Good old SLOG

A dear friend of mine helped me to get me a delightful mention in The Stranger's web blog, SLOG, under the Visual Arts section-Currently Hanging-posted by Jen Graves. This is a great thing! I'm very grateful for this. If you want to check it out (although, dear readers, I suspect you have already seen it if you are seeing this post) it's on www.thestranger.com. Find the SLOG, and the visual arts section, and scroll down past the picture of the naked pregnant punk-rock lady. Which has created a bit of an online stir according to Jen.

This happening just reminds me how happy I am to have a lot of wonderful supportive friends in this town (and around the world). Trying to make it as an artist is an exasperating process, one that leans heavily on networking and connections and constant promotion and to have such a wonderful group of people out there helping me along here and there when they can just tickles me pink. Thank you all so much, always! And I hope I can always return the favor, or at least buy y'all a beer.

Moving on...the Form/Space show is almost down, one more week to go. Next week I will be hanging and prepping for the bit Portrait Challenge show at Fat Tiger, and hang a few new works of my own as well. I'm moving out of my post-big-show letdown period and getting productive as well. I'm not sure why I just mentioned that. Maybe to remind myself to never slack off.

Any who, I did slack off a bit and now have a few reviews for you:

Grand Archives -The Grand Archives Mat Brooke and friends have released what may prove to be the best album of the year on Sub Pop. It's so pretty and polished and lovely. It's almost too pure. A bit CSNY, a bit Beach Boys, and of course a bit Carissa's Wierd. They only thing I'm not entirely sold on with this album is that some of the extra instrumentation, the horns, the steel guitar, seems a little superfluous. But maybe I just wanted to hear nothing but guitar and violin (as in I just want to hear new Carissas Wierd) and likely it's simply a personal taste issue. Pretty damn great though! 4.5 Molos

S, Sera Cahoone, and Grand Archives at the Triple Door - I was quite ill when I saw this show, but I had a few whiskeys and sucked it up because how could I pass on this! Jen Ghetto, aka S, Sera, and Mat were all in Carissa's Wierd, so maybe, just maybe they might play some CW songs?? Well, they did play one, it was just Jenn and Matt playing, and it was worth the ticket price all on it's own. (Actually, S played a CW song right before Mat came on stage which was great too!) In fact, S was worth it all on it's own. I love Jenn's shy, lovely stage presence and simple, rough, precious songs. Sera Cahoone was excellent as well...and by the time GA came onstage I was getting really tired...but they played through their entire album and were masterful. Great show! 4.5 Molos

The Fountain - On DVD. The last picture by Daren Aronofsky (Pi, Requim For a Dream). Came out in 2006 to a sea of baffled reviewers. This movie is far better than everyone said it was. It's essentially 3 stories in one, all related to each other and can be taken a few different ways. It's not a happy picture, being about life and the stuggle against death-Fountain of youth kind of stuff-hence the name. And I shall not try to explain the plot to you. But if you rent it don't try to super analyze it too much. Enjoy the lush imagery and really strong middle (chronologically within the plot) story. Hugh Jackman is surprisingly strong in this film. 3.5 Molos

Days of Heaven - I rented this classic Terrence Malick feature as well. 1976 I think. A young Richard Gere. Great movie. Very very Malick in story and setting. Which means the characters all are dealing with heavy, harsh realities of life-struggling against man's own violent nature and doing so in a very wonderful environments full of beauty and promise even. Man vs Nature is not quite what Malick is about-it's more about Man fighting his own nature and the natural world is very much telling us things about the characters....any who, i'm getting off track. Gere is great, the film is lovely, painful, really painful, quirky, pretty and sensual. With a young and strong Sam Shepard too. Malick is a master. 4 Molos

The Goldenrods

I just finished watching the Oscars. Which I did not intend to do, but having been sick all last week, then recovering just enough for a trip to Portland and a fair amount of um...consumption-not terrible, but enough to keep me pretty exhausted after driving back up here-I found myself not having the energy, or motivation, to do much but vegitate....

So there I sat, mildly interested.

And I recalled, that I had promised you, dear readers (all 5 of you?) that I would recount my favorite films when the Oscars had come around, under the assumption that I might have gotten around to seeing a few more of the better heralded pictures.

