Music Video: Animal Collective "My Girls"

Here's something cool.  A new music video for Animal Collective.  It's got a really nice style and nice use of rotoscoping.  You may have seen this one, as it was featured on youtube a few weeks ago.  I figured I'd drop it on here in case you missed it.  

The animation was by Jon Vermilyea.  ENJOY!

Introducing Cullen Stalin

Introducing Cullen Stalin

pic by Joshsisk.com
(Cullen on the left beside partner in crime Simon)

After a few ventures to Baltimore last year I ran into Cullen from TAXLO. It's really great to meet another promoter and DJ with good ideals and ambitions. I had a sit down chat with him before a show in Baltimore.

What's the history of Taxlo and yourself?

Taxlo is really started by three people, myself not included. Justin Sirois , Jason Urick and Mikey Mayhem and started it as a fun thing to
do on a Monday night at this upscale club at the Goodlove. They would
just play New Wave records and weird prog rock records and stuff like
that. They just inviting all their friends and they ended up coming.
The bar did really well for a Monday and became a weekly event. About
a month and half into it. Jason Urich, whom was working at a record
store at the time and knew that I DJed in Philly. So he asked if I
would guest DJ and I said sure. Called up all my friends and they
came. It was one of the best nights. I just got a bunch of people to
come and they said well " You need to be a regular DJ here". That was
the beginning of my involvement. Simon came on a couple of months later
in a very similar way. He was a DC native at the time and was invited
to guest DJ from Ian Svenonius (of the Nation of Ulysses and The Make-Up). He had
a good night and became a reoccurring guest. Eventually became a
regular as well. As things moved on, some of the people DJing
regularly moved onto to other things. Professional lives or Artistic
lives. Simon and I became the people really sticking with it and
promoting it. It moved to another venue still on a Monday and it
really blew up when it moved to the Talking Head. Then at that point I
was still traveling and going to Philly a lot. There was a lot of DJs
there. I started getting my friends who were people like Low Budget,
Cosmo Baker, Diplo at the time not even known as Diplo yet, Major
Taylor and lot of others. I would just bring them in as my guests.
Payed them 30 buck and have them DJ and it really snowballed. We were
offered a Friday night spot at Sonar at that time was a new club.
They were looking for something new, something different. We started
doing Fridays and it became it's own entity then as that moved along
we started booking some of the acts that we were already booking became
national acts. We started booking national acts as well. Just kinda
kept going like that.

So how long has Taxlo been going on?

Going on six years now.

What are some of the highlights of Taxlo thus far?

First time Diplo played at the talking head on a Monday, free show and
it was just packed. I think Florida has just come out but people in
Baltimore didn't really know about it, especially my crowd which is a
younger and rock n roll type people. They didn't know about it and we
just hyped it up. "Yo this dude Diplodacus is the best DJ and you need
to check him out, it's going to be awesome!" It was just insane,
someone got their head cracked open that night.
Some how by doing this event I'm became appreciated by people whom I
appreciate and that's really cool. Some of my favorite musicians and
DJs and know who I am and that's pretty cool in itself. We've had a lot
of crazy things. Like house DJ Charles Feelgood and the Deathset
playing the same show, Dan Deacon and Diplo playing the same show. We
had MIA play to 20 people on Monday because no one knew about and she
just came through, she was working on her record. Blaqstarr coming on
hosting the night just for fun. All that stuff. There's been a lot of
highlights. Actually it's really cool on how many acts we've seen come
through here, whom now play really gigantic venues. It's awesome!

How do you feel about the music community, the state of it in Baltimore?

I think there is a very strong creative community. Baltimore always
had a strong creative community, getting recognized nationally right
now. The problem is that there is not a lot of support from the
population at large, people don't realize that they need to go out,
buy a ticket, pay the cover. Actually go out and support it. Say they
supported on the internet and not come out. There's an infrastructure
that is very economically tenuous right now in Baltimore. It really
needs support of the general population cause the creativity is so
strong. People from other cities would die to have a scene that is as
creative as Baltimore and has as many things going on. Many
interesting and innovative things going on but the people in Baltimore
treat it as if it's always going to be there but it's not if people
don't support it.

