Hi, Bryan Here….

Wow.  Congrats to the Rolling Stones for being and playing together for 50 years.  In celebration of their 50 years together, Director Brett Morgen will be making a new documentary focusing on the group.  The Stones will produce the documentary and will follow the groups beginning and evolution to present day.  Morgen has had access to the band back stage, on the road, in the studio, and more.

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Hi Bryan Here….

Writer Josh Olson (History of Violence) has been hired on to write ‘Tabloid’ which is an adult thriller that rock icon Mick Jagger is looking to star in.  The role Jagger is eyeing is a global media mogul with dubious morality, and there is a young journalist who gets seduced and sucked into that immoral world.

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A few good releases this week.  Some titles I have been waiting quite a while for to be released.  Any week is good when you get a Wes Anderson Criterion movie.  So, as usual, the picture links will whisk you away over to amazon, where you can learn more about each title, and purchase the movie for a great discount, which also donates a small percent to this column to keep this website going.  Here we go….

The Darjeeling Limited (Criterion Collection Bluray)

I love this Wes Anderson film.  A story about three brothers who are on an emotional and physical journey to come to terms with their lives, and their father’s death, and the disappearance of their mother.  The whole entire film pretty much takes place in India which is BEAUTIFUL.  The soundtrack is littered with Kinks songs which makes it a pleasure to listen to.  Since being a Criterion Collection release, it is packed with extras which include:

New high-definition digital transfer approved by director Wes Anderson

Anderson’s short film Hotel Chevalier (part one of The Darjeeling Limited)

Audio commentary featuring Anderson and cowriters

Behind-the-scenes documentary by Barry Braverman

Anderson and filmmaker James Ivory discussing the film’s music

Anderson’s American Express commercial

On-set footage shot by Coppola and actor Waris Ahluwalia

Audition footage, deleted and alternate scenes, and stills galleries

Original theatrical trailer

PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Richard Brody

Dollhouse: Season 2 (Bluray)

As an “Active,” the mysterious Echo (Dushku) serves as an unwitting agent of Dollhouse, and illegal underground organization that provides its elite clientele with programmable human beings. Actives receive personality imprints, allowing them to temporarily become anyone or anything — the perfect burglar, lover, spy, or assassin. Now, with the FBI and her own shadowy past closing in, Echo must face a rogue Active who will stop at nothing to bring Dollhouse down — forever.

Extras include:

• Audio commentary on “Vows”, by show creator Joss Whedon
• Audio commentary on “Belonging”, by writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen
• Defining Moments
• Looking Back
• Outtakes
• Deleted scenes

Exclusive HD Content

• Audio commentary on “Getting Closer”, executive producer and episode writer Tim Minear

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (Bluray)

Film of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 United States tour.

Tracks:

1. Brown Sugar
2. Bitch
3. Gimme Shelter
4. Dead Flowers
5. Happy
6. Tumbling Dice
7. Love in Vain
8. Sweet Virginia
9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
10. All Down the Line
11. Midnight Rambler
12. Bye Bye Johnny
13. Rip This Joint
14. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
15. Street Fighting Man

Extras include:

Supplements

• Tour rehearsal footage from Montreux
• 1972 Old Grey Whistle Test interview with Mick Jagger
• 2010 interview with Mick Jagger

The Magician (Criterion Collection Bluray)

Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (Ansiktet) is an engaging, brilliantly conceived tale of deceit from one of cinema’s premier illusionists. Max von Sydow stars as Dr. Vogler, a mid-nineteenth-century traveling mesmerist and peddler of potions whose magic is put to the test by a small town’s cruel, eminently rational minister of health, Dr. Vergerus. The result is a diabolically clever battle of wits that’s both frightening and funny, shot in rich, gorgeously gothic black and white.

Extras include:

Supplements

• New visual essay by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie
• Brief 1967 video interview with director Ingmar Bergman about the film
• Rare English-language audio interview with Bergman, conducted by filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Stig Björkman
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoff Andrew, a reprinted essay by Assayas, and an excerpt from Bergman’s autobiography Images: My Life in Film

Wolverine and the X-Men: Complete Series (Bluray)

This show was badass.  Glad it is finally on bluray.  After a mysterious explosion at the Xavier mansion, and the resulting disappearances of Professor Xavier and Jean Grey, the distraught X-Men disband. But soon Wolverine, Storm, Beast and the others must join together again to not only battle the increasingly powerful Mutant Response Division, but also to prevent a catastrophic future that Xavier has warned Wolverine must never come to pass. With help from their allies, the heroic X-Men wage war against formidable foes as the present and future collide. But who will win? Discover for yourself as this extraordinary series is presented together in one complete collection like never before.

Supplements

• Audio commentaries
• Two unique featurettes

Leaves of Grass (Bluray)

I do not know much about this film, but I cannot believe this film did not get a major release.  It stars Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Blake Nelson, Susan Sarandon, and Keri Russell.  An Ivy League professor is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother, a small-time pot grower, has concocted a scheme to take down a local drug lord.  Sounds awesome.  I’ll be picking this up.