SO here is an update of the best films I saw in 2007:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
3. No Country For Old Men
4. Before the Devil Knows You Are Dead
5. Eastern Promises
6. Grindhouse
7. Superbad

With There Will Be Blood way ahead of the pack. It's Citizen Kane on Steriods. See a review in a previous blog.

The awards themselves provided no surprizes-with the execption of the French(?) actress wining-which was a surprize, for me anyhow, as I have not even heard much if anything about the picture-which probably is a bigger sign that I don't nearly have my finger on the pulse of Hollywood as much as I claim to.

But then again, how come I knew that No Country would win picture and director(s), and Diablo Cody would for original script? Very easy to predict.

Nice to see Tilda Swinton win a goldenrod-she should have won for The Deep End a few years ago.

Glad Daniel Day Lewis won. Have I mentioned that movis is excellent?

OH, speaking of TWBB, the amazing score of that film, didn't qualify for best original score, because not enough of Greenwood's music was written specifically for the film. Otherwise i'm sure he would have won it. He's the guy from Radiohead, by the way. Great music in that movie.

I wish they had the balls to give Julian Schnabel the prize for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly...such a powerfil film which so clearly was due to the direction.

Oh well.


Oh, kind of funny when they listed a lot of the best pictures-a lot os blah, boring movies that no one cares about anymore on that list, eh?

Chicago? Really? Chicago won? yikes. A Beautiful Mind? wow...Crash? dont get me started on that one...Shakespeare in Love?

that's got to be the worst of recent memory. Shakespeare in love beat Saving Private Ryan, and The Thin Red Line (one of the most gorgeous films of recent memory). Likely the two WWII films split votes, allowing Shakespeare win, but still...just silly.

Then Forest Gump did beat Pulp Fiction back in the day.


Well, enough.

Back-to-Back

Thursday brought another successful opening at Fat Tiger. This time we kept it a little more laid-back as both Cait and I both had big openings on Friday in Belltown to worry about. Both of our shows were very successful and went off without a hitch.

If you haven't been to the McLeod Residence, you should go check it out-it's a great multi-use arts focused venue right across from the Crocodile Cafe (RIP). Cait's work is perhaps too big for the space, but still fills it in a very fun and energetic way.

My show at Form/Space has left me very exhausted. I'm not sure if it's the stress from the show, or the late night from having a bunch of friends in town that really did me in, but I'm still feeling beat. Also there's the dreaded post-show depression.

It sounds silly, but it's real. Doesn't matter if you sell all your work or get a bunch of attention (press, what-not) but there is always a major let down after any large show. Maybe it's just about the process of doing all this work and throwing it out to the world for this reception party and going there and having all these disjointed conversations with really great and smart people, but how can you really talk about work, let alone your work, in any serious way, at an art reception with the crowds and the wine and the whole scene. (sorry for the run-on)
Perhaps that leads to it. Or it's just that it takes time for these shows to really sink in...like how sometimes I dont really know if I like a piece I made till 6 months later. You need to let it stew.

Any who, I didn't sit down to write a rambling self-indulgent blog and I have. I apologize. Let me just give ya'll a couple film reviews and leave the journal alone.

Oh, but don't worry, i'm used to Post-Show depression and I have a lot of big, new ideas for work...to many actually, that I have to get cranking on. Stay tuned...


So I saw There Will Be Blood a few days ago. Spoiler alert! This is one of those films that I feel like any review of it will only cloud your judgement going into the film...so I suggest this to you, dear reader, stop reading, skip down to the next paragraph, and go see this movie. But if you need more convincing, I shall share a few things with you. The movie is wonderful. PT Anderson is one of, if not the, best young directors working. Between this and the wildly underrated Punch Drunk Love (probably wasn't as heralded due to naive Adam Sandler backlash-Sandler is amazing in that film-truelly a talented actor, even for all the shit he has done) PT has made 2 of the best films of the last 5 years. The acting, the music, the filming, the story of this movie is brash and powerful and hyper-cinematic. It's over-the-top in ways so delightful it's hard to describe. The dialog of Daniel Day Lewis' character is so wonderful and demented. This is a movie that is not afraid to be a movie, that is it is both extremely realistic and historically accurate, while creating these characters that are both complex, real, and at the same time, very...extreme. 4.5 Molos. Best film I saw from 2007.


