Covering the crossroads of music and film.
James Horner: scoring Avatar, 17 year old girls, and Michael Bay
By Brandon Kim on 12/03/2009
Composer James Horner's list of film scores is long and accomplished, especially long. "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan," "Commando," "Aliens," and "Apocalypto" are just a few of his gems. He won an Oscar for James Cameron's "Titanic," and returns to score for the director with the much hyped "Avatar" due out December 18th. A recent interview with Horner about scoring Avatar and working with Cameron on the biggest budget film yet made s revealing of both. I think his comments highlight what is so tiresome about modern film scores and big budget composers who tend to influence every moment... MORE »
-
- Comment
Interview: Kid Koala + new videos from his band, The Slew
By Brandon Kim on 12/02/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
Eric San, aka Kid Koala, started work on a rock record with his pal Dynomite D (whom he met on the '98 the Beasties Boys tour) after they had been approached to do a soundtrack for a documentary film. The film never materialized but the result of the collaboration is the deadly rock outfit, The Slew: Kid Koala, Dynomite D, Chris Ross & Myles Heskett - the former rhythm section of Wolfmother. And six turntables. I was involved in booking a gig in Milwaukee some five or more years ago with Kid Koala where we met in a dark, sweaty... MORE »
Animal Collective, hip! hip! ...hippie
By Brandon Kim on 12/01/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
Animal Collective has always baffled me because I couldn't figure out what all the hubbub was about. "What interesting fellows" is about all I could ever sincerely muster out loud. About the same reaction I had to the likes of Phish, who I quickly grew to disdain and then marvel at as they became a cultural phenomenon. I don't see heaps of hippie body painting similarities between the two groups (hmm or do I?) but there are at least two key similarities. They both share a penchant for zany dynamic sound jam weirdoship that I am not naturally inclined to,... MORE »
Spiritualized, pop these pills
By Brandon Kim on 11/30/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
I don't think Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is the most important nor the most beautiful Spiritualized album. Their first one,Lazer Guided Melodies holds the top spot for me as a bridge between the itchy high of their roots in Spacemen 3 and the warm bliss of their second album, Pure Phase - which is so gorgeous I can barely listen to it without coming apart. But Ladies and Gentlemen seems to be what brought them into the consciousness of the mainstream so for it's legacy (and use in the film "Vanilla Sky") it may have come... MORE »
Monsters of Folk: A chat with M. Ward
By Brandon Kim on 11/25/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
The first ever music video from Monsters of Folk is a pleasantly lit piece by director Lance Acord that everyone says reminds them of Michel Cimino's film "Heaven's Gate." They must be referring to that film's visual style and unbelievably epic cast, not its tremendous box office failure - clearly a collaboration between M.Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James, and Mike Mogis is destined for some greatness. [M.Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James, Mike Mogis in "Say Please"] I got to toss some questions out to M. Ward between the release of this video for "Say Please" and the band leaving for... MORE »
Werner Herzog likens Nick Cage's performace to jazz improv
By Brandon Kim on 11/24/2009
Filed under: Here comes the gravy!
I've been hating on Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" for may months now, but hating something in theory without eventually seeing it for yourself feels cheaper than the ill-conceived title of this film. I finally saw it and there are some things to like. Still, as a huge admirer of Abel Ferrara's 1992 masterwork "Bad Lieutenant," I can't excuse the title. The producers, Alan and Gabe Polsky seem to think it's a great one. "We have a great title," they told IFC's Stephen Saito. Really? I would hate to see this strip mall franchise treatment spread... MORE »
Surfer Blood, "Floating Vibes"
By Brandon Kim on 11/23/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
When I think of Palm Beach Florida, good bands and the sweet sounds of early 90's pop are the furthest thing from my mind. I think of alternately sweating bullets in the humid air outside and freezing balls inside every hyper cooled, pastel colored establishment. It is a place of foreign extremes for me, and it only starts with the climate. The Palm Beach based band, Surfer Blood, however is entirely familiar - in a good way. There is a lot of talk about their debut album, Astro Coast, and it's early-era Weezer sensibilities. There's no denying that, and I... MORE »
Eva Green, Ryan Phillippe, Malakai... Franklyn?
By Brandon Kim on 11/20/2009
Filed under: Reel to Reel
I remember seeing this trailer for a film called "Franklyn," and although it looked a bit like Liam Neeson's masked "Dark Man" tripping balls in a remake of 1998's "Dark City" it also reminded me a bit of the kind of fantasy Terry Gilliam would entertain. Add Eva Green and I'm sold. The UK production also featured Ryan Phillippe, Sam Riley (who played Ian Curtis in "Control") and LOTR's Bernard Hill (King Theoden of course). I just forgot all about it, thinking the requisite marketing barrage would remind me to brave the usual weekend troglodytes for some big screen fun,... MORE »
Charlotte Gainsbourg + Beck: "Heaven Can Wait" video
By Brandon Kim on 11/19/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
It's a dreary week when I have no excuse to crop photos of Charlotte Gainsbourg, so I'm giddy as a fetishist in a fishnets over this new video for "Heaven Can Wait." The song is a duo with Beck and while I still feel uncomfortable having dear Charlotte so close to Scientology, I think he's a good collaborator for her. He also produced the record IRM from which this new single comes. I could have stood for some Warren Beatty and Charles Grodin cameos (see one of my favorite films from 1978) but director Keith Schofield (also did Supergrass' "Bad... MORE »
Tape Deck Mountain
By Brandon Kim on 11/18/2009
Filed under: Revolutions Per Minute
The well endowed eyebrowed,Travis Trevisan, of San Diego's Tape Deck Mountain had his band's first release, their debut EP Sparks, put out on cassette tape. I'm betting not too many outside of San Diego has heard it. A shame really. Their debut full length Ghost came out yesterday, this time on CD and LP (on Lefse). Tape Deck Mountain plays in the style of Mercury Rev (minus all the later ethereal choir stuff) or Spacemen 3 with maybe a little Danzig thrown in. The guitars and drummer handling keyboards with one hand reminds me of the old line up Chicago's,... MORE »
Categories
Blogroll
- Dlisted - Celebrity blowout.
- Born To Be Nervous - Music, art, genius.
- Hammer to Nail - Ambitious film.
- Cinema Echo Chamber - A place for spirited cinephiles.
- The Beat - Comics culture.
Recent Comments
- “Oh my lord”
- Brandon Kim on James Horner: scoring Avatar, 17 year old girls, and Michael Bay - 12/03/2009
- “Love it!”
- Little Naughty on James Horner: scoring Avatar, 17 year old girls, and Michael Bay - 12/03/2009
- “That live show looks awesome.”
- Chris on Interview: Kid Koala + new videos from his band, The Slew - 12/02/2009
- “I want to start off by saying that Animal Collective are some of the most musically talented musicia...”
- Mike on Animal Collective, hip! hip! ...hippie - 12/01/2009
- “i love the video”
- jade leonard on Eva Green, Ryan Phillippe, Malakai... Franklyn? - 11/20/2009
