Best (and Worst) Horror DVD Releases of January January 28, 2009

It seems there’s been a surge of respectable horror movies released this month, so I’ve decided to rank and talk about them, hoping anyone that likes a good fright (or laugh, in the case of Tokyo Gore Police) will find this interesting. Chime in if I got it all wrong or missed something. And I’ll be a little late catching The Poughkeepsie Tapes.

Room of Death (La Chambre des Morts) -  There’s a point in the film where someone pulls out a copy of The Silence of the Lambs and you realize the French have been inspired. Like that movie, this is a superb serial killer/crime thriller that could easily be put into the Horror section. It has a unique ‘villain’ and enough twists and turns to keep things interesting and different from Silence and other similar films in the genre. At times the movie feels like it is getting more convoluted and going nowhere in all of its subtitled Francais glory, but stick with it as the ending ties everything together beautifully. Rating: 8/10

Eden Lake - This is a brutal and realistic look at what happens when middle school kids have nothing to do and have fallen spell under a Hitler-esque leader. The acting is spot-on, and it’s about as compelling as the real thing.  Rating: 7/10 

Vacancy 2: The First Cut - I expected more of the same with this sequel and was shocked how effective and unpredictable this was. First off, the score is awesome, and is really unsettling. Second, the story does everything it can to keep things unpredictable, realistic, and unlike part one. Third, Scott G. Anderson is one scary dude. Fourth, the acting and production values are great. But maybe I won’t watch this again-. Rating: 7/10

Mirrors – This isn’t as good as Alexandre Aja’s other horror films, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride it takes. It’s nice to see a horror film use a big-budget effectively. And while the story seems like a hodge-podge of various horror movies, the ideas still come across as fresh, clever, and chilling. Rating: 6/10

Tokyo Gore Police - If you’ve seen The Machine Girl, this Japanese movie raises the ante with its own outrageous circus of latex and gore. The monstrosities in this are so absurd that it’s hard not to see this as a comedy of horrors. Rating: 6/10

Gutterballs - I totally can’t recommend this 80’s like slasher as it is way too inappropriate and wrong. I swear the filmmakers watched Irreversible and decided they wanted more. Does that help you?

Repo! The Genetic Opera – I hated this gothic-industrial musical set in the future, not because of the story (which was actually pretty creative), but for the music. It was like two hours of nails on a chalkboard. Paris Hilton was actually very disturbing in this one, and not because of her singing. Let’s just say she saved face… Rating: 2/10

Best Song of ‘09? (Animal Collective – ‘My Girls’) January 24, 2009

I submit. It is my duty as a blogger to post this video for any soul that may have missed it. Compute.

‘Aer Obama’ (Daft Punk vs. Adam Freeland) January 20, 2009

Appropriate timing. If Obama doesn’t save of the universe, people will surely be disappointed… Hope springs eternal though.

Best of the Blogs (Jan where were we? ‘09 Edition) January 19, 2009

Start the New Year with a blam.  Blues makes its first ever appearance here.  Animal Collective can apparently do no wrong (see below).  And some hotly anticipated albums release their first tracks. The winners are:

1. Notorious B.I.G. – Party & Bullshit (Ratatat remix)

Biggie lives on in the movies and in remixes. The sure-fire crowd pleaser in any occasion.

2. Birdy Nam Nam – Worried / The Parachute Ending

‘Worried’ is just killer. ‘The Parachute Ending’ is produced by Justice, and well, it sounds like that new Justice track you’ve been waiting for.

3. Ratatat – Mirando (Animal Collective remix)

It’s not enough that Animal Collective have an album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, that everybody has already decided will be the best album of ‘09. But here they create a transcendent remix that will scare the DJs.

4. Jesse Rose – Forget My Name (feat. Hot Chip)

When Jesse Rose gets these smoking results he’ll be glad to pay for Hot Chip’s services.

5. Der Dritte Raum – Swing Bop (side A)

Raum has actually recreated the music from the cantina scene in Star Wars. And it’s good enough for both jazz and techno clubs.

6. Peter Bjorn & John – Nothing to Worry About

The first single fom their hotly anticipated new album. No disappointment here.

7. The Qemists – Dem Na Like Me (King Cannibal remix)

Good luck getting this dubstep track out of your head. King Cannibal is showing next-big-thing potential.

8. Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars

Hyperbole has this as the #1 song of the year, and yeah, it’s electro-pop stardust that won’t burn out soon.

