ElectroPopShoeGazerIndieHipHopRock 1

Am I dying a blogger death by only updating every 3 weeks? Probably. Oh well, who cares.

I keep wanting to steer this blog towards art related subjects only, but I just don't think it will happen, and for now, I'm going to stick with my random eclectic musings on music, film, "culture" and occasionally art. Which pretty much means lots of reviews of music and film. Sorry if that bores y'all! I'll try to get stronger content on here in the future.

Speaking of stronger content, have you seen the latest City Arts Magazine? There's a nice piece in there on Sunny Day Real Estate by yours truly.

One more thing, before I get to my reviews "ElectroPopShoeGazerIndieHipHopRock" is going to be the name of all my music posts, joining Art Quickies and The Current Cinema as repeating columns.

New Built To Spill?!!! How come I didn't know this was happening until I saw the record in the store? Have I lost touch completely? Wait, don't answer that. There is No Enemy is excellent. Easily their best album since Keep It Like A Secret. Doug and the guys seem to have settled comfortable into the organic jam session song writing style that they used exclusively on the last release. This album brings more flowing, nice pretty songs with that strongly familiar BTS sound, but it's tight and strong front to back. It's a mature work from one of the most honest bands working today. 4 Molos

I have to admit that I don't really understand what Islands are all about but they have released one of the catchiest pop indie rock albums of recent memory. I had some of these songs rolling around in my noggin almost immediately after first lesson. The album, in question, is called Vapours and it is very good. It's a bit glam, almost silly, but somehow smart and sentimental too. A couple of misses on the record (like the song with the voice-effect that as Nicole says, only belongs on Daft Punk records) but even the misses are really damn catchy. Something must be in the water in Quebec because Montreal has been one of the best music scenes in the world over the last few years. 3.5 Molos

Local darlings Grand Hallway released their second album Promenade not long ago. Tomo Nakayama is one hell of a song writer. There's no getting around it. Sometimes listening to this band makes me think of a more humble Elton John with quirky orchestral elements. All indie pop sweetness. Love songs. Will bands ever tire of writing love songs? Would any one want them to stop? Likely the answer is no. 3.5 Molos

Kittens and puppies.

Godzilla has been waiting for a Sunny Day to wake up

I haven't been bloggin' much. To be honest, I'm not sure if my blog will continue to be a big part of my web presence. With facebook, flickr, and plain-old email taking up so much time, and with my occasional writing assignments for actual print (you know, like words on paper and stuff, you might remember them), this here little blog is taking a back seat. Plus, you know there's the art, the job, the lovely Nicole, the friends and the family to spend time with (not necessarily in that order).

But I will do more, I promise.

It will just be in the sputtering installments that by now you all should be used to. And if you ain't having it, then stop reading, nimrod!

Still with me? Okay, here's a few things I have encountered:

You have only till Oct 3rd to see a lazy-ass GODZILLA sleeping between, well around really, Open Satellite's giant pillars. Go East. The artists in SIMPARCH have created a delightfully snoozy monster well worth the trip. Art can still be fun and actually create child-like responses that are honest, on occasion. 3.5 Molos.

Go see Sunny Day Real Estate's reunion tour! They are bringing it like they did in 1994, except with less hair. Or maybe that is just me who has less hair. I have seen them twice in the last 2 weeks and the first show, at Tacoma's Hell's Kitchen no less, was a spine-tingling, amazing experience. Plus, it got so loud i had to wear earplugs for the next show 2 days later, in Portland. So I didn't really get to hear the Portland show, but i briefly listened to their new song, that's right, they have a new song, and it was tight. Plus, you can get Diary and LP2 on Vinyl! Sing it! SDRE Tacoma Show: 5 Molos. SDRE Portland show 4.5 Molos. Diary reissue 5 Molos. LP2 reissue 5 Molos

Grand Archives released Keep in Mind Frankenstein which follows up last year's self-titled Subpop debut with another batch of happy/sad slightly folky mellow moody indie rock songs. This one is slower, darker, and a lot less eccentric than the debut. A far more enjoyable listen overall, everything on it just feels much more considered. Although it is lacking the punchy delights of songs like Torn Blue Foam Couch and Southern Glass Home. Still, like everything that is remotely connected to Carissa's Weird, from Grand Archives, to S, to Sera Cahoone and of course even Band of Horses it is full of sad, wonderful beauty. Even the failures that this group of artists have done are still better than most of the crap out there. Keep in Mind Frankenstein is no failure, it's a mature, record from a prolific songwriter searching for a new post Carissa's Wierd world to play in. 4 Molos

Time to break out the scarves people, winter's a coming!



thank you to slog/open satellite and the flickr photographer that i borrowed these images from. feel free to steal any of my pics from the web, anytime.

