Roisin Murphy - Hairless Toys

I have loved Roisin Murphy for a while now so I'm super psyched that she has a new album, "Hairless Toys," coming out May 12th. I will say that it's a little more low key and sparse than my previous favorites by her. But there is still that hint of funk, her sultry voice, and even some gorgeous ballad-like songs. I think my favorite track is Uninvited Guest. I also can't wait to hear some of the inevitable remixes that are made from this album.

Check out the music video for the first single, Exploitation:


Tracklist:
1. Gone Fishing
2. Evil Eyes
3. Exploitation
4. Uninvited Guest
5. Exile
6. House of Glass
7. Hairless Toys (Gotta Hurt)
8. Unputdownable

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival - Day 3

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Peace Officer

 

Peace Officer is the most important film you will see this year. While it doesn’t address the racial aspect of police brutality that is a prominent issue right now in the US, it shines a stunning light on the militarization of the police force and how the police are in many cases escalating violence unnecessarily. It’s also told in the most gripping way – by reconstructing crime scenes with the film’s protagonist, William “Dub” Lawrence, a former Sherriff who bought the SWAT gear and trained some of his men in the very tactics that eventually led to the death of his son-in-law. What’s particularly astonishing is how Dub finds evidence - lots of pieces of evidence, some damning to the police involved - that the police officers investigating the events didn’t find, months or more after the fact. The thing that struck me the most was that it really seems like something that could happen to anyone: the cases they follow in this film were mostly minor infractions, and they even tell of a situation where officers raided the wrong house on a military AWOL charge and the owner had come to the door with a baseball bat. The officer told the owner something to the effect of “it’s a good thing you didn’t come to the door with a gun, or I’d have wasted you.” Really that guy is lucky that he didn’t get shot, as the film shows other situations where people with golf clubs or other weapons, thinking their house is being invaded, get killed. The film ends on a slightly hopeful note, though: despite all the unnecessary death, the Utah legislature made some changes to the oversight and accountability of investigations at the hands of police, and advocates are trying to get further measures enacted.

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(T)error

 

This is the second most important film you’ll see this year. It’s essentially about the FBI entrapping people. I actually don’t want to go into too much detail because there’s a bit of an unexpected plot twist that makes the film much more enjoyable (the first half is honestly pretty boring) but I will say that these filmmakers had unprecedented access to an FBI informant who let them film him on a mission and the results are terrifying. It's also interesting because they basically frame the informant (and any informant, really) as a sociopath. It’s definitely a must-see.

Deep Web

 

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Can you sense a theme? I had an entire day full of films about distrust in government and I left feeling very depressed and angry and helpless. Deep Web is about, well, the "deep web" - the semi-secret, open web, particularly a marketplace called The Silk Road, a sort of anarchist internet utopia which was used for selling illegal drugs, among other things. It follows the story of both the Silk Road and also Ross William Ulbricht, who is arrested for his involvement in it. The scary part is how this guy sort of becomes the government’s scapegoat and takes the fall when he clearly wasn’t the only person operating this thing and how he doesn’t seem to be getting a fair trial. Also, the whole war against drugs is highlighted in a way that really shows the absurdity and uselessness of it all, since new sites immediately replaced The Silk Road when it was taken down.

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival - Day 2

The Farewell

The Farewell was a not very short short. It was, just like Kings of Nowhere, beautifully shot and meditative, with charming moments. But it was also really boring and way too long. If this is the filmmaking style that's in vogue now, count me out.
 
Overburden

Overburden is a touching but depressing film about coal mining in West Virginia (particularly mountain top removal), told from the perspective of two women on either side of the issue (one for, one against). It's a deeply personal look into the effects that coal has on individual people, which most of us who don't live that life wouldn't get to see without this film. I can legitimately say that I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I got excited. It was all the feels. It did me feeling a little hopeless, even though there were some victories. But unfortunately that's the way life is often times, and this is a documentary after all. And it's also nice to see a film that is offering actual solutions instead of just presenting a problem.

