futuregirl blog

Werewolves - Not Dead Yet!

2010-06-07T19:34:09.000-5:00

Just so you know, I've heard from two of the members of The Werewolves (who I mention here and here) and they are alive and kicking! Awesome! Also, um, it's soincrediblycool to get email from an indie band from Brooklyn. Fuck yeah!

They say on their blog that they'll be leaking more music soon. Leak away! And, if you visit, check out that awesome poster with what looks like a crochet doily and some tatting details. I think I'm going to pass out!

Songs About The Holocaust

2010-02-12T03:22:14.000-5:00

As I mentioned earlier, I'm in love with the defunct band, the Werewolves. They've been my only ONLY listening choice for weeks. I googled the name of one one of my favorites among their songs, Dora Gerson. Here they are performing it for the first time live:

A week or so ago, I was listening to a CD of Japanese songs from the 60's and a song came on that I recognized from my childhood. My Pop used to sing it while playing his guitar to me and my sisters as we were falling asleep ... one of my cherished childhood memories, those nights of singing. It took a bunch of googling to figure out what song it even was, because they were singing it in Japanese and I hadn't heard it since I was about 5-years-old. It was Dona Dona. Here's Donavon performing it:

And not long before that, I learned that Neutral Milk Hotel's album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (one of my favorite albums) is inspired by Anne Frank:

Sometimes the sadness walks up behind you silently and taps you on the shoulder and you turn and see it as if for the first time and it says, "I've always been here, and I'm never very far away."

Man Bites Dog

2010-01-11T01:31:11.000-5:00

Man, I'm loving Netflix On-Demand lately. When we first tried using Netflix On-Demand, oh, I don't know ... was it a year or two ago? ... well, it sucked then. But they've done some things lately that make it awesome and easy. They are also starting to add lots of great films.

I was looking to see if they had Groundhog Day, in honor of the hog-along, and I saw Man Bites Dog, which held the title of my "number one favorite movie" for about 5 years. It's like the French version of Spinal Tap using a serial killer instead of a band. And, instead of the drummer coming to a bad end and getting replaced over and over, it's the sound guy on the documentary crew. Dark, dark, dark, dark, French, and funny. What's not to love?!

Breaks My Heart

2010-01-05T03:32:50.000-5:00

I was sitting here listening to the Werewolves album Dance Raincoat Glass and thought I'd write a little post here because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. So I was googling around and I found their blog.

ACK!!!

They are done. :( According to their blog, they had tons of equipment stolen in October, and decided to take a break of indefinite length in December. SO SAD.

These guys are awesome.

I love the whole album, but if you visit the Werewolves' MySpace, listen to Dora Gerson and Christa Pafgen Head Injury. Love!

We learned of them from this Village Voice blog post. After hearing their album, I thought they'd definitely be the next big thing.

I have my fingers crossed that they really are taking a break and we didn't just loose one of the most talented new bands I've heard in a long, long time.

Perhaps Now I'll Learn How To Spell Beirut

2009-08-06T00:00:26.000-5:00

I already liked the band Beirut, but when we recently purchased the double EP March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland, I sort of lost my mind. I listen to them all the time, although it's terrifyingly hard to find their album in iTunes because I have a hell of a time spelling Beirut.

So far I've learned that it starts with a B and is followed by an E and and I, but I'm never quite sure what order those two are in. Yes, I'm s-m-r-t.

Anyway, the double EP's first half is folky sounding Eastern European-ish marching songs they recorded in Mexico with the help of Oaxacan march masters The Jimenez Band. The second half is techno-y, dreamy, and just as catchy. There's even an instrumental, which should be a crime because Zach has an amazing voice, but it's wonderful, too. I love me the computer beeples.

I know it sounds like an improbable combination, but it *works* like magic. I really can't stop listening to this album (unless it's to listen to Shampoo).

Here's a song from the EP's first half:

Here's a song from the EP's second half:

Before I wrote this post I had no idea how adorable and young this guy is. He's got the voice of a seasoned Lothario ... and mad talent.

You Are Worth Your Weight In Sorrow

2009-08-04T23:45:49.000-5:00

My favorite song at this moment is Elvis Perkins' Shampoo. The lyrics make my throat tight everytime I hear them, which is about 137 times a day. In part ...

