Chris Bangle, BMW's controversial chief designer, has announced his retirement from the company and indeed the entire auto industry. While this is understandable considering the scarcity of good jobs in the autoverse right now, Bangle is simultaneously one of the most loathed and influential modern car designers.
2007 7 Series
The American born Bangle's "flame surfacing" design had little to do with Burger King but everything to do with unusual curves, angles and lines. His 2002 7 Series was widely panned, as was his 5 Series, but both were sales successes. His 7 Series trunkline in particular can be seen in a whole host of luxury cars included the current Mercedes S-Class.
2004 5 Series
He also was a big influence on the first Rolls-Royce to emerge from BMW ownership, the brutalist moderne Phantom in 2003.
Before he was at BMW he was best known for creating the slashed-sided Fiat Coupe.
Fiat Coupe
Love him or hate him, he pushed car design away from bland look-alikes and into more daring polarizing areas, surely a good thing. My favorite of his BMW tenure is the 6-series - to my eye the best blend of his big shapes and eye catching detailing.
6 Series
Bangle is succeded by Adrian Van Hooydonk who did last year's fantatsic Homage concept and the CS big sedan concept as well as the underwhelming new 7 Series. BMW has taken a turn back to conservatism of late - let's hope they allow Van Hooydonk the same freedom as Bangle enjoyed.
Mickey Rourke's face - puffed, spongy, semi-mobile, is like a relief map of failure in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, a sports drama that struggles semi-successfully to transcend it's genre. To the degree that it succeeds Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Aronofsky deserve the credit for sharply grounding the film in reality. Likewise, it's shortcomings are again Aronofsky's - who sometimes uses a staple gun when a thumbtack would do (quite literally) and screenwriter Robert Siegel who sometimes flounders against the mechanics of his plot and some clunky dialogue.
Aronofsky tones down the lyrical visual flourishes of The Fountain to shoot in a spare, hand-held fashion. There are some nice flourishes, the best of which is the constant soundtrack of 80s hair metal. When Rourke laments the rise of Kurt Cobain and the 90s, its the sweeping away of his dreams and his status as a cultural force he is railing against. It's heavy meta, if you will.
Early on Tomei recommends Scorsese's The Passion of The Christ to Rourke, jokingly calling his character "The sacrificial Ram." Not surprisingly that's exactly what he is, a piece of meat thrown into a ring as a lightning rod for his fans hopes and rage and passion - even as he slides down the ladder of his chosen profession.
Tomei, is his spiritual doppelganger, a stripper who equals him in bare chested and buttocked screen time. It's a measure of how far she's come that her high school drama class Brooklynese that inexplicable netted an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny is replaced here by an utterly believable Jersey girl. These are both sweet characters who absorb the blows of the world around them and find their power in the spotlight of the stage even as their bodies begin to betray them.
The real pleasure of this film lie in the backstage sequences - seeing the way younger wrestlers respond to Rourke's Randy the Ram, the business of plotting out the rough action that will occur in the ring, the subtle signals the wrestlers give to each other while grappling, all speak to the film's verisimilitude.
Less real are the scenes with Ram's estranged daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood. They both come across fine but the scenes feel sketched out rather than fully fleshed. This is true too of the climax which is designed to place Ram on his metaphorical cross. It feels like a bit too much in a film full of surprising subtlety.
Let me know what you think here, or on Twitter at @nmallin .
This year's Detroit auto show was shaping up to be a giant gloomfest but the actual metal on the ground held some reason for hope, even if a number of big manufacturers like Nissan decided to take a pass entirely. Here were some of the highlights from the new introductions.
Ford Taurus (Production)
Ford is touting their new 2010 Taurus as the reincarnation of the 1986 Taurus that helped save the company and lead it to the top of the American car industry for several years. The comparison is overblown as the '86 model was a design breakthrough for a mainstream American sedan - the '10 is quite handsome but is no trendsetter.
The sculpted hood and fenders, thoughtful headlight styling, and strong side surfacing all give a look of quality and class. All of the detailing is meticulous in a way that often escapes American cars. The rear end is among the car's best aspects with a playful slash on the rear fenders suggesting a continuation of the strong fold in the doors and a sweeping downward accent that's echoed in the angle of the bumper seam and the taillights as well as the roof and window lines. The taillights themselves echo Ford's earlier Interceptor concept and are the signature filigree on this car. The only real bum notes, and they are minor, are the fussy side window treatment that sees an awful lot of blacked-out space in the rear quarter window that leads to the leading edge of the chrome accent. If you squint it can nearly give a fastback cant to the roofline but that serves to make the front doors seem unusually small. The other is the grille - Ford deserves kudos for not doing a uniform approach to it's three-bar grille motif - this has a distinctive look separate from the newly upgraded Fusion. On the other hand there is an unmistakable echo of Subaru's Legacy in the grille forms and headlight relationship.
Though not drop-dead gorgeous (Chevy's year-old Malibu is still more arresting) this is a worthy entry into the competitive sedan market.
