ASOBI SEKSU

'Stay Awake' (7" Single)

I totally missed this when it was released back at the tail-end of September 2007, so thanks to SPIN magazine for pimping it in their 'Download This' section of this month's issue. 'Citrus', the 2006 LP from modern shoegazer's Asobi Seksu, ended up being one of my favorite releases that year and I was excited to check out something a bit more recent.

'Stay Awake' is another wonderful, nearly epic, slice of post-dream-pop on par w/ anything from the aforementioned long-player, definitely worth DL'ing (avail on iTunes, etc.)...but the true gem comes in the form of the perfect B-Side. 'And Then He Kissed Me' was a Phil Spector classic originally performed by The Crystals and proves to be an even cooler cover done up w/ some touches of shoegaze. Vocalist Yuki delivers the goods on a performance as classic as the song itself.

Even better, the single was recorded as part of Gigantic Recordings 7" series and can be ordered in limited edition gate fold picture sleeve w/ the vinyl goodness nestled inside. Check out the homage to 60's Asian pop 45's and classic American girl group art tickling my retro-loving fancy at the microsite set up HERE. So, take a listen to the B-side to the left, check out the site and order up one for yourself. Tasty!

Stylin'. Profilin'. Whoo.

Sorry kids, i've been busy at work and really haven't had much to post up w/ anyhow...but i'm working on some stuff. Until then, please enjoy some words of wisdom from my sensei, the Nature Boy...

BOB MOULD

'District Line'

That's right, bitches...TWO reviews in one day! Alongside the previous post, the upcoming release from one of alt-rock's elder statesmen, Bob Mould, has provided me w/ some great music to ring in the new year.

I think since his last dalliance w/ an actual group effort w/ Sugar, Bob's fans have had a tumultuous love/hate relationship w/ his musical output and, while i've personally enjoyed a large part of it, 'District Line' will probably continue to fan those flames. With the announcement of every new album has come the inevitable foreshadowing of a 'return to form' of earlier work...most of it based more in hopeful prognosticating than fact.

Some early reviews of/e-buzz around the album are tagging it as everything from Sugar-esque to 'Workbook' meets 'Modulate' and those renderings aren't untrue. That said, it's only part of the story and sound. Equal parts of everything he has ever done are combined w/ an obviously more seasoned sensibility in his songwriting...both musically and lyrically.

From the opening track, 'Stupid Now', it's apparent that Bob still knows his way around a hook...if not that he knows it SO well the song borders on being pop. 'Who Needs To Dream' is another successful exercise in that sweeping acoustic/electric interplay and contemplative ballad 'Old Highs, New Lows' retains enough power in it's musicality that it somehow still ends up 'rocking'. Following up the blistering 'Return to Dust' is the lead off single 'The Silence Between Us', that finds that signature Mould-groove about the frailties of relationships peppered w/ angry busts of laser-sharp electric guitar riffing.

The rest of the disc continues the lush Mould arrangements in fine form w/ the only weak spot being the dancey 'Shelter Me'...not a bad tune, just pretty so-so amidst the rest of the more substantial songs on the album. My only other complaint, one that has been made about a lot of recorded work, is that the vocals are often over-modulated unnecessarily and, worse yet, completely buried in the mix...but I get past that more and more w/ each listen.

I enjoyed his last album while a lot of others seemed underwhelmed, the calls of a 'return to form' may have finally come to fruition w/ 'District Line'...even scarier, these songs will probably become even weightier live. Wear some earplugs for the tour in March and until then and the album's official release on 2-Feb, get a taste in the sample area.

HELIO SEQUENCE

'Keep Your Eyes Ahead'

Well, only several weeks into the new year and I actually have an album (or two) to review. Luckily, the upcoming Sub-Pop release from Helio Sequence is an absolutely fantastic way to kick off 2008. Hope the rest of the year can keep up!

