EDGAR WRIGHT: A DIRECTOR WHO DOESN'T SUCK - by van der Sweet

Even if you've been living in a hole underneath a rock on another planet for the past decade, you're probably still aware of Edgar Wright's existence. The British director has delivered some of the finest comedies to the big screen within the last six or so years and with his latest directorial effort "Scott Pilgrim vs The World", he doesn't look like he'll be stopping any time soon.

You'll surely recognize Edgar Wright's trademark directing. His fast action-style editing including whip-pans, crash-zooms and clever transitions have been a staple in all his movies. His distinctive style clearly shows he has a grasp on modern editing techniques and a surprisingly impressive eye for the visuals.

Have I mentioned that he's also a writer? That's right: the blockbusters he's directed were also written by him. Wright has teamed up with longtime friend Simon Pegg to co-write the zombie-comedy "Shaun of the Dead" and cop-buddy-action-comedy "Hot Fuzz". Wright's deadpan humor and dry British wit and sarcasm have been critically acclaimed thus far, and have launched his career as one of the finest merchants on the comedy block.

I will now use these three examples to illustrate why Edgar Wright Is a Director Who Doesn't Suck. To celebrate Scott Pilgrim vs The World's impending Blu-Ray and DVD release (November 9th, 2010), I'll start with that....

EDGAR WRIGHT DOESN'T SUCK REASON #1 - Scott Pilgrim vs The World

I'm downright mystified how this movie didn't do incredibly well at the box office. It should've been an absolute hit. Were Americans perhaps turned off by the strong visual presence of Toronto/Canada in the film? Did people think it was a film meant for hipsters? Makes no sense to me. The film is based on Bryan O'Malley's series of graphic novels (comic books to you idiots). In my humble opinion it has been the funniest, most furiously action-packed film of the year (yeah, I totally stole that line from the very first review on Rotten Tomatoes, but still - it's true), and one not just for the Nintendo generation, but for all. Yes - it may include comic books, video games, grunge rock and geek drama, but in the end it caters to everyone's needs strictly due to the fact that Edgar Wright made it that way: through his stylistic directing and hilarious quick-witted writing. It's probably the closest you'll ever see a comic book coming to life. Watch the damn trailer, and then pick up the Blu-Ray/DVD on November 9th:



EDGAR WRIGHT DOESN'T SUCK REASON #2 - Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz is a parody of the cop-buddy action films of the late 80's and early 90's. But here's the thing; despite being a parody and comedy film, it's actually a genuinely impressive action film. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are surely proud of "Hot Fuzz" strictly for its action sequences, as it holds nothing back and in fact delivers even more than most comparable modern flicks. And then of course there's the comedy aspect. It's clear that Wright studied the action genre endlessly, as his roast of the genre was brilliantly executed. Edgar Wright's crew and style have been compared to Judd Apatow's a lot of late, and if Apatow's attempt at making an action comedy was through Seth Rogen's "Pineapple Express", Wright's "Hot Fuzz" makes it look like a complete joke. Don't miss the violent blow-out of a finale. Here's the trailer.



EDGAR WRIGHT DOESN'T SUCK REASON #3 - Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead has the distinction of being not just the greatest zombie parody ever made - but also one of the best zombie movies of all time, period. Wright's epic zombie romantic comedy - or ZomRomCom, if you will - is not only a funny and inventive new take on the genre, but also a genuinely frightening, touching and, of course, gruesome addition to the genre on it's own. It manages to combine the slapstick comedy of Return of the Living Dead (another great ZomCom) with the social comedy found in a Romero film (the opening sequence depicting non-zombified Londoners dazedly going about their daily lives is both hilarious and startlingly accurate), and never allows itself to descend into true parody. It's funny, inventive and mocking, yes, but it's also a gripping tale on it's own, making it a legitimate film. And a funny and unique one at that. Aaaaaaaaand the trailer...



For Edgar Wright fans in Toronto, the man himself will be in the area on Friday November 5th. He'll be at the HMV on 333 Yonge St. (Yonge and Dundas) for an in-store signing celebrating the upcoming release of Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Later that night he'll be holding a Q&A and screening of Scott Pilgrim at the Bloor Cinema. All the info is HERE.

Cheers, darlings.

