DVDs | The Stool Pigeon

Latest Reviews

28-07-2010 Wavves – King of the Beach

There could hardly be a more apt sounding death knell for lo-fi indie garage than Nathan Williams’ infantile pop farts. Both the genre and Wavves itself have been due a backlash for some time now.

27-07-2010 M.I.A. – /\/\ /\ Y /\

In another universe, parallel to ours but not too distant, Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam is the pivotal character in Pulp’s ‘Common People’.

27-07-2010 Sleigh Bells – Treats

Everyone seems to hear something different in the kind of piercing racket that only the pairing of a former hardcore guitarist and an ex-girl group singer could produce

27-07-2010 Devo – Something for Everybody

The album rolls back the years and sates Devo-addicts’ cravings for more of the same. The lack of artistic progression is inevitable. After all, de-evolution is real…

26-04-2010 The Black Keys – Brothers

There’s no reason why the soul or spirit of a recording studio should rub off on people who record there (…)

Reviews

Jennie Livingston, Paris Is Burning

Dorian Corey sits relaxed in a dim lit room, pasting foundation into the cracks in his face. Green boas hang draped from walls and a stuffed owl perches moodily with its back to the camera as Corey discusses preparations for tonight’s drag ball. “They’re very intense affairs but I guess that’s what makes them fun,” purrs the veteran drag queen, applying make-up in a shaving mirror. “Like a good movie… if there’s no emotion you don’t enjoy it.”

AKPC_IDS += “1640,”;

Popularity: unranked [?]

Legends: Ella Fitzgerald, First Lady of Song

You want these documentaries about musicians who had huge lives to help fill in the gaps; to tell you exactly what it was you hear in their songs; for it to no longer be something abstract. Or perhaps you don’t, in which case you shouldn’t watch them.

AKPC_IDS += “1338,”;

Popularity: unranked [?]

Love: Love Story

The brilliance of Love’s third album, Forever Changes would make you think its creators were among the most celebrated musicians of the sixties. Not so. A band Love took to their bosses at Elektra records, The Doors, got the Hollywood treatment and tomes in the bookstores, leaving Arthur Lee and Co. to remain something of an enigma. That hasn’t done their reputation any harm, but time is indeed right for a proper documentary. This is that doc.

The National: A Skin, A Night

A lot of these tour documentaries are used by the record companies to encourage people to buy the CD. Not a bad idea at all, but this one is slightly different: the emphasis is on the film, although there is an accompanying EP of National off-cuts too. And it’s a far better watch than most – a grainy, moody, black and white number shot by a French guy called Vincent Moon. Don’t sound too French to me. A lot of his footage, mostly of England while the Brooklyn-based band are on the road, is stunning but there’s a problem here: very little happens. You assume hardcore fans of the band will be picking this up, not film nerds. They won’t learn much. Bands, eh? They sit around most of the time waiting for orders. Nice life, but not very compelling to watch.

AKPC_IDS += “1087,”;

Popularity: unranked [?]

Sex Pistols: There’ll Always Be An England

Growing up in the 1970s, you cannot forget that gut feeling of hearing The Sex Pistols for the first time. On seeing this DVD, my guts turned for very different reasons. It’s a sad world when John Lydon turns to a crowd and says “I’m your friend, don’t be shy,” and means it. Thirty years ago we’d have spat at him in reverence. Now people just wave their iPhone. Although this is a really piss poor cash-in, you can’t help but love Steve Jones’ guitar work. Only a dozen songs in 30 years but what gems. Chuck Berry must be mad as hell. The thievery is heavily disguised as subversion, but you still feel the cosh on the back of your head and the vague feeling of hearing someone say, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”

AKPC_IDS += “1086,”;

Popularity: 1% [?]

TV Smith & The Bored Teenagers: Live At The 100 Club

Smith is best known as leader of British punk band The Adverts. The band released their debut Crossing The Red Sea with The Adverts in 1977, and then split in 1979. Thirty years later, and to commemorate their first gigs, backed by Los Quattros (a Spanish punk band renamed The Bored Teenagers for the gig) he returned to the 100 Club to play the album again in its entirety. TV Smith looks remarkable compared to many of his peers doing the pension tours and it starts out a very lively performance. However, after half a dozen songs he’s visibly tired, but he comes fighting back with the brilliant ‘Gary Gilmore’s Eyes’. This DVD is a truly entertaining reminder of a underrated British band.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

Various Artists: Counterpart, Issue 2

If I was 16 and picked this up, I’d cream my pants thinking that there’s a whole world out there that looks progressive and exciting. This is such a simple idea, but it works really well: compile a bunch of music videos of artists with a fun, DIY approach to filmmaking (Holy Fuck, Operator Please, Matt & Kim) and run them alongside interviews with bands, funky short films and interesting artwork. A DVD magazine, in other words. Somehow people think the internet is a better place for doing such a thing. Not true – this manages to put popular culture into an organised and edited framework. It has more effect as a consequence. Some other peeps featured: The Teenagers and two Pigeon contributors: Emmy The Great and Jeffrey Lewis.

AKPC_IDS += “1084,”;

Popularity: unranked [?]

Wojciech Has: The Sargossa Manuscript

Shot in 1964 by Polish director Wojciech Has (but only now getting its UK release), The Saragossa Manuscript comes highly recommended. It’s a favourite of David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola and Luis Bunuel, and its restoration was funded by Martin Scorsese and The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia.

AKPC_IDS += “898,”;

Popularity: unranked [?]