I don't want to die
however dark tomorrow may be
bought me a perfect square of sky
you are worth your weight in gold
you are worth your weight in sorrow, baby
though you will never know why

I totally think it's more touching to be worth your weight in sorrow than worth your weight in gold.

Here is a video of him playing the song live. I have to say, though, I prefer the album's version.

July 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-07-31T19:38:26.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
*	Tetro (2009) Francis Ford Coppola
*	Blue Velvet (1986) David Lynch
*	Presumed Innocent (1990) Alan J Pakula
	Pineapple Express (2008) David Gordon Green
*	Near Dark (1987) Kathryn Bigelow
**	I'm Not Scared (2003) Gabriele Salvatores
*	Tell No One (2006) Guillaume Canet
*	Frontiere(s) (2007) Xavier Gens
*	The Nines (2007) John August
*	Tokyo! (2008) Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax, Michel Gondry

Destroyer

2009-07-30T19:07:24.000-5:00

Last night we saw Destroyer at the Unitarian Church. It's been hotter than hell around here this week, so we were afraid that we'd have a melty repeat of last summer's show at the church.

But luckily* there was a huge storm right before the show which cooled things down. A little. It was still super hot in the church, but at least we could breathe.

He was awesome. He played most of the songs Andrew hoped he'd play.

* Not luckily for my walk home from work during which I got drowned in torrential rains on two separate occasions. I'd planned ahead and worn a skirt to work with flip flops. I was soaked through by the time I got home. The edge of my skirt dripped on the floor in the hall as I waited for the elevator.

No One Here Is Going To Save You

2009-07-29T18:52:56.000-5:00

We saw Mark Eitzel last night at Johnny Brenda's. This time he was just singing (instead of fussing with a guitar and singing) and that, my friends, makes all the difference. From his first note to the last, Mark was amazing. Literally. Amazing.

He's one of the few people who I've seen live that sounds perfect on his albums and 20 times better in person. He could have sung the whole show without the mike, his voice is so powerful, and did several times. Magical. Perfect. Enchanting. He was accompanied by a piano player, who was *awesome* and perfectly in sync with Mark.

They seemed to really be enjoying hanging out and singing for us. I loved hearing him cover I Left My Heart In San Francisco and Me and Mr. Jones (changed from "Mrs."). And, of course, I loved seeing him perform his own songs, like The Decibels & The Little Pills ... as you see below from a previous show (with some horns, which we didn't have).

If you watch the video, he seems to ease into this one, and by the time he gets to 3:30 on the timer, he's totally in the zone. He was in that zone the WHOLE show last night.

You're The F*cking Problem

2009-07-13T20:15:59.000-5:00

For years and years I've had this million-dollar idea that I was going to start a self-help movement where the premise is that people are their own problem. I'd name the book "You're The F*cking Problem." I would point out all the ways people create their own poopy worlds and then brow beat them (or get them to brow beat themselves ... this *is* self-help) into shaping up.

I know! Brilliant.

Right?

Well, don't judge me too quickly. Time just ran an article about the power of negative thinking and how it figures into the third wave of psychology (which is apparently being spearheaded by Uncle Fester).

Who's the negative nancy now?

June 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-06-30T19:16:43.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
**	The Pornographers (1966) Shohei Imamura
**	Let The Right One In (2008) Tomas Alfredson
*	The Hit (1984) Stephen Frears
*	30 Days Of Night (2007) David Slade
*	Traitor (2008) Jeffrey Nachmanoff
*	Eye In The Sky (2007) Nai-Hoi Yau
*	The Last Winter (2006) Larry Fessenden
*	Lessons Of Darkness (1992) Werner Herzog
*	Timecrimes (2007) Nacho Vigalondo
**	No Country For Old Men (2007) Joel Coen
*	Time After Time (1979) Nicholas Meyer
*	Long Weekend (1978) Colin Eggleston

