Adam Green kommer med nytt album den 16 februari på Rough Trade. Jag har aldrig riktigt tagit mig an varken Adam´s eller Kimya Dawsons soloprojekt sedan de splittrade härligt skruvade Moldy Peaches, men det här låter faktiskt riktigt bra. Lou Reed spökar en del.

En första låt har släppts. Ladda ner den på Adam´s Myspace sida eller smaka på den först nedan.

 What Makes Him Act So Bad

You probably are familiar with The Moldy Peaches from the “Juno” soundtrack. If not, they are a bit of an acquired taste with funny lyrics, lo-fi recordings and quirky melodies. Singer Kimya Dawson has gone on to an even more successful solo career while rumors of The Moldy Peaches reuniting still abound.

The Moldy Peaches “Lucky #9″

Like what you see feel free to email me at tad@creativesquall.com and don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook. Check out the Creative Squall website to see how sketches grow up to be complete ideas.

Ewwwwwwww just remembered about this sexy-windmachine-x-factor-politicians-wife version of the Moldy Peaches song. Kimya Dawson did an awesome ranty blog post about it at the time, then loads of people shouted her down and she apologised. She was totes right in the first place though.

Here are 5 great duets (more duets on the way…):

1. “God Only Knows” — Beach Boys Cover by Mandy Moore & Michael Stipe

2. “Love Hurts” — Everly Brothers/Roy Orbison/Nazareth Cover by Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice

3. “Anyone Else But You” — Moldy Peaches Cover by Ellen Page & Michael Cera in Juno

4. “Sometimes Always” — The Jesus and Mary Chain

5. “Delaware” (Acoustic) — Wesley Jensen and Christie Dupree

Ok i’m not a huge fan of the moldy peaches, but I do find them funny. This song, Nothing Came Out, is par for the course in terms of being out there, but I love the lyrics:

Just because I don’t say anything,
Doesn’t mean I don’t like you.
I open my mouth and I try and i try
But no words came out.

Without 40 oz. of social skills
I’m just an ass in the crack of humanity.
I’m just a huge manatee.
A huge manatee.

And besides you’re probably holding hands
With some skinny, pretty girl that likes to
Talk about bands and
All I wana do is ride bikes with you
And stay up late and watch cartoons.

Duck Tales, shirt tails, Talespin, Sailor Moon, GI Joe, Robotech, Ron Jeremy, Schmoo.

I wanna watch cartons with you.
Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby Doo,
I want you to watch cartoons with me.
He-man, Voltron and Hong-Kong-Fui

I tried to ask you to your face
But no words came out.
I put on my hood and walked away,
That doosn’t mean I don’t like you.

And besides your probably holding hands
With some skinny, pretty girl that likes to
Talk about bands and
All I wanna do is ride bikes with you,
And stay up late and maybe spoon.

Just becase I dont say anything
Doesn’t mean I dont like you.
No…
I opened my mouth and i tried and i tried.

And besides you’re probably holding hands
With some skiny, pretty girl that likes to
Talk about bands and
All I wanna do is ride bikes with you.
And stay up late and watch cartoons.

I’m just your average Thundercats ho.

Juno didn’t just make us all wake up and see the talents of an awesome Ellen Page. It made us remember how crushingly good the pairing of Kimya Dawson and Adam Green was. True, Juno’s success might have resulted in a surreal and uncomfortable Moldy Peaches performance on the View, but if a few more people stumble across similar idiosyncratic pop hopefully Adam and Kimya’s grins will get even cuter.

Searching out the Terrordactyls‘ latest would be a good starting point. Kimya has already lent her charm to their previous self-titled album and this EP, a sweet collection of toy piano, swaying anti-folk and wispy vocals, would look lovely cuddled up to your Moldy Peaches and Jeffrey Lewis records.

The five songs here are all Pharmacy covers, in tribute to Mike Bowers, father of Pharmacy drummer Brendhan, and reportedly a man of great hospitality. On “Prince” and “Growing Old” the toy piano and  kazoo might eventually grate for some people, but in “Overcast Summer”, a spark of warm Elliot Smith depth, they hint at maturing into something truly endearing.

btw terrordactyls.com is well worth a visit. Terrordactyls CDs are all hand-made and feature lovely pop-up bulldozers and such-like. You can buy special Terrordactyls kazoos at their store.

