bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

Friday, October 31, 2003

On Seeing Elf

Can't beat a beautiful day off, now can you? It's a perfect fall Friday, a crisp, blue-skied halloween, and time for us to hit the highway to head northwards... it's up to Vermont to officially usher in my 'mid-thirties'. It ain't nuthin' but a number, right?

Caught a preview screening last night of Elf, which comes out next week, and I've gotta say... it was hands-down high-larious. Will Ferrell is, as always, one seriously funny man-child. The movie was just sweet, plain and simple. And I don't mean "dude!" sweet ... I mean, "awwww..." sweet. Jon Favreau set out to direct a timeless holiday film, and thanks to a good script and an great cast, he may have damn well done it.

Low on bitterness, high on straightforward sentimentality, very light on toilet-humor... the comedy comes straight from Ferrell's reactions to the 'real' world of NYC after being raised by north pole elves. I can be pretty cynical when it comes to blatant attempts to manipulate and tug at the heartstrings, but this movie was enough to knock down those walls. Halfway through I realized my cheeks were starting to hurt from laughing so much. I was sucked in early thanks to all the blatant Rankin-Bass stylee in the first 1/2 hour... all those old stop-animation TV Christmas specials like Rudolph and the Year Without a Santa Claus that I loved so much as a kid. Hell, I still do. The opening credits, the perfect score, the animated characters... you'll see.

They really pulled together a great cast for it, too... James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, all excellent. The supporting players are almost all welcome familiar faces... Andy Richter, Kyle Gass from Tenacious D, Amy Sedaris, Faizon Love, along with comedy vets like Bob Newhart and Ed Asner. Even Peter Dinklage from the Station Agent shows up in a scene that just killed me. Pay attention to the way Will Ferrell delivers three simple words: "Look at you!". Awesome.

Judging from the reaction of all the kids at the screening, this movie is going to be HUGE. This is an an unashamed family film, and it knows it. It walks this accutely self-aware line between over-sentiment and nudge-nudge, wink-wink sarcasm that no holiday film I've seen in years has done. They didn't need to 'spice' anything up for the adults, didn't need to throw in l.c.d. gross-out stuff to get a laugh from kids.

Amie summed it up best when we walked out... "That movie was just the cutest!". Yeah, it kinda was.

"... and it's halloween, tonight and every night ..." - elliott smith

posted by brad at 10:39 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Death Cab for Cutie / American Analog Set review

When Death Cab for Cutie announced two shows in Boston, each with a different opening band, I didn't have to pause and decide which one to go to. American Analog Set is one of my faves, so there was no way I'd miss the one-two punch of a AmAnSet / DCFC bill.

The show was last Saturday, and despite the best efforts of the club in question (more on that later), a mighty good time was had. Here, have some live photos.

American Analog Set, while not the best I'd seen 'em, played a shortened but solid set. Seems their drummer might be competing with Ted Leo's for "fiercest touring beard". I mean, he even had some snidely-whiplash-rollie-fingers mustache curl action goin' on. Nice. On tour is probably the only place I'd ever be able to get away with that, too. (right, Aim?)

Highlights of the AmAnSet, er, set: Kindness of Strangers (such a great song) and the entire second half of Come Home Baby, which gets me every freakin' time. The way that song eases from verse-verse-verse to instrumental build-up is pure brilliance. The layered keys, the entrance of the vibra-ma-phone melody ... damn. Another song that never fails to move me is the one they closed with, the hypnotic, spaced-out "We're Computerizing and We Just Don't Need You Anymore". Talking about building up to bliss ... halfway through I instinctively close my eyes and it's like I'm the only person in the sold-out crowd. F'in magical. Can't wait to see these guys again with Album Leaf in December.

Death Cab started things off fittingly with "Bend to Squares" the first song from their first record "Something About Airplanes". Highlights for me were old songs like "Company Calls (epilogue)", "A Movie Script Ending", and the more recent "We Laugh Indoors" and "Photobooth" (pop genius). Some of the older songs were a little rushed and a little loose... you could tell their new drummer was still getting the kinks out and the back catalog down. The new stuff, though? Spot on. "The New Year", the opening track from the just-released album, was extra-rockin', and even better was "We Looked Like Giants", my favorite of the new stuff. I was lookin' forward to it, and it fulfilled. The low point of the set for me was their unfortunately faithfull cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'". Ben said from the stage: "If you don't love Tom Petty, well, you're just wrong." Hey, if that makes me wrong, then I don't wanna be right. Sorry, Ben. The cover was boring as hell and sucked the energy straight outta the set. Bleh. They recovered nicely, though...

They played for a seriously long time, and I gotta say, overall it was good enough for me to withstand my intense crowd-aversion (although I did scoot to the back during the closer, the mellow yet epic title track from "Transatlanticism".) Actually, despite the fact that we were crammed into the Middle East down, this was one of the kindest crowds I've been part of in awhile. No elbows, no shovin', no hair sniffing (long story), no attitude. At least in my little area. Thumbs up to the Death Cab fans (even though all you youngsters make me feel freakin' old).

[ /end show review ] [ begin venting ]

The Middle East, though, they can go suck on ice. Yeah, I've been going there for years, played on the stages, have a lot of great memories, and friends who work there... but come on. They're infamous for not sticking to scheduled set times, so I usually make sure to call their answering machine the day of a show just to make sure when the bands I want to see are going on. I know, things can run late, and that's no big deal... shit happens, bands arrive late, soundchecks run long, totally cool. I get it. I don't mind killin' some time.

