Foovana

pic: Seattle Weekly

As I mentally squealed a couple of months ago, the closest thing any of us will get to a Nirvana reunion will be happening in 2011 with the Foo Fighters newest album (produced by Butch Vig/featuring guest appearance by Krist Novoselic).

Now SPIN has reported they all played live together last Tuesday. I would have given up Christmas to be there. Seriously?!?! I cannot wait for this. Cannot. Cannot. Cannot.

Grohl says there is not one acoustic guitar on the entire record and he feels he's written the best song of his life Words like that from a legend like that aren't to be taken lightly. Dude. Can someone make sure this gig becomes a tour? Please?

gutfiddle

is a great word. i googled it and now it's mine. what, oh what, shall i do with it?

El Dresses

Some more shots from the fashion shoot from earlier this month. I did some photoshop homework while home for Xmas. I'm still light years from knowing fractions about all this, but feel better than I did a week ago regarding it all.

New Video from TTMTTS

pic: me, jESiO

Today the Moon Tomorrow the Sun have recently released a freakin' cool video for their song "Autonomic" aka "Traits of a Traitor."

 They're new album is coming out in early 2011 and the record release party is in...Norfolk! Yes!

I wrote this about them long long ago (well, a year ago).

1915

95 years ago. Adam's grandmother was born. 

And some other things:

pic: teachingamericanhistorymd.net

Typhoid Mary. I never knew her story. It's crazy....and sad.

pic: yesterdaygirl

American women are denied the right to vote. Again. Only a few more years ladies!

Neon is invented and changes a certain type of storefront advertising.

pic: guardian.uk

World War I. Here's some other cool pics.

The Birth of a Nation premiers. It's often called the most controversial film ever made. It holds the record (today, 95 years later) as the most successful silent film ever made. It's racist (its other title? The Clansmen--yep, those clansmen), yet forward-thinking (when it comes to film making--not civil rights).

The Moving Arts Film Journal's Eric M. Armstrong said it "is as revered as it is reviled...perhaps the single most important film ever made.

pic: Milt Hinton

Billie Holiday is born. She is soooo rad. Click her pic to hear and see a live version of "Strange Fruit."

Norfolk, Europe

This pic was on AltDaily's facebook. I don't know who took it, but it's gorgeous. Norfolk gets more beautiful every minute. I like living here (even in yucky snow).

Off

Heading home for a few days, so probably no new posts through the weekend. Merry Christmas to all!

Music is Life.

Great music conversations lately. I've got to start thinking of my favorite shows of 2010. It made me think of previous lists like this. Two things I thought I'd share, as I kept thinking back to all the music I've been lucky enough to experience in my life. First, here is my top ten shows of 2009, written when jESiowastaken was just a baby blog.

Next is the January through June of 2006. It's a list of every show I saw during that time. It's the best musical six months I could ever ask for.  I don't think I'll top it anytime soon.

