TIFF Day 3: Gilliam, McCarthy and some other stuff
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday, but that I think is pretty key in getting across the feeling at TIFF’s industry screenings: Unlike CIFF, press and industry attend entirely separate screenings from the general public out here, so the tone of the press & industry screenings is much more subdued than the enthusiastic public … Continue reading
TIFF: Day 2 — Coen Brothers, George Clooney, Michael Haneke and a ninja Puritan
Alright, so it’s actually my first day at the festival, but it’s the second day of the fest itself, and I’m always one for going along with the official rules. Missing the first day was a bit of a bummer (I’m still very curious about the new Pedro Almodovar film and Lars von Trier’s almost … Continue reading
Corporate video games still suck
Two years ago, the Internet was abuzz with anger and indignation at the posthumous indignity facing Kurt Cobain. The grunge rock icon was to be the centrepiece of a string of ads for Dr. Martens shoes — a series that would also include late rockers Joe Strummer of The Clash, Sid Vicious of the Sex … Continue reading
The Flowers of Hell – Come Hell or High Water, Saved by Vinyl
If a band can be judged purely by the fans it attracts, The Flowers of Hell is a damned good band. Greg Jarvis’ pan-Atlantic space-rock symphony has performed with members of Spiritualized, Broken Social Scene, Guided By Voices — they were even specifically requested as an opening act by My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. Don’t … Continue reading
Share – Slumping in Your Murals
Share’s Slumping in Your Murals is just low-key enough to catch you off guard. Early on, it feels like one of those albums that’ll be easy to like but next to impossible to love. Singer-songwriter Andrew Fisk clearly knows his way around a folk-rock tune and the spacious production perfectly complements the music, but there’s … Continue reading
Meta-post: Blog plans
Figured this is as good a time as any to start collecting all my writing (FFWD and otherwise) in one blog. Most of the content here can also be seen at http://www.ffwdweekly.com, but if I’m particularly inspired, I might go back and add anecdotes and context to some of the interviews and reviews, more because … Continue reading
Taking back Woodstock
In Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee’s ode to the landmark music festival that has served for 40 years as shorthand for peace, love and good ol’ fashioned youthful rebellion, the case is once again made that Woodstock was a high-water mark for youth culture. A free concert attended by almost 500,000 hippies, freaks and open-minded fellow … Continue reading
Review of Taking Woodstock
(for ffwdweekly.com) For a movie about one of the culturally defining moments of the last century (at least in terms of baby boomer nostalgia and the mythology that surrounds it), Taking Woodstock is surprisingly flat. Based on the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, the man responsible for bringing the floundering music festival to the sleepy hamlet … Continue reading
Happy Avatar Day! Granted, it’s not a holiday so much as a bit of publicity-drumming from the marketing department at Twentieth Century Fox, but that’s no excuse not to grab a beer, light some fireworks and watch the just-released trailer for James Cameron’s 10-years-in-the-making follow-up sci-fi fantasy. As an added dollop of holiday cheer, Cameron … Continue reading
The Cave Singers – Welcome Joy (Matador)
These days, it seems like you can’t shake a tree without at least one bearded folkie falling out, picking up an acoustic guitar and recording an album of Neil Young- and Bob Dylan-inspired tunes. While the trend towards stripped-down instrumentation and roots-oriented songwriting isn’t going away anytime soon, at least it’s bearing some sweet fruit.Welcome … Continue reading
The Consumption 