Anyhow, I actually just got into the band a little bit before Thanksgiving and their previous release, 'Love & Distance', had taken up some prime listening time since then. Said album, found the band evolving from a Radiohead/My Bloody Valentine-lite to more of an early U2/Cure w/ a twist of Postal Service type thing...more focus on well-structured compositions than an electronic wall of sound.

'Keep Your Eyes Ahead' continues down that path of more mature sound. While I really enjoyed the beautiful cacophony of 2001's 'Young Effectuals' and suggest checking it out, I think it's made me appreciate the craftsmanship found on the subsequent releases a bit more.

The opener, 'Lately', just soars...the chiming guitars and minimalist (but rock solid back beat) give way to additional aural flourishes that seem ready to explode into something massive at any time, but never does. The dark pop rolls on from there and at times, on the two tracks that follow, almost bounces...never truly danceable, but it grooves.

The glitch-folk of 'You Can Come to Me' and down tempo (but wonderful) balladry of 'Shed Your Love' offer a bit of a breather, before you are thrust headfirst into the musically jogging title track. The rest of the album continues to impress (especially the uplifting 'Hallelujah') until the final track, 'No Regrets'...not a brad track, but just a bit too campfire sing-songy to feel necessary in the overall context.

Bottom line, I always love it when I get my hands on a truly good album's worth of material by an artist...and this is one of those instances. I've heard they are great live as well, but for now...you can check out their latest recorded work on 29-Jan. Trust me, you'll fall in love with it...check out a sample to the left and you'll see what I mean.

More Coming Attractions

Woefully behind on posting up w/ trailers for upcoming flicks i'm kind of geeked to check out, so let's remedy that. I'd really like to check out 'Cloverfield' this weekend, but the buzz from the mysterious trailer released last Summer has kind of worn off. Some others i'm looking forward to...

10,000 B.C. (7-Mar-08)

Prehistoric epic blockbuster by the same dude who did 'Independence Day'. Looks like it is chock full of some great FX and kind of has that '300' feel to it...just in a much larger scope. Could be a lot of fun.

Speed Racer (9-May-08)

C'mon...it's Speed Racer for Christ's sake. I would jet home after school just to catch the cartoon, it was one of my favorites. Funny enough, I was not as enamored w/ the Wachowski brothers/Matrix phenomenon...but I do like how this kind of keeps the anime/cartoon aesthetic and breakneck pace of the series.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (11-Jul-08)

I saw the first one in the theatre and it was almost too much story to wrap my head around amidst the beautiful FX and cinematography. Repeated viewings since then and some dabbling in the comic book it's based on, have made this one of my most anticipated flicks of the Summer (and w/ Batman, Iron Man and The Hulk that's saying something).

Save me an aisle seat, hopefully i'll get out of the house to enjoy some of these. Whee!

BEST OF 2007

Hey kids...Happy New Year. A little late on that, but it has been a whirlwind the past few weeks between the holidays, the passing of my Grandfather and a trip out to the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I'll spare you the details, outside of a surreal moment in our booth that I realized I was explaining some of our product to the great Sheila E!

That said, before I lose my music blogging license, I figured I better post up w/ the obligatory 'Best of 2007' list. To note, a better title would be 'Music I Most Enjoyed in 2007' as there is no way in hell I can find the time to listen to everything that comes out nowadays and, really, who the hell cares what I think?! I will say that a few of these were indeed good enough to stand up to a majority of releases that did make most of the lists and ALL are worth checking out. So, without any further delay...

1. Miracle Fortress - 'Five Roses'

2. Spoon - 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga'

3. The Cult - 'Born Into This'

4. Band of Horses - 'Cease to Begin'

5. Ohmega Watts - 'Watts Happening'

6. The National - 'Boxer'

7. Amy Winehouse - 'Back to Black'

8. Foo Fighters - 'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace'

9. Beastie Boys - 'The Mix-Up'

10. Mobius Band - 'Heaven'

A few surprises...at least for me. The fact that I was able to get past all of the tabloid bullshit/really enjoy the Amy Winehouse album and eventually growing to love the new Beasties record threw me for a loop. While not at all that e-cool to include either on my list, the new Cult and Foo Fighters records helped me rekindle my love of the rock music in a big way and ended up getting a lot of ear time.

