THE new music blog

If you’re wondering where all the wonderful commentary from this blog has moved to, here’s a hint: I’m now writing another blog, focusing on music. It’s called Traveler Blues. Read it. Devour it. Memorize it’s teachings.

More glorious “Lost” fan-baiting

Yesterday, we talked about the series of Lost “Missing Pieces” web episodes. Today, I want to bring your attention to another manner in which Lost’s producers have been baiting (placating?) fans in the recent weeks leading up to the premiere of season four (which, in case you live in complete, desolate seclusion, is TOMORROW!!). I’m talking about “Find 815“, the second “alternate reality game” (or ARG) shedding light on and adding more questions to the ever-growing Lost mythology. These ARGs take place primarily online and consist of different videos, e-mails and other clues leading to fresh fodder for Lost-ophiles, the idea being that we’re observing and/or taking part in events that are corresponding with (and therefore part of) the story lines on the actual television show Lost.

The first Lost ARG, known as “The Lost Experience“, took place (in the most literal sense) in 2006 and centered around the story line of a young woman searching for answers about the mysterious Hanso Foundation. The current ARG focuses on the quest of a former Oceanic Airlines employee who wants to know what happened to Oceanic flight 815 — because his flight-attendant girlfriend was one of those on board. Apparently, the game is set to culminate in the hours before Lost’s season four premiere, leading one to assume that a semi-major revelation may be in store. [Here's a great website with continuous updates about "Find 815".]

As always, if you don’t care about Lost, you may feel that you just wasted several minutes of your incredibly precious time by reading the preceding text. But since you’ve made it this far, I’m assuming, dear reader, that either you’re just as big a Lost fan as I, or else you’re searching for some kind of path to cultural enlightenment, and you think I might just be able to cast some light on the trail. Either way, click on some of the preceding links to find out more.

Dave’s Film Festival: catching up

As you may recall, dear reader, some weeks back I began viewing selections for Dave’s Film Festival, a new event on the industry circuit that consists of me borrowing films from the local library, watching them, and giving you my thoughts on each. Unfortunately, while I’ve been keeping up with the viewings, I’ve been derelict in providing you with my analysis. And though, in the interest of time, I won’t give full recaps, I’ll play a little catch-up by telling you what was viewed, with brief summation of each (in order of viewing):

Serpico (1973) – A crime drama by director Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. Gives the story of a hippie-loving cop who busts a corruption ring engulfing much of the New York City police force.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – A landmark film noir effort by director John Huston. Profiles a bank heist gone wrong, as well as the backstabbing and repercussions that follow.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Another Lumet/Pacino film, outlining yet another failed bank heist. Famous for the line “Attica!”, yelled repeatedly by Pacino to stir up the crowd outside and turn the event into a spectacle, which it was.

The Conversation (1974) – Starring Gene Hackman as a surveillance man struggling with regret and paranoia, this was the film Francis Ford Coppola made between the first two Godfather pictures, and it stands tall even compared to those.

Network (1976) – One more Lumet picture, this a somewhat farcical tale of a television news program overtaken by a ratings war and general ’70s decadence; famous for the line “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more!”, yelled by a news anchor. While that portion of the film was entertaining, an interwoven story line about a love triangle rang hollow and brought down the entire film.

The Fearless Freaks (2005) – A documentary about Oklahoma band The Flaming Lips by Oklahoma filmmaker Bradley Beesley, this was an entertaining look at one of the more daringly creative and influential rock bands around today.

Okie Noodling (2001) – Another documentary by Beesley, this time looking at the predominantly southern art of “noodling” or “hand-fishing”, which consists of shoving one’s hand in a mud hole in hopes of enticing a large catfish to latch on. Engrossing.

Barton Fink (1991) – One of the early critical successes by the film-making team of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Tells the story of a New York City playwright in the 1940s who attempts to make a go of it in Hollywood.

Solaris (2002) – Starring George Clooney, this is the second film version (the first was in 1972) of a Polish novel in which a mysterious planet plagues the astronauts orbiting it.