Crooked Candy

This was a great example of what a short film. It was actually short, it was paced well, nicely shot, and it probably took the filmmaker a few days to make. It definitely made me want to go out and find a compelling short that I could film in a day or two, especially since this film has hit a lot of the major festivals.

Curious Worlds

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Curious Worlds is a film about artist, David Beck. The film is worth seeing just to see David’s works, many of which are in private collections so you wouldn’t get to see them on your own. The intricacy of every piece is astounding and the film does a great job of helping you to appreciate his work – a woman behind me gasped literally dozens of times throughout the movie at the awe of it all. That being said, the film was much too long and got a little boring. I almost fell asleep and the only thing that kept me awake was not wanting to miss a cool piece of art.

The Land

 

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The Land was a short. I didn’t see the corresponding feature because I was just a little burnt out after two features and two shorts, so I took a break. But The Land was exactly what I needed to perk up my mood a bit. It’s about an adventure playground in Wales where the kids can play with things like fire and tools and rope swings and they can climb trees freely. They’re supervised, but the supervisors only really make suggestions and don’t step in unless it’s a true emergency. The motto the woman who started it quotes is, “broken bones are better than broken spirits.” The kids are hilarious, too. It’s a super entertaining film and it shows that letting kids learn and make mistakes is important, and they usually seemed to make the right decisions in the end. Apparently there are adventure playgrounds all over the world, even a few in the US.

3 1/2 Minutes

 
3 1/2 minutes is about the murder of teenager Jordan Davis, the dangers of Florida's "stand your ground" law, and the trial of his killer, Michael Dunn. It's obviously incredibly timely with everything going on in the country right now. It's also pretty terrifying how obliviously racist Michael Dunn is - Michael Dunn probably didn't think of himself as racist, but his lack of self-awareness of his racism is exactly what made him so dangerous and what ended up killing Jordan Davis. The filmmakers were the one crew allowed in the courtroom, so they had great access. They also obtained footage from when Michael Dunn turned himself in, and phone calls to his fiance from prison, in which he says crazy ignorant things about the kids like "they're gangster rappers."

The Wolfpack

The Wolfpack is one of those stranger-than-fiction scenarios. It's about a family with 7 children (6 boys who all look virtually identical, just slightly different ages) who were basically sequestered in their Manhattan project apartment by their not-entirely-sane-and-sort-of-abusive father, never really allowed to leave, and living their life through movies. It's delightful to watch them re-enact their favorite films. They were particularly fond of Tarintino so there was a lot of Resevoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. But the film is serious too. It's a life I could never imagine living, and how they managed to turn out relatively well-adjusted is astounding to me. The filmmaker apparently stumbled upon the boys on the streets of NYC one day, on one of their rare outings, and they were all dressed identically and had long ponytails, which piqued her interest. Quite the story to stumble upon.

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival - Day 1

This year I had the pleasures of attending Full Frame for the first time. Overall I very much enjoyed it. It's a little more exclusive than I wish it was (getting into the parties requires you to know someone or be a filmmaker, even if you have a pass). Also, I had a 15-film pass and 15 films is way too much for such a short festival, especially since Thursday and Sunday weren't full days due to the drive. It meant seeing a film in every available slot for which I was there, including 5 films in one day on Friday and Saturday. I learned that 3 films in a day (or, 3 plus a short) is pretty much my limit and I ended up skipping a few. I did see 4 in one day but I hated myself for it.

Also, shout out to the Moorehead Manor B&B. It was an amazing place to stay - lovely old mansion with some of the most delicious breakfast I've ever eaten. The owners were so nice and there were always fresh baked goods out. It was one of my favorite places I've ever stayed.