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS - MOJO - REVIEW

Mojo, the latest effort by veteran outfit Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has been a long time in coming - the band's last release was way back in 2002 - but Mojo is well worth the wait. Petty and the band bring every ounce of their diverse and fine-tuned musical talents to this record, and the result is a dynamic marriage of roots-folk, blues and that old-time rock and roll that made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers a household name.

From the upbeat delta rhythm of "Jefferson Jericho Blues" to the Dire Straits-esque swing sentiments of "Running Man's Bible", from the haunting psychedelia of "The Trip to Pirate's Cove" to the mournful soul of the bookend "Good Enough", the album is very much a musical journey, not just through genre or style, but through the novel's worth of stories Petty has collected in his years on the road. And back on the road he is yet again with a full North American tour. Starting on June 1st in Colorado, and ending October 2nd in California, you can click HERE for all tour dates.

Another song that has to be mentioned is the single "I Should Have Known It." Petty and the Heartbreakers really stripped down to the bare bones for this album, going for a no-nonsense raw sound. They even went as far as recording all instruments simultaneously 'live off the floor' in the studio with no overdubs, and the difference is like night and day. No song represents this sound more than "I Should Have Known It." Through the video they made for the song which showcases the band's "jam space," you can't help but get the feeling this is exactly how they recorded the album together:



Many bands try recording live off the floor and it's a pretty hit/miss recording technique. In the case of Mojo, Tom Petty and his producers got it spot on, and in this writer's humble opinion, this is one of the best sounding live-off-the-floor records I've ever heard. They managed to reproduce their dynamic and energetic live sound successfully, without sacrificing the quality and high production value you get from multi-track recording separately. Well done.

Overall, from start to finish Mojo is a must-have for Heartbreakers fans the world over, but the album's true value will be in introducing a whole new generation to a well-oiled rock and roll machine that - even after more than thirty years of touring - is still producing quality material guaranteed to appeal to music lovers of all stripes.

WHEN SENIOR CITIZENS ATTACK: An Odd Incident On Tour

This is a recent memory of a really odd incident that occurred. I’m fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to work for bands on tour. I was currently out on the road with the Canadian pop-rock band Faber Drive. A lot of random situations can take place while on tour that make for unforgettable moments. With that being said, this is a story about a senior citizen getting violent and then arrested at one of the shows.

It was a sunny afternoon and we were mid-way through our spring tour. On that day we played in a small town. Like most small towns, it was peaceful with not much going on. The concert was at some community centre featuring multiple rooms. Working for the headlining band, we load in the equipment after lunch and begin setting up for soundcheck to take place immediately after everything is hooked up / in place. Everything was going according to schedule with no problems at all.

At the upstairs part of the venue, the community centre rented out a room to a small group of senior citizens to play card games. We were unaware of that and we still have no idea why this place would be renting out space for the same day a concert was taking place. I’m sure the senior citizens would have never paid for the room if they knew there would be a lot of noise throughout the day.

Mid-way through soundcheck, an old man (who looked like he was probably in his late 60s) walks into the room and points to the band yelling “do you have to play that damn noise so damn loud?!” The Faber Drive guys point to our tour manager who’s at the back of the venue working as a sound technician. As the old man walks toward the back of the room, a locally hired crew guy cuts in and tries to explain the situation. The elderly man didn’t care for the explanation other than wanting dead silence for the rest of the day, and the crew guy's attempts to remedy the situation only made it worse. Crew guy then tried to calm the old guy down and attempted to escort him out of the room to work out a solution. At this point, the disgruntled senior pushed the crew guy away from him and then put up his dukes. As the crew member continued trying to calm him down, the enraged old man suddenly threw a straight punch to crew guy's face that knocked his glasses completely off, then left the room and went back upstairs to his card game. The last thing I expected was a senior citizen to haul off and start smacking around our crew.

Soundcheck is obviously delayed after this to assess what just happened and to let the community centre staff know . The crew guy is all right and sits down holding ice to his cheek to avoid any possible swelling. The staff members of the centre are in shock after we explained the altercation. They then proceeded to immediately call the police to handle the situation since it was clearly a case of assault.

