Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)

Envy Adams: Short answer:

Vegans are just better then everyone else. 

Even though I love ripping into animal flesh more than most anything - the cuter the animal the tastier the meat, that's what I always say! - I also love the snarky self-righteousness with which the above sentiment is delivered by Brie Larson (who celebrated her 28th birthday yesterday by probably shining her Oscar for a few hours). But here's something we can all agree on: watching Brie Larson's performance of "Black Sheep" in Scott Pilgrim will make you live longer:

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Is It Ever Gonna Be Enough?

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The last (and first) time I got to see the band Metric live was last September at the enormous Radio City Music Hall, so when I heard they were doing an eensy little last minute show at the Bowery Ballroom this week you'd best believe I moved heaven and earth to get myself a ticket. (In this case moving "heaven and earth" translates to "being on Ticketmaster at the right time and clicking 'purchase'.") 

Anyway I went last night and it was awesome, and if you like Metric at all you should head over to my YouTube channel where I've posted several videos of the show. Emily Haines is one hip chick lemme tell ya what. Here's my favorite number of the night, the band doing "Gold Guns Girls" off their album Fantasies. That guitar at the end will blow your socks right off.

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My First Metric

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Finally got to see my favorite Canadian rockers Metric in concert last night - I've been fans of theirs for a very long time but somehow they kept eluding me live. Thankfully after all this pent-up build-up they didn't disappoint in the slightest - they put on a smashing show, quite smashing! Emily Haines is a show-woman of the highest caliber, shimmying around in her short shorts, and the band, they can play.

You can't really beat seeing a show at Radio City, period - I took some video and it's not the closest video I've ever shot but what it lacks in Emily Haines upskirts it more than makes up for with sound. The sound in RC is so so good. Up top that's the band performing what is probably my favorite song of theirs, "Black Sheep" from the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack. Here below is video of them singing their new song "Youth Without Youth," and then oh wait what is this is that a cover of Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" as a duet with special guest Lou Reed? Why yes it fucking is. (Incredible.)

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Tonight: Grizzly Bear at Radio City! Boo-yeah. 

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Starf*cking the Premiere

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So as you can't tell from that blurry ass picture (the lighting in the theater at MoMA is awful)  I did end up seeing Cosmopolis last evening... and it turned out to be the US premiere, which I didn't quite realize. And it was a real starfucking extravaganza! Robert Pattinson was there of course, publicly mourning the Twilight franchise or whatever. 

I kept hoping the screaming crowds were excited to see David Cronenberg, but I have my doubts. If the camera-man taking the shot to the right were to swivel to the left and walk about a hundred feet he'd have caught me, looking sad for the world. By the way, Robert Pattinson has an enormous head. Obscenely large. His neck must be exhausted all of the time.

Anyway who all did I see there... it was a real who's-who of "Who?" A lot of the movie's cast - Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti, the giant hulking Kevin Durand. The people I'd have most wanted to see - Juliette Binoche, Mathieu Almaric, and Samantha Morton - were no-shows.

But most exciting was seeing Regis Philbin and his wife Joy (the phrase "skeleton with a red wig plopped on top may or may not have come to mind) - that one felt like a real big check on the checklist on living in NYC. Like the time I saw Woody and Soon-Yi walking down the street, almost. No Kathie Lee unfortunately, but she's probably passed out on a pile of wine boxes by 8pm.

Stanley Tucci almost slammed into me when I was going to the bathroom - he was looking at his phone, not where he was going. Not that I'd have minded Stanley Tucci slamming into me, of course. A few minutes later when I came back I saw Tucci was sitting a across the aisle from where I was, and he was sitting right behind Todd Solondz. He was gesticulating wildly at the back of Solondz's head, explaining to his wife who he was. A few minutes later they were chatting - future team-up?

