All these wonderful things

Trailers for Todd Haynes' Dylan Biopic & Martin Scorsese's Stones Flick

It's a big fall for movies about musicians (Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Ian Curtis) and two of the biggest are I'M NOT THERE, an inventive narrative film from Todd Haynes about Bob Dylan, and the latest music documentary from Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese, who this time takes on the Rolling Stones.  By the looks of the SHINE A LIGHT trailer, it seems that film will somewhat deconstruct the very making of a concert film, with Scorsese as a character in his own film. 

Here are trailers for both films:

Seattle Day 3 - NW Premiere and Barsuk Soundtrack Announcement

Arrived in Seattle for SIFF 2007 on Thursday and, per usual as far as my experience in Seattle, the weather is beautiful. Tonight is the NW premiere of About A Son and I'm very much looking forward to seeing my crew - Neil, Greg, Ian, Heather, Eddie, as well as Steve & Ben & Michael & Charles. It promises to be a bit of an emotional night - both because I'm happy for the team to finally be able to see the 35mm print and because there will be a bunch of folks at the screening who knew Kurt.

Already we've had some film-specific news break while we've been up here. Yesterday, Barsuk Records, the amazing Seattle indie that is home to Nada Surf, The Long Winters, Harvey Danger and the one time den of Death Cab for Cutie and Rilo Kiley, announced that they would be putting out the soundtrack for Kurt Cobain About A Son. From the Billboard article announcing the release:

Tracks by R.E.M., David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Bad Brains and Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard will be found on the soundtrack to "Kurt Cobain -- About a Son," due Sept. 11 via Barsuk.

The film is told in Cobain's voice from audiotapes utilized by Michael Azzerad on his Nirvana book "Come As You Are." It will be released theatrically in the fourth quarter, with a DVD to follow shortly thereafter.

Some of the audio clips are woven through the album track list, which features R.E.M.'s "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1," Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World," Pop's "The Passenger," Bad Brains' "Banned in D.C." and songs by such Cobain influences as the Melvins, the Vaselines, the Butthole Surfers and Scratch Acid.

Gibbard's cover of Beat Happening's "Indian Summer," as well as a score piece with Steve Fisk, are exclusive to the album.

More, including the tracklist, from Pitchfork:

The documentary itself-- combining excerpts from the taped interviews with footage shot in the Pacific Northwest by director AJ Schnack-- will be released sometime in the fall with a DVD release to follow shortly thereafter.

01 Steve Fisk & Ben Gibbard - "Overture"
02 "Never Intended" [interview excerpt]
03 Arlo Guthrie - "Motorcycle Song"
04 The Melvins - "Eye Flys"
05 "Punk Rock" [interview excerpt]
06 Bad Brains - "Banned In D.C."
07 Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Up Around the Bend"
08 Half Japanese - "Put Some Sugar On It"
09 The Vaselines - "Son of a Gun"
10 Butthole Surfers - "Graveyard"
11 "Hardcore Was Dead" [interview excerpt]
12 Scratch Acid - "Owner's Lament"
13 Mudhoney - "Touch Me I'm Sick"
14 "Car Radio" [interview excerpt]
15 Iggy Pop - "The Passenger"
16 Leadbelly - "The Bourgeois Blues"
17 R.E.M. - "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1"
18 "The Limelight" [interview excerpt]
19 David Bowie - "The Man Who Sold The World"
20 Mark Lanegan - "Museum"
21 Ben Gibbard - "Indian Summer"

As both pieces indicate, announcements about the film's theatrical release are forthcoming.

But for tonight, a first screening in the state where the film was made.

Pan's Labyrinth, Cat Power's The Greatest Take Edendale Shortlist Prizes in Closest Competition Ever

The winners of the Fourth Annual Edendale Shortlist Prize were announced last night following the conclusion of the 79th Academy Awards.  In the closest voting ever, Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, which earlier in the night won three Oscars (although not the anticipated statue for Best Foreign Language Film), took the prize for film by a single vote.  In the music category, Cat Power's album The Greatest - the 7th album from singer/songwriter Chan Marshall - won the Edendale prize by just two votes.

