On Wednesday, I saw Britt Daniel from Spoon do his solo thing and he sure looked good. My friend Miss C says he's the Johnny Depp of rock stars. The other thing that I liked that night was Meric Long. He's an amazing guitar player from Oakland who played a lot of tricky catchy stuff on his acoustic guitar. It helped that he was pretty sexy too.

Thursday was over at Bimbo's. I really didn't like anything we saw though everyone was competent. The one thing I really liked was the woman in the Octopus Project playing her theramin like she was dancing the robot. Other than that, I got bored.

Friday was one very late night with Jason Collett and Etienne de Rocher. Both were great fun to watch. Etienne has a nice little singer-songwriter thing going. Jason was wasted, but he still sounded great. I liked his babbling actually, even when he wanted to endorse Patron. Hey, at least, it's a quality product.

Saturday, we all went to see Mr. Ash sing his heart out to Mozart. I never thought I'd get to see the Pacific Mozart Ensemble actually do Mozart. LOL. Mr. Ash's voice always amazes me because his tenor is so supple and strong. It's weird to hear that sound coming out of his mouth. LOL. After that, we went to the Mezzanine to see some bands at the Filter Magazine party. I really liked Band of Horses. I'll need to hear them again. The truly amazing moment though was Helio Sequence. They're a two man outfit from Subpop who rock hard. They're really catchy too. I'll need to get a copy of the record to see if they really are that good.

Sunday, I finally stopped seeing music. I just needed a break.

Last night, I checked out the show at Cafe Du Nord with Miss C. The band that really impressed was Deadboy and the Elephantmen. Man, what a dumb name. But it doesn't matter. I'm still trying to figure out how to describe them exactly, but it's not coming out right without a torrent of words. Imagine the White Stripes as less bluesy and more altrocking. Imagine them fronted by Britt Daniel from Spoon with a more powerful voice. Then switch the drummer for a better drummer. Retain the sense of volume dynamics with a little less songwriting skill. And I think that covers it. He does have an amazing guitar sound and that powerful voice helps too. I'm liking the album too.

More tomorrow!

1. Okay still isn't.

2. Stereolab was fun and I was glad I went with David because he had an amazing time.

3. Like the 88 a lot. They sure cranked up the power pop fun.

4. Within seconds of hearing Street To Nowhere, RK and I looked at each other funny. Emo is just bad enough.

4. Really liked Birdmonster. They were obviously so happy to be there and they've got a good guitar sound going. Best of all was their bassist. No, wait. The best thing is that they were just very cute. Yay for cute. Kudos to being right, RK.

2. Constantine was just silly. I think the dialogue was lifted right out of the comic book and it just doesn't work with live human beings. Especially if that human being is Keanu Reeves. Tilda Swinton is amazing as Gabriel, mostly because her androgynous look and voice is perfect for an otherworldly being.

So here's the final list and why. It's not in any order and maybe after I finish writing this, it'll be clear which albums go where.

One last note: I'm not certain why I don't have the Amadou and Mariam or the Cheb i Sabbah records on here. I keep vascilating on those two. Sometimes, they sound forgettable and sometimes they sound like manna from gods speaking in tongues.

Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock and Roll: Punks don't get invited to my place because they'll mess it up. I'll go home with a charming punk (who bathes). This guy gets to stay at my place because he knows how to place a musical joke in the right context. Besides, he knows his limits (can't sing, has a much cooler brother), but he still wants to conquer the world. Eddie Argo is a keeper because all of this makes him sexy.

The Books, Lost and Safe: I don't know what this band looks like. I'm still not sure that their particular project is always memorable, but I am certain that they know how to slam an amazing sample into a tune and make both better. Sorta like a Reese's except that it's sweeter and stickier. I love certain moments, like that jagged synth figure in "Be Good To Them Always" or the way a whispering singer sings the sampled spoken lines in the same song.

The Go-Betweens, Oceans Apart: I keep thinking these two are too subtle. I listen right through all of their records and never quite remember anything. Until I play it again. Then, the arrangements mesh, the words signify and my memory identifies everything again. Can't believe these two have been doing this for over 25 years.