Day 1

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Kings of Nowhere

Kings of Nowhere was a beautifully shot film about a very interesting subject that was really boring. I fell asleep. I don’t think I have ever fallen asleep during a movie at a theater in my entire life. And it was the first film I saw, so it’s not even like I was burned out on movies at that point. The film is about three families in a town that has been abandoned because it mostly flooded when a damn was built nearby. While the film is very meditative, there are some truly beautiful moments, and the subjects can be quite funny, nothing really happens. At all. The whole time. They even allude to violence that has them somewhat living in fear, but they never fully explain it. I won’t say I disliked the film. Parts of it were magical, but it was way too long and it did not deserve the Jury Prize for the festival in the least bit.

The Circus Dynasty

Circus Dynasty is an intimate look at two European Circus families, who everyone is hoping will merge through the relationship of the son of one family and the daughter of the other. While I enjoyed the film, it left me puzzled at times as to what style they were going to. Parts of it were beautifully shot and had a dream like quality, while most was very verite. Sometimes they had very intimate access to the subjects but a lot of the times the filmmakers seemed to keep their distance. I know it's hard to be all up in people's most intimate moments with a camera like that but if you're going to go for it, you gotta GO FOR IT. I think perhaps the film was shot in bits and pieces, as sometimes happens in documentary when stories span years. That being said, it was a sweet film with some awe-inspiring acrobatics that really tugs at the heartstrings and I will admit I got a little teary at the end.

AWOLNATION at SXSW

My favorite show during the music festival portion of SXSW was the 101X showcase, coincidentally at the same venue (ACL Moody Theater) as my overall favorite show, The Flaming Lips. I was there for Priory, Big Data (who is primarily who I was there to see), and AWOLNATION.

I had never heard of Priory before that night, but they were really fun. Although I'm sure I had probably heard Weekend and maybe even Put 'em Up before and just hadn't realized who it was by. They had a lot of energy, told stories between songs a bit, and the lead singer even crowd-surfed. By the end of the set, I really wanted to be friends with them because they seemed like really cool guys.

The lead singer of Priory crowd-surfing

Big Data, whose music I am a big fan of, was actually a little bit of a disappointment in comparison to Priory. They didn't have as much energy or stage presence. I really expected more, honestly. I still enjoyed their show and maybe had they not been in this particular line-up I wouldn't have felt the same but they were my least favorite of the three.

AWOLNATION, on the other hand, blew me away. Like many others at the show(much to the band's chagrin I'm sure), I only knew "Sail" when I walked in the venue that night. I wasn't sure if I would like the rest of their set but they were fantastic. They had so much energy, lead singer Aaron Bruno's voice has this amazing ability to go from raspy, dark scream to beautiful, smooth melody on the turn of a dime. Plus he jumped/danced his ass off throughout the show. Despite not having the crazy production value of the Flaming Lips, it was pretty epic just based on his performance. Definitely go see them if you have the chance. I will say, though, you can tell they're really sick of performing "Sail" - that was Bruno's least energetic performance and he pretty much left the stage the second he was done singing, despite the song not being over. So do them a favor and don't yell "SAIL!" throughout the whole show.

SXSW - Ex Machina

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The one and only film I managed to see at SXSW was Ex Machina, a sci-fi thriller that addresses big moral questions but leaves it largely up to the audience to decide the answers for themselves. In the film a young programmer wins a trip to his billionaire boss’ reclusive estate to play the human part in a Turing test against the AI robot, Ava. It’s a beautiful, quiet, tense film all the way through. Even the peak of the action maintains an almost calm quality. The simple aesthetic and spectacular visual effects immerse you in this not-so-distant-future.

Without giving too much away, I simultaneously liked and found suspicious every single character in the movie, so I really wasn’t sure where the plot would take us, who would “get their way” so to speak. I won’t say I was surprised by the way it ended but I enjoyed the fact that I wasn't really certain until the end.

SXSW - Neiman Marcus Make Some Noise Party

My favorite "unofficial" party was the Nieman Marcus Make Some Noise Day 2 music line-up. I really want to be friends with whoever picked the artists on this one. I went to see Marina and the Diamonds so I decided to plant myself there for the day to make sure I got a spot and I enjoyed every single artist in the line-up. The only bummer was how short everyone's sets were because every single artist left me wanting more. Also, because of the rain, I didn't take many pictures so apologies that this is so text-heavy.