Saturday, though, I call the answering machine: It says American Analog Set at 10:15, Death Cab at 11:30. Ticket says doors at 8 o'clock. I figure we'll head over at 9, hang out for awhile, catch all the action. Nope. We get there, the line is insanely long... no idea when they started letting people in, but it sure as hell wasn't 8 o'clock. That's ok, though... still plenty of time, right? Well, we barely made it in before 10 o'clock. Then, as we get closer to the entrance, we see the signs posted on the door: American Analog Set at 9:30, Death Cab at 10:30. Unbelievable. They moved the set times up. I saw more than a few people in line, myself included, who were really bummed to miss part of AmAnSet. Luckily we got in just in time to catch the start of their first song (whoever stalled, thank you), but dozens of people behind us were not so lucky.

So later on Death Cab starts up, and out of the corner of my eye I see this flailing arm, feel a pounding vibration in the railing next to me. Seems one of the guys who works there fancies himself a drummer, and he's hanging out near us, watching the band and smacking one of the metal support poles. Constantly. All the time. To every song. With hardly a break. No subtle glances from the kids around him did any good... I mean, who's going to give a 'bouncer' any lip? Not anyone who wants to see the whole show. So we suck it up, tune it out, focus on the rock in front of us.

And then the wall of smell hits us. The new, novel lack of ciggy smoke in the place (yay!) cleared the way for an intense burst of body odor. We're talking pure, unfiltered, super-sweat. And guess where it was coming from? Yup, the aforementioned Middle East employee. I mean, it's not like he was a well-groomed guy to begin with (I believe there were some guitar picks, a conga drum, and maybe a couple of very small roadies hanging out in his neck-beard), but damn... the more he pounded to the beat, the more his pit-stains grew, the more powerful the odor became. Eventually, Amie even had to bail out. I never thought I'd say this, but for one smelly moment there... I wanted the stank of the smoking back to mask the beastly b.o..

So, yeah, great show, crappy club experience. Chalk it up. Makes me appreciate the ever-improving environment of TT the Bears even more.

(P.S. To the Middle East, regarding your website design: What are you thinking? Just because you can animate something, doesn't mean you should.)

posted by brad at 12:55 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Monday, October 27, 2003

Mp3 of the Week: Elliott Smith - "A Distorted Reality..."

It's pretty painful to look at a list of the last songs Elliott wrote ... easy to read too much into their titles. Names like "Strung Out Again", "Fond Farewell", "Get Lost", "Shooting Star", "See You in Heaven", and the mp3 I'm posting this week, called "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free". It's the b-side of his last release, the limited edition (and now long gone) seven inch single for "Pretty (Ugly Before)".

There's also an amazing early outtake of his on my mp3 page called "Angel in the Snow", which I posted in late summer.

There was a memorial for Elliott in NYC's East Village last night, and apparantly there was one in the Boston Common, too. Of course it was a gray, rainy night. I wasn't able to go to the Boston one, but I'm thinking about a get-together at an area bar sometime soon. The motivation comes and goes. We'll see.

posted by brad at 9:30 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Saturday, October 25, 2003

Tomorrow : Calla Live (and free)

Seems that Texas (by way of Brooklyn) band Calla will be staying in town after their show tonight at the Paradise, treating us to a free (and probably stripped down) live set at the Virgin Megastore tomorrow afternoon.

the deets ...

Sunday, October 26th, 2pm
Calla
Live at the Virgin Megastore
Corner of Mass. Ave & Newbury Street
Boston

posted by brad at 10:16 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Thursday, October 23, 2003

Still sinking in ...

"i've got a broken heart, and your name on my cast...
everybody's gone at last..." - elliott smith, no name no. 5

Ted Leo has some touching words about his first encounter with Elliott here. Margaret Cho, too. Read another article here, and a collection of older write-ups about him here. So f'in sad.

posted by brad at 9:04 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Elliott Smith is gone ...

I'm heartbroken... Elliott Smith is dead. I don't even know what to write.

To me personally, this hurts more than Cobain, hits harder than Strummer or Cash. His music means so much to me... I just... I can't even believe it.

From the Sweet Adeline site ...

Steven Paul (Elliott) Smith
August 6, 1969 � October 21, 2003.

Elliott Smith was born on August 6, 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska. Elliott spent his childhood near Dallas, Texas where he began his musical training at the age of nine, winning a local award for original composition at the age of ten.

Elliott relocated to Portland, Oregon as a Sophomore at Lincoln High School where he achieved the rank of National Merit Scholar. During his time at Lincoln High School, Elliott joined the band �Stranger Than Fiction� in which he composed music and performed until his graduation in 1987.

Elliott later attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he majored in Philosophy and Political Science. During his time at Hampshire, Elliott, known then as Elliott Stillwater-Rotter, co-founded the band �A Murder of Crows�. He later became a member of well known band �Heatmiser�. It was during this time that Elliott began to release music as a solo artist.

During his lifetime, Elliott released five full-length albums as a solo artist as well as a number of singles. Elliott was nominated for an Academy Award for �Miss Misery�, his musical contribution to the Academy Award winning movie, �Good Will Hunting�.

