Isaac Hayes - Can U dig it? (comp)

Just got this comp last week. Funny, though, the strongest sets here are the ones from Hot Buttered Soul and there are quite a lot of maudlin pap here - the duet with Dionne Warwick especially and really shows his degeneration.

The blaxploitation music is fun, though, especially the tunes from "Three Tough Guys" and I can see why Quentin Tarantino opted them for Kill Bill. Strange to use songs from a soundtrack for another movie but he did that with "Uremi Bushi" (Song of Vengeance) also, sung by Kaji Meiko and used in the "Female Prisoner #701 : Scorpion" series.

The disco tunes are also piss-poor and thankfully, there's only one here.

Donald "Skip" Pitts is really an under-rated guitarist as well. And the edited "Theme from Shaft" is also deeply unsatisfactory.

Some new music I got:-

Parliament - Gold - Was so impressed by Funkadelic that I got this as well. A nice precursor to Detroit Techno although a lot of the musicians were stolen from James Brown. Fun and funky as hell.

Ramones - Loco Live - Liked It's Alive so I bought this. Marred by tinny sound, the later Ramones' songs still sound great live, though. 1-2-3-4.

Dead Boys - Young, Loud & Snotty - Seems to be a throwback to the Stooges. A lot of the songs are about sex as well. Stiv Bators is kinda charismatic, though.

Stuff I watched over X'Mas:-

Paganini - Very disappointed with this. Expected some enlightenment over Niccolo's life and all I got was an artistic soft-porn romp. To be fair, some scenes are quite good, the court scene spliced with a gratuitous sex scene and the painful looking ending. And the continuous score is top-notch as well. However, they never cleaned up the film and the squiggles and reel jumps are still there.

9 1/2 Weeks - Quintessential 80s softcore. Looks like a music video now more than anything. The love story is kinda boring as well. You just kinda wait for the next Kim Basinger half-nude scene. Lotsa crap cheesy 80s songs as well.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston - Heartfelt documentary about the troubled genius. His songs are brutal and honest yet charmingly naive. Will probably not get to the same level of madman-genius as Syd Barrett or Brian Wilson but still an unflinching look at the handicaps a mentally disturbed person faces, even in a simple bus journey home.

Captain Beefheart - Ice Cream for Crow

Liked the other two late era Beefheart (or as pugs (on the music message board I go to) profoundly puts it - "comeback" albums) so I got this. Is not disappointed. Has some atonal jazz and unstructured stuff which I liked so much about Trout Mask Replica. In fact the second half (side two) of Doc at the Radar Station also harks back to this. Yup, love 'em both far more than Shiny Beast, which was far mor accessible. Fave tracks - "Cardboard Cutout Sundown" and "The Thousand and Tenth Part of the Human Totem Pole".

The Devil's Backbone (2002)

Still on a Guillermo Del Toro high so I got this. Never as frightening as the DVD first page suggests but quite creepy and atmospheric, anyway. Uses Federico Luppi again, whom I quite like, now looking like a stately Iberian Sean Connery. The plot design is again melancholic, harking back to Cronos and paving the way for Pan's Labyrinth, as it is again about the Spanish Civil War. I liked this, although the scare factor is never truly realised - especially the grotesque birth defect where the movie gets its name from.

New York Dolls - Rock n' Roll (comp)

Finally got to liking them after repeated exposure to their songs on Yahoo! Launchcast, although the Chuck Berry-Keith Richards shuffle boogie can be a bit repetitive and sludgy. Best songs are where they sound trashy and sleazy - Trash, Lone Star Queen, Personality Crisis and the Yello-ish Stranded in the Jungle. I don't really like Frankenstein, which is a bit draggy. Still, I can see where most hair metal get their influences from, albeit the original had more panache and style. Quite glammy and punky also.

