Reflections On The State Of Music In 2011

REFLECTIONS ON THE STATE OF MUSIC IN 2011

or Why I Cannot Learn To Stop Worrying and Love Spotify

"It takes effort and attention...like most things, the more it hurts, the more it means…"

– Frank Chimero commenting on The Tree Of Life

As true rock journalism has been replaced by blog/internet culture (which explains the ascendancy of the shoddy, short-sighted, pot-shot criticism of Pitchfork and their ilk) that seems to exist without correlation to rock history or lineage, it is as if many of the current rock “journalists” are so consumed with the post-modern tendency to simply link references rather than analyze with intelligence. It seems they cannot, or will not invest in the process of thoughtfully considering the work they are attempting to criticize beyond the most superficial of connective elements (again I’m looking at you Pitchfork).

Perhaps this tendency to connect rather than analyze is due in part to the entire catalogue of recorded music literally becoming available at your fingertips. This unprecedented access brings with it a wholly modern problem – access without filter; without a way to navigate this bottomless pit of history the rock journalist of today can merely attempt to connect like-objects in an attempt to plot a course in the wake of the collapse of the music industry. This is why I cannot learn to stop worrying and love Spotify—the discrepancy between access and education, breakneck opportunity and analytic understanding is staggering.

Yes, it is a dream to be able to access anything in the realm of music, but what are we losing? Unfettered musical access at the speed of light often causes surface dismissal, on-to-the-next-thing, shallow interaction (the topic of recent book TheShallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains). Rock criticism has now become similar to Tumblr, but for music—a rapid succession of images that “look” significant or rather become symbols for significance rather than doors to deeper, more meaningful interaction. In short, many members of youthful audiences can discern what significance “looks like”, but cannot elucidate why those images/peoples/texts/musics are actually significant. Imagine if you applied this method of criticism to other forms of art: if art history courses were only constructed as Tumblr-style image sequences without discourse and crucial support/contextual information; that the annals of film were only a series of YouTube clips; that the vast history of literature were only brief sentence summaries or worse, context-free quotations (this already is the only way that most young people interact with the classics—through Tumblr-loaded quotes or Disney-fied movie versions).

This lack of context positions all works of art to be of equal value as seen through the lens of an endless succession of quickly viewed/listened to works; the truly substantial and the commonly mediocre become indiscernible in the anonymous rush of material hissing past at hurried speeds. We are at the top of the ladder in our ability to access, but without means of navigation, we are kicking out the rungs beneath us. This can only end in a culture of art that is repetitive, unoriginal, and worst of all, cliché.

It is this superficial contact that I am attempting to make a plea against—in every area of art, be it literature, painting, film, design, or music. If venues like Spotify or Rdio are used in the right way—as modern conduits to connect us to the art we listen to, to contemplate, to investigate, to discuss—then they are certainly a positive. This screed may come across as the ranting of an old-timer, claiming that things were better “back then”. To be clear, I am no luddite; I am an avid user of Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger, etc. But I fear that for those listeners who are at the outset of their formative listening experiences and critical listening development will not gain the ability to analyze, but rather to only be able to at best connect-the-dots, and at worst—never develop the ability to “listen” at all. 

SIDENOTE: I just want to publicly request that David Bowie shake free of his early retirement and get back into the ring this year. This is my biggest hope for the new year—Bowie, come back—we need you now more than ever.

Top 25 Characters On The Wire

There are two types of people—those who have seen The Wire and know it's the best show of all-time, and those you haven't seen it yet.

—Tim Speaker

One of the many reasons why my favorite (and best) show of all time is The Wire are the characters. Fully three-dimensional, real characters either based on factual individuals, often played by non-actors, or amalgamations of real-life people, the characters on The Wire move far beyond any film or television series in terms of truth.

Most shows have a character, or a few characters, that keep you coming back. Yet when I thought to put this list together, I immediately thought of over 30 characters that I loved off the top of my head. I cannot imagine being able to do this with any other show. And that alone says alot for the quality of the acting on The Wire. Also, I had to leave out characters that I loved or felt were brilliant, in order to limit the list to 25 (sorry Herc, Prezbo, Clay Davis). This is astounding for a television show.

Here it is, my Top 25 Favorite Characters On The Wire:

25. Slim Charles

24. Carver

23. Chris Partlo

22. Snoop

21. Poot

20. Cutty

19. Brother Mouzone

18. Randy

17. Marlo Stanfield

16. Bunny Colvin

15. Dukie

14. Michael

13. Kima Greggs

12. Bodie Broadus

11. Wee Bey

10. Wallace

09. Proposition Joe

08. Lester Freamon

07. D’Angelo Barksdale

06. Bubbles

05. Avon Barksdale

04. Bunk Moreland

03. Jimmy McNulty

02. Stringer Bell

01. Omar Little

I know it's cliche to like Omar the best, but the brilliant Michael K. Williams portrayal of him is simply electric. He owns the screen every second he is on it, regardless of who he is sharing it with.

