Maybe I was born to hold you in these arms...

The skull that makes me smile in Frames familiarity makes is appearance in this gorgeous black and white   Swell Season music video for "In These Arms." Glen Hansard's voice fills me up with this blinding feeling of indescribable emotion. It's like there's this knot of excited pleasure within my stomach that only ever gets tighter, causing my entire body to tense while a sigh is lulled up through my chest. There are no words to describe it.



I cannot wait to see them live again and at a venue that is General Admission. I cannot stand to be seated far from the stage, especially when I see musicians such as these. I need to be in the front, awkwardly avoiding eye contact and hating myself for that missed opportunity to tell Hansard just how much I adore his words.

Banksy, Shepard, Invader...

So, instead of posting about my Comic Con day yesterday (which I had all typed up and ready to post last night when my computer died on me due to a current virus) I will finally post about the street artists in San Diego. If you happen to live here, it is nearly impossible not to notice that amazing art has happened all over the place. It is due to the fact that an exhibit opened at The Museum of Contemporary Art called Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape. The exhibit features 20 contemporary artists from 10 different countries, all artists who work with city landscapes. Artists included are Bansky, Shepard Fairey, Dr. Lakra, Invader, Vhils, et cetera. While half of the exhibit is inside the museum, the other half is spread out across San Diego adorning choice walls. Nine of the artists (Shepard Fairey, Invader, Barry McGee, JR, Dr. Lankra, Swoon, Os Gemeos, Stephan Doitschinoff, and Vhils) came to make art on San Diego buildings, causing many to go on street art treasure hunts with cameras.

My friend and I went to the opening night of the exhibit and it ended up being one of the best nights of my life. The reason for this: Shepard Fairey. He was there, acting as DJ for half the night while generally just being amazing. My friend and I acted like complete idiots upon meeting him but it is definitely a photograph that I am printing out and pinning up next to the time I met Billy Bragg. I don't often care if I meet a famous person but people like that? I care.

That night was interesting in a lot of ways actually but those stories have nothing to do with art.

Shepard Fairey

I'll Be Your Man

I woke up this morning with "I'll Be Your Man" stuck in my head and I had a feeling last night that it was going to happen. The reason is because a certain bartender continued to sing it, lodging it in my brain. Not a bad thing, of course, because the song is fantastic. It's just amusing how predictable my unconscious state is at times. There were so many songs that could have made their way in there while sleeping (the bar that I am at every week just so happens to be a karaoke bar) but the song that gets in there isn't one sung with a microphone, it's just sung behind the bar. Now, whether or not the song is to blame or the man singing it while making eye contact, who knows and I suppose it doesn't matter. Enjoy the fantastic Black Keys song, which you'll recognize if you watch Hung. I hope that it makes it's way into your dreams.



And real quick. Memo to Christopher Nolan: Thank you for writing intelligent films that make me smile. Let's snuggle. I smell incredibly nice.

I have now seen Inception twice and plan on at least once more. New things to look for every time. I have my theories and I can't wait for the director's commentary and the "making of" those amazingly well choreographed fight scenes that Joseph Gordon-Levitt did (sans stunt double I hear) on the DVD.

On a side note. I love how my childhood crushes (the ones who were actually around my age and not years older like Rik Mayall, Johnny Depp, Gary Oldman, or John Cleese) are now incredibly foxy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Foster, Jason Segel...

Salvador Dali Is My Leading Man

Music That Makes My Heart Swell In Obsession

A month ago I burned a mass amount of Billy Bragg CDs for one of my oldest and dearest friends and I haven't yet gotten around to actually mailing them to her in San Francisco. Now, I have to because I am including in the package my handy travel pouch deal that you store your money and passport within while traveling. She is about to venture off to Europe for a month, without me, so I am lending this travel accessory to her. An accessory which I didn't exactly use properly while I was in Ireland because I was never once worried for a moment that I would get mugged so it pretty much acted as a wallet with a strap. It lived in my shoulder bag.

Anyhow. The point to this. While I was bagging the CDs up I decided that I should finally put together the mix CD I have been thinking about making for people I love (maybe it's for the arrogance of it all). The only thing the songs have in common is that I am currently obsessed with them. Some of them, I am often obsessed with, and some are fairly new to my obsession and probably temporary. So I shall share it with anyone reading (just saw that I actually have a follower now [Triana, I adore you] so maybe I'm just sharing it with her which would make this a lot more intimate. Let's act as if there is a roaring fire and figs between us).

So, it's in alphabetical order by song title. I can't be showing special treatment but those songs know who they are anyhow.