Pan's Labyrinth just edged out Larry Charles' comedy Borat, with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men coming in third, just one vote behind Borat.  Martin Scorsese's Best Picture Oscar winner The Departed came in fourth, while Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Ferris' Little Miss Sunshine was fifth.  Little Miss Sunshine, which dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, was by far the top vote getter in original polling for the shortlist - where voters nominated their five favorite films - garnering more than ten votes more than Pan's Labyrinth.  But in the end, it had the least number of votes in the final tallying.

On the music side, Band of Horses' Everything All the Time and TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain, tied for second, just two votes behind Cat Power, who had led the early voting by just a few votes over Tom Waits' Orphans.  The Waits album ended up fourth in the final voting, with Joanna Newsom's Ys coming in fifth.

Here's the original post on this year's Shortlist Nominees with background on the prize itself and previous winners.  And here's a full list of films that received votes in the first round.

The 2006 Edendale Shortlist Unveiled

For the fourth year in a row, we’ve called out for nominations for the Edendale Shortlist.  This year, based on the votes of more than 50 filmmakers, critics & writers, musicians, actors and film programmers, we’re pleaseed announce the five films and five albums that made the 2006 Edendale Shortlist.

The Edendale Shortlist Nominees for Film are:

Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth

The Edendale Shortlist Nominees for Music are:

Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Cat Power - The Greatest
Joanna Newsom - Ys
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Tom Waits - Orphans

A couple of notable firsts on the film side:  For the first time in the Shortlist’s short history, a documentary failed to make the final 5 (previous nominees included Spellbound, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Grizzly Man).  This year, James Longley’s Iraq in Fragments came the closest to making the list.  And despite more than 50 voters (and a total of more than 260 individual votes), not a single person gave one of their five votes to Dreamgirls, which, should Dreamgirls get nominated for Best Picture, would be the first time a Best Picture nominee failed to get at least one vote in our shortlist.

On the music side, this year marks the first time that a previous Shortlister returns.  Joanna Newsom makes the final five again this year (she previously appeared on the 2004 list with her album The Milk-Eyed Mender) for her latest album, Ys.

More details on this year’s voting and a breakdown of votes to come.

Previous Edendale Shortlist Winners for Film:
2003 - (tie) City of God and Lost in Translation
2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005 - Good Night, and Good Luck.

Previous Edendale Shortlist Winners for Music:
2003 - Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
2004 - Elliot Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
2005 - Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Courtney OKs New Kurt Biopic (Or Does She)? The Truth Behind the Rumors!

One of the things I learned pretty early on in making About A Son was that the press' desire to have fresh stories on Kurt and Courtney had not been quenched in the 12 years after his death.  On our last day of shooting in Aberdeen, the local paper came out to do a story, a small "Film Crew In Town" kind of piece.  After the story ran the next day, we were suddenly getting calls from nearly every radio and television station in Seattle.  By the next day, the story of "Kurt Speaks - a new Kurt Cobain documentary" had hit the wires and a week after that, we were on the cover of the NME.

Since then, numerous small stories about Kurt and/or Courtney have shown up and have quickly turned into what seems like a bit of a worldwide frenzy.  The most recent came late last week when Access Hollywood indicated that Courtney had acquired the rights to Charles Cross' book Heavier Than Heaven and planned to turn it into an approved biopic.  This was apparently based on a note at MoonWashedRose - a fan site where Courtney often posts. 

The reaction to the news was quick and predictable:

Courtney Love Cashes in on Kurt Cobain
Smells Like a Cash In
Does Love really know what’s best for Kurt Cobain’s legacy? We’re not even sure if she knows what’s best for her own legacy, let alone that of her late great husband.

But in any case, it was assumed by many in the press that this thing was pretty much a done deal.  Hell, the thing is already cast!:

Shooting begins on new Cobain film
Ewan McGregor to play Kurt Cobain
McGregor Tipped for Cobain Role

But while the initial news was blogfodder worldwide, few were paying attention when Courtney posted again and said that all of the news was premature, at best, and that any movie may be years away (in fact, the McGregor rumors came a full week after Courtney posted her "wait a second, not so fast" post):

this is Courtney - and there was a post here about a Nirvana Biopic that the Press picked up on, there is no substance or reality to any thing about this film until there are deals on the table and

producers deals signed, this will then be announced at the apporpiate time, it may be years from now, before this film begins,

ive been approached b y many actors and producers and a few directors about this project,over the years, but am focusing on my record presently and this project is not yet NEAR a reality.

When and IF it becomes a reality it will go through legal processes and be announ ced through the proper channels.