And fans can find a great home here, at WireFans.com.

Postmodernism Film Is Clarifying

Postmodernism is one of those slippery terms to define. Want some clarification? Check this film out to coincide with the exhibition. Superb.

More information here.

Ralph Fiennes Coriolanus Looks Gargantuan

Ralph Fiennes directorial debut - Coriolanus - looks truly epic. A modern retelling of the Shakespearean work, Fiennes stars and leads a strong UK cast.

Comes out Christmas day. Looks incredible.

Learn To Make Coffee At Intelligentsia

Espresso, Intelligentsia from The D4D on Vimeo.

As you may or may not know, I am a licensed barista. That's right, I can make coffee anywhere in the world. Not just filters, but full on espresso (notice there is no X in the word espresso), cappuccino, and the best froth you can get. I don't like to brag, but I'll brag on my froth.

Anyway, the superb Department of the 4th Dimension - the premier short makers - has created a stunning set of shorts for exemplary coffeehouse Intelligentsia. And they are fantastic.

Check out the whole series here.

Gorgeous.

Dark Side Of The Lens Is Monumental

Mickey Smith is an incredibly talented filmmaker. This brief film feels like an epic journey, all in 6 minutes. I don't want to tell you much - just watch it. It will be the most beautiful 6 minutes you will spend all day.

Tree of Life Is Awe Inspiring

The Tree of Life is the newest film from genius Terrence Malick. It recently won the Palme d' Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but even there it was polarizing. Apparently somewhere between 5-10% of filmgoers have walked out of the film, calling it too long and boring. Honestly, I feel bad for these people, including ChicagoNow critic Mark Shuster - I hope he isn't paid for his opinions, because they are exceptionally shallow and meaningless.

Instead, I would like to include this snippet from Roger Ebert's perfect distillation of the film:

Many films diminish us. They cheapen us, masturbate our senses, hammer us with shabby thrills, diminish the value of life. Some few films evoke the wonderment of life's experience, and those I consider a form of prayer. Not prayer "to" anyone or anything, but prayer "about" everyone and everything. I believe prayer that makes requests is pointless. What will be, will be. But I value the kind of prayer when you stand at the edge of the sea, or beneath a tree, or smell a flower, or love someone, or do a good thing. Those prayers validate existence and snatch it away from meaningless routine.

Truly, I am not surprised that some moviegoers would walk out on this film, as their chief complaints - that it's too long, it's too quiet, it's non-linear structure doesn't give obvious answers - are all accurate. But those aspects are not negatives, rather they are strengths. Most people do not want to "think" about any form of media they are consuming - they simply want entertainment. This desire has caused all forms of art to become cheapened, to become fast food for the senses. Why do you think that Fast & the Furious 5 made over 100 million dollars?

Sadly, most people simply lack the fundamental taste to be able to approach challenging art forms. They would rather not learn or grow through interaction with artistic mediums merely because those acts can be (and usually are) challenging, and require active mental participation on behalf of the viewer. This effort is flatly not given by most consumers - even "film critics" like Mark Shuster. And this fact is enormously depressing to me, as those un-participative viewers never gain the fruits of the labor of the artist. As an artist I cannot understand this rejection of intellectual dialogue - it makes me feel like what I do is forfeit. But as a thinking human being, it makes me exasperated with the human race.

Go see this film. Go see it in the theater. Expect it to be long. Expect it to be quiet. Expect it to be beautiful, and transformative, like all good art is. Don't expect it to be like other films. Let it wash over you, don't fight it.

Let it wash through you, like a prayer.

Jim Morrison, Inspiration of My Youth, 40 Years Dead

When I was growing up in Saginaw, MI I essentially did all the normal things a kid would do. I went to Catholic school, I played lots of sports both in organized leagues (baseball, basketball, soccer, football, track) and on the streets and back alleys (hockey, rugby, badminton, etc). That was what I spent most of my time doing. All my heroes were from the world of sports - George Brett, Wayne Gretzky, Larry Bird, etc. That was my life.

