IT WAS A DATE

I first saw this film in a high school film class. Filmed illegally in 1976, in the hazy minutes before dawn in Paris, Claude Lelouch's C'était un Rendez-Vous is simply nine minutes of reckless, high speed driving. All we can hear is the revving and down-shifting of the engine, the squeal of tires as corners are rounded. The low-mounted camera add to the thrill, allowing us to really feel the swift motion of the car.


The title card at the beginning states that "the film was produced without photographic tricks nor changes in camera speed," and though the consensus is that's true, there has been speculation that Lelouch dubbed in the engine noise from a different vehicle (perhaps a Ferrari of his) to produce a greater range of shifting sounds and engine RPMs. Likewise, various nerds have watched the film with a stopwatch in hand, mapping the route and claiming that Lelouch could have never topped more than 75mph. Whatever the case, Paris has rarely looked as good as it does in the final scene at Sacre Coeur.

MAGIC KIDS / BARBARAS

Harbingers of the newest strain of mutant Memphis pop, the Magic Kids and the Barbaras (two bands who share a hand-full of members with each other and the current Jay Reatard band) are making waves with their twisted variants of the Ronettes/Beachboys/Specter sound. Nylon Magazine has already announced that it's got a "band crush" on the Magic Kids, and the Barbaras' profile keeps rising with every Reatard tour. Anyway, it seems like both of these bands are always playing whenever I'm in Memphis, whether it's a daytime bbq or a 4am after-Gonerfest house party. If you find yourself in the Bluff City anytime soon, keep an eye out.


Magic Kids: Cry With Me Baby


BAND CRUSH!



The Barbaras' first practice.

THE ETERNAL

William Blake's World: A New Heaven Is Begun is up now at the Morgan.

AKIO NUKAGA IN LOS ANGELES

If you're in LA this weekend, make sure to head over Heath Ceramics' LA shop for Japanese potter Akio Nukaga's reception and opening. If you can't make it (it appears the event requires an RSVP), Nukaga is giving a free wheel throwing demonstration tomorrow, also at Heath. More info here.

OPENING/CLOSING

The beginning and end of Bruce Springsteen's 1972 appearance at Max Kansas City.

MY NAME IS MY NAME

Below is the short film Five Deep Breaths, responsible for getting Jamie Hector his role as Marlo Stanfield on HBO's The Wire. I don't have a whole lot to say about it- I don't think it's particularly great- but it's always nice to see talent incubate.

PHOENIX COMMOTION

The work of Dan Phillips.

PASSING THRU THE GARDEN: NIMROD WORKMAN

Born in Kentucky but a nearly life-long resident of Chattaroy, West Virginia, Nimrod Workman was coal miner for 42 years. After developing black lung in the 1950's, Workman began a nearly-50 year second career as a union activist and folk balladeer, releasing a couple of albums in the 70's and appearing in the documentary Harlan County, USA and in the film Coal Miner's Daughter, about the life of Lorretta Lynn.





Possessor of high, reedy, and strong voice, despite chronic lung problems, Workman's music embodies what I love about the best songs and performers of Appalachia. Mournful but not self-pitying, the songs resonate with all the truth and beauty of life, instantly transporting the listener a place both specific and yet somehow universal.


The funeral scene from Coal Miner's Daughter, with Workman leading the mourners in Amazing Grace.