Lost: Missing Pieces — baiting the fans and making them like it

If, dear reader, you feel you may not know me as well as you desire, there is really only one thing you need to know right now: I love Lost. The television show, that is, in which a group of plane crash survivors try to come to terms with the mysterious happenings taking place on the Pacific island on which they’re stranded. In recent weeks, much of my time has been devoted to fan sites about the show (despite E.J.’s constant deriding), and it’s because this Thursday, the show will return from a nine-month hiatus with the premiere of season four, and I am beyond ecstatic. But more on that later.

In the past few months, Lost’s producers have kept fans baited by a series of 13 two- to three-minute web episodes (or “mobisodes”, as they’re sometimes called) featuring new, tantalizing scenes from story lines from the show’s previous three seasons. Titled “Missing Pieces”, they have ranged from the seemingly pointless to the amusing to the suspenseful, but none have been as potentially mind-blowing as the final installment, seen here. I’m not going to try explaining it to you; either you watch the show and you’ll understand, or you don’t and you couldn’t care less. There’s not much middle ground. This final one may be my favorite of the bunch, though it’s in a dead heat with this one. You can watch all 13 here or here.

Unique Profiles: Hunter S. Thompson

Another brief post for the people. This second installment in our “Unique Profiles” series focuses on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, largely accepted as the original practitioner of the “gonzo” style of journalism. Several books looking back at Thompson’s life have been released in the past year, including this one by some of his former colleagues at Rolling Stone magazine. The book leans heavily on first-person accounts from people who knew Thompson. Here’s a review of the book from the New York Times Book Review by TIME magazine writer Joel Klein, and some excerpts from, what else, Rolling Stone. Read and enjoy.

Dave’s thinking about getting a MacBook Pro…but E.J. is encouraging him to wait

Well, I haven’t made a post in a few moons, now, so I thought I’d share with you one of the reasons why: My ongoing deliberation over whether or not to purchase a new MacBook Pro laptop computer. (In case you don’t know what one is, you can find out here.) However, by sending me recent Apple rumor threads like this, this and this, E.J. is, so far, successfully persuading me to wait it out in case Apple comes out with an updated model of the device, which they are supposedly going to do soon. How long can I wait? Only time will tell…

The year passes, as do a pair of jazz legends

In the past two weeks, jazz — and music in general — lost a pair of elder statesmen that will be truly missed. Legendary producer Joel Dorn (b. 1942), who spent years at Atlantic Records and is perhaps best known for his collaborations with reed man Rahsaan Roland Kirk, passed away on Dec. 17. And jazz pianist Oscar Peterson (b. 1925), one of the last living masters from jazz’s golden ages, passed on Sunday. Next to Monk, I don’t know if there are any pianists I love more than Peterson. You can read recent items on Dorn here and here, and on Peterson here and here. Also passing earlier in the year was Max Roach (b. 1924), quite possibly the greatest jazz drummer who ever lived. Read about Roach here and here.

[Update: You can find another good write-up on Joel Dorn here.] 

New trailer for upcoming Scorsese film on the Rolling Stones

Barrett has once again alerted me to a very hot tip (and reminded me that this is a blog I should check out more often). He sent me an e-mail this morning directing me to the new trailer for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming rock documentary on the Rolling Stones, Shine A Light (the title is taken from a song from the Stones album Exile on Main St.).

[You can also see a more high-def version of the trailer at the film's official website.]

The film was originally supposed to come out in September, but now has apparently been pushed to April. It documents a Stones show from ‘06 at New York City’s Beacon Theater, where the Allman Brothers have also recorded a number of well-renowned gigs. Having seen the Stones last year with Marsha in Wichita, I can attest that they’re still very entertaining live, despite their advanced age (I believe Mick, Keef, Charlie and Ron are all now in their 60s), and the film trailer seems to back that up. The film also features behind-the-scenes footage of events leading up to the performance, as well as some archival clips of the band.

One slight concern — and I’m sure I’m not the only one to voice it — is the guest appearance of pop vixen Christina Auguilera, joining Mick on the song “Live With Me”. That being said, the girl has a got a dynamite voice, and she’s done some respectable work the past couple years, including a good rendition of the Leon Russel number “A Song for You” on one of Herbie Hancock’s recent albums. And to make up for any bubble gum confusion, Shine a Light also includes guest appearances from Buddy Guy — one of the last living blues legends — and Jack White of the White Stripes.