Pop-gazer

Hello dear readers, it has been a while! This post is all about music, and I'll try to keep it brief. Well, no promises on that. After all, I just turned in 1500 words for an article I'm writing on Sunny Day Real Estate's reunion tour, and it was supposed to be 1200, which, frankly, isn't so bad, only 300 words over. But I'll tell you, at one point that piece was at like 2600 words...any who, I'm rambling and you all don't give a damn.

So let's get to the music reviews:

Really, what is the big deal with Yacht? Sure they have a couple really catchy songs, but they are pretty much just standard pop-indie danceable rock songs. Okay, yes the guy is from Portland...well Astoria really. And the stuff sounds like it comes out of NY, so that ins kind of interesting. Are there a lot of Yachts in Astoria? I imagine more sea-going vessels in those waters, after all the entrance to the Columbia river, with it's currents and sand bars, is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world. This is true. There's an army of tug boats and such whose job it is to guide ships through the mouth. Any who, wasn't I going to talk about music or something? Yacht, oh yeah. See Mystery Lights. Okay it's a pretty fun album. I'm equally delighted and annoyed by this music. Couple of stellar tracks though and it's pretty cool that it's from Astoria. In short, it is excellent indie dance rock pop so if that is your thing you will not be disappointed. 3 Molos

John in the Morning is probably responsible, personally for like 36% of all album sales decisions in Seattle, that is, all those people out there at Easy Street, Sonic Boom, Everyday Music sitting there thinking, "I'd like to get some new music, but I just don't know what I want..." Well they remember that song that John has been playing lately, or that album that he recommends and pick it up. Nothing wrong with that, John has great taste. The man has turned me on to so many bands that I can't hardly imagine living without...bands that I might never have heard otherwise. KEXP in general is a godsend.

So upon john's recommendation and having never listened to it at all, I picked up the new album by The Horrors Primary Colors. And it's pretty damn good. The good people at Sonic Boom had left a label on the album, that read"Moody Brit goths overcome their awkward stage of being lame and concocted an excellent follow-up that is pretty awesome actually" I can basically agree with that. The lyrics are mostly standard love songs, juvenile even, but for what is lacking in the words, the band makes up for in the driving music. I hear a lot of Film School, The Doves, and My Bloody Album amongst others in the guitar and rhythm and if you like those bands, and can imagine a sort of lighter blended version of all those influences, you will enjoy this album. Definitely a surprisingly strong release, thanks John! 4 Molos

Combine Yacht with The Horrors, add a female singer/songwriter, and make it a bit more earnest in its pop-gazing rock (I totally just invented that term-pop-gazing. like shoe-gazer but your head is up and your foot is tapping...right?) and you have Metric's Fantasies. I enjoy this album. I've never paid any attention to the band before, so I'm wondering now what I have been missing out on, as this is ther 4th album. Probably more sweet, tight sing-able rock music. Okay, good stuff, not groundbreaking, but good. 3.5 Molos

What about the new Cave Singers album? It will surely be on top of a lot of lists at the end of 2009, especially around the PNW. Yeah it's good, real good. It's a more rock version of their stellar first album. Turned up the rock, and turned down the folk, but they still do keep it folky, so all you beards out there wont be disappointed. 4 Molos

Okay folks, all for now, although let me add that the live album by K'naan Dusty Foot on the Road is very well done. It does a great job of capturing what surely must a be a stellar live performance. Having never seen him live, nor being very familiar with the music I find myself very much enjoying this performance. 3.5 Molos


Later y'all.

The Portrait Challenge

The Current Cinema - Inglorious Bastards

Oops, wrong poster.....I saw Inglorious Bastards on Saturday.



I was speechless. Part of that was exhaustion (long week, not feeling great, etc) but part of that was simply that Quentin Tarantino's newest is just superb film making. What an unexpected film-going experience.