At the time of his death, Elliott was recording his sixth album, �From A Basement on the Hill�.

Elliott is survived by a host of family, friends and fans.

Read Charlie's farewall at Sweet Adeline, and Pitchfork also has an article.

A few weeks ago, Elliott's last release arrived in the mail... a limited seven-inch single. Here's one of the songs, "Pretty (Ugly Before)".

Goodbye, Elliott.

"If I didn't know the difference, living alone would probably be ok ... wouldn't be lonely ... I've got a long way to go, I'm getting further away ..." - Elliott Smith, 'I Better Be Quiet Now'

posted by brad at 8:26 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Funspot : Game Geek Retro Freakout

A couple years ago, Matt spoke to me of a little heaven-on-earth called "Funspot"... the second largest arcade in the U.S., and more importantly, the largest collection of classic arcade games in the world. Lucky us, it's in New Hampshire of all places, just a quick drive north. I mean, how could I not want to make a trek up there? I'm a child of the 80s, raised by Taito, Atari, and Bally/Midway as much as by the TV. Visiting Funspot would be like my own personal pilgrimage to mecca.

Time passed, and though my northern intentions were always there, it's one of those things I just never got around to. Little hard to convince Amie to drive almost two hours just to play old videogames for hours on end, y'know? Can't say I blame her hesitation on that one. What I needed was an enthusiastic co-pilot. Then a recent article in the Globe prompts Heath to mention a Funspot road-trip in his Media Diet. Ah ha! A co-conspirator! A plan was hatched, a date was set, directions and coupons were printed. We met in a Cambridge church parking lot and were confronted with a sign that, at first glance, listed the "Reverend Father Asteroids", but actually said "Reverend Father Asterios". Our trip was blessed from the get-go.

Funspot's motto is perfect in it's simplicity : It's "The Spot for Fun!". Hell, I'd definitely pull my car into "The Station for Gas!", or grab a snack at "The Store for Convenience!". There's no need to get complicated. Funspot tells no lies.

Matt warned me I'd be overwhelmed as I climbed the stairs to their 3rd floor, the land of all games eighties. Lit from overhead with dim red bulbs, rows upon rows of stand-up machines, walls full of pinball machines, the songs, sounds, and bleep-blip-bloops of all my old faves blended together in a mighty chorus. I swear, I almost welled up a little there. Heath and I grabbed our tokens and got straight down to business.

Time has no meaning inside Funspot's walls. Once we'd finished playing through four (out of ten!) rows of games, we met up to check in. Three hours had completely disappeared. Not even halfway through and we'd blown three hours without no breaks. Our tentative plans for mini-golf, go-carts, and boardwalk exploring were out the window... it was all about the pixels now.

A quick break for bad food and we were back at it, picking up the pace and flying through the best of the rest in another couple hours. Five hours of gaming, eyes and brains bugging out, big smiles on our faces. I found games I'd once been obsessed with and completely forgotten (Frontline! Pleiades!), found familiar faves I was still damn good at (Scramble! Ikari Warriors!), and some of my old nemesises (nemesees? nemesissies?) that never failed to frustrate the crap outta me (Marble Madness! Battlezone!). It was worth every second of the drive, and the $20 we each spent on 130 tokens ($32.20 worth... a steal). We've still got a bunch left... time to start planning the return ...

Ready for a full-on flashback? Check out my Funspot photos here & here. Heath also writes up the trip with a few pics over at his Media Diet. Geek out!

posted by brad at 12:35 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Mp3 of the Week : Blueboy - live "Cloud Babies"

This week's Almanac Mp3 of the Week is courtesy of Matt, who loaned me an old, waaay out of print Sarah Records flexidisc with a live version of Blueboy's Cloud Babies on it. It was recorded in May of 1992 at the Mean Fiddler Acoustic Room, and a studio version of the song appears on Blueboy's mini-LP "If Wishes Were Horses".

Thanks for everything, Sarah Records.

posted by brad at 11:22 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Friday, October 17, 2003

Red Sox ALDS Victory Parade Route

updated on Oct. 27th, 2004 to add:

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!

This year, it was a whole new ballgame. Click here for a real map, celebrating the 2004 World Series win. At last!

posted by brad at 2:17 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

The Perfect Pair : Album Leaf & AmAnSet

Oh my garsh-aparra. TTs gives us an early Christmas present...

Friday, December 19th
at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, Mass.

The American Analog Set
and
The Album Leaf

Wow. That's one hell of a holiday double-bill. Pure bliss awaits.

posted by brad at 10:29 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Thursday, October 16, 2003

Train of Thought : The Station Agent Reviewed

First, an admission: There's a hardcore train nut inside me, just waiting to get out again.

I grew up in the small village of Essex Junction, VT, a name first coined in 1853 by conductors working the six rail lines that intersected there. The main line between Essex Junction and Burlington ran right behind my house, and I spent uncounted hours walking the rails (or, rather, the right of way). Sometimes I'd head the few miles east towards my middle school, other times west, all the way into the city. I collected it's rusty, discarded railroad spikes and it's hefty, scattered nuts & bolts. If I was out back, I'd wave to the passing engineers, if I was in bed, I'd listen through my open windows as the engine noise grew slowly louder then faded away.

