The News Review:
- Canadian band Silverstein keeps energy level high
- Joy Division Review – Read Variety’s Analysis Of The Movie Joy…
- SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Features — Siren’s songs
- Dir: Alexey Balabanov Russia 2007 86mins
- Three chords and the truth: punk’s nostalgics
Canadian band Silverstein keeps energy level high
Press-Enterprise – Sep 13, 2007
Early on the band staked its reputation on searing vocals caustic rhythms and loud dexterous guitar lines. Its recently issued third set "Arrivals and Departures" adheres to all those tenets. This is not to say that the boys in Silverstein haven’t matured they just know what they do best. "I think we definitely aim to stay consistent to some degree but at the same time we’re always trying to be adventurous" drummer Paul Koehler said over the phone from a tour stop in New Mexico.
Joy Division Review – Read Variety’s Analysis Of The Movie Joy…
Variety (subscription) – Sep 13, 2007
Early tapes played here reveal pathetic imitations of punk with no indication of the sound that was to come. Crucially after early failed gigs Joy Division returned to their makeshift studio and practiced intensively for more than six months. It was as if a rag-tag group of kids had decided to apply classical musicians’ rigor to what developed into post-punk music. Second key matter dealt with here at length is how the band listened to and collaborated with genius engineer-producer Martin Hannett whom pic properly credits for the echo-y otherworldly sound of the music. As “Control” neatly conveys singer-songwriter Curtis was crucial to the band just as his declining neurological condition (which led to a series of grand-mal seizures) led to its collapse. New doc is emotionally deeper than Corbijn’s pic in its portrayal using fine one-on-one interviews to reveal the terrible regrets and guilt that wracked everyone in and near the band about Curtis the veiled cries for help in his songs and his suicide following a failed attempt. While “Control” was based on Curtis’ wife Deborah’s memoir “Touching From a Distance” “Joy Divisin” features Curtis’ Belgian g.
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Features — Siren’s songs
San Diego Union Tribune – Sep 13, 2007
“Politik Kills” tells us how politics thrives on bombs and blood. “Trizteza Maleza” is about sadness and profound poverty. But one song stands out among the 21 tracks powered by the unusual alliance of punk reggae and world music.
Dir: Alexey Balabanov Russia 2007 86mins
Screendaily.com – Screendaily.com (subscription) – Sep 13, 2007
This is clearly a film that will have far more resonance for Russian audiences who lived through the traumatic era shown here that for international cinemagoers who are likely to be startled by its unremittingly bleak tone. Balabanov depicts a world in which the police shoot and beat up suspects; where rape and kidnapping are rife; where men drink themselves into a stupor with vodka and where the sense of resentment and disaffection is all pervasive. As the society crumbles old ladies sit watching party officials give long-winded speeches on ancient TV screens while the teenagers listen to punk music or try to come up with get-rich-quick schemes. Thanks to such widely sold earlier features as Of Freaks And Men and Brother Balabonov is one of the few contemporary Russian filmmakers with an international reputation. Cargo 200 is likely to receive plenty of festival play. It may also pique the curiosity of adventurous art house distributors. The film will certainly intrigue anyone interested in the mood in the Soviet Union in its declining days.
Three chords and the truth: punk’s nostalgics
On Line opinion – Sep 13, 2007
Much has been written about the baby boomers monopolisation of both the media and cultural agenda. But very little has been written about a select niche of late boomers (1958-64) who at BBQ’s dinner parties and the pub are fixated by the “good old days” of The Sex Pistols The Clash The Saints and The Go-Betweens. This article is about my generation: the nostalgic punks who fervently believed in three chords and the truth – and sod everything else. I call us The Lost Generation because it’s groovier than being tagged with a letter of the alphabet… Much has been written about the baby boomers monopolisation of both the media and cultural agenda. But very little has been written about a select niche of late boomers (1958-64) who at BBQ’s dinner parties and the pub are fixated by the “good old days” of The Sex Pistols The Clash The Saints and The Go-Betweens. This article is about my generation: the nostalgic punks who fervently believed in three chords and the truth – and sod everything else. I call us The Lost Generation because it’s groovier than being tagged with a letter of the alphabet. Back in the l970s I admired Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page but there was no way I could play guitar like them. Garage punk blew Credence Clear Water Revival Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan (so passé) out of the water while elevating Joy Division The Buzzcocks and The Ramones to name just a few.