But in junior high I found something else. I found The Doors, and that changed everything. Soon enough I was skulking the halls writing the lyrics of Jim Morrison on my books, listening intently. The Doors were my first musical obsession. They dominated my junior high and high school experiences. I spent hours reading his poetry, but also reading about him - if you caught me as a high school senior you would have found me able to answer virtually and trivia about Morrison - I devoured every detail of his life and work, of his history. I started dressing like him - black pants (because I couldn't find real leather), black t shirt, jean button down, wrap around sunglasses. Even his death was shrouded in the mythical - I spent many hours debating the various conspiracy theories after reading Danny Sugarmen's seminal No One Here Gets Out Alive.

Oliver Stone's controversial film The Doors was released my freshman year of high school, and the impact that film had on me was nuclear. Though the film was scrutinized by the critics, torn apart by the press, for me it was transitory. It was extremely important to me in terms of understanding and interacting with mythology and the mythical realm of rock and roll. While that may seem like hyperbole, that film represented an exemplary view of revolt, of the need for questioning the world around you, that rebel spirit that only seems to flame in youth. My brother LaPorte and I stayed up all night watching The Doors over and over, becoming fired to go out and take on the world. We would be so electrified by these repeated viewings that we would go out in the middle of the night, not really going anywhere, only understanding that we just needed to move.

His oft-critcized poetry was a revelation to me. When I was extremely ill my sophomore year of high school and was off to be in the hospital for weeks at a time, it was a copy of Morrison's The Lords and New Creatures given to me by my friend Bonnie Kahn that stayed on my bedside table. Somehow his words connected me to mystery of the world, the unexplored territories, that I imagined from my bed that kept me dreaming of when I might re-enter the world. But the larger, more important thing was that it kept me dreaming.

But there was another, more important influence Morrison had on me. This was in the pre-internet days, when the only way to to find influential art, music, film, or literature was through a friend, an older brother, a trusted source you might read in an old interview from Rolling Stone. And for me, Morrison was the king of references. He first connected me to finding Arthur Rimbaud's A Season In Hell, which I had to special order from the awful Mall bookstore that only had the NY Times Best Seller list generally. Finding Rimbaud literally changed my life in the most fundamental ways possible. This spark led me to Baudelaire, Mallarme, Verlaine - all the French Symbolists, the group I would later make the focus of my undergraduate studies. It was like a domino effect - he branched me off to Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, all the existentialists. Then he pointed over to the Beats - Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs. It was like a whole world had suddenly opened before me, and invited me to enter and find this great artistic legacy that I am driven by to this day.

Eventually I grew past him. Since he acted as a catalyst for searching, for the endless eternal quest that the artist goes on, it was inevitable I suppose that I eventually move beyond his grasp. I found so much more in myself and in my own artistic spirit through his push. It was Morrison who opened these doors for me (no pun intended). It was Morrison who sent me off to Europe; it was Morrison who gave me the impetus to start writing poetry which led me to a degree in literature; it was Morrison who allowed me to make sense of so much darkness and brooding within me; it was Morrison who was the lightning rod who broke through (again, no pun intended) so much banality to show me that there was a larger world out there for me if I could only get there; it was Morrison who kicked the first dominoes over, that led to me finding my artistic voice, led me to see the world around me totally differently.

Thank you Jim Morrison, for being the inspiration of my youth. I would not be who I am today without your influence.

Side Note: it just occurred to me that from the time of Morrison's death to my discovery of him, is about the same amount of time between Kurt Cobain's death and today. This makes me feel so, so, so old that I cannot even believe it.

Apollo 18 Looks Interesting, Creepy

Apollo 18 is a new film with a very interesting premise - that the planned Apollo 18 mission that was cancelled really did happen, and that the evidence from that mission has only now been revealed.

From Moviephone:

Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it's the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.

Sounds interesting. To be released in August.

Wim Crouwel Mini-Doc Is Important, Inspirational

Wim Crouwel is not only an important graphic designer, but a significant thinker. What I mean by this is that his modernist aesthetic is truly an extension of his worldview, which is to approach all things with the economy of deliberate purpose. It is this philosophy that is so vital to not only design but to all things produced, created, or utilized.

Submarine Channel (no relation to the post below) has produced this wonderful mini-documentary about the living legend. The real treat here is to listen to Crouwel discuss his work at the retrospective of his design in Switzerland. The man is a treasure.

Do yourself a favor and spend 10 minutes to watch it. Sorry to make you jump over there, but you will be glad that you did. Since they do not allow embedding, go here to check it out.

Submarine More Than A Solid Tribute To The New Wave

The trailer for the new film Submarine looks fantastic, referencing much of the French New Wave cinema in the editing, sound, shots, color, and even typography, much like Jean-Luc Godard. In other words, it looks great. It also features original music from Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, which also should be cool.

Currently making the rounds at festivals and a wide European release, Submarine should come to America soon I hope.