Gogol Bordello, Gypsy Punks: Ok, the assumption is that rock is a black derived form, right? It's based on African-American rhythms. Well, this is rock, but those beats sound all wrong. They're all Eastern European, but that type of frenzy is definitely a rock invention. Gypsy punk, indeed.

The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday: Who'd have thought that some vaguely 70s country-rock would sound this good? Who'd have thought it would work with that stentorian voice that Craig Finn was blessed/cursed with? Stranger still, this sounds like the call to Christian arms that should drive me away, but it's filled with so much detail and characterization, it sounds like another world I've never visited. Someone's finally figured out how to use their Catholic school education without sounding dorky.

Jamie Liddell, Multiply: Ok, his voice isn't all that great, but compared to his collegues, he's definitely a step or two above. This tribute to those 70s R&B giants works because those robotic beats are offset by a willingness to work alt-rock themes of bad relationships and pessimism into a soulful context. It makes him a wannabe, but he's still picking some good influences.

Kanye West, Late Registration: He's still making some great choices and making amazing pop tunes that resonate after hearing them a million times. "Golddigger" makes me wish I had girl. I know it's a warning about a certain kind of girl, but that's ok.

M.I.A., Arular: I think this is the only record I heard in the first half of the year that still seems as amazing at year's end. Those beats set off by chants about the need for change. She sounds reluctant to use violence and that's all I really need. It's topped off by that final minute of "Galang" where she piles on those voices. Yah, yah, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey indeed.

The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree: I don't think drawing on his own experience really helped him sound all that different. But adding that cello added something to his tunes. Most of the alt-rock at this point sounds very arranged as though it's some sort of classical music. Favorite moment: the way the strings diverge and come back together at the end of each verse in Dilaudid. It's love as vertigo, as dread, as hope uncertain.

Sleater-Kinney, The Woods: My favorite band does it again, except that they don't quite do it the way they've always done it. It's true that they're using those old hoary Hendrix/Led Zep riffs and they're deployed to slam those bruising relationship songs out of the part. What's new is the song that slams their punk and new wave peers uses those classic rocks tools to such slamming effect.

Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise: Ok, there's no need to repeat the entire name of the album. There's really no need to have one more song about a serial killer. It does get clearer though that certain types of rock music are going to sound more classical with all the complexities that sound implies. Of course, these are all reasons to dislike Sufjan. The best reason to love him is the way his sense of whimsy collides with his empathy. Carl Sandberg commands him to write poem in his dreams, Superman steals hearts, wasps attack in Palisades, cancer attacks on Casimir Pulaski Day all while key phrases keep getting stuck in my head.

The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane, Live at Carnegie Hall: Jazz defeats me because I never have the words to describe it. All those intangible qualities that don't define well, like "grace", "intelligence" or "restraint", all apply though I just don't know how the effect is accomplished. That said, the only thing I can really add is "What idiot forgot to bring enough tape that night?"

Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary: This is probably the album I listened to most last year mostly because of three songs. Love the title "You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son." Love the beat and the dual vocals in "Shine a Light." Love "I'll Believe in Anything" most of all for making "I'll take you where nobody knows you and nobody gives a damn" sound like sanctuary.

Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako
Amy Rigby, Little Fugitive
Animal Collective, Feels
Annie, Anniemal
Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock n Roll
Bettye LaVette, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
Blackalicious, The Craft
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm
Blood on the Wall, Awesomer
Books, Lost and Safe
Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene
Bruce Springsteen, Devils and Dust
Cage, Hell's Winter
Cheb I Sabbah, La Kahena
Chemical Brothers, Push the Buttons
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clem Snide, The End of Love
Common, Be
Damian Marley, Welcome to Jamrock
Danger Doom, The Mouse and The Mask
Deerhoof, The Runners Four
DJ Shadow, Live! In Tune and On Time
Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
Fountains of Wayne, Out of State Plates
Four Tet, Everything Ecstatic
Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better With
Go! Team, Thunder, Lightning, Strike!
Go-Betweens, Oceans Apart
Gogol Bordello, Gypsy Punk
Gorillaz, Demon Days
Hold Steady, Separation Sunday
Isolee, We Are Monster
Jamie Liddell, Multiply
John Legend, Get Lifted
Kanye West, Late Registration
Kate Bush, Aerial
Kelley Polar, Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens
Konono No. 1, Congotronics
Lightning Bolt, Hypermagic Mountain
Living Things, Ahead of the Lions
Lyrics Born, Same *#!, Different Day
M.I.A., Arular
M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us
MC Hawking, A Brief History of Rhyme
Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
My Morning Jacket, Z
New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy
Perceptionists, Black Dialogue
Pernice Brothers, Discover a Lovelier You
Ponys, Celebration Castle
Robbie Fulks, Georgia Hard
Run the Road
Shukar Collective, Urban Gypsy
Silver Jews, Tanglewood Numbers
Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
Thelonious Monk Quartet w/John Coltrane, Live at Carnegie Hall
Vitalic, OK Cowboy
White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan
Willowz, Talk in Circles
Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary

(Jesus. How many records did I hear last year?)

I read a review of this in the Village Voice years ago, so I finally decided to rent it. It's all long scenes with few edits. I'm pretty sure the shortest scene lasts 4 minutes. It takes place entirely indoors and, if I'm not mistaken, it's all source lighting.

In the first scene, the men are gambling and telling stories about some prostitutes in a brothel in 1930s China. At first, the women say nothing. The host tells a story about a prostitute named Crimson who beats up another because her only client has gone to see her. Then, the host mentions that the prostitute and her client have been together a long time. By Tony Leung's and his companion's expressions, we finally figure out that this story is about them. They say nothing and then leave the room as the party continues while one of the "flowers" defends Crimson's actions. This goes on for another 3 or 4 minutes before we see where they have gone. Our star finally says two words about 12 minutes into the movie. He finally converses with his concumbine about 5 minutes after that.

The movie continues in this style. The camera stays mostly rooted in the middle of rooms and sometimes pans left or right. There are no over-the-shoulder shots so we can see people's expressions as they talk. Sometimes, candles or opium pipes obscure the actors' faces. Some of the most important action takes place inbetween scenes.

Yet, it all works. The slow narrative gives the film its deliberate pacing and its concern with Confucian moral appearances. This might be the director to adapt a great version of "The Age of Innocence" because the art direction looks almost anthropological in detail. We spend so much time watching people live without reference to the outside world that the whole enterprise seems hermetically sealed. It feels like a hothouse that no one really escapes. It's beautiful, slow, drugged and doomed.

www.azizisbored.com

2. Kontroll makes Communist subway systems look like the most amazing movie sets ever.

3. Ran is still the great Shakespearean adaptation on film. Strangely, the whole movie wouldn't be tragic if it had ended just before Saburo dies. The villians are routed, the good guys win the battle and father and son are reunited. I keep wondering which ending is really tacked on.

4. Gates of Heaven still looks rather amazing. It's also more about the business of pet cemetaries than I remembered. Does anyone know where the closed pet cemetary was? The shot in the movie looks so familiar. I think it's somewhere in Los Altos.

I think it's mostly because the scenery looked so expensive. It looked so good that they would have ended up sodomizing sheep or a gopher hole if they hadn't done each other.

Do we need another movie of tragic gay lovers? I don't know, but this simple story didn't need to look quite this expensive. Still, Heath Ledger does a great job with Ennis. He actually manages to be expressive while remaining quite minimal.

I'm not going to fault the movie for aiming for the mainstream, nor is it wrong to be tragic (because the story was written that way), but I just wish the love story seemed more compelling, because the two men never seem all that affectionate after that explosive kiss that Ennis's wife sees. They just seem disappointed. And where's the hope in that?

2. She and the band really needed to practice more, but it didn't matter. They suited her loose impromptu style.

3. She smiles a lot more than her photos let on and her impish smile really lights up a room.

4. People shout out the weirdest things to her. Some man in the audience "You made me a man, Patti."

5. She does Dylan really well, mostly 'cause Dylan seems to be her biggest inspiration.

6. Adulation does her well too. Her tentative beginning looked better as she gained strength from her adoring audience.

7. Her righteous shout against the Bush administration made me want to cry.