Net Flix brought me 3:10 to Yuma which is kind of the anti-There Will be Blood. It was stupid. While the acting was solid, and the direction was okay, and scene-by-scene it was fun to watch, I didnt' buy the character's motivations for one minute. Way too over the top- look at how the bad man has changed and how this other broken man is staying good despite the chance to make a lot of money...etc...just didn't make any sense. Perhaps the original worked better due to the naive attitude of the 50s or something. 2 Molos.




Everyone's favorite Canadian throwback to 70's heavy psychedelic rock band, Black Mountain, has released a new CD, In The Future. Ironically titled since it sounds so tied into the past, but it's pretty good. I enjoy it, a couple of really good songs but it's not all that amazing sounding anymore-Black Mountain. Maybe because too many other bands are doing a similar thing, maybe because they just dont have that much great music to make. I'm not sure. But if you haven't heard them before, this album is probably a great one to pick up. Think kind of Jefferson Airplane but darker, heavier, and slightly more folkly at the same time. No doubt you can hear some on myspace. 3 Molos

I haven't picked up a lot of new music lately other than that. I'm looking forward to the full-length Grand Archives coming out on the 19th. I have been listening to an older 764-HERO record, Weekends of Sound (3.5 Molos) a great deal. It's really pretty great...i'll have to pick up some of their other stuff. They are very much in the vein of Built to Spill, but a little more of an rock-atmospheric band, a lo Kinski I guess. Very PNW, very late 90s PNW and very tight. They did an EP with Modest Mouse, Wherever you see fit, that is wonderful.

That's all for now folks.

A Place to call your own

The last couple weeks when not dealing with the masses flocking to the R Crumb show I have been hard at work finishing up my paintings for my show A Place to call your own at Form/Space Atelier this Friday. The work is up on the wall, and needs only some lighting and labels and come Friday the wine will flow and hopefully folks will enjoy.

I really don't have any other things to share-I've been on a cultural hiatus while holed up in the studio so I'm afraid that I have zero reviews for this week. Until next time...

-molo

Snow Tease

I would love to have a good 3 day snow storm just shut down Seattle-not too long, just three days, solid of snow and cold. None of this snowing overnight just enough to make everyone complain about their commute (“we had 3.5 inches in Kent!”) but turning to rain by 11am teaser crap. Where’s the solid foot of fresh powder blanketing the town. Think of the quiet, the peace that would befall.

Today, I woke up to a good half inch on First Hill, with patches of ice. Man I’ll tell you it was rough walking the 4 blocks to get here.

However, as the employees trickle in (“Bothell-2”!), I have plenty of time to round up some thoughts on some of the recent arts activities I’ve partook in around this town.

I saw novelist Colson Whitehead (The Intuitionist, Apex Hides the Hurt, John Henry Days) read at Benaroya Hall 2 weeks ago. My mother was generous enough to invite me to join her in the patron section, which means you are close enough to really notice all the nervous ticks and grooming issues of the fiction writers speaking on the Seattle Arts and Lectures circuit. Not that Colson has any of these issues, it’s just that I always expect writers to be these social outcasts. Turns out that a lot of them are quite respectable, good lookin’ even. Hell Colson can even speak-I mean he entertained the crowd. This was not just a reading, it was a fun talk. Mostly about how he got started writing. There was a fun chart involving “inverbs” that he broke out….inverbs like “wearin” and “lookin”. It all had to do with a semi-autobiographical novel he is writing that takes place in the early/mid eighties and the vernacular of the time involved a lot of insults, slung with in phrases that with the inverbs…so like a descriptor, such as Benson, and inverb, and an object…you can basically choose from a list of descriptors and objects and just plug ‘em in a random to make the insult work. For example, “You Benson lookin’ Motherfucker”. That is a bad example and not very funny- his were all funny-but you get the idea.

I better just move on….so Colson was great, his talk was a 4 Molo talk, not that I review talks, but if I were to review it, I’d give it 4. So I guess I just did.

One of the other interesting points he brought up had to do with Baby Boomers…with how basically, the BB still control culture in this country. Because they control the money I suppose now, or a good deal of it. That’s why there’s still all this reverence for the summer of love and all the hippy crap associated with it. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love the Baby Boomers, my parents are awesome, a lot of cool ideas and culture have come from that culture, but like Colson, I wonder why is this still such a big deal? I mean hasn’t anything important happened since ’69? Or do we still have to “Keep on Truckin’”?