May 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-05-31T19:07:43.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
**	Lady Snowblood (1973) Toshiya Fujita
**	Lady Snowblood: Love Song Of Vengeance (1974) Toshiya Fujita
*	Nightmare Detective (2006) Shinya Tsukamoto
**	Adoration (2008) Atom Egoyan
**	The Limits Of Control (2009) Jim Jarmusch
*	Tetsuo (1989) Shinya Tsukamoto
**	Cargo 200 (2007) Aleksey Balabanov
	Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Takashi Miike
*	Road Games (1981) Richard Franklin
*	Arakimentari (2004) Travis Klose
*	Anamorph (2007) Henry Miller
**	In A Lonely Place (1950) Nicholas Ray
	Attack Girls' Swim Team Vs. The Undead (2007) Koji Kawano
**	Detective Story (2007) Takashi Miike

Newest Favorite Meal

2009-05-24T22:45:29.000-5:00

I love simple meals, and this chickpea salad couldn't get much simpler ... or much more delicious

Killadelphia - Where To Go and What To Eat

2009-05-15T20:10:11.000-5:00

A sweet reader of my craft blog emailed to ask where to go and what to see in Philadelphia. At first I told her to go to New York instead. And, although I stand by that (New York is amazing!!!), if you are going to be in Philly anyway, here are some of my favorite places.

STUFF TO SEE

Mutter Museum Weird and cool. Mutants, aberrations, scientific diagrams, and Victoriana. Everything a girl loves.

Fabric Row. Not a ton of fabric stores, but a ton of fabric. They close early, so check times. Grab the best chocolate chip cookie you've ever had (no joke!) at Famous Fourth while your over there.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Beautiful and full of art.

Boathouse Row along Kelly Drive (or West River Drive). Beautiful walk from the Art Musuem to as far as you can take it. Kelly Drive is more scenic, but West River Drive has better views of the city and Boathouse Row.

Reading Terminal Food food food and Amish people selling stuff. You can get Famous 4th Street chocolate chip cookies here, too.

Washington Square Park and Society Hill Walk South and East from the park. Beautiful, quiet park and quaint old houses.

Italian Market Now half Italian and half other-stuff, but still interesting for walking around.

Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Across the street from city hall. Beautiful inside. Take the tour.

City Hall A wonderful, ornamented building. I haven't taken the 12:30 PM tour yet, but totally want to. There's also a tower tour. I did do jury duty there, and I loved getting a peek inside.

And, if you're feeling fabric and yarn yearnings. Check out Loop and Spool, which are next door to each other (but not close to much else).

RESTAURANTS

Pagoda Noodle Cafe Best fresh Chinese in the city.

Caribou Cafe Delicious, authentic French Bistro.

Nodding Head Brewery Great home-brewed beers and yummy food. The chicken fingers are awesome.

Famous 4th Stree Deli Huge HUGE sandwiches. Best chocolate chip cookies. Ever.

Vietnam Not to be confused with the Vietnamese place across the street. Yum! And, if you're not into Vietnamese food, order the Salt and Pepper chicken. There's nothing weird in it and it's so effing yummy. It's one of my favorite dishes there.

Race Street Cafe Excellent, changing beer line up. Best burger in town according to my husband. Great neighborhood place.

And that's my mini-guide to Philadelphia.

April 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-04-30T08:00:57.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
*	4bia (2008) Various Directors
*	James (2008) Connor Clements
**	Of Time And The City (2008) Terence Davies
*	Exte (2007) Sion Sono
**	Surveillance (2008) Jennifer Lynch
	God's Forgotten Town (2008) Juan Carlos Claver
*	Donkey Punch (2008) Oliver Blackburn
*	The Crimson Rivers (2000) Mathieu Kassovitz
**	Yakuza Graveyard (1976) Kinji Fukasaku
*	Crows Zero (2007) Takashi Miike
*	Double Dare (2004) Amanda Micheli
**	The Eel (1997) Shohei Imamura

Oops

2009-04-10T23:30:40.000-5:00

Sorry, feed readers, that I faked you out with February's Month Of Movies. I forgot to date it the last day of February ... AND I copied and pasted the title from March's post and forgot to change March to February.

I plead tiredness.

Bringin' Back The Movies

2009-04-04T00:44:18.000-5:00

I've been sad about not posting the movies we see, but I just don't have the time to post about every movie ... or even just the good ones. And then I realized that we keep a list of all the movies we watch, so I could just post a list at the end of the month. Yay! I can definitely handle a monthly update. And, hey, I might even start going backwards, too.

I just posted March 2009. I'm going to date the post the last day of the month we watched the movies, no matter what date I actually post the list. I wonder if that will keep the really old lists out of your feeds when I eventually post them ...