I have not seen the original "The Inglorious Bastards", nor have I seen the 30s/40s era German films that are constantly referenced but I still enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Quentin has developed the strangest knack for creating movies with tons of long, drawn out dialog scenes that you keep waiting to end in someone getting shot in the face or some such thing, and they do, on occasion end that way, but often they simply end when the conversations naturally end between the characters. Damn if it doesn't work. Silly, smart, UBER CINEMA-O-PHILE stuff, but simply glorious. Yes, I had to use the word glorious in this review.

If you saw the previews and are expecting a violent, silly romp, this ain't it. Although there's plenty of violence, silliness and romp. Honestly, trying to describe this movie is challenging-it is truly genre-bending.

Oscar to Cristoph Waltz, he owns every scene he is in. Maliene Laurent is stellar as well. Brad Pitt has a ton of fun. Great stuff all around.

I'm just going to just shut up and tell you to go see this damn movie. 4.5 Molos

Art Quickie #5 - Hostel Art Collective

Last night I attended the opening reception for the Hostel Art Collective, which is a new youth hostel (which the city really needed) in Belltown (2327 2nd Ave, across from Roq la Rue and Halogen galleries) that features the work of nearly 50 local artists. It was a blast! Each artist got their own room, to pretty much do anything they wanted to. The building was very heavy on street (Weirdo) and pop-surrealistic artists (PGee), but there were a few more traditional painters (Chris Sheridan) and installation artists (Carlos Esparza/Sierra Stinson) thrown in as well.

Brown-baggin' PBR was the order of the evening. The crowd was not unlike the exciting Free Sheep events of recent months, art kids and hipsters clogging all the hallways.

Highlights include rooms by Chris Sheridan, John Osgood, PGee, Jeffrey Taylor, Michelle Anderst, Joe Vollan, and so many others!

I'm not sure if there will be any other public events in the Hostel, but if you get a chance to see the space, do not pass it up!

More photos can be seen at these locations:

http://hostelartcollective.wordpress.com


http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?page=1&aid=291537&id=839040061


4 Molos!

The Sounds of 2009

Hello everyone! Sorry for the absence, but I had surgery on my sinuses and have been out of commission. Subsequently I haven't been out to see a lot of art around town, or movies for that matter. I have lost track of all the art, music, culture, and films happening around town-basically all the things that I am supposed to be reporting on in this forum to you all. Sorry about that, I hope you have managed to entertain yourselves without my advice these last few weeks!

I did watch a ton of DVDs during my recovery, movies like Defiance, or James Bond vs the Nazis, which was a perfectly mildly entertaining and somewhat interesting film. 2.5 Molos Oh, and I saw the first season of Mad Men, which more than lives up to it's reputation as a extremely well-written, intriguing show. Mad men is fascinating. It's not exactly a happy show, in fact it always left me in a kind of perplexing, slightly sour mood, but it's just so damn well done and mysterious I could never stop watching.

Moving on, I wanted to catch you all up on music in 2009. To be honest I really can't keep up with new music in any sort of comprehensive way anymore. There is just too much out there, on the web and at the stores. But here are a few short reviews of things that have fallen into my world of late:

Perhaps the most fun record I have heard in a while is Major Lazer's Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do.. It's a delight. Fully of dance hall and sort of reggae/hip hop/ experimental dance fusion songs. But in a kind of mainstream-accessible sort of way. It's fun and has good beats. Plus, you really really must find the video for Pon de Floor online-it will floor you. Features of lot of "passa passa" style dancing. After you watch that video, research passa passa. Kids these days. 3.5 Molos

There is a local rapper Shabazz who is a bit of a mystery. I'm not eve certain that he is local, but that is what I heard. Shabazz released a really good record, Palaces of light, that i picked up a few weeks ago and it's a really tight bunch of dark, clean, slightly thuggish but smooth rap. If that makes sense. Thuggish is probably the wrong word. Tough might be more accurate. I think it's a good evolution of local hip hop, but I'm not at all an expert on the scene, even if i am friends with a white rapper. If you are a fan of hip-hop get the record, that's all I'm going to say about it. 3.5 Molos

Sonic Youth keeps making albums, and I keep buying them. But it's getting a little old. Or they are getting a little old. Although the title of their new album, The Eternal, speaks to this rather directly!
Don't get me wrong, it's good, very good. The band really can do no wrong. But I think they have fallen into a realm of just making music for their fans. Their music is becoming very much variations-on-a-theme, when it used to be they were always pushing boundaries and exploring new unknown sounds. So they aren't innovators anymore, they wont blow your mind with this album. But if you are into their sound, you wont be disappointed. 3 Molos