When the police came, they analyzed the situation and spoke to all the witnesses. From there, they proceeded upstairs to confront the elderly man. The officers waited outside of the room where the old man was having his card game with his friends and told him to come out. He refused to listen and continued on as if nothing had happen. After multiple attempts, the officers went inside to confront him. After still trying to talk to the old man, the only response back was a bunch of cursing. The officers then tried to escort him out of the room, only to have him resist. The old man actually tried to fight the officers too.

No one really got to see the outcome of the cops vs. the old man; all we saw after that was the man’s face being blooded up as the officers took him outside to the car. No surprise – trying to physically attack an officer is not the smartest thing to do.

Even though it was really inconvenient and put the entire day really behind schedule, it made for a funny and memorable story. No one would ever expect any sort of violence at a Faber Drive concert which makes it even better. If you’ve never heard of the band, check them out below to see what I’m talking about.

DISNEY LOVIN' - Posted by Bitty Q

Sometimes I forget about those few years when a girl doesn’t know any better and thinks that fairytales exist in real life: truly believing your prince will pick you up on his flying carpet, that true love is as simple as the shoe fitting, and strangers that lurk in the Forest are romantic. I had given up my princess dream the year I realized I more closely resembled the evil stepsisters than Cinderella, or Ursula the soul-sucking sea witch than Ariel.

A recent trip to Disney on Ice (the Princess edition) and a series of Disney movie marathons have softened my edges once again. A few days ago I was at a friend’s house, probably drinking too much, when we started playing around and downloading our favorite Disney songs. It almost instantly put me in a good mood - that’s when I remembered the Disney magic. Soon enough I was back in 1994, when Beauty and the Beast came out and Belle (the first Brunette princess) changed my life. Suddenly, I was convinced otherwise of my cynical outlook. Here are just a few of my Disney Princess dating parallels and swoon-worthy moments.


The Little Mermaid- Kiss the Girl
Performed by Sebastien and a variety of water creatures.


I once went on a date while I had strep throat. If you know me then you know how hard it is for me to be silent...ever. Subsequently he did most of the talking, and while he was blabbing on and on about kinesiology I blacked out… I cannot recall if it was boredom or a fever. The date did not end with a goodnight kiss.



Aladdin- A Whole New World
Performed by Princess Jasmin and Aladdin aka Prince Ali


In university I had a boyfriend who would invite me over to take hallucinogenic drugs and make out - it really was a whole new world! I guess that’s the closest I ever came to a magic carpet ride.



Cinderella- So This is Love
Performed by Cinderella and Prince Charming


Since Prince Charming is the ultimate lover, I don’t know that I have anything to compare to him. I do remember a shoe salesman at Barney's who gave me special feeling when he slipped a pair of Chanel pumps on my feet.



Sleeping Beauty – Once Upon a Dream
Performed by Briar-Rose aka Princess Aurora and Prince Philip


A few summers ago I met this Banjo-playing-freeloader in Union Square. Just like Prince Philip, he wore a cape and liked to follow me around without my knowing. In a twisted way it was flattering and romantic.


Beauty and The Beast- Something There That Wasn’t there Before
Performed by Belle and The Beast


Like I said, I have wanted to be Belle since I first laid eyes on that French Damsel. Again, I have nothing to compare, but possibly a lesson can be learned from this love. Wait it out with the ugly ones: sometimes they turn out be handsomely rich!

LIFE IN THE FAT LANE... A LOOK INTO FAT WRECK CHORDS - Posted by Liberty Valance

In the digital age, the concept of D.I.Y. is as easy as plugging a crappy Radio Shack microphone into a PC's integrated sound-card, and with a little software magic you can have a decent recording. But back in 1990 when Fat Mike (from NOFX and Me First & the Gimme Gimme's) started Fat Wreck Chords in his Garage, eventually moving it to a warehouse in San Francisco, D.I.Y. really meant doing EVERYTHING yourself, from recording the album to the Xeroxing of "7 jackets with goofy hand drawn cartoons.

"I started in 1990, putting out a NOFX 7", 'cos no one really wanted to put out our records. That was the only game in town - if you wanted to put out a record, you had to put it out yourself" - Fat Mike

And little by little Fat Wreck grew. From "The Longest Line" which cost about $14,000 to record press and copy the first 5000 copies, the next band Mike signed was Lagwagon. He figured Lagwagon was a safe bet because they sounded "a little bit like NOFX", and their first album sold 2,500 copies. They're albums are now selling more than 200,000 worldwide. Mike also recouped a $50,000 advance to Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of Propaghandi for their record label "G7 Welcoming Committee" in months. Not bad investments at all.