If you did not get my reference there, it’s from the famous cartoon by R. Crumb. The long-haired old guy in exaggerated mid-stride keeping on trucking. If you still can’t picture it, think the Coen Brother’s Dude’s attitude (“take ‘er easy Dude”). The deadbeat Lebowski is one of our most famous heros to embody that era’s attitude, a hippy who never got serious with life while his peers all went on to become tax consultants and brokers.

R Crumb is like the Dude, if the Dude were a really insane, creative, perverted weirdo. Self-proclaimed as such. Crumb has made a living at self-deprecation. An enormous living. Why do I bring him up? Because the Baby Boomers and their cultural liaisons, have seen fit to bring R. Crumb to the Frye Art Museum, for a big retrospective. 40 years of Crumb. Comic book nerds everywhere. It smells like certain neighborhoods in San Francisco in this exhibition. Like a couch that had a thousand joints ashed on it.

The work though, the work is actually pretty fun to take in. I could debate for you, if you want, the merits of a comic book artist show in a museum…I have reservations as to what the point is-I mean what do you gain by looking at these drawing in person, these artifacts and comics that you don’t get from them in print form…but I’ll just leave it at that. There is a ton of work, and if you don’t mind rubbing shoulders with a lot of ZZ Top beards, you might enjoy it. Especially if you are a Baby Boomer, because it is, nostalgic. 3.5 Molos I guess-it’s worth that much just to see the expressions on certain patrons faces when the see some of these comically vulgar images.

So does this mean that in 20 years, when the Baby Boomers children have finally inherited culture, that the old folks will be talking about the 60’s and free love and rock’n roll as the “good ol’ days?”


In mainstream pop-culture:

Cloverfield – Caught this intense flick at the Cinerama the other day. I enjoyed it-very well done….yes the novelty of a shaky cam DV-only picture is a little tired, and yes we have all seen Godzilla before, and yes, it is apparently now okay to play off the fears of Manhattanites for their island to be under extreme duress…but all those interesting things aside, this movie was fun and exciting. It’s stupid fun. Oh and by now you have heard about people getting sick in the movie…yeah the first 15 minutes were rough, but I held it together and once the action started it seemed to be fine. 3.5 Molos

No I haven’t seen Rambo yet.

RIP Joker

RIP Heath Ledger. Dead at 28. “possible drug related death” I guess his cinematic swan song will be at the Joker, in this summer’s eagerly anticipated Batman, the Dark Knight. I predict a posthumous Oscar. I also predict a lot of tasteless gay dead cowboy jokes.

(I hope my talk of fellow Australian Micheal Hutchence's tragic drug related suicide death didn't somehow jinx Heath Ledger, but it is an eerie coincidence)

The Fire Dragon turns 31

January 22, 2008.

It’s the 31st anniversary of the morning after my mother saw the film, “Silver Streak”, which was, apparently, very funny. Funny enough to induce. Labor. Which was great for her, especially since I was due on January 1st. As you can imagine, I was a fairly large baby, something like 9lbs, 6 oz or maybe a little bigger. Had to have my fingernails cut right away. A lot of theories abound as to why I stayed in the womb so long. I can’t rightly say, except that I really enjoy sleeping in.

Thanks for not waking me up, Mom!

Any who, I am an Aquarius, like John Belushi and Michael Hutchence, were also born on Jan 22. I am also year of the Dragon…Fire Dragon. Which I think is pretty badass. I don’t know what it means but I’m sure that I’m destined to rule the world. Wouldn’t you agree? I think the first step to ruling the world is writing a blog.

Speaking of Michael Hutchence. Every time I hear INXS now, I think, “how tragic”. Poor troubled guy killed himself in ’97. He wrote some of the best pop/rock songs of the 80s, and really early 90s. Somehow he was able perfect a kind of ambiguous sincerity that was fun and moving. And made you move. Then, 8 or so years later, his band destroys whatever class they may have still had by doing that stupid ass reality show. I mean I have no idea if INXS would have stood the test of time, or would have remained too much an 80s pop band to speak to future generations, but I still did not need to see that shit go down. I know those wanted to make a buck, but please. Hopefully folks will have forgotten about that sad program, and when I play INXS at my next dance party, they get down.