I saw Brady Corbett from Mysterious Skin and Martha Marcy May Marlene, who I am sure is stalking me, I see him all over the place. Apparently Emily Haines was there (the lead singer of Metric!) but I didn't see her, I only know from red carpet pictures. She is the opposite of stalking me - she is purposefully avoiding me, damn her. Oh and I mistook Miss USA for a prostitute. (Ha - "mistook.")

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5 Off My Head - The Music, Man

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I realized this morning on my way to work that I haven't mentioned anything about what I'm listening to music-wise lately. I realized this because, as I've already mentioned once today, I am digging the new Metric song "Youth Without Youth." But that's not all I am digging. (The kids still say "digging" right?) As I've explained before I can't write for shit about music; I just knows what I likes and don't really have the wherewithal to express why I likes what I likes. So I'm not going to say much of anything about these songs. Except I like them, and that's why they're listed here. Listed, you ask? Why yes. Here is a list of five random songs I've been listening to lately. Within a week I'll probably be tired of them all and wishing I'd made a completely different list, but that's how it goes.

"Season's Trees" off of Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi's fake spaghetti western soundtrack Rome (a terrific album), sung by Norah Jones. I'm neither pro- nor anti-Norah Jones but this song's lovely and it's made me consider giving her new album, also produced by Danger Mouse, a listen.

"Take Me Home" off Perfume Genius' album Put Your Back N 2 It

"Silent Song" off of Daniel Rossen's Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP -

Rossen is 1/4 of the band Grizzly Bear, and this song's pretty Bear-ish

"Ghosts" by CANT, which I thought was on their album Dreams Come True, but isn't - I'm not sure where I got it from then. Anyway CANT is another quarter of Grizzly Bear, Chris Taylor. Obviously I just want Grizzly Bear's next damn album to come out already.

And because all of the previous songs have kind of been downers, I included this peppy tune about beating the shit out of somebody from Chairlift's album Somewhere - I'm seeing these guys tonight!

I could have listed a dozen more songs... for one the new Shins album has some great tunes, and for another the new Garbage album leaked and the song "I Hate Love" is totally my jam but I couldn't find a full copy to share... but you can hear a minute of it right here. I'm seeing Shirley & Co. live in two weeks!

What have you been listening to, dear readers?

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I Am Link

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--- McLean Machine - I was just thinking about Wolf Creek 2 the other day and wondering what the hell was going on there - it's been awhile since Greg McLean, director of the brilliant original (and noted handsome silver fox himself), said he was making the sequel. Well now I know - apparently there's legal troubles of some sort holding it up, and so he's moving on to another project (it's only been FIVE YEARS since he directed anything; no rush, man!) - it's called Kill Me Three Times and he's lined up a great looking cast - Alice Braga, Abbie Cornish, and two of the brothers from Animal Kingdom, Ben Mendolsohn and Sullivan Stapleton. It sounds like it winds together three different stories of murder around Braga's character. Consider me there in a heartbeat.

--- Speaking of Aussie helmers of fright, the director of the pretty brilliantly disturbing The Snowtown Murders is lining up his next film - an adaptation of the John Le Carre book Our Kind of Traitor, from a script by the writer of Drive.

--- Demon Bed - As a lead-in to tomorrow's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," Nathaniel posted an early entry from his reader Beau on his favorite shot in William Friedkin's film The Exorcist (maybe you've heard of it?) and it's great stuff. The longer you stare at his pick the scarier it gets - I never noticed how much the second bedpost looks like a hooded figure until now, and it freaked me the eff out. I really need to gather my wits about me and make sure I do a post for this week. Tomorrow's the day!

--- City Songstress - Ooh the soundtrack to David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis has three songs by Metric on it! I loooove Metric. We heard about this in October but had completely forgotten. Have you guys heard their new single? I was just jamming - as much as I "jam" - to it on the subway this morning. Metric you may recall had the rockingest tune on the rocking soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim.

--- Dead Man Walkers - I really did get more into The Walking Dead as its second season trundled along, so I'm holding out hope they can maintain that momentum into the third season. Killing off some characters was the way to go. (Kill more!) They started shooting the third season yesterday and AMC interviewed producer and comic author Robert Kirkman about what's in store; beware spoilers.