On good days, I'd get to hang out in Mr. Murdough's basement down the block, totally obsessing over the detailed, miniature town he'd built around his O scale model train setup. I've spent hours wandering through hobby stores and train displays, wondering which new car to get or which new tiny building I'd put together. Over the years I'd build my own smaller HO scale layouts on 4' x 8' plywood sheets covered in fake green grass, but as I got older and started moving around, when space got harder to come by, those sets have been reduced to a taped-up box of old train cars and little plastic trees somewhere in the basement. As Amie and I search for a house, invariably my mind returns to "Hmmm... will I be able to fit a train set down here?" when we look at prospective basements and garages. Someday I'll build that little town, and go a little loco out as my trains go 'round and 'round. (Although I promise I'll never wear a little engineers hat while doing it. This I do swear.)

Alright, with that nasty little confession out of the way, I can talk about the wonderful little movie that could (and does), The Station Agent.

It's a quiet, involving film about succumbing to, or fighting, the loneliness of life. It's about escaping to small towns, about three people who end up in Newfoundland, New Jersey for totally different reasons, but are drawn together thanks to bad driving and the chance location of a snack truck vendor.

I didn't know much about this film other than that it centered around a man with dwarfism, and that it had won a number of awards at festivals like Sundance this past year. When the diminutive title character, Fin McBride (played with dignity and perfection by Peter Dinklage), first appears, staring from the rooftops at passing trains, grabbing a smoke before descending to the model railroad store where he works, I already knew I was going to love this movie. It's reminded me of Lost in Translation a bit in the way that it created a mood all it's own, that it depended on character moments and the atmosphere of place, not on gimics, to pull you in. It was about how emotional isolation can physically pull you away, and how it can also bring people together in unfamiliar surroundings.

It all sounds a bit heavy, and some of it really is, but it's all wrapped in so much humor that it's never dour, never overbearing. The interaction between Fin and snack truck vendor Joe (played by the naturally funny Bobby Cannavale) is comedically priceless. Joe's the joker, the NYC-bred non-stop talking Cuban who "loves life" (as Patricia Clarkson's Olivia says in the film). He can't fathom Fin's resistance to hangin' out, he completely overlooks his rebuffs and never gives up. He's one of those innocents who sees a friend in everyone, especially his new next door neighbor out in the middle of nowhere. Joe sees Fin's appearance as a stroke of luck, Fin sees Joe as an annoyance, but the slow progression of their friendship is so well portrayed, so real, you feel the connection they make.

Speaking of Clarkson, there's a reason she's been in so many indie films of late... she's just so, so good at what she does that it's natural she's in demand. I've seen her in a lot of different roles (Six Feet Under, Pieces of April, All the Real Girls, Far From Heaven), and as great as she was in all those, her work in the Station Agent was her best so far. I don't want to give away the tragic reasons for her escape to Newfoundland, but she carries the weight of loss and loneliness all over her, in every expression and every line. She's the emotional flashpoint for the other characters in the film, the trigger for changes in all of them, and she's just right. It's one of those performances that raises the level of everyone else around her.

All three main characters are ideally cast, I came away wanting to see more work from all of them, especially Bobby Cannavale, and I liked all the supporting players save Michelle Williams as a brief love interest for Fin. While she does a solid acting job, her role seems a little shoe-horned in. I know why she's there, but things between her and Fin seem a bit forced. See the movie, you'll know what I mean, even if you don't agree. I was really glad to see little Raven Goodwin as Cleo, too... I thought she was cute as hell in Lovely & Amazing, and I'm glad she got a second role here. Plus, her character collected railroad spikes. Nice to know I'm not alone.

I can't say enough good things about this movie... it's up there with my favorites of the year. Writer/Director Thomas McCarthy came up with something magical here, created a work of art that is deeply touching and universally relevant. His choice of cast, score (a subtle, inventive soundtrack by Stephen Trask, who co-wrote Hedwig & the Angry Itch), setting... all equally inspired. I admit, my love of all things train may have swayed me, but I've got a feeling you'll love it regardless of your opinions on the rail industry.

After the movie, as we drove from Kendall Square towards downtown Boston, we hit the Longfellow Bridge and a subway train arose from the tunnel beside us. Mirroring a scene from the film, we chased it all the way across the Charles. The perfect epilogue.

posted by brad at 4:30 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Operation: Funspot

This Saturday, the Boston World Explorers Foundation broadens it's area of exploration (and it's usual historically-slanted agenda) with a roadtrip to the north. Destination? New Hampshire's one-and-only Funspot, the self-proclaimed "Spot for Fun". Why there? From the Funspot website: "It is the second largest arcade in the country with the largest selection of classic games in the world!." Yes, we're in for an afternoon of unbridled geek-on-classic-videogame action. In that sense, maybe this trip is 'historical', at least as far as arcade entertainment history goes. If our eyes start buggin' out, maybe we'll mix it up with some mini-golf, bowling, or even some go-kart mania.

Here's the "official" BostonWEF invitation...

Join the Boston World Explorers Foundation this Saturday, Oct. 18, for an expedition to Funspot in Weirs, New Hampshire. The second-largest arcade in the country, Funspot -- "the spot for fun" -- claims the largest collection of classic video games in the world.

We'll gather at 9 a.m. Saturday for the drive north -- supposedly 1.5-2 hours -- in the parking lot of the Greek Orthodox Church on Magazine Street in Central Square, Cambridge.

