Mean-Eyed Cat

The Mean-Eyed Cat in Austin, TX is being pushed out by the city who is trying to re-zone the area as retail. Chris Marsh, the owner of Mean-Eyed Cat, needs 2000 votes to present to the city council to keep this from happening. You can add your vote here.

Alternatively you can attend the Rare launch party tomorrow (Friday, June 1) for Happy Hour at The Mean-Eyed Cat and sign the petition there.

The Coen Bros.

The Cannes film festival is currently in full swing and the Coen Bros. upcoming film No Country for Old Men based on the Cormac McCarthy novel recently premiered there. I'm a huge fan of the Coen Bros. films and quite enjoyed this novel too when I read it last year. I can definitely see how the dark elements of their previous films like Blood Simple and Fargo can match up well with McCarthy's novel.

The early word from Cannes is very good on the adaptation. Variety critic Todd McCarthy's review says, "A scorching blast of tense genre filmmaking shot through with rich veins of melancholy, down-home philosophy and dark, dark humor, "No Country for Old Men" reps a superior match of source material and filmmaking talent. Cormac McCarthy's bracing and brilliant novel is gold for the Coen brothers, who have handled it respectfully but not slavishly, using its built-in cinematic values while cutting for brevity and infusing it with their own touch is one of the their very best films, a bloody classic of its type destined for acclaim and potentially robust B.O. returns upon release later in the year."

I can't wait until it's US release in November.

Random Top 5: Things That Need To Go Away

Here are five things that I absolutely cannot stand anymore. This shit needs to stop. So, please people, quick whipping my ass with this stuff.

5. The Hard Rock Cafe - Does anyone go here anymore? I think the one in Dallas closed down. It's overpriced food, a bunch of guitars to look at, and you get to pretend that you're cool and know something about rock n' roll for ninety minutes.


4. T-shirts Describing Your Ironic Disposition - I cannot take these retarded hipsters that buy shirts at Target and Fossil that read things like "I'm Really Excited To Be Here". They need to open up an exchange so that these people can get t-shirts that are more accurate that read, "I'm Horribly Lame".


3. People Placing Bunny Ears Over Someone Else's Head -This is so childish and lame. Please stop it. Now. Everyone is laughing at you, not with you.


2. Hooters - Hasn't this restaurant run it's course by now? It's a tired bit and it isn't funny (or clever) anymore. Their food was never good and their calendar is lame and their atmosphere is boring.


1. People Hollering for "Freebird" at Concerts - These are perhaps the most obnoxious people on the planet. I have never once in all the shows that I have been ever heard a band acknowledge that horrible song and actually start playing it. In fact, I've heard Colin Meloy of The Decemberists actually make a call for that to stop. So, he's on my side too.

Like a Rolling Stone

With all the excitement of the concerts that I have attended lately, I almost completely forgot about the announcement of this years Austin City Limits Festival line up. This is unquestionably the most top heavy line up that I have seen in the four years that I have attended the festival. Topping the list of established acts that I am most excited about are My Morning Jacket, Muse, The Arcade Fire, Wilco, The White Stripes, and Bob Dylan and his Band. Of (what they consider) the second tier acts, I am most excited about Damien Rice, Spoon, The Decemberists, Regina Spektor, Devotchka, Ben Kweller, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The lesser known acts that I think will be fantastic are Ghostland Observatory, Pete Yorn, Peter Bjorn and John, Yo La Tengo, Blonde Redhead, Midlake, The Greyhounds, and The National.

The producers of ACL have certainly sought after more established bands for this years festival than in that of years past. While the headliners of the past have always been rather big (Ben Harper, Coldplay, Tom Petty), I've never seen such an overwhelming list of names. On the other hand, I have never seen ACL have such an underwhelming list of up-and-coming artists. In my opinion, this was one of the things that set them apart. It could very well be that I am digging further into the musical landscape these days. There is quite a list of bands for me to get acquainted with between now and the weekend of September 14-16. I hope to see everyone out there as I think this will undoubtedly be one of the festivals of the year.

You Still Love Rock 'n Roll?