Overcast Summer (by the Pharmacy) – the Terrordactyls

the Terrordactyls and Kimya Dawson – Devices

since it was the millionth time that I saw the movie I decided to only listen to the lyrics in the soundtrack. Check it out and I guarantee you will get sucked into the world of country. 

P.S. The last song is my favorite.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) Club Edit
N.A.S.A. – Strange Enough (Mr. Oizo Remix)
Echo & The Bunnymen – Life Of 1,000 Crimes
Lush – Laura
Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
The Almighty Defenders – Cone Of Light
The Soft Pack – Fences (Phoenix Cover)
The Moldy Peaches – NYC’s Like A Graveyard
Mean Jeans – Born On A Saturday Night
OOIOO – O O I A H
Dani – H Comme Hippies
Coconut Records – Saint Jerome
Flaming Lips & Stardeath White Dwarfs – Borderline (Madonna cover)
Converge – Cruel Bloom
The xx – Night Time

Télécharger le fichier mp3!

If there were a mantra for Juno, it would come from an unlikely source, Bowling for Columbine.  Michael Moore summed up teenage life in a sentence when he said “What adults always seem to forget, is how much it sucks to be a teen.”  Whether it was American Graffiti,  Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, or American Pie filmmakers have constantly, sometimes classically found comedy in just how truly terrifying and dreadful teenage life is.  In time Juno will take its place among those classics.

Much like the films mentioned above, Juno but both the film and its central character refuse to be pegged. 16-year-old Juno McGuff (Academy Award Nominee Ellen Page) is a sarcastic brat, who despite her 5 foot 2 frame can’t help but stand out as she walks the halls of her high school. She’s almost too smart and self aware and more importantly the character feels cut from decade and plopped into this  decade.

Her inner circle defies stereotypes and is populated with Leah (Olivia Thirlby , United 93) her best friend/schools cheerleaders. Leah and Juno serve and volley a slang all there own, a blend of Ebonics meets cute cultural references through the lens of a white bread suburb. They use terms like “Silencio,” “Yo Yo Yiggady Yo,” and “Honest to blog.” No one seems to mind that the two logically would exist outside of each other’s cliques.

Her only other “friend” her age is a clever character uniquely cut out of high school. Arrested Development alum Michael Cera (Superbad) plays Bleaker a frail dork-jock pseudo-boyfriend. Bleaker is an awkward soft spoken champion runner in starched gold short shorts, stolen from the 1980’s NBA. Bleaker and Juno are dating without saying they’re dating and its that relationship which launches the movie.

A domineering Juno sleeps with a nervous yet very willing Bleaker, and finds out she’s pregnant. Juno tells Bleaker and Leah  decides to abort the child.  Until in strangely hilarious turn of events around the abortion clinic she learns that unborn babies have fingernails. Juno’s decision to have the baby and give it up for adoption  is when the film hits its stride. Diving into Juno’s best element, its meaty well drawn supporting characters and its outstanding cast.

Its easy to get lost in all the accolades laid at the feet of Page who deservedly been given the next Hollywood it girl tag. But the film’s best performance came from an it-girl who didn’t pan out ex- Alias star Jennifer Garner. Juno handpicks The Lorings, Vanessa (Garner) and her husband Mark, a brilliant Jason Bateman (Golden Globe winning Arrested Development Alum ) from the penny saver to be the perfect family for her child. Every time Garner is on screen you could feel an emptiness that she’s yearning to fill. And that that all she is that she believes that being a mother solves all. This is especially evident when Juno meets the Lorings and  inadvertently hurts Vanessa. In a moment without tears or dramatic speech  she said it all.

Ex-West Wing star and multiple Emmy winner Allison Janney steps in as another magnificently misshapen surprise of a character, Juno’s stepmom Bren a nail salon owner who has married Juno’s father Mac (J.K. Simmons of Law & Order, Spiderman Trilogy)  a decade earlier. Both resentful and motherly at the same time she steps up to fill in for Juno’s mom who for the entire film is off in parts unknown. While Simmons character scolds, supports, Juno. His manner and mannerisms also help explain how Juno became Juno.