Scorsese, the filmmaker responsible for such classics as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and The Departed, also has a lot of credibility when it comes to rock docs. He made The Last Waltz, released in 1978, which chronicled the final concert of The Band, and which is often regarded as the best film ever in the genre. And in 2005, he released No Direction Home, a stellar look at Bob Dylan’s career in the ’60s. After viewing the trailer for this new film, it looks like he’s crafted another gem.

[And in case you were wondering about my opinion, dear reader: Yes, the Stones are the best rock n' roll band in the history of the world. And yes, I'm very excited about this film. I'm praying to all things holy and decent that it receives a showing on the big screen here in OKC. They still haven't brought the new Dylan film here yet, and it's not even a documentary!]

[One more addendum: As if all this weren't enough, you can also watch the new trailer for The Dark Knight, the next installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman series. Due out next summer. Looks incredible.]

Led Zeppelin reunites for London show

Fans and music writers had speculated about it for over two-and-a-half decades, and now it’s finally happened. Monday night, the British blues-rock band Led Zeppelin reunited in London for what will surely become a legendary performance.

The show, part of a larger commemoration of the life of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, had been touted as the band’s first full-fledged reunion concert since they split up following drummer John Bonham’s death in 1980, though they did later perform two brief shows, one in 1985 and another in ‘88. In preparation for Monday’s concert, the three remaining members — singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, and bassist John Paul Jones — held long rehearsals with their new drummer, Bonham’s son, Jason. The show was hyped for months in the press, including on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone, and by the music industry, and came shortly after the release of a couple new Zeppelin boxed sets. (I don’t know which was planned first, the reunion concert or the boxed sets, but the former is bound to boost sales of the latter.)

Finally the date arrived, and by all accounts, the resulting spectacle was magnificent. Everyone from The Sun in Britain, to the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and the Wall Street Journal had great things to say. And the event even gave some blogger the chance to theorize on the Huffington Post about how the band has brought the western world and eastern Islam closer together. (Okay…)

Whatever the analysis, I just hope the wishful thinking that a U.S. tour is to follow will be realized. I believe Cream’s recent reunion tour did well, and surely a Zeppelin tour would be one of the biggest sellers of the decade.

Other tidbits related to Monday’s event:

• Check out the set list here. I certainly did not expect to see “In My Time of Dying”, “For Your Life”, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, or “No Quarter” on there, but I’m so glad they are. (And apparently this was the first time “For Your Life” has ever been played live.)
• On a similar note, despite the chagrin of this writer (and, I’ll admit, despite my own as well), the band did play “Stairway to Heaven”.
• Another interesting facet to the Zeppelin story is a new one for many fans of the band: cracking down on the uploading of clips from Monday’s concert to YouTube. Read one story on the topic here. For the record, I’ve tried viewing about 10 or so different clips, and none of them work. Dang it. Hopefully they’ll release it on DVD ASAP.

[Special thanks to Barrett for pointing my attention to some of the linked articles.]

Unique profiles

Occasionally in my reading, I stumble across a unique character profile that I wish to share with you, dear reader. It might be about an individual whom I’ve never even heard of (such is the case this time), but the nature of the person’s life strikes me in some way that I wouldn’t feel right if I were to keep such newfound knowledge to myself. In sharing these profiles with you, I may occasionally “show my age” by making some categorical statement that could easily be refuted by someone who’s been around long enough to actually know what I’m talking about (seeing as I might not). But I’ll share just the same.

The first such profile is this piece from a recent Wall Street Journal about Jacques Barzun, a cultural historian, professor and longtime feature at Columbia University. If you want to find out more, read it. If you don’t, that’s fine. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it…

And to give you another taste of what this series of profiles will be like, here’s an item from a February edition of the New York Times Sunday Book Review about the part-time literary career of E. Howard Hunt, one of those responsible for organizing the infamous Watergate break-in.