2006 shows 1. Accoustic Night-Jan 26-Taphouse-Norfolk, VA 2. As Tall As Lions-Feb 8-Peppermint Beach Club-Va Beach, VA 3. Acceptance/Panic! At the Disco/The Academy Is-Feb 14-The Norva-Norfolk, VA 4. Have I Slept/Softstone-Feb 17-The Warehouse-Va Beach, VA 5. Danatalie/Tokyo-Feb 24-Current Coffee House-Norfolk, VA 6. The Live Wyya Band/Gregory Isaacs-Mar 7-The Norva-Norfolk, VA 7. Jesca Hoop-Mar 16-SXSW showcase-Austin, TX 8. Aberdeen City-Mar 16-SXSW showcase-Austin, TX 9. The Lashes-Mar 16-SXSW showcase-Austin, TX       "I didn't know whether to expect coffee or hardcore sex" 10. Quietdrive/Justin King/Brandi Carlisle-Mar 16-The Driskell-Austin, TX highlights: Justin plays guitar like Kaki King. Brandi covered "Hallelujah", kd fucking Lang was two feet away from me. 11. Persephone's Bees-Mar 16-Capital Place Hotel-Austin, TX 12. Charlotte Martin/Ben Taylor/David Ford-Mar 16-Copa-Austin, TX 13. Jesca Hoop-Mar 16-Capital Place Hotel-Austin, TX 14. Eagles of Death Metal-Mar 16-Exodus-Austin, TX "thanks to Don Tyler for letting me meet the band, yo!" 15. Augustana-Mar 17-SXSW showcase-Austin, TX 16. Boys Like Girls-Mar 17-SXSW showcase-Austin, TX 17. Josh Raydon-Mar 17-private hotel room show-Austin, TX 18. Los Lonely Boys-Mar 17- Mexic-Arte Museum-Austin, TX 19. The Lashes-Mar 17- Dirty Dog Bar-Austin, TX 20. The Fever/Dungen/Witch-Mar 17-Buffalo Billiards-Austin, TX 21. Nightmare of You/The Cribs-Mar 17-Exodus-Austin, TX 22. Tolchock Trio/The Professionals-Mar 18-Ripplefish SXSW Tent-Austin, TX 23. The Charlatans UK-Mar 18-The Velvet Spade-Austin, TX 24. Augustana/Morningwood/The Stills/Towers of London/Lady Sovereign/Ghostface Killah-Mar 18-La Zona Rosa-Austin, TX I danced onstage with Ghostface!  25.   Softstone-Mar 24-Current Coffee House-Norfolk, VA 26. Nightmare of You--Mar 30--The Norva--Norfolk, VA 27. Jenny Fisher/Softstone/Have I Slept--Mar 31--Volume--Va Beach, VA 28. Kathleen Fogarty--Apr 4--ODU--Norfolk, VA 29. Stellastar/The Editors--Apr 4--The Norva--Norfolk, VA 30. Jeremy Lasley--Apr 13--Half Shell--Va Beach, VA 31. Tokyo/Augustana/The New Amsterdams--Apr 15--Peppermint Beach Club--Va Beach, VA 32. Taking Back Sunday--Apr 21--The Norva--Norfolk, VA 33. Softstone & others--Apr 28--Club Relevant--Va Beach, VA 34. Softstone--Apr 29--Club Relevant--Va Beach, VA 35. Widespread Panic--May 9--MacArthur Center AMC Simulcast--Norfolk, VA 36. DJ Paul Goodyear--May 20--Ark--Sydney, Australia 37. Gerling--May 26--The Zoo--Brisbane, Australia 38. Bauhaus/Nine Inch Nails--June 11--Va Beach Ampitheater--Va Beach, VA 39. David Ford/I-Nine/Tortured Soul--June 16--Bonaroo Sonic Village--Manchester, TN 40. World Party--June 16--Bonnaroo Which Stage--Manchester, TN 41. Devendra Banhart--June 16--Bonnaroo That Tent--Manchester, TN 42. Bright Eyes--June 16--Bonnaroo Which Stage--Manchester, TN 43. Oysterhead/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (w/ Stevie Nicks)--June 16--Bonnaroo What Stage--Manchester, TN 44. Elvis Costello & The Imposters (w/ Allen Toussaint)-June 17--Bonnaroo What Stage--Manchester, TN 45. Damian Marley--June 17--Bonnaroo Which Stage--Manchester, TN 46. Gomez--June 17--Bonnaroo That Tent--Manchester, TN 47. Buddy Guy--June 17--Bonnaroo Sonic Stage--Manchester, TN 48. Beck/Radiohead--June 17--Bonnaroo What Stage--Manchester, TN 49. Matisyahu/Andrew Bird/Rusted Root--June 18--Bonnaroo Sonic Stage--Manchester, TN 50. The Streets--June 18--Bonnaroo This Tent--Manchester, TN 51. Jerry Douglas--June 18--Bonnaroo Sonic Stage--Manchester, TN 52. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks/Sonic Youth--June 18--Bonnaroo That Tent--Manchester, TN 53. Phil Lesh & Friends (w/ Joan Osborne)--June 18--Bonnaroo What Stage--Manchester, TN

Boottch

How did I never know this album cover existed? It includes:

1. The freakin' Beatles

2. Raw meat

3. Decapitated baby dolls

Wow. Long live rock and roll.

Pee-wee's Playlist

Yeah, this is gonna be fun. Know what the best part is? I'm getting to create the playlist for the afterparty (with Colley Cantina's booker du jour Will Colson). Here's a small sampling of what you'll hear:

Be Your Own Pet: "Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle": Cuz, well, Pee-wee loves his bike and so do these punk rock lovelies. And this song makes me D-A-N-C-E!!!

Franz Ferdinand: "The Dark of the Matinee" Cuz, well, Pee-wee spent some time in the dark of the matinee, and this song also makes me dance.

I also wrote this companion piece, which I had more fun doing than I should have. Enjoy!

I'll post the full playlist this weekend. Good times. Hope to see any of you from Norfolk at Cantina.