With all this, the film hinges on Ellen Page’s pitch perfect performance.  Her mix of naiveté, strength, and even more impressive
using her sharp tongue  to get through moments of weakness is awe-inspiring and terrific on many levels. A teen that walks and talk like Juno isn’t easily believable until you see Ellen Page do it.

The films few flaws come from its script and its score. Academy Award nominated First time Screenwriter Diablo Cody’s screenplay is very funny but almost too self reverential. Too often the movie feels like it exists in a Generation X fantasy land.  Juno not only listens to but deifies 70s and 80s punk,  which isn’t as far fetched with the onslaught of file sharing makes it more plausible for this generation to connect musically with the past then say Ferris Bueller jump on parade float and sing Danke Schoen.

But Juno doesn’t stop there, she uses phrases like “THUNDERCATS ARE GO!” from the 80’s cartoon and references Etch-sketches and Diana Ross. While that may seem knit picky and its possible that today’s outsider 16-year-old would know those references its highly unlikely. And the fact that those references are slathered on the film while under-representing how electronic and internet driven Americans under 30 are is a major mistake. There are few if any cellphones, no Myspace, Facebook, or reality television, in the film. Sans Juno’s I-pod I could easily believe this film was set in 1997.

The film’s soundtrack is over praised, overused yet beautiful. The Moldy Peaches fit both the film and the character. If used sparingly instead of slamming the viewer over the head with  film’s hipness it would be more effective. Instead the film’s score is another causality post-Garden State. Music can be a character, but it can also easily be a distraction. Often during the film it was.

Juno is at times awkward, sweet, abrasive, laugh out loud funny, and to be honest  it has all the pros and cons of a teenage girl. When a film achieves all that its quite the feat. And I say bravo.

Adam Green’s recorder playing is beyond amazing.

Best cup of coffee ever

Ugh. Worst writing day ever. Drank way too much coffee and couldn’t concetrate. The first paragraph of my novel sounds like nonsense. It started to rain as I walked home from the coffee shop.

I had idealistic ideas of what my writing life would be when I started out. Scribbling in notebooks at little coffeeshops in Soho, drinking cup after cup of great coffee, lines appearing as though by magic.

It didn’t quite happen like that. Instead I spent an hour and a half in a way-to-cold coffee shop, trying to think of something to write while the Moldy Peaches played over and over. I felt like such an amateur! I’ve written before. I’ve written entire novels before. Since when do I sit at the same table for over an hour and come up with nothing?

When I got home the Boyfriend was there and that perked me up a little. He made me a smoked paprika and proscuitto crostini (which is when he marinates the proscuitto in paprika-flavored olive oil and then drizzles it over toasted bread). It tasty like salty, bacon-flavored heaven.

I sat in front of the computer again and spent another hour not writing, but rather than stress about it, I’m just considering it the first stage of the writing process: procrastination. I think I’ll continue this process now by looking up funny videos on hulu and bugging Boyfriend while he cooks.

Just because we use cheats doesn’t mean we’re not smart

Unwichtiges fett markiert hervorheben, um sein Gesicht nicht zeigen zu müssen.
Ich öffne die Augen, meine Hände liegen vor meinen Gesicht, mein Körper liegt auf meinem Bett. Ich habe Angst, meine Lungen blockieren, kriege keine Luft, ich kann nicht aufstehen, mich nicht aufsetzen, ich sehe meine Hände, kann aber nichts mit ihnen anfangen, nicht mal einen Finger krümmen. Ich bin gelähmt. Panik breitet sich in mir aus, ich will noch nicht sterben, ich will nur leben, nichts weiter, nur leben. Direkt neben mir liegt mein Telefon, ich will nach Hilfe rufen, ich kann nicht, ich bin machtlos.
Eines Nachts schwamm ich hinaus in ein tiefdunkles Meer, um mit bloßen Händen Fische zu fangen. Während die Fische scharenweise zwischen meinen Fingern hindurchglitten, wurde mir klar, dass ich meine Kräfte überschätzt, dass ich keine Chance hatte, alleine im Meer, und beschloss zurückzuschwimmen. Doch indessen hatten sich meine Lungen bereits mit Wasser gefüllt, da ich meinen Mund vor Anstrengung nicht mehr zu schließen vermochte. Ohne es zu bemerken war ich schon längst ertrunken.
Völlig teilnahmslos starrten die Fische mich an, sahen, wie ich langsam begann mich in meine Bestandteile aufzulösen.

