The discussed ending of the film that Kurtz favored presented the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as queen and Luke walking off alone “like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns,” as Kurtz put it.

Kurtz said that ending would have been a more emotionally nuanced finale to an epic adventure than the forest celebration of the Ewoks that essentially ended the trilogy with a teddy bear luau.

LA Times Blog

Trials of Van Occupanther (Audio CD)

Check it out on Amazon.com

This past weekend I saw Midlake at this newish venue in Chicago called Lincoln Hall. I went with two old (in stature and in age) friends from 2 entirely different circles. My friend Bob and I used to hang out near Lincoln Hall back when it was the 3-Penny Theatre. Across the street was the Biograph where Dillinger was shot. A few doors down was Wax Trax! Records — where I spent many hours as a teenager in Doc Martens flipping through industrial and punk rock records. My other friend Tim is a serious music aficionado. We worked together in the dot com boom days. We were rich and then not rich.

I haven’t been to a show in ages. Nowadays people don’t smoke inside Chicago venues. I always expect to come home smelling of cigarette smoke after seeing a band. None of that anymore. There was actually great beer at this venue too. My have things changed. As we get older, and as these kids grow up, is there no more room for shows in a bowling alley lobby or a dirty back room of a bar? This was a sophisticated place. The band was excellent. My God they were tight. There must have been at least 8 of them on stage. Sounded exactly like the records.

Dark Side Of The Moon (MP3 Download)

Check it out on Amazon.com

I was listening to this Flaming Lips, Stardeath, White Dwarves, Henry Rollins, Peaches cover album of Darkside of the Moon this morning; and I realized why I hated it. Well maybe HATE is a strong word. I guess I have to listen to it again — maybe at least 10-20 times to understand it fully. The thing is Pink Floyd’s Darkside is as close to a perfect album as one can ever get. I didn’t always think this way you see.

I went to grade school and high school with a bunch of burn-outs. My definition of a burn-out back then was a kid wearing a tie-dye shirt, Grateful Dead, etc. whilst Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s “It Takes Two…” was playing on FM radio. Clearly their parents passed this music onto them. My parents, on the other hand, were into Johnny Mathis and Paul Anka. F-that! So I’d see these kids with drawings of the Darkside prism on their school folders. I immediately hated them. Pink Floyd, whomever they were.

It wasn’t until college that I really decided to give them a listen. Now I consider Pink Floyd to be one of the greatest bands from the golden age of late-60′s-70′s British rock. Wait, Golden age of late-60′s-70′s? More like Golden age from the 60′s to now. Let’s face it, the Anglos know how to rawk. They’re good at being influenced by Americans and making it better (music-wise).

So Darkside. What can I say. It is a perfect album. No matter how cliche or overplayed. It is truly incredible.

Turn Ons (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) (MP3 Download)

Check it out on Amazon.com

The HotRats is a side-project by one-half (or I guess a little more) of the excellent and underrated band Supergrass. This album is a series of covers similar to Bowie’s Pin Ups album. The covers are not ironic by any stretch. You can tell these guys love the originals. In a world that accepts Hall & Oates cover albums with a smile, this type of cover album is a refreshing one. Now don’t get me wrong. I do like Hall & Oates. I’m just grumpy and I don’t like kids these days liking Hall & Oates. You know the type, lanky Brooklyn ironic blah blah. Shit was on the radio when their parents were conceiving them. Maybe not even. Their parents were probably listening to En Vogue.

I love every single one of their renditions EXCEPT for Queen Bitch. They basically do it verbatim with a little more fuzz and feedback. That’s ok. It is really hard to top the master. I wish they would have also done Virginia Plain instead of Love is a Drug by Roxy. Their version of The Lovecats by The Cure and Big Sky by The Kinks are by far my favorites on the album. Go get it. It’s great.

Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film (Paperback)

Check it out on Amazon.com

This is really a fascinating book about how Robert Redford started Sundance and how the Weinstein brothers founded Miramax. Along the way we meet familiar directors and one-hit-wonders. They all struggle for power and control for the final cut. I couldn’t imagine a rougher industry to be involved in. After you read about the shenanigans that happen behind the scenes you’ll be amazed that a decent movie ever gets made. If this is how indie films were/are made I’d hate to be working in Hollywood. Geez.