March 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-03-31T23:17:17.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
**	Ley Lines (1999) Takashi Miike
	Saw III (2006) Darren Lynn Bousman
**	Z (1969) Constantinos Costa-Gavras
*	Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007) Quentin Tarantino
**	Gomorrah (2008) Matteo Garrone
**	Dead Or Alive 2 (2000) Takashi Miike
**	Dead Or Alive: Final (2002) Takashi Miike
*	Boachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1973) Teruo Ishii
*	This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) Kirby Dick
	Leviathan (1989) George Pan Cosmatos
*	City Of Lost Souls (2000) Takashi Miike
*	Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002) Takashi Miike
**	Negotiator (2003) Takashi Miike
**	Double Indemnity (1944) Billy Wilder
*	True Confessions (1981) Ulu Grosbard
*	The Uninvited (2003) Soo-youn Lee
*	I Sell The Dead (2008) Glenn McQuaid
**	The Bird People In China (1998) Takashi Miike
**	Sympathy For The Underdog (1971) Kinji Fukasaku
*	Revanche (2008) Gotz Spielmann
*	Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008) Mark Hartley
*	Left Bank (2008) Pieter Van Hees
**	The Chaser (2008) Hong-jin Na

February 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-02-28T21:42:42.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
*	Bangkok Dangerous (1999) Danny Pang
**	Vanishing Point (1971) Richard C. Sarafian
**	Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) Shunya Ito
**	Female Prisoner Scorpion: Cage #41 (1972) Shunya Ito
*	Female Yukuza Tale (1973) Teruo Ishii
*	Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) Quentin Tarantino
*	Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004) Quentin Tarantino
*	The China Syndrome (1979) James Bridges
*	The Descent (2005) Neil Marshall
**	Chinatown (1974) Roman Polanski (roman's an asshat)
*	Doppelganger (2003) Kiyoshi Kurosawa
*	Manhunter (1986) Michael Mann
**	I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) Chan-wook Park
*	The Fugitive (1993) Andrew Davis
**	Dr. Akagi (1998) Shohei Imamura
**	Audition (1999) Takashi Miike
**	Smilla's Sense Of Snow (1997) Bille August
*	Box 507 (2002) Enrique Urbizu
**	Los Muertos (2004) Lisandro Alonso
*	Bringing Out The Dead (1999) Martin Scorsese
**	Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Takashi Miike
**	Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Takashi Miike

January 2009 - Month Of Movies

2009-01-31T01:09:42.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
**	La Notte (1961) Michelangelo Antonioni
*	Rescue Dawn (2006) Werner Herzog
**	Half Nelson (2006) Ryan Fleck
	I Know Who Killed Me (2007) Chris Sivertson
*	The Kingdom (2007) Peter Berg
**	Made In U.S.A. (1966) Jean-Luc Godard
**	Silent Light (2009) Carlos Reygadas
*	Simpatico (1999) Matthew Warchus
*	Wendy And Lucy (2008) Kelly Reichardt
**	The Naked Kiss (1964) Samuel Fuller
*	Blood and Wine (1996) Bob Rafelson
**	The Crook (1970) Claude Lelouch
**	The Intruder (2004) Claire Denis
	Gutterballs (2008) Ryan Nicholson
	Backwoods (2006) Koldo Serra (Gary Oldman is the man)
	Next (2007) Lee Tamahori
	The Bone Collector (1999) Phillip Noyce
	Deep Rising (1998) Stephen Sommers (love Famke)
**	Pusher (1996) Nicolas Winding Refn
**	Fitzcarraldo (1982) Werner Herzog
*	Tokyo Gore Police (2008) Yoshihiro Nishimura
**	Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) Monte Hellman

Gotta Watch This

2009-01-08T23:56:19.000-5:00

I totally went to bed early last night because I was sleepy ... and I missed Okkervil River on Letterman. Andrew saw it and just reminded me to watch it. WOW!!!! They are already one of my favorites, but this performance is just AMAZING!

Right now it's the top performance on this list, but if it's been a while, search for it: Okkervil River performing "Pop Lie" from the album "The Stand Ins" on January 07, 2009

These guys are rock stars!

p.s. We've got Stage Names (love it!), Black Sheep Boy (love it!), Black Sheep Boy EP, Down the River Of Golden Dreams, The Stage Names (love it!).

