Speaking of Those Old School Game Boys: Fuck Buttons at McCarren Pool

Fuck Buttons at McCarren Pool this Sunday (picture courtesy of random flickr person ). Yes, that is a Gameboy he’s playing.

And also at McCarren, oh you Liars! What a homecoming back to Brooklyn! You have transcended your past just like I’ve grown out of those homemade tee-shirt dresses I used to wear. Or, as Wikipedia scribbles, “Although initially lumped into the New York post-punk revival scene of the early 21st century, they have come to be categorized by their dramatic stylistic shifts between albums, while retaining a consistent interest in rhythm and sound texture.”

Well then.

Meanwhile 2 questions came to mind during the Liars’ labor-intense set:

But has anybody noticed that the “kids” in Williamsburg look like Spacoli in Fast Times? Is WIlliamsburg the new LA?

Second Question–is Angus Andrews (of the Liars) the new Nick Cave? Or are all Australian noise-rock musicians just gangly and sexy/creepy?

Ok, that’s actually three questions, but I’m not a good consolidator.

Fuck Buttons: Let’s Talk about Magic

(please not this is for personal use only and expires in a week–I’m not stealing your money Fuck Buttons! I’m just widening your audience…k?)

The Wackness:90’s nostalgia without the scare factor

Josh Peck and it-girl Olivia Thirby in The Wackness:(I had this dress in 1994 too!)

Last week Tyler and I went to see The Wackness, a coming-of-age story built almost entirely around nostalgia for 90’s zeitgeist. From The Notorious B.I.G. to the cheesy street slang white kids threw around (thankfully “Dope” has died out) to the baggy denim, it’s saturated with aesthetic references to the Clinton-era. And throwing in child star of that era MK (Mary Kate Olson, that is) is just the icing on the Millienials’ cupcake. Oh and I did I mention there are b&w screen Gameboys and Nintendo 64s? And no cellphones! People used landlines!

The movie–meh, take it or leave it. It’s a story that’s been told ten times before, albiet set in an era that we’re currently aching for a return to. However, I will note that  watching the man who played Gandi (Sir Ben Kingsley) do lines of pharmaceuticals and get it on with aging Bond girl Famke Jenssen is both amusing and startling.

During the film I couldn’t stop thinking, “Where’s Telly?” The Wackness proves just how sanitized we have gotten in Bush’s America and post-Giuliani’s New York, as it’s essentially copping the aesthetic of KIDS, but neglects the nihilism of that film.  It also ignores the horrifying and very real presence of AIDS. The sex scene even emphasizes the LACK of condom, which is very out of line with the AIDS awareness that was so prevalent in that time. Lastly it sorely lacks a Chloe Sevigny-type (Sorry Olivia, you are no Chloe). The Wackness is like KIDS redone by High School Musical folks, where the AIDS and heroin problems in NYC never existed…and Biggie never died.

However, The Wackness has reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile: the 90’s countdown:

1. Positive Hip Hop

Man, was it never better for White People to feel rhythm and feel like there was hope for all races. Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets remind me of Lisa Bonet and, well, idealism. Then I went to a Jurassic Five show in 2000 in Philly and there were no black people to be found. Alas.

2. MTV’s arty dudes

First there were grunge’s slightly femme-y/usually dirty/always tortured but oh-so-sexy musicians toiling in front of us (Kurt, Trent, Gavin Rossdale). But even their non-music programming was full of these Hawkes (as in Ethan). From the The Real World in London (Neil!) to Chris Hardwick on Singled Out (dreamy!) to 120 Minutes‘ “I really need a cough drop” Matt Pinfield, MTV was a minefield of these sensitive dudes…not to mention all the nerdy-chic girls like VJs Kennedy and Karen Duffy, and later, Daria and Jane Lane of Daria around.

Of course that all kind of ended with Carson Daly.

3. My So-Called Life

Jordon Catalano. Rayanne Graff. Ricki. The dad that went to Grateful Dead shows.These people are like cousins to me.

4. Tetrus on Gameboy: Even my mom was addicted.

5. Blossom’s flower hats, Joey’s “Woah!”

6. Jonny Lee Miller in Hackers and Trainspotting

7. TLC’s Lisa Left Eye Lopez’s condom eye patch: RIP Lisa!

8. Sam Goody’s or The Wall’s listening station: Um who wasn’t listening to the new Dishwalla–and not buying–it in 1997?

9. Wolf Blitzer covering the Gulf War–holy shit, there are bombs in back of him! Don’t die Wolfie! Oh wait, no one died in that war.

10. Prince as a Symbol/Marky Mark/Technotronic/”Heroin chic”/Lillith Fair/Discmans/Unplugged/Behind The Music/Angelina Jolie when she was a bi-curious badass/Elizabeth Wurtzel and her Prozac Nation/piercings up the entire ear/The Grind workout video/Meredith Baxter Birney-era Lifetime movies/pre-Parkinson Michael J. Fox/Leonardo DiCaprio before Titantic/laser discs/Jane cosmetics/Sassy magazine/Juliana Hatfield/trip hop/SPIN magazine when it didn’t suck/Britpop and the time when Damon Alburn was hot/Tony Blair’s first few years and all of “Cool Brittania”/the triumph of the Dollar/that dog on Frasier/tape singles for 1.99/PollyPockets/Pogs/20/20’s molestation special segments/Al Franken on Comedy Central/Dilbert/cheap Ecstasy/Jessie Spano turns into slut-McGee in Showgirls/Barney/glowsticks/Berlin’s LOVE PARADE/riot grrl/Gwen Stefani in “I’m just a girl”/Tori Amos channeling Kate Bush and not looking old yet/the anti-Globilization movement/AOL on dial-up/hackey sacks/snap bracelets/the second coming of Jellies (the sandal)/Clear Pepsi/Reviving Ophelia…

And it goes on and on….