--- Riddick Ulous - Vin Diesel carries a big bone stick, has nipples.

--- Horse Trailer - Here's the trailer for Todd Solondz's Dark Horse, which has been bouncing around film festivals for awhile now. In fact a friend of mine saw it a few days ago in Baltimore and said it was "hilarious." It's apparently getting some kind of release on June 8th.

--- The Aliens of Madness - I don't really like linking to this because I didn't really like having read it because I fear it gives away more about Ridley Scott's Prometheus than I wish I'd known but Guillermo Del Toro's gone on the record saying that he thinks the similarities between Scott's movie and H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness are too similar and this means his movie of that story's probably a goner, which makes me confused and hurt and fascinated all at once.

--- Big Blue - In an interview with the NYT James Cameron says he's in the Avatar business for at least the next gazillion years. Not only is he making a second and third film but he's considering a fourth, too. I have no doubts he's got visions for filling out the big blue people world with cool creatures, but I hope he remembers to put enough actual story around it all, maybe.

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I Am Link

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--- Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! This is cool news! Cool news indeed! The band Metric, who I adore, are doing the soundtrack to David Cronenberg's next movie Cosmopolis! The adaptation of Don Delillo's book, yes, starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche and Samantha Morton, amongst others. The last time Metric put their music into a movie we got the show-stopper "Black Sheep" in Scott Pilgrim.

--- Prove Your Metal - Jose Padilha, the director of the upcoming Robocop remake, says he's never read Darren Aronofsky's almost-made script, and that his version will be very very different from what Aronofsky wanted to do with the project.I'm sad we'll never see Darren's take, but nothing will ever top Paul Verhoeven's anyway, I says. He's who you need to worry abut, dude!

--- Snow Beard - Donald Sutherland was photographed on the red carpet this week sporting an enormous gray beard and bouffant of a hair-do, and MNPP pal Jarett theorizes this could be the look he's rocking as President Snow in The Hunger Games.

--- All About Abbey - Rich's take on Downton Abbey over at fourfour had me in stiches. I don't think I ever would've described what these characters do as "chuckling" quite so thoroughly, but sure, it fits.

--- Double Dicking A Dictator - Here's a sort of random real world news story that I can bring back around to my favorite of topics. One of Saddam Hussein's doubles - the guys he used as a stand-in lest there be an assassination attempt - was recently kidnapped, and his kidnappers attempted to force him to perform in a porn movie so they could market a posthumous Saddam sex-tape. Naturally this should make us think of The Devil's Double, and how I wish this had been a scene included with Dominic Cooper therein. Re-shoots at my house! (thanks Melanie!)

--- Hop On Bond - Javier Bardem is the Big Bad in Sam Raimi's Mendes' James Bond movie, which we've sort of known for awhile, but has finally been confirmed. And yes, he and Daniel Craig need to make out at some point, this is a given.

--- Bug Me - Twitch takes a look at the newly released BluRay for Guillermo Del Toro's director's cut of Mimic, which they rave and rave over. I've always loved Mimic, even in its old form, so I'm dying to see this new more-approved version.

--- And finally, here's a new short film from Trick 'r Treat director Michael Dougherty set in the same wonderful world as that movie! Cool beans, y'all! Relatedly, I really need to rewatch TrT, it'll get me right into the spirit of the season. (via)

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I Am Link

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--- Let Me Inn - That there's the second poster for Ti West's The Innkeepers, his follow up to The House of the Devil, and I like it a lot (via). I'm digging the vibe he's working this time around. And I'm stupid jealous of you folks that're getting to see the movie in Austin at SXSW this weekend. Me want!

--- Happy Boo Year - It's long been a joke that in the post-Halloween world slashers just needed a holiday to base themselves around instead of a story, so this bit at Topless Robot where they go through the year via the slashers that dot the calendar isn't the freshest but it's still a good run-through if you're unaware of some of them.

