art is the new religion

Bands make it rock, but roadies make it roll

One of the purchases I made from Antone's Record Store was the double album soundtrack to the movie Roadie.

I love looking at the soundtrack section in a record store because it's inevitably amusing and bewildering.  Most movie soundtracks that were released on vinyl were for movies I've never seen, but that's not because they weren't star-studded and/or bizarrely awesome.  It's fascinating to get a glimpse of what films have stood the test of time (Grease, Saturday Night Fever) and what films faded into obscurity.  I'm going to file Roadie under: faded into obscurity* (please correct me if I'm wrong and this film is well-known).  This is the first time I've heard of this 1980 film starring Meatloaf and featuring cameos from Blondie, Alice Cooper, Hank Williams, Jr. and Roy Orbison.

Here's the trailer:

Of course, I didn't need to know anything about the movie to want to own the soundtrack.  It's a staggering roster of cool artists with a few complete unknowns thrown in to keep us guessing.  Check out the track list:

Side 1

• Cheap Trick "Everything Works If You Let It"
• Pat Benatar "You Better Run"
• Joe Ely Band "Brainlock"
• Alice Cooper "Road Rats"

Side 2

• Teddy Pendergrass "Can't We Try" (I've always felt a strange kinship to Teddy Pendergrass, as his name is similar to mine in sounds & syllables)
• Eddie Rabbitt "Drivin' My Life Away" (this song's second mention on AITNR)
• Stephen Bishop and Yvonne Elliman "Your Precious Love"
• Jay Ferguson "A Man Needs A Woman"

Side 3

• Styx "Crystal Ball"
• Sue Saad and the Next "Double Yellow Line"
• Blondie "Ring of Fire" (I've never heard this cover!)
• Alice Cooper "Pain"

Side 4

• Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" (so much for my Emmylou moratorium)
• Jerry Lee Lewis "(Hot Damn) I'm A One Woman Man"
• Hank Williams, Jr. "The American Way"
• Asleep At The Wheel "Texas, Me and You"

The Texas connection is a special bonus for me.  The synopsis:   

A young Texas good ol' boy has a knack with electronic equipment, and that talent gets him a job as a roadie with a raucous traveling rock-and-roll show.

Songs from Joe Ely and Asleep At The Wheel are also a tipoff that it's Texas-centric, but the Shiner on the front cover is the biggest giveaway.

The art inside is pretty great too.

All in all, I consider this a pretty good score.

• Buy Roadie(released on DVD in 2003) from Amazon.

                        *Not to be confused with Roadhouse, which is still going strong.

2 Days In Paris

I saw "2 Days In Paris" this weekend and it wasn't at all what I expected.

It's written, directed and edited by the multi-talented Julie Delpy who you probably know best from "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". Her film bears some similarities to the Linklater ones, in that it's conversation-heavy and focuses on a couple, but I was surprised at how funny and bawdy the film is.  The scenes are lively, well-acted, unexpected and kept me intrigued to see what would happen next.  She showed no fear in tackling some touchy subjects, and I was impressed at how she captured the often radically different points of view of both her own character and Adam Goldberg's.  The casting of her real parents as her character's parents in the film added an extra layer of interest.  I kept wondering how many scenes might have held snippets from her real life. 

I told one of my friends about the film and he scoffed with disinterest over seeing a "chick flick".  As much as that term rankles me on many levels, I assure you this is no "chick flick".  The film's not perfect by any means but, just as in life and relationships, even the flaws are worthwhile.

Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley

This is an exciting weekend because a few of my closest friends are coming to visit me!  OK they're actually coming for work reasons, but I will try to monopolize their time anyway.

The first exciting friend-related event is the San Francisco World Film Festival which will be screening the documentary film Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley at the CineArts/Empire Theater at 85 West Portal Avenue.

 

Friday, September 30 at 6:30 PM -- Get tickets

Sunday, October 2 at 2:15 PM -- Get tickets

AG:JB was made by two of my dearest friends, and, OK, I'm in it briefly too.  But it's a gorgeous film about the life and legacy of one of the most incredible musicians and performers any of us has ever heard.

The second exciting event is the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival which features 50 acts (many of which are from Austin, what's with that happy coincidence??).  The festival is FREE which is fantastic, but I'm still befuddled as to who's paying for it.  No matter, because The Knitters are playing on Saturday (yeehaw!) and none other than DOLLY PARTON is playing on Sunday.  That should be enough to sell anyone, but no, there are more incredible performers, like Emmylou Harris, Los Super Seven, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin and more.  Hooray for San Francisco's free outdoor festivals!  It's like our own little ACL Fest without the heat, ticket prices and travel time.