December 2008 - Month Of Movies

2008-12-31T08:23:43.000-5:00

Listed in the order we watched them. The IMDB links are automatically generated searches for the title, so they might not always find the movie.

L E G E N D

**	highly recommended
*	recommended
	not recommended (no asterisks)

	title (release year) director
*	The Naked Spur (1953) Anthony Mann
*	Alien 3 (1992) David Fincher
*	Sister Street Fighter (1974) Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
*	The People Under The Stairs (1991) Wes Craven
*	Old Joy (2006) Kelly Reichardt
**	Gerry (2002) Gus Van Sant
**	Mister Lonely (2007) Harmony Korine
**	Charley Varrick (1973) Don Siegel
	Wicked Little Things (2006) J. S. Cardone
**	The Edge Of Heaven (2007) Fatih Akin
*	The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) Andrew Dominik
**	Missing (1982) Constantinos Costa-Gavras
*	The Assassination Of Richard Nixon (2004) Niels Mueller
**	Christmas On Mars (2008) Wayne Coyne
*	Into The Wild (2007) Sean Penn
*	Southern Comfort (1981) Walter Hill
*	A Skin Too Few: The Days Of Nick Drake (2000) Jeroen Berkvens
**	Manufactured Landscapes (2006) Jennifer Baichwal
*	The Laughing Policeman (1973) Stuart Rosenberg
*	The Town Is Quiet (2000) Robert Guediguian

Department Of Eagles

2008-12-26T23:24:51.000-5:00

What usually happens is that we buy an album or two by a new-to-us band and those are the only albums I'll ever like by them. Unless all their albums sound the same. It doesn't matter if we get the newest albums or the oldest albums, I like the ones we get first. It's kinda funny, really. I can't control it, it's just the way it is.

So it's really weird that I'm digging the new Department of Eagles albums we bought. First we got In Ear Park, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. So wonderful. Completely.

Just last week, Andrew got their previous album, The Cold Nose, which sounds completely different, even within itself. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, too. Love it!

They are like a mixture of Elliot Smith, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Can, Portishead's most recent album, with just a hint of Of Montreal, the Cure, the Strokes, and Sufjan Stevens thrown in.

Sound interesting? Listen.

Jolie Holland

2008-11-08T19:15:03.000-5:00

We just happened to notice Jolie Holland was playing next door to where we were going to eat dinner Tuesday night. On a whim we bought tickets to see her for the third time.

She is amazing. Her new band really fleshes things out and makes her sound BIG. It was nice that half the show she was by herself with just a guitar, though.

I don't think I've seen anyone who is more high maintenance on stage. Mark Eitzel comes close, but not quite because at least he loosens up eventually. Jolie seemed like she was about to start screaming any second or throw down her mike and leave. About three times she said she was "freaking out" about something including the fact that it was a seated show. Loosen up, baby! :)

Bob The Rocker And The High Strung

2008-10-02T20:22:02.000-5:00

Monday night we saw Boston Spaceships at Johnny Brenda's. It's the most recent musical group fronted by Robert Pollard, best known for Guided By Voices. Bob is one of the most prolific, legendary rockers that you've never heard of. I hope he gets his due someday.

This is the second time we've seen Bob. The first time we saw him at The Fillmore in SF, which is huge. Johnny Brenda's is tiny, so I was super excited. There's no way to explain Bob without seeing him in action. He does high kicks, microphone tricks, crazy dances. He's rock 'n' roll all the way.

We were right up front, which was awesome ... mostly. His shows are epic, and a couple hours into it he and the crowd were so sloppy drunk that the energy level just dropped. Not being sloppy drunk myself, it sort of put a damper on the whole thing.

That's when Andrew and I started to head out. We were covered in more beer than we even drank that night, and I'm not even joking. At the door we ran into the lead singer of the opening band, The High Strung (if you click through, use the double arrows to go through the songs ... I love Arrow), and had a great chat with him. Josh is totally a nice guy! We'd bought their album on eMusic the week before, and I'd been listening to it the whole day before the show. How can you not love a rockin' band who has songs named things like Rimbaud/Rambo which is a study in compare/contrast?! Answer: you can't not love them.