This project is in an embryonic stage with m any decisions to be made and has no script and no director attached, leta lone stars.

If it gets made it will of course be A list and a high end film, but that announcement will happen again, if and when these deals close with production.

There is no point publishing that this Biopic is presently active when it is not.

When it is, if it is, it will come through the proper channels not a blogger who may or may not be myself.

I dont mind the press poking aropund here to see whats up= but althats up presently is some majors and me in discussions about the LP/CL record that BC is also a part of as wellas a great band.

thats the only official business on the table and when that deal is made again. It will be announced via proper channels...

In truth, Courtney has talked on and off with numerous folks about both a narrative biopic (with actors playing her and Kurt) and a documentary.  For years, she has talked about doing a Cobain documentary with Lauren Lazin, who directed the Oscar nominated film Tupac: Resurrection, and recently there'd been rumors that she wanted Cameron Crowe to tackle "the official Nirvana documentary".  On the biopic, she has told people as recently as last fall that she's talking to Scarlett Johansson about playing her.  But as the above notes, it's not clear when or if any of this will actually happen.

I get asked all the time, sometimes in a vaguely concerned, vaguely conspiratorial way, "what does Courtney think" of About A Son.  The implicit inference is usually that she's standing right around the next corner waiting to pounce with her lawyers.  The truth?  She and her reps have been totally fine, great even.  Never tried to stop us, actually helped out in a couple situations.  They know that our film is something very specific and different from what they might want to do.  I've never met Courtney (although a number of folks who worked on the film have and some have been close to her at various times).  She hasn't seen the film.  Occasionally we'll hear from someone who has talked to her that she's said something along the lines of she intends to make the "real" Nirvana documentary someday. 

Someday, we'll probably get that movie and maybe the fictionalized one too.  But just like the time that the press breathlessly reported that the WB had acquired the rights to Heavier Than Heaven and was planning to turn it into a WB movie, sometimes the truth of what's happening (or happened) with Kurt and Courtney is far different than what you read.  In this case, what started as a short stream-of-consciousness blog to fans ended up as a fait accompli.  By now, we should realize that the truth about these two figures is more complicated and more interesting than the stereotypes.

 

Matt Dentler Polls Film Folks on Music Picks

In the midst of all the end-of-2006 best-of lists, SXSW Film Guru and Blogger extraordinaire Matt Dentler closed out 2006 with an informal polling of the top album choices of a cross-sampling of indie film folks, more than 50 in all.  Here's a summary from his 11th post (of 11):

If I were to tally the results (and I won't), it would likely result in a list of frontrunners that include 2006 releases from: Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, The Beatles, Beck, Neko Case, Cat Power, Clipse, The Decemberists, Bob Dylan, Ghostface Killah, The Knife, Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins, Joanna Newsom, The Raconteurs, TV On the Radio, Scott Walker, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Yo La Tengo. That said, don't be shocked if any or all of these artists find their way onto an indie-film soundtrack, or the bill at a film festival party.

My own picks, which include at least three of the above, can be found in edition #7. 

Meanwhile, the call went out a couple days ago for entries for the 4th Annual Edendale Shortlist.  (Last year's nominees can be found here.)  Look for the announcement of the 2006 nominees in film and music later this month.

Oh, And While You're Not Paying Attention, One Of Your Favorite Bands Broke Up

I know that I've been a little busy, a little distracted lately.  But could someone tell me how I could have missed the news that Sleater-Kinney, one of the greatest bands in America, have called it quits?  That their final show took place this past Saturday night in Portland?

I actually discovered this news within the past ten minutes and I'm probably still numb to it.  Not that they haven't hinted at this likelihood.  Not that they haven't talked openly about their sometimes tempestuous interpersonal relationships.  But break up?  After releasing The Woods, one of the great rock records?

Apparently, this has been fait accompli since late June, according to the NME.  And the great Ann Powers had the report on S-K's final shows for the LA Times:

With each member hitting her peak Saturday, Sleater-Kinney's most-lauded attribute — the group's subtle and often startlingly inventive interplay — was on full display. Tucker and Brownstein layered together guitar and vocal lines, sometimes easing into dynamically adventurous improvisations, only to turn on a dime and unite for some speedy dance-punk. Weiss provided the motor for her bandmates' tandem ride, her drum lines tapping into the mighty vigor of heavy metal. During these exchanges, neither songs nor the identities of the singers mattered. What fascinated was the group's creative process, emerging during each song like the topography on a raised map. In these moments, the trio exchanged delighted grins and it became clear that for Sleater-Kinney, nothing — not feminist ideology, not independent business practices, not even the words of the band's own songs — mattered as much as the unpredictable grace of collaboration.

