One of our favorite current bands, Broken Social Scene, is doing a show at Terminal 5 in NYC tonight and you can watch it live on youtube.
The band’s video for the track Forced To Love off their most recent album, Forgiveness Rock Record, was co-directed by none other than our good friend and soon-to-be Skylark Director of Photography, Alan Poon. The video employs cutting edge 3D rendering and looks like nothing you’ve seen before.
From Arts & Crafts’s video description:
“It’s an experimental 3D scanning technology that detects the displacement of a grid pattern of any object in front of it,” Poon explains. “The data is then used to rebuild the object in three dimensions. Each band member’s performance was scanned using this technique and manipulated in the computer to create the effect you see in the final video.”
Check it out here:
And here’s a little behind the scenes clip starring Alan, his collaborator on the project, Adam Makarenko, and the band.
-blake
To those of you who think Psychedelic Rock and good old Blues Rock died in the sixties or seventies, I say phooey! These genres are making a big comeback. If you long to hear new music that reminds you of your favorite bands of old (e.g. Zeppelin, Cream, Jethro Tull, The Kinks, Pink Floyd), then may I introduce to you WOLF PEOPLE and THE BEES. Both bands are British, have new albums out this week, and kick some major ass.
I’ve been listening to The Bees for several years now (they have four albums, Sunhine Hit Me, Free the Bees, Octopus, and Every Step’s A Yes) and they continue to be one of my favorite bands. Wolf People, on the other hand, are a recent discovery. They just released their second album today entitled STEEPLE.
Here are some bios, videos, and live performances to whet your appetite:
“Wolf People are an English psychedelic rock band based in London, Bedford and North Yorkshire. They formed in 2006 around the release of a very limited CD EP on Sea Records as part of the Lifeboat Series. The EP was Stuart Maconie’s record of the week on his BBC6 show. They have since released two 7” singles on Battered Ornaments Records, they quickly sold out and are now becoming quite sought after. The band have been embraced by the psych community receiving great praise in Shindig magazine and Terrascope.com amongst others. Influenced by Captain Beefheart, Can, Pentangle, Dungen, Amon Duul II and television, the music is largely blues rock based but incorporates elements of folk, jazz, kraut, and country. Wolf People signed to JAGJAGUWAR records in Autumn 2009 and are releasing their label debut TIDINGS, a collection of singles and EP tracks, on 22nd February 2010.”
“The Bees (known as “A Band of Bees” in America, owing to a rights conflict over their name) started out as the duo of Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher, both of whom hailed from the Isle of Wight. They recorded their debut album, Sunshine Hit Me, in a home studio in a shed in Butler’s parents’ garden. Butler and Fletcher, both multi-instrumentalists and singers, were avid record collectors and, even more so, avid record listeners with interests that extend back to the roots of British rock and into American soul, as well as a multitude of other directions. Sunshine Hit Me, released by We Love You as a U.K.-only issue and credited to the Bees, reflected their interests and listening, melding ’60s freakbeat and psychedelic sensibilities with ’70s power pop, and got nominated for the coveted Mercury Music Prize in 2002.
The Mercury nomination and the album’s critical success led to the assembly of an actual band, and a couple of years of steady touring. When the smoke cleared, the Bees were officially a sextet with everyone writing songs and switching off on instruments (and Fletcher doing their lyrics). And instead of recording their second album in the Butler family garden shed, as they’d intended, Butler’s stint producing another act at EMI ended up with the group booking three weeks there. It took that long for the six members — Kris Birkin, Michael Clevitt, Tim Parkin, Warren Hampshire, Butler, and Fletcher (all of them except lead guitarist Birkin multi-instrumentalists) — to create Free the Bees. Released in the summer of 2004 on the Virgin imprint, the album got rave reviews in England and earned notice in the United States as well, working its way into better stores and eliciting positive reviews from critics who normally would never have known about it. The group’s work has been variously compared to that of the Small Faces (and the Faces), the Beatles, the Byrds, Donovan, the Kinks, the Temptations, and early Pink Floyd, with some other interesting permutations. Butler, for example, counts his own influences as Lee Perry, King Tubby, and Fela Kuti. They saw further commercial success when the tracks “Chicken Payback” and “Wash in the Rain,” off of Free the Bees, were both picked up for use in television commercials.