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Expecting this to have the same muted wah wah guitar of the "Shaft" soundtrack. Can say I'm a bit disappointed but the reworkings of "Walk On By" and "By the Time I get to Phoenix" are sassy and monstrous. I could do without the spoken word intro to "Phoenix" but this is one heck of a meticulously arranged soul album. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalmystic is one of the best twelve bar blues reworked into r n' b songs that I've heard, barring Prince's Kiss.

The Stooges - The Weirdness

This one, however, leaves me exasperated. There were times when the songs could have reached the pinnacle of the great two but something always pulls it back. Perhaps it's Iggy's more finite grasp of melody. Perhaps it's Ron Asheton's proficiency which makes it sound like mainstream garage rock. Dunno how much money they were offered to do this but it pisses all over the first two albums. Steve Albini's dense production also doesn't help it much.

Dr. Mabuse: Second part : Inferno, A game for people of our time

Marginally more interesting than the first part. Especially the Count confronting his doppelgangers and the end where the machinery comes alive, which is highly reminiscent of Metropolis.

The special feature documentary is enlightening, though, as it shows how Dr. Mabuse carries the tradition of German silent movies, and shows the similarities with Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu. Which makes me want to get those soonest possible.

The brief scenes of The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse is also creepy, with the ghost with the exposed brain and buggy eyes. When will they bring it in here?

The Band - The Last Waltz (DVD)

Oh, this is so boring. Been putting off to finish watching it for the past six months. Barring some great guest stars - Neil Young and Neil Diamond, this is a snoozefest from start ot finish. Rote rootsy music with no panache or individual stamp. Even "Gimme That Old Time Religion" is not spared.

The ending all-star line-up is funny though. Notice how Van The Man needs the chorus sung to him. D'oh? I shall be released? And the near homo-erotic expression on Neil Young's face every time he looks at Dylan. I just got this for the Dylan appearance, nothing more. And play the music loud? I doubt the volume is gonna help the quality of The Band's songs much.

Beatles Live at Budokan (DVD)

This is part of the Beatles last world tour. A set which is deeply unsatisfying in length, little under half an hour. At least it has some Rubber Soul songs and has the Revolver-ish Paperback Writer. Best part? John talking in Oriental gibberish which is condescending and nasty, yet the Nips lap it up.

Contains an insightful interview in the Tokyo Hilton as well. Paul - "We're just adequate musicians". How true.... But the music they made surpassed their skills, or lack of them.

Also contains the backlash of the Manila concert.

Aguirre

Despite the scenic intro, this can get a bit boring. Atmospheric, sure but there's a lag between each scene where something actually happens. Quite obvious that Apocalypse Now owes a lot to this, only as far as the boat trip up the river. The ending is good, full of unsatisfied hubris. Quite like this but not so sure of its entertainment value.

The Punk Rock Movie

Don Letts' seminal documentary. Crap 35mm picture quality and sound but hey! it's punk so who cares. I liked the Alternative TV reggae jam, the X Ray Spex live performance and Wayne County live best. Captures the short lifespan of the Roxy Club, where most of the influential Brit punks played. Tries a bit hard to be shocking, though, and I can do without the shooting-up and self-mutilation scenes. But the ambience and the feel of 70s punk is captured.

Eraserhead

Watched this yoinks ago and can't make head or tail out of it. Now that I'm older and wiser, I can feel the impending ominous dread prevading the entire film, which works like a bad trip or a picturised nightmare. I guess the underlying theme is the fear of fatherhood and marital life. My DVD also comes with a calibration program which makes the film infinitely more creepy than had I watched it with my settings. I chose to buy this over the similar in format Visitor Q (Takashi Miike), which from the reviews, makes me not keen to watch a cow-man hybrid and some dude drinking milk from a mature woman's breast.