Busdriver, on the other hand, has still got some innovation going. Although at times it is starting to feel ever so slightly formulaic...but just slightly. His new album, Jhelli Beam, really encompasses what I trying to say here...songs alternate from blowing your mind, to being more like here's another classic Busdriver-sounding song. Although for such a weird, experimental hip hop artist like him, that's a funny thing to say. If you have never heard of Busdriver, you need to. He's really quite amazing, and this album is tight and delightful despite what I have said above-I think my only issue with him is he's just kind of hard to take a lot of. He's a hard artist to listen to his records front-to-back. Too much Busdriver is a bad thing, a little Busdriver is fucking amazing. 4 Molos


Alright kids, off to your record stores! And if anyone has any great musical suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them.

The Current Cinema - The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the best film I have seen this year so far. (although I have not see a lot for the record) I don't think a better movie has been made about either Iraq war to date. This is the kind of movie that keeps you thinking about it for days, and that's a rare treat with all the instantly forgettable crap out there. This war will no doubt end up being the subject of many more films/novels/and stories for years to come, but I doubt if anyone will make a film that treats the subject with such clean, strong and simple story-telling methods, while still being entertaining. Perfectly acted all-around.


The few, slightly clunky plot points or directory moves-like the needless use of Ralph Fiennes in this movie-I realize he's worked with the director before (Strange Days) and probably that is why, but i found it distracting,when all the other actors are pretty much relatively unknowns and so strong...but those small things are easily forgiven.


Kudos to the director, Kathryn Bigelow who is developing a most unusual directorial filmography (Point Break!, Blue Steel, Strange Days), writer Mark Boal (In the Valley Of Elah), and lead Jeremy Renner for a strong performance. Well done, go see it. 4 Molos

Art Quickie #4 - Troy Gua @ Vermillion and Greg Lundgren @ Open Satellite

This art quickie will actully be quick for a change.

Greg Lundgren is from Bellevue. Troy Gua is from facebook. Okay, Troy is not really from facebook, I dont know where Troy is from originally. I'd say that he might have spent some time in Japan, but I think that is just the hair.

The respective exhibitions are full of suprizingly overlapping themes about the trials and tibulations of the artistic life in this region. Greg's show focuses on the expereince of growing up in the suburbs from the perspective of a successful artist career with smart, scuplture/installation works that are both entertaining and insightful. The works had the feeling of a Brent Easton Ellis novel, except with more heart. He has much to say about his ubringing in the context of Bellevue culture. His show is called I am from Bellevue and it will be on display at Open Sattellite until August 1st. Make the trip to the eastside and check it out.

Troy's exhibition Do you see me? at Vermillion differs from Greg's in his focus on efforts to get himself and his art noticed in the local art scene. Much of the work delves into the experience of online networking within the local art community with a very pop-art perspective. He seems to say that the quest for attention both physical and online creates direct, surreal focus on image making-on persona creation. It's a very brave, introspective departure from Troy's poppy celebrity combo-portraits. His show will run at Vermillion through August 2nd.

Go see both these shows. There is much more happening then my brief, very first-impression-ish, comments here. It is rare that I see shows which make me want to go back and look closer. Kudos to Troy and Greg!

Please don't sit on the art

I work at the Frye Art Museum.


Cat’s out of the bag. Not literally though, cats are not allowed in the museum. That is unless they are service animals. Which, actually is not all that uncommon, some cats provide valuable service needs to folks, although it can be a bit surprising to see a leashed feline walking around 19th century paintings (it certainly caught me off guard). Sorry I digress…I mention that I work at the Frye because to this point I have tried to keep the location of my museum guarding secret, so as to ward off my immense fan club. However, I grow weary of sharing insight and stories about “the museum”, as “Frye” is much shorter. Plus as an esteemed local critic pointed out to me, “everyone knows you work at the Frye”.


Now working at the Frye, as I do, I have heard a lot of unexpected questions through the years and one that I dread the most is:


“Is that art?”


