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FEATURED: The SEEN RCRD LBL blog posts a bunch
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The busy bees at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog have been posting loads of interesting stuff from the realm of media, film, and music (as is their specialty). The have articles up about the soundtrack to the biggest videogame of the year, Grand Theft Auto IV, and awesome design book on band logos called Band ID and The Wackness, which screened at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and features loads of awesome ‘90s hip hop.
GTA IV at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog
Film: Tribeca unveils new music films
The Tribeca Film Festival just wrapped in New York. It being NYC and the birth of hip hop, its kinda poetic that The Wackness made its premiere at Tribeca. Instead of a Hollywood cliche coming-of-age film with music as a backdrop, The Wackness really captures the role that music plays in a teen's life. And, as The Wackness is set in 1994, it's all about 90s hip-hop! Shapiro, the main character, makes mixtapes for his sweetheart. That's real. We’ve all done it before. Tribe Called Quest, R. Kelly, Biggie, Raekwon...long before the iTunes gift playlist we were diligently making mixtapes for our crushes and our friends.
Shapiro is our kind of guy - he's never without his headphones, he loves the ladies, but he might love hip-hop more. Method Man also plays a Jamaican in the film. Trailer to the film is above.
Also at Tribeca, Adam Yauch screened his previously reported film “Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot”. Mark your calendars for that local release, kids, this one is going to be hot.
Film: AFI Music Documentary Series
The Arclight Theaters in Los Angeles are smack dab in the middle of the 7th annual AFI Music Documentary Series (running April 2 – May 7). If you’re from LA, you know that the Arclight Theaters are something of a mecca for movie lovers; comfy reserved seating, shorter previews, and a full bar all make it a top-notch place to catch a flick. In it’s 7th year running, the AFI Music Doc Series is screening an eclectic crop of new and old music documentaries to satiate your hunger for musical knowledge. The series kicked off with Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, an in depth look at a year in the life of the minimalist composer. So far, the series has screened the Beatles Help!, the Red Hot Chili Peppers Untitled Documentary, and our personal favorite so far, Young@Heart (see our review here or better yet, just go see the movie).
Film: Young@Heart
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Stephen Walker’s moving documentary “Young@Heart” opens today, and if you’re lucky enough to be in one of the cities that it’s screening in, go see it. The doc follows the Young@Heart chorus, comprised entirely of retirees aged 70 and up, for seven weeks as they rehearse for a one night only engagement in their hometown of North Hampton, Massachusetts.
If this sounds like it might be a snooze-fest, consider the fact that their repertoire includes jams from the Clash, Sonic Youth, Coldplay, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, and Outkast. In the past they have put on performances with Cambodian folk artists and punk rockers (1988’s “Oh No a Condo”) and have told the story of the French Revolution through the songs of Frank Sinatra (1991 Louis Lou I – A Revolting Musical). They have toured Europe, Australia, and Canada, and are about to embark on a brief US tour in support of the release of the documentary.
Film: The Rolling Stones Revival
This month marks a bit of a Rolling Stones revival. As previously mentioned on SEEN, "Shine A Light", the music documentary directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Martin Scorsese, launched across the US this past weekend, but if you're going to see this unique concert, don't front - go to one of the 93 IMAX theaters and experience the full-on digital video and sound quality.
Scorsese captures the disarray behind the scenes as everyone prepares in New York City's Beacon Theater. But, all of that simply leads us towards the build up and the electric performance from Jagger and crew. And at that moment, we totally forget that Jagger and the Stones are all in their 60s! They rock hard and easily keep up with Christina Aguilera and Jack White.
Scorsese, who's also Jagger's age, says that the Rolling Stones' music acted as a soundtrack to his life. Marty has said that the band’s music helped him through some difficult times, and even had an influence on his film making career. "At different times in my life, the Rolling Stones’ music dealt with different aspects of my life that I was trying to make sense of. Their music has stayed with me and been a very important part of my life over the years." Case in point: using “Gimme Shelter” in three of his movies alone: Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed.
Click here to read more and check out the trailer for Shine a Light...
CONTEST: Win tickets to see Sasha at the Winter Music Conference!
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If you're headed to the Winter Music Conference in Miami (March 25th - 29th), you might be lucky enough to catch some of legeandary DJ Sasha’s magic. We here at SEEN are very happy to be able to offer a pair of tickets to the opening night of the Sasha and John Digweed tour at Mansion in Miami along with tickets to a private event hosted by Sasha, with a screening of New Emissions Of Light And Sound, a beautiful surf movie that Sasha scored. Spooky will also be DJing this event. Launching March 27th, at the Winter Music Conference (see Sasha and John Digweed Return), their spring club tour brings the Sasha & John Digweed brand back to action and finishing with a headlining set in the dance tent at Coachella. If you get to see him play at any of the 21 dates this spring, then you might be lucky enough to hear some cuts from the highly anticipated "Involv2er" - he's rumored to be road testing it. We'll have an exclusive interview with Sasha on his return from the WMC in a couple of weeks and we’ll be talking about the spring tour, his score for New Emissions of Light and Sound, and what's up with "Involv2er".
