• Music

Coachella Kicks Off

April 26, 2008 – 11:23 am ·

The desert is cooler than last year, and the crowds thinner, which actually makes for a more relaxing festival. I’m too tired to get into detail. I just finished a post for metblogs, however, so go check that out. Link here.

By Will | Posted in Coachella, Music, coachella 2008, live music |
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  • Music

Coachella Schedule

April 23, 2008 – 5:28 pm ·

As expected, the Coachella schedule was released today. Time for us all to begin our fretting and planning. As I mentioned, it’s useless for me to actually make any plans. But it’s important to go over these and pick out the conflicts. Right off the bat, I’ve got a biggie. On Saturday. And I knew it was gonna happen.

Coachella Friday

There’s a lot of good stuff on Friday, not the least of which would be The National, Battles, Les Savy Fav, The Breeders, Sandra Collins, Dan le Sac & Scroobius Pip, Vampire Weekend (I suppose), Aphex Twin, The Swell Season and Goldfrapp, to name a few. The only real conflict I see is between Battles and Les Savy Fav, both of whom I really want to check out. I think Battles will win that one. Jens Lekman could be fun as well. But if I’m going to catch both Sandra Collins (who spins a mean set of prog house) and Goldfrapp, I may have to give Mssrs. Pip and le Sac the boot. My cousin Anna will kill me.

Coachella Saturday
Saturday’s conflict is a killer. Portishead vs. the Sasha/Digweed combo. I already know which will win, but even though I’ve seen Sasha & Digweed numerous times, I can’t justify missing the former. There’s just no way. Earlier there are a couple must-sees in St. Vincent and Carbon/Silicon. The later one-two punch of Junkie XL and M.I.A. might keep me rooted in the Sahara tent until the mass migration to Portishead. And then the counter-programming of Calvin Harris, Yelle and Enter Shikari up against Prince pretty much guarantees pandemonium at the main stage. I’ll report back on that.

Coachella Sunday
There’s a lot to like about Sunday, with the Plasticines, I’m From Barcelona, Stars, The Shout Out Louds, Austin TV, Autolux, Metric, Danny Tenaglia, Sons & Daughters, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5 and of course, Roger Waters. No conflicts anywhere. I want to see most of those acts, but none in particular, though for this aging 80’s kid, Mr. Waters is a must-see. I’ll be there. If I have the strength afterwards to drag myself to the Sahara tent to catch Justice, I’ll finish off with them, but it seems like a long shot.

By Will | Posted in Coachella, Music, coachella 2008 |
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  • Music

Ken Lee

April 23, 2008 – 10:54 am ·

Valentina Hasan will NOT be at Coachella this year, though if this viral video keeps spreading, she might have a shot at headlining Bonnaroo.

Thanks, jozjozjoz!
Follow-up by Tony Pierce at LA Times.

By Will | Posted in Coachella, Music, music video |
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  • Music

Coachella Crunch: Midnight Juggernauts

April 21, 2008 – 11:42 am ·

Coachella’s coming. As usual, I feel unprepared. No matter how many of these acts I know, there are always a huge handful of bands I’ve hear nothing about. So as Friday draws close, I’m hurrying to discover as many of them as I can. Because, you know, the better to organize my schedule before hand. Forget that pre-planning is a waste of time; I want to have a solid schedule of who I want to see so I have something to jettison when I get there.

Anyway, first on the list this week is Australia’s Midnight Juggernauts. Their official website references Air and ELO in its breathless bio on the group. And you know what? That’s about accurate. I’ve spun the debut album three or four times now and it’s got that danceable spacey quality that ELO was so good at, with sparkly, space-age synths and a nifty 124 bpm dance groove. Check out “Tombstone” to see what I mean.

Midnight Juggernauts - “Tombstone”

on the web: official site, ’shadows’ video

By Will | Posted in Music, coachella 2008, mp3, new music |
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  • Television

So Many Bones…

April 18, 2008 – 12:23 pm ·

Last.FM

I knew I’d been watching a lot lately, but this is kinda unreal. Bones sits in the number six slot of my last.fm chart this week. Also making a strong showing is Prince, but only because I’m trying digging through music for the upcoming wedding gig. Midnight Juggernauts are up there because I’m boning up (oh gawd–sorry) on their tunes before they land at Coachella. I don’t even remember listening to Dave Seaman, so I must have been hard at work on the latest client website.

Finally, James Holden’s Balance compilation turns out to be the perfect accompaniment to Los Angeles traffic. Seriously. It’s lithe and slippery electronica and it helps with the lane changes.

By Will | Posted in Music, Television |
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  • Music

More Scarce Newman Tracks

April 18, 2008 – 10:37 am ·

Looking over the early credits of composer Thomas Newman, I recognize that there still a few rare scores I’d love to have. Chief on that list is the music from Real Genius. I’ve got a lot of the source music, which is its own sort of joy, but the score is terrific. And it’s unavalable. Still, that hasn’t stopped the following scores from leaking out somehow, so there’s hope. As promised, and at the risk of coming off as a fanatic, three more samples of rare Thomas Newman:

Gung HoGung Ho

This was Ron Howard at his best, when he was still doing comedy, before he thought he was a serious director. Newman’s score for the film is as varied and energetic as ever, often, as in the case of this track, within the same cue. He goes from quiet subtle tones into rollicking, guitar-driven passages and then drops right back into quiescence. I haven’t seen the movie in years, so I don’t remember how this piece of music was used, but it’s the quintessential stuff of comedy.