Stylin'

I just did my first fashion shoot for a local boutique called The Style Shoppe of Ghent. Here are some of the pics and here's the link to them online. There's more, but these feature the dresses I want to buy, haha! I have tons more that didn't make it to this ad, and am editing them now for practice, etc.

Four track? Meet fast track.

pic: guardian.uk

Damon Albarn just announced through the Gorillaz Xmas calendar (which is a really cool, innovative way to interact with fans and should be checked out in its own right) that the Gorillaz will be the first band to ever record and release a full album on an iPad. Albarn, who is creative crackjuice and fronts both Gorillaz and Blur, among other musical projects and is someone I stand in awe of in many ways. It's not at all surprising he's got the innovation to be the first at this. Holy crap that device is insane.

Only last week I wrote about iPad art, and now it's music. Get to the website Dec 25 to download the entire album for free.

Merge?

Grace Jones

I just finished watching Smash His Camera, a recent HBO documentary on pioneering paparazzo Ron Galella. He's probably most famous for his 1970's court battles with Jackie Onassis and his getting punched in the face (suffering a broken jaw and five lost teeth) by recluse extraordinaire Marlon Brando.

The film discusses these and other recognizable or sensational incidents, using one of his most recognizable Jackie-O images as its DVD and Netflix cover. What interested me, though, was less the flash or the first-amendment arguments regarding paparazzi, and more the idea that his work is now ending up in important galleries around the world. The same work that was originally published in things like National Enquirer. 

John Lennon & David Bowie

A group of what can only be described as old school artsnobs are portrayed sitting around a table discussing how meritless Galella's work is--how it's an embarrassment to the art world that his shots are being curated at places as prominent as the Tate and MOMA. 

Galella is interviewed and followed around as he and assistants sort through a warehouse of over three million shots (digitizing them one by one). He attends The Changeling premiere, standing in a long line of other photographers, all less than half his age (which is 79) shouting "Angelina!" "Brad!" 

He doesn't really yell or go out of his way to accomplish unique shots of the red carpet. Then, after the event, he sits in his car painstakingly handwriting a letter to the world's (current) most famous celebrity couple, expressing his "regrets" for not meeting them in person and hoping they will take time out of their New York trip to meet him for a more personal photo session. He goes back and forth on how to word it, and hand delivers it to the lobby of their hotel. He must be aware this is for naught. He is aware, though, the pictures he already took aren't anything special. Looking in a  People magazine today, one photog's work doesn't stand out from the next. 

The humanity director Leon Gast shows us in Galella (his 30+ year marriage, his love of bunny rabbits) as well as the fondness with which older celebrities refer his way (in comparison with today's paparazzi) make the watcher recognize the difference in this man and the generic, desperate, invasive "paparazzi" we often think of when hearing the word.

At the same time, recognizing the difference in Galella shadowing the Kennedy's or Grace Kelly versus the throng of anonymous, buff flash throwers chasing starlets and heiresses only goes so far. If he hadn't thought about innovation when he started out, a time in Hollywood where the studios would stage photo shoots meant to look natural, the craziness surrounding people like Britney Spears and co. wouldn't exist.

Madonna

Galella realized his pictures (from shoots and red carpets) looked a lot like everyone else's and stared employing decoys and stalker-like tendencies to ensure true candid and natural shots. They, of course, were more interesting, providing the audience a real sense of what these unreachable glamazons were like at 3 am stumbling out of Studio 54, or riding bikes with their kids in the park. Galella invented that kind of celebrity documentation. Magazines and newspapers loved it. Celebrities, not so much.

Getting back to the question at hand. Is his work art? As I've said before regarding documentation of a scene, it's valid for its time; and if what was going on the pictures from a cultural standpoint sustains beyond a fad, and becomes instead an era, the photos become the gateways to the essence of a time passed.

I think this is in agreement with Gast's portrayal. He ends the documentary with footage of a young, pretty attendee at Galella's gallery opening. She poses for paparazzi, flirts, mingles. When asked about the photographs, she doesn't recognize candid, unscripted shots of Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, John Belushi, and on and on. She pronounces Bardot "bar-dot" and asks if Steve McQueen was "like, a director or something?"

Crazy. He captured a time in popular culture (celebrity culture, really) that will never be available to an audience again. There weren't TMZ's and Perez Hilton's and there weren't digital cameras with ultra-zooms and Photoshop. His subjects and his technique are primitive in comparison, which is a valid collection to view.