In 2007, reduced to a quintet with Clevitt’s departure, they released Octopus, a brilliant, wide-ranging pop/rock opus that had inventiveness and unexpected influences quietly oozing out from between every note and chorus. Its feet were planted in 2007, but its musical influences looked back to the Kinks of Village Green Preservation Society and the Small Faces of “The Universal.” As with much of their earlier work, the album seemed to demand attention as much as it elicited delight, like a book the reader can’t put down. For all of their seeming ’60s influences, the group comes off as startlingly contemporary, just willing to reach back to artists and styles they admire when it suits them and the music at hand.”
And finally, I Really Need Love – A song from the bees new album!
-keith
I want to take a moment to share a beautiful clip that Alan sent us of Stevie Ray Vaughan performing with his brother Jimmie. Jimmie was three years older than Stevie and was his first big musical influence.
As you know, our film is about a musician who loses his older brother/bandmate in a tragic accident. Of course The Skylark is fiction, but the story of Stevie Ray Vaughan sadly is not. Jimmie’s younger brother overcame a drug and alcohol abuse problem only to die tragically in a helicopter crash in 1990. He was 35 years old.
Thanks for the clip, Alan.
-blake
Hi everyone, this is just a quick post to let you know that one of our favorite current bands, Arcade Fire, is performing their second show at Madison Square Garden tonight and the entire concert will be webcast live on youtube. What’s more is that the whole thing is directed by Terry Gilliam!
Check out this amazing ad for the show:
I was at the band’s gig last night, where I shot this short little video. They were amazing.
Tune in tonight and don’t forget to pick up Arcade Fire’s new album The Suburbs.
-blake
In my last post I listed my favorite New York based bands. Well, I need to add a name to that list. The band is She Keeps Bees and man do they rock! Jessica Larrabee sings and plays guitar and Andy LaPlant accompanies her on drums. That’s right, they’re only a two piece! Their music is intense and raw; think The White Stripes or The Black Keys but with a female singer who gets compared to artists like Cat Power and PJ Harvey. Take a look for yourself:
Was I lying?! If you like what you see, the band is playing two gigs in Brooklyn this weekend before touring the country (Dates: Friday, June 25th, 7pm at Littlefield Performance and Art Space, & Saturday, June 26th, 4pm at Bar Matchless). They also have two bad-ass albums, MINISINK HOTEL, released in 2006, and NESTS released in 2008. I’ll be at the show on Saturday, so come and join me for a beer and some fantastic music!
-keith
One of our favorite artists of the last decade, Sufjan Stevens, was pretty much a recluse from 2005-2009. Then last year he released an instrumental soundtrack to his film The BQE, and toured once, but there had been no hint of a followup to his 2005 album Illinois. According to an interview with Exclaim’s Vish Khannam, after completing that masterpiece, Sufjan found himself in the middle of an existential crisis:
I definitely feel like ‘What is the point? What’s the point of making music anymore?’ I feel that the album no longer has a stronghold or has any real bearing anymore. The physical format itself is obsolete; the CD is obsolete and the LP is kinda nostalgic. So, I think the album is suffering and that’s how I’ve always created—I work with these conceptual albums in the long-form. And I’m wondering, what’s the value of my work once these forms are obsolete and everyone’s just downloading music?
Every once in a while, since 2005, I’ve hit google hoping to find news of Sufjan’s return to songwriting. Today, I got my wish. I discovered an article from Paste Magazine, which reveals that not only is Sufjan finally working on a new album, but he is collaborating with another band I love, The National.
Knowing nothing about The National, my wife and I caught their performance at the All Points West Festival last year and they blew us away. We picked up their album Boxer shortly after, which is an amazing record that grows on you with every listen.