You have probably guessed by now, that this post has no theme. Sorry about that.

But I do want to thank everyone for coming to my birthday celebrations! I can’t regale you with tales of debauchery and mayhem, because of the Feds. But I can say that highlights included a delicious lemon cake, wonderfully silly drawings by a young budding street artist, and lots of great friends. Oh, and scotch.

Okay, sorry the wit and whit is lacking today.
Let me get in one review:

Diving Bell and the Butterfly the new film by painter/filmmaker Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls). Great movie, top 3 from 2007 for sure, maybe the best. Painfully beautiful. I wish to speak about it in the most vague terms as I feel like you have to experience this one for yourself. You should know that it concerns a man who has “locked-in syndrome” and can only move his left eye, but retains full mental capacity. Needles-to-say, it is not light fare. But great movie, stellar direction (Julian won the best director at Cannes), and superb acting. 4 Molos

I am still dying to see There Will Be Blood.

Best of 2007

2007 was...

love, loss, growth and frustration. Here's some highlights from pop culture and personal experience:


Best New Gallery: Canvas Gallery. 617 Western. Just happens to have 3 paintings by yours truly on display right now!

Best netflix discovery: Freaks and Geeks-this show is great! I've only seen the first 6 episodes so far, but I'm loving it.

Best Vacation: Camping at the various State Parks in Oregon and California on my way to Berkeley.

Best Party: Crows Eat People III! Not to tute my own horn, but it was the best.

Best Injury: Splitting open my palm in a fall while hiking off the Mountain Loop Highway

Best pet: Crouton the kitten, despite her tendency to drive me insane when I kitten sat her for a week. No one chases the lazer point dot with greater zeal and reckless abandon.

Best novel I read: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Best Song: "Someone Great" LCD Soundsystem. Just too lovely. Even with the vocals that are almost superfulous.

Best surprize album: Busdriver - freaky acid arthouse hip-hop. Stuff on this album unlike anything I've ever heard.

Best big concert: Arcade Fire at Sasquaatch. Built at the showbox.

Best little concert: Shenandoah Davis at Fat Tiger Gallery

Best 10 albums I heard:

1. Kings of Leon Because of the Times
2. Radiohead In Rainbows
3. The Cave Singers Invitation Songs
4. LCD Sound System Sound of Silver
5. Sigur Ros Hvarf/Heim
6. Silversun Pickups Carnavas
7. The White Stripes Icky Thump
8. Busdriver Road Kill Overcoat
9. Arcade Fire Neon Bible
10. MIA Kala

Best 4 albums you may not have heard: Imperial Teen, Grinderman, Two Gallants, Memonia.

Best films I have not Seen but I suspect are good:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. The Divining Bell and the Butterfly
3. Rescue Dawn
4. Juno
5. Sweeny Todd

(and i'm sure a host of indie and foreign films I need to see)

Best films I did see in 2007:

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Grindhouse
3. Superbad
4. Eastern Promises
5. Before the Devil Knows You are Dead
6. American Gangster
7. Zodiac

I am legend. Well, maybe I'm just hearsay

This is a quick hit blog, because I have not been keeping you all informed of all the rumors, gossip, and general happenings of my life. Or just observances in general.

RIP: The Crocodile Cafe! Up and closed it's doors overnight a few days ago. I saw a lot of great shows at the Croc through the years (The Wrens, Local H, Black Mountain, are a few that pop into mind) and I'm terribly sorry to see this Seattle staple eating up by the Man.

I'm sure it was the Man. Probably the same Man who killed that block of Pine where the Cha Cha was.

Fat Tiger had a wonderful December first Thursday. I don't have time to recount the evening, but I had a lot of great conversations, and the mood was just delightful. Now if I can only figure out a way to kick out my psycho-neighbor all will be grand down there. That's a long story-but if for some reason I go missing, send the cops to 619 western to speak to Eddie.

The holiday show of that same weekend was a lot more low-key, but nice as well. I even sold some work.

Okay, this blog is beginning to sound like I'm just telling ya'll what happened to me over the last few weeks, but in a general and uninteresting way. SO let me just get on to the reviews and I'll try to come back with better stories in later blogs.

