Steve Buscemi, ca. 1996

The other day I found Steve Buscemi on Twitter, and since he’s one of my favorite actors (c’mon, he was “the Last Guy Standing” in Reservoir Dogs!), I thought what the hell, I’ll start following him. One of the first tweets I saw from him was to inform everyone about some “amazing” band called Abe Vigoda and then he asked, “Where are the good emerging New York DIY bands?” After first checking out the artsy “alternative” band he was hyping (not to my surprise, they’re not that “amazing” at all… ” in fact, I think they pretty much suck, but then again I could tell that from their list of influences: 311, At the Drive-In, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Fleetwood Mac, Nine Inch Nails). So I replied, sending a couple of links, one to the GaragePunkNYC site and the other to the Victim of Time NYC venues listing. I thought those sites might clue him into a part of the NYC “underground” garage rock’n'roll scene that he may be totally unaware of, such as DMZ playing tonight at the Southpaw, or the Fleshtones/A-Bones/Twistaroos/Demands next Friday night. To my surprise, he replied later via DM, not once, but twice! The second one contained his e-mail address and he said I could e-mail him for his top 10 list of current favorite songs. “That’s kinda weird,” I thought to myself. “Why would I want to know what your current list of favorite songs is? Oh yeah, I guess it’s because you’re Steve Buscemi.” Whatever. So I went ahead and e-mailed the guy, more to try to promote GaragePunk.com to him than anything else (especially since the latest episode of my very own podcast was going up the next day), but to be nice, I asked him to go ahead and send me that list of songs. So that’s what I have for you below. It’s not that I really find his list all that interesting or anything, but it is what it is. And, after all, he did give me permission to post it on my blog.

Here are my top 10 songs that I’ve really been into lately. There’s a few legacies in there, as well as some smaller LA bands I’ve really been into after receiving submissions from fans on Twitter. I have many more but these are songs that have really stuck with me in the past week. Roy Orbison is a classic, loved the usage of “In Dreams” in Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Joe Strummer’s cover of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song is a really touching piece to me. Both men were fucking legends. A fan sent me Halloween Swim Team and the entire debut album “The End Of The Sky” is ace plus. They pull off the vintage synth sound better than most bands of the vintage synth era. Keep your eye out for them…I’ve chosen to feature them as the sole weekly followed band on my Twitter account. Bing Crosby’s Guilty has always been a favorite and really struck me in the Amelie soundtrack. Santo & Jonny’s Sleepwalk is one of those songs that I can’t ever quite get over. It’s one of the best “driving by myself to go get coffee at 11 AM after a hangover” songs of all time. The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” is the most fucking romantic and passionate songs ever written (besides Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”). I didn’t double check the facts on Meho Plaza but this song “The Beach” sent by a fan recently is really an amazing track; somehow it manages to have rich production while maintaining a lo-fi sound. Radiohead “Creep”? Where do I start? Story of my life. I only kid. Kind of. Last of the Shadow Puppets has to be one of the best pop bands to come out of the UK since Oasis. Wasn’t a big fan of Arctic Monkeys but these guys just kill it. Fleet Foxes is at the end of the list because they’re one of my favorite new folk bands at the end of the night. When all is said and done, Fleet Foxes take me into the night.

1. Roy Orbison – In Dreams
2. Joe Strummer – Redemption Song (Bob Marley)
3. Bing Crosby – Guilty
4. Halloween Swim Team – Coincidence
5. Santo & Jonny – Sleepwalk
6. Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
7. Meho Plaza – The Beach
8. Radiohead – Creep
9. Last of the Shadow Puppets – Standing Next To Me
10. Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

Cheers!
-Steve B.

I wish Harry Dean Stanton was on Twitter. I’d kinda like to get his list of current favorite songs.

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams

Speaking of the SLIFF (and huge kudos to Jason Rerun for pointing this out), but this Andre Williams documentary will be playing there this coming Wednesday night! And for god’s sake, if you’re reading this blog, I hope to hell you know who Mr. Rhythm is, but just in case, I’ll attach a couple MP3s below…

Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams
Tricia Todd & Eric Mathes, U.S., 2008, 86 min.
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:15 p.m., Tivoli 3

Known as “Mr. Rhythm,” Andre Williams has recorded hit records (“Bacon Fat”), written hit songs (“Shake a Tail Feather”) and worked with such legends of the industry as Berry Gordy, Ike Turner and Stevie Wonder. But throughout his 72 years, Andre has also struggled with addiction, poverty, homelessness and the legal system. The film follows the alternately charming and maddening Andre on a fascinating, funny and distressing journey. Andre makes a declaration to the filmmakers – “I’m going to show you the right way, because I’ve gone so many wrong ways” – but as he moves from gig to gig, the mercurial singer all too often succumbs to temptation, risking dire consequences.

Bacon Fat MP3
Jail Bait MP3

Shadowland
Wyatt Weed, U.S., 2008, 96 min.
Friday, Nov. 14, 10:30 p.m., Tivoli 1

Laura crawls from a pit at a construction site, beaten and bloody, apparently left for dead. With no memory of who or where she is, she sets off into the night, looking for answers and a way home. She soon finds herself hunted by a mysterious young man named Julian, and it isn’t clear if he intends to help her or kill her. Another of the highly polished homegrown productions featured in this year’s SLIFF, this fast-paced supernatural thriller prominently showcases the talents of St. Louis’ actors and crew members, and the diversity of its locations. With director Weed and producers Robert Clark and Gayle Gallagher.

Pirate Pictures’ website:
http://www.piratepictures.net/

It’s true there seem to be an awful lot of zombie movies coming out lately, but to me, that’s not an entirely bad thing, as long as they don’t continually try to remake Dawn of the Dead or Return of the Living Dead every time. You’ve gotta really bring something new to the mix, and that’s exactly what Fido does – it envisions a society where zombies, with the assistance of special collars and close monitoring from Zomcon act as servants or even pets after the living capture and control them after the “Zombie Wars” (presented with appropriate WWII-style newsreels). Carrie-Anne is a mom who buys a zombie – played by the great Billy Connelly – so that hers is not the only family on the block without one. Her son, Timmy, names the zombie “Fido” and the two create a unique bond, but when the zombie’s control collar goes on the fritz, things get hairy.

I honestly enjoyed every minute of this film. And the scenery – in fact the entire continuity – is perfect. The acting is great, and it’s a unique, funny story to boot! I feel pretty good about highly recommending this one. Enjoy!

Ya know, it’s kinda funny in that odd-feeling in your stomach kinda funny, not HAHA/HOHO/HEHE/ROFL/LMFAO/LOL kinda funny… but walking out of the movie theater a couple of weeks ago after going to see Ratatouille with my wife and son, I saw “Potter” above one of the other theater doorways, and a long line of people stretched out from it. The first thought to come to my mind was to blurt out, “Oh, look, they made a movie about Jason Potter!” Then I realized what it was and I was suddenly very sad and embarrassed. Fuck you, Harry Potter. Fuck you.