Chrysler 200C (Concept)
The whiff of desperation hangs heavy over Chrysler and their hodgepodge of jerry-rigged electric models on display were rather pathetic. And yet, this unexpected surprise was both welcome and poignant. Based on a cut-down 300C chassis, the 200C is the rear-wheel drive midsized car the awful Sebring should have been. Newly promoted chief designer Ralph Gillies has his imprint all over this car. Had this been a production model rather than a concept the hosannas would have been ringing loud and clear across Cobo Hall.
Unfortunately the situation is so dire that it's unlikely Chrysler will survive to even get this to the New York Auto Show, let alone production. Sadly, the tight fists at Chrysler's owner Cerberus, run by Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow, know next to nothing about the car industry and installed a guy at the head of Chrysler, Bob Nardelli, who knows even less. Of course why would Snow know anything about what makes for successful leadership? In the car world, it's about product, guys.
As for design the 200C is voluptuous, with rounded generous forms that never cross the line into flabby. The front wisely moves the Chrysler grille away from art deco and into the future, framing it with carved headlight cutouts that flow from the aggressive flared wheel openings.
The roofline is triumphant, echoing the gangster-like 300C but putting a completely different spin on it with a more distinct flow into the rear window and into the finely formed shoulder-line. That shoulder-line becomes a lip that runs through the taillights around the rear deck, which also gets a pinched spoiler that visually emerges from the bumper seam. Chrysler has said that they might be able to put this body on a front wheel drive platform, perhaps Nissan's Altima structure if rumor is to be believed. Let's hope they can pull it off.
Cadillac Converj (Concept)
Running on the plug-in electric underpinnings of the upcoming Chevy Volt, the atrociously spelled Converj suggests another way to find some profit in green technology. A luxury version of the platform could help offset the expense of building these hightech new cars.
From a design standpoint this is a further evolution of Cadillac's current language but for all the swoopiness and angular stance there is an anodyne quality to the exercise that makes it unexciting. The various tucked in slots at the front, rear, and sides feel a bit contrived, as does the exceptionally wide shoulderlines. The head and taillight treatments are very well done as is the shape of the side window glass. Expect a lot of changes if this gets the greenlight for production.
Audi Sportback (Concept)
The one new design that inspired outright lust at the Detroit show, Audi's Sportback concept previews an upcoming production model. In the name of all that is right in the world, Audi ought not to change a single centimeter of this entrant in the burgeoning 4-door coupe field.
It starts with Audi's signature brilliant headlamps flanking a superbly reformed version of their grille with radical inset vents that define the front bumper forms. Crisply folded forms travel over the sides, the lower one rising, the upper one undulating into the roofline and rear decklid.
The flow of rear window into trunklid is reminiscent of Aston-Martin but the kicked-up quarter windows and inset taillamps give the car a distinctive stance. In fact, only Aston's upcoming Rapide seems set to rival the Audi for looks in this class, and the Audi is likely to cost many thousands less. It's good to see Audi design back on track.
Lincoln Concept C (Concept)
Lincoln's Concept C is a fascinating look at how Lincoln design cues could play out on a car based on the small Ford Focus platform. The car is defined by it's sharp form separation into upper and lower body areas, emphasizing the unusual width. The clean simple detailing allows for a muscular and luxurious feel.
A third break is made by the color change of the roof panel, beginning at the pillars. This is one of the best examples of Lincoln's new front end look, which can look awkward in other applications. Now that Lincoln and Volvo (for now) are Ford's only premium players, could Lincoln be tapped to take on BMW's very successful Mini?
At the screening of Milk I attended a number of people walked out during scenes in which Sean Penn and James Franco were kissing. I had to wonder whether these folks thought they were going to see a film about beverage consumption. Did they not know this was a film about a gay man?
On reflection though I suspect what really bothered these patrons was the nature of the scenes. My wife pointed out that they weren’t as “explicit” as Brokeback Mountain which, in its way, was rather chaste (at least with the two male characters). I think the difference is that much of what happened between the lovers in Brokeback was furtive, whereas Milk depicts a relationship between two men that is sensual, passionate, and clearly enjoyable to both.
The fact that Sean Penn is playing someone onscreen who is capable of the joy that Harvey Milk revels in – of being alive, of being in love, of breaking barriers, of being an activist – is one of the sweetest revelations of the film. More bittersweet are the inescapable parallels between the election season just passed. Like someone else I can think of, Harvey Milk is a canny politician who calls on people’s sense of hope and desire for change. He has a social agenda that is specific but he also knows how to broaden his base and take in broader issues to bring others on board. Hopefully the tragic ending of Milk’s life will not find it’s repetition in real life.
On the other hand there is the state ballot proposition that is a major focus of Milk’s organizational efforts. This film stands as a pretty good rebuke to both sides of Prop 8 – the religious zealots and frightened conservatives who oppose gay marriage and the lackluster organizers who failed to see how badly they would get trounced in their efforts to keep gay marriage legal in California.
Milk is very much a conventional biopic, and that’s not a bad thing. It compares well to two of the best in the genre, David Lean’s Ghandi and Spike Lee’s Malcolm X. In itself this is a major achievement for director Gus Van Sant, who has shuttled between pretentious twaddle like Gerry and just plain old twaddle like Finding Forrester. For me, this is his best film since Drugstore Cowboy. All of his experimental trickery is channeled into storytelling – with some brilliant sequences of montage and clever use of archival footage.