Spoon released a fantastic follow up to their previous (and my least favorite) release. Band of Horses and The National, even with most music bloggers decrying their offerings as inferior to previous releases, were too good not to give year-end props. My man Ohmega Watts stepped it up w/ a musically diverse slice of awesomeness and blew away any notion of the sophomore slump. A new discovery for me in Mobius Band spent a lot of time on the stereo and, finally, the sweet, sunny pop of Miracle Fortress held the top spot from first listen.

A new year and hopefully a lot of good music to look forward to...I guess that'll reamin to be seen. I finally got my 80GB iPod Classic for x-mas, so i'll have plenty of room. More fun stufff on the way...to 2008 and beyond!

Dear Grandpa,

Rest in Peace. You lived life a so full and touched so may people...it will never really feel like you are no longer with us. Say hello to Grandma for us now that you are together, we all love you very much.

With Love,

Your Little Buddy

Merry Christmas!

May the holiday find you happy and full of good cheer! All the best from your Uncle EL and the rest of the Famous Family Singers...PEACE (on Earth and good will towards man)!

MORE MURRAY SANTA MAYHEM!

So, several years after the financial success of the original 'Santa Claus' movie in the previous post, Murray played Dr. Frankenstein to another horrendous classic in 'Santa Claus and His Helpers'. Padded mercilessly with scratchy footage from the original Santa movie, and surrounded by abysmal, filmed-in-the-US silent footage worthy of bad home movies, this short film was actually released theatrically as a feature!

The crux of the 'story' is that Santa Claus and Merlin the Magician visit their feuding pals, Stinky the Skunk and Ferocious Wolf, on Earth. Santa and Puss 'n Boots convince Stinky and Wolf to put aside their grievances and prepare for Christmas. Stinky is put in charge of Santa's modern toy factory. Plus, the mysterious use of the 'Fifth Dimension' is unveiled once again to give the story that whole creepy occult thing that ended up a Murray trademark. Confused? Don't feel bad...while I love it, so am I.

To add some local flavor for those in the Chicagoland area, the new scenes shot in the US took place on location at the three Santa's Village amusement parks...including the one in Dundee, IL (represent)! Two more films followed, including 'Santa's Magic Kingdom' and 'Santa's Enchanted Village'...both pretty much following the same formula and storyline.

Want to check out the insanity for yourself? Unfortunately, I can't find 'Santa's Helpers' anywhere and there isn't any fun MST3K commentary, but you can enjoy the following in their entirety nonetheless...

'SANTA'S MAGIC KINGDOM'

PART 2

'SANTA'S ENCHANTED VILLAGE'

PART 2

...and be sure to visit the go-to-website for all things K. Gordon Murray: THE WONDER WORLD OF K. GORDON MURRAY and read up further on a slew of movies that led one theatre-chain owner to reportedly dub the Florida producer, 'Disney from Hell.'

MURRAY CHRISTMAS!

K. Gordon Murray was a Florida-based producer and distributor of low-budget motion pictures. From the late 1950's through the mid 1970's, he released approximately 66 films...many of them imported from Mexico and re-dubbed for US release. The films ran the gambit from horror to kiddie/family matinee to exploitation/grindhouse...and most of them elevated Murray into legendary status amongst cult film aficionados.

The reason i'm posting up about him now though...a series of crazy Santa Claus movies rivaled only by his run-in w/ martians mentioned in earlier posts. The original 'Santa Claus' was imported from Mexico, re-dubbed/re-released in the US and finds Santa in battle w/ the Devil...yes, as in Lucifer, Beelzebub, SATAN. I'm not joking...

