Passed on from a dear friend of mine who loves all things gypsy music, I present Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra. They come from Sarajevo. This video for "Unza Unza Time" is a little bit Bunuel, a little bit punk and all gypsy - embracing love, death and life all at once. I don't know what Unza Unza Time means but it makes me wanna get up on a chair and holler and dance.

Labels: music, random, videos

New band Bat For Lashes has too many interpretations on their name to get clever here so I'll cut to the chase. This UK lass is Natasha Khan and her girl group goes by Bat For Lashes. Her breakthrough single "What's A Girl To Do?" proves she's the next London It Girl on the verge of picking fights with Amy Winehouse and trying to drink Lady Sovereign under the table. Channeling The Ronettes girl group sound with storytelling I also find this single a mix of Charlotte Gainsbourg's breathiness meets the sincerity of Lily Allen with the punky-darkness of The Scanners thrown in. The video is slightly intriguing. Who doesn't love a bicycle tracking shot and Donnie Darko references? Animal masks are feeling overused though. Didn't Sassy magazine do a fashion spread like this 9 years ago?

Bat for Lashes is touring the U.S. right now. Catch her before the hype sends her and her all girl band to more sold out festivals. They'll be at Spaceland this Tuesday night.


Tuesday, Jul. 31 8:30pm
Bat For Lashes
Spaceland
1717 Silver Lake Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026
$12

Labels: events, music, videos

Stay tuned for all the interesting tid-bits and reviews I pick up this weekend from Comic Con 2007 in San Diego. On the personal schedule so far: face time with Fantagraphics, Beowulf the animated movie screening, Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen panel, Family Guy table read, and meet the Batman66 crew.

Every day I get more excited about something new to do/see there. Right now I'm completely looking forward to the Superbad sneak peek. Michael Cera is becoming quite the comic wunderkind. If you doubted his brilliance as George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development then you must rediscover his boyish charms in his and Clark Duke's hilarious new webisodic series "Clark & Michael". Episode 10 just came out today.

CBS backs the series hoping to cash in on the young Internet audiences who ad-execs don't believe have the attention span to sit through 26 minutes of regular TV programming anymore. No matter the network nor social implications, Cera and Duke have been given any young performer's dream. Consider it Curb Your Enthusiasm Jr. as the boys constantly go through new creative lengths of self-sabotage. Like another comedy-duo phenom, Flight of The Conchords, the boys play up their dorkiness as they go after unattainable women and goals, get shot down, and come home to each other. Insert the long string of awkward, homophobic moments. But that's the appeal of the buddy-buddy comedy genre. After a long day of hitting the gym (in this case, the basement workout room of the boy's Marina del Rey furnished apartment) or taking "lunch meetings", it's nice to know you've still got an ally in the industry. Don't miss the cameos by Arrested Development alumni David Cross and Andy Richter. Judd Apatow fans will also be pleased to see the camaraderie continuing with appearances by Jonah Hill (Cera's Superbad co-star), Martin Starr (aka "Martin Scorsese on coke" from Knocked Up), and John Daley (number one geek from Freaks & Geeks) . Still doubt Cera has what it takes to join the Apatow crew? Check out his video resume, "Impossible is the Opposite of Possible" originally made for an 826LA benefit last year.

Labels: comics, reviews, television, videos

Tonight Chango hosts Anarchy Jordan. He'll unveil from his bag of tricks folk music, political sing-alongs, and incendiary videos mocking everything from global warming to GW. Expect a free exchange of stencil art techniques, anti-war graffiti and a live free or buy trying attitude. A good time is sure to be had by all or at least a healthy debate over your nightly chai lattes.



ANARCHY JORDAN presents YOUR VIOLENT DESIRES
LIVE LIVE LIVE LIVE (you decide how to pronounce it)
with his MUSIC, MOVIES, AND MORE

Friday, Jul. 20th 9:00pm
Chango Coffee House
1600 Echo Park Ave.
Echo Park, 90026

hey young fella, dada is not an art movement.
Be there or be viciously circular.