Submarine also has a fantastic companion site. Go here to check it out.

Criterion Brings Immortal Solaris To Blu-Ray

Filmmaker/Certified Genius Andrei Tarkovsky created a small, but exceptionally powerful group of films in his lifetime. One of his greatest - Solaris - has recently been issued on Blu-Ray for the first time by the incomparable Criterion Collection. A stunning visual feast, the improved image resolution brings to life Tarkovsky's futuristic vision as never seen since the release in 1972.

Why should you go out and buy it? What is so special about Solaris? Here is a brief synopsis from Criterion:

Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness. With Solaris, the legendary Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky created a brilliantly original science-fiction epic that challenges our conceptions about love, truth, and humanity itself.

But that is only half the story. Like the other works of Tarkovsky (especially the brilliant Stalker) much of the film centers around psychology, and will continue to haunt you long after the final frame.

Go to Criterion and buy it here.

Side Note: Steven Soderbergh remade the film in 2002 with George Clooney in the lead role. While it was an admirable take on the original source novel, it is an exercise in futility to attempt a remake of such a monolithic, classic of film history.

Francis Ford Coppola Interview Is Inspirational

Francis Ford Coppola directed some of the finest American films ever made, including The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Godfather III, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, Rumble Fish, and The Outsiders. A true maverick, Coppola bet everything he had on his own Zoetrope Studios in the early 80's, and lost it all. The Detroit born auteur has long been a hero of mine as well.

Inspiring then that he is in the midst of his own career renaissance. Recently the awesome 99% sat down for a discussion with Coppola about film, art, life, and resilience. And the interview is truly inspiring.

Read it here.

The Wire Is The Greatest Show In Television History

I heard it for years, over and over. Anytime I read about or heard anyone speak about the HBO show The Wire, the same phrase was always, (and I mean always) mentioned immediately; "The Wire is the best show in history". And it wasn't just the critics that I read making this claim, but also a few of my closest friends whose opinions I respect greatly echoing that same sentiment. It seemed there were two types of people - those who had seen The Wire and claimed it to be the best show in history, and those who had not yet seen it.

So for years I have been wanting to watch it, and never seemed to be able to get my hands on it. Until now. Thanks to HBO GO (which is amazing, and potentially life-altering) a service that allows on-demand viewing of all HBO shows in history, available on your iPad or computer if you subscribe to HBO. Suddenly all shows, all seasons are now open to be explored. And the first night that I downloaded HBO GO, I watched the first episode of The Wire.

The Wire is incredible for many reasons, but one of my favorite is the characters. Genuine, accurate writing combined with truly phenomenal actors blend to create a realism unseen in any television show or film that I have seen. Added to that mix is the spice of true life, non-actors from the mean streets of Baltimore that only lend more weight to the atmosphere of authenticity that permeates every aspect of the show.

Omar is one of the greatest, most original characters in history, and he is not even the "star". The characters are phenomenal, played with passion and believability. Why isn't Dominic West (McNulty) a star? Why isn't Wendell Pierce (Bunk) a household name? If I was a Hollywood executive, I would be hiring these actors immediately. Though HBO was wise enough to cast Michael K. Williams (Omar) in the fledgling Boardwalk Empire and Wendell Pierce in the struggling Treme we really need to see more of their vast talents.

But it is more than a pseudo-documentary. It is epic in scope, viewing the city from several seemingly disparate vantage points (from police to drug dealers, teachers to longshoremen, government administration to junkies) that when viewed as a whole, come into focus as an interconnected entity called Baltimore.

With confidence I can assert that yes, The Wire is the best show in television history. But it is more than that - it truly is a "visual novel" as some critics have described it, every bit as sweeping as The Godfather mixed with the gritty legitimacy of a documentary. The Wire supersedes television - it is too big for that small of a medium. No, The Wire is something else, something more significant than what we refer to as "TV".

Long live The Wire - the best show in the history of television.

Summer Film Recommendation: Paris, Texas

I don't know what it is about summer, but I find that I really like to watch alot of films during that season. Maybe it is because I live in South Carolina now and can't watch the Detroit Tigers everynight (they aren't broadcast down here), but I find myself watching even more films than normal from June until August. So I thought I would make some Summer Film Recommendations.

The first film I would like to kick off this column with is the brilliant Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984, was written by the superb Sam Shepherd, and features a subtly beautiful soundtrack written and performed by the legendary Ry Cooder. It features the incredibly underrated Harry Dean Stanton and Natassja Kinski as well as Dean Stockwell and Aurore Clement in career defining performances.