1. Ain't That A Shame - Fats Domino

This is definitely a song that gets my shoulders dancing in the best way possible. The lyrics are sweetly simple and all the better for it. Something about the way he croons, "Oh well goodbye/Although I'll cry," gets me every time. Fantastic song for singing along. I would karaoke it if I had the nerve.
Video Performance



2. Better Than You - New York Dolls
Probably not a song that many people think of when they think of New York Dolls but for some reason I've been in love with this song ever since I first heard them play it live. It latched on to me. And I adore the lyrics, "My baby/Got mystical frenzy/Tempered by an irony/Verging on blasphemy." I wouldn't mind having a mystical frenzy.
Look at those hips sway.

3. Cacurica Dances - Taraf de Haïdouks
Honestly, this choice was decided for me because of the very short song length. I wanted to have Taraf on the mix because when you need some amazing soulful music, this Romanian band of all ages never disappoints. If you have see the film The Man Who Cried, you have seen and heard Taraf. The band played the family of Johnny Depp's character (Depp is a friend and fan).

4. Carmensita - Devendra Banhart

I think I jumped onto the Devendra train fairly late. I honestly had no idea who he was, not really, until I went to a show of his with my friend. I made my decision to go based on his short-shorts in the video for I Feel Just Like A Child and it was one of the best random choices that I have ever made. He's fantastic fun and even sexier when singing in Spanish. Yeah, he's not completely unique but he nicely captures the feel of Haight-Ashbury in the 60s and you will enjoy his simple and Beatles-ish lyrics.
Music Video with Natalie Portman.

5. The Curse - Josh Ritter

If you don't know Ritter and consider yourself a fan of folk music, just go buy a CD of his. He's amazingly self-assured in his music for someone so young. He comes across much more seasoned but he's all smiles, like the biggest dork you could ever imagine. Seeing him live is pure joy. You could have your cat run over right before the show but his smiling face will allow you to transcend whatever pains you may have. This song is off his newest record which came out in May. It's a song about a mummy who falls in love with a woman. It has the ability to make my eyes well up and my chest grow tight because it brings forth so many emotions that you would never thought related. It's incredibly sweet and a bit heartbreaking.
Live Performance and sweet Puppet Video by Liam Hurley.

6. Down At The Cafe - C.R. Avery
Avery speaks to the Beat poet within me. Listening to him, seeing him live, makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, the intelligent beauty of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Gregory Corso, Charles Bukowski, Patti Smith, James Dead, Tom Waits, etc, thrives in the form of this man from Canada. He's a poet, a songwriter, beat boxer, harmonica player, pianist, and singer, somehow pulling it all with incredible style. I read in an interview with him somehow that he wanted to write poems that wouldn't make Bukowski want to beat him with a beer bottle and I think he's succeeding. I'd pick a line or two from this song but I can't bear to fragment it.
Sadly there's not much of him on YouTube but here's the song.

7. Further On (Up The Road) - Johnny Cash
From his last released record, after death, filled mostly with songs written by other people, Cash promises to meet us further on up the road. He better.
Song

8. Goin' To Acapulco - Jim James & Calexico
I have three songs from the I'm Not There soundtrack on my mix but I'm okay with that. There are some amazingly well-done Bob Dylan covers in that film. I hate to say it, often I prefer this version of the song to Bob's.
Here's the scene in which the song is performed in I'm Not There.

9. Hateful - The Clash
I've been on a Clash kick for a month now. Ever since that Buzzcocks show, I've been sticking my nose within my Buzzcocks and Clash collection. The ears want what they want, I suppose. Hateful has become my favorite Clash freeway driving song. This one and Janie Jones.
Song

10. I've Got A Thing About Seeing My Grandson Grow Old - Cat Stevens

The chorus is to die for: "But I've got no time for silly chitter chatter/I'm on my way/Cause while my blood's still warm and my mind doesn't matter/I'm hoping to stay/'Cause I've got a thing about seeing my grandson grow old." Plus, it's fucking Cat Stevens. Where could you ever go wrong?
Song

11. Lowlands Low - Bryan Ferry & Antony
Traditional pirate shanty. Hypnotizing. This is the Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music.
Song

12. Martha's Dream - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
This is an instrumental from the film The Proposition. The whole score is gorgeous and is truly what a film score should be, an integral piece of the film it is representing. I love that Martha's song is so utterly haunting and almost threatening. There's a feeling on oncoming doom that cannot be avoided. It's certainly not a soft piece of music and works to give her character more agency within a male-dominated film. I could easily write a book on this film. I'm seriously contemplated writing my thesis on it.
Song