The actors help ground this a great deal. Penn is at his best here. He’s been playing bottled up white guys for so long that just seeing him smile radiantly takes him to a different performance level. He effortlessly becomes Milk, eyes dancing with glee at every chance to play and win the political game and to simply get someone to believe in the power of change. James Franco turns in another great, centered performance as Milk’s longtime partner Scott Smith – from frivolous in the opening scenes to weary and wary – but always warm. Emile Hirsch is sharp and sarcastic as Cleve Jones, mostly winning a fight against his huge prop glasses. Finally the amazing Josh Brolin is stunning as Milk’s assassin Dan White – with Blogojevich hair and a screw loose – or perhaps repressed.
Coming off less well is moony-eyed Diego Luna as Milk’s later love interest Jack Lira. It’s the typical biopic role of the companion whose smothering idea of love holds our hero back from accomplishing what they need to do – often through whining and cajoling (see Ginnifer Goodwin in Walk the Line). Luna takes an underwritten part and makes the worst of it. I understand that Milk’s friends find this guy irritating but must we as the audience want to strangle him as well? It leads to a bit of a false note being struck as his eventual exit is meant to be sad and profound. It comes more as a relief.
What this pulls focus from is the core of the film – a sheer unadulterated paean to activism and political engagement that will ring true to anyone who spent the last year chanting “Yes we can!” Milk is portrayed as both an idealist and a crafty politician – an honest portrayal and a fitting one for our times.
This year turned out to be a true annus horribilus (Latin for bad anus) for the world's car makers. Designers continued to be creative though even as the year ended with the industry on a precipice. In no order whatsoever here were my favorite new designs of the year:
1. Mazda Furai Concept
Mazda extended their watery concept design language to a racing car platform to stunning effect. There is little possibility of production but hopefully some of these cues will work their way into vehicles anyone (with credit) can buy. The swirling lighting forms at the front and sides demonstrates the Mazda fascination with water flow and how it shapes sand and rocks.
2. Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept
Unlike many of these concepts this Cadillac has a good shot at making next year's list as a production car. Taking the sharp existing front end of Caddy's CTS from the A-pillar forward and grafting it to a radically splayed roofline that nearly results in a hatchback leads to one of the best examples of their current look. The side sculpting, protruding taillamps, and flared rear fenders leave a powerful impression. Let's hope GM has the money to build it.
3. Land Rover LRX Concept
Another casualty of bad times, Land Rover was sold off along with Jaguar to India's Tata motors. What seemed like an abrupt way for Ford to wash their hands of two promising (but cash sucking) divisions now looks like genius as Ford has enough cash to weather much of what ails Chrysler and GM. Still, Land Rover's attractive LRX suggests a reasonable solution to the problem of big expensive SUVs. This compact vehicle posits a Land Rover that competes with the high-end versions of VW's Golf and why not? The detailing is superb, particularly the sweep of the headlamps into the wheel arch and side vent. The greenhouse emphasizes the sporty stance, helping the LRX straddle the line between sport hatch, SUV and crossover. Something like this is sure to hit production - let's hope it's exactly like this.
4. Dodge Challenger Production
The Challenger is the rare production vehicle that actually looks better than the concept on which it's based. Most of this comes down to simple detailing such as the elimination of the Dodge target style grille. I resisted this mightily. The most retro of all the pony cars revived in the last few years, every inch of this car says it's the early 70s. Of course the lack of tucked under bodywork and comparatively large wheels and tires belie the fantasy but how can one look at this and not dream of those few years between 1968 and 1972 - before the reality of oil economics and safety and insurance rules sent the American car industry into the first of several tailspins. The car inspires lust and in this day and age that's enough to land it on this list.
5. Saab 9-X Concepts
GM trotted out the lovely concept above and an equally sweet convertible version. Too bad they have consistently dropped the ball with their Swedish Saab division and all signs point to this never making it to production. After all these are the same cues that have been popping up on Saab concepts for several years without ever finding their way to market. The money simply wasn't there then, and it ain't there now. Pity.
6. Ford Fiesta Production
Ford previewed much of this last year but it's gratifying to see most of it reaching the showroom floor - in Europe now but soon in the United States. It's a fun exuberant look with sharp lithe surfacing and details that say "Play with me."
7. Citroen GT Concept
Citroen has one of the richest design histories of any car company. The GT is unlikely to take a place next to ground breakers like the Traction Avant but the undulating lines and interconnected surfaces made it one of the stars of the Paris auto show.
8. Mazda Kiyora Concept
Another fine Mazda concept that continues with their thematic motifs. At this point they have an entire lineup of concepts which one hopes is meant to soften us up for the production application of the innovative flowing lines and side surfacing as well as lamp technology. Mazda produces some handsome cars for the public but none as interesting and desirable as these - neither their new 6 nor their 3 sedans made my list this year.
9. Nissan Nuvu Concept
A wonderful pure concept that explores all kinds of surface, glass and form treatments. It may look odd but it's a rewarding design to savor and delve into from the tiny detailing around the headlamps to the overall shape of the body.