Labels: events, music, politics, videos

There are two new books I will hole myself up in the house with and read cover to cover this weekend: #1 (obviously) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows. #2 The Blot by Tom Neely. Neely is my new graphic novel crush. The Blot is an existential nightmare living in the form of an ink blot that plagues the cartoon protagonist's daily life panel to panel. He simply wakes up to a blot that will not go away. It pesters and festers in everything from food to taking over people's faces. The graphic style is comparable to old timey comic strips of the depression era as well as surrealist Magritte paintings. And since the comic is "silent" (no talking bubbles) one can focus on the subtleties of the narrative and the hand crafted vintage style. The complete graphic novel as well as the serialized versions are now available at Secret Headquarters and they're holding a reception for Tom Neely tomorrow night. Neely is taken but I can still get my book signed.


Friday, Jul. 20th 8:00-10:00pm
The Blot opening reception with author Tom Neely
Secret Headquarters
3817 Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026


Also, check out Tom Neely's ode to 1940s propaganda cartoons - his political satire "Brother Can You Spare a Job?".

Labels: books, comics, events, videos

In case you missed it, like I did - yes, I am in the bastard friend hall of fame - Pedra Furmall painted live at the Roxy last week to The Apex Theory's new song. Everyone was quite impressed. The YouTube sensation is impressive as well. Nice editing guys.

Labels: art, music, videos

Not super original I know to feature youtube videos, but MTV doesn't air music videos anymore so none of my friends know what I'm talking about when I say I can't get this song out of my head. Plus the t-shirts on the skinny boy torsos remind me of Sunset & Echo Park Blvd. on a Saturday night.





You know who also does great videos of the day? Onetokenblackguy of LastNightADJSavedMyLife - one of my favorite bloggers with a knack for old school jams and new instant classics.

"You are such a PYT!" Loving it.

Labels: music, videos, www.internet.com

Oh LA Times. What was news five weeks ago on the internet is now news in your Calendar section. Or is it news because it was news on the internet? Is it really revolutionary to know the blogosphere still gets the word out faster than you can upload a comment on MySpace? I do know the writers of the Calendar section would not be referencing YouTube videos as major pop culture groundbreaking material without the blogs out there turning the pop culture dial. Patrick Goldstein's article today gives a big applause to the people out there producing pop-culture commentary without an album or new perfume line to promote. He singles out one outspoken lady, Alanis Morissette and her straight-to-web video cover/parody of The Black eyed Peas "My Humps". It's been been tearing up the YouTube charts, Goldstein notes, beating out Otters Holding Hands with number of views. I am guilty of posting both the Otters video and the Morissette video on friends' myspace pages. I also take blame for passing on another video not mentioned in Goldstein's article: shock & awe princess Peaches' homage to Morisette's "My Humps" but re-written as "My Dumps". Goldstein praises Morisette for producing her video for $2,000 but Peaches looks even more low-budget. And Peaches' video has, well, more dumps - read: poo-poo. I love that Goldstein gives props to the new culture makers out to critique the superficial even sexist bumpin' and grindin' trends. But stating "the era of video activism is here to stay" is about twenty years too late. You didn't need a blog to tell you that.




What really got me thinking in the article was that Goldstein praises Morissette for making this video on her own accord. She's not promoting a new album or tour or even subvertly advertising a new website service. But he still admits it won't hurt her career. In fact, according to Goldstein's sources the average dude thinks Morissette's gained her credibility back from the days she would go down on you in a theater. I'm still under the impression that if you go public with even the smallest of pet projects you're still promoting something - mainly, yourself. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Labels: editorial, newsworthy, videos, www.internet.com

Yes. Those are musical instruments. A modge-podge of electronic gadgets and unashamed childlike experimentation took over pockets of LA last night as The Circuit Bending Festival commenced at Il Coral. Tonight hosts an evening of performances and mingling at the historic Velaslavasay Panorama Theater. Tomorrow there's a day of workshops so you too can learn to create some of the most interesting noise out there. Dig out your See & Spells, your Casios, or even jack your roommate's cellphone and you can be in a (so geeky it's wonderful) band this weekend.