Team Love & Saddle Creek

I have mixed feelings about Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley (someone innocently asked me the other day "Do you like Rilo Kiley?" and they got a diatribe in response).  I had heard several months ago that she'd decided to be indie again by releasing a solo record on Team Love.  I won't rant about that, but I do find it very interesting that Warner Bros. is allowing her to release it on another label.  And I do like the name of the album, Rabbit Fur Coat, because it makes me feel nostalgic for the one I wore when I was little (hey, I was 8 then - I don't wear fur now).

Speaking of Rilo and nostalgia, I traded in some CDs at Amoeba last week and got, among other things, the Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek DVD.  The DVD focuses on the fascinating history of Saddle Creek including the organic growth of the label and the interconnectedness of all the artists.  With such a small, tight-knit roster, it's amazing what unique successes each band has had individually.  The vision and integrity of the core bands and employees is inspiring, especially since they've been rewarded for doing things on their own terms.   (OK, and it's kinda fun to see people that I know on film.)

In other Saddle Creek news, Sef sent me a care package that included the new Criteria CD When We Break.  I love their first record en garde so much that I couldn't wait to hear the follow up.  So far it's not quite living up to my en garde obsession, because the lyrics seem a little too self-referential and the dynamics aren't quite there, but I need to spend more time with it.  Either way, I'm excited to see them at Great American on 10/16.

In other Team Love news, when I saw David Dondero at the Jackpine/Alejandro Escovedo show, he told me that they're putting out his record in October.  He'd just gotten the advances that day and didn't have one with him, so unfortunately I haven't heard it yet.  Also coming out on Team Love in October is Craig Wedren's solo record Lapland which is uncharacteristically mellow and understated (as far as STT and Baby go), but it still has Craig's gorgeous voice, phrasing and melodies.  Download the devastating "Fifteen Minutes Late" from the new record or listen to 4 tracks on Craig's myspace page.

In a sort of related note, Tralala is playing at the Hemlock tonight.  Tralala is basically Tilly and the Wall (sans tap dancer) in sound and style:

  Tralala vs. Tilly and the Wall 

Download Tralala's "The Girls Say" [via Stereogum] or buy the record.

Listen to songs from Tilly and the Wall's Wild Like Children and read my review.

The Baxter

My friend Craig was in town last night and invited me to see a screening of "The Baxter" because he did the music for it. The movie was HILARIOUS, you should definitely go see it when it comes out (despite what Ebert & Roeper said).

At the "afterparty" I was amazed to discover that comics attract more aggressive groupies than the musicians I know. I tried to get a shot of the adorable co-ed that sent Michael a drink and got invited to join us, but Craig's head is blocking her. Who knew comedy was so hott?

Check out the website for "The Baxter".

Wrong-Eyed Jesus

Odds and sods: Oh blogging, I've missed you.

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On Thursday night I saw a press screening of "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus," a film by Andrew Douglas. I'm writing a review of it for SFist, but I'll tell you now that seeing it is like watching a documentary, attending a concert, sitting through a feature film and reading a short story all at the same time. It's playing at the Balboa Theatre for one week starting on July 28th. If you like writing and music that's inspired by the south, or if you came from the south, GO SEE IT!

If it's not coming to your town, the soundtrack, Music from Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus, is out now on Luaka Bop. It includes tracks from Jim White, Cat Power, The Handsome Family and more.

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Read the latest "When The Lights Go Down In The City" on SFist.com. Everyone talks about how talented Sufjan Stevens is, and I wholeheartedly concur, but can I also mention that he's a dreamboat?

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The hijinks continue on the weekly hour-long Jonathan Hair Product ™ Infomercial, a.k.a. "Blow Out." Whoever wrote the scripts for the second season is a marketing genius, because each episode is about 20% run-of-the-mill reality show, and 80% thinly-veiled advertisement for the Jonathan product line. ("Guess what guys, we're in Sephora!" cha-ching! "I've got to go tell my girlfriend I'm going to be on QVC!" cha-ching!)

The first season had its obvious sponsors, including AmEx and Lens Crafters, and this season there's a cell phone company they mention periodically. But can you be a regular viewer of the show this season and NOT have a growing hankering to head to Sephora to buy some of the wares he's been hawking? Their not-so-subliminal advertising is working on me -- I'm totally going to buy some Dirt texturizing paste. And I wonder if The Pussycat Dolls is in on the deal too? I mean, Robin is his sister, but they're getting tons of lucrative advertising during the show as well.

Yes, the show has degenerated into an infomercial. No, I cannot stop watching!

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I have a LiveJournal now too.