See? Not only does he thwart the Devil's minions and makes sure Christmas goes off w/out a hitch, but he does so w/ the help of Merlin...yes, the magician...and powers drawn from the mysterious and powerful 'Fifth Dimension'. Folklore, religion and the occult incredulously intertwine for the entire family! Truly a creepy and beautiful mess, it has to be seen to be believed.

Luckily for you, this film received the MST3K treatment as well! It's broken up into nine parts, w/ (again) links organized nicely, below. Different host, same great holiday taste:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Great stuff. Insane and a lot of fun...but it doesn't stop there. What would you say to meeting 'Santa Claus and His Helpers'? How about visiting not only 'Santa's Magic Kingdom' ...but his 'Enchanted Village' as well?!

If the answer is 'F**K YEAH I WOULD!' then stay tuned for the next post where we'll delve even further into Murray's warped Christmas vision.

HOORAY! HO-HO-HOLIDAY MIX 2007!

Alrighty Dalek faithful, the fat man is only 8 days away from making his way down your chimney (with glee) and your Uncle EL producly presents to you his (semi) annual audio stocking stuffer for your holiday listening pleasure.

Hang some missletoe, chill some Cranberry Sierra Mist, cue this bad boy up on the hi-fi and then curl up w/ your sweetie on the faux bearskin rug by the fire...

'HOLIDAY MIX 2007: THEIR SANTANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST'

Hooray for Santy Claus! - Milton DeLugg & The Little Eskimos

Father Christmas - The Kinks

Rock 'N' Roll Santa - Little Joey Farr

Come On Christmas - Cheap Trick

Linus and Lucy - Game Theory

Super Sunny Christmas - Red Kross

Sleigh Ride - The Three Suns

Christmas Wish - NRBQ

Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

Donde Esta Santa Claus? - Guster

Frosty the Snowman - Man or Astroman?

Christmas Boogie - The Davis Sisters

Waking Up on Christmas Morning - The Smithereens

Eggnog - Luna

Merry X-mas Everybody - Oasis

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Los Straitjackets

I Believe In Father Christmas - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Auld Lang Syne - Esquivel

The New Year - Death Cab for Cutie

Mmmm, that's good stuff. Burn a copy, make your own cover and pass it off as your own to friends and family in lieu of a real gift...leave one for Santa next to his milk and cookies...use it as a coaster for Uncle Louie's eggnog...whatever you decide to do with it, have some holiday fun and ENJOY!

I think I still have a few more gifts in my big magic bag, so hang tight...more yuletide poop is on the way!

This Is No Laughing Matter...

First full trailer for the upcoming 'Dark Knight' flick is online HERE...and, if you think that looks good, check out THIS little x-mas gift that showed up early before the imax showing of 'I Am Legend'. Seriously, wow.

A Caroling We Will Go

I love Christmas music and when I say that I love Christmas music, I mean I love all TYPES of Christmas music. You can't beat the traditional stuff ala Mel Torme, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, etc...but this time of year, I also find myself on a quest to find holiday tunes you won't hear while shopping for a last-minute fruitcake at Walgreen's. Be it modern covers of the classics to originals of their own modern bent, it's an obsession that comes up each and every year.

Much of the latter usually finds it's way to my annual holiday mix, but while you wait for me to post up w/ this years audio gift bag to get the sugar plums dancing in your head (look to the skies early next week)...here are a few standouts of a non-traditional variety for you to check out:

'Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus'

An excellent compilation from the Sympathy for the Record Industry label, this'll incite you to cover yourself in x-mas lights and set the tree on fire just to watch it burn. Well, maybe not that excited...but you'll have a lot of fun w/ new tunes and new takes on old tunes served up in surf/garage/punk rock wrapping from artists like Rocket from the Crypt, New Bomb Turks, Man or Astroman, Mono Men, Supersuckers and Go-Nuts just to name a few.

'Tis' the Season for Los Straitjackets'

Instrumental versions of x-mas classics performed in a surf rock manner by an amazing band wearing Mexican wrestling masks...what's not to love? Really though, Los Straitjackets are no novelty act and bring forth a wonderful sounding uptempo holiday album that will have the entire family twisting by the chimney with care. One of my personal favorites.

