang!, so I
rolled myself home. I took a few photos and may get around to posting a review
of this show later in the week. Meanwhile, check out www.atlantarollergirls.com
for info, including photos of some of the supafine ladies.
BLASPHEMY
Amen(sic) to the the quoted commentary on devout atheists. The only form of
immortality I don't have to take on faith is the memory of people who are no
longer corporeal. I have always thought of devout atheism as either whistling
past the graveyard or intellectual bullying. Equally cold, rigid logic applied
to arts funding would result in no/zero/zip/nada public funds for same.
degenerate SR
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