If you’re not familiar with Sufjan’s work, I’m not sure how to describe it, but he once called it “high art meets low art.” It’s sort of pop/folk/classical… rrrr… just check it out:
And The National on Letterman:
And finally, Sufjan supporting The National for a performance of “Afraid of Everyone” off the band’s new album High Violet (released last month):
Sufjan, we can’t wait to hear what you and the boys are concocting…
-blake
Considering our film is set in NYC and Blake, Derrick, and I live here (Blake actually lives in New Jersey, but I’m trying to remedy that), I decided to make a short list of some of my favorite, current New York based bands/musicians.
In no particular order:
LCD Soundsystem – Great band, great albums. I’ve seen them live twice and they were fantastic both times. I would call it Dance, Punk, Funk-Rock. I think many bands have tried to emulate them in the last few years.
MGMT – This band blew up fast. I prefer their first album, Oracular Spectacular, but their new album, Congratulations, is worth checking out. Electroclash, Psychadelic, Glam-Rock.
The Morning Benders – Just got into this band. I heard someone playing them in a coffee shop in my neighborhood and asked the guy at the counter who they were. Their new album, Big Echo, is fantastic. Sunny, Indie, Pop-Rock
London Souls – I’ve seen this band three times at Brooklyn Bowl and they never disappoint. Straight up throwback 60′s, 70′s inspired Rock. Think Cream, or Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Gogol Bordello – One of the best live shows you’ll ever see. Super high-energy Gypsy Punk-Rock!
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra – I discovered this band one year at Coachella. Great live band. Members of their horn section are currently in the house band for the Fela show on Broadway.
Sharon Jones and The Dapkings – Sharon Jones is an incredible soul singer. She performed at Brooklyn Bowl a few months ago and I’ve never seen someone so tiny (She’s about five feet tall) with so much chutzpah!
Beirut – One of the most interesting singer-songwriters of the last ten years. His music is beautiful and unique. I have never seen him live, so if any of you ever have a spare ticket, give me a call! His first album was released when he was only 20 or 21 I believe. Whimsical, Gypsy, Pop-Rock.
Sufjan Stevens – Another incredible singer-songwriter. His songs often blend many instruments to create epic, sometimes heartbreaking pop music. I’m also dying to see him live.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Super fun Indie-Rock band. If you like bands like The Talking Heads, check them out. Their first self-titled album is my favorite.
TV On The Radio – This band is hit or miss for me, but when they hit, boy do they hit. Every album has a few killer songs on it. Check out their latest, Dear Science. Post-Punk, Electronic, Soul-Rock.
Interpol – I’ve been a big fan of this band for years now. They are often compared to Joy Division and although all of their albums are solid, their first one, Turn On Your Bright Lights, is still my favorite. Just great, straight-up Indie-Rock.
The Virgins – Another fun, 70′s New-Wave style rock band. The lead singer sounds like Elvis Costello to me.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – A collective made up of musicians from various other successful groups (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, TV on the Radio, L’Trimm, Calla, Mooney Suzuki, Oakley Hall, Antibalas, the Dap Kings, Diamond Nights, Persephone’s Bees, Si*Sé, and Apollo Heights), I saw these guys at Brooklyn Bowl and enjoyed them very much. Their self-titled, debut album is a sort of throwback to the rock and soul of the 60′s and 70′s.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – I’ve been to a lot of live shows, and it’s rare that I see a performer and think, “Wow, that’s a rock star.” Karen O, their frontman, is one of those rare performers. If you ever have a chance, check them out live. Karen O is a sort of Joan Jett meets Chrissie Hynde (of the Pretenders) meets Blondie. Their whole band is fantastic and all three of their albums are different, but worth checking out.
Vampire Weekend – This is another band that blew up fast. Great summer music. Joyful, Afro-Pop, Indie-Rock.
Yeasayer – I got into this band recently and I think they are currently one of the most creative and unique bands out there. An eclectic, genre-bending journey into pop, rock, Middle Eastern and African musics, folk, and dub. Both of their albums are worth checking out.
Dayna Kurtz – Not knowing anything about her, Derrick, Blake, and I saw her open up for Patrick Watson at the Bell House recently. Dayna is a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter who breathes honesty into every note she sings. We had the pleasure of meeting her after the show; stay tuned for more about that from Blake.