The Return of Marion Ravenwood!

Everyone I know–snob and non-snob– is psyched for the new Indiana Jones movie. The Indy trilogy was a huge part of our generation (late Gen X, early Y/Millennial) and whether you hate Spielberg or not, he helped define a huge chunk of the early lives of us children of 80’s pop culture. What I’m most excited for is the return of Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood on screen, possibly the most kick-ass female action character ever created.

Allen was one of the most beautiful actresses of the late 70’s and 80’s with her cascades of reddish brown hair, big green eyes, freckled skin and lean figure. She exuded the same kind of natural, slightly ersatz beauty that young Diane Keaton did–a thinking man’s screen siren.  But, uh, yeah, she was also Lara Croft before there was a Lara Croft! As Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, she was a heavy-drinking, tough-ass bartender/abandoned daughter (her father was Indy’s mentor) who wasn’t afraid of snakes or Nazis. As an equally freckle-faced childsnob in the 80’s, I watched Raiders over and over again. I would then go and play “drinking” with my parents’ empty wine bottles and I’d drink my dolls under the table just like Marion did with those native bar-flies. Hmmm, interesting, yes? Never got into pretending to seduce Nazis, though.

What makes Allen as a person so very, very cool is that she aged gracefully and with taste to become the ultimate hippie mom (not a “why don’t people like old actresses, oh wo is me” Debra Winger figure). In her fifties now, she has taken up a second career of knitting and she has her own store: the Karen Allen Fiber Arts store in Western, Mass. She also opened a yoga studio, which is why when we all go to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we will admire how lovely her skin still is and what nice shape she’s in.

Check out Karen’s scarf:

A little bit like the 80’s Afghan garb floating in the bar she tended?

Rascal Rauschenberg Remembered

Robert Rauschenberg, possibly my favorite artist of the twentieth century (that’s a grand statement, but I have to say the last show I saw of his did make me feel just exactly that grand), passed away yesterday at age 82. Many obituaries have been coming in today, but I decided to show you the work and the words of the master.

What comes across in his work–a great deal which was created from found objects and trash on the street–is a joy in life and a sincere love of the beauty of ordinary things. “I feel as though the world is a friendly boy walking along in the sun,” he once said. Indeed, his vision and this charming perspective never ceases to amaze me. He helped do away with the self-absorbed pretention of the abstract expressionists, opening the door for far broadminded and expansive work. Rauschenberg refused to limit himself to a medium, instead using whatever he saw fit to make into art. He even delved into album art by designing the cover for Speaking in Tongues by the Talking Heads (which gives him only more kudos in the agingsnob book!)

To find out more about him, check out the episode of him on the American Masters Series on PBS if you are interested learning more about him as an artist.

“People ask me, “Don’t you ever run out of ideas?” In the first place I don’t use ideas. Every time I have an idea it’s too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven’t run out of curiosity.” -Robert Rauschenberg

“Bed” (an early Combine)

“Coca Cola Plan”

“Shapes”

Set for Merce Cunningham (a frequent collaborator, along with John Cage)

Clip from Ovation-TV

World Music Ain’t Yanni When You’ve Got Real Rhythm: A new mix

Olafur Eliasson
Colour spectrum kaleidoscope (2003)

I’ve been a bad blogger as of late. I am afraid the real world of job duties/life duties has been taking my time away, not to mention the glorious spring weather outside, dinner parties to be thrown and attended, attempts at accelerated fitness, etc.

  

If you’ve read anything on here before you might notice Agingsnob is currently obsessed with alt/dance music from Australia (see Cut Copy and Cave posts). I’m also a fan of blip blip/crash!/ industrial agro/minimal beats that come out of Germany and I’ll groove to effete French men regularly too. All of this is anticipation for my weekend of dance music from abroad—Midnight Juggernauts at Bowery Ballroom on Friday and Ellen Alien on Saturday at Studio B, not to mention a jaunt to MOMA for the Olafur Eliasson show, which will be a kind of visual rhythm fest, perhaps? So start dancing now! Even if you’re in a cubicle…think of it as office exercise…

 

E Talking: Tiga

Heart It Races: Architecture In Helsinki

Downtown: Heloise and the Savoir Faire (funky!)

Newtons Gravitatlichkeit: Einstürzende Neubauten (not funky, but it is music made with power tools!)

Road to Recovery: Midnight Juggernauts

Funkenflug Der Traume: Ellen Allien

La ritournelle: Sébastien Tellier

Yippiyo-Ay: The Presets…yet another Australian electro band I’m gaga for

Swan Lake (Aka Death Disco): Public Image Limited …ever wonder where the term death disco comes from? John fucking Lydon.

 

(ALSO, Happy Birthday Tyler, thank you Joanna and Bryan for making my tickets happen and yay Claire/Jacob visit…)