Devendra Banhart – Carmensita

Yes, that’s the extremely cute Natalie Portman, Devendra Banhart’s girlfriend.  Is that Jon Lovitz in there as well?

This video comes at a strange time for me.  You see, in the past couple of days I’ve watched The Darjeeling Limited and El Topo.  It’s kind of freaky how these two movies fit right into the “Carmensita” video.

First off, Natalie Portman had a minor, but very nude, role in Hotel Chevalier which is the opening sequence to The Darjeeling Limited.  Also, it’s set in India.

Devendra Banhart looks as though he walked right out of El Topo.  Like El Topo, Devendra is in some sort of epic religious battle taking place in a surreal dream world.

Whoa, synchronicity, brother.  Right on.

If you haven’t seen El Topo or The Holy Mountain, I highly recommend both.  Due to an ongoing fight between director Alejandro Jodorowsky and Beatles/Rolling Stones/Led Zeppelin manager Allen Klein, the films have only been available as bootlegs for the past 30+ years.  They are finally available on DVD, so go Netflix those puppies.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_55FmpWLLM]

TOUR DATES

THU AUG 21 – w/Beck – Grand Sierra Theatre – Reno, Nevada
SAT AUG 23 – Outside Lands Festival – Golden Gate Park – San Francisco, California

]]> http://utahpolis.com/2008/07/23/devendra-banhart-carmensita/feed/ 0 http://utahpolis.com/2008/03/04/urgh-a-music-war-the-album-1981/ http://utahpolis.com/2008/03/04/urgh-a-music-war-the-album-1981/#comments Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:47:36 +0000 utahpolis http://utahpolis.com/2008/03/04/urgh-a-music-war-the-album-1981/
The concert film, URGH! A Music War, is a great little time capsule of the art rock scene in 1980. Punk had flung open the door to the underground and new-wave, post-punk, synth pop, hardcore and no wave, among others, were ready to burst out onto the world.

The film is shot documentary style, but with no narration or explanation of what you’re seeing. Just the jams, man. Just the jams. I’ve never actually seen it, and probably never will, considering that the legal issues involved in getting the rights to all of the songs performed. Luckily, ol’ buddy youtube saves the day yet again. Also, I possess copy of the soundtrack on vinyl and have recorded a few of the tracks for your listening pleasure. There are other dubs going around on the net, but they have severe hums from where the turntables weren’t properly grounded. Hopefully, mine will come out a little better. Naturally, if you are in one of these bands or own the copyright, let me know if you want the files removed.

The movie takes bits from several different concerts and combines them into one epic show. I’ve sorted all of the songs by the concert they were performed at, to give a little better perspective on the setting.

Frejus Amphitheater – Paris, France – August 28th, 1980

The Police – “Driven to Tears”

XTC – “Respectable Street”

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=fYq6Z7HERjk]

Jools Holland – “Foolish I Know”

Skafish – “Sign of the Cross”

Santa Monica Civic – Santa Monica, CA – August 16th, 1980

Wall of Voodoo – “Back In Flesh”

Wall of Voodoo – Back In Flesh

The Members – “Offshore Banking Business”

Pere Ubu – “The Birdies”

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=9qnRzCWFgd4]

Magazine – “Model Worker”

Magazine – Model Worker

ICA – London, England – September 5th, 1980

Tonya Wilcox – “Dance”

Guild Hall – Portsmouth, England – September 19th, 1980

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – “Enola Gay”

John Otway – “Chery’s Going Home”

The Whisky – Hollywood, CA – August 17th, 1980

Oingo Boingo – “Ain’t This The Life”

Oingo Boingo – Aint This The Life

Go-Go’s – “We Got The Beat”

Alley Cats – “Nothing Means Nothing Anymore”

The Ritz – New York, NY – August 22nd, 1980

Klaus Nomi – “Total Eclipse”

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=yuSrsGzhD9U]

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – “Bad Reputation”

The Lyceum Ballroom – London, England – September 17th, 1980

Athletico Spizz ‘80 – “Where’s Captain Kirk”

Athletico Spizz ‘80 – Where’s Captain Kirk

999 – “Homicide”

The Rainbow Theater – London, England – September 18th, 1980

Steel Pulse – “Ku Klux Klan”

Gang of Four – “He’d Send In The Army”

The California Theater – San Diego, CA – August 20th, 1980

Devo – “Uncontrollable Urge”

The Lyceum Ballroom – London, England – September 7th, 1980

Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Puppet”

The Au Pairs – “Come Again”

Santa Monica Civic – Santa Monica, CA – August 15th, 1980

The Cramps – “Tear It Up”

X – “Beyond And Back”

Hammersmith Odeon – London, England – September 16th, 1980

Gary Numan – “Down In The Park”

CBGB’S – New York, NY – August 21st, 1980

Fleshtones – “Shadow Line”

If you’d like to hear the rest of the soundtrack, go on over to The Lost Turntable. All of the songs are there, but the turntable isn’t grounded and the speed is too high. Still, it is one of the only ways to hear these tracks.

