We're watching the Saddle Creek DVD, right now.
An Evening With Saddle Creek
Grade: C+
10:48 p.m.
First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Mark Ritsema (of Battle Royale and Mouthful of Bees fame) for lending this fine documentary to me earlier today. To be perfectly honest, Pete and I have been working on the site for the past 30 minutes, so I actually haven't been paying too much attention to the film, but being the nerd I am with already creepy knowledge of Saddle Creek's history from high school, I'm sure I can fill in the gaps.
But so far, all I've seen are a slew of of bad haircuts and a lot of pensive boys - and I already knew those guys existed. Actually, come to think of it, this label seriously lacked a strong, or any, source of estrogen - probably why all the early records are so filled with rage.
It's getting to the part where the Faint is starting to take off. Blank-Wave Arcade just came out and it seems like things are coming together. I really did love that record when it came out. It puts almost every modern "dance" album to shame that has been made in the past five years.
Oh, oh. The screen just faded to black and the words "Bright Eyes" faded in. Conor's cute, but man, when he was younger he was definitely having issues with his self-image; but it didn't stop him from writing good songs.
11:02 p.m.
They're recapping the release of Fevers and Mirrors, which is my third-favorite Bright Eyes disc. It's exciting to watch the surprise on their faces and in their stories of sort of, "Wait, you want to buy this CD?"
11:07 p.m.
It's moved on to Cursive, who might be my favorite Saddle Creek band all-around. Tim Kasher, although a bit on the irresponsible side, seems to have his shit the most together. Whenever I've interviewed him for any piece (see Good Life article), he's been fairly articulate, and seems like he really has a goal that he can see and is going for, and I can respect that. He's even being self-depricating, claiming that he was an idiot to think he could leave Omaha and simply start a band and make it without his roots. That's something to remember.
11:15 p.m.
The film is now totally talking about Greta (Cursive's cello player), one of the complete highlights of the band and of maybe all rock music everywhere in the world. If Cursive can be attributed with one contribution to the world of music, it could be the use of a cello in a non-wussy, complete bad-ass fashion, and totally pulling it off. Not to mention that Greta is adorable beyond a doubt.
11:52 p.m.
The documentary is now over and the columns page is almost ready to go. The documentary didn't really function as a documentary, but more as a promotional tool for the label - which isn't a bad idea to be perfectly honest. Every was shown in an up-up-up light, with very little regard for the negative aspects of quitting your job and running a label - or any other labor of love situation for that matter. So, I doubt its authenticity and accuracy, but really, what should I expect? It also glossed over Desaparecidos, which is a shame because they're great and could be something big if the band had time.
Well, being that this is our first column, and we wrote it in the same room at the same time stream-of-consciously while watching a documentary, I think we did fine. Every Friday, Pete and I will post 400 words on whatever the hell is on our minds that week, and hopefully it will entertain you, oh interweb reader. Visit frequently, because this site will only get better.
xoxo,
Ian
Grade: C+
10:48 p.m.
First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Mark Ritsema (of Battle Royale and Mouthful of Bees fame) for lending this fine documentary to me earlier today. To be perfectly honest, Pete and I have been working on the site for the past 30 minutes, so I actually haven't been paying too much attention to the film, but being the nerd I am with already creepy knowledge of Saddle Creek's history from high school, I'm sure I can fill in the gaps.
But so far, all I've seen are a slew of of bad haircuts and a lot of pensive boys - and I already knew those guys existed. Actually, come to think of it, this label seriously lacked a strong, or any, source of estrogen - probably why all the early records are so filled with rage.
It's getting to the part where the Faint is starting to take off. Blank-Wave Arcade just came out and it seems like things are coming together. I really did love that record when it came out. It puts almost every modern "dance" album to shame that has been made in the past five years.
Oh, oh. The screen just faded to black and the words "Bright Eyes" faded in. Conor's cute, but man, when he was younger he was definitely having issues with his self-image; but it didn't stop him from writing good songs.
11:02 p.m.
They're recapping the release of Fevers and Mirrors, which is my third-favorite Bright Eyes disc. It's exciting to watch the surprise on their faces and in their stories of sort of, "Wait, you want to buy this CD?"
11:07 p.m.
It's moved on to Cursive, who might be my favorite Saddle Creek band all-around. Tim Kasher, although a bit on the irresponsible side, seems to have his shit the most together. Whenever I've interviewed him for any piece (see Good Life article), he's been fairly articulate, and seems like he really has a goal that he can see and is going for, and I can respect that. He's even being self-depricating, claiming that he was an idiot to think he could leave Omaha and simply start a band and make it without his roots. That's something to remember.
11:15 p.m.
The film is now totally talking about Greta (Cursive's cello player), one of the complete highlights of the band and of maybe all rock music everywhere in the world. If Cursive can be attributed with one contribution to the world of music, it could be the use of a cello in a non-wussy, complete bad-ass fashion, and totally pulling it off. Not to mention that Greta is adorable beyond a doubt.
11:52 p.m.
The documentary is now over and the columns page is almost ready to go. The documentary didn't really function as a documentary, but more as a promotional tool for the label - which isn't a bad idea to be perfectly honest. Every was shown in an up-up-up light, with very little regard for the negative aspects of quitting your job and running a label - or any other labor of love situation for that matter. So, I doubt its authenticity and accuracy, but really, what should I expect? It also glossed over Desaparecidos, which is a shame because they're great and could be something big if the band had time.
Well, being that this is our first column, and we wrote it in the same room at the same time stream-of-consciously while watching a documentary, I think we did fine. Every Friday, Pete and I will post 400 words on whatever the hell is on our minds that week, and hopefully it will entertain you, oh interweb reader. Visit frequently, because this site will only get better.
xoxo,
Ian
posted by MPLSFR at 12:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home