Movie & Music Blogging

Oh no. Blank page.

But let’s see what kind of random goodies we can fill it up with.

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I saw the movie “Juno” for the second time last night. It’s a very good film, almost refreshing. It’s nice to watch a movie and not feel like the creators of it think you’re a complete and total moron. My goodness, they treated me like an adult.

Juno was a “must-see” when I read about the soundtrack. How can you beat Kimya Dawson, Sonic Youth, Cat Power and Belle & Sebastian? I’m a fan of them all. Our ten-year old daughter’s favorite singer is Kimya Dawson. I turned her onto to Dawson a couple of years ago and now I can honestly say that I’ve heard this song about a thousand times.

Ellen Page plays the leading role in Juno perfectly – smart, edgy and just plain endearing. But just when it hints at sliding into the pit of sappiness the movie slaps you upside of the head with a hip quip or reference to make sure you – and it – aren’t taking things too seriously. Better yet, it does this while still being a serious movie. Perfect.

Go see it. And then see if you can avoid buying the soundtrack.

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Speaking of soundtracks, my wife left me for the soundtrack to “Into the Wild.” But that’s okay, I left her for the soundtrack to “Juno.”

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Speaking of music, I got a call from a friend last week asking if I wanted to go hear some upcoming music at Langdon Street Café. Tonight, to be precise. He knew one of the guitar players and heard the other guy was really good, too. Until then, it sounded like all the efforts friends use to get other friends out to hear some music with them. Well, who are they? I asked. Bow Thayer and Mike Press, he responded.

Both names rang a bell. Bow Thayer because he’s from Vermont and – well, you know how that goes in this artistically claustrophobic state. But how did I know the name “Mike Press”?

Well, all be damned, he was the musician who replaced me on the drums for the now legendary post-punk phenoms, Drunken Boat (circa late ‘80s and early ‘90s, New York City). Well, he was actually one of several folks who replaced me after I bolted the band in 1990 while under the influence of Wendell Berry and Edward Abbey and an urge to flee to the wilds of Vermont. It didn’t sit well with my brother, Todd, the leader of the band as its singer and songwriter. But we worked it out, and today he’s too tired training for Ironman triathlons to bother me much about it. Run boy, run. Oh yeah, and swim and bike, too.

But what an odd little night it should be. Worlds colliding, for sure. According to his website, Press is now playing guitar and performing alt-country music. Sorry, but the “alt-country” thing scares me. Or, at the very least, doesn’t interest me. And it’s certainly a long, long way from the music of Drunken Boat, once characterized as “think punk” by the New York Times.

In the early ‘90’s, the Times’ lead music critic, John Pareles, published a list of “Performers with a future.” He listed about ten bands and performers, including Nirvana, Fugazi, Travis Tritt and….Drunken Boat. Yeah, if it weren’t for that fucking Kurt Cobain we would have gone places.

Here’s a favorite line from a Pareles review:

Why Nirvana and not (yet) Pavement, Band of Susans, Superchunk, Cows, Arson Garden, Cop Shoot Cop, Vanilla Trainwreck or Drunken Boat?

So close, baby.

But Drunken Boat made some damn good music – mostly after I left for the hills of Walden, Vermont. Fish around on the web for it – it’s still out there.

See you on Langdon Street tonight, my friends.

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The beginning of the new novel:

It was just a bad idea. It’s easy to see that now.

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Best line so far on the FDA’s recent decision to allow the sale of cloned meat:

“I didn’t know cows stopped fucking.”

It came from the otherwise moronic Trace Adkins while appearing on Bill Maher’s show.

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Now get to work.