I fear it almost as much as its companion, “where is the art?” (often asked of a patron standing adjacent to the “missing” art”). If a piece isn’t a painting, photography, drawing, or sculpture the public often doesn’t know whether or not they are looking at art. The rise of mixed media, non-traditional materials, installation, performance art and all the things that blur the lines between may be to blame. Surely this is the reason that a man asked me one day, when looking into a gallery with paint buckets and ladders strew about, if it was an installation piece. I informed him that we were actually installing a new show. “Who can tell anymore?” he asked with a shrug.


I have the upmost respect for the art-viewing public, even when they don’t know if they are viewing art, and I always try to talk about the art in question, often citing art history, the context of the show, and curatorial vision. However it can be a challenge at times to explain some of our works, especially to folks who have never sat through a slide lecture on Post Modernism or Pop Surrealism.


The Frye currently has a piece installed that seems to confuse a great deal of people about whether or not it is art. It is called Gussied Up and it is by the artist Mike Kelley as part of the excellent, entertaining show currently on display, The Puppet Show (through Sept 13th). Now Mike Kelley is a huge name in the
contemporary art world. He has shown all over the world, has a nice big Phaidon catalog published, did a Sonic Youth album cover and generally has had all the artistic success I can only dream of. This particular work of his is a large piece, situated in the center of a large room. It is essentially a huge table, with some smaller pieces of furniture on top of it. Additionally, there are a few small articles of doll clothing hanging from the pieces of furniture. Does this sound like art to you?


Well it is, very much so. As you may recall, I am involved with Security at the museum and it’s my job to see to it that art does not get damaged, let alone touched. My word what a headache this piece is! Many people seem incapable of walking by this work without running their hands along the wood table, or tugging at one of the little shirts. Even one of our volunteers couldn’t resist adjusting this little jacket that hangs from a vice, despite the protests of guards. I gave him an earful I’ll have you know.


Now Kelley work is not my favorite piece in the show (probably the Kentridge piece holds that honor-it’s mesmerizing) but I get paid the same to protect all of the art and the inability of folks to hold back their tactile desire is infuriating. But here’s the question-why do people touch that Kelley piece so much more often than the traditional paintings from the collection?


And why to they look so confused when I ask them to please not touch the art?
A lot is given away with that look-an embarrassed, sudden understanding that in fact, this table is a work of art, (which explains why it is in the middle of a museum with people staring at it and guards watching it) and that they just fondled a work of art for without a second thought. Well, at least they didn’t pull up a chair and sit down for a meal.


Speaking of sitting, this reminds me of a show we had a few years ago but the artist I’ll just call S. S had a few rooms in the front galleries at the Frye and in one of them she had 3 works on display: large painting on paper that spilled onto the floor, a video work projected on a wall, and sculptural/installation work on the floor. This work looked a great deal like a large, black box kite with some items inside of the body of the work-notable a neatly stacked pile of unlabeled tin can goods. Not exactly a traditional looking sculpture. Do you have a good image of this work in your mind? Okay picture the scene…


A lady, walks into the gallery with the box kite work. She seems very interested in the projected video but needs a place to sit and rest while she watches. Well how about this bench over here, that looks perfect! But wait….next thing you know, the bench, which was not a bench at all, collapses, her feet are up in the air, and she is on her back, executing a rather graceful, maneuver to right herself amongst much ruckus and tin cans rolling every which way. Now fortunately the lady was just fine, and the art was completely repairable with no lasting damage. After my heart stopped pounding in my chest I was fine too.


Do you think she thought that was art? Or a good place to take a load off?
Art History is full of examples of artists pushing the boundaries of what art can and should be-Dada, Duchamp, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Hirst, etc etc…the list goes on and on…you’d think that the question of what art is and could be would get stagnant after so much time and energy has been devoted to answering it, but clearly it will never go away. And clearly people still can’t always tell if something is art or not. So the next time you go to a museum remember this:


DON’T TOUCH ANYTING!



things that are art in the museum:

-anything in a frame
-anything with a label next to it
-anything behind a stanchion or on a pedestal
-anything that a guard is standing by
-anything that is in a room by itself

things that are not art in the museum:

-fire extinguishers
-exit signs
-drinking fountains
-the other “fountains” in the men’s room (if they had “R.Mutt” signed on them them it would be different story)
-outlets (you know, those holes in the walls that you plug stuff into)
-real wood benches (usually-but not the one that has the puppets on it-that IS art-stay OFF!)
-the seismographs on the floor. Oh and they aren’t seismographs either, they are Hygrathermographs
-the guards (but don’t touch them either)