Movie Review: The Visitor

By Less Lee Moore

The opening scene of The Visitor is exactly the kind of scene I love in late ’70s sci fi and horror films. John Huston encounters a faceless hooded figure in a desert, where the orange and grey sky indicates that it may be on another planet or in an alternate dimension. There are explosions, then a snowstorm. The figure is revealed to be a creepy young girl who looks decayed and then disappears. Unfortunately, The Visitor goes downhill from here, unless you like watching bad movies ironically.

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Music Review: Various Artists, Psych-Out Christmas

By Less Lee Moore

It’s that time of year when you’re sick to death of Christmas music. The forced cheer, the same five or six songs over and over . . . you know the routine. Thankfully, the fine folks at Cleopatra Records have recently released Psych-Out Christmas, which is exactly that.

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Movie Review: Good Vibrations

By Less Lee Moore

No doubt there are many who’ve heard of Terri Dooley, music lover, DJ, record shop owner, and tireless champion of the unheard music, but for those of us who haven’t, Good Vibrations is a giddy delight. Based on the real life (mis)adventures of the Belfast native, the film should win the hearts of all movie and music lovers, even those who’ve determined themselves too jaded to care.

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DVD Review: Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

By Less Lee Moore

There’s no question that Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is a visually stunning movie. Though set in Texas during the 1970s, it was filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana. Cinematographer Bradford Young takes full advantage of the natural landscape and his exceptional ability to capture light in a shot is impressive. The performances from the entire cast—Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, and Keith Carradine—are outstanding. Writer and director David Lowery certainly has a way with creating a mood. Unfortunately, all of the characters are such slippery fish, that it’s sometimes hard to connect with any of them.

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Assemblog: December 13, 2013

Out of the Furnace

New this week on Popshifter: Brad was less than impressed with Paradise, but excited about Streets Of Fire; I explore the unexpected gravitas of The Wolverine and pay my respects to the new Melvins album Tres Cabrones; LabSplice shows how Arrow fights crime the Bill Gates way through product placement; Jeff waxes nostalgic about holiday tunes; and we’ve got Best Of 2013 lists for you from David Barras (Electric Man), singer/songwriter Willie Nile, our own Danny R. Phillips and Jeffery X Martin.

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Music Review: Melvins, Tres Cabrones

By Less Lee Moore

Unless you’re a hardcore Melvins fan, you probably didn’t realize that not only have they been around since the ’80s, they’re also one of the more insanely prolific bands of the last few decades, with dozens of albums (including live albums), EPs, and singles, not to mention their many appearances on various compilation and tribute albums, plus near-constant touring. They not only put to bed that tired old chestnut about bands from the ’80s being terrible, they proceed to stay up all night afterwards, getting shit done.

Tres Cabrones, which loosely translates to “Three Fuckers,” is their latest album, but a cohesive long-player it is not. It’s an assemblage of songs previously released on vinyl singles and EPs, a couple of new tracks, and covers of traditional folk songs (yes). If that sounds like a bit of a mess to you, you’d be right, but it’s still quite good. The album does have one unifying thread that also pushes it into “must hear” territory. All the songs include King Buzzo, Dale Crover, and original drummer Mike Dillard (with Crover on bass).

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Blu-Ray Review: The Wolverine

By Less Lee Moore

Although Batman, Superman, and even Spider-Man get a lot of attention, it’s worth noting that Hugh Jackman has now portrayed Wolverine six times on the big screen. Unlike Supes and Spidey, Logan didn’t ask for his powers and unlike Bruce Wayne, he doesn’t necessarily want to vanquish the bad guys. This makes Wolverine one of the more compelling and consistent characters in cinematic superhero history. The Wolverine explores why.

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Assemblog: December 6, 2013

Spring

New this week on Popshifter: I review the bizarre time capsule that is Saâda Bonaire and have some constructive criticism for Sebastian Grainger after his latest solo release, Yours To Discover; Paul discusses where R&B is now and where it’s heading with Toronto musician Jhyve and explains why Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound is a labor of love; Brad reviews an underrated classic (Body Bags) and a new could-be classic (Bounty Killer); and Jeff waxes nostalgic and gloomy with Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration.”

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Music Review: Sebastien Grainger, Yours To Discover

By Less Lee Moore

Sebastien Grainger’s first album post-Death From Above 1979 included a band called The Mountains and established a distinctive musical style far removed from his work with Jesse F. Keeler (review). Five years later, Grainger has something new to offer—this time without The Mountains—and he’s expanded his palette considerably, while still retaining some of what made that first solo debut so compelling.

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Music Review: Saâda Bonaire, Saâda Bonaire

By Less Lee Moore

There’s a lot to be said about the decidedly bizarre time capsule that is Saâda Bonaire. They weren’t so much a band as an experiment, but one that definitely pays off.

In 1982, Bremen DJ Ralf Behrendt, a.k.a. Ralf von Richthofen, embarked on a musical project that he hoped would replicate something akin to the influence Caribbean and Indian music was having on British pop. Behrendt had an exposure to and fascination with Turkish music due to his work in the German government’s immigration department. He enlisted local Turkish and Kurdish musicians, as well as his then-girlfriend Stephanie Lange and her friend Claudia Hossfeld (who both wrote the songs), to create Saâda Bonaire.

Thirteen tracks were recorded for EMI in Kraftwerk’s Studio N with producer Dennis Bovell, including “You Could Be More As You Are” as the intended single. But then, it all hit a snag.

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