Sleater-Kinney is not a jam band, however — its songs are too visceral and its stance too radical for the happy touring scene that's given other improvising rock groups a home. This show presented Sleater-Kinney at the absolute height of its powers; one can only hope that the breakup will last, so that each of these talented women gets a chance to follow a new stream. Leaving fans — and each other — with a show none will forget, Sleater-Kinney departed in glory. And frankly, that's something great bands don't do nearly enough.

One can only hope for a reunion tour sometime in 2017, but in the meantime, here's a raised glass for Carrie, Corin and Janet, three musicians who transcended the riot grrrl label to become one of the great American rock bands.

From the band's website:

We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us.

But mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.

Sleater-Kinney Discography:

The Woods | 2005   (Sub Pop)
One Beat | 2002   (Kill Rock Stars)
All Hands on the Bad One | 2000   (Kill Rock Stars)
The Hot Rock | 1999   (Kill Rock Stars)
Dig Me Out | 1997   (Kill Rock Stars)
Call the Doctor | 1996   (Chainsaw)
Self Titled | 1995   (Chainsaw)

They're all good.  My personal favorites are Dig Me Out, The Hot Rock and The Woods.

The 48th Annual Grammy Awards: The Battle of Who Could Care Less

Tomorrow night, the 11th plague of Egypt kicks off with the arrival of the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, live from the cavernous Staples Center in Los Angeles.

With a total of 108 categories, you'd think that a music fan, such as myself, would find themselves in aural heaven, anxiously wondering which of his/her favorites will triumph. Mm, not so much.

In fact, scanning the massive list of nominees, it strikes me that I really only care about a single category - Category 22 in Field 5 - "Best Alternative Music Album":

Funeral - The Arcade Fire
Guero - Beck
Plans - Death Cab for Cutie
You Could Have It So Better - Franz Ferdinand
Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes

But just for arguments sake, here are some other people I'd like to see win this afternoon and evening:

The 10 Least Wonderful Things of 2005

Everyone has their year-end lists. Pitchfork's got their top 50 albums of the year, the Voice has their 7th annual film crix poll, Movie City News keeps a critics scorecard of their own, and the Indiewire kids pick their favorites - kudos to Jonny Leahan for leading his list with Jem Cohen's Chain.

For my own take on the year that is almost past, I wanted to pay due reference to my blog's title. So, herewith, my (first) annual, highly subjective, randomly considered list of ten of the least wonderful things of the past year (the most wonderful things will be unveiled in the next day or so). The usual caveats apply:

10. The Demolition of Busch Stadium
More than just the ballpark of my youth, Busch was the last of the so-called "cookie cutter" stadiums, built for baseball, football, concerts, revivals, you name it, and as such, was thought to be a dinosaur. (Where are the luxury boxes? Where is the swimming pool?) Most of the folks who like the new back-to-classic stadium designs couldn't understand why anyone would be sentimental about the place. But as St. Louis has always been a mecca for baseball (with some of the best and most knowledgeable fans going), the stadium has had its own sense of hallowed ground.

These days, the life cycle for stadiums appears to be three or four decades, and fans (mostly) seem OK with demolishing the old ones for better seats, snacks and atmosphere. But there was history in that place, from McGwire's home runs, Brock's stolen bases, Gibson's pitching, Buck's play-by-play. And while the history remains, the actual site is no more, destined to be a mixed-use, "entertainment-dstrict".

Validation, Thy Name Is...

When I was finishing the editing on Gigantic, we wrote a short synopsis about the movie and said something about how They Might Be Giants were one of the most influential bands of the end of the 20th century. Immediately upon public consumption of our synopsis, that phrase "one of the most influential" was taken to task, both by fans ("I mean I love 'em but come on. Influential?") to music critics (insert your own put-down here and be sure to use quirky, goofy and nerdy).

So what do they know?

Seems that last month (I must have missed it), the bible of alternative and college music - CMJ posted its list of the 25 Most Influential Artists of the past 25 Years.

Guess who made the list. At #9.