The Confabulators

Some Good News, and Some Bad News (but mostly good news)

Jay — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 23:18:17 +0000

Whenever someone tells me they have good news and bad, I almost always opt for the bad to be delivered first. So in the interests of leaving this post on a high note, we’ll go for the bad news first (even though it’s a few days past fresh).

TW Walsh, of the band Pedro the Lion, has decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family and for financial reasons. Pedro the Lion has released 5 cds thus far and David Bazan, the other half of the band, will continue to make music under his own name. The last Pedro cd, Achilles Heel, was released in 2004 and was as much Bazan’s as it was Walsh’s. TW co-wrote a few songs and wrote one of the songs, “Start Without Me”. TW will still continue to be a part of his own band, The Soft Drugs, and on his website he gave in his own words the reasons for the breakup:

“Running a small, creative business like this can be very stressful, especially when friendships are on the line. It was no longer working, and strains within the band had already hurt people close to me. So, I decided to take my life in a different direction. I would actually prefer if Dave continued on using the name Pedro the Lion for his musical projects, but he has decided not to. Please don’t hold it against me. I left the band so that Dave and I could continue being friends. I hope you understand.”

Ok then, time for the good news.

Even though Pedro the Lion has only just recently broken up, Bazan has already scheduled solo shows.

01/25 - Wed - Columbia SC - University of South Carolina
01/26 - Thu - Seattle, Wa - Neumo's (with Ester Drang)

But wait! There’s more!

David Bazan and his Undertow label-mates, Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel) will join forces in February to make up the Undertow Orchestra. This collaborative entity will be sharing songs, playing others’ songs, and having a jolly time doing it. It’s going to be a good show. The dates have been set and advanced tickets are on sale now. Hooray!

02/08 - Wed - Athens GA - 40 Watt Club
02/09 - Thu - Carrboro NC - Carrboro Arts Center
02/10 - Fri - Arlington VA - Iota Club & Cafe
02/11 - Sat - Arlington VA - Iota Club & Cafe
02/12 - Sun - Philadelphia PA - World Cafe Live
02/13 - Mon - New York NY - Bowery Ballroom
02/14 - Tue - Boston MA - Museum of Fine Arts, Remis Auditorium
02/16 - Thu - Grand Rapids MI - Calvin College, Fine Arts Center
02/17 - Fri - Chicago IL - Park West
02/18 - Sat - Madison WI - Orpheum Stage Door
02/19 - Sun - Minneapolis MN - First Avenue
02/20 - Mon - Ames IA - Maintenance Shop
02/21 - Tue - Lawrence KS - Granada Theatre
02/23 - Thu - Austin TX - The Parish
02/24 - Fri - Denton TX - Hailey's
02/25 - Sat - Houston TX - Walter's on Washington
02/27 - Mon - Memphis TN - Hi-Tone
02/28 - Tue - Nashville TN - Belcourt Theatre
03/01 - Wed - Atlanta GA - Variety Playhouse

All the information about the tour can be found at www.undertowmusic.com/tour

Arrested Development’s Triumphant Continual?

Jay — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 03:54:14 +0000

Even after winning an Emmy award for Best Comedy in 2004, Fox’s show “Arrested Development” was cut down during it’s third season from 22 episodes to a measly 13 and will not be picked up for a fourth. The witty comedy hasn’t pulled an enough of a mainstream audience to be profitable, but those who know good t.v. have followed it since it’s conception. Now, before you give up on t.v. and chuck yours into the nearest river, news has come out that Showtime may be picking the show up after Fox officially cancels it. So far a decision has yet to be made, and it is only in the discussion phase but this is great news for the future of t.v. worth watching. All we can do is hope that Showtime can do it’s part.

Do YOU Know it’s Hallowe’en?

Jay — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 05:04:42 +0000

Every October 31st, 8 year olds overdose on sugar and college age females dress as scantily clad animals. One might assume that a holiday which encourages teeth rotting would be entirely bad, but this is not so! A single has been released by Vice records as a satire and as a benefit song with proceeds going to UNICEF.

The song itself is a play off of Sir Bob Geldof’s benefit single “Do They Know it’s Christmas”. The song was originally thought up by Nicolas Diamonds (of The Unicorns) and features many artists such as The Arcade Fire, Beck, Devendra Banhart, Wolf Parade, and Jimmy Tamborello. Adopting the moniker of the “North American Halloween Prevention Initiative”, the song sings of ending the most scary of holidays. The music video for Do They Know it’s Hallowe’en is available on the vice records website and the song is available for purchase on iTunes.

Donate!

Jay — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 02:44:21 +0000

As you all know, the situation in the New Orleans area is one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the United States. The people affected by this tragedy need as much help as possible to rebuild their lives. The Confabulators have placed a quick link on the taskbar to the Red Cross donation page where you can send a donation straight to the people most affected by this disaster. Please send anything you can to help. Thank You.

