Donnas! Forever!

Here's a description of the Donnas latest project, announced last week:

The Donnas are excited to announce their latest project: a detailed retrospective collection of their illustrious 15 year (and still counting) career. It will contain remixes and re-recorded versions of classic songs from their extensive 7 album catalogue, unreleased B-sides and rarities, as well as brand new songs. To add to the decadence, the package will also include video footage from the Donnas archives, past to present! The band is ecstatic about this collection and hope to have it out by Spring '09. It will be released on their own Purple Feather Records and distributed by Redeye Distribution. Please stay tuned for further updates.

Fun! Haha, I'm excited. I've always thought it'd be cool if they rerecorded some of their old songs now with they skilllll just to see what it sounds like. I can't wait to hear it! Plus, new songs are always great. I love that they have their own label now because they can do cool stuff like this simply because they want to haha, it's good!!

Then they updated us with this message on Tuesday:

"Helloooo from the studioooo!
Isn't it great that they gave us such a great deal to record at Abbey Road, for free!! All we have to give them are autographs, which is so hard and draining but it's worth it right?! Ok, just kidding, we're still local, but we are in the studio, and we're having a great time recording some tunes from the past and giving them new life! It's kind of crazy like therapy, bringing back all kinds of memories, like when we used to hide radishes from Happy Taco in each other's bags!! Anyway, we hope these things are as fun and nostalgic for you too.Rock awn! Luv,The Donnas"

So it seems to be in full effect now. I'm assuming itll be out around may when their bandiversay is, haha. I want to know what they're rerecording!! They haave to do Rock n Roll Machine, and if they do Leather on Leather I think I will DIE, I go crazy for that song. Their bratty, kitchen-recorded early early stuff should prob remain as they are, songs like We Don't Go and I Wanna Be a Unabomber, which are perfecto the way they are and MAGIC of their time. They might not work so well polished. Songs like Shake in the Action, though, would sound incredible with what they can do now. Whatever they decide to do it's gonna be awesoome, oh yeah.

Truly one of the most underappreciated bands of all time, whats it gonna take to make people listen??

Burning 4 U, Jason Alexander

Tonight I watched the 1981 slasher flick The Burning. Directed by Tony Maylam, it's got the basic 80s slasher film plot, and the basic 81 slasher film GORE. So basically- Its AWESOME. It also has a foxy 21 year old Jason Alexander (with hair!!), Tom Savini on special effects, a very eeriee synthy 80s score, over-sized shirts and baseball tees galore, and LOTS of boobs. Thats not the best part though, the best part is that Holly Hunter is in it and you would never even know it! In fact, I still don't even know which girl she was!! and I watched the entire thing! It's great!

Plot is simple- One night at Camp Blackfoot, a group of boys decide to give the nasty ol caretaker Cropsy a good, mean ol scare. They do this by leaving a flaming, worm infested skull on his dresser as he sleeps, and then awaking him by tapping on his window. The plan, surprisingly, goes horribly wrong and leaves mean ol Cropsy looking like some melted macaroni and cheese. Icky. Five years pass and Crispy is finally ready to be released from the hospital, and apparently ready for some sweet, sweet revenge, too.

The rest of the picture is set at a summer camp, revolving around a new set of fresh-faced, fun teens. The killing begins, and so goes another slasher movie. It isn't terribly original, but are many slashers movies? Or many horror movies for that matter? In some ways I found it to be a lot more effective than Friday the 13th, which is obviously very similar, although that could be just because I've seen Friday a million times now. Still though, I found a lot to love in this one, and overall just a lot more enjoyable than the first Friday the 13th. Maylam does a good job of keeping the kids around for awhile, which is nice, letting the mayhem begin when the kids go on a canoeing trip rather than just when wondering around the camp. I was watching the commentary after and what the director says is really true- save for one or two obnoxious assholes, all of the characters are extremely likeable and great, and it hurts to see them go. The effects are obviously amazing, and the movie is also full of some great jump moments that really scare, too, with one that'll prob make you spill your pepsi all over like I did. Excellent!

When the film was released in 81 it was docked with the Video Nasty term, a name given to films that were extremely explicit and like, really gross. And it's true, this one really delivers the nasty goods, so to speak, and it's wonderful. What is also wonderful is that now I'm able to refer to my bed as Bed Nasty because I spilt pepsi all over my comforter, and thats pretty gross!

And I was joking when I said that Holly Hunter was the greatest part about the movie, as if that could ever happen, hahaha. No really, the greatest part about it is the foxy 21 year old Jason Alexander, because it proves that every star in the 80s was attractive. And that I have crushes on the weirdest people.

Other things of note- this was Miramax's first film, and the Weinstein brothers were behind it! Nice! Yes, the raft scene IS incredible, and the fade to red was especially beautiful. Also, this is NOT Friday the 13th, but if you see this movie alone...You'll never be the same again!!! Nor will your favorite comforter!!! So thanks Jason Alexander, and thank you Burning.

Oreos, Slushees, and "Lolita"...

