No Mod Required

Any dramatic chipmunk tattoos out there? Internet, please say yes.

I'm actually clearing out a lot of links I've wanted to share and just haven't. A lot of these aren't big enough for a post of their own, so it's link post day around here.

Classic Photographs Remade in Lego

Classics in Lego - a photoset on Flickr

Pretty straightforward link. My favorite is the recreation of Robert Capa's Death of a Loyalist Soldier

Du rififi chez les hommes

Filmmaker Jules Dassin, 96, Dies

Have I mentioned how much I love Rififi? I love it to pieces. Dassin had an excellent career, with several excellent entries (Topkapi, Night and the City, The Naked City, Thieves' Highway, etc.) spanning a career lasting nearly four decades. He was a real talent.

Libertines Musical?

Five Reasons a Libertines Musical Isn't a Terrible Idea

I have nothing to say on the matter. I just wanted you all to know there was the possibility of a Libertines musical.

Now you know.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Have you seen Jeff Mangum?

Neutral Milk Hotel's bandleader built a faith on the transcendent power of music. Then, when he needed it most, he gave up on it.

A pretty definitive look at the story of NMH front man Jeff Mangum.

Muxtape / robreact

"Unknown: Untitled" is SLF's Alternative Ulster, by the way.

Two questions spring to mind.

1. How long will Muxtape last?
2. Once they are knocked off the net, will it be because of:
   • Capacity? Meaning they had no clue it would blow up so fast. Or…
   • An RIAA-style legal smackdown?

Regardless of how they come to their inevitable end, it's a fun little service that's easy to use. I'm going to play around with it as long as I can.

For the technically inclined, it uses mootools under the hood.

Look, more muxtapes (I'll post them as they cross my path):

Muxtape / mezzoblue
Muxtape / mario
adjustafresh.muxtape.com
ryanobrooks.muxtape.com
colinpod.muxtape.com
zenstudent57.muxtape.com
Another Girl, Another Muxtape
http://clampants.muxtape.com/
http://devosuperfly.muxtape.com/
http://caseymckinnon.muxtape.com/

La Vie en Rose

With Let's Get Lost I had quite a back to back with the movies recently. Both are excellent films about incredible talents with a strong thread of tragedy running through their lives- great cinema, definitely in the downer column. There are worse things, of course, I just thought I'd point it out.

This, the story of iconic French singer, Edith Piaf, is truly a great film. It'd be tough to go wrong with the source material, but it really beat my expectations. That's due mostly to the incredible performance turned in by Marion Cotillard. On the surface it's a stereotypical "great" performance. Aided by makeup and highlighted by the physical transformations brought on by Piaf's poor health, the showy aspects of this performance are of the type that I'm usually skeptical of when similar performances are held up as truly transcendent accomplishments (I'm looking at you Charlize Theron in Monster.) The thing is, in this case the obvious changes are buoyed by a heartbreakingly honest portrayal of the complicated inner life of the singer. makeup or no makeup the emotion that plays out across just Cotillard's eyes is enough to get me nodding my head in approval. It's truly a wonderful performance.

Beyond that, and that's all you really need in my book, the rest of the film is also excellent. Based on the little sparrow's fascinating, tragic life, the film is well written, paced nicely and well acted across the board. It's a painful thing to watch, especially with the empathy generated by Cotillard's performance, but there's a beauty in the pain, much like Piaf's music itself.

I can't go on without mentioning the music. The film is obviously full of Piaf's music and, for me, that would have been worth the price of admission alone. It's a glorious, unique* thing, her voice and spending a couple of hours getting to know it and the life behind it better was something special.

All in all this is an excellent film and one that is most highly recommended.

*It's interesting that I say unique here, because there are several scenes voiced by an uncanny Piaf soundalike named Jil Aigrot- as I learned from this feature on PRI's The World.

Let's Get Lost

I'm WAY behind on movie reviews, so I'll make this quick. So quick I'm going with a list…

Let's Get Lost is:

• A fascinating look at the troubled life of the late, great Jazz musician Chet Baker
• One of the prettiest documentaries I've ever seen. Directed by photographer Bruce Weber, Let's Get Lost is a stunning visual achievement. Like the best black and whtie still photography come to life, this film matches the melancholy of Baker's life, the life of those he touched and his music perfectly.
• Depressing. Baker was on top of the world. Then he became a junkie and got his teeth knocked out. Fun times.
• Maybe a little overlong? It's a somber film. 2+ hours of somber can be a bit of a marathon.
• Features Flea. When I saw this film first, in the theater, I was probably the only person in the audience to even recognize him. Now? Probably a different story.
• Is really a must-see. One of the best docs I've ever seen. not that I'm the king of documentaries, but still…

That'll just have to do. I've got much to churn through here.

Beirut is the doubleplus awesome.

1. Nantes
2. Sunday Smile
3. Guyamas Sonora
4. La Banlieue
5. Cliquot
6. The Penalty
7. La Fete
8. In the Mausoleum
9. Un Dernier Verre
10. Cherbourg
11. St. Apollonia
12. The Flying Club Cup

via metafilter, of course.

Apparently, Coconut Records' "West Coast" is featured in Cloverfield. Regulars here will remember that I pointed out the phenomenal (to me at least) video for West Coast back in the summer.

Not news to you maybe, but Jason Schwarztman + Mark Gonzales = cool

I ended up buying the record off of eMusic recently and I really, really enjoy it. West Coast is painfully infectious (according to last.fm, it's the #3 track for me over the past year- trailing only Neutral Milk Hotel's Holland, 1945 and The Only Ones, Another Girl Another Planet) and the new single, Nighttiming, is getting some well-deserved play on WERS.

1. The Mighty Lemon Drops - Another Girl, Another Planet (2:42)
2. Clowns for Progress - Another girl, another planet (2:54)
3. The Replacements - Another Girl, Another Planet (2:41)
4. Paul Westerberg - Another Girl, Another Planet (live) (2:36)
5. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (3:01)
6. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (3:11)
7. The Notwist - Another Planet (Version) (3:16)
8. Lower East Side Stitches - Another Girl, Another Planet (2:53)
9. The Libertines - Another Girl, Another Planet (3:37)
10. Greg Kihn - Another Girl Another Planet (4:05)
11. Blink-182 - Another Girl Another Planet (2:41)
12. Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day (3:11)
13. Babyshambles - Another Girl Another Planet (1:58

The Nomi Song Know who Klaus Nomi is? I didn't until I saw this film. I'm still not sure what to think about him, but this documentary was an excellent introduction to his life and career. I could write a little bit about him and what his music sounded like, but instead I'm just going to post another Youtube video featuring Klaus in all his glory. That'll go a lot further than anything I could ever write. That's a guarantee. With someone as unique as Klaus, seeing is really believing.

More on this particular subject tomorrow…