Here's the lowdown on the two events:
Sasha and John Digweed Spring Club Tour 2008
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
10PM - 5AM
@ Mansion (Miami)
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BPM & globe present
NEW EMISSIONS OF
LIGHT AND SOUND
Directed by Joe G & George Manzanilla
With original soundtrack by SASHA
Thursday March 27, 2008
6:30pm-9:30pm
@ the Tanqueray Bespoke Gifting Suite
2228 Park Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Open Bar courtesy of & Dos Equis
To throw your name in the hat, send an email to info (at) seenmx (dot) com with your name, email, and contact phone number. One winner will be drawn at random and notified Thursday @ 4PM EST. Please remember that the show and screening are THIS THURSDAY IN MIAMI, so only enter if you know you’ll be around.
Film: Oscilloscope Labs mix music, film, Beastie Boys
Redefining lean and mean, Adam Yauch's Oscilliscope Labs was created as a "music and film production company", according to their website. Recently they have announced the creation of "Oscilloscope Pictures", their new distribution arm. The whole mantra behind this endeavor is to have everything done in-house; in their NY lair are post-production facilities, a recording studio (where the Beasties' "To The 5 Boroughs" was recorded & mixed) and graphic designers who can create films, soundtracks, and all marketing materials (trailers, DVD artwork, film posters, etc.) on location. Yauch tapped David Fenkel, formerly of THINKFilm, to head up the experiment. The Scope, as it's fondly referred to, will be acquiring films as well and offering finishing funds to promising directors and their projects.
The next film in the hopper was just announced: "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot", a documentary which follows 8 high school basketball players from all over the country as they arrive at Harlem's Rucker Park for the first annual "Elite 24" competition, which aims to fast track kids to the NBA. As a telling sign that Oscilloscope is taking filmmaking seriously, the director is credited as "Adam Yauch" instead of his usual alter-ego "Nathaniel Hornblower". According to the site the film will feature "raw hip hop music" but it remains unclear how much of it will come from the scope's recording studio and how much of it will be licensed. We suppose we can take solace in the fact that music for this film - and for all future scope films - won't be an afterthought. Check back here often for soundtrack details as they develop. The film is slated for a theatrical release June 27, 2008.
To whet your appetite, here's the trailer for "Awesome, I Fuckin' Shot That", directed by Hornblower, and the first film to come out out of Oscilloscope:
DVD: Robert Mugge's New Orleans Music In Exile
Robert Mugge is a name you have probably never heard. It’s likely though, that if you like Jazz, Blues, Reggae. Zydeco, or Bluegrass (work with us here), you have seen one or more of his incredible music documentaries. Beginning in 1976 with George Crumb: Voice of the Whale, which featured a performance of Crumb’s Pulitzer prize winning piece, "Vox Balaenae for Three Masked Players”, Mugge has made close to 30 films that have examined music through people, place, and time. His subjects have included Sonny Rollins, Al Green, Gil Scott-Heron, Robert Johnson, and Irma Thomas, to name a few. Although it’s difficult to pin down an exact style, Mugge’s films are characterized by his willingness to allow the music and musicians to speak for themselves. Always well researched and informed, Mugge has an uncanny ability to make genuine connections with his subjects, ultimately leading to more candid interviews and deeper meaning in his work.
For Mugge, “music is a leaping off place for discussion of social issues, cultural issues, political issues, (and) even religious issues.” This ethos might explain why Mugge was so drawn to post-Katrina New Orleans. Having worked with many of the musicians of New Orleans in some of his earlier films, Mugge sought to side-step the emotionally charged issues of government response and racism in the wake of Katrina, and focus on the storm’s devastating impact within the New Orleans music community. Where did the musicians go? Were they planning on coming back?
Exclusive: Interview With Music Supervisor Alex Patsavas + The Republic Tigers Download
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If you look up music supervisor in the dictionary you will find a picture of Alexandra Patsavas (not really, but probably in Webster's next edition). She has made quite a name for herself and her company Chop Shop Music Supervision over the past few years, shaping the sound of a long list of hit shows including; The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, Rescue Me, Chuck, Carnivále, Without A Trace and Shark.
Jumping off from her success supplying a hip soundtrack to prime time TV, she recently started a label called Chop Shop Records as a partnership with Atlantic Records. Their first two signings are singer/songwriter Jade McNelis and indie rock six piece The Republic Tigers and this Saturday, March 15th at 4pm, Chop Shop Records are having their first public showcase at the West Tent, Brush Square Park in Austin. We were fortunate enough to catch Alex in a (somewhat) quiet moment while she was taking a break from the SXSW festivities to ask her some questions about her work, her label and her favorite soundtrack. She was also gracious enough to give us "Buildings And Mountains" by The Republic Tigers which we are passing along to you.
Film: Sigur Ros 'Heima'
UPDATE: Ok sorry. It was public yesterday and this morning but for some reason it's now a private video. Sorry.
As a follow up to our post on the Sigur Ros movie 'Heima' we are happy to say that the whole movie is now available for viewing for free on the wonderful world of intertubes here.
Since we were lucky enough to have seen it in an actual movie theatre, this doesn't quite live up to the experience, but if you didn't get a chance to catch it on the big screen it is well worth checking out during your "down time" at work. Not only is the music some of the most beautiful sounds to come our way in a long time, it's shot in a way lives up to the beauty of the music and the Icelandic countryside.
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