Less Than ZeroLess Than Zero

People remember this soundtrack for its hip, funky collection of tunes. Chiefly, there was the Bangles’ cover of “Hazy Shade Of Winter,” but artists from Glenn Danzig to Roy Orbison jumped into the fray. Lost in the party was Newman’s hunting, synth-driven score. The film was, at its center, devoid of heart, a hollow, glittering shell. Somehow the music, especially this particular piece, both augments and counteracts that emptiness.

PhenomenonPhenomenon

I never did see Phenomenon. And I probably never will, unless I’m in, say, a Tulsa motel one night, with the television on, the remote out of reach and unable to use my legs. Why Tulsa? Whatever, I don’t know. The score is typical of Newman’s mid-Nineties output, with plenty of double reed wind instruments, melodic strings and a Quilt-y strummed guitar. It’s mostly innocuous, but since the original soundtrack issue contained only a token Newman track, it’s a nice addition to the collection.

Okay, I’m done with Newman for a while. Enjoy.

on the Web: wikipedia, newman fan site, youtube collection of Less Than Zero cues

By Will | Posted in Music, mp3, soundtrack, thomas newman |
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  • LA Metroblogging April 16th, 2008 at 9:15 am · · Yet another impediment to my frequent posts here is that I’m now blogging over at metblogs.com. It actually makes sense. Back when this site was called Hollywoodland I posted about music, movies, writing and Los Angeles. Now that I’ve carved away that last topic I’ll need some place to post pictures of the Sunset & Vine building. · (0)
  • Music

Alberto Iglesias - Todo Sobre Mi Madre

April 14, 2008 – 10:58 am ·

I’m going through my music folders in a near-frantic attempt to pull together everything I want to have at my disposal for the wedding gig in May. The wedding will require about five hours of music. According to iTunes, I’ve got a hundred and seventy two days’ worth. I’ve simply GOT to whittle it down.

In the process, I find myself short-handing some selections. For instance, one of my fallbacks is this piece, by Alberto Iglesias. It’s from his score for the film, Todo Sobre Mi Madre. Even if I weren’t a devout CW (that means credit-watcher, y’all) this moody, gorgeous bit of music, which rises at the film’s end, would have kept me rooted to my seat.

It might actually be too moody for quiet background music. At a wedding, I mean. With it’s string-drenched swells and that muted trumpet, it’s perfect for a dinner party. But a wedding wants something a little more tinkly, like Monk, or Dave Brubeck. But then, I’m not your typical wedding DJ. And I’m not getting paid for this gig. I’m doing it for friends. So I’ll play what I please.

And just hope I still have friends the next day.

Alberto Iglesias - “Todo Sobre Mi Madre”

on the web: Amazon (the disc is out of print)

By Will | Posted in Music, mp3, soundtrack | Comments (0)
  • Music

Spinning Again

April 12, 2008 – 11:40 am ·

TurntableHey, rare Saturday post to say this: I got my turntables out of storage yesterday. I had to call the folks at bigbox.com to find out where they were. Turned out they were in Moorpark, which, in case you don’t know, from Redondo Beach is thirteen days’ journey by camel. Yesterday I called the folks at BigBox and told them to truck that crate out for me, hopped into the SuperBeetle and drove to the remote spot of the 118. There was my crate, standing naked and alone beside this massive warehouse.

My stuff.

So yeah, I’m spinning again, after an unwelcome eight month break. I’ve got this wedding coming up in May and precious little time to practice. It’s not a Prog House event, so I’ve also got to spend some time putting together dance sets. Did you know that Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and New Order’s “True Faith” are all 117 beats per minute? I call that a happy fact. So is “Zenophile” by Mylo. If I can work that into the mix, I’ll be a happy DJ.

Oh, and the return of the turntables means there are podcasts on the horizon. Please try and contain yourself.

Mylo - “Zenophile

By Will | Posted in Music, mp3 |
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  • Television

Rolling ‘Bones’ - Ten Things About The Show

April 10, 2008 – 11:53 am ·

It’s been a while since I posted. I threw something up on Friday (the thing about Thomas Newman) and then I threw something up on Monday, but that was a different kind of throw up entirely. The kind that comes with being sick. I spent eight germ-free months in Santa Fe. Now I’m back in L.A. “Welcome back,” says the city. “Here’s your allotment of germs. We’ve been saving them for you.” So that’s why I haven’t been posting.

Oh, and then there’s Bones.

BonesNo one who knows me doubts my rabid fannishness over Buffy and Angel. But good things must come to an end and the casts of those two television giants scattered to the four winds in 2005. Charisma Carpenter lost her baby fat and did a year in Neptune. SMG skipped through a series of horror flicks. Alyson Hannigan has been everywhere.

David Boreanaz landed Bones.

A year ago, I reluctantly checked out “The Girl In Suite 2103,” an episode from the show’s second season. I was watching it because my friend, Bertila Damas, had a guest-starring role. I thought the show was awkward and weird. I had gotten so used to Boreanaz and his vampiric glower that it seemed weird to have him bouncing about in broad daylight. I dismissed it and went about my life. Now, a year later, I’m completely hooked.

Bones

Yeah, so instead of writing, I’ve been sipping Theraflu and watching Bones. The show is based on the books and career of Kathy Reichs, and it’s premise is that, blah, blah, blah. Let me just distill it down for you. Ten things about Bones:

Read More »

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