Attention Wilco Fans: If you’re like me, you’ve had a leaked copy of Sky Blue Sky for the last couple of months. Wilco has been so kind to allow for this happen by all but allowing it be downloaded from their website. Now, they are calling on all us fans to do the right thing and purchase the album on its release date this Tuesday. Here is a message from the band.

Greetings to you all from the east coast branch -- where we've been burning the midnight oil for months getting ready for May 15. And it is finally upon us.

By now, you know that next week is the official release date of Wilco's 7th album (or 9th depending on how you count). Hence the slightly serious tone of this note. Tuesday, to be precise, marks the US release of Sky Blue Sky on Nonesuch Records. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the on-demand stream, by all means click here and take it for a spin. We're pretty sure you'll enjoy the ride.

But once you've done that we hope you'll take a moment to reflect (see, I told you this was serious) on how this dynamic has worked over the years -- the dynamic between us and you. We (and this "we" means the band, first and foremost) expend a lot of time, energy and other resources trying to make this something you are not just a witness to, but a participant in and we genuinely hope you can feel that.

We've been asked many times if we'd consider changing the way we do things, usually by people who are convinced we'd be more successful if we did. And either out of stubbornness or something else, we keep refusing. Instead, we just do what we do and somehow it all works. We continue to make lots of music available free to all in the road case, continue to allow taping/photos at shows, and basically just try to keep the things we do charge for of a quality that make you feel like you got a bargain. You know, mutual respect and all that. We like the way it works... a lot. We really do believe in trying to keep as much of it as free and open as is humanly possible. That seems pretty obvious... but somehow it remains a slight novelty in the modern day music business. So much so that people continually mention it in their stories when they write or speak about the band or the somewhat sad state of the music business.

Anyway, what we're getting at here is that right now we need you to participate in a way that is part of what has made this nice little story work. We're actually asking you to please go out next week and do the right thing for Wilco. That is, vote with your feet and prove the band's faith well-placed and buy the record. It's available from Tuesday at all kinds of retailers everywhere. Ask for it by name. It's also available here, and for those of you who are more digitally inclined, here.

Fire It Up

The Seattle based band Modest Mouse has embarked upon their first tour since former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined the band and the release of their most recent album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. I attended the show at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prarie on Thursday night. If it was possible, Modest Mouse managed to top themselves from the last time I saw them two years ago at this same venue. I certainly had not spent enough time with the new album, but did recognize the great songs from it. They played many of the songs from prior albums that I have come to love over the years. The 2005 release Good News for People Who Love Bad News received more attention as they played several from it including The View, Float On, and Ocean Breathes Salty. For you long time fans of Modest Mouse who prefer the older albums, they seem to have all but abandoned playing the songs from the early days. In fact, the song Doin’ The Cockroach from the 1997 release Lonesome Crowded West was the only song pre-dating the 2004 release The Moon and Antarctica. I was pleased that they opened with one of my favorite songs, Paper Thin Walls and later played Tiny Cities Made of Ashes. Notables from the new album included Dashboard, We've Got Everything, and Fire It Up.

The clean, antiseptic confines of the Nokia Theatre presented them and the sound quite well. I have always been a bit skeptical of that venue due to the remote location and ridiculous price of parking ($15 per car for general parking). But they pulled a pretty good crowd who all seemed to be quite engaged the show.

Do You Carry Magnets In Your Pockets

Perhaps the best thing about attending an even like SXSW is the possibility of discovering new music. The last trip down proved to be one of the best for finding new bands, and one such band I discovered was the Miami based band The Postmarks. They were amidst the last few dates of their month long tour when I caught up with them at Club Dada in Deep Ellum on Wednesday night.

The show got off to a rocky start with some of the sound problems. Once those were cleared up, the band showed just why they have been getting some great press around the indie world lately. They played many of the songs from their self-titled debut album released on Unfiltered Records. I first purchased this album during their showcase during SXSW at Blender Bar. Since then, it’s been in heavy rotation on my iPod. Their dream pop style mixed with the soft vocals of Tim Yehezkely separate this band from the rest. When I dig deeper into the lyrics, they are mostly a rich, melancholy-like poetry about lost love affairs and broken hearts, reminiscent of some of the slower songs by Camera Obscura or The Cardigans. The smooth guitar melodies of Jonathan Wilkins also compliment the mood of each song.