Well that’s it for this week.  Stay tuned for next week for new releases.

Rolling Stones merchandising are rolling out the red carpet for Monopoly.  It is in conjunction with Monopoly’s 75th anniversary.

The band has replaced some of the properties with their own brand such as: “Beggar’s Banquet” and “Sticky Fingers”.  Houses and Hotels have been altered to Gold and Platinum Records and Community Chest Cards will now be Guitar licks and lyrics.  In addition the Railways are all now named after the Stone’s major world tours and instead of that famous  Monopoly money, we are getting concert tickets to trade.  That sounds cool.  Instead of the usual player pieces such as the dog or car, we are getting drum kits, the famous mouth and tongue, and devil horns to name a few.

I wonder if Altamont will be on the board game or Cocksucker Blues or Hell’s Angles?

I recently went to Good Records on lower Greenville and found some excellent used vinyl and some new vinyl as well.  I got:

The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St. (standard edition vinyl) – Remastered

This is a two vinyl set remastered on 180 gram vinyl.  It sounds PERFECT.  I haven’t heard this album in  a long time, and when I first put it on, it was like hearing for the first time all over again.  Every song sounded magical.  New even.

Ventilator Blues, Casino Boogie, Torn and Frayed, and Shine a Light are my favorites on this album.  Blues, Rock, R&B, and Country riddle this album all the way through.

Sadly with the standard edition of this vinyl there are no inserts of any kind and no mp3 free download.  I think for $40.00 that it should have included the download.  I also think that all new vinyl that comes out should include the free mp3 download of the album.  Sadly it does not work that way.  I also did not want to shell out the $250.00 for the mega super awesome edition of this vinyl yet.  Although it includes tons of other goodies.

I highly recommend this album.  I know all of you have heard it before, but the sounds of vinyl are far superior to any cd or mp3 you might listen to.  It is a breath taking experience.

This stand the test of time.

Queen: News of the World (Vinyl)

This was in the used vinyl section and I haven’t seen this album often on vinyl.

This album being released in the 1970’s seemed to be stepping towards the Punk scene rather than the later Queen list.

It starts out with two of Queen’s more recognized tracks of the stadium anthem “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” and Mercury’s brutal “Get Down – Make Love” is just pure awesome.

Other notable tracks are the sounds of “Fight From the Inside” and “Who Needs You”.

This album definitely tells you why Queen and Mercury deserve to wear the crown of Rock n Roll royalty.

Oingo Boingo: Nothing to Fear

For a time in the 1980’s Oingo Boingo was right up there with top bands performing at the time.  Richard Elfman started this amazing trippy band in the vein of Frank Zappa and Spike Jonze performing unique synth and styles of ballet music and other foreign entities.  Richard Elfman passed on his duties to younger brother Danny Elfman who is known  for his many musical scores in movies, mostly in collaboration with Tim Burton Films and of course the Futrama theme.

If you know nothing about Oingo Boingo, this album is a good place to start.  There is not a bad or soft and weak song on this album.

Songs like “Reptiles and Samurai” or “Running on a Treadmill”, or even the great “Wild Sex in the Working Class” will instantly hook you into loving this eclectic band of the 80’s.

I wish I could have seen them perform live.

Sid & Nancy Soundtrack

Another gem from the used section, one I have not actually seen before.  The soundtrack to the infamous movie Sid & Nancy.

If you have not seen this movie, go out and see it.  It is a biopic of Sid Vicious, known as the bassist for the band The Sex Pistols.  Gary Oldman played Vicious.  An excellent film and look into the life of Sid and Girlfriend Nancy.

The soundtrack is kick-ass of course.  Joe Strummer, The Pogues, Circle Jerks, Pray for Rain, and John Cale perform on this excellent soundtrack.

A great find.

Prince and the Revolution/Kiss

Sometimes when you find Prince’s KISS on vinyl and it is a single, then you know it is going to be a good day.

Not only was it the single of KISS, but the extended version which I have never heard.  I quite liked it.  A couple of minutes added to the original makes room for more dancing.

On side B is Love or Money which is not great but not bad either.  Basically I just got this album for KISS.  Also, there is a picture of 1980’s movie starlet Jaime Gertz on the back cover. Or at least what looks like her.

Great find.

Galactic: ya-ka-may

If you have not heard of the band Galactic, then you should definitely treat yourself and pick up one of their albums.  Ya-ka-may is their most recent effort and it does not dissapoint.

You can describe Galactic as Funk rubbed with jazz and soaked in a New Orleans swamp and roasted with blues and sprinkled with hip/hop.

This is New Orleans based so you know this is top notch music making.

The biggest known guests are Irma Thomas, John Boutte, and Allen Toussaint who lend their talents to this album.

“Do It Again” and “Double It”are a couple of my favorite tracks on the album.

Ya-ka-may named after New Orleans street food mixes tons of musical styles that fits perfectly together.  This album is soulful, energizing, and most of al FUNKY.

Galactic is a must listen.