I got in toward the end of Meg Mac’s set, and I don’t remember much about it since I only caught the last few songs but I thought she had a great voice and the two songs I heard were very catchy. I added her to my Spotify playlist and have been quite pleased with everything I've heard so far.

Next was Christine and the Queens, the only act I saw at SXSW who had dancers. More artists/bands should really consider having dancers on their tour – it added a whole level of awesome entertainment value to an already high energy and fun set. Most of the dance moves she did herself were relatively simple but it looked totally killer when she and her dancers were in sync. She was super sassy and interacted with the audience a fair amount, which I always enjoy.

Next up was Melanie Martinez, who was delightfully disturbed. I have to say, I much preferred her manic, intense, full voice in-person to the breathy, child-like vocals on her recordings that I listened to after the fact. Her songs are very catchy but dark and quirky enough so as to set herself apart. I hope she moves her recording voice in the direction of her live performance technique – I’m not sure when she recorded the songs but from the looks of her videos she may have been younger (and she’s young in general) so hopefully this is a sign of a maturing artist and I look forward to watch her grow.

Milo Greene is a band, not a person. Or well, I think also a person. To be honest, this was the least memorable of the sets for me but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. There just wasn't really anything to set them apart the way there was for everyone else.

When Marina and the Diamonds came on, I swear to God, grown men in the audience screamed like teenage girls. It was intense. I will say, one thing annoyed me: every person in the audience just about had their cell phones up and recorded pretty much her whole (very short) set. LIVE IN THE MOMENT PEOPLE. Plus, I’m not here to watch her perform through your phone screen, thanks. That being said, she put on a great show. She danced quite a bit (she could’ve taken a note from Christine and the Queens and incorporated some back up dancers!) and seemed like she was having a really good time. Her joy was infectious but she was also seemed really humbled by the adoration of the fans. I will say, I knew a few of Marina’s songs but I was surprised at how bubble-gum-poppy some of them were, although there was still usually a little edge to them (there’s literally a song called “Bubble Gum Bitch”). Her voice is spectacular though. You can really tell she’s classically trained.

The Flaming Lips at SXSW (aka possibly the best show I've ever been to)

The concert I was most excited about at SXSW actually was not part of the music festival (though I will add that I didn't see a single bad show at the music festival and still had tons of fun). But I've been dying to see the Flaming Lips forever and this show was for free, as a SXSW Interactive party thrown by Spredfast & Viacom Velocity.

I was not at SXSW as press this year because going was a rather last minute decision but thanks to some kind strangers I got a kickass spot right up against the barrier. Future Islands opened, and I ended up loving them. I didn't realize they are based just an hour away from me in Baltimore! And I was most impressed with lead singer Samuel Herring's ability to dance and dance and dance and dance while singing for what was a pretty long set. They put on a fantastic, entertaining show.

I wish I had more to say about Future Islands honestly but even their show paled in comparison to the Flaming Lips. The Flaming Lips are known for their epic shows, and sure enough, this show had everything I ever wanted out of a show, plus a lot of stuff I didn't realize I wanted. For starters, there were giant dancing mushrooms and a giant dancing rainbow on stage for a majority of the show. They were later joined/replaced by two inch-worms wearing a crown (one of which wouldn't stay inflated) and a smiling sun.

The light show was overwhelming (in the best way) and there were shiny things dangling everywhere on stage - light ropes from the ceiling, confetti from frontman Wayne Coyne's microphone, neon fuzzy balls dangling from his... pants (which were also shiny)...

 

 

There were tons of giant balloons dropped from above into the audience, there was confetti that Coyne shot into the audience, and later in the show he literally got into a giant clear ball and rolled out into the audience.

 

And of course, there were sing-a-longs. I often forget that Do You Realize is even by the Flaming Lips because it's definitely not my favorite of theirs (though it's a great song). But singing along to this song, with the band and the whole audience, with everything else going on, was just a magical fucking moment. One of those transcendent musical moments that is truly spiritual - where you feel connected to everyone and you're filled with joy and, well, love.