13. Me And Jane Doe - Charlotte Gainsbourg
I originally wasn't sure about this CD but upon discovering Beck's heavy involvement, I was completely and utterly sold. They work very well together. I'm not too fond of the softer songs on this record but this one works for me.
Performance

14. Monsieur Dupont - Sandie Shaw
A sweet song that will cause you to bring out the black eyeliner to try that cat-look for yourself. Try not to smile during this song, I doubledog dare you.
1969 TV Performance

15. Moonshiner - Bob Forrest
The second Bob Dylan cover and what I really love about these is that they aren't merely reproductions, they're fully-formed re-presentations - if that makes sense. It's like what Seu Jorge did with David Bowie; he took incredibly recognizable songs and transformed them into something sparkly new. Love it.
Song

16. Revelate - The Frames

What can I say about The Frames that won't cause me to spin out of control on a wild tangent? I love them. To the extent that I am planning a mini road trip up to Portland in August just to seem Swell Season. Don't judge me too harshly, I was planning to doing the drive anyhow, so what better reason? Okay, go ahead and judge. It's just such a pain in the ass to get tickets for them now. I'm now in danger of a 'those were the days' tirade about life before Once. Moving on.
Live Performance

17. Run Out Of Reasons - Billy Bragg
Beautifully honest song from someone whom I could never properly live without. Really nothing more to it. (By the way, he is an amazing hugger and when he calls you "love," you believe him)


18. Virginia Plain - Roxy Music
"You're so sheer you're so chic/Teenage rebel of the week." Your CD collection is severly lacking if it doesn't house Roxy Music. Trust me.
Live Performance

19. The Weary Kind - Ryan Bingham
For someone who is only 29, he has the voice of a 59 year-old who has spent his whole life chain-smoking and drinking alcholol with labels in Serbian, and that is not an insult. I, like the rest of America, fell in love with this song when the trailers for Crazy Heart came out. It's definitely one of those times where the fuss is completely warranted.
Live Performance

20. When The Ship Comes In - Marcus Carl Franklin

The last of the Bob Dylan covers and it is sung by a kid who was...I want to guess maybe fourteen when it was recorded. He played the Woody Guthrie character and was certainly one of my favorites of the film. I love the broken-down, bare-boned approach to the song. By the by, I am fairly certain that I heard The Pogues' version of this song before I even knew that it belonged to Bob Dylan.
Scene in which the song is performed in I'm Not There.

21. Where Do You Go To My Lovely - Peter Sarstedt
Want to feel like you're being romanced in a black and white film? This song may be for you.
1969 Live TV Performance

British Hilarity

I've been obsessed with Big Train lately (I love getting on little kicks like this). So for the past hour or so I have been revisting some of my all-time favorite British comedy sketches, Big Train and otherwise. Saturday Night Live needs to take note and start producing funny sketches again. It's been a loooong time since I could honestly say that show makes me laugh. I think the last episode that I made a point to watch was when Hugh Laurie hosted it and all I remember is the hotel sketch where he's giving (or getting - I forget) instructions on how to prepare the Queen's room.

So, here's a Big Train sketch with the amazingly hilarious Mark Heap playing a man that will read a snide remark about his not being married in something as unconnected as a Coke can:


Big Train: I've heard that child labor is huge in the radio scene. Here's Simon Pegg in a sort-of public-service announcement that is so asinine it is amazing:


Catherine Tate is definitely a one-woman show. She popped up in Big Train sketches many times but her own show produced so many great moments. I had completely forgotten about the Ginger Refuge sketch and am so thrilled that I have found it again:


And honestly, how could it get better than Monty Python? I had such an amazing crush on John Cleese as a kid. That tall handsome drink of water with amazingly flexible and crazy legs. He may have ruined me for normal men.
Did you know that no one expects the Spanish Inquisition?


I don't think I need to post the dead parrot sketch or the silly walk sketch, because those two are what people generally think of when they think Monty Python (the movies as well, of course). So I'm posting a sketch about how to defend yourself against fruit. Seems ridiculous but that's what they did so very well; they took a ridiculous premise and infused it with so much witty intelligence that you managed to feel a little dumb while enjoying it, as if you knew that there was something more you just weren't grasping yet.


Oops, Doctor Who is on. I'm digging the new Doctor. Didn't expect to latch on to him but Matt Smith has won me over. He may want to lose the bowtie at some point but he better not do away with the suspenders. They are so sexy.

Why don't you just hop on the Big Train?

It really does not matter how many times I watch this sketch, I giggle every single time. I just adore the jockey sketches; add Prince into the equation and you get pure brilliance!