--- Big Bloat - Is it just me or does James Caan look like the Martian atmosphere is exploding him from the inside on the poster for Henry's Crime? What the fuck happened to his head?

--- A Job For Your Hand - Parks & Rec's fabulous Aubrey Plaza is going to star in a movie called The Hand Job written and directed by Bill Hader about a girl that wants to perform every sex act she can think of before she goes to college. This movie will co-sta amongst other Mae Whitman and Donald Glover. Gimme.

--- Bad Guy - That dude there is named Wagner Moura and he will be playing the bad guy in Elysium, the new film from District 9's Neil Blomkamp. I guess he's a very big deal in Brazil. He is attractive in a specific creepy villain way, so on sight alone this works for me.

--- Dance Pilgrim - You can hear four unreleased tracks of Beck's from the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack right here. I want them to download dammit. Metric's "Black Sheep" came up on my iPod's shuffle this morning and I was forced to repress my dancing urge on the subway again. Damn song, always finding me at inopportune moments!

--- Boo You Whore - I already commented upon the horrible X-Men Muppet Babies posters myself yesterday but Glenn one-upped me by bringing in the old "Jessica Alba does Rosemary's Baby" picture which will never ever ever stop being the funniest fucking thing on the planet so he wins. It's almost gotten to the point where I love that image so much I want to see the film remade with her in the role. Imagine the hilarity in motion!
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Take It Up With Liberace's Ghost

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Scott Pilgrim is out on DVD today, y'all! I went to the screening here in NYC last evening with Edgar Wright and DP Bill Pope in attendance - not to mention Bill Hader, who popped out a couple times to do his hilarious Edgar Wright impression, and a late-arriving Keiran Culkin - and it was a fantastic time. The audience couldn't have been a more enthusiastic pack of nerds - normally I'd hate a rowdy audience but this movie's just so much head-spinning fun, it makes it hard to not get swept up yourself. (pic via)

That aside, like I said the DVD's out today and Edgar Wright just released the following clip on his blog in honor of that - y'all know how I go on and on about Metric's song "Black Sheep" off the soundtrack? Well here's actress Brie Larson's full performance of the song, of which we only see a little in the film. Now I have to scamper off and see if this has been turned into an mp3 yet. Need it on my Pod now!

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You Crack the Whip, Shape-shift & Trick

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Swiping this whole-hog from PopWrap but it's for a good cause - me. I need to remember to watch this live performance of Metric doing their song off of the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, "Black Sheep," aka the best song from any movie ever, in all time.

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Can you believe that I've never seen Metric live? I keep missing them when they're in town. Ugh! I am a failure at everything I have ever attempted and will ever attempt, in all time.
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Got Balls of Steel, Got an Automobile

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I tweeted about my obsession with Metric's song "Black Sheep" off of the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack the other day, and it hasn't subsided since then - I can and have listened to this song on repeat for hours. When I was doing laundry and dishes on Sunday I did just that - just this one song playing over and over and over, and it never stopped being totally awesome. I'll even admit that while hanging up my shirts I may have tried to shimmy just a little bit like Brie Larson does in the movie as Envy Adams, Scott's ex-girlfriend and the lead singer of The Clash at Demonhead, fictional movie band. Just a little. Shimmy.


Anyway there's an awesome article at the LAT from the other day where a bunch of the awesome figures behind Scott Pilgrim's awesome soundtrack chat about each individual (awesome) song, and I'd hate myself for not highlighting the bit about the Metric song, and nobody wants me to hate myself (more). Right?

"Song No. 12: "Black Sheep," Metric

After maintaining cult-favorite status for about a decade, Toronto's electronic-infused rockers Metric had a breakthrough with last year's "Fantasies." The band was an early target for "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and a perfect fit for a number reasons. One, the band is associated with the city in which the film is set, and two, lead singer Emily Haines was an inspiration for the way O'Malley drew Envy Adams (played in the film by Brie Larson) the lead singer of fictional band Clash at Demonhead.