"I think there's a huge difference between our label and majors. We treat our bands like family, we put out records because we like 'em and we have a lot of bands that we lose money on. We don't care as long as it's a good record." - Fat Mike



One of the things that makes Fat Wreck unique is the fact that they only sign one album deals for the bands on their label, so if a bands first E.P. is successful and they decide to move under the umbrella of a "major" label, they're free to do that, with no hard feelings or broken contracts. In fact they did a compilation of 101, 30-second songs from Fat Wreck bands and friends called "Short Music for Short People" which I am proud to say littered my High school locker floor. No one believed an album like that would make any money, but Mike says he's sent the bands over $2000 each for their 30-second efforts.



Well, Mike has shown that with some hard work and "Doing right" by people will get you far in the music industry. He's carved a nice piece of the major record label's dwindling profit margin for himself while at the same time supporting young up and coming acts and giving bands who have been on the scene since '83 reconnect with fans who may have never had the chance to see them. As well, Fat is involved in all sorts of charity projects, pumping out compilation records for the likes of PETA entitled PROTECT: A Benefit for the National Association to Protect Children, and most famously Rock Against Bush. Fat Wreck is also one of the only record labels to encourage new artists to release 12" and 7" records as well as re-releasing old albums that were only available on CD. On December 8, 2009 20 years of business Fat Wreck with the release of the "Wrecktrospective" a 3-disc compilation. Disc 1 is composed of the label's greatest hits, disc 2 is composed of unreleased demos and rarities, and disc 3 is composed the Fat Club 7" series in its entirety.



"On majors, if you're not selling hundreds of thousands of copies, you're gone. And I really don't care about the money. I want to do right by the bands. When I'm older, I want a bunch of friends, not stacks of money."-- Fat Mike

THEM CROOKED VULTURES - REVIEW by Liberty Valance

“I know how to be lost in lust 
not because you should, but because you must, it burns white hot and so clouds the mind, 
its lightning strike isn't always kind…..
so use me up.”

This lyric sums up the way I felt about “Them Crooked Vultures”: loving them wasn’t so much a choice as is was a compulsion from the opening beat to the last. When I heard underground rumblings that Dave Grohl had mentioned he, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones of former Led Zeppelin fame were getting together for a side project in early ’05, I nearly jumped out of my skin. As a huge Queens fan I had been patiently waiting almost a year for a new Queens album or the promised re-release and tour of the band’s self titled album. “Them Crooked Vultures” not only whet my appitite, but fully satisfied me and more.
The band has somehow managed to combine the overdriven guitars and haunting vocal styling of Josh, the almost roboticaly perfect hard hitting sound of Dave, and the funky heart stoping bass power of John, throw in a little Alain Johannes (a studio musician who co-wrote “Hanging Tree” from Queens “Songs for the Deaf” and played bass on “Lullabies to Paralyze”) for good measure, and you got a musical gumbo that Emeril Lagasse would be proud to call his own.
Now these guys are no strangers to sucesful “side projects”. John has been fairly low key in his post-Zeppelin days, playing a few festivals like Bonnaroo in ’07 and a few shows here and there with the Foo Fighters. Dave and Josh have been extremely productive in time away from their main” projects, playing in (between the two of them) bands like “Eagles of Death Metal”, “Probot”, “Nine Inch Nails”, ”The Prodigy”, and “The Desert Sessions”, so these guys know how to rock, and how!
Straight from the opening blues/funk inspired track “ No One Loves Me…” and the seemingly Queens inspired “New Fang” on through to the hauntingly Zeppelinesque “Gunman” and Burning hot organ solo of “Caligulove” and the dizzying (pardon the pun) orchestration of “Spinning in Daffodils”, this album starts off in a thundering stampede and finishes like a freight train dropkick to the face. If you’re a fan of anything these three musical titans have been involved with, go out and pick up “Them Crooked Vultures”, get a bottle of your favorite whiskey and be prepared to have a great time.

But until you hit your local liquor store, here's some TCV videos for you...

Mind Eraser, No Chaser


No One Loves Me And Neither Do I