Do you think Taxlo from that small show long ago grown a presence nationally?

It definitely has. I've been on tour a couple of times tour managing
artists and there is a lot of people that recognize me when I go
around and that's pretty crazy. There's a lot of people that have
heard of Taxlo or even went to college here or DC and left to go to
other cities. They say that it's there favorite parties. So the word
has just spread from our longevity, Some people told us that they model
things from our parties.

Anything in the future coming up for Taxlo?

We've got a lot of things that we are planning for 2009, don't wanna
say too much. I think people should expect the same kinda of
interesting combinations of our artists and surprise guests that we've
had so far. Just that's how we do it.

Have you ever thought about doing things at the festivals?

We've had offers to do things at Pop Montreal but it coincided with
tours which I've been on. So I haven't been able to do it. That's
always the biggest problem. We all have other responsibilities and are
often out of town. So it's kinda hard to coordinate a party at a
festival cause we're working there at different capacities anyway, but
hopefully I would like to do something like SXSW and other national
and international festivals. So we'll see what happens.

Do you ever pick up any DJ gigs while going on tour?

Not yet, don't want to put myself out in that sense yet. I really want
to wait till I have something to offer. I feel that a lot of people
right now shouldn't be touring but are. Considering the state of
the economy right now. Promoters are having a hard time. People don't
want to sleep on a couch and take a greyhound bus and if you don't
want to do that then your fucking over the local promoters because
they aren't making any money off these weeklies or monthlies right
now. So I wanna wait till the economy is better till I have something
more to offer before I really start going out there. I'll still do
stuff in Philly, D.C., New York, etc. or even Canada.

What other ventures do you have besides the entertainment business?

Well I'm a book purchaser at a left wing bookstore called Red Emma's.
I do a lot of book ordering, maintaining relationships with
publishers. Trying to keep up with the political and intellectual
literary world.

Is there anything that you would recommend for people trying to get
into the entertainment business?

My primary focus is that people need to keep artistic integrity.
Basically that's the main thing I try to maintain. I wouldn't book
acts that I don't like. I won't pretend to like something that I don't
like. I try to keep a solid grasp on the things that I'm booking. Make
sure that it reflects things that I would want to see. This something
that every promoter should think about. Are you doing something
because it doesn't exist already and you wanna create it because you
wanna make something that you would want to go to if someone else did
it, that's the basic thing. Make something that you would want to go
to if someone else did it. That for me, is the best philosophy.

What's your favorite film monster?

The thing from the John Carpenter film.

Be on da look out for SXSW this year! Details soon...

More info can be found about Cullen & TAXLO @..

www.myspace.com/cullenstalin
www.myspace.com/taxlo
www.flickr.com/photos/joshsisk/245144634/

Upcoming Film!

Upcoming Film: Coraline

I am very excited about this one!  The guy that directed Nightmare Before Christmas, the very talented Henry Selick,  is releasing a new animated film called Coraline.  This trailer will undoubtedly make you excited if you are into animation like me.  I've been waiting for this one for months.  I can't wait much longer!!!  Luckily the release date is set for February 6th!

The skill that went into this film is mind boggling.  I was watching some behind the scenes features and they had people dedicated to hair alone!  Ohhh how I wish I had that kind of a team to bring some of my visions to light.  

Here's the trailer.... enjoy!

Introducing - Many Birthdays

 Introducing: Many Birthdays

The Austin based band Many Birthdays creates sounds that will make your body move.  I've been listening to them for some time and recently decided to ask them a few questions that have been on my mind.  Here's what they had to say...

Can you tell us a little bit about how Many Birthdays came to be? 

It was a home-recording project first, with lots of experimentation. We were using all sorts of different instruments and field recordings, not only trying to write songs, but making little collages and spoken word things too. We made limited runs of cd-r's and gave most of them to friends. Eventually, after living a year in Japan, we decided to make Many Birthdays a live show. We really wanted a means to connect and feed off of each other's energy, as well as other people's energy. 

Where did the name come from?