10. Chevrolet Orlando Concept
There's nothing mind blowing here, just a handsome design that gives the optical illusion of a much bigger vehicle. Though this is only a bit larger than a PT Cruiser or Chevy's own HHR, the bold geometric forms give the sense of a mid sized SUV. This is also one of the best examples of the current Chevy "face". Probably a go for production.
11. Aston Martin One 77 Concept
The One 77 denotes that every buyer will get one of just 77 examples of this aggressively beautiful Aston. What's been revealed so far has no interior andun-detailed lighting areas but whoa, Nelly. I can't wait to see the actual production version sometime next year.
12. Chevrolet Camaro Production
Calling the Camaro the least retro of the current pony car crop is like saying someone is the world's tallest midget. Still the stance and detailing is clearly modernist while still keeping the intent and feel of the late 60s Camaro which is its inspiration. Only this is way better looking in my opinion. Be that as it may, much of the excitement has been sucked out by GM's overlong buildup to actual vehicles being delivered sometime next year. The time from concept to this year's production reveal has been filled with endless spy shots, teaser photos, and a starring role in a movie, Transformers, that functioned as a giant ad for the cara good two years before anyone could buy one.
13. Pininfarina Hyperion Concept
Though some of the detailing was a bit broad this Pininfarina take on a Rolls Royce convertible showed that the legendary Italian design house still had life in it beyond their Ferrari commissions. The classical long hood/ short deck shape recalls the golden age of 1930s coach building.
14. BMW GINA Concept
A wonderful bit of whimsy that was sequestered for several years inside BMW's advanced design studios before being made public this year. The fabric bodied roadster served as inspiration for a number of their most radical production and concept designs so it's fitting that as BMW turns again to more conservative shapes this touchstone should be shared as sort of an icon at the end of an era.
15. Honda Racer Concept
Designed as part of a Hot Wheels contest to come up with a new toy model, the outrageous Racer concept shows that there are living breathing designers amongst the engineers at Honda. It's easy to forget as so much of what they produce leans towards the blandly functional but this two seatdual fuselage wonder is great fun.
16. BMW M1 Homage Concept
Sadly the financial crisis seems to have scuttled nascent plans to build this beautiful tribute to the original M1, BMW's wedge shaped late 70s supercar. Like Chevy's Camaro this is a futuristic take on a retro theme - in this case the wedge is turned into an undulating curve.
17. Alfa Romeo MiTo Production
Ill-advised name aside, the MiTo is a lovely little hatchback that manages the tough trick of applying styling cues from a $100,000 + flagship to an entry level offering. Some designers have complained that the nose is a bit birdlike but this only adds to the distinctiveness.
18. Webasto LigHT Concept
Webasto is a parts supplier so you wouldn't expect them to come up with a full blown concept like this smooth convertible which echoes the old Fiat Spyder. The chiseled surfaces and simple forms combine into an eye-catching and unadorned shape.
19. Ford F-150 Raptor Production
Ford and Dodge both came out with new versions of their best-selling pickups that were handsome evolutions of their existing designs. Ford's new Raptor variation on their F-150 goes one step further by embracing the go-anywhere ability that made pickups great - this ain't no Eddie Bauer Edition. What makes this thrilling from a design perspective is the huge difference some fender flares and a new grille can make. This comes across as a totally new look for Ford with the bold letters embedded in the grille replacing the venerable blue oval for the first time in decades. The integration of the skidplate with the lightweight bumpers along with the face sunken into the bulged bodywork all speak to the truck's abilities.
20. Morgan Life Car Concept
Morgan is best known for building the same wooden chassis car by hand in their British assembly factory as they have for decades. Over the years a few models have come and gone to join it but they are resolutely old school. Thus the hybrid Life Car came as a shock - a gorgeous interpretation of classic Morgan themes given a retro futurist treatment out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis with the most modern of eco-friendly power plants.
At first blush 2008 seemed like a, well, sucky year for new music. As I listened more it turned out to be less sucky, if still not a high water mark. Here are my top 40 favorite albums of the year - with a special shout out to my top 10. You can also see my best archival music of the year here.
1. Deerhunter – Microcastle
Deerhunter's Cryptograms, released last year, along with their debut album suggested a band in thrall to art punks like Swell Maps complete with song fragments and experimental interludes. Some of that spirit shows up on the bonus disc of Microcastle entitled Weird Era but the album proper is stuffed with amazingly tuneful songs bracketed by the occasional introspective short instrumental. The songwriting and arranging is spot-on and the chugging guitars seem to meld Velvets drone with bratty Pavement melodies.
2. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Here's a band that by all rights should have been a novelty act. Craig Finn, former vocalist with Lifter Puller, made his mark on Hold Steady's 2004 debut Almost Killed Me as more of a ranter than a singer. His sing-songy cadences and clever clever lyrics were fun over one album of standard issue bar band tunes but this is album number four - how'd they get to be my 2nd favorite of the year? Mainly by growing in leaps in bounds from each release. The band is tighter with better, more complex arrangements and killer choruses. Finn actually carries tunes here and his stories have the weight, economy and sadness of prime Raymond Chandler. Harpsichords are bought in, reggae beats are toyed with and I'll be damned but it all works as the sing-along record of the year.
