Tomorrowpeople -- Live 6.27.09 -- Cedar Hill, Tx

Tomorrowpeople played a private party out in Cedar Hill, TX this past Saturday (6.27.09). It was an outdoor affair with lots of kids running around, adults munching on fajitas -- lots of beer drinking -- and the band sweating in the 100 degree heat in their rock and roll fancy pants.

It was our first performance since March at the NX35 Fest in Denton. Despite a few flubs here and there, the recorded show is actually pretty listenable.

Scroll down and download the tracks.

Our next appearance is July 24th at the Barley House in Dallas. It's an early show -- 8pm.

1.America's Deathrow Sweetheart
2.Cruel
3.Awful Secret
4.What Deener Was Talking About
5.Mercitron
6.Vacation Destination: Earth
7.Mission
8.Windows Wide
9.Youth in Orbit
10.Love Machine
11.100 Years Ago

Ennio Morricone -- I Film Della Violenza

Landed a near mint vinyl copy of the two platter Morricone comp, I Film Della Violenza, last week. Been checking it out the past couple of days.

I'd kinda been in a rock mood lately, so I was surprised how good this sounded to me. The vinyl is in excellent shape and sounds fantastic on a Technics 1200 turntable (old skool Stanton 500 cartridge -- nothing fancy) through my buggy Yamaha AV receiver and Bose 2.2 Series II speakers. Something about that Euro vinyl.

The gatefold set also came with a cool b&w booklet -- in Italian -- with synopses of all the films this compilation drew from. Lots of pix including posters and lobby cards.

I was surprised that I actually didn't have a lot of the material here. Some of it just sounds so awesome after listening to it on my iPod. The recent vinyl resurgance has unearthed some classic discs. In a way, I hope this never gets re-issued -- but I'll definitely put it on for ya when you're over at mi casa.

Track Listing:

Disc One

Side 1

1. Titoli - Citta Violenta
2. Piume Di Cristallo - L'Uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo
3. Guerra E Pace Pollo E Brace - Grazie Zia
4. Storie Di Vita E Di Malavita
5. Un Amico - Revolver
6. Coincidenze - L'Ultimo Treno Della Notte

Side 2

1. Verso Il Futuro - Queimada
2. Titoli - Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Puo' Sparare
3. Speranze Di Liberta - Sacco E Vanzetti
4. Un Uomo Si E Dimesso - La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero
5. Un Uomo Da Rispettare

Disc Two

Side 1

1. Svegliati E Uccide
2. Il Diavolo Nel Cervello
3. Da Uomo A Uoma
4. Titoli - I Pugni In Tasca
5. Ultimo Atto - Mussolini, Ultimo Atto
6. Valzer - La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro
7. Bambole - Spasmo

Side 2

1. Il Clan Dei Siciliani
2. Come Un Madrigale - 4 Mosche Di Velluto Grigio
3. Escalation
4. Titoli - La Proprieta Non E' Piu' Un Furto
5. Giordano Bruno
6. Ricera - Senza Movente

Download MP3 of CITTA VIOLENTA

Karl Malden Dead at 97

Ok, I'm not gonna say anything about MJ...not a peep about Farrah. Ed McMahon -- more like Dead McMahon. Billy Mays -- we hardly knew ye!

But this one is different. Not because it was unexpected. Actually, for many baby boomers -- it might even be regrief. But after 97 years on the planet, actor Karl Malden has shuffled off this mortal coil. The actor (who is probably better known for his role as spokesperson for American Express in the '70s and '80s, although I knew him on The Streets of San Francisco) was born Mladen Sekulovich in Gary, Indiana (MJ's hometown, for what that's worth) in 1912. His work with Marlon Brando in the '50s and early '60s represented some of the two actors' best work -- A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and Brando's One-Eyed Jacks, which I recently screened here in Dallas as part of my Cinemania film series.

I had remarked more than once in the past year how remarkable Malden was still with us -- and actor with ties to the Golden Era of the Silver Screen. Mr. Sekulovich, thanks for the memories.

Film Images 5/1/09

OUT OF THE PAST (1947) -- 16mm

The Morricone Genius

Grooving on the soundtrack music of Ennio Morricone. Bought two vinyl LPs this weekend at Forever Young -- 1971's UNA LUCERTOLA CON LA PELLE and the obscure 1969 LA DONNA INVISIBLE. Both could be comfortably filed under Mondo Morricone material, reflecting a dreamier, slightly loungy side of the Il Maestro...although I wouldn't go so far as saying they're "psychedelic." UNA LUCERTOLA is definitely un-easy listening with it's spare, staccato dissonance. You can tell we're dealing with a thriller here. I think Dusty Grooves' website had the best description of Morricone's work from this period -- sampled on the MORRICONE HIGH comp --

There's a simple, economical approach here that's really mindblowing -- rhythms that flow slowly like fog escaping from a riverbank, notes that fall in slight spare patterns like drops of rain from a leaf after a storm, and gently cascading waves of sound that float and shimmer in the mix -- rising as carefully as the sun to give the music a wonderfully redemptive spirit.