The name came from driving about 75 mph down a highway and thinking about yet another rebirth in a long series of ideas, people, animals and souls. That's pretty cryptic, but that's about it. 

How has the band/sound transformed over the years?

When we were just doing experimental home-recordings, we had no real concern with it sounding like a "band". Nor did we have concern about how to play the stuff live. But once we began figuring out how to play music for shows, our writing started to naturally change. We started becoming more interested in the pulse and energy of a piece than in the limitless details of recording. It's like we really needed to paint with much broader strokes and let some of the shadings and details take care of themselves. It's a balance we are still working on. Also, we've gone from a duo four years ago, to a 4-piece now, playing with as many as five people including guest players. Our sound has revolved around one main goal for quite sometime, and that is to make people move, dance or simply feel something. 

Where does the creative process start, in terms of building a song? 

That process itself is always changing, but it can start anywhere- a word or phrase, a beat, a scene in the night sky etc...

We hear a lot of Asian influence in your songs, from the vocals to audio clippings. can you tell us a bit about what drew you to these sources?

Living in Japan and spending lots of time in Osaka definitely splashed some color onto the music that wouldn't have otherwise been there. We saw lots of amazing art and music coming from sometimes very unexpected sources. It was as beautifully crazy as you might expect in seeing the extreme individuality you can get there amongst the masses. But the masses and tradition too had a lot of beauty and seemed to grab us when we least expected it. It all struck some kind of chord. 

Is there any chance of getting some English translations to some of the songs, maybe on a website or something for curiosities sake?

Absolutely! That is something we can provide on our site and is probably overdue. 

Does Many Birthdays plan on touring in Japan or the U.S. sometime in the future?

We want to tour anytime we have the opportunity! We are currently planning some East Coast/NYC shows for the Spring. We have a few dates posted online right now. 

Can you give us a bit of a hint at what you may be working on next?

The next collection of recordings and songs should have more of a "group" atmosphere, since that's where we are at the moment. The same 4 of us have been playing together now for the better part of a year, so that'll probably be reflected somewhat on upcoming recordings... 

Where can we get our fix of Many Birthdays on the net and in person?

If you live in Austin, come see us play. We like to meet new people! Also find MB on the web at manybirthdays.net. We have lots of extra recordings and remixes there you can download free. 

What is your favorite film monster?

Sarah- Actually, I don't think I have a favorite movie monster, but my favorite literature monster is maybe Grendel. I was really rooting for him and greatly disappointed at the outcome. 

Henna- "Prejudice" from the Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street". 

John- "ET", though not really a monster, so.... Frankenstein! 

Rachel- Nosferatu was a pretty creepy guy.

I encourage you to go to their site and give a listen to their songs, watch some videos, and get to know the minds behind the rhythm. While you are there grab a copy of their EPs. They are on constant rotation here at Power headquarters!

www.myspace.com/manybirthdays

www.manybirthdays.net

Film Review: Machine Girl

Film Review: Machine Girl

Take a look at that still! Now you know what you are getting yourself into... a straight up, over the top, take no prisoners BLOODBATH OF A MOVIE! I loved it! If you are into this type of cinema and don't know about The Machine Girl, then you are in for a fun time. This film is in the same flavor as the classic gory ninja films from the 70's such as Duel to the Death. You may be reminded of The Story of Ricky-O as well.

The story follows the path a young girl name Ami takes to avenge the death of her brother by some seriously messed up yakuza. The real kicker is that she replaces her cut off arm with a machine gun (hence the name)! You may be reminded of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, and rightfully so. Don't call this off simply due to the similarity. It's different, extremely entertaining, and hilarious.

Some of my favorite moments were when an arm gets tempura fried and the drill bra. If any of that sounds like something you would be into, then go rent this film NOW!

all I have to say is.... come on sequel!

The Watchmen

Becoming more excited as this film draws closer to opening. It seems to be a dark film with some colorful moments. I think this will be a sleeper though.
The director previously accomplished 300.

more info at:

watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com

Portishead- the rip

Portishead - The Rip


Maybe my favorite album of 2008. This video is amazing on the dreamy and mysterious type of stuff I'm really into. Just goodness overall.