3. TV on the Radio – Dear, Science
Their last album had some great songs but the production was stultifying and it wasn't a rewarding experience to revisit. Like Radiohead's In Rainbows though the latest from TV on the Radio opens up their sound to let the songs breathe, leading to the first album to reward the promise of their debut ep. For a change their sense of humor and their sexiness is allowed free reign and at times there are hints of vintage Talking Heads - a pop art musical touchstone.
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig Lazarus Dig!!!
Nick Cave ought to be off writinghis goth novels and screenplays for his Australian cowboy films but he keeps coming back to making music. Last year's Grinderman side project showed him moving from balladeering back to raw guitar noise and this one splits the difference a bit with the Stooges quoting "Today's Lesson" jostling with the beat poetry of "Moonland." It's Cave's most vital album in years, and one of the best in his catalog.
5. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
A sequel of sorts to last year's artistic breakthrough, Skeletal Lamping finds Kevin Barnes giving his hedonistic impulses full flower. Beyonce may have Sasha Fierce but Barnes has Georgie Fruit, a bisexual soul singer who gives this album the sound of Beck circa Midnight Vultures crossed with the ADD songwriting of The Fiery Furnaces. As awful as that might sound, it's a paradise of hooks, pumping rhythm, weird falsettos, and sleazoid lyrics.
6. Neon Neon – Stainless Style
Super Furry Animals guy Gruff Rhys has seen his band abandon the earlier electronica flourishes that made them one of the best britpop bands and embrace increasingly uninteresting beardy psychedelia. For his Neon Neon side project he fully embraces that which has been rejectedwith the helpof producer/collaborator Boom Bip. The album's unlikely subject is disgraced swinging car entrepreneur and would-be coke dealer John DeLorean. Somehow it works, with great songwriting and beats underscoring the need for a chin implant in "Michael Douglas" and even room for a side trip to Star Wars love in "I Told her on Alderaan."
7. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
If you don't like a song on this Brooklyn band's audacious debut wait, the next one is likely to sound completely different. Though this does little for coherence, the songs themselves range from good to amazing. The comparisons have been to The Flaming Lips, and they share a producer in David Fridmann, but that fails to embrace their LCD Soundsystem -worthy "Let's Pretend" in which they imagine themselves as rock stars with model wives who eventually choke on their own vomit or "Electric Feel" where they channel classic late 70s disco sounds.
8. The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days
The long sad decline of hip-hop continued this year but The Knux suggested a jury rigged hybrid where indie punk and indie rap meet halfway. Dressing like throwbacks to the fat gold rope days, playing their own instruments and laying down rhymes, The Knux suggests a way forward for an ossifying genre. And you could shake your ass to it too.
9. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
There was some good electronica in '08, and then there was Crystal Castles which melded an Atari 5200 sound chip into mind bending melodies and hypnotic beats. They get a surprising amount of variety from what could have been a limited palette. Named after an arcade gamebut anything but toylike.
10. Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Modern Life
What could be wrong with a band who's name so threatened the New York Times that Ben Ratliff's review referenced a band named ------ --. Aside from being the funniest music review in the paper since, well, ever, it was obvious what band he was talking about. Taking the shouty vocal chord shredding vocals and pummeling beat of hardcore punk, Fucked Up spikes it with guitar washes and subtle melodies that entice and draw the listener in.
And the rest...
11. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
12. Lambchop – OH(Ohio)
13. Nas – Untitled
14. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
15. Apes – Ghost Games
16. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
17. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
18. No Age – Nouns
19. Flying Lotus – Los Angeles
20. Joan as Police Woman – To Survive
21. Chandeliers – The Thrush
22. Dr. Dog – Fate
23. Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married but I’ve Got Feelings Too
24. The Breeders – Mountain Battles
25. Murs – Murs For President
26. The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent
27. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down in the Light
28. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward (UK Version -avoid the censored American release)
29. Alias – Resurgam
30. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
31. Okkervil River – The Stand-ins
32. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
33. Portishead – Third
34. Randy Newman – Harps and Angels
35. RZA as Bobby Digital – Digi Snacks
36. Santogold and Diplo – Top Ranking
37. Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash
38. Truckasaurus – Tea Parties, Guns and Valor
39. Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
40. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
This year showed that the box set - due to price and lack of material - is on it's way to becoming a rarity. Where New Order or The Replacements could have boxed up their notable songs with a bunch of rarities and called it a day, they instead went with the catalog re-issue route - fleshing out their original releases with bonus tracks and discs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and it's probably more lucrative for the artist and labels.
I've listed my favorite archival releases of 2008 below, in no particular order. Enjoy!
1. Big Dipper – Supercluster
Underknown and underappreciated during their late 80s heyday Supercluster collects their first two albums and ep, plus abonus disc of an unrecorded esarly 90s record - leaving out only their major label misfire on Epic Records. It's not missed, as their indie material was far superior and presciently hinted at the sound of later bands like Pavement and Wolf Parade.
2. Mission of Burma – reissues
The core of Big Dipper were refuges from ex-Mission man Peter Prescott's follow-up band, Volcano Suns. Though the Suns were pretty good Mission of Burma is essential listening for anyone who is serious about post punk or indie rock. The key records here are Vs. and Signals Calls and Marches - an EP expanded here to album length with the crucial addition of the band's first single and bonus tracks. Pristine production helps define the band's gargantuan sound and effortless dynmics, with tunes that span the gamut from hardcore to power punk with a touch of progressive rock styled time-signature trickery.