9. The Glimmers – Let’s Get Physical

The Glimmers cover Olivia Newton John and it’s insanely fun.

10. Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart (F** Buttons remix)

This fills my art-punk-emotion quotient to acceptable levels. Fever Ray is basically a side project of The Knife. 

11. John Fairhurst – Obnox Stomp

Blues! Welcome to the party. All I can say about this is this guy goes off. (And it’s #4 on Music Like Dirt’s top 200 tracks of 2008.)

12. Alva Noto – U 08-1

Austere, robot noise music with someone counting in French. It’s so weird you gotta love it. (#9 on the same list above.)

13. Dan Deacon – Get Older

The first preview from Deacon’s forthcoming album, Bromst, and it rocks.

14. Telefon Tel Aviv – Stay Away From Being Maybe

I reccomend Telefon Tel Aviv’s whole album, but this is probably my favorite track I’ve heard so far.

15. Franz Ferdinand – Twilight Omens

The best song from Franz Ferdinand’s upcoming new album Tonight?

(Bonus Honorable Mentions:)

Bell Hollow – The Bottle Tree (Peter du Charme mix)

Your Twenties – Caught Wheel

Groove Armada – Drop the Tough (Van She B-Live remix)

Gigglesnort Hotel January 15, 2009

I’m not crazy!!! I’ve asked and told dozens of people about this creepy kid’s puppet show centered around a hotel that moved, and had episodes of ‘alien encounters’. There’s this malformed figure of clay(see Basketcase, anyone?) that has this evil, grunt laugh (video below), and other house of horrors stuff. I must have had nightmares for years about this damn freaky show. Apparently I wasn’t alone either. A guy here calls it satanic and Gigglesnort Hell. Two videos are below to see if you too have been mind-smudged by this show. I’ve solved one of my perplexing mysteries, whew….

Don’t you Pimp out my Heart… January 13, 2009

Sunshine and euphoria that sounds like five songs in one.

of Montreal – An Eluardian Instance

Soulwax, where you at? January 12, 2009

 

This is the question I asked after finally catching their concert-documentary Part of the Weekend Never Dies, and realizing it was a bit outdated. It’s a worthy documentary showing how hard it is to purvey their brand of bedlam around the globe, and explains the differences between Soulwax, 2 Many DJ’s (popularizing mash-ups way before Girl Talk), Nite Versions (nod to Duran Duran), and Radio Soulwax (not to be confused with Radio Slave). The editing is frustratingly speed-junkie erratic at times, and you come to understand how sad and decadent behind-the-scenes on tour is, sorta like being trapped between worlds in nondescript corridors while drunken clowns parade around you. (Rating 8/10)

So back to my original question: What have Soulwax been doing?

Remixing the stuffin’ out of some of the top dance tunes of the year including the likes of Justice and Mgmt. And here is one of them. Enjoy:

Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax remix)

Best of Buffetlibre Rewind 2 January 9, 2009

             Pin Me Down

Buffetlibre Rewind 2 is a free download of 89 covers and remixes, where current and mostly electro-pop artists redo popular songs from some of the 70’s, alot of the 80’s, and a little of the 90’s.  So does it surprise you when I say only two are worth downloading?  Here are the two worthy covers if you don’t want to listen to them all (which alot are fun to go through):

Pin Me Down – The Chain (Fleetwood Mac cover)   -2nd down-

The Glass – 2CV (Lloyd Cole cover)  -10 down-

No, It’s Not Really Happening… January 8, 2009

Metronomy – A Thing for Me January 7, 2009

Awwwwesome… Best Metronomy video yet. The video takes its clever concept and just keeps getting more creative until the final shot.  May take two viewings to catch all that happens. (And I failed to mention that Nights Out is THE best electro-pop album of last year. Had I not heard the dozens and dozens of mostly average remixes to spawn from it, I would have properly ranked it high on my album list.)

The Most Gorgeous, Meditative Album of 2008 January 6, 2009

Jacaszek – Treny

Ambient. Classical. Mystical. Angelic cries over burrowing strings. Listening to a crackling fire that unravels a hypnotic melody. All these and more. Wish I could have included it in my Best of list, but just discovered it on Static Fix and Mapsadaisical which are great resources for ambient/leftfield music. Boomkat has the whole album for listen and purchase, and also can’t help to call it “heart-stoppingly beautiful”. The Docking Station has the track ‘Lament’ available for listen and download.