If you want to come, you need to RSVP to me by Friday morning. And if you can _drive_, please let me know if you're willing to help chauffeur-- and how many explorers you can take in your car. We'll be making sure that everyone has a ride if they need one. We'll be returning to the Boston area as members' needs require.

Explorers will be responsible for their own rolls of quarters, dollar bills, and other funding sources for their gameplay. Our grant application fell through, and the Foundation will not be able to subsidize this endeavor. Apologies extended.

As ever, yours,
Heath
Founder
Boston World Explorers Foundation

Does the mere thought of this make the teenager in you giddy? Are you on the fence about coming along? Well, take a look at this list. Scramble, Ikari Warriors, Tutankham, Battlezone, Track & Field, cockpit-style Star Wars, Rally-X, Contra, Marble Madness... just to name a few. The original, fully functional arcade machines. Come along, get your game on, and make sure you wear pants with big pockets for tons of tokens.

posted by brad at 9:52 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Adms Rotten Apple

Ok, here's the thing... I love New York. I love Boston. I think both cities have a hell of a lot of great things going for 'em. It goes without saying that they're drastically different places, and not just because of their relative sizes, geography, histories, layout, or population makeup.

I'm more comfortable in Boston, but for no other reason than I've spent more time on its (yes, at first confounding) streets, and feel at ease after the five years I've lived here. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy hanging out in New York, learning more about it, discovering new areas, and feeling a little less overwhelmed each time. I've got a lot of friends down there, and I'm always looking forward to another drive south.

Which is why I don't get this whole Boston vs. New York thing, which lately is centered almost exclusively around baseball, of course. The worst side of people, players, and the two places are coming through, and it ain't pretty. Emotions are high, tempers and criticisms are building, and just because of an essentially inconsequential game. Y'know, I like the Red Sox a lot (although I like a couple of them a lot less since Saturday), I know the pain of being a longtime Sox fan, and I'm no fan of the Yanks, but that certainly doesn't mean I'm going to start generalizing about the behavior of New Yorkers or the whole Yankees roster.

So, speaking of the worst side of people, here's a few excerpts written by Adm, from his insightfully titled post "Fuck Boston, and Fuck Baseball" ...

"Boston, for the most part, is a city made up of cruel and arrogant people who think they are better than everyone else. And this seems to apply to the Red Sox as well..." and "But gradually, it dawned on me that, no, in fact it was just Bostonians who treated everyone like crap...", and how about "Once I realized this was the true nature of Boston, I began seeing absurd acts of disrespect everywhere in the city: people who worked at stores hated customers and argued over everything, the cops arrogantly dismissed everything you told them and could never trouble themselves to help you out or give you a straight answer, and racism was blatant, widespread, and ignored by everyone who wasn't directly affected by it. Everyone seems to think they're better than you, but this apparently is just a front, meant to cover up the city's deeper insecurities."

So I've lived here almost as long as he did, and found little evidence of the cloud of negativity that he saw hanging over this town. Maybe I talk to different cops, maybe I visit different stores, maybe I've worked with different people, maybe I'm ignorant to the 'blatant' racism he experienced ... but honestly it seems things are no worse (or no better, perhaps) than other places I've visited, or even the small city I grew up in.

It's a shame Amy's Robot doesn't have comments enabled, because I know an awful lot of perfectly well-mannered Bostonians who'd like to respond. Reading Adm's words, I think they probably say more about him, maybe how he interacted with others while he was here, than it does about Bostonians. It's hard not to take it personally when someone generalizes about your entire city because of a couple spoiled ballplayers and some obviously bad personal experiences.

It takes some work to find the good in people, no matter where you live. You need to be open to it, sometimes to even seek it out. Unfortunately, wherever you go, the "cruel and arrogant" ones seem to stick out on the radar. It's easy to spot them, and thanks to the internet, now it's even easier. I didn't even have to visit New York to find this one.

posted by brad at 5:20 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Tomorrow : Kozik Comes to Boston

Renowned rock poster artist Frank Kozik hits Boston tomorrow night, thanks to the area chapter of the Graphic Artists Guild. From the Boston GAG website :

Frank Kozik, the most influential, prolific, and well-known rock poster artist today and perhaps in history will be giving a lecture hosted by the Graphic Artists Guild on Wednesday, October 15th. He will be discussing his poster design, his influences, his record label (Man's Ruin Records), and design work he has done for Altoids, Slim Jim, Nike, MTV and the Hell's Angels, to name a few. He will also be discussing his current work designing toys and starting his own toy business. Always an art and design world iconoclast, this is the first lecture Frank Kozik has made to the commercial or fine art world. It will be a rare and exciting opportunity to learn about the madness behind the method. After the lecture, there will be a raffle of brand-new signed toys designed by Kozik!

It's taking place at the Mass Art Tower Auditorium at 621 Huntington Ave. Admission is $10 for the public, $5 for BGAG members, and only $5 with a student ID. There's also a reception with catering by Blue Ribbon BBQ & Harpoon Brewery at 6 o'clock, followed by the lecture itself at 7:30.

posted by brad at 2:09 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Monday, October 13, 2003

Mp3 of the Week : Ida - the first Maybelle

This week's mp3 is the original recording of "Maybelle", the song that made me fall in love with Ida. I first saw them play it years ago at the Middle East, and from the intro guitar notes I was sent straight to another place. Absolutely beautiful. From that night on, I was on a quest to buy every Ida release I could get my hands on.