Listen and Enjoy!
-keith
There are some fantastic bands out there who aren’t getting the stateside recognition they deserve. High up on my (and Blake’s) list is The Acorn from Ottawa, Ontario. We saw them a couple years ago at a tiny spot in Hoboken and there were about ten people there. A complete travesty if you ask me. This is the kind of music that inspires us everyday, and the plan is that our film and this blog will be vessels through which these amazing voices are recognized and shared.
Here are two clips from Laundromatinee:
And a music video for their track THE FLOOD PT. 1:
Just fantastic songwriting across the board. If you like what you hear, give this band your money and download their music. I highly recommend their last album, Glory Hope Mountain. Also check out their amazing song off Friends in Bellwoods 2 (a compilation album of Canadian bands), called SLIPPERY WHEN WET.
The Acorn’s new album, No Ghost, comes out in the US on June 1st. You can download their new single for free here.
Enjoy.
-keith
My father (an avid music listener and probably the person who got me and my brother into music) once told me that his favorite songs have great transitions. They move seamlessly through a range of emotions and eclectic sounds. A great song can take you on a journey. “A Day in The Life” by The Beatles and “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead come to mind as perfect examples.
Last night I bought the album, BROKEN BELLS, a collaboration by super-producer and multi-instrumentalist Brian Burton, aka DANGER MOUSE (Beck, The Black Keys, Gorillaz, & Gnarls Barkley to name a few) and James Mercer, singer/guitarist of THE SHINS. This is probably the most well produced album I’ve heard since Radiohead’s IN RAINBOWS. Every song is great and most of them take you on a journey. The tracks also flow into each other well, which makes the album something to experience as a whole. I think BROKEN BELLS will be accessible for many people with all kinds of tastes (much like the Beatles).
Here’s a great two part interview with the band:
and their first music video:
You can also listen to the whole album (for a limited time only) at: LUISTERPAAL
Make sure you give the whole thing a listen!
-keith
In November I mentioned a great foreign website called Luisterpaal, which allows you to stream new albums for free. My newest find is a duo called Postdata.
Here’s a quick review of their album from the online paper The Coast:
“What have you done for your mom lately? Paul Murphy (Wintersleep) and his bro Michael formed an informal duo, called it Postdata and recorded an album of the same name as a gift for their mother, who had faced some tough losses. It’s nine songs written and sung by Paul and performed by both brothers. Each song has an acoustic-guitar heart shrouded in its own uniquely charged atmosphere, thanks to thoughtful electronics, production and additional instrumentation. As with his other band, Paul’s lyrics look to the sky’s expanse, into all the body contains, as a means of location and reasoning with loss, in this case, death. In a beautiful album, “Lazarus,” “Tracers” and “The Coroner” are the most.”
Paul Murphy’s other band WINTERSLEEP, is also a solid band to check out:
Some other notable albums currently posted on the Luisterpaal site are Midlake – The Courage of Others, Massive Attack – Heligoland, and Hot Chip – One Life Stand. Check out the site for yourself and let me know your favorites.
-keith
In a slight departure from the typical content of this blog, but with no less relevance, I want to share a lecture by Ken Robinson on the importance of teaching creativity to children. He argues that music and dance, for example, are as important in the classroom as math and language, and I couldn’t agree more.
I have many passionate teachers in my family, including my wife Julie, and while I’ve seen the difference one educator can make, I have also felt the heavy weight of what I consider to be a broken system.
I won’t say any more because Mr. Robinson expresses my sentiments beautifully and with a quick British wit.
Here is the violin performance by an 11-year-old girl named Sirena Huang, which Ken Robinson mentions in his lecture.
Be sure to go to www.ted.com to see more lectures from some of the world’s greatest minds.
-blake
If you read the previous post about our good friend Alan Poon, then you know he has been working with Adam Marenko on a stop-motion music video for the Canadian band Zeus. We’re pleased to present the finished product to you here, as well as a making-of video/interview. Enjoy!