This is Spinal Tap

Hardly as funny as I remembered. The argument over the cover of "Smell the Glove" is still fresh in my mind. The comedy is a bit too self-conscious. Adding some anarchic flavour to the proceedings would have made it more worthwhile but I guess Bad News have already done that. The songs are still catchy as hell and the lyrics funny, if a little obvious. The scene where Nigel Tufnel is showing off his guitar and amps to Marty Di Bergi is still priceless, though. "Don't touch it, don't even point at it". FYI, Marshall did issue amps in the early Nineties that go all the way to 11. (For that extra gain and boost, I suppose).

Page & Plant - No Quarter (Unledded) DVD

I liked the album so much that I got this. I've seen this before on MTV Europe. As I've said before, I think the Led Zep songs work better here as there's more innovative use of space and clever arrangements. Only two songs fall flat - When the Levee Breaks, bereft of Bonzo's drumming, and Black Dog, without the frenzied blues breaks (recorded for the American Music Awards). The new songs are good - Wah Wah, City Don't Cry and Trouble Explodes (not on the LP). Was Trouble Explodes on Walking into Clarksdale? Thought that the reworked Kashmir was bad last time but now having second thought. Nice aerial shots of Snowdonia, Wales as well. Could do without the mangy looking dog (Plant's pet?).

Citizen Kane (1941)

Kinda hard to see why all critics seems to like this so much that it's consistently at the top of every list. It is gripping, sure, and the jigsaw puzzle elements of piecing together Charles Foster Kane's life is strangely compelling. Also it paves the way for modern film-making with its structure. I like it but still can't see why it's so heavily lauded. I still think Blade Runner is the best movie ever made. Period.

The Ramones - It's Alive 1974-1996 (2 discs)

Eminently historic from their first ever appearance - CBGB 1974. Only watched the first disc so far and it's pretty exciting. Contains well over twenty venues and has about four hours plus overall of performances. Best is the New Year's Eve concert at the Rainbow, London which was the "It's Alive" album as well. However, there is a lack of on-stage histrionics.

Bob Dylan - The other Side of the Mirror - Newport Folk Festival 1963-65

Pretty serviceable document of all of Mr. Big Nose's performances in Newport. The change to electric is hardly as startling as I hoped as it's more like a logical evolution. A good companion piece to Live 1964. Songs don't differ that much from the studio versions.

Female Prisoner #701 : Scorpion 1, 3,4

So into Kaji Meiko that I got three old Female Prisoner # 701 movies.

The first one - Weird exploitation women in prison movie from Japan of the 70s. Despite the overt lack of eroticisim, this one is still a rivetting watch, from the antagonistist wearing a Joker-ish smile after smashed in the head with a glass door to the Dracula cape Kaji flings about when she is attempting to murder the guy who set her up. Generally manga-ish and the final revenge is drawn up with lots of relish. I like this.

Beast Stable (3rd one) - This one, however,is boring. Lack of background noise and music adds a strange ambience but ultimately tedious. Some nice scenes - Kaji chopping off the cop's hand attached to her by handcuff and the sewer chase and fire. Not as many boobs as the first one, either. The incest angle is quite perverse, though.

Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim

A steal at a single disc price for two discs. Kinda hesitant about getting an all-acoustic live set since I thought their stuff worked best with a crescendo of guitars on songs such as "Hoppipola". But pleasantly surprised, anyway. Nice beefy textures and an ambient lounge jive to the acoustic songs. The new electric songs aren't as strong as on the previous "Takk", but still pretty good nonetheless.

Cypress Hill - Greatest Hits from the Bong

Just to replace my fucked cassette copy. Still disappointed it doesn't have "When the Shit Goes Down". "How I could Just Kill A Man" is still the corker it used to be, even more so after the redundant Rage Against the Machine cover. Still like the sparse minimalistic backbeats, 6 parts Public Enemy and 4 parts Ice Cube-era NWA.

Stone Roses - The Very Best Of

No real good reason to get this, other than the songs here are sporadically spread out across my cassettes. Only has one song I don't have - Begging You. Brings back memories of my second trip to Singapore, my Welsh gf (Ten Storey Love Song) and addiction to the Madchester sound of "One Love".