I watched Anatomy of a Murder yesterday and I decided to do a write-up here afterwards. While doing a bit of research on the film, I noticed that a fellow named Saul Bass was responsible for the opening titles of the film. Whoever posted the sequence on youtube decided to feature Saul’s name prominently in the description of the video. You don’t usually see the opening credits given so much attention, so this peaked my curiosity and I set forth to investigate.

Be warned, however. This post will be extremely heavy on youtube videos. If you’re reading this in a RSS viewer or on facebook, please navigate over to utahpolis.com so you can see the clips I’m talking about. If you’re on a slow computer, I feel your pain but can’t be of any help.

Here’s the sequence that got me interested in all of this…

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xbgb3E7l_KY]

And there you have it. The tone of the movie is set. You now have a set of images and sounds in your mind so that when the film begins you’re in the proper mindset. Also, the musical themes have been introduced. When they reoccur throughout the movie, the audience is subconsciously reminded of the title sequence where the initial mood was associated with the musical theme. This may seem somewhat inconsequential, but it’s a very important part of modern cinema. Don’t believe me? Check out the following intro to Star Wars done in the style of Saul Bass.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=z25t-PQDn5A]

Well, that was fun. Now imagine watching the rest of Star Wars after having seen that opening. It would be the same movie, sure, but I’d argue that it would have more of a comedic feel. Even if nothing in the movie is funny, you’ve been conditioned by the opening credits to believe that good times are ahead and your mind will seek them out even if not there. Feel the power of the Saul. It is your destiny.

So, where did this all get started? Well, it turns out that Saul Bass was one of the pioneers in the world of opening credits.

Saul was working in Hollywood doing print work for film ads when director Otto Preminger (who directed Anatomy of a Murder, among other great films) came along and asked Saul to design a poster for Otto’s new 1954 film, Carmen Jones. Otto liked the work so much that he asked Saul to produce a title sequence for the film as well. It was then that Saul realized the potential to go beyond simple names up on the screen; He saw the opportunity for creativity in the titles and knew that they would ultimately enhance the films.

Things really got rolling a year later, in 1955, when Saul did the titles for another Preminger movie, The Man with the Golden Arm. The movie itself was controversial; Frank Sinatra played a heroin addict. Accordingly, Saul did something unorthodox. The titles were animated and didn’t feature the star of the film, Frank Sinatra. Instead, you were presented with a crippled and disembodied arm, symbolic of the junkie. Furthermore, the idea of even paying attention to the titles was novel; Film projectionists had to be instructed to make sure the curtain was open while the titles were playing. Prior to this film, the curtains often were left closed until the movie began!

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=eGnpJ_KdqZE]

Saul would continue to work with Otto Preminger, but wasn’t exclusive to him. Alfred Hitchcock also used Saul in a number of his films, including Psycho, North By Northwest and presented for you below, 1958’s Vertigo.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=rkHn8PNGYaA]

He wasn’t always at the beginning of the film. Here, in 1961’s West Side Story, we see Saul’s work at the end of the movie.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=1TahkAkt5YI]

As time went on, Saul began to use live action in his titles as well. Here’s the opening to Walk on the Wild Side. I can haz titlez?

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=kHLgUyE9pfI]

This next one is just outright disturbing. It’s from Seconds, released in 1966. Interestingly, Saul would use portions of this intro for Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=JGq_ON4aXew]

Saul would eventually try his hand at film making. Here’s a scene from his short film, Why Man Creates. While this would win an Oscar, his other attempts at directing were not so fortunate.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=penl-HYfMCg]

Towards the end of the sixties, Saul’s signature style began to go out of fashion and he once again would focus on graphic design. This must have been quite lucrative for him, as he created the logos for AT&T, Continental Airlines, Exxon, Girl Scouts, Kleenex, Minolta, Quaker Oats, United Way and United Airlines.