By the way, for all you tech geeks out there, the interview below was shot on a Canon 7D, the amazing baby brother of the 5D Mark ii. I am still working on an extensive post about our experience with the 5D on Sweet Nothing.
Congrats to Alan and Adam on another stunning video!
-blake
To me there is always something wonderfully melancholy about the holiday season and I think the best Christmas music reflects that. What could be better than several generations together in one house, drunk on eggnog, singing along to the same song, and reminiscing about simpler times?
Here’s what I’ll be listening to this week:
Something New
Sufjan Stevens, one of my favorite artists of the last decade, made a quadruple album of Christmas music a few years back. It includes original tracks, like the one below, and covers of all your favorite holiday tunes.
A Classic Made New
Fiona Apple sings Frosty The Snowman – need I say more? This is off an album called Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs. It’s a compilation of tracks performed by famous ladies such as Fiona, KT Tunstall, Priscilla Ahn, and Ingrid Michaelson.
Something Timeless
I’m a sucker for Judy. What can I say.
Have a joyously reflective holiday.
-blake
I was hanging out at a bar recently and heard a fun new song that I could have sworn was MGMT. I immediately went up to the DJ and asked him to give me the info; I’ve discovered a lot of music this way. Much to my surprise the song was by a new Australian band called Empire Of The Sun (yes, they named themselves after the J.G. Ballard novel that became a Spielberg film). The song is called WE THE PEOPLE. If you enjoy the whole dance/glam rock thing, these guys will fit right into your collection. If not, you’re gonna absolutely hate this or love it.
Disclaimer: you may want to consume some LSD before viewing this video…
The musicians describe their album as a “spiritual road movie”. I also read up on them at AllMusic and was surprised once again to discover that Luke Steele, one of it’s two members, was also the former frontman of a band I like (and saw live) called The Sleepy Jackson. This is a much different type of band often compared to George Harrison. Check out the difference:
Here’s a crazy live “Empire” clip. Their show looks nuts.
-keith
Filed under: Combat Rock, Music, Photos, Screenwriting, Skylark, Sweet Nothing, Video
We have loads of news, but first I’d like to thank you all for sticking with this blog the last two weeks. Keith and I were slacking on the posts, but for good reason; we spent the last month finishing our screenplay and other submission content for the Ultimate Filmmaker Competition. I’m very excited to report that WE ARE DONE! The receipt of the materials was confirmed by the Filmmaker’s Alliance, and now we just have to try to wait patiently.
Keith and I spent many long days rewriting THE SKYLARK line by line, as we reported in previous posts. Overall, we trimmed a lot of fat and worked to heighten conflict where the pace felt slow. Along the way we received vital feedback from our friend Alan Poon and our wonderful ladies Julie and Sarah. We are all extremely excited by the finished product. I think it reads great, and as a director I can now SEE the film, which is when I know it’s working.
After completing the screenplay, we still had to submit three essay questions, plus a 7 minute video interview and a sample of our work. In my opinion, The Ultimate Filmmaker Competition earns it’s name by pushing it’s entrants to think through every aspect of their project and document it. The experience has been invaluable.
We decided to shoot our video interview in Central Park and cut it as a mini-documentary. This meant a lot of editing in a very brief amount of time. Alan shot some beautiful footage and we lucked out with a picturesque rainy day.
I decided to hold off on editing the interview until after we finished our screenplay, which only gave me about three days. I put in more than 40 hours in one weekend, cutting in music, photographs, old home-videos, and other b-roll.
For the work sample, Keith and I decided to submit the trailer for our first collaboration, UNFURL, along with our newest short film in its entirety. Now, here’s the not so great news:
COMBAT ROCK is now SWEET NOTHING
We managed to acquire the rights to music from The Velvet Underground, Depeche Mode, and Nina Simone for our small project, but ran into some resistance from The Clash. Such is life. Therefore, we have changed the name of the movie to SWEET NOTHING after the Velvet Underground song Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ which starts and ends the film.
I’m very excited that you’ll all finally be able to see some of the fruits of our labor in the coming weeks as the Filmmaker’s Alliance posts our work on their site. Get ready to vote and keep on checking back here. We’ll be posting outtakes from our interview and a lot of other content.