B and I hung around after the show to talked to members of the band after their photo shoot. I praised them for their wonderful effort in putting on a great show despite being so close to the end of their tour. They all seemed in really good spirits as we talked to them about their tour experience and getting to be on KCRW with Nic Harcourt. I found it interesting that none of the band members are from Miami but all seemed to find each other there. Overall, I really enjoyed the show and would recommend going to see them on their next tour and picking up a copy of their album.

The opening act was the local artist Sarah Jaffe. I had caught her before with her band, Tomahawk Molly, but this was my first time to see her play solo. I was quite impressed with her bluesy-folk style as she created a great sound while playing only one guitar the entire show and having accompanying vocals on only a few songs. I’m a sucker for this type of sound so I was instantly into her music and picked up a CD after she played.

You Are Free

From time to time, I like to engage in a little irri-tainment (irritating entertainment). The combination of those two elements seem to do something for me. As I check my email today, I find one of the many Metroplex area show announcements for several of the theatres here in Dallas. One show I found interesting coming to town was (conservative blowhard) Sean Hannity's Freedom Concert. The word "concert" grabbed my attention. Who the fuck would play at an event hosted by such a cultural poison as him?

So, in my irritainment curiosity, I clicked on the link. It took me to a about a two minute video. The first two thirds of it was Sean signing autographs for those that seemed to worship him. Could this guy be any more vain? The the last third of it showed the concert. The list of acts includes Sara Evans (spare), Hank Williams, Jr. (had it), and...Lee Greenwood.

Now don't get me wrong. I love America. I love freedom, especially freedom that pisses off people Hannity. But has anyone ever gone further with less than Lee Greenwood? My second thought was, "ok, so he'll get up there and play 'God Bless the U.S.A.' and then what?" This song was played out a few months after its release in th 1980's and had a brief comeback shortly after Septemeber 11th.

I'm not a culture warrior (nor do I know what that means) and these things don't really matter that much to me, but if you're keeping score, the Democrats seem to have much better music at their festivals on a consistent basis. I think I could tolerate Al Franken for an afternoon if he had The Decemberists playing at his festival.

A Tangled Web: Spider-Man 3

I grew up reading Spider-Man comics and watching the cartoons. I've always been a fan of the nerdy Peter Parker struggling with everyday problems and learning that with great power comes great responsibility. The first two movies did a fine job of capturing many of the good qualities of the comic, especially Spider-Man 2, which I consider one of the finest comic to film adaptations. The third film opened at the box office huge, as expected, setting records for single day, 3-day weekend, and worldwide opening numbers. It makes sense since he's a popular character and because of the success of the first two films. However, this third film has several pitfalls which ultimately made the film a slight disappointment for me.

The main problem stems from the screen story by Sam and Ivan Raimi. I think Sam Raimi is a very gifted director with a solid style. The Evil Dead films and A Simple Plan are good examples of his directorial talent. However, his writing has been minimal with his last major writing credit being on the Coens Bros. film The Hudsucker Proxy back in 1994 and that is one of their weaker films. The Raimi brothers try to incorporate too many story lines and villains into one film. Based on articles I've read, they envisioned this as two movies that they could film back-to-back. When they could not come up with a satisfying conclusion for the third film to push into the fourth, they decided to mash it together into one film. I think this decision was the cause behind some of the sloppiness in the story and the way too long 140 minute running time.

In the main story of Parker (Tobey Maguire) battling his inner demons, the film brings in three villains for Spider-Man to battle. Each villain on their own have areas of interest, but they are never fully fleshed out. There just isn't time to build them up and make them more than just punching bags for the battle scenes. In the first two films the villains were integral to the story and were given time to develop as characters. Nothing like that here. The story tries to make you feel for Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) who becomes Sandman by giving him a sick daughter, but it just doesn't fly when the character has no consistency in his display of downtrodden guy vs. obvious villainous nature. Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) is just a selfish jerk, and the hatred within him leads to his becoming Venom, villain number 2. Finally, we get former friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) taking on his destiny from his father and seeking revenge. I can see how they wanted to use the villain's different natures to compare to Parker's own battle with his dark side when he is possessed by the black suit. The three villains representing varying degrees of evil: misguided, pure, and misunderstood. Ultimately, the haphazard way the different story lines are handled detract from an interesting approach. You would think that filmmakers would have learned from the Batman films of the 1990's that more villains usually just causes a mess. At least this movie handles it better than those Batman films.