From Wikipedia:

The film stars character actor Harry Dean Stanton as Travis, who has been lost for four years and is taken in by his brother (played by Dean Stockwell). He later tries to put his life back together and understand what happened between him, his wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski), and his son Hunter (Hunter Carson)...Paris, Texas is notable for its images of the Texas landscape and climate. The first shot is a bird's eye-view of the desert, a bleak, dry, alien landscape. Shots follow of old advertisement billboards, placards, graffiti, rusty iron carcasses, old railway lines, neon signs, motels, seemingly never-ending roads, and Los Angeles, finally culminating in some famous scenes shot outside a drive-through bank in down-town Houston. The cinematography is typical of Robby Müller's work, a long-time collaborator of Wim Wenders...The film is accompanied by a slide-guitar score by Ry Cooder, based on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground".

That description describes the tangible objects and locations in the film, but does not describe the incredible atmosphere created through lighting, pacing, and music. The film does not look or sound dated in the least; in fact it looks as if it may have just been released due to the clarity of the cinematography, the way the each frame looks like a sublime, magical-realism photograph.

And the performances are staggering, painful and moving. The scene between Travis and Jane is one of the greatest in cinema history. I don't want to say much about it to spoil anything for you, but if you still have a dry eye at it's close then you may need to check yourself for a pulse.

Paris, Texas is an achingly beautiful meditation on the existential, inevitable distance between human beings. A truly unique film experience. If you have some time this summer, check it out.

Muse Marie-France Pisier Was Lovely, RIP

On the heels of the death of American legend Elizabeth Taylor, comes Marie-France Pisier, starlet of the French New Wave, dead at 66.

Pisier began her film career when she starred as Colette in Truffaut's wonderful short film Antoine and Colette in 1962. This was the follow up to the spectacular The 400 Blows, which led to further extensions of the Antoine Doinel film cycle, where Pisier reprised the character of Colette in both Stolen Kisses (1968) and Love On The Run (1978).

I am a huge, huge fan of Truffaut, and in particular, the Antoine Doinel cycle. Pisier is magnificent in these films, especially in Antoine and Colette as the gorgeous but unattainable object of desire for the young Doinel. The scene where he first spots her in the cinema is pure magic, a poignant snapshot of the exact moment when a young man falls for a beautiful girl - all played out through the expressions between Antoine and Colette, without dialogue. These are some of my favorite moments in film history.

Marie-France Pisier, Rest In Peace.

Color Me Obsessed Is Worthy, Timely

Color Me Obsessed is a documentary film about The Replacements, one of the greatest American rock n roll bands of all time. The film focuses on the importance of the band to what is still sadly a cult, underground group of fans. This was a band that should have been a household name - after all, they had the accessible, real songwriting of leader Paul Westerburg (truly one of the greatest songwriters who ever set words to melody) that just never won over a deserved mass audience.

I have been a Replacements fan since my friend Pete made me a mixtape of Mats songs that kicked off with a live version of I Will Dare - a song so infectious that I became an instant fan. Of course it was songs like the immortal Here Comes A Regular that cemented them in my still teenage heart. That fact that this film even exists makes me realize how truly old I am.

Support the film, support the Mats. Long Live the Replacements.

The Ghosts Looks Really Cool In a 50's Kinda Way

The Ghosts - Trailer from Eddie O'KEEFE on Vimeo.

This is the trailer for The Ghosts, a short film by Eddie O'Keefe. I don't know much else, but there are some absolutely killer shots in this.

More can be found on the awesome site for it here.

Carlos Mini-Series Is Perception Shifting

Oliver Assaya's Carlos, a mini-series made for French TV covers over two decades of the life of Carlos the Jackal, aka the FBI's Most Wanted Man in the World. The film follows the humble beginnings of a man whose name would strike fear into the hearts of millions as the most ruthless, daring terrorist in the world.

Played with charismatic fury by Edgar Martinez and running over 5 1/2 hours in length, the viewer begins to understand the motivations behind horrifying acts of violence. The film brilliantly straddles the line of empathy for Carlos, while never fully crossing the line into full sympathy the viewer does come to a clearer understand for the international political climate at the time. One of the truly fascinating aspects of the narrative is the roles played by many countries, constantly shifting loyalties, on the deplorable savagery of the period.

Superb - watch the full 5 1/2 hour version rather than the truncated 2 1/2 re-cut version. If, like me, you happen to find yourself sick on the couch, it is a great way to spend 5 1/2 hours as the film clips along, never dragging once.

Portlandia Is Hilarious, Timely

IFC's new show Portlandia (starring the super underrated Fred Armisen) is absolutely hilarious. And it's alot like me my life I must admit, especially in the clip above.

Thanks J Vizzle for the clip.