by Holderlin (1972)

Take a base of traditional folk, add one part Jethro Tull, a generous drop of Nico, a splash of Amon Duul II, and a garnish with Peter and the Wolf, and you’ll end up with Holderlin’s Traum, a musical concoction perfect for a handcrafted clay goblet. It’s a beautiful and gentle first album by the German band that has recently made a sort of comeback with a new album.

This early seventies effort is as appealing and ethereal as the album art and title (Traum translates “dream”) and worth a listen for anyone with a soft spot for folk, krautrock, lilting female voices, and the flute. The songs will stay in your mind, even as you hum along to the unknown lyrics (well, unless you speak German of course). I am surprised this band has not been as rediscovered as others of the genre, but with recent accessibility (amost of their albums are now available on iTunes) I think that might change. Like several former Brix Picks, I might soon hear it playing over some brunch in Brooklyn.

Click here for the rest of Holderlin’s Traum

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Posted on November 29, 2009

directed by Larry Cohen (1976)

Larry Cohen is best known for his campy horror romp The Stuff, but even with that blockbuster under his belt, he’s remained an elusive and under-appreciated filmmaker with a cult fan base only (Jim goes so far as to insist that he’s responsible for the only ‘bearable’ episode of Masters of Horrible). God Told Me To, a cheap low-grade horror movie, will not necessarily win over those of you not already a part of that fan base, but it’s a strangely interesting, audacious and compelling movie for anyone trawling the horror section for something a little off-kilter.

Like many of my favorite horror films, God Told Me To benefits from its small budget, even the grainy and worn out looking film transfer enhances the weird mood. From the opening scenes of a busy Manhattan street suddenly under attack from a rooftop sniper, the movie is propelled by a simple but incredibly effective terror premise: innocent, law abiding people are suddenly (and seemingly randomly) turning into homicidal maniacs. The phenomenon is spreading like a virus, and in the aftermath of the bloodbaths, all the people who have been affected claim that God told them to kill (their spouses, children, neighbors, etc).

It’s a fascinating story and one that with or without credit, I think highly influenced the excellent Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Cure where a police officer uncovers the strange connection between seemingly normal people committing sudden random murders.

The police officer in this film is played by Tony Lo Bianco, who I was thrilled to see from Honeymoon Killers. Other familiar faces are here as well, including Sandy Dennis (from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Andy Kaufman (against type as a police man and mass murderer), and Sylvia Sidney (who I recognized instantly as the old lady who blows smoke out of her open neck in Beetlejuice).

There’s a straightforwardness and lack of melodrama to the direction which can be refreshing but is just as frequently a flaw; the lack of accentuated drama can make the latter half of the film drag, and huge elements of the plot are simply skimmed over… and what a plot it is! Quite daringly, it’s ultimately a movie about an alien evil Jesus with Cronenbergian elements. Could this have been made into a better film? Probably, but I doubt many would dare to.

Click here for the rest of God Told Me To

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Posted on November 15, 2009

Here's what I wrote back on April 6th:

I can not, for the life of me, figure out why Sugarman, the amazing 1970 song by little-known Rodriguez, never became a smash hit here in the USA. It's like a long-lost dreamily upbeat Donovan track, minus the chilling goofiness of Mellow Yellow but imbued with the naughtiness of Codeine's derided subject matter; it seems, to me, to be an ode to the pleasures of drug-taking.

Now considered a “cult” classic rock song, Sugarman is a huge hit in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Propelled by its recent appearance as a sample in a song by someone called “Nas”, maybe this spectacularly catchy song will finally catch on and reach a wide American audience, inspiring them to swing their shoulders like hippies and let the sound carry them away.

Originally a Motown singer, Rodriguez came Icarianly close to stardom but lost it all with a bunk record company then went on to shed his musical roots, living quietly and eventually making a run for local office in Detroit.

While I'm sure he's a well rounded man who's enjoyed his life and recent re-discovery, I can't help but feel sad about all the music he could have made if he'd stuck with it through the years. Though, just ask the Rolling Stones what the last good song they recorded was (answer: none)… Maybe we should just count our blessings that we're left with this singular and underplayed gem.

RUNNERS UP:
What You Won't Do For Love
Somebody Loves You
Deamon Lover
Naughty Girl
Yes We Can Can
Once Bitten Twice Shy

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Posted on November 2, 2009

The definitive message behind the enthralling but dreary The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which stars an aged Robert Mitchum as a career small-time criminal, is that crime does not pay.

Far from the usual glamorized Hollywood image of criminals, everyone here is a snitch, a backstabber, a thief or about to go down with barely a penny to their name. It's a tough, unsentimental look at the world of crime, the shots are somewhat bleak and harshly lit, and even the action sequences, while still tense, are non-stylized.

Mitchum, who I adore in anything, is superb as the weary and desperate Coyle. Director Peter Yates, whose resume is uneven (he helmed the iconic Bullitt, the weird Mother, Juggs and Speed and Krull but later served time on a sentimental D.B. Sweeney vehicle), is also at his best.

The film is based on a best selling novel by George V Huggins, who was a major influence on James Ellroy.

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Posted on September 21, 2009

Bob James's huge success with the album Touchdown officially confirmed that the men and women of 1978 wanted their music to rock them about as hard as a Holly Hobbie rag doll.

It's not inspiring per se, but Angela (The Theme to TAXI) does have a soothing, muzaky quality that takes my mind back to pediatricians' waiting rooms, where I can remember playing with Monkeys in a Barrel; the album's cover reminds of the basement rec rooms of friends' dads.

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Posted on September 7, 2009