Donate to the Red Cross

News links: CNN Livejournal of a Web Host staying to maintain running servers

The Amazing Chocolatier

Jay — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 22:45:19 +0000

No film this summer will spark as much debate as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m calling that now. To clear one thing up, it is NOT a remake of 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, just a different interpretation of Roald Dahl’s classic book. The argument will stem from differences of opinion as to whether this new version is better, or worse, than it’s peppier predecessor. Directed by Tim Burton, the film takes on a darker tone than it’s counterpart and portrays Wonka as a much more human character. With flashbacks and proper development of characters, we get a much broader view of the characters in the film. To break the bleak view of life given by Mr. Wonka, the film is filled with hilarious segments such as the Oompa Loompas choreographed dances. The movie is worth seeing just for the giant dance numbers played by one actor. Overall, the movie is a much better interpretion of the story written by Dahl and does a great job developing it’s characters. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: 8/10

Sigur Rós release album info

Jay — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:36:39 +0000

As posted on Sigur Rós’ website on July 1oth:

we can now announce that the title of the new sigur rós album is takk…, which is icelandic for “thanks”. it will be released september 12th on EMI records. we at sigur-ros.co.uk got a chance to listen to the album recently and for our money it’s the best thing the band has ever released. we can’t wait for the world to hear it. the tracklist on takk… is as follows:

takk…

glósóli

hoppípolla

með blóðnasir

sé lest

sæglópur

mílanó

gong

andvari

svo hljótt

heysátan

The new record is slated for international release on September 12. The new album is going to be sung in their native language of Icelandic, not in Hopelandic , as in their previous album ( ).

Film: The overlooked and ‘under the radar’-ed

Jay — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 01:16:56 +0000

Film is a tricky business, it is comprised of a hallowed 5% of films which capture the hearts and mind of the public and go on to become a collection of films deemed to be ‘classics’. There are the Casablanca’s, The Godfather’s, The Star Wars’, each one of them a staple of our modern culture. Then there are the other 90%, the weekend busts and bombs, the formula films that drag us in just long enough to keep us buying 6 dollar popcorn and sipping on 4 dollar sodas. For the average viewer films fall strictly into these two catagories, it’s a black and white world. But, to the suprise of many people who look deeper into films, there is wide spectrum of greys to appease anyone.

In my column, which I hope to be publishing once a week, I will explore this ‘grey area’ as well as the occasional forays into new features films and the classics many may have passed up. My name is Greasegun, and I will be your guide in a world of bombs, gems, classics and just plain crap, enjoy.

Manic 8.8/10 Joseph Gorden-Levitt Don Cheadle Zooey Deschanel

  Manic is a film for anyone who ever wished that movies like The Breakfast Club dropped the sappy morals and actually showed what happens when people are forced to co-exist within a single place. Lyle (played suprisingly well by Third Rock from the Sun's Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a troubled youth who is sent to a the Northwood youth mental facility for beating another kid nearly to death with a baseball bat. Lyle's transistion to the facility is one of the more powerful scenes in the movie and makes it clear that no punches will be pulled during the film. Lyle finds himself in the care of Dr. David Monroe, played by Don Cheadle, who's superb and realistic acting account for at least 4 of the stars I gave this movie. Dr. Monroe is a kind and honest man who is not without problems of his own, as we see him popping various pills throughout the film. The bulk of the movie is of the group therapy sessions at Northwood, where the various other teens discuss their problems with each other and Dr. Munroe. These sessions are brilliantly acted and come off as realistic and disturbing at the same time. Some of the wards include Chad, a depressed cutter who soon befriends Lyle, and Tracy (Zooey Deschanel, most recently of 'Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy' fame) an extremely shy girl who seems to exhibit no outward mental condition other than that she wakes up at night screaming hysterically. While in these group sessions the focus shifts off of Lyle and allows the other characters to develop, creating a richer experience with each session. The entire movie is overshadowed by the constant cloud of mental illness experienced by all of the teens at the facility. You can never be sure when harsh words will turn into a bloody fist fight and the entire movie is enriched by this everpresent sense of dread that seeps into every line of dialouge. The fact that the movie is shot completely in a choppy, nervous, pseudo-documentarian style adds to this sense of realism and neurosis. Lyle soon finds himself making friends with Chad, and while sharing a clandestine joint, they agree to take Chad's forthcoming trust fund payments and move away to Amsterdam. This dream evolves into a metaphore for their freedom and brings a profound sadness with it. Another one of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when Chad is arguing with another teen that even though the theme of a certain painting may be freedom, it will always be confined to the frame. The entire film is peppered with these very poignant metaphores and yet they never become tiring or sappy. The movie ends with a silent epiphany so deep and profound that it requires no sudden look of realization on the actor's face or a muttered "I get it now" for it resonate through the screen and into your very soul.  Manic is a film I would reccomend to anyone, but especially to those who have ever been involved with depression or mental illness.

Note: This movie is both physically and mentally disturbing in many scenes and I would not reccomend it for the ‘fragile of conscience’.

I hope you guys enjoyed my review and feel free to send any comment, rants, raves or confabulations to emailthedirector@gmail.com

About the author: Aaron Bair is a young film student who write film reviews in his spare time. As you may have suspected, he is in fact that one tall guy who seems to sit in front of you every goddamn time you see a movie.

-45ACP