I'm not sure why, but when I rented Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita" yesterday, despite really wanting to see it, I was a little put off by it's length. Not because a 2 and a half hour film is that hard to get through, but because a 2 and a half hour Kubrick film can be hard to get through, haha. What was there in A Space Odyssey, like 20 minutes of that one shot of monkeys or something? Haha, not to say thats bad, obviously, if I had been able to get through all of 2001 yet...I'd probably say it's really good!! Lol, I loved Clockwork, Full Metal Jacket, and looove The Shining, like every one should. These are obviously just pure, well made films. I guess I just wasn't ready for a story as interesting as "Lolita" to put me to sleep. Well, fortunately, I was completely wrong!! Ha, "Lolita" was 2 and a half hours of straight, well paced goodness!!

The film, released in 1962, is apparently really tame compared to the novel, which is really racey, due to the time it was released and the strict censorship laws around at that time. Some might say this hurts the film, but it didn't really bother me. It's not hard to figure out whats about to go down when the screen fades to black, ha. I didn't mind seeing Humbert as a sympathetic character, either. A man who just happens to fall in love with this bracing, blistering young girl. It almost seems that, in the film anyway, it was Lolita herself that took the relationship from lust to love, not Humbert. I'm not sure how it plays out in the novel, but I wonder that if Lolita hadn't initiated anything...would anything have ever happened? Humbert seemed more fascinated with her, and it was Lo that took that to the next level. Humbert's obsession on the other hand....well, lets say he gots it baaaad, and this is not good. It makes for an interesting story though!! And pretty much drives most of the film. Back to my point though, I really love that the film doesn't explain how or why he becomes so obsessed with Lolita, which he does in a matter of seconds, something I've read the novel does do. Do we all really know exactly how or why we become enamored with some of the people that we do? No, and it always really does happen in a matter of seconds, too.

The character of Lolita herself, film version anyway, is just incredible. She's cute, she's bratty, she's smart. She's the kind of girl who at 14, has already got herself completely figured out. She's like part Donna and part Lux Lisbon...and aren't those the two greatest types of girls? Humbert knows whats up, too bad he's not, you know, a freshman in highschool haha. Anyway, Sue Lyon plays her perfectly, and I think she half way makes her. Noone else could have done it as good, I'm sure of it. She's awesome.

Looking back, I'm not sure if it was coke sippin bombshell Lolita or and the amazing appearence of Lolita Coleslaw that sealed the deal for me, but I loved it!!

Great film, the cherry slushee and oreos I had during it were delicious too. Boy do I like a well paced Kubrick movie...

Straight on for You

Whats up with movie posters these days?? Yeah, big head/floating head movie posters have been around for years, and nobody likes them, but now it seems like they're being taken to a completely different level, or, what we can call big-face-and-nothing-else-at-all movie posters. Now we're seeing posters that literally have a picture of the stars head- and nothing else. No stupid city scape underneath them, no supporting actors getting in their way, just their big face straight on, it's crazy! Just today I saw the new posters for Benjamin Button at the theater, and yeah it's cool how the words are backwards, but the posters are literally just pictures of Brad and Cate...and thats it. And duh I'd love a big poster of Cate Blanchett any day, but these are terrible. The font being the biggest problem, even I knew to stop using those fonts when I was like 14. For a movie with such a unique storyline, we really have these to show for it all? The Star Trek posters are exactly the same, but much prettier. I like the greyscale, it's good. Too bad I don't care about Star Trek. Except isn't Winona in this one? I'd like a big poster of her face ha, they prob won't make one though. Anyways, the worst has GOT TO BE the one for Seven Pounds, a movie that, as far as I can tell, is nothing but Will Smith's head bobbing around, which i really wouldn't doubt. It's probably because I can't stand Will Smith at all, but the poster is soo bad, I can't believe it. If we look back a few months we see that Pineapple Express did the same thing, albeit funnier, and with Seth Rogen (so it's okay). These ones could almost be a parody of the big-face-and-nothing-else posters of now except it came out months before these did...so I don't really know what they were trying to do. Atleast though, in these, the actors actually have expressions, expressions that have to do with their character and all, can't say that much for Will Smith, Brad Pitt, and Cate Blanchett. Lets hope not anyway, can't imagine what their characters would be like. Anyways, the poster for Knocked Up did this as well, with style, and first maybe? I'm probably wrong haha, but thats one of the first that I can remember. This probably isn't the first set of posters that this has happened too, but it's so obvious I had to say something. Here's the group of posters I mentioned:

What is that?! And duhhhh Josh these are all just teasers, right, stop crying- NO. It's sad because they probably work on most people, a huge picture of who is in it, but they really tell us nothing about the actual movie, something a teaser is supposed to hint at. All I'm saying is that I can see why they would do that, it just sucks that they have to, and that they actually do. Expect to see more of these around.

Everyone seems to have such a big head these days huh? Maybe if everyones stories were told, the only way to really represent it would be a picture of their big, fat head and nothing else.