Haines was flattered to hear the character was based on her, but contends that Envy is far more tough than she's capable of being, although she didn't use the word "tough" and instead opted for a phrase a family newspaper couldn't print. Yet if Envy is a caricature of Haines, the artist said "Black Sheep" is essentially a caricature of Metric. Originally intended for "Fantasies," Haines said the band felt it too obviously reflected the band's sound.

"Aspects of the song, the electro aspects of the band, and the abstract lyrical visualizations, are extreme examples of certain aspects of us," Haines said. "These are late-night conversations the band has had. Everyone has commentary on what you’re doing, and everyone has interpretations. But we are also looking at it. It’s not like we’re blindly going, ‘Oh, what’s this?’ We’re aware of what we have been, and what we want to be."

Godrich understood exactly what Haines was getting at. "It’s a very common criticism when you’re making records. You say, ‘Well, this sounds like somebody trying to be us.’ But that was perfect for this film. It’s not Metric. It’s a shadow of Metric."

The band re-recorded the song for the film, as Wright requested a slightly more "sinister" opening. The song now has an extended intro, with Larson on vocals offering a few 'oh yeah's," used in the film to taunt Scott and Ramona in the audience.

It's been a soundtrack summer for Metric, who also recorded the lead track for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." Haines said issues of branding aren't too heavily weighed in the act's decision to license, and she wasn't concerned, for instance, of the band forever being associated with the "Twilight" empire.

"In 2003, we would have loved to have been asked to write for a film like ‘Twilight’ or ‘Scott Pilgrim’," Haines said. "But we didn’t exist to anyone else, so it wasn’t an option. There’s no big leap happening. I should hope that after four albums and 10 years we would have more opportunities to get our music to people other than club shows.

"I’m not sitting around comparing the brand structures of Hollywood movies," Haines continued. "I look at the calendar. I look at my life. I look at what is possible as a musician.""

When I saw Scott Pilgrim the second time this past weekend - and it was just as wonderful, thank you very much - I had the question answered for me that I couldn't remember from my first viewing, whether it was Larson singing the song in the movie or if I'd just spaced on it being Haines' voice coming out of her body. But I love what Haines says about this song having fit their sound too perfectly, because I'd figured that Beck had written this song for them, and that's what made it sound that way. I was right, just in the wrong way! Usually it's the other way around.
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5 Off My Head - Albums Of '09

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Let's just get this outta the way: I am not a music writer. I've tried to write reviews of albums in the past and it comes out, "Ooh I like the way this sounds. Durrr... pretty." The end. I just lack the skills there. Well everywhere really but especially there. And besides that... I just don't listen to a lot of music. I mean I listen to music all the time... it's just the same music, over and over. At this point in my life I appear to have begun closing myself off, walling myself up, in my occasionally twee indie mope-rock cocoon. It's safe from monsters like Fergie in here! Oh sometimes a good pop song will break through the defenses - like the rest of the world, I do believe that I'm kinda sorta addicted to some Lady Gaga right now - but mostly, I just stick to my happy place. Give a big-eyed boy with a squeaky voice a banjo and a background of harpsichords and trombones and I'm in love. (Hi Sufjan!)

So. I'm not gonna be getting around to my movie-related Best of 2009 posts until next year. No way around that - there's still too much for me to see, and I still need to ruminate about a lot that I have already seen. But I can burn this music list off easily, because of everything I said in the previous paragraph. And none of these will surprise anyone who's ever noticed any of my music-related posts. I'm not even gonna try to review them either. Just representin'! These are just the five albums of 2009 that I have listened to the most and loved the most, and so on. You get the gist. Durrr.... pretty. Firstly, 5 runner's up:


Metric - Fantasies; Florence and the Machine - Lungs; The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love; Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You; and the Dark Was the Night compilation.

And now... My 5 favorite albums from 2009!

#5 A Camp - Colonia

#4 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

#3 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

#2 Yeahs Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

#1 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

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