Link to a great story of NPR this morning with circuit musician Lewis Keller.

Still not sure exactly what Circuit Bending is? This lil' instructional video should do the trick:



LA Circuit Bending Festival
with artists: Christiaan Cruz, Loud Objects, Lewis Keller, Pixel Form, univac, Mystery Palace
Friday, Apr. 13 8:00pm
Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 West 24th Street
West Adams LA
(213) 746-2166
$10

Labels: events, music, newsworthy, videos

If you find yourself searching the related links on YouTube, then you've become aware of phenomenons of similar subjects presented by different video artists from around the globe - As if an impromptu assignment pops up and a mess of people join in. I kept myself entertained today by exploring the phenomenon of Pulp Fiction inspired cartoons. It seems that just as Travis Bickle's "You talking to me?" entered the over-quoted movie lexicon, our generation is hawking the infamous dialogue of Jules & Vincent. Here were my favorites out of the scores of short videos out there.

A Typography project to inspire us all interested in graphic design and animation. By Jarrat Moody, a student at the Savannah College of Art & Design.



This simple cartoon comes from a digital artist in Israel. I especially like how the animation doesn't distract from the sharp rhythm of the dialogue. It also ends up with a kind of anti Burger King commercial at the end.



Short video of homemade figures submitted for a contest by YouTube user Jonnynnoj, 21 years old. I especially like how he captured the exact camera angle and background detail in this unforgettable moment with Harvey Keitel as "The Wolf".

Labels: random, videos

Those lucky college students and daytime degenerates who get to hang out daily at coffee shops, especially those in the Echo Park/ Silver Lake area, have probably been lucky enough to encounter our very own Anarchy Jordan. Known for spreading his political rants through impromptu conversation and scaring yuppies away to get a table for brunch, Anarchy Jordan will be performing an original song for Night Hawks this Monday night. Expect hijinks similar to his now infamous Youtube videos, along with proletariat bashing. In fact, it'll be a sing-a-long. Follow the bouncing ball at Night Hawks and check out his hijacked videos. My favorites are the ones of the Ann Coulter variety:



TV makes me insane. Those ladies don't work. They just look good.


Several of Jordan's videos were removed by YouTube recently under the guise of "containing offensive material" but he just can't be stopped. He keeps creating and re-posting. You can read the arguments and comments from the past pages here.

Anarchy Jordan's website: Live Free or Buy Trying.

Labels: Nighthawks, videos

Yes, we're heading into 2007 full force and thank you for your patience. I am now pleased to announce the Best Songs of 2006 Mix CD is ready. If you participated in the song exchange, a pretty homemade double disc mix CD is waiting for you.

If the CD had a bonus DVD section I would have to include this video by Matt & Kim. There's an alternate version on YouTube that is equally as brilliant - especially if you've ever wanted to see a taco and banana rock out.

Labels: music, videos

The Academy Awards are a second Christmas around these parts. I'm one of those hopeless movie lovers who will sit through the entire grueling pace of a show and ooh and aw through the pre-show even. ABC's pre-show lacked that certain panache - mainly showing any piece of the red carpet. Did everyone show up late this year? Were the cameras blocked by cameras from other networks? It didn't make any sense to keep cutting back to Randolph Duke talking about the gowns and never actually see the gowns. Even Seacrest over at E! had a hard time getting some face time with the nominees. Personally, I liked J-Hud's get-up when no one else seemed to. J-Lo's Marchesa goddess/60s throwback frock was my favorite. Helen Mirren proves actresses over a certain age are still hot. Ellen was a hilarious host but a safe host. The gospel number at the beginning could have been a page from her talk show but the myspace shots with Spielberg and Eastwood were incredibly charming. It would truly be incredible if the producers of the Super Bowls ever got their hands on the Oscar telecast. I don't think the country will sit through another yawnfest of poorly picked clip montages. The antics of modern dance troupe Pilobolus were ingenious. Please give an Emmy to the writers behind the song sung by Will Ferrel, Jack Black and John C. Reilly. Rhyming "Ralph Nader" with "gay coal mining movie with James Spader"? Genius.