I've also really enjoyed the soundtracks for VERUSHKA, QUATTRO MOSCHE DI VELLUTO GRIGIO and the Charles Bronson actioner, CITTA VIOLENTA which utilizes themes Morricone recycled through such lowbrow crime dramas as REVOLVER. The movies aren't bad either if you're in the mood for a bit of talky Euro-sleaze. A far cry from Morricone's mainstream success via his legendary DOLLARS trilogy work. Actually, Morricone's spaghetti western themes seem to come from a completely different place in the composers' brain compared to the almost experimental nature of his thriller and giallo work from the early '70s. Recommended.

MARIO BAVA AND THE GESTALT OF CINEMA

Watched a bit of the new Midnight Choir DVD release of Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY coupled with Fulci's CONSPIRACY OF TORTURE. Ordered it off Amazon after reading a little controversy surrounding the disc's legal status. If you know me, you know I'm a huge Bava fan -- I own Tim Lucas' 1000+ bio ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK. You gotta be a fan if you own that! The older VCI disc, which -- I guess -- most fans regard as "official," is a bit out of date. The picture is non-anamorphic for 16:9 screens and non-progressive. I was a little hesitant to buy this latest version, but I'm glad I did. The picture is the same but optimized for widescreen TV which makes a big difference. I haven't gotten around to watching the Fulci part, but watching THE WHIP got me musing about dubbing versus subtitles (THE WHIP is only available in English dubbed here in Region 1). I used to detest dubbed films. I thought they were dumbed down for folks who "couldn't take" the real thing. I watched all my Fellini, Bergman and Truffauts with subtitles...and I liked it! But lately I've been enjoying dubbed films. Especially films by Bava -- or Japanese kaiju films. One of the problems with modern film viewers is their inability to get over their expectations regarding narrative and acting. One could point to numerous reasons for this, but it all leads up to the fact that modern viewers have a hard time taking a film in as a whole piece of art. Cinema is not just about acting -- far from it. And cinema is not just about dramatic narrative, although that too is very interesting in my opinion. I believe that a particular film's aesthetics consist in equal part of photography, mood, music, costume and sets. Sometimes all these elements combine with theater and drama to create something special. Sometimes one or more of these elements are weaker than the others...but this doesn't necessarily mean that any flaw in any one ingredient means that a film is a "bad film." For many years, Mario Bava's work was considered "bad." Like John Huston says in CHINATOWN, and I paraphrase, 'Whores and politicians get respectable with old age.' Well I add "bad filmakers" to that shortlist. And even a certain respectability doesn't really take away a film or filmaker's flaws. I believe when a film is viewed as a whole -- especially a foreign film with the subtitles stripped away in favor of a dubbed soundtrack -- one can begin to assess that "whole." When a viewer is forced to parse their way through actual words on a screen, that viewer loses a part of the essence of cinema. Just a thought.

Notes from AFI DALLAS Part II

OK, ok. I caught some flak from Head of Press and Publicity for AFI, John Wildman, for my last post. I just wanted to clarify a few points regarding my comments about AFI Dallas' screenings.

First off, I in no way wanted to sound ungrateful to the fest organizers. I was an invited guest at this year's fest and I really appreciated being able to be a small part of it. It was pointed out to me by some of the organizers about the difficulties inherent in screening classic film. If anyone knows about this, it's me. Booking prints and showing them in theaters in this town is a dicey proposition at best. The studios don't want their precious films being projected from a platter projection system -- the most common, and in Dallas, the ONLY way films get shown in theaters. This puts programmers in this city at a disadvantage in regards to obtaining vintage prints. It was incredible to be able to see a 35mm print of DOUBLE INDEMNITY and I would gladly see it again...wrong aspect ratio or not.

Regarding the video screening of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, I want to say that I was indeed a little disappointed to see an advertised 35mm print being replaced by DVD, but in the end, what's really important was the fact that so many folks were interested in seeing a classic film projected on a big screen. I was wrong to imply any deliberate deception on the part of AFI Dallas' programming, advertising or projection. Problems occur and sometimes you have to roll with them.

I think that it's really incredible that AFI Dallas exists and even more incredible to see all the volunteers and staff organized to provide a memorable experience for all concerned. It'll be interesting to watch how this unique entity grows over the coming years.