3. Willie Nelson – One Hell of a Ride
Willie Nelson is the perfect artist for a box set and One Hell of a Ride shows why. 4 Discs of prime Willie from demos of songs he wrote and were made famous by others to 70s outlaw classics to his standards period to his sometimes cheesy star duets this has it all.
4. The Replacements – reissues
The catalog of Minneapolis' finest rock band finally resides under one roof at Rhino, which has done a fantastic job of reissuing their Twin/Tone and Sire albums with lots of juicy bonus tracks, including sessions produced by Alex Chilton. If you're not sure where to start, the trio of Let it Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me are the band at their most consistent. A huge influence on bands like Wilco, The Hold Steady, and the usual punk emo crowd who could learn a few tricks about songwriting from Mr. Westerberg.
5. Steinski – What Does it All Mean?
The first track I ever searched for back in the days of an unfettered Napster was Double-Dee and Steinski's Lesson 1 - the grandaddy of all sampling. Only it was done before there was such a thing as a sampler. Every song snippet and line of movie dialogue had to be done by hand with a razorblade and audio tape. Steinski went on to make many more incredible tracks and most of the great ones are here. Even better is the second disc which is an extending radio show that shows the depth and breadth of his style. Essential for fans of Girl Talk.
6. Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue
Tragic Beach Boy Dennis Wilson is often overshadowed by equally tragic but still living brother Brian. Dennis started coming into his own a as a sonwriter as both Brian and the Beach Boys entered their long period of decline. Frustrated with the band's conservatism he struck out on his own with this brillianst slice of 70s gritty singer songwriter rock.
7. The Jesus and Mary Chain – The Power of Negative Thinking
Mining their b-sides for gold, the Jesus and Mary Chain give fans and newbies a treat. The quality of these outtakes are uniformly high and essential tracks like single "Sidewalking" make this a must have for any JAMC lover.
8. Roy Orbison – The Soul of Rock and Roll
This is why box sets were invented - a stunning career overview with all te highlights that puts an extraordinary talent in perspective. From fascinating early recordings alone and with the Teen Kings to his last album and cuts with supergroup The Traveling Wilburys this is a revelation.
9. The Clash – Live at Shea Stadium
Their opening gig for The Who at cavernous Shea Stadium isn't the concert gig I've been dying to hear from this legendary band but it's pretty great nonetheless, right down to Joe Strummer scolding the typically New York audience for yammering. I'll always prefer Topper Headon as a drummer but Terry (Tory Crimes) Chimes acquits himself well, even with the newer material. The recording quality is superb. Now how about those Bond's Casino shows?
10. Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
Dylan's Bootleg Series jumps around as much as his autobiography did, this time taking in recent outtakes and stragglers. Luckily he's been in a purple patch of late and his alternate versions of tunes always fascinate as he never plays the same way twice. Boo on the ultra-expensive 3-disc version though.
11. New Order – Reissues
Fascinating re-glimpse into one of the 80s best and most innovative bands. Out of the ashes of Joy Division came a band that at first hewed to the mopey rock of their earlier incarnation but soon fell in thrall to club beats and synthesizers. The albums have been smartly packaged with their contemporaneous singles which were often more poppy and innovative.
12. Various Artists – Love Train – The Sound of Philadelphia
A fine collection of 70s soul that finds room for some late 60s and early 80s tracks and doesn't hew overly closely to its theme. The meat is some great moments from the Spinners among others that showed those MFSBs what the TSOP was all about.
13. Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions
Alternate radio versions of some great B & S classics plus a later live show. Not the place for non-fans to start but for those who already know what's in store, pleasure awaits.
14. R.E.M. – Murmur
One of the greatest debut albums ever is finally remastered, showing anew the deep strangeness and great songwriting and playing of what many still consider to be this band's finest album. Disc two adds an amazing period live club show. It's hard to remeber how much R.E.M. owed to Wire and P.I.L. until yougo back to this early stuff.
15. Pavement – Brighten The Corners –Nicene Creedence Ed.
Matador continues their superlative Pavement re-issue series with this underrrated gem. as is the costume, the value of my rare singles is droppe dby appending them as well as previously unheard bonus tracks and obscurities.
Slumdog Millionaire is unusual in that it’s a fairytale built on a core of the real misery and struggle that exists in cities like Mumbai. Then again, maybe it’s not so unusual – the Grimm’s fairtytales had some extremely disturbing elements and at a time before urban sprawl and centralized law and order staying out of the forest was probably a wise idea. There is also a trace of Dickensian London, a mass of humanity with different rules for different classes.
Director Danny Boyle shoots everything with bold colors and a panoramic eye, unstinting in the depiction of life in Mumbai slums but never wavering from the focus on character. The aptly named Chris Dickens edits each sequence perfectly so that the movie has a rapid pace but without sacrificing meaning or impact.
The basic premise is hoary: a slum kid makes it to the final round of India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. No-one can figure out how he can know the answers to many of the questions he gets right so the police question him, often using enhanced tactics that will seem familiar to Dick Cheney.