And finally, to celebrate the delivery of our work, here’s something beautiful in Central Park:
And another weeping ukulele to brighten your day:
Thanks again for the support!
-blake
If you’re into British bands like Radiohead, The Verve, Blur, Coldplay, Travis, and Pink Floyd, but have never heard of Elbow, today is your lucky day. Blake and I have been huge fans of Elbow since their first album, Asleep In The Back, came out in 2001, and I have seen them in concert seven times. The band playfully refers to themselves as “prog without the solos”.
The band recently performed their critically acclaimed fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid, live at Abbey Road with the BBC Concert Orchestra. I have been to many concerts over the years and there is currently no better band to see live (okay, except for Radiohead). Guy Garvey’s voice is always on point and the band is as tight as it gets. Here are a few clips from the BBC performance. Be prepared to have your socks knocked off:
Also check out their video for GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, a rockin’ song and the first single off The Seldom Seen Kid:
-keith
The amazing Alan Poon became a New Yorker in a puff of smoke last spring, and today he will hop on his winged moose and head back to Canada. His name is all over this blog, and for good reason. Not only is he an amazing filmmaker, but he is one of my dearest friends.
Alan and I were freshman roommates at York University in 1997. One year later, he transferred to Ryerson, but those nine months we shared in the same dry prison (dormitory) solidified our friendship. He went on to become a Cinematographer and Director who has collaborated with Keith and I on our last three films. Most recently, he was the Director of Photography on our short film COMBAT ROCK, and is now helping us finish our screenplay for THE SKYLARK, which he will also shoot.
Last year, Alan directed a music video for The Bowerbirds, which was honored by Spin Magazine as one of the top 20 videos of the year. I could go on and on about Alan’s work, but I’ll let it speak for itself.
I’m also excited to share that I have the inside scoop on Alan’s newest project. He’s in mid-production on a stop-motion music video for the song “Marching Through Your Head” by Zeus , which he is co-directing with photographer and miniature-set-builder, Adam Makarenko. Here are some never-before-seen photos from this amazing project.
More on this video to come, so stay tuned.
Alan Poon, coming to a city near you… if you live in Ontario. 
-blake
One of our favorite albums from 2006 is Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther. I was thrilled to hear that they finally announced a release date for their follow-up album and tour. Here’s a snippet from an interview last year with Stereogum.
“We didn’t know exactly what we wanted, but we know we didn’t want to make the same album as last time. We could have made 10 albums with the amount of time we’ve spent, but that doesn’t mean they’d be saying anything great,” says McKenzie Smith.
So, what sort of music can you expect from a Midlake record? Perhaps the new album cover will give you a hint.
Midlake’s last album was, for lack of a better term, Classic Rock Revival at its best. Their lead singer Tim Smith, says he was listening to a lot of Neil Young, America, Joni Mitchell, and Fleetwood Mac while he wrote it. Here’s an interesting quote I found of Tim’s, this one from early in the band’s career.
“We don’t want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can’t. That’s a big struggle.”
I doubt anyone but Radiohead can write 10 Radiohead songs, but I’ll give Tim the benefit of the doubt. If any of Midlake’s influences peak your interest, check out this music video for one of my favorite songs off their last album.
While surfing the internet today, I also stumbled across this low-fi EPK (Electronic Press Kit). It was especially cool to find because Keith and I wrote an EPK into THE SKYLARK to establish our fictional band of the same name. We use it as a storytelling device similar to the newsreel in Citizen Kane or Pixar’s UP. (That’s right, I just compared our film to Citizen Kane and Up.)
There’s some inspiring reference material in here, but be patient; there’s a 30 second countdown at the top.
Midlake’s The Courage of Others will be released February 2, 2010. I’m ready.
-blake
Filed under: Music
For those of you always looking for an influx of new indie music, I want to share Luisterpaal, a foreign website that posts new albums weekly. Did I mention it’s FREE?! I found out about the site from my friend Richard, an actor and fellow music junky. Thanks Richard. Check it out and let me know what you think.
-keith