'Merry X-mas from the Space-age Bachelor Pad'

I have been on a big space age pop/lounge kick as of late and thanks to my good friend, Miss Yvonne, I finally got my hands on the fantastic holiday offering from the genre's King himself, Esquivel. A mess of big-sounding lounge-esque holiday magic complete w/ instrumentalization using everything but the kitchen sink and plenty of POW DOO DOO ZA ZA ZA ZOOOOOOO-WOW! Can be enjoyed ironically or for the fun album it actually is at any 'holiday happening'.

The first two are availble via iTunes and you can pick up a copy of the third on Amazon or, likely, other means of an e-variety if you look hard enough. I'll have a lot more musical fun for you all w/ the holiday mix early next week...kids on the naughty list get first dibs.

GLAD TIDINGS, GLAD TIDINGS!

Okay kids. I've had several x-mas presents i've been planning on dropping on the Dalek faithful and this is one of them...

Deckin' your halls w/ a double-whammy. Two, Two, Two gifts in one! Not only are you getting one of the greatest 'so-bad-it's good' holiday classics of all time in 'Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'...but you get it w/ the additional yuletide flavor of one of the best shows ever to be on TV, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000!

Really, the movie is just so fun by itself, but watching it w/ Joel, Crow and Tom Servo just makes it even better...much like booze in your egg nog. It's broken up into 10 parts, w/ Part 1 up above and links to the others, organized nicely, below. C'mon gang, let's Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas:

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

PART 8

PART 9

PART 10

and for those of you who'd rather watch the film in it's glorious entirety, w/ one click and in better video quality... HO, HO, HO! More holiday fun from the El Famous workshop is on it's way.

All I Want for Christmas is...

...this bad mamma jamma. Okay, actually, I already know i'm getting it. Spotted it at Costco of all places for $20 less than the suggested retail price. Snapped it up yesterday, but it's being wrapped by the Mrs. and placed underthe tree until the 25th.

What is it? Well, true believers, it's 'The Marvel Vault: A Museum-in-a-book With Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel'. A really sharp looking retrospective tome about Marvel comics by master comics writer and former longtime Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas and noted comics historian Peter Sanderson, cool enough in and of itself.

However, it comes loaded w/ a bunch of extra goodies and reproductions of promotional materials, w/ each section includes a plastic holder containing a rare facsimile unique to the era.

Facsimiles featured include:
- Sketches 1941-42 (8)

- Bill Everett's Postcards to his daughter (3)

- Farewell Party poster 1957

- Stan Lee's Fantastic Four synopsis

- 1961 Thing Christmas card

- 1965 MMMS Welcome Kit (4)

- Marvel Convention book 1975 (small version)

- Value Stamps Collection mid-70's (10)

- Howard the Duck Campaign Button 1976

- No-Prize Book 1982 (small version)

- Marvel Visitor Pass 1982

- Spider-Man Wedding Invitation 1987

- Trading Cards 1990 (3)

- Marvel Share Certificate 1993

- Marvel Restaurant Menu 1998

- Andy Kubert's Origin sketches 2001(4)

I looked through one in the store and it's beautfully done...each of the 'trinkets' are organized and enclosed in flat plastic pouches to keep them in good shape, etc. An excellent x-mas idea for the comic book geek in your family.

Some more legitimate holiday poop on the way soon. Stay tuned.

Do You Have Christmas in France?

Well, it's December and Christmas in only a mere 22 days away. Stately Famous Manor is decorated appropriately and the boys are having fun w/ trying to 'redecorate' the tree. That said, i'm still not in the holiday frame of mind quite yet.

