Month: October 2018

Available now (and in the Merchanbox): Pussification. Mini-Mutations has a track on this compilation of music all inspired by cats. I’m very excited to have a track on a No Part of It release, and this one has a slew of incredible artists on it. (Thanks Arvo Zylo.) Having two tracks come out on two different comps during this tour – where I self released a number of things, as well – has been incredibly rewarding. You can pick up a copy of this comp at tonight’s show!

https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/album/pussification

Movie Meme Thingy:

There are so many incredible Film Noirs that the genre itself has become canonized, in spite of the mounting evidence that many of them were less than great. Character actors walk around strangely lit sets, falling in love with every woman who happens to walk on who has enough makeup and the right theme music ushering her in.

This is why “Out of The Past” is a refreshing change, a B Movie made on a big Hollywood budget, with heavy hitters in all the lead roles. The plot is typically difficult to follow, and the position of the central flashback creates a three-stories-in-one presentation, with the film’s theme music weaving in and out of diegetic and non-diegetic sources in a way that never winks at the fourth wall, but merely acknowledges it deftly like later Modernist directors like Antonioni would.

It almost plays like a series of noir vignettes, with the characters in different configurations as the film progresses, acting out these scenes with incredible flare that is as fun to watch as it is expertly acted. In many ways this is an art film with Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas pacing around each other, chewing scenery and delivering the best classic Hollywood has to offer in a dizzying display of Noir locations and scenarios.

Don’t sweat the story the first few times through. Just listen to the dialog and marvel at the best actors of all time doing what they do best.

This would be a pretty funny time to claim “I didn’t watch the news this month; what’d I miss?” I mean, can you possibly summarize October so far without resorting to an insane bullet point list that is too long to adequately digest usefully, and yet not resort to, “shit’s been fucked.” Anyone?

Movie Meme Thingy:

In an era with massive digital distribution and modern FX that blow minds consistently, the charm and appeal of a simple film like “Wizard of Oz” is often relegated to the Children’s section of most film catalogs. Indeed, most people will say that they loved it as a kid. And the old-fashionedness is apparent from jump. This was a classic Hollywood picture through and through; already having been made twice previously, this new musical version with “Color” was to feature a new star, some comedic hot shots, and was to be pushed through the Hollywood system so quickly that the final director was the fourth assigned to the picture, because the studio needed a nice family Summer Release. There was no auteure calling the shots. This was cobbled together like all films were in those days, but somehow, everything works perfectly in this film. It’s hard to express the full impact this film had on me – and most people who have seen it – without reviewing all of our cultural experiences with it on television and elsewhere. But even after 40-something yearly viewings, I still laugh, I still cry, and I still feel like this is the best that Cinema has to offer: a beautiful, colorful adventure.

Movie Meme Thingy:

Antonioni’s films are always a visual treat in any era, but there is something particularly eerie and immersive about his first color film, The Red Desert. As if it were an intertextual conversation with his own back catalog, this picture features his favorite leading lady – Monica Vitti – playing a slightly older version of the characters she has become known for. But this film explores a story like the ones we’ve seen him do before, filtered entirely through the way that color can communicate it. The results are like a cross between an art film and an Italian drama, where we watch our main character slowly come to terms with the alienation and discomfort that she is clearly suffering from. This film communicates a woman’s point of view with tremendous agility and earnestness, and as a result, creates a narrative where the climax of the film is a scene where no one in it understand each other. Of course, to describe it that way undercuts the sophistication and impact of this scene in the film, but no matter how I sum it up, it will pale in comparison to the experience of watching this film.

We are now in the “Back 40” of the tour (as my Grandmother used to say), and I’m very excited to have reached the dates where I am sharing a bill with Mark Hosler for a string of shows, ending with an excellent Halloween gig in Seattle (Where I’m the opener.)

At every stop on the tour I’ve done a new and unique piece, and I’m very proud of the performances so far. But you should come out to our show tonight in Corvallis. Sabrina Siegel Large Ensemble + Mark Holser with Mini-Mutations and Project Aisle both doing short opening sets. It will be intimate, beautiful, and so much fun. Please, come on out to Corvallis and meet an experimental legend!

“A voter can still vote on Election Day (November 6th) at his or her local municipal clerk’s office.” If you lost your ballot, or didn’t get one, you can still vote, or sort out your provisional ballot. The location and hours vary from city to city and county to county, so find out where the office is in advance, so you don’t get lost on the day. There’s a lot of paperwork for the provisional ballot, so give yourself a little more time.

A third party candidate can often more accurately reflect your beliefs. But unless that candidate is incredibly popular – moreso than the others on the ballot – they will loose to one of the two major party candidates. This has happened over and over again, and while there’s many exceptions, they are often in smaller races.

In big races, the argument “I hate both candidates” is part of a larger movement that reduces voter turnout. You may hate all the candidates, but when you don’t vote for either of them, the richer one wins. When “I hate everyone” wins your vote, democracy looses.

Consider the two candidates. Consider which is better for your country – not you, or your family, but the entire place where you live. One will always be better at the job than the other, when you actually consider the candidates.

This – THIS! – this should guide you more than anything else when you vote.

Please?