I am Legend - Many of you know about my love for all things apocalyptic, so you wont be surprised that I caught this flick on opening night. It's good. The first 2/3 are especially interesting. Some parts of the film, especially later on, needed to be dealt with differently, but without giving too much away, I was pretty impressed and enjoyed the movie. I was disappointed with some rather poorly integrated CGI shots though. What ever happened to movie make-up? 3 Molos

Speaking of Apocalyptic stories...with the success of No country for Old Men, do you think Hollywood will tackle Cormac McCarthy's The Road soon? That could be amazing. And depressing as hell.

The Golden Compass - I was also entertained by this film and I must note that I have not read the books. I was entertained in the way that any fantasy spectacle that any amount of money and effort goes into is always fun fair. It's really not a well done movie at all. The story is disjointed, the film has a lot of rough cuts and hints at a lot of story that I'm sure was fleshed out in the books but we get the very short version of. It was a cartoon. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a cartoon. So I didn't mind it so much. But I could see how the story might actually be interesting, on film, if handled with cojones. I guess they were too afraid of offending too many people so didn't excite anyone. 2 Molos

Spoiler Alert: In the Golden Compass...there is a Polar Bear fight scene when one bear knocks off the jaw of another! Talk about random delightful and absurd fun...I mean i didn't know if I should laugh or cheer. Really, though, they needed to have a spray of blood go spurting, that would have sold it for all those kiddies out there watching this silliness.

The Third Man - Netflixed this classic film, and yes it is good. Orsen Welles has this magic when he appears on screen that is mesmerizing. The movie, overall, is quite interesting and fun, and keeping in mind it's history and such, certainly a classic. I really liked it when the lead got snubbed at the end by the girl. 4 Molos

Sorry folks, all for now.

Top 10 Flicks that I have seen, 2007:
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Grindhouse
3. Superbad
4. Eastern Promises
5. Before the Devil Knows You are Dead
6. American Gangster
7. Zodiac
8. 300
9. I am Legend
10. The Host

Top Musical releases that I have heard, 2007:
1. Radiohead In Rainbows
2. Kings of Leon Because of the Times
3. The White Stripes Icky Thump
4. LCD Sound System Sound of Silver
5. Imperial Teen The Hair, the TV, the Baby, the Band
6. Silversun Pickups Carnavas
7. Busdriver Road Kill Overcoat
8. Interpol Our Love to Admire
9. The Arcade Fire Neon Bible
10. Grinderman Grinderman
11. Explosions in the Sky All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
12. Two Gallants Two Gallants
13. The Cave Singers Invitation Songs
14. Albert Hammond Jr. Yours To Keep
15. Film School Hideout
16. Talib Kweli Eardrum
17. Devandra Banhart Smoke Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

listing to one side, or the other

Oh it snowed on Saturday and I was delighted. Lovely big, soft flakes downtown Seattle. I love the snow, I love it almost as much as I love puppies. I often wish I lived in a town with real winters. Of course if I got a real winter, then I'd get a scorching summer as well, and I really dont want that.

I suppose I should just shoot for the dream-make enough money to winter in Montana, say near Whitefish, Summer in the Northwest, and spend Spring and Fall in NYC. With, of course, various vacations across the globe. Is that so much to ask?

So it snowed, then, of course, turned to rain a few hour later, and washed all the fun away. And now there is flooding and landslides and it's raining in my studio building and things seem to be perfectly PNW winter. Wet and gloomy. But cheer up dear readers, there is always fun to have, like preview I saw just the other day...

Sly Stallone is releasing "Rambo" 4. I am terribly amused. This comes on the heels of last year's Rocky Balboa. So, as he seems to be establishing a trend here, I expect next year for Stallone to release another sequel from one of his big 80s hits. Which gets me thinking...what would I most like to see...

Top Films Stallone Should do a Sequel for Release in 2009:

1. Over the Top (greatest movie about arm wrestling ever)

2. Death Race 2000 (reprising his role as Machine Gun Joe Vitero)

3. Cobra

4. Cliffhanger

5. Demolition Man

6. Tango & Cash

Okay, well, maybe he's fresh out of money making sequels afterall. You know, Stallone, for all his cartoony acting through the years, was actually excellent in the movie Cop Land. That film is very well done. (the first 2 Rockys and Rambo: First Blood are also excellent and surprisingly smart pictures-for the record)

Dear Reader,

Let me take a moment to apologise for the sheer length of this blog.

