Garfield Minus Garfield

This is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Have you considered the fact that Jon Arbuckle, co-star of the comic strip "Garfield," is essentially talking to himself? Well, remove the thought-bubble spouting cat sidekick and a very, very disturbed individual remains:


Depressing, eh? This is an actual "Garfield" strip (sans the orange cat, obviously).

To see more, click here:

GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD

Music in Films...

I've found about some of my favorite artists through films and I've imagined films as vehicles for some of my favorite artists.

A great site that deals with music and film is this one. Check the soundtrack series, so great.

Anyway, so I thought I'd highlight some of my favorite film/music moments.

The first is probably the most significant to me, if only because of the great stuff it turned me onto.

The last scene in Paul Auster & Wayne Wang's Smoke aka "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story"




Not only was the the first indie movie I ever saw at Angelika, but it turned me onto Tom Waits...and then onto Jim Jarmusch. It made me want to create my own music videos, which I did here, here and here. I love this sequence.

Jackson C. Frank - MUST LISTEN

Check out this semi-obscure folk singer/songwriter Jackson C. Frank. "Blues Run the Game," his only album, features sparse yet achingly beautiful compositions, which everyone from Paul Simon (the producer of this recording) to Nick Drake has covered.

Below is a link to Frank's song "I Want to Be Alone (Dialogue)"--my favorite song in the collection:
"I Want to Be Alone (Dialogue)"

And here's a slide show set to Nick Drake's version of "Milk and Honey":
"Milk and Honey"

I thoroughly recommend shelling out some greenbacks for this album (or getting it by some other means... you know, like downloading it). Enjoy!

Jonas Mekas

Somehow, after cultivating many years worth of art elitism and pretense, I neglected to discover the brilliance of experimental filmmaker Jonas Mekas. Whether or not it's a shameless plug to say so, I first encountered him while viewing Palm's release "Who Gets to Call It Art?" (a documentary about the famous New York art curator Henry Geldzahler).

Check out this guy's frenetic filmmaking style; he often compresses a day's worth of experience into a blur of transient images. It's like viewing a projection of a stranger's childhood memories, each moment hazily impressionistic though imbued with detail.

"Note on the Circus" is definitely one of my favorite Mekas works, and, luckily for all of us, it's on Youtube:

Jonas Mekas's "Note on the Circus"

News

Palm has a couple releases of note that I thought I'd highlight.


Summer Palace is in theaters now and it's coming to dvd on March 11th. The film is by Lou Ye, who was banned from making movies in China for five years due to the amount of nudity and depiction of Tiananman Square in Summer Palace.


It's a really beautiful film, and the lead actress Hao Lei is amazing.

Here's what the press is saying:

Critic's Pick - The New York Times

“Great triumph....of Lou’s work!” – The New Yorker

Here's a great review by The New York Times/

Buy it here and get 27% off!



Supreme Beings Of Leisure have a song from their self titled album featured in Johnnie Walker ads, maybe you've seen it? They have a new album coming out as well. It's not through us, sadly.

The song's catchy!



Also, the long awaited City Of Men film is finally coming to theaters! Check the series that the film was based on here, released by Palm.

Don't bother watching the Oscars...

Just in case you didn't already know, the Oscars are coming on this Sunday...

Oh yes, I grasp your trepidation. Why should anyone tune in and subject himself/herself to a never ending slue of bad jokes, weird interpretive dance numbers, and the melting Dali clock that is Joan Rivers's face? Not to mention the inevitable barrage of credit card commercials starring your favorite hack celebrities (pick one). Many of us have better things to do, like make peanut butter sandwiches or check out this week's episode of The Wire...

But, of course, we'll wind up watching every brutal hour of Hollywood's favorite pastime, our bladders bursting in wait for the Grand Reveal--you know, the only award that counts: Best Picture... Cue disappointment:

"Clint Eastwood won again?!"

Well, ladies and gents, I'm going to make it easy for you this time. With the aid of a trusty-dusty list of posters, namely those of the past Best Picture winners (err, "recipents"), I can predict which film will win the grand prize this year.

First, examine this list:
79 Years of Best Picture Winners in Posters

Did you pay particular attention to the most recent Oscar recipients? Okay, good. Then you can clearly see that this year's Best Picture award will go to Juno.

"What?! Not 'No Country' or 'There Will Be Blood'? Are you insane?"

Now take it easy, folks! If you pay close attention, you too can see the subversive messages embedded in these graphics. Hollywood's been prepping American audiences for a Juno Oscar-Sweep for the past four years. Here, I'll prove it to you:

1) "The Lord of the Rings" - I mean, come on! It's pretty clear. This film is clearly about the sanctity of marriage.

2) "Million Dollar Baby" - The word "Baby" is in the title, and Hillary Swank's hair is up, just like Ellen Page's in the "Juno" poster.


3) "Crash" - I'm almost embarrassed at how obvious this one is. The chick in this poster looks like Ellen Page. In fact, I bet it is Ellen Page--they just didn't want us to see her face. Too much too soon, you know? And the guy clutching her also has this look of, "Oh no, you're pregnant" on his face. Shameless, folks--just shameless.


4) "The Departed" - I can't believe Scorsese was in on this Juno conspiracy! There's Jack Nicholson in the back, looking very pregnant. And Matt Damon's saying, "Whoa, I could've sworn it was my kid" because Nicholson just told him that it's actually Dicaprio's. I've got to admit, Leo's acting in this picture is spot on. He looks very paternal. He'll be a good dad.

So, yeah, don't waste your time this year. Do something productive. Save your bladder the stress.

Africa Unite in stores!

Africa Unite is in stores!

Here's a clip from the film, which features the entire Marley family, Angelique Kidjo, Spragga Benz and more...!

Click here to save 27% on the DVD!

For more info, check the site

I wanted to start off 08 by thanking some of the people who helped us out so much in 07- namely Tim "The Boss" Myers, Athanasios "Turk" Goltsios, Kristin Seifert and Joe (to the) Conner.

Can't thank you enough!














Now on to lists.

Paul's top 5's:

Albums-
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – ST
Devendra Banhart – Smokey Rolls…
Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
DrugRug – ST
TheBees (aka Band of Bees) – Octopus

Flicks-
The Lives of Others
Great World of Sound
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
King of Kong
Bonus: Ten Canoes

Theo's best of '07

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Daft Punk live
Songs by LCD Soundsytem, MGMT, Yeasayer, UGK, Marco Polo, Blonde Redhead, Studio, Holy Ghost!
Burial - Untrue
Battles live
108 Reunion
Rumors of Carcass reunion
Superbad
Adopting a Polar Bear


Looking forward to
The Wire Season 5
Actual Carcass reunion