I did everything I could to track down the 1997 split 7'' that "Maybelle" was on, and luckily was able to order it direct from the band (although they were reluctant to sell it... they'd run out of Jenny Toomey's spiffy sleeves). I put the record on and it took me right back to that perfect night, the first time I'd heard it live. One listen and I already knew the song by heart.

While "Maybelle" was eventually rerecorded for the "Will You Find Me" album, the original, slightly scratchy four-track version is probably still my favorite Ida recording. It also marked the first time they recorded something with bass player and co-vocalist Karla of the band Beekeeper (who share that split single), so it's a small yet important bit of Ida history. Enjoy.

posted by brad at 9:29 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Listen Up, Fox Baseball ...

Can you hear the honking?

on an boston front yard

Yeah, I thought you could.

posted by brad at 6:01 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Friday, October 10, 2003

Pieces of April : A Review

Free screenings are a kind of a mixed blessing. Yeah, you're saving some cash and getting an early look at a film you might have seen, but you're also packed in with an often mainstream, ill-informed, just-killing-time crowd with no real reason to care. "Have you ever heard of this movie?" "Oh, I recognize that dude! It's the other gay guy from Will & Grace!" "Man, this movie sucks... now I know why it was free." "Hey, it's that chick from Dawson's Creek. She's sooo hot."

I heard it all last night at a preview of Peter Hedges upcoming "Pieces of April". Hedges has proven himself to be pretty great at writing small, character-driven stories of loss and love and strained, broken relationships that need some fixin' (he wrote the novel/screenplay "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" and the screenplays for "About a Boy" & "A Map of the World"), but this is his first time behind the d.v. camera.

It's a personal story that lends itself well to his slightly shaky, occasionally grainy digital video treatment... a surprisingly touching drama, with light-hearted bits thrown in to keep you treading water. It's not a movie about big, stunning revelations, really, but about little moments and emotional healing in the face of imminent loss. As Hedges himself has said "I wanted to make a movie about how we're running out of time, and how we say - without words - thank you and I'm sorry and goodbye." This is a film that comes together in the final frames, that spends it's time setting you up for something really sweet as it fades to credits. I thought I was mildly unaffected until it all tied up so beautifully, then I realized what it took for Hedges to get us there. The writing and performances really take it a step above your average low-budget mixed-melodrama.

All the performances are solid, nothing absolutely groundbreaking, but well-played and often understated (it's hard to see another drama so soon after Mystic River, with it's emotional range and dramatic weight). I think Katie Holmes proved she can carry a film, especially when surrounded by the right people. Derek Luke (I almost wrote 'Derek Lowe'... too... much... baseball) was very, very good as her boyfriend, and Patricia Clarkson, as her mom, can really do no wrong in anything she's in. Sean Hayes (yes, from Will & Grace) has a small but eccentric role that seems a bit overplayed and slightly out of place, but he does added a needed dose of oddly comic relief.

Randomly, thong-song SisQo shows up in a small part and pulls it off (the part ... not his thong, thankfully) ... I didn't even know it was him until the credits, actually. Not that I'd recognize him, but he didn't stand out in a painful "singer-slash-actor" way that others could have. I did recognize Rusty "The Logger" Dewees, though, in a non-speaking but very cool bit-part near the end. Nice to see a familiar face and fellow Vermonter up there.

An important extra-cool thing of note... the soundtrack is by the one and only Stephin Merritt, in the form of a bunch of songs by the 6ths and the Magnetic Fields. The chosen tracks were just perfect, and really helped me connect with the film in a way that I otherwise may not have. From 69 Love Songs, "I Think I Need a New Heart", "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" (where the film takes place), and "Epitaph for My Heart" are all in there, plus a song or two I didn't recognize but were unmistakably Mr. Merritt.

Looks like Nonesuch Records will be releasing the soundtrack next month, and it will include the previously released Magnetic Fields and 6ths songs along with five brand new MF tracks : "All I Want to Know," "Dreams Anymore," �Heather Heather", "Stray with Me", and "One April Day," which was written for the movie. Very cool.

P.S. Hey, as long as we're on the subject of upcoming movies... get thee over to the apple site immediately and download the amazing new trailer, in glorious quicktime, for Tim Burton's next film "Big Fish". Burton is back, ladies and gentlemen, and in a big, big way. Looks like he's got a great story and an incredible cast... this film should rightly erase all memory of that silly monkey movie. This promises to be one hell of a Christmas present.

posted by brad at 10:17 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Sunday Suds vs. Dirty Politics

Alright, so get this.

The age old and inexplicable "blue laws" that prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays have long-ago been tossed in out most New England states... but not Massachusetts. As the laws disappeared around us, it caused a weekend rush of beer runs over the border, and sucked lots of tax dollars and liquor store profits outta the state.

So what did our fair lawmakers decide to do about that? Abolish the law here, too? Nawwww... that makes too much sense. Instead, they made it ok for stores within 10 miles of the border to sell on Sundays. Forget the logic that asks "What about the store that is 11 miles away? What happens to them?". Well, either move it or lose it, right?