From Publisher’s Weekly: Biskind brilliantly covers their career hits, from the high-profile acquisition of Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies and Videotape through backstories for Cinema Paradiso, Good Will Hunting and Chicago to brutal clashes with Martin Scorsese over Gangs of New York. And Quentin Tarantino’s lust for stardom, Billy Bob Thornton’s “ornery, stick-to-your-guns” personality and Ben Affleck’s frustration about being underpaid are just a few of the other mesmerizing elements Biskind includes. Above all, Biskind conveys a key truth: the Weinsteins and Redford, whatever their personal imperfections, possess courage and a deep, overwhelming love of film.

Blossom Dearie (Audio CD)

Check it out on Amazon.com

The debut album of my favorite jazz artist, Blossom Dearie. She was sweet, she was cute, she played a mean piano. Impeccable timing and true jazz instinct sets this record apart from from the common chanteuses of the same era (mid-50s). Blossom always picked numbers that suited her voice and her style. She had a long and varied career, it’s a shame that we lost her in 2009.

Her specialty was singing ironic songs about how tough she was:

“I have eyes for you to give you dirty looks.
I have words that do not come from children’s books.
there’s a trick with a knife I’m learning to do,
And everything I’ve got belongs to you.
I’ve a powerful anesthesia in my fist,
And the perfect wrist to give your neck a twist.
Hammerlock holds…
I’ve mastered a few,
And everything I’ve got belongs to you.”

Here’s a link to a video of a later performance of Everything I’ve Got so you can see her in action.

Speed Racer (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

Check it out on Amazon.com

I was watching Avatar this weekend and you know what? I had to turn that shit off. I liked it in the theatres alright. The 3-D was pretty amazing. But you know what? Visually it just doesn’t have a great point of view. The colors seemed flat to me. Right after I turned Avatar off I put Speed Racer on.

This movie is one of the most underrated flicks of the past decade. People hated it when it came out. Why? The movie is absolutely brilliant. Visually it is AMAZING. The Wachowski brothers are true visionaries. First of all, if you hated the movie then you weren’t a fan of the cartoon. This is a true homage to the original 1960′s anime. The edits, the acting, the casting were all mindblowingly faithful. The story was also excellent. It’s all about corporate control, sticking together as a family, doing what you love, rising above all obstacles.

Speed Racer is a movie I can watch time and time again and I see new things. I discover clever art direction and editing. That’s something I didn’t get from Avatar. Wachowskis keep doing what you do. This movie is in one of my top 10′s of all time. SERIOUSLY.

& The Glass Handed Kites (Audio CD)

Check it out on Amazon.com

Mew is an alternative Danish band that is quite successful in the Nordic region. But weirdly, not so famous in any of the English speaking countries considering all Mew songs are in English and not Danish! I wouldn’t call them an Indie band as they’re signed with Sony, but they surely come close. After a busy Saturday, Mew makes a very good Sunday evening music.

The song embedded below is called “Special” – which is one of my favourite Mew songs. Other favourites are The Zookeeper’s Boy and Chinaberry Tree.

And if you like those songs that start a little slow and picks up on the pitch after the first minute or so, “Introducing palace players” is quite nice.

Low (MP3 Download)

Check it out on Amazon.com

This is my favorite Bowie album of all time. A collaboration with Brian Eno gave birth to such amazing soundscapes for the time. This album was originally intended to be the soundtrack to his film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Have you ever seen that one? It’s pretty weird. The only thing I really remember was Bowie shaking a gun at a voluptuous woman while he was half naked. Rip Torn was in it too. Low on the other hand has some serious grooves in Sound and Vision and Be my Wife. There’s also these haunting compositions like Warszawa. Please get this if you don’t have it already. So good.

Funny note, I was at this taping of VH1 Storytellers and saw the Thin White Duke in New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

Mass Appeal: The Best of Gang Starr (Explicit) (MP3 Download)

Check it out on Amazon.com

“The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time—my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru,” reads the statement. “Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it, but tragically, this did not happen. The cancer took him. Now the world has lost a great man and a true genius.”

Accompanying the statement was a letter, apparently written by Guru before his death and passed on to Solar, that would appear to maintain a beef Guru had with DJ Premier. Premier and Guru made up the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, which released six albums between 1989 and 2003.

“I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease,” the letter reads.

“I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name likeness, events, tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this,” continues the letter. “I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ.”

R.I.P. Guru.