Ramones - It's Alive

I have been rather averse to The Ramones live, ever since I got a crappy bootleg of a show in Manchester. But my fears are unfounded, this set is great. A bit peeved it's recorded in 1978, what with only five albums to their name. LOBOTOMY!

Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station

Got this mainly because I like "Hothead". On the whole, not too bad. Similar sounding to "Shiny Beast" but without the eclecticism.

ZZ Top - Rancho Texicano (Very Best of)

Superb boogie blues. A bit derivative of Chicago blues and John Lee Hooker in particular. Contains my favourite 80s power ballad - Rough Boy. "Just Got Paid" gives me a bad craving for buffalo wings.

Bob Dylan - Infidels

Considered his second-best 80s album. Got it for Mark Knopfler's playing primarily, as Slow Train Coming is GOOD! And I like this. The Sly & Robbie team might piss a lot of people off but I love over-active rhythm sections with a dub-ish feel. Fave song here - Union Sundown, as he mentions Malaysia. Yay!

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

On a Miles binge so got this. Seminal modern jazz album and has Coltrane to boot. Why didn't I get this before?

Miles Davis - On the Corner

I take it that this is his most controversial album, with both lovers and haters actively on either side of the fence. Well, I got it and heck, I like it even better than Bitches Brew, as it takes the hypnotic groove of that seminal album to its logical extremes. Don't hear much of Stockhausen here, as this seems like a precursor to electronica with a strong emphasis on proto-Goan trance. I love this. 10 out of 10.

Ultravox! - The Island Years

I have always ranted and raved about the John Foxx-era Ultravox! despite only hearing a few songs. Well, this one encapsulates all the best songs. The first album's stuff sound a lot like Roxy Music with some Velvet Underground thrown in ("My Sex" is a lot like "The Gift"). The later stuff are brilliant, though, and you can definitely hear its influence on OMD, Human League and Depeche Mode. Best song -Hiroshima Mon Amour (really disliked the movie, though, except for the opening montage).

Marc Bolan & T-Rex - The Essential Collection

Got this just to replace my worn-out cassette comp. Brilliant as always. Has some Tyrannosaurus Rex songs albeit the electrified ones ("King of the Rumbling Spires", "By the light of the Magical Moon" and the acoustic "Debora") which are serviceable. "Ride a White Swan" and "Hot Love" (which Jesus & Mary Chain ripped off with "Never Understand") are effin' A, as I haven't heard them b4. "I've been dancing since I was 12".

Unrest

One of the horror movies I saw on Saturday cos it said it used real bodies. Ooohhhh!!!! What is on offer is not bad. A genuine sense of dread runs throughout. Quite gory as well, with med students cutting up corpses. Although the disturbed spirits theme is running a bit thin, it does offer some novel twists. Quite good acting from an unknown cast as well.

Sleepaway Camp

Got this cos of the good reviews on several horror sites I visit. Not bad overall. It doesn't even remotely try to startle or shock, just presenting the kills in the brightest of daylight or high-powered lighting, making them blatant and to the point. The ending, which freaked out a lot of people, doesn't really do much to me. And anybody who've seen Psycho or Dressed to Kill would feel the same.

The Long Goodbye

Still on my Raymond Chandler fetish. Elliot Gould makes a good Philip Marlowe and there's a sense of noir throughout, even if it is set in the 70s. I miss the voice-over, though, as is the norm for these kind of detective movies. Otherwise, Robert Altman does a good job of transforming the novel into a gritty hard-boiled 'tec movie of the 70s. Nice twist to the novel at the end also.

Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)

Jean Pierre Melville's directorial debut. He ripped off this Resistance novel without asking for the author's permission. Pretty okay, nothing much to it really, Nazi officer is entranced by German and France merging then receives an epiphany. Its understatedness says a lot really and a pretty good performance from Nicole Stephane throughout, who doesn't say much and relies on her face and hands.