The gallery.




Some more trivial trivia to impress the water cooler crowd:

- The Departed is a remake of the film Infernal Affairs, a Chinese film, not Japanese as mis-announced over the crowd when the best screenplay winner accepted his trophy.

- Peter O'Toole is now the most nominated actor to not win a trophy with 8 attempts. He did however receive a lifetime achievement statuette in 2002.

- Kate Winslet is the youngest most nominated actress at 31 with 5 to her name.

- You are more likely to win a best actor/actress award if you play someone famous. (Idi Amin, Ghandi, The Queen, June Carter Cash, Aileen Wuornos, etc..)

Trivial trivia gathered from the Academy Awards database.

Labels: film, reviews, television, videos

Just in time for Valentine's Day, aka The Lonely Hearts Club Extravaganza Orgy, watch the agony of love in Ten West's chilling tale set to Johnny Cash's "Hurt". A tragic enactment with Barbie dolls, of course, starring 1/2 of Ten West's amazing post-modern vaudevillian duo, Jon Monastero. I saw him perform this live recently and while the impact of the ending is best experienced on stage, this video comes very close.



Catch Ten West's next live show and you won't be sorry.
Playing practically nightly at 24th Street Theater.

Labels: performances, videos

Last week Universal Studios announced a $3 billion renovation plan. Along with the existing 158-hectare studio and theme park, Universal will add condos and more state of the art facilities to be completed in the next 25 years.

I’d like to take us all back to 1996 when Universal merged with Seagrams creating one of the richest corporate conglomerates of the time. Universal hired two funny unknowns, Matt Parker & Trey Stone, to shoot sketches for a Universal-Seagrams party celebrating the merger. They were given carte blanche with celebrities. (check out Steven Spielberg as the Jaws tour guide!) What better way to parody the Seagram’s merge than get Demi Moore, James Cameron and Sly Stallone in on the joke and re-create a 1950s instructional film? The star cameos are dated but the message remains the same: Everyone profits from corporate profit sharing! If it seems too gloomy, add a porcelain deer and drink a wine cooler!

"Your Studio And You" Part 1


"Your Studio And You" Part 2

Labels: newsworthy, videos

This Saturday and Sunday marks the closing weekend of Takeshi Murata's strange and hypnotic video installation "Untitled (Silver)". Murata takes the 1960 Italian horror film, Mask of Satan and deconstructs it pixel by pixel with an original soundtrack by Robert Beatty and Ellen Mollé. Already a hit in San Francisco and New York the pixels swarm, morph and swirl before your very eyes with amazing affects. Art Forum described the experience as trippy and compared it to the Old Masters' melting paintings with the random computer connectedness of John Cage pieces.

"Untitled (Silver)" by Takeshi Murata
b&w single channel video on DVD
10 minutes
at The Machine Project
1200 D N. Alvarado
213-483-8761

Sat & Sun open 12 - 5pm

Labels: art, film, videos

Rebel Without A Cause

James Dean's knife fight at the Observatory.

Rush, Rush Paula Abdul

Keanu Reeve's recreation.

Labels: videos

Jessica Delfino, songstress and author of one of the funniest songs I've heard performed in quite a while ("I Wanna Be Famous"), will be performing tonight at The Fake Gallery on Melrose & Heliotrope. The show starts at 8:30 PM and it costs $5. Raunchy folk rock rocks alongside a line up of very interesting and funny comedian type people, including Eddie Pepitone, who Jessica calls one of her favorite acts. Jessica also says: "I hope any and all of you can make it, and please don't forget to wash your vaginas."

Kick ass music video for "I Wanna Be Famous".

Labels: events, music, videos