By Christian Lipski
Elvis Presley is alive and well and living in Simi Valley. Or at least that’s the claim of Elvis Found Alive, a new faux-documentary from Highway 61 Entertainment, who brought you Paul McCartney Is Really Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (reviewed here). This time around, they’re doing a complete 180, revealing a conspiracy to fake a death instead of a life. (more…)
If there’s one good thing that can be said for what turned out to be a furthering of turbulent and dark days the world over, 2011 was at the very least a good year for music. A great year, even.
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In terms of entertainment, 2011 has been kind of slow for me. Electronic acts, dubstep, and boring indie bands named after animals or things you have no hope of pronouncing in the correct way, have been a plague on the music scene like the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. OK, that may be a bit exaggerated but you get the idea.
There have been, however, some things in music, movies, and the written word that have gotten my attention in 2011. Here’s my list of both new and old gems I’ve discovered and revisited in the past year. I hope you find my list enjoyable and informative. If not, better luck next year.
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By Chelsea Spear
To the layperson in the early ‘80s, punk rock was an atonal mess of a sound made by destructive adolescent boys with an all-consuming hunger for amphetamines and an allergy to shirts. In the documentary X: The Unheard Music, director W.T. Morgan and the punk band X challenge these stereotypes by focusing on the creative process and the day-to-day experiences of a working band trying to find their audience.
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Reissues: Roy Harper, Songs of Love and Loss
Listened to a lot: Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo
Concert: Josh T. Pearson at Union Chapel in London on May 11
Movies: Benda Bilili! (watched on the tour bus), Michael Powell’s The Edge of the World (1937), and The Monk with Vincent Cassel
DVD: Brimstone and Treacle (the BBC TV version, not the Sting film!)
Film festivals: Screening of Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend at the BFI on December 9
Books: Oliver Twist, started reading Michael Horovitz
Art: Grayson Perry, “The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman” at The British Museum
Comic books: Anything by Alan Moore
Favorite cities: Dresden, Berlin, and started to enjoy London
Coolest thing found at a vintage or thrift store: A WWI officer’s compass
Best restaurant: The Golden Dragon in London’s Chinatown
Erland and The Carnival‘s latest album, Nightingale, was released on March 29. The band will be playing in Vienna at The Maifield Derby Festival on May 19 and again at The Orange Blossom Festival on May 26. For more on the band, please check out their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
By Danny R. Phillips
It seems that in some circle, including my own, cracking on hipsters has become somewhat of a sport. With their tragic coolness, bland color scheme in housing and clothes, poor music choices (does anyone REALLY like Bon Iver?), black eyeglasses, and Zach Galifianakis facial hair, the genus Hipsteris toocoolius has become a prime target for sarcasm and satire. And no show does it better than IFC’s Portlandia.
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By Cait Brennan
The Bible says music tore down the mighty walls of Jericho. In the 1960s and ’70s, rock and roll did the same for a generation of girls and young women. The rise of pop culture brought women and girls an unprecedented level of freedom, power, and influence. Perhaps it can’t quite be called “feminist,” and it may seem like a small thing, but before the mid-’60s, before the Beatles and Monkees, who could have imagined whole magazines devoted to pin-up boys?
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By Ann Clarke
Filmed in Nashville in July of 2009, this DVD is a one-night glimpse into what was a reunion-ish tour that I really wish I’d had a chance at seeing (no shows came anywhere near me). But luckily someone had the sense to capture it (and capture it well, I might add!)
I had seen Jesus Lizard live footage before, but regrettably I have never seen them live. I had a good idea of what to expect, and what is captured on this DVD lives up to my expectations.
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By Less Lee Moore
Every August, Rue Morgue hosts its annual horror convention Festival Of Fear as part of FanExpo Canada (which also includes Gaming, Comics, Sci Fi, and Anime). Every year, I await their list of guests and schedule of events. This year they presented a Near Dark screening with Lance Henriksen (read more here), a Q&A with Tom Savini (read more here), a 30th Anniversary cast and crew reunion for My Bloody Valentine (read more here), and much more, like events and panels with Malcolm McDowell, Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Elvira, and John Waters. There are literally too many things for one person to do. If ever there were a compelling reason to clone myself, it would be for Festival of Fear.
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By Danny R. Phillips
Doing an unauthorized DVD of any artist, let alone on someone as historically cantankerous as Neil Young, can be a real bitch. Little to no music or performance footage from the artist can be used, forcing the filmmakers to turn the film into a history lesson instead of a flat-out celebration. And sadly, that’s exactly what’s happened with Neil Young’s Music Box, Here We Are in the Years.
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