My soon-to-be 22-year-old daughter introduced me to the music of a duo called the Moldy Peaches. Singer Kimya Dawson has done solo work that is awesome as well.

Their music was featured in the movie “Juno.” If you have not seen it, you should.

I am posting the link to this Moldy Peaches song here, not because it has anything specifically to do with mental illness, but because the sentiment is such a positive mentally healthy one:

Moldy Peaches

Anyone Else But You

uma musica que me deixa feliz sempre é “anyone else but you” do Moldy Peaches – que faz parte da trilha sonora do filme Juno! Amo a música, amo o filme, amo a trilha sonora, amo esse final… lá vai o vídeo

This is a two parts post that’ll include my favorite movie-songs, tell me what you think when you listen to them, or if you already know them!

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) – Nancy Sinatra [Download]
From the soundtrack of Kill Bill vol.1, this is the first song that plays in the movie, and believe it’ll be in your head until the end of the second movie. It’s not originally made for the movie, but the inclusion for it in the movie is of vital importance.

Heavy - Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé & Anika Noni Rose [Download]
One of my favorite songs from the soundtrack of Dreamgirls, wish it was longer, not only 1:33 minutes. My favorite bit is: “You used to dance, instead of walk, you never had to talk, talk, talk!”

You Must Love Me – Madonna [Download]
Taken from Evita, let me just state something, I hate Madonna (Madonna the person, not the music), HATE her guts, but this song is undeniably beautiful (as is a lot of her music). I have yet to watch Evita, but it’s on my watchlist.

Love To Love You Baby – No Doubt [Download]
A cover of Donna Summer’s megahit by No Doubt, which is unlikely, but it works in their favor, it’s an absolute delight!

So Close – Jon McLaughlin [Download]
One of the best Disney movie-songs in a long while, it was nominated for an oscar, but sadly lost. It still remains one of my all-time favorite Disney songs.

Anyone Else But You – The Moldy Peaches [Download]
From Juno’s soundtrack, I bet most of you already know this song, it still sounds just as beautiful and fresh as it did when I first heard it.

Are You Feelin’ Me – Aaliyah [Download]
Always, ending at high notes. Of the three Aaliyah songs on the soundtrack, this is my absolute favorite, by a mile. If you don’t know it, then get loadin’.

Sticking with the animal theme and looking back on the previous week, I present this week’s Monday Morning Mixtape, “Little Bunny Foo Foo”.  As always click the picture below to download the .zip with the MP3s, drag those digital files into your Zunes, iTunes, Songbirds, etc. And arrange them in the playlist below, or make your own order. Also, remember that these songs should serve of samples and are compiled from some highly recommended bands. Go out and support your local record stores and buy the albums of bands you like or purchase their merch, tickets to their show, etc.

Monday Morning Mixtape #12: Little Bunny Foo Foo

The freak folk explosion is still in existance, it just lives a little more underground now. This doesn’t stop Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom from being in a documentry together. The two will be featured in the new Kevin Barker (of Currituck Co.) film called ‘The Family Jams’. Yes we guess the family does jam but we’re hoping it doesn’t become a family tragedy.

Barker is also a member of the band Vetiver, who toured with Banhart and Newsom in the summer of 2004, which is when he shot his footage.

Judging from the trailer the film looks really interesting. It chronicles the artists  mainly from their ’smaller’ days of clubs and art galleries and vans. There seems that there will be some specatacular live footage in the fil,m as well. The Sarasota Film Festival will show the film first on April 2nd and 3rd.

Watch the trailer for ‘The Family Jams’  HERE