This device provides a framework to explore the love triangle between slumdog Jamal, his brother Salim, and Latika, a girl from the neighborhood. Unusually it’s Salim and Latika who vie for Jamal’s affections throughout the movie. The three are orphaned at a young age when their families are victims of anti-Muslim violence. It’s a sequence that yanks the film out of distant observational interest and firmly ties it to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai – it’s nearly too much for the confectionery story to bear.
It does manage the load, helped along by an extraordinary sequence that takes place on a train which is stunning in its visual beauty and storytelling simplicity, all the more so following as it does the darkest most Dickensian vision of a Mumbai orphanage.
The child actors are simply incredible and despite the tragic surroundings of their lives their joy in simply surviving is palpable. Though I always have a little trouble with multiple actors playing characters at different ages it mostly works here.
If there is a flaw it's that the third act feels a little bit rushed and that can diminish the magic (and indeed magical realism) that Boyle aims for. Still, if great movies show you people and places that you might never get to see ordinarily. Slumdog Millionaire fits this bill perfectly.
The gratifying surprise then is that Rachel Getting Married is a revelatory gem, a naturalistic film in both acting and photography that never devolves into melodrama. The aces up its sleeve are a remarkable cast and a re-energized director. This is Demme’s best film since Silence of the Lambs, and is also the best screen performance to date by Hathaway, who is mesmerizing and unsparing. Her big eyes seem to swim around in a way that appears predatory but eventually registers as deep wariness, searchlights scouting for the next enemy plane.
The characters are never allowed to devolve into archetypes or one-notes. Yes, Hathaway’s Kym is a needy, dramatic screw-up who can suck the oxygen out of a room, but we get to see enough layers to understand that she is desperately fighting to shoulder the weight of what other see when they look at her.
There is a dark family event that tugs at the corners of the truly happy joining of the film’s title, and Demme doesn’t toy with the fact that Rachel is at its center. It’s neither sprung as an “Aha!” moment nor used as an excuse but it’s present for everyone in subtle and profound ways.
Hathaway is matched by a trio of stellar performers. Bill Irwin as the girls’ father is drawn into Kym’s drama helplessly, ever protective to a fault. His sweetness and crinkle-eyed gaze give him the aspect of someone stunned. Underneath his caring exterior there is brittleness and deep pain. It's a transformative role for a man better known for onstage clowning and movement.
The titular Rachel is played by Rosemarie DeWitt, seemingly plucked from life. There is nothing contrived in her performance or her character. She struggles to make her wedding the centerpiece of attention, as it should be, just as she struggles to get some of the attention mopped up by Kym. Her anger is as palpable as her love, both for her damaged sister and for her husband to be, played quietly by TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe.
Finally there’s Debra Winger as the mother keeping her family at arm’s length to protect herself. Both daughters desperately want her attention – it’s clear that her distance may have been emphasized by divorcing Irwin but started much earlier – perhaps was always there. It’s a brave, nuanced performance – she’s not a monster. Just deeply hurt and self-protective.
This is an unusual film for Demme. He thanks two major directors, Sidney Lumet (whose daughter Jenny wrote the screenplay) and the late Robert Altman, and features his mentor Roger Corman as part of the cast. Of the three his style here is most influenced by Altman and his A Wedding (1978) as well as Dogma 95 films like the classic The Celebration (1998) by Vinterberg.
Some have seen this as a return to Demme’s classic 80s style, but despite the welcome presence of offbeat previous Demme stars as Sister Carol East and lazy-eyed Paul Lazer and the liberal use of musicians interwoven as actors and doing their stuff on their instruments (including Robyn Hitchcock) this is light years away from his candy colored breakneck 80s films like Something Wild (1987) and Married to the Mob.(1988) There is a touch of the humanity of Melvin and Howard (1980) but it’s still on a much more intimate scale.
Nor is Rachel Getting Married similar to his big-budget 90s Hollywood stuff typified by the excellent Silence of the Lambs (1991) and the awful remake of The Manchurian Candidate (2004). What does tie this in with Silence of the Lambs in particular is Demme’s fascination with women’s lives (something he shares with Altman), and the nuances of character detail - something increasingly getting lost as he’s gone from the 90s through the present decade. If anything this has more in common with his smaller scale documentaries like Cousin Bobby (1992) ove rthe past few years.
It will be a shame if this gets lost in the hoopla at awards time. Rachel Getting Married shows a director returned to full force and mining new territory, ably aided by a great cast. At the end of the day there is no "happy" ending and the closure that Kym wants is not necessarily what she gets, at least not in totality. Still the audience is left with the idea that the far-away island of happiness that Rachel has found in Hawaii may be in reach, someday for Kym too.
Welcome to our annual Thanksgiving turkey strangle - ten films that give bad a new name.Here are last year's Turkeys part one and part two. Every year we pick some of cinemas low flyers for special shame and ridicule. To the list!
1) The Wicker Man(remake)
The remake of a well regarded film is not an uncommon species of turkey, in fact this list sports several. However It must be said that the dropoff from the creepy Edward “The Equalizer” Woodward starring original to this Neil LaBute helmed crapfest is mighty steep. Aside from the nonsensical plot the main attraction for J.G. Ballard-esque car wreck fans is Nicholas Cage’s performance, a masterclass in frantic, pointless scenery chewing that reads like a bad Nic Cage impersonator “doing” Nic Cage. LaBute naturally focuses his attention on the evil women who run the mysterious island where cop Cage has gone to look for his ex-paramour’s missing child. Never has gynophobia seemed so downright silly.You'll root for the murderers.