The story is also not kind to MJ (Kirsten Dunst) or her relationship with Parker. The biggest "why did they do it" of the whole film for me was having Dunst sing ... twice. After Parker is taken over by the black suit, we know he is evil because he combs his hair into his eyes and starts walking down the street checking out women. The worst aspect of the black suit destroying the good in Parker is when he takes new character Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) to a jazz club. The scene that follows is camp of the highest order. My jaw literally dropped as I mouthed, "What the fuck?" during this scene.

Now the movie is not all bad. It is fairly entertaining and not just the action scenes which are first rate. Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) again provides some great comedy scenes. Topher Grace provides some good moments as Parker's rival at the Bugle. Screenwriter Alvin Sargent returned to co-write the screenplay with the Raimi brothers and the wit of his dialogue from the second film is pretty easy to spot. I think the movie would have been better had Sargent and Pulitzer prize winner Michael Chabon worked together again as they did on Spider-Man 2.

It's a shame that Raimi felt he had to make something "bigger and better" in the summer movie franchise vein. The formula for Spider-Man 2 really set a standard, and it would have been wise to follow it. In trying to out do himself, he's actually given the viewer less by making a tangled mess of ideas that while mildly entertaining just isn't fulfilling. B-

With a Ticket Stub In Your Hand

This concert ticket charge thing has become out of control. Ticketmaster has certainly earned their nickname "Ticketbastard" this time. I'm scratching my head today trying to figure out how a ticket to see Interpol that was $25 somehow came $41.16 when I went to pay for it. It's rare that I have to use them any more since most of the bands I see use smaller ticket retailer like Frontgate and Ticketweb. I give props to Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits for using Frontgate and giving fans the opportunity to get in early and pay no added fees.

One thing I did see was a whopping $3.50 was added, not to mail the ticket to me, but to email it to me. Does it really cost $3.50 to create a ticket in an Adobe Acrobat file and send it to me in an email? The cost of a CD is getting inexplicably higher and higher. How long will it be before the cost of going to see a concert gets to the point where those who really want to see it are discouraged from going because of all of this? I don't think that $25 is unreasonable to see Interpol, but I think to most people who are fans of theirs will agree there is a difference between $25 and $40. As someone who attends a lot of shows, I have to be discretionary in what I can spend and on what band. But I suppose as long I keep paying it and allowing Ticketbastard to get away with it, they will continue to charge it.

Tell Me Where You've Seen My Life

Annuals

Tuesday night at the Granada Theater started with opening act Annuals, a band from Raleigh, North Carolina. My only exposure to them had been the track, Brother, which Pitchfork had posted on their site late last year. They made a quick impression with an upbeat song featuring two drum sets and two keyboardists. Their set had some ups and downs in interest level for me, but when they kicked in the extra percussion (up to 4 guys playing drums), they really did rock and gave off a fun vibe. They finished off their set with the song Brother which sounded great. I found the set interesting enough to push me to pick up their debut CD, Be He Me.

Blonde Redhead

Blonde Redhead is an experimental indie rock band from New York that first formed in 1993. I first listened to them back in early 2005 when I ran across a copy of their sixth release, Misery Is a Butterfly. Their latest, 23, was just released last month, and it has quickly become one of my favorite CDs of 2007. This new release moves more towards dream pop with lush sounds, haunting melodies, and hypnotic vocals from Kazu Makino and Amedeo Pace. The band leaned heavily towards the new release playing excellent versions of 23, Spring and by Summer Fall, and Publisher. The trio's stage setup included a life sized horse statue that Makino used to sit on when she played keyboards. I was very happy to hear them play Falling Man from their last release as the first song of the encore. They finished off the night with the song Top Ranking featuring layered vocals from Makino.

Overall, it was a solid night of music that piqued my interest for Annuals and really increased my growing admiration for Blonde Redhead.