Too much to handle

There are quite a few movies that have recently come out or are coming out soon that I simply won't be able to give my full attention to, so rather then letting tons of great movies slip under the radar, I've decided to make a general preview post. Basically this is just a bunch of trailers of an assortment of movies that I've heard good things about and want to see myself. I may get around to posting full reviews of some of these, but most likely I won't get to many of them. The name of each movie is posted above the video. 3....2.....1.....Action!

The Savages

Juno

Persepolis

The Darjeeling Limited

Sweeney Todd

Lars and the Real Girl

Atonement

In Bruges

Great World Of Sound

St. Vincent

I hadn't heard of St. Vincent until I saw The National a few months back and she opened for them. Boy am I happy she did. She is a spectacular indie songstress (yes, that is a word). If you hadn't guessed, St. Vincent is her the moniker she uses on stage. Her real name is Annie Clark.

She has toured/opened for quite a few excellent acts and she has played on tour with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. She actually got her start when she was touring with Sufjan in Europe and decided to release an EP called Paris is Burning. As for her role with The Polyphonic Spree, she was with them for their most recent album Fragile Army and she toured as a member of the group for their Fragile Army tour. I believe this would include their performance at Lollapalooza this year.

Although she did have guest artists play with her on her recently released debut LP, she plays everything by herself live. She does this through a looping system much like Andrew Bird (although he has began to use 2-3 other people on tour). This in it's self is the mark of an excellent music artist as it requires masterful timing and the ability to play multiple instruments. Speaking of her recent (July 2007) debut LP, entitled Marry Me, it received top notch revues essentially across the board. I have posted the video for the single, Jesus Spends, I Save, below. This is the song that St.Vincent played that hooked me. If you like her, she's playing a show coming up in Chicago (refer to sidebar for more info). I know I'll be there.

Matador and Beggars are some hip cats

Not too long ago I read about Beggars Group needing help in Chicago with their street team on Under The Rotunda. I decided to check it out and I've now joined their street team. It's a pretty sweet deal. You get free promotional stuff and you can win some special edition things or merch by just promoting great bands. The record labels that are a part of Beggars Group are Beggars Banquet, XL, 4AD, Matador, Mantra, Mo'Wax, Too Pure, and Wiiija. Some excellent bands on these labels include:

Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus, The New Pornographers, The Ponys, Yo La Tengo, A.C. Newmen, Belle & Sebastian (Matador)

The National, St. Vincent (Beggars Banquet)

Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhert, Ratatat, RJD2, The Raconteurs, Tapes n' Tapes, Thom Yorke, White Stripes (XL)

Blonde Redhead, The Mountain Goats, M Ward (4AD)

If this sounds like fun to you, send an email to ClaireTaylor@Beggars.com and she'll inform you with more details.

Thanks Keith for the info!

"How do we beat the bitch?"

An interesting article I found on one of my daily websites, Democrats.com:

While campaigning in South Carolina, one of John McCain's supporters asked the question that sums up the whole Republican attitude towards the 2008 election: "How do we beat the bitch?"

So how did Saint John McCain respond? Did he denounce the vicious slur and stand up for Washington-style "civility"?

Nope, he first tried to contain his laugh, then tried to make a joke of it, and finally burst out laughing. And then he called it "an excellent question." Oh really??

So there we have the Republican campaign in a nutshell - raw, vicious misogyny. And if Saint John McCain will laugh at it, imagine the reaction from 3-marriage Rudy, who betrayed his wife in the Mayor's mansion.

I haven't endorsed in the primaries, but for those who think GOP misogyny is a reason to nominate Obama instead of Clinton, the only thing that would be different is the epithet: "How do we beat the nigger?" And if it's Richardson, "How do we beat the wetback."

And don't think white men are exempt from GOP hate. If it's Edwards, Ann Coulter will ask: "How do we beat the faggot."

The Republican Party is the party that hates everything that is not white, male, Christian, and Republican - and determined to keep America that way.

Obviously this article is a little inflamatory and exagerative (atleast I hope) because the second half is an opinion piece, however, the first half is unfortunetly true. Here's the video for proof:

Wu-Tang Clan?

Yes, it's true. The Wu-Tang Clan has just announced a show at the Metro. I just thought it was funny. It could acutally be a fun/interesting expierence. Several of my friends saw RZA (one of the members of the clan) at Pitchfork and said it was a great time. It is pricey though. Tickets are going for $42 in advance and $45 at the door. I won't be going, but I just thought I'd put it out there. Here's a video too.

R.I.P. Blood Brothers

Love em' or hate em', The Blood Brothers recently announced that they have broken up. I know there are many of you out there who may rejoice at this news, but it made me quite sad. They were unique and poetic. I only got to see them live once, but it was one of the most spectacular shows I've seen in my life. It was on Halloween last year and I will never forget it. There was just so much energy and actually a high level of musical talent. I say "actually" because many people only hear the screaming and never listen to the instrumentation behind it all. I still recomend checking the Blood Brothers out if you haven't heard them. I've posted a few videos below in their memory.

Calling all Chicago Inide kids... Thax!

For those of you who have attended pretty much an indie show in Chicago in the last year or so you may have noticed an older fellow come on stage before shows and recite some sweet poetry. Well this fine fellow's name is Thax Douglas and he's an amazing person. So amazing in fact that there was a documentary made about him. It has made several appearences at film festivals recently, but it's official DVD release is going to be on December 1st. Apparently there's going to be a little shindig to celebrate. Here's the email I just got about it:

Hope you can make it:

T H A X (the movie) DVD RELEASE PARTY & MIDNIGHT SCREENING

Featuring performances by Joe Roarty, Brother Derek, and others...

Saturday, December 1st. 6pm. FREE.

Golden Age, 1500 W. 17th St. (Pilsen)

Get your advance copy of Alex MacKenzie's documentary, "THAX", andmeet the man, the myth, the icon, the poet... Thax Douglas himself.

I've posted the trailer below.

I will certainly be attending this festive event. If there are any of you out there who would be interested in accompanying me I would be honored. Just let me know.

Feist

For those of you who don't know Feist, she's a excellent indie singer who has gotten a lot of attention recently thanks to her most recent single "1 2 3 4" and the fantastic video that goes along with it. I don't want anyone to be left out, so I've decided to post the stellar music video. If you like "1 2 3 4" you should check out some of her other stuff. Give it some time though. When I first checked her out I didn't think much of her, but she's certainly grown on me. Hope you like it.

Protests in Olympia

Here's a video of some interesting protests going on in Olympia, Washington. I'm not going to explain it because it explains it in the video. On a side not, I kinda like the techno background music in the video. Peace.

The truth about the war in Iraq?

An interesting little group at my school by the name of Conservative Forum is participating in Freedom Week, a week put on by Young Americans for Freedom (the polar opposite of SDS), and tomorrow (November 6th) they are bringing in a soldier, Lance Corporal Bob Curtis, who has seved three years in Iraq and will be informing students about "the truth about the war in Iraq: the things the media won't tell you". I support the groups right to assemble and espouse their views. I'll even be attending the event tomorrow morning (albeit in a "Give Peace A Chance" shirt). I may have more to say about this tomorrow, but from reading articles on Young Americans for Freedom's website I got the jist of what will be said. I'm fairly certain that the speaker will say things about how the Iraqi people are glad to be "liberated" and that the war is a just cause. I've posted a few videos below to show just how wrong these ideas are. In case anyone is wondering, there are many more where these came from.

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