First Post; Top Ten Breeders Songs

So here we go, the first post in my blog, holy crap right? Exciting I know. I built this place to talk about all the cool shit in my life. I think people are getting tired of me talking about the runaways and nightmare on elm street all the time so I'm just going to do it here, where they can come and read about it whenever they'd like. I also, you know, wanna be really hip and cool and all. This will make me a household name right? I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

So for my first post I went for the impossible- compiling a top ten list of songs by one of my favorite bands, The Breeders. I saw them in Tempe for the first time last weekend and I’m still not over it, it was incredible. It is of course completely subjective, but that don't really matter because maybe two of my friends have actually heard these songs, so just know it's absolutely right, because it is. Shall we...


The Top Ten Breeders Songs:

10. Freed Pig- A cover of the Sebadoh song, amazing. Screaming guitars and Kim’s soft, pretty voice against the blunt, sarcastic and bitter lyrics set this one apart and make this the best "yeah, I was creepy and obsessive and ultimately just trying to irritate you but now I don't care enough to keep trying" song. I love it. "Now you will be free, now you don't have to depend on me tapping till I drive you insane." "I've got nothing better to do than pay too much attention to you, it's sad but its not your fault...". The Breeders know how to pick em.

09. Flipside- A straight up surf rock dance song, no lyrics, just excellence.

08. German Studies- “this song is called German studies, not we speak german fluently, so remember that”- Kelley Deal at the tempe show, so hilarious. I don’t know german yet, so their german sounds amazing and perfect to me, but it could be way off. Either way, this song is great and shows what geniuses Kim and Kelley are. They don’t even speak the language and the composition of the words is INCREDIBLE. Seriously, the first few lines are just excellent, even when you have no idea what their saying. It’s all about how the words sound together, and they sound wonderful. One day I’ll actually know what their saying, so I guess that'll be cool too. Oh yeah, and this sounds FANTASTIC live, they do it perfectly. Genius.

07. No Aloha- “No Bye, no aloha”. Don’t you hate when people leave without saying bye? It’s sounds impossible and crazy, but believe me people somehow find ways to do it, and Kim’s gonna sing about it. At least I know I’m not alone ha. This is another great surf grunge rock song from the band with an absolutely AMAZING breakdown at the end that will leave you spinning, really. It’s awesome. And sure, this songs about the band going with a different promoting company, or something like that, but ultimately it’s about getting no goodbye when being left, and that goes straight to the heart.

06. Here No More- this song takes a cue from acts like Hank Williams and all that great old country western stuff and fits perfectly in the genre as a beautiful, simple country song. Great everything. At the show Kim said she wrote this with her mom. On Mountain Battles.

05. Safari- they played this at the Tempe show, it was the biggest and best surprise of the night. I’ve always loved the Safari ep and the title track is the greatest song on it, also one of the bands best. Can’t really say what it is about the song or why it grabs you but it’s awesome anyway, I love it. “He couldn't leave the flock...Always hugging the man, and crying out for me”. Ahhh.

04. Saints- “I like all the different people, I like sticky everywhere” Saints is the ULTIMATE summer song, and it’s about being at the fair no less, so it’s the ultimate life song for me too. “I like all the different people, I like every kind of fair, in the crowd- you bet I’ll be there, walking around, going nowhere...”. It’s excellent in all ways, I love it. “The hid are out, out for the year” and the best, most epic line ever, “Summer is ready when you are”. AMAZING. It's also what you'd call "very beefy", so that's awesome, guitar is suhweeet. mmm.

03. Divine Hammer- One of the few singles the Breeders actually released, this is Kim Deal’s ode to everyone’s favorite male body part, and man has she hit the nail on the head. While it’s a great pop song, the lyrics are what really set the song apart and make it incredible. When Kim pleads and sighs, “I’m just looking for one divine hammer, I’d bang it all day…” she manages to speak of a theme that’s not only personal, but you know, universal, and does it with all the cuteness and class the world has ever seen. She‘s too good! “I’m just looking for the divine hammer….just one divine hammer..."

02. Night of Joy- The third track from the new album “Mountain Battles”, this song is all kinds of melancholy and beautiful. Its like watching a movie that you realize has somehow, someway, captured the exact mood and tone of your entire life. Crazy right? That’s this song, and it‘ll do that. Its dark, its muddy, we kind of know what kim deal is singing about, and, rather than just singing or playing a song, they create a mood, a whole world inside of a song. It’s fantastic.

01. Cannonball- This is obvious, and I could be really weird and indie and say theres some obscure, rarely heard track by the Breeders that’s “actually way better than cannonball” but the truth is, Cannonball is their masterpiece, it’s excellent, and it‘s their best. There’s no getting around it, the song is just bomb. It’s a three minute surf rock grunge trip that all at once defines a time, the band, and makes you dance your ass off. It’s magic.

So there you have it, my first blog post AND the top ten breeders songs. What more could you want? Oh yea...a goodbye right? Later!

-Josh