The political masterminds didn't stop there, though... it was also decided that it would be ok for all stores to sell on Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why then? Honestly, I have no idea. Your guess is just as good as, and probably better than, mine.

Well, the time has finally come to visit the issue again. A new bill was voted on yesterday that would have allowed towns to issue permits to businesses that wanted to open on Sunday. A perfectly reasonable measure, don't you think? Let the towns, and business owners, decide what's right for them. Join our neighbor states in doing away with a ban that no longer has any meaning.

But did logic prevail? Nooooo, of course not. And why did the measure fail? Let's see...

"The House yesterday preserved the Commonwealth's prohibition of Sunday alcohol sales in stores, with huge assistance from some lawmakers whose districts have already lifted the Sunday liquor ban."

Now there's a shocker. Seems the Reps from areas within that arbitrary 10 mile zone, the places that already allow sales on Sunday, banded together to defeat the newly proposed bill.

Shameful? Yeah. Despicable? Sure. Surprising? Nope.

Equally unsurprising are the religious nuts who oppose the bill because they want to keep a law that helps in "distinguishing Sunday from other days." Let's see... isn't Sunday the day you have church services? Doesn't that help the faithful flock remember what day it is? Let's see, what else... oh yeah, the paper's a lot thicker that day. Will that help? Sunday is also distinguished by the fact that it's the only day that comes right after Saturday. Will that remind you to bring in the sheaves? Yeesh. I haven't even mentioned football, but that's only for five months of Sundays.

Waitaminute, what happens during the month-long holiday period where you actually can buy alcohol on Sundays? Do all the church-goers suddenly forget to show up? Do they ignore their 'day of rest'? "Honey, I just went to the store and bought a six-pack... and I can't for the life of me remember what day it is!" "I'm sorry I didn't show up for work on Monday, boss... I bought a box of wine yesterday, got sloshed, and totally forgot about the start of the workweek. I blame the temporary suspension of our trusted blue laws!"

Alright, I'm done. My brain hurts.

posted by brad at 4:59 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

The Obligatory Red Sox Post

Alright, that's it. I have to say something... I just can't keep it in anymore. Non-sports-following types please indulge me for a moment here. I'll try and make this quick (yeah, right).

My name is Brad and I am a Boston Sports Fan. There, I said it. It's out in the open.

Growing up in Vermont, I loved baseball from a pretty young age. I followed the Blue Jays, the Reds (my dad was a die-hard Cincinnati fan), and the Expos... but the Red Sox were my team. Yaz, Pudge, Rice, Burlson, Dewey, Remy, Eck, Lynn... I felt like I knew them all. I was a little leaguer, a pretty ok pitcher, and a Topps baseball card collector right up until high school.

For some reason, as soon as I hit the 9th grade, I left that all behind. I traded the baseball cards for comics, focused on schoolwork and hanging out more with my non-jocky friends than trying out for any JV teams, and completely stopped following sports altogether. I did have a few friends that played football, baseball, and ran track... but it was just never my thing.

When I hit college and hooked up with the radio station kids, I couldn't have been more sports-apathetic. I came close to buying into the whole 'us vs. them' mentality of the arty-types vs. the fratboy-jock-types, but my little league memories and sports-lovin' friends kept me from going quite that deep. My post-college days were all about playing in bands, jumping from job to job, and playing a ton of video games. My sports-apathy even extended to console gaming... never once touched Madden or FIFA or High Heat or any of that stuff.

Everything changed when I moved to Boston. Blame my roommate (*cough* denny *cough*), blame my bandmates (*cough* chris *cough*) or blame this whole sports-crazy city... just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. Their love of Boston sports was contagious, and even band practices would evolve into game-watchin', pizza-orderin' good times.

Then the Patriots won the superbowl and the crowd went wilder. There was so much enthusiasm around here ... it was damn infectious. For the first time, I was working downtown, near the heart of the victory parade, at a job where most of my fellow employees were former-or-current jocks instead of former-or-current computer geeks. There's so much sports talk in this office that my interest is almost a pre-requisite. Suffice it to say, I'm fitting in just fine. Working here even led to the fulfillment of a little-kid dream... I got to play a game on the Fenway field. A completely surreal and still-tangible experience. I'll never,ever forget that afternoon.

And so here we are in the present (well, assuming you're still reading... if so, you're a trooper). It's October, the Sox are playing the Yankees for the A.L. title, we've got brisk nights and beautiful fall days, it's a near-perfect New England sports-fan scenario.

Here's where I run into trouble, though. I may like watching Boston sports, but I can't freakin' stand your average Boston sports fans. The mob mentality, the posturing bullshit, the "your team sucks", "no, your team sucks" crap. The testosterone overflow, the complete loss of perspective, the WEEIrdos on the radio, the howling monkeys mugging for the tv camera, the cell-phone morons wavin' from the stands. Some of the players, too... the showboating, the cockiness, the "I'd like to thank my main man Jesus for helping me get that home run" idiocy. Being in the middle of all this madness makes me totally understand anyone who says, just as I used to, "Nah, I don't follow sports. Couldn't care less."

That said, I'm enjoyin' the hell out of this year's playoffs. Even the most passive observer can't deny that there have been some great moments, some killer games, some real nail-biting endings. Drama that you just couldn't have scripted. The little leaguer in me is back in a big way, totally behind my team, a full-fledged Sox fan (which means that, yes, I'm hoping for the best and ready for the worst).

