TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY

If any film yet this year has the chance to emerge, years from now, as a cult classic discovered only on DVD by those unlucky enough to witness its glory on the big screen during its brief theatrical run, that movie would be TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY. Snakes on a Plane was, in the end, too much the public's cult film...a cult film for those who have never truly been a part of a small group rallying around a film nobody could ever appreciate but them, but desperate to ironically latch onto what they assumed everyone regarded as a massive joke.

But THE PICK OF DESTINY is the real thing.

It's nonstop rock (nay, RAWK!) from the start to the finish at its 93-minute mark. It's a stoner comedy that blasted Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell all night long while barreling down road at 120 miles per hour and lived to tell the tale.

The central yarn revolves Jack Black and Kyle Gass' quest to find the mythical pick of destiny, which would allow them to rock as hard as the legends and thus pay their rent. There's a kick-ass break-in scene, an awesome car chase, and a showdown with the devil himself (played by non other than Foo Fighter's leading man David Grohl). It's a funny movie, but only a comedy by default. It is, above all else...a ROCK movie.

It you love rock n' roll (and by rock I mean ROCK...I'm talkin' Queen, Dio, Zeppelin, Meat Loaf, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Guns n' Roses, KISS, AC/DC), THE PICK OF DESTINY was crafted in the fires of Hell for you and your legions. Go...and know its glory.

Also, any movie that has Meat Loaf in it is automatically in the running for greatest motion picture of all time.

In Spokane, this is normal

I was walking back from philosophy when:



all of a sudden a car pulls onto the curb in front of Robinson House and the driver gets out and walks away.

(note that the snow is where the curb ends)

Chin Up Chin Up [live]

I like this band, but I could never get too into them. I think it was the lack of choruses. Seeing them live put a whole new perspective on it. Chin Up Chin Up is an instrumental band- one that happens to sing. They don't have a great (or even mediocre to be honest) vocalist, so they don't force something that wouldn't work well: where a normal band would put a chorus, these guys step away from the mic and let the audience hear the great melodies they put together and the way all the band members interact with each other. In that manner they're kind of like Built to Spill. This was the last show of their tour to support their new album This Harness Can't Ride Anything (MmGravy) and they were playing to a small crowd in a shitty venue. But they played like they loved their songs and they had everyone dancing.

I guess art pop is their most common description, but I don't like it. They're a rock band that plays guitar almost exclusively on the high frets, has a very active bass (but one that is mixed low, which I like), a keyboardist who fills in the spaces, and a drummer who does a great job sequencing with the guitars, kicks off all the songs really well, and unobtrusively drives the band. All this makes the sound energetic and easy on the ears, but it was clear watching them that this was rock sounding poppy rather than pop made to sound like rock. They hit three choruses all night long; all were guttural, authentic, and satisfying pieces of their songs. My friend calls it sissy indie which I think may be a contradiction in terms

The setlist was tight, there wasn't a ton of banter, and there was no encore.

I met their bass player (he owns the record label my friend works for) and my friends and I took him up to the station for an interview/plug. He stole one of the posters for the show on his way down the staircase. He reminded me of Mr. Daley.

If you have the chance to see them, please do so. This was a very good example of how seeing a band live can increase your love of them and their music, which is tough when you're just playing them out of your computer speakers. Take the opportunity and you'll be dancing and humming afterwards.

Rating: MMGravy

post script
Its a good thing I wasn't reviewing concerts before, I would have always been gushing seeing as how I didn't have a bank with which to compare shows. That said something tells me shows will almost always have higher rating than their respective albums.

Movie Catch-Up

Well, hesitant though I may be to admit it, there are some other good movies out besides The Fountain (just go see it! Please!), so here's a rundown of everything I've seen since...I dunno, mid-November I guess.

While I am a big fan of Ben's rating system, I'm not gonna use it. It's sort of a mental thing where it suddenly becomes a competition for every movie ("If I gave Movie X a 75, is Movie Y really an 80? It is...but it's not REALLY better than Movie X..."). It's totally my own insanity, but what'll you do.

STRANGER THAN FICTION - The kind of movie that gets the film geek inside of me all happy - a director (Marc Forster, Finding Neverland) putting out yet another very fresh film from a completely original script by a first-time screenwriter (Zach Helm, who has a very bright future) with a cast you would never otherwise see together (when else would Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Queen Latifah have cause to join together?). Will Ferrell's fantastic in it.

HARSH TIMES - The movie, which mostly deals with the psychological scars left by military life, is only slightly above average. Christian Bale's performance, however, is incredible, and the movie's entertaining enough. Definitely a dude flick.

FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS - One of those difficult movies that's really well made, but is just too weird for most people (me, I just didn't care for it).

CASINO ROYALE - It's damn good, if a little long for its own good, and Daniel Craig is a great James Bond, but the best Bond movie ever? Hardly. I'll take Goldeneye any day.

OLD JOY - Hey, look, a true indie movie shot in Oregon! And it really made me miss home, but not because there's a shot outside the Franz bread company on 12th, but because it really evokes that "Portland vibe."

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION - New movie by Christopher Guest and company (the guys who did Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind), and the first 2/3rds really feel like it. Then the final act starts and it just gets...sad...but not in a good way. At all.

DEJA VU - I love time travel movies, I really do. And while this isn't anywhere near the glory of Primer, it's pretty damn great and pretty damn geeky. There's a car chase sequence that's unlike anything ever done that'll cement this movie in history.

This week, I'm seeing Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (SO EXCITED!), Blood Diamond, and The Nativity Story. Then next weekend, Apocalypto comes out (which by all accounts is going to be incredible), along with some movie called Fuck that's basically a documentary about the word. I'm going for the portions of the an interview with the late Hunter S. Thompson. And because it's a fun word. Also, The Holiday comes out, but I'd rather see that right before Christmas (girls, wait for me to get home, I really want to see it with you).

Tromple-L'oeil

These French Canadians:


Made this album:


For you:
I wish I could insert an internet mirror here.

After a short intro, Malajube hits you with "Montréal -40°C", a song that goes from dance to twee to some delicious combo. "Pâte Filo" is great energetic pop followed by "Le Crabe", by which point you wonder if Malajube has discovered a melody mine where they go, dig these suckers up, and then proceed to stuff like ten in per song, like they don't plan to make another album. "La Monogamie" is another strong cut, followed by "Ton Plat Favori" which is the soundtrack to going to the carnival on uppers I think.

They start to lose a little creativity (but never spunk) on "La Russe" and "Fille À Plumes", after which the record takes a decidedly different turn. "Casse-Cou" alternates between calm pop and metal freakout, setting you up for my favorite track on the record, "Étienne D'août". I guess the band found one hook they could all agree on -and you'll hear why- and built a five and a half minute song around it. It rises and falls beautifully, and in general reminds me Slowdive. This should have been the end of the album (which would make it a concise 35 minutes, just about right for a pop album) but they tack on "St-Fortunat", a throwaway, and "La Fin", almost eleven minutes long-45 seconds of instrumental, eight minutes of silence-and a nice little minute and a half of a sketch of a song. Pointless and stupid.

So if you want some energetic disco rock where you never know what's coming next (e.g. they actually try rapping at one point), or just want to hear men singing in French (you know who you are), there are a few of the songs in the link, as well as some that aren't on this album (their first). If you're a big Unicorns/Islands fan, give it a shot.

Rating: mMGravy