He would return to film again, however. Many of the directors of the 80’s and 90’s grew up on Saul’s work and were thrilled to have him do their title sequences. Here is one of his final pieces, the intro to Scorsese’s Casino. Saul Bass would pass away the next year.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwydIuP31Ls]

Still not sold on Saul’s influence? Take a look at these two opening scenes. The first is from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the second is Casino Royale.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=QjW95XLN9tE]

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=0XX6J1YXO0k]

And there you have it. I know that I will never watch the beginning of a film the same way again. Thanks, Saul!

It truly is a shame that the silent era of film is increasingly becoming the domain of film students and critics alone. While most people have no doubt heard of Charlie Chaplin and are at least aware that there was a time when films didn’t have sound, the general public seems to have completely dismissed this era as boring and not worthy of their time.

True, watching one of D.W. Griffith’s three hour epics can be a bit tedious, but when approached with the right mindset, silent film can be quite rewarding. I never walk away from a silent film without feeling better for having viewed it.

Besides the well-known and loved Chaplin, perhaps one of the best ambassadors to silent film is Buster Keaton. His physical comedy is capable of entertaining even today’s audiences. In a time where computer graphics have numbed our brains to the dangers involved in doing stunts, Buster’s films are a refreshing portrait of a genius at work.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=LWEo4M8nZQQ]

It is important to remember when watching a Buster Keaton film that he did almost all of the stunts himself. These aren’t simply jumps out of a window onto a mattress or pretending to get hit in the face and falling down some stairs. No, we’re talking about much more than that. The level of sophistication present along with the sheer level of danger involved hasn’t been equaled in film since.

1924’s Sherlock Jr is an example of Buster at his best. Fortunately, someone has uploaded the entire film to youtube, enabling me to share it with you here. It’s only 40 minutes long, so you can get a good feel for Buster’s work without too much of an investment in time.

The score presented in this version was written and recorded in 1993. It is distracting and completely inappropriate. I highly recommend either turning the sound off or replacing it with something of your liking.

Pay special attention to the scene at the pool table. How is he able to pull that off? Simply amazing.

A bit of trivia for you. Buster broke some vertebrae in his neck while filming this movie. It happens when the water pours down on him at the railroad tracks. They’ve left it in the film, and you can see him walking away without problem. He would go on to suffer from severe headaches for the rest of his life.

Part 1 (8.52 min)

Part 2 (9.37 min)

Part 3 (9.56 min)

Part 4 (6.55 min)

Part 5 (8.33 min)

For more about Buster, check out the wonderfully constructed site by The Damfinos: The International Buster Keaton Society. Be sure to pay a visit to their shop. I just bought a killer Soviet poster for The General….

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How many Saturday nights I must have spent as a kid staying up “late” to watch the new episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember the excitement of the very first episode back in 1987 and the sadness I felt seeing it all end in 1994. I was 9 when it started and 14 when it the series finished; What a great age to have watched ST:TNG.

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Somehow, as I’ve gotten older, my interest in Star Trek has diminished to the point that I pretty much have no idea what is going on with the shows or movies. I watched a little bit of Deep Space Nine, found it to be a drag, and moved on with my life. With the exception of the first post-original Star Trek movie, I’ve managed to miss all of the feature films.

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It was with some delight, then, that I discovered Star Trek: Insurrection just beginning on one of the free Showtime channels that came with my cable package earlier this evening. I meant to just watch a little before the Clinton/Obama debate, but I was soon sucked in.

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Looks kind of exciting, right? Full of action, interesting story lines, phasers…..

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Yeah, not so much.

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This Jonathan Frakes directed drivel pretty much infuriated me. Honestly, this wouldn’t have even made for much of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.

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What really gets me, though, is when the writers randomly insert slang from our times into the Star Trek world. Data, especially when without his emotions chip, should not say, “Saddle up…..lock and load”, when cocking his phaser rifle thing. Part of the enjoyment I get from watching Star Trek is that the writers go so far to make everything believable. Trying to dumb down the script so that 20th century movie goers will get a cheap laugh is not what this ‘enterprise’ should be about.

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By the way, this will continue to be a music blog for the most part, but I will sometimes inject reviews of movies, books, food and drink, etc. Hope that’s ok.

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Click here to purchase Star Trek – Insurrection from Amazon.