Mp3s: Film School live in Cambridge, MA
Posted on December 18, 2007 at 12:48 pm | No Comments
San Francisco-based quintet Film School released hands-down one of my favorite discs of the year in the form of “Hideout”, which showed up back in September. It’s their third album, and first after a tumultuous 2006 that saw them not only get all their gear stolen, but brought a major lineup change, with three out of five players being replaced. And after all that, they went and crushed the already-high expectations that their 2006 self-titled sophomore album had fostered for me. What does not kill us, etc. Why this album hasn’t ended up on many more year-end lists is an absolute mystery to me.
The supporting tour for “Hideout” brought the band to many a city over the past few months, including our own Cambridge, Mass. in late October for a show at TT the Bears. Here’s a recording of the gig, along with some extra mp3s and links down below…
Live at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, MA
on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
01. Compare
02. Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl
03. Lectric
04. Two Kinds
05. Capitalized I
06. He’s In A Deep Deep Lake
07. 11:11
08. Intentions
09. What I Meant To Say
10. Dear Me
11. Sick Of The Shame
Some Film School links…
Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, Tour Blog, and Beggars Banquet label page. Additional Audio: On October 10th, Film School played a small show at the Triple Door in Seattle for KEXP, a station that has been longtime supporters of the band. The concert was streamed live, and here are a couple songs from the set… Supposedly it’s archived on KEXP somewhere, but I’m having trouble finding it. See some pictures from that show here. The band just performed a few songs for Spinner, so check out either the video or audio from that right here. You can stream a few songs from their self-titled second album here, and download one of those songs here…
Video: A six-minute Film School documentary from a couple years back (pre-lineup changes). The video for “11:11“, and one for “Like You Know“. A fan-shot live clip of “Breet“, performed at the Mercury Lounge last year. Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. A full Film School Flickr tag search is tough, but try this. Aversion has an excellent new feature story on Film School, focusing on the tough times the band went through last year, and how front man Greg Bertens came through it with such songwriting success. Listen to any and all ‘Nac-served Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the ‘nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
Writer’s Guild Strike: Boston Rally Report (with audio)
Posted on December 16, 2007 at 11:47 am | No Comments
A snowy Sunday afternoon here in Boston finds me taking a brief detour from my usual music-related ramblings…
Jaime Paglia, Rob Kutner, & Joss Whedon
On Friday afternoon, television scribes and proud Writer’s Guild of America members Jaime Paglia (co-creator of SciFi Channel‘s excellent Eureka), Rob Kutner (from The Daily Show), and Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) came to Boston to lead a strike rally of fans and their fellow WGA faithful. While the attendance was surely lessened by the previous day’s snowstorm, more than 250 supporters filed into the First Parish Church in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, winter boots on many feet and slogan-filled signs in many hands.
A variety of TV shows were name checked on posterboard in thick sharpie, including Pushing Daisies and The Office, but it’s no surprise that most of the crowd was there to bow down at the altar of Joss (even his fellow writers humorously acknowledged the obvious imbalance). There may be no more devoted fiction fans than Whedon fans, and they showed up in force. Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker‘s introduction, while eloquent, garnered its most raucous applause when she admitted her love of Buffy.
Once inside the church, each of the three writers delivered impassioned, wit-filled speeches; Jaime spoke of being inspired by a young intern who, rather than go elsewhere when told they had no work for him due to the strike, has been on the LA picket lines every day. Rob gave us a small taste of what we’re missing with the Daily Show in reruns (Alberto Gonzalez, incomprehensibly named the ABA’s “Lawyer of the Year” last week, took one on the chin). And Joss spoke to us of dragons.
Here’s the audio from each speech, as well as the strike-centric question & answer session that took place before we all hit the streets for an old-school picket march…
01. Introduction (Cambridge Forum Director Pat Suhrcke & Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker)
02. Jaime Paglia (Eureka) speaks
03. Joss Whedon (BtVS, Angel, Firefly) speaks
04. Rob Kutner (The Daily Show) speaks
05. Q&A session
Another attendee shared up video here, and the Cambridge Forum, who hosted the event, will hopefully have their own recording up at their site soon.
I encourage anyone reading this to not just listen closely to what each writer had to say, but to do what you can to show your support when you’re done, even if it’s just by spreading the word. The AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) and their associated mogul-run media outlets are conducting a cliched campaign of disinformation. To find out what the strike is truly about, check out this YouTube video, a concise explanation of what’s at stake. And if you’re so inspired, hop on over to the Jobs With Justice site, where voting is taking place for their 2007 Grinch of the Year, an annual ‘award’ for “the national figure who does the most harm to working families”. Vote as you see fit, but note that among the cads up for nomination is AMPTP President J. Nicholas Counter III (man, does his name scream cash-infused pretension or what?).
And lastly, a few related links…
All of my photos from the WGA Boston Rally are here. More photos from other attending supporters are here, here, here. Bostonist wrote up the rally, as did Wicked Local Cambridge. The Cambridge Chronicle filed a video report. The strike march through Harvard Square brought us to the front of the Harvard Lampoon Castle, where local comic/actor/writer/WGA member (and former CBS employee, so he knows how the big guys treat writers, too) Jimmy Tingle rallied the troops with a little harmonica and some impromptu drumming. The Lampoon guys even brought out free donuts for the crowd, a kindness that made me resist asking what the deal is with all the tree killing. Battlestar Galactica writer/creator Ron Moore is blogging about the strike here. And as you’ll discover there, Joss wasn’t wearing a Red Sox cap just to suck up to us locals. For more information on what you can do to support, or at least stay informed about, the WGA Strike, check out the Fans4Writers and United Hollywood sites.