Film Reviews: (as always, reviews are 1-5 Molos, 1 being something like Howard the Duck, 5 being Radiohead's OK Computer)

I started watching Inland Empire the other day and had to shut it off after 10 minutes. Lynch has become a caricature of himself. Unlike highly stylized directors like say Cronenberg who have further developed and changed their style through the years, Lynch is getting worse-or he's the same. It gets old if you don't take it someplace new. 1 Molo

This is the common trap that artists always have to deal with, staying both fresh, and commercially successful. Many fall into repeating themselves over and over. Repetition for the sake of exploring a particular idea can be a great thing, but for the sake of "everyone likes it", is one of the most dangerous forms of selling out. Basquiat wrestled with some of that before his early death. Contemporary artists like Deborah Butterfield (found in many museum collections-the horses) milk their one successful idea to the bone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Butterfield

I despise that and I also have a great fear of falling into the same trap myself.

Lynch is doing it. I though he might break out after he did that film about the guy on the lawnmower that was a straight picture...but now he's back repeating himself. On the other hand, maybe the movie was brilliant, after all I couldn't stomach it past the opening bit.

The Arts Reviews:

I have spent now about 2 months with Patricia Piccinnini and her show, Hug. In the short I'd say the show is somewhat entertaining fluff. She has created a silly future of genetic engineering gone wild (literally and figuratively) with these hybrid creatures running amok and interacting with people in various eerie but harmless ways. Patricia is a good example of one of the things that I have trouble with in a lot of contemporary art. She brings up some basic themes: endangered species, genetic engineering, environmentalism in general, but simply plays with the themes and does not say anything at all with the work. It's just simply entertaining.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm perfectly fine with art as being simply entertainment. I know full well that many people take simply as entertainment. But what gets me, what is so difficult to swallow with a show like Patricias is all the diatribe about it...all the wall text, all the curatorial bullshit, and even much of what she says herself...simply declaring that you are interested in say environmentalism and that you want to save the world does not make the work mean anything.

Let the work speak for itself, and let the public and the academics come to their own conclusions.

The Printed Word:

I finished David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster not long ago. The book is a collection of essays over the last 10 years on wide ranging subjects such as John McCain's presidential run last time around to the porn industry. I can't say that the book was overly impressive. DFW is a great writer, and he has a knack for really describing the whole nasty American consumer culture-ness and general absurdity of things, but the essays rarely intrigued me. However they are full of insights on their individual subjects, which I suppose was their initial purpose. He's at his best with the McCain press tour piece, which shares a lot of insight about that whole scene...probably more than you'd like to know. 2.5 Molos

Joan Didion wrote a painful book about the death of her husband and near-death of her daughter called The Year of Magical Thinking a few years back. The book is an easy and very sad read. It's simplicity and honesty is hard to not let get to you a little bit, even with the idea of this story being so...almost self exploitative. It's dangerous, right...to write these stories that are first person accounts of the tragedies of your life. It can be so overwrought, so whiny....so uninspired. Joan's book, though, avoids all the usual trappings of such an undertaking. It's strong, interesting, and insightful even. And it reads like she had to write it. To if not work through her grief, to at least document it, for further study perhaps. 4 Molos

Top 10 Flicks that I have seen, 2007:

1. No Country for Old Men

2. Grindhouse

3. Superbad

4. Eastern Promises

5. Before the Devil Knows You are Dead

6. American Gangster

7. Zodiac

8. 300

9. The Host

10. Shoot 'em Up

Top Musical releases that I have heard, 2007:

1. Radiohead In Rainbows

2. Kings of Leon Because of the Times

3. The White Stripes Icky Thump

4. LCD Sound System Sound of Silver

5. Imperial Teen The Hair, the TV, the Baby, the Band

6. Silversun Pickups Carnavas

7. Busdriver Road Kill Overcoat

8. Interpol Our Love to Admire

9. The Arcade Fire Neon Bible

10. Grinderman Grinderman

11. Explosions in the Sky All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

12. Two Gallants Two Gallants

13. The Cave Singers Invitation Songs

14. Albert Hammond Jr. Yours To Keep

15. Film School Hideout

16. Talib Kweli Eardrum

17. Devandra Banhart Smoke Rolls Down Thunder Canyon