One win down, seven more ahead ...

(a rafer photoshop job)

Go Red Sox!

posted by brad at 11:40 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Twenty Years of Bragging

I am an unabashed Billy Bragg fan, and the upcoming release of his double-disc, "Must I Paint You a Picture?" collection thrills me. It's already out in the UK, and will be out from Rhino on the 28th. Early purchasers will get a bonus third disc of rarities, and I'll be one of 'em.

Head on over to his UK label website,Cooking Vinyl, for a limited time free mp3 download of the classic, beautiful title track. That song never fails to tug at my heartstrings.

Hard to believe it's been twenty years since he started singin', strummin', and poetically protesting. The BBC News marks the occasion with an article. An excerpt...

"Over the past 20 years Bragg's career has encompassed everything from post-punk, one-man firebrand to Labour-backing agitator, to lovelorn poet, Woody Guthrie archivist and multicultural-England evangelist.

Along the way there have been truly classic pop songs, such as the spiteful Greetings to the New Brunette and the anthemic Accident Waiting to Happen.

It began in 1983 when a de-mobbed Bragg - a onetime punk pretender who had bought himself out of the army for �175 - began playing around London."

Read the rest here.

I'll offer up one of my favorite Billy Bragg lyrics ...

"You keep buying these things but you don't need them, but as long as you're comfortable it feels like freedom." - from North Sea Bubble

posted by brad at 2:38 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Psst : One Week of Cheap Toys

Heads up early Christmas shoppers, boardgamers, videogame junkies, and action figure aficionados...

KayBee toys lost a lawsuit, but their loss is your gain. For one week and one week only, starting today, everything at KayBee toys is 30% off. Yup, just make a purchase over $30, and they're forced to chop almost a third off the total.

From the settlement :

"Defendants (KayBee Toys) will distribute the Net Settlement Fund by providing a discount at the cash registers of all KB Toys, KB Toy Works, KB Toy Outlet, Toy Liquidator and KB Toys Express stores nationwide, including Guam and Puerto Rico, equal to 30% off all qualifying purchases of $30 or more during October 8-14, 2003. This distribution (the "In-store Distribution") will be done without requiring a request of any store customer and will be separate and apart from, and in addition to, any previously planned promotional events for 2003."

Been thinking of getting a new gaming console? Got some young relatives on the holiday gift list? Well, get thee over to KayBee, my friends.

update : apparantly "qualifying purchases" means anything except videogames or consoles. well, dang.

posted by brad at 12:35 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

Into the Mystic River : A Review

The build-up was two and a half years long. In April 2001, in a bookstore in Concord, Mass, Boston-based author Dennis Lehane told us a now-familiar story.

His latest novel, Mystic River, had been out for a few months. He had decided, long before it's publication, that he would never subject it to the whims of Hollywood. You see, he had a "bad Whoopi Goldberg experience" ... she wanted to purchase the rights to one of his earlier novels, summoned him to L.A., and then informed him that she would play the female lead, naturally. Thing is, that female lead was Angie Gennaro, a young, white, Italian woman from Boston. He fled Whoopi's house and never looked back. Mystic River was too close to his heart to get the Hollyweird treatment, so he told his publishing agent "No calls, please."

All that changed just before the Concord book signing, he told us. His agent called and said "Someone's interested in the film rights, Dennis, and I think you want to take this call." It was Clint Eastwood. And as Lehane said... "When Clint calls, you answer."

Eastwood was blown away by the book, and knew immediately he wanted to direct it. One of the first things he told Lehane was "I want to keep the ending." Y'see, the ending was dark, tragic, very non-Hollywood. "Sold" was Dennis' response. That was the only promise he needed to let the rights go.

The first step was finding a solid screenwriter, so they recruited Brian Helgeland, who brilliantly adapted L.A. Confidential. Then Clint started assembling an excellent cast: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden. This was not going to be some half-assed b-movie (*cough* bloodwork *cough*), this was going to be a Film.

The first time I read Mystic River, I put it down and just stared into space for probably an hour. It impacted me deeply, easily became one of my favorite books, and I've obsessively followed it's journey from page to screen ever since. On Monday night, I was fortunate enough to attend the sold-out New England premiere screening at Harvard's gorgeous Sanders Theater.

The idea of this movie frightened me a little. I was too close to the book, and you know how that works ... the letdown potential is high. What would they change? What would they leave out? Who would most massacre their faux-Boston accent? Anyone who's read the book knows my fear. Well, I have good news. There's nothing to worry about.

I'd like to shake Helgeland's hand for making the right choices, for staying faithful, for getting it. He hardly changed a damn thing. He knew the source material had everything he needed for a great film, right down to the details. The settings, the little moments, exact lines of dialogue straight from book. It was all there. Veteran production designer Henry Bumstead and set decorator Richard Goddard really came through... they ripped images, places, scenes out of my imagination and put them in front of me. The crime scene in Pen Park, the bittersweet parade, the corner store and smoky bars, the dark livingrooms and cramped kitchens, the porches, curbsides and streets of East Buckingham. It was perfectly eerie.

And then there's the cast. Everyone knows that Sean Penn is one hell of an actor, given the right material, and boy did this script give him that. He pl