Actually, we were out at Woodfield Mall yesterday and I found myself pretty disgusted that the big 'Meet Santa' deal in the middle of the place was entirely sponsored by the horrible looking movie 'Fred Claus'. Seriously. Movie posters everywhere and a big freaking video screen right in back of Santa playing an endless loop of Vince Vaughn line-dancing w/ a bunch of elves. Co-opting the holiday for a movie tie-in is one thing...but a crappy flick like that?! The whole thing struck me in a bad way like a stocking full of coal to the head.

As I actually love this time of year (including the crass commercialism that comes along with it), i'll get over it. I may even try to post up w/ my annual Holiday Mix, should my lazy ass get around to it. So, as always, stay tuned for mucho holiday fun and other useless pap.

Naughty? Nice? I don't give a crap...everybody is invited. Ho.

Holy Nards!

It has come to light, that an outright late 80's HBO classic that my little brother and I would watch EVERY time it came on was finally released on DVD a few months back...in a 20th Anniversary Edition w/ extras nonetheless! 1987's 'Monster Squad' was kind of The Goonies meet Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein meets Dracula meets The Wolfman...you get the point.

The premise of the flick, is that Dracula has just happened to come to a small town to find some sort of amulet giving him the power to rule the world and the whatnot. He enlists Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Gill Man (AKA Creature from the Black Lagoon) and The Mummy to help him out. It also happens, that there is a club of movie monster fanatics made up of several young rag-tag losers in same said small town that set out to stop them.

The film is so phenomenally 80's in the look, feel and dialogue...and you can't go wrong w/ all those classic monsters. I'll be netflixing this bad boy soon and it will be an experiment in nostalgia...hope it's at least a quarter of the fun I had with it at age 16. If you are one of those retro 80's nerds and/or sci-fi/horror geeks like me...you probably already have it in your que.

BONUS: My YouTube query for the trailer also unearthed the 1976 TV series of the same name where a pre-Love Boat/US Congress Fred Grandy solves crimes w/ wax figures of Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein brought to life. Enjoy the show opening HERE.

CLOVERFIELD!

You may or (more likely) may not remember the teaser trailer I posted a while back for the upcoming J.J. Abrams project. At the time, it was untitled and going by 1-18-08 (it's release date). Fast forward a few months, and the film is officially being called 'Cloverfield' and there is a brand spankin' new trailer...

Still looks like fun, but I hope the whole Blair Witch POV thing doesn't get too annoying. Guess i'll find out come January. BOOM!

Come On Pilgrim

Thanksgiving is a couple of days away, which means that Christmas (my favorite time of the year) is hot on it's heels. That said, before I go all yuletide on your candy asses, I have a lot of things to be thankful for:

• My best friend and lovely wife, Mrs. Famous.
• My sons, the dynamic duo, O and Lo.
• My entire family and extended family-in-laws.
• My Grandfather, tough as nails and still an inspiration.
• My brothers from other mothers, Kev, Kory, J.C. and Brad.
• My e-brothers from other e-mothers, Charles and Peter (What's happening?).
• ANYBODY who takes the time to actually read this labour of love.

I'm also thankful for the return of the seasonal Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash and, in an even more fantastic development, the Slurpee version of the same delicious beverage at my local 7-11.

So, while I drink copious amounts of dark beer while simultaneously watching football/my children run amok w/ their cousins and supervise my bro-in-law's first ever frying of the Thanksgiving day bird, may you be enjoying life and giving thanks for everything you've been blessed with as well.

Gobble Gobble, PEACE and God Bless!

Play Misty for Me

Wow. My best friend and movie junkie, Gep, has been talking this one up since the first trailer hit the theatres/web a few months back. I haven't been that interested in anything Stephen King in a long while, but this looks solid...and legitimately scary. I do recall enjoying the short-story this was based on in 'Skeleton Crew' many moons ago and like how the supposed safety within the grocery store turns no less dangerous than the enviornment outside.

Another King/Frank Darabont collaboration ala 'The Green Mile' and 'The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Mist' is in theatres next week and I may just have to go see this prior to it hitting DVD. Looks like total tub-o-popcorn fun.