My SXSW

This year I had the privilege of finally attending SXSW. I went for all three festivals (Interactive, Media, Film) and was there for all 10 days. It was intense. This was my SXSW:

• Those moments when people you've literally just met are so supportive of you and offer to put you in touch with so-and-so who might be able to help you with such-and-such.
• That moment when some kind strangers let you squeeze in next to them on the rail so you have a primo spot to see Future Islands and The Flaming Lips (the show you happen to be most excited about for the whole festival) and you bond.
  

  
• Those moments when you're waiting in line and it feels endless and you're thinking "I paid $1600 for this Platinum pass! How does that not give me line-skipping privileges?!" and wondering what it takes to be a VIP.
• Those moments when you think there's going to be a line but there's not and you waltz right in to whatever amazing thing you are attending.
• That moment when you’ve decided to take it easy for a night to recover a little and you’re in bed by 11pm but then can’t sleep, despite being completely exhausted, because your body is now used to staying up until 3am.
• Those moments where the panelists just say the perfect thing.
  

    

  
• That moment when someone you met on Friday invites you to his birthday dinner on Tuesday.
• That moment when you run into your college roommate from freshman year completely by chance in a food truck lot at 1:30am.
• That moment when you're so sunburned that it hurts to wear clothes.
  

  
• That moment when you're so hungover that it hurts to exist.
• That moment when you throw up in a trashcan outside your friend's apartment the morning after drinking and realize why people who live in Austin hate SXSW.
• That moment where you're sitting on a floor blindfolded with a bunch of strangers and eating an apple and thinking "this panel was not what I thought it was going to be."
  

  
• That moment when you really wish people would watch the show instead of recording the whole thing on their phone because you came here to see the artist in person and not through the person in front of you's screen.
• That moment when grown men scream like teenage girls over a musician.
  

  
• That moment when you're eating free ice cream in the rain.
• Those moments when no one will dance and you're so frustrated on behalf of the band because they're not getting any energy back from the audience.
• That moment when someone crowd-surfs and you really wish you weren't wearing a skirt so you could too. 
  

  
• That moment when you really wish people would stop crowd-surfing so you could enjoy the band without getting kicked in the head.
• That moment when some guys behind you are bitching loudly and you turn around and offer them a hug because their harshing your good mood and you actually turn the mood around and then you're toasting to how awesome life is
• That moment when you can tell you're getting sick because your body just doesn't want to do this anymore but there's still several more days of the festival so suck it up and take some vitamins.
• That moment when the party ends very abruptly and the staff is all "get the fuck out" and even take your drink away that you paid for before you can finish it because they are so over SXSW.
• That moment when someone friends you on Facebook and you realize you already have 11 mutual friends.
• That moment when you hang out and eat cupcakes with the band you just saw and wishing one of them a happy birthday.
  

  
• That moment when you get a Lyft driver for a second time and realize that's how long you've been in town.
• That moment where you realize you only saw one movie the entire time you were here.

• That moment when the Mexican restaurant hands you what you think is a poncho to keep dry from the rain and it turns out it’s just a trashbag but you poke a hole for your head and wear it anyway.
• That moment when people are dancing in the rain on 6th street and you would join them if there weren't so many cameras filming it and you didn’t want to be recorded literally wearing a trashbag.
• That moment where you pay $5 for a poncho so you look slightly less ridiculous than you do in a torn up trashbag and get the last ponchos at the store and everyone behind you in line hates you.
• That moment when you see a sign that says free ice cream and realize how jaded you are because at first you don't believe them.
• That moment someone you met 20 minutes ago tells you he thinks he loves you.
• Those moments when the audience does dance and it makes it a noticeably better show experience.
• That moment when you have to say goodbye to the wonderful people you've just spent 10 days with and you get a little emotional.

Check out the rest of our pictures here. And come back later for more on the specific bands we saw and loved!