2) Under the Rainbow
It’s hard to know what anyone involved in this awful film were thinking. Set in 1938 it involves 150 midgets in town to film the Wizard of Oz, Chevy Chase as a secret service agent, Carrie Fisher as the midget’s chaperon and a lot of convoluted plotting involving Nazis and fake European countries. Like A Fish Called Wanda, the cardinal Hollywood rule of avoiding dog deaths is overlooked. Unlike Wanda, it’s simply not funny here.
3) The Jerk, Too
Some of you might remember ABC’s short-lived Saturday Night Live knockoff Fridays, which in the early 80s introduced a small audience to Michael Richards and Larry David. One of the breakout stars was Mark Blankfield, whose over-the-top pharmacist character propelled him to this ill-considered remake of Steve Martin’s 1979 classic The Jerk, barely 5 years after the original.
4) Employee of the Month
My wife and I valiantly attempted to watch this excrescence on cable, just to see at what point one of us would cry chicken and call the whole thing off. What we didn’t bargain for is becoming literally mind-boggled by a seemingly interminable scene talking place high up in the stacks of the giant warehouse store where Dane Cook and his co-workers, well, work. The plot involves some meaningless bullcrap about Jessica Simpson and Cook – two “actors” notably devoid of charm here, and some desire by Cook to date Simpson who only dates employees of the month so Cook has to…snnnnnOOORRK!When my wife and I came to, we felt like Betty and Barney Hill - the couple who knew they were kidnapped by aliens because they had experienced chunks of missing time from their lives.
5) Stepford Wives (remake)
The original Stepford Wives was no great film, just a campy sub-Rosemary’s Baby vamp on The Feminine Mystique. Frank Oz’s ill-considered re-make is a mess, overstuffed, over-budgeted and over-plotted. Bad remake queen Nicole Kidman (of future turkey entries Invasion and Bewitched) does her accent from To Die For and generally fails to look like the kind of woman a man would want to upgrade with a robot/lobotomy or whatever it is they are supposed to be. Bette Midler does her loud earthy shtick and Christopher Walken does his creepy weird-line-delivery shtick. Oh yeah, and Matthew Broderick throws down his super nebbish routine. Did I mention that the movie doesn’t even know if the housewives are being lobotomized, or turned into robots, or what? The one surefire lobotomy victim is the viewer after watching this dreck.
6) The Nude Bomb
Before Steve Carrell was tapped to do a remake of the classic Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created spy spoof TV show Get Smart, the show itself was turned into a movie in 1980 – the aptly named Nude Bomb. Only Don Adams, the original and best Maxwell Smart, returns from the TV cast. Sylvia Kristol better known as soft-core star Emmanuelle is the love interest (!). Vittorio Gassman gets roped in, presumable to pay the electric bill. Deserves the cone of silence.
7) Moving Violations
Police Academy mastermind Neal Isreal transported his already Xeroxed transposition of Animal House antics to traffic school in this comedy tribute to nepotism. Lesser-known Murray sibling John Murray is not asked to imitate brother Brian Doyle in this film but other brother Bill, to slim returns. He’s up against Stacy Keach’s brother James Keach who is tofurky to Stacy’s Thanksgiving meal. These two sibs are balanced out by Jennifer Tilly, who had not yet eclipsed sister Meg. Also, Don Cheadle shows up ever so briefly. It’s entirely a movie by association, if you liked Police Academy, Ghostbusters, and Mike Hammer, you’ll hate Moving Violations.
8) Heartbeeps
Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters star as robot domestics who escape and fall in robot love. Vincent Canby’s original review notes that “The makeup worn by Mr. Kaufman and Miss Peters looks formidably uncomfortable.” So do the actors and everyone remotely associated with this mess.Walks the fine line between boring and subtly disturbing.
9) Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Two of the most inexpressive actors in cinema, Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah team up in what sadly is an action adventure. Even Chase’s vocal inflections in the invisible scenes are blah and poor John Carpenter is reduced to wishing Kurt Russell had been available in this listless special effects extravaganza. Sam Neill’s mole has more range than the leads and Carpenter seems to try to get him on camera as much as possible to no avail. Note how the trailer attempts to sell the film as a comedy and then undercuts the whole thing with " A John Carpenter Film"...
10) Zardoz
Ladies love Sean Connery but one look at his over-exposed furry body in the weird bondage-gear outfit he’s forced to wear in this pretentious sci-fi bloatfest and they may rethink the lust factor. Or not. It’s like parachute straps, a diaper, the mustache from the leather guy in The Village People, and boots and hair from Crystal Gayle all combined. If you can get past the look (and I can’t frankly) the movie is incomprehensible at best. Sample dialogue? “The gun is good… The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life, and poisons the earth with a plague of men, as once it was. But the gun shoots death, and purifies the